Devil’s Music

Lynn, having ridden with Geon in his car, entered Café Habana located at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge. It was Lynn who, hiding her face, went in first to secure a secluded spot behind a pillar before Geon entered. Only after Lynn had ordered and brought coffee to the table did Geon appear, noticing that Lynn had already secured a spot and even ordered coffee, which made him look apologetic.

"I'm sorry to have you run errands like this."

"No, please sit down."

Once seated, Geon sipped his coffee and asked,

"You mentioned it was about business, right? What's going on? I told Byung-joon not to involve me in anything related to broadcasting, but is there a performance scheduled?"

Lynn, leaning forward slightly with her elbows on the table, said,

"No, it’s not a performance, and not broadcasting either. Actually, the EPL has contacted us."

"The EPL? You mean the English football league?"

"Yes, exactly. Liverpool Sound City has become quite a topic, so that's why they contacted us."

"One of the clubs has asked to use 'Fury of Montana' as their club anthem. It’s from 'Second Fury,' not an official album."

"Really?"

"Yes, it’s a good opportunity for us. We don't have to do anything; just receive the royalties."

"Well, that sounds fine, but anthems are usually music that all fans can sing along to, right?"

"Usually, yes, but this track is designed to maximize the excitement of the spectators during a sports game. It’s probably going to be used more like background music than something to sing along to."

"I see. Which club is it? EPL clubs are pretty big."

"Arsenal."

"Oh, the Arsenal that Henry played for!"

"I'm not interested in football, so I don't know the players, but I've heard it's a famous club."

"Yes, it’s one of the top five clubs in the EPL and a club with a long history. It would be an honor to have them use my music."

"Then I assume you're okay with giving permission."

"Um, just a moment."

As Geon was happy to hear the team name, Lynn quietly waited while he suddenly frowned, deep in thought. After a while of pondering, Geon finally spoke.

"Can I give you an answer tomorrow?"

"That's fine. It’s not as if we approached them. Is there a problem?"

"No, it’s not a problem, but I'm currently working on something and wondering if this could be an opportunity to try something new."

"A new trial? You mean to change 'Fury' again?"

Geon waved his hand and smiled.

"No, I don't even know what the trial will be yet. I'll think it over and let you know."

"I'd prefer if you didn’t tamper with 'Fury' again. It was fresh the first time, but repeated changes might not get a good response."

"Yes, Director. I’ll keep that in mind."

After chatting about recent mundane events around Geon, Lynn asked cautiously,

"I heard from Director Byung-joon. Did Kiska call you?"

Geon’s expression darkened slightly.

"Yes, she did."

After observing Geon’s face for a moment, Lynn shook her head and stood up.

"I shouldn't have asked that. I trust you'll handle it well, Geon. Let’s call it a day."

As Lynn stood up, Geon grinned and said,

"This is why I like you, Director. Ha ha."

After a cheerful Lynn took a taxi to the hotel, Geon boarded the car of an organization member waiting for him and returned to the Red Castle. Seeing the brightly lit annex, Geon opened the door to find Byung-joon sitting on the living room sofa, wearing only underwear, greeting him with a hand raise.

"Hey, you're here?"

"With Kiska gone, it must be comfortable to hang out in just your underwear."

"Ah, yes. That's one comfortable thing."

After removing his coat, Geon pulled an old-style mobile phone from his pocket, prompting Byung-joon to ask,

"Any calls since then?"

Geon, hanging up his coat, smirked and replied,

"No."

"You could just call her."

Geon, sitting heavily on the sofa, said,

"I want Kiska to call when she feels like it. She might be hating me now."

Byung-joon stretched his foot towards Geon’s face and said,

"Man, you don't get it. Kiska, though young, is still a woman. Women are creatures who wait all night for a man to call but will never make the first move."

Geon frowned and pushed Byung-joon's foot away.

"Keep your foot to yourself and talk."

Byung-joon sat up and

said,

"You don’t try to understand women. Just accept it. Men and women are like Zerg and Protoss; they don’t understand each other’s language. They belong to species that understand the same words differently, you know?"

Geon, still frowning, replied,

"I don't know about that."

"Damn fool! Do as you wish!"

Geon chuckled as he headed to his room, with Byung-joon calling after him,

"Did you meet Director Lynn? Did you hear about the EPL?"

"Yes, I heard."

"Good, you’re going to do it, right? We don’t have to do anything else, and it’s easy money."

"Yes, but I want to experiment with something, so I'll discuss it tomorrow."

"An experiment? What kind... Anyway, you're going to do it, right?"

"Yes, I will."

"Good. Rest up."

"Yes. You rest too."

After entering his room, Geon changed into comfortable clothes and washed up briefly. Returning to his room with a towel around his neck, he sat on the bed with a stack of research papers that Abigail had prepared for him when his phone vibrated.

