For The Musical Genius (Novel) - Chapter 38

Chapter 38

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Discord         

The soft lighting leading to the stage drew me into the past.

“However, there’s a condition.”

It was what the elderly professor at the Judicial Research and Training Institute said to me. An addendum following the proposal, ‘Would you like to become a scholarship student of Jeil Group?’

“You cannot live as a legal professional going forward.”

A legal professional should view the world with integrity and impartiality, regardless of sacred grounds. Don’t all of us harbor burning justice in our hearts when reciting the judicial trainee’s oath? The professor’s words were simple: protect Jeil Group instead of law and justice. But what was there to hesitate about? The professor’s proposal tempted me like a sweet forbidden fruit.

Moreover.

I never intended to live as a legal professional in the first place.

*

‘How in the world.’

My Adam’s apple bobbed heavily. Perhaps the stage lighting had blinded me. I unconsciously blinked hard at the sight of the judges sitting in the audience. They were all familiar faces. Weren’t they the ones who had looked at me with such fascination?

“Number thirty-seven, please begin.”

The cold voice dispelled my thoughts. It felt like ants crawling up my back. Perhaps even more so because I sensed this was reality, not a mirage. These weren’t the previous interested gazes. Their deep eyes spoke of their years of experience and expertise. Their attitude toward the concours was equally cold and objective.

I placed the violin between my shoulder and chin, gripping the bow. Though it was my usual posture, an inexplicable pressure constricted my entire body. Only then did I feel the sharpness in their gazes. They wouldn’t tolerate even a single mistake. Suddenly, I recalled the previous incident. In hindsight, wasn’t I showing off in front of mere chrysalises?

‘Huff.’

With one exhale, I expelled all the cluttered thoughts inside. And then.

I raised the bow.

As the bow touched the string, my confused emotions subsided like a lie.

The masters seated in the judges’ section all leaned forward at my appearance. Except for one person, of course. I demonstrated my bowing ostentatiously. The bow slowly crossed the strings. It was a succession of bitterness, like walking along a serene lakeside. The violin and piano formed an ensemble as if reluctant to let each other go. As the piece neared its end, I moved the bow more thinly.

Zing.

As if the tone was gradually becoming shallower, drawing a pianissimo until finally, the melody disappeared, tinged with sadness. The accompanist pianist’s face was filled with dreaminess. The keyboard sound trembled as if reluctant to let me go. However, the bow tip regrettably slowly pointed toward the floor.

At the end of the poignant performance.

The judges’ faces showed clear signs of contemplation.

“You expressed Brahms very well.”

I thought there wouldn’t be any comments. I’d heard sometimes they don’t even listen to an entire piece. Forget comments, I’d be thankful not to hear sighs. It wasn’t for nothing that this was called the stage of death among violinists. Suddenly, the Chinese master looked at me with a peculiar gaze.

“Number thirty-seven, how long have you been playing the violin?”

To this brief question.

“I’ve been properly learning for just over a month.”

I honestly revealed the truth. I wasn’t trying to deceive them. I hadn’t known I had such musical talent either. I could feel the judges’ section stirring. That’s when.

My eyes met with the master who had his arms crossed.

*

Alexei smiled with satisfaction at the fact that the first performer was an impudent kid. How excellent must his skills be for Queen and London to have pursued him so persistently? Moreover, he couldn’t forget the advice given to him at Beaux-Arts. Don’t be bound, the kid had hit the nail on the head. Having devoted his entire life to music, he was already as bound as one could be. The other masters appeared the same. While outstanding new talents had headed to Brussels, everyone’s attention was focused on just one child.

Brahms Violin Sonata No. 3, 2nd Movement.

The cold masters unanimously focused their attention on the precarious melody. They were trying to appreciate the child’s performance as audience members rather than judges. Bitterness within gentleness – how could one display such music without experience? The melody resonating from that small frame expressed Brahms remarkably well, almost unbelievably so. Moreover, at the end, the trembling thin melody dissipated into the air. One could imagine the expression on the accompanying pianist’s face without looking.

However.

Something was strange.

The hidden dissonance in the melody kept furrowing Alexei’s brow. Some other masters seemed equally disturbed. But that wasn’t all.

Normally, they would have called the next performer to the stage without comment, but today questions continued without pause. Alexei sat with his arms crossed and eyes closed, the melody that the kid had just performed repeating in his mind.

At that moment.

“Impudent kid.”

The cold Russian words fell onto the stage.

Of course, only two people understood. The masters sitting in the judges’ section fell silent as if by agreement. Alexei gazed down intently at the boy. The boy didn’t avoid his ice-cold eyes that seemed to express Siberian chill. Seeing this, Alexei uncrossed his arms and leaned forward.

“Why do you make music?”

