Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 6

Between the meetings at home

There was a time when every house had a piano. It was popular when everyone lived in apartments and had a piano in the living room, it was like a symbol of the middle class.

The children were led by the hands of their mothers to a local piano academy and learned the piano regardless of their will.

Piano was a kind of essential course that the middle class, who was wealthy enough, taught for the basic dignity and culture of their children.

But when the children stopped with Beyer and started learning Cherny, some began to struggle.

Minju remained at the academy even when children who had no talent or hobby left one by one to find another talent.

It was not because she had superior talents. In the first place, her registration at the academy was far from coming from a high enthusiasm for education.

Minju’s parents, who were both working, found that the piano academy was running later than other places after inquiring because they had no place to leave their child.

Minju spent a lot of time at the piano academy after school.

The director suggested to Minju to participate in a contest, in which the fact that she had to practice only one song to death was absolutely advantageous to her. The amount of practice she did was incomparable to other participants.

As such, trophies piled up one by one, and Minju became the pride of the piano academy. Minju’s parents also had no doubt that her daughter would make a great pianist.

Was it because of the Pygmalion effect? Minju’s piano skills improved more and more. She did not have to think about any future dream other than being a pianist.

By the time the popularity of the piano faded away, personal computers had risen rapidly, and people had sold their pianos at home to buy PCs.

The days when each house had a piano are over. Along with this, the demand for piano tuners decreased dramatically. It had become difficult to make ends by only tuning pianos for families.

To conterbalance it to a certain extent, the tuners had to look for other places where the piano was frequently played in addition to houses. For example, churches, academies, schools.

The used instrument store where Minju worked was also regularly visited by one of them.

The music college, which Minju enrolled in after receiving a certificate of acceptance but could not attend, was also one of them…

At first, Minju had followed the boss with a bag containing the tuning tools, but now she went alone.

When she saw music students in each of the practice rooms and lecture rooms, she felt envious and ashamed at the same time.

It was not that tuning was insignificant. But a person had no choice but to yearn for the threshold of a dream that they could not reach.

Minju, who finished tuning the last piano, tried to leave the practice room but someone opened the door first.

She just looked up reflexively and looked at the person in front of her, but they suddenly talked to her with a surprised face.

“Choi Minju… right?”

“It’s me, Shin Yurim, from Seonjae High School 3rd grade 1st class.”

While Minju hesitated to answer, a student walking through the hallway greeted Yurim.

“Hello, professor.”

“Oh, hello.”

Minju tried to leave while Yurim was greeting the student. Once again, a voice called Minju from behind.

“Minju-ya, wait a minute.”

Minju paused, but stopped for a while because she thought it would get bigger if she ignored Yurim’s words and left. Yurim approached her.

“I have a lesson right now, so could you wait an hour, or even 50 minutes?”

“There seems to be some misunderstanding…”

“It’s been ten years. Do you know how much I’ve been looking for you since you disappeared?”

“I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not the person you know. Then, goodbye.”

Yurim grabbed Minju’s wrist when she turned around.

“I didn’t believe people. Really.”

“What do you mean…”

“Then wait a minute here. I’ll cancel today’s lesson when the students come. Let’s have a meal together, okay?”

“I’m not Choi Minju. Please let me go.”

Yurim held Minju so tightly that she could not shake off her hand.

Just then, someone else from the opposite side approached Minju.

“What are you doing here, Hye-ryeong-ssi?”

It was Sang-yeon. Surprised by Sang-yeon’s appearance, Yurim released Minju’s wrist.

“Oh, I made a mistake. I’m sorry.”

Yurim believed his eyes, but immediately changed his stance and apologized when Sang-yeon called Minju by another name. He had always been quick to judge situations since he was young.

When Yurim disappeared into the practice room, Sang-yeon whispered to Minju in a small voice.

“Then I’ll see you at home next Monday.”

Leaving Minju bewildered, Sang-yeon left the hallway with a brief greeting.

The words ‘see you at home’ felt like some promise or code between the two, and it felt secretive and thrilling.

Waiting for the next Monday, Minju was almost on the verge of turning around.

It was because she wanted to see Sang-yeon, she wanted to make an excuse to him, and she wanted to ask him why he helped her.

Minju knew Yurim. She was indeed Choi Minju, and Yurim was right.

However, she was no longer the Minju Yurim knew.

At that time, she was only one of the girls who dreamed of becoming a real musician while playing the piano and singing together.

Minju did not recognize herself as this Minju because she was humbly holding a tuning tool in front of an old friend who was called a professor. She did not want to go on a time trip to the past with Yurim.

Monday dawned, with her miscellaneous thoughts unorganized.

When Minju arrived at the gate of Sang-yeon’s house at the appointed time, the door opened even before she could press the doorbell. As if he had been watching Minju the whole time.

