Heo-ok's life, which had always dragged on, started to speed up when her son and grandson came into the picture.
Her son's family had moved in four days ago.
Heo-ok's usual routine of sleeping from 4 AM to 11 AM was starting to change.
"You up? Want some breakfast?"
Yeon-woo nodded.
It was because of her grandson, Yeon-woo, nodding silently in front of her.
Maybe it was his age, but her grandson wasn't a big sleeper.
He'd wake up with his dad first thing in the morning.
That was 6 AM.
Usually, Heo-ok would have only been asleep for two hours.
Heo-ok couldn't just leave him to play by himself, so she was really trying to adjust her schedule.
Still half-asleep, Heo-ok headed to the kitchen to make breakfast. She stopped short when she smelled food.
What is this?
Did her son make breakfast before leaving?
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she put on her glasses and saw toast, jam, butter, and milk on the table.
Yeon-woo walked past Heo-ok, who was still standing there, sat down at the table, put two slices of bread in the toaster, and started spreading jam on a piece that was already toasted.
He was only six, but he was pretty good at spreading jam.
After carefully spreading all the jam, Yeon-woo placed the toast on a plate, looked at Heo-ok, and slid the plate towards her.
"Huh? Is this for me?"
Yeon-woo nodded.
"Thank you… but did you prepare this?"
He'd done a good job, but it was clear a kid had made it.
Sure enough, Yeon-woo nodded with a shy face.
Oh my.
"That's so sweet of you. But you don't have to do this! You should be out having fun, not making breakfast."
Yeon-woo just smiled.
"Well, I appreciate it. Thanks."
Yeon-woo smiled even brighter, took out the toast that had popped up, spread a lot of butter on it, and then spread jam on top of that again.
He crammed the toast into his mouth, looking perfectly happy.
He seemed to find joy in even the smallest things.
And he showed all those feelings most clearly when he was eating, like right now.
She didn't know how hard of a time he had been through, but this little child was serious about eating.
He ate with such gusto that his face was already starting to get that chubby kid look.
She usually didn't eat much, especially not breakfast, but watching him enjoy his food so much made her feel hungry, and she found herself reaching for a piece of toast.
With a crispy sound, the child’s gaze turned to Heo-ok.
He looked at her expectantly, and Heo-ok said,
"…It’s delicious.”
Yeon-woo beamed.
Even Heo-ok, who wasn't a big fan of kids, found herself smiling.
Just seeing that smile made her feel like her lost appetite would return, and she could eat more.
After they finished breakfast,
While Heo-ok was doing the dishes and tidying up, Yeon-woo went to the living room and looked at his grandmother’s piano.
Since the tuner had visited a few days ago, the red fairy no longer appeared from the piano.
It was a fun friend, and it was a shame that he couldn’t see it again from this piano, but thanks to that, it was good to be able to hear perfect performances without dissonance.
By the way, when is Grandma coming out?
Yeon-woo’s gaze turned towards the kitchen.
Just in time, Heo-ok, who had finished washing dishes in the kitchen, was coming out.
Heo-ok looked at her grandson, who was staring at the piano with wide, excited eyes.
That look he was giving her.
She couldn't say no to that face - he looked like he'd burst into tears if she didn't play.
Heo-ok sighed and sat in front of the piano.
She felt like she had played the piano more in front of Yeon-woo than she had in her entire retirement.
Maybe it was a good thing; at least her stiff fingers were getting a workout.
But what good is that when she’s retired?
"Okay, what shall we play today? Should I play whatever I want? Or is there something you want to hear?"
Yeon-woo mouthed, "Something I want to hear."
Heo-ok asked as if she knew it.
"Then, it’s swing, right?"
Jazz is all about freedom, but it's got a lot of different styles that have developed over the years.
Among them, Yeon-woo liked swing the most.
Seeing Yeon-woo nodding enthusiastically, her hands moved across the keys, creating a smooth swing rhythm.
Yeon-woo's face lit up with pure joy as the upbeat swing melody filled the room.
It was a strange thing.
The time when swing was born and was popular was more than half a century ago.
It was definitely not a song that children would like.
But Yeon-woo especially liked swing among jazz.
Heo-ok didn’t know, but in Yeon-woo’s eyes, the moment the swing music came out, countless fairies popped out and were swing dancing to the music.
The fairies emitting blue light from all directions and her grandmother’s brilliant performance were enough to captivate Yeon-woo’s heart.
Was it because she was moved by Yeon-woo’s gaze as he looked at her in fascination, or was it an occupational hazard? Anyway, Heo-ok began to play as if possessed, continuing her inspired performance.
But there was a limit.
She was old, and her body could no longer keep up with playing for a long time.
When her hands stopped, Yeon-woo looked disappointed.
Looking at Yeon-woo, Heo-ok said.
"I’m sorry, but I’m too tired to play anymore. Shall we listen to an LP instead?"
Yeon-woo nodded eagerly.
Heo-ok took Yeon-woo and went into the master bedroom.
