Chapter 52
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Handle With Care (2)
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"Pull out just the facts you can glean from the text, like I did, and work through them. Take all the time you need."
"...You said you'd teach me."
"Studying is something you do on your own, right? And this is how tutoring usually works."
"You've done tutoring before?"
"Maybe something like this. Probably."
Lee Ha-yeon nodded skeptically as she stared at the workbook covered in frantic red pen marks.
These days, whenever I had free time after school, I'd squeeze in some free tutoring sessions.
I owed her so much that this was the least I could do. Those two idiots munching on snacks beside us were truly blessed.
"Kwon Do-hyun, you here?"
At that moment, the door to the home base flew open roughly, revealing a familiar silhouette.
It was Teacher Han Yong-seong. It felt like the first time we'd met had been in a similar situation.
"Yes, I'm here."
"Come out here for a sec."
I glanced at my friends, who were blinking blankly, shrugged, and followed the teacher outside right away.
"What's this sudden visit about?"
Teacher Han Yong-seong ran his hand through his hair repeatedly and let out a heavy sigh. The hair wax had melted from sweat, failing to hold his style in place. He'd probably been rushing around looking for me.
"This might sound out of left field, but think it over carefully before you answer."
"Okay."
The teacher rolled the words around in his mouth for a moment before speaking.
"You ever thought about going into conducting?"
"Conducting?"
"Yeah."
"That department here at school... the one that teaches conducting?"
"Yeah, kid."
Of course, I wasn't asking because I didn't know what the conducting department was.
I was just puzzled about what had prompted this opinion and why Teacher Han Yong-seong was asking me directly.
"There's a conducting teacher who's shown interest in you. He praised your keen ears and musical analytical skills."
"...I haven't analyzed any music, though. I don't even know how."
"The performance evaluation. The theory class you did recently."
"Oh, that."
I'd gotten chewed out for writing what amounted to a essay when they asked for analysis. It was embarrassing for no reason.
"It's true you know a lot for your age and have exceptional listening skills. Like with my Chopin sonata record the other day—it's not easy to pick up on the 'emotional fluctuations' unless you're really attentive."
"I just noticed it sounded different from other recordings."
"Spotting that difference is something only the sharpest ears can do."
He was clearly complimenting me, but his tone sounded deeply annoyed.
"...And it's part of a conductor's job too."
"To make sure all the instruments produce a unified sound, right?"
"Exactly."
Conductor...
I imagined myself standing on stage, commanding a multitude of instruments.
I didn't like the idea of facing away from the audience, but there was a certain thirst in the act of leading an orchestra to create the music I deemed the best.
During all those rehearsals with the small orchestra for the second evaluation, I'd realized something.
I wanted every piece of music from my hands to be the best. At the very least, I wanted to create music I wouldn't be ashamed of in front of myself.
It was certainly possible with just one piano, but conducting a grand orchestra would make the scale incomparable.
"That teacher asked if we'd let you transfer to conducting."
"...Me?"
"Yeah, he seems pretty eager. He was very curious about what you think."
I had zero connection to the conducting department. Was he judging my abilities based on just one performance evaluation sheet? But if he was a teacher at Ye-rim, he shouldn't be that poor at judgment... What exactly had he seen in me?
Once my thoughts reached that point, I shook off the distractions and focused on the question itself to give my answer.
"Conducting sounds appealing. If it's feasible administratively, I'd like to go."
"...For real?"
"Yes."
I met Teacher Han Yong-seong's wavering gaze and answered clearly.
There was no reason to refuse.
I loved the piano and playing it, but more than that, I loved classical music itself.
The idea of gathering future top performers with my own hands and creating magnificent music with mere gestures—it was thrilling. I didn't know how this offer had come my way, but I was definitely positive about it.
Of course, there was one condition.
"Really...? You'd transfer from piano to conducting?"
I let out a shallow sigh as I looked at the teacher, who seemed quite flustered.
"Of course, not yet. I love music more than anything, but I really love piano too. With my skills right now, transferring? Anyone would laugh in my face. It'd be pathetic... Ow!"
The teacher flicked my forehead. Harder than last time.
"...That one actually hurt."
I rubbed the spot and looked up at him. He gazed back with a complex mix of relief, disappointment, anticipation, and confusion—an oddly nuanced look.
"You've got two faults right now. Or rather, two cases of arrogance."
"Huh? Me?"
The teacher let out a long breath and held up fingers.
"First, talking like you're definitely going, then backing out and making a fool of your teacher."
"It wasn't fooling you—wait, you should at least hear the reason to the end."
"Second, assuming that even if you become a great pianist later, the scouting offer will still hold."
"...Yeah, that's fair."
"Third."
"You said two."
"Third, making me think you might actually be capable of switching to conducting."
I tilted my head as I looked at him with all three fingers extended.
"Why's that a bad thing?"
"After that conducting teacher made the offer, I thought it over carefully, and everything he said was spot on. You've got the talent for it."
Having keen ears, knowing a lot... Those compliments felt good, but hearing them like this irked me for some reason. I was happy, but it felt like my identity as a pianist was being overlooked.
Wasn't I a piano major? One who thought about piano all day and worked insanely hard at it.
And here he was saying I had plenty of talent as a conductor right to my face.
"Still, I want my talent as a pianist to be even more abundant. That's the praise I want."
The teacher chuckled and ruffled the hair where he'd flicked me.
"You can apply your talent there to this too. Looks like you're already doing it, from what I've seen."
"I... don't really know about that. This homework, and every time I think about the practical exam, my head feels like it'll explode trying to figure out how to incorporate my strengths into my playing."
"Ah, right. The homework."
