Devil’s Music

In the school studio where three people were discussing music, Byung-jun arrived. On a slightly warmer day, wearing a thin summer suit and carrying a large blue bag, he entered the studio grunting with the weight of his bag.

"Hey, take this for a moment."

Kevin hurried over and took the bag, tilting his head.

"It's not that heavy?"

"It's not that, this is heavy, whew."

Byung-jun, who also had a fat, bulging bag over his shoulder, put it down on the floor. The bag made a heavy sound as it fell to the floor, prompting Geon to ask,

"What is that, hyung?"

Byung-jun rubbed his shoulder and grimaced.

"Phew, I just met with Director Lin, and his mother, who was taking care of a cat, entrusted it to the director as she went on a long trip. But the director doesn't like cats, so he asked me to look after it for a few days."

At the mention of a cat, Shizuka reacted first.

"Kyaa, so there's a cat in this blue bag? Let me see! Show me!"

"Alright, just wait."

Byung-jun opened the metal gate of the blue bag. As the three people watched expectantly, the bag remained still for a moment until a white paw cautiously stepped out. Shizuka, whose eyes turned to hearts, clasped her hands over her chest and screamed.

"Kyaah! Look at that paw, it looks like a white rice cake!"

Startled by Shizuka's scream, the white paw quickly withdrew back into the bag. Byung-jun peered inside the bag and coaxed the cat.

"Come on, Lucy? Come out. Say hello to the kids."

As Shizuka squealed,

"Kyap! Kyap! Is her name Lucy? Oh my, she's a girl!"

"Yes, she's a female, two years old. Try to be a bit quieter; she's scared and won't come out."

"Ah, I'm sorry."

The three of them quietly waited for Lucy. Pretending to be doing something else, as if uninterested, their gazes never left the blue bag.

Geon, who had always liked cats since he was young, unlike his mother Yeongha who disliked cats, showed great interest as he had never had the chance to raise one himself.

Unable to contain himself, Geon peeked inside the blue bag.

A cat with a white body and black eyes, with a pink nose, sat close to the inside of the bag, staring back at Geon.

Although not a kitten, its adorable appearance brought a wide smile to Geon's face as he reached out his hand and said,

"Hello? Won't you come out and say hi?"

Lucy, perking her ears as if trying to understand Geon's words, sniffed his hand and cautiously moved a paw forward.

Eager to touch the cat but knowing the typically disapproving nature of cats about being handled, Geon patiently held out his hand and waited. Soon, Lucy poked her small head out of the blue bag.

Shizuka, about to scream at the sight of Lucy's face, covered her mouth and whispered to Kevin,

"See? She's so pretty! A snow-white cat with that pink nose! What do we do!"

Even Kevin, who wasn't particularly interested in animals, nodded at the sight of the pretty cat.

"She really is a beautiful cat, manager. What breed is she?"

Byung-jun frowned as if trying to remember, then looked at his phone after recalling a text conversation with Lin.

"Ah… a Scottish Fold, I think? It's one of those breeds with folded ears, but Lucy's ears stand upright, making her a bit different from other cats."

Shizuka, examining Lucy's face closely, remarked,

"That's right, her ears stand upright like a Turkish Angora?"

Byung-jun pouted his lips.

"Maybe she's mixed?"

Lucy cautiously stepped out of the bag. As her long, supple body completely emerged, she showed interest in Geon and approached him.

While Lucy slowly circled around, sniffing and inspecting him, Geon just watched her and said,

"I'm not a bad person, you know. Someone you might have to live with for a while."

Lucy, as if understanding, intently watched Geon's mouth movements and shook her head.

The scene was so endearing that Geon carefully stroked the back of Lucy's neck, and she appeared to smile with her eyes closed.

As Geon had heard from friends before, he touched the spot where her tail and back meet, and Lucy stretched out her front paws and arched her back as if stretching, her tail held high while she purred contentedly.

Feeling pleased, Lucy rubbed her body against Geon as she twirled around, glancing

 at Shizuka and Kevin.

Shizuka, visibly eager to hug the cat, showed her longing on her face, while Kevin simply looked down at Lucy with an appreciative eye for a pretty animal.

Lucy, a curious cat, could have explored others, but instead, she sprang onto Geon's shoulder and sat there in a loaf position.

Uninterested in Kevin and Shizuka, Lucy licked Geon's neck with her raspy tongue, making him laugh.

"Tickles."

Shizuka, her eyes filled with envy, turned to Byung-jun.

"How long are you keeping her?"

Byung-jun, examining other cat items he had taken out of another bag, responded,

"I don't know. Director Lin's parents are quite old, and they went backpacking, so it might take a few months, I guess?"

