“This is my seventeenth year,” he said, having touched the keyboard since he was five years old.
“In the beginning, I was so frustrated that I wanted to cut off my fingers that didn’t move as I wanted them to. Especially when I was practicing super technique. Back then, I thought there was no reason to live if I couldn’t play Liszt’s pieces, so I didn’t sleep and played and played again.”
His fingertips were blunt. The fingerprints of his ten fingers were already faint.
He overworked his talent to gain his family’s recognition. He had to bloom even a little faster to avoid being ignored.
Thanks to that, he grew up being called a prodigy, but he had to live with diseases such as tendinitis.
“Do you think these are scars of glory? No. It’s a very foolish and stupid thing. Tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, and focal dystonia are diseases that shorten a pianist’s life. It was as if I had made a deal with the devil. Just give my fingers a little more skill, and you can break them anytime.”
Young Baek Junghoon was that desperate.
“I learned a lot over the past two years. It was a time when I could reflect on my life and attitude as a pianist. Chopin said, ‘The best teacher is your own ear.’ I realized a lot about myself during that time. But, if the past two years helped me grow, the past two weeks were a time that shook my values to the core.”
What did he mean by that? The interviewer’s face was full of questions.
“You asked whose piece ‘Iron Blood’ is, right?”
Of course, how could one not be curious?
It was an additional repertoire that wasn’t even scheduled. Moreover, no one had ever heard of the sheet music called ‘Iron Blood.’
The composer was unknown, only heightening the curiosity.
“When I first heard ‘Iron Blood,’ I felt that my life had changed. My heart pounded uncontrollably, just like when I first touched the piano as a child. That person knew everything about music. They could tell what I was thinking when pressing the keys, how much my fingers were relaxed, just by looking. Even if Mozart had returned to life, he wouldn’t have taught like that. Who is that person, you ask? The owner of ‘Iron Blood.’”
Baek Junghoon’s eyes pointed to a boy.
If the past two years were a time of growth for him, the boy had changed as if he had broken through limits. He went to propose a collaboration but ended up learning about music instead.
When his musical talent and numerous scores are revealed, the world will be stirred once again.
“He is my teacher.”
Had he grown attached over the past two weeks? Even though Baek Junghoon, who had always clocked in for work, was not seen, there was a slight feeling of emptiness.
It was probably because the solo concert was just around the corner, and he was busy with rehearsals and stage checks.
Some people said, “What kind of solo concert in these troubled times?” but it was reported in the newspaper that the proceeds, including donations, would be used to help the underprivileged, making it a model for society.
Moreover, isn’t he a pianist evaluated as the next great master?
‘Come to think of it, why didn’t he reveal the composer?’
He kept the composer of ‘Iron Blood’ a secret while adding it to the repertoire. As a result, he unintentionally became a mysterious composer.
It seemed like Baek Junghoon had some plan, but it was hard to figure out. When asked, he just said it was an event and slyly avoided the conversation.
At that moment, the piano chair where Baek Junghoon always sat came into view.
‘Can I do it?’
The studio was piled with numerous sheet music. Of course, there were countless piano pieces among them. Baek Junghoon often drooled over the sheet music just by looking at it.
Most of them were notes written down in one breath while thinking of musical ideas in his head when studying the piano.
Looking at the notes on the staff, it felt like they were shouting, “Play me.”
“Hoo—!”
It felt different from playing the violin. When placing his fingers on the keyboard, it was as if the ten fingers had their own will and spoke to him.
At the moment when he exhaled the emotions that had risen to the tip of his chin,
The ten fingers began to move as if competing with each other.
It was a piece expressing the beauty within profound loneliness, like Debussy’s “Clair de Lune.”
Just as Debussy was inspired by Verlaine’s white moon, he was inspired by a pure white deer he saw one day.
From the mysterious arpeggios expressing the dawn’s glow to the sliding glissando technique depicting the steps of the mystical deer.
When the legato connecting the notes endlessly was finally finished, the pure white deer appeared as music before his eyes.
At that moment,
“Amazing….”
Im Hyera, who had entered without him knowing, was looking at him with her mouth open.
As soon as she felt his gaze, she tried to calm her flushed face.
It was a sight he hadn’t seen in her past life, her being flustered unlike a chairwoman.
“The door was open, so I unintentionally listened for a moment. You’re not offended, are you?”
“No, it’s okay. But how was the piece?”
It wasn’t a piece made for evaluation. Nevertheless, wasn’t it the first time he showed it to someone else?
Im Hyera furrowed her brows. Even she didn’t understand the scene she had just witnessed.
In the end, she expressed the piece in one word.
“Dreamlike existence. I’m not sure, but it felt like the music was alive.” He nodded briefly. That was enough.
“Your face will get pierced.”
It was when he was enjoying brunch with Chairwoman Im Hyera. She still seemed unable to escape from the performance she had just heard, occasionally looking at him with amazement.
She looked like a supporting character who had discovered the protagonist’s birth secret in a weekend drama.
By the time the yolk of the galette was showing the bottom, she had returned to her original self. The savoriness of the yolk seemed to have overcome the lingering emotion.
“By the way, Hyun, did you see Junghoon’s interview this morning?”
Interview?
“What interview?”
He knew Baek Junghoon had been postponing interviews, probably because he was similar to him in nature. It was a sensitive time right before the solo concert.
Judging by Chairwoman Im Hyera’s words, it seemed he eventually gave an interview. Soon, Mi Hyun noona came with a magazine, a well-known classical music magazine in Korea.
“Take a look. I was surprised when I saw it this morning.”
What could have surprised her?
He took the music magazine with Baek Junghoon’s face prominently on the cover.
