Chapter 59
An amusement park in Gwacheon. As always, Dr. Kim Eun-joo, with her gold-rimmed glasses and a stylish long coat, approached the bench with a hot dog and a cola.
"Soo-hyun, let's eat. Yours is a cheese hot dog."
Soo-hyun stood up and politely accepted the hot dog.
"Thank you, teacher."
"Haha, what? Let's eat quickly."
"Yes."
Soo-hyun blinked, as if it were the first time he'd seen a hot dog covered in ketchup, and stared at the hot dog on the wooden skewers. When Kim Eun-joo took a bite, Soo-hyun made an expression that said, 'Oh, so that's how you eat it,' and carefully took a bite.
"And...."
Eun-joo Kim smiled and patted Soo-hyun's shoulder.
"Is it delicious?"
Soo-hyun nodded, quickly swallowing the food in his mouth.
"Yes, it's delicious. You said this was called a hot dog, right?"
"Yes, but this is a Korean hot dog. Originally, a hot dog was just a sausage in a bun with sauce on it. Some say it was called a hot dog because the sausage in the bun looked like a short-legged dog. Nobody knows for sure."
Soo-hyun nodded and looked at her.
'Why aren't you eating?'
"Why?"
"I thought you would explain more."
"Hmm?"
"I'll eat when you're done."
Soo-hyun began to eat the hot dog again. Eun-joo Kim smiled.
'Soo-hyun, who never speaks when he has food in his mouth. I don't know who taught him manners, but what a well-mannered person.'
She waited until the boy finished eating his food.
"Have you been to an amusement park, Soo-hyun?"
"When I was young. I came with my parents. I remember taking a picture with a person wearing a doll mask that looked like a raccoon."
"I see. How is this?"
"To be honest, the place I remembered was decorated very cutely, like a place from a fairy tale, but this place is a bit empty. Also, since it's winter, the flowerbeds only have bare, dry trees."
"Well, that's that. Why are you here?"
Kim Eun-joo looked into Soo-hyun's eyes and said.
"You were supposed to study emotions with the teacher, right? Today is the first class. Emotions can arise from internal conflicts, but they can also be felt more intensely and clearly from external stimuli. The emotion we are going to feel today is fear. Soo-hyun has a trauma about trains, so we won't be riding the rides."
Soo-hyun burst out laughing.
"It's scary."
Eun-joo Kim asked Soo-hyun, who was smiling.
"Aren't you nervous? I told you I know the dictionary definition of fear."
After putting the hot dog skewers and napkins that Soo-hyun was holding in the trash can, he put his hands in his sweater pockets.
"Okay, let's go."
Kim Eun-joo, who was staring at Soo-hyun walking first, tilted her head, then stood up and said.
"Not that way, it's over there."
Soo-hyun looked where Kim Eun-joo was pointing and made a questioning expression.
"A haunted house?"
Kim Eun-joo said with a playful smile.
"Should you be nervous? It's really scary over there."
Soo-hyun smiled and nodded.
Ten minutes later, in the haunted house.
"Yesss…"
Eun-joo Kim hid behind Soo-hyun and screamed loudly. Soo-hyun, who was actually the person experiencing the horror, looked with a blank expression at the person approaching her dressed in black with strange makeup.
'Why the hell is that scary?'
When I looked at Kim Eun-joo, she screamed again.
"Ahhhh! Don't come! Soo-hyun! The teacher will protect you!"
'Excuse me, teacher. You said you would protect me, but why do you keep pushing me towards the ghosts? How can you protect me by hiding behind me?'
He felt Teacher Kim Eun-joo's hand trembling as she grabbed his shoulder. She was even sweating coldly. Seeing the inside of the train that Beethoven had shown him, he wondered if he had been like that too. He had already felt it himself. Soo-hyun now observed the figure of the person feeling fear from a third-person perspective.
"Wow! That's cheating! Grabbing someone's ankle all of a sudden is cheating!"
Teacher Eun-ju Kim ran and screamed loudly. She always seemed cold and reserved, but she had this side to her too. As she passed through the small haunted house, Ms. Kim Eun-ju screamed until her throat was hoarse. When the light finally appeared and the black curtains signaling the end opened, she, who had been hiding behind Soo-hyun until then, quickly ran outside.
"Gasp, gasp!!!"
Kim Eun-joo, who was panting with her back bent and her hands on her knees, asked Soo-hyun, who came out a little late.
"Gasp. How was it? Do you know what fear is?"
"…"
"Oh, my throat hurts. I think I screamed too much. How was Soo-hyun?"
"Well, it was just, okay."
"…?"
Kim Eun-joo, who was staring blankly at Soo-hyun with his hands in his sweater pockets as he went to look elsewhere, cringed in the cold sweat that was being cooled by the cold wind. Kim Eun-joo, who realized her mistake upon looking at Soo-hyun, who didn't seem scared at all, laughed in vain.
'Soo-hyun has never seen a horror movie. It's impossible for a child who doesn't know what a ghost is to be afraid of it…'
Teacher Kim Eun-ju, who had been shaking her head and blaming herself, made a questioning expression.
"But what did you see so well?"
Eun-joo Kim, who had no idea that Soo-hyun had seen her own terrified appearance, quickly followed Soo-hyun, who had gone first.
