Chapter 72
Junwoo was sitting on the sofa on the terrace piano stage, staring at a business card with trembling hands.
"This kind of thing happened to me…"
The sisters laughed out loud as they bought a cola for Soo-hyun and Junwoo and each had a glass of wine.
"Wow, Junwoo! How amazing! A love call from a professor at the Munich University of Music!" "Yes, but it was worth it. Junwoo's performance was great! Congratulations!"
Pleasant voices could be heard. But now, Junwoo couldn't hear the praise from the sisters he was so fond of.
'I won awards in many competitions, but I never stood out in an international one. I didn't even try. Then I met Soo-hyun and began to fear a real genius. I even thought that an ordinary person like me wouldn't be able to succeed on the international stage where geniuses abound. But as soon as the preliminary round was over, Professor Hermann Lindner, whom we could call the chairman of the jury, came to see me. He even suggested that I study in Germany.'
Three days had passed since the preliminary round ended, and he still couldn't tell if it was reality or a dream. Professor Lee Chan-ho told Junwoo that he had passed the preliminary round and patted him on the shoulder for his hard work, but Junwoo's mind was completely focused on his future in Germany, where he would be making music.
Soo-hyun gazed at the scenery outside with a cola in his hand. His face still looked sleepy.
"Congratulations on passing the preliminaries, Junwoo."
He greeted them with calm words. Junwoo looked up and saw the face of his faithful friend with an expression that said, 'Your journey was set.'
Junwoo's eyes filled with tears. Junwoo, who had only passed the preliminary round, spoke with a moved expression, as if he had won the championship.
"I, I… I just played as you taught me…"
Soo-hyun said with a smile.
"Professor Lee Chan-ho said that the judges praised you highly."
"That, that's also all thanks to you...."
"You played the instrument," Soo-hyun said, holding a cola.
Junwoo's face was once again filled with emotion. His shoulders were tense.
'My friend Soo-hyun is a boy who doesn't know how to behave. It would be better to show off when buying snacks at the supermarket, but you're not stingy at all with the piano.'
"Thank you," Junwoo said, wiping his eyes.
Soo-hyun smiled and looked up at the sky again. The two sisters, who were delighted to see the silent friendship of the two friends, asked in unison, as if they were twins.
"But Soo-hyun. Was your first performance on the main stage number one?" "Yes, that would really be a burden."
It was a joke from Professor Hermann. It probably wasn't a malicious joke. He just wanted to see Soo-hyun's performance quickly. Soo-hyun tilted his head slightly.
"Should I feel pressured if it's number 1?"
The cellist sister said it as if it were a matter of course.
"Of course, you go up before the judges have relaxed."
'Why is it better to go up after warming up, even if you're not exercising? I don't understand at all.'
The violinist brother looked at Soo-hyun's expression and asked.
"Are you nervous at all?"
"No."
"Haha, you're so brave. Well, if you could just show what you've practiced here, I guess there would be nothing to worry about."
'Practice and performance are different. Even if you practice perfectly, it's inevitable that you'll make mistakes when you go on stage.'
But Soo-hyun didn't seem nervous at all. Junwoo, who had been watching him, understood his friend's appearance and said with a smile.
"What's the first song of the main event?"
Soo-hyun said, as he drank his cola.
"Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27."
Two sisters spoke at the same time.
"Moonlight?" "You mean the Moonlight Sonata?"
"It's Beethoven's most famous piece," Junwoo said with a worried expression. "Are you okay? It's a very famous song. Many pianists have performed it, and their performances have been engraved in many people's memories. That means you'll be compared to the performances of famous pianists. That's precisely what worries Junwoo. You'll surely be compared."
Instead of Junwoo's words, another voice echoed in Soo-hyun's ears. A slightly high-pitched, but strong and powerful voice.
[Go play. If anyone laughs at this, I'll break their eardrums.]
Soo-hyun smiled brightly as he recalled Beethoven's story.
"I'm fine."
The final round of the International Beethoven Competition. Unlike Soo-hyun, who would be the first to go on stage and the first in line, Junwoo, who would be competing in the main event tomorrow, sat on one side of the stage with his two sisters with a somewhat relaxed mind.
Junwoo saw Professor Lee Chan-ho, who had taken his seat a little late after dropping off Ji-ye and Soo-hyun in the waiting room, looking at the audience and observing the older classical music lovers, and asked.
"The concert hall is really small. The preliminaries were held on a large stage."
Professor Lee Chan-ho said with a smile.
"Because it's a chamber music concert hall inside the Beethoven House. Since there are many participants in the preliminary round, the waiting room must be large. However, from the final round onwards, such a large stage is not necessary. When we have an orchestra stage in the final round, we'll move to a large stage, so it's okay, but I'm not used to a small concert hall that can barely accommodate about a hundred people."
