Chapter 50
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Even Now, Calling It Evidence (6)
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“Cold……”
Lee Ha-yeon, who had just entered the practice room, rubbed her arms.
It got a bit chilly once the sun went down. Just in case, I handed her the school uniform jacket I'd brought along. If I turned on the radiator, I'd be the one sweating to death.
“You'll get hot playing the piano anyway. Just take it off then.”
“Ah, okay.”
She took the jacket and draped it over her shoulders like a cape, clutching the front closed with both hands. She was so slender that my jacket had a bit of extra room on her.
Her eyes, peeking out from the collar, looked a little dazed as she gazed at me.
She's really pretty, I thought anew.
I wasn't sure if it was okay to say something like that to someone, but she truly had an utterly harmless appearance.
“By the way, what was up with the theory teacher earlier?”
“Beats me, I have no idea.”
I shrugged. I really had no clue.
The teacher had read my exam paper expressionlessly until the bell rang, then left the classroom without a word of greeting.
I didn't have telepathy, so I had no idea if that was a good thing or not.
“So, how are you planning to practice? You said you needed help.”
“Yeah, I should explain that first. Remember when I ran into Teacher Han Yong-seong at Home Base last time?”
I briefly explained the lesson and homework I'd gotten from the teacher, along with the concerns I'd gathered from asking the other kids.
“I'm gonna try playing it first. I've prepared a few interpretations.”
“That coda's pretty tough, though.”
“……That's why I'm asking you to focus just on the differences in interpretation. I'm still too embarrassed to play it for anyone else. You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, got it. I'll hold back.”
Hold back on what?
Was she planning to laugh at me?
Has this girl ever been embarrassed by her own playing in public? No wonder she can't relate.
Genius types were all like this…….
I gave Lee Ha-yeon a dubious look before placing my hands on the keys.
Three interpretations in total. The ones I'd categorized last week.
To sum it up: explosive, standard, stable.
When I'd tested them out a few times, the explosive one suited my taste best. It also seemed to align most with Chopin's compositional intent, given the flow of the piece.
A non-stop, racehorse-like performance had the drawback of losing interest quickly, but since this coda needed to maximize immersion in under a minute, it worked fine.
“Here goes.”
With that, I played all three interpretations back-to-back.
After a few days of practice, they were starting to feel natural under my fingers, but I still felt a thick lingering regret that I had a long way to go.
No joke, it was genuinely a difficult passage. The frequent mistakes weren't my fault at all.
What could I do? I couldn't just brute-force the high-difficulty technique out of sheer greed.
“All done.”
“What'd you think?”
Lee Ha-yeon, who had been resting her elbows on her thighs and propping her chin with both hands while listening, blinked.
“It sounds like you're playing it wrong.”
“……”
There was a reason I could only scratch my head lamely and say nothing in response.
It was coming from Lee Ha-yeon, of all people.
She meant it purely, with no hidden agenda—she simply thought it was wrong and said so.
That was the Lee Ha-yeon I'd come to understand so far.
So it didn't hurt my feelings, but it still did.
“I know it's not perfect. Just focus on the interpretation differences, okay?”
“I liked the last one best. If I had to nitpick, it felt like a bit of the second interpretation mixed in.”
She stroked her chin, lost in thought for a moment. It was the one where I'd deliberately toned down the intensity and added a spoonful of standard interpretation.
It even revealed a glimpse of future Lee Ha-yeon's taste, so I could accept it to some extent, but I was curious why.
“Why?”
“It felt more comfortable, and the performance didn't veer off.”
Didn't veer off. Classic Lee Ha-yeon.
She was someone whose technical skill I judged superior even to Baek Ji-ho's, with mistakes being exceedingly rare.
But…… playing it like that is just too boring.
If you suppressed the energy burst for stability, there'd be no reason for this coda to exist in Ballade No. 4. I thought it was an inappropriate interpretation that naturally bred such dissatisfaction.
“Really? I see the last one as completely wrong. Listen closely.”
To compare the first and third, I played those two versions consecutively. I made the explosive energy release contrast sharply with the tightly suppressed release.
When I finished, I turned to Lee Ha-yeon and gave her a look. This was a clear win for the first interpretation, right?
“No, it's too much.”
“Chopin wrote it that way. How's it too much?”
She shook her head right away, apparently not convinced yet.
The difference between the first and third is too stark to brush off as mere taste.
Even performers who mainly used the third interpretation had faced plenty of criticism for Ballade No. 4's coda. In other words, it was an interpretation that audiences and critics alike couldn't easily sympathize with—meaning it wasn't a good one.
Crucially, even future Lee Ha-yeon had played this coda with that fast-paced momentum. I had every reason to be confident.
“……Playing it that aggressively makes the coda feel like a separate piece.”
