After finishing cooking for Soo-hyun and washing the dishes, Ji-ye looked at her watch with anxious eyes.
'There's not enough time to practice. They say children who participate in competitions practice one song for several months. If Soo-hyun can't play Chopin or Liszt, he has to practice with the first sheet music he sees. Time is of the essence.'
The main character, Soo-hyun, was sitting in front of the TV with an expression that said he was bored again today, but Ji-ye was the one who looked anxious.
Ding-dong.
The bell finally rang. Ji-ye rushed out and opened the door.
"You're here, Jaehee's father~ Oh, you brought another side dish today! What should I do? You're always spoiling me."
The father came in holding Jaehee's hand and said as he handed over the side dishes.
"My mother sent them from the countryside. Wouldn't it be great if we could share?"
"Thank you."
"That's a soy sauce stew, and this is a pheasant meat stew. Of course, it's from a hunting permit, so don't worry. Haha."
"Thank you. Please, come in."
As they were talking about side dishes, Ji-ye looked at the few sheets of music in Jaehee's hand with bright eyes.
'I wonder how long it will take Soo-hyun to play that song?'
"Soo-hyun, Jaehee is here."
Soo-hyun, who was in front of the TV, got up from his seat when he saw Jaehee and Jaehee's father. If Jaehee had come alone, he would have waved his hand, but since her father had also come, he had no choice but to stand up.
"You're here, sir."
Jaehee's father said with a pleased smile.
"I saw you already. You don't have to be so polite with me. Jaehee brought the sheet music, do you want to talk about it? I'll go to the kitchen with your sister."
"Yes, sir."
Jaehee's father went to the kitchen with Ji-ye. Soo-hyun approached Jaehee, who was carrying a violin case.
"Give it to me."
Jaehee handed over the sheet music with both hands, even though they were the same age. Soo-hyun asked as he took the sheet music.
"Brahms, Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26? Oh, Brahms! The old men have told me about him."
Jaehee, who had been anxiously shifting her eyes, sighed inwardly.
'You've only heard of the famous Brahms? He's in serious trouble.'
Soo-hyun sat on the piano stool, looking at the sheet music on the stand, reading it for a long time. Jaehee stood behind Soo-hyun, restless and kicking the floor.
'Should I have brought easier sheet music?'
Soo-hyun, who had flipped through the sheet music and reviewed it from beginning to end, looked at Jaehee and said.
"Aren't you going to take out your violin?"
'What are you talking about? There's no way I can play a concerto all of a sudden. I should practice enough, and when I'm done, I should play a violin concerto.''I've played this song before. Not enough to perform it somewhere, but I know the general idea!'
Soo-hyun chuckled when he saw Jaehee pouting.
"Just take it out."
Jaehee bent down as if she couldn't help it and took out her violin. She turned her back and said nothing, but you could tell she was grumbling. After smiling as if Soo-hyun was cute, he said as she took the violin bow.
"You only have the sheet music for the fourth movement? Are you only going to do this?"
Jaehee nodded.
'If you do all of it, it will take over 40 minutes. The fourth movement alone is over 10 minutes, you idiot.'
Soo-hyun nodded and then winked at her.
"Then, let's practice the fourth movement, Allegro, first. The violin and piano start at the same time. The violin is the protagonist and the piano, a supporting role. Would you like to hear your performance first? Let's talk again after hearing it once."
Jaehee nodded again, then rested the violin against her chin and began to play. A major rondo, in forte. Ji-ye, who was pretending to clean the side dishes in the kitchen while listening to the performance, had a slightly surprised expression.
'Jaehee is also very talented!'
She had to be. From a parent's perspective, if a child is able to leave a good school and be sent to a music gifted education center, it means they are a genius, different from ordinary children. Ji-ye, who was watching Soo-hyun from the side, had high standards for geniuses.
Soo-hyun, who had been listening to Jaehee's performance until the end, sat down properly on the piano stool and said, "I don't know if my eyes were open or closed."
"Flowing lightness and cheerful character, Allegro rhythm. Okay?"
"…?"
"Alright?"
She nodded. If Jaehee had seen her own eyes, they would have widened.
'I know the tempo because I read the score, but it's hard to grasp the exact feeling of the song. In particular, even ordinary people can understand something like cheerful, but the expression 'flowing lightness' is something only professors use.'
Soo-hyun said after placing his hands on the keyboard.
"Give the signal and I'll come in."
'What? You've only heard it once? You're saying this is the first time you've heard this piece! You don't even know who Brahms is. It's impossible for you to suddenly be able to play a concerto.'
As Jaehee was shaking her head to indicate, "You should practice more!", her father's words came to her mind.
"We're neighbors and our children are friends."
'Neighbors, friends. If you're a friend, isn't it natural to help him practice? I think helping your friend play perfectly, even if it costs you a little, is what a friend does. Saying, "You're not good enough, so go practice some more. You're not worth playing with!" is not being a friend.'
Jaehee bit her lips tightly, swallowed her words, and took her bow.
'Well, let's do it.'
Just as she was about to shoot her bow forcefully, Soo-hyun interrupted her flow.
"Wait a moment. You can't see, so you can't catch the signal. We have to come in together."
Jaehee flinched and fixed her bangs, re-covering her eyes. She must have been embarrassed. Soo-hyun said with a smile.
