Chapter 29
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Whether Intentional or Not (2)
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"Small auditorium room 101... Here it is."
This building was for chamber music or small orchestra performances. There were six halls in total, and it seemed Younge had reserved one ahead of time.
With a creak, the heavy door swung open, and my eyes widened. They hadn't skimped even on a small hall. Every time I noticed these little details, my affection for the place grew.
"Hey, you know Jeong Su-bin from the dance department? I got introduced, and damn, she's gorgeous. Check her profile pic."
"Too much filter."
"I went to Myeongdong with my bro last time, and there was nothing to do."
"But going to Sinchon every time gets old."
"Don't you think they do stuff at Ye-rim that they never did at Ye-won now that we're here?"
"No idea. The teachers are brutal. Should've just gone to Myeong-seong."
What was with all the noise?
Now I understood why Teacher Choi Je-hun always looked exhausted when he entered the classroom.
No one paid me any mind, so I found a seat and quietly observed the energetic high schoolers.
It's like a total playground. Can they even practice like this?
No familiar faces in sight, so probably no future stars here.
Even in the future, domestic orchestras got flak for weak brass sections due to a lack of talent. Most who made it went abroad, and even I focused on guest foreign players during local performances.
Can't expect much from these guys.
Just as I started missing my quiet piano department friends, one of the loudmouths stood and clapped sharply.
"Let's practice now. Everyone's here, right?"
He must be the leader. Checking my watch, we were 15 minutes past the gathering time.
Up on the podium, I spotted two piano kids from Class A I'd seen around. They gave awkward nods and stood back from their assigned instruments.
"Piano from Jae-beom first?"
"Yeah. I'll go first—follow my lead."
"Shut up, you suck!"
Laughing and joking, they all seemed tight-knit. I smacked my lips and scanned the setup again.
Strings in five parts, brass, woodwinds same as usual, but only one timpani in percussion. No conductor.
With the pianist, just over a dozen players—a small ensemble.
The pianist sat, took a deep breath, and the group quieted.
"Two, three..."
The performance began.
Intense timpani kicked off, strings layered in, woodwinds lively in between.
Sight-reading basically, but the piano's holding up.
I nodded slowly during explosive phrases. So this was freshman orchestra level—still a bit raw.
That trumpet guy who'd grabbed attention earlier shone brightest.
Piano needs to build with the others here for balance. Note that.
I'd never watched a concerto this close up. Novel sensations—I memorized every detail.
Gathering references from practice was key since the assigned piece was arranged, hard to match with standard recordings.
Eyeing piano score and full score, I simulated meshing my playing with the orchestra nonstop.
They're syncing better after a few runs.
How many repeats later?
My fingers itched. They'd dragged me here but only let those two piano guys play. Not tired?
"Alright, my turn now..."
"Hold up, I haven't played yet. Me this time."
I grabbed the arm of the guy heading to the piano from waiting like me. Eyes turned our way from the instruments.
"Oh yeah, that guy's here too. Right, practicing only with our crew gets us too comfy—no exam prep."
The trumpet guy grinned.
That was the point of mixing me in, but acting like he just realized was kinda funny.
I sat at the piano, placed the score on the stand.
"Hey, kid, regular middle school grad, right?"
Scanning the score calmly, a cocky voice came from the side.
"Yeah, not ragging on you or anything. Just leave practice to us. We'll handle it."
Brass-like hair, hugging a horn—a woodwind guy? Wait, horn player.
"Hey, hey, he got 1st in last eval. Beat Baek Ji-ho."
"What? No way... Baek Ji-ho?"
"And teamed with Lee Ha-yeon."
"Damn, jealous. How'd you group with her? Friends? Gimme her number?"
"Crazy, chill."
They chattered and laughed among themselves. Fine, whatever.
I kept reading the full score.
"Pray you're with us on exam day. We'll bus you like Lee Ha-yeon."
"Ooh, cocky much?"
Hmm, entrance ceremony specials showed some skilled freshman brass. Like Kim Ga-eul.
Hope not grouped with these guys.
"Lee Ha-yeon's cute too. Piano girls got that vibe overall. Even this regular kid's alright."
"Jae-beom's ugly though."
"Heh, he's the mutant."
They kept yapping instead of playing, so I tinkled the keys to grab attention.
"Not playing?"
"Yeah, let's. Focus up, guys."
Trumpet spoke, and they snapped to ready. Weird how they obeyed him.
I took a breath, hit the keys on timpani cue.
Good, smooth start.
Thanks to yesterday's group practice. Flute traded melodies fluidly.
After piano's short solo, the mood swelled into crashing waves.
All instruments sang together—then...
...What?
A grating noise burrowed in my ears. A pitch not in this piece.
Quick think: definitely horn.
Horn's prone to squeaks. Pros mess up too.
Lee Ha-yeon's advice echoed: orchestra mistakes happen often, stand out, handle calmly.
I kept steady.
...But errors kept coming. Half-beat off now, even rhythm slipping.
Something off. With the other Class A pianist, horn wasn't noticeable. Why only my turn?
"Hold on, stop."
I dropped hands from keys, sighed.
