Chapter 93: I Became the Older Brother of a Top Star

“Ugh...”

Yuna had been groaning since... well, not the morning, but the afternoon when the sun was high in the sky.

I was fiddling with my phone, then glanced at Yuna and said,

“Yuna, did you wash your face?”

“Huh?”

“If you’re up, you should wash your face first. Did you brush your teeth?”

Of course, Yuna didn’t wake up early in the morning but only got out of bed after noon.

With her messy eyes, she immediately grabbed her phone and was deeply pondering something.

“What’s so important? I don’t know what to do with this...!”

I wondered what she was so worried about,

“Should I press it, or not? Should I press it, or not?”

It wasn’t a serious worry about her future, but rather a dilemma about whether to pull a game character or not.

Yuna was lying on the bed, debating whether to press the 10 consecutive pull button.

“...Yeah, that must be a tough decision.”

I didn’t have much to say, as I used to play a lot of mobile games in my previous life.

“But why are you so worried? Just pull it.”

“Actually, today is the 2nd anniversary event, and they gave me a 10 consecutive pull ticket. But I don’t know if I should pull this character or another one.”

There were several pulls, and it seemed she needed to try multiple gacha to get the characters she wanted.

“This game is quite ruthless.”

“Isn’t it? But that’s what makes it the most fun.”

“Just pull anything.”

“No way! Who knows when they’ll give me another pull ticket.”

Then, Yuna seemed to have an idea and showed me the characters one by one.

“Brother, look at this. This is a female character named Herya. Isn’t she very pretty? And this is a male character named Nellika...”

After explaining in detail, she finally gave me the choice.

“Brother, just pull one. Which one do you think is better?”

“Hmm...”

The game Yuna was playing was a popular RPG mobile game, both domestically and internationally. I knew it would dominate the mobile market in the future.

But since I had never touched it, I decided based on the appearance alone.

“Hmm. I think this character is better.”

“Brother, you like mature female characters?”

Is that how it always goes?

“Okay. Then, brother, pull it for me.”

“What?”

“I’m asking you to pull it for me. I’m really bad at this. So, come on, give it a try.”

“Is it okay? What if something weird comes out?”

“Well, there’s nothing we can do. Just pull it casually.”

This was my first time pulling for someone else.

Even though it wasn’t a big deal, I felt strangely tense.

Yuna, too, was clutching her pillow and swallowing hard.

“Then, I’ll pull it?”

I slowly pressed the pull button.

Various sound effects played, and the screen was filled with dazzling effects.

Thump thump—

A tense moment.

The swirling effects disappeared, and suddenly golden cards appeared.

“Oh!!”

Yuna was startled and exclaimed.

“Three golden cards?!”

Yuna clasped her hands together in earnest and began to pray.

“Oh, God. Please let it come. Please, please, please.”

Did her prayer work?

The three golden cards flipped over, and the character Yuna wanted appeared with a smile.

“...!”

A moment of silence,

“Squeal!!”

Yuna’s voice echoed loudly throughout the room.

“What? What happened?”

Her voice was so loud that her mother, who was in the living room, rushed to the room.

Regardless, Yuna hugged her mother and shouted,

“Mom! I pulled it! I pulled Herya!!”

I expected her mother to look at Yuna with disappointment and give her a backhand.

But,

“Oh my! You pulled it? How did you do it?”

“I don’t know. Brother pressed it for me!”

“Oh my. How did you pull it? They say it’s hard to pull.”

“...?”

Am I the only one who can’t join this conversation?

“Yoon-sung. You have a golden touch.”

“...What?”

“I can’t believe it. You have to do it for me later. Got it?”

With that, her mother said she had to finish watching her drama and went back to the living room.

Am I dreaming?

I blinked my eyes in a daze.

I never imagined her mother would also play mobile games.

“Hehe. As expected, brother is the best.”

Yuna was smiling and focusing on the game.

“If I were to pull the best luck in my life, I would say this.”

“Huh?”

“You being my brother.”

“...”

I don’t know if she’s saying this because I pulled the character she wanted or if she really means it.

But it was the best thing I’ve ever heard from Yuna.

* * *

“Phew... This is something.”

Professor Lee Jang-won sighed in exasperation.

“Why are you saying that?”

“The skills of a prodigal son who returned home haven’t rusted but have actually improved.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Professor, anyone would think I haven’t touched a piano for years.”

“You brat. You haven’t played the piano for almost a month! Do you know how fatal that is for pianists?”

He had various reasons, but this kid hadn’t come to the piano practice room and, of course, hadn’t practiced.

But the funny thing was,

“Still, as the professor said, my skills haven’t rusted, right?”

His skills hadn’t deteriorated at all.

In fact, they had improved.

“That’s why! That’s what I find unbelievable. Normally, if you don’t play for a month, your hands get stiff, and you start making mistakes. But how are you completely fine? Did you just say you didn’t practice? Were you secretly practicing?”

“Well, I haven’t actually played...”

