Chapter 26 of "Becoming the Older Brother of a Top Star"

‘This is...’

It was the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.

From the very first note, the provocative and lively melody gave the impression of a fairy playfully dancing.

‘Didn’t he say he had never learned piano before?’

How can this child play such a difficult piece?

Moreover,

‘He’s playing it so well.’

The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy requires a soft and concise touch to convey its dreamy atmosphere.

However,

‘This is getting...’

At first, the child played it concisely, but as it progressed, it became more intense.

While the standard approach is to maintain a concise touch throughout, the intensity gradually increased, creating a feeling like a soda bottle bursting open.

If one of his students played like this, he would have scolded them on the spot. Yet,

‘Why does it sound so good?’

It was a strange phenomenon.

The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is not originally played on the piano but on the celesta, an instrument with a clear, bell-like sound that evokes the feeling of sprinkling stardust.

The concise touch on the piano was intended to emulate this effect.

However, it seemed as if this child was saying that such an approach was useless,

Ding-ding-ding!!

The child pressed the keys more intensely and powerfully.

It felt like the Sugar Plum Fairy was dancing fiercely, creating a completely different atmosphere, as if setting the stage for a new performance.

‘It should sound awkward.’

Strangely, it sounded better than the original.

It was new, stimulating, and refreshing.

‘This is a completely reinterpreted piece.’

The basic principle is to perform a piece while preserving the composer's intentions.

It's not just about respect.

It's incredibly difficult to fully express one's own interpretation while performing a piece as if it were a completely new composition.

But this child was doing it.

“...”

When the piece ended, the child took a short breath.

The sense of accomplishment from playing as desired and the proud confidence were evident on his face.

“Huh.”

Professor Lee Jang-won couldn’t help but chuckle at the child’s determined expression.

“Wow!”

The first to applaud and cheer was Jung Yuna.

In fact, Professor Lee Jang-won barely managed to hold back from clapping along with Yuna.

“Brother. You’re insane. What was that just now? Why are you playing so well?!”

Jung Yunsung just smiled.

Professor Lee Jang-won couldn’t hold back any longer.

“Why did you lie?”

“...What?”

“You said you never learned piano.”

“Yes, I’ve never had formal lessons.”

Is that what you call an answer?

Anyone could see that he had received professional lessons and corrections.

But it was unlikely that he would lie about such a thing.

“Really? You’ve never had formal lessons?”

“Yes.”

Professor Lee Jang-won was speechless.

For someone who had never received formal lessons to have such performance skills—was this even possible?

“Ahem. I’ll be right back. Wait here.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

Today, he really craved a cigarette.

He had vowed to quit, but after seeing that performance, he couldn’t calm his trembling heart.

He calmed his emotions with cigarette smoke and called Mr. Jung.

– Ah, yes. Professor.

“Mr. Jung. Are you busy?”

– No, I’m not. How are my children doing?

“Doing well? There’s nothing to teach them.”

Mr. Jung Young-hoon tilted his head in confusion.

– What?

“Mr. Jung. Be honest. You have a son, right?”

– Yunsung?

“Yes. Is it true that he has never had formal lessons?”

– Yes, he has never formally learned music, including piano.

Despite Mr. Jung’s answer, Professor Lee Jang-won remained skeptical.

“Really? You didn’t know about it?”

– No way. No matter how busy I am, I always pay attention to my children’s education. He has never attended a piano school or had private lessons.

That meant the child had indeed never received formal music education.

If so, he must have learned everything on his own...

“Is he really a genius?”

– What?

“I’m talking about your son. I just saw an incredible performance. But the person who played it has never had formal piano lessons...”

– Our Yunsung?

“Yes. Did your son always have such musical talent?”

No one dislikes praising their own child.

Mr. Jung Young-hoon was no exception.

His voice was filled with laughter.

– Yes, my son is good at everything—studies, sports, music. He even sings well. Have you seen the video they recently uploaded? He did so well... He has a unique talent, unlike me.

He was very excited.

It didn’t look bad.

Professor Lee Jang-won knew that this was a father’s joy.

“Ha ha. He does look talented. I can’t believe he came from someone who knows nothing about music.”

Then Mr. Jung Young-hoon said in a subtle voice,

– Does that mean you will continue to teach our children?

“Ha-. This is really something.”

One day, Mr. Jung, who occasionally met for drinks and chatted, asked if he could teach his children.

It turned out there was a reason for his sudden request.

He didn’t want to entrust such a talented child to just anyone.

If it were just an ordinary child, he would have told him to build a foundation and come back.

‘I can’t ignore such a diamond in the rough.’

Or perhaps, it’s already a polished diamond.

