Herald Winston smiled as he poked a fork into the salad among the served food.
"So, how was your activity in Japan?"
Geon smiled as he drank water from a stylish wine glass.
"Thanks to your concern, it went well."
"It was Shizuka Miyawaki's activity, right?"
"Ah, Mr. President, you know about it too. Yes, it was Shizuka's. Surprising, you seem to have a lot of interest in the entertainment industry."
"Haha! I want to know about anything related to Kay. Even if Shizuka's activity was not related to Kay, I would have been interested. She is a beauty who can deliver beautiful piano melodies, after all. My wife adores her so much that she lives with her music every day."
"That's nice to hear, hehe. The First Lady must like music."
Herald Winston lifted a strawberry from the salad with his fork.
"My wife majored in cello at the New England Conservatory of Music. That's why we always live with music."
Geon looked surprised.
"Ah, the First Lady graduated from a music college? The New England Conservatory of Music in Massachusetts, right? I know it as a prestigious school where Luciana Susanna Sean Gallery attended. She must have been very talented."
Herald Winston twirled the fork with the bright red strawberry on it.
"The first time I saw her was when I was attending Harvard, studying political diplomacy. I was visiting to pick up some documents I had requested from a friend at MIT, and I happened to see my future wife passing by. She was a woman with a fresh smile like this strawberry. I fell in love at first sight and proposed to her during our graduate studies."
Geon nodded, and Herald Winston continued.
"We had three sons. The eldest, John, is currently working as a congressman. The second, Bernie, is the head of surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital. And the youngest... Ahem."
Suddenly stopping and coughing, Herald Winston hesitated, which led Geon to quietly put down his fork and ask.
"The youngest? It's not that he has a job lesser than a congressman or a head of surgery that you can't talk about it, is it?"
Herald Winston, seeing Geon's disappointed look, hastily waved his hands.
"No, no! That's not it... The youngest is majoring in double bass at Oberlin College.."
Geon looked puzzled and did some mental calculations before asking.
"A son, still a student? If the eldest is a congressman, he must be quite old."
Herald Winston nodded slightly, finally placing the uneaten strawberry on the plate.
"Yes, the youngest was born late. He seems to have taken after his mother, having more interest in music than in studies, thus went to a music college."
"Hmm.. I see. Oberlin College is also a prestigious school. It must be nice having all three sons shining bright."
"Uhm... Ahem."
Seeing Herald Winston grimace and cough, Geon asked.
"Is there a problem?"
Herald Winston rested his chin on his hand and sighed.
"Sigh, it seems that boy took after both his wife and me in halves. I've mentioned this in Nepal, right? That I used to be in a band when I was younger. Back then, I was obsessed with the guitar. Nothing else was visible to me but the guitar strings and the sound they made."
As Geon looked intently at Herald Winston, he continued.
"The boy who was majoring in double bass suddenly decided to start a rock band and bought an electric bass guitar, started recruiting band members. This happened about 5 months ago, but my wife didn't tell me because she thought I would get angry. By the time I found out, he had already withdrawn from school."
Geon slightly pursed his lips and nodded.
"That must have been surprising. So, is he in a rock band now?"
Herald Winston sighed deeply.
"Sigh... No. It seems he is looking around for members, but his standards are unnecessarily high, so he hasn't found anyone that meets his criteria yet. He's been looking for members for more than 3 months now, but it seems none of the indie bands performing in clubs meet his standards."
Geon chuckled and said.
"Your son must be quite skilled, then?"
Herald Winston smiled slightly.
"When he was playing the double bass, he had skills that were highly praised by the professors at Oberlin. I've only seen him play the electric bass from afar, so I'm not sure about his skills."
"Hmm.. That's good to hear. It's a different instrument but shares the same bass scale, so he must have enough talent. Don't worry too much and trust in your son."
Herald Winston looked at Geon seriously for a while before speaking with difficulty.
"Um... Kay. It might be presumptuous of me to ask, but could I
make a request?"
"Yes, what is it?"
Herald Winston hesitated for a while with a troubled expression, but Geon reassured him with a warm smile.
"It's okay, speak comfortably. If it's something I can't do, I'll have to refuse anyway, haha."
Herald Winston, even after seeing Geon's smile, hesitated a bit more before speaking.
"Though Kay is still a student, I know you are already a world-renowned musician and have connections with various musicians. If it's not too much trouble, could you possibly recommend band members for my son?"
Geon was slightly surprised by Herald Winston's request, expecting a different one, but soon noticed the broad love of a father and smiled widely.
