Chapter 9

9. Again (Again, Once More) -2

...

A large message of "Congratulations" displayed on the monitor, along with the list of outstanding practical exam candidates.

Ji-eun thought she had read it wrong when she first saw it.

"Huh."

Ji-eun made a dull sound, just like when she first met Seong-hyun in the classroom of Mihyang Arts High School.

She just stared blankly at the monitor, and it wasn't until she blinked her eyes several times that her mind started to function properly.

Bang!

Ji-eun jumped off her desk chair and covered her face with her pillow.

“...!”

Rolling around on the large bed, Ji-eun silently screamed.

After a while, she calmed down and lifted her head.

Just then, her phone vibrated.

When she turned on the screen, she saw that she had missed a call while rolling around.

"Hello. Principal Ma."

The caller was none other than Principal Ma Joo-hyuk.

However, for some reason, he was silent, despite his enthusiastic phone call.

"Principal Ma?"

Feeling puzzled, Ji-eun asked, and the principal suddenly spoke.

-How did you do it? How did you beat Min-ho, ah, I'm sorry, Ji-eun. Let's pretend this call never happened.

Click.

Principal Ma Joo-hyuk's voice was filled with great shock. At that moment, Ji-eun realized that she had accomplished something significant enough to fluster the usually composed principal.

And then a question arose.

‘How did I beat that Kim Min-ho?’

As she thought about it, Ji-eun's complexion turned pale.

Strangely, she hadn't felt any tension during the entrance exam, and the touch felt lighter than usual.

She had a vague memory, but she couldn't recall the exact sensation of her performance or how she could play so comfortably.

The memory that came to mind was different.

Seong-hyun's gentle voice, speaking to her when she was nervous and couldn't see clearly.

And among those, there was one particular phrase that stood out.

‘There must be something in your performance that even Kim Min-ho can't do.’

Something in my performance that even Kim Min-ho can't do...

“What is it?”

When she heard his words in a highly tense state, she thought she understood, but after the practical exam, the tension that had enveloped her body disappeared, and so did the feeling.

“Huh?”

It was definitely the one victory she had been aiming for over five years, but now it didn't feel like she had won by her own strength.

A strange feeling.

A peculiar sensation.

“Aah! I don't get it!”

Ji-eun stopped her complicated thoughts and buried her face in the pillow again.

As she continued to recall what Seong-hyun had said, she suddenly remembered something strange.

“That chocolate...”

Could it be that it wasn't a joke but real?

Ji-eun's face turned serious as she focused on this oddity.

***

Enrollment Ceremony.

Passing through the school gate adorned with a grand banner, the wide expanse of Mihyang Arts High School came into view.

The largest building, Building A, used by the music department, and the buildings B and C used by the art and dance departments, stood in sequence.

The freshmen, all with excited faces, passed through the school gate.

And I couldn't stop smiling either.

Mihyang Arts High School was a place that held many bad memories but was also a place I missed.

It really had started all over again.

I could only feel the reality of it after crossing the school gate.

The two-month break had passed in a flash.

Going to M Studio every day, I had finished introducing myself to the instructors and professors of the Academy,

and my body had gradually adapted, making it less awkward to move my whole body while performing.

Additionally, thanks to the invitation from senior Jung Seok, the main pianist of the "Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra," I could visit there regularly and acquire various knowledge.

It was particularly interesting to compare the differences with the "Philharmonic Orchestra" where I had once been a member.

Building A, where music students gather. It was so spacious that it could almost be called a concert hall, with many empty seats.

“I wonder if the teachers are doing well.”

Sitting alone, I recalled the faces I had met at Mihyang Arts High School.

From the time I was a failing student until graduation,

the teacher who continued to give me lessons even though I couldn't focus properly.

Thanks to that teacher, I had a solid foundation, which allowed me to understand and appreciate Kim Min-ho's performance.

This time, I wanted to express my gratitude.

“...Is that him?”

“He's from M Studio...”

“...That fifth place?”

Fifth place?

Lost in thought, I turned my head at the keyword. Many students were visible,

and they seemed to be a group from Mihyang Middle School.

“Ugh,”

Seeing the students from Mihyang Middle School, a bad memory I had forgotten suddenly came back.

The students from Mihyang Middle School, who had taken up half of the seats among this year's freshmen.

They already knew each other and disliked students like me who had entered out of the blue.

However, the content of their whispers seemed to have changed.

“Fifth place...”

“Has he ever taken lessons...”

It seemed more like admiration than mockery or ridicule.

Still, it didn't feel good to think that my reputation was already spreading among the students from the enrollment ceremony.

“Excuse me.”

At that moment, someone spoke to me, who was sitting alone with no one around.

“Can I sit next to you? Is it okay?”

From the awkward Korean and the soft voice, I already knew who it was.

Turning my head, I saw a girl with tied-up blonde hair.

The top-ranked violinist, Elina.

“Sure, go ahead.”

I was glad to avoid the whispers from behind, so I quickly moved my things.

Elina sat down next to me.

“Did you help with the entrance exam? Is that right?”

