Chapter 110
Junwoo bent his back and moved his legs quickly.
Junwoo quickly picked up the microphone he had left on the stage, handed it to Soo-hyun, and then disappeared again.
The villagers burst out laughing when they saw him crouching down so as not to be noticed, but he was more visible.
"Haha. I see everything, you hooligan."
"He's cute, haha."
As Soo-hyun looked towards the side of the stage at the laughter of the townspeople, he saw Junwoo hiding behind the curtain with a red face.
'Looking at his expression, I think he's dying of embarrassment.'
The expression on Junwoo's face, as he avoided the teasing gazes of the orchestra members hiding backstage, was quite funny.
"Junwoo, I see everything. Were you trying to become invisible?" Soo-hyun said into the microphone.
Laughter erupted again at Soo-hyun's words. The members backstage couldn't hold back their laughter either, and Junwoo waved his fist as if to say, "Do you want to die?" Soo-hyun smiled and looked at the audience again.
"How was it? The first piece you heard was a waltz by Chopin, and the second was a symphonic poem by Liszt."
In a classical music concert, no one answered when the host spoke. But this was a place where only the inhabitants of Baeksa village were present.
"I've heard of Chopin, but who is Liszt?"
"Yes, I don't know anything about classical music, but I know Chopin. But this is the first time I've heard of Liszt."
"You ignoramuses! If we don't know him, he's not famous."
"Without even knowing the map."
"What is it?"
"Hahahaha."
At first glance, it might seem like an intense conversation, but the people were speaking with a smile. Soo-hyun spoke into the microphone.
"Chopin's nickname was 'the poet of the piano.' He was Polish, and there was a lot of music that really sounded like poetry on the piano."
A grandmother touched her ear as if agreeing.
"I see. I thought I heard something…"
"Did grandma do that too? I also felt like someone was talking to me."
Many people nodded, as if they felt the same way. Soo-hyun looked at the people with a smile and took the microphone again.
"The second piece I played was 'Mazeppa' by Liszt. Liszt's nickname was 'The Silver-Haired Devil'."
Sambok clapped and jumped up.
"That's right! Whoever deliberately created such a difficult piece must be the devil! Playing the piano must have become more difficult because of him, right?"
At Sambok's words, the people burst out laughing again. As Soo-hyun smiled and nodded, Sambok sat down again with a confident expression.
"It is said that if Paganini is the culprit for making it difficult to play the violin, then Liszt is the one who made it difficult to play the piano. Mr. Sambok was right."
When the people saw Sambok and exclaimed "Oh~", Sambok was the one who patted his chest and tensed his shoulders as if he were right. Soo-hyun said, waiting for the laughter and conversation to gradually subside.
"Okay, now it's my music."
The villagers, except for Young-hoo and Sambok, who already knew the truth, were in an uproar.
"Are there people who compose classical music?" "Didn't classical performance just consist of playing old music?" "My goodness! Can our Soo-hyun compose his own songs? He's a genius, he's a genius." "Soo-hyun! What's the name of the song?"
A shout from one person. Everyone's curiosity seemed to have stopped as the murmur stopped and all eyes turned to Soo-hyun. He, holding the microphone, looked around the audience and spoke.
"The one who taught me how to compose music said that music is a way to convey your feelings. From now on, I want to tell you my story. Will you listen?"
The inhabitants of Baeksa village adored Soo-hyun. The elders were willing to stay up all night to listen to the boy's story, and they could be seen waving their hands as if asking him to hurry up.
"The title is SHN Piano Sonata No. 2 in C minor, Op. 2, but it's actually No. 1," Soo-hyun said playfully, sticking out his tongue.
But, except for Young-hoo, there was no one in the audience who understood these words. The problem was the members waiting backstage.
"Soo-hyun originally had a piano sonata, right? He registered the copyright, so isn't this the second song? Why the first?" "Yeah, is it number 1? What does that mean?" "Is it just some kind of meaningless humor?"
'Op. 1 is a confession that it is a Beethoven song, but no one understands it. Even my closest friends, Junwoo and Jaehee, are in disbelief.'
Soo-hyun, who turned off the microphone and placed it on the floor, put his hands back on the keyboard and then picked up the microphone again as if he had forgotten something.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot to give it a name other than the number. It's called 'Serendipity.' It originally meant that an important discovery or invention was made by pure chance, but I gave it that name with the meaning of the luck that a chance discovery brings."
The people of Baeksa village smiled and gestured for us to hurry up and play. In fact, they didn't care if the title was Serendipity or Serengeti. Soo-hyun, who smiled again, began to play with his back still straight.
Andante grazioso.
