Part No. 6

    A Kiss of Rain

    “So, it seems like I have given a special gift to both of my lovely children.” 

    “A gift? Is there something for me too?”

    Upon hearing that, Gloria quickly looked up and asked. At first, she thought that Father and Mother had only bought the violin as a birthday gift for her older brother. 

    “Of course, dear. How could we forget our youngest daughter?”

    Rebecca smiled fondly. Looking at how sweet her daughter was, she saw that her older brother was the only one who got a gift, yet she didn’t get angry or feel jealous like other children.  

    After the mother spoke, Augustin pulled out boxes from his bag and handed one to each child. Gabriel and Gloria exclaimed in surprise once they opened the boxes, especially Gabriel, who had no idea what the item in front of him was. 

    “What is this?”

    The item inside seemed like a wristwatch? No, its design was more modern and lacked a watch face. 

    “This is… an ID Watch?”

    It turned out that the younger sister of the family was the one who recognized the device. She examined it, wondering how it had ended up here. 

    In truth, ID Watches, personal identification watches, were something Gloria was familiar with since her previous life, but she couldn’t believe her parents had managed to find one in her second lifetime. Although it wasn’t as rare as her older brother’s violin, the ID Watch was much more expensive.

    The reason for it was that this device utilized advanced technology, bonding only to its owner and enabling inter-galactic communication. This made it an essential tool for conducting business or for those passionate about entertainment. 

    Naturally, the ID Watch’s main target market was people from Sagittarius, or those in outer planets who had high spending power. The reason for it was the fact that aside from its standout communication capabilities, it was also renowned for its streaming system, which was a primary system for the galaxy’s most famous individuals. 

    “Streamers.”  

    “Do Father and Mother want us to become streamers?”

    Gloria tilted her head as she asked. In fact, there were quite many parents who tried to push their children towards becoming streamers, since if they got lucky and became famous, just by being a Quartz-level streamer (IV), they would get an opportunity to elevate their statuses and easily move into the Sagittarius. It could be considered as one of the shortcuts to elevating the quality of life for oneself and one’s family, aside from pursuing a career in the space military. 

    “Streamers? You know what this thing is?”

    Gabriel, seeing that his younger sister seems to recognize it, quickly inquired. Seeing that her older brother seemed to know nothing beyond music, the little princess sighed and briefly explained it to him before ending with a question. 

    “…So, do you want to become a streamer, Big Brother?” 

    After all, she would let her older brother do as he wished. If he wanted to be one, she wouldn’t oppose it. Besides, her older brother’s skills were this high, she dared to bet that he would reach at least Topaz-level (III) as a streamer.

    "Streamer... there are no musicians?"

    Gabriel preferred to be a musician over a streamer. From what he heard, the job of a streamer involved entertaining and interacting with people. To put it simple, it was an entertainer field of job, which wasn't quite his strong suit.

    "I've never even heard of this profession before.”

    Upon hearing her son’s question, Rebecca mumbled. From her memory, ‘streamer’ was a general term for all who gained fame from entertaining people.

    "Really? What about singers, songwriters, actors... none of them?" Upon hearing it, Gabriel hurriedly asked further in confusion.

    "They're all streamers," Gloria replied instead of her mother.

    "..." Gabriel was stunned because of the answer.

    No way… In the future, all these professions had been lumped together into one?...

    Augustin couldn’t bear seeing his son’s gloomy expression, he quickly changed the subject.

    "Let’s forget about it. We don’t need to think about those things since it isn’t the time yet. The reason I got you an ID Watch is so you can shop for things when you need.”

    He did not just say it, but he also pressed and used the ID Watch. He then turned on a public mode for his two children to watch together.  

    "…Look here, it even has stores selling music equipment. Moreover, it has many kinds of products. Even if the shipping takes about three to four days, it is better than wasting our time to go to the shop and buy them ourselves.”

    "Ah! That’s horsehair!"

    Gabriel exclaimed in delight as he saw that the shop his father showed him really was a musical instrument shop. Besides, they had high-quality cleaning cloths, rosin… This way, he didn’t have to worry about maintaining his violin.

