Pianist's Village

The day of the second round of the main competition.

Was it because the rumor spread?

More sponsors attended the competition venue than during the first round of the main competition.

The gentlemen, all dressed in elegant suits, took their seats and asked each other how they were doing.

"President Joseph. It's been a while."

"Oh, President Tateushi, how are you?"

"Haha, of course."

"What's wrong with someone who rarely attends children's competitions?"

"I came to see the child about whom so many rumors are circulating. Is it the same for you, President?"

"Haha, I also saw the first round. There was a boy who was a genius."

"Oh, is that child named Nam?"

"The child's name is Soo-hyun. I heard his surname is Nam-eun."

"Ah, I see. It's a bit difficult to pronounce."

"I also, after practicing a few times, managed to play it correctly."

"But they told me he's called 'perfect technique doll'. Is that true?"

President Joseph looked around.

'It's a children's competition. It's not something an adult should do: talk indifferently about a growing child.'

The elderly President Joseph said, with his index finger resting on his lips.

"Lower your voice. It's normal for a child that age to struggle with expressing his emotions."

President Tateushi smiled awkwardly.

Some people in the audience could be seen grimacing. He must have spoken a little loudly.

Of course, that wasn't the problem, but rather the problem of referring to a child as if he were a doll.

President Tateushi said in a low voice.

"I have a friend professor at the Warsaw Conservatory. He told me that Professor Lech met the child in person and told him that he had the skills of a genius, but lacked emotions."

"Well, I've heard that too. But isn't he still young? Just having genius skills is amazing."

"Well, that's right. I came here to see the child and, anyway, decide whether to sponsor him."

"Haha, don't worry about that. There are already people willing to sponsor the child."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Take a look."

President Tateushi looked at the audience seats in the competition venue after hearing President Joseph's words.

In his opinion, a children's competition would only have parents, judges, some officials, and a few sponsors, but instead, the venue was full of spectators.

"Could it be that all these people gathered just to see a child named Soo-hyun?"

"I see. I also heard rumors that a child made Warsaw cry, and I came here out of curiosity."

"There are many."

"Yes, it's the first time in my life I've seen so many people attend a children's competition. It shows the great charm of a child. I don't care that he can't express his emotions. It's something he can develop little by little. However, my joy is seeing his natural talent grow."

President Tateushi slightly tilted his head and said.

"I truly respect you."

"Haha! Well, let's watch it together."

Quite a few participants finished playing.

At first, the sponsors watched with anticipation to see what kind of pianists the cute young ones would become, but as time passed, they could no longer bear the boredom.

This phenomenon was even more extreme for them, who grew up listening to professional pianists play in high-class society since childhood.

President Joseph also mumbled, stretching, as if he were bored.

"The organizers postponed Soo-hyun's turn. How superficial!"

President Tateushi smiled and agreed.

"That's right. I guess they thought that if Soo-hyun played first, the sponsors would leave halfway through."

"Hey, where among these people is there such an inconsiderate person?"

"Haha, but I think they took into account the tension the next child to play would feel."

"Yes, I guess I should think that way. Huh...? That, that, that child? That child is Soo-hyun!"

"Huh? Oh, where!"

Thanks to President Joseph's reprimand, President Tateushi turned his head and saw a child walking slowly and silently towards the piano in the middle of the stage.

A child with curly hair that reached past his forehead above his eyes, and an elegant outfit with beautiful lace protruding from his sleeves.

A child dressed like a medieval pianist.

"That child... is he thirteen years old? He's very tall."

At that age, growth is sudden. Some children even stop growing, so nutrition is important.

"What a handsome child! I envy him for his very white skin and red lips. I was like that at that age. Haha."

"Hey, kid, I saw you when you were little. What are you talking about?"

"Haha, can you do it like that?"

"Stop complaining. I think it's time to start."

President Tateushi sat upright.

"What kind of performance do you do to be considered a 'perfect doll'?"

As can be guessed from the nickname, it probably means he is a child whose playing skills are unparalleled for his age, but who plays without emotion.

At Tateushi's expectant gaze, the professors of the Warsaw Conservatory sitting in the front row also straightened their postures and concentrated.

Among them was the famous Professor Lech.

Professor Lech looked at Soo-hyun sitting on the piano stool with a pitiful gaze.

The child he wants to teach. But he himself knows it. What the child needs right now is not him.

He is an educator who can make pianists, but he cannot make people.

"I know I'll regret it for a hundred days if I let him go, but I have to let him go for my child's sake."

But if he hears that Korean professors only teach piano to children, he thinks about flying to Korea to bring Soo-hyun back.

"It's not something that can be achieved in a short time. But if you change even a little bit, I'll leave you with the Korean professors, Soo-hyun. Please show me that you've changed."

A quiet place for a competition.

The competition was even quieter because no applause was given when the contestants appeared.

We saw Soo-hyun in profile with his eyes closed. Soo-hyun rested his wrists calmly on the keyboard.

The professors gossiped about his appearance.

"There's a document that says Chopin played that way."

"That's right, Chopin was so weak that he had never performed in a large concert hall in his entire life. He only performed in salons where about thirty people gathered."

"It is said that one of the students played Chopin's piano so forcefully that he broke a string. When the student apologized, Chopin smiled and said, 'It's alright. If I had the strength you have, I would have broken the string dozens of times. I envy you.'"

"It's a famous anecdote. Soo-hyun's posture is truly ideal for a pianist. It's different from the average pianist, who twists and shakes his body for no reason and expresses his emotions with gestures instead of playing."

A beautiful melody began to resonate through Soo-hyun's fingers as he closed his eyes.

The professors, sponsors, and parents of the participants who were cheering on their own children were all concentrated as they watched Soo-hyun's hand movements with wide eyes.

And Soo-hyun's performance brought a smile to Professor Lech's face before even three seconds had passed.

"It's different! Respecting the child's decision was effective."

'Old things.' 'A heart that is in love with someone.' 'The stars and the moon in the sky.' 'There are so many days I don't want to remember.' 'There are so many days I don't want to forget.' 'I feel lonely because I can't be with you.' 'The feeling of being alone in the world and having my hands and feet cut off fills the sand.'

Soo-hyun, who was still and unmoving, poured even more sadness into his sadness.

Sadness overflowed and, instead of diminishing, only filled more.

For some people, time had stopped, and for others, time had stopped with the person they were with.

A beautiful melody, but a performance filled with maximum sadness.

Soo-hyun, who was playing the instrument, was crying in his heart.

Sometimes, when his eyes filled with tears, he looked up and held them back with desperation. To not let a single one fall, Soo-hyun always looked at the sky.

Lee Chan-ho's teachings came to Soo-hyun's mind.

"Chopin was called the poet of the piano. He was a poet who sang poems through the piano. You too, try to express your heart through poetry. Even if the audience cannot hear it, if you express it with your heart, it will be transmitted to the audience through your hands and the piano."

Soo-hyun, biting his lips tightly, shouted his feelings with deep sadness.

'One day.' 'Sitting in my mother's shadow' 'A day when I cried non-stop.' 'One day.' 'My father's thick, gentle voice.' 'A day I've been infinitely longing for.' 'I cried because I missed my father's smell.' 'I cried because my mother's shadow was fragrant.' 'The smell of my parents' flesh.' 'The smell of my heart' 'I wanted to move it but couldn't and cried again.' 'The shadow of a mother who doesn't shed tears even when she cries.' 'The smell of my father that doesn't reach my tears even when I cry.' 'That's why I hated it even more.' 'I hate myself for not being able to go with you and I cry.' 'I hate you for going to a place where you can't pick me up.' 'I also cried that day, breaking the darkness.'

The beautiful but sad performance gradually accelerated and reached its climax.

A strange child with perfect skills.

The sponsors who came to see the skills of the child whom the professors unanimously praised, and the parents of the participants who looked with poisonous eyes, saying, "Let's see how well he does."

Everyone in the stadium was giving their body and soul, feeling the deep pain of the thirteen-year-old boy.

At a certain moment, President Joseph's hand, which was clutching his handkerchief even tighter, began to tremble. President Tateushi, concentrating on his performance, noticed it.

President Joseph, unable to calm his mind and with reddened eyes, mumbled with a trembling voice.

"That child... is sobbing in his heart..."

Normally, President Tateushi would have thought, "Surely not," that a child like that would do such a thing, but now he was trembling like President Joseph.

"I have lost many things as an adult. If they don't return, I remember all the sadness I felt when saying goodbye, thinking they weren't mine from the beginning."

Before they realized it, large tears were falling from their eyes.

A pain so deep that it resonated in the heart, moving and shaking people's hearts.

The people who had their arms intertwined or their legs crossed, at some point, their bodies relaxed as much as their hearts, and they simply sympathized with the deep sadness the child was playing.

Some of the ladies in the back took out handkerchiefs and wiped their tears, while others turned their heads, unable to face the child's pain.

The overwhelming sadness became quiet and silent again.

There is only one way to overcome pain, and that is to overcome it with greater pain.

Soo-hyun's internal cries, singing of even greater pain, were transmitted to the audience through the gentle performance.

Soo-hyun's performance, approaching the last note, gradually slowed down.

The intense sadness that seemed indelible persisted even after the performance and tormented the soul of each of them.

Soo-hyun mumbled as he looked up at the stage ceiling with tears in his tightly closed eyes.

"I miss you, Mom. I miss you, Dad."

The performance ended, but the auditorium was silent.

And after a while.

A thunderous applause, something uncommon in children's competitions, spread even outside the competition venue.

The elders, whose noses were red from crying so much, applauded until their hands broke, not even noticing that their tuxedos were wrinkled, and the ladies, who didn't even have enough handkerchiefs and whose dress sleeves were soaked with tears, threw flowers at Soo-hyun.

"Bravo! Bravo!"

And Professor Lech, who smiled brightly despite holding back tears, also welcomed Soo-hyun with applause.

"I can't stay still and wait to see how the genius child who is among the people reflected in his eyes will grow."

Professor Lech's applause, blessing the child's future with a heart full of joy, continued for a long time after that.