Pen and Paper Translations

Gu Mingi waited for the next stage to begin, half trembling with excitement and half with anxiety.

Because the stage where he would showcase the sign language performance he had personally taught was about to start.

‘I have to do well…’

While Hyunseung had indeed made significant progress through two months of relentless practice, performing on a fan meeting stage of this scale was a different story.

Even when choreographing it initially, he hadn’t prepared it with a fan meeting stage in mind, and he himself had never stood on a stage of this magnitude before, so he couldn’t predict the outcome.

Moreover, among the group of celebrities he’d later brought along, there were unexpected gaps (*Jung Arin and Yoon Jaeyi), so worry outweighed expectation.

As a mentor, his first student’s stage was about to begin.

‘Will it be okay…?’

It had been quite some time since the last training session. How much more practice they’d gotten in since then was anyone’s guess.

Hyunseung is a renowned composer who’s made it not just into the Korean pop scene, but even onto the Billboard charts. That means he probably doesn’t have as much free time as others.

The others aren’t ordinary people or dancers either; they’re celebrities. What’s more, they’re all currently active performers. Hoping they’d done extra practice might be greedy.

Still, the trembling… it was probably because of the sincere attitude Hyunseung showed during practice.

And, to be honest, there was also a lingering hope that if an influential figure showcased this unfamiliar field of sign language performance, it might gain traction.

Then the MC, who had been stalling for time, adjusted the mic and spoke up.

“Alright, everyone! Now, besides me, you want to see HS, right?”

As if it were the most obvious question, the audience responded without a second’s hesitation: “Yes!”

That must hurt.

But Yoo Jaejun, as if it were all planned, continued his remarks with a sly grin.

“Since just saying ‘you’ might be disappointing, let me rephrase the question. Would you also like to see the stage HS prepared, ‘Dear my Beethoven’?”

Then, from the audience, a response bordering on a scream erupted once more.

Yeeeeeees—!

“Alright, then, a big round of applause and cheers! But, for this stage at least, please put your phones away and calmly enjoy it with your own two eyes.”

As if they hadn’t heard a word the MC said, the women sitting next to me screamed almost maniacally.

Waaaaaaaah!

It was a moment that made me realize once again just how popular Min Hyunseung, or rather, HS, really was.

Before I knew it, the stage went dark.

The longer the blackout lasted, the more murmurs erupted from all corners of the audience.

“Why is the blackout taking so long?”

“Guess they’re not going to show us choreography like the last fan meeting.”

“Whoa, or maybe they’re stalling to reveal their faces?”

“Nah, if that were the case, they would’ve taken off their helmets at the start.”

As if to silence them, dazzlingly bright lights soon began pouring down onto the stage one by one.

Then the silhouettes of figures standing with heads bowed low were revealed.

The women seated beside me leaned forward as if ready to jump out of their seats, whispering frantically about who they could be.

“Crazy!”

As each member appeared in close-up on the screen, cheers erupted, drowning out the MC’s request for calm. Well, with that lineup, it would be harder not to be surprised.

However, as the person who had taught them, Gu Mingi knew they would perform together as a team, so he wasn’t surprised.

“Uh…”

But when Hyunseung’s image appeared on the screen, Gu Mingi couldn’t help but let out a faint sigh.

And for good reason.

The man presumed to be Hyunseung wasn’t wearing a helmet.

While it was a bit disappointing not to see his expression, he had worn a helmet throughout the entire fan meeting, so it was natural to assume he would perform wearing one.

After all, HS was famous for not revealing his face, so he figured there must be a good reason…

‘He really isn’t wearing a helmet now, right?’

Wondering if he’d mistaken him for someone else, he rubbed his eyes and looked at the stage again. 

There was Min Hyunseung’s small head—yes, the top of his head was visible.

Then, as the song began, Hyunseung slowly lifted his head.

─ ♬ ♬ ♬

The audience instantly fell silent, as if someone had poured cold water over them.

Tap, tap.

Then, the mother sitting next to me tapped my shoulder.

─ Son, which one of these is the student you taught?

Since my mother hadn’t seen Hyunseung’s bare face, she seemed unable to pick him out among the people on stage.

Besides, to older people, all idol faces probably look pretty much the same.

Wait, hold on. Min Hyunseung isn’t an idol, is he?

‘But…’

Gu Mingi narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze to the video screen. One side of the giant screen was filled entirely with Hyunseung’s face.

Even though his eyes were covered by black fabric, the straight bridge of his nose beneath it and the perfectly sized, appropriately upturned corners of his mouth made it unmistakably Hyunseung.

Above all, even the unique aura he exuded.

‘Seriously, dressed up like that, he stands out more than Kang Hajun or the members of The Moon.’

And even though he couldn’t see ahead because of the cloth, his movements never faltered once.

Truly, it was a moment that revealed Hyunseung’s immense amount of practice.

Above all, judging by how his mouth moved nonstop in sync with the lyrics, it seemed he was trying to convey his feelings through his mouth shape, if not his eyes.

‘Impressive.’

Soon after, Gu Mingi slowly raised his finger, pointing at the electronic board where Hyunseung was displayed. He wanted to tell his mother who HS was.

Then his mother clapped her hands together and smiled brightly like a young girl. Could it be… his mother was also an HS fan?