Students startled, a few squeaks, then silence.
"What the hell?"
"Dunno."
"What's up?"
Amid questions, the pale horn guy scowled openly.
"What're you doing? We barely booked the hall—wasting practice time?"
"Calm down. Do-hoon, right? Why'd you stop?"
Trumpet seemed reasonable, so I ignored horn.
"Your buddy's messing up on purpose, seems like."
"On purpose?"
Instruments buzzed.
"Horn messed up?"
"Dunno, didn't notice."
"Just nitpicking?"
"Nah..."
Horn jumped up, eyebrows furrowed.
"Hey, who're you to bitch? Yeah, I erred—big music expert?"
I stared blankly at raging horn.
"Tell me where I screwed up. Regular school, first time seeing horn up close? You confused?"
Oh no, unaware of his own mistake?
No recording—if just unskilled, he'd ignore criticism.
"Hey, Choi Sang-woo."
Trumpet yanked horn's wrist, plopped him down. Voice low.
"You messed up. I heard it."
"C'mon, that was minor, skip it..."
Horn deflated; kids murmured behind.
"He really blew it."
"You hear?"
"No clue still."
"Why's he mad?"
"Overreaction hilarious..."
Trumpet scratched head with friendly smile.
"Sorry, Do-hoon. Right next to it, caught the bits. Calling it intentional bugged him."
Choi Sang-woo turned away, clicked tongue, waved dismissively.
"Fine, real mistake then. Restart."
"Hey, if real, you apologize—!"
"Drop it, Choi Sang-woo."
Kids are exhausting. I shrugged it off, refocused.
After calling out horn, no more skipping my turns. Rotated steadily with the other pianists.
"Ugh, wiped..."
Five minutes before hall closing, practice wrapped.
I slumped in a seat, sighed deep. Dealing with kids was laughable, not tiring—but concerto drained energy.
Worrying my playing, hearing orchestra, balancing overall—no breather.
Today's full of takeaways.
Negative ones, though. Counter-lessons to build on.
Instruments played separately overall. Teams assigned exam eve, so hurdle on the day.
One day to sync? Too much.
Real issue: no conductor.
No focal point.
Conductor would steady breaths, but without, everyone fixates on their part.
Couldn't fudge like first eval—too many instruments.
Everyone's dealing with this.
How're others handling? What should I do?
Wish for expert advice...
Zoned out at lights, someone approached.
"Do-hoon."
The trumpet guy, mild face. A bit edgy but warm vibe.
"Yeah."
Straightened up; he stuck out hand.
"Sorry about earlier. Friend's hot-headed. Apologizing for him."
"No biggie. And it's Kwon Do-hyun. Not Do-hoon."
"Got it? Really sorry. I'm Lee Hyo-seong."
Yeah, more practice ahead—better no hard feelings. Shook.
"Honestly, piano needs more work. Arrogant?"
"...Nah, true."
Nothing to say.
Got score yesterday—play perfectly today? Back half loses steam inevitably.
Maddening ghosts like Baek Ji-ho, Lee Ha-yeon could.
"Catch you later. Others'll clean."
Watched Lee Hyo-seong leave, then I stood.
Shuffled out slow; whispers from alley by auditorium.
"Hey, why? Real mistake."
"You only err during Do-hoon's piano part?"
"Timing too perfect, huh."
Familiar voices—heard more than instruments in practice.
"...Ease up. Others practicing too."
"Fine. Didn't think he'd notice right away."
"How'd you do it?"
"Delayed breath, loose fingers. But he didn't flinch at all."
"Spotted that from piano?"
"Dunno... freaky. Attitude sucks too."
Obvious without seeing.
Kept walking, texted Lee Seong-hyuk about lunch.
"Where's practice today? Same spot? 101?"
Next day, I asked the shy girl who'd invited me. She dodged eyes, mumbled.
"What? Can't hear."
"Um... can't just practice with same group..."
Random teams exam eve—repeating lowers efficiency.
"Yeah."
"Agreed rotating pianists better..."
"Makes sense."
"So... sorry..."
Sorry? Why suddenly?
Three seconds pondering—got it.
"I'm not in the group?"
"...Sorry, really."
Ditched like a duckling on the Nakdong.
Tsked, patted her shoulder.
"Hey, it's cool. Not your fault. Thanks for telling."
Might as well solo weekend practice, scout teams later.
Need skill to fit anywhere, especially back-half climax.
Fix yesterday's issues too.
If solutions, hoard till team lock, slip to members.
"Hey, reject!"
Lee Seong-hyuk nearby, giggling.
"Party kicked?"
"Yep."
"Help team hunt?"
Waved notebook, smirking.
"Nah, solo weekend."
"Ye-won guys scary."
Sneered admiringly, shook head, sat eyeing me.
"Hey, that thing yesterday."
"What."
"Orchestra center, syncing worries."
"Yeah, pondering that."
"Just ask."
Blinked at me. I shot back confused.
"Who, teacher? No exam tips."
"Nah, our sunbae."
"Sunbae? Ours?"
"That Dae-eun sunbae at instrument storage, 2nd-year horn topper?"