The mansion in Ichon-dong is filled with people from the morning. The savory smell tickling my nose suggests that cooking is in full swing.
We are all having a meal together to celebrate the end of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT). Even those who don’t usually visit Ichon-dong have come together.
“Alright, everyone, let’s eat.”
With my grandfather’s words, everyone picked up their spoons.
Back in the day, my aunt, who used to chat incessantly, was eating breakfast quietly like a noble lady this morning.
The same went for my uncle. He had been demoted and was down at a local factory for a while. His face had become haggard, but what could he do? It was all his own doing.
“Hyun, how was the CSAT?”
When my mother cautiously asked, the gaze on the dining table immediately focused on me.
My mother, who had even went to Jogyesa Temple immediately after I entered the test center to pray. She was so worried that I might not do well in the test that she couldn’t even ask me.
How did the test go?
“I solved all the questions I knew.”
There were no questions I didn’t know. When I smiled faintly, my mother finally sighed in relief.
At that moment, my aunt chimed in.
“Hyun, where are you planning to go to college? You probably couldn’t study properly for a while; if you mess up this CSAT, how about studying abroad?”
“Like Jinseok hyung?”
“Yes, like Jinseok. Studying abroad isn’t a bad idea. Father, you have no idea how fluent Jinseok is in English now. If I had known he had such a talent for languages, I would have pushed him to become a diplomat. Anyway, he said he’d come to Ichon-dong from the airport right away.”
No matter what, I must have done better on the test than Jinseok even if I did it with my feet.
My aunt seemed to return to her usual self as she felt relieved.
My grandfather didn’t respond to my aunt’s words and kept looking at me.
“Hyun, I heard you talked about getting a thorough examination with your doctor again?”
“Yes, grandfather.”
“Haha, because of my grandchild, this old man is going to live a long, healthy life.”
In my past life, my grandfather passed away when I was 19. I still remember it vividly.
At my grandfather’s first funeral, my mother was shedding tears, and my uncles and aunts, who called themselves siblings, were glaring at each other, eager to divide the inheritance.
“Please make sure to get a thorough examination this time without skipping it because you’re busy.”
“You rascal, I got it.”
My grandfather’s complexion was bright enough to make it hard to believe he was over seventy. In appearance alone, he looked 20 years younger, so there was no need to say more.
Not only was his gait steady, but his eyes were also bright and full of vitality. It was as if he was experiencing a second prime.
I had to try not to repeat the mistakes of my past life in this one. It was then.
“Grandfather, I’m here.”
Jinseok had arrived in Ichon-dong. At the same time, the family’s gazes narrowed. My aunt was so surprised that she couldn’t close her mouth. Even my big uncle clicked his tongue.
The reason was simple. Jinseok had piercings in his ears and his hair was dyed yellow.
After the meal, we had a brief tea time. As I walked upstairs with Jinseok, I spoke to him.
“Hyung, you didn’t learn anything weird while studying abroad, right?”
“What?”
Several years ago, when I first met Jinseok, I was puzzled. It was hard to believe that such a timid guy would later commit fraud and embezzlement.
However, seeing Jinseok after studying abroad, his face now looked familiar.
“If you mess around, I won’t let it slide.”
His gangster-like outfit was exactly like Jinseok, whom I met as a petty criminal at the Western District Prosecutors’ Office in my past life. Didn’t he beg me to save him after committing fraud and embezzlement?
When I looked at him sternly, Jinseok seemed to recall the past and swallowed hard.
“Teacher, how is it?”
Hirose seemed very pleased with the appearance of the Concert Hall at the Seoul Arts Center. No wonder, as it had just undergone extensive expansion.
The architectural design was excellent, with no dead spots for sound, and its external beauty was outstanding. It was the result of great efforts to wash away the past stigma of being called the “bathhouse of the arts.”
“Hyun, it feels like a combination of Suntory Hall and Tokyo Opera City.”
“Is it really that good?”
“I haven’t played the violin here yet, so I can’t feel it completely, but it certainly seems that way. I never imagined there would be such an excellent concert hall in neighboring Korea.”
It was certainly comparable to the Seoul Arts Center in my memory. This also meant that history had changed.
The chairman of the Seoul Arts Center, standing behind us, looked very moved. He seemed to understand Japanese to some extent.
“Hyun, you’ll be an adult soon. Why don’t you go on a world tour?”
“A world tour? That’s too much praise.”
“I always feel that you tend to underestimate yourself. You’d be surprised to know how many classical fans around the world are waiting for you. Even professors at Japanese music schools I’m close to often ask about you. That’s how mysterious you are in the classical world.”
A mysterious figure, indeed. Though it wasn’t intentional, I had become seen that way. Since my performance at the British royal concert two years ago, I hadn’t shown myself again, so people were naturally very curious.
At that moment, the white-haired queen walked to the center of the stage.
“Hyun, shall we play the violin here now?”
Here?
Hirose seemed very impressed with the Concert Hall at the Seoul Arts Center. Even though there wasn’t a proper audience, she was so fond of this place that she couldn’t resist playing the violin right away.
When I conveyed this to the chairman, he smiled broadly and gladly accepted.
After all, the queen’s performance isn’t something you can hear just anywhere.
“Hyun, can I play with you?”
