God of Music

Friday, 27th March.

Sejin Art Center.

People dressed in formal clothing were walking up the stairs. They handed their tickets to the staff and walked to their designated seats.

“A solo piano recital from Gye HyoMin. How long has this been, professor?”

“I guess it’s been 3 years? It’s nice to see her like this. Haha. ”

That was the conversation between a middle-aged man and a middle-aged woman. Not only them, there were many others who were expecting a lot from Gye HyoMin’s piano recital. This was a solo piano recital after 3 years without news from her.

Everyone was filled with expectation as they sat down on their designated seats.

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– Attention, please. In a moment, the Solo Recital by the Pianist Gye HyoMin will commence. Audiences should….

The relatively noisy audience became quiet when the announcement began. The audience seats were full. When the venue became quiet, the lights darkened and the curtains on the stage rose. The spotlight turned on and Gye HyoMin slowly walked out from the side of the stage.

The audience all met Gye HyoMin with loud applause. She, wearing an ample dress, shined more under the light. The applause filling the venue showed the expectation they had for her.

Sitting on the piano, Gye HyoMin lightly stretched her fingers and started her first song, ‘Chopin’s Sonata 2’. The audience closed their eyes to tune into the melody. The crisp playing of the melody tickled all of their ears.

‘Beautiful. ’

Behind the stage, KangYoon was admiring the light from the notes. The grey light that had nagged him throughout the practice was nowhere to be seen. The usage of the pedal at the right times made the notes ring out more, and the nimble hand movements created a marvelous melody. The reaction from the audience became stronger as the light became more intense as well.

One, two, three pieces.

As the pieces progressed, the applaud from the audiences became louder. The light that shone in KangYoon’s eyes also became brighter.

‘Good. ’

There was nothing wrong with the piano, and there weren’t any problematic occurrences either. As the recital progressed, the everyone was drenched in her piano.

Like that, the first section ended. Gye HyoMin exited the stage amidst a loud applause. KangYoon quietly headed to the waiting room behind the stage.

“Well done. How are you doing?”

She smiled at KangYoon’s question as though there was no problem.

“Perfect. I’m in my top condition. ”

“There won’t be any problems at this rate. Let’s keep it like this until the end. ”

“Yes. ”

KangYoon left the waiting room after that. He was worried that his presence may disrupt her focus and held back on his words. With delicate people, watching silently from the back worked better than words of encouragement.

The interval finished and the 2nd section started.

The 2nd section started with ‘La Campanella’ and drowned the audience quicker than the 1st section did. Gye HyoMin played very passionately with her whole body and that affected the audience as well. Everyone fell deep into the piano.

And eventually, the final song was left.

Chopin’s Barcarole – the piece that left Gye HyoMin in despair several times.

‘Phew. ’

She took a deep breath. She even fixed her posture again and resolved inwardly to do better. She stretched her hand once more as well. People held their breaths after seeing her act that way. The venue was filled with the sound of breaths.

KangYoon also changed his position from the back of the stage to the front. This was the most important piece. He stood in a place where he could see Gye HyoMin easily just in case something happened.

Gye HyoMin put her hands on the piano as she exhaled.

‘Hands, hands. ’

Gye HyoMin stretched her hands multiple times. She kept reminding herself of the footage that she went through with KangYoon. The most important thing was the posture! – she kept suggesting herself with that.

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