No More Thug Life, I’m Playing Music

#052: Give and Take (2)

When I press a key, wind flows.
The wind navigates its way through six thousand pipes, each with its own role to play.
Traveling through vast and weighty passageways, it emerges into the world as a radiant sound.

Some of it transforms into the sharp timbre of a violin, some into the pure tone of a flute, and others into the powerful voice of a trumpet.
The pipe organ is an orchestra in itself.

At this moment, I am no longer a pianist—I am a conductor.

****

As I strike the 61 manual keys and 32 pedal keys, warm and moving tones resonate, entering my ears.
The sounds drift through my body, exit again, traverse the organ’s keys, and pass through its golden pipes to become music.
Then, the wind returns to me.

It’s as if I am drowning in the vortex of sound created by six thousand pipes.
I am pulled into a world made of music.

****

How much time has passed since I began playing?
Or has time even passed at all?

When caught in an indescribable state of bliss, the concept of time disappears.
I become unaware of its flow.

My movements follow the sheet music before me, guided only by the flow of my emotions.
It feels as though my body is acting independently, as if I am not the one in control—perhaps Jung Seojoon is the one guiding me instead.

And so, I, Jung Seojoon, dance with the queen of instruments in this world overflowing with music.

*****

I turn the final page of the sheet music.
There is nowhere else to go, so my hands come to a halt.

Swoosh—

The wind that had wrapped around me dissipates, leaving behind traces of the music.
And with it, the noise of the world that had paused so briefly comes rushing back in sharply.

*****

Cheers.
A roar of applause erupted from the thousands in attendance.

“Hah…”
At last, I exhaled of my own volition, letting out a deep breath.
A smile crept across my face, born of deep satisfaction.

The experience of surrendering myself to music, surrounded by six thousand pipes…

“Haha…”
Chuckling lightly, I opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was the small cross perched atop the organ.

“……”
I wondered—does God truly exist in this world?
Could it be, as these people claim, that a divine presence resides here?

If so…
If the miracle performed upon me was indeed their doing…
I have something to say.

“Thank you.”

*****

In the choir rehearsal room at the back of the sanctuary, I spoke with Conductor Park Myunghoon.

“I heard it was a piece our organist was practicing in private.”
“Ah, I see.”

Park Myunghoon offered an awkward explanation.

“Our deacons must have been too flustered to explain properly. The previous organist was so used to working alone that they rarely interacted with the choir. I suppose it’s become a habit…”

It made sense now—other than the woman who guided me to the waiting room, no one had given me proper instructions.

“I understand.”

“By the way, your organ skills are impressive. Did you study formally?”

Explaining that I had learned from YouTube and practiced for only a day would only complicate things, so I deflected the question with a vague smile.

“Even with training, how could you memorize so many stop combinations for a performance like that…”

Park Myunghoon continued to shower me with admiration.

“The congregation said they felt a moment of grace…”
“You flatter me.”
“Our choir is among the best, myself included…”
“Oh, that’s remarkable.”
“By the way, do you believe in God?”
“To some extent.”
“Ah, then how about joining our church…”

Before I could find a polite way to decline, I felt someone approach from behind.

“Deacon.”
“Oh? Ah, Jisoo. What’s the matter?”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

“Why not stay for the gathering? I was going to introduce you to a friend of mine.”

Park Myunghoon glanced at me as he spoke.

“I’m sorry, Deacon. I have a shoot tomorrow.”

The word shoot caught my attention.

“Chu-ha~ Chu-ha~”

Choo Minji’s voice echoed in my head like a hallucination, drawing a faint smile to my lips.
I turned my gaze toward the woman.

“Oh?”

It was the same woman who had guided me to the waiting room earlier—the beautiful yet hungry-looking one.
As our eyes met, she gave me a slight nod.

“Your performance today was wonderful. Truly.”

“Thank you.”

After bowing briefly to Park Myunghoon, she exited the rehearsal room.
I couldn’t shake the sense of familiarity I felt toward her.

“……”

Then, I caught the sly look in Park Myunghoon’s eyes.

“Want me to introduce you?”

“Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

“Haha, I think there was a spark between you two.”

“There’s no way.”

“You’ll see her every time you come to church. And from what I’ve heard, she doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“Come on, think about it. Jisoo is a celebrity.”

That explained her striking appearance.

“I’m not particularly interested in celebrities.”

Despite my polite refusal, Conductor Park Myunghoon kept talking.
Contrary to his image, he was quite the chatterbox.

“She’s from some idol group… something Girls, I think…”
The fact that he didn’t even remember the name confirmed she wasn’t a famous celebrity.

“What was it… Hmm, something Girls…”

Our conversation paused as voices from two choir members seated near the conductor’s office drifted to my ears.

“Has Kang Jisoo left?”
“Yes, she said she has a shoot.”
“A shoot? For that failed idol?”
“Exactly. She debuted in high school, but I’ve never seen her on TV.”
“Honestly, her no-name status just makes her celebrity attitude worse.”

“Tsk.”
Some people are small-minded no matter where you go.

“By the way, you’ll join us for the gathering afterward, right?”

Bothersome.

“Of course, if you’re inviting me, I should go.”

“Good! I’ll introduce you to some talented singers. Not just anyone, but people who could truly be of help to you.”

Not interested.

“Thank you, it’s an honor just to be in your company. I’m overwhelmed by your generosity.”

“Haha, you’re quite eloquent… I wish I had a student like you. Do you drink?”

“Yes.”

“Oh?”

“But unfortunately, I’m still underage. That said, if you insist, I can stay until the end tonight.”

“What?”

He burst out laughing, taking it as a joke.
I wasn’t joking.

*****

The road was clogged with traffic.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, Ma Ducheol scratched his bald head.

“Why do those people always hold their gatherings near the arts center?”

“No idea,” Choo Minji said, crossing her arms and scrunching her face.
“Maybe it’s so they can head straight to practice afterward? Most practice rooms are in this area.”

“Practice after a gathering? Hah… People who like classical music are all a bit odd.”

“Does that include Seojoon?”

“Of course. He’s the oddest of all.”

The two exchanged amused smiles.

“We’re almost there. Give Seojoon a call.”

“On it.”

As Choo Minji started dialing Seojoon’s number, she suddenly pointed out the window and yelled.

“Oh! It’s Summer unni!”

Ma Ducheol’s gaze followed her finger.
There, at a large café beside the jammed road, Han Yeoreum sat across from two men.
One was a young man with dyed yellow hair, the other a sharp-looking individual.

Both Minji and Ducheol stared in disbelief, their mouths agape.

“Hey! That guy!”
“That bastard!”

They exclaimed simultaneously before turning to look at each other in shock.

“Uncle, you know that guy?”
“What? How do you know him?”

Minji responded first, her voice flustered.

“He’s a super famous pianist!”

“A pianist?”

Ducheol slapped his forehead in realization.

“Ah, the one with the yellow hair?”

“Then who were you talking about? The man next to him?”

“Uh… no… Never mind, I must’ve been mistaken.”

Ducheol cleared his throat and looked away.

The man’s identity was Park Deuksu, CEO of JS Art and a former associate of Ducheol at JS Group.
Once a colleague, now one of the people Ducheol disliked most.

“So, who’s the guy with the yellow hair?”

He quickly changed the subject.

“Im Hajoon! He’s super famous!”

“More famous than Seojoon?”

“Oh, not even close. Plus, his dad’s supposedly a congressman or something.”

“Oh… and who’s that?”

“No idea.”

At the same time, on the other end of the call, Jung Seojoon frowned as he held his phone.

More famous than me? Really?

****

[Thump— Thump— Thump—]

Explosive electronic music.
A neon-lit abandoned factory.
In the middle of the grimy cement floor stood a vibrantly colored grand piano, surrounded by thick smoke.

[Hit it! Harder!]

In front of the piano, four women danced.
Their moves were demanding by any standard, yet they performed effortlessly while singing along.

[Don’t come closer— You can’t handle me—]

Kang Jisoo stepped forward, glaring into the camera.
Just as she opened her mouth to sync with the track—

“Cut!”

The director shouted, throwing off his cap as he stood up from his monitor.

Clasping his hands together, he slowly approached the four women.

“Ladies, A?”

“Yes…”

“Didn’t we agree on this? Eye contact! Intensity! Yes! Devour me with your gaze! Please!”

“Director!”

The manager quickly rushed over, clutching the director’s arm and shoving a drink into his hands.

“You must be exhausted. Let me have a word with them.”

“Fine.”

The director gulped down the drink, gesturing into the air.

A staff member shouted, “Twenty-minute break!”

The manager hustled the four women to a makeshift waiting area in the corner.
As if rehearsed, all five collapsed into chairs simultaneously.

A brief silence followed, broken by the manager.

