“Moscow?”
Isn’t it an amazing story?
“I heard he gave a lecture to the undergraduates and professors at the Moscow Conservatory. The response was incredibly enthusiastic. They even called violinist Hyun ‘the reincarnation of Tchaikovsky’ in Moscow.”
The senior professors at Juilliard all gasped in unison.
Everyone knew what the Moscow Conservatory represented: the pride of the Russians, colder than the Siberian north wind, and unforgiving to outsiders.
Moreover, everyone knew what Tchaikovsky meant to them.
“Especially, the director of the Moscow Conservatory, Alexei, was very fond of violinist Hyun. It was said that the faculty, led by Professor Anton, even suggested hiring violinist Hyun as a full professor, which was unprecedented.”
“A full professor?”
“Yes, and what Professor Anton said was even more astonishing. When the undergraduates demanded more of violinist Hyun’s lectures, he said, ‘It would be a crime for such a brilliant musician to teach the next generation. In the past, musicians taught because they were starving. There’s even a saying that if Mozart had spent less time teaching nobles, the history of music would have advanced further.’”
For example, rumors tend to be exaggerated. You can see that from how the nickname “Little Ghost” has changed to “the reincarnation of Tchaikovsky.”
However, the statements by Alexei and Anton were true,
The words of the Russian maestro Alexei and the excellent professor Anton were enough to stir the hearts of the senior professors at Juilliard.
“As the head of the string department, I couldn’t sleep for several nights after watching the movie about Paganini. Others must feel the same as me. His violin playing was as captivating and dangerous as if Paganini’s melodies had come back to life. Don’t you agree, Karl?”
“Yes, Head Oliver.”
“Even Karl, who is stingy with praise and picky, acknowledges it, so it’s unnecessary to say more about how remarkable his melodies are. Frankly, I think we should give violinist Hyun a chance to lecture at Juilliard. Even the highly proud and stubborn Moscow opened its doors to him.”
The senior professors, who initially thought it was just a simple music film, felt their hearts pounding at the technical screening. They actually wanted to hear his melodies and meet him.
When Oliver heard him play at a Hollywood party, it felt like his heart had stopped.
However, there was a problem.
“Head, won’t the director oppose it?”
From a musical perspective, violinist Hyun’s age was not a favorable factor.
Juilliard’s director, Josef, thought so.
As his name suggests, the German-born musician was a person who didn’t make any judgments without seeing and hearing things for himself.
“Once our director meets violinist Hyun in person, he will change his mind. He can no longer dismiss the rumors about him as mere exaggerations.”
Michelle could hardly believe what she was seeing with her own eyes. It was the first time she had seen Son Yooha’s face so excited.
Who was she? Always the one with a cold expression like an ice princess.
“Oppa—!”
At that moment, Son Yooha ran down the stairs as if she was about to fall and threw herself into a man’s arms.
Her excited voice was so tickling to the ear that passing students turned to look.
The man gently stroked Son Yooha’s head, as if it was a familiar gesture.
Oh my.
Michelle covered her mouth with her hand at the sight, which looked like a scene from a movie.
It was then that the man’s figure started to come into sharp focus in Michelle’s eyes.
Although not very tall, he was a beautiful Asian man with a sharp facial line.
His deep eyes and prominent nose beneath his wind-blown hair looked like a painting.
“Yooha, I have to go now. Have a good time—!”
After being introduced to Kang Hyun by Son Yooha, Michelle tactfully left them alone.
She was only two years older than Son Yooha, yet her every action was full of grace. She seemed to exude an inexplicable aura.
“Oppa, do you want to look around our school?”
“School?”
“Yeah, we can get a visitor pass from the guard and look around!”
Son Yooha was as excited as a child visiting an amusement park for the first time.
Her eyes, which resembled a proud cat, had turned into those of a gentle puppy.
While they were wandering around the school, Hyun felt the students’ glances directed at them.
“Yooha, are you famous at school?”
“Why?”
“It looks like all the students know you.”
Of course, how could they not? Son Yooha was a well-known queen bee even at the prestigious Phillips.
Moreover, she had rejected all the guys who had approached her, leading to rumors about her sexual orientation.
But seeing her now, she was clearly a girl in love, much to their surprise.
“Oppa, how long will you stay in New York?”
“Not very long.”
Son Yooha hesitated and finally asked if they could watch a movie together.
Kang Hyun found her so lovable and cute.
What could be the problem with watching a movie?
On the other hand, seeing Son Yooha so excited made Hyun want to create new memories for her.
“Yooha, you won’t come to Korea during vacation anymore, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Since we won’t see each other often, I should play something for you so you won’t forget me.”
Kang Hyun knew why Son Yooha couldn’t come to Korea during vacation.
She was the heir to the Jeil Group. She had to study leadership and other subjects with blood, sweat, and tears to strengthen her position. If she showed even a moment of weakness, her cousins would pounce on her like hyenas.
“This is the music room. I got permission to use it, but there’s no violin.”