The teacher spoke to me in a relaxed posture, as if he'd wrapped up his business.
"We'll check it tomorrow. Got some other stuff to discuss anyway."
"You might not like the results."
"Doesn't matter. You think I'd give lessons without considering that?"
"Fair enough."
I nodded a couple of times.
"Oh, I'll tell that teacher you refused, but since you're interested, he might hound you for details."
"...Would it be too shameless to ask you to put the transfer on indefinite hold?"
"Shameless? It's downright rude to a teacher."
A faint cloud passed over my face, and the teacher chuckled.
"It's true that the conducting teacher rates your abilities highly. That won't change, so the offer stands."
"Got it."
"So, you might go someday or not~ That kind of teasing only makes sense if it shows how passionately devoted you are to piano. Got it?"
"It's not teasing; I'm sincerely—"
"If a slippery kid who plays piano like crap says, 'But I love piano,' you think that teacher would just sit there?"
I could see his point to some extent.
I needed tangible achievements as a pianist for the conducting teacher to hold off and wait patiently.
"Conducting has few students, so transfers are relatively straightforward. He's probably desperate."
"I have no idea when I got into this position."
"Anyway... they say the conducting department's first-semester practical exam will be replaced with a written one."
"Really?"
"It's not 'really'; the conducting teachers have nothing to do during practical exam period anyway."
With that, the teacher turned and walked away slowly.
"On exam day, that'll teacher will come hunting for you with fire in his eyes. Let's see you convince him with that cheeky counteroffer of yours."
For some reason, his steps looked light.
I was just plain stunned.
What had I vowed when I first stepped through Ye-rim Arts High School's front gate? That as an arts high schooler, I'd try to experience as much as possible.
Conducting or transferring had plenty of appeal as part of those experiences, but I hadn't finalized anything yet.
Dipping a toe in and talking transfers was premature and just greedy.
"What was that about all of a sudden?"
"Was that Teacher Han Yong-seong? He's hot."
Back in the home base, the guys who'd been chatting instead of studying bombarded me with questions.
I plopped down in my seat and said flatly,
"They want me to switch to conducting."
Three sets of eyes locked onto my face at once.
Amid the idiots blinking vacantly, Kim Ju-hee spoke first.
"No way! Don't go!"
She lunged over and grabbed my arms. Beyond her, Lee Seong-hyuk let out a hollow laugh.
"What'd you say?"
"Seemed fun, so I said it was an appealing offer."
"...You'd probably be good at it too, so you decided to go?"
"...You're really going?"
Lee Ha-yeon, sitting beside me, chimed in.
"Life would be so boring without you... Don't go!"
"No, even if I transfer, we'd still be in the same class."
"Still! Are you an idiot?"
I gently shook off Kim Ju-hee's hand as she threw a fit like the world was ending.
"But I said no."
"...Yeah, no way you'd go."
"For real? You really said no?"
"Why would I? I still suck at piano. Transferring now would just look like running away."
"Phew... If you're not going, you should've said so first!"
Kim Ju-hee kicked the floor petulantly and stomped back to her seat, grumbling. For some reason, she seemed a bit sulky—propping her chin and turning her head away confirmed it.
"Who's the idiot here?"
"Ugh, whatever. I'm studying. What a worry for nothing."
I chuckled at her, and soon Lee Seong-hyuk sidled up with a sly tone.
"You're not the type to hold back because of what others think. What's the real reason?"
I shoved him away instinctively—it was creepy. If he looked even a bit more menacing, I'd have flinched first.
"Just wanna get good at piano. Conducting means playing piano but not just that..."
"Knew you'd say that."
Lee Seong-hyuk hummed contentedly, as if my desire to master piano made him happier.
This guy had some inscrutable depths.
I let my gaze drift hazily into space, then shifted to the side. There was Lee Ha-yeon, scribbling away furiously at her workbook.
I tapped her book with my pen to get her attention.
"Hey, Ha-yeon."
"Yeah?"
"Want me to conduct for you someday?"
"...Out of nowhere?"
She turned to me with wide eyes.
Thinking about it, that'd make a great picture. Me conducting Lee Ha-yeon. It might even mean more than the CD she'd recorded and signed for me.
"Yeah, wouldn't it be fun? I'll whip the orchestra into shape. We can do your favorite Brahms concerto. Schumann works too."
"Sure... But how'd you know I like Brahms?"
"Well, obviously..."
Your favorite composers are Brahms and Schumann.
I started to say it but clamped my mouth shut, my breathing audible.
In that suffocating instant, I scrambled for a plausible excuse.
"You're learning Schumann in lessons, so I figured Brahms too. Am I wrong? They're similar."
"Yeah, I like Brahms too."
She smiled faintly and seemed lost in thought for a moment.
I pictured her sweeping the world, performing fantastical concertos with renowned orchestras.
The memory resurfaced easily.
Even now, closing my eyes for a second brought every note of future Lee Ha-yeon's solos crashing into my ears without a single miss.
"Hey."
"Yeah."
I snapped my eyes open at her now-familiar gentle voice.
Lee Ha-yeon looked at me with a playful glint.
"If you get better at piano than me, then you can conduct."
Better than Lee Ha-yeon at piano... I mentally reviewed her countless solos step by step.
The conclusion came surprisingly simply. Impossible.
"That's basically telling me to stay in piano forever."
"...Huh?"
She let out a weird noise and hurriedly ducked her head, pretending to study with her pen.
'What's her deal?'
Lee Ha-yeon pulled this inexplicable stuff sometimes. No matter how I thought about it, there were no normal people around me.
Then again, someone like her, who played piano that well, wasn't normal to begin with.