Pianist's Village

The main sponsor of the Korea University Talent Music Education Center was Kumhwa Asian.

This company was a large group focusing on the airline business, as well as bus business and the construction industry. Their decision to support musical talents out of a love for music that began a few years ago was purely based on the personal affection of the current chairman, Park Ki-joon.

The headquarters building in Gangnam, Seoul, where the CEO of Kumhwa Asian Corporation resided.

Chairman Park Ki-joon, who was carefully reading the documents handed to him by his secretary, was an elderly gentleman with neatly combed white hair. As expected of someone who loved classical music, he looked dapper despite his advanced age and asked his secretary.

"Nam Soo-hyun?"

The secretary, who seemed to be in good shape and had been exercising quite a bit, bowed her head and replied.

"Yes, sir."

"This child was rejected by Korea University?"

"To be more precise, they say they requested a record of awards won in competitions to maintain fairness with other students."

'Huh? Are you telling me you made that demand of the child who captivated the professors of the Warsaw Conservatory at the International Chopin Competition?'

'There was no prior information. If you look at the back, it describes the child's situation.'

Chairman Park Ki-joon, with a bewildered expression, turned to the next page and read the report.

Her parents were poor and couldn't even have a wedding or a honeymoon, so they started their married life renting. However, after Soo-hyun's birth, when she was six years old, they saved money and moved into a rented house for a late honeymoon and family trip. Unfortunately, during that trip, the mountain train climbing Jungfrau, in Switzerland, derailed.

As a result, all passengers passed away. The child protagonist of this report, Nam Soo-hyun, disappeared at the age of six.

Naturally, her death was taken for granted, but a year and a half later, a crew member at Interlaken station found Soo-hyun and dramatically managed to make a call to an embassy official.

However, the child who had disappeared again suddenly reappeared at Interlaken station five and a half years later.

Park Ki-joon frowned after reading the report up to this point and said.

"Hasn't it even been two months since the day the child was found?"

"Yes, that's right. I understand why Korea University refused. They probably had no prior information."

"Even so, it's true. I didn't even apply for special admission, I just asked to take the exam. You say it was difficult?"

"It was after the regular exam period. The school found it difficult to provide special treatment once the period was over, when the new student quota was already full."

"Ha… How ridiculous! So that's why they took your child from the Warsaw Conservatory?"

Chairman Park Ki-joon's impression changed. The chairman looked at the secretary with an angry tiger-like gaze.

The startled secretary cleared her throat, then smoothed her clothes as she spoke.

"No. The child hoped to come to Korea University's Talent Music Education Center."

Chairman Park Ki-joon's expression changed. It was half joy, half bewilderment.

"Is that true? You wanted to go to the Warsaw Conservatory, but you chose Korea."

"This is information I confirmed directly with the president of Korea University."

Chairman Park Ki-joon read the rest of the report with a satisfied expression on his face, then froze.

"Are you… in the hospital right now?"

"Yes, she collapsed in the waiting room after finishing the second round of the main tournament."

"What is her condition?"

"There's nothing unusual, but she needs rest. The dean said she seems to have suffered mental shock due to the intensity of her emotions during the performance."

Chairman Park Ki-joon looked at the documents silently for a while before speaking.

"You should withdraw from the competition. Perhaps you're too young to handle the pressure."

"He says he won't give up."

"The child himself?"

"Yes."

Chairman Park Ki-joon, who for a moment seemed surprised, burst into laughter at one point.

"Hahahahahaha! Yes, I like that very much. Children who perform are often weak mentally and physically. But this child has a very strong will! The people around her must have tried to make her not give up, but he must have insisted on going on alone. Am I wrong?"

"No, it's as the chairman said."

"Hahahahahaha! Well, when the child returns, our company will handle it. We won't let other sponsoring companies get close."

The secretary, who should have responded confidently with a "Yes!", hesitated for some reason.

"That is...."

"Huh? Why? Is there a problem?"

"That is to say… It seems Polish companies are contacting Professor Lee Chan-ho to request sponsorship."

"Well, tell them to refuse. We'll handle it."

"It's not just one or two companies. I've heard that there are also many inquiries about individual sponsorships."

"How much does it cost?"

"More than ten companies have pledged to sponsor me for over $100,000 a year. There's no limit for individual sponsorship, but it's rumored that over a hundred businesspeople have applied for sponsorship. If I place in the top five of the competition, I expect the number of sponsorship requests to increase even further."

Park Ki-joon's eyes widened even further.

'She's only thirteen. How did she get so many sponsors?'

'There's no way a secretary would lie.'

Park Ki-joon, who was worried with serious eyes, quickly got up and got dressed.

"Clear your schedule for a week starting today. I need to go to Poland right now. I need to see him with my own eyes."

"Mr. Chairman, tomorrow we have a luncheon with Korean businesspeople."

"Well, I'll go to dinner with the elders while I'm here to enjoy the food. I'll cancel. Oh, and when Nam Soo-hyun returns to Korea, find a place for her to live. Near Korea University."

"Yes, I understand."

Damiana Hospital (Centrum Medyczne Damiana) in Warsaw, Poland.

Soo-hyun went down to the first-floor lobby of the hospital, saying she wanted to get some fresh air. She put her hands in her gown pockets and walked around the lobby in slippers.

Among the sick, some frowned because their bodies hurt, while others frowned out of concern for their sick family members. Among them, the only ones who hadn't lost their smiles were the children.

Children in hospital gowns, with brown hair and masks.

It didn't seem like they were originally friends, but they seemed to feel close simply because they wore the same patient gown, so they ran around each other and laughed loudly. The parents watching them set aside their hearts that were about to break due to their sick children and smiled as they watched their children running all over the place.

A soccer ball rolled to Soo-hyun's feet, who was quietly observing the children. A child with brown hair and a mask ran up to Soo-hyun and greeted him.

"Please kick the ball."

Soo-hyun stared at the child, then kicked the ball.

'Now that I think about it, this is the first time Soo-hyun has kicked a ball. A strange sensation ran through her fingertips. But it seemed like it would be a lot of fun.'

'I don't know what the sport is called, but the children are playing a game where they kick a ball with their feet without using their hands and try to catch it from each other.'

'I want to do it too.'

'But I don't know what to say to ask for help, because the old men didn't tell me that.'

She just watched the children with envious eyes, then sat on a chair waiting for patients because her legs hurt.

Then, Soo-hyun, who was watching the children again, saw a child approach the children who were kicking the ball and quietly stretched her leg and kicked the ball.

The children who were playing could have asked, "What are you doing? Why are you interfering?", but he just kept chasing the ball. The child who arrived later began to play ball together with the child as if they had been playing together from the beginning.

'Was it okay to do that? It seems rude. Even children should be polite, right?'

The number of children playing ball continued to change, increasing and decreasing. This was because sometimes children who were playing would disappear, holding hands with their parents who came to pick them up at exam time, or sometimes children who weren't there would appear and get in the way.

Some children asked, "Can I play with you?" and joined, some said, "That's not how you kick a ball! I'll show you!" and joined, and some children just kicked the ball without saying anything and watched.

Soo-hyun watched everything and knew how to get involved, but still didn't have the courage.

And Soo-hyun's attention focused on the piano by the window in the distance, behind the children playing soccer.

Piano.

The black body of the piano, Soo-hyun's only comfort, was visible. She quietly got up, walked past the children playing soccer, and approached the piano.

'If the ball came my way, I wanted to kick it again, but unfortunately, I didn't get that chance.'

A nurse approached and said as she watched Soo-hyun stroking its smooth body after reaching the piano.

"Is that the child from room 301? Do you speak Polish?"

She asked because Soo-hyun looked foreign. When Soo-hyun nodded, the nurse, with a pleased expression, said:

"What's your name?"

"Nam Soo-hyun."

"Wow, what a cool name! How old are you?"

"I am thirteen years old."

"Oh my goodness! Really? You're so tall I thought you were fifteen."

Soo-hyun turned her head away from the nurse who had started chattering and stared at the piano again. The nurse who had been chatting to herself looked at Soo-hyun and asked.

"Do you know how to play the piano?"

"Yes."

"Really? Do you want to try?"

Soo-hyun turned her head and saw a lobby full of children playing soccer and patients waiting for their turn.

'I think playing here would be a nuisance to them.'

"No."

"Really? Well, play whenever you feel like it. This piano is played by pianists who sometimes volunteer. It's said to be used to comfort patients."

Soo-hyun looked up.

'Comfort? What kind of feeling is that?'

"Is comfort a type of emotion?"

"Huh?"

"What is comfort?"

The nurse's eyes changed.

'This child is not at an age where she wouldn't know the word comfort. Moreover, room 301 is a general ward, not a place for children with mental disorders.'

"You don't know what comfort is?"

"Yes."

The nurse looked at Soo-hyun and spoke kindly.

"To comfort means to alleviate suffering or soothe sadness with warm words or actions."

'With warm words or actions. Why should it be like that?'

"Why does it have to be like that?"

"Huh?"

The nurse was confused.

'What should I say?'

Then a voice came to her aid, but she didn't understand it because it wasn't in Polish.

"Soo-hyun."

Soo-hyun turned her head at the same time as the nurse and saw Professor Lee Chan-ho.

"What is Soo-hyun doing here?"

"I was asking this older sister what comfort is."

Professor Lee Chan-ho smiled brightly.

"So what do you say?"

"You said it meant to alleviate someone's suffering or soothe their sadness with warm words or actions. But I don't know why I should do it. Why should I comfort others?"

Professor Lee Chan-ho smiled, knelt down, and looked Soo-hyun in the eyes.

"When you were sad, was there anyone who asked you, 'Are you okay?' or did something you needed without saying anything?"

The images of the two old men appeared in Soo-hyun's head.

'The practice songs he made for himself, the hearts that ignored his sadness, the boring pancakes that always conveyed a warm vibe upon returning from rehearsal. And the loving eyes that looked at him.'

'That's how the two uncles comforted me. I think I understand it a little.'

Professor Lee Chan-ho, who saw Soo-hyun lost in thought for a moment, smiled and put his arm around the child's shoulder.

"Now, look over there. Think about all the times someone comforted you when you were having a hard time or feeling sad. Do you feel grateful? The patients over there and their parents need comfort just like our Soo-hyun. What should we do?"

'What could be better?'

'How to return the comfort received.'

Professor Lee Chan-ho's face widened when he saw Soo-hyun's gaze turn to the piano.

"Yes, you can comfort her in any way you can."

Soo-hyun's hands, which had been staring at the piano, slowly rose to the keys.