It was a space that no one except her had entered, or could enter, but in the past few days, Yeon-woo had become an exception.
She took out an LP from a bookshelf on one side and placed it on her LP player, which was old but had a classic charm, and played it.
Along with the crackling sound unique to old LPs, “Misty” by Ella Fitzgerald, her favorite jazz singer, flowed out.
Listening to her song with the gentle piano in the background, Heo-ok fell asleep without even realizing it.
It was because she hadn’t yet adjusted to her changed sleep schedule.
Even after his grandmother fell asleep, Yeon-woo listened to her voice along with the fairy skating on the LP.
It was a good song, but it was a bit boring for young Yeon-woo.
Yeon-woo glanced at his grandmother, then got up from his seat, put a blanket over his grandmother, and left the master bedroom to go to the living room.
He could see the piano.
He wanted to touch it one more time, but his dad told him not to touch it carelessly because it was his grandmother’s most prized possession, so he hadn’t touched it since then.
But something was strange.
The piano was emitting a faint light.
Should he call it afterglow?
Even after the performance ended, the fairies didn’t disappear immediately and would linger around the piano, but it was the first time that light like a fairy was coming from the piano itself.
What on earth is going on?
Yeon-woo approached the piano with curiosity.
And Yeon-woo’s eyes and mouth opened wide in circles.
Under the blue light, a fairy he had never seen before was revealing itself.
Unlike the blurry existing fairies, it had clear features and emitted a deep light.
And…
‘Grandma?’
The fairy looked like it was cosplaying as his grandmother.
It looked like his grandmother, who often wore black turtlenecks and slacks and gold-rimmed glasses.
The fairy even mimicked his grandmother’s expression, wearing a haughty, cold expression, and stood up to look at Yeon-woo.
The grandmother fairy met Yeon-woo’s gaze, looked around, and pointed to the chair in front of the piano.
It seemed to be telling Yeon-woo to sit down.
When Yeon-woo hesitated, the grandmother fairy pointed to the chair again.
Yeon-woo reluctantly sat in front of the piano. Then, the grandmother fairy pointed to a key.
It was middle C.
‘You want me to… play this?’
When he asked with gestures and in his mind, the grandmother fairy nodded.
Yeon-woo cautiously touched the key.
Because he pressed it so gently and slowly, the key didn’t make any sound.
Then, the grandmother fairy shook her head with a stern expression.
‘Play it so it makes a sound?’
This time, she nodded.
Yeon-woo pressed the key again.
A clear sound echoed in the living room.
The grandmother fairy pointed to the next key.
D, E, F, G, A, B, high C, following C.
He pressed the keys in order.
In fact, Yeon-woo didn’t know the solfège, but he remembered everything by sound.
The grandmother fairy nodded and then lined up the fairies that had appeared in front of the keys.
What is she trying to do?
While Yeon-woo was watching, the grandmother fairy clapped her hands twice, and a fairy jumped in as if diving into a swimming pool and was sucked into the key.
Then, the key glowed blue.
When Yeon-woo was blankly watching it, the grandmother fairy pointed at it with her finger.
Yeon-woo no longer hesitated or wavered.
Without hesitation, he pressed the key that the grandmother fairy pointed to.
Then, other fairies jumped into the keys in order, and Yeon-woo’s hands busily followed those keys.
Clumsy and slow, but diligently as instructed.
After one measure ended, the grandmother fairy made him play the same keys again.
Two times, three times, around the time Yeon-woo’s fingers became familiar with it.
Yeon-woo perked up his ears.
This is… swing.
Yeon-woo himself was playing swing jazz, which he liked the most.
Of course, it was honest and simple without his grandmother’s fancy techniques, but it was definitely swing.
Yeon-woo looked at the grandmother fairy with sparkling eyes.
‘Next…! Next, next!!’
When Yeon-woo shouted excitedly in his mind, the fairy grandmother pointed to the keys again with a haughty expression.
Fairies jumped in.
Following those fairies, it was the same melody as before.
His disappointment was brief, because unlike before, he had to press more keys, and it was at a level that Yeon-woo’s still young fingers had difficulty following.
It was definitely a fancy and rich melody, but Yeon-woo realized that it was difficult for him to reproduce it.
It was because he was not yet familiar with playing the piano.
When Yeon-woo looked at the grandmother fairy with a tearful face, the grandmother fairy nodded as if to say it was okay and pointed to the keys again.
The grandmother fairy seemed to be saying that he had to keep playing to perform this piece.
In the end, it meant that everything was just practice, practice, and more practice.
Yeon-woo couldn’t understand all of the grandmother fairy’s intentions, but he was motivated on his own and tried diligently to follow the keys under the grandmother fairy’s guidance.
And that…
Heo-ok, who had dozed off in the master bedroom and woken up, was watching.
Heo-ok saw Yeon-woo, who was playing something unfamiliar but clearly swing, and showed a huge change in expression for the first time since meeting Yeon-woo.
It was astonishing.
He’s only six years old.
She couldn’t help but be astonished that a child who hadn’t even entered elementary school was playing swing.
