episode_0041

Without barking loudly or making any threatening gestures, Strelka quietly sat next to Santa Claus.

Soon, the man’s arm pressed against my shoulder.

Is this what they call shoulder-to-shoulder? It feels heavy as if there’s a weight on it.

“Did something go wrong? You’re not sick, are you?” the man asked in a concerned tone.

I don’t know.

If you’re in Korea, speak Korean.

“Hello!!”

Well, that’s not it. Running a pension in Korea but speaking German? The guests must really like it.

Seemingly taken aback by my demeanor, the pension owner awkwardly replied in broken Korean.

“Oh! You want me to write in Korean? Great! Hello!”

“Thank you for letting us rent the studio!!”

“Haha!! You have a good voice!! That’s right!!”

Chuckling, the man patted my back.

Chaewon almost fell forward! Be gentle!

Seeing Song Sung-hyuk giving me a strange look, I asked, “What?”

“…Nothing.”

That kid seemed like he was about to say, “I know you’re Korean.”

“Anyway, welcome!! Today, the pension is yours!! Enjoy a walk, play music, do whatever you want!!”

I bowed deeply to the pension owner for using difficult Korean.

Thank you. Really, thank you.

— Clang! Clang!

“Strelka!! Hahaha!!”

Not long after greeting, Strelka joyfully ran around the garden with the man.

After a while, a wide plate appeared out of nowhere and started flying randomly in the garden sky.

It seems like the man must have done plate throwing when he was young. Muscular and with unique poses. Doesn’t seem like a piano player.

And just when I thought he was throwing too hard, Strelka was catching and dropping three flying plates in a row with precision.

“Wow. Strelka can do that too.”

“…? I taught you that.”

“I taught you. Right.”

“……”

As Song Sung-hyuk’s silence lingered, I ignored him and headed to the studio. I know. I’ll just do my job and go back quickly.

Since the pension owner was taking care of Strelka’s energy, I just needed to prepare for the performance.

‘There’s more than one person who knows about the channel operation fact, not just Song Sung-hyuk.’

I just didn’t know because I couldn’t read German.

Blonde wig, flashy school uniform, and casually passing by. That’s how it seemed.

Without knowing that, Song Sung-hyuk helped Chaewon alone and caused a scene.

There was no need to be embarrassed about my actions three years ago.

Because I’m most embarrassed about myself now.

Alright, Tsutsui.

“Setup is done.”

Song Sung-hyuk might have been the number one slave to poor Min Chaewon.

Just like how I lived under Professor Baek Jung-eon’s daughter, Baek Cheong-ha, Song Sung-hyuk also lived under Chaewon’s shadow.

To me, Professor Baek Jung-eon was like a silver lining. To Song Sung-hyuk, Chaewon’s parents were like a silver lining.

“Work hard.”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Work hard in the future too.”

“Don’t treat me like a slave.”

Song Sung-hyuk tried to hit me with a pillow.

But I easily dodged it.

And even counterattacked!

“Ow.”

“Trying to hit me. It’s too early for that.”

“…”

Song Sung-hyuk’s legs were long, so he ran fast, but his actions weren’t quick due to his laid-back nature.

“Come alone from now on.”

“What? Where’s that coming from?!”

“I’m busy too.”

“You said you’re not busy sometimes.”

“…”

Running his fingers through his thick bangs, he moved towards the grand piano, adjusting the recording microphone in silence.

Wondering if I had gone too far, I discreetly glanced around, but there was no hint of anything different in his usual expression, leaving me unsure if everything was okay.

‘…Quiet.’

And then I noticed that two years later, Accleret’s video uploads were stopped…

‘From April 2025, there were no uploads…?’

Coincidentally, the next Chopin Competition was scheduled for October 2025. Despite the six-month difference, the fact that the years overlapped was quite intriguing.

Could it be that Song Seonghyuk was too busy preparing for the competition, so he stopped uploading videos because he didn’t have time to help?

It’s not an impossible possibility.

He’s still quietly helping with filming and recording.

‘Maybe Chaewon didn’t know how to do it alone…’

Was Accleret not solely Chaewon’s work?

Who is responsible for video production and uploads?

“Thanks for uploading videos every time.”

I casually threw out a comment, hoping to tease Song Seonghyuk.

In response, he furrowed his brows and bluntly retorted, “Did you eat something wrong for real?”

“Maybe it’s because I didn’t eat breakfast.”

“Do you get the energy to play the piano without eating?”

Well, whether I get it or not.

There have been times when I ate the piano instead of food.

“If you’re thankful, learn to do it alone. In two years, I won’t be here either.”

“Why?”

“I told you I’m preparing for the competition.”

“Oh. Chopin?”

Song Seonghyuk sighed and shook his head.

