Chapter 18
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Sketch (3)
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“You must be really confident.”
Kim Ju-hee, who had been slouching in her chair, shot me a glance before turning her eyes toward the window outside.
“No need to compare them directly... Instead, let’s do it this way.”
Kim Ju-hee stood up from her seat and made her proposal.
First, I’d play the piece I picked. If two or more people objected, we’d switch to her choice.
“Sure, why not.”
That was my answer, but I knew there wouldn’t be any chance to play her Haydn sonata.
I was certain of it.
The instincts of a listener with over a decade of experience were telling me this was hands-down the best choice.
“Do you guys have sheet music?”
“Of course not.”
“Come on, who uses paper scores these days?”
Lee Ha-yeon’s shoulders twitched at that. Yesterday, I’d seen her binder stuffed with sheet music inserts—it was ridiculously thick.
“Alright, let’s pull it up on the tablets for now, and grab paper copies later.”
Two tablets were placed on the music stands of each piano, and the empty keyboards came into view.
Four performers, two pianos.
The odd-numbered turns and even-numbered ones could share the same piano.
“Shall we listen to the music first?”
Chopin Waltz Op.18 No.1.
A quick search brought up recordings from various performers in a row.
Chopin had no shortage of specialists, but my favorite pianist was still Grandpa Rubinstein.
‘That carefree boldness brings out the piano’s true charm.’
I found Rubinstein’s recording and hit play right away. It was an old one, but the sound quality held up nicely.
“Whoa, that guy’s nose is huge.”
“It is big, but... don’t look at his face—listen to the music.”
The noble melody began with light, knocking-door-like taps. Closing my eyes and immersing myself, I felt dazed for a moment, like I’d slipped into another world.
Snapping back to focus, I followed along with the score and dove deep into the performance.
‘It starts waltz-like—bright and lively in the intro.’
Without taking my eyes off the score, I imagined overlaying the sounds of our four group members onto the staff.
Who would blend best with this section? The opening had to plant a strong first impression, declaring, This is the music we’ll deliver.
“Lee Seong-hyuk should go first.”
“I like that idea too.”
Sure enough, Lee Seong-hyuk’s touch was perfect for this vibe.
The music continued flowing into my ears.
I skimmed the score, mostly ignoring harmony details or techniques. I wasn’t equipped for that analytical view anyway, and it wasn’t needed now.
All I had to do was slot in instruments—or rather, our group members’ sounds—that matched the wave-like phrases rising and falling.
“Bar 70, start with mezzo-forte here—that’s where you come in, Ju-hee.”
“Right into the repeat sign. Got it.”
About a minute in, the mood of the piece shifted smoothly.
Kim Ju-hee’s tone was needed to softly envelop Lee Seong-hyuk’s spirited opening shot.
‘Naturally, I’ll follow her, and Lee Ha-yeon can close it out.’
Stitching the four parts together in my head painted a pretty solid picture.
Everyone’s charms shone through, with good pacing, balance, and timing.
“I’ve marked the order on the scores already. Let’s give it a try.”
Now it was time to test the vision in reality.
All group members took their places at the pianos.
Lee Seong-hyuk was up first. I sat beside him and reset the tablet’s score to the beginning.
“Don’t stop if you mess up.”
“Ju-hee, time your entrance carefully too.”
Matching the beat I counted off, Lee Seong-hyuk took a light breath and tapped the keys.
A promising start. As expected, this crisp intro suited him perfectly.
It was sight-reading, so I ignored minor slips and focused on the overall sound mass.
‘The left hand’s independent here, so it comes off a bit clumsy.’
I jotted mental notes on issues to address as I turned the page.
The early section passed without major hitches, and Kim Ju-hee’s turn approached.
“One, two—.”
Lee Ha-yeon counted the beat, and at the same moment, Kim Ju-hee placed her hands on the keys.
Time to catch that lively energy and soften it plushly.
Or so it should have been.
‘The timing’s a bit late.’
The transition from the intro wasn’t smooth.
I’d half-expected that. It was our first run-through together; perfection would’ve been weirder.
‘What’s this?’
But as the performance went on, a nagging doubt crept in.
Frowning, I quickly reached a conclusion.
Kim Ju-hee wasn’t delivering the level I’d expected.
Back during the class placement exam, I remembered her faint, pleasant aftertaste of a voice...
‘Now it’s got a slightly off flavor.’
Rough? Stiff? Anyway, it didn’t mesh with the part assigned to her.
If it was just nerves, that’d be a relief.
“Your turn soon.”
Lee Seong-hyuk nudged me out of my daze.
Better to analyze problems after the full run.
For now, I’d play safely, blending in without sticking out—just keeping the flow.
Stripping it down to basics made it easier to spot what to add later.
My deliberately plain, textbook performance ended in a flash—maybe too plain.
Then—bam!—Lee Ha-yeon’s entry shook the room with forte and staccato blasts. My eyes snapped wide.
Her sharp, unhesitating drive was impressive. Naturally, my gaze locked onto her at the other piano.
‘...Her power’s no joke.’
Sight-reading yet holding speed without faltering anywhere—that stood out.
No room for second thoughts; I found myself swept into Lee Ha-yeon’s playing.
‘Why’s she this good?’
A helpless sigh escaped me moments later.
After it ended, listening to the full recording made it hard to hide my unease.
“I get why you picked the waltz. It fits our characters well. I’m for it.”
“Oh... As expected of the leader. Yeah, ditch Haydn. I’m in too.”
“Yeah, I liked it.”
