WCP 28

chapter 28

It had already been fifteen minutes since he had fled the stage and started waiting in the concert hall lobby.

“They said they were almost here, so I came down to the first floor….”

For what felt like an hour but was only thirty minutes, he waited, yet there was no news at all.

If you asked why thirty minutes felt like an hour, the answer was obvious: the oppressive silence.

“…Hey, Song Yerim.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh, did you… buy something?”
“I don’t have any money, you know that. Why are you asking?”

Of course, there was no sign of Lee Ji-hye yet.

Trying to break the awkwardness, he tried talking, but as expected, the response was just short answers.

…Lee Ji-hye, Jung Da-yoon, could you guys hurry up a bit?

Song Min-woo missed Lee Ji-hye’s boisterous personality more than he thought he would. Hoping that the social butterfly would arrive soon to break the tension, he shifted his gaze toward the entrance.

Even as he watched everyone coming in and out, he saw no sign of Ji-hye or Da-yoon.

“Should I call them…?”

Worried that the concert might start before they arrived, Song Min-woo pulled out his phone—but fortunately, there was no need to make a call.

“Hey~! Song Min-woo!”

Just as he was about to dial, he heard Ji-hye’s voice from ahead.

Looking up, he saw her running toward him with Jung Da-yoon.

“What took you an hour?”
“Sorry, we missed the bus… But it wasn’t an hour, it was thirty minutes?”

Technically true, yet a rather clichéd excuse.

Song Min-woo, thinking this as he listened to Ji-hye, turned to Jung Da-yoon.

“Sorry, it’s my fault… I fell asleep on the way.”
“No, no, it’s my fault for getting the wrong bus.”

Apparently, getting the wrong bus wasn’t a lie.

…But thirty minutes late for just taking the wrong bus?

Trying to suppress his growing irritation, Song Min-woo asked,

“What happened exactly?”
“Ah, well… I was supposed to meet Da-yoon on the way, but I accidentally got on the wrong bus.”
“And I only realized it when I reached the last stop…”

…So that’s why they were late.

Considering they went all the way to the last stop, arriving before the concert started was almost a miracle.

“I had no choice but to take a taxi. I asked the driver to go as fast as possible, and we barely made it on time.”
“…A taxi?”

From the last bus stop to here was quite a distance.

“I’ve never seen a taxi with a surcharge like that before…”

Jung Da-yoon murmured with a pale face.

Seriously, how wrong a bus did they take to even get a surcharge? Was it a city bus or maybe an express bus?

“Well, it’s fine. We got here before it started, so that’s what matters.”

Booking an earlier meeting time had been a stroke of luck. Somehow, arriving an hour early ended up being helpful.

“Sorry for making you wait… Was it boring?”

Jung Da-yoon asked cautiously, clearly feeling genuinely apologetic, unlike Ji-hye, who tried to brush it off.

“Not really.”

Thanks to Zimmermann and the elder, he had seen the waiting room and even checked out the stage. So, despite their thirty-minute delay, he wasn’t particularly upset.

“Really? That’s suspicious.”

Ji-hye gave him a piercing look, which then shifted toward Song Yerim standing beside him.

“…Who are you??”

Ji-hye asked, confused.

…Ah, he forgot to mention he would be coming with his sister. Morning chaos had made him forget.

“This is my sister. Somehow, we got an extra ticket as a gift…”
“What?? She’s your sister??”

…She’s surprised? He thought she’d ask how he got the ticket.

“…Hello.”
“Hey, Song Yerim, you should greet properly. We’re seniors at the same school.”

Technically, only Ji-hye was from the same school, but both were two years older, so the “senior” remark made sense.

“Wow, Song Min-woo. I didn’t think you were that old-fashioned.”
“What?”

Suddenly, Ji-hye called him old-fashioned. Song Min-woo was baffled.

“These days, who tells their younger sibling to call them ‘senior’? Just ‘older sister’ works.”
“Besides, we’re from different schools…”

Jung Da-yoon seemed to agree.

