Chapter 8

8. Again (Again, Once More)

“Haa.”

I greeted my father, who looked displeased, and my mother, who seemed even more nervous than I was, and then set off alone for the entrance exam venue of Mihyang High School.

“Must have felt bad, huh?”

It was something that kept bothering me even on the way there.

Thanks to Jeong Seok-sunbae’s help, I had observed Kim Min-ho’s lessons, but starting from the very next day, Min-ho refused to let me observe.

‘He clearly said it was fine to observe for a week...’

It seems that the casual comment I made must have really bothered Kim Min-ho.

Indeed, it would be understandable for him to feel bad, being suddenly criticized by someone who admitted to never having properly learned piano.

“Even geniuses are the same when they’re young.”

But my criticism couldn’t have been wrong.

After all, the Kim Min-ho I compared him to was the future Kim Min-ho.

However, no matter how solid the evidence, I should have paid more attention to the present.

I want to get along better with him, but I ended up upsetting him...

If he wasn’t upset, the only reason he refused my observation would be that he accepted me as a rival.

“Unlikely.”

As I thought of various possibilities, I immediately shook my head.

There’s no way Kim Min-ho would recognize me, a dullard, as a rival.

The entrance exam venue was not far, a 30-minute bus ride away.

Thud, thud.

Many students, holding their admission tickets with their exam room and waiting room numbers, headed to the main building of Mihyang High School.

They all looked tense, and some even appeared pale.

After all, Mihyang High School’s domestic reputation was undoubtedly the best.

It is divided into major departments such as music, art, and dance, and within those, further specialized majors.

The selected students are trained by highly professional teachers and then sent abroad for further education. When they return to Korea after a few years, they are treated as VIPs in the music industry.

In other words, the first hurdle of the elite course that guarantees success is the Mihyang High School entrance exam.

However, there is one problem.

“Since it’s the piano major. Haa.”

In the Korean music industry, there are few instruments as popular as the piano.

And that popularity means an incredibly high competition rate.

The waiting room, which doubles as a classroom, was bustling.

Unlike the sparse number of students in majors like violin or vocal, the number of piano majors was overwhelmingly large.

“Wow, there are so many.”

Without realizing it, I found myself speaking in an uncle-like tone at the sight.

I pushed my way through the crowd and found the desk with my admission number, sitting down.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a strange voice came from beside me.

“Eh,”

When I turned my head, I saw a neatly dressed girl in a ‘Mihyang Middle School’ uniform with long hair, Choi Ji-eun.

“Oh, hello.”

I greeted her with a smile, but Ji-eun frowned subtly.

“Yeah, hello.”

She echoed my words briefly, looking tense.

Come to think of it,

I had heard that despite her remarkable skills and grades, Choi Ji-eun was weak when it came to nervousness.

She had participated in almost every junior competition, yet she still got nervous for practical exams.

“Ji-eun, take this.”

I had no choice but to take out something from my pocket and hand it to her.

“Huh? What is it, chocolate?”

As expected, Ji-eun, who moved like a broken robot, frowned and looked at me without saying a word.

“It’s not just chocolate. It’s a special chocolate my mother made for my practical exam day. It’s sweet, but it has a calming effect like a tranquilizer, so it will help you relax.”

“R-really?”

Ji-eun was so surprised that she stuttered.

Of course, it was a complete lie.

If such a thing existed, it would already be on the market.

However, this child, who was usually quick to tell me to shut up, seemed to believe it due to her nervousness.

“Of course.”

I even took out another chocolate and ate it in front of her. After a moment of staring at the chocolate, she put it in her mouth like me.

“Feeling better?”

I asked with a smile.

“Yeah, I feel a bit better.”

She answered with a small smile. Her innocent look was so cute that I immediately forgot about teasing her about the chocolate.

Well, she’ll figure it out the moment the practical exam is over.

Soon, the staff began calling the students waiting in the classroom one by one to guide them to the exam rooms.

Choi Ji-eun and I, having similar admission numbers, walked to the waiting room together.

However, while walking, something strange caught my eye.

A student with blonde hair tied in a ponytail was wandering around the empty classroom.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Eh? It’s nothing. I’m just going to the restroom, go ahead.”

“Okay, sure.”

After a brief hesitation, Choi Ji-eun went ahead. She was the type who could pass the Mihyang High School entrance exam on her own.

I quickly lost interest in Choi Ji-eun and instead focused on the student at the end of the opposite corridor.

From my memory, there was only one student in my grade at Mihyang High School with that appearance.

A Russian-Korean mixed-race student and the top of the violin major, Elina.

The problem was that she was a violin major, not a piano major.

‘The violin practical exams should have already started, right?’

This made me curious, so I slowly approached her. When I got close, I could see Elina’s face.

She looked paler than Choi Ji-eun, with eyes that seemed ready to cry, and she was in a state of panic.

“Are you okay?”

When I asked, Elina, who was standing next to me, immediately started speaking in broken Korean.

“Aaa, rest room? Toilet? I went and there’s no one!”

“Okay, okay, it’s fine. Can you show me your admission ticket?”

“Admission, show?”

“It looks like this.”

Seeing is believing.

