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Episode 05
In the narrow alley leading to the practice room, a man stood there.
Dressed in a neatly fitted suit layered with a weighty coat, he held a phone to his ear.
After glancing at his watch by pushing up his sleeve, he frowned slightly as if something was not to his liking.
An aristocratic demeanor, an expression somewhere arrogant. He was handsome enough to make one wonder if he might be a celebrity, but his frosty gaze created an atmosphere that made it difficult to approach him carelessly.
Jung Do-hyun.
It was him.
A professional investor based on a global private equity fund, and CEO of NXT Holdings.
He was also an investor known as a ‘big hand’ in the entertainment industry. It was said that a single investment decision from him could determine the rise or fall of an agency.
He was especially famous for generously supporting talented composers without sparing any resources.
Sponsoring scholarships at korea University’s College of Music was also close to a strategy of securing a pool of talented individuals with investment value in advance.
“…Yes. Proceed with the schedule as planned. Cancel all unnecessary meetings.”
After ending the call with a cold tone, he exhaled briefly. White breath scattered into the air.
Without even a moment to catch his breath, his phone rang again.
“Hello.”
He frowned slightly.
“Yes. I’m on campus. …There’s no need to meet the scholarship students directly. It’s a waste of time and inefficient. The recitals as well.”
The answer was short and firm.
With his standards soaring sky-high, there was no way a mere undergraduate-level recital would catch his eye. He’d rather spend that time reviewing one more document.
The professor persistently tried to persuade Jung Do-hyun, but he firmly refused once more.
“That’s enough.”
Time is money.
Personal sentiments are a luxury.
Sponsoring scholarships was ultimately for the future, not for mingling and laughing with students right now.
For Jung Do-hyun, there were far more important things to do than that, things that tripped him up at every step.
‘…What’s this?’
At that moment, something caught Jung Do-hyun’s eye.
It was a USB drive lying on the ground.
Jung Do-hyun picked it up.
On the USB, along with the korea University logo, was the phrase ‘College of Music’ written in what seemed like hasty English script.
‘Did a student drop this?’
He looked around, but there were no signs of anyone.
With an expressionless face, he put the USB into his pocket.
He judged it would be most efficient for him, who had found it first, to deliver it, as he planned to visit the professor’s office later.
“I only stopped by today to review the scholarship-related documents. Let’s discuss other matters another time.”
His tone was as cold as if not a single drop of blood would come out even if pricked.
Over the phone, he could hear the professor flustered, pleading with him to at least have a cup of coffee before leaving.
What a persistent person.
Knowing that even students becoming acquainted with Jung Do-hyun was a huge opportunity, he kept insisting.
Jung Do-hyun let out a short sigh and spoke firmly.
“Repeating the same story again…”
At that moment, another phone vibrated. The moment he checked the caller ID on the screen, his gaze turned slightly sharp.
It was an urgent call from the overseas branch.
“Just a moment.”
After excusing himself, he immediately answered the call.
“What is it?”
Short answers were exchanged, followed by a brief silence. Jung Do-hyun’s brow furrowed minutely.
“Understood. I’ll go and check directly.”
As soon as the call ended, he immediately turned on his heel.
He couldn’t afford to stay at the school any longer.
A more urgent matter had arisen, pushing the scholarship documents far down the priority list.
Jung Do-hyun announced into the still-connected call.
“I’ll visit the professor’s office another time. Something urgent has come up. Goodbye.”
Click.
He ended the call without even waiting for a reply.
Behind Jung Do-hyun’s back,
The USB in his pocket jingled softly as it bumped against his car keys.
Swoosh.
As she pushed open the heavy practice room door, warm heating air brushed against her cheek.
A girl standing by the piano holding sheet music waved happily.
““Seol-ah, over here!”
Seeing her face, she remembered clearly. The class president of the piano department, Lee Hyun-ji.
Her neatly tied-back hair and upright smile were impressive.
“Thanks for coming~. I was really in a bind when the accompanist suddenly bailed.”
One by one, the eyes in the practice room turned towards me.
