The Devil lives in the Music of Top Star

Chapter 10

After my performance, the rehearsal for “Desks and Chairs” was completed.

They were already a well-known band on campus, so a few fans gathered at a distance to watch their rehearsal.

Since they used a lot of instruments, their rehearsal took longer, and they showed more of their performance compared to the other teams.

It felt a bit like fan service.

With about three hours left before the main event, I decided to leave the booth and take a walk around the campus to pass the time.

The students roaming around the campus seemed to be in high spirits.

It was probably due to the upcoming festival at the Humanities College.

[Even with a short rehearsal, you can get a feel for it.]

I heard the devil’s voice, which this time seemed to carry a hint of concern.

Or at least, it felt that way.

‘Sort of. Maybe it’s because the equipment is good…’

[You really do have a good sense.]

‘It’s not because of your abilities.’

[I only give you the vocal abilities you’ve worked for over the past ten years. Recognizing and using them is up to you.]

‘Oh, I see.’

It was a bit surprising that it wasn’t just about the devil’s powers.

[Yeah, this has happened before. There was a musician from Austria, and I judged that he should be singing. So I gave him the vocal abilities, but in the end, he couldn’t utilize them and remained a composer.]

‘So your judgments aren’t always right.’

[Well… Sometimes they miss the mark, but I’ve never had a complete failure.]

So, the devil’s point was this:

Without personal will and judgment, relying only on abilities might lead to failure.

How ironic, coming from a devil.

[That’s right. I’m just here to help you get what you want. The decisions are entirely up to you. Of course, I can offer some advice.]

‘Don’t read my thoughts if I haven’t shared them.’

[If you think deeply, I can hear everything.]

To be able to read someone’s mind like that…

It’s truly devilish.

Someone started acknowledging me then.

“Hey! Good luck with your performance today!”

“Uh?”

I turned my head towards the voice coming from afar and saw familiar faces.

Of course, I hadn’t spoken to these people before.

They were sophomores from my department.

I had seen their faces often during lectures, but we hadn’t talked before.

Before I could even recall their names, I waved awkwardly.

[Oh, this is the first time they’ve approached you like this, right?]

‘Yeah, it seems like it…’

They were probably students who had just seen my rehearsal.

[So, feeling good?]

“Ah, stop reading my mind already!”

[Haha! Look at you shouting, as if someone is going to notice.]

[Hehe… This is really funny…]

“Ugh…”

[Well, anyway. What are you going to do now? There’s still plenty of time. You should eat something.]

‘I’m not hungry… I’ll eat after the performance. For now, I just want to walk a bit.’

Although I felt I had a grasp on handling my voice, I wasn’t sure how to manage my condition.

That was something I needed the experience to understand better.

I thought it might interfere with my performance if I was too full, so I decided to postpone eating until after the show.

And for now, eating wasn’t the priority….

Reflecting on the past events, I realized how chaotic everything had been.

After getting fired by CEO Kim Jeong-hyeok and preparing to return to university, I had spent a lot of time finding a place to live and moving my belongings.

After returning to university, I made plans.

Plans to enter Groovy Nation.

Further, what I needed to do to continue with music.

And how to repay the humiliation from CEO Kim Jeong-hyeok, among other things…

During this time, the devil had entered my body…

No, it was the devil who had been in my body, revealing its true identity, which made my head even more confused.

Though it was making things easier for me, I needed to sort out my thoughts.

Things had taken a turn different from the path I originally planned.

‘First, my music’s style…’

[Stop already… I feel like throwing up…]

‘Oh, are you okay?’

[I’m better after waking up.]

‘But do you normally sleep?’

[Just because you humans sleep doesn’t mean I do. Technically, I didn’t sleep but just disconnected from you briefly. I don’t actually sleep.]

‘Hmm… Then why did you disconnect?’

[Not only what you see and hear but also your thoughts and emotions are transmitted to me.]

‘Yeah, I know that.’

[But sometimes, when your thoughts or emotions become too much or too deep, it can create confusion for me.]

‘Was it that many thoughts?’

[You might not realize it, but you have a lot of thoughts. Fortunately, you don’t have extreme mood swings, so it hasn’t caused major confusion.]

You don’t have extreme mood swings.

The devil’s words were accurate.

