Ch.169Side Story) Dream of China (3)

“Why the sudden piano? In the middle of eating.”

“Because I feel like I can’t bear it otherwise.”

Asking if she was interested in him out of the blue was problematic by anyone’s standards.

It felt foolish, and wasn’t it embarrassing in various ways?

After saying such things, it was difficult to maintain eye contact normally, so he simply sat at the piano, which he considered his most comfortable place.

The piano wasn’t simply an instrument played to show off to others.

It changes the atmosphere and alters people’s emotions. Isn’t it amazing how a few notes drawn on sheet music can create such diverse changes?

From music’s perspective, humans are inevitably part of the instrument. This art form called sheet music could be considered one of the magics that magicians wield.

White keys, black keys. He briefly contemplated the curious fact that this instrument, divided into seven scales, could produce millions of sounds.

And the music he would play now, that is…

Moonlight.

It was a somewhat melancholic song. Wasn’t it gloomy and lonely, as if capturing moonlight perfectly in musical notation?

It wasn’t good music for breaking an awkward atmosphere, and it might even disturb the meal.

But Soo-hyun didn’t stop. Like fate, a strange compulsion came over him that he must play this piece now.

‘Why?’

It was a question he couldn’t answer himself. His fingers simply moved.

The first note on the grand piano, without any sheet music, was simply the first note of that Moonlight.

From the moment his index finger touched the white key, moonlight was already forming in his mind.

He tried not to infuse too much emotion. If he became too immersed in playing this piece,

the atmosphere would inevitably become gloomy.

Moonlight is cold.

And it’s cool and lonely. The first movement of Moonlight contained all those qualities.

It was a piece where the nature of moonlight, the negative yet lyrical emotions humans feel when looking at the moon, were engraved in musical notes.

But amidst that darkness, there was definitely brightness.

Like how clouds may cover the moonlight in the sky, but that light ultimately illuminates the night.

Soo-hyun’s performance wasn’t entirely dark. The broken sounds created by pressing and releasing the pedal were emphasized.

A performance that embodied light momentarily obscured, and the diners were all simply entranced by the performance, watching the performer.

“…Isn’t that Lee Soo-hyun? The pianist.”

Some among them recognized Soo-hyun.

Some admired the nameless performer, while others forgot even the feeling of admiration with their mouths agape.

But it wasn’t depressing. The Moonlight, brought to life solely through technique with minimal emotion, was simply illuminating the restaurant like a crescent moon.

Tan-!

When the performance ended, Soo-hyun wiped the sweat from his forehead and exhaled softly.

Despite not being fully immersed, it was a focused performance that had consumed considerable energy.

The atmosphere… seemed sufficient to make people forget what he had said earlier, so he slightly bowed to the applauding audience and returned to his seat.

Irene stared blankly at Soo-hyun. She was one who had forgotten even the feeling of admiration while listening to the performance.

To create such music with just the movement of fingers—wasn’t it terribly impressive beyond mere talent?

Jealousy, envy. Those feelings were quickly forgotten due to the excellence of the performance, and she clapped softly while quietly moving her lips.

“Did you suddenly want to show off? Like, ‘Look how amazing I am—'”

“It was just an apology. What I said earlier was a mistake.”

“What did you say earlier? I don’t quite remember.”

At Irene’s smiling expression, Soo-hyun slightly furrowed his brow. She clearly knew but was pretending otherwise.

If he was going to bring up such words again, wouldn’t it be better to just end this dinner?

It was a passing connection. They probably wouldn’t contact each other again, and they had only met through Professor Chris’s introduction, hadn’t they?

“…I don’t know. Do I have to say it?”

“Weren’t you playing the piano because you were embarrassed about what you said? Well, if I were to evaluate… I enjoyed it. It was very impressive. Should I give you a more professional assessment?”

“I get enough of that from competition judges and critics’ articles.”

Irene chuckled as she saw Soo-hyun shaking his head as if disgusted.

After all, wasn’t he much more famous than she had thought?

He must have heard far more commentary than what she had read in articles. What might this person be like in places she didn’t know about?

With this curiosity suddenly arising, Irene slightly shrugged her shoulders.

Then she pulled out her phone, and showing the screen with the dial pad, she spoke.

