Chapter 38

May, after the midterm exams.

The day for the piano competition was approaching.

Of course, there are many types of competitions that are held every month, but among them, the Korean Student Music Association competition, the most prestigious major competition, is held only once a year in May.

Since I only participate in competitions twice a year, the Korean Student Music Association competition was a must-attend event for me.

What piece should I play this time?

This would be my first time participating in the middle school category, so I couldn’t decide easily.

I took out my phone and called my piano teacher.

I had been in touch with my piano teacher regularly, but ever since starting middle school, I had been a bit scatterbrained and couldn’t reach out.

– Oh, Do-hee! What’s up? –

“I’m sorry for calling after such a long time.”

– No, no~ It’s nice to hear from you after a while. What have you been up to lately? –

“Ah, ever since I entered middle school, I’ve been going back and forth between school and work.”

– Speaking of which, Do-hee, you’ve already become a middle schooler? –

“Haha, yes.”

– You were just a little kid when we first met. Do you know how cute you were? So, how’s middle school life? Is it fun? –

Middle school life…

Honestly, it sucks.

Especially lately, for some reason, I’ve been getting messages from unknown boys on KakaoTalk every day.

“Yeah, I’m just managing alright.”

– Isn’t the trainee life tough? –

“Yeah, the trainee life is enjoyable.”

– That’s a relief~ –

“What about you, teacher? What have you been up to lately?”

– Me? I’m too busy taking care of our Jin-hyun. –

My teacher got pregnant right after her honeymoon and has been raising a baby since the last year.

“That must keep you really busy!”

– It’s okay~ My husband helps a lot. –

“Uh? Weren’t you working at a university hospital?”

If he’s a doctor at a university hospital, he must be super busy.

– Ah, he opened a private clinic recently. Now he gets off early and has more time. –

“Oh, I see… By the way, teacher, you know I’m participating in the competition in the middle school category, right?”

– Really? So Do-hee is also in middle school now? –

“Yeah. So, I’m wondering what piece I should play, and I’d like to practice the performance a bit. If it’s okay with you, could we meet up and you teach me?”

I was careful, worried I might be bothering her since she’s busy.

But thankfully, my teacher replied in a bright voice.

– Really? I’m so happy to see your face again after a long time! Let’s set an appointment right away. I’m free anytime! –

“Even if it’s tough for you with childcare, I don’t mind if you can’t make it.”

– No, no. If that’s the case, how about we meet at my house this Sunday? –

“Um, I also don’t have to go to work on Sunday, so that’s the best day. But won’t your husband be home that day?”
– “Oh, when Do-hee comes, your husband will love it too!” –

“Really? Can I come to your house on Sunday?”

– “Of course! Then see you on Sunday?” –

“Yes~”

.
.
.

I arrived in front of the teacher’s house and rang the bell.

– Ding-dong –

“Do-hee~ Wait a minute~” “Hwaeeng”

I could hear the teacher coming from behind the door and Jin-hyun crying.

The teacher opened the door and greeted me with a bright smile.

“Did you come, Do-hee?”

Oh…

The teacher was wearing a figure-hugging H-line long dress, known as “mi-shi look.”

I couldn’t resist.

“Teacher~”

I put down the strawberries I was holding and rushed to the teacher, hugging her tightly.

“Oh, our Do-hee has become a middle schooler, but you still look just the same as when you were little.”

“Hehe. I’m just so happy to see you, teacher.”

The teacher hugged me, then glanced at the fruit I had put down and said,

“Do-hee! You came empty-handed, and what is this strawberry?”

“I bought it because I wanted to eat it. Hahaha.”

“Next time, don’t bring one, okay?”

“Yes~”

Next time, I should bring something better.

“Hwaeeng”

I could still hear Jin-hyun crying inside the house.

“Is Jin-hyun crying?”

“He’s crying because he didn’t get any candy. It’s okay.”

Following the teacher into the living room, I saw an uncle comforting the crying Jin-hyun in his arms.

I greeted the uncle.

“Hello, Uncle~”

“Oh, Do-hee, you’re here?”

“Yes, have you been well?”

“Then Do-hee has been doing well, right?”

“Hehe, yes.”

The teacher took Jin-hyun from the uncle and said to him,

“Stop. Your sister Do-hee is here, so you should stop crying now.”

Even being hugged by the teacher, Jin-hyun showed no signs of stopping his crying.

“Candy, waah!”

The teacher’s arms had a calming effect on our Do-ah too, but it seemed like Jin-hyun was pretty stubborn.

I approached the teacher, made eye contact with Jin-hyun, and said,

“Your sister brought strawberries. Do you want to eat strawberries with me?”

Jin-hyun finally paused his crying for a moment and said,

“Mm-hmm…”

“Look at that, he didn’t listen to mom but stops crying immediately because a pretty sister came.”

“Haha.”

While the teacher washed the strawberries I brought, I sat down at the table with Jin-hyun in my arms.

The teacher washed the strawberries and placed them on a pretty plate on the table while saying,

“So, Do-hee, are you still practicing piano every day?”

I picked up a strawberry and fed it to Jin-hyun while saying,

“Yes, I can’t play at home after arriving at night because of practice, but instead, I consistently play for at least an hour a day in the company vocal room.”

“Really? That’s a relief. So you still haven’t picked your participating song, right?”
“So you still haven’t picked a piece to perform?”

“Yeah, I have some candidates though.”