"Eh… That long? Then we might get too attached…"

"That's why I said not to get too attached. I have some errands to run and can't carry a cat around, so I just stopped by to set up her litter box and then I'll be going."

Already captivated by Lucy, Geon played with her using his fingers and laughed.

"Yes, do that, hyung. Lucy~ stay with me."

Lucy playfully tapped Geon's fingers with her paws. Although Byung-jun had left, Geon, captivated by Lucy, lost focus and continued playing with her.

For over an hour, as Shizuka hoped Lucy would approach her, she eventually received her reward for patience.

Carefully, Shizuka hugged Lucy, her face expressing happiness, and the three of them ended up spending more than four hours playing with Lucy.

As they returned to Red Castle in the car, after finishing his tasks, Byung-jun suddenly asked,

"Hyung, there are many guard dogs at home, will it be okay? Lucy might get stressed."

Byung-jun, sitting in the passenger seat, turned his head and saw Lucy curiously looking around the car.

"We'll keep her inside only, what? No need to walk her like dogs."

"Really? Won't she feel stifled?"

"Cats aren't like that. They're just curious, you know."

Soon after arriving at Red Castle, Byung-jun tilted his head as he got out of the car.

"Huh? Why don't I hear the dogs barking? Usually, a few of them bark when someone comes in."

Geon, reluctant to put Lucy back in the bag, carried her on his shoulder as he got out of the car and looked at the garden.

The organization's guard dogs, all watching Lucy on Geon's shoulder, neither barked nor approached threateningly, which made Geon breathe a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, they're well-trained not to approach cats."

Byung-jun frowned as he looked at the dogs.

"Is that even training? Eh, I don't know. It's good they're not barking. Go inside first, I'll bring the luggage."

"Okay, hyung. Need help?"

"It's just one bag. Go inside."

Geon, holding Lucy, opened the door to the annex, and Lucy, jumping off his shoulder, scampered inside and began exploring the house. Evidently excited by something, she darted out of an open window, prompting Geon to shout.

"Lucy, no!"

Geon, rushing outside the annex, spotted Lucy running across the roof.

"Lucy! That's dangerous, come down! Uh…? Why are there bats on the roof…?"

As Lucy ran and caught a bat with her front paw, the bats perched on the roof suddenly took flight.

Despite her cute appearance, Lucy, flashing sharp fangs, held the bat in her mouth and looked at Geon, who waved his arms and exclaimed,

"Lucy!! Yuck, that's dirty! Spit it out! Ptooey!"

After shaking the bat in her mouth a few times, killing it completely, Lucy shook her head and threw the bat carcass away.

Jumping down from the roof to Geon's shoulder, Lucy closed her eyes and licked her paws, causing Geon to grimace.

"Ah, you need a bath. Lucy, you shouldn't touch those things, you know? You could get sick."

Byung-jun, carrying luggage into the annex, remarked,

"Help me assemble the cat tower instead of bathing her. Let's leave that to the professionals at the vet clinic tomorrow."

The heavy items in Byung-jun's bag turned out to be parts of a cat tower. Cat food, a litter box, and cushions came out, but the heaviest items were the cat tower parts, which Geon began assembling after dusting off his hands.

Lucy, seemingly aware that it was her possession, sat on Geon's thigh watching the cat tower. As soon as the tower was completed,

 she claimed the topmost perch and lay down.

Pleased with Lucy's approval, Geon smiled and after a thorough look at his dust-covered body, headed to the shower room.

After a long time, Geon adjusted the water temperature and entered the steam-filled bathroom.

"Ah… nice."

Lying in the warm bathtub, Geon hummed a tune and closed his eyes as light streamed through a small window in the bathroom.

As soon as Geon's eyes closed, a small shadow appeared on the bathroom window, but it was indiscernible through the steam.

Creak.

Hearing the small sound of the door opening, Geon opened his eyes and saw the bathroom door, which Lucy had opened with her paw. Smiling, Geon extended his wet arm and said,

"Lucy~ want to join me in the bath?"

Lucy's eyes, previously cute, widened menacingly as she stared at the bathroom window, and the small shadow hastily disappeared.

Following Lucy's gaze to the window, Geon looked at the empty window and tilted his head.

"Huh? What's out there, Lucy?"

Meowing, Lucy sat on the bathroom sill and looked down at Geon, captivating him once again as they laughed and played in the water.

"Kahaha, come here!"

Regardless of what Geon was doing, Lucy clung closely to his side, flicking her tail. After the bath, Lucy showed little interest in the food Geon had prepared for her, drinking only water.