"Huh? Who's calling at this hour?"

Geon took out the phone and was surprised. The vibrating was not from his phone. He quickly picked up the old-style phone he had left on the desk, took a deep breath, and answered,

"Hello?"

"..."

"Kiska?"

"..."

After calling the silent caller, Geon buried his face in his knees on the bed.

"Hey, when Gregory said he was taking you away, I was really upset. I didn’t want to send you away. But there was nothing I could do. Can’t you understand?"

"..."

Geon sighed and just held the phone for a while. After a long pause, Kiska’s tender voice sounded,

"Are you not coming to see me?"

Geon sighed again. After a moment of silence, recalling his conversation with Gregory, he hesitated before replying,

"I can’t right now, sorry."

"..."

"Kiska, did you meet your grandmother?"

"..."

"Is she a good person?"

"..."

"My grandmother passed away recently. I miss her a lot."

"..."

"Today, I spent all day at the museum. I had some music research to do."

"..."

"I met Director Lynn and went to a café near the Ice Cream Factory for coffee."

"..."

"I'm at home now. Byung-joon is still lying in the living room in his underwear playing mobile games."

"..."

Whether Kiska responded or not, Geon rambled on about his day. Not just about today, but also about events in England and Kevin’s foolish acts, laughing as he talked. After about ten minutes of talking alone, Geon whispered,

"Next time, I’ll call first."

Still no response from the phone. Geon offered a farewell,

"Good night, Kiska."

"..."

"Don’t hang up."

"Huh?"

"..."

"Don’t hang up. Read me a book."

"A book?"

"I'm going to sleep. So read to me."

"Ah, okay! Just a minute!"

Geon quickly got up, rummaged through his study, and picked a random book. Sitting on the bed, he cleared his throat and began,

"Alright... I'll read to you. Good night, Kiska."

"..."

Perhaps because he had chosen the wrong book, it was a storybook with a lot of text. It took over 30 minutes for Geon to finish reading the entire book. After reading the last line, he quietly checked Kiska’s mood. He wanted to hear her breathing and confirm she was asleep, but it was not easy without any sound.

"Good night, Kiska."

"Call me tomorrow."

As Geon was about to hang up, he heard Kiska's voice and smiled slightly.

"Okay."

"Hang up."

"Okay, good night."

After the call ended, Geon stared at the phone for a while, a smile forming on his face. Stretching his arms wide, he picked up the stack of research papers again.

"Alright! Tonight, I'm burning the midnight oil with research!"

For some reason, Geon was brimming with energy as he flipped through the pages of the research papers. Just then, the door burst open, revealing Byung-joon's shocked face, wearing only underwear.

"Geon!!"

Startled, Geon dropped the papers and stared wide-eyed as Byung-joon held up a phone in his hand and shouted,

"Kiska just called me!!"

"What?"

Geon's mouth dropped open as he asked,

"She called you? What did she say?"

Byung-joon grimaced, clutching the phone tightly.

"She told me to put on pants?"

"What? Hahaha!!!"

Geon burst into laughter, rolling around on the bed. Looking down at him,

Byung-joon scratched his head and then began to laugh as well.

"It's not exactly the first thing I'd want to hear from Kiska, but it’s the first time she called me! Hahaha! You see? I mean something to Kiska! Hahaha, hahaha!!!"

Tears were almost streaming down Geon’s face from laughing so hard, his stomach heaving as he lay sprawled on the bed.

"Hahaha, hahaha!!"

Puffed up with a sense of superiority, Byung-joon asked, puzzled by Geon's reaction,

"What's this? Aren’t you upset? What kind of reaction is this?"

"Hahaha, hahaha!!!"

"What is it, you brat! Speak!"

Byung-joon lunged at the bed and choked Geon, who was red-faced but continued to laugh without stopping. Geon tapped out,

"Hahaha! Okay, okay! I'll tell you if you let go, hahaha!"

Byung-joon slowly released his grip, but Geon’s laughter did not stop. He staggered up from the bed and grabbed the door.

"Hahaha, guess who heard you were running around without pants?"

Confused, Byung-joon tilted his head as Geon quickly opened the door and left. After a moment of contemplation in Geon’s room, Byung-joon’s face twisted in realization.

"That son of a... Hey, come here!!"

In his underwear, Byung-joon chased after Geon, who had already dressed and was running out of the annex.

"You’re dead if I catch you! Why would you say that to Kiska! Come here!!!"

As Byung-joon opened the door to the garden and ran out, he saw Geon laughing loudly under the full moon in the night sky.

"Hahahahaha!!!"

That night, the members of the Red Castle organization gathered in the garden, holding snacks and beer, to watch a spectacle of one wild boar running around in underwear and a human fleeing from it.

>

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