‘도대체.’
Since when have I been standing here?
Chairman Wang’s intense gaze didn’t leave me.
It was a gaze that seemed to pierce through a person’s inner self. His eyes were so sharp that even the strict old professors at the Judicial Research and Training Institute seemed like mere lambs in comparison.
Even if I tried to beat around the bush, I was already within Buddha’s palm.
“Grandfather, you’ve already discarded everything unnecessary.”
Chairman Wang’s foresight was unparalleled.
When he liquidated the once-thriving subsidiaries and used his private funds to acquire a semiconductor factory, everyone in the political and business circles said that Chairman Wang had finally lost his mind. The media even predicted that he would end up with an empty tin can.
But what was the result? In the end, Jeil Group held half of the global semiconductor market share, so much so that it was exhausting just to explain it.
“Hmmm, did this old man discard everything unnecessary?”
Chairman Wang showed a peculiar smile as if he didn’t understand. But I knew the hidden blade within that smile. Even if it was his own child, he would ruthlessly cut off anything that wasn’t beneficial.
As proof, his third son, Son Hongwon, who had no business acumen, lived his entire life without a decent position, not even in Jeil Group’s subsidiaries. Considering that his youngest daughter inherited the department store business, he was indeed a person of precision.
I wish my grandfather had inherited such a disposition. Anyway.
Chairman Wang still seemed to have some lingering curiosity. What kind of day is it today that both Son Ilsung and Chairman Wang are staying at this mansion?
“Yooha.”
At that moment, a savior-like figure appeared beyond the door.
“Oh my. Chairman! Hello.”
“Haha. Thank you so much for the performance yesterday, Ms. Park.”
“Oh, not at all. It was an honor for me to perform at such an event.”
Park Sunyoung bowed her head excessively, looking very nervous. Chairman Wang, perhaps due to the timely appearance of the music teacher, smiled regretfully and stood up.
“Well then, let’s continue our conversation slowly next time. Hyun.”
What is he talking about?
But without waiting for my response, Chairman Wang walked away. Was it my imagination that his back seemed somewhat excited?
“What? You can’t read sheet music?”
Park Sunyoung’s eyes widened.
She seemed quite shocked by Kang Hyun’s statement that he couldn’t read sheet music.
To understand the composer’s intentions and to match the musical balance and proportion, one must be dedicated to reading the sheet music until it’s worn out.
At the banquet, Kang Hyun not only understood the sheet music but also created new music. Even Park Sunyoung herself wasn’t sure if she was dreaming.
“Then, how did you play the violin?”
Park Sunyoung was so flustered that she even stuttered. How should I answer this? I had learned the violin once, but that was a long time ago, and I barely remember it.
Should I say that when I held the bow, my heart pounded, and I naturally became one with the violin? And that melodies flowed in my mind? No way. That would make me look crazy.
“The piece I played was one I practiced following along each time.”
Park Sunyoung gaped at Kang Hyun. Son Yooha, who was listening beside her, also had a disbelieving expression.
Park Sunyoung tried to understand the situation by looking at Kang Hyun’s unwavering eyes. Sometimes, there are prodigies like that. Kids who can’t read sheet music but can follow along on the piano keys.
‘But this is…’
It’s beyond the norm. She tried to understand it, but her mind couldn’t accept it.
How was such a performance possible without understanding musical symbols? Even after the banquet ended, Kang Hyun’s performance was vividly engraved in Park Sunyoung’s mind.
Could this child be playing a trick on her?
“Wait. Let me see your hand.”
Park Sunyoung hurriedly opened Kang Hyun’s palm.
‘So, so clean.’
His white skin was as smooth as a baby’s. Not only his right hand, which holds the bow, but also his left hand, which presses the strings. There were no calluses or crushed fingertips that should have been there. It was as if these were the hands of someone who had never held a violin.
‘This is impossible.’
Beautiful melodies come from the fingertips.
Mature techniques and bowing can’t be imitated. Especially vibrato using the wrist—without practice, the pitch would be distorted. The left fingers, pressing the strings, moved freely between the strings as if dancing. The pressure and relaxation were so seamless.
Gulp.
Though short, Park Sunyoung had spent a lifetime playing the violin.
Could she play the violin as well as Kang Hyun did at the banquet? She could mimic it but never perfectly replicate it. Such rich emotions couldn’t be achieved by mere imitation.
Son Yooha was also a talented and hardworking person, but Kang Hyun surpassed him.
Was he born gifted? In music, there certainly were those who were. The musical prodigy Mozart started composing at five and performed in front of the Empress at six.
Look at those calm eyes. If he were lying, he might as well become an actor right now.
“Have you really never formally studied music?”
Has this girl been living a lie?
“Yes, really.”
Park Sunyoung’s eyes wavered, and her Adam’s apple bobbed. She felt like she had met a genius who would leave a mark in the music world.
