episode_0108

‘Hold on.’

Could it be… that’s why?

When Siwoo’s heart feels itchy, the color of his performance fades away.

Perhaps, it’s because the tiny Min Chaewon is wriggling in our hearts because of our relationship?

“Hey, sir?”

My journey towards the unknown was temporarily interrupted by the call of two L’Arcisimo staff members.

“Oh. Yes. I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something…”

“It seems like you’re distracted thinking about the next content.”

“Well… yes.”

“So, what’s next? Can you give us a hint?”

The peak of the singer-songwriter night out, which had been going on for a while, was finally coming to an end in four weeks.

That would be the day Yoon Jichang uploads the piano cover of the song ‘Walking in the Night’ that he was so worried about.

Of course, contrary to his worries, the me from the past was perfectly fine. I wasn’t depressed, just sad that there were no more songs from the night out to fangirl over.

“Based on what you’ve uploaded so far, can’t you roughly guess?”

“That’s true. Could it be ‘Walking in the Night’?”

“Correct.”

“Haha. It’s indeed a perfect song to make a mark. I’m really curious to see how it turns out with your arrangement, sir.”

Despite my inner excitement, I smiled brightly at the two staff members outwardly.

It’s a sign to expect something. Whatever you expect, you’ll see more than that.

In fact, the quality of the song I pulled out from my past was so outstanding that the official night out account had come to leave a comment themselves.

That was the moment that propelled Min Chaewon from 1.5 million to 3 million followers in no time.

“Well, let’s stop the small talk here. Shall we talk about work more seriously?”

“Yes.”

“For now, the identity of the other party is a secret until the day of.”

“I see.”

“Don’t worry too much. The other party is in the same boat. We’ve never directly asked the professor who’s been pranked every time. We’ve just casually talked while passing by, you know?”

The hidden camera pranks that L’Arcisimo occasionally does on their channel. It all started with a blind test where they brought in a professional pianist and pretended to be a music student or exam student.

The professor in charge of these hidden camera reactions, and also a friend of the L’Arcisimo team, is Professor Jang Geonse, the youngest professor at Seoul National University’s piano department and a wannabe pianist with the most shining career.

It’s hard to compare them, but if we had to, we could say that if Professor Baek Jung-eon is the one who leads wild creativity born in freedom, then Professor Jang Geonse is the one who leads refined creativity born in a restrained and organized environment.

Perhaps that’s why I was so nervous.

I had never received an evaluation of my skills from anyone other than Professor Baek Jung-eon before.

Above all, with the bet on Yoon Gwancheol involved in this project, the opinion of Professor Jang Geonse, the evaluator in charge of the hidden camera, was crucial.

As I waited for a response, tapping my fingers rhythmically, the staff member chuckled and pointed at my hand.

“Professor Jang, who is known for being meticulous, said, ‘This friend is definitely a performer who has built his skills on classical music.’ That means he even acknowledges you as a classical performer.”

Nice.

I clenched my fist inwardly.

If Professor Jang Geonse’s evaluation was like that, it was practically half confirmed that I would win.

Even though the creator Aclertra may have never presented classical music to the public, I, who had been a passionate fan since she was five years old, remembered it clearly.

Yoon Kwan-cheol may have belittled it as just another performance, but Min Chae-won is a classical musician like no other.

“I think it’s going to be quite a competition. It’s not just a classical music showdown, but since Ai-nim will be using a piece that he personally arranged as the assignment piece!”

The enthusiastic staff member handed over two sheets of paper to the other staff member next to him.

It was a confidentiality agreement until the content was released, and a consent form for using the sheet music I arranged in the content.

“What piece would Ai-nim like to submit as the assignment piece?”

I guess I should start preparing the sheet music for the piece we’ll be battling with.

I don’t know if it’s a habit from the past, but I couldn’t stand the sight of sheet music for the pieces I arranged lying around.

Even though I remember them in my head, I can’t just pull out the sheet music. I have to watch the video and transcribe it myself.

So, no matter what piece it is, I have to create the sheet music. It doesn’t matter if it’s a piece I uploaded in the past or not.

