episode_0156

After the service, inside the quiet cathedral in the darkness of night.

By the light of a single candle, a priest is quietly cleaning the grandfather bell used for chanting.

months. months.

A dry cloth passes over the bell, and then a shaky hand moves.

I touched the bell-ringing string hanging below the grandfather bell.

rattle. rattle.

Was it because the clear sound was amazing, or was it because he was a priest who originally handled the bell?

He put down the cloth and pulled the string under the bell one after another.

It was a monotonous melody, but maybe it was because it was a quiet cathedral with no one around.

At that moment, I was not envious of any other choir.

When the priest, who was tapping the grandfather clock as if possessed by something, noticed that the surroundings had become brighter.

He was already hovering above the clouds with a flock of flying grandfather bells.

bright sky.

The grandfather bell that had settled among the puffy clouds began to ring uncontrollably.

rattle. rattle.

Daughter… .

It soon became a performance and surprised the priest.

This is what it would feel like if God had angels play heavenly music.

… The moment when the priest was about to pray with his hands clasped together to express his ecstatic sentiments.

The angels hiding in the clouds appeared one by one, laughing.

The angels did not seem to notice the priest’s presence. They don’t know anything. The bell rang while singing the song lalalala.

The priest felt an indescribable sacredness.

And I also felt guilty and sad about witnessing such a beautiful scene alone.

So, I decided to make it possible for everyone to hear the angels’ performance. I thought I should play during mass and share the grace of heaven with people who were not interested.

The priest concentrated on their playing to remember the angels’ melodies.

Every single melody. Every beat.

From the strength of pulling the string to ring the bell to the process of holding the trembling bell and muting its sound.

However, it was impossible to understand everything just by observing from afar. He little by little. Little by little, we approached the angels.

The number of angels continues to increase.

The sound of the bell became increasingly rich and fantastic.

It was a truly beautiful octave.

Four angels go up and down the stairs at intervals. Every time they moved up the stairs, the grandfather paper they were holding sang mysteriously.

The priest was overcome with a desire to respond to this beautiful harmony that the angels had given him.

The priest, who could not bear it anymore, spoke out without realizing it.

The angels, startled by the sound, began to scream in close order.

The sound gradually rose higher and rang throughout the sky.

Angels running around holding grandfather bells, looking for a place to hide in the clouds.

He tried to persuade them, but no one would listen to the priest.

Pot.

The background changes, and the priest is back in the cathedral.

Ding—.

A small grandfather bell he was holding made a lonely sound.

The melody, which he had memorized by savoring each note in detail, somehow left only a foggy trace in the priest’s mind: ‘There was something there.’

Ding. Ding… Ding… … .

The sound made by the priest’s bell strikes the wall of the cathedral, leaving a reverberation, and thus the song ends.

The beautiful time is now over.

It was time for the audience to return to reality.

“… Bravo.”

Starting with Professor Cha Kook-hyeon’s short sigh, the judges reflexively tried to clap their hands.

Jeong Si-woo’s La Campanella provided an enchanting experience to everyone, to the point where the competition was mistaken for an ordinary concert.

The chairman nodded with a satisfied expression, then looked at Professor Cha Kook-hyeon and raised his thumb.

‘It’s a win.’

It was the moment when the winner of the contest was decided.

Although he was not a student he personally raised, Cha Kook-hyun was satisfied that the candidate he recommended caught the attention of the chairman.

‘With this momentum, every remaining song will be perfect.’

The first song, Winter Wind, was so intense that I couldn’t control my emotions. As the song progressed, the excitement was refined into emotions and descriptions. The song that reached its peak was La Campanella.

The last remaining dream of love, number 2.

The happiest death.

‘It’s a happy death… .’

It’s up to your interpretation, but the happiest death would be dying while sleeping.

La Campanella itself is a scene from an ecstatic dream I had just before I died. To lose your life without any pain after such a beautiful time… .

Wouldn’t that be the happiest death?

Cha Kook-hyun interpreted Jeong Si-woo’s program in his own way and waited for the last song to start.

But even after a minute or two.

For some reason, Jeong Si-woo didn’t seem to have any intention of playing the next song.

