It was last May 5th.
The EverLake team’s building in the UK, inside a recital hall dedicated to the Jae-in Kwon, ‘for JAEIN’.
With 300 terraced seats, the hall was usually used as a private practice room by Jae-in Kwon.
Sometimes, depending on her mood, she would invite government officials, nursery school children, homeless people, or modern artists, etc., but today, she was alone.
She took the violin under her neck, but she did not lift her right hand with a bow yet.
Jae-in was lost in thought, tapping the string on the fingerboard with her left finger.
‘…… think the new song is better to start with pizzicato. Let’s play with a sense of tearing rather than bouncing.’
Jae-in felt an inspiration and put down her bow, lifting her right hand to the D string and closing her eyes.
She concentrated on the sound that should have filled the hall, but…
Click.
Before that, the back door of the stage opened and noise mixed in.
“Jae-in, I’ve knocked over 100 times, why didn’t you respond! Pick up your phone for once. I get calls looking for you.”
She didn’t hear anything like a knock.
Jae-in was frustrated about her focus being thrown off balance, but she had missed some important calls in the past.
After several mishaps, the team sub-master, Jarad Lee, was allowed free to enter the practice room even during her practice.
“All right.”
When she turned on her device,
Ding-dong, ding―dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong -.
The device spat out several alarms, announcing the reception of thousands of messages.
Jae-in was tempted to turn the device off again.
‘It would be an important call if Jarad came in person.’
While trying to check the list of missed calls, the device rang again.
[Caller: Mr. Je-gun Yong]
It’s been a long time since she saw the name.
He was a teacher when attending Eun-kwang high, an unusual and impressive Dragon clan.
‘If it’s a call from him, it’s no wonder Jarrad responds like this.’
Jae-in immediately answered the call.
[Hi, Jae-in.]
Hearing Je-gun’s voice, which hasn’t changed a bit, Jae-in briefly felt like she had gone back to her Eun-kwang high school years.
Korea, Eun-kwang high, old friends, teachers, and her family she left behind……
She pressed down a sense of homesickness.
Kwon Je-in vowed to refrain from going to Korea until she found ‘butterfly’.
“Mr. Je-gun Yong, why did you call me?”
[Did you know that three SR+++ level other-worlds appeared in Korea without any foreshadow?]
“I’ve seen the news. I heard that the Dragon clan, Bang-yeoul Yum, and his team had stopped him, by coincidence.”
[I don’t think it’s a coincidence.]
Je-gun spoke of the events involving Korea and the Dragon clan.
The Dream auction.
The person who solved the crime, Phantom of the Red Wall, and Dragon clan’s Descendant, Jun-yeoul, who was suspected to be the phantom.
Jun-yeoul’s change of course back to Korea to find the Phantom of the Red Wall.
The change of mind Jun-yeoul had, stopping the search and suddenly going as the first pitcher.
An unprecedented phenomenon that occurred in the arena where he first pitched.
[I don’t think this is a coincidence. The ‘butterfly’ that you used to tell me about, you’re still looking for it, aren’t you?]
There was a hint of laughter in Je-gun’s voice.
‘…… he must be making that creepy face again, that weird ecstatic expression.’
She had heard that voice of Je-gun before.
It was during Jae-in’s high school years.
Her Eun-Kwang high senior Bang-yeoul had recklessly proposed to a descendant of the Dragon clan in front of Blue Dragon.
When Je-gun saw the sight, he made a voice like that and gave an ecstatic look.
[Just like an other-world appeared without foreshadowing in Manchester and the butterfly lead the EverLake Team to the place, something might have lead the Dragon clan there.]
Yongjegan’s voice was ominous, but the contents contained clues that Jae-in had been searching for, about the butterfly, for more than a decade.
[And, there is an Original clan with the skills of predicting this other-world occurrence without foreshadowing. They were nearly wiped out some time ago, and now they’re together with the Tiger clan. The Tiger clan is involved in a case centered on Eun-kwang high school.]
Je-gun’s gut feelings are never wrong when he does something he’s really interested in.
Even when Bang-yeoul was hit by Blue Dragon’s flames and crashed into Chung-lang pond due to a slam on the cheek by the Dragon Descendant while fighting, Je-gun said, ‘I think, they’re going to get married someday.’
Eventually, Bang-yeoul and that Descendant did fall in love and got married right after graduation, and had a son.
His sixth sense, or gut feeling, was reliable.
[Come to Eun-kwang high, Jae-in. I think the situation is moving around the Tiger clan of the high school. Would you like to contact the Tiger clan? There are lots of your die-hard fans in the Tiger clan, and I’ve seen them drive two ministers crazy when they couldn’t see your concert. You’ll be able to fool them if you contact them directly.]
“Thank you. I’ll think about it.”
[Yeah, see you in Korea.]
She said she would think about it, but Je-gun was sure that Jae-in would come to Korea.
“Jae-in?”
“I’m going to Korea.”
She was moving as Je-gun Yong intended, but she couldn’t miss the clue that might lead to the butterfly.
“What are you talking about, Jae-in. Why say that. What the hell did Mr. Yong say!”
Jared Lee seemed to say something, but Jae-in’s head was already filled with plans for her concert.
Since there are members of the Tiger clan that likes my music, I should do the concert at Eun-kwang high and send invitations.
If I were to perform in Eun-kwang, Sang-in hall would be more convenient but I want to do it in Hoyeon hall, where there are lots of memories.
“Jae-in, Jae-in? Are you listening?”
“If you don’t go, I’ll go by myself.”
