Chapter 139
A week later, at the American broadcasting station HUO.
A weekly programming meeting. In it, the representatives of each program reported to the CP, the executive producer, about what had happened during the week.
A writer from the documentary team that had left for Africa to film came to report as a representative.
"Africa… This is your seventh visit, right? I heard this is the last filming. Did you get the data?"
When the CP, whose face seemed somewhat familiar, spoke to the writer, he showed him an SD card and said.
"Yes, I'm here. PD, you asked me to edit it in advance before returning to Korea."
"Well, okay. Don't do it half-heartedly, do it right."
"Yes, CP Alan. But Joe said he needs permission from CP for something. Please take a look."
The writer who turned on his laptop. The email sent by Joe appeared on the screen. Alan, who had been reading the email with his eyes blank, frowned with interest.
"Huh? A pianist playing for elephants? Sounds fun. What about a few minutes? Couldn't it be inserted into an episode that flows naturally?"
The author replied.
"That... Not just this video, but there was another video after it. If we saved it, it would take about 20 minutes."
Alan was worried.
'The theme of the documentary is cheetahs. Will those who paid for the documentary to see pictures of cheetahs forgive 20 minutes being wasted on a story about elephants? Of course, if it were a good picture, it would be a different story.'
"I'll have to look into it myself. Send me the video by email."
"Yes, CP."
Alan turned his gaze to the writer's notebook, and his eyes were fixed on a certain letter. Allen, who had been tilting his head for a moment, asked the staff member who took over as his drama director after being promoted to production director.
"Hey, James."
"Yes, CP."
"Back then, the ninth season of Emperor's Game was airing."
"Yes."
Surprisingly, Alan CP was the PD for season 9 of Emperor's Game. He was promoted to CP due to the continued success of seasons 5 through 9.
"Do you remember the soundtrack we were going to use for the last emperor's coronation?"
"Do you mean the music that Ramin rewrote? Of course I remember, because Ramin complained that he had to change the music suddenly when the broadcast date was just around the corner, and he had to work for a week with only two hours of sleep."
Alan snapped his index finger.
"No, not that one. I mean the song they suggested for the soundtrack, but then they rejected it."
James, who had been rolling his eyes for a moment, nodded as if he remembered.
"Are you referring to the song written by a Korean classical composer?"
"Yeah, what was that guy's name back then?"
"Wait a minute."
"I don't remember," James said as he typed on his laptop and found old meeting minutes. "It says Soo-hyun. Judging by the initials SHN, Soo-hyun is most likely his name, and his last name starts with N. He's Korean."
Alan's smile deepened. Alan, who had been staring at the writer's notebook, suddenly sat up with a look of great interest.
"Hey, send me that video right now. I'll check it right away."
The documentary writer's hands got busy thanks to the CP who suddenly stopped the meeting and decided to check the footage.
"The video is large, so it will take about 5 minutes to transmit."
"Then give me the card."
"Yes, here."
The PD, who had seen the CP and the writer doing something strange, looked with curious eyes at the laptop screen that the writer had turned. The PD's eyes widened when he saw the email that Joe sent, where Alan had stopped reading.
This pianist is studying at the Vienna University of Music, Austria, and his name is Nam Soo-hyun. He is an artist of South Korean nationality.
The PD, who was looking at the screen, muttered and looked at the meeting minutes that appeared on his laptop.
"Are these two people the same person?"
The PD saw Alan wearing headphones and looking at the screen with serious eyes. CP, who had a faint smile on his face and sometimes even had his eyes reddened, after a while took off his headphones and gave instructions to the writer.
"Just make a full episode. It could be the first episode of the series with what happened on the way to meeting the cheetah."
'In the meantime, everything?'
The other production directors looked at him in surprise. It was quite an adventure to decorate the first episode of a documentary about the ecology of cheetahs with a story about an elephant and a pianist.
But conviction remained in Alan's eyes. He smiled and touched his lips as he muttered.
"I rejected you last time, but I won't let you go this time."
A month later, at the Korea University Gifted Education Center.
Music prodigies who always came to school and practiced even during vacation periods.
Every day was a boring repetition of rehearsals, but today was different. This was because Senior Young-eun had gathered the members who had participated in the orchestra for the first time in a long time.
The children gathered in the practice room for the first time in a long time to ask about each other's news.
"It's been so long, I still dream about that time these days."
"Sometimes I think about it too. I wonder if those old people are doing well."
"It was a really cheerful performance. I'm glad I had the courage to express my intention to participate."
"Soo-hyun, Junwoo, and Jaehee, are they all doing well?"
"Austria has a good climate and is a good place to live, so I'll be fine."
"But why has senior Young-eun gathered us all? Is he asking us to do another orchestra?"
"Hey, what kind of orchestra would this be without Soo-hyun? Honestly, do you think we could have done a show like that if Soo-hyun wasn't there?"
A practice room with children who were slightly fewer in number than the twenty, as Junwoo, Jaehee, and Soo-hyun were missing.