“Then?”

“I just practiced in my imagination.”

“What? In your imagination?”

“I know it sounds strange, but... I felt like I wasn’t practicing enough lately, so I would sometimes imagine practicing in my head. I imagined pressing the keys, and it felt surprisingly vivid, like real practice.”

When I heard that, it felt like I had been hit on the head with a blunt object.

“Man. You can even do that now?”

If others heard this, they would think he was talking nonsense, but Professor Lee Jang-won couldn’t.

There’s a saying that some musicians practice and compose in their imagination.

Famous musicians, both past and present, have often said such things.

They claimed to have created numerous pieces by practicing in their imagination.

‘I can’t do that, no matter what.’

Professor Lee Jang-won had tried to do the same.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t practice the piano or create new pieces just by imagining it.

He thought it was just a lie to make those great musicians seem even more impressive.

But seeing Jung Yoon-sung, he realized it was the truth.

“By the way, what are you doing these days? You said something about hip-hop, right?”

“Yes. I’m preparing for that, and I also go to performances with Yuna when we have a schedule. And I’m planning to film a drama soon.”

“Wow. You’re busy. When do you have time for school?”

“Well, fortunately, the school recognizes all my attendance from the preparatory school, so I don’t have any problems. My grades are also consistently in the top tier.”

Honestly, he’s good at everything.

If he were just living off his talent, no one would say anything, but this kid, even when he acts a bit cocky, is never arrogant.

‘In a way, that’s the scariest part.’

The biggest flaw of a genius is arrogance.

They get so caught up in their own talent that they lose sight of what they should be doing and eventually hit a wall and fall.

I’ve seen so many people like that.

But in that aspect, Jung Yoon-sung is different.

He always recognizes his shortcomings and works hard to improve them.

That’s why he dedicates himself to music production, often staying up all night.

“Professor, me? Me? I can play well too, right?”

“Huh? Yuna, you... Well, you play well.”

“What? Your expression says otherwise.”

“Cough. If you know, come and practice more often.”

“Hmph.”

Seeing Yuna suddenly become gloomy, I couldn’t help but smile.

“But Yoon-sung, are you going to continue playing the piano seriously?”

“Huh?”

“To be honest, I’d rather see you play seriously for a while than sporadically.”

The playful look on Professor Lee Jang-won’s face disappeared.

He continued in a serious tone,

“It’s a waste to let your talent go to waste. Of course, I know you’re thriving in the entertainment industry and as a singer. But you can also showcase your talent in the piano world.”

In fact, Jung Yoon-sung is already living a fulfilling life.

He has already achieved great success in the entertainment industry. What more could he want?

But as his teacher, it was impossible not to feel that his talent was being wasted.

That’s why he kept feeling greedy.

“There’s a very important stage coming up in a year.”

“An important stage?”

“Yes. You’ve probably heard of it. The Chopin Competition, the world’s top piano competition. You know it, right?”

The Chopin Competition is a world-renowned piano competition, and only the most talented pianists from each country are selected to participate.

“What do you think about participating?”

He was being sincere, not just saying it offhandedly.

The Chopin Competition is a prestigious event recognized worldwide, and only the most exceptional pianists from each country are selected to participate.

“You have the qualifications to participate, having won domestic competitions. Of course, you have to go through a selection process in Korea first, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it? And if you win, you’ll gain international recognition...”

Professor Lee Jang-won paused for a moment before continuing,

“And you can be exempted from military service.”

Jung Yoon-sung’s body slightly trembled at that.

“What do you think? Of course, I’m not asking for an immediate answer. I want you to think about it seriously. Of course, it might affect your schedule, but you won’t regret it.”

The Chopin Competition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Jung Yoon-sung nodded and said,

“I’ll think about it.”

That was enough for today.

“Then, since you haven’t been here for a while, I’ll treat you to a big meal today. Let’s go eat some beef.”

Since it had been a while since they met, and it was around dinnertime, Professor Lee Jang-won was happy to treat them to some beef.

“Ah! I have an important meeting today. I’m sorry, Professor. I’ll go ahead.”

“What, what?”

“See you, Professor.”

Jung Yoon-sung quickly gathered his things and left.

He even bowed 90 degrees, so there was no way to stop him.

But fortunately, Yuna was still there.

“Professor, are you really buying us beef today?”

“Huh? Yuna, aren’t you coming?”

“No, I can’t. My brother has a drama meeting today.”

“Oh! Then we can eat together. Do you want to come?”

“Hehe. I’d love to.”

Yes, it was fortunate that Yuna was there.

Professor Lee Jang-won’s face, which had been frowning, relaxed.

But then,

“Oh, I’m sorry, Professor. I forgot I have a raid with my mom today.”

“Raid... what?”

“Then I’ll go too, Professor! I’ll definitely have you buy me beef next time!”

And just like that, Yuna also left.

“These... these kids...”

Professor Lee Jang-won suddenly found these siblings annoying.