Chapter 35
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Perfect Mistake (3)
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With the faint lingering echo of the bass guitar releasing the plucked string, the three consecutive performances came to an end.
Immersed in the playing, my head snapped up from where it had been buried over the keys. My vision filled with waves of eyes brimming with excitement.
"Wooooah!"
"Insane, I was totally lost in it."
"Gonna do another one later?"
"Isn't she an actress? How's she this good?"
"She looks like a real high schooler, though..."
The fragmented reactions and cheers from the crowd left my ears ringing.
I exhaled deeply from my inflated lungs, curling my lips into a grin. And I soaked in the pouring praise with my whole body.
Seeing the thrilled audience doubled the fulfillment of performing.
'Ah, this is fun.'
So that's why people suddenly busk on the street. It had a charm completely different from a formal concert hall—and I quite liked it.
Once some time passed, the stiff tension washed away like it had never been there. From then on, my bold performance flowed without a hitch.
I'd shown everything I could.
"Piano!"
In the noisy gap, the bass guitarist uncle looked at me and flashed a thumbs-up.
Thanks to him, I'd snapped out of it and kept playing with overflowing confidence. I'd even picked up a crucial hint on techniques to cover mistakes.
"It turned out just like we talked about, right? You were awesome today. It was fun jamming with you after so long."
"Nah, it was thanks to you guys."
I returned a faint smile to the uncle. The other session musicians showered me with praise too, leaving me a bit embarrassed.
"Student!"
The man who'd guided me here had approached before I knew it. His eyes quickly scanned down to my chest.
"No, wait—not that. You're Do-hyun, right? Yeah, Do-hyun."
The man fidgeted, fumbling with his words like he wasn't sure what to say.
"You're really a freshman?"
"Yes, the first-year name tag is white this year."
"You said you'd never tried jazz piano? Were you just being modest?"
"No, it's true. I'd only listened to it a bit."
The man, who wore a strange expression, cleared his throat as if embarrassed by his earlier excitement.
"Even if I try to accept that, it's honestly hard to believe—but now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I can't argue."
He continued with a smile.
"We should've recorded this on video, huh?"
"Totally."
I'd assumed busking bands usually ran YouTube channels, but apparently not this one.
With a gaze mixing relief and wonder, the man thrust out his right hand in front of me.
"Time to do the closing remarks. Hope we can do this again sometime. Next time, duo piano—how about it?"
"Sure, it was fun for me too. And helpful."
"Helpful?"
"Something like that."
I clasped his hand and shook it up and down a few times before stepping down from the performance area.
Having poured out so much energy, I felt a little tired. As I scanned around for my friends, a loud call rang out.
"Do-hyun!"
I whipped my head around, thinking it was Lee Seong-hyuk—only to see Senior Jin-seong greeting me instead.
The senior was gesturing animatedly with an intensely worked-up expression.
'Why's he here?'
Glancing behind him, I spotted a flashing camera and Broadcasting Club Senior So-hee there too.
Had they just filmed the performance? If so, how did they know I was here?
"...This situation doesn't quite make sense to me."
"Hey, that's what I want to ask you! Why are you suddenly popping up here?"
From his reaction, it seemed like pure coincidence. What impeccable timing.
The senior grabbed my shoulders with both hands and stamped his feet impatiently. He looked urgent all over.
"I just stepped out for a quick bite and saw you busking."
"Our ace can't have his face out there like this. Your market value's too high."
I wanted to ask when I'd become his ace, but his frantic gestures didn't leave room for it.
"Why are you in such a rush, senior?"
"Ah, good point. Got it, we'll talk later. I'll text you!"
The senior patted my shoulders, hastily wrapping up the conversation before darting off toward the stage.
Following his path with my eyes, I saw him approaching the man doing the closing remarks.
"Haha..."
Senior So-hee, fumbling to pack up the camera, gave me an awkward smile. They'd filmed on the sly, so it probably wasn't the most confident picture for them.
"I heard it too, Do-hyun. Nice."
"Ah, yeah... We keep running into each other in places like this."
After exchanging sheepish glances and nods with Senior So-hee, I headed off to find my group.
Just then, I spotted the kids waiting for me at the edge of the crowd. I waved lazily and recounted the recent events.
"Did you see? Our school's broadcasting club seniors were here..."
