Yu Jitae wasn’t in a particularly good mood. The light flashing in front of his eyes; the piano’s melody striking his ears; the smell of a flower touching his nose; the stupid sculpture; the paintings that ought to be burned; the floor; the ceiling – everything in this place was touching his nerves.
In contrast to his feelings, Hasegawa’s piano skills weren’t bad. Even from Yu Jitae’s perspective as someone unknowledgeable in performing arts, the song was a difficult song and Hasegawa was accurately sounding out the notes. It was a marvelous skill in terms of humans, and his skills weren’t bad for a superhuman either.
But even then, the performance was the worst. As someone without much knowledge in music, Yu Jitae couldn’t describe what he was feeling in words. It just felt shit.
However, unlike his own perception of the performance, the members of the social meeting were absorbed into the performance while staring at Hasegawa.
Yu Jitae glanced past them, and thought to himself, that it was understandable for them to be like that.
When the first song, La campanella came to an end, a roaring thunder of applause erupted out. The people stood up from their seats and clapped as if they were wholeheartedly touched by the song.
It was followed by several other songs. Those were all personal compositions of Hasegawa.
The music contained his disgusting desire and greed beneath, that couldn’t be portrayed by existing compositions. Hidden under the shell were dirty emotions that were vividly conveyed by the song.
After every song came to an end, the claps came erupting forth yet again.
Until then, Yu Jitae remained quiet.
It was a horrendous melody; a disgusting music. The performance made even the Regressor feel an unpleasant degree of dirty emotions.
However, Bom appeared to be in an even worse state. Her eyes had lost focus, and her arms could be seen quivering faintly.
“Oi.”
“…”
“It’s finished.”
“Ah, yes.”
Bom held onto Yu Jitae’s sleeves, and heaved out a deep sigh.
When the performance as well as the social meeting came to an end, Bom was muddled deeply in her thoughts.
“It truly felt like my heart was going to melt down.”
“That was so moving. As expected of sir…”
The people surrounded Hasegawa and were complimenting him for his performance. Hasegawa gave them words of gratitude and returned a small bow towards them. However, unlike when Bom complimented him, he appeared calm and did not show a single sign of happiness.
“So, was my lacking performance to your liking?”
After approaching them, Hasegawa asked. Because Bom was still in her own world, Yu Jitae heaved out a sigh inwardly before giving a nod.
“Thank you for the performance.”
Only then did Hasegawa give a wide smile.
“That’s good… will you come and listen tomorrow as well?”
Of course.
Because that would be your final performance.
Yu Jitae nodded.
***
Inside a hotel room prepared for VIP customers there were elegant blankets placed above the two king-size beds.
“Ahjussi. There are several strange points.”
Late at night, at a room that allowed a full view of the river and a night view of the city, Bom started her sentence with an uncomfortable voice under the ambient light.
“…”
“The performance was bad, and it seemed like Hasegawa himself was aware of how his performance sounded to others’ ears.”
“…”
“He didn’t seem happy even when others congratulated him, and it was completely different from when I cheered him up. That wasn’t modesty, and his attitude was as if the compliments coming from them were obviously natural.”
“…”
“But the people here come and listen to Hasegawa’s performance right? I asked several people and there were those that had been coming here for a few years. If they listen to it once, apparently they are so touched that they always come the following times as well…”
It was then that Yu Jitae stopped her words.
“Bom.”
“Yes?”
His voice was quiet as always, but his gaze wasn’t hazy like before.
“Go back.”
“Sorry…?”
“I thought about it again, but I don’t think this is the place for you.”
Bom met his eyes with a calm gaze.
“I’m fine though…”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“I’m serious. It’s just that, I was slightly surprised because it was my first time listening to a strange piece of music like that.”
She had asked before, ‘why can’t I follow ahjussi’.
It was now time for Yu Jitae to ask her.
“Why do you try to follow me.”
“I–”
“You should know if you’ve read Providence.”
He stopped Bom from continuing.
“Now that you’ve faced it, you would know even better. Here, it’s dirty and evil and it doesn’t suit young people like you. Why are you bothering to come to a disgusting place like this and trying to face these dirty things, when you tremble from fear.”
“…”
If she was scared, and was frightened, that could become an element that hastened the approach of the Apocalypse.
That wasn’t very welcomed.
With a gaze like always, that didn’t reveal her inner thoughts, Bom stared deeply at him. Her two feet that were under the bed wriggled, as she bit on her red lips.
“If I didn’t come…”
Ending her hesitation, she opened her mouth.