“What are they?”

“Paganini, Etude No. 6 by Liszt, Chopin’s Revolutionary, and Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz. So I’ve been thinking about these for now.”

“Hmm… I think the Mephisto Waltz would be good.”

“But isn’t the Mephisto Waltz too difficult?”

“Come on, you played Scherzo at 8 years old! You included it in your candidates because you’re confident, right?”

“Haha, that’s true.”

“Let’s give it a shot and decide. Should we try playing it right now?”

“Sure.”

I handed Jin-hyun over to the uncle beside me and followed the teacher into the piano room, sitting in front of the piano.

The teacher brought the Mephisto Waltz score from the bookshelf and placed it on the piano stand.

“Okay, do you want to try playing it once?”

“Yes, I’ll give it a go.”

I started playing.

In the middle of my performance, the teacher interrupted and pointed to the score.

“Do-hee, you’re playing the first and third parts too similarly. You need to give the third part a stronger feel, or it’ll get boring and sound flat.”

“Got it. I’ll play it again.”

I started playing again.

Once more, the teacher interrupted me while I was playing.

“You did well on what I mentioned earlier, but can you play the very beginning a bit shorter? I think it’s too long. Try playing it a little more frightening.”

“Okay.”

During the lesson, the teacher gave me various pieces of advice.

“When I say play it short, it means play it dry like a percussion instrument, Do-hee. You get it?”

“Make the sound a bit softer. Finish the measures lightly as you go along.”

“Play the second part longer; you’re playing it like the first. Keep it longer.”

“Think of it like pizzicato.”

“Go in and out~”

Learning with the teacher really helped me understand what feelings I was missing.

As I practiced piano, I noticed it was getting dark outside.

It felt like I had already been playing for four hours.

“Teacher, aren’t you tired?”

“Why, Do-hee, are you tired? Should we stop?”

“I’m tired too, and you need to have dinner. I bet the uncle is hungry.”

“Oh my, right? I completely forgot. I need to hurry and get dinner ready.”

Then the teacher hugged me like before and said.

“But Do-hee, you’ve improved. Right?”

“Haha, no. I think my practice has actually decreased, so my skill has too.”

“Oh come on, even so? Mephisto Waltz is such a difficult piece that even high school students mess up while performing it. Just playing it without mistakes is impressive.”

“Hehe.”

“And what I taught you today is my feeling, so later on, you need to find your own feeling while performing, okay?”

“Yes~”

“Alright, let’s hurry and eat.”

The day of the concours.

I sat alone in the waiting room, putting on my earphones, replaying the piece I would perform, reflecting on it.
Sitting alone in the waiting room with my earphones on, I was replaying the piece I was about to perform.

To be honest, I had high expectations for this first middle school competition.

Unlike the elementary division, I heard there would be more audience and we could play for a longer time.

I thought I might get to enjoy a real stage.

But upon arrival, the audience numbers were similar, and the performance time was just a bit longer at 2 minutes compared to the 1 minute in elementary school.

The organizers had their reasons, after all.

“Contestant 706, Lee Geon-woo.”

There were over 800 participants.

If every contestant performed for 2 minutes, that would total 1600 minutes of performance time.

So, while the middle school competition was split into 5 days unlike elementary, it still took 6 hours a day.

“Contestant 707, Kim Na-eun.”

Finally, it was my turn.

I moved down the stairs to the stage.

After 2 minutes,

Ding~—with that bell sound, the host announced,

“Contestant 708, Do-hee Lee.”

As my name was called, I stepped up onto the stage.

I sat in front of the piano and immediately began to play.

I started dry and concise, fearlessly striking the keys like percussion.

As I transitioned into the second section, I made it more intense but not too overpowering.

In the third part, I unleashed my energy.

I sprinkled in delicate moments here and there.

Before I knew it, 2 minutes flew by and the bell rang to signal the end of my performance.

“Contestant 709, Bo-ah.”

I stepped down from the stage.

Ugh, that was way too short and not fun at all.

Maybe I shouldn’t compete in the next round.

I just want to debut and stand on a proper stage already.

I left the waiting room and headed to the audience section where my mom was sitting.

Initially, my dad and Do-ah came along too, but since this becomes an annual event twice a year, I told them not to come anymore.

Honestly, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference even if they did.

Anyway, it was just a 2-minute performance.

There she is.

I approached my mom and asked,

“Did you record it, Mom?”

“Yep. But there’s no awards ceremony, right?”

“Yeah. The awards will arrive via courier a week later. We’ll see what I got then.”

“Really? But the middle schoolers were all so good; do you think you’ll win first place this time?”

I sighed and looked at my mom.

“Ha-ah. My daughter is a musical genius, but my mom has terrible ears for music. What a tragedy.”

“Why are you like this again?”

“Mom, the details are different! Even pressing a key has different forces and times involved.”

“Really? Well, there’s a 2.6 cm difference in height between us. You’re an A cup and I’m a B cup, so I guess details do matter.”

Usually, I’d be speechless at my mom’s comments about my chest, but not anymore.

“Sorry, but I’m close to a B cup, you know? I checked again a few days ago, and I’m just 1 cm away from it.”

“You’re still an A cup.”

Ugh…

I heard from my dad that my deceased grandmother had a large chest.

I trust my dad’s genes and believe in pomegranates.

…

A week later, the package arrived with the first-place trophy and award plaque.

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