“Maestro?”
Spencer approached Karas, who was sitting alone in the concert hall. Wasn’t today a day without any performances or rehearsals?
“Did you come to the concert hall again today?”
In fact, it wasn’t the first time. Even when there were no performances or rehearsals, Maestro Karas would sometimes be sitting alone in the empty seats of the concert hall. Her gaze seemed as if she was reminiscing about the past.
“There’s nothing more peaceful than just sitting here in the concert hall.”
“I feel the same. There’s nothing better than sitting in the audience and looking at the stage.”
The two maestros silently looked at the empty stage. But, surely, they were each seeing a different stage.
How much time had passed? It was Maestro Karas who spoke first.
“Do you know what Hyun is doing now, Maestro? I heard he got into the Royal Academy of Music, but honestly, I’m anxious because he hasn’t come to the London Symphony. I want to hear him play.”
“He is probably experiencing something he never had before.”
“Something he never had before?”
Spencer nodded briefly.
Wasn’t Kang Hyun a child with extraordinary talent even in the eyes of the greats?
But maybe that’s why. Like a car speeding down a straight highway, he moved forward without hesitation.
“He must have never seen a genius younger than himself.”
“Are you saying there’s such a person at the Royal Academy of Music?”
“I haven’t seen them myself either. I heard that the Queen, who was the former president of the Royal Academy of Music, personally approved their admission. The current president, Prince Samuel, who was my childhood friend, said the child is remarkable. But from what I can see, they are walking a different path from Hyun.”
“A different path?”
“It’s hard to express in words, but that’s the impression I got from Prince Samuel.”
Karas looked intrigued. A genius recognized by the royal family was rare.
“Moreover, I heard they are extremely reluctant to play in front of others. So not many people in the classical music world know about them yet. Honestly, I’m curious too.”
Spencer’s gaze remained on the stage.
“I’m curious what kind of stimulus will occur when Hyun meets that child.”
Do geniuses have some kind of connection?
“Ten hours already.”
Hadn’t they been in the practice room for nearly half a day?
Dawn had passed, and dusk had fallen again, but Kang Hyun and Sabrina showed no signs of ending their conversation.
Tommy felt his mouth drying up, but he thought he wouldn’t mind dying here if he could continue listening to their performance.
The way they immediately filled each other’s gaps with their musical talents was indescribable.
Were the extraordinary geniuses who led the golden age of classical music like this?
“We need to revise the third movement.”
“Sabrina, it’s already quite late.”
“Huh?”
Only then did Sabrina look out the window. Dusk had fallen thickly.
It seemed she hadn’t realized just how engrossed she was.
“Sabrina, if you’re okay, I don’t mind staying in the practice room longer.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I enjoy talking with you.”
“I feel the same way!”
Sabrina smiled purely. Tommy, who had often seen Sabrina, was astonished.
He had never once seen Sabrina smile before. At that moment, a series of assumptions flashed through Tommy’s mind.
“Could it be that she didn’t have anyone to talk to?”
Maybe the reason Sabrina hadn’t come forward in front of people was not simple.
She didn’t have anyone to converse with.
Although it seemed like a grand assumption, considering Sabrina’s musical talent, it didn’t seem impossible.
Just then, Hyun looked at Tommy and spoke.
“Tommy, if you’re okay, you can go now.”
“Oh, no…! Can I stay here and watch you practice? No, I really want to watch. I’ll be quiet, so please don’t kick me out. Please, Hyun, Sabrina!”
“I’m okay with it, how about you, Sabrina?”
“I like it too. Tommy is our only audience right now.”
Tommy was excited as if his body was heating up.
It was partly because Sabrina remembered his name and also because he was acknowledged as an audience.
Moreover, his heart was already pounding wildly at the thought of being able to listen to these two play all night!
How much time had passed?
Even though he hadn’t slept a wink, his body wasn’t tired; the lingering melody continued to resonate. It felt like he was dreaming even though he hadn’t slept.
Tommy felt grateful and thankful for being able to be in such a place.
After finishing the final performance, Sabrina stretched as if feeling refreshed and said,
“Shall we all go for breakfast?”
“Sure, Sabrina.”
“I want to go too!”
Sabrina took the lead, followed by Hyun and Tommy. When her silver hair swayed and she opened the practice room door,
Crash!
Many people sitting beyond the practice room fell back in surprise.
They hadn’t expected Sabrina to come out like this. Among them were Professor Bianca of violin and Professor Albert of cello.
Moreover, there were even other professors from different departments. Hyun looked at them with a slight smile.
“Our waiting audience.”
“Sabrina?”
President Samuel asked in disbelief.
“Professor Bianca, are you saying Sabrina performed in front of others?”
“Yes, President. Sabrina played for a long time in the practice room with Hyun. Professor Albert and I even listened to the melody right in front of the practice room. Not just us, but many undergraduates already spent the night in front of the practice room, listening to the melody.”