As they shared quick impressions, I stayed silent, brows furrowed.
‘Two problems...’
First, Kim Ju-hee hadn’t produced the tone suited to her part—or at least, not the vibe I’d envisioned. It felt mismatched.
Second, Lee Ha-yeon’s performance was too perfect.
Her finale alone could swallow the presence of the first three entirely.
What was the point of pacing control? It turned the rest of us into mere accompanists for her solo finish.
“Hey, it’s all good, but... don’t I stick out a bit?”
Right on cue, Kim Ju-hee spoke up, twirling her hair around her finger and hesitating. She’d noticed her own lack of harmony.
Sticking out was spot-on. The bridge meant to link the music smoothly hadn’t done its job.
“It wasn’t that off.”
“Like, rushed? Ugh, it’s kinda embarrassing...”
“It’s our first time. We’ll keep practicing.”
I watched Kim Ju-hee chat with Lee Seong-hyuk, lost in thought.
‘So what do we do about that.’
Lee Ha-yeon’s part wasn’t really a problem—leave it be.
Good playing was good. Couldn’t tell her to play worse on purpose.
‘Boost organic flow in the first three, highlight everyone’s strengths more...’
The puzzle boiled down to the other three besides Lee Ha-yeon.
If Kim Ju-hee’s issue wasn’t chronic, recapturing that placement exam feel was the key.
I didn’t know how yet... but trial and error should work it out.
‘Maybe she’s a pressure performer, or something happened after the exam?’
They say pianos reflect personality.
Couldn’t rule out some personal issue disrupting her playing.
“What’re you staring at?”
Kim Ju-hee whipped her head toward me, noticing my intense gaze.
I met her brown eyes steadily and spoke.
“Who’d you fight with?”
Her pupils dilated sharply.
“Fight? With who?”
“Just a hunch.”
“Ah... Jeong Hye-won? That’s why? I was gonna shut her up by winning this time.”
Jeong Hye-won. At the name, her brows snapped tight, eyes narrowing fiercely.
Come to think of it, I recalled her and Seo Ye-ri trading barbed words, bristling at each other.
‘That’s gotta be factoring in somehow.’
She’d emphasized beating Jeong Hye-won in this eval.
As I mulled it over, Kim Ju-hee suddenly jumped up in a huff.
“What’s up all of a sudden?”
“Ye-ri—!”
Ye-ri? Why was Seo Ye-ri here?
I turned toward the door, spotting Seo Ye-ri grinning through the glass.
Kim Ju-hee flung it open and pulled her into a bear hug.
“Eek, I just came to visit... Can I come in? Ju-hee, can’t... breathe...”
With her cheek squished against Kim Ju-hee’s shoulder, Seo Ye-ri held up a white plastic bag.
Drinks, probably. Visits like this were always welcome.
“Missed me? Huh? Admit it!”
“Y-yeah, let me set this down first...”
Freed from Kim Ju-hee at last, Seo Ye-ri smoothed her tousled hair and walked over.
In that instant, it hit me—I hurriedly covered the tablet on the music stand.
“What’re you doing?”
“...Felt like I should.”
Everyone did the pre-exam sabotage thing, right...?
Sheepish, I accepted the canned drink.
“Didn’t know what Ha-yeon likes, so I got green tea. New bottle size.”
“Oh, green tea. Thanks.”
“Why’d I get Picnic?! Cheapest one!”
“I always buy yours anyway.”
“True, but...”
Amid Seo Ye-ri and Kim Ju-hee’s bickering, Lee Ha-yeon fumbled for her wallet in a panic.
“No, it’s fine! I just got allowance.”
“Still...”
“I said it’s okay~.”
Seo Ye-ri hugged Lee Ha-yeon from behind with a cutesy grin, squishing her cheeks playfully. A familiar sight.
“Eek, get off!”
“Our Ha-yeon’s too cute.”
“Ye-ri, I...”
Lee Ha-yeon flailed weakly to escape, but ended up resigned in Seo Ye-ri’s grasp—another familiar face.
‘She said Seo Ye-ri was her best friend. Not just talk.’
Lee Ha-yeon showing big reactions like this was rare. Filed away for later.
Sipping my cider, I eyed Seo Ye-ri and asked.
“Thanks for the drinks, but you’re not just here to hang, right?”
“Ahh, caught again.”
Seo Ye-ri, pinching Lee Ha-yeon’s cheek between thumb and forefinger, flashed an awkward smile.
She sat down, cleared her throat, adjusted her glasses—looking downright serious.
“Actually, got something to tell you. Special, since Ju-hee and Ha-yeon are here.”
Her confident expression drew all eyes to her lips.
“Just ran into Teacher Se-hee outside the office.”
“That Class A woman from yesterday?”
“Yeah. She said if you blatantly mooch off one person, they’ll dock major points.”
Blatantly mooch off one?
What about Baek Ji-ho’s group then?
“Anyone know who Baek Ji-ho grouped with? Any standouts?”
“Not that I know of.”
Lee Seong-hyuk shrugged.
Thinking about it, Myeong Woo-bin and Seol Yu-jin’s groups were similar.
No disasters where school-top geniuses teamed up.
‘We picked a piece careful not to lean on anyone too much, right?’
Highlighting individual charms into one flow, high polish. That’s what we’d aimed for.
‘Does that mean we could aim for first...?’
Lost in rosy daydreams, a recording from just before Seo Ye-ri arrived flashed back.
The one swept away by Lee Ha-yeon’s tidal finale, erasing the first three performers...
Our group’s performance.