The Child Monster Who Appeared at the Seoul Concours

I hadn’t mentioned something important.

It was that I had been attending a piano academy since I was seven years old.

*Whew…*

“Ha-jun and Yena are here!”

“Yes!”

Of course I was with Park ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ha-jun.

Actually, as I said earlier, our family hadn’t been dirt-poor since the day I was born. My father had passed away and my mother had collapsed from cancer. Before that, we lived a life pretty much the same as any ordinary family.

*Somehow it’s already the first year.*

Now that I was eight years old, I had been attending the piano academy for over a year.

“Yena, are you ready to compete in the concert?”

“Yes…”

And now I was entering the Seoul concert.

[Name: Lee Yena (Lee Baek-ho)]

Level: 4

Title: None

Appearance: S

Singing: A-

Gaming: B

Piano: EX

Trait: Infinite Potential

Points: 0

I had poured every point I had into piano, so my piano skills were… something else.

I had been wondering just how powerful an EX-rank skill was, and now I knew.

‘Within the limits of my physical body, I can play every piece.’

Since I was still in first grade of elementary school, my body hadn’t fully grown, so I could only play pieces with hand spans within an octave, fast crossovers, and no extensions.

But even that was enough to swallow up the easier parts of the pieces.

‘Shall I try it?’

The piece I would play at this Seoul concert was Chopin’s Mazurka Op. 7 No. 1.

I had chosen the highest difficulty among the pieces I could play with this body.

I had made this choice so I wouldn’t have any regrets.

I had to do my absolute best and not stop in the middle like last time.

#1

In my previous life, when I was in sixth grade of elementary school, I had entered a concert.

I had tried, but it had been the average effort everyone makes.

On the day the concert was held, while waiting I had been trembling.

I couldn’t be sure I would play well.

And the result, as I said, had been the worst possible form.

After about thirty seconds into the performance, my head had gone blank and I had had to stop for a moment.

Luckily I had remembered quickly and continued, but because I had stopped in the prelims, I had left empty-handed and gone straight home.

At the time I had been so focused on the failure that I hadn’t had the chance to check how my mom and dad were doing, but thinking back now, they had probably looked sad.

‘This time it’ll be different.’

This time I would play until the end and see my mom and dad smiling brightly.

That was why I had been pouring all my time into piano practice right now. I had even skipped time outside to play.

“Yena, aren’t you tired?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“My mom says that people can’t always try hard. There’s a limit to human will, so when it’s time to rest you should rest or you’ll break. So today, let’s rest completely. People can’t always try hard.”

This kid was suddenly good at talking like that? The saying that kids grow up fast really was true.

“Yeah. Let’s rest today a little.”

“You’re so smart!”

With a bright smile at my answer, the kid took a chicken-flavored ramen from the shelf.

“Let’s eat this!”

“…”

I couldn’t eat spicy things well.

“Yena? Why’s your face like that? You said you could eat spicy things!”

“I did…”

Why had I boasted?

“Here, it’s ready! Let’s eat.”

While I was thinking, the ramen was finished, and that day I had no choice but to drink a full liter of milk.

#2

The piano academy I attended with Ha-jun wasn’t the only one. A girl named Seo A-rin in the same class was also going to the same piano academy as me.

“H-hello.”

“Yeah. Nice to meet you.”

But calling her “you” was the passive way I spoke.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Even in my previous life I hadn’t been like this.

‘Is it domestic violence?’

It seemed unlikely because I had been sent to a good piano academy and was wearing nice clothes.

“Let’s work hard together!”

“Yeah.”

She just seemed like a friend lacking confidence, like I used to be in my previous life.

*Hmm.*

It wasn’t like I needed to be concerned, but because she reminded me of my past self, I felt a little worried.

‘Ah. It’s not exactly the same. Her appearance is incomparable to my past self.’ ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ [Name: Seo A-rin]

Title: None

Appearance: A

Singing: D+

Gaming: D

Piano: C

Trait: I Can’t Do It, What Matters Is an Unbreakable Heart.

[I Can’t Do It: When there is no self-confidence, all stats drop by 2 levels. Active]

[What Matters Is an Unbreakable Heart: If the heart is not broken, stats rise by 2 levels. Active]

Thanks to the harmony of those two traits, there didn’t seem to be any dropped stats.

