[Thump thump.]
Anna couldn’t contain her excitement. Her heart was racing, as if it was letting out a happy scream. A smile she couldn’t hide bloomed on her lips the entire way to the airport.
“Anna, are you that excited?”
Moscow Conservatory Director Alexei, who was seeing Anna off, asked as he brushed his nose.
Anna blushed and smiled bashfully. She looked completely different from when she played the violin. At times like this, she seemed like an unmistakable teenage girl.
“To be honest, when you said you were going to retry for the Queen Elisabeth Competition, I was not thrilled. With your level of skill, there’s no need to enter a competition to make a name for yourself.”
Alexei’s words were true. Anna’s skills were already good enough to take a second chair position in a minor orchestra.
“Among all the violinists I’ve met, your talent is the second most outstanding. With that in mind, I don’t think you’ll fail the Queen Elisabeth preliminaries.”
“The first one is, of course, Hyun, right?”
Kang Hyun’s news was already famous even in Moscow. Especially since he had created the legend of the little ghost at the Moscow Conservatory and even gave lectures.
When Kang Hyun’s album entered the Billboard charts, and especially when it was aiming for the top spots, his music was the only one that resonated throughout the classical music-infused Moscow campus.
“Master, I heard that Hyun is a judge this time?”
“Ahem, that arrogant kid.”
Despite his words, Alexei’s wrinkled lips were filled with a faint smile.
It was no exaggeration to say that Kang Hyun was making a mark in classical music history. Not only did he conquer the once-invincible Billboard chart, but he also opened the doors of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition.
One could hardly imagine how much Kang Hyun would progress after serving as the youngest judge in the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Just then, the car arrived at the airport.
“Anna, if you don’t win, don’t even think about coming back to Russia.”
Alexei’s expression was immensely serious. He trusted his only student.
Knowing this, Anna nodded vigorously. Alexei, in the end, patted her head like a kind grandfather and said,
“Or just win the heart of the one who stole yours.”
Anna’s eyes widened in surprise, but Alexei had already turned around. He left his last words and got into the car.
“Good luck.”
“Anna, what’s going on?”
Kang Hyun couldn’t hide his surprise. It was because Anna, whom he thought was in Moscow, suddenly appeared at a hotel in Brussels. Anna pouted her lips.
“Hyun, you don’t seem too happy to see me?”
“No, it’s not that. You just appeared so suddenly. Are you traveling?”
She seemed much more mature than when he last saw her in Moscow.
“Traveling? No, I applied for the competition.”
“Competition? Don’t tell me, the Queen Elisabeth Competition?”
“Yes, I heard you were a judge this time. If I make it to the finals, it might be hard to see you separately, so I came early.”
It’s not uncommon to retry for an international competition. In fact, there have been cases where a runner-up in an international competition immediately retries for the next one. But Anna’s last competition was seven years ago.
“Anna, the preliminary results haven’t been announced yet, but you’re very confident?”
“Well, if I don’t pass, I’ll just be satisfied with dating you.”
Kang Hyun coughed unconsciously. He didn’t know when she became so bold.
Even though he didn’t personally judge Anna’s tape audition, he didn’t think she would fail the preliminaries.
Having been directly taught by Alexei at the Moscow Conservatory, she would likely be a strong contender for this competition. At that moment,
“Hyun, shall we have a beer?”
“Alcohol?”
“Yes, now that I think about it, we’ve never had a beer together.”
Anna smiled mischievously. As he was desperately craving a beer at that moment, Kang Hyun nodded without hesitation.
As they arrived at the bar located in the hotel’s basement, they drew the attention of the surrounding men. Understandably so, with her model-like figure, platinum blonde hair, and green eyes, she could stand next to any Hollywood actress without feeling overshadowed.
‘Was she this beautiful?’
Although they had met in Moscow before, she had a more modest appearance back then. Now, she was dressed to reveal her figure and even wore high heels. It was no wonder she was captivating the men.
“What are you doing?”
Anna handed him a beer with a smile that could make the surrounding men swoon.
Anna looked at the face of Kang Hyun, who was dozing off, drunk.
“Tsk.”
She had dressed up in clothes she wouldn’t normally wear. But Kang Hyun didn’t seem to show the slightest interest in her. Instead, the men drinking at the hotel bar were giving her more attention than their drinks.
‘Am I that unattractive?’
Judging by the way the surrounding men looked at her like hyenas, that didn’t seem to be the case. But Kang Hyun was treating Anna like a really close younger sister. The more Anna talked to Kang Hyun, the more she felt that if she had an older brother, it would feel like this.
‘I’m older than Hyun, though.’
It felt as if the roles were reversed.
Kang Hyun was already quite drunk. She felt like giving him a kiss, but she couldn’t. If she did, she thought she would feel uneasy for a long time.