Late at night, when everyone was asleep, Lucy reappeared on the roof, eyeing a few bats that had settled there again.

Late at night in the kennel of Red Castle.

About twenty smart guard dogs, including Shepherds and Dobermans, were asleep.

Since these intelligent dogs were well-trained to manage their needs and the kennel was regularly maintained, it was relatively clean, though it had a slight odor. The kennel, a detached one-story building separate from the main house, was divided by iron bars with dirt floors into two sections, each holding ten dogs.

One of the Shepherds, looking sleepy, suddenly lifted its head. It stared at a small shadow reflected in the large window high up near the ceiling of the kennel and then stood up to look out the window.

The other dogs, which had been asleep, were now awake and focusing their gaze towards the window, but none barked.

The dogs silently watched the shadow in the window, and all at once, their gaze shifted to a small hole in the roof where Lucy, illuminated by light, her eyes shining pumpkin-colored, peered down at them. The dogs in front of the hole flattened themselves on the ground, sending a look of submission towards Lucy.

Lucy then slipped through the hole and jumped into the kennel.

Entering the Doberman section first, Lucy strutted confidently, stretching her front legs and prowling around the kennel, causing the ten Dobermans to turn their heads following her path.

Even though the introduction of a cat into a dog kennel could have caused chaos, the Dobermans were overwhelmed by Lucy's presence and lay quietly on their bellies.

Some dogs covered their eyes with their paws, and as Lucy approached, others rolled over to show their bellies and stuck out their tongues.

After inspecting the Doberman kennel, Lucy looked satisfied at the Shepherds who showed the same submissive behavior as the Dobermans.

Lucy then settled in the center of the kennel and turned her head towards the Doberman section again.

Meowing softly, the ten Dobermans sitting on the floor rose simultaneously and lined up in front of the Shepherd kennel's iron bars.

The Shepherds too straightened up and focused on Lucy, who was murmuring softly.

Meowing as if conveying a message, the dogs flattened their heads to the ground. The mysterious scene unfolding in the kennel at night was mesmerizing, though no human was there to witness it.

The next morning, an organization member checking if the dogs were okay after the night came into the kennel with a sack of food on his shoulder and tilted his head looking at the dogs.

"Why aren't you barking? Are you all sick?"

The dogs, which usually would have jumped around and barked at the sight of the food sack, were quiet, prompting the member to put down the sack and examine them.

Although the dogs were drooling, all of them sat with their buttocks glued to the floor, looking at him, which worried him as he opened the barn door, and the usually docile dogs suddenly rushed out.

The strong dogs bolted out so fast that the member, trying to hold their leashes, ended up being dragged along the ground, yelling.

"What, what's going on!! Hey, stay put!"

The members on patrol duty in the garden saw the dogs pouring out of the kennel behind the main house and were taken aback.

As the dogs surrounded a smaller building where Geon and Byung-joon were, they began barking at the roof all at once, causing a few bats hanging underneath to flutter away startled.

The rushing members, bewildered, grabbed the dogs' collars trying to pull them back, but the dogs resisted and continued barking.

Miroslav, having just dressed after an early morning shower, heard the dogs barking and came outside the main house to see twenty dogs drooling and barking fiercely.

Staring at the scene, Miroslav fastened his belt and waved a hand, prompting the nearest organization member to approach quickly.

"What's going on?"

The member with short black hair slightly bowed his head.

"It's not clear yet."

"Where is the person managing the kennel, and why are all the dogs out?"

"That, over there…"

The member pointed towards the kennel manager, who appeared to be sprinting out covered in straw. It looked as though he had tried to stop the dogs but was overwhelmed by their sudden behavior. Miroslav gestured.

"Go and lock them up. Don't bother Kay this early in the morning."

"Yes!"

Watching the member run off, Miroslav then noticed bats flying above the annex.

"Is it because of the bats?"

Miroslav yelled out loudly after spotting Byung-joon startled by the noise.

"It's the bats! Shoot them down!"

As soon as Miroslav gave the order, about ten members began shooting at the sky with machine guns, and the bats hit by the bullets fell to the ground.

The guard dogs quickly tore the fallen bats to pieces, scattering their

 remains across the lawn.

The two bats that weren't hit quickly flew away from the annex, and the barking dogs, as if nothing had happened, sat down neatly and looked at the members holding their leashes, panting and sticking out their tongues as if asking for food.

After each member, sweating coldly, led one or two dogs back to the kennel and returned, Geon, with his hair messed up like a bird's nest and Lucy on his shoulder, peeked out of the annex door.

"What's going on? Sounded like gunshots."

Though the models were equipped with silencers and didn't make much noise, the sound was still recognizable as gunshots, hence his question.

