"The Maestro is more enthusiastic than usual."
Emanuel, the principal cellist of the London Symphony, was releasing his hand from his bow. He had been practicing for so long that his arms were trembling slightly. There was still quite a while until the Asian concert, but under Spencer's perfect direction, the orchestra members showed no signs of stopping their practice.
"Dmitry, did something good happen to the Maestro?"
Emanuel asked the conductor Dmitri in a casual manner. The conductor was the only person in the orchestra who could converse with the maestro. However, the answer he heard was as cold as his cold eyes.
"Why do you think so?"
"Isn't this different from usual? Instead of scolding the member who is off-key, you're giving him a chance. Look at the other members, most of them seem to be having trouble adjusting."
Dmitry nodded briefly. As Emanuel had said, the Maestro's appearance had changed considerably. In the past, he had been so sharp that it seemed as if he could cut you, but now he was as soft as fluff. In addition, the baton that had been fiercely cutting the beat seemed to be floating.
"It seems the Maestro is looking forward to an Asian romance."
"Asian romance?"
Emanuel didn't understand. Asia was not a region that mainly listened to classical music. Furthermore, Korea was known as a wasteland for classical music. The members were rather puzzled by the fact that the maestro chose Korea instead of Japan.
At that moment.
"The Maestro's muse might be there."
Dmitry stood up. It was a passing remark, but the members did not ignore it. No, some were so shocked that their eyes widened. A muse to the maestro, who was so persistent as if he was trying to see the end of the melody and was a thoroughgoing perfectionist? And in Asia?
It was nonsense.
That moment.
Spencer was alone in the conductor's office, watching a video. It was a live tape recording of the London performance. Spencer's eyes sparkled as he watched the screen. He looked at the members as if he could not tolerate even a single mistake.
dripping.
A knock on the door brought the old guard of the London Symphony to find him.
"I'm sorry, Maestro. I thought you were resting in your room…"
The security guard immediately lowered his head when he saw Spencer's gleaming eyes, but Spencer waved his hand and got up from his seat. He had originally said he was going to rest and went into his room, but in the end, it turned out differently than he said.
"It's okay, Joseph. What's your business?"
"A letter has arrived for the Maestro."
"A letter?"
It was a small letter in a white envelope.
That was when.
Spencer's expression changed as he checked the sender of the letter.
"Maestro?"
Joseph, the old guard of the London Symphony, widened his eyes. In the twenty years he had been with Spencer, he had never seen anything like this. The sight of the maestro smiling so brightly. Everyone said that the maestro had changed, and it really was true.
*
"Have you arrived?"
The sky was clear as day after the rainy season. Since it was sent by special delivery, it must have arrived in Japan and even England by now. I was coming out of the bathroom with a towel around my neck after washing my face.
"Student Kang Hyeon."
The housekeeper cautiously called me over.
"Ma'am, what is all this?"
A suit made of material that looks expensive at first glance.
"The elder told me to prepare clothes for student Kang Hyeon."
Grandpa?
As dinner was coming to an end, my grandfather opened the morning paper and showed it to me. While the words in the printed newspaper occasionally caught my eye, a large headline on the front page caught my eye.
The wedding of a chaebol family. It was a day when the teenage chaebols became in-laws, so it wouldn't be strange if it were featured on the news. In some ways, it was as meaningful as the merger of a large corporation.
"There's an important wedding today, Hyun-i, you should start getting ready to go out."
Whoa, the orange juice almost flowed up my nostrils.
no way.
As I glanced at the morning paper, my grandfather nodded briefly.
"Do you know about Hyunseong Group?"
How could I not know?
I have also encountered the past life of the newlywed who is getting married today. The youngest of the Hyunsung Group was famous in the business world. Of course, there were jokes about him being in a bad way, saying that he would just float around even if he fell into the water. He was a nobleman who enjoyed such a debauched life, so how many incidents and accidents did he have? Where did you see him?
"No, Grandpa."
The place where all kinds of people gather is the prosecutor's office.
"Father, are you going to take Hyeon with you too?"
My uncle raised his voice as he saw me following my grandfather. His face was clearly showing signs of tension. He's really fed up with it now. Are you afraid that I'll take his seat right now? My uncle glanced at me as my grandfather walked without saying a word.
"Keumkeum, today is a place where many adults gather, so please be especially careful about your behavior."
"Yes, uncle."
Oh my, how could I not be more careful than myself? After my little uncle's forehead was broken, my big uncle felt even more anxious. He probably couldn't have even imagined that his grandfather would draw a line so completely.
It was when I got into the car.
"Kim Ki-sa, let's go."
My grandfather locked the back seat and closed his eyes tightly. Mr. Kim glanced at my grandfather through the rearview mirror and nodded immediately. Outside the car window, my uncle was looking at me with a blank expression. He looked like he didn't know what was going on.
"Oh, Father!"
My uncle's screaming voice could be heard outside the car window, but the car soon started moving. My grandfather muttered to himself as he watched his uncle moving away in the side mirror.
"My son didn't even call me."
* * *
-There are three devils in the gramophone.
