Learning the violin was only a matter of a month or two.
And that too, in a very distant past that I can’t even remember.
It was too short a time to even perfectly grasp the posture, let alone read sheet music.
And now, I…
Am I playing the violin?
No, I was just moving as my heart dictated.
Zing.
The bow came into contact with the strings on its own.
At that moment,
The left fingers pressing the strings began to move swiftly. A continuous sequence of precarious melodies as if skating on ice.
Every time the fingers changed position, Son Yooha got goosebumps. How many times had the performance been repeated? There was no sense of pressure or relaxation in the fingers. It looked infinitely smooth, as if moving unconsciously.
At that moment, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was flowing in Kang Hyun’s mind.
He couldn’t read sheet music.
Zing.
The melody flowing from the natural bowing was just the music resonating in his head.
The precarious melody that seemed to skate on ice began to race. Like a fierce storm blowing, the bow and strings were making a cold sound.
How long did he race? Eventually, when the surroundings were covered in ice,
The tune changed.
Cantabile (smoothly, like singing)!
It was different from Son Yooha’s Four Seasons. It was also completely different from Kang Hyejeong’s performance.
At this moment, Kang Hyun was creating his own winter. The beautiful melody and technique resonated throughout the mansion as if the queen of an ice forest was singing an aria.
More and more.
It sped up. The bow and strings continuously met to create the melody. Son Yooha clenched her small hands tightly and became the only audience.
Even at a young age, Son Yooha instinctively knew. She was witnessing an incredible scene.
It was a summer day, but his melody turned the surroundings entirely into winter.
The queen of the ice forest, the aria emanating from the violin became increasingly intense.
Rich tone, technique, emotion, how can one describe this?
When the bow and strings shouted the last aria,
Zing.
Winter came to an end.
“Hyun, how was the grandfather you met today?”
In the car returning to Ichon-dong, my grandfather asked me.
If he was asking how the chairman of the Daeil Group was, I had nothing to say. He was already a legendary figure who had marked a chapter in the economic history of South Korea. But from a child’s perspective, it would be different.
“His eyes were deep.”
“Deep?”
Grandfather asked back in astonishment. He didn’t expect such a response. The first generation of South Korean conglomerates had a common trait: they were all exceptionally perceptive when it came to people.
It was a virtue they had to possess as founders, and to raise the economy of South Korea, which was like a barren land, it was impossible to do it alone. Especially, the chairman of the Daeil Group was particularly so.
- When you face Father’s eyes, you feel like your insides are being read.
It’s a phrase from Son Ilsung’s autobiography. When I was a Daeil Group scholar, I thought Son Ilsung was exaggerating and trying to idolize his father by lying.
But today, after facing the legendary chairman, I realized Son Ilsung’s words were not lies.
Though the chairman’s eyes were smiling, the hidden gaze inside them constantly read the other person. It seemed like a habit ingrained in his body.
“What about this grandfather’s eyes?”
Grandfather asked with a smile. What should I answer?
“Grandfather is warm.”
The chairman created a society strictly based on ability, even for his own children. As a businessman who came down from the North, he understood the world of the survival of the fittest thoroughly.
On the other hand, grandfather, born as the only son in a wealthy family, still had a clear value system of eldest son succession. The proof was that his eldest uncle, who had no abilities, once managed the company.
“Kang Hyun, we have some time before dinner. Would you like a snack?”
The housekeeper lady asked me. It seemed that having a young grandson stay in the mansion was rare, so she was very attentive.
I politely declined and entered my room. There was urgent business I needed to attend to.
Plop.
I sat down on my mother’s bedside and recalled the events at the grand mansion in Pyeongchang-dong.
“What happened?”
With a puzzled look, I stared at my palms.
Still white palms without a single callus.
But the violin performance I showed at the grand mansion in Pyeongchang-dong was not something easily done.
Moving the bow and pressing the strings, it felt like recalling the melody from memory rather than reading sheet music.
The bowing with closed eyes was not an act. At that moment, winter really came along with the melody. It felt like I had become one with the violin. I could even feel my own breath.
“Can I do it again?”
Kang Hyun’s gaze turned to his mother’s violin case.
“Teacher, play it.”
Park Sunyoung, a graduate of the Korean University College of Music, was having a hard time. Just before going abroad to study at a prestigious foreign music school, she received a tutoring proposal from a conglomerate family.
It wasn’t about professionally teaching entrance exam music but rather teaching hobbies for social purposes.
Moreover, the tutoring student was only an 11-year-old girl.
However.
“Hurry.”
She had not only talent but also great effort and perseverance. At the age of 11, her skills were far beyond what could be considered a hobby. Yet this young girl showed no sign of stopping.
