"Hello. Did you have a good trip to Singapore?"
"......"
Who is this kid?
I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere, but my memory is fuzzy.
The girl just calmly asked how I was.
"I heard there was an accident. Are you okay now?"
"Uh… yeah, I guess?"
"That’s good. How’s your fingers?"
"What?"
"The most important thing for a pianist is their fingers, right? I was asking if any were broken or fractured. Are they moving fine?"
This feels like an interrogation. I moved my fingers in the air to show there was no issue. Only then did the girl nod.
"Good. Well, I’ll be off then. It’s almost time for my lesson."
The girl passed me and went straight into the piano academy.
If she was that peculiar, I should probably remember her.
In the meantime, a group of elementary school kids who had been gathered in front of the piano academy suddenly swarmed me.
What a headache.
I tried to respond quickly while forcing myself to keep moving.
"Hey, it’s been a while!"
"Yeah, but who are you?"
"Hahaha! How can you ask my name every time you see me? I’m Chulsoo. Chulsoo."
"Hey, this hyung only plays piano, so he doesn't have enough brainpower to remember names. He probably doesn't even know mine! Hyung, do you happen to know my name?"
"Was it Jinsu?"
"Wrong! It's Kim Doyoon! You got it totally wrong!"
"Okay, Doyoon. Let me pass. I have a lot to do. I'm busy."
"Hyung! Just tell me one more thing! Is it true that you jumped from a plane and survived?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence fell for a moment.
I nodded to tease the kids a bit.
Honestly, I was curious about their reaction.
"Wow! See? I told you! I saw this on TV!"
"That's amazing!"
"But... does that even make sense? Surviving by jumping out of a plane?"
"Shut up! Seojin hyung said so, what do you know? Have you even been on a plane?"
"Well, no, but... even if a person jumps, it wouldn’t be faster than the gravitational acceleration..."
"Blah blah blah. I can’t hear you! I can’t hear you!"
"Show-off, show-off!"
"You're talking a lot for someone who's ridden on planes less than Seojin hyung! Can you even play the piano better than him?"
"Well, no, but what does that have to do with anything...?"
In an instant, the rational person had turned into the irrational one.
I patted the kid's shoulder who had turned into an excellent tank for me.
After a rather noisy ordeal, I was finally able to enter the academy.
The piano academy consists of a total of 10 rooms.
Each room has one piano, and the children go inside to practice individually.
Then, from time to time, the piano teacher would go around, providing coaching—this is how the system works.
I looked closely through the glass window of each room, and as expected, the teacher was busy teaching.
It seemed difficult to meet her at the moment.
In that case...
“Maybe there’s an empty room.”
Since I was already here, I thought I might as well play the piano for a while, so I moved slowly.
Room 4, Room 5, Room 6...
Room 7 happened to be empty.
As I opened the door and went inside, the soft sounds of the pianos from Room 6 and Room 8 could be heard. It wasn’t completely soundproof, so that much had to be tolerated.
I sat on the piano bench and lightly played a scale. It was a kind of finger warm-up exercise. By playing the notes in order, it helps to build finger flexibility.
I took my time and slowly got my hands accustomed to the piano.
The upright piano at the academy definitely had a better touch than the electric piano at home.
My fingers quickly got used to the new piano.
A few minutes had passed when suddenly Chopin began to run wild in the room next to mine.
It was a frantic performance, as if someone were being chased.
“Hmm…”
I couldn’t say much about that child’s interpretation of the piece, but if they play that fast, even things that could go well will end up not going well.
No matter how “vivace” (very fast) it is, one must learn to handle the notes with care.
F. Chopin Waltz in E minor, B.56.
Chopin Waltz No. 14.
A piece that was published 19 years after Chopin's death.
It is a piece particularly notable for its impressive 8-bar introduction that moves brilliantly over an E minor scale.
The phrase that immediately follows the introduction requires particular attention to the left hand when playing...
The most important thing here is...
“He said not to play it aggressively or harshly.”