It began slowly and elegantly, and from a middle note, a warm sound that had neither the joy of the high notes nor the melancholy of the low notes dominated the concert hall. Soo-hyun's song, in which he sang slowly and deeply, sounded as if he were praying for time to stop just like that.
One day.
Perhaps the scariest day in the world.
Perhaps the saddest day in the world.
I went on a trip.
Time, stop.
So that this moment will last forever.
Please don't let it go.
Just leave me alone.
Soo-hyun's music took a sudden turn. The rhythm didn't change, but it was as if something had hit it hard. A strong wind blew, seeming to want to break a large tree, and it was chaotic and dizzying. But it was just for an instant. The performance, quiet and at the same time somewhat unsettling, continued as if the mountain birds were alone in the forest, and then, at some point, it stopped.
Then he paused and added a short piece, which was part of Wagner's Bridal Chorus. Quoting the music of other composers was a common practice in classical music. Soo-hyun remembered the moment he met Liszt after falling into the Pianist's Village. After a brief quote from Wagner, the piece returned to a quiet and peaceful melody.
Bright silver hair. A warm smile.
The day I lost my father, the day I gained my father.
The day I heard him play for the first time.
That's how it all started.
The performance stopped again, paused for a moment, and then resumed the song. Perhaps because it was a famous song, Young-hoo became alert. The song Soo-hyun had quoted was Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23. Although it was only about 10 seconds of music, Soo-hyun played a familiar melody and continued to play in a gentler and more peaceful way than before.
Small and dwarfish, but always smiling.
Gently, suggestively, persuasively.
The day I lost my mother, the day I gained my mother.
That's how it all started.
The performance quickly spread through the rhythms. Someone came to mind, leaving behind sad memories and laughing with cheerful people.
A subtle joke.
Food served hot, without letting it get cold.
A gentle, stroking touch.
A heart that stayed up all night making music just for me.
In case the wound opens,
I'm afraid the wound will get infected and burst.
I wonder if the question will cause more harm.
Putting aside my curiosity, I just…
I was eager to hug you with warm arms.
I met the parents of my heart.
There was another change in rhythm. The music, which had been lively, became slower than at the beginning and, suddenly, became darker thanks to the bass.
There was still hope for me.
So that we can meet again someday.
I can never see you again.
When I knew you had crossed a long river,
I ran away.
To the stout-looking, black-bodied guy.
Please hide me.
With your large and heavy body you protect yourself from all the sorrows of the world.
Hide me.
The kind guy hid me with his whole body.
With the sound of my own voice, so that my wailing would not be heard.
With the trembling I make, my trembling becomes invisible.
Soo-hyun's sad music. You could feel the boy's fear as he tried to run away and cover his ears from what the world was saying.
'I wonder if Soo-hyun's feelings were conveyed correctly?'
An old woman next to Sambok continued to wipe away her tears. Sambok, who had been fixing his gaze on Soo-hyun, quickly took out a handkerchief and handed it to her, saying,
"Grandma, why are you crying?"
"Uh… thank you. Oh, I'm getting old and reckless!"
"What are you saying? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, no. It's just that I remember what happened to that child."
After hearing his grandmother's words, Sambok, who remembered the news he had looked up about Soo-hyun, listened again to the music that was playing.
'Ah... his own music, his feelings. Soo-hyun is telling his own story. That's why he's cheerful, then happy, and then depressed again.'
Soo-hyun's hands moved quickly across the notes from the far right of the piano to the far left.
As if nothing in the world goes as I want, but the piano goes as I want.
The wishes and reality were always in conflict, but the boy hidden behind the piano was gathering feathers for his wings to fly again inside the piano, as if protected by the black piano.
The moments when I forget about time and thoughts are longer than ever.
Eating alone made me lonely.
At night, in the darkness without a single light.
A choked sob, between croaks and sobs.
The sadness that seeps in whenever there is silence.
It took me a long time to realize this.
Even when you eat alone,
Even when I'm sobbing in the dark,
Even when we run away from the seeping sadness.
The two gazes that were watching me with warm eyes.
Never let me escape,
What I was holding on to.
The sad atmosphere changed and the trill of the right hand was played abruptly. It was like seeing a bird tensely flapping its wings just before taking flight. The low notes of the left hand created an effect similar to kicking the ground, while the feathers of a bird flying high in the sky fluttered dazzlingly.
At the same time, Soo-hyun's head rose into the air, as if he were talking to someone in the sky.
I'm going to fly.
Fly high, high through the sky.
High enough for you to see.
When that time comes,
Let's fly together,
Parents of my heart.
My dear family.
At this moment, the meaning of a chance encounter of good fortune in misfortune hidden in the title of 'serendipity' was being conveyed to the people.
- - - - -
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