“To answer that question from earlier, honestly, I am interested. Could you give me your phone number? I’ll contact you when I’m bored, so don’t block me.”

What Irene saw was the restaurant’s logo.

Next to the logo that read ‘Siren’ was a small drawing of a lake and forest. Perhaps, as the name suggested, she had been enchanted.

#

[I enjoyed our meal today. Where should we meet next?]

After staring at the message where the number 1 had disappeared, he slowly closed his phone and put it down.

He hadn’t expected to exchange phone numbers with someone he met for the first time today. What exactly had she liked about him?

“…My appearance?”

The face reflected in the window was neat as always. It was a flawless appearance, and in its own way… wouldn’t it be enough to be called a celebrity?

That was something he had always considered his pride, but still, he couldn’t understand why Irene was curious about him.

“Maybe she saw me at a competition before.”

Her constant questioning about his past memories was quite suspicious. Perhaps they had met before?

If so, that would be somewhat regrettable. In the past, he had only focused on his performances, not paying much attention to anything else.

But this woman named Irene Yuris whom he had met like this wasn’t displeasing either.

Lucky? That would be a sufficient assessment.

She seemed cold but wasn’t actually cold, and she had treated him naturally despite his unfamiliarity with women.

As a violinist, she was a worthy conversation partner when it came to music.

Ding-

When he turned on his phone at the sound of another notification, he noticed a flood of messages.

[Hey.]

[I don’t understand why you’re not responding when I know you’ve seen it.]

[Was I not good enough? If I made a mistake, why don’t you tell me?]

[…I’m sorry. I think I was a bit hasty. I wasn’t joking earlier, I was genuinely interested. Really.]

Having gone through various emotional changes on her own, only 4 messages remained out of countless deleted and resent ones.

He hadn’t expected such a sensitive reaction from just a brief period of not responding. Soo-hyun, who was about to send a message, hesitated for a moment and then made a call.

After a brief connecting tone and a deep breath, Soo-hyun slowly spoke when he heard her voice.

-…Hello?

“Are you pretending to speak English now? You were speaking Korean just fine earlier.”

-Forget what I just did. I just… felt like I was being ignored. This is all your fault.

“So, do you not want to talk on the phone? If that’s the case, you can just hang up.”

-You know what? You’re really mean.

Is that so? The thought crossed his mind momentarily, but he felt it didn’t really matter.

For whatever reason, continuing this conversation was more enjoyable than he had expected,

and by the time he arrived home, he was somewhat surprised that the call had lasted an hour.

“I’ve arrived home now, so I should hang up.”

-Then we should meet again. Where shall we meet?

“…I wonder.”

Next time. When had he started thinking about meeting again?

Slightly frowning at this surprising change, he looked at his home with the lights on.

When he had left home, he hadn’t expected to meet such a connection. Human relationships were truly fascinating.

The phone that had gone quiet was hot. The heat of the conversation that had just ended remained,

and it felt as if he could still hear that calm voice if he put the phone to his ear.

“Am I enchanted?”

He couldn’t find a suitable answer to the sudden question. Honestly, perhaps he was.

A person he had just met, someone who seemed to know him well… but someone he was encountering for the first time in his life.

Could he say he had become somewhat close with such a person? As he traced through today’s memories, he moved toward his lit home.

“You’re late. Things must have gone well with the person you were meeting today?”

Soo-hyun sighed at the sight of Soo-jin with a towel wrapped around her head and a toothbrush in her mouth.

He wondered if it was okay for there to be such a difference between them, despite both being women.

Perhaps it was just the natural resistance that arose from being blood relatives.

“Well, it was fine.”

When Soo-hyun smiled slightly, Soo-jin widened her eyes and grabbed his collar.

To her questions about whether it was a man or woman, how they had become close, and whether they were already dating, Soo-hyun tilted his head slightly and answered.

“We’re friends for now. At least for now.”

With a woman like Irene Yuris, he felt it might be good to progress beyond friendship.

Of course, the problem was that this was entirely his own thinking. Leaving the dazed Soo-jin behind, Soo-hyun smiled faintly.

It was a more refreshing smile than usual, and it felt like it had been a long time since he had smiled like that.