I threw in some bewilderment, but the reactions from the guys staring at me were a bit off. They all wore dazed expressions, not saying a word.
"Why's everyone so quiet?"
"How'd you pull that off?"
Lee Ha-yeon reacted first, closing the distance and grabbing my sleeve with determined eyes.
It was a somewhat aggressive side of her I'd never seen.
"Pull what off?"
"Ah, yeah, no—sorry."
She let go of my collar and stepped back. The way she subtly tilted her head down and averted her gaze felt nuanced.
"...Nothing."
"Class rep! You can play jazz piano too? When did you practice that?"
Right on cue, Kim Ju-hee poked her head in. She was armed to the teeth with her usual fussiness, firing off questions like a machine gun.
"No, I haven't practiced it separately."
"I can barely play pop songs when I'm in classical mode... It was amazing, like a mix of classical and jazz?"
"Those uncles were unreal. No matter what I did, they matched it perfectly."
"Hmm...!"
Kim Ju-hee propped her chin on her V-sign hand and stared at me intently.
"Why'd you improve so much lately? Eating something weird?"
"Don't treat me like a drug addict."
"What're you saying... Anyway, now I gotta work harder because of you."
She seemed pretty sensitive to outside stimuli upon reflection. Good that it motivated her.
I chuckled and waved it off.
"Isn't working harder just obvious? Last time we practiced concerto together, you..."
"Ahh, look at this! More boring talk!"
"Truth is supposed to be boring."
"What am I even gonna say to you."
Kim Ju-hee stuck out her tongue sulkily and turned to walk ahead with Lee Ha-yeon.
It was getting late enough that dawdling might make us tardy. I hurried off with Lee Seong-hyuk.
"Hey, Do-hyun."
As the school building came into view, Lee Seong-hyuk, who'd been quiet for a while, nudged my shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"You think I pushed you into it knowing it'd turn out like this?"
"..."
Participating in the busking had definitely helped a ton in the end, but seeing him smug made me inexplicably irritated.
"If I'd tripped and hurt a finger, I'd curse you for life."
"Nah, your reflexes were solid."
Lee Seong-hyuk snickered, cradling the back of his head with clasped hands.
"I'll push gentler next time."
"So you're still pushing."
"From what I saw, you're strong with surprise events. Let's hit up more like that."
"Not your business, huh."
The moon had risen brightly before I knew it. I gazed at it, lost in thought for a moment.
'Still feels surreal... but I'm glad I did the busking.'
Acting once beat racking my brain for a hundred days.
After one proper concerto run, my goals sharpened.
A decisive hint for concerto. And how I could shine as a solo instrument.
All that remained was pondering how to apply them to the second evaluation.
Late at night, in the quiet broadcasting club editing room.
The only sound was the whir of the CPU cooling fan.
This one's kinda boring.
Central Arts High's web drama is killing it lately.
Central's legit lol. How are all their acting kids so pretty and handsome?
Skip the dance no one gets and just do music and kids...
Myeong-seong's music stuff is more fun than Ye-rim's.
Ye-rim has way better actual skills and output tho?
So why the 5x sub gap? Lol
If you're jealous, prove it with views
"Myeong-seong this, Central that... Ugh, pisses me off."
Lee Jin-seong slammed the mouse down roughly as he checked the comments on their latest upload. His eyes ached a bit from staring at the monitor so closely.
"Jin-seong, since you joined the club, we've escaped last place in subscribers. No need to stress already, right?"
"That's just because Ye-rim Arts High focuses on fine arts and ignores YouTube... "
Lee Jin-seong slumped back in his chair, slowly kneading his trapezius muscles.
Ye-rim Arts High was, by all measures, Korea's top arts high school. The one downside? Its public image wasn't exactly approachable.
And amid that, Myeong-seong Arts High's YouTube channel—hot on Ye-rim's heels—exploded in popularity.
Ye-rim tried ramping up their own channel in response, but it had been two years with little to show.
The initiative started to shake off the stuffy academic vibe. That's why the broadcasting club got hefty budget and autonomy.
Lee Jin-seong earned recognition at the right time and took on a key role right as a sophomore.
He'd poured effort into making Ye-rim number one online too.
'...The problem is how damn tough the task is.'
