Chapter 7.4 - Lightly 4 (2/2)

Then what was she jealous about?

It was then that the high note of the soprano left the stage.

“Ah ah—-”

High notes that seemed to be floating in the skies – the voice of a soprano that brought out the most of the softness unique to female voices.

It was a voice Song Mirae couldn’t obtain.

“…”

Soon, the presentation of the second group ended and several feedbacks came out.

“The overall composition is…”

“The parts allocated to the soprano were…”

“Harmonically…”

I was watching Yu Minji give general feedback when my eyes suddenly met with a man who was sitting at a corner of the class.

At the very right – Kim Wuju’s group.

[Kim Sukwon]

The upperclassman with a green name tag raised the corners of his lips into a smile.

“Group 3! Please begin!”

“Ah, yes.”

I quickly stood up from the seat.

*

“…I will~”

Closing my mouth, I glanced around to see the general reaction of the crowd.

Was that fine? Ah… I had no idea. Although I did try my hardest to perfect the lyrics, it was too hard to finish over one night. Besides, my throat was starting to hurt due to the leftover fatigue from the lessons yesterday with teacher Ku Mingi.

Well, I did sing it pretty easily thanks to the high notes I learned yesterday though…

“Group 3, thank you for your performance. Should we start the feedback from Group 1?”

“Yes.”

I got nervous thinking that feedback like ‘why the hell did you express the lyrics like that’ could come out but fortunately, there were no such thorny comments.

There were only comments related to the song like how the development of the song was good; the vibe was good and that the modulation at the middle was good, etc.

In fact, I guess it would be quite funny to badmouth the performers when it’s a presentation of the composing department, and it might be hard to raise negative comments against Yu Minji-sunbae, the top student of the composing department as well.

On the other hand, maybe they found us likeable despite being young freshmen, as I could hear some compliments as well.

“The tenor’s expressions of high notes are… really good. It fits perfectly into the song. Was he perhaps the inspiration of your song?”

“Yeah.”

When Yu Minji replied, their gazes gathered on me before soon dissipating.

Mhmm… was I the motive of the song?

But this song was really sad; so what did that mean?

With a blank face, I was pondering the meaning when it was finally the last group’s turn for feedback. The upperclassman with the name tag, Kim Sukwon, stood up before giving a smile towards us.

…I felt ominous as his mouth opened.

“First off, the song wasn’t bad. It wasn’t but… I think that maybe your choice of performers was way too off.”

“Performers?”

“Right. The tenor there is okay but that girl – there’s a slight problem with that girl. To be honest, I get doubts on whether she would be able to present this song in a month’s time, don’t you?”

“Ha.”

Scoffing, as if there was no worth in even replying to that, Yu Minji turned her gaze towards the teacher.

“Sir, we are here to talk about the composition of songs. It doesn’t have much to do with performers…”

Kim Sukwon interjected immediately.

“Why not? Composers choose the performers and it is thus their ability to choose able performers. And yet, choosing a person that can’t even perform the song? This is… I think there’s something wrong with your choice, isn’t there?”

“Who do you think you are to decide whether she can sing it or not?”

“Can’t you just tell from hearing?”

“Enough.” Slamming down on the table, teacher Ahn Kibum glanced at the two before scratching his cheek.

“Now now. Let’s not fight, and listen to each side rationally. First, student Kim Sukwon. What do you mean when you say there’s a problem with the performer?”

With a prideful smile, Kim Sukwon stared at us.

“You could tell as well right sir; the difference of their skills. The tenor’s good but the girl… doesn’t have any analyses on the song done yet. She’s just reading off the sheet and if it was like this, it might be better to just play it off a computer. No matter how good the song is, if the performer is like that, then who would be able to tell the true value of the song?”

Kim Sukwon – his tone was polite but each and every word of his was filled with hostility. It was subtle enough that only the person involved would be able to feel it and perhaps the teacher wasn’t certain either as he frowned in thought.

… On top of that, it was also a fact that we didn’t have enough time to analyse due to having received it yesterday. Overall, it was hard to refute.

“Hah seriously.”

She seemed to be angered by that as Yu Minji smacked the table.

“She didn’t have time to practise so mind your own business.”

“Why’re you angry? I was just worried. There’s only a month left so would it be okay after just some practice~? Wouldn’t it be better to admit it and just look for another one?”

“This bastard…”

While the two were in a battle of nerves, I turned my gaze to the side.

Song Mirae.

Since it was an awkward situation and we couldn’t just walk back to our seats, I was just standing out here with her but she wasn’t in a good situation. Her body was trembling; her eyes were glancing around and her shoulders were shrunk.

Maybe it was because she was from a rich family but it seemed like it was her first time facing this kind of hostility.

…On top of that, I for some reason remembered her expression which I had seen on the day of the Concerted Music presentation day – the face she made after listening to Han Dasom’s song.

A voice she couldn’t reach no matter how much she tried and her face that had been crumbled into pieces after seeing Han Dasom pull that off so casually. And yet if her little leftover pride was broken like this.

“…”

I could feel something bubbling up from within.

Sympathy, empathy, rage.

Whatever it was, that was okay. Emotions which were hard to tell apart due to the mix rose up the throat and left my mouth.

“Hey, sunbae.”

In that instant, the classroom turned quiet.

“…What?”

Was there too much emotion embedded into the voice? I breathed in deeply before forcing out a smile.

“It’s because she got the music sheets yesterday. She’s plenty skilled enough to sing that after a month.”

As if he had caught on something, Kim Sukwon gave a grin.

“Oh, is that so? You received it yesterday? Did Yu Minji finish the lyrics yesterday perhaps?”

“Yes.”

“Is that so? But then you see…”

Pointing his finger at me, he smiled.

“How did you polish it up so much~? You got it yesterday as well right? That’s very strange; one’s okay but the other one is a complete beginner? That’s a bit weird isn’t it?”

That was because I practised a bit more during the night but in any case, it might sound like an excuse without any proof.

…He attacked with this as the basis huh.

While I was glaring, teacher Ahn Kibum slammed the table before giving out a warning.

“Kim Sukwon. Stop it there.”

“Ah I’m sorry sir. I was just curious…”

“I told you to stop!”

“Yes.”

In the eyes of Kim Sukwon sitting back down with a grin appeared a strange prideful light of victory. Then, he raised his arms and shrugged his shoulders, making a gesture that he was only giving feedback.

“…”

Good. Feedback huh.

Good.

I can give feedback as well.

“…”

Sitting back down, I contemplated while staring at Kim Wuju who was in Kim Sukwon’s group.

Feedback. It would be difficult for me to give to the future Kim Wuju. How could the likes of me possibly say anything to the man who would later be called the best tenor? Besides, since Kim Sukwon was a composing department major, there wouldn’t be anything for me who was an opera major to point out.

But if it was now, with Kim Wuju who had yet to finish his growth and that inexperience unique to composing department students which even that ‘Yu Minji’ had shown.

‘There may be a chance.’