“This isn’t your fault. It’s because that damned pianist hasn’t shown up…”

“Yes…”

Their new song featured piano melodies blended with electronic beats.

The decision to include a pianist in the middle of the music video was deliberate, adding a dramatic flair to their performance.
However, hours had passed, and the pianist had yet to arrive.

The agency CEO had assured everyone that a hefty fee had been paid to secure his participation, leaving them in no position to complain.

****

A short woman entered the waiting room, holding a camera.

“You’re all working so hard.”
It was Kang Mera.

The manager greeted her with a weary smile.

“Mera, you’ve been through a lot following us around, haven’t you?”

Kang Mera had been hired to capture behind-the-scenes photos and videos over the past few days.
Known online as the “photography textbook” and “Midas’ hand,” this was her bread and butter.

“Oh dear…”
She glanced sympathetically at Kang Jisoo, who looked utterly exhausted.

“Jisoo, you’re going to collapse at this rate. You even went to church yesterday, right?”

“Yes… Gotta earn money, you know. But I think it was worth it.”
Jisoo smiled faintly.

Mera felt a sudden urge to capture Jisoo’s radiant smile on camera but held back due to the tense atmosphere. Then, as if she remembered something, she clapped her hands together.

“Oh! Have you all seen this?”
She turned her phone around to show them a video.

The screen displayed a clip of them passionately dancing on stage.

“Remember the event in Anseong? The Baudeogi Festival?”

“Yes…”
They all remembered vividly. The audience had been sparse, mostly older folks, and the nearby tightrope-walking performance had stolen much of the spotlight.

“This was something I worked on, and it’s getting a great reaction online.”

She opened the comments section for them to see.

“Wow…”
Despite the positive feedback, the girls remained listless.

The manager gave a faint smile and tried to lift the mood.

“Honestly, these things have popped up online before but never lasted long.”

Mera resisted the urge to argue that this time would be different because she had filmed it.

The manager stood, stretching.

“Listen, everyone. This time, the company is fully backing us. The song is solid, and we’ve got Mera, who’s incredibly talented. Things will work out.”

“Yes…”

“The company even poured money into the music video. Didn’t the CEO hire a world-class pianist? Supposedly one of the top five in the country!”

“Oh…”

“And Director Yang might be difficult to deal with, but he’s top-notch.”

“Ugh…”

“Let’s hang in there. Once this is done, I’ll treat you all to samgyeopsal!”

“Yay!!”

At that moment, a staff member approached to inform them that the pianist had arrived.

****

Outside, next to the piano, stood a man in a luxury jacket with his hands shoved into his pockets. His yellow hair stood out strikingly.
It was Im Hajoon.

The girls hurried over, bowing deeply.

“Hello! We’re ABLEZ!”

Hajoon frowned, scanning them up and down before covering his nose.

“What’s that smell?”

Without acknowledging their greetings, he walked to the piano and sat down.

“What, did you shower in perfume? Smells cheap.”

The atmosphere on set turned ice-cold.

Hajoon smirked, waving his hand dismissively.

“Of course, I meant the perfume~”

“……”

Jisoo clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white.

The manager forced a strained smile and tried to interject, but Jisoo beat her to it.
She turned and bowed deeply to Hajoon.

“I’ve heard so much about you! Please take good care of us!”

Following her lead, the other members bowed as well.

“Please take good care of us!”

Without looking at them, Hajoon responded lazily.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s keep this short and quick.”

****

The shoot began, but nothing went smoothly.

A while later, Hajoon slammed his hands on the piano keys.

“Fuck!”

He stood, storming over to Jisoo and flicking her forehead with his finger.

“You think you can handle me?”

“What are you doing?!”

“One call from me, and your group disbands. Easy.”

“……”

“The only reason I’m here is because your CEO begged. What a waste of time.”

With that, Hajoon stormed out of the set.

“H-Hajoon!”
The manager chased after him but returned alone shortly after.

The director, who had been watching silently, took off his headset.

“We’re screwed.”

“……”

“Either scrap this or find another pianist by tomorrow.”

He gathered his things and left.

****

“This is insane…”
The manager clutched her hair in frustration.

Nearby, Jisoo bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m sorry… I should have held back more…”

“No, it’s not your fault. We’re just powerless in this situation. But where are we going to find a replacement for Im Hajoon? This project has to succeed…”

At that moment, Kang Mera cautiously approached.

“Um… May I suggest someone?”