‘C rank.’

A C-rank piano skill meant amateur level, so this kid’s skill in the piano academy was probably unique even among first-graders.

The problem was that I had an EX-rank skill.

‘Well, there’s nothing I can do.’

I couldn’t apologize for each one. Even if I didn’t use the system, feeling sorry for raising stats with it would just be pretentious.

I would just do my best.

To leave no regrets.

#3

The day of the concert had arrived.

Since the concert was on the weekend, both Mom and Dad could attend.

“Yena, do your best!”

“Yeah.”

Receiving Ha-jun’s cheers, I headed to the waiting area with a serious expression.

At the waiting area I changed clothes, lined up according to the assigned number.

How long had I waited?

It was my turn.

*Whew~ let’s go.*

I had calmed myself down and stepped onto the stage.

Moving slowly while looking ahead, I saw countless lights and countless people.

It had intimidated me, but the moment hadn’t lasted long.

I knew. I had worked hard.

There’s a saying that people get nervous when they’ve only half-hearted effort. If they make no effort or give it their all, there’s no need to be nervous.

Applying that to me, I didn’t need to be nervous.

I had given it my all.

‘I am the best.’

If someone worked harder than me, they could take the prize. But if not, I would take it.

After sitting at the piano stool, I took a brief ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breath, placed both hands on the keys, and—

Suddenly the sound of a piano began to echo through the vast hall.

Slowly. But surely.

#4

Im Seong-deok stared at the stage with a bored expression.

‘Boring.’

He was a master in the Korean music world serving as a judge at this concert.

‘I took it as a hobby, but it’s way below even that.’

Since he had always seen only the best talent, watching elementary-school kids play couldn’t hold his interest.

As the concert moved from the beginning into the middle, a little girl had come up.

‘She’s so small.’

She was a tiny little girl. She looked like she had just entered first grade.

If that was all, he wouldn’t have been bothered. There were many kids like that here.

But this kid had one more thing besides being small.

She had an appearance beyond imagination.

‘If she looks like that, shouldn’t she be an actress instead of a pianist?’

He had seen beautiful people throughout his life, but this was at a level that made him gasp.

‘Of course right now it’s cuter than beautiful.’

But once her baby fat disappeared and her body grew, she would surely have an overwhelming appearance.

‘Should I ask her? Have you ever thought about becoming an actress?’

Im Seong-deok had connections with a director famous in the Korean film industry.

After a moment of thought, he decided. If this kid won a prize and came back on stage, he would offer her a suggestion at that time.

‘I’d rather not go find her myself.’

But personally, it seemed unlikely this kid would win.

‘She was born with beauty and plays piano too. The probability is low.’

Moreover, she was only a first-grader. She would probably just play a moderately difficult piece.

But.

That guess was shattered the moment Lee Yena touched the keys.

♪

‘Wait… what is this?’

The start was bright and light.

It felt like coming to a festival.

But soon after, the piece took on a different mood.

The bright atmosphere was still there, but there was a lonely feeling inside it.

It was like smiling while crying.

The melody was poetic and deeply emotional.

And this feeling made one think of childhood.

The pure days of Im Seong-deok. The memory of catching dragonflies in the back mountains with friends. Eating the rice his mom had made. The memory of overeating at his grandmother’s house during holidays.

It was a melody that forcibly pulled memories from the past.

‘Ah.’

The moment Im Seong-deok came back to his senses from the past.

The performance had ended.

Im Seong-deok looked around.

‘So that’s it.’

Everyone who had heard the piece—including himself—had dazed expressions.

Seeing those faces, he understood. They too had gone back to their past selves.

Im Seong-deok was speechless.

‘How can a first-grader play the piano like this?’

This wasn’t just good playing.

It was a performance that invited the listeners into a world he was playing.

Such performances weren’t possible just because you practiced a lot as you aged.

‘It’s talent.’

It was overwhelming talent.

‘No, a monster?’

The word “talent” didn’t even describe this kid’s performance.

‘I’ve found a gem.’

While Im Seong-deok was thinking, one clap rang out, and soon the entire hall followed.

Inside the clapping swamp, Lee Yena thought.

It seemed her performance had successfully moved people’s hearts.

***