'The meaning of life is not found by thinking about it, but by throwing yourself into the challenges of more specific situations. The meaning of life only becomes clear when all sound is lost. Life is a monster that if you think of it as a tragedy, it becomes a tragedy, and if you think of it as a comedy, it becomes a comedy. Before the clear conclusion that he had to do it anyway, the only thing left was music. That was all.'
A zelkova piano stage outside Beethoven's log cabin. Unlike Liszt's house, there was only one piano in this place, and the cold wind of midwinter was blowing. Only the piano was free of snow. Beethoven sat in the chair and rested his trembling hands on the keys.
'I can hear a sound. It's the sound of a beautiful instrument that I wish I could hear even in my dreams. If there were more instruments in this house, I could enjoy listening to all the instruments all day long. Since I'm here, should I say I'm glad there's at least one piano I've never played before?'
A pockmarked, reddish face. A big smile spread across Beethoven's face, which was filled with stubbornness and obstinacy.
'This is probably the first time I've smiled happily since I got here.'
"Ha ha ha..."
He was a pianist before he became a composer.
'When was the last time I heard a beautiful melody, the pretty sound of a piano that touches my ears? After writing countless songs, I wanted to hear my own songs at least once.'
Beethoven quietly placed both hands on the keyboard, but he could not easily start playing.
'What song should I play? My music, the one I hear with my ears. I want to play the most joyful and pleasant music.'
A smile spread across Beethoven's face as he pondered. Slowly, he moved his wrists and both hands began to move together to play a chord.
Oh friends, not these tones!Rather, let us raise our voices in more pleasingAnd more joyful ones!Joy! Joy!Joy, beautiful spark of divinity,Daughter of Elysium,We enter, drunk with fire,Heavenly one, thy sanctuary!Thy magic binds againWhat custom strictly divided;All people become brothers,Where thy gentle wing abides.All creatures drink of joyAt nature's breasts.All the Just, all the EvilFollow her trail of roses.Kisses she gave us and grapevines,A friend, proven in death.Even the worm was given pleasure,And the cherub stands before God!Gladly, as His suns flyThrough the heavens' grand plan,Go on, brothers, your way,Joyful, like a hero to victory.Be embraced, you millions!This kiss is for all the world!Brothers, above the starry canopyA loving father must dwell.Do you fall to your knees, you millions?Do you sense the Creator, world?Seek him above the starry canopy!Above the stars he must dwell.
'I wouldn't be this happy even in a dream! In my ears! My music echoes in my soul. I never thought the day would come when I would taste such beautiful and moving wine again.'
Ludwig van Beethoven playing with his own hands: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125. This was a piano performance of a symphony, the so-called "chorale." It was also a song written while his hearing was extremely poor. Beethoven, who was performing the piece, laughed. He never titled it "Choral."
'This song was created after being moved by the poem 'Ode to Joy' by the German poet Friedrich Schiller, so it would have been better to call it 'Ode to Joy'.'
As his performance ended, Beethoven, trembling with satisfaction, pounded the keyboard with his fists and burst out laughing.
"Haha… The boy who brought me this joy! This ecstasy! Where are you? Come and see me right now! I'm Beethoven. There are few people in the world who have what they can give me. The only time I wanted something that another boy had was when I saw that damn boy Mozart! But you gave me the most precious thing. I will surely repay you."
'What can a musician give in return? There is no need to worry.'
Beethoven ran to the log cabin, carrying a pen and paper.
"I will write a song just for you, a song that will never be the same in the world."
Beethoven, lying on the floor, waving his notes. At that moment, his time had stopped. It was the moment when new music was born, note by note, waiting for the boy who would come back to find it. A few hours later, a shrill knock was heard.
'When I was deaf, it didn't bother me at all. But I'm glad I did. Knock, knock, can't you hear the sound of knocking clearly?'
"Hahaha! Who are you?"
He saw the hand that was politely knocking and opening the door hesitate. He seemed quite surprised that his own answer fell on him.
"Come on in!"
The door opened slowly. Franz and Frederick were seen with astonished faces.
"Sir?"
"It's cold! Close the door and come in!"
Beethoven's face looked very excited as he explained to Franz and Frederick, who had come running in surprise, about his encounter with Soo-hyun and the boy's gift, while spitting. At first they were surprised, but the two friends were very happy to see Beethoven smiling for the first time in a long time thanks to Soo-hyun's gift. Franz smiled as he looked at the sheet music Beethoven was holding in his hand.
"Soo-hyun was here, haha. By the way, it seems you wrote a new song, professor."
"Ah! Of course! But I still have a lot to fix. It will probably take me a week. But I composed this song after listening to it with my own ears. I'm really looking forward to it!"
"It makes me sad to think that that music won't be known in the world," Franz looked regretful.
Beethoven waved the sheet music as if to say, "What are you talking about?"
"Why can't you hear it?"
"…Yes?"
"This is music for Soo-hyun. It's a way for musicians to express their gratitude. It's a tribute. This music will be performed by Soo-hyun's hands."
Francis and Frederick shouted in surprise.
"Master!!! That can't be done!"
"Shut up, you guys! If I do it, I do it!"
- - - -
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