"Are chamber music concert halls usually this small?"
Professor Lee Chan-ho said as he sat down.
"The German word for chamber music is 'Kammermusik.' Originally, 'Kammer' meant a living room in a palace. It was a place where music was needed, used not only for personal exchanges, but also as a place for political meetings during the feudal era."
'It's incredibly small for a performance venue, but if you think of it as a living room, it's too large.'
As the start time approached, the two sisters began to get excited.
"It's finally time to hear Soo-hyun play. He'll do well, right?" "Of course, you heard him too, right? What a genius Soo-hyun is!"
It was a slightly jealous comment, but Junwoo decided to stop being jealous of Soo-hyun. After a while, the judges entered with solemn faces and politely greeted the audience, and a small round of applause was heard. Junwoo, who was looking at Professor Hermann with wide eyes, asked the white-haired professor who came in last.
"Is that Professor Lech?"
Professor Lee Chan-ho nodded and suddenly asked.
"Do you know Professor Lech?"
"Of course, in the music world, if you don't know him, you're a spy. I heard he's a candidate for dean of the Warsaw Conservatory."
"Haha, that's right. That's what will happen. If it's not him, who will be the head of that place?"
"Wow, he's an amazing person! It's an honor for someone like him to come all the way to Germany to be a judge."
Professor Lee Chan-ho didn't tell Junwoo that Lech's target was Soo-hyun, so as not to disappoint him. As the judges sat down, the door behind the piano opened and Soo-hyun was seen. The two sisters began to get excited when they saw Soo-hyun wearing a proper tuxedo instead of his usual comfortable attire.
"Wow, he's really handsome!" "I think I'll fall for you when you dress like that."
Junwoo glared at the two sisters. 'Hey, how much of an age difference is there between you and Soo-hyun? Why are you looking at a boy like that?'
But perhaps because it was a small chamber music concert hall, the audience who clearly saw Soo-hyun's face began to whisper.
"The guide says there are Korean participants, but is the lighting strange?" "Really? I'm not the only one who saw this. You have turquoise eyes. Are you multiracial?" "You have a handsome appearance. If you have the skills, you'll become a popular star pianist."
Junwoo, whose German was not yet perfect, could not hear the people's conversations well, but the two sisters were different. The older sister asked Professor Lee Chan-ho in English.
"Excuse me, Professor."
"Yes?"
"By the way, Soo-hyun is Korean, so why are his eyes blue-green?"
Professor Lee Chan-ho was embarrassed. At that moment, the younger sister said.
"Isn't the color of your hair a little different when it's under the light?"
He usually thought he just had black hair, but when he was under the spotlights on the stage, he had gray hair here and there. Junwoo, who heard his sister's English, looked carefully at Soo-hyun and shook his head.
'You're a teenager and you have gray hair.'
"With that appearance, you'd look great with gray hair!" the two sisters said, clasping their hands together. "It looks like it's going to turn silver."
Perhaps it was too early to speculate, but Professor Lee Chan-ho thought it was possible. This was because the hair around his ears and his curly bangs were turning silver.
'Was there a foreigner in Soo-hyun's family tree? A child who barely remembers his parents' names would have no way of knowing.'
Professor Lee Chan-ho shook his head to clear his mind of distracting thoughts. It was not the time to think like that. This was the main stage. The sister's cheerful voice echoed again in his ears.
"By the way, Chopin had blue-green eyes, didn't he?" "Wouldn't I look like Liszt if I had silver hair? Wow! That would be great!"
Professor Lee Chan-ho's eyes widened when he heard his sister's voice. Now that he thought about it, Soo-hyun always said that both of them were his teachers.
'But is it really a coincidence that the characteristics of both people appear in the growing Soo-hyun?'
Soo-hyun, who greeted everyone with interest, sat down quietly on the piano stool. As he was preparing to play, the audience, who was supposed to be quiet and focused, began to murmur again.
"The sheet music?" "There's no sheet music, so you don't have to play from memory for the main stage, right?" "Are you sure?" "How cheeky. Does he think he's capable of being Clara Schumann?"
Until the mid-19th century, playing without sheet music was considered informal and even arrogant. As the Germans loved the tradition of classical music, they looked at the young Soo-hyun's behavior with arrogance. Junwoo clenched his fists when he noticed that the audience's affection for Soo-hyun was changing to feelings of seeing the recklessness of the arrogant young pianist.
'Soo-hyun, don't take any chances! Put a muzzle on those kids who are talking nonsense without knowing anything!'
The chattering audience suddenly became quiet at the sight of Professor Lech looking back with a frown in his terrifying gaze. As the tense silence in the concert hall settled, Soo-hyun, sitting at the center piano, slowly placed his hands on the keys.