Chasing Myeong-seong's channel, backed by a thick fanbase, wasn't easy. Even second-place Central Arts High was soaring on their acting department.
Ye-rim's channel lacked a clear direction, amplifying the struggles.
"I hate the idea of promoting the school based on YouTube instead of skills from the start. What even is that?"
"Look at our facilities, how fun it is, how many talents we have. Super efficient, right?"
Jeong Da-eun, who'd quietly sat beside Lee Jin-seong at some point, twirled her hair boredly as she spoke.
"Whatever happens to our channel, who cares. I'm more curious about Do-hyun's answer."
"Keep that to yourself."
"Oops, my bad."
Right—the breakthrough to salvage this failed upload.
Kwon Do-hyun's busking performance, the supernova Lee Jin-seong had scouted.
Permission from the busking band was already secured. Only Do-hyun's approval remained.
Just then, Lee Jin-seong's phone on the table buzzed briefly. The two students' eyes flicked to the screen.
"It's here."
"Do-hyun!"
Lee Jin-seong shushed the oddly excited Jeong Da-eun and put a finger to his lips.
"Hey, Do-hyun. Given it some thought?"
[Yeah, shouldn't be a problem.]
"Shouldn't?"
[...Lots of people will see it, right?]
"Obviously. I'm pouring my soul into editing it."
Lee Jin-seong nodded confidently.
[Yeah, can't be helped. Go ahead and upload.]
"That's the spirit! This is gonna ride the algorithm and blow up... What's 'can't be helped'? Good views are great."
The freshman orientation content had done decently. Busking was even more accessible, so Lee Jin-seong's expectations swelled naturally.
After a pause, Kwon Do-hyun replied flatly.
[Nah, it's nothing. Gotta head back to practice anyway.]
"Right, your exam's soon? Practice hard. Let's catch up later. Thanks a ton!"
The call ended, and Lee Jin-seong pumped his fist in the air, still clutching the phone.
"Okay, okay...! Just need to edit now. Gonna pull an all-nighter."
"He said it's fine even with him in it?"
"Yeah, a bit iffy but he approved."
"Iffy how?"
Lee Jin-seong tilted his head at Jeong Da-eun's question but brushed it off.
"Dunno, his vibe was lukewarm. Probably tired."
"Anyway, awesome!"
Jeong Da-eun had a keen eye for this stuff. She often helped with editing.
Before diving in, the two decided to watch the full busking footage first.
"Even in the chaos, I grabbed three angles including Se-hee's phone. Insane, right?"
"Shh, starting."
"...Whoa."
The crystal-clear video played. Kwon Do-hyun, calmly absorbing the session's backing, began performing.
'He's the real deal. Wasn't seeing things.'
Arms crossed, Lee Jin-seong inwardly marveled.
Kwon Do-hyun had a unique appeal setting him apart from other students. A distinct tone you had to hear to believe—not just hear about. Like he had his own brand of piano.
"Ah... Hilarious."
Suddenly, Jeong Da-eun, who let out a soft chuckle, hit the spacebar to pause.
"What?"
"You didn't catch Do-hyun's mistake just now."
"He messed up?"
"Zoom on the session here, add subtitles praising the band. Keep eyes off the piano then. Note it down."
"Got it."
Jeong Da-eun was spot-on with music. Lee Jin-seong jotted it without complaint.
The video rolled on.
Her usual bright, nonchalant vibe gone, Jeong Da-eun stared piercingly at the monitor with sharp eyes. She occasionally muttered "Ah, like that" and nodded.
"Hmm... Three songs straight, huh."
"Killed it. Even watching live, I was just amazed."
"Jealous. Wanna see it in person."
"Crowd reactions were great too. Good thing I filmed them."
The video finally ended.
Bobbing her crossed legs, Jeong Da-eun pondered briefly. Half-lidded, she adjusted her glasses and beckoned Lee Jin-seong.
"Send that video to me on Kakao."
"Too big, uploaded to Drive. Link later."
"Anyway, do that... and let's edit tomorrow. Or maybe the day after."
"What? Suddenly?"
Ignoring Lee Jin-seong's fluster, Jeong Da-eun stood and stretched languidly. Brushing back her hair, her eyes gleamed under the fluorescent lights.
"Can't analyze it all tonight. Suddenly beat."