"As expected. Well, it's exactly as I saw in the video. I'm very satisfied.""I expected Nam Soo-hyun, but Shin Jaehee is unexpected. I didn't expect her to have that level of skill.""Haha, what an unexpected harvest! Very good!"
A month later, at the Korea University Center for Musical Education for the Gifted.
As the demonstration of the assigned tasks from a month ago ended, the professors clapped and cheered. Other children who received tasks along with Soo-hyun and Jaehee were also praised for practicing hard, but no one received as much praise as these two.
Jaehee looked at Soo-hyun with the aforementioned expression on her face after finishing the performance. She saw a handsome boy sitting in front of the piano, smiling and looking at her.
'One day, a strange boy suddenly appeared and moved into the apartment upstairs. A boy who knows her own silent heart. A boy who knows what she wants and what she needs without having to say anything. What a strange boy! But also a very grateful child.'
Unlike Soo-hyun, Jaehee had a mother. What Jaehee needed was the courage to run and hug her first. The boy who took her to Baeksa Village and made her listen to the stories of the people was the one who gave her the courage to go and find her mother first. Jaehee's heart warmed at the thought of her mother waiting outside.
'I'd like to thank you, but I'm too embarrassed.'
Jaehee, who looked at Soo-hyun with eyes full of gratitude, felt that she could now hear everything Soo-hyun was saying. The small concert hall, where professors from every department—violin, viola, flute, piano, horn, harp, percussion, timpani, tuba, cello, bassoon, oboe, clarinet, and trumpet—were present, was filled with admiration and praise for Soo-hyun and Jaehee.
In particular, Professor Lee Chan-ho of the piano department, who was already well aware of Soo-hyun's skills, as well as the professor of the violin department, were very pleased with the discovery of the unexpected gem named Jaehee. The violin professor, grinning from ear to ear, jokingly scolded Professor Lee Chan-ho.
"Hehe, professor. If there was a student like that among your students, wouldn't you have at least given me a heads-up?"
Professor Lee Chan-ho burst into laughter.
"Hey. Aren't you the student you personally selected after seeing the practical exam? Why should I tell you? You should blame yourself for not noticing when you took the exam."
However, Professor Lee Chan-ho smiled brightly and stood up to applaud, as if he didn't want to cause an unnecessary fight on such a pleasant day. After the other professors applauded, they each led their students to their respective classrooms.
Currently, only four piano students remained in the small concert hall. Professor Lee Chan-ho, the piano professor, said as he leaned on the piano.
"You all worked hard. Is this different from the homework we've been doing?"
'Of course it's different.'
The homework the children had done so far had given them a clear mission: to memorize something or to play a certain piece of music. But this time, they were only given the mission of doing a duet, and they had to choose the song and find a partner themselves.
Professor Lee Chan-ho said, seeing the relieved expressions of the children now that it was all over, as if it had been a rather difficult task.
"Still, you all did well. Since this was not a competition where rankings were determined, don't be too competitive with the results."
Soo-hyun looked at the children. He heard they were the same age, but they were all much shorter than him. Including him, there were four children: two girls and one boy, not counting Soo-hyun.
"Alright, let's go out one by one and introduce ourselves to our friends. Let's start with Junwoo."
When his name was called, a boy with one side of his head shaved and the other neatly combed like a European soccer player stepped forward.
'He's a child from a wealthy family who has many talents.'
"Hello, I'm Junwoo Kim. I won second place in the Crescendo International Competition and first place in the Classic On International Competition. I've been playing the piano for ten years."
The girls squealed. The fact that a fourteen-year-old boy had been practicing for ten years meant that he had been on an elite course since he was four, which is the ideal age to start learning to play the piano.
Professor Lee Chan-ho said as he patted Junwoo's head.
"Well, Junwoo just mentioned two competitions, but he's a friend who placed in the top three in a total of eight national competitions. Next, Jinhee."
Jinhee was a pretty girl with her hair neatly tied up.
"Hello, I'm Jinhee Lee. I won the Grand Prize at the National Music Competition. Please take care of me in the future."
'My heart was pounding.' Although there were only four of them, Soo-hyun was very interested in each of them because he believed they were his friends who would study with him. The last girl to come out was named Jooyoung and she looked very lively, with her hair seeming to be dyed a little red, and pigtails giving her a more cheerful look.
"Hi! I'm Choi Joo-young! I won the Monthly Review Music Competition and participated in the Junior Tchaikovsky Competition, but I was eliminated in the final round! Haha!"
Jooyoung, who playfully tapped her head, said she failed the competition without any worries.
'She's so cute.'
Jooyoung said, pointing at Soo-hyun.
"Alright, my next turn is Nam Soo-hyun!"
Laughter erupted thanks to Jooyoung jokingly introducing Soo-hyun instead of Professor Lee Chan-ho. When Soo-hyun got up from his seat, the children's attention was focused on him. Soo-hyun stood in front of the children, looking slightly nervous, then bent his knees slightly and lowered his head.
"Hello, I'm Nam Soo-hyun. I've only been living in Korea for a short time, so I don't know much about Korean etiquette. If I've done anything rude, please forgive and understand me."