"You're truly a good person, Mr. President."
Herald Winston looked bewildered.
"Excuse me?"
Geon wiped the corner of his mouth with a deep smile.
"Actually, I had two guesses when you said you had a request. The first was that you would ask me to teach your youngest son, and the second was to convince him to go back to playing the double bass. But you, Mr. President, don't hastily judge the right and wrong of the path your son has chosen. You just want to help him on the path he's chosen. That's fortunate."
Herald Winston smiled awkwardly and a bit sheepishly.
"Haha.. It's not that grand of a thought.."
"You're remarkable. Most parents would start by screaming, thinking their child is heading down the wrong path. Just trusting your son makes you a wonderful father."
"Haha.. Well... Thanks for seeing it that way."
Geon crossed his arms and thought for a moment before speaking.
"It will be difficult to work with famous musicians. We'll have to look for a talented person among students or young musicians. But before that, I need to see your youngest son's skills to have something to say to those I introduce him to. They have to be a match in skill to be satisfied with each other."
Herald Winston tapped the table with his index finger and nodded.
"That makes sense."
Geon glanced out the window where the sunlight was coming in and said.
"If he hasn't formed a band yet, it would be difficult to see his skills naturally."
"Oh, no. It's possible."
Geon looked puzzled.
"Is there a specific place where he practices?"
Herald Winston took out a yellow envelope hidden beside the table and pulled out a few pictures. The pictures showed a blond Western man busking on the street. Geon, looking at the pictures with curiosity, saw Herald Winston scratching near his temple and saying.
"Eh... I apologize for the pictures looking like this. They were taken secretly, so they might look like surveillance photos. I took them myself, so please don't misunderstand."
Geon nodded slightly, and Herald Winston showed him a picture.
"This guy busks alone near the entrance of Kerry Park in Seattle around 4 PM every day. He connects his phone to an amp to play the guitar and drums and plays the bass himself. Excluding weekends, he is always there at that time, so you can see him naturally."
Geon took the picture from Herald Winston and looked closely. The man in the picture had blond hair, nearly a bowl cut, with a middle part, and his beard ran from his sideburns to his chin and under his nose. Although the man was handsome and resembled his father, his fashion sense was lacking, wearing a loose T-shirt, an oversized jacket, and destroyed jeans that didn't match in color. Geon, closely examining the picture, asked.
"What's his name?"
"Kevin. Kevin Winston. He's a year younger than Kay."
"Younger than me? With that beard..."
"Haha, he takes after me with the beard. I have to shave twice a day because my beard grows so fast."
"Ah.. I see."
Noticing Geon's gaze fixed on the picture, Herald Winston asked cautiously.
"So... Can you consider my request? I don't mean to impose, just looking into it would be enough."
Geon put down the picture and smiled.
"It's no big deal. I'll do it."
Herald Winston's face brightened up, and his smile grew wide.
"Haha, thank you. It's not a small thing, I feel bad for asking someone as busy as you."
"I can't go to Seattle right away. I have some matters to attend to at home. I'll visit as soon as I can."
Herald Winston waved his hands and said.
"Of course, of course! There's no rush. It seems like my son will have to wait for another ice age to find band members that meet his standards on his own, heh. Just whenever you have time."
"Alright, I will."
"Haha, oh dear, the steak has gotten cold. Let's reheat it and eat."
"Ah, I'm fine
, I can eat it as is."
"Haha, then I'll just eat it as is too. Come on, let's eat."
As Herald Winston continued to laugh heartily, sharing a pleasant meal with Geon, Chief of Staff Matt Bessler, who was waiting outside the restaurant door, looked inside at the joyful laughter with a stern expression. Gritting his teeth and twisting his lips, Matt muttered.
"As long as it's not yet a deliberate move to influence the President's will, I'll tolerate it. But don't get involved in politics, Kay. It's better to stay in your lane. Especially if you want to protect what you love."
The grand and majestic doors of the Red Castle swung open, and the gang members, concealing machine guns behind them, saluted the black limousine entering through the gates before scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes. As the limousine moved further inside, Miroslav hurriedly jumped out of the following SUV and asked one of the guards at the door, urgently, "Is Kay back? Has Kay returned?"
The guard, pulling out the concealed machine gun, nodded, "She returned late last night."
Miroslav, sighing in relief, got back into the car and headed towards the mansion. Sitting in the passenger seat, he caught sight of Kiska darting towards the annex building from the black limousine parked in front of a fountain. Gregory, who was a little late getting out of the car, saw Kiska's small figure rushing away and chuckled as he saw Miroslav getting out, "She only had eyes for me when we were at Disneyland, but look at her run off the moment we get home."