So he thought,

‘Is there anything I can teach him?’

After meeting many students and teaching music for a long time, he didn’t need to observe for long.

He could gauge a person’s talent from just one piece.

And this child seemed to have a well-established system.

In other words, touching it in the wrong way could have the opposite effect.

But,

‘If he can develop further...’

He’s only 16 years old.

Having such skills at such a young age meant there was potential for further development.

That’s why Professor Lee Jang-won started to feel a bit greedy.

He wanted to refine and polish the skills to show the world.

To show that such incredible talent exists.

“Alright. I’ll give it a try.”

– Thank you, Professor. Then, about the lesson fees...

“Lesson fees? Forget it.”

Mr. Jung Young-hoon was surprised.

– What? You’re not taking lesson fees from someone as valuable as you?

“Ha ha. In return, don’t take him to anyone else. I’ll take full responsibility for his development.”

– Who could be a better teacher than you, Professor?

“That’s settled. I’m not doing this for the money. I’m doing it because I want to.”

Once he made up his mind, the cigarette tasted bland.

He soon put it out.

* * *

The aura of Professor Lee Jang-won still seemed to linger on his fingertips.

I must have been influenced by that aura and played impulsively.

I was satisfied with the performance, as it felt like I had played to my heart's content.

“Brother. What’s with you? Why are you playing so well? When did you learn to play the piano?”

“Haha. Your brother is naturally good at many things. I’m a versatile person.”

“Wow. Look at how shameless he is.”

Today, I learned something from Professor Lee Jang-won’s aura.

He could be a great teacher.

I wanted to make his talent and knowledge my own.

To do that,

‘I need to practice every day without fail.’

The problem was Professor Lee Jang-won’s position.

As a professor at a Seoul music university and known to producers, he was famous in the industry.

He would undoubtedly be busy with lesson requests even during his sabbatical.

However,

“I just talked to your father. I will be taking charge of your lessons from now on.”

“Really? I’m so happy.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. I trust Professor. I think he will teach us very well.”

“Of course. There are hardly any teachers in Korea as good as me. Ha ha.”

Yuna’s words made Professor Lee Jang-won laugh heartily.

“Of course, it might be difficult to do it every day. But I’ll try to do it every other day.”

That was enough.

Instead of every day, doing it every other day didn’t seem bad.

It was necessary to practice while feeling the difference between receiving and not receiving Professor Lee Jang-won’s aura.

‘I need to continuously absorb the aura and build my skills.’

With Professor Lee Jang-won’s aura, I could play any song, but without him, I would revert to being an ordinary person. To maintain that skill, I needed to learn consistently from him.

By repeating this,

‘I will be able to play with my own skills, even without the professor’s aura.’

That was my ultimate goal.

“Alright. I’ve seen Yunsung’s skills...”

Professor Lee Jang-won’s eyes turned to Yuna.

Yuna laughed and waved her hands.

“Don’t expect too much from me. I’ve never played the piano.”

“Really? Yunsung said the same thing. Try it once here.”

I unintentionally made Yuna receive expectations from Professor Lee Jang-won.

“I really don’t know how to play.”

Yuna pressed the keys with her fingers.

“Wow. But the sound is really good. This must be very expensive, right?”

“Yes, it costs over a few hundred million won.”

“I see...”

While saying this, Yuna pressed the keys randomly.

A pink aura from Yuna’s body reacted to the sounds from the keys.

“...Yuna, you really don’t know how to play?”

“Yes, I really don’t know anything.”

Professor Lee Jang-won looked at Yuna’s innocent and naive face with a perplexed expression.

“Y-You really don’t know anything.”

He didn’t expect Yuna to be a complete beginner.

“We’re siblings, but that doesn’t mean you have to be good at everything.”

“T-That’s true. I’ll have to start from the very basics...”

Yuna didn’t miss Professor Lee Jang-won’s fleeting expression.

“Hey, Professor. No double standards!”

“Huh?”

“I saw your expression. You were going to teach only my brother, right?”

“Eh? Ha ha. That’s...”

His face showed that he had been caught.

“Can’t you teach me too? I’ll work hard. Okay?”

Yuna clasped her hands and looked at him with pleading eyes.

“Ugh.”

How many people could coldly reject such a look from Yuna?

“Professor. Okay? I’ll really work hard.”

“Sigh. You two are really persistent.”

In the end, Professor Lee Jang-won gave in.

“Alright. I’ll teach you everything. What’s the big deal?”

“Yay! Professor is the best!”

Yuna’s applause made Professor Lee Jang-won smile happily.

“Ha ha. It’s no big deal.”

It seemed that our professor had been thoroughly convinced.

Chapter 27