In this case, it might not be a bad idea to have a proper collaboration with Larquisimo.

The first public performance of the new piece will be on Larquisimo, not on my YouTube channel.

“By any chance… do you know this game?”

I showed the staff members the mobile game ‘Aozora Memories,’ which caused a sensation in Japan for a while and also brought a storm with its deep and excellent story in Korea.

I thought they might not know it since they were women, but it turned out they did.

“Our younger brother really likes this. We have several acrylic stands at home.”

“What about the staff members?”

“I’m not sure. But since you’re involved in music content, you might have heard of it. If you tell me, I might know.”

The staff member who had a younger brother like Yoon Ji-chang and had heard of music.

This will make the explanation much easier.

“Oh, I’ve heard of this!”

“Is this that? The boss who plays the piano or something.”

“That’s right.”

“I think I’ve heard it too. My brother forced me to listen to this, saying it’s classical.”

It was the boss of the PVE competition content ‘Mystery Battle’ in Aozora Memories. The song they play while the three-headed archangel fights the protagonist party was the identity of the song that would be uploaded to Aclerct six weeks later.

After the two of them exchanged a short conversation, they started to worry about me.

“But, with a song like this, Ai-nim might be at a disadvantage. Are you okay with that?”

“At a disadvantage?”

The staff member with a younger brother like Yoon Ji-chang fidgeted with his hands, trying to be considerate of me.

“Even though the song itself isn’t classical, if it’s arranged, it will definitely have a strong classical feel compared to other songs. I thought it might give you an advantage against the pianist you’ll be competing with… It’s like deliberately going into enemy territory over Ai-nim’s specialty.”

In other words, they wanted to give me an advantage, but it could also be a situation where I receive a penalty.

I hesitated for a moment, but did I really need to gain an advantage?

Even if the opponent designates a classical piano piece, I can still add my own touch to the performance based on Jungsu’s memories.

I’ve tried to play as many pieces as possible and make an effort to remember all of them.

Most of the pieces are stored in my brain’s database. It might be a problem if I suddenly bring in the boss songs from the list of high-difficulty lower-level teachers, but it shouldn’t be impossible to play them.

On the other hand, the piece I suggested is a very challenging piece for a professional pianist who mainly plays classical music to listen to once in their lifetime.

Even if they’ve heard it, it will take at least 2 to 3 weeks to master it by practicing with the arranged sheet music.

So, should I be the one to receive the advantage? Absolutely not. It should be the professional pianist who is a complete outsider in this field.

The staff nodded as they listened to my explanation.

“Well, it’s a content that’s supposed to be fun. It doesn’t really matter who wins.”

And there’s another reason for this. It’s all because of Yoon Kwan-chul.

As the staff mentioned, isn’t this battle more like walking into an away game?

Yoon Kwan-chul, who was all pumped up sitting in front of the piano in a swimsuit, would never think that I, who chose a non-classical piece, have the upper hand.

Later, it’s a kind of pretense to make sure Yoon Kwan-chul can’t say anything else.

Since there wasn’t much to decide, the meeting quickly came to an end.

Once I send in the arranged sheet music, the staff will let me know the piece chosen by the opponent. Once the piece is decided, the video recording day will be set for three weeks later.

The judges will be the same as before, with Professor Jang Geon-se and his fellow professors.

“Uh, Mr. A, you’re here…”

I was about to leave with my phone, but one of the staff members hesitated and pointed to a large black object placed in the dimly lit office lounge.

It was a piano.

Even though it’s an upright, the fact that there’s a Steinway & Sons piano in the office. It seems like everyone really loves pianos and classical music.

“Well. How about playing a piece before you go?”

“That would be great.”

“We’ll make sure to compensate you generously for your appearance fee.”

I waved my hand, indicating that it’s fine.

So I followed the staff towards the piano, but then…

“Oh. Wait a moment.”

Since the matters related to Yoon Ji-yoo are supposed to be kept secret from Siwoo, I naturally didn’t mention where I was going today.

But when I answered the phone, Siwoo suddenly asked.

– I’m home now. Where did you go?

It was my fault for not telling him in advance…

This feels like being watched, it’s no joke.