“So, you’re Song Min-woo’s sister? Unlike your brother, you’re cute~”
“Yeah… Min-woo’s not exactly the cute type.”

…They became quite friendly on the way here. Watching Ji-hye and Da-yoon getting along so well, Song Min-woo pressed his temple in mild exasperation.

“Uh… thanks…? Senior.”

Perhaps intimidated by Ji-hye’s charisma, Song Yerim shyly replied, similar to how she reacted when shaking hands with Zimmermann.

“No need for ‘senior.’ Just call me Ji-hye.”
“Then I’ll call you Da-yoon.”

Come to think of it, both were only children. Song Yerim wasn’t used to such friendly approaches, so she looked overwhelmed.

“See? You called me old-fashioned, but you guys are just as much the same. Can’t you see she’s flustered?”
“Really? Were we old-fashioned just now?”

Ji-hye looked apologetic, but Song Yerim waved it off, still suspiciously glaring.

…Helping her didn’t solve everything. Song Min-woo realized that improving the sibling dynamic would take time.

The Rosan Concert Hall, located on the 8th to 10th floors of Rosan World Mall, is one of the largest concert halls in the country.

With a total of 2,040 seats and a vineyard-style stage, it was far more impressive than the stage of the Korean International Music Competition finals.

“Wow… even looking at it again, I can’t help but be amazed.”
“You’ve been here before?”

Ji-hye asked, sensing he implied prior familiarity. But realizing she might be misinterpreting, she hastily corrected herself.

“Oh… I didn’t mean, how did you come without money… I just… it’s surprising, that’s all.”

Song Min-woo shook his head at Ji-hye’s awkward honesty.

“By the way, Yerim will be fine on her own, right? Our seats are far apart…”

Jung Da-yoon asked worriedly. The ticket given to Song Yerim was through Zimmermann and the elder, so her seat was different from the ones Ji-hye had prepared.

“She’ll be fine. She’s pretty capable.”
“Really? She seems like someone who needs a lot of attention.”
“If you watch how she usually interacts with me, you wouldn’t think so…”

Ji-hye misunderstood because she only saw Yerim flustered by Ji-hye’s outgoing nature earlier.

“Okay, enough about my sister. Let’s find our seats.”
“Yeah, it’s about to start. J section should be around here…”

Jung Da-yoon looked around, and Ji-hye quickly found their seats. She seemed familiar with the hall.

“Wow… the view is amazing. How did you get such good seats?”
“Trade secret~”

Ji-hye answered playfully, though there was a slightly bitter undertone. Song Min-woo decided not to press.

He quietly sat down at the edge, leaving room for the girls to chat, and turned his gaze to the piano on stage.

Zimmermann’s performance combined with the elder’s piano—how would that sound? Surely, it would be a melody incomparable to anything in his past life.

Eventually, the lights dimmed, and the hall fell silent.

“Wow, it’s starting.”
“This is my first time hearing Zimmermann live.”

He could hear Ji-hye and Da-yoon whispering excitedly beside him.

Zimmermann took the stage, dressed sharply in contrast to his casual attire in the waiting room, radiating charisma. He didn’t give any greeting, merely sat at the piano.

The sound that emerged was dreamlike, ethereal.

“Clair de lune,” by Claude Debussy. A piece capturing the delicate moonlight in soft piano tones.

For Song Min-woo, or rather Chopin, it was his first time hearing Debussy live. Unlike Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Debussy’s piece held mystery, dreaminess, and elegance.

He quietly closed his eyes, imagining the faint crescent moon peeking through thin clouds—a guiding light, a lighthouse for the lost, comfort for the weary.

“Even after centuries, there are still those who play such melodies.”

The audience erupted in thunderous applause, heartfelt and sincere.

“Is that Zimmermann…?”
“Wow, I just felt a wall.”

Ji-hye and Jung Da-yoon, still in awe, had forgotten even to clap properly.

Song Min-woo joined in, confident that, with time, they too would reach such heights. All while unaware of Zimmermann’s thoughtful gaze sweeping across the audience.