God of Piano

“Um…well? Going to college, preparing for the LA Piano Competition. I lived like that. Since the Chopin Competition was such a big competition, I think I focused more on having time to develop my skills after that.”

“okay. Is there any special reason for preparing for the LA Piano Competition?”

“There are many reasons. It is also the most famous and prestigious competition in California right now. And… no. I just wanted to participate. I thought it would be fun.”

“I thought it would be fun… I see. At the last Chopin competition, there were many saying that Heather’s performance was not suitable for the competition. They said that the competition’s scoring system couldn’t handle Mr. Heather’s personality. What do you think about this?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

Heather was very proud to say that she did not know. Heather took a sip of her coffee and said, looking more awake.

“I’m not a scorer, and I’m not someone who plays for the score. I don’t think that’s an issue for me to think about. I just want to play what I want to do. Don’t play what you have to do.”

“Sounds like a pretty challenging statement for someone entering the contest, doesn’t it?”

“Well, I don’t mean to challenge myself… I’m a pianist. All I have to do is play the piano. playing well The thing to worry about is how can I hit better, isn’t that enough?”

In a way, it was an innocent thought like a child, but at the same time, there was no room for denial. Maybe that’s Heather’s charm. Alice smiled and asked.

“That’s a great attitude. Yes. Actually, it’s not something you have to think hard about. Oh, come to think of it, the musicians… I guess it was around 1 o’clock?”

“yes. I think it’s probably about that because the order is in front. Are you coming to see it?”

“Of course I have to go. Can you work as a reporter for a music magazine without taking care of the header stage?”

“Ooh… thank you for saying that.”

Heather put her hands together with a moved expression. Then, as if thinking for a moment, he rolled his eyes, then slowly opened his mouth with his gaze outside the window instead of Alice.

“But it would be nice to come. Because this competition will be fun.”

“Is it because of the header?”

“Of course, it will be the most fun because of me! But besides me, there’s a fun guy participating.”

“Oh, really? Am I someone I should know?”

“no. You probably don’t know. But, but… you probably want to know. After listening to him play.”

“Looking at you talking like that, you seem like a talented friend… I’m curious.”

“Well, if you want to brag, you can do it, but now is my time! Back to my story. How far did you go?”

“I was talking about the LA Competition, but before that, let me ask you one question, off the record. The lip color is pretty. Where are you going?”

“······Ah, this is the one with Yves Saint Laurent.”

Heather added with a smile.

“The color is coral pink.”

#

“Oh, Heather!”

“Oh, are you already here?”

“I haven’t seen you in a while, I came because I wanted to see you soon!”

When he arrived at the venue for the competition, Heather had to face a group of alumni who greeted her in the hall. The piano students who came to support Heather and Rowoon looked a bit angry when they saw it. Gregor muttered in a stunned voice.

“······Heather, she’s really loved everywhere she goes.”

It’s not even a recital, it’s to the extent that friends come to the competition like this. Chris looked back at Rowoon and giggled.

“What are you? to be compared So, get your school life straight.”

“I don’t think that’s an area that can be said to be straight, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Whatever pianist Heather becomes in the future, I think she can definitely become a star.”

Gregor smiled and said. At that, Heather and Julie, who have been hanging out for a long time these days, looked at Gregor and asked teasingly.

“What kind of pianist will you be? That will make you a star regardless of your skills. Is this? Reaching Heather?”

“······No, it’s not like that, I just wanted to say that I’m very popular… Please don’t tell me. Sorry.”

“What, why are you reacting so seriously? I was just joking.”

When Gregor apologized with a melancholy expression, Julie was taken aback. From this point of view, Gregor was not an easy opponent to make fun of in many ways.

“Guys, hello! my friends!”

Heather was approaching. Perhaps she thought it would be nice if all of my friends could become friends with each other, so she introduced me to each and every one of them. No matter how you look at it, it was not the attitude of a person who would hold a competition in just a couple of hours.

Julie scratched her red hair while looking at the header. As a fellow piano student, in many ways, Heather’s current attitude seemed strange to me.

“Heather, shouldn’t you take a break? I think you’re too tense right now.”

“It feels good to have my friends come all the way here to cheer me on. It’s not natural.”

“of course. Of course… will you be able to play well later?”

