“Night is long and dreams are many.”
It was a voice filled with complicated emotions. Su looked down at his palm. It was full of calluses and scars, yet still inadequate.
How many obstacles had he faced in his musical journey? Each time, he did not give up. He thought he just needed to work harder than others since he started late.
In fact, when he won the Salzburg International Conducting Competition, didn’t he prove that determination in reality? However.
“Sir, are you alright?”
When Su frowned, the bodyguard sitting next to him looked concerned.
Su nodded shortly and ran his long fingers over his face.
He didn’t forget to ask the passing flight attendant for a glass of whiskey. When emotions were as complicated as a storm in his heart, there was no better remedy.
“London Symphony.”
A while ago, he received a call about selecting a conductor for a royal performance. Not only he but also Miles from America and Matthew from Europe were invited by the London Symphony.
All of them were capable, promising young conductors. However, among them, there was one conductor whose name was somewhat unfamiliar.
Su found the whiskey bitter. Probably because he thought of him.
He heard that this person was originally a violinist. He had no experience participating in international conducting competitions or serving as an assistant conductor in any orchestra. No, he hadn’t even been conducting for long.
Crunch.
Su bent his long fingers into a fist. At first, he thought the London Symphony was joking, to the point of being dumbfounded.
Who would have imagined that among the conductors selected for the royal performance, there would be such a rookie?
Even though he might have stood out as a violinist, conducting was an entirely different field.
“Sir?”
The bodyguard looked at Su and asked again. His face was visibly tense. But Su waved his hand, dismissing the bodyguard.
Right now, only one boy was on Su’s mind.
He had accidentally obtained a video of the boy conducting. Unbelievably, it seemed the boy had the honor of conducting the Berlin Philharmonic.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the world’s best orchestra, where the boy held the baton. While watching the video, Su couldn’t take his eyes off it.
When the boy took a shallow breath, from his rising shoulders to his elbows down to the tip of the baton, it seemed like they were one.
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 “Pathétique.”
While watching the video, Su felt a shiver run through his entire body.
From the boy’s fingertips, the melody flowed, perfectly capturing the somber and uneasy imagery of “Pathétique.”
When the crescendo reached with the trumpet’s swelling resonance, Su, watching the video, could hardly breathe.
A rookie? Nonsense. He acted as if he had been conducting for a long time.
“Hyun.”
Su murmured the boy’s name, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
“Click.”
It was a situation where I couldn’t help but click my tongue. Who would have thought that they would mistake me for someone else at the airport?
Of course, I couldn’t avoid my own responsibility. I had some responsibility for getting into the back seat without saying a word.
The driver’s face was covered in cold sweat. Anyone would think he had committed a grave sin.
“Wang Chun, they say the young master will arrive at the airport in two hours. Make sure there are no mistakes this time.”
“Yes, yes—!”
Only then did the driver’s face regain some color. The elderly butler with white hair turned to look at me.
“What will you do, sir?”
Of course, I had to go back. I couldn’t go back alone, though. The mansion was far from the city, and the garden stretched so long that it was hard to walk to the entrance.
At that moment, the butler shook his head as if reading my mind.
“Of course, we will provide transportation for your return. However, since this happened due to our mistake, we would like to compensate you. Our family elder said not to let a guest who has entered the mansion leave easily.”
“Compensate?”
The elderly butler’s face was so earnest that I couldn’t refuse. Anyway, I had informed the London Symphony that I would arrive tomorrow, so it shouldn’t be a big issue.
“I’ll make a call first.”
Ah, I should call Chrissy. Otherwise, who knows what trouble she might cause looking for me.
“Please, enjoy the meal, even though it’s not much.”
Didn’t they say excessive humility is burdensome? This was exactly that case. The luxurious meal laid out on the red tablecloth looked no less than the banquet the emperor of the past might have had. If this was considered not much, what on earth would a proper meal look like?
“Mafia?”
Judging by their use of Cantonese, they might be from the Triads. The people, including the butler, had discipline deeply ingrained in them.
I was just about to finish my meal quickly and leave without asking any more questions.
“Piano?”
On my way out after the meal, something caught my eye. In the center of the mansion’s living room, where a chandelier was located, stood a grand piano.
As I stood staring at the piano for a while, the elderly butler with white hair appeared beside me at some point.
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
“It was excellent. But that piano, hasn’t anyone played it for a long time?”
The butler widened his eyes, as if wondering how I knew.
There was a reason I said that. Judging by the piano’s exterior, it looked well-maintained, but the problem lay inside.
“How did you know?”
“I can tell just by looking.”
“In the past, the young master of the mansion used to play it, but at some point, he stopped. Apparently, the inside is broken, and even master craftsmen couldn’t figure out how to fix it.”
“May I take a look?”
How could a sparrow just pass by a mill? I had eaten a grand meal, so it wouldn’t be bad to repay the favor.
When I opened the piano lid, the internal problems were clearly visible. I don’t know since when, but I had become extremely knowledgeable about the structure of instruments, almost as if I could see them like the back of my hand.
Because of this, Baek Junghoon was often surprised. He praised me, saying I was more skilled in instrument repair than anyone he had ever seen.
“It’s badly damaged.”