“How can I send you alone! …… I’ll adjust the schedules. When are you going? Six months later? Maybe three?”
“No. ASAP. Like next week.”
“….. Jae-in. The teammates in charge of schedules are going to cry.”
“I’m sorry, then I’ll go alone.”
“……No. Sorry. Never go alone, please.”
Jared Lee whined and disappeared out of the Recital Hall.
‘Going to Korea……’
There were many people whom she wanted to see in Korea.
‘There are people who I can’t send invitations to. I should prepare another gift.’
I can’t send them an invitation, but I wish they’d come.
With that thought, she lifted her blue violin.
* * *
When at the Jamsil Baseball Field on children’s day, Je-gun Yong noticed something in the conversation with To-yeon Oak.
By the request of Je-gun, who had such suspicions, Jae-in came to perform in Korea.
30-year-old Golden Tiger’s remark that she was trying to contact the Tiger clan’s officials.
Jae-in’s words that she came to look for the butterfly.
I combined clues and made a hypothesis.
‘…… Jae-in may be here to find the Butterfly clan.’
However, there is still a lack of information, so it is difficult to conclude.
“Hey.”
Jae-In Kwon frowned when she saw Yuri Kim’s butterfly hairpin.
“I came all the way to Korea to find the butterfly, but I still hate it.”
Okay, so what.
Yuri was at a loss for words because of Jae-in Kwon’s pointless method of conversation.
Jae-in added even stranger words.
“That hairpin, don’t wear it while I’m performing. I don’t want butterflies in my performance.”
“What?”
She must really despise butterflies.
I thought she was a very unusual character in the game, but her real self was weirder.
“I’ll give you this instead. I think it’ll suit you.”
Jae-in Kwon took off the hairpin she was wearing and handed it to Yuri.
A magnolia-shaped hairpin.
It used platinum for petals and imperial topaz for the stamen.
The accessory that a world-class violinist was going to wear during their performance was about to be given away for incomprehensible reasons.
‘She’s just giving that to her? All because she doesn’t want Yuri to wear a butterfly-shaped hairpin to her performance?’
When Yuri was unable to answer because of all the confusion,
Fling-.
Jae-in threw her hairpin to Yuri, who seemed like having no intention of receiving it.
“Huh, what? W-wait a minute. Senior Jae-in Kwon?”
Yuri Kim caught the head ornament in the heat of the moment.
She caught it with ease, like students of Eun-kwang high were expected to.
Jae-in probably knew that and threw it to her.
Jae-in looked at the hairpin in Yuri’s hands and looked pleased.
“Please change the hairpin before I start the performance.”
“What? Senior Jae-in Kwon, you…… you’re kidding, right?”
Kwon Je-in shook his head firmly at Yuri’s words as if she were sincere.
This time, Jae-in looked at Lenna Lee.
Lenna’s eyes widened at the gaze.
“…… You play the violin?”
Jae-in’s gaze stopped at the violin-shaped badge on Lenna’s school uniform.
All the violinists at the string orchestra club wore that same badge.
“Oh, yes……! But I haven’t even finished Hrimaly and Schradieck’s books yet.”
“What? Those are basic lessons for scaling and fingering. It’s the easiest of the basics, why are you still……”
“I started violin after I came to high school. I want to dedicate myself and someday play some of the songs that you wrote……!”
Irena barely breathed while speaking to Jae-in.
“What violin do you use?”
“Well, I’m using a violin the school gave me. The model is……”
A model that a 50-year-old instrument-specialized brand produced, and the Hwang-myung group acquired, came out.
The model was over 10 million won.
Stringed instruments are famous for having no ceiling price.
Among those instruments, the violin was the most expensive piece, so it was hard to say her violin was one of the expensive ones.
It seemed enough for Lenna, who started violin two months ago, to practice with.
‘Jiho Hwang really invests in ‘sound’, doesn’t he.’
I was astonished at Hwang-myung’s crazy expenses.
However, Jae-in looked at Lenna with a shocked expression.
“You’re a player. Why don’t you use a violin made of psychic ability.”
Lenna and Yuri’s mouths hung open at these words.
She’s got to be joking.
There aren’t many players who make objects with psychic abilities.
Plus there is currently only one person in the world who makes violins.
‘…… I heard that a psychic-made violin is a few times more expensive than player cars.’
Although the Hwang-myong group splurges on music, it can’t buy students billions’ worth of violins.
Come to think of it, there is an event where an Original clan member buys the psychic-made instrument for a student.
‘There was, in the game, a description of an Original clan member who was so touched by a student at the end-of-the-year performance presentation that he presented the student with a psychic-made instrument.’
It was briefly mentioned in students’ conversations, then quickly forgotten because the Player Meister High collapsing incident happened right after it.
As I was distracted by my own thoughts due to Jae-in’s abrupt, incomprehensible remarks, Lenna kindly answered to her absurd words.
“What? B, but I just started playing the violin…… if I have a chance, I’d like to play a psychic-made violin one day ……!”
“…… Okay.”
Well done, Lenna.
She overcame a tough conversation that was on the verge of dying.
However, Jae-in Kwon’s absurd behavior became worse.
“Take this.”
Jae-in handed an item card to Lenna.
Painted on the card was a platinum-colored violin.
‘It’s a psychic-made violin……!’
The card border says its rarity is class SSR.
I didn’t know if the class would have a + or a -, but it’s not a suitable gift for a school junior just because she plays the violin, especially if that she met that person for the first time today.
‘I knew she was an unusual character…… but she’s way more than I thought!’
In front of us who were shocked, Jae-in held out the card with a nonchalant face.