    "So, what do you think? Do you like it?"

    Augustin was relieved once he saw his son happy once again. He didn’t like to see that face, which was as cute as a doll, in a gloomy expression.

    "I love it so much! Can I really buy these?" The boy turned to ask, his eyes sparkling.

    "Of course. I’ve already set up the payment system through my ID Watch, but don’t go overboard—there’s a spending limit."

    At that moment, Gabriel was like a balloon inflated with air. He was so happy that he nearly floated up!

    "Thank you so much, Father!" The boy smiled broadly as he hugged his father tightly.

    "Happy birthday, my son. I wish you happiness and all your dreams to come true," Augustin gave his son a wish from the bottom of his heart.

    "Aren’t you going to hug your mother?"

    Upon seeing that, Rebecca feigned hurt. Gabriel, seeing this, ran over to embrace his mother too. Seeing this, Gloria began feeling jealous that her parents kept holding on to her older brother. In the end, the three, the parents and the daughter, ended up hugging the boy.

    "Happy early birthday, my sweet son," Rebecca whispered softly to the boy.

    "Happy birthday, Big Brother! Stay with me forever, okay?"

    Gloria was unwilling to lose, she tightened her embrace as if she feared the one before her might disappear.

    "Thank you, everyone..."

    Gabriel pressed his lips together tightly, trying to hold back the overwhelming gratefulness swelling within him. He had never felt so grateful to be alive. Originally, he was just a child who was seen as a prodigy by adults. Everyone in his family—whether his parents or relatives—constantly pushed him, whispering for him to climb to the very peak of the mountain called "musicianship." And then, they left him there, isolated and alone.

    Thus, in this life, the boy resolved to only play music. The pure music that came from the heart—without having to compete or be anxious. He simply wanted to let things unfold as they should, playing music the way he wanted to play it, without clinging to rigid structures. Ultimately…, he wanted to create his own melodies, just once.

    It was an embarrassing matter, and he didn’t want to admit that, despite being a king of musicians, he had no talent for composing music. He could beautifully and flawlessly perform challenging pieces like Paganini’s God Save the King, earning admiration and acclaim from people.

    Everything seemed perfect, didn’t it? ...But every time he tried to compose his own songs, the outcomes had never turned out as good as he had hoped for. Most experts criticized his pieces as dull, the notes were perfect, but they were emotionally flat. This shattered his confidence on composing song, causing him to abandon composing altogether. Thus, it became a trauma of the king of musicians until his final breath.

    In that fleeting moment before his last breath was taken, he realized why things went that way… His life had been too easy. Everything he touched turned out well, whether it was playing an instrument, painting, or singing. That made him feel that he had enough, and he had no inspiration to create works.

    So, he couldn’t help but wonder if his spirit had been brought here because God wanted to give him another chance to find that inspiration...

    But that was a question only he could answer.

    "By the way, don’t you really want to be a streamer, big brother?" Suddenly, the younger sister, who had been snuggling in his embrace, looked up and asked, catching Gabriel off guard.

    "A streamer, huh? It doesn’t really seem to suit a person like me.”

    The boy answered in a mumbling manner, scratching his cheek out of shyness. Despite the fact that he often performed for others, he was actually a very shy person.

    The reason why Gabriel could be a musician and perform in front of large audiences was that, when he played music, he would often forget the world around him and immerse himself entirely in the sounds. This trait was both his strength and his weakness.

    "That’s a shame..."

    Gloria muttered quietly. In truth, if her older brother became a streamer, there was a good chance he could make his way to Sagittarius, which would benefit her. In the future, she intended to enter the Space Military Academy and return to exact her revenge. But seeing her older brother’s hesitation, she didn’t want to make him feel uneasy. No matter what, her resentment wasn’t more important than her older brother’s happiness.

    "Don’t think about the future just yet… Anyway, you have to be at least eighteen to become a streamer. You’re both still just kids, so there’s no need to rush into things that are far away."

