When Tommy stepped onto the stage, it felt like he was going to stop breathing. The tension that he had tried to suppress in the waiting room surged back up to his throat.
It was no wonder, as among the countless audience members were many sharp-eyed musicians.
Performing in front of them felt like standing naked on the stage.
Gulp.
At that moment, Sabrina gently held Tommy’s hand. When Tommy widened his eyes and looked at Sabrina, she mouthed carefully.
“I’m here.”
“It’s okay.”
Only then did Tommy’s tension vanish as if it had been a lie. Instead, an inexplicable excitement seemed to fill the void.
Kang Hyun smiled faintly at the two and took a step forward.
“It is a great honor to be able to perform first, thanks to the maestro’s suggestion. The piece that our trio will present to you is an original composition, inspired by the Milky Way of the renowned artist Mitarcel.”
The audience buzzed at the mention of an original composition. Until the participants took the stage, the pieces they would perform were kept secret, so even the professors were visibly surprised.
After all, no undergraduate student had ever had the guts to present an original composition at a concert.
Even an ordinary undergraduate would have been nervous in the presence of other musicians of a different caliber, but there was no sign of such on Kang Hyun’s face.
Rather, it was as if he was exchanging glances with each member of the audience.
“We have pondered deeply over the harmonies that the violin and cello can create together. We hope that our trio’s original piece will resonate with you. Now, we invite you to our trio’s ‘Dreamlike Spirit.’”
The three exchanged glances. The audience followed their every move with excited eyes, eager to hear what kind of music would follow.
Soon, silver hair swayed, signaling the beginning of the piece.
The first to play was Sabrina.
A sweet melody echoed through the music hall.
Though there were no bold bow strokes or flashy techniques, the simple and clear melody evoked a mysterious emotion, like the beginning of a first love.
The sound was like a breeze passing through a field of blooming reeds.
The audience couldn’t take their eyes or ears off Sabrina’s performance, which they had only heard rumors about.
Her silver hair swayed as if dancing, and her masterful performance, conveying her musical ideas perfectly, was enough to make the mouths of the greats go dry.
At that moment, another violin joined in.
As if responding to Sabrina’s violin, Hyun’s Fantasia began to answer.
Just as the wind that had blown past was called back, Fantasia created a song.
Like footprints left in a snowy night sky, the melody left a chilling resonance.
Hyun’s trill rang out forcefully. It was as if two different instruments were harmonizing together.
From broken chords and glissando techniques that slid like walking on ice steps, to endlessly connected legato.
Although it seemed like each was playing their own piece, the two violins were in perfect sync, facing each other.
It was an immaculate connection that showed just how much they had practiced together.
Soon, the fingers moved freely between the strings and the trill sounded like a signal.
Just as the trill continued like footsteps in a snowstorm.
Tommy’s bow and strings met.
Tommy, supporting the cello with his two legs, had his eyes gently closed. There was no sign of tension on his face.
He was sending the heat that had risen from his shoulders directly to the tip of his bow.
At the end of his seamless posture, old emotions were discarded.
The image of Tommy, who had been playing while trapped in preconceptions, was nowhere to be seen. It was as if he had opened a new horizon, understanding and accepting the cello as a new instrument.
Professor Albert witnessed this scene with his eyes wide open. The two violins had created a bridge for Tommy, and his cello was fully blossoming.
Everyone must have felt it. That the Milky Way was unfolding in the music hall due to his cello.
Professor Albert’s pupils were shaking as if an earthquake had struck.
Even though the trio’s performance had ended, many in the audience were still immersed in the lingering emotion, but none more so than Professor Albert.
After all, wasn’t he the cello major professor who had taught Tommy? Suddenly, he recalled.
“Use and indulge in the talents of those two.”
He had given Tommy this advice. At the time, he just wanted Tommy, who was blocked by his own limits, to see some potential. But then.
Gulp.
To think he would showcase his performance so brilliantly. It was unbelievable. It was as if Tommy had become a completely different person in less than a month.
His cello, elegantly unfolding like the Milky Way, was so mesmerizing that it instantly captivated the eyes and ears of the greats.
It was then that Professor Albert recalled Hyun’s words.
“What our trio needs the most is Tommy.”
He had wondered why geniuses like Hyun and Sabrina chose Tommy.
But after seeing the trio’s performance, he truly understood. Hyun’s words weren’t an exaggeration to elevate Tommy; they were the truth.
As it was, the performance just now could only be done by Tommy among the undergraduate cello majors.
