Pianist's Village

"Really? I didn't even know that... His name is... Soo-hyun. Does Soo-hyun play the piano well too? Our Jaehee even won a violin competition."

"Haha. Most of the students there are like that, you know? It's a place where only geniuses go."

"Really? I thought our Jaehee was particularly good..."

"That's right, sir. It's a place where very special children gather."

'No, I think he means that among them, there's a child who is truly special.'

But the old man, thinking perhaps he had been too forward, held back and said, scratching his head in embarrassment,

"I see. Well, it's because it's a place where only talented people gather. Our Jaehee won first place in the Korea-China International String Competition. It was a big competition."

"Oh my goodness. That's amazing."

"Haha, right?" the old man said, feeling better after Ji-ye's praise. Then he asked, "Has Soo-hyun won any awards too?"

"Haha, of course."

"Oh, he won?"

"Yes, he did. Ah, Soo-hyun will be waiting. I have to prepare dinner. I'm going up now."

"Ah, yes. Alright. I'll bring you some side dishes later. Oh, by the way! Where did Soo-hyun win?"

Ji-ye said with a smile as she went up the stairs,

"The Warsaw International Chopin Competition in Poland."

Ji-ye returned, cooked rice, and served a soybean paste stew. Of all of Ji-ye's meals, Soo-hyun's favorite wasn't the sophisticated food. It was homemade food, like the stew and scrambled eggs. A meal with a slight touch of nostalgia, perhaps a meal he ate as a child.

As the smell of food filled the living room, the doorbell rang again.

"Soo-hyun," Ji-ye said from the kitchen, "I think it's the man from downstairs. Can you get the door?"

Soo-hyun, who was sitting in the living room waiting for dinner, stood up.

"Yes, Sister."

Assuming it would be the man from downstairs, Soo-hyun opened the door without asking who it was and his eyes caught a strange sight. The man, who had wrapped several side-dish containers in a bundle, was holding the hand of the girl whose eyes were covered by her bangs.

"Ah… Soo-hyun is there."

"Yes, sir."

The old man said, looking at the girl with her head bowed.

"This is my daughter. Her name is Shin Jaehee. She's fourteen. I actually met your older sister a little while ago... I heard you won the International Chopin Competition? When I asked my daughter, she told me it's the most famous international competition in the piano world. Is that true?"

Soo-hyun smiled.

"I don't know much about it. It seems to be famous."

"Oh, really? Well…!"

The old man kept pausing, as if he had something to say. Ji-ye, who was cooking in the kitchen and heard the rustling at the front door, peeked her head out.

"Oh, sir. Thank you. Give them to me."

"Ah, yes…"

"Oh my! I guess you made these at home. They must be delicious. I guess your wife is a good cook."

The old man didn't answer and just smacked his lips. Ji-ye noticed something odd about the old man and asked him.

"Is there something you want to say?"

The man, who had been staring at his daughter for a while, spoke as if he had made up his mind.

"Please do me a favor."

Ji-ye looked at Soo-hyun with a questioning expression, but there was no way he would know. Soo-hyun just shrugged, and Ji-ye gestured towards the inside of the house.

"Come on in."

The man entered the house, holding his daughter's hand. Jaehee, who had been squirming in front of the shoe rack, sticking her butt out and using her legs to resist being pulled in, finally couldn't overcome her father's strength and ended up inside the house.

Two people sat on the sofa in the living room. Ji-ye, who was cooking rice, took off her apron, walked over to the sofa, and asked.

"It's okay. What do you want?"

The old man spoke as he looked at Soo-hyun's expression.

"That is… After hearing the story earlier, I searched and found out that the Korean who won the International Chopin Competition this year is a boy named Nam Soo-hyun. Then I remembered that his sister had introduced him as Soo-hyun, so I checked the photo and it really is him."

Even the old man and Jaehee, who had her head down, seemed to not realize that Soo-hyun was right in front of them.

Ji-ye said with a smile.

"Yes, that's right."

The old man took a deep breath and looked at Soo-hyun and Jaehee. Ji-ye spoke quickly.

"Sir, I'll talk with you in the other room. Soo-hyun, why don't you talk with Jaehee in the living room? You're friends from the same school."

'What are you talking about, Sister? You know I don't know how to do this.'

But Ji-ye went into the small room with the old man. An awful awkwardness settled between the remaining Soo-hyun and Jaehee. You could even hear the clock ticking.

Soo-hyun looked at Jaehee. Her thick bangs still covered her eyes. Since her eyes weren't visible, it was difficult to determine her overall impression.

'I think I know that her face, which is revealed below her eyes, is very white and her facial features are pretty.'

"Hello? This is the second time we've met, right?" he gathered all his courage and said.

Jaehee's white face instantly turned red. She nodded slightly. The conversation went back and forth. But what else can you say to a child who only nods?

Finally, Soo-hyun saw Jaehee's violin case next to the sofa.

"Is that a violin?"

Jaehee nodded again.

"Would you like to see it?"

This time, instead of nodding, Jaehee unzipped the case. She took out the violin but seemed to have no intention of handing it to Soo-hyun, hugging it tightly as if it were precious to her. Soo-hyun smiled when he saw her and nodded toward the piano.

'It must be a delicate violin. Should I show her my friend?'

Jaehee's head turned slightly towards the piano.

'I guess she's interested.'

Soo-hyun sat on the piano stool and said.

"If you're a violinist... how many years have you been practicing?"

She shyly held up five fingers. It seemed she had been playing the violin since she was nine. Soo-hyun nodded and said.

