episode_0123

After finishing the call with Professor Baek Joong-eon, I sat blankly on the sofa by the window for a while.

The sunset coloring the sky felt unusually hot today, perhaps because an important showdown was looming tomorrow.

I decided to stop practicing the piece too much, as overdoing it could have a negative impact on my condition for tomorrow’s performance.

So, I just waited for Siwoo to arrive, wanting to draw some energy from him before facing the big stage.

“Before, I wasn’t afraid of the stage… but…”

As the former owner of this body, I was afraid of the stage. I needed to calm myself down a bit in advance.

The sky, once red, gradually added blue hues. Blue mixed with black, and finally, when stardust was sprinkled.

Knock, knock, a knocking sound was heard.

“Miss, Siwoo is here.”

“Ah, okay.”

The sound of loafers approaching along the corridor.

As always, the door opened coolly. Through the opening, Siwoo appeared with a bright smile.

“Sorry. My lesson ended a bit late today. The professor suddenly had an appointment, so I waited until he left…”

When he contacted me, he was outside, so it must have been because of that.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready to sleep? Tomorrow’s filming is early.”

“That’s true. But I have to see you before I sleep.”

Siwoo blushed at my words.

“So, was it worth the wait?”

I said nothing and nestled into Siwoo’s embrace.

I never mentioned it, but I had been under a lot of stress since hearing about Yoon Kwan-cheol’s interference scheme.

If I hadn’t been worried, would I have sought counseling from Professor Baek Joong-eon? I visited him because I needed his help.

I considered it fortunate to have experienced death once. If I hadn’t died, if I hadn’t become Min Chaewon, there would have been things I would never have realized.

Through two lifetimes, I learned something.

When your efforts alone are not enough, it’s better to seek help rather than struggle alone.

Asking for help from someone like a parent, like Professor Baek, is not wrong or a sin.

In everything I thought I had achieved on my own, there were unseen helpers.

The possibility of Min Chaewon and Jung Siwoo’s relationship was not solely due to their efforts, right?

Even superheroes can’t do everything alone. In times of crisis, a helper always appears, sometimes making sacrifices, but those sacrifices make the hero stronger.

Yes, in my past life, I shouldn’t have just conversed with the piano alone. I should have sought out more people, conversed with them, communicated with them, and embarked on a journey to find my own color.

Even the many classical teachers who were called geniuses were never alone.

They had trustworthy friends around them. The teachers spent a lot of time not just in front of the piano but in other places too.

If inspiration came in proportion to the time spent in front of the piano, they must have been inspired. But they didn’t.

That’s why I was grateful to Siwoo.

Grateful for believing in my empty and vague stories.

Grateful for saying he would support me wholeheartedly.

Grateful for saying that he liked me as I am.

“Yeah. It’s so rewarding… I want to stay like this forever.”

“Should we sleep now?”

“Ahem.”

I pushed Siwoo away feeling embarrassed for no reason, but still, spending time together like this is really nice. When he’s by my side, I feel a sense of calm and glimpse hope for the future.

I hope we can continue like this. I hope he stays as a place I can rely on, even if he doesn’t directly help.

This emotion. This explosive feeling. I still can’t express it properly.

“Today is not possible. We need to calmly prepare for the competition tomorrow.”

Just wait a few more months. I will express it first.

Perhaps I won’t be able to hold back anymore. It’s impossible to stop the growth of the budding sprout inside me, nurtured by love.

“Instead.”

I threw myself into Siwoo’s arms again.

“Like this. Just stay a little longer.”

I closed my eyes and entered a state of meditation. I hoped to emulate his calmness while playing, wishing not to be nervous.

If there is a god of music, please come down to me for just one day.

I will borrow a bit of divine power to scold a bad man.

“If this helps, anytime.”

As I embraced him like this, Siwoo’s hand, which used to wander, naturally moved to my forehead.

Controlling his desires, he must have chosen the best way to satisfy his urge to touch me.

But for whatever reason, the god of music may have descended upon Siwoo’s body today.

Otherwise, the emotions I feel now are hard to put into words.

I, who can breathe underwater, felt comfortable as if I were comfortably closing my eyes in warm water.