To see such a subtle difference more clearly than himself, who had played the cello all his life, Albert felt a chill as if cold water had been poured over his head and sat in a daze.
“Spencer, your student is truly amazing.”
“Student…”
At Principal Samuel’s question, Spencer gave a faint smile. Could he really call himself Hyun’s sole mentor?
While it was true that he gave Hyun musical inspiration and conducting skills, from the first time he saw Hyun, it felt like he was facing a completed gem.
Samuel, you were right.
Just like the thoughts he had on the plane to England, facing the gem had changed his musical values.
In his heart, he wanted to place Hyun in the London Symphony Orchestra right away, but how could he?
The gem’s value shone more brilliantly over time, making its name known. After his time at the Royal Academy of Music, he would surely grow even more.
Not to mention how many greats coveted the gem. World-renowned greats and even retired legends were so captivated by the gem’s magic that they picked up their batons again.
Spencer was the same. If not for Hyun, he might never have played the violin again.
Spencer hoped. If possible, he wanted to be Hyun’s mentor.
Hyun was the one who could complete his musical values. But that would be the greatest desire of Spencer’s life.
“I’ll get going now. I also need to prepare for my performance.”
Spencer stood up with a tense face, unlike his usual self.
Principal Samuel tilted his head in curiosity as he watched Spencer’s back. Had Spencer ever had such an expression?
Surely, no one would know. That today, his performance was for just one audience member.
Despite the approaching winter, bright sunlight streamed through the window.
Hyun shook off the moisture from his hair, still feeling a bit nostalgic about the now-vanished autumn leaves.
Just as he was deep in thought, preparing for the inspiration of the approaching winter.
“Mmm…”
On Hyun’s bed, as always, lay the freckled boy fast asleep. It had been a month since the concert, but Tommy, who rented the room to learn music from Hyun, was still there.
“Saaabrina…”
He kept calling Sabrina’s name, dreaming of something. Hyun approached Tommy and looked at his face. It didn’t seem like a nightmare. His freckles were blushing red, turning into tiny red spots.
“Wake up, man.”
Hadn’t the sun risen high in the sky? Hyun lifted the blanket, and Tommy, startled by the cold wind, opened his eyes wide. He looked like a squirrel suddenly awakened from hibernation.
Hyun smiled at the sight and straightened his clothes.
You ask how the concert went?
As you might expect, Hyun’s trio won the grand prize. It was a joint grand prize with Maestro Spencer.
It was the first time in the history of the Royal Academy of Music’s concert. Spencer’s violin performance was so extraordinary that even Hyun couldn’t hide his amazement. But anyway.
“Why are you two so close?”
In the dining hall, Sabrina and Tommy sat not opposite each other but side by side.
When Hyun asked while eating bacon with a fork, Tommy looked like he was about to spit out the soup he was holding in his mouth in surprise. On the other hand, Sabrina responded nonchalantly.
“Because I like him.”
Tommy’s freckles quickly turned red. Hyun nodded briefly, as if he had expected it, and resumed eating.
Of course, having spent so much time together as a trio, how could he not notice the subtle emotional bond between the two? But anyway.
“Tommy, didn’t you say your preference is for older women?”
“When did I ever…!”
“Just kidding.”
Seeing the two holding hands as they left the dining hall, it was clear that spring had finally come for Tommy. It was natural that the attention of those around them was focused on the two. After all, Sabrina was quite a celebrity within the Royal Academy of Music.
Moreover, after the recent concert, Tommy had also joined the ranks of famous people.
Even the notoriously strict and prickly Professor Albert had acknowledged Tommy’s cello playing.
Yet, the two looked peculiar. Hyun thought that Sabrina, who was firmly holding Tommy’s trembling hand, seemed like a general.
After parting ways with the two, Hyun walked alone. He was organizing his musical ideas while strolling the garden connected to the entrance of the Royal Academy of Music.
“Snow?”
In England, where snow was rare, evidence of winter was falling from the sky.
Perhaps because winter had arrived, there was a cold feeling in one corner of his heart.
Hyun shook his head. Considering his past life, he had lived alone for so long that this level of loneliness was nothing. At that moment.
Oh.
Hyun rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, doubting what he saw.
As his vision became clearer, the cold feeling in one corner of his heart disappeared instantly, and an unexpected joy filled his eyes.
The reason was simple. A single girl was walking towards him.
As he suspected he might be dreaming.
“Oppa!”
With a voice he had longed to hear, Yooha, wearing a red muffler, came into view.
Spring had come for Hyun in the winter too.
