“Would it be alright if I played a piece?”
Son Seon-ye’s face lit up like someone who had just won the lottery, but soon turned into a frown. The reason was simple. There was no way a small chapel would have a prepared violin. However, I didn’t mind and took a step forward.
“Huh?”
As I sat on the piano bench, curious glances were directed at me. While some people didn’t know me, Chairman Wang and Grandfather’s eyes were filled with a peculiar curiosity. They seemed to doubt how well I could play the piano.
I carefully uncovered the keyboard. The piano showed signs of age. However, it seemed well-maintained by the chapel, as the tuning and the depth of the white keys and high notes were consistent.
“This is a day where two people who love each other come together to form a bond. Just as the weather is lovely on this bright spring day, your future will be filled with happiness. There may be rainy days, but as long as you two are together, there will be no worries. To celebrate this new beginning, I humbly offer a piece.”
In fact, it was not two people, but three. Son Seon-ye was pregnant. Later, it became well-known in business circles that not only did she marry a commoner, but she also got pregnant before marriage.
No matter, the child born from her womb would become famous in the future. The name is the same as mine, making it more memorable.
“For the new life.”
With a light touch, I gently pressed the keys while maintaining the weight of my arm. The signal that flowed through my sensitive touch moved the hammers inside the piano to strike the strings.
The audience’s gaze focused on the first note. Sometimes my fingertips, heated with sensitivity, pressed the keys and bounced back like springs. My hands moved lightly and cheerfully, like a child’s footsteps.
Then, legato, my fingers began to dance continuously without breaking the musical flow. I carefully pressed the pedal to connect each note. As the piano resonated with beautiful melodies, my fingers started to move faster as if they had been waiting. The audience couldn’t take their eyes off the smooth movement sliding across the 88 keys.
It was like a long spider dancing brilliantly on a stage made of black keys.
“One more time—!”
My fingers moved, making a cheerful sound as if they were bouncing back. The smooth release made it hard to tell if I had pressed the keys or not. It felt like the gentle laughter of a child in the breeze of a cool summer day. The sensation that started from my shoulders passed through my elbows and reached my fingertips.
As the final note resonated, the audience’s eyes were filled with a sense of regret. It was probably because of the melody that lingered in their ears at the last moment.
“I believe the remaining music will be created by the two of you from now on.”
Just like leaving some blank space when drawing a picture, I left the last part of the performance unfinished. To leave a deep impression. For the laughter of new life.
“Hyun, do you want some milk?”
Chairman Wang seemed to have even figured out my taste by now. After finishing the reception, we arrived at none other than the grand mansion in Pyeongchang-dong.
However, the only people invited to the drawing room were Grandfather, Son Yooha, and me. Chairman Wang’s children had to lick their dry lips like dogs chasing after chickens.
“Come to think of it, Chairman Yoo, your children aren’t that different from mine. Even during the ceremony, they exchanged glances and kept each other in check.”
Indeed, the competition for succession in a conglomerate family is said to be a war without gunfire. Especially the third son, Son Hong-won, had a fierce look in his eyes. Not only had he fallen out of Chairman Wang’s favor, but he also lacked business skills and had lived his entire life as a jobless person.
During this wedding, he was trying to appeal to Chairman Wang in any way he could, hoping to get some benefit. Grandfather probably saw a bit of my youngest uncle in him.
“Chairman Son, you have someone who can oversee all of them.”
“Yes, they’re all busy watching not just me but also Il-seon’s moves. I’m like a setting sun.”
Chairman Wang’s lips formed a faint smile, contrary to his words. It was only natural, as he had already established a clear successor. If it weren’t for Son Il-seon, a fierce competition for succession could have broken out, likened to a fratricidal war.
But why was Grandfather subtly glancing at me? Chairman Wang openly discussed the succession even in front of Son Yooha and me. It was almost as if he was considering Son Yooha as the successor to Son Il-seon.
“Hyun, since when have you been so good at playing the piano?”
At that moment, the old fox suddenly brought up the topic without any warning. Both Grandfather and Son Yooha were visibly curious at Chairman Wang’s question.
“Among those who attended the wedding, those who didn’t know you were a violinist thought you were a famous piano prodigy. Even your Grandfather was almost fooled. While it’s said that musicians should be skilled in all instruments, I didn’t expect it to be to that extent. The piece you played was wonderful. What was the name of the piece?”
It was an original composition resembling a spring waltz. Son Yooha, who had seen numerous sheet music in my studio, nodded in understanding, but Grandfather and Chairman Wang couldn’t hide their surprise. They probably never imagined that I had composed a piano piece as well.
It didn’t have a proper name and was simply numbered because I couldn’t think of a fitting title.
“Old man, did you know? Seon-ye decided on the name of the child she’s going to have today.”
“Chairman Son, Seon-ye is pregnant?”
“I’ve been so out of it that I forgot to mention it. I refrained from talking about it, fearing it would become gossip, so it ended up being a secret even from you. She’s already three months along.”
Judging by the wide eyes, Yooha didn’t know either. Thanks to the wide wedding dress, it wasn’t noticeable at the ceremony.
“Seon-ye said she wants to name the child ‘Hyun.’ She was moved when she saw Hyun at the ceremony. She hopes the child in her womb will grow up to be like Kang Hyun. Old man, isn’t our eldest daughter’s dream too big?”