Byung-joon, hiding the bat remains scattered on the ground from Geon, grimaced and said.

"Bats have been coming to the annex recently, seems like the dogs got excited seeing them. It's nothing, go back to sleep. You have work to do today."

Geon, rubbing his sleepy eyes, then petted Lucy, who was curled up on his shoulder.

"Lucy got scared, huh? Let's go back to sleep. Aah~"

Peace returned to Red Castle after a brief commotion. As the two bats that had stayed away near the main house chirped, one flew up.

In a castle at the core of the Himalayas.

On a stone chair covered with a red carpet, Cushion sat slanted and then stood up.

"Hmm? Look at this?"

He licked his lips with his red tongue as he looked at a screen floating like a hologram in front of him, showing what seemed to be a view from above Red Castle.

The shaky screen seemed to show a view from a bat's eyes, which Cushion observed.

"Just yesterday, a mere house cat killed my familiar, and today, dogs and humans?"

He watched as the last bat in the screen, being targeted by an organization member, suddenly fell to the ground after a severe shock.

Turning off the chaotic screen, Cushion rose from his seat and twitched his eyebrows.

"Something's going on. Hehehe."

Sitting alone in the eerie castle, Cushion's body flickered out, emitting purple smoke that swirled around.

* * *

It was late morning by the time Geon woke up, lying in bed with something pressing on his sternum. Opening his eyes, he saw Lucy sitting on his chest, locking eyes with him, and he smiled slightly, stroking the cat's head.

"Is this comfortable for you?"

Though Geon got up, Lucy seemed to have no intention of moving, so he naturally set her down next to him and got dressed for school.

"You can't come to school, so stay and play at home, Lucy. Got it?"

After placing Lucy on the cat tower and giving her a snack, Geon left the house, while Lucy, left behind, blinked her pretty eyes and soon sprawled out, licking her fur.

Riding the car Miroslav had provided, Geon arrived in front of the school and stretched after getting out of the car.

Feeling a bit stifled due to the slow progress on 'The Song of Water,' Geon walked around the school, noticing there weren't many people around.

Occasionally acknowledging people who recognized him with a smile, Geon walked, lost in thought.

"Is bending the only way to express three emotions? If so, the musical limitations become quite clear… Music comprised only of pulling notes up or down seems too simple, doesn't it? What should I do?"

With his hands in his pockets, he walked and then stopped in front of the school gates again. Today, he didn't feel like going into the practice room, so he sat down on the steps at the entrance.

"Would be nice if someone could teach me, but I can't get help from the professors, so I guess I have to figure it out myself… Ugh, it's frustrating."

Geon placed his chin on his knees, which he had pulled up, and stared straight ahead, noticing a man setting up a canvas on one of two benches across from the school.

It was rare to see someone painting near Juilliard, a music-focused college.

"Someone's painting, are they drawing the school?"

Curiosity piqued, Geon stood up and approached the man painting.

Whether Geon approached or not, the person, with a pen held up as if framing the school, had a slightly sharp-looking, pale face.

Trying not to disturb, Geon walked around to the back to view the painting, and his eyes widened.

The painting radiated light, mixing various colors of emotions.

'The colors in the painting… one, two, three, four? Four emotions?'

Astonished, Geon unknowingly moved closer to the painting. As he did, he suddenly noticed the man's head turning towards him, and he awkwardly stepped back, laughing nervously.

"Ahaha, sorry for disturbing you."

The sharp-faced man unexpectedly smiled warmly and shrugged.

"It's fine."

Taking the friendly response as an opening, Geon cautiously asked.

"Are you painting the school?"

The man turned his head towards the school and replied.

"Yes, it's an interesting place."

"What's interesting about it?"

The man lifted his brush and pointed it towards the school.

"It's a building mixed with various emotions—Juilliard, that is."

As the conversation turned to emotions, Geon, grasping at straws, asked eagerly.

"What are they? Can you explain more?"

The man put down his brush, crossed his arms, and looked at the school.

"Passion, joy, jealousy, anxiety, hope, ecstasy, studiousness and obsession, calmness and intuition—these diverse emotions mix together. If expressed in colors, they would be red, orange, yellow, green—these four colors."

Hearing the man speak on the exact topic he was pondering, Geon's face brightened.

Hoping to gain some insight, Geon, eyes filled with anticipation, offered a handshake with a smile.

"I'm Kay from Juilliard."

After a glance at Geon's hand, the man wiped his paint-stained hand before firmly shaking it, smiling.

"I'm Sion, Sion."

As they shook hands in front of Juilliard, a chilly gust of wind, uncharacteristic of early summer, blew around them.