Someone had clearly broken it intentionally. The strings and hammers that produced sound were in a mess. The depth of the keys was off, and the damper screws were rusty.
Pressing the keys in this state would probably make a sound like a gong.
Moreover, the pedal rubber was worn out. It was like a person lying in bed for a long time with bedsores.
But there was no need to worry. Meeting me would be the best luck this piano could have.
“Tuning tool.”
I extended my hand backward, like a doctor asking a nurse for a scalpel.
“You’ve arrived, sir!”
The elderly butler came running barefoot to greet Su. His eyes were filled with emotion, like a grandfather looking at his grandchild. That’s because it had been a very long time since Su last visited the mansion in England.
“Was your journey comfortable?”
“The driver did a good job, so there were no issues. If it’s alright, I would like that driver to be my chauffeur while I’m in England.”
The butler nodded, saying there was no question about it. Wang Chun’s driving skills were already famous for being top-notch.
“There was another guest today besides me, right?”
“Yes?”
“The driver seemed very nervous, so I asked just in case. I wondered if he made any mistakes before I arrived, and it turns out he did.”
Wang Chun avoided the butler’s eyes, sweating. The butler briefly nodded and explained the series of events that happened today.
It was an unusual guest. Even the butler, who had greeted numerous guests, found this one remarkable.
“Unusual?”
Typically, when ordinary people faced such a grand mansion, they would be overwhelmed with fear. However, the boy walked as if it was his own home. Also, there was no trace of fear or tension in his eyes, which were filled with confidence.
Moreover, despite not being Chinese, he spoke quite fluent Cantonese. It was as if he had lived in Hong Kong for a long time.
As the butler’s story continued, Su’s eyes showed a hint of interest.
“What does he do?”
“He said he is a musician.”
It was an unexpected story. Su moved and looked at the piano he used to play as a child.
It was a broken piano, smashed by his father who opposed his musical career, with only its exterior intact. When no one could fix it, Su, as a young boy, was deeply hurt, almost to the point of tears.
He thought it would have been discarded long ago, but the elderly butler had carefully preserved it.
Su’s long fingers cautiously lifted the piano cover. If he pressed the keys, it would surely produce a dull sound. At that moment.
“What?”
Su couldn’t believe his ears. Beautiful melodies were coming from the broken piano.
Although he slid his fingers over the keys, the sound remained clear. It was as if the piano had just been tuned.
The elderly butler smiled contentedly and added,
“He said he would be waiting.”
“Waiting?”
“The boy who fixed the piano said that.”
The boy, who fixed the piano like a doctor, had spoken bashfully, wiping his nose.
“He said it would be waiting for its owner.”
Spencer’s sharp eyes scanned the promising young conductors.
From Miles of America, Matthew of Europe, Su of China, to Kang Hyun of Korea, they were all famous rising stars.
They were to conduct the London Symphony in the royal performance.
“The reason I called you here is to have you conduct the London Symphony for the royal performance on my behalf. However, since only one maestro can stand on the podium, only one of you will take my place. If you have any objections, you may leave the audition right now.”
Despite Spencer’s cold voice, none of them paid any attention. Instead, their eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.
That’s because conducting the London Symphony was an opportunity not given to everyone. Moreover, this was a chance for their honor as a conductor to shine in front of the British royal family.
“Follow me.”
As Spencer led the way, the young conductors followed. The closer they got to the concert hall, the more their hearts pounded like a drum.
The concert hall had a distinct wooden scent. The gentle phytoncide aroma calmed their minds.
But the excitement soon turned into tension.
“Maestro?”
Miles from America looked at Maestro Spencer with a puzzled expression.
Usually, when conducting a brief audition, one would conduct a piano instead of an orchestra.
Coordinating the time of all the orchestra members was impossible, and matching their breath in a short period was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky.
“Since you will be conducting the London Symphony on behalf of the royal family, the audition will also be with the actual London Symphony members. Of course, I won’t judge you based on today’s result alone.”
The London Symphony members were sitting on the stage of the concert hall. Their eyes looked as sharp as knives.
Only one, Kang Hyun of Korea, scanned the members without any sign of tension. It wasn’t because he was close with the members, but because his nature didn’t allow for the word “nervous.”
“Schoenberg, Gurrelieder.”
Suddenly, a symphony came out of Spencer’s mouth. The young conductors looked at each other in confusion.
“Any movement will do, anyone willing to give it a try?”
No one stepped forward. Moreover, Spencer didn’t even hand out the score.
It’s rare for someone to memorize the grand narrative unfolding on dozens of staves.
Furthermore, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder is a cantata, an opera-like work with solo, chorus, and a large orchestra.
It’s so massive that it’s rarely performed live.
The string part required by Schoenberg was clearly insufficient with the members on stage. Moreover, the 8-part mixed choir didn’t even exist. This meant they had to arrange it according to the situation.
No one could easily raise their hand. Even if one had mastered the score, it was a daunting task.
Neither Su from China, Miles from America, nor Matthew from Europe had any solution, all remained silent.
At that moment, only one person was furrowing his brow, repeatedly contemplating.
“Maestro, would it be alright to change the formation entirely?”
Kang Hyun looked at the members like a general stepping onto the battlefield.