After enduring a painful school life and becoming accustomed to a solitary existence, I no longer experienced strong emotional waves for most things.

Of course, except for music…

Instead, my time spent in solitary contemplation had lengthened.

When alone, my thoughts deepened, and I had developed the habit of calmly organizing the flood of thoughts that would come all at once.

Although this habit had become routine for me, the demon said that I had too many thoughts.

Perhaps a larger volume of thoughts filled my mind compared to others.

[Are you done thinking now?]

‘Not yet…’

[Oh, dear…]

‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that my thinking might be burdensome for you.’

[No, think as much as you want. If it gets overwhelming, I can just disappear for a moment. And contemplation is good; it helps in forming your self-identity.]

The demon’s tone was more sympathetic than usual.

Even though it was suffering, it seemed to recognize that my increasing thoughts weren’t necessarily a bad thing.

[For now, let’s focus on the performance. Today is an important day.]

‘Okay, got it.’

* * *

As I walked aimlessly around the campus, talking with the demon, the preparations for the performance were already complete. Enjoying some leisure seemed to help more with mind control.

With the performance starting in an hour, I decided to wait near the stage.

The shadows were lengthening.

The spring sun was preparing to hide, maintaining a low angle with the ground.

When parts of my body were slowly being obscured, it felt almost like mimicking the moon.

At that moment, I heard the distant sound of laughter from a crowd.

Familiar faces I hadn’t seen in a while.

There was no hostility, but I wasn’t particularly glad to see them; they were simply acquaintances.

* * *

“Hey! Kim Jong-pil!”

“Wow, it’s been ages!”

“Seriously, it’s been so long. How’s the teaching assistant job going?”

“Oh, let’s talk slowly. First, sit down.”

Kim Jong-pil’s friends.

Simultaneously, Yoo Jae-hee’s classmates from the class of 2013 met in front of the Korean Language and Literature department’s booth.

Reuniting after a long time, friends were sharing updates before even sitting down.

Their faces clearly showed excitement.

The unusually noisy crowd settled down at the Korean Language and Literature department’s booth, which had been prepared for the event.

Though all but Kim Jong-pil were alumni, the presence of some current students made the atmosphere quite lively.

“Hey, Jong-pil. By the way, where’s Jae-hee?”

“Oh, I haven’t seen him today. Maybe he’s preparing for his performance.”

“Oh, isn’t he just going to go up and perform spontaneously like before?”

“No, he even auditioned.”

“What?”

Kim Jong-pil’s words froze his friends.

“He auditioned. So what happened?”

“Did he pass?”

“Eh…”

Just like Kim Jong-pil, his friends thought that Yoo Jae-hee would perform spontaneously, just like six years ago…

They couldn’t imagine another way for him to get on stage.

But the response was shocking.

“He passed.”

“What?”

“He passed the audition.”

“Seriously?”

“Yoo Jae-hee passed the festival audition.”

The friendly exchange turned into surprised, wide-eyed expressions.

“No, no. I heard from a friend that the participants this year were quite lackluster. And Jae-hee’s skills have probably improved since then.”

“Jong-pil, our school’s festival isn’t a place you can just get into with a bit of improved skill.”

“You’ve been attending Yesung University for a day or two, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I knew this guy had no interest in music before, but this much…”

“Yeah… He’s always preferred playing outside rather than participating in festivals here…”

Kim Jong-pil shared the information he heard from Lee Jong-in, but no one was convinced.

If they had seen him six years ago, they wouldn’t have believed it.

“I saw the rehearsal earlier, and he did pretty well.”

A junior who was inside the booth earlier spoke up.

It was the student who had greeted Yoo Jae-hee from a distance.

“I saw him rehearse while preparing the booth. He did quite well. It was a very brief look, though…”

“Oh, so his skills have improved a lot.”

“Hmm… Maybe…”

Kim Jong-pil began to feel something was off.

‘Did he really come back with improved skills?’

Of course, it didn’t concern him personally.

If Yoo Jae-hee became skilled in music, it wouldn’t affect him negatively, and it was a matter unrelated to him if he thought about it coldly.

But for some reason, he felt strangely uncomfortable.

It was hard to explain, but the feeling was definitely not pleasant.

The anticipation for Yoo Jae-hee’s performance was growing.

The curiosity about how his appearance had changed in six years was being filled with drinks.