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Episode 09
-♪♩♬♪♬
A short melody flowed out.
The students perked up their ears and desperately transcribed the notes onto their scores.
scratch, the sound of pen tips scratching paper came from all around.
Irregularly changing rhythms, off-beat entrances in the middle—everything.
Everyone was racking their brains over the high-difficulty dictation problems.
Jung Tae-seong walked quietly among the students, monitoring for any potential cheating.
‘Oh dear. Missed one harmony. Oh, almost got it, that’s a shame. Need to raise it by a semitone.’
Looking at the students’ answer sheets, Jung Tae-seong muttered inwardly.
Before long, the exam became even more difficult.
Two voices sounded simultaneously, layered on top of each other. It was a high-difficulty problem requiring capturing the piano’s right-hand melody and left-hand harmony at the same time.
The chords were intricately intertwined, to the point where even a professional performer would struggle to grasp them instantly.
‘Oh-ho?’
Then, a student caught Jung Tae-seong eye.
While everyone else was squeezing their eyes shut and struggling to solve the problems, there was one student who maintained a calm expression alone.
The faces of those with their heads buried in the staff paper as if trying to crawl inside, their hands busily moving as if afraid of missing a single note, were marked with a unique desperation.
Amidst them, this one was particularly out of place.
‘Did they give up on the exam?’
Such a thought naturally came to mind. And it made sense, because it looked like they were just doodling.
Jung Tae-seong subtly moved towards that student. He checked the examine number and name on the desk.
‘Piano Department, Yunseol
An unfamiliar name.
Even though she was from another department, promising talents usually became known early on.
He had never heard this name before.
It meant she was just one among many average students.
‘Maybe she just applied for the composition transfer as a whim.’
If so, that completely carefree attitude also made sense. Jung Tae-seong discreetly glanced at Yunseol’s exam paper.
‘…!’
His eyes widened.
A completed score lay there. The pitch, rhythm, and even the chords were all accurate.
It was so perfect you’d believe someone had placed the correct answer sheet there instead of Yunseol’s exam paper.
‘Absolute pitch.’
To complete a score this quickly, one would need at least that level of ability.
Of course, this level wasn’t particularly rare within the College of Arts.
‘But even if you’re born with absolute pitch, people usually slip up on rhythm or harmony…’
Had she honed her skills through thousands or tens of thousands of repetitions? For that, she seemed too young.
‘Is she naturally gifted?’
Jung Tae-seong unconsciously broke into a grin.
His gaze lingered for a while on the name ‘Yunseol
“Oh no. I totally messed up. I think I’m going to fail.”
“Hey. We all messed up the same. Don’t worry. This exam’s difficulty was seriously unbalanced.”
“Right? It wasn’t just me who found it hard?”
“Wasn’t the dictation exam a bit over the top?”
Murmur, murmur.
The students gathered in small groups, talking about the exam. Some lamented with tearful faces, while others tried hard to compose themselves.
Sight-singing, dictation, harmony, and even the arrangement exam.
Most of the tests were finished, and only the final presentation of their original compositions remained.
Since students were called out one by one to perform their own pieces, the waiting time had already exceeded two hours.
‘So boring.’
I sat still and muttered inwardly.
‘Was the exam… that difficult? I couldn’t really tell.’
The series of tests had been smoother than I thought. At least, in my opinion.
Sight-singing was just looking at a sheet of music and singing along. There were a few rhythmic variations, but nothing particularly difficult.
Dictation was just writing down what you heard, and harmony was the most basic of basics, so everyone probably knew it well.
The arrangement exam was somewhat trickier among them, but it was a standard 4-bar melody, so it was easy to modify this way and that.
‘This should be enough.’
Since I didn’t particularly want to stand out, I finished with a moderate level of completeness.
But I had earned points in the other exams, so failing the transfer wouldn’t happen.
‘I’m also worried about which piece to present for the original composition.’
There were dozens of pieces stored in my mind. Which one would be most effective to bring out?
If I played <Mercury>, passing would be a sure thing, but I wanted a piece that would leave a more standard impression.
As I was pondering this inwardly, an invigilator entered the waiting room and called out loudly.
“Group 9, please come in!”
It was the group I belonged to. The students next to me sucked in their breath and rose from their seats.
Everyone was visibly nervous.
I slowly stood up and took my place at the very back according to my examine number.
“This way!”
Following the invigilator’s guidance, we entered a place that looked like a small performance hall.
The professors were seated in the very front row, busy scribbling something on papers as if grading the previous group.
The student at the front of Group 9 hesitantly walked up onto the stage.
“Begin.”
As one of the professors said this, the student sat down at the piano.
-♪♩♬♪…….
A calm melody flowed from their fingertips.
‘Not bad.’
But it wasn’t good either. It was standard without any particular flaws, but it lacked any striking impact that grabbed the ear.
The professors nodded for a moment, then soon wore indifferent expressions.
“Stop.”
Not long after, one of the professors halted the performance.
It was a woman with a sharp impression, her long hair pulled tightly back and wearing thin gold-rimmed glasses.
‘I remember. She was the professor Moon A-rin found particularly uncomfortable and difficult.’
Her name was probably.
“Professor Beck Ga-hee. Even if you listen a little more and decide…”
Right. Beck Ga-hee. Her unique nature had stuck in my memory.
As one of the professors whispered to her, Beck Ga-hee responded coldly.
“Listening further would be a waste of time.”
It was a merciless evaluation.
The first student carefully spoke up.
“Th-there’s still more left. If you could listen to the rest and then evaluate…!”
“Next.”
With Beck Ga-hee’s cold dismissal, the student could only slump their shoulders and return to their seat.
Soon after, the next student took the stage. Perhaps due to the previous incident, their face was extremely tense.
Their hands pressing the piano keys were visibly trembling.
-♩♬, ♪♪♩♬…….
“Stop.”
After just a few bars, Beck Ga-hee cut the performance off again. The student’s face turned pale.
“You made a mistake, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Go down. Next.”
The atmosphere turned indescribably cold. Amidst the heavy silence, the third and fourth students’ turns passed in order.
Not a single person completed their entire piece.
The third student’s piece was perhaps not so bad, so they listened a little longer, but as soon as any part grated on the ear, they immediately cut it off.
“Next!”
Soon, it was my turn.
I passed by the fourth student, who was descending the stairs with a sullen face, without a second glance.
Once on stage, the lighting was so strong I could barely see the audience.
I vaguely bowed towards where I presumed the professors were, then sat down at the piano.
The spectacle of black and white keys naturally captivated me.
It wasn’t a keyboard or the old practice room piano; it was a proper instrument I hadn’t seen in a long time.
As soon as I placed my fingers on the keys, I could tell.
‘…It’s good.’
How long had it been since I felt this? I sensed a strange excitement rising within me.
I wanted to play.
And a truly magnificent performance, worthy of this excellent piano.
Not for someone else’s evaluation, not for passing.
Facing a good instrument, the desire to show it proper respect naturally surged within me.
For a moment, I completely forgot that this was an exam hall, and the professors’ attitude of ‘let’s see what you can do if you can.’
-♪
I gently pressed a key with my fingertip.
A clear resonance spread through the air.
It was so welcome that an unconscious smile spread across my face.
I steadied my breath and placed both hands on the keyboard.
-♩♬♪♬♪
A beautiful melody began to resonate.