The instruments were guitar, flute, and violin.
‘All melody instruments.’
I could understand why a piano accompanist was needed.
“Everyone, say hello! This is Yoonseol, who’ll be helping us with accompaniment today. Same piano major as me.”
“You’re a lifesaver.”
A guy with a guitar on his knee grinned and greeted me.
“I’m Choi Dong-hyuk. Guitar major, trying to transfer departments now that I’m back from leave. You and Hyun-ji are the same age? Then I’m two years older.”
“Hello.”
I bowed my head in greeting. Introductions continued.
“Han So-yeon. Flute major. I’m one year older than you.”
“I’m violin. Yuda Yeon.”
After brief greetings, Lee Hyun-ji immediately clapped her hands to change the atmosphere.
“Shall we begin, then?”
Short, 8-bar melody sheets were distributed.
“Today, we’ll practice melody arrangement with this. You all know that improvisational arrangement questions come up in the transfer exam, right?”
Lee Hyun-ji winked in my direction.
“If performing your own composition is the highlight of the transfer exam, this improvisational arrangement practice is a kind of trap. It’s also a filter to weed out students without basic skills.”
I looked down at the sheet music.
Basic chord progression, standard rhythm.
In my mind, they began to rearrange themselves one by one.
“You have exactly 10 minutes. Starting now!”
Bold chord changes to highlight key points, mood shifts, even a modified ending.
I hadn’t even placed my hands on the keyboard yet, but already three or four plausible arrangements were finished in my head.
‘It’s not a difficult level. Maybe because everyone’s still students.’
Looking around, everyone was staring at their sheet music with quite serious expressions.
Choi Dong-hyuk seemed to be trying to get a feel by actually playing the guitar. The others were also struggling, either pressing piano keys or constantly writing and erasing on their music.
As I watched their focused faces for a while, time flew by.
“Okay, stop!”
At Lee Hyun-ji’s call, everyone let out a sigh and took their hands off.
“Everyone, write your names and give them to Seol.”
Several sheets of music were stacked in front of me in turn.
I picked up Choi Dong-hyuk’s among them.
“How is it? Can you do it sight-reading? Or do you want to practice once or twice and then match?”
Choi Dong-hyuk asked, his hand on the guitar.
Just by scanning the sheet music once, I could tell.
‘So many unnecessary decorations.’
Excessive technique and overly complex harmonic progression were ruining the piece.
The sheet music looked very flashy, but when actually played, the harmonic progression would probably be jarring to the ear.
Moreover, it was an arrangement with arpeggios, breathless chord changes, requiring non-stop movement of both left and right hands.
‘Playing this sight-reading…’
For most first-year students, this was impossible.
I could understand why the original accompanist had bailed.
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the score. Though difficult, it wasn’t impossible.
Because my skill far exceeded that ‘most first-year students’ level.
“It’s okay. I’ll do it right away.”
“Really? This is quite tricky, you know?”
“Yes.”
If you grasp the structure and regularity of the musical idea, even a complex piece can be played much more easily.
I nodded repeatedly.
This level was merely finger exercise.
Choi Dong-hyuk looked at me with a momentarily surprised expression, then soon smiled and plucked a guitar string.
“Alright. Then let’s go.”
I placed my fingers on the keyboard. As I closed my eyes, the chord progression and the hand movement paths immediately drew themselves in my mind.
One, two.
As soon as the first beat fell, my fingers danced on the keyboard.
Without a single moment of hesitation, every note on the score came to life at my fingertips.
‘It’s been a while since I played while actually hearing the piano sound.’
I could feel it – the tempo, dynamics, even the subtle intervals were perfect.
‘This is fun.’
If before it felt like wandering in pitch-black darkness, now it felt like walking while looking at a map.
Was playing the piano always this enjoyable? I was surprised myself.
A smile naturally crept onto my lips.
I could see Choi Dong-hyuk looking flustered even as he played his guitar.
-♩♪♬♪…….
Even after the performance ended, the practice room was quiet as if time had momentarily stopped.
Everyone was looking at me with expressions of disbelief.