She did not know how she should face Sang-yeong during the tuning, even though she had struggled to sleep for several nights, thinking of what to say when meeting him.

As she got depressed, wondering if she should go back like this, Sang-yeon came down the stairs with slow movements.

It was so fascinating to see him disorganized as if he had just woken up, so Minju turned her eyes for a moment.

Sang-yeon did not realize that there was another person at home and went to the kitchen to drink water.

Minju tried to just continue to do what she was doing as naturally as possible, but it was not easy. She could not concentrate at all.

“I’m grateful for that day.”

“If you’re thanking me, I guess he didn’t see the wrong person.”

Sang-yeon’s words were sharp and accurate, as he put a bottle of water back in the refrigerator.

“Yes, my name is Choi Minju.”

She did not know it would be like this, but Minju told Sang-yeon her name for the first time.

It meant more than just conveying information. It was like a confession of her identity.

“I see.”

A plain reaction with no prejudice or judgment came back.

“You’re not asking why… I did that?”

“If Minju-ssi lied, there must have been a good reason. You don’t have to explain it to me.”

When she heard Sang-yeon’s words, Minju felt strangely relieved.

Even if it could be understood that he did not want to know because he was not interested, to Minju, it sounded like a kind of consideration and courtesy that he would not be curious about her past.

Maybe he also had a past that he did not want to reveal. Although it was clear that she had an enlarged interpretation and a grandiose delusion, Minju believed that God was listening and that her prayers for a spouse were not in vain. It was a faint hope.

“…I don’t like what others have used before.”

The little customer, who was pressing the piano keys with his skinny fingers, said, pounting his lips with a bitter expression.

The child’s parents looked at each other with embarrassed faces. Looking at them, it was clear that there were customers who would go after just looking around.

Minju crouched down and looked at the child.

“How about that? It’s going to be yours. Instruments are different from bicycles and robots, so the older they are, the more expensive and valuable they are.”

“Really?”

“It’s a secret, but I’m showing you the piano I originally wanted to buy.”

The child seemed to shake a little, but eventually shook his head.

“We’ll buy a digital piano on home shopping… it’s nice to be able to pay with a 24 months installment plan.”

“It’s not a real piano, you don’t even know.”

The child’s parents quarreled among themselves and just left the store without saying goodbye.

“Goodbye.”

Minju looked out of the window with a look of dismay as she saw off the customers.

“Boss-nim, there’s a black car that has been standing across the street for some time now… Have you seen it?”

“Where?”

The boss looked out the window, but it was after the black car had just disappeared.

“Oh, where is it? It was here just a minute ago.”

“Didn’t you say you had to go to the bank? It’s three o’clock already.”

“Oh my! It’s already this late. Boss-nim, I’ll stop by the bank and go straight to Pyeongchang neighbourhood. I have to work there.”

Minju said in a slightly excited voice, and then took her clothes and her bag and rushed out of the store.

It was Monday, which became Minju’s favorite day of the week.

As for Minju these days, she was always tensed, like a slightly unbridled colt, or like college freshmen drunk on cherry blossoms.

Before going to Sang-yeon’s house, Minju headed to the bank to solve her rent problem.

It was the end of the year, so she managed to get a seat at the window only after 45 minutes of waiting in the crowded bank.

“There’s not much time left until it expires. It must be such a waste.”

“I was going to buy a piano and save some money if I get a saving account. It looks like I’m just going to put everything in the rent.”

“But you shouldn’t touch the housing subscription account. Would you rather look into a loan?”

“I’m probably not eligible for a loan. I can’t afford to pay interest.”

Minju was sick and tired of loans now.

At first, there were no places willing to lend her money, and later she had struggled to pay off her debts.

It had been a while since she was able to put even 20,000 won a month into a housing subscription account with the swollen dream of buying a house.

The banker checked Minju’s credit rating and, without further comment, presented two checks worth 10 million won each, her identification card, and a stamp.

“Here you are. Please confirm.”

Twenty million won… It was all the wealth that she had struggled to save for three years.

After counting the number of zeros on the check over and over again, Minju put it in her bag and left the bank, carrying it on her shoulder.

When the traffic light at the crosswalk turned green, Minju stepped back.

At that very moment, someone pushed Minju’s shoulder strongly and her body went forward.

It was so hard that she could see stars in front of her.

“Lady, your bag!”

If someone had not said this, Minju might have been standing blankly for a while without knowing that she had lost her bag.

The green light of the traffic lights began to flash.

Minju came to her senses and ran recklessly after the motorcycle that had stolen her bag.

Minju’s legs got faster and faster, but the motorcycle only got farther.

She stopped running as she thought that she could not catch up with the motorcycle no matter how much she ran. It was a very resolute abandonment.

You unlucky bitch! You can’t do anything! A cursed life where misfortune ensues if you feel a little happy!

Like that, Minju’s savings of the past three years disappeared.