That’s how Uncle Miller taught me Chopin's Waltz No. 14.
As someone who made it to the final round of the Chopin Competition, he taught me so much about Chopin.
'Thanks to him, I memorized a lot of scores too.'
Anyway, contrary to the vivace instruction, this piece should be played a little more gently to achieve a higher level of perfection.
There's a saying in our country: "The more you hurry, the more you should take your time."
This piece was exactly like that.
Just as Uncle Miller had taught me so much, I began playing Waltz No. 14 more clearly, hoping the kid in the next room would understand what I was trying to convey.
Before long, I could feel the kid in Room 8 flinch.
It wasn't a rest, but the note had been momentarily delayed.
The important thing here is that the kid responded to my playing.
Maybe they’re sharper than I thought.
I started guiding each note, as if conducting.
At some point, the kid in Room 8 completely stopped playing. But soon, they began following my waltz.
"Nice."
There was still a sense of haste, but it was much better than at the beginning.
They listened to my notes and corrected their mistakes. Then, I presented a new alternative that matched the kid in Room 8.
Waltz No. 14, which lasts less than three minutes, was gradually becoming longer.
Repeat.
And repeat again.
This time, the kid in Room 8 asks me again.
"Is this really right?"
Of course, I answered that it was.
The performance, which started like a child’s prank, had somehow turned into a duet.
When I played a part, the kid in Room 8 would follow along.
When the kid in Room 8 played, I would change their performance.
As I listened to the kid’s playing, memories from the past suddenly came to mind.
There was a girl my age who would always outshine me every time I struggled at competitions.
Her height... was it similar to mine?
I couldn’t quite remember details like that.
Because to me, that girl seemed so remarkable. She was such a giant figure to me.
That girl would win awards at every competition she entered.
She garnered the attention of adults.
With a dazzling performance that seemed impossible at that age, she captivated the judges' attention.
I was merely a spectator in that place.
My performance was utterly ordinary, unable to break free from the bounds of mediocrity.
Even though I participated in the competitions as a contestant, I was no different from the general audience.
The ones who are noticed at competitions are the geniuses.
It was only natural that they were the ones who got all the attention.
So, I used to think to myself, "I hope I can become like that someday."
Why can't I?
So, I tried.
With the determination to practice at least one more hour than others, I threw myself into it.
Honestly, there were times when I felt suffocated.
After all, I was still a child back then.
So, I started to "pretend."
Pretend that nothing was wrong.
Pretend that I wasn't tired.
Pretend that I was okay.
And then, something surprising happened.
I actually became okay.
I was able to focus more on the piano.
I fell in love with the piano.
I stopped feeling jealous of the kids ahead of me and started focusing on my own playing.
And so, eventually, I made it to Singapore.
To me, placing third in the competition didn't feel insignificant at all.
I remembered the time when I participated in the same competition as that girl.
The girl who wowed the adults, standing on that high stage.
I had to hide behind the stage curtain, watching the sound she created from the audience's perspective.
Thinking to myself, "Someday, I want to be like that too."
Desperately.
Praying for my dream to come true.
Before I knew it, the performance of Chopin’s Waltz No. 14 had come to an end.
My thoughts didn’t continue beyond that point either.
When I looked back, I saw children gathered outside the door. The teacher was standing behind them.
And then—
I heard the sound of a child from the room next to mine, Room 8, opening the door. Click, click. I could also hear the sound of small footsteps.
The child pushed through the crowd and flung open the door to my piano room.
“You… What happened?”
The girl who had seemed so much bigger than me in the past,
The girl who had overwhelming talent, far surpassing my own,
The girl I couldn’t even recognize until now.
“Well, it seemed like it was you next door. Ha-eun.”
It was Lee Ha-eun, my old entrance exam peer from art school, who had always been ahead of me.
* * *
“My goodness... Did something happen in Singapore? Oh! I mean, I heard you were in an accident…”
“I was just in the hospital the whole time. I haven't been back in the country for long.”