    Augustine comforted them, patting the heads of his two little children. Sometimes, he felt that his kids were more mature than other children.

    "That's right. For now, you can take your time discovering what you love. Your father and I will always support you."

    Rebecca agreed with her husband. She thought these two little children were too hurry to become an adult.

    "Well then, let me play a song for Father and Mother!"

    To avoid ruining the good mood, Gabriel started a new topic.

    “What!? You just got the violin and now you can play several songs?”

     Gloria exclaimed in surprise. Was her older brother a strange creature? He had only held the instrument for less than a day and already mastered multiple songs! And where did he even learn to play it?

    "They’re just simple, pleasant songs, which aren’t difficult to play… Besides, I’m still not that good. While playing, I could tell some of the notes were off because I wasn’t controlling the pressure well enough..."

    As he mentioned before, the violin was one of the most challenging instruments in the world. To play it well required numerous elements that affected the outcome, like posture, body movements, bow pressure, bow drawing movements, and techniques for pressing notes. It could be said that there were thousands of things that could affect the sound it produced.

    So, with the fact that he was still a child who had just touched the violin for the first time, no matter how good his memory was, he couldn’t beat an unfamiliar body.

    But, that didn’t mean he couldn’t make music with it—just that it might not be as smooth and pleasant to the ear. The average person might not notice it, but him, with his keen memory and good ear, could detect even the slightly off-notes. The Ode to Joy he had just played earlier had several areas that still needed improvement as well.

    "I’m going to play Kiss the Rain by Yiruma. It’s a slow song, so I won’t need to use complex techniques… Gloria, watch closely in case you want to try the violin someday."

    Gabriel winked at his little sister before moving to pick up the violin and standing not too far from the piano.

    The boy placed the violin on his left shoulder and used his right hand to rest the bow lightly on the strings. Closing his eyes and being still for a while, at that moment, the sense of familiarity flowed in. Many notes of the song emerged from his memories, and as the bow brushed against the strings and his fingers pressed down on the notes, a high-pitched sound which full of sorrow began to resonate slowly.

    Kiss the Rain is a piece that conveys sorrow and profound love. It consists of a melody that is slow but cuts deep into one's heart. The music depicts a sense of loneliness, sadness, and estrangement. Thus, the beginning of the song is full of loneliness, immersing the listener in a sorrow. As the melody progresses, it gradually and slightly brightens, like a gentle kiss from the rain—filled with love, acceptance, and comfort—as if it is whispering that… you are not alone…

    This was another song Gabriel thought it was not too difficult to play but leaving a long-lasting impression in the listener’s heart. In his past life, he would often pick up a violin and play this song when it rained sometimes, as it allowed him to release sadness and loneliness in his heart, and receive comfort from the rain during the last part.

    As the song reached its end, Gabriel slowly opened his eyes and lowered the violin, signaling that the performance had concluded.

    "Why is everyone… crying?" Gabriel stammered as he saw the tear-streaked faces of all three listeners.

    "Sniff… Big Brother… waaaah!"

    Gloria was the first to break down, running to hug her older brother as she buried her face and cried out. The song reminded her of times when she felt utterly alone.

    She recalled the time when she was a space military cadet sent to station in the outer planet as punishment due to those people’s bullying. It was the time which she truly felt it was the loneliest period of her life, since she had no family to stand up for her against the wrongful accusations. In the end, she was unjustly punished, which drove her to fight her way up to eventually become a general…

    "There, there. It’s just a song. Everyone, please don’t cry." Gabriel mentally wiped his sweats. He hadn’t expected that this song would make everyone feel this sad.

    “Sob… my dear son, you’re so talented… This song is beautiful and so touching.”

    Rebecca quickly wiped her tears as she hugged her husband, who was sitting beside her with tears in his eyes. No one knew better than her how rarely Augustine shed tears. The fact that their son could move her lover to tears within just a few minutes of playing… was a clear testament to her son’s exceptional talent—so extraordinary that she didn’t want to believe it belonged to a child who was just ten years old.