The tension disappeared, leaving only warmth and comfort.

I see. Like a newborn baby stops crying when held by its mother, I belong right here. In Siwoo’s arms—.

Suddenly, I pushed Siwoo away and covered my face with both hands.

“Why, why are you doing this?!”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Just write a novel, write a novel.

If Siwoo likes it so much, ask for help from Siwoo. Don’t help Siwoo and then ask for help.

Just like a princess in a fairy tale, get captured by Yoon Kwan-cheol and then scream, “Save me, prince!”

“Just endure it for another half a year…….”

Once this is over, it will be August.

It’s only five months from September to December.

An adult who can’t endure that much is not an adult. Right now, you’re just being dramatic.

Min Chaewon. Chaewon.

“Siwoo.”

“Yeah?”

Realizing that I couldn’t hold back and would explode, I came up with one solution.

Although I don’t want Siwoo’s help in any other way. This is the only thing Siwoo can help me with.

Help me, Jung Siwoo.

“No. Oh… Oppa.”

“…………. Suddenly?”

The distance between us disappeared because I recognized that we are the same existence, and Siwoo must feel the same way.

So if I’m marked as a one-year-younger girl, Siwoo will stop me even if I explode.

Until the end of this year, I’m a minor.

If it’s hard to handle alone, let’s handle it together. Let’s hold hands and overcome the crisis.

“I’m actually one year younger. So, isn’t it better to call you like this….”

I can’t contain the burning flames in my heart alone, so I need your help.

“Why, should I just speak informally like before?”

Even on the day before the Chopin competition finals, I wasn’t this nervous.

Right now, there is only one girl standing here, where the piano was once considered an important part of life, and the push and pull with Jung Siwoo is the most important thing.

As the wait gets longer, my eyes wandered and shook. My toes gathered and then moved away. My fingers pressed against each other. We left cross-shaped marks on each other.

“Sorry. I was thinking for a moment.”

So, the answer is.

“I prefer to be called Oppa.”

“…….”

“I mean it sincerely.”

I know Siwoo well. That’s why I remember that ‘Siwoo Oppa’ was also on the list of things ‘Min Chaewon, who became Siwoo’s girlfriend, would like to do for him.’

Under Baek Cheong-ha’s nagging voice, do I want to hear Oppa’s voice? Of course, I do. Hearing it from Baek Cheong-ha and hearing it from Min Chae-won are completely different.

“…Why?”

However, Siwoo’s expression didn’t seem as joyful as one would expect from someone whose dream from the wishlist had come true.

Is it really a good thing?

“Your expression doesn’t look genuinely happy.”

“Why, why? I said it’s really good, didn’t I?”

“Isn’t it better to just call me ‘Ya’?”

“No, it’s not.”

Then what is it? Siwoo’s body language is definitely not ‘extreme joy,’ he’s saying something else.

What are you hiding, Siwoo? It’s not appropriate for us to have secrets between us…

“…Ah.”

As I mentally scolded Siwoo, I remembered the lies I had been telling him.

I haven’t even told Siwoo everything. Does Siwoo have a reason to be transparent with me?

Although we recognized each other as the same person, as mentioned several times, people change and adapt differently depending on their environment.

I am doing my best in my life as Min Chae-won. So the current me is very different from the past Siwoo.

I can’t figure out everything about the Siwoo in front of me without a conversation.

We are the same person, but at the same time, we are different individuals.

‘But at least as much as what happens in 3 years…’

I don’t want to say that you could die.

Although there was something suspicious in your expression just now, I believe there must be a reason for it.

“Well then. I’ll call you Oppa from now on. Siwoo Oppa.”

One side of his mouth lifted uncomfortably, as if he was smiling wryly. It bothered me, but I shouldn’t show any emotions.

Siwoo’s words are always right. He wouldn’t lie to me.

He must be doing this to protect me until next year.

“Anyway, finish filming tomorrow and come back.”

His large hand patted my head as usual.

The warm feeling I always felt was conveyed to me.

“Shall we go out to eat after we finish? We should eat something after all the hard work.”

I smiled softly, showing my white teeth.

“You can choose the menu, Oppa!”