Devil’s Music

"Who is it……?"

Yeongha and Taewoo asked in surprise, but fortunately, there was no response from Kiska’s side.

It seemed that she had hurriedly learned just one phrase in Korean upon hearing that Geon’s parents were coming.

Uncharacteristically, she stood politely and demurely, pushing a smiling Kiska into the kitchen after initially welcoming the parents.

Kiska, wearing a red apron, was seemingly in the middle of cooking, having been pushed in front of the sink by Geon, ladle in hand.

After setting down his luggage, Geon quietly spoke, noticing his family looking around the living room.

"What’s going on here? When did you get here!"

Kiska, with a playful expression, watched Geon’s reaction, then her face turned slightly sad.

"Grandma passed away."

"Five days ago. After making a tombstone near Grandma’s house in Georgia and sorting out the house, she came."

"You should have contacted me."

"You’re always busy, brother."

"I’m sorry... Gregory?"

"He came with her. He’s in the main house, dad is."

"Ugh… Grandma… Was she in a lot of pain at the end?"

"Not at all. She even had dinner and chatted with dad and me the day before she passed away. She didn’t wake up the next morning. Dad thought it was strange, but according to a newspaper article, it was thanks to your music? Dad was really thankful."

"Yeah… well…"

"Move over. I'm cooking stew."

Pushing Geon aside, Kiska stirred the stew in an unidentified red pot. Geon sniffed and asked.

"What are you cooking?"

"Kimchi stew."

"Huh? When did you learn to cook?"

"Just learned it today. I made it from a recipe I found online. Try it."

Kiska scooped some broth with a spoon, cooled it by blowing on it, and then fed it to Geon.

Perhaps because he had tasted the kimchi stew made by Byungjun before, Kiska’s version was decent enough to eat.

Geon smiled and nodded, prompting Kiska to cheer cutely.

"Delicious, right? Hehe. Come to the dining table with your family. I’ll get everything ready."

"Okay, thanks."

As Geon returned to the living room, the family looked at him curiously, and the most impatient Shihwa was the first to ask.

"Brother, who is that woman?"

Yeongha, too, was curious to see a woman in her son’s house.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Taewoo, without saying much, just looked at Geon. Seeing his son with a beautiful woman seemed purely delightful, and he smiled.

"Well… she's the house owner."

Shihwa exclaimed in surprise.

"The house owner? The landlord is that young? She looks so young."

"Um… actually, she's the landlord's daughter."

"Really? What’s her name? Does she speak Korean?"

"No, she just learned what she said earlier somewhere."

"What’s her name?"

"Well… Ki, Kiska Miočić…"

"What??!!!"

Since the family had often seen Kiska in articles, Shihwa was shocked.

"Wasn’t she just a kid? When did she grow up so much, no, isn’t she too young!!? You thief, how much older are you?"

"Um… about eleven years…"

"Cough!!! Then she’s a minor, do you want to become a criminal?"

Taewoo also calculated Kiska’s age and then looked at Geon, shocked. Yeongha got up and slapped Geon on the back loudly.

"You scoundrel! To someone else's precious child!!"

"Ah!! No, mom, it's not like that."

"It’s not like what! A woman living in the same house, what’s not like that!"

If Kiska still had the body of a child, there would have been no reason for suspicion, but now, being over 170cm tall and beautiful, the family looked at Geon with suspicious eyes.

"No… it’s not that, we’re not in that kind of relationship yet."

While Taewoo was trying to calm Yeongha down, he said.

"Honey, our son said no, calm down and listen, Geon, it’s really not anything yet?"

Grateful for his father’s support, Geon nodded, but his face was covered by his hands when he heard Kiska's voice shouting from the kitchen.

"Father~ Mother~"

Unfortunately, the phrase she learned was how a daughter-in-law calls her father-in-law and mother-in-law in Korea, making Yeongha's gaze even harsher.

Though they might have caught on after a few questions if she spoke Korean, the family’s suspicion did not wane because she did not understand the language.

However, Kiska

, despite the language barrier, was smiling and serving stew into Yeongha and Taewoo’s bowls, causing Geon to be pinched by Shihwa throughout the meal.

After the awkward dinner, Kiska, who didn’t usually do the dishes, bowed politely.

"Mother, Father. I will be leaving now."

The family, understanding her mixed Korean and English, bowed awkwardly in return, and Kiska took Geon's arm, saying.

"Let’s go say hello to dad, brother."

"Uh, uh-huh… I’ll just say hello to the landlord."

Ignoring the stern looks from his mother and Shihwa, Geon sweated and went to greet Gregory. As soon as Gregory saw Geon, he rushed over and grabbed both his hands.