"I didn't ask you to show me your eyes. Before we start, tap your right foot slightly for a second. Then I'll rest for a second and then come in. Got it?"
Jaehee's reaction, which seemed to say, "Phew, thank goodness," was amusing. Jaehee nodded, tapped her foot lightly on the floor, leaned back, and placed the bow on the violin strings. And from the moment the violin, joined by the piano, began to play its first note, the girl's eyes, hidden behind her hair, opened wider than ever before.
Brahms, Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26, 4th Movement, Allegro.
The theme of this piece is presented by the violin in forte. But the real challenge is the piano. While the violin plays the theme, the piano simultaneously fulfills the role of the drums and the bass of the band. That is, the piano is the one that carries the entire rhythm with the effect of hitting the keys.
But now, Soo-hyun was playing the song perfectly. The boy who just a moment ago said he didn't know who Brahms was, was now playing the piece as if he had been practicing it for days. Jaehee, who was playing the violin, glanced at Soo-hyun. This wasn't Soo-hyun's usual relaxed performance. He could be seen playing with shining eyes, as if he were crawling inside the score.
'No way this is his first time! This is ridiculous! It's a scam!'
As Jaehee shouted countless times in her mind, Jaehee's father, who was cleaning the side dishes, smiled happily.
"Well now. The other parents will be tearing their hair out. A kid like Soo-hyun can't play anything but Chopin. Since he must master the basics, he must have practiced a lot of music by other composers. That's why he can play at that level."
Jaehee's father looked at Ji-ye, who was standing in front of the kitchen table with a blank expression, watching the two children from afar, and smiled again.
"Ji-ye, why did you make that face and deceive people? No, did you do it on purpose to reduce the competition because you wanted to be paired with Jaehee? If so, I'm very grateful."
'I thought Jaehee might be helping Soo-hyun. I thought even that situation would be fine. After all, isn't this a competition? Wouldn't it be better if we could help each other and grow together? I tried to help Soo-hyun, who doesn't talk and doesn't have friends, with the mindset that I would ruin at least one of my assignments if it meant playing with Jaehee, but the result was different.'
Unlike Ji-ye, who had a slightly better knowledge of music than the average person, Jaehee's father, who had listened to countless pieces of music for his daughter's education, noticed it.
'The violin is dragging. It's Jaehee who is losing the beat a little. Soo-hyun's rhythm is perfect!'
A performance that lasted about ten minutes. Ji-ye's mouth was open until the performance ended. When the performance was over, Soo-hyun turned his head and looked at Jaehee, and he was heard saying something.
"I'll mark it here. You were off by three beats. Understand?"
Jaehee, with a blank expression, slowly lowered her bow and looked at the score Soo-hyun was writing on. It was as if she were saying, "You said it was sight-reading! You said it was sight-reading! You're a liar!"
Soo-hyun said after indifferently going over some parts of the musical score.
"This song is bright, but a little strange."
'Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden? There's no way the score is wrong. I bought it from a paid site.'
"Sad, this song."
Jaehee clenched her fists in surprise once more.
'Liar. It's your first time, how can you know something like that?'
Brahms's piano quartet is a piece that expresses Brahms's longing for Schumann, his mentor and close friend, after his death. The fourth movement of other piano quartets he had written before was full of intense energy, but this movement was bright yet lyrical.
Jaehee puffed out her cheeks as if she were dissatisfied, but Soo-hyun, who couldn't see it, continued to speak.
"I miss my mom."
Jaehee, who was about to accuse her of being a liar, hesitated. Longing, perhaps the first longing Soo-hyun felt was for his parents. Soo-hyun looked at Jaehee and said.
"Do you miss your mom too?"
'Mom.'
It had been a long time since she had heard that word. Her dad never talked about her mom in front of her. Even the adults in the neighborhood who knew that her parents were divorced never mentioned the word "mother" in front of her. But Soo-hyun was different. And Jaehee couldn't blame Soo-hyun for that. Because Soo-hyun's mother was no longer in this world. Jaehee slowly lowered her head.
Soo-hyun said with a sad smile.
"I don't know, but it seems like a song full of longing. Maybe it's the one that suits you and me best."
Jaehee tilted her head. Soo-hyun said to that girl.
"There's an insurmountable wall between music with heart and music obsessed with technique. I learned that in Warsaw. Professor Lee Chan-ho said the same thing. Have you ever put that kind of heart into your performances?"
Jaehee's head was slightly raised.
'I haven't done it yet, but I'd like to.'
Soo-hyun said, resting his chin on his hand.
"I once participated in a competition in Poland and sent poetry from my heart to the audience."
'What was the poem? What did you say to the audience? What did you say to your mother, who left you first? I mean, I cursed with a thousand knives in my heart. My mother abandoned me. But you know, I miss mom a lot. I'm so sorry for dad, but mom has a different heart to fill. What did you say?'
Soo-hyun, who didn't know the girl's heart, muttered in a low voice.
"Put all your passion into it. I couldn't because it was the first time I saw the score today. I guess I'll have to practice from now on."
Jaehee's face, which had moved, was distorted again.
'You're lying to the end and saying it was your first time? So you couldn't put all your passion into it and you played it so perfectly? You're going too far!'