“…Ahjussi would be alone forever.”
The Regressor couldn’t understand Bom’s words.
“What about being alone.”
“Un…”
“‘Un’?”
“The rest, will be for later.”
“Oi.”
“You can scold me later.”
As always, she was stubborn.
Yu Jitae contemplated around twice on whether he should bind this young dragon and throw her into the abyss. However, he decided to play along for the last time.
“…For now, okay.”
“Can I continue what i was saying then?”
“Yeah.”
“Continuing from where I stopped, this is the part which I found weird. Everyone apart from us were all relaxed when they listened to Hasegawa’s performance. They were wholeheartedly moved, while we weren’t able to”
“…”
“Maybe there was something there that didn’t work on us? Because ahjussi is ahjussi, and I’m a dragon?”
After a few seconds of silence, Yu Jitae asked back.
“What if you know what that is?”
“Yes?”
“What would change then.”
“…Hasegawa is a demon right?”
“Yeah.”
“Based on what I learned at Lair, I heard that demons had a ‘Catalyst for the Contract’ unlike superhumans. For example, if I sold my soul to a devil, there would be a cause that led to it as well as a result.”
“You’re right.”
“And if that objective can’t be fulfilled even after becoming a demon, they [extricate] right?”
“So you mean the hidden things will be revealed?”
“Yes.”
“And that, that is the element linked to Hasegawa’s ‘immortality’?”
“Almost certainly.”
Bom nodded with an expression filled with assuredness.
In other words:
1. There was something Hasegawa was hiding.
2. It was related to his ‘immortality’;
3. So make him angry;
4. And have him reveal what’s been hidden beneath.
“What made you think that way.”
As always, it was the reason that was the most important.
“That’s because…”
…
And the following claim from Bom succeeded in persuading Yu Jitae.
“But the biggest problem obviously is that we don’t know what the thing hidden by Hasegawa is. This can’t be seen through Providence either.”
The biggest question was this – what in the world was different between the ones that were moved by Hasegawa’s performance and they who weren’t?
“I know why.”
Yu Jitae’s words caused Bom’s eyes to shoot open.
***
The day after, on the last night of the social meeting, Yu Jitae took Bom to the venue. Same as the day before, the ambient light; the warm atmosphere; and the faint scent tickled his nose.
As Bom walked in, the people welcomed her with a smile, and although reluctant, there were also some who gave little bows to Yu Jitae. He replied back with a short glance. It was but an insubstantial gesture.
Time flew by, as it reached the time for Hasegawa’s performance. With the same posture as yesterday, the middle-aged demon gave a bow towards everyone, before sitting on the piano seat with a serious atmosphere.
“The first song, will be Mister Hasegawa’s composition, ‘Before the Night’, 3rd movement. Please welcome him.”
He started playing the piano. A heavy melody brought with it an unidentifiable tension, which at the same time was followed by an unpleasantness unrelated to the music itself.
The Regressor thought of his performance to be dirty. His heart urged him to run up and pull on the performer’s hair while smacking his head down on the keyboard and breaking it in half, but it was merely an impulse.
As his thoughts continued onward, a memory from a certain iteration in the past flashed in his head.
– How is my performance.
They were at a large cathedral which had been half-ruined. While someone was suffering from the pain of that horrendous performance which threatened to tear the eardrums, Hasegawa opened his mouth with his hands on the piano.
– Your ears have no sense for music.
With that sentence as the sign, he stabbed the audience’s ear with his dagger.
Truly, it was laughable, and the Regressor gave a faint smile.
It was then.
Bom, who had been feeling repulsive feelings from the detestable performance held onto the sleeves of his shirt.
Right, there was no reason for them to listen any longer, to this garbage of a music piece.
“Bom. We are going to start now.”
“Yes…”
“Let me ask you one last time. Will you be okay?”
She gave a nod with a rigid expression. Then, Yu Jitae raised his body straight from the chair he had been leaning on.
“…”
Bom prepared her heart.
While everyone was absorbed into the melody of the piano,
Yu Jitae lifted up a wine glass and threw it on the floor.
Clank–!
As the glass shattered into pieces, the glass fragments splattered across. It bypassed the noisy 3rd movement of ‘Before the Night’, and the shattering sound of the wine glass struck the ears of everyone present.
The performer’s hands came to a stop.
As the place had solely been for his own melody and his melody alone, when the music filling the area disappeared, the room became frighteningly quiet.
At the same time, the atmosphere changed. An unimaginable change occurred.
