The Healing Life of a Music Genius - Chapter 217



Only Noblemtl

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“······ Then I will try to win the contest in your stead. In a contest that is so great that everyone recognizes it.”

“Are you going to let go of my grudge?”

“······ I want to do that even a little bit. I’m your disciple, sir.”

“But you are my colleague, not my disciple.”

“But······. And······. I also really want to win the contest. I want to do that.”

“It won’t be an easy task.”

“i know.”

“That’s a great decision.”

“I think I can do that now.”

“That’s cool.”

“Thanks to you, sir, I······.”

My eyes were completely closed.

I feel the old man patting me on the back.

Just as I was about to fall asleep.

The old man spoke to me quietly.

“If you win a contest like that······. If that happens······.”

.

.

.

The annoying time was making my memory increasingly blurry.

The conversations I had with Mr. Miller and the guitar melodies I exchanged with him were relatively clear.

As it was two years ago, the situations I had on the deserted island are no longer vivid in my mind.

I could feel it fading away day by day.

Island of the Dead.

A word I heard from an old lady from Myanmar at a Singapore hospital.

That uninhabited island I went to with Mr. Miller might have been a place I shouldn’t have gone.

As I was looking at Mr. Miller’s plane ticket, which was quickly becoming worn out even though it was wrapped in plastic, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

One year, two years, three years.

When ten or two decades have passed, will I be able to fully recall what happened back then?

It was the most intense memory in my life, so it won’t easily disappear from my mind······.

‘On the other hand, I don’t think we can give any definitive answer.’

Even now, I can’t immediately picture Mr. Miller’s face.

I have to close my eyes for a while to remember his facial features.

Deep eyes that embraced everything about me.

The expression on the old man’s face, which was playful at first but quickly turned into a kind smile.

His affectionate face suddenly disappeared from my imagination.

My eyes opened naturally.

The first thing I saw was the piano stand.

I also noticed the old man’s plane ticket placed on top of it.

I put my hand on the old man’s plane ticket.

– To my eternal friend Seojin. I hope you have a bright future ahead of you. –

Evidence of existence.

A note left by the old man.

A smile appears on my face without me knowing it.

“Just as you said, a bright path has opened up for me.”

“Winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition is by no means an easy feat.”

“The dream that my uncle could not achieve, and my earnest wish.”

“But as soon as that wish came true······.”

“Like Yankovsky and his brother······.”

“You’re not trying to get away from me, are you?”

The disappearance of memory.

One of the things I’m concerned about.

Without me even realizing it, my memories were slowly fading away.

At dinner yesterday, Yankowski spoke cautiously to me about fantasy.

A secret that I couldn’t tell anyone for a long time.

Jankovsky said that after my performance of Immortality, he stopped having visions of his brother.

‘Thanks to you, I was able to put down the burden on my mind.’

‘Ivan, who watched over me as I grew up. It still makes me sad and lonely that I can’t see him anymore······.’

‘It’s time to come back to reality. Now is the time.’

A child who ended up on the Isle of the Dead, a place he shouldn’t go.

A boy who has spent over three years trapped in a time warp.

The loss and suffering that followed.

In the end, I am who I am now, having accepted everything.

Time was passing by little by little.

After being lost in thought for a while, I decided to press the keyboard.

The melody that had been inside me flows out through the piano.

A sad yet beautiful sound.

A very lyrical piano melody fills the practice room in Brussels.

Time, which had been flowing continuously, stopped for a moment.

I will also stay here for a while.

Suddenly a memory came to mind.

He came to me without any warning or circumstances.

‘If you win a contest like that······. If that happens······.’

Mr. Miller’s hand gently touches my forehead.

‘Seojin, I will personally compose the best piano piece that is perfect for you. I promise.’

The piano melody rises in unison.

The flowing chords, swaying in the wind, create endless stories.

One sound contains one meaning.

‘If this is it······.’

Yeah, maybe this method will work for me.

How to leave a record in this world.

I was going to write it down in a diary or something, but I thought it would also be good to create a few songs.