Son Yooha’s voice trailed off sadly. It was just her luck that all the practice violins were out for repair.
Kang Hyun looked around the music room, which was as good as any music college’s practice room. If it wasn’t for Son Yooha, he would never have dreamed of visiting Phillips.
Then he saw a piano in the corner.
“That will do.”
“A piano?”
Kang Hyun sat on the piano bench and expertly removed the cover. It was a well-tuned, pure white piano.
Kang Hyun looked at Son Yooha, who was standing idly, and patted the bench beside him, signaling her to sit.
“I composed this piece while thinking of you, Yooha.”
Although Son Yooha had learned social music from a young age, she wasn’t skilled enough to follow along without sheet music.
Knowing this, Kang Hyun placed his long fingers on the keys first. Then he took Yooha’s left hand with his right and placed it on top of his left hand.
Son Yooha’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed at the sudden contact.
Eventually, her white fingers rested on his long ones on the black and white keys.
It was as if the upper hand was completely enveloped by the lower hand, like being embraced.
“Paganini.”
The theater was packed with people who came to watch the movie “Paganini,” which was reportedly doing well.
It was nice to enjoy a peaceful holiday like this. They still needed time before hearing the final victory report from Barbara Tannenbaum.
“Oppa, let’s get some caramel popcorn too—!”
Son Yooha was already fully excited. If he had known, he would have taken her to various places in Korea as well.
At that moment, he noticed a huge poster with Alessandro’s face on it.
The word of mouth was so good that the poster was several times larger than the blockbuster movies released around the same time.
“They say the violin performance in the movie was done by an unknown Asian boy.”
“No, I heard he’s a genius. He’s already famous in the classical world. What was his name again?”
“Hyun?”
At that moment, he heard the voices of the audience who came to watch the movie Paganini. He couldn’t help but feel his face heat up.
On the other hand, Son Yooha looked like she was having the time of her life.
She seemed to feel a sense of pride, as if boasting that the person they were talking about was the man she was holding arms with.
“Wow.”
The movie was as amazing as it had been at the previous screening.
Especially when Paganini played the violin, the audience in the theater stopped eating their popcorn and focused on the melody in silence.
However, what caught his eye was Alessandro’s calluses. Even on the movie screen, he could see how much effort he had put in.
At that moment,
‘Tsk.’
The audience member next to him kept muttering to himself. He even occasionally gave a grim look at the movie’s Paganini.
Regardless of his expression, what about the noise pollution?
Even in the U.S., where movie culture had long been established, there were people with no etiquette.
He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t ruin the moment when everyone was engrossed in the melody of the movie.
“Paganini!”
Juilliard’s director, Josef, clicked his tongue at the movie poster.
Other professors who had seen the movie couldn’t stop talking about it, making his ears ring.
Moreover, the professors who had heard the boy play at a party were all saying unbelievable things.
They said it felt like Paganini had come back to life.
It must have been the champagne exaggerating their perception of the melody.
“Violinist Hyun.”
Josef was familiar with the name. He had caused quite a stir in the classical world a few years ago. There were even rumors that he was the reincarnation of Mozart.
But Josef didn’t easily believe anything unless he saw and heard it with his own eyes and ears. Rumors were always absurd.
Even so, he came to watch the movie because he had some doubts.
“Head Oliver recommended him so highly, hmm.”
The head had praised him so much that his mouth was dry.
And it wasn’t just him; even the professors who were usually stingy with praise were making a fuss about violinist Hyun, so it was hard not to be interested.
Let’s see how good he really is. With this mindset, Josef entered the theater.
Crunch.
However, as the movie progressed, Josef’s wrinkled hands clenched tightly. His reaction was similar to that of the other professors.
Perhaps he was even more astonished than they were. Josef also specialized in the violin.
His eyes and ears were already captivated by the melody beyond the screen, and his lips kept muttering Paganini’s phrases unconsciously.
He felt the gaze of the boy sitting next to him, but what could he do? Normally, Josef would have cared about his image, but not now. It felt like someone had poured cold water over him.
As Paganini’s melody continued and his bowing repeated, Josef’s heart kept pounding for the unseen performer.
Even after the movie ended, no one moved. Everyone was still lost in deep reverie.
At that moment.
“A pen!”
As soon as the movie ended, Josef immediately took out a pen and a blank sheet of music from his bag.
The last piece was said to be an arrangement by violinist Hyun, inspired by Paganini’s work.
It was so extensively recreated that many musicians doubted their ears.
Josef began to draw notes, recalling the melody he had just heard.
The reason was simple. He wanted to hear that piece again.
As he drew the notes without hesitation, he suddenly paused. Although he had drawn the notes, something felt off. It felt like he had made a mistake.
He furrowed his brows and focused, but the melody didn’t come to him anymore. Of course, it was amazing that he had managed to draw so many notes relying solely on his memory.
At that moment, as Josef stared intently at the sheet music,
“This part is wrong.”
The boy sitting next to him pointed to a part of the sheet music with his finger.
