Chapter 3.1 - Passionately 1 (1/2)
On the first weekend since the admission into Future Arts High.
Song Mirae rested her chin on her hand and stared at the girl in front. She had black hair tied tightly, eyes slanted up, and noble-like facial features. Whether she was aware of gathering the eyes of all the men inside the coffee shop or not, she was completely focused on the exercise book.
It was her friend, Lee Suh-ah.
Stirring the coffee for a bit with a bored expression, Song Mirae opened her mouth.
“Do you have to study when you’re with me?” I’m really bored to death.”
“Who was the one that brought me out? Don’t talk to me. I need to focus.”
“Why do you even need to study; wouldn’t you come first again even if you didn’t?”
Lee Suh-ah’s busy hand came to a halt.
“Who knows. This time there’s someone studying hard so I need to be prepared.”
“Sigh…”
Song Mirae collapsed on the table. She had somewhat seen it coming but it was like a steel wall. Her friend who was obsessed with first place for some reason, showed no signs of ever playing with her.
Taking a picture of the studying Lee Suh-ah, she started to complain on the SNS.
[My friend’s not playing with me T.T]
Loads of comments were soon put up.
Lee Suh-ah was bad. Who’s this person, she’s cute. That cafe’s nice… Grinning at the comments, Song Mirae suddenly thought of something and opened her mouth.
“Oh yeah, is your concerted music practice going well? Ah you must be~ you betrayed your friend after all so must be doing well.”
“I said it wasn’t betraying. They came first and I said to them already.”
Song Mirae gave a pout.
“Tch. And it had to be a group with Jo Yunjae. He’s not good at singing right?”
Lee Suh-ah raised her head. ‘Did I finally succeed in making her interested?’ thought Song Mirae as she faced her bright eyes at Lee Suh-ah.
“Not as good as me.”
“I knew it. I knew he was bad, looking all lazy and stuff.”
‘A little different…’ thought Lee Suh-ah.
Indeed, he was worse than Lee Suh-ah in terms of singing. His vocal range was limited and resonance was unsatisfactory. He lacked breath and the longer a song went for, the more mistakes there would be.
After some consideration, she came to a conclusion.
“Hmm but… he’s a bit unique.”
Unique. It was a vague word but she couldn’t come up with a better word than this.
“Unique?”
Lee Suh-ah suddenly thought back to what happened two days ago. On the day when the group members had gathered to pick the song, Jo Yunjae had talked with confidence, and with a flick, picked a song.
And his singing.
It wasn’t fancy or skilful, but there was something different from other kids. Thinking back, that was the same during the sight-reading as well – more detailed, or something? It was the same pitch and same sound, but it sounded better.
She hadn’t even received this kind of feeling from Kim Wuju… Quickly stopping the thoughts that threatened to go further, she concluded.
“In any case, it wasn’t bad.”
“Really? Tch.”
Song Mirae openly showed her dislike with a scoff and placed the cup of coffee down. Watching the coffee inside the cup dancing with the wind, Lee Suh-ah tilted her head.
This girl wasn’t the type to hate others like this, but she was so open with it too. Did they fight?
“You hate it so much whenever there’s a talk on Jo Yunjae. Did something happen?”
“Did I not tell you?”
“Tell me what”
Gulping all the coffee in, she pushed her body forward and complained.
“That guy, he suddenly told me to be a mezzo during the interview.”
*
“Fu…”
Deeply breathing in and raising my head, there was a door. A deep brown wooden texture, with the number [210] hanging on it, and there was also a red mark signalling that it was a reserved room. I seemed to have come to the right room.
After staring at the door of the practice room for a while, I slowly paced forward as several thoughts passed by my head.
It was the Monday after the intense practices with Chloe during the weekend, and the first Specialist Prac lesson that I had been looking forward to had arrived before me.
“…”
Quietly raising my hand up, the cold door knob reached into my fingers. A heavy weight was conveyed through. Only the doors of practice rooms had that strange heaviness, stickiness and pressure.
It was something I became accustomed to, yet was unable to completely become used to.
Cutting off the slight feeling of nervousness, I slowly opened the door. Along with the sound of a click, the inside of the practice room came to view.
Canterbury’s placed here and there, with one small desk and a black Upright piano, as well as a large man barely fitting in on the tiny seat.
Teacher Kwak Jungsoo.
“Hello. I’m Jo Yunjae who had applied for the lesson.”
“…”
When I glanced at him after slightly lowering my head, his hair with signs of white hair was visible, and the head that was twice as big than mine, as well as his tough build. Teacher Kwak Jungsoo who I was meeting the second time after the staffroom, was still massive.
The teacher saw my arrival with a glance and signalled to a seat next to him.
“Sit.”
“Yes.”
Sitting properly on the chair, I turned my body towards the teacher.
It was different seeing him from the front. He was so big that the pressure he gave off was immense.
A size that was around three times of mine; he wasn’t super tall, but was thick. Rather than saying he was fat, it was more correct to say that his bones themselves were thick.
Was he really a pure Korean…
The time we used for analysing each other was soon broken by the teacher’s words.
“First, sing.”
A surge of emotions came flooding out from the heart. Starting off with no greeting, sudden words and his attitude only seeking for songs.
Really,
He was the same.
Hiding the trembling voice, I barely opened my mouth.
“Yes.”
I stood up from the seat.
Song. He would hear the song and determine what kind of person I was. I expected this to happen, as it had been the same 20 years ago. The only difference would be I guess… the fact that I wasn’t forced into his hands and that I had asked for his teaching myself.
“…”