'Is this a greeting from a fourteen-year-old boy?'
The children seemed slightly surprised by his mature and dignified words and actions. Professor Lee Chan-ho was not surprised because he already knew that part of Soo-hyun, but he was surprised by something else.
'Winning the International Chopin Competition is a great honor. You should be at an age where you can show off, but you haven't said a word about your awards. Is he really fourteen?'
Unlike the other children who boasted about their awards, Professor Lee Chan-ho put his hand on Soo-hyun's shoulder, showing that he was different from other children his age just for that one thing.
"Yes, Soo-hyun was the last one."
Professor Lee Chan-ho, who did not dismiss Soo-hyun but stood there, looked at the children and said.
"Do you guys know? The Gifted Music Education Center is like an after-school activity. In other words, you will receive music education after you have completed your middle school education. If you don't achieve certain grades, you may be forced to leave the Center, so please remember this and don't neglect your studies."
Soo-hyun's face, which had been looking at the children with an excited expression, suddenly crumpled. However, Professor Lee Chan-ho, who was standing next to Soo-hyun, could not see this and said to Soo-hyun.
"Soo-hyun, we have prepared an educational program separate from the middle school curriculum, so please follow me now."
Soo-hyun sighed. He had barely memorized the multiplication tables.
"Yes… Professor."
Professor Lee Chan-ho clapped once to get the children's attention and then said,
"Alright, today is the first day, so let's go back. From tomorrow, you must come to school at eight o'clock. From morning until two in the afternoon, you will attend general classes, and after that, you will have lessons and individual practice."
The children wanted to approach Soo-hyun, but since they had just seen Professor Lee Chan-ho call Soo-hyun aside, they hesitated and left the concert hall by themselves.
'Maybe we should go out and have some time to get to know each other?'
Professor Lee Chan-ho, who didn't know Soo-hyun's feelings, led him out of the concert hall to his room.
"Alright, let's go in."
In the middle of his room, which was quite large but was filled with sheet music and educational books, leaving no room for anyone, a woman was seen sitting on a black sofa. She was a young woman who seemed to be about the same age as Ji-ye, but she wore gold-rimmed glasses and her hair was tied up in a bun with no stray hairs, giving her the neat appearance of a flight attendant.
"Teacher Kim Eun-joo?"
"Nice to meet you, Professor Lee Chan-ho."
"Haha. I only spoke to you on the phone, but you're as beautiful as I saw in the news."
Eun-joo Kim smiled brightly at Chan-ho Lee, who spoke with an innocent look in his eyes, and then looked at Soo-hyun.
"Hello?"
"Hello."
"Are you Soo-hyun?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I'm Kim Eun-joo. I'm a doctor."
"I don't have any pain."
Kim Eun-joo smiled brightly.
'She's pretty with her glasses on, but she seems very cold.'
Professor Lee Chan-ho intervened on her behalf.
"Ms. Eun-ju Kim is a child psychiatrist. She will be giving Soo-hyun a class on understanding emotions for one semester."
Kim Eun-joo said as she put a sketchbook and a pencil in Soo-hyun's hands.
"We will meet once a week starting today. Today is the first day, so how about we draw a simple house that Soo-hyun would like to live in? It's essential for the teacher to get to know you."
That night, at Soo-hyun's house. A smile never left Ji-ye's face as she listened to Soo-hyun's story about his day while eating.
"Haha, was it that hard?"
"Don't laugh. I'm about to go crazy."
"Hahaha, how funny. What should I do? Science and math are hard, but you don't understand a single word?"
Soo-hyun said, pouting.
"I've never heard of that. Huh? When are you going to study all of that?"
"Haha, I guess I should do it anyway. Did you have your class today?"
"No, I went to see a child psychiatrist instead."
Ji-ye nodded. It seemed that the school had already informed her about this.
"What's your teacher's name?"
"Kim Eun-joo. I heard she's a very famous teacher. We're meeting once a week."
"Yes, I see. Is her name Teacher Kim Eun-joo? If she's famous, there must be an article about her."
Ji-ye's face hardened as she took out her phone and searched for the name. Then, Ji-ye, who was looking back and forth between Soo-hyun's face and her phone, showed me the screen and spoke.
"Is this the person?"
Soo-hyun nodded when he saw teacher Kim Eun-joo's face appear on the screen.
"That's right. You're not wearing glasses in the picture. You usually wear gold-rimmed glasses. You have a pretty face, but you seem a little cold."
Ji-ye's face turned pale at Soo-hyun's affirmation. Ji-ye, who was staring at the screen, gradually developed an angry expression. Soo-hyun asked, watching Ji-ye's expression.
"Sister?"
"This…this…"
"What's wrong, Sister?"
"Let's go to school together tomorrow."
"Why?"
Kim Ji-ye's eyes widened and she rolled up both her arms.
"I won't leave these bastards alone. How dare they touch our Soo-hyun?!"
"…?"
Ji-ye's screen as she nervously threw her phone down. There was a picture of Eun-joo Kim and the title of the article was visible below.
Dr. Eun-joo Kim, expert in the behavioral development research of psychopathic children. An article that has captured global attention!