Kanghyun’s eyes widened. It was an unexpected cold dagger.

* * *

“Old man, you seem troubled?”

Chairman Wang looked across at Chairman Yu.

“Is it because of Hyun?”

Though they had sent him to the competition, it seemed he was worried about the possibility of him actually placing. While his mind told him to let him pursue music, there was no better timber than him for Dongju’s future.

“Well, how about this then?”

Chairman Wang nodded as if he’d thought of a clever solution. Chairman Yu’s gaze naturally moved to Chairman Wang’s mouth. After wetting his lips, Chairman Wang curved them into a rather meaningful smile.

“Wouldn’t it all be solved if Yu-ha takes over management!”

This old fool?

“Son-in-law, stop with these nonsensical jokes.”

“Don’t tell me you still haven’t let go of that patriarchal thinking? After all that trouble with your children, you still haven’t come to your senses? Tsk.”

Chairman Yu shook his head as if he didn’t want to discuss it further.

“Son-in-law, by the way, it’s quiet in the mansion?”

The Pyeongchang-dong mansion would usually be noisy with Son Yu-ha’s voice. The secretary acting as nanny seemed pitiful given how active the young one was. Chairman Wang chuckled at Chairman Yu’s question.

“Must be sleeping after crying all day. Why didn’t she greet Hyunja at the airport the other day?”

“Did that happen?”

“I heard Hyunja’s husband’s expression wasn’t good then. He must have been surprised, seeing an unfamiliar child and me there too. But that seems to have bothered Yu-ha. If she finds out tomorrow that the violin is being sent to Belgium, she’ll throw a tantrum wanting to go along.”

Many hands were needed to transport the Stradivarius. Being an item worth more than ordinary value and sensitive to temperature and humidity, just following procedures took considerable time. Fortunately, it would arrive before the main competition began.

“Grandfather?”

Just then, Son Yu-ha entered the reception room. Chairman Wang almost dropped his teacup.

*

“What? That kid got in?”

William from England widened his eyes as he received the first round results of the competition. It was a selection of 24 people out of 60. While it might seem easy at first glance, each person was a renowned new talent from their respective countries. People were saying this competition would be the most brilliant and fierce. And such a young child had made it in?

“I must go meet that kid.”

William felt anger stirring in his heart. He thought the rumor about receiving a recommendation letter from Spencer, the principal conductor of the London Symphony, might be true. He had thought no one would catch his eye. What was this feeling? Though hard to believe, it seemed jealousy was sprouting toward that kid[1].

“He’s probably staying at the Lincoln Hotel.”

William jumped up from his seat upon hearing the manager’s response. Judging by his expression, it looked like he might dash off at any moment.

*

“Why do you make music?”

The words of Alexei, the Russian master, kept echoing in his mind. Though he made it into the top 24, he felt no joy. Rather, a discomfort enveloped his entire body as if he’d fallen into a mud pit. The reason for making music – it was a premise he’d never considered before. He couldn’t exactly say he’d applied for military service exemption, after all.

The breathing and gazes of violinists sitting in the waiting room flashed through his mind. He couldn’t even imagine how much effort they had put in to play violin in Brussels. Compared to them, was I really that desperate?

He asked himself, but naturally couldn’t hear an answer.

What was clear was that his heart had pounded uncontrollably whenever he played the violin. It felt as if the strings and bow were leading his heart. He looked down at his small palm. The fingertips becoming blunt and calluses gradually forming didn’t look too bad.

The reason why I make music.

Suddenly, his past life came to mind. When he only looked at immediate benefits.

Damn it!

This was no different from his past life.

“Violinist Hyun.”

Just then, the Chinese master Deng Run walked toward me. He must have seen me sitting alone on a park bench in front of the hotel. I stood up politely to greet him.

“You seem troubled?”

“Maestro, I’m sorry about before. I was rude.”

“Not at all. It was our first meeting, and if anything, we showed too much interest. I completely understand.”

Deng Run smiled like a kind grandfather. We silently gazed at the bushes. The swaying breeze made even our hearts feel peaceful. Deng Run was the first to break the silence.

“Given my position, I probably won’t be able to have a long conversation with Hyun. But don’t worry too much. Like all musicians, violinists too can express everything through melody.”

Express everything through melody.

“By the way.”

Deng Run deliberately paused, glanced around, and looked at me.

“Where will you go after the competition ends?”

After the competition ends?

Just as I couldn’t readily answer this unexpected question.

Thud.

Someone fell in front of me. Must not have seen the sunken ground. Deng Run’s and my gaze turned to the man in front. The loud sound of his fall suggested it must have hurt quite a bit. The man was getting up while covering his face in embarrassment.

‘That proper gentleman from before?’

It was the British gentleman, appearing with a nosebleed.