As he read through the interview in a Q&A format, his eyes were drawn to the last answer. What, a teacher? What was he thinking when he answered like this?
Rather than being pleased, he was dumbfounded.
“Hyun, that’s about you, right?”
Chairwoman Im Hyera looked like she had discovered another birth secret.
It had been a long time since he had visited his grandfather’s office. The secretary noona brought biscuits and orange juice.
She still said he was cute when she saw him, which somehow hurt his pride. He had to grow taller quickly.
Even the suit he wore after a long time fit perfectly, as if by a lie. It would have been nice if the sleeves had been a bit short, but it was frustratingly perfect. How could his body be exactly the same as in his past life without any deviation?
“Hyun, I heard the solo concert is held at the Seoul Arts Center today?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
He answered while sipping orange juice. To think that the solo concert was held in the Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center showed how popular it had become.
Moreover, many leaders of society would attend this time. The fact that the proceeds from the solo concert would be donated must have been appealing to them.
“Hyun, I heard Daesung Group is going bankrupt soon. There’s a lot of talk about the government implementing a bankruptcy deferral agreement.”
“Really?”
The domino effect had begun. Even though the government would coerce financial institutions to create a bankruptcy deferral agreement, it was like closing the barn door after the horse had bolted.
Soon, the stock price would collapse to the 700 mark, and the foreign exchange reserves would hit rock bottom, causing the exchange rate to soar.
The future was clear even without seeing it.
Grandfather seemed to want him to say something, but he didn’t open his mouth any further.
“By the way, there’s someone else joining us for the solo concert today.”
“Someone else?”
Who could it be? Hadn’t his mother and father decided to enjoy some time together? They must be feeling like newlyweds after a long time.
And his big uncle would avoid such events since he would start yawning at the mention of classical music.
At that moment, there was a knock on the office door. “This old man can’t change his ways.”
Old man?
“In-law, you’re here.”
At that moment, the door opened, and the old fox appeared.
He felt the eyes of those around him.
Wasn’t he enjoying more wealth and honor than in his past life? Sitting proudly between two founders and appreciating the solo concert.
The Concert Hall of the Seoul Arts Center had undergone many improvements compared to two years ago. Despite being able to accommodate over two thousand audience members, it was once poorly designed and even called the “bathhouse of the arts.”
However, to forget the disgrace of the past, they had eliminated the spaces that produced the bathhouse echo, supplemented the inadequate facilities, including the pipe organ, so even Spencer of the London Symphony would be satisfied.
At that moment, Baek Junghoon walked onto the stage illuminated by the lights.
His confident stride, broad shoulders, and unwavering gaze reminded him of the maestro of ‘Iron Blood’ he had confronted in his past life.
It seemed like he was enjoying the applause pouring down on him.
Yes, the young Baek Junghoon he had seen at the Tokyo Concert Hall in the past had long disappeared.
Thump, thump, thump—!
The beginning was Chopin’s “Polonaise-Fantaisie,” considered one of his masterpieces.
It was a Polonaise, but with a free and intensely beautiful and elegant introduction that wasn’t bound by form.
It was music that Chopin, frail and near the end of his life, wrote on the staff with his exhausted mind. Unlike his trembling hands, the sound expressed numerous utopias. Hidden sadness behind the brilliant sound.
The passionate heart of Chopin was revived at the tips of Baek Junghoon’s long fingers.
‘He’s definitely a stage person.’
He didn’t win second place in the Chopin Competition for nothing. On stage, Baek Junghoon shone brightly as if the sunlight was streaming down.
The audience watched his performance, holding their breath. The devil’s melody was stealing their eyes and ears.
Following “Polonaise-Fantaisie” were Bach’s “Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue,” Schubert, and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition”—all were precious masterpieces.
Moreover, his appearance at the piano was like that of a great actor.
His long fingers and the subtle lighting flowing down his chin looked like a painting.
“The next piece I’ll be performing is ‘Iron Blood,’ which I’ll be playing for the first time on this stage.”
The audience, who had been maintaining silence, began to murmur. Wasn’t it the piece whose composer was not revealed in the pamphlet?
There were rumors that it was Baek Junghoon’s own composition, but in an interview, he caused a huge stir by saying it was composed by his teacher.
As Baek Junghoon sat back on the piano chair, the audience fell silent as if by a lie. The first start was,
Adagio sostenuto—!
It began with a lyrical melody reminiscent of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.”
It was only the first phrase, but just listening to it made his whole body break out in goosebumps. Of course, someone had coached him.
However, as it moved beyond the first movement, with the tension rising in the second movement and reaching the passionate third movement, why did his heart pound uncontrollably?
Crunch—!
The audience held their breath, feeling the thrill, but he wanted to grab his violin and step onto the stage right then.
Baek Junghoon seemed to be playing each note with all his might, as if to make him regret not collaborating with him. As if his life would end when the piece was over.
As the last leaf fell, the splendid performance ended,
Clap, clap, clap, clap—!
Thunderous applause erupted. As if forgetting about the encore, the audience gave a standing ovation to the finale of ‘Iron Blood.’
Baek Junghoon stood up and bowed deeply to the audience. It must have been a satisfying solo concert for everyone.
Then,
“I sincerely hope that my performance has touched the many fans who have waited for me for a long time. And.”
Baek Junghoon looked straight at him among the many audience members.
“Lastly, I would like to express my infinite gratitude to my friend and teacher, the violinist Hyun, who allowed me to play the score of ‘Iron Blood.’”
He bowed deeply.
For a moment, Grandfather and Chairman Wang turned their heads toward him. That wasn’t the end. In an instant, the eyes of the concert hall seemed to be all on him.