She seemed to be asking if I was the one who helped her during the entrance exam.

She had been listening to and understanding Korean since she was young, but when she tried to say something, she often stumbled, unable to think of the right words.

“You arrived on time and did well.”

“Is that right? I knew it was you!”

Seeing Elina's face filled with gratitude and joy, I couldn't help but smile.

Actually, even without me, she would have been accepted to Mihyang Arts High School. There might have been a slight difference in the practical exam score, but the fact of being accepted or not wouldn't have changed.

“Thank you. Really, thank you. Thanks to you, I'm here at school.”

But seeing her express her gratitude so sincerely made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

“I'm Elina. What's your name?”

“Me? I'm Seong-hyun, a piano major.”

“Seong... Seong-hyun, ah. The acceptance website! Fifth place!”

When I told her my name, she recognized me, as if she had seen it there.

“Seong-hyun is amazing. Fifth place!”

“It was just luck.”

“Still!”

Cough. If you speak so loudly, the dignified people from Mihyang Middle School behind us might not like it...

But seeing her express her joy so openly, I suddenly felt silly for worrying about such trivial things.

Yes, this time it's different.

I resolved to start anew without wasting time worrying about others' opinions and nodded.

“But, I'm a bit envious!”

“Of what?”

“I'm in seventh place!”

“Seventh place? Seventh place?! R, really?”

“Why are you surprised? I'm good at the violin!”

Well, I know that...

I didn't know much, but I had heard that the past Elina's entrance exam scores were not great, like Ji-eun's, so I thought it would be similar this time,

but seventh place.

Finding me in a panic seemed to have had a greater impact on the entrance exam results than I expected.

***

“Sigh...”

Ji-eun, who was appointed as the representative of the freshmen, sighed deeply while sitting in the waiting room with the top and second-ranked students.

Kim Min-ho, sitting on the sofa a little distance away, looked up at her when he heard the sigh.

“Are you nervous?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then why?”

“Just...”

The relationship between Kim Min-ho and Ji-eun had always been like this.

They had seen each other for five years, whether they liked it or not, so they had built a certain level of familiarity.

However, they never discussed their problems or gave each other feedback on their musical techniques.

The cold results of being first and second place prevented Ji-eun from opening up to Min-ho.

If Kim Min-ho knew that Ji-eun's biggest concern was the existence of a "miracle chocolate," what kind of expression would he make...?

Ji-eun shook her head, imagining a creepy face.

The only common topic between them was M Studio, but since Park Eun-ho, who was the same age as them, was in that state, they had never had a long conversation.

However, a new common element had recently emerged between the two.

“Seong-hyun.”

“Seong-hyun?”

“Yeah, isn't Seong-hyun amazing?”

“Amazing?”

Kim Min-ho smiled slightly, seeing that Ji-eun was showing interest, unlike her usual short answers.

“I had a habit of not using wrist snaps and stretching my palm during performances. Everyone except Professor Ma took about a year or two to recognize it, but Seong-hyun saw it at first glance.”

“Is he just observant?”

“Not only that, but he also gets along well with other instructors and seems to know a lot about orchestras.”

“He said he hasn't taken any lessons, though.”

“Yeah, that's what makes him even more amazing. It's impossible for someone learning music not to take lessons. He knows a lot about this field.”

“Really, does that make sense...”

Ji-eun said, but the image of Seong-hyun's face from M Studio yesterday came to mind.

“But the impossible is right in front of us.”

“Isn't that amazing?”

“Yeah.”

To these two geniuses, Seong-hyun was truly an incomprehensible existence.

A steeper growth curve than the genius Kim Min-ho.

Not to mention, he had no bad habits that naturally come from self-study.

Seong-hyun learned pieces on his own.

Or rather, he already knew the pieces and was practicing them again.

He knew every piece.

He caught the subtle details.

He could communicate well with adults.

How could a person be like that?

Is he just naturally talented?

Or does he have perfect pitch?

But as she thought about it, Ji-eun shook her head.

Seong-hyun didn't seem to be someone who was naturally gifted.

The first time they met, his fingers were covered in scabs, as if blood could drip from them at any moment.

Ji-eun had also had such scabs when she was young, but she couldn't even practice for more than an hour a day.

But he did.

He played as many pieces as he could, for as long as he could, without taking a break.

And the result was right in front of her.

He became fifth place at Mihyang Arts High School in just two months.

“I should ask about the chocolate too. Ah.”

“Huh? Chocolate?”

“It's nothing. Let's go. It's time.”

Kim Min-hyo, who seemed to have heard Ji-eun's small mutter, asked with an innocent face.

Ji-eun, repulsed by his innocent look, changed the subject.

Ji-eun and Kim Min-ho, standing on the stage after leaving the waiting room.

“Oath! We, the freshmen of the 2010 academic year, who have been granted admission...”

“Oath! We, the freshmen of the 2010 academic year, who have been granted admission...”

The two, as representatives of the freshmen, recited the oath in unison.

With their voices, the official start of Mihyang Arts High School life began.

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