“Wow!”
It was an exclamation of astonishment. Who was Sabrina?
She was the musical prodigy personally found by the Queen, who was considered the godmother of England.
The Queen had said that the moment she first saw Sabrina’s violin performance in a rural village in England, she was immediately captivated.
A seven-year-old girl who had never been taught music before had won over the Queen’s heart.
However, the girl’s heart seemed locked as if with a padlock. At some point, she refused to perform in front of anyone.
Who would have thought that Hyun would unlock that heart’s door? And so quickly!
“How was the performance?”
“It was a piece I heard for the first time.”
“A piece you heard for the first time?”
“Because of the soundproof walls of the practice room, I couldn’t hear it in detail, but the melody was definitely a violin piece I’d never heard before. And seeing the flow of the movements change, Professor Albert and I judged it to be an original composition. It seemed like Hyun and Sabrina composed a violin piece together inside the practice room.”
President Samuel was filled with the desire to listen to their performance immediately.
However, if he rashly stepped forward, Sabrina might lock her heart’s door again.
In the end, he decided to listen in detail to the impressions of that original composition.
“So, no one has heard their performance exactly?”
“No, we had one audience member.”
“One audience member?”
Professor Bianca nodded. For some reason, Sabrina hadn’t kicked out that one audience.
A freckled boy majoring in cello.
Professor Albert had said that although talented, he was blocked by his self-imposed limits.
Professor Bianca couldn’t erase the strange feeling. The audience Sabrina acknowledged was not a genius like Hyun but a boy with relatively ordinary talent at the Royal Academy of Music.
“It was a student named Tommy.”
“Sabrina and Hyun…?”
It felt like becoming the manager of top stars.
Tommy had been at the Royal Academy of Music for a long time, but this was the first time he felt this way.
Whenever Kang Hyun and Sabrina walked together, students would part like the Red Sea.
Moreover, they were followed by looks of disbelief.
“Tommy, how was today’s performance?”
“It was amazing.”
In response to Hyun’s question, Tommy couldn’t attach many adjectives. Excessive embellishment and praise felt like they would belittle their performance.
He himself had been recognized for his musical talent and was called a prodigy in Cambridge.
But compared to Kang Hyun and Sabrina, the music he had been doing felt like child’s play.
Ordinary people would have felt despair and frustration at their performance and talent.
But not Tommy. He had a pure musical desire to somehow savor Kang Hyun and Sabrina’s musical talent up close.
It was a pure musical longing, devoid of foolish feelings of envy and jealousy.
“Hyun, Tommy. Can you take a look at this sheet music?”
Sabrina handed over the sheet music she had created to Hyun and Tommy.
Tommy’s eyes widened as he looked at the sheet music Sabrina had composed. Hyun was extraordinarily talented in composition, but Sabrina was just as capable.
Surely, if the composition professors saw the sheet music of these two, they would be astounded.
However, Hyun scrutinized Sabrina’s sheet music as if piercing through it and then picked up a red pen to mark the parts he wanted to arrange.
“I’d like to revise this part like this. If it’s too strong, it will eventually break. I’d like to give the melody some wavering. Gracefully. What do you think, Sabrina?”
“It’s great! But how about changing this part like this?”
“That’s a brilliant idea; I like it.”
Sabrina finally showed a satisfied smile.
Tommy still couldn’t understand. To him, the sheet music seemed perfect.
But it seemed that the two geniuses saw it very differently. On the other hand, he wondered why the two geniuses were hanging out with him.
Whenever Kang Hyun and Sabrina appeared in the dining hall, the students’ stares and murmurs increased.
Especially the musical talent of Sabrina, who was called the White Witch, was already famous in the Royal Academy of Music. Her talent was something that couldn’t be hidden.
Moreover, because of the performance the two had shown in the practice room, not only the students but even the professors were loitering around the practice room.
But perhaps because of that, a few students sent Tommy envious and jealous looks.
It was as if their eyes were saying they wished they were the audience instead.
Although it had been a week since Tommy had been hanging out with Hyun and Sabrina like close friends, he still couldn’t understand.
Why had Hyun and Sabrina singled him out as their audience among so many people? Just then,
“The Royal Academy of Music concert?”
Hyun asked, looking at the poster on the hallway wall. Tommy, who was already familiar with the content, quickly answered.
“It’s an annual concert. It’s a performance for students and professors, and undergraduates participate in it. But the real highlight is the time when alumni come and perform.”
“Can anyone participate?”
“Well, anyone can apply…”
Tommy trailed off. For one thing, it took considerable confidence to apply to the Royal Academy of Music concert.
This place was already filled with people recognized as prodigies in music. Moreover, with the illustrious professors and alumni,
Even if it was a concert held at the school, performing with mediocre skills would only bring disgrace.
At that moment,
“Then let’s participate.”
Hyun said, looking alternately at Sabrina and Tommy.
“As a trio.”
