Devil’s Music

As the group was moving toward the restaurant, Alisher Usmanov called Geon to a halt. After making sure everyone was headed to the restaurant, Alisher Usmanov spoke.

“Arsène Wenger's request has been conveyed through the board.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Alisher Usmanov spread two fingers.

“Double. I will pay twice the originally promised music royalty as a guarantee.”

Geon looked slightly surprised and asked.

“What? Why all of a sudden?”

Alisher Usmanov, with his hands on his waist, said,

“The season will end soon, and there's a high possibility that other EPL teams might notice the impact of your music. We do not want other teams to see such effects. I'll give you double to refrain from providing anthems to other teams. Ah, if double is too little, up to triple is possible.”

“Hmm... I’d like to experiment a bit more...”

Alisher Usmanov urgently spoke,

“Four times! I’ll give you four times.”

Geon, staring intently at Alisher Usmanov, eventually nodded.

“Discuss that with Brother Byungjun. I don’t know business matters.”

“Then, can we consider Kay has agreed?”

“Yes, you may relay that.”

“Thank you, haha! Shall we go enjoy the party?”

Geon, along with Alisher Usmanov, headed to the restaurant and laughed upon seeing Byungjun and Kevin already starting a drinking spree.

At Shizuka’s gesture to sit next to her, Geon took a seat by her, and Alisher Usmanov, sitting at the head of the table, raised a glass filled with champagne and shouted.

“For the music, for Arsenal!”

Everyone raised their glasses to celebrate victory, chatting away when a driver, who snuck in noticing the moment, whispered into Alisher Usmanov’s ear.

Alisher Usmanov, giving the driver his attention, received a black box from him and gestured as if to look inside, then said.

“Mr. Lee? You left this in the car.”

Byungjun, who was pouring champagne on Kevin’s head, turned around.

“Oh, that. It’s nothing... Anyway, I forgot about it, thanks.”

Byungjun, receiving the black box from Alisher Usmanov, pushed it aside and Kevin asked.

“Eh, isn’t that the one given by a fan earlier?”

“Yeah, but it’s nothing.”

“What is it?”

“A watch, meant as a gift for Kay.”

As Geon turned his head while talking to Shizuka,

“For me? What is it?”

Byungjun grimaced slightly as he opened the box and took out the watch.

“It’s a watch, but the design is too old for you to wear, and it seems to have been approached with a thieving mentality aiming for free marketing, so I didn’t intend to pass it on, but since it's come to this, just take a look.”

Alisher Usmanov glanced at the watch as Byungjun handed it to Geon.

“A handmade watch.”

Byungjun paused and looked at him.

“Handmade? They still make handmade watches?”

Alisher Usmanov, extending his hand as if to ask for it, received the watch from Byungjun. After turning the watch over, he laughed and said,

“I don’t know about the inside, but the design is a disaster. Ha-ha. But being a handmade watch gives it enough value.”

Byungjun’s face brightened slightly.

“Oh, really? Is it expensive?”

Alisher Usmanov extended the watch towards Geon and said,

“A handmade watch is worth at least a thousand pounds.”

Byungjun was slightly surprised and said,

“A thousand pounds... that’s about thirteen hundred dollars, right? Wow, it’s not extremely expensive, but it’s a pricey watch.”

Kevin, looking at the watch in Geon’s hand, said,

“Who would buy a watch for thirteen hundred dollars, especially with such a mess of a design?”

Alisher Usmanov smiled and said,

“Anything handmade is expensive nowadays because most products are made cheaply by machines without labor costs. For instance, among sports cars, those handmade are more expensive even though there are cars with superior performance.”

Geon closely examined the watch. The white dial with gold hands accurately displayed the time, and the gold rim and black leather strap looked a bit old. Geon turned the watch over to read the small inscription on the back.

“Arthur...... Hodgson. The Lake?”

Byungjun pulled out a business card from the black box and showed it.

“That's his business card, but it’s a brand I don’t recognize.”

Shizuka quickly searched on her phone then shook her head.

“There’s no such brand.”

Alish

er Usmanov said to Shizuka,

“If he's just asking Kay to wear it without a proper marketing request, it must be a brand that hasn’t even launched yet. They must be looking for investors, struggling because they haven’t found any.”

Byungjun scowled and said,

“See, I told you, it’s a thieving attitude.”

Geon tried the watch on his wrist, and Shizuka, covering her mouth, laughed.

“Ho-ho, it looks like a grandfather's watch.”

Smiling at Shizuka who was laughing at him, Geon handed the watch back to Byungjun and asked,

“Was there nothing else?”

Byungjun, holding the watch, looked at the paper inside the black box. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled out a piece of paper and handed it over.

“There was a letter, but as I said earlier, it just asks to have you wear the watch and it’s full of his life story, not worth reading.”

Geon took the letter and unfolded it to read what Arthur had written. Shizuka also leaned in to read along.

Geon, after reading the letter describing the man's life and current desperate situation, pondered for a moment.

