Chapter 60
Kim Junwoo. Fourteen years old. Approximately 160 cm tall, with a clean, handsome face. A piano prodigy who entered the Korea University Center for Musical Education for the Gifted.
'They call me a prodigy now, but when I was little, they called me a genius.'
Although only in national competitions, he had placed in the top three eight times. He had sponsors supporting him since he was ten. In his practice room, the plaques and trophies filled the space on the piano. Junwoo stared at them, but his face, which should have been happy, was distorted.
'Damn it…'
Never, not once, had he lived a time feeling inferior. That was until he met a boy named Nam Soo-hyun. He saw his performance, the duet with the violinist Jaehee. Junwoo had felt inferior since that day.
"Brahms, Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26. A piece he played as a duet with Jaehee…"
He, on the other hand, had chosen Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64. At the time, he was confident. He thought he had expressed Mendelssohn's music perfectly. That was before Nam Soo-hyun took the stage. After seeing Soo-hyun's performance, he realized he had expressed nothing. It wasn't just Soo-hyun. Jaehee, who was next to him, was also very talented.
"Tsk… If I had known beforehand. The girl who wore shabby clothes and acted as if she had nothing. I think if I had discovered her, I could have played better than Soo-hyun."
Junwoo, who had been blaming the violinist he had chosen, looked at Professor Lee Chan-ho with a dissatisfied expression as he opened the door and entered during lesson time. Professor Lee Chan-ho sighed when he saw Junwoo, who had been showing strong hostility towards Soo-hyun for some time, looking dissatisfied again today.
"Did you practice a lot?"
"What about Nam Soo-hyun?"
'Soo-hyun is passionate about practice. When he sits in front of the piano, he doesn't get up for five or six hours.'
"I'm going to do that starting today. I've already told my mom, so please give me more lessons."
"Are you the only student here? I have to take care of Jooyoung and Jinhee too."
"With Soo-hyun, please do more."
"It's the same. No, I teach you even less than him."
"…"
Junwoo ground his teeth. Professor Lee Chan-ho felt complicated as he watched him.
"Are you going to practice Beethoven's music today too?"
"Because Nam Soo-hyun does."
"…"
'What should I do with this child?'
Professor Lee Chan-ho, who was looking at Junwoo's profile, heard Professor Kim Eun-joo's words echo in his head.
"There is a leader in the pack. But it doesn't last forever. The reason is that the boys who recognized the leader and stepped down are sharpening their knives from behind. Whenever they feel he is weak, they bite and try to become the leader. That will be the force that will sustain Junwoo. I will try harder to catch up with Soo-hyun. These will become the feathers of the wings that will grow on the child's back."
Professor Lee Chan-ho was worried.
'Will it really turn out as Teacher Kim Eun-joo said? I'm worried that if I hesitate, Junwoo will become even more twisted.'
"Junwoo."
"We don't have much time, so let's start the lesson quickly, Professor."
Junwoo opened the musical score after checking the time. He had a face that said that every minute and every second was precious. It seemed that he was only thinking about how to practice more and beat Soo-hyun. Professor Lee Chan-ho, who had been silently watching Junwoo, stood up from his seat as if he had made a decision.
"Let's go for a moment."
"Where? The class time is limited. I don't have time."
"I'm going to see Soo-hyun."
"…?"
"Watch and feel how Soo-hyun practices."
Junwoo's face distorted.
'Is that the look on his face that says, "Are you saying that someone like me is someone who needs to watch and learn?"'
Professor Lee Chan-ho said, shaking his head.
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'If you know your enemy, you will win every battle'? If you know your opponent well, you will win or lose, right?"
Junwoo's face, which had been frowning, improved a little. This was because there was nothing wrong with what Professor Lee Chan-ho said. Junwoo, who had been thinking for a moment, covered the musical score and said.
"Let's go."
At the same time, in Soo-hyun's practice room. Soo-hyun carefully took out the handwritten sheet music, opened the door of the practice room, and looked out into the empty hallway. Soo-hyun closed the door tightly and looked at the sheet music on the stand.
'When I visited Beethoven's house yesterday, I saw Franz and Uncle Frederick there. It was said that he would occasionally come to say hello and wait for Beethoven to meet him. There, Beethoven, with a happy face, gave me a piece of music as a gift.'
"This song is for you! It's my song, but it's also your song. I know this won't repay my debt. Because you gave me the light of the soul. I'll pay back the rest of my debt little by little! Hahaha!"
'At first I didn't understand what he was saying. I can't explain how surprised I was when I looked at the score and realized it was a new piece composed by Beethoven. Frederick came up to Soo-hyun, who was so surprised she didn't know what to do, and whispered.'
"It must never be known that this is Professor Beethoven's song, Soo-hyun.""Yes? Then what do I do?""If someone asks, just say it's your song.""That won't work. It's clearly a Beethoven song. How can you do that?""Who would believe you? If you go out into the world with this and shout, 'This is Beethoven's Divine Comedy!', they'll treat you like a madman."
Soo-hyun, who rested his chin on his hand and looked at the score, sighed.
'Why would he give this as a gift? But after reading the score, I can't help but play it. I actually thought I was going crazy because my hands were itching since last night. What kind of poem did the old man write? I'm curious, I'm so curious I'm going crazy. Surely you didn't put fear and anger into the song you gave me as a thank you, trying to teach me emotions?'