Music that only I can recognize.

The country is a place where musicians can definitely recognize the music.

Such melodies accumulate little by little.

Slowly. Slowly.

Never too fast.

Instead, it strongly suppresses the power of time.

There was a piano piece that my uncle said he would make for me.

The memory barely came to mind.

I imagine the melodies that Mr. Miller might have made for me.

I add the melodies I want to create to it.

He continued to pound the piano keys.

After some time, a small noise was heard behind me.

The creaking sound of a door opening.

I hear the sound of clothes rustling and the considerate sound of lifting one’s heel and walking.

I continued playing for about three more minutes and then exhaled deeply.

He took his hands off the keyboard, turned around, and spoke softly.

“Thank you for waiting. I had a melody that suddenly came to me, so I had to play it first.”

“No. I think I was the one who interrupted. I realized that after I entered the practice room.”

“Strictly speaking, this was the time I had promised to meet with the director. Rather, I couldn’t wait for that time and was playing the piano. I couldn’t stay still because I was in front of the piano.”

Director Rogers of ⌜Schmid⌟ smiled at me.

⌜Schmid⌟ was supposed to meet here to talk about the ⌜Queen Elizabeth Gala Concert⌟.

12 performances touring the world.

The first performance would naturally be in Brussels, but nothing was set in stone for the next 11 performances.

“By the way, what song was that you played a little while ago? It seems to be music from the Romantic period, but······. I’m not sure.”

“You may have felt a romantic atmosphere in the performance, but it is not the music of that time. As I said earlier, I just played a melody that suddenly came to me.”

“······ Didn’t you mean that an existing song came to mind?”

I smiled slightly and shook my head.

“This is a melody that was created right here on the spot. It was kind of like an improvisation. The introduction has just come to me, so it will take quite some time until the song is completed.”

“Hehehe. I’ve heard that you’re good at composing, but I didn’t know you were this good. And you can compose songs on the spot at that level······.”

⌜Schmid⌟ knew I was MJ.

I didn’t say anything at the time of signing the contract, but when I signed with ⌜DreamSounds⌟, I had no choice but to reveal the truth due to tax and accounting issues.

However, Director Rogers seemed a little surprised as it was his first time seeing me composing.

“Mozart and Beethoven. A pianist comparable to them······. The title of the column was accurate. If word gets out that you are a pianist who composes at a high level, there might be another uproar.”

“But······. Was there a column with that kind of content?”

“Yes. Various articles are being posted every minute. Aren’t you the pianist who is currently receiving the most attention in the classical music world? This is only natural.”

“······.”

Mozart? Beethoven?

But isn’t it too much to compare me to such grandiose people?

I’ve known for a long time that the reporters were exaggerating, but I couldn’t help but shake my head.

“The world is already amazed by Queen Elizabeth’s victory, but there may be even more exciting things to come. We, and I, are looking forward to it.”

Director Rogers, who was laughing at me, began to calmly explain the ⌜Queen Elizabeth Gala Concert⌟.

After a while.

This time, I was even more surprised than Director Rogers.

“The Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic······. And even the RCO (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)?”

“Yes. All three places have confirmed that they will accommodate the pianist’s schedule. However, only for the first overseas gala concert. Since their schedules are not very flexible, I think it is safe to say that they have been very considerate.”

“······.”

“The choice is yours. Whichever you choose, it will be a great choice.”

“······.”

To be honest, I was dumbfounded.

An orchestra that I would never have dared imagine was mentioned.

The world’s greatest orchestras, with which no one would disagree.

Thanks to the nature of classical education programs that air late at night, I was reminded of my childhood when I would sneak out to the living room at night and quietly watch the orchestras perform.

‘I used to get caught by my mother sometimes and get scolded······. She said it was too late······.’

A collaboration with an orchestra like that?

Gala concert?

I couldn’t believe it easily, so I asked Director Rogers again, and he confirmed it for me once again.

“I’m sure you already know this, but I’ve compiled information on the conductors and conductors there. I think it might be helpful. The order is Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and RCO.”