Don’t worry. Even if the old fox doesn’t wish for it, the child will turn out that way.
As we were chatting over a glass of milk, Chairman Wang suddenly brought up a new topic.
“Hyun, do you know which company is sponsoring your upcoming solo concert?”
“Isn’t it Cheil Group?”
“Yes, it’s your Grandfather’s company.”
Since I was affiliated with a gallery under the Cheil Foundation, I thought it was natural. However, Chairman Wang’s wrinkled eyes were filled with mischief.
“Come by my company when you have time.”
“Pardon?”
“Don’t you want to see the company that’s sponsoring you?”
Rather than being unwilling, I was more taken aback. Wasn’t Cheil Group the company I had longed for so much in my past life? A company I once swore loyalty to.
“Fresh air—!”
A white woman wearing large sunglasses stretched her arms toward the sky and shouted. Although she was in a business class seat, her body felt as crumpled as wrinkled paper after the long flight. Sharon, the editor of Gramophone, instinctively reached for a cigarette before realizing she was still at the airport.
“If I had lost the bet with Adam again, I wouldn’t have forgiven myself. But to think that kid turned out to be the violinist Hyun.”
Sharon recalled her previous visit to Seoul to meet the violinist Hyun. She had met a rather cheeky child at an unknown restaurant. That was three years ago. She was curious to see how much he had changed.
Even the eternal maestro Gustav had praised him. Moreover, now he was holding a solo concert. As the blonde beauty walked, the bustling airport quickly fell silent. Even the women, as well as the men, glanced at Sharon. It was as if she was walking down a runway.
Click-clack.
The only sound in the airport was the clicking of her high heels as people swallowed nervously.
“We’re here, ma’am.”
“Thank you, Mr. Taxi.”
With the help of a friendly taxi driver, Sharon arrived at a gallery. It was an unusual place for the studio of a sensitive musician. Moreover, she had heard that the gallery’s owner was a wealthy Asian. It made sense since the violinist Hyun was also part of a royal family.
“How can I help you?”
The gallery’s female staffer widened her eyes as she confirmed Sharon’s identity. Although foreigners occasionally visited, it was the first time seeing someone who looked like a model. Her golden hair shimmering in the sunlight was like a scene from a movie.
Moreover, this place was invitation-only.
“I’m here to meet the violinist Hyun.”
When Sharon conveyed in a British accent that she was here to meet Hyun, another female staffer quickly appeared from inside the gallery. She bowed to Sharon and responded fluently in English.
“My name is Kim Mi-hyun, and I work at the Im Hyera Gallery. I’m sorry, but the violinist Hyun is currently out. How can I relay your message?”
At the staffer’s question, Sharon suddenly felt like playing a prank. She took off her sunglasses with her long fingers, revealing a bright smile. Her smile was so beautiful that the staffer opened her eyes wider.
“Just tell him the noisy lady stopped by.”
Is this how a salmon feels when it swims upstream to its birthplace? I had worked so hard to step into the headquarters of Cheil Group in Seocho-dong in my past life.
As the memories of those days, filled with power and greed, flashed through my mind like a panorama.
“Um, how may I help you?”
A female staffer guiding the lobby looked at me curiously.
Of course, I was wearing a school uniform, so I must have looked like a student. If I had looked like a peddler, a security guard would have been called instead of her.
I nodded briefly and said what Chairman Wang had instructed me to say.
“If you mention Kang Hyun, they’ll know.”
At that moment, the staffer’s eyes widened. She immediately went to the desk, made a call, and then returned with a polite bow, erasing the friendly demeanor she had just shown.
Suddenly, all eyes in the lobby were focused on me. Anyone would think an important buyer had arrived at Cheil Group.
What on earth did the old fox tell them?
“Please follow me.”
The structure of the headquarters hadn’t changed much. Although in my previous life the building had been expanded and modernized, that was something time would solve.
The staffer, visibly tense, guided me. The headquarters of Cheil Group was so large and maze-like that it could be described as a jungle, but I knew it well enough to walk with my eyes closed.
‘If we go this way, for sure.’
I finally understood why the staffer was so nervous. She looked like a calf being led to the slaughterhouse.
You naturally feel it when working in a company. When visiting a superior, you feel tense for no reason, as if your body is shrinking in the cold.
Especially when you’re about to meet the future owner of this massive Cheil Group.
“You must have had a long journey, Hyun.”
It was my first time sitting face-to-face with President Son Il-seon alone. Although it had happened in my previous life, I couldn’t even dare to look him straight in the eye back then.
“The Chairman suggested you tour the company. Think of it as a field trip and feel free to look around.”
I couldn’t grasp what Chairman Wang was thinking. He was always a person with a large enough character that I couldn’t easily judge.
Son Il-seon looked at me with sharp eyes. As time goes by and his eyes become more honed, he will become a tiger no less than Chairman Wang.
“Hyun, which department would you most like to visit?”
Would I want to go to the legal team I was once associated with? No, there’s no point in going there without any cherished memories.
There was a place I had always wanted to visit while working at Cheil Group. But it wasn’t a place just anyone could enter.
The place Chairman Wang created and Son Il-seon perfected, known as the brain of Cheil Group.
“The Strategy Planning Office.”
