It is ok. It's really delicious. It's so delicious it makes me cry.
I've only eaten pancakes baked by Franz for seven years, but this... This is a whole new world. From aromatic soups to soft bread and spaghetti; the fries, the freshly baked bacon... everything melts in your mouth.
But we have to be calm. Franz and Frédéric always said that there is nothing more degrading to dignity than eating greedily.
Soo-hyun moves his fork quickly, but never bends down; Keeps your back straight.
Sitting in front of him, Kim Ji-ye asks:
"How was the breakfast at the hotel?" Is it edible?
After swallowing the food he was chewing, Soo-hyun gently wipes his mouth and sits up straight.
"Yes, it's very delicious."
"Ah... I am sorry. Eat quickly, please.
"Yes.
Kim Ji-ye watches him intently as he begins to eat again.
You probably didn't have the opportunity to receive a formal education... but his table manners are excellent. He should not have grown up eating this type of food. I feel as if I were attending to the family of a high-ranking official.
The boy, wearing a white shirt and sitting next to a window through which sunlight enters, seems to have been taken from another era.
Long curly hair. White face. Red lips as if she were wearing lipstick. Long eyelashes.
It has beautiful lines, but not feminine.
How can you have such good skin? Is it because I grew up in Switzerland, with clean air and clean water?
Her skin is white as snow, even though she has never received any special care.
"I... Soo-hyun.
He opens his eyes quickly and chews. Seeing him, she raises her hand.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask you what you're going to do today. You can answer later.
Soo-hyun, after finishing chewing, cleans himself again, straightens up, and answers:
"I want to go back there someday. I have memories of coming here with my parents.
"Here?" To department stores?
"Yes. That big building over there. It was new at the time. Is the theater still there?
"Of course. It still exists. Want to see a movie?
"No. I just wanted to take a look.
"Well, then I'll tell my superiors. I'll give you directions. See you in the lobby after dinner.
Just as he was about to pick up his fork, Soo-hyun looks at Kim Ji-ye. She smiles when she notices it.
"I won't bother you any more. Hurry up and eat, please.
✴︎✴︎✴︎
Thirty minutes later, when he went out into the lobby at the agreed time, two men, along with Kim Ji-ye, were waiting for him. They appeared to be from the embassy.
"Come in. Shall we go then?
"Thank you.
The Jamsil Department Store World Tower is a whole new world.
Elegant clothes hung on mannequins. Beautiful music floating in the air. It was a weekday afternoon, with few people. An ideal place for strolling.
But in this place, which has changed so much, it is difficult to find the memories with his parents.
I have to settle for going out into the world for the first time in a long time and seeing something beautiful.
Walking through the shops on each floor became a bit boring. To Soo-hyun, all the pretty clothes looked the same.
Noticing her expression, Kim Ji-ye comments:
"Go to the fourth floor." There is a bookstore and a small virtual reality room. Oh, there's also a sportswear store, for young people your age...
But he stops mid-sentence.
It is impossible for her to have ever worn branded sportswear.
Soo-hyun coughs lightly and guides her to the escalator.
Going up without moving your legs seems really amazing to him. I remember it from childhood, but it's still amazing. I want to get on again, but the employees who accompany me will be in trouble... better for the next one.
When they reached the fourth floor, the number of children holding hands with their parents increased. It must be for the entertainment facilities.
On the way to the bookstore, Soo-hyun stops.
The staff also stops. Follow his gaze.
Upright piano.
Two pianos facing each other as if they were dueling arcade machines. One of them, originally brown, has been covered with graffiti. You can no longer guess its original color.
Kim Ji-ye suddenly remembered that Soo-hyun had said he could play the piano. She reached into her purse, took out her wallet, and said:
"How about ice cream?"
Soo-hyun's ears perked up as his gaze was still fixed on the piano.
Ice cream?
Soo-hyun nodded without thinking, as sweet and fresh memories returned to his mind.
Kim Ji-ye, shaking his wallet, smiled:
"I find that reaction very tender."
"I'm going to play the piano for a while." I'll buy them an ice cream. Stay with Soo-hyun.
After she left, the two male employees stood on either side of Soo-hyun, their hands clasped in front of their bodies, like discreet sentries.
Soo-hyun, who was still watching Kim Ji-ye's silhouette walk away between display cases, walked slowly to the piano bench and sat down.
The keyboard looked very old. A worn-out piano, put there for anyone to play, like a street set.
He raised his right hand and pressed a key. The sound was muffled. So subdued that even the embassy staff, not knowing much about music, frowned.
Perhaps that is why the space in front of the piano was empty.
But Soo-hyun smiled and gently stroked the body of the instrument.
"Hello?"
The expressions of the staff hardened.
Has anyone ever talked to a piano?
But it was also logical: a child who disappeared after an accident, who lost his parents and returned alive seven years later... Who can put limits on how he expresses his bond with the world?
Caressing the clean body of the old piano, Soo-hyun whispered:
"You've had a hard time..." I'm sure you've had a lot of hands. Did you have a friend who knew how to make you sing?