Standing next to Gregory, Miroslav watched Kiska's earnest figure rushing away and commented, "Still, it must have been quite a while since you went on a trip with the young lady. It was nice to see both the boss and the lady enjoying themselves."
Gregory glanced at the gang members unloading shopping bags from the trunk and remarked, "Hey, take that white shopping bag to the annex. Looks like Kiska forgot it."
One of the members quickly grabbed the white shopping bag and dashed towards the annex. As expected, Kiska, who had been running towards the annex, stopped suddenly as if she remembered something and turned back, only to see the gang member running towards her with the bag and smiling broadly, she reached out her hands.
The gang member handed over the shopping bag with both hands politely, and Kiska, smiling prettily, playfully slapped his buttocks. The member, having his buttocks slapped by the girl, gave an awkward smile while breaking into a cold sweat.
Kiska, not even catching her breath, burst into the annex, opening the door wide open. She ran to check Geon and Byungjoon's rooms one after the other, only to find them empty, her big eyes trembling in disappointment.
After throwing the shopping bag onto the sofa and searching everywhere from the bathroom to the fridge in the kitchen for Geon, Kiska was about to start sobbing when the back door of the annex opened, and Geon entered, holding two puppies.
"Ah? Kiska! You're back?"
At the sound of Geon's voice, Kiska turned her head swiftly, hastily wiping her tear-filled eyes before running towards him with a broad smile, opening her arms wide. Geon, quickly placing the puppies on a shelf, lifted Kiska in his arms, laughing, "Whoa! Kiska, have you gained weight? Or have you gotten taller?"
Kiska, smiling sheepishly, pinched Geon's cheek and then, as if she remembered something, began to struggle to get down. Once Geon put her down, she ran to the sofa where Geon, holding the two puppies, approached. Kiska, who had been hiding a gift box inside the shopping bag behind her back, was startled when Geon came near, her eyes widening. Geon, placing the puppies down on the carpet, laughed.
"Caught you. What should I do now, haha. Is it my gift?"
Kiska, rolling her eyes and smiling awkwardly, finally brought out her hidden hand. The gift box, adorned with a pretty pink ribbon, was huge. Seeing the large box, Geon, with both hands, received the gift box and slightly bent his knees.
"Thank you, princess."
Pleased by being called princess, Kiska rummaged through the shopping bag to pull out another box of similar size, threw it into Byungjoon's room onto the bed, and came back out. Seeing this, Geon laughed, "You have a gift for Byungjoon too? But what if you throw it like that, Kiska. Haha."
Unperturbed by his reaction, Kiska jumped onto the sofa and looked at Geon with sparkly eyes, urging him to open the gift. Seeing the girl's eager expression, Geon carefully untied the pretty pink ribbon. Trying his best not to damage the wrapping paper, Geon opened the box and looked delighted.
"Wow!! A Mickey Mouse T-shirt? It's really pretty!"
Inside the blue box was a T-shirt with a white base, printed with Mickey Mouse holding a bent cane and smiling. As Geon spread the T-shirt and smiled at it, pleased by his reaction, Kiska laughed and slapped the sofa with her hands.
Geon, holding the T-shirt, stood up and said, "Since it's a gift from Kiska, I should try it on right away. Just wait, I'll go
change and come back."
After Geon went inside to change his clothes, Kiska, lost in thought for a moment, dashed out of the annex like the wind. Geon, having quickly changed his top, was puzzled to find the living room empty.
"Kiska? Where are you?"
Searching for Kiska, Geon opened the annex door and saw the back of Kiska running towards the main building.
"Did she forget something?"
Pondering for a moment, Geon went to the bathroom to check his outfit in the mirror when he heard the annex door open again and shouted, "Kiska?"
Hearing footsteps rushing towards the bathroom, Geon laughed and opened the bathroom door, only to see Kiska, wearing the same T-shirt as him, blue pumpkin pants, socks that reached up to her calves, and Adidas sneakers, smiling and making a 'V' sign.
Looking down at the cute Kiska, Geon, holding her chubby cheeks with both hands, said, "Wow, Kiska and I are wearing couple T-shirts? Haha, thank you."
Seemingly overjoyed by something, Kiska ran around the living room, laughing and waving her arms. Geon, unable to take his eyes off the adorable girl, played with Kiska for a while before taking her hand and heading to Gregory's room to get permission for a visit to Seattle.