“Teacher, what piece would you like to play?”
“Of course, it should be one of your compositions. Every time I see the sheet music for two violins, my heart races. It feels like a piece created for joy and fantasy.”
Indeed, I had intended for joy and fantasy when I composed the piece for two violins. Moreover, I had brought my violin to check the state of the Concert Hall.
Soon, two Stradivarius violins, with contrasting tones and appearances, emerged.
Only the chairman of the Seoul Arts Center was seated in the audience. His face now showed not just emotion but also awe.
Gang Hyun Concerto for Two Violins.
At that moment, the two Stradivarius violins gleamed as if they were competing with each other’s melodies.
“Teacher, may I ask why you visited Korea during your sabbatical?”
Kim Saetbyul of DailyQ was conducting an interview, clutching her notebook tightly.
Her face was filled with excitement and anticipation more than ever. She was so nervous that she even brought an interpreter, which was unusual.
No wonder, as across from her sat Hirose, known as the queen of Hyun.
“For a collaboration with violinist Hyun.”
Kim Saetbyul cheered inwardly. The outcome she had anticipated had come true.
Until now, the queen of Hyun had never moved for a collaboration herself. And now, she was doing so during her sabbatical.
“I’ve been waiting for a duet with Hyun for a long time. Ever since I first met him, I wished to play the violin together.”
“May I ask when you first met him?”
“It was exactly five years ago at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. Because of a video I received from Korea, I was obsessed with finding the child in the video. But the moment I took the stage at Opera City, my heart pounded uncontrollably. And when I made eye contact with that child, it felt like time stood still.”
The memory of that day was still vividly engraved in Hirose’s mind.
She had slowly raised her bow, pointing at Hyun seated in the center of the audience.
It felt like Beethoven’s Ode to Joy was ringing in her head.
“Teacher, can you comment on the piece you will be performing with Kang Hyun this time?”
“It’s Hyun’s original composition.”
“An original composition?”
Kim Saetbyul unknowingly raised her voice.
Kang Hyun’s original compositions were already famous among classical musicians.
His first album, filled with original compositions, was so renowned that it was considered one of the great records by Gramophone.
Kim Saetbyul wanted to know more about the compositions, but Hirose refrained from saying more. How much time had passed?
The interview continued, and they were now down to the last question.
“May I hear your thoughts on Kang Hyun’s original compositions?”
“My thoughts.”
The queen smiled pleasantly, recalling Kang Hyun’s studio. Wasn’t it piled high with sheet music?
On the surface, they seemed like ordinary sheet music, but each one was filled with incredible notes that delivered tremendous impact.
“When Hyun’s numerous musical ideas are revealed to the world, many classical musicians will cheer.”
Just as musicians had when they first encountered the sheet music of Beethoven, Mozart, and Rachmaninoff.
“We’ve arrived, Kang Hyun.”
The scene at the high school after the CSAT was extremely relaxed. Especially for the third-year students, it was almost like free time.
However, today, the students’ faces were filled with tension and excitement. It was the day the CSAT results were announced.
Although they knew their scores from self-scoring, they were still unsure whether they had filled out the OMR answer sheets correctly.
“According to the Ministry of Education’s guidelines, the results will be announced before lunch, so let’s all wait a little longer.”
The homeroom teacher’s face was also filled with tension. After all, it was the day that marked the endpoint of their students’ college entrance journey.
Every teacher wishes for their students’ success.
At that moment, the homeroom teacher glanced at me. He had previously asked me how my self-scoring results were.
At the time, I had made an excuse that I hadn’t had the time to record my answers for the self-scoring because I was too busy during the test. I felt sorry for the teacher, but I didn’t welcome unnecessary fuss.
“Hyun, did you get a perfect score?”
“Why?”
“I feel like I’m going to die from tension, but you seem so relaxed.”
The female class president sitting next to me asked with a grim face. Wasn’t she the one who often ranked second in our class?
“Minjeong, you’re aiming for the Law Department at Korea University, right?”
“Yes, I really want to go to the Law Department. You know, my dream is to become a public defender.”
Minjeong and I had some familiarity with each other. Honestly, I was quite surprised when Minjeong sat next to me in our third year of high school.
Wasn’t she my classmate at the Law Department of Korea University in my previous life? She even joined the Judicial Research and Training Institute a year after me.
At the time, I couldn’t understand why Kim Minjeong chose the path of a public defender. It seemed like she was choosing a difficult path despite having a bright future.
But looking back, I realized it was my past self who had not lived life properly.
“Don’t worry, Minjeong, you’ll definitely make it.”
Kim Minjeong’s cheeks turned red. At that moment, the homeroom teacher, with a flushed face, re-entered the classroom.
The homeroom teacher distributed the graded answer sheets for the CSAT to the students one by one. However, he didn’t give one to me.
Just as I was filled with curiosity.
“A student in our class scored a perfect score on the CSAT.”
The homeroom teacher, with a look of deep emotion, was looking at me. The other students were the same.
Before long, the voice of the principal shouting “Kang Hyun, congratulations on your perfect score!” overlapped with the homeroom teacher’s.
The homeroom teacher approached me, grabbed my shoulder, and exclaimed proudly.
“Hyun, congratulations on your perfect score.”