The others, excluding Geon and Shizuka, were waiting for Geon to finish reading and resumed their drinking spree. Shizuka, watching Geon's side profile, quietly asked,

“You want to help him, don’t you?”

Geon glanced at Shizuka and chuckled.

“How did you know?”

Shizuka looked at him with a wistful expression and said,

“Because that’s the kind of person you are.”

“Hehe, was I?”

Geon neatly folded the letter and handed it to Byungjun while putting Kevin in a headlock, laughing with Byungjun.

“Brother, here. And could you give me the watch again?”

Geon took the letter from Byungjun’s hand, and Byungjun took the watch out of the box and carelessly shoved the letter back in.

“Shall I give it to Father then?”

Geon saw the edge of the letter sticking out from the box and frowned.

Byungjun noticed Geon’s changing expression and quickly pulled the letter out, neatly placing it back inside the box, then cleared his throat. Geon, who had been examining the watch again, looked up at Alisher Usmanov.

Geon, looking at the watch again from the moment he saw Alisher Usmanov, heard him say with a smile,

“Shall I have it appraised?”

Geon’s face brightened.

“Would that be possible?”

Alisher Usmanov snapped his fingers with a smile, and the waiting butler quickly took the watch from Geon’s hand, whispering,

“It will take two hours.”

Geon was surprised by how quickly it would be handled, and Alisher Usmanov laughed and said,

“Money is a tool that swaps time and convenience. I’ll have a watch expert appraise it and figure out its value, so let’s comfortably celebrate the victory now. Ha-ha.”

The atmosphere quickly shifted, and they spent time discussing the plays of the game that had occurred today. Kevin and Byungjun became Arsenal and Barcelona players, reenacting the goal scenes and even mimicking the players' ceremonies, turning the room into a sea of laughter.

Before they knew it, the promised two hours had passed, and the butler came back with an appraisal report and the watch, placing them in front of Alisher Usmanov.

Smiling at Byungjun, Alisher Usmanov read the appraisal report and his expression subtly changed.

“Ten thousand pounds?”

As soon as Alisher Usmanov uttered the words ten thousand pounds, everyone's attention was drawn. Kevin, unable to contain his curiosity, leaned forward and asked,

“Ten thousand pounds? You mean ten thousand three hundred dollars? This old man's watch? Is it an antique from the world wars?”

Alisher Usmanov muttered while reading the appraisal report,

“A unique movement... Mr. Lee, how old did the person who gave you this look?”

Byungjun, knowing nothing about watches and not understanding what a movement was, recalled briefly and replied,

“He was a black man in his mid-twenties.”

Alisher Usmanov looked surprised.

“Mid-twenties? Are you sure you saw that correctly?”

“Ah... well, it’s hard to gauge his age because he was black... why?”

Alisher Usmanov showed him the appraisal report and said,

“A unique movement developed by someone in their twenties?”

Geon, who had been carefully watching Alisher Usmanov examine the watch, asked,

“What’s a movement?”

Alisher Usmanov set the watch down and explained,

“A movement refers to the body of the watch, excluding its exterior. Normally, movements are used from specialized movement

companies, even in handmade ones. Developing a movement involves a high degree of precision and cost. There are electronic and mechanical types, with mechanical split into manual and automatic. Simply put, there are watches where you wind the mainspring by turning the crown and watches that automatically wind the mainspring through a rotor moving with the wearer's arm. This watch is a manually wound mechanical watch.”

Though he tried to simplify, Byungjun, unfamiliar with various luxury watches, said,

“So it’s a good watch, right? If it’s worth ten thousand three hundred dollars?”

Alisher Usmanov pursed his lips and nodded.

“It’s not the best watch, but considering it was made by an unbranded craftsman, it’s well-made. Hmm...”

Alisher Usmanov turned to Byungjun and asked,

“Was there a contact number or address in the letter?”

Instead of Byungjun, Geon eagerly said,

“Yes, there was, both an address and a phone number.”

Alisher Usmanov extended his hand to Byungjun,

“May I see the letter?”

Byungjun handed him the letter, and Alisher Usmanov read it, smiling.

“Ambleside in the Lake District, a nice place.”

Alisher Usmanov held up the letter to Geon,

“England is a country with beautiful countryside, famous for having sixteen lakes. You still have some time left in your schedule, would you like to visit the countryside?”

Understanding his meaning, Geon smiled happily.

“Yes, let’s go!”

>

Unlock exclusive early access to more than 100 Chapters before anyone else by becoming a valued member of my Patreon community.

As a cherished member of our Patreon community, here is what you'll get:

For just $5:

• Early access to 100s of chapters before they go public. (You can find all the novels I'm translating HERE.)
• Your name will be prominently featured on the "Wall of Gratitude".
• The power to vote on which novel I translate next.
• You Get Ad-free Chapters.

For $10:

• You get to suggest a Novel for me to translate.

For $20:

• You get to recommend an abandoned Novel and I will immediately start translating it.

Don't let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers!