Pianist's Village

Chairman Park Ki-joon, who had promised to eat with Conductor Janusz again, hurriedly headed to the concert hall.

When he opened the door, the stage lights of the already empty concert hall shone on the empty stage.

'You're really done? How can you finish practicing a piano concerto that takes 40 minutes in just one hour?'

Chairman Park Ki-joon, whose face had gone blank, saw Professor Lee Chan-ho sitting at the back of the audience, lost in thought.

"Hello, Professor!"

Professor Lee Chan-ho, who was staring at the empty stage with unfocused eyes as if he had completely lost his mind, looked at Chairman Park Ki-joon with blurry eyes.

"Chairman..."

"What's wrong? Is rehearsal over in an hour? I spoke to Conductor Janusz and he called Soo-hyun Franz Liszt. Did you see the rehearsal?"

"Yes, haha… I saw it. Did I see it? No, I definitely saw it."

Professor Lee Chan-ho, who was talking nonsense, kept rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Chairman Park Ki-joon looked around, wondering if he wanted to consult directly with Professor Lee Chan-ho after checking his condition.

"Where is Nam Soo-hyun?"

"He went out with Ms. Kim Ji-ye. He said he was hungry."

'But why are you here? Not eating with me?' He wanted to ask, but seeing him, it seemed he wasn't in a condition to eat.

Chairman Park Ki-joon sat next to Professor Lee Chan-ho and together they looked at the empty stage.

Chairman Park Ki-joon, who had given Professor Lee Chan-ho some time, opened his mouth.

"What did you see?"

Professor Lee Chan-ho said with unfocused eyes.

"Franz Liszt. Haha… What am I talking about?"

"...?"

"But I really saw it. As soon as the piano entered, after quite a while from when the orchestra started playing, I saw the Faust Sonata with silver hair, the illusion of Franz Liszt."

'Franz Liszt.' 'I keep hearing his name. Conductor Janusz and Professor Lee Chan-ho keep mentioning him.' 'Of course, Chairman Park Ki-joon also knows the legend. He is a legend himself.' 'But nowadays, everyone who heard him play or went to his concert is dead.' 'Since it was a time when there were no cylinders or visual media, his performances remain only as legends.' 'But two people with the label of experts mentioned him at the same time.'

"A list suddenly… What are you talking about?"

Professor Lee Chan-ho lowered his head and laughed self-deprecatingly, as if his own words were absurd.

"There are legends about women fighting over ashtrays with their cigarette butts, and many screamed and fainted when he appeared on stage. The silver-haired devil, Liszt. I saw him with certainty."

"What the hell is that?"

Professor Lee Chan-ho got up from his seat, put his hands over his eyes, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Chairman. I think I'll go crazy if I talk any more, so I'll have to rest today."

"Ah… Right. I understand."

"Excuse my rudeness. Well, that's all for now."

Professor Lee Chan-ho hurriedly left the concert hall as if something was chasing him.

Chairman Park Ki-joon, who was looking back as if he had seen something, turned his head to the empty stage and buried himself deep in the audience.

'A list?'

Ten days later, the final round of the main tournament.

The final round started at 10 a.m., but you could see people in tuxedos from 6 a.m. These were people who came to watch the competition, which was held on a first-come, first-served basis, except for some VIP seats.

From people who came out of curiosity after hearing rumors about Soo-hyun, to people who had been watching the competition from the past to the present. Those who had mobilized from dawn, diligently trembling, laughed, and those who had arrived late, thinking about the usually unpopular children's competition, cried.

Although the admission period on a first-come, first-served basis had already closed, people waiting to get a seat filled the area in front of the Warsaw Conservatory.

Two people walking calmly, passing by them. They were President Joseph and Tateushi.

Those who came together to watch the competition today smiled like winners, perhaps because they were assigned VIP seats.

"Haha, I donate a lot of money every year just to feel this way."

"Haha, me too, actually."

"How many children were left in the final round?"

"It's hot."

"Well, if there are ten, each person will play for 40 minutes, so there will be an intermission every two hours. I'm sure the organizers, who are so unenthusiastic, put Soo-hyun last, so I won't be able to see him until evening."

"Shall we go somewhere, spend some time, and come back later?"

"How is that possible? They are the rising stars of the future, so we have to take care of them. Even if it's a bit boring, let's watch from the beginning."

"Haha, I understand."

Two people who had sat down a little earlier arrived at the empty VIP seats. It seemed none of the VIPs had arrived yet.

President Joseph raised his hand when he saw Professor Lech, who was in the front row, turn around.

Professor Lech, with a cheerful face, stood up and went to the VIP seats.

"Mr. Chairman, did you also come today?"

"Haha, I can't help but be curious. I watched the entire preliminary round from the first round."

"Ah, I see. I saw you the second time, but I didn't get a chance to greet you. Thank you for always showing interest and love for music."

President Tateushi also greeted him and spoke.

"But, Professor, I haven't been able to find where to inquire about sponsoring Nam Soo-hyun. Where should I ask?"

Professor Lech said with a smile.

"You can ask the person over there."

Two people who saw an Asian man walking towards the empty VIP seats stood up and shook hands.

"Chairman Park Ki-joon. It's been a while."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Tateushi."

Chairman Park Ki-joon, who knew Joseph but met Tateushi for the first time, treated them with gentle charisma.

After exchanging brief greetings and sitting together, Tateushi asked.

"I, Chairman, would like to support Nam Soo-hyun."

Park Ki-joon said with a smile.

"Corporate sponsorship will be decided by Geumhwa Asian. For individual sponsorships, I will contact you. You can do so through Professor Lee Chan-ho of Korea University's Talent Music Education Center. I'll give you his business card later."

Joseph and Tateushi had a few more questions, but Park Ki-joon was too busy talking to them about sponsorship at that moment. Because during the last ten days, Park Ki-joon had realized how much a person can change when they have a strong curiosity about something.

Park Ki-joon, who would wake up at night and hold his head, repeatedly exclaiming, "I'm so curious I could die!", had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for a while.

After a brief greeting from the host, the final round began.

The first contestant was a Chinese boy, the second a French boy, and the third an American boy.

Since the piano concerto is a very long piece, it is necessary to observe a participant's performance for quite some time. Therefore, some spectators fell asleep halfway through the performance.

Since Tateushi had only come to see Soo-hyun, he couldn't bear the boredom and asked President Joseph.

"Mr. Chairman, I'm watching a children's competition full of mistakes, and I don't even know what the song is saying."

"They're just kids, aren't they? At that age, could they even play a keyboard in front of so many people? It's amazing that such young children can move their legs and not run away in front of this audience."

"That's true, but I think my standards have improved after watching Soo-hyun play."

"That makes sense. Well, this song, you know, consists of three movements."

President Tateushi also knew this. He had basic knowledge.

President Joseph provided further explanations.

"It consists of the first movement, Allegro maestoso; the second, Romance - Larghetto; and the third, Rondo - Vivace. This piece is about Chopin's love for the singer Konstanzia Gladkowska, whom he loved his whole life but could never confess to, and whose love ended up unrequited."

"Ah, it was a song about love."

"It is said that Gladkowska sang in a white dress adorned with roses at Chopin's last performance before he left his country. How did Chopin feel seeing Gladkowska, whom he was in love with, singing about his music?"

"Well, that must have hurt."

"Yes, it did. I always wondered why they included this piece in the final round of children's competitions."

"Is it because love is the theme?"

"Yes, you're not old enough to know about love yet, are you? Of course, you don't know how to express it well."

"Well, that's true."

At the same time, backstage.

Children with nervous expressions, trembling legs, and clenched fists in a waiting room that resembled a large auditorium. We also see professors and parents constantly talking to their children to try to alleviate their tension.

And next to Soo-hyun, who was sitting on a bench in the furthest corner of the waiting room, in the corner of a square room, looking at the children with an indifferent face, was Professor Lee Chan-ho, who seemed more nervous than the other children, with his arms crossed and his legs trembling wildly.

"Don't be nervous, Soo-hyun. Just do it as you practice."

He said that for Soo-hyun, but his legs trembled like an aspen.

Soo-hyun kept staring at his legs and laughed discreetly.

'He's the one going to the competition, so why is this professor the one who's nervous?'

"Then my legs will disappear."

"Huh? Ah. Sorry."

'The image of Professor Lee Chan-ho firmly holding his trembling legs with his hands is amusing.'

Kim Ji-ye, worried that Soo-hyun might be thirsty, handed him the water she brought.

"Soo-hyun, drink some water."

But Kim Ji-ye's hand, holding the glass of water, also trembled violently. The water was about to overflow.

Before the water spilled, Soo-hyun grabbed Kim Ji-ye's wrist, took the glass from him, and spoke with a calm expression.

"Professor."

"Huh! Sorry. I was very loud. What's wrong? What do you need? What can I do for you? Yes?"

'I can't help but laugh. This guy is very nervous.'

"After the orchestra concert ended, you disappeared for a long time and only came to see me yesterday afternoon."

Professor Lee Chan-ho awkwardly scratched his head.

'I was so surprised that I was ashamed to sleep locked in my hotel room for three days.' 'Of course, after that, I couldn't easily go back to Soo-hyun and wandered around for several days.'

"Yes, that's right. I'm sorry."

"This time you didn't tell me. I waited."

"Huh? What are you waiting for? What didn't I tell you?"

Professor Lee Chan-ho made an inquiring expression.

"What are you talking about?"

Soo-hyun said, pushing his white face in.

"It's still four hours until my turn."

"Oh, oh, oh. Right. But what do you want me to tell you…?"

Soo-hyun said, staring at Lee Chan-ho.

"Please tell me what kind of emotions the Piano Concerto No. 1 contains. What was Chopin's love like? My uncle was embarrassed and never told me those things."

'Oh, sir? No, that's not the problem. I was crazy! I didn't tell him the most important thing!'

Professor Lee Chan-ho slapped his forehead.

'The first thing you have to do is calm down.'

After gulping down the water Kim Ji-ye had brought for Soo-hyun, Professor Lee Chan-ho took a deep breath and began to speak.

"The piano concerto is said to be a love song that expresses Chopin's passionate unrequited love. He said…"

Professor Lee Chan-ho opened his story package.

Soo-hyun was seen listening with an amused expression, as if he were listening to a story about his father's love life when he was single.