“You’re too much, Min Chaewon.”

“What, what did I do?”

“I mentioned the Queen Elizabeth Competition like ten times.”

After adjusting the microphone height and angle, Song Seonghyuk checked the recording volume by pressing a few keys and walked towards the camera.

‘Why not Chopin?’

I didn’t have all of Song Seonghyuk’s competition schedules memorized, but since we had the same advisor, I could roughly know where he was going and when.

However, there was no mention of him participating in the Queen Elizabeth Competition in May 2025.

Could it be that he failed in the preliminaries? Song Seonghyuk?

‘Oh…’

I just didn’t know.

Well, if you don’t make it to the finals, it’s a failure or whatever, no one knows. It could have quietly passed by.

The lineup of participants for the Queen Elizabeth Competition finals is announced in mid-March.

Feeling the crisis of not making it to the finals, Song Seonghyuk poured all his energy into the Chopin Competition he was preparing for at the same time.

Naturally, channel management was put on the back burner. Is YouTube important when you have a knife to your throat?

After much effort, Song Seonghyuk broke through the preliminaries of the Chopin Competition in July 2025 and ultimately won the competition.

Well, it’s ridiculous for Chaewon to support him all the way to winning the competition. It doesn’t make sense.

I thought he was a flawless absolute genius, but he turned out to be a pianist with unexpected weaknesses.

‘In the end, it was just a slight difference in color between Nana and me…’

I felt inferior, but I shouldn’t have felt that way so much.

‘I should let Siwoo know, right?’

He may not feel that way now, but the moment he returns to school after recovering from a rib injury, he will feel considerable pressure.

I should support him well and prevent him from undervaluing himself for no reason.

“…? Where are you going without preparing?”

“I’m going to pick up Relka slowly.”

“It’s still far. I’ll bring her, so you can relax.”

“Okay, then….”

The alpha male I thought was a giant turned out to be just a regular human like me.

Jung Siwoo no longer feels inferior to Song Seonghyuk.

No, he feels resentment instead. Especially recalling the life he had under Baek Cheongha.

He is not only a benefactor who helped Chaewon without any ulterior motives, so let’s continue to treat him with gratitude and consideration.

“You should be thankful, Song Seonghyuk. I’ve stopped hating you.”

“Please continue to buy me delicious things and share a lot of alpha mail with me.”

“…I’ll just pass that on to Siu.”

After spending anxious days, Yoon Jiyu finally received Min Chaewon’s contact information.

“It’s done!”

Beside her, Professor Baek Jung-eon was cheering as if she had won the world.

It was a strange sight to see them sitting in Professor Baek Jung-eon’s office, where the violin and the student who played the piano were in a deadlock. But it was inevitable because of their common denominator.

“Did she contact you?”

“Yes. It wasn’t easy.”

“Why? Did she not respond?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Yoon Jiyu sighed lightly.

“I think I’m a bit intimidating. Just asking to meet up made her so scared. It took her more than two days to reply.”

“… ”

Professor Baek Jung-eon looked at Yoon Jiyu in silence.

Feeling his intense gaze, Yoon Jiyu raised her eyebrows and cleared her throat.

“Professor, could you not look at me like I’m a criminal?”

“If you’re going to accompany the piano students at the slightest opportunity—.”

“Ah, that’s enough. We’re just wishing each other well.”

“Anyway, she’s just like Yoon Gwanchul’s son. Can’t fool the blood.”

“That will be passed on to Father. He’ll understand everything.”

“Is that so? Well, let that brat get mad on his own. If you’re going to say something, do it in a public place. Let the whole world know about Yoon Gwanchul’s son.”

“… Hm.”

Yoon Jiyu looked at Professor Baek Jung-eon with a fresh gaze.

“So, do you need her contact information?”

“… ”

“Oh, and you shouldn’t casually give out other people’s contact information, right? It’s not right. This friend, Chaewon. Only I should know her contact information—.”

“Yoon Jiyu.”

Professor Baek Jung-eon leaned in close to Yoon Jiyu and whispered.

Yoon Jiyu’s expression brightened instantly upon hearing the conversation.

“I will try to arrange a meeting with you and the professor as soon as possible.”

“As expected, like father, like daughter. You have excellent execution skills.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Although they were smiling at each other, their thoughts were quite different.

‘I should just say he’s a bad professor. He seems to believe me easily… Hehe.’

Yoon Jiyu planned to distance Baek Jung-eon by gaslighting Chaewon.

‘Instead of letting Yoon Gwanchul use his daughter, it’s better if I raise her.’

Baek Jung-eon planned to use Yoon Jiyu and make Chaewon his disciple.

The professor’s office was filled with the ominous laughter of the two.

“Hehehe.”

“Hmm.”