“But how did your skills improve so dramatically all of a sudden…?”
The piano academy teacher, apparently impressed by my earlier performance, had me play a few more pieces.
Beethoven, or Mozart.
Chopin, or Haydn.
The pieces the teacher requested weren’t that difficult.
Most were pieces commonly expected for art school entrance exams.
It was a piece I had played before, and since it was of elementary to middle school difficulty, I was able to perform it quite easily just by looking at the sheet music.
The teacher, after listening to my performance, was very pleased.
"Your performance has improved so much overall! At this rate, you won't have to worry about the fall exam! This is fantastic! Hey! What on earth happened over the past month? Huh?"
However, I could only come up with a reasonable answer.
"After resting well, my performance actually improved."
"Exactly! Yes! Seojin, you’ve been working too hard all this time, you know? Sometimes, taking breaks and relaxing is what leads to better performances."
"I really think that’s the case."
"Nothing major happened in Singapore? How are your hands?"
"You just saw them. They’re fine. Though I did have quite a spectacular experience."
"Oh my! Really, a plane crash? I was so shocked when I saw the news... It still makes me dizzy just thinking about it."
Teacher Park Ha-seon then told me about what had happened in Korea during the past month regarding the entrance exams.
The list of schools that had released their entrance exam piece requirements.
The application methods and a few strategies.
And the overall exam schedules.
Finally, she asked for my opinion.
"So, have you decided on which schools to apply to? Even if you're ambitious, it’s best to narrow it down to just two schools. It’s not good to have too many entrance exam pieces to practice."
And then.
I told the teacher the answer I had decided on in the past.
.
.
.
After finishing the consultation and stepping out of the academy, there was someone waiting for me.
A kid suddenly handed me 1,000 won.
It was Lee Ha-eun.
"Here."
"For what?"
"Don’t you remember?"
"..."
I hadn’t even recognized her face at first.
How was I supposed to remember this?
Lee Ha-eun sighed deeply as she looked at me, standing there in a daze.
"I borrowed money from you. I’m paying it back now. Did you forget? It was a month ago."
"Oh~"
"If you don’t remember, let’s just forget about it. Actually, I’d rather that…"
"No, no. I remember now. You borrowed it to buy a drink, right?"
"It was for a pen."
"Well, close enough."
"What do you mean close enough?"
"Both have liquid in them, so they’re similar, right?"
"..."
After winning a little argument with an elementary school kid in an elementary school-like manner, I took the 1,000 won.
She said so, so I guess it’s true.
"But what happened to you in Singapore?"
"Plane crash. AC 2505. Didn’t you watch the news?"
"No! I know that... but the news said you were rescued without any issues. I was just wondering if something else happened."
"Why?"
"Your skills suddenly improved drastically. I was curious about that."
Well... something did happen.
However, I had to repeat what I had already told Teacher Park Ha-seon.
"I took a short break, and my skills improved instead."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Why don't you try it like I did?"
She looked doubtful.
Lee Ha-eun let out a deep sigh.
"With the practical exam coming up soon, you want me to try that? I don't have that kind of luxury."
"You're under pressure, huh?"
"Thanks to you. That Waltz No. 14 you showed me. I think it’s the right one. Honestly, I was really stuck on it, but I think I found a way. Now I've got more to practice."
"But even with the teacher's help, you still had a part you were stuck on?"
"The teacher isn’t going to practice for me. You know that well enough, so why are you acting like this?"
"......"
That's true.
I shrugged, and Lee Ha-eun continued speaking.
"Anyway, thanks. If I get into the art school, I’ll say that your help played a part."
"That's nice of you."
"Don’t mention it."
On the way home, we walked the same path until halfway.
Lee Ha-eun only stopped when she reached the intersection with the stationery store.
"You’ll keep coming to the academy, right?"
"Probably, at least until the entrance exam."
"Right. By the way, where are you planning to apply?"
"All of a sudden?"
"I’m just curious."
I told her the school I had already decided on in the past.