The heads of the audience all turned at the same time, with not a single misalignment, and faced Yu Jitae.
‘Ah…!’
Bom formed tight fists with her hands.
Last night, the two of them had gone through a strategy meeting. The biggest problem which Bom had thought of, was about why there were people that could be moved by Hasegawa’s performance.
In response, Yu Jitae gave a reply.
– There were no humans there.
It was unbelievable, and was hard to believe, but that was what he had said. And now, his words were being proven.
The faces of the ones looking back were strange.
Some of them had ignored the restraints of a human body, with their heads turned behind their backs. There were even those whose skin had been ripped.
Their widened eyes had the white areas of the eye fully surrounding their pupils. Regardless of gender and age, they all wore the same expression, and their strange gazes were slightly off-centred from Bom.
She soon realised, that they were glaring only at Yu Jitae.
It was a tremendously detestable sight, and her hand clenching on Yu Jitae’s sleeves exerted more force.
“…”
Lastly,
Hasegawa turned his head while wearing the same expression as the members of the social meeting and stared at Yu Jitae. The force behind his gaze was immense, and the baby dragon that jumped out of her seat in surprise, had to feel her two legs trembling.
However,
While being in the centre of that scenery which stimulated the very fear of any living being, the Regressor was giving a hazy smile, as if he was used to it.
It appeared as if that situation itself was completely normal for him.
“Yu Bom. If you can’t handle it, step outside.”
“I…”
“You’re a ‘coward’ right.”
He shared a joke, but Bom did not loosen her expression. While staring at the people standing still with strange expressions, and while feeling the atmosphere which was a level weirder than that, Bom reflected on the past.
– Yu Bom. Go back.
His straight face and low voice during Kaeul’s audition.
– There is no need for you to know of these things, and nothing good comes from knowing them either. So move aside. If you don’t, I’ll tie you onto a chair.
Those gestures that had pushed away her pleading self during a freezing dawnbreak.
Back then, she had no idea.
Or rather, she thought she had understood.
He was the guardian of the dragons, and was the breadwinner of the family, but kept his distance and seemed out of place.
Because she had seen several clues via Providence, Bom knew of the things he had been doing behind their backs. However, she had not a single idea, that it could have been a horrendous place like this.
“…Is this, the world, that ahjussi is living in?”
The Regressor slowly gave a reply.
“Yeah.”
“Ahjussi…”
“Do you now understand that you were being a bit childish?”
Meanwhile, Hasegawa slowly stood up from his seat. At the same time, everyone within the venue stood up in conjunction.
“If so, then go out.”
As long as she used teleportation once, Bom would be able to go to a place located miles away from here. It was as simple as pressing a button.
Yet Bom did not leave.
She had gone against Yu Jitae’s words that told her to stay, and pestered him to take her along.
– I want to know more about ahjussi.
Bom wanted to know him better. She wanted to understand the world he was living in, even by a little.
Even now, her thoughts hadn’t changed. She wanted to dash off immediately. She was now aware that the people that had turned strange were mere shells, as well as the fact that there were more dirty things inside them. Bom was not able to find enough courage to face that truth head on with ease.
However, Bom did not want to turn away from the ‘real’ world on the other side of things, which Yu Jitae was living in. With a trembling hand, she held onto Yu Jitae’s hand.
Dragons received the emotions and memories of living beings close to them.
Following their physical contact, Yu Jitae’s memories and feelings started flowing into Bom’s head. The scenery of the room started changing like water that had a drop of murky paint mixed within.
Getting rid of her hesitation, Bom once again opened her eyes.
[Eyes of Equilibrium (SS)]
Meanwhile Yu Jitae identified the authenticity of the place.
Disgusting outer shells, and rotting clothes.
Their desiccated heads contained not a single fat or muscle, with only unknown leather covering them according to their skeletal structure. The only human-like feature they contained were the ears, which were pitifully hanging on the leather.
This was the scenery which the demon Hasegawa was desperately trying to hide, and at the same time, was the image which the Regressor had been seeing from the very beginning.
From the start, there was not a single human that listened to Hasegawa’s horrendous melody. There were nothing but puppets under his control.
‘…’
Bom bit on her crimson lips.
This was a world which had been made by Hasegawa, but was nevertheless the world which Yu Jitae was living in.
In order to give happiness to the dragons, while attempting to create a normal daily life, the Regressor had to walk down a particularly darker night all alone.
‘…’
That world of his, was currently laid out in front of Bom.