Chapter 8

008. How about this? (3)

Zzzz.

The heavy sound of the cello was the signal.

With that powerful yet mournful cry, the bows moved in unison.

The two violins played the melody, and the viola balanced the instruments.

The four string instruments played according to the score.

Listening to that dazzling performance, I lifted my hands slightly above the keys and waited.

I had to pinpoint the exact moment to join in without the slightest error.

The melody of the string instruments was like a tightly woven tapestry; if I joined in rashly, the threads would unravel.

When there were about four measures left, I gently placed my fingertips on the keys.

When there were three measures left, I started to take a deep breath.

Even as the second measure passed, I was still inhaling.

It was such a short moment.

Finally, the performance reached the last measure.

"......"

As always, a strange scene unfolded.

It felt as if the world had slowed down.

The more I counted the beats in my head, the more time fragmented, and each unit of time stretched like melted cheese.

It was like slow motion in an action movie.

In that endlessly stretching time, I could feel the flow of time more sensually.

In other words, I could hit the desired timing without any error.

-!

A near-perfect entry.

As my fingers pressed the keys forcefully, the sound of the strings resonated like a bell.

If I hit the first note accurately, the rest was easy. I just had to transfer the beats I was tapping in my head to my fingers.

Like a plane taking off from the ground, the performance flowed smoothly.

The flow of time I felt had returned to normal.

The two-minute performance ended quickly.

'Maybe the fleeting moment before I pressed the keys was longer than the entire performance.'

As I thought this, my cheek tingled.

When I turned my head slightly, Shin Soo-a was looking at me. Her eyes were still cold, but...

......Was she a bit surprised?

I averted my gaze. It was the second time. But I felt a bit wronged. This time, I wasn't the one who looked first.

'I chickened out twice.'

Just then, my father's voice echoed in the recording studio.

- Good job. Let's all come out and take a look?

#

Above the large window that allowed a view into the recording booth, a big monitor hung.

The screen showed a paused scene from a movie, and a timer was displayed in the upper right corner.

Shin Soo-a approached it and crossed her arms.

She glanced at Han Seo-ho, who was the last to come out of the recording booth, then turned her gaze back to the monitor.

And she thought,

'Surprising.'

I thought she was one of those people who, lacking talent, had dropped out of the Arts Center and was building a meaningful career only because her father was the CEO.

But she played better than expected, especially for a piece with considerable difficulty.

It was an Allegro piece, which made the already challenging difficulty even more erratic.

She played it steadily and effortlessly.

Especially, her entry was impressive.

Riding quickly over the dazzling performance of the strings was a part that any pianist would fear.

No matter how good your sense of rhythm, the piano is an instrument that plays multiple notes at once.

It was like fitting ten fingers precisely into a rapidly spinning gear.

"Hmm."

So, from Shin Soo-a's perspective, it was natural to be puzzled.

What is it? It doesn't seem like she's ready to give up on her talent education...

Although it was just one piece, she didn't give off the feeling of a "dropout" that people often talk about, which made Shin Soo-a curious.

But that thought was fleeting as she saw Han Gi-jun, the CEO, about to start giving feedback.

After all, it wasn't really her business.

"The performance was good overall. But... let's watch it with the video and discuss."

The performers nodded, and Han Gi-jun played the video and music simultaneously.

And soon, a subtle feeling emerged.

'Strange.'

The performance was undoubtedly good. The result was so good that re-recording would be meaningless.

At least, when considering the music alone.

But when the video and music were combined, it was different.

While the movie quickly skimmed through the flow of time with intense scene transitions, the presence of the music was minimal.

'It's almost flat.'

Shin Soo-a made this judgment, and soon the video stopped.

The performers' gazes, which had been on the screen, crossed each other.

"Not bad, right?"

Kang Jun-seo, Shin Soo-a's high school classmate and a violinist, said casually. The cellist and violist nodded.

Han Gi-jun, who had been nodding, looked at Shin Soo-a. He was asking if she agreed.

"But, it's not good either."

"In what way?"

"The music is being led by the video."

For some reason, that's how it felt.

This time, Han Gi-jun just nodded.

He turned his gaze to his son, Han Seo-ho.

"Seo-ho, what do you think?"

"My thoughts are the same as Senior Shin Soo-a."

"Senior? Ah, the Arts Center..."

Then, Han Gi-jun spoke.

"I feel the same. The music is too busy following the video's mood, losing the overall flow. But the performance itself was flawless. This suggests the problem is with the piece... "

"But, the piece isn't a bad fit."

Shin Soo-a added.

The performers showed similar reactions, looking perplexed, but Han Seo-ho, who had been silent, suddenly asked.

"By any chance, was this piece originally slower?"

At this, Shin Soo-a's gaze turned to Han Gi-jun. Han Seo-ho's guess seemed to surprise him.

"Right. The speed was increased during the editing process. So, the tempo of the music is faster than when it was first composed."