“Just bring out that one variation of the main theme well, and it'll maintain unity.”
Lee Ha-yeon stared at me blankly before suddenly jumping up and trotting over. I just watched, wondering what she was up to.
“Scoot over.”
“Huh?”
“Move.”
“Hey, you can't claim the seat just by shoving your shoulder in.”
Lee Ha-yeon came right up to the piano bench, pushed me aside, and took the center spot.
“You wanna play it?”
“Yeah.”
She quickly got into the mood and calmly tapped the keys. After a few test strikes, the coda's introduction rang out.
……Is she practicing this piece? Why's she playing it so well?
I couldn't help but inwardly admire her skill, over and over.
But the more I listened, the more a sense of incongruity crept in.
Her taste is the same now as in the future, but her playing style doesn't match it.
Her current style's strength was sharp, precise strikes that hammered the keys. Forcing stability with such a weapon naturally felt disjointed.
A somewhat obsessive rhythm and mismatched rubato…… Better to say it lacked persuasive expression.
“Isn't this better?”
She whipped her head toward me after finishing. I met her eyes but couldn't respond easily.
Far-future Lee Ha-yeon had masterfully captured the galloping tempo suited to the piece, so why couldn't she read that context now? Even stubbornly insisting otherwise.
It's like someone drilled into her head that it has to be played this way.
There were no shortage of fools criticizing her as a half-baked pianist who could only play lyrically, but that was just ignorant nonsense from people who didn't know her true face.
Lee Ha-yeon had simply expanded her repertoire to fully leverage her strengths. She was the pianist who dazzlingly delivered virtuoso performances in technically demanding works.
Where had the prowess she'd shown at Ye-rim so far gone? Lee Ha-yeon was that versatile a pianist, fully capable of flaunting her virtuoso side.
The point was, a thick veil of doubt arose from the gap between her future and current selves.
“You played it well, yeah. All good, but……”
As I trailed off, her eyebrows curved downward.
She seemed a bit miffed. In a voice tinged with dissatisfaction, she said,
“Teacher Han Yong-seong told you to find a basis, right? What's the basis for your interpretation?”
“Hey, that's……”
Her counterattack hit perfectly, leaving me speechless.
I had nothing to say. Because I still hadn't found my own solid basis.
Even the categorization I'd done before was useless. My ear, my heart—they were drawn so naturally to one interpretation that it felt predestined.
Maybe overthinking and measuring every detail just wasn't my style.
“Then why do you think it has to be played that way?”
“I……”
I smoothly passed the question back to her. She rolled her eyes, clearly struggling for an answer too.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I've seen her argue so strongly like that.
Curious, I asked once more.
“Let me rephrase. Besides this coda, how do you usually analyze and play pieces?”
Lee Ha-yeon, sitting primly, mumbled her lips.
It seemed like it needed deep thought, but surprisingly, the answer came quickly.
“Usually from lessons.”
“I see.”
I recalled her mentioning lessons occasionally. She hadn't applied for school private lessons, so her teacher must be impressive.
“Who do you take lessons from?”
I'd definitely asked this before. During the 2nd evaluation audience, maybe? She'd dodged it then…….
Does she really need to hide her teacher?
It was just a simple curiosity—surely someone of her level studied with a renowned professor or pianist for a hefty fee.
“……A conductor.”
“A conductor?”
She answered today, for once. But hearing it, I couldn't help being shocked.
Lessons from a conductor? That's normal?
Conductors who handled piano well were a dime a dozen. It was a common path to switch from pianist to conductor.
Of course, that wasn't the point. I was flustered because I'd just learned she took lessons from one.
I thought I'd seen all her interviews, but nothing came to mind about this.
Lessons from a conductor.
Whether it hindered her growth or propelled her here, who knew.
Bluntly, if it helped, great; if not, not.
“Yeah, they've been teaching me for a while.”
“I see……”
Ambiguous.
I knew well that Lee Ha-yeon was destined for greatness.
But from her Ye-won Arts Middle School days to her mid-to-late 20s before fame, that was uncharted territory for me.
If I could pinpoint the changes or growth methods from that exact period, I could bridge the gap to her future self and shorten her development time.
It might be presumptuous for someone who wasn't her teacher, but I was still her fan. No ulterior motives—just wanted to help.
And that period is right now, conveniently.
I'd never intervened before regression, so pre-regression Lee Ha-yeon must have followed this path too…….
So, were the lessons from that conductor helpful?
No clue.
I stared at her innocent face as she tilted her head, gradually sinking into a maze.
In the end, even practicing with Lee Ha-yeon yielded no personal basis for interpreting the piece.
But learning the techniques needed for Ballade No. 4 one-on-one after so long wasn't a waste. She taught piano exceptionally well, as expected.
Myeong Woo-bin, Seol Yu-jin, Lee Seong-hyuk, Kim Ju-hee, Lee Ha-yeon.
