Chapter 74
Professor Lee Chan-ho felt like he was going to fly. When Soo-hyun, whom he had met in Poland, chose Korea University, perhaps this situation was already expected. He advanced to the third round with great success. It would be difficult to find an opponent for Soo-hyun. But what made him even happier was that his disciple Junwoo, just like Soo-hyun, was doing well.
'Soo-hyun was expected, but I didn't think Junwoo would make it to the top 10. I'm about to burst.'
He called the dean to report.
"Hahahahaha! Dean! Soo-hyun and Junwoo both made it to the top 10 in the third round! This is a great achievement for all of Korea University!"
The dean was making a fuss, saying he would immediately put up banners all over the college and distribute press releases.
"Hahaha, Dean. You can still do that after they win, so just wait a little, hahaha!" said the professor, calming him down.
The dean hung up, asking him to report back immediately after the final round was over. Professor Lee Chan-ho smiled brightly and put his phone in his pocket.
'Haha, how lucky am I to receive this kind of treatment?'
The reason he had come out was because he had an appointment with Professor Lech from Warsaw, with whom he had wanted to speak ever since he was in Korea. Professor Lech had personally called and invited him. That could be Professor Lee Chan-ho's lifelong pride. Not only that. Yesterday, a professor from the Munich University of Music wanted to meet him.
'What a blessing for me in my later years!'
There, on the terrace of a cafe with large windows, sat Professor Lech.
"Professor!!"
Professor Lee Chan-ho ran over and quickly greeted him. Despite the unfamiliar greeting, Professor Lech smiled calmly and offered him a seat.
"Thank you for coming, please have a seat."
"No, no! If the professor calls, I have to go to the ends of the earth to see you."
"Would you like some coffee?"
"Yes, please."
Only after ordering coffee did Lech, who was leaning on the table with his elbows, open his mouth.
"My decision back then. I'm glad to confirm that it was the right one."
"…"
"It's good to be happy, but this is another story," said the professor, scratching his head.
"There it is."
Professor Lech said with a smile.
"Actually, I didn't have high expectations. I just thought it would be a priority for a child who didn't know how to define his emotions to make friends and live like a normal person. I thought it wouldn't be too late for him to grow as a pianist. But now, look at Soo-hyun. That child has grown so much. Now, the youth competition might no longer have any meaning for him."
Professor Lee Chan-ho waved his hands wildly.
"You misunderstand! I didn't do anything."
"Haha, they say humility is an Eastern courtesy. But if you do that in the West, you'll be looked down upon."
"It's not that, Professor. Listen to me."
Professor Lech frowned after hearing his long explanation.
"Did you just print the sheet music?"
Professor Lee Chan-ho smiled bitterly.
"Actually, half of that was done by Jaehee, Soo-hyun's friend. I just watched Soo-hyun play perfectly during class. No, maybe that was a distraction for him."
"Why is that?"
"There was another disciple next to me, Junwoo. Someone was watching the pianist practice. Perhaps it was a necessary practice method for a pianist who plays in front of an audience, but it was poison for a pianist who has to face the composer's soul."
Professor Lech sighed.
"And what else did you do?"
"Well… we invited a child psychiatrist to the school. We had a consultation with him once a week."
Professor Lech's face lit up.
"Great. What classes did you take?"
"It's… that professor said the class kept failing."
"Yes?"
"She said that he already perfectly knew the feelings she was trying to teach."
Professor Lech asked in surprise,
"In that short period of time, have you already developed emotions to the level of a normal person?"
"Oh, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean that. It's just a story about two emotions I tried to teach Soo-hyun."
"Mmm…."
Professor Lech was lost in thought.
'This story is beyond comprehension. It's a development that's only possible when one has a teacher who is at least as good as oneself, or even better. The growth rate is too large.'
Professor Lee Chan-ho's voice came to his ears.
"I asked Ji-ye, the guardian, and she said that Soo-hyun didn't have a private tutor. But there's something a little strange…"
A strange light appeared in Professor Lech's eyes.
"What's strange?"
"Soo-hyun often said strange things to Junwoo. 'First, focus on the technique. Then, the rhythm. Then, the notes. Once you've mastered accuracy, don't stop for a small mistake. Reflect on it after you've finished the piece.'"
Professor Lech's body froze.
"Are you saying that… Soo-hyun told Junwoo that?"
"Yes, it's strange. I've never taught anything like that. What's even stranger was when I heard them talking in the practice room."
"What did he say?"
"Soo-hyun told Junwoo that."
Professor Lee Chan-ho monologued as he remembered:
"It has been said that great pianists are also great composers. The performance of a true virtuoso is an art that integrates performance and composition. Make the song sound like a coherent piece of work. That's real piano playing, the rest is nothing."
Professor Lech's body stiffened even more.
'This is not something a child can say. Clearly, it is a teaching he learned from someone. However, no one taught Soo-hyun. How should we understand this?'
"One day, Junwoo asked, 'How did Beethoven play the piano?' At that time, Soo-hyun answered like this."
Professor Lech looked at Chan-ho Lee with teary eyes. He continued.
"The sight of him sitting in front of the piano was in a state of unconsciousness. The facial muscles swelled, the veins stood out, his bloodshot eyes rolled back even more frighteningly. The lips were in spasm. It was like a magician dominated by the demon he had summoned. With the slightest movement of his fingers, I felt as if he were chasing a sound that was slowly fading from his soul. As if he were deaf, the instrument was also mute."
Professor Lech's elbow slipped from the table. He looked at Professor Lee Chan-ho, wondering with his eyes if Soo-hyun had really said that.
'How can one even portray Beethoven like that?'
"I couldn't help but wonder about all this," said Lee Chan-ho. "And then I was shocked by another incident."
"What happened again?"
"I'm talking about the psychiatrist I mentioned earlier. She asked him to draw a house. At that time, Soo-hyun drew a log cabin. The teacher said the house was architecturally perfect. She said it had a structure that people could live in."
"Is that possible?" asked Lee Chan-ho. "There was a large window. There were three pianos in the forest with zelkovas. But the really strange thing was the inside of the window. Have you ever seen a child draw the inside of a window? Inside, there was a bed. And below it, a strange black, straight object."
"What was it?"
"It was called the armrest of the sofa."
"Yes?"
'This is definitely strange. The teacher said the house the child drew was probably a real house. It could even be the house where he lived during his disappearance. But who would put a piano in the forest?'
"When I heard the conversation with Junwoo, I had a strange idea."
Professor Lech, who had been listening silently, spoke with a dazed look on his face.
"He draws what he saw himself… and tells what he heard himself…?"
"He's always sleepy when he comes to school," said Lee Chan-ho. "I asked Ji-ye, and she said he goes to his room early in the evening. By the way, there's no TV in Soo-hyun's room. He probably sleeps. But it's strange that he's sleepy."
"Don't children live with their cell phones glued to their heads?"
"Soo-hyun doesn't know how to play games. He doesn't take it out at school."
Professor Lee Chan-ho said, laughing.
"I thought about it over and over, but I couldn't find the answer. Then, I came up with a funny and absurd idea."
Professor Lech stared at Professor Lee Chan-ho and asked.
"What did you think?"
"Maybe Soo-hyun meets Beethoven every day in his dreams? And that's why he's learning everything about him. That's what I thought. Haha, how absurd."
"…"
Only Professor Lee Chan-ho's awkward laugh echoed in the cafe amidst Professor Lech's silence.