Soon the door opened and Young-eun was seen entering carrying a bunch of equipment that looked heavy. The juniors quickly ran over and helped her get her equipment.
"Oh, sister. What is all this?"
"Does it look like a broadcast team?"
Young-eun wiped her forehead, which was slightly sweaty, and said.
"It's a beam projector."
"Huh? Why all of a sudden?"
Young-eun said as she held up a CD.
"I got a call from Junwoo. He said that Soo-hyun and Junwoo would be appearing briefly in an American documentary. He was bragging so much that he told me to definitely watch it, so I thought it would be great if you could watch it together."
"Ah! An American documentary! But you're saying you'll be on for a little while? Is it a music program?"
"No, it's a nature documentary."
"Then why are Soo-hyun and Junwoo appearing in a nature documentary?"
"I heard the explanation, but it's long. I'll ask questions after I read it. Can you help me install it?"
Since there were many people, the installation was completed quickly. After setting up the screen, connecting the laptop and the beam projector, and connecting it to the sound system, Young-eun inserted the CD and ran the video playback program.
The children, who heard that their friends with whom they had practiced were going to appear in an American, not a Korean, documentary, looked at the black screen before playback with their eyes full of anticipation.
Young-eun, who was watching the children in front of the laptop, smiled and pressed the play button.
"Okay, then shall we watch it together?"
Young-eun quickly ran and sat in the front seat that her juniors had already left empty.
Stylish white letters were engraved on a black screen, with a beautiful African sunset in the background.
-HUO Special Production: Documentary on the Life of Acinonyx jubatus.
Children muttering unfamiliar words.
'I don't even know what to read after 'Live of'. What does it mean?'
Fortunately, the Korean subtitles appeared a little later.
'Acinonyx jubatus is the scientific name for the cheetah.'
Even after the explanation, the children were even more bewildered.
'Cheetah? Why are Soo-hyun and Junwoo appearing in the cheetah documentary?'
The screen changed to show the staff arriving from the United States disembarking at the airport in Ghana. The voice of a female voice actress with a very pretty voice was heard.
The production team visited Ghana seven times to learn about the ecology of cheetahs. This is the last visit.
After shaking hands with the local guides and briefly explaining their origins and what their families did, the staff were seen moving in a car.
The well-paved roads lasted for a short time, and soon the dirt roads became very rough, and the staff desperately tried to protect their equipment with their whole bodies so that it wouldn't fall.
The moment when the scorching sun created a haze over the land. A snapping sound was heard, the screen shook, and the female voice was heard again.
The African sun was a disaster. We had an unexpected car breakdown on the way to Kakum National Park. We had no choice but to find a nearby place to rest. It was the elephant sanctuary of Kakum National Park. We had an unexpected encounter here.
The screen changed and instead of the desolate landscape shown so far, a grassy plain was seen. African elephants could be seen moving their ears in the corners of wooden fences.
These are African elephants. This is where elephants, with their legs, eyes, and backs detached, stay for a while to heal their wounds and then return to nature. But here, they can see an unfamiliar image.
The elephants stared at one place. At the end of the camera that followed their gaze, a silver-haired boy was seen sitting in front of a black piano.
One of the orchestra members clapped and shouted.
"Wow! It's Soo-hyun!"
"Wow, your hair has completely turned silver!"
"But doesn't he look very big? The piano looks small."
"Really? How tall are you?"
"Wow! You look like a different person in a few months. Your hair is dazzling in the sun."
"It seems your smile has deepened. You're cool…"
Soo-hyun looked at the elephants and said something, but no one could hear him. Again, the female voice actress spoke.
The boy spoke to the elephants. Did you hear them? It's so true, so sad. I may not understand all their pain, but I can only comfort them with music. Can you listen to it one more time? The boy spoke to the elephants.
And then Soo-hyun's performance began. Although it was not a documentary about a pianist, the entire performance was played without a break from beginning to end.
The elephants' eyes widened as they heard Soo-hyun's performance. The cautious and hesitant gaze gradually faded, and the elephants, with their warm and stable gaze, approached Soo-hyun.
"Wow! It looks like the elephants are feeling the music," Yeong-eun said, her mouth wide open.
The screen faded out. It seemed to have been filmed by a drone, but the screen faded endlessly into the sky. The voice of a female voice actress echoed on a screen that reflected the clear sky of Africa.
This is Kakum National Park in Ghana, Africa, a wild land. The gray-haired boy I met on the way to see the cheetahs. He was Nam Soo-hyun, a world-renowned pianist who had played to comfort the elephants here four years ago, a disciple of Lech Piłsudski, a professor at the Warsaw Conservatory of Music in Poland, and a genius from the Vienna University of Music in Austria.
The screen went down again, revealing the area above Soo-hyun's head. The screen, which was gradually getting closer, approached Soo-hyun's face, stroking the noses of the elephants that had approached with a smile on their faces.
A priest who visited the same place four years later to comfort injured elephants. Could you listen to the story of this boy who found him on his way to a cheetah?