As her hands moved, Gu Mingi felt so embarrassed he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.

─ Well, well! Is it because he’s a student taught by my son? He’s as fair and handsome as my son!

Mom, that’s not it.

Still… since Mother was so pleased, he shouldn’t deny it outright.

---

When Min Junseok followed his son to America, he once happened to witness something called performance art.

Although, even after arriving there, his son was too busy with work to join him. Still, wanting to create memories with his daughter, he went for a walk near the hotel.

Yes. People were gathered in small groups around a quiet fountain.

Peering through the gap between people’s heads, he saw a man inside, fluttering a garment that looked like black cloth.

He couldn’t hear any sound, so he couldn’t tell if the man was dancing to music…

But it was beautiful.

In a way, it was just simple movements, mere gestures, with no particular choreography.

Of course, it might have been because he himself lacked that kind of intuition and didn’t know much about it, but it was clear this wasn’t a choreographed group dance created through professional training.

Yet, the reason it still looked beautiful was… because of the ‘emotion’ emanating from the man’s expression and the tips of his fingers. Since he couldn’t hear, he didn’t know exactly what song it was depicting…

The gestures, hand movements, and face, imbued with some kind of ‘resentment,’ allowed him to roughly guess what kind of song it was.

Perhaps that was why… Min Junseok stood rooted to the spot, as if his ankles were chained to the ground, his eyes fixed on the man.

─ Dad, what are you staring at? We need to eat lunch.

Had it not been for his daughter tugging at his sleeve, he might have stood there, oblivious to the passing time, watching the man until the very end.

Just like that, the scene that day struck Min Junseok quite deeply and lingered in his memory for a long time.

And now, at this very moment, that shock was overwhelming Min Junseok once more.

─ It’s a noisy world out there.

Even though no music, no applause, no cheers could be heard.

─ You’ll always live in silence, won’t you?

Amidst the dazzling people on stage, he could tell who the man with his eyes covered by pitch-black cloth was.

─ Sometimes I even thought it was a relief.

Yes, my own son.

─ On days when I wanted to cry bitterly, I’d pull the covers over my head and cry my heart out.

My proud son, Hyunseung.

─ You probably didn’t know. Yes, I hated him.

The son captured on the screen had his eyes and ears bound with cloth. Glancing sideways, he saw the others wearing shocked expressions… Min Junseok couldn’t do that.

─ It’s all the world’s fault, really.

Worry came first. Yes, I couldn’t relax and watch, worried he might fall and get seriously hurt.

─ On the night I kept repeating, “Let’s live,” on that night as quiet as you.

Of course, part of me also thought he was cool and proud.

Until now, the son sitting on the judging panel, the son briefly appearing as a special MC on a music show, the son featured in articles—he thought them all wonderful and proud.

─ I heard you.

Seeing his son on stage for the first time, his heart swelled.

─ Your voice, sobbing bitterly, I pretended not to know, as quiet as you. I turned my back, closed my eyes, and pretended to sleep.

Because this stage wasn’t just for a fan meeting.

─ I should have spoken, even knowing it would be quiet. I should have said I was sorry for coming. Now, I’ll recite the words I couldn’t say then.

Yes, this was clearly a stage prepared for himself.

─ Let’s live, let’s live. Cry less if possible and smile often if you can.

Black gloves were on his son’s hands instead of a mic, and those hands were moving intensely to the lyrics appearing on the screen.

─ They say you have to fight to live beautifully, so I’ll fight for you.

Above all, his son’s lips seemed to be holding back intense emotion, twisting as they tried to form the lyrics.

─ Please, let’s live, let’s live.

Yes, right now Hyunseung was crying again, stifling his voice.

I know. Because I’m his dad.

In that one-room apartment, with nowhere to hide alone, he had to bite his twisted lips and cry silently…

My poor little one.

And our proud son.

Watching my son’s stage, my heart felt like it was burning, as if I’d clenched hot gravel in my mouth—

Tap, tap.

I cried foolishly. But I made no sound. Because right now, my son must be holding back too.

Before I knew it, the song was ending. The people standing around my son collapsed to the floor.

Thud.

My son too knelt down on the floor.

Then the vibration I’d felt behind me, in time with the song, stopped, and an intense spotlight fell upon my son’s head.

I couldn’t tell if it was just me who couldn’t hear it, or if the entire venue was truly enveloped in silence…

Gulp.

It was the moment Min Junseok swallowed dryly, in an atmosphere so thick it felt hard to even exhale.

─ Let’s live…

With an intense vibration, the son made a final gesture and swiftly pulled away the black cloth as if snatching it.

At that very instant, Min Junseok locked eyes with the son mid-air.

As if he knew exactly where he was sitting.

Then, as his son moved his hand, the cloth fluttered and fell toward the floor.

─ To my respected Beethoven, I dedicate this stage.

Min Junseok, instead of hot tears, smiled brightly at his son.

Absolutely, he vowed never to forget this day.

---

Thoughts:

And this is why, ladies and gentlemen, I decided to share this beautiful story with you. The first part had me squealing when he was described without his helmet on, but then the latter part with his dad’s thoughts, I just wanted to cry.

I hope you are having a great start to your December. I hope you continue to look forward to HS’ story! Thank you!