"Kay, it’s been a while, how have you been? I heard from Kiska, it’s thanks to you that your mother passed away peacefully, really thank you. Thank you."

While Geon was being held and receiving thanks from Gregory, Kiska, looking affectionately at him, interrupted her father.

"Dad, it’s been a while since my brother’s family came, let him go."

"Ah, right. Sorry. Go ahead, we’ll talk after the family has left."

As Geon left Gregory’s room and reached Kiska’s door, she hugged him. Geon, looking a bit troubled, touched her head and said.

"Kiska, you’ve grown taller again."

Kiska rubbed her face against Geon’s broad chest with a pleased smile.

"Yeah, I keep growing. Ah, it’s nice to be home. Now I can see you every day."

"Hehe, right."

"Brother, you’re in your busiest time, how long will your family be here?"

"They’ll be in the US until the album release day."

"Really? You must be too busy to spend time with your family."

"Yeah, probably. It’s okay, they just came to see me, I’ll arrange a guide to show them around the US."

"Don’t do that. Brother, they’re your family, I’ll do it."

"Huh? You can’t even speak Korean, how will you manage?"

"I’ll get a translator instead. I’ll show them around the US."

"Ha, you don’t know much about the US either, always just staying at home."

"I’ll explore with them too, it would be good if dad could join us."

"Um… should we do that?"

"Yeah! I really want to!"

While Geon was troubled by what bombshell statement might come next from her, Kiska’s cajoling while clinging to his clothes made him give in.

"Aw~~ Brother~~ let me do it~"

"Ha, okay, okay. Then we’ll do it like that."

"Yay! I’m so excited! Then brother, I’ll look into the translator and sightseeing, I’ll go back in quickly!"

Turning back before entering her room, Kiska blew a kiss from afar.

As the door closed, Geon smiled until Kiska completely returned to her room, then he left the main house and stood in the wide garden of Red Castle, feeling the chilly early winter wind.

After a moment enjoying the cool breeze, Geon took out his phone from his pocket, brightened at the screen, and answered the call.

"Byungjun hyung, where are you?"

"Hey, Geon. Did your family arrive safely? I should have gone, sorry, I’ve been busy preparing."

"It’s okay, the album release is only a few days away, of course you’re busy."

"That’s good. Are they all healthy?"

"Yes, they thanked you for often visiting Korea and taking care of them."

"Ha, I haven’t done much, really. I’m at the album factory now, inspecting to see if it’s being produced properly. You know, the initial stock of ten million albums has been fully pre-ordered. So I came here today to order additional copies."

"What? All ten million copies are sold out? But it’s not even the release day yet."

"That’s what I’m saying. Pre-orders are shipped individually, so there’s nothing left for the stores on the release day. We need to produce as much as possible in the remaining time. Ah, if only our artists weren’t so popular."

"Hehe, that’s good news."

"Anyway, spend a good time with your parents, and I’ll take care of the work, you just focus on the music."

"The music video shooting is done, so there’s not much left to do."

"Make sure Yoonjeong and Jinyeon practice properly."

"I can’t coach the dance part. The dance teacher is taking care of that."

"Alright, I’ll call you later."

"Thanks, hyung."

After hanging up, Geon put his phone back in his pocket and looked out over the garden of Red Castle.

Seeing the armed guards discreetly placed

around by Gregory and Miroslav, Geon stretched as he looked up at the afternoon winter sky.

"Is it starting now? Hehe."

Two days later.

Gregory and Kiska took the family on a tour. Accompanied by a guide and a translator, Gregory had even prepared a large camper van, which they rented from somewhere. After becoming friendly over drinks the night before, Taewoo and Gregory were so chummy they were arm in arm as if they were in-laws.

Thanks to Kiska’s charm, Yeongha’s expression softened, but Shihwa still teased Geon whenever she saw him, calling him a thief.

After the family all left for sightseeing, Geon alone headed to Fantagio’s office.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

As his car entered, the reporters who had occupied the front of the office approached, curious to see who it was. Following the security guards’ directions, Geon got out of the car, and the reporters outside the front gate went wild, shouting.

"Kay! The album release is tomorrow! How do you feel?"

"Is it true that the pre-orders have exceeded ten million, Kay! Kay!"

"Just a word, please! Kay!"

Smiling, Geon waved at them and said.

"Just wait one more day, it’s cold, go inside and rest, everyone."

Despite Geon’s words, the reporters, unable to enter due to the guards, continued to clamor as they stamped their feet.

Seeing this, Geon put his hands in his coat pockets and muttered quietly.

"Shall we begin? Hehehe."

>

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