“Father, has Hyun left?”
In response to Son Ilsung’s question, Chairman Wang nodded briefly.
“Chairman Yoo contacted me, seems like there’s an urgent matter.”
He intended to have tea after the music lesson, but just as the lesson ended, Chairman Yoo called, and it seemed quite urgent.
Chairman Wang’s eyes showed clear signs of regret. Son Ilsung didn’t miss this and continued to speak.
“Father, Hyun is really amazing, isn’t he?”
It wasn’t just to flatter Chairman Wang. Whenever he thought of the violin performance at the banquet, Son Ilsung’s hair stood on end.
“Do you covet him?”
“Of course. Didn’t you always say, Father, that talent is not to be obtained but to be discovered? He’s no ordinary child.”
Chairman Wang nodded. He had indeed said that to his son once.
But this time was a bit different. When facing that child, he sometimes felt a mysterious sensation. It was like conversing with an old sage filled with experience.
Moreover, the occasional glint in his eyes was so deep that it was hard to believe they belonged to a child.
“Grandfather!”
The boy fascinated not only father and son.
His granddaughter, who came running as if about to fall, added a word without taking a breath.
“Hyun oppa is really a genius, Grandfather.”
She continued to talk about the series of events during the music lesson, making it hard to discern how much of it was true. After all, children tend to exaggerate.
Chairman Wang affectionately patted his granddaughter’s head. Only then did she ask,
“Right! Grandfather, why didn’t you and Dad go to the company today?”
Son Yooha became curious about why her grandfather and father were staying at the mansion even on a weekday.
“We have a guest coming today. Yooha, you’ve seen him before.”
Son Ilsung answered on behalf of Chairman Wang, quenching his daughter’s curiosity. Who could be the guest that both Chairman Wang and Son Ilsung were waiting for?
Just then,
“Chairman, the guest has arrived.”
Son Ilsung’s secretary bowed to Chairman Wang.
“Did he come by taxi again?”
“No, this time he used our car.”
Chairman Wang showed a satisfied smile. Given his personality, this must have been quite a concession. Though he heard that he was humble, the first time he showed up without even a secretary or security personnel was quite surprising.
“Well then, let’s go greet the guest.”
Father and son rose together and started to walk. Son Yooha followed closely, looking curious.
When they arrived at the garden adorned with magnificent ornamental trees, the guest was walking up the stone steps with another secretary.
As Chairman Wang and Son Ilsung moved towards the garden to greet him,
“Huh?”
Son Yooha tilted her head. It was someone she had seen before, just as her father had said. It was the foreign gentleman who had sat with her father at the banquet.
Why was he visiting again? Why were her grandfather and father so happy? It would have been better if it were Hyun oppa instead.
“Mr. Kim, is that really true?”
In the car returning to Ichon-dong, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Mr. Kim, who had driven my grandfather’s car for a long time, smiled broadly and said it was true. Both of us smiled simultaneously for a simple reason.
Mother had come to Seoul. To my grandfather’s mansion in Ichon-dong.
I was so excited that I couldn’t even recall the music lesson from today.
“Sir, I’ll go up first.”
As soon as we arrived at the mansion, I ran up the stairs. The housekeeper lady was waiting for me at the entrance, as if she knew I would come. Her eyes were also welling up, making my heart ache.
“Mother!”
As I entered the mansion, Mother was sitting on the sofa. She was gently stroking the house, reminiscing about old memories.
When Mother saw me, she gave an awkward smile, looking like a shy young girl.
“If you had told me you were coming, I would have met you at the terminal.”
“No, son. I didn’t know I’d come up like this either. Grandfather personally sent a car early this morning.”
Grandfather wasn’t home yet, probably still at work. He must have had many thoughts meeting his youngest daughter after such a long time. But to make such a significant decision…
In my previous life, my grandfather and mother never reunited. I still vividly remember my mother’s sorrowful gaze at my grandfather’s portrait during his funeral.
“Oh my, look at me. I brought porridge for Father.”
Mother hurriedly took a thermos out of her bag. Not only had she put it in a thermos to prevent it from spoiling in the summer, but she also wrapped it with a newspaper.
“Mother, I’ll place this in the kitchen.”
I took the thermos from my mother and stood up.
Despite the long years, Mother hadn’t forgotten the food Grandfather liked. Even though she was contacted early in the morning and had little time, she prepared the food.
How delighted Grandfather would be, remembering how he enjoyed Mother’s soy sauce-marinated crabs.
Just as I was unwrapping the newspaper from the thermos,
“Huh?”
A wrinkled newspaper caught my eye.
“‘The Eternal Crown Prince Visits Korea?’”
The headline was so large that it decorated the front page. And there was a man’s face right there.
In the photo, taken against a royal backdrop, a foreigner with a dignified look was smiling. Although his outfit was different, he was undoubtedly…
“Gardner?”