He was just staring at the entrance to the concert hall.

As if waiting for someone to come.

‘… ‘Why don’t you play?’

The total time given to all participants is 50 minutes.

After that time, points will be deducted for violating the rules.

Dream of Love No. 2 is a song that lasts about 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

There were only 6 minutes left for Jeong Si-woo, so if he didn’t start within the next minute, time would be running out.

“… Candidate Jeong Si-woo. How come it doesn’t look like you’ve given up?”

Hearing the whispers of the judge next to him, Cha Kook-hyun looked at Jeong Si-woo’s expression again.

The nervousness shown on his face from quite a distance away. Maybe it has something to do with someone he’s waiting for.

‘If no one comes to listen to your performance… Are you saying you won’t play?’

why?

You’ve played so perfectly so far.

What are you going to do if you act like you have given up now?

No matter how perfect your performance has been so far, the competition is still a testing ground.

If you leave the room without playing the promised song and say there is an urgent matter, even professional pianists will say something behind your back.

A program is a promise made to the audience. And it is also a promise made to the judges at the competition. If you do not keep that promise, the penalty you will receive is significant.

No matter how good your scores have been so far.

One last sudden action can ruin everything.

This means that winning the competition will be lost.

Cha Kook-hyun was trying to take a quick look at the chairman’s expression, but his eyes met and he stopped.

The chairman had a hardened expression and was looking at what was at the end of Jeong Si-woo’s gaze.

The chairman, looking at the entrance to the concert hall, muttered lowly.

“… It would be better to give up.”

Jeong Si-woo’s unexpected behavior was a feeling that only those who have wasted time waiting for someone they miss who will not return can understand.

Among the judges, the chairman was the only one who completely understood Jeong Si-woo.

In fact, as the chairman expected, the story was heading towards the saddest ending.

The Chairman is Jeong Si-woo’s last song. I was convinced that the person who met the ‘happiest death’ was Jeong Si-woo’s new lover.

“I feel sorry for everyone… .”

The judges also looked at the entrance to the performance hall, not at Jeong Si-woo, as if they had promised.

Although I couldn’t understand Jeong Si-woo’s feelings. It was because of the industry insider’s feeling that there must be some reason for the chairman’s actions.

Just like that, the deadline for Jeong Si-woo to perform Dream of Love No. 2 has passed. The audience was also agitated by Jeong Si-woo’s gaze, which had been fixed on the entrance for several minutes.

Click.

The door opened, and from outside the relatively bright performance hall, Inyoung quietly walked into the performance hall.

Although the face was not visible due to the backlight.

That moment-.

‘… ‘Have you started?’

Suddenly, the piano sound was heard again from the stage.

However, the audience’s eyes are still focused on the entrance.

The judges also kept their ears wide open.

I looked at a girl standing in front of a closing door.

With a calm expression, the girl slowly, step by step, carefully walked down the stairs to the beat of the song being played.

And then he confidently walked to the closest place to the stage.

Her audience seat was an empty space directly below the stage that was not permitted to the audience.

Although the girl’s appearance obscured part of the audience, no one complained or expressed dissatisfaction.

This was because everyone felt that the scene itself was part of the performance.

Even though there was only one person in the performance hall who almost completely understood Jeong Si-woo’s feelings, the chairman… . Anyone who has followed Jeong Si-woo’s program from beginning to end could not help but feel this.

Today’s entire program was actually for this girl.

If she hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have been able to hear the last song.

Only with that girl’s existence does Jeong Si-woo’s performance become complete.

As if I was having a sticky, sweet daydream.

When the performance ended, most of the audience was savoring the moment with their eyes closed.

The chairman stood up, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief.

It was a competition and a concert that comforted the heart at the same time.

For the Chairman, it was clear that today would be remembered as one of the unforgettable days.

However, even before the chairman’s small applause echoed throughout the concert hall.

Clap clap clap! Light and lively applause was heard from the front.

The owner of the applause was the girl who entered the concert hall last.

She was smiling brightly, like someone at a festival.

Like a single cherry blossom that blooms regardless of location in April.