I immediately took out my admission ticket and showed it to her.

Elina, in a state of panic, opened the pocket on her violin case and started rummaging through it.

However, she seemed unable to find it due to her panic.

“Excuse me, can I look for a moment?”

Since my practical exam time was approaching, I had no choice but to reach into her case and find the admission ticket.

“The exam room is in Building B, and the practical exam start time has already passed.”

I quickly grabbed Elina’s hand and ran, holding her violin case.

“Hey!”

Fortunately, we soon met a staff member who was following the piano major students, and I briefly explained the situation, asking for her guidance.

“Isn’t the student a violin major?”

“Oh, I’m a piano major.”

The staff member, dressed in a suit, looked at her wristwatch and said urgently.

“The piano exams are starting soon, so go to the waiting room in Building A quickly.”

With that, the staff member ran off with Elina, who was still in a panic.

Phew,

I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“I need to hurry too.”

***

The waiting room in Building A, where I arrived, was as quiet as a mouse.

Except for the faint sound of the piano from the practical exam room, it was so quiet that you could hear the students’ breathing.

“Why are you so late?”

When I found the seat with my number, Choi Ji-eun immediately looked at me and whispered.

“My stomach hurt a bit.”

I didn’t want to explain, so I made up an excuse.

“Does it hurt a lot? Do you want to take a stomachache pill now?”

“It’s fine. It’s not that bad.”

However, Choi Ji-eun immediately opened her bag and said so, and I stopped her.

Probably because of the chocolate I gave her, she wanted to take care of me,

but if she found out it was a lie, she would probably act so strangely... I broke out in a cold sweat.

“I thought you didn’t get nervous. You were so calm, greeting people and smiling.”

Choi Ji-eun, fidgeting with her fingers, seemed to be trying to relieve her tension.

She really is weak when it comes to nervousness. To see such a strong-willed person so flustered...

“Nobody doesn’t get nervous. They just pretend they don’t.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. So, think about it the other way around.”

“The other way around?”

“Yeah. Actually, this is M Studio, and the judges are people who really, really want to hear your piano. So, think about what kind of performance they want to hear from you.”

As I slowly and gently said this, Choi Ji-eun’s eyes grew wider.

“My performance?”

“Yeah. There’s a performance you can do that even Kim Min-ho can’t. Focus on that.”

In fact, despite her numerous competition wins, Choi Ji-eun’s entrance exam scores were not very good.

The reason was her performance style, which didn’t suit her.

She had always lost to Kim Min-ho and had the bad habit of trying to imitate him.

It took her a long time to realize this, and although she was always called a genius along with Kim Min-ho,

she didn’t truly shine until she was quite late.

“My performance, my performance.”

Choi Ji-eun, looking puzzled, moved her lips.

The biggest turning point for her to awaken is to stop imitating Kim Min-ho.

Although she still looked confused, there was no more tension in her deep, thoughtful expression.

Eventually, it was her turn.

The soundproofing between the practical exam room and the waiting room was quite good, so almost no sound could be heard,

but the faint sound of her performance didn’t seem tense.

“Student Lee Sung-hyun, please prepare.”

And it was my turn.

Actually, I had never been nervous about the entrance exam from the beginning to now.

The reason is very simple:

How did I get into Mihyang High School in my previous life?

That day,

I was in my best physical condition, and I happened to receive a piece by a composer I liked as my assignment.

“Student Lee Sung-hyun, Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1.”

“Okay.”

A smile spread across my face.

The performance of ‘Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1’ by Kim Min-ho, which I heard at a Mihyang High School graduation ceremony, had always stayed with me.

This piece marked the beginning of my piano life, and on Christmas, I suddenly found myself transported to the past.

And even now, the same piece was marking my new beginning.

Thud, thud.

I walked confidently towards the piano.

This was the piece I had always wanted to perform as the final piece in a piano recital, if I ever held one like Kim Min-ho.

My hands moved towards the keys.

Although the practical exam was limited to less than two minutes, I wanted to sing.

Again

I wanted to say that I was starting over right now.

The beautiful melody that bloomed from my fingertips gently enveloped the practical exam room,

and a smile never left my face throughout the performance.

***

The day of the announcement in December arrived.

Mihyang High School uniquely informs the students of their ranking.

In my previous life, I ranked 195th out of 241 students.

Even with my favorite Debussy as my practical exam piece, that was my result.

I heard that Choi Ji-eun, who had messed up her practical exam, ranked around 52nd.

And now, as I entered my admission number into the computer, I wasn’t really nervous.

I had a strong feeling that the fact of my passing wouldn’t change.

However, the reason I was so anxious was because I had given Choi Ji-eun some advice on the exam day,

and I was worried that if she suddenly changed her style and failed, it would be my fault.

Finally, I pressed Enter, and the screen switched to the results.

The large text “Congratulations” appeared before my eyes. I had passed.

For a moment, I took a deep breath.

“What?”

I let out a genuine scream of surprise.

Mihyang High School has a unique tradition of displaying the top 5 practical exam performers on the passing screen.

However, a major change occurred.

Choi Ji-eun had beaten Kim Min-ho.

And...

I had climbed 190 steps to rank 5th.

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