My Sister's Story
Two days after I declared that I would help with my sister's practical performance evaluation at Seolhwa Arts High School.
When he heard that I had shown up at RT Entertainment without even being called, Kang Beom-jun came out to greet me with a puzzled expression.
He looked back and forth between me and my sister, who was standing right beside me, wearing an expression that said he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
No…
What kind of wild fantasy is this guy having?
While I was thinking that, he hurried over, threw an arm around my shoulders, and dragged me into a corner.
…….
That kind of guy or not, what exactly would’ve happened to my life if she wasn’t my biological sister?
It felt like I had cut him off for no reason.
Because of that, I wanted to ask him to finish what he was saying, but…
Kang Beom-jun suddenly turned his head and stared intently at my sister, who was standing alone.
Then he began muttering something, looking puzzled.
It seemed that with my hint, Kang Beom-jun had instantly figured out who my sister was.
Since she had been called a piano prodigy from a very young age, she was quite a well-known figure in the music world.
If she hadn’t stopped playing the piano for whatever reason, I’m certain her fame would have grown even greater.
Kang Beom-jun looked back and forth between me and my sister again as he spoke.
And then.
My sister, who had been listening to our conversation, spoke in a detached tone.
With a slightly bitter smile.
Ryu Se-a.
She was a girl who had made a name for herself in the piano world from the age of fourteen, hailed as a piano prodigy.
She had no rivals in international competitions, and winning prizes at overseas contests was practically a given.
And Ryu Se-a lived up to everyone’s expectations with her talent. She received rave reviews for playing the piano as beautifully as if a person were singing.
I thought that description suited her perfectly.
Having listened to my sister’s piano playing from the closest seat since childhood, I knew it all too well.
When you listen to my sister’s piano, your heart somehow grows warm. It has a charm that makes you want to keep listening.
In that sense, Ryu Se-a might have been something like a hero to me when I was young.
I remembered.
The sight of Ryu Se-a stepping onto the competition stage and playing the piano more confidently than anyone else.
She had never looked scared or nervous.
She simply enjoyed it…
My sister played the piano with a bright smile, as if she were meeting an old friend at the playground and playing excitedly.
Her appearance as she played—seemingly enjoying the act of performing itself—was something I was incredibly proud of.
I had hoped she would continue playing just like that and shake people’s hearts to the core.
If she had kept playing the piano, she would have easily fulfilled her little brother’s wish.
But that wish of mine was never fulfilled. More precisely, it could never be fulfilled.
In response to Kang Beom-jun’s question, Ryu Se-a gently stroked her right hand as she answered.
Even now, the traces of that day remained inside the right sleeve of Ryu Se-a’s clothes.
A scar that proved the accident that day had been far from minor.
Ryu Se-a spoke with a casual smile, as if it were no big deal.
But Kang Beom-jun couldn’t say anything in response to her words.
Even though the person involved was smiling, it was a story he simply couldn’t laugh at.
A girl’s brilliant talent…
had vanished from the world so utterly in vain.
The emptiness and desolation were impossible to put into words.
If even he, who was merely listening, felt this way, how must the person herself feel?
It was hard for him to imagine what emotions lay behind that smile.
Thanks to that, the atmosphere grew a little somber. And in that heavy air, someone spoke up.
It was me.
Wearing an indifferent expression, I quickly walked past Kang Beom-jun and headed back toward the recording studio.
Kang Beom-jun watched my retreating figure and let out a sigh.
Whoa… isn’t that a bit too much?
Kang Beom-jun was startled by Ryu Se-a’s remark.
But he knew very well that Ryu Won wasn’t the kind of kid who would ask such a question lightly.
And of course.
Ryu Se-a knew that fact all too well.
Two days earlier.
When Ryu Won declared that he would help her, Ryu Se-a had felt happy and a little excited.
But that feeling didn’t last very long.
It was because of her little brother’s questions.
When Ryu Se-a first heard those words, her eyes widened.
Because every single one of them was a sensitive question for her.
And the one who had asked—Ryu Won—showed no particular change in expression.
There was no hidden motive, no pity in his eyes.
Just a pure gaze that wanted a sincere answer from her. Simply to complete the song called Cantabile.
In truth, Ryu Se-a had expected this to some degree.
She knew that in order to work with her brother, she would have to reveal the feelings she had been suppressing.
So…
With a slightly bitter smile, Ryu Se-a began to tell her story.
The reason she had started playing the piano was simple.
It was thanks to the toy piano her parents had given her as a birthday present when she was about four years old.
It might sound like a joke, but that could have been the moment a young girl’s life changed forever.
Ryu Se-a described that moment as meeting her first friend in life, and she had stayed with that precious friend called the piano until she turned fourteen.
And the farewell came very suddenly.
To Ryu Se-a, the piano might have been both a friend and a kind of ‘play.’
Like playing hide-and-seek or tag with friends.
That’s why she found playing the piano so enjoyable. Moreover, when she saw people’s surprised reactions to her performance, she would smile without even realizing it—she was that happy.
But the moment she realized those times would never come again, something new began to fill the emptiness inside her.
She agonized over it and came to an answer.
The answer was that it was impossible.
Who could accept being suddenly separated from a friend they had spent their entire life with, regardless of what their heart wanted?
But Ryu Se-a had no other choice.
Somehow, she had to accept that sudden, painful farewell.
─Hmm… Then should I play just a little of the accompaniment for a song I secretly composed?
That is, until the day she heard the melody of a certain song that Ryu Won played for her.
Ryu Won gave a wry smile.
He had never truly tried to copy her.
He had simply learned the piano as his sister from another timeline had instructed, and at the end of it all, he had only seen her satisfied smile.
Perhaps…
his sister had found the sound she had lost through his playing?
─Still, it feels a little relieving.
That was what she had said, and it seemed to connect a little after all…
While Ryu Won was making that assumption, Ryu Se-a continued.
At the same time, she became certain.
That if it was this song that contained her piano sound, she would definitely be able to sing it on stage with a joyful heart.
That was why she began singing, and for a while she devoted herself solely to singing, just like when she played the piano.
Probably because the kid sitting in front of her had ridiculously high standards when it came to ears.
Going to Seolhwa Arts High School was largely because she wanted to test her skills.
The moment she proudly took the top spot among outstanding students, her confidence skyrocketed as well.
Ryu Se-a wore a faint smile, as if she felt a little lighter inside.
Then she looked at the person who had made her tell her story and said this.
At his brazen sister’s words, Ryu Won let out a small chuckle.
It was so typical of her.
And in response to Ryu Se-a’s words, Ryu Won replied like this.
Yes. More than enough for something that was only going to be used in a school performance evaluation.