Within my limited network, I'd asked everyone worth asking. Only one person left.
If even they couldn't provide a clear answer after I vented my worries, I'd think on it a bit more myself.
And if there's still nothing?
I'd go before Teacher Han Yong-seong and declare proudly.
……Looks like I'm just the type who has to live this way.
“So that's why you came to me first thing in the morning?”
“Yeah, wanted to hear your take.”
I easily pulled Baek Ji-ho out from the next class over.
I'd skipped side topics like lessons, sharing only the pure dilemma.
“Basis, huh. Interesting topic. Not sure I can give you a precise answer.”
“Just say whatever.”
Baek Ji-ho leaned against the window, pondering briefly as he looked up at the sky. Not a cloud in sight, like a sheet of blue drawing paper.
“I think…… I'm probably similar to you.”
“To me?”
His unexpected answer left me quite flustered.
How do you know me? I swallowed the question with effort.
“Doesn't it hit you while listening to music, Do-hyun? Like, this spot definitely sounds better with more tempo, or playing those octaves as arpeggios would highlight the musicality more.”
……How'd you know? It felt like he truly understood me.
“Me too. I combine those, and eventually conclude this is how the piece should be played. Basis, reason…… No idea. Haha.”
He scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh.
Listening to various performances, finding expressions that perfectly matched his taste, then blending them into his own music. It was eerily identical to my method.
I'd only wanted a casual chat, but the shock turned me serious.
“For real? We're almost the same? You too?”
“It's a bit ambiguous to say exactly.”
“What do you mean?”
A faint shadow crossed his smiling face. To a passerby, it might look like anger—heavy-eyed.
“To put it precisely…… I want to do it that way.”
“Want to?”
“Is that an answer?”
Before I could press further, his lips curved up again as he added,
“Oh, and I'm not great at theory. Embarrassing, but true.”
“You? You don't seem like it.”
“Really. I slacked on studying. For theory, go to Woo-bin. He's the smart one.”
He seemed sincere, but he clearly didn't know my dynamic with Myeong Woo-bin.
Even though he'd nailed my playing style spot-on.
“About Myeong Woo-bin—he seems to dislike me. No, he openly does.”
“Nah. Woo-bin's got a ton of interest in you. I can vouch for that.”
What was this now? Myeong Woo-bin interested in me?
“……Don't even joke like that.”
As I grimaced, Baek Ji-ho chuckled softly.
“Ahaha, no way. Woo-bin's had a crush since forever. Unrequited love? Yeah, that.”
Myeong Woo-bin with a crush. Oddly funny, since it didn't suit him.
“Good to know.”
“Talk to him. Probably some misunderstanding between you two.”
“Drop it. Still kinda hard to approach him.”
We exchanged a few more words before parting. Heading back to class, I let out a long sigh.
In the end, no meaningful breakthrough from Baek Ji-ho either…….
At this point, the conclusion didn't matter—the process of agonizing over this homework was the homework. What exactly was the teacher expecting from me?
I flopped into my seat upon returning. Myeong Woo-bin, quietly chatting with Jeong Hye-won, entered my view.
Misunderstanding.
I didn't think I misunderstood him. If anything, he was the one misunderstanding me.
Propping my chin, I stared blankly at Myeong Woo-bin, lost in thought.
Pianist Myeong Woo-bin, Professor Han Yong-seong.
Thinking about it, they were an oddly mismatched pair.
Myeong Woo-bin was earnest, rigid, and above all, no fun. Teacher Han Yong-seong was the polar opposite.
I didn't doubt his skill, but I wondered what and how he'd learned to make a name so quickly.
For starters, his current level wasn't that of a late bloomer who'd only grow over three high school years. What happened after he turned adult?
Did Teacher Han Yong-seong ask him back then if he had his own basis too?
As I pondered and stared, he suddenly sighed, furrowing his brow. Then, out of nowhere, he stood and headed my way.
What's up with him.
I hadn't done anything wrong, but instinctively, I averted my gaze.
I even whistled casually, but that was probably a mistake. Should've just stayed still.
“Hey.”
His shadow blanketed my desk. Myeong Woo-bin loomed over me, way too close.
Today, his massive build looked even bigger.
“Uh, oh. It's you. What's up.”
“What've you been staring at since earlier?”
“Me? No way. Just happened to glance over.”
“……”
“For real.”
“Haa, whatever.”
I peeked as he ran a hand through his hair and returned to his seat, then sighed softly.
Almost screwed up…….
I nearly added another layer to his already low opinion of me. Or had I already?
This is all Baek Ji-ho's fault.
Spouting nonsense like that brute being interested in me.
Doesn't that guy have friends? Doesn't know what friendship is?
Weren't geniuses supposed to lack social skills?