The piano couldn't answer, but he spoke as if he heard it. He loosened his fingers and murmured:
"I hope you like the way I play."
✴︎✴︎✴︎
Kim Ji-ye's mind was scrambled as he waited with his arms crossed by the counter of an ice cream shop at the end of the hall. From there I couldn't see the piano.
The admission period for the vocational piano school has closed... I will have to ask for a special evaluation. But is it really high enough to justify the teachers' time?
Sighed.
He is a young boy. Ingenuous. And poor. I want you to at least have a chance to try.
The government was willing to collaborate, so doing the test would not be the problem. The problem was what could happen during the test: the uncomfortable atmosphere, the possible embarrassment.
That part... it worries me. I don't want him to get hurt.
At that moment, a piano melody reached his ears.
In department stores like this it was common to hear ambient music, but she recognized it right away.
Étude Op. 10, No. 9 by Chopin. A musical, sad and passionate lament. I didn't know who had chosen it, but it was a beautiful piece. A caress for the ears.
Kim Ji-ye was walking back down the hallway with ice cream in hand when he stopped, just as he caught sight of the piano.
Before going shopping, the place was deserted.
Not now. A crowd crowded in front of the piano. So many people that there was hardly any room left to walk.
At that instant, Kim Ji-ye understood:
Wasn't it recorded music... Was it someone playing? On that old piano? Who could it be? This level of execution is only available to professional pianists...
People would pick up their phones to record. The music was a delight, even to untrained ears.
Who is this pianist capable of moving even the common public? Where is Nam Soo-hyun?
Kim Ji-ye advanced among the people:
"Excuse me... let me pass a moment?" I am sorry...
It took him a long time to get to the front.
As he made his way through, he first saw the embassy staff with puzzled faces.
They looked around, nervously, as if trying to anticipate any unexpected situation.
And in front of them, Soo-hyun.
Sitting at the piano.
With his wrist suspended about fifteen centimeters from the keyboard. His fingers moved flexibly, as if they were made of water.
The piece was in the allegro style, but its soul was not bright.
A solitary composition, like a hymn to the last desolate years. In its final part, it seemed to transform into sighs that were once screams.
Although the melody had form, it was played in staccato, which accurately reflected the morbid state of mind that Chopin went through when composing it.
'How can it sound like this... on an abandoned piano?'
Kim Ji-ye was speechless. In silence. In respect.
Proper handling of tempo and dynamics was combined with impeccable technique.
Moreover, the image of Soo-hyun, with his eyes closed and sliding across the keyboard like ice, fit the piece perfectly.
"Wow...
Kim Ji-ye let out the exclamation without even realizing it.
She had been left with her eyes wide open when she witnessed the boy who filled her eyes and ears with that interpretation. He would never have imagined that Soo-hyun's ability to play the piano would be so high.
But soon, after being impressed by his virtuosity, she frowned slightly.
'It's strange.'
Strange.
Of course, there were no technical glitches. Even she, without being an expert, felt that she was listening to a professional pianist.
A beautiful boy, playing a wonderful instrument, with his eyes closed. But that was all. There was something that didn't fit. A subtle incongruity.
What will it be?
Standing among the people photographing him with their phones, Kim Ji-ye thought as he bit the nail on the hand that wasn't holding the ice cream:
'What's wrong? I feel something strange. I can't understand what it is. The interpretation has no defects... but why does it feel so dry?'
His gaze ascended, following Soo-hyun's hands, which glided in quick, graceful movements over the keyboard.
When his eyes reached the boy's face—beyond the white shirt, down the soft, wrinkle-free collar—he understood:
'Expression.'
Soo-hyun's face.
His eyes remained closed, but there was no gesture.
No emotion. Just the slight movement of the pupils under the eyelids, as if reading a perfect score from memory.
Frédéric Chopin's Étude Op. 10, No. 9 is a piece that contains the cry of loneliness that the composer expressed during his last years of illness.
Soo-hyun's performance was perfect. But it did not transmit pain.
A pianist with perfect technique. But unable to express emotion.
It's funny... how can a thirteen-year-old child express the pain of an end to life?
Kim Ji-ye's expression became more serious as she watched him continue.
At that moment, his phone rang.
[Hi, I'm Manager Lee.]
"Yes, sir. What happened to what I requested?
[I'm in a little trouble. The institution rejected your request for Soo-hyun to apply as a special recruit. They say that there are gifted students who have invested years in training, have won competitions... and that it would be unfair to offer that same opportunity to someone with no experience just out of sympathy.]
Kim Ji-ye looked at Soo-hyun, who was still playing with a serene look and fingers flying over the keyboard. A deep smile was drawn on his face.
"So what do we do?"
「What do you think, Ji-ye? Did you see him play the piano? If you have won even a minor contest, we could justify your admission.]
Kim Ji-ye's smile grew thinner. He had seen something that no diploma could record.
Is it enough to simply have a record of victories?