A warm breeze tickled the tip of his nose.
A gust of wind, more like early autumn than spring, blew past the sleeping Soo-hyun.
The boy, still lying with his eyes half-open and blinking, was the first to guess where he was.
'Could it be... that everything last night—losing my parents, being alone, meeting the men in that strange house in the woods—was just a dream?'
He looked up and saw the blanket under which he was sleeping. As expected, it wasn't the colorful, patterned blanket I used to sleep with at home.
Snow-white sheets. Impeccable. Not a single wrinkle, despite having slept through the night.
He turned slowly and looked at the room where he had fallen asleep. There was only a black-framed bed, a dresser, a sofa, and a small tea table.
It wasn't a big house, but it looked very spacious... perhaps because it had hardly any furniture.
'Where did the knights go?'
Suddenly, he felt afraid.
Although they were strangers, just having an adult around made her feel safe. Seeing neither of them, he immediately sat up.
And at that very moment, a piano melody began to float from the window.
It entered through his right ear and spread throughout his body, as if every note ran through his veins.
It was a song that allowed you to hear the birds in the morning... but I also had something of the night inside. Lyrical, subtle, with a delicate lyricism that evoked the image of a person alone, in a peaceful forest, waiting for someone.
A unique melody, with multiple harmonies. A delight for your ears.
Soo-hyun, still sitting on the bed, began to rock her body gently from side to side, inadvertently. And without thinking, her feet began to move on their own, leading her to the place where the sound of the piano was coming from.
He went around the log cabin and down the path that began behind the house. The sound of the piano didn't come from far away.
As he walked, he passed blooming wildflowers, nameless grasses, and hills covered by large, deep-rooted trees.
When she reached the point where the bushes lined both sides of the road—the same ones she had crossed the previous afternoon—she found that familiar space again: six zelkova trees, so thick that five adults could hug them, formed a kind of natural scenery.
It was the place where I had met Franz the day before.
Franz, seated at the piano in the center between the three grand pianos, played with deep concentration. Beside him, Frédéric frowned with obvious annoyance.
Soo-hyun—who unwittingly kept moving his feet to the tune—watched him intently. He saw Franz exhale all the air from his lungs at the end of the piece.
'I saw it yesterday too... but that old man with a somewhat creepy appearance... today he looks even more handsome with that long silver hair.'
But Frédéric, shorter and always serious, was still frowning and staring at Franz.
Franz, still breathing deeply, opened his eyes and looked at his friend. Interpreting the expression on his face, Franz smiled calmly and nodded.
"Why?"
Frédéric wrinkled his nose and pointed to the score Franz had in front of him.
"Don't you see this notation? You played pianissimo as if it were fortissimo."
Franz shrugged his shoulders with a mischievous smile.
"I think it's okay like this. It's easier to express emotion in these Nocturnes with a 2/4 time signature."
Frédéric put his hands on his waist and glared at him.
"Do not modify the pieces of others without permission. Y… This piece is in 3/4 time."
"Huh? Whichever way you look at it, it's in 2/4 time."
"It's 3/4 time."
"Well... how about you show me? For me, this song is clearly in 2/4 and this part should be played in fortissimo. But since you said you weren't the composer, I don't understand it."
Franz got up from the piano bench with a certain theatricality and gently tapped the back with his open palm.
Frédéric blushed for just a moment, but soon sat down at the piano.
Soo-hyun, who was watching hidden behind a zelkova tree, scratched his cheek nervously.
'Will that old man play the piano well? I hope he plays as beautiful as Uncle Franz... I really liked how it sounded a little while ago.'
Franz—the one I had seen yesterday—played as if he were putting his whole body on each note. Each movement added tension, drama, emotion.
But Frédéric was different.
With his body erect, he placed his fingers on the keyboard precisely. He did not move his arms or wrists, only his fingers. His whole body was stillness, except for that slight vibration left by the notes.
And he played so softly... that the barely audible sound forced us to pay more attention.
Soo-hyun smiled as he leaned his cheek against the tree trunk and listened with an open heart.
'He's completely different from Uncle Franz! The way Uncle Frédéric plays is like a lullaby that a mother sings before bed!'
It was the best the child could think of. But it was also the best possible description.
Frédéric's performance was like that of a solitary poet on a quiet stage, reciting a poem in a low, warm voice. There were no thunderous moments. But even so, it was even more serene, more intimate.
And no, it was not at all inferior to Franz's. In fact, Frédéric was one step ahead... at least in its ability to convey emotion with the color of sound alone.
The beautiful performance that Soo-hyun had wished would never end... it was finally over.
Frédéric, who had pressed the keys with his eyes closed until the last vibration of the final note hung in the air, slowly opened his eyes and looked at his friend.
Franz, who had been by his side, watching him play attentively, