Jazz for Two: The Silent Beat

Episode 9: Echoes of the Past

Episode 9: "Echoes of the Past"

The silence in the music hall was suffocating. Do Yoon stood in the middle of the room, his breath shallow, his heartbeat still thundering in his ears. The ghost at the piano had disappeared, its presence evaporating into thin air, leaving only the sound of their ragged breathing in its wake.

Ju Ha's grip on Do Yoon's arm tightened as he took a step back, his eyes darting around the room. The tension that had once been so thick now felt fragile, like a thread barely holding the weight of everything that had happened. The air had changed, but it wasn't necessarily a change for the better. The walls were quieter, but there was something new in their stillness — something that lingered.

"Do Yoon, are you okay?" Ju Ha's voice was soft, almost tentative, but there was an edge to it, an unspoken fear that lingered just beneath the surface.

Do Yoon barely heard him. His mind was spinning. The curse — the song — it was over, wasn't it? They had played the Devil's Chord. They had broken the cycle. The ghosts were gone. The building was silent. But the price. What had they truly paid?

"I'm fine," Do Yoon muttered, his voice hoarse. His fingers hovered near the piano, but he quickly pulled them away, as though touching it again would bring everything back.

But it didn't feel fine. Nothing felt fine. His gut twisted with a gnawing discomfort that he couldn't shake.

Ju Ha stepped closer, his face still pale, but there was a strange sense of relief in his eyes. It was the first time Do Yoon had seen him look even remotely at ease since they'd entered the music hall.

"We did it," Ju Ha whispered, more to himself than to Do Yoon. "The curse is... gone."

But just as the words left Ju Ha's mouth, a distant sound filled the air.

It was faint at first, like the hum of an old, broken radio. A note, high and pure, like the sound of a violin string tuning itself. But it was wrong. The note was too sharp, too pure. It hurt to hear, like a wound in the air.

Do Yoon turned toward the source of the sound, his heart skipping in his chest. "What is that?"

Ju Ha's face dropped. His expression twisted with fear. "No. It can't be."

But Do Yoon could see it, now. The piano wasn't just a silent relic anymore. The keys began to move again, playing by themselves — but it wasn't the same haunting melody. This was different. It wasn't the Devil's Chord, but it was something just as unnerving.

And then, they heard it.

A voice, not from the piano, but from the very walls of the building. A whisper — not of ghosts, but of something deeper. Something older.

"You can't break the song. The song is eternal."

Do Yoon felt a cold sweat trickle down his spine, and Ju Ha stumbled backward, his face etched with an expression of horror.

"No, no, no..." Ju Ha muttered, shaking his head violently. "I... I didn't think..."

The piano stopped playing. The room fell into complete silence again, but the air was thick, like a storm had gathered, waiting to break.

"Hyung, what's happening?" Do Yoon asked, his voice almost a whisper. The fear was palpable now — a raw, gnawing feeling deep in his chest. He had to know. He had to understand what was going on.

Ju Ha looked at him, his eyes wide, almost pained. There was something in his expression now — something that was neither guilt nor fear, but something heavier. Something that spoke of the depth of everything that had transpired.

"Do Yoon..." Ju Ha's voice was shaking. "The song wasn't just a curse. It wasn't just a haunting. It was a binding, and breaking it... it wasn't enough. The music isn't just in the hall. It's inside of us now."

Do Yoon's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"

Ju Ha swallowed, his throat tight. "I told you the story about Jung Seok, right? He was the first one to play the Devil's Chord. The one who started all of this. But there's something you don't know. The song — it doesn't just bind spirits. It binds the living, too. The curse... it doesn't end. It just transfers."

Do Yoon's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean we... we're not free?"

Ju Ha didn't answer right away. He just looked at Do Yoon, his face pale. The weight of his words was settling like stones in Do Yoon's chest.

"You're starting to hear it, aren't you?" Ju Ha whispered. "The music... it's not just a curse. It's part of the building. It's part of us now."

Suddenly, Do Yoon felt it — a low, steady hum beneath the floor, beneath his feet. It was like a pulse, not of the building, but of his very body. It vibrated in his chest, in his bones. The music was still there, wrapped around him like a chain he couldn't break.

"It's in me now... isn't it?" Do Yoon whispered, his voice filled with dread.

Ju Ha nodded slowly, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Yes. The song is part of you now. Part of me. The curse has... transferred."

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The hum in the air continued, but it was no longer just a sound. It was a presence. The music had become alive, not in a ghostly sense, but in a way that made Do Yoon feel like it was inside him. In his thoughts. In his pulse. In his soul.

Do Yoon took a shaky breath. "So... what now?"

Ju Ha looked at him, his expression torn. "Now we face the consequences. We can't run from it. The song isn't something we can escape anymore. And the building... the spirits might be gone, but the music? It will never let us go. Not completely."

The hum grew louder, stronger. It was as though the entire building was coming to life again. The walls seemed to breathe, the air thickening with tension.

And then, just as quickly as it had begun, the hum stopped. The silence returned.

But the feeling didn't. The song still lingered — an echo of something eternal.

Suddenly, the door to the music hall creaked open, and Do Yoon and Ju Ha turned toward it. There, standing in the doorway, was someone they hadn't expected to see — a figure from their past, someone who had been thought lost to the building long ago.

It was a student, one whose name neither of them recognized, but whose presence felt familiar. He stepped forward, his eyes glowing with an unnatural light, a faint smile on his lips.

"You thought you were free, didn't you?" the figure said softly, almost mockingly.