Director Rogers, handing me the file.

I had to look through the file several times before I could finally answer.

“I guess I’ll have to think about it a little more······. When do you think I’ll have to make a decision?”

“You need to give me an answer by the evening of the next three days at the latest. They also need time to promote themselves.”

“Okay, I understand. For me······. It’s such a huge deal, I’m having a hard time.”

“Hahaha. I can certainly think that way. But from their perspective, you are an incredible pianist. A 14-year-old Queen Elizabeth winner. A peerless genius. An ⌜immortal⌟ performer. If I may say so······.”

Director Rogers continued speaking, slightly lowering his voice.

“Currently, the pianist’s position in the classical world may be higher than that of the orchestra. This competition was that great.”

“It might be a pretty noisy concert tour······.”

“Probably so. And that will be an opportunity for people in many countries to get to know you as a pianist.”

I had a chance to talk about various things with Director Rogers.

A story about past Queen Elizabeth winners’ gala concerts and their concert tours.

Laurent, a pianist affiliated with ⌜Schmid⌟, also shared a few anecdotes.

And as this conversation was coming to an end, Director Rogers calmly spoke about the ‘contract’.

“The first overseas gala concert is the last schedule for pianist Han Seo-jin and ⌜Schmid⌟. After that, you can decide as you like. If you want to continue to be a part of our company, we will give you the best treatment in the history of ⌜Schmid⌟, and even if you leave our company, we at ⌜Schmid⌟ will always support the musician ‘Han Seo-jin’. Because we truly respect the pianist.”

Thank you for your kind words.

The two performances I had after joining ⌜Schmid⌟ were both satisfactory, and I was indebted to ⌜Schmid⌟ even after coming to Brussels.

Moreover, I heard that while I was in Music Chapel, he would occasionally stop by my family’s residence to provide comfort.

‘You also resolved the friction I had with the school in the past······.’

There was no reason for me to leave ⌜Schmid⌟.

So, without much thought, I told you what I thought.

Director Rogers, who had been listening to what I had to say, asked me another question as if he found it interesting.

“You will continue to work with ⌜Schmid⌟ without signing a new contract?”

“Yes. I think it would be better since we have a relationship of mutual trust. In this contractual situation, if someone were to break their trust······.”

“The contract will be terminated on the spot.”

I nodded.

“Of course we will have to write a basic contract, but I want to do it with ⌜Schmid⌟ in this form. A contract that can be released at any time.”

“You don’t even care about things like the deposit amount?”

“Money isn’t that important to me. And I think the director will make a good decision.”

“Trust······. When I looked into it, it was a scary word.”

“Then what will you do?”

This time, I asked Director Rogers a question.

Director Rogers smiled deeply and stood up from his seat.

And then he comes to me and holds out his hand.

“Okay. We at ⌜Schmid⌟ have complete trust in you, pianist. So there is no need to hesitate.”

I got up from my seat and grabbed the director’s hand.

“The contract renewal was so simple.”

“It’s the first time in my career that I’ve re-signed with a minor who is not accompanied by a guardian.”

“I guess that means you trust me that much.”

“Yes, of course. Not only for ⌜Schmid⌟, but also for me personally.”

A contract without a single line written on it.

We ended up with a pretty strong contract.

Director Rogers stood up immediately after organizing his bag.

He said that he has to move very quickly as he has to prepare all the schedules for the upcoming gala concert.

Just before I left the practice room, Director Rogers asked me a question about my improvisation from earlier.

Like most classical music, I wonder if it was written for someone.

He added that it was a question asked out of curiosity, so it was okay not to answer if that was difficult.

After much thought, I answered.

As for this piano piece······.

“This song was made for me. It’s a song I’m going to play myself.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I think this song······. will be that kind of song.”

A piano piece that Mr. Miller never got to tell me about.

I, with the melody that lives inside me and the melody of Mr. Miller in my memory······.

I was thinking of making this song.

To prevent the loss of memory that is slowly approaching me with the passage of time.