Heather laughed softly at Julie’s words.

“don’t worry. Because you will win.”

“I can’t get past that.”

Chris slapped Rowoon’s back and smirked.

“Winning is a row.”

“Ohhh… you want a competition here?”

“Isn’t that what you came for? 1st place has to be one of the two. You know me well, right?”

“Hey, Chris! Don’t make the kids nervous!”

Julie seemed to be the type who was nervous before the contest, so it was hard for her to ignore Chris’ pranks. Chris said with a giggle.

“Tension is what happens when you try to release it. If you try to reduce tension, it actually loosens up.”

“······It sounds like the right words······ Was it to relieve tension?”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Anyway, stop! a little! The kids fight for nothing, huh?”

Shouting out loud, in a way, seemed to be the most nerve-wracking for Julie, who said don’t be nervous. Heather grinned as she rested her chin on Julie’s shoulder.

“calm down. Julie. because i’m fine And I’m sorry, but the first place is mine. He said he already decided on the clothes he would buy with the prize money. Rowoon. did you decide Haven’t you even thought about it?”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t do music for money.”

“her.”

Heather, who became a pianist for money in an instant, laughed. Then, leaving Julie behind, he trudged and crossed his arms in front of Rowoon’s nose.

“Looking at what you’re saying, you seem confident? Did you prepare properly?”

“Well, to tell you one thing, you’d better redo your shopping list.”

Rowoon said shamelessly.

“That prize money won’t be stuck in your bank account.”

#

Without even imagining that the topic of conversation between the two pianists was money before the sacred contest, the judges were sitting in the audience seats on the stage and preparing for the judgement.

“Hmm… what about the winners we shot?”

“First of all, there’s Heather Hong… and that friend from Juilliard.”

“Oh, what was your name? Anthony?”

“It must have been Anton.”

“Isn’t that friend nice too? Besides Heather Hong, there was another one at the California Conservatory.”

“Oh, that strange name friend? I think it was something like Ron… It was a good style for scoring. Star Castle… you’ll have to watch it to find out. Hmm… it was fun.”

“Ugh, let’s stop. A story like this. We need to judge as objectively as possible.”

“don’t worry. Because I’m ready to cut the score right away if the friends I just said are lacking even a little bit. No, it might be more strict. Because there are expectations.”

Jennifer trembled. Martin said with a smile.

“But in any case, the level of this competition will be good in many ways, so I’m looking forward to it. If we release a video of the winner’s performance, the response will be quite good.”

“YouTube is good. I heard there are pianists who debuted because of YouTube fans.”

“Of course, in this case, you have to show a performance that anyone can listen to, so that the response will follow… but all of the friends this time are playing pretty fun, aren’t they?”

“Did you say it while thinking of Ron Lee?”

Helen pointed at Martin with a knowing look on her face. Martin didn’t deny it. He shrugged and replied.

“I watched the video closely. When I was doing the list with Beethoven, the posture, pedaling habits, and even the way I bent my wrists were quite different for each song. It was a fairly extensive change that was hard to explain with just the difference in the songs. So at first I wondered who I was imitating…”

“Well, it doesn’t sound like an imitation, but… But, I don’t know. There must be a reason why there is no award history. Like being weak on stage or something like that. Aren’t you suddenly getting good at it?”

Helen continued, not imagining that the case she just mentioned was correct.

“Weaknesses that were not properly identified in the recorded file are bound to be revealed in the actual performance. Maybe you will feel it when you face it? Oh, that’s why Recording and live performance are inevitably different. So, don’t be disappointed later, just hold on tight for now.”

“······But what if that feeling lives on in a broken heart?”

Martin put a condition on it as if he couldn’t let go of his lingering feelings. Helen paused for a moment. And just as she was about to think about the case, Jennifer threw it out.

“Then you will pronounce it properly. That friend’s name.”

＜ LA International Piano Competition (3) ＞ End

＜ LA International Piano Competition (4) ＞

While the judges were talking like that, Rowoon and Heather went to the waiting room away from their friends. And the remaining friends started to fill the seats one by one.

Chris murmured.

“It’s been a while since the competition.”

“You don’t have to go to competitions, do you? It’s a songwriting department.”

“Still, Rowoon and his ex-girlfriends often went to cheer for the competition.”

“A good friend.”