Park Sunyoung herself had grown up being called a prodigy. Around the time she graduated from music school, she was invited to join a symphony orchestra, but she chose to study abroad for a bigger dream.
“Yooha, do you want me to play again?”
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Winter, 3rd Movement.
Originally, it was too early to teach this piece. But Son Yooha wanted and wanted to perform this piece.
If she were a child seriously learning music, she would never have taught this piece. But Son Yooha was the daughter of a conglomerate family, and she was guided to broaden her horizons socially.
But why? Son Yooha kept asking Park Sunyoung to play the Four Seasons.
“Sigh, alright.”
Although she had a hard time satisfying this monstrous child, she didn’t want to let go of the tutoring position.
The pay far exceeded the monthly salary of a regular orchestra member. Moreover, it was quite enjoyable to teach her.
Park Sunyoung picked up the violin again.
“How is it?”
It was already the third performance.
But Son Yooha’s expression still didn’t look satisfied.
Park Sunyoung couldn’t understand. She majored in violin, and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is considered the first modern solo concerto and is often used in solo recitals.
She had played the piece over a hundred times and was confident she was as good as any decent violinist.
But the wind still didn’t seem to leave Son Yooha’s cheeks.
“Oppa really brought winter!”
Oppa?
What was she talking about?
She knew that Son Yooha was an only child.
The sulking child’s gaze was still fixed on the sheet music.
“Auntie, I’ll prepare dinner today.”
Aunt had come to the mansion from early evening, making a fuss. The housekeeper lady’s face was full of discomfort. It was clear she had never done any cooking herself, and here she was making a fuss about preparing food.
“Hyung, why is Aunt acting like this suddenly?”
“Huh? Uh. I’m not sure either…”
Yoo Jinseok seemed unable to look me in the eye properly, probably due to the previous incident. He called me hyung, but he looked uneasy, as if he could change his attitude at any moment.
At that moment, the sound of a plate breaking came from the kitchen. Aunt must have made a mistake.
‘Tsk.’
I didn’t know the reason, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight.
“Father, I made some braised short ribs today. Would you like to try some?”
Aunt was sitting right next to grandfather at the dinner table, flattering him excessively.
She wouldn’t be doing this without a purpose. Grandfather’s expression wasn’t bright. Since she usually didn’t visit often, this sudden visit wasn’t likely to be welcomed.
“Auntie, is there any crab sauce left?”
Grandfather asked the housekeeper lady for the crab sauce I had brought. The housekeeper lady brought out the remaining crab sauce in a fancy bowl.
Aunt’s eyebrows furrowed as she watched, but she quickly fixed her expression.
“Father, shall I crack the crab for you?”
“No, I have my hands.”
Grandfather picked up the crab sauce and silently ate. Aunt didn’t speak further at the dinner table, probably because of grandfather’s attitude.
When grandfather put down his chopsticks,
“Father, do you have someone in mind to take to this year’s gathering?”
Gathering?
Grandfather looked at Aunt, reading her intentions.
“Why do you want to know that?”
“Well, it’s a gathering where three generations are invited. Since the eldest brother’s children are still young, how about taking our Jinseok? You haven’t taken any of the grandchildren to the third-generation seat every time…”
A gathering where three generations are invited?
That’s it.
Based on Aunt’s words, I inferred something.
One of the secret stories I had heard while working at the Daeil Group in my past life. A gathering of conglomerates that dominated the 90s.
It was similar to the Federation of Korean Industries but entirely different in essence. A gathering hosted by the first generation of conglomerates who had achieved founding myths, centered around the chairman of the Daeil Group.
‘Come to think of it, it must still exist in this era.’
It was a gathering that became nominal after the management rights were transferred to the second generation of conglomerates.
The first generation, who had close relationships, held the gathering once a year, centered around the chairman of the Daeil Group.
Of course, ordinary people didn’t know about it. It was a world that only they lived in.
“Do you know what kind of gathering it is?”
Of course.
It was a gathering to reveal the actual successors. The conglomerates maintained their firm ruling class by building friendships and networks among themselves. Therefore, only the acknowledged second and third generations of the conglomerate families could attend.
To think I would hear about the reality of the legendary gathering like this.
“Father, I’m not a kid. Of course, I know.”
“Yet you’re trying to send Jinseok?”
Grandfather’s stern voice startled Aunt, and she dropped her teacup. Yoo Jinseok looked like he was about to cry. How did this guy commit fraud and embezzlement later?
“This time, for the gathering.”
Yoo Jinseok, this guy must have a pea-sized courage.
“Hyun will attend.”
What?