A story handed down by Gramophone, the world's most famous classical music magazine. Adam Whishaw, the chief editor of Gramophone, was a famous music critic and violin collector. The reason he flew all the way to Asia was simple. It was to meet the queen of strings. It is a famous anecdote that he, who did not hesitate to criticize the melodies of violinists, shed tears when he heard Hirose's melodies.
"Queen, it's been a long time."
Adam Whishaw himself stood up and greeted Hirose politely. It was quite a surprise, considering his famously heavy butt. The two hugged each other warmly, as if they were old friends reuniting.
"Queen's 30th album will once again win the Gramophone Award."
"Adam, isn't that a bit biased?"
"You know, Queen, that Gramophone is not a place to collect the one-sided opinions of editors."
Adam lifted his teacup, moistened his lips, and asked.
"Queen, but why did you step down from your position as a judge?"
It was one of the world's top three competitions. The violin world was once in an uproar because the queen of strings, Hirose, was appointed as a judge. It was understandable. She was a queen who had never shown her face at a competition before. However, soon after, Hirose suddenly stepped down from her position as a judge, and as a result, only groundless rumors were spread.
"I don't think I can give a fair evaluation."
Then, unbelievable words pierced Adam's ears.
"Queen, what does that mean?"
"Adam, I'm already fascinated by one person's melody. If he enters the competition, I won't be able to concentrate on other melodies."
Adam's eyes filled with confusion. What does this mean? Has Mozart returned to life? If not, who else could possibly charm the Queen of Strings with his melodies?
*
Brother!
I think I hear a voice from somewhere. I only saw Son Yu-ha's silhouette from afar, but I heard the voice on my own. By the way, the sky is so blue that I can't believe that the rainy season has come, as if I had been given an auspicious day by a famous fortuneteller. Countless members of the conglomerate were gathering under the shining spire. Where is this place?
Myeongdong Cathedral.
Of course, neither of the two chaebol families are devout Catholics. At a time when there is a lot of talk about political marriages between chaebol families, what better place could there be to seal the deal as a love marriage and make a hundred-year promise?
"Honey, are you better from your cold?"
Son Yu-ha, who had come close to me without me noticing, looked at me with concern, but Chairman Wang and his grandfather looked at him with pleasure. However, I felt a sharp gaze on the back of my head, and it was clear that Son Il-seon was shooting a laser beam at me.
The three generations that I saw at the banquet hall the other day were often seen. Since it was a conglomerate wedding, it seemed that all the successors of each group showed up without fail. It felt like a routine for most of them to greet the elders of both families in hanbok and then go straight to Chairman Wang. Just by looking at the outside, you couldn't tell whose wedding it was.
"Oppa, you're really pretty and cool. Right?"
Son Yu-ha looked at the bride and groom in their tuxedos and wedding dresses and opened her mouth wide. What could be more wonderful to a young child? But she didn't know that those two would be fighting a bloody lawsuit over property decades later. Those two were the ones who first popularized the twilight divorce in South Korea.
The wedding was held in a serious atmosphere. It was the tedious 90s, but since it was a gathering of the elders of a wealthy family, it was important to show off. The old priest who officiated the wedding today must have been nervous as well, with sweat dripping down his forehead.
'uh?'
It was around the time when the meal was in full swing. Someone walked up to the piano to sing a congratulatory song, and it was a familiar figure. My grandfather was already looking at me.
'Iron-blooded Maestro?'
Only then did I remember.
The fact that Baek Jeong-hoon was a collateral member of the Hyunsung Group. Later, his nickname, the Iron-Blooded Maestro, became more famous, and the fact that he was a collateral member of a conglomerate family was almost forgotten. Of course, I remember that his rough and cold personality did not like to reveal that he was a member of a conglomerate family. By the way, who would have thought that the next generation of maestro would emerge through a wedding congratulatory performance?
*
Crunch.
Baek Jeong-hoon bit his dry lips. Was this how he felt when he went to the Chopin Competition? No, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was even more nervous. But he had to come to his senses. All the members of his family were looking at him. If he hadn't succeeded this much on the piano, they wouldn't have even met each other, let alone had a wedding.
'after.'
He took a deep breath and his long fingers moved towards the keyboard.
Doo-woong.
Starting with a heavy melody,
Baek Jeong-hoon's fingers began to dance ceaselessly. The dynamics changed along with the overall flow of the song, as if he were singing. Soon, a beautiful melody that was worthy of a heavenly voice reached the spire of Myeongdong Cathedral. It was not a simple piano performance. He was a next-generation maestro who was already growing into a world-class pianist. Even a layman who did not know anything about classical music could tell how excellent Baek Jeong-hoon's performance was. However.
'her.'
Maybe it was because I was too nervous.
Baek Jeong-hoon made a mistake without realizing it. Of course, there was no way that the people from the chaebol family would notice it. It was just a very small dot on a thick line. At that moment, Baek Jeong-hoon's eyes met with a boy sitting in the seat.
Aren't you doing it right?
In Baek Jeong-hun's gaze, it seemed like the boy was saying that.