"Ah... That's why. It wasn't originally composed as a fast piece. It sounds good, but it doesn't fit the video."

After a moment of thought, Han Gi-jun stroked his chin and replied.

"That could be it. The demo was made with virtual instruments, and increasing the BPM didn't cause any major issues when synced with the video. But with real instruments, it's a different story."

He then smiled faintly and said to Han Seo-ho.

"But we can't ask them to slow down the video speed."

Han Seo-ho nodded, as if he understood. Then, he moved his head around, looking for something.

His gaze stopped on Shin Soo-a's hand.

"By any chance, the score...?"

Shin Soo-a uncrossed her arms and handed over the score she had tucked inside.

Taking the score, Han Seo-ho looked around again.

Shin Soo-a eventually handed over a pencil as well.

"Here."

"Hey, thanks."

Han Seo-ho, smiling, took the pencil and brought it to the score.

And a line was drawn without hesitation.

Swish.

Two adjacent notes were connected by a line, separated by a measure.

He drew another line a few measures later, and again, and again.

Shin Soo-a narrowed her eyes.

'Syncopation?'

It was about pulling the notes slightly forward from their original position.

Han Seo-ho repeated this process until the end of the score, then returned to the beginning.

This time, he started scribbling something above specific measures.

' Ritardando... gradually slowing down...'

As he scanned the score, he subtly pulled some notes forward and others back.

Just as her mouth was about to open in surprise,

Han Seo-ho put down the pencil and pushed the score forward.

"How about this?"

Eyes gathered, but no one could say anything rashly.

Not because it was right or wrong, but because they didn't know.

How could they know just by looking? They would have to play it to find out.

Kang Jun-seo tried to imagine it by moving his head but soon gave up and tilted his head.

"Wouldn't this make it mismatched with the scene?"

It was natural to think so just by looking at the score. He had slightly disrupted a piece that was originally made to fit the scene.

But Shin Soo-a saw it differently. Frowning as if to sharpen her vision, she said,

"If he had just pushed and pulled notes randomly, it would have been like that."

"Huh?"

He filled gaps in simple sections by pulling notes forward and extended complex sections with ritardando. This way, he balanced the piece and created a kind of 'groove' to enhance its presence.

Whether it would fit the video or not would have to be seen, but it was certainly...

" Worth trying, don't you think?"

Han Gi-jun, seeing the potential, said with shining eyes.

Han Seo-ho smiled lightly.

Seeing this,

Shin Soo-a brought back the question she had just dismissed.

'What is this guy...?'

#

The recording was finished.

Recording the five planned pieces took less than two hours.

The short length of each piece was a factor, but ultimately, it was a victory of performance. They said the ensemble was well-coordinated.

"Seems like this combination works better than with Seung-jae."

"Without someone who doesn't even bring the score, it went faster. Five pieces in two hours. A record."

"Seo-ho did a great job with the first piece."

"I agree. It was done in just two takes."

While they were praising each other in front of the recording studio, Kang Jun-seo asked curiously,

"How did you come up with that idea so quickly in your head?"

When asked like that, I was momentarily at a loss.

How did I come up with that idea?

Just, suddenly...

'Because it felt right.'

I had said something similar to Professor Yoon before. It was a bit embarrassing, but I remembered saying it honestly because I had no excuse.

Actually, it was the same this time. It felt like this would solve the problem.

But, back then, I was a middle schooler, and now I'm a high schooler. I'm only 4 or 5 years younger than these people.

I'll be seeing these seniors and seniors-in-age often at the company, and I don't want to give them a bad impression with such a statement.

Fortunately, I know quite a lot about classical music now, unlike before.

"I got the idea from Schumann's pieces."

Enough to even make up a hint if needed.

"Schumann? Oh, right. Schumann's pieces do use syncopation and ritardando in this way. But, it's impressive that you thought of it on the spot. Were you practicing Schumann's pieces recently?"

To Kang Jun-seok's guess, I just laughed.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable, I turned my head, and there was Shin Soo-a.

She had been looking at me even before I noticed.

She wasn't glaring, but her gaze was cold. It was a very curious look.

I thought about not avoiding her gaze this time but turned my head away.

If you add the five years I spent in the past, I'm practically in my late 30s.

I can't be having a staring contest with a college student who just became an adult. Yeah, that's right. That's why I avoided her gaze. That's it.

Anyway, everyone seemed in a good mood as they left the company, congratulating each other on a job well done.

My father, who was smiling proudly, returned to the recording studio for the final touches.

...I slowly returned to the studio.

Sitting on the piano chair and looking around, I suddenly thought it was a good idea to have a studio at the company.

Where would a high school student get to do such a high-level recording?

"It was fun."

The concerto, the recording, and the film music.

I smiled and muttered.

Then, a burning desire seized the tail of my thoughts.

...I wanted to do more.