As if sighing,As if passing by,I want to ask.How are you living?
Broken faith.The lost path.A worn-out heart.I don't know where to start.
May two hands hold you,More hands push me.Catch me before I fall.Because you hold me,Please, tell me it's okay.
My heart has grown cold.You were my jewel,You told me so.Is it still true?
I envy the rain on your skin.I envy the wind that speaks to you.If you stop crying for a moment,Will our painful time stop?
A path made of broken pieces of happiness.If I walk until I am covered in blood,Will I see you again someday?
As Soo-hyun played the piano while watching Jaehee, the girl's poem reached his ears. It was Brahms's Piano Quartet No. 2 in A major, Op. 26, 4th movement, Allegro.
Allegro means to play cheerfully and quickly. However, when Brahms composed this piece, his emotions were not cheerful but of longing for his late mentor, Schumann, and guilt for having loved his master's wife for forty years. Fortunately, Brahms remained faithful to his master's memory and never approached her again after Schumann's death.
'A sad day. There are days when it seems like all the sad lyrics in the world are telling my story.'
Music is like that. We may not understand Brahms's mind, but when it connects to a familiar incident, the performer's emotions reach their limit, and the listeners' overflow as well. Jaehee's performance contained a moving poetry.
'Should I be happy? My friend was able to put emotion into her performance. I can't guarantee it will be like this in the future, but just taking one step forward is an overwhelming advance. Should I laugh? I can't, because I know where the girl's poem is headed.'
As the ten-minute performance came to an end, the customers passing in front of the piano store continued to gather. The piano store owner smiled, but the clothing store Jaehee was looking at was filled with the silence of the mannequins.
Finally, the performance ended, and the passersby erupted in applause.
"Wow!!" "How cool! You look so young! How many years does it take to play the violin like that?" "I feel strange. It was cheerful music, but don't you feel a tingle in your nose? Don't you feel nostalgic?" "You too? Me too!"
Perhaps due to the strange experience, people approached Jaehee and asked for the title of the song.
"Excuse me, what song did you just play? I want to listen to it again when I get home."
"…"
Even though people spoke to her, Jaehee's gaze remained fixed on the clothing store, which was still quiet. Just as Soo-hyun, his heart aching, was about to get up from the piano stool to answer the questions, he saw Jaehee's gesture.
Tap, tap, tap...
Jaehee's right foot was moving again as she looked at the store.
'Again, just one more time. Just one more time and you'll look at me. Please.'
Soo-hyun, who was about to get up, stopped at the signal. The piano store owner approached him.
"You guys are amazing. Are you preparing for a competition? Can you play any other songs?"
'Don't talk to me, ma'am. Jaehee is very sad right now.'
When Soo-hyun sat down again, the woman clapped, thinking he was going to play another song. He, watching Jaehee, began to play again, following her repeated signals. The people who had approached Jaehee were surprised and stepped back.
"Huh? Suddenly?" "What? Isn't that the same song as before?" "What is this child doing? She doesn't even say anything." "I can't even see your eyes with your hair like that…"
The woman who was complaining stopped talking. Her friend asked why.
"That girl," the woman said, pointing with her chin.
"Huh, what?"
"She's crying."
"Huh?"
Looking back, her friend saw two streams of tears running from under the bangs of the girl playing the violin.
"Oh my, she's not crying over nothing, is she?" "Well... I suddenly feel a little sorry for her. She's still a child."
Jaehee's tears became visible to others. The adults who had been watching her suspiciously now stepped back, embarrassed. A girl crying while playing cheerful music, accompanied by a piano that led her perfectly.
At one point, everyone turned their heads towards the boy inside the piano store.
"Wow! Look at him. He's so handsome!" "Is he Korean? He looks like a cartoon prince." "That face looks familiar... Is he from my neighborhood?"
"That's not all!" someone exclaimed. "It's different from the previous performance. I don't know what it is, but it's different!"
'It's definitely the same song, but what's different? Ah! I only heard the violin before! There was definitely a piano then too, why didn't I hear it?'
The crowd's gaze alternated between Soo-hyun and Jaehee. Soo-hyun, who had his eyes closed, opened one slightly and glanced at the clothing store.
'Don't give up. If your voice doesn't reach, mine will help it.'
Soo-hyun, who had been playing carefully, suddenly changed. He bent his waist back as far as he could, raised both hands high in the air, and then brought them down sharply. The soft sound of the piano turned into a gust of wind that swept through the store.
The store owner's eyes widened in surprise but she watched in silence, knowing that not even a paid event could gather so many people. The crowd's gazes turned to Soo-hyun, but soon the sound of the violin joined in, just as loud, and their attention was divided again.
The beautiful sounds of the piano and violin became one, and the poem they sang in unison filled the hallway.
I heard you were here.Are you living the life you dreamed of?Have you achieved your dream?Perhaps there are things my father and I couldn't give you.Are you living a full life?With an uninvited sadnessI didn't want to appear before you.I wish you would look at me.Our time has not stopped.I wish I had told you.
'Please, please listen,' Soo-hyun prayed in his heart. 'A little louder. A little stronger.'
Soo-hyun's performance grew more and more intense. Just as worry began to set in that his hands or the piano might break, the sound of the violin suddenly disappeared. Soo-hyun's hands, which had been frantically playing, abruptly stopped.
'The performance isn't over. Why did she stop?'
Soo-hyun silently raised his head and saw an old woman crying, her hand covering her mouth, next to a mannequin. He reflexively looked at Jaehee and saw her violin bow lying on the floor.
"She finally heard it. Jaehee's poem."
Jaehee's mother. Even though it was the first time he saw her, he was sure it was her. Two people who looked clearly alike faced each other. The bystanders stepped back, creating a path between the mother and daughter.
The piano store owner whispered to Soo-hyun,
"What's happening?"
"…"
"The owner of that clothing store changed recently. I heard she got divorced and is living her own life. But why is she acting like that?"
"…"
'The answer is in what you just said.'
The store owner, seeing the mother's reaction and Jaehee's face, widened her eyes.
"Wow! Seriously? Is that little girl the boss's daughter?"
Soo-hyun bowed his head, as if looking away from a scene he didn't want to see. The store owner murmured,
"I see. That's why you played that song, calling for your mother while crying. It was supposed to be cheerful music, but it sounded so sad. Still, aren't you glad they met?"
'I don't know the exact circumstances, but since mother and daughter long for each other so desperately, they'll be able to live together. It's amazing that you can do this with music.'
The owner, thinking the children were incredible, looked at Soo-hyun.
"You guys are really amazing… Oh my! Why are you suddenly like this?"
The old woman saw Soo-hyun crying, his face down on the keyboard, his body trembling.
"Hey... what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
The woman shook Soo-hyun's back, but he didn't get up. He was a boy hiding behind the piano, crying without even lifting his head, perhaps not wanting his tears to bother his friend. Through his ears, he heard the woman's voice.
"Oh my, oh my! I knew it would be like this! They loved each other so much! Look at that! The mother is running and hugging her daughter! Oh, it's so beautiful!"
Soo-hyun's crying grew louder when he heard the old woman's voice admiring the beautiful scene.
For the chance that was not given to me,Because I feel resentful that I cannot celebrate my friend's happiness as I wish.Every time I encounter the word "parents,"My heart that was sad…It was like that even when I was very young.And today, it was the same.
Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts,When I am lying down,No matter how much you close the door, it seeps in,Like a cold wind,In the window of the heart, the burden of loneliness.The shadows of Mom and Dad linger even today.