The next day.
Hearing they would leave early in the morning, Kiska pestered the nanny from dawn for a bath. Geon, who only took a guitar with him, put on a thick coat and a sweater that went up to his neck and left the annex. He noticed Kiska, holding the nanny's hand and waiting.
"??? Kiska? Why the long face?"
Geon, puzzled by Kiska's disappointed expression, noticed the Mickey Mouse T-shirt under her white coat, which made him smile awkwardly.
"Ah??? Haha. That... Just wait a minute!"
Geon hurried back into the annex, took off the sweater he was wearing underneath, put on the Mickey Mouse T-shirt, and then put his coat back on before coming out. Only then did Kiska smile brightly. Geon, sweating and smiling back at her, was approached by Miroslav.
"We might be late for the plane. Let's depart now."
"Yes, Miroslav. Let's go."
**
At the entrance of a metro Seattle apartment, about 2KM from Kerry Park in Seattle, a man with a scruffy beard and hair that looked unwashed for days, carrying a large hard case bag and a guitar, and holding garbage bags in both hands, pushed the door open with his shoulder. The chilly weather made the man shiver slightly as he threw the garbage into the disposal area and then started walking. Seeming tired, he put down the bag and guitar in front of a bench and heavily sat down.
Sighing deeply, the man rearranged his unkempt hair and propped his chin on his hand.
'How many months has it been? Not even a single band member for a rock band... Asking mom for living expenses is becoming embarrassing... Maybe I should look for a part-time job.'
The man, wearing a troubled expression, sat on the bench for a while, then braced himself against the cold wind and picked up his heavy bag and guitar, heading towards the entrance of Kerry Park. Due to the winter, there were fewer people than usual at the park entrance. The man opened his bag in front of the usual fence where he sang, pulling out an amp and a music stand, connecting the jack. Passersby glanced at him, but busy with their own lives, they kept walking.
After connecting his phone to the amp, the man put it on the music stand, took out his bass guitar, and touched his phone, starting Mr. Big's 'Nothing But Love' to play through the amp. The small sound of the electric guitar, mimicking a violin, caught the attention of people walking by. The man, head down, just listened to the music until the part where the drums and bass kicked in, then started a groovy bass play. The smooth and rich bass sound was skillfully played, but bass busking didn't seem to attract much interest, and the onlookers dispersed.
Regardless of the dispersing crowd, the man, lost in his own world with his eyes closed, played until the end and then looked around at the people with a bitter smile. Searching for the next song on his phone, the man noticed a man sitting with a girl not far from him.
'What's with that funny guy? A Mickey Mouse T-shirt, really? The kid next to him doesn't seem to be his daughter... maybe a younger sister? But still, a guy wearing Mickey Mouse? Wearing a hat pushed down and sunglasses on a cloudy day. What kind of style is that? I may not dress well, but that's really something.'
As the man on the
bench watched the man and the girl with arms crossed, the man on the bench said to the girl swinging her feet at the edge of the sofa, "Kiska, you might fall. Come up a bit."
Kiska, wiggling her bottom, moved further inside the sofa. Geon, playing the bass guitar, nodded towards the man and asked, "What do you think of that guy's play?"
Kiska glanced at the man Geon was pointing to and shook her head. Geon lowered his sunglasses slightly and asked, "Not good? Seems like he's doing well?"
Kiska puffed her cheeks and touched her face, then made an 'X' with her hands, causing Geon to burst into laughter.
"Ugly? Hahaha! Why, because of his beard? He's actually a handsome guy. His name is Kevin, too. Sounds like a cool name, right?"
Kiska, upon Geon's remark, looked back at the man but seemed to lose interest, turning her attention to the passersby. Geon, smiling, heard the music Kevin had played and looked surprised, closing his eyes to focus on Kevin, who was engrossed in his play.
"The Winery Dogs? It's 'Shine'. He must consider Billy Sheehan as a role model. The bass in this song needs to be really groovy.."
After a while, Geon intensely watched Kevin start playing the bass like plucking a lyre. Watching Kevin until the song ended, Geon, through his sunglasses, observed him and then revealed a smile.
"Huh? He's good?"
Geon turned his gaze from Kevin to Kiska, who, unbeknownst to him, had quietly listened to Kevin's play and was gently clapping. Smiling at Kiska, Geon turned back to see Kevin selecting the next song. Adjusting his sunglasses on his nose, Geon took another look at Kevin and smirked.
"Maybe the president's youngest son is on the right path after all? Hehe"