Her heart fluttered as she reunited with her first love. The more she looked at Kang Hyun’s face, the more her heart raced.
“Fair and square!”
At her sudden outburst, the surrounding men widened their eyes. Anna let go of her clenched fists with an awkward expression.
Anna already knew who Kang Hyun liked. It was probably a girl named Yooha from the same country. She knew that Kang Hyun smiled the brightest when he looked at her.
Thinking of Son Yooha’s face, Anna renewed her resolve. She would compete fairly. At that moment,
“I’ll take care of violinist Hyun.”
The hotel manager came down and helped the drunken Kang Hyun.
As she watched Kang Hyun’s retreating figure, the hyena-like stares from the men followed, but Anna brushed them off and walked away. Competing fairly was good, but for now, she wanted to take off the uncomfortable high heels.
Kang Hyun felt a splitting headache. Having met a friend in a long time, he had chatted and drank a lot of beer. Fortunately, it seemed he had managed to find his way back to his hotel room.
“Does my liver still have trouble breaking down alcohol?”
Mentally, he was middle-aged, but his body was that of a young man in his early twenties. Moreover, this was the first time he had drunk so much since returning to his life.
Shaking off his thoughts, Kang Hyun washed his face with cold water.
Knock knock.
At the sound of a knock, he moved towards the door. When he opened it, Eva was standing there. Seeing Kang Hyun, who had just finished showering, she blushed and said,
“Mr. Hyun, there’s a luncheon for the judges scheduled at noon today.”
“A luncheon?”
“It wasn’t originally planned, but Mr. Hugo wanted to have a luncheon with the judges. It’s probably to discuss the preliminary results.”
The tape auditions with thousands of participants were over. Even though it was the preliminary round, selecting new violinists from all over the world was quite challenging. It was so difficult that they had spent two extra days than planned.
“Understood.”
Kang Hyun moved towards the restaurant where the luncheon was scheduled, thirty minutes before noon. As the youngest, he couldn’t afford to be late.
When he arrived at the restaurant on the 10th floor of the hotel, he was surprised to see Viktor already there.
Kang Hyun greeted him politely, but Viktor responded with his usual indifferent expression.
‘Sigh.’
Kang Hyun didn’t pay any more attention and sat at a distant corner from Viktor.
Soon, the other judges for the Queen Elisabeth Competition, including the French maestro Hugo and the Japanese Hirose, appeared.
Thanks to the hotel’s consideration, a partitioned section of the restaurant was entirely reserved.
The table was adorned with a feast that seemed too extravagant for a luncheon. Then, Hugo, the head judge, addressed the group.
“Thank you all for judging the tape auditions over the past ten days. Today’s luncheon wasn’t originally planned, but I wanted to hear your opinions, so I arranged it. Over the past ten days, you’ve listened to thousands of new violinists. Were there any participants who stood out?”
Following Hugo’s question, the Nordic maestro Joachim spoke,
“A new violinist from Norway named Peter stood out. Interestingly, he chose Sibelius’ concerto for the tape audition, and his technique and emotional expression were quite skilled. His was the only video I watched all the way to the end.”
As soon as Joachim finished speaking, the other maestros mentioned participants who had caught their eye.
Most of them were already making a name for themselves as violinists. After all, anyone who could stand out in the Queen Elisabeth Competition would have already proven their skills in other competitions.
“I noticed a violinist from the UK named Sabrina.”
Sabrina?
Hirose’s words made Kang Hyun’s eyes widen. He hadn’t expected to hear that name here.
“She gave me the same mysterious feeling I had when I first met violinist Hyun.”
So Sabrina entered after all. It seemed this Queen Elisabeth Competition would be no easy feat.
After everyone had mentioned one participant, Hugo’s gaze turned to Kang Hyun.
“I noticed a violinist from Japan named Hotaru. Not only was her technique outstanding, but she also displayed bold confidence. I believe she will bring an unexpected twist to this competition.”
Viktor frowned for a moment. Hotaru was a participant he had declared eliminated.
As the luncheon progressed, Hugo placed his wine glass down with a clink and said,
“In the finals, judges’ opinions will clash more frequently. And when the final twelve violinists head to the chapel, we judges will also be isolated from external contacts in the mansion facing the chapel.”
The competition ensured fairness to the point that even the judges would be isolated from external contact.
“Originally, we planned to assign each judge their own room in the mansion, but due to ongoing construction, there is one room short. So, I thought it might be best for the two judges who are most likely to have conflicting opinions to share a room. Of course, you’ll get the largest room in the mansion, so don’t worry about that. So, as the head judge, I thought the two of you who might have the most conflicting opinions should share a room.”
No way.
“Viktor.”
Hugo’s wrinkled eyes alternated between the Russian Viktor and Kang Hyun.
“Hyun.”
For a moment, Kang Hyun longed for a plane ticket back to Korea.
“How about you two live together?”