"Seolhwa Arts Middle School. I’m only going to apply there."
"Why?"
"Because it’s the closest to my neighborhood."
"...That’s the only reason?"
"If I have to commute far, I’ll lose time to practice. I don’t want that."
The girl who never seemed like she’d laugh suddenly chuckled.
"That’s so you."
"And what about you?"
"Me?"
"Have you decided where you’ll apply?"
Lee Ha-eun turned her head slightly as if looking somewhere, then finally answered.
"Seolhwa as well. There’s a teacher I want to meet there."
"A teacher?"
"Yeah. If things go well, we might end up going to the same school. I guess we’ll both have to work hard."
"Yeah, I guess so."
With her final words, "Take care. See you around," Lee Ha-eun disappeared into the alley on the left.
She was definitely a strange kid.
The way she talked wasn’t like a kid at all.
And it wasn’t ordinary either.
Is this what it means to be number one?
Maybe she’s like a symbol of an elite.
I fiddled with the 1,000 won bill in my pocket as I headed home.
* * *
Park Ha-seon, who had visited her alma mater for the first time in a long while, hurriedly walked toward a building.
There was still plenty of time before her appointment, but she was worried that the professor might have gone elsewhere.
‘He’s that busy, after all.’
But her worries quickly disappeared.
Thankfully, the professor was sitting in a café on the first floor, enjoying a cup of coffee.
“Professor!”
When Park Ha-seon waved her hand, Professor Kang Yoo-han greeted his longtime student warmly.
“It’s been a really long time. How have you been?”
“I've been good. My kid is already two!”
“Has it been that long?”
“Yes. It feels like just yesterday that you officiated my wedding, and now it’s been that long.”
Although Professor Kang Yoo-han was over 70 this year, he was still an active musician in the music world.
He was so famous that he still received invitations for performances from abroad, and he could be considered one of Korea’s first-generation classical stars.
After asking for the professor's understanding, Park Ha-seon went to the self-service coffee machine and got herself a cup of coffee.
‘Back in the day, everything was done by people...’
Watching the drastically changed appearance of the school, she couldn't help but feel the passage of time was cruel.
Professor Kang Yoo-han got straight to the point as soon as Park Ha-seon sat down. For someone like him, who disliked beating around the bush, this was only natural.
“So, you want to introduce a student?”
Park Ha-seon, knowing his personality well, answered immediately.
“Yes. You remember that stubborn student I mentioned over the phone last time?”
“The one who doesn’t improve no matter how hard they try? But isn’t that just inevitable?”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“Then why?”
“Well...”
To be honest, that's just how the world of the arts was.
It's a field where effort alone couldn’t solve everything. Even for someone like Professor Kang Yoo-han, there were clear boundaries between what he could and couldn’t help with.
It might sound harsh, but that's the reality.
But then.
“What if that student suddenly developed talent?”
“Suddenly?”
“Yes. The piano sounds completely different. The touch is different. Their approach to sheet music is much more mature.”
“Hmm... Couldn’t it just be that the student was just lazy all this time? Some geniuses are like that, you know. They slack off because they can afford to. Maybe they’ve just matured with age.”
“As far as I know, that’s not the case. I’ve personally taught that student since he was seven years old. He worked extremely hard. But despite all the effort, there was no progress... until about a month ago, when he suddenly came back as a genius. I’ve watched him practice over the past few days, and he has definitely changed.”
“That’s... quite fascinating.”
“That’s why I wanted to meet with you, professor.”
Professor Kang Yoo-han fell into deep thought for a moment.
Talent was usually something people were born with.
That's why there were children who would perform at Carnegie Hall at the age of six and collaborate with the Berlin Philharmonic at eight.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, someone developed a talent?
It's not something easy to believe.
Curious, Kang Yoo-han asked for the child's name, and Park Ha-seon responded as if she had been waiting.
"It's Han Seojin. He's 12 years old. I'm sure you'll like him too. A hardworking genius... No, it's extremely rare for someone to become a genius through their own effort."