"I don't know much about the violin. But my uncle once arranged a violinist's song for the piano and taught it to me."

Jaehee's head tilted.

'Who is this uncle? Is he a teacher?'

Soo-hyun said with a smile.

"Would you like to hear it?"

Although her expression was not visible, Jaehee turned her body towards Soo-hyun, who was sitting in front of the piano. Soo-hyun smiled as he observed the girl's reaction, which was so small that he couldn't have noticed it if he had let his guard down for even a moment.

"Do you know the word 'Virtuoso'?"

Soo-hyun, who saw Jaehee nod slightly, placed his hands on the keyboard and said.

"My uncle called the composer of this piece a virtuoso. It's an Italian word that means 'a great musician'."

Jaehee licked her lips as if she were curious.

'What would a violin piece sound like on the piano?'

Soo-hyun slowly released his hands. Soo-hyun, who had never shown this kind of behavior even before the Chopin Competition began, took a deep breath and began to dance on the keyboard with his well-stretched fingers.

A beautiful melody was heard, a very fast but romantic performance. But Jaehee, who knew too much to just listen to the music played on the piano, jumped up from the sofa where she was sitting.

'Grandes Études de Paganini, No. 6!!!'

Jaehee, whose eyes still couldn't be seen, had a clearly surprised expression on her face. The white-faced boy in front of her was playing a song at lightning speed, but he maintained a blank expression the whole time without showing any signs of difficulty. The great etude by the legendary violinist Paganini, transcribed by Liszt. In the first section of 'Theme and Variations,' the latter half of the theme is played in octaves instead of single notes. Moreover, each variation uses more notes.

This song is difficult even for a violinist to follow at their own pace. Jaehee, at only fourteen, couldn't even think of playing it.

'But on a piano! How ridiculous! Are you playing Paganini's Etude No. 6 on the piano? You said you were my age!'

Soo-hyun finished the eighth variation by continuing the performance of fast, high-pitched, arpeggiated tenth chords, and moved on to the ninth variation, which had no more difficult technique than this, creating a pizzicato effect. The right hand, which initially played within an octave, gradually expanded and jumped repeatedly, quickly jumping an octave. If only the left hand could help, but it too continued to play.

'This is ridiculous! This isn't human! Not even a machine could do this!'

It wasn't just about playing with incredible virtuosity. The hands that played the keys rose to the height of the boy's eyes and then fell back down like lightning. Soo-hyun, who learned to play from Liszt himself, was reproducing his style.

Silent awe. The boy's overwhelming charisma in the girl's eyes. A skill that could be called machine-like, or even god-like. A feast of beautiful sounds that would captivate your soul!

Jaehee unconsciously held her breath as a fantasy unfolded before the girl's eyes. In the place where the boy who was playing the piano used to be, there was Liszt with his silver hair waving. Next to the piano, on the terrace, where the curtains fluttered in the wind, stood Niccolò Paganini, with long brown hair and a very high nose, engaging in a musical duel.

'It's like a fantasy where two dragons and a tiger fight to prove who is the world's greatest virtuoso!'

Jaehee rubbed her eyes. Then, the figures of Liszt and Paganini disappeared, and at the end of the performance, she saw the figure of a beautiful boy calming his mind.

The last note. Soo-hyun, who perfectly captured even the tremors of the note, smiled shyly and said,

"I'm sorry, the old man didn't tell me what kind of emotion he put into this song because it was someone else's. So I probably didn't convey it well."

Jaehee's violin fell onto the sofa. The girl's body, holding only the bow, trembled as if struck by lightning. A girl staring at Soo-hyun, lost in thought. A boy sitting on a piano bench had a refreshing smile on his face. He had a blank expression when he was playing, but when he finished playing and smiled, he looked like an angel.

"You're a violinist, so you know what this piece conveys. Ah, since it's an etude, should I consider it a practice piece for practicing technique?"

'I don't know anything about that! Who the hell are you? How can you play like that?' Jaehee screamed in her heart.

At that moment, Jaehee's father, who was hiding behind a pillar and didn't know when he would come out of the room, appeared with a surprised expression.

"Hey, is that what Soo-hyun just played?"

Jiye crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, smiling.

"Why are you asking again if you saw it together?"

"Ah, no… I can't believe my eyes. Ha, are all the kids at the Korea University Center for Musical Education for the Gifted at that level?"

Ji-ye, who felt Jaehee's father's confidence disappearing, quickly shook her head.

"No, Soo-hyun is special."

In fact, Jaehee's father doesn't know much about music. However, the song Suhyun played was such that even someone with no knowledge of music could appreciate the great skill it required. At least in Jaehee's father's eyes, Soohyun's hands moved so fast they seemed to be multiple.

Ji-ye, who was leaning against the wall, remembered the conversation that had taken place in the room a while ago.

"Our Jaehee doesn't have any friends. I feel like I'm stating my weakness with my own mouth, but a few years ago, a small and medium-sized company that was doing well went bankrupt. After divorcing Jaehee's mother, Jaehee, who was already a man of few words, became a child who didn't speak at all. Jaehee has no siblings. If it's a child like Soo-hyun, there's no need to talk to him. Couldn't we become friends with Jaehee through music? Please, please help our Jaehee smile like a normal child."

Jaehee's father had been talking for a long time about her talent for the violin. He said that it would undoubtedly help Soo-hyun as well.

Ji-ye's mouth spread into a smile as she looked at Jaehee's father and Soo-hyun, who were speechless with surprise, but Jaehee turned her head towards Soo-hyun and her body froze.

'Two unique children have come together. Can they help each other?'