As Soo-hyun quietly placed his hands on the keyboard, footsteps were heard in the hallway. Soo-hyun, who was startled and hid the score, held his breath and concentrated on the sound of the footsteps. The sound of footsteps echoing down the hallway, stopping in front of his own room. The owner of the door hesitated for a moment before opening the door slightly.
"Soo-hyun? Why don't I hear you practicing? Are you taking a break?"
'Ha, it was Professor Lee Chan-ho.'
"Ah, professor. That's right, I took a little break."
Professor Lee Chan-ho said as he opened the door.
"Yes, what a great time. Junwoo wanted to see you practice so he could stay with you for a while."
"Junwoo?"
'Who was Junwoo? Ah! He was my friend from the piano class, right? Come to think of it, I don't have a chance to meet other piano students besides Jooyoung, my classmate in middle school. This is because the classes are different during departmental classes and the lessons are taken individually.'
Soo-hyun nodded with a happy face.
"Yes, we're friends from the same department."
As Lee Chan-ho nodded as he looked outside, a boy with a cold face came in. Soo-hyun raised his hand.
"Hello?"
"…"
Junwoo, with a cold wind blowing in his face, walked slowly, unfolded a folding chair in a corner, and sat down, crossing his arms.
'Why do you have that expression?'
Professor Lee Chan-ho said with a sigh.
"Practice, I'll just watch quietly and leave. I'm not here to bother you, that's all."
"Ah, yes…"
Soo-hyun looked at Junwoo and pouted.
'Sister Ji-ye told me to say hello first when I see my friends. Isn't that right? Was I wrong?'
Professor Lee Chan-ho was seen sitting next to Junwoo. Two people staring quietly. If they didn't play a song, it would be suffocating to feel the silence. Soo-hyun opened the sheet music roughly, but once he opened it, he began to read it seriously. Junwoo's lips twisted when he saw him slowly reading the music as he turned the pages.
'Are you just trying to show off? Do you re-read the score after practicing it countless times just to show off in front of me?'
Through the boy's distorted eyes, Soo-hyun's performance could be heard, with his hands placed slowly on the keyboard as if he had read all the musical scores. As soon as he heard the introduction, Junwoo straightened his back and looked at Soo-hyun as if he were going to eat him.
'Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 8, 'Pathétique'. It's 'Pathétique'!'1st movement: Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio.'It's a movement that repeats in the form of A, B, A, B. The repeated performance of the solemn and slow part A and the fast and lively part B is similar to the feeling of emotional ups and downs that one experiences when faced with a sad event.'2nd movement: Adagio Cantabile.'A popular melody is heard. A song that brings to mind a man who has gone through an extremely sad experience and whose heart has become empty.'3rd movement: Rondo Allegro.'It is the most popular movement. The song should be played in a way that it seems as if a subtle sadness is tearing at the heart, and the repeated progression of the song gives the feeling of reminiscing after a great sadness has passed.'
A smile appeared on Junwoo's face as he watched Soo-hyun's performance before the third movement.
'Not only were there no mistakes, but Soo-hyun couldn't express anything. Even I can do that now. That's because I've practiced the song tens of thousands of times. As expected, this kid was nothing special. He was just a little taller and more handsome than me. I was lucky he played a good song back then.'
Professor Lee Chan-ho frowned at the satisfaction on Junwoo's face. After the performance, Soo-hyun looked at himself with a questioning expression. Before he could say anything, Junwoo stood up first.
"Let's go, Professor. There's nothing more to see. I still have class, so let's go to the practice room together."
Professor Lee Chan-ho asked without getting up.
"Have you seen everything?"
"Yes, I came for nothing. It was a waste of time."
"Hold on."
"There's no time, let's go."
"Wait a minute."
Junwoo looked back at him with a questioning expression, "Why?" Lee Chan-ho, with his eyes closed, answered.
"Soo-hyun."
"Yes?"
"That song just now. How long did you practice it?"
"It's sight-reading."
Junwoo's body, which was about to leave the room, trembled as if struck by lightning. Junwoo stammered as he looked at Soo-hyun with eyes that seemed to be tearing apart.
"First, first, first time seeing the musical score?"
Soo-hyun said, scratching his head.
"Yes, it's the first time I've seen it."
"Hey, isn't it the first time you're playing a piece, but the first time you're seeing a score?"
"Yes, didn't you feel anything? It must have been painful to hear that. I'm sorry I came on purpose."
Junwoo's eyes widened as if they were going to pop out.
'This is clearly a lie! You never made a mistake! You're lying, right? Tell me it's a lie!'
Professor Lee Chan-ho carefully observed Junwoo's actions and said.
"So, Soo-hyun. Now, try playing while thinking about your emotions."
After Soo-hyun nodded, he looked at Junwoo and said apologetically.
"Can you listen to this one more time? Sorry, we don't have time to practice."
Junwoo's fists trembled.
'I want to leave that liar behind and run out of the practice room right now. But I have to check. If he plays the same instrument, what I just said would be a lie. No, it would have to be a lie.'
Junwoo, who had been staring at Soo-hyun, quickly sat down next to Professor Lee Chan-ho, and Professor Lee Chan-ho nodded towards Soo-hyun, who had his eyes closed in front of the piano. Soo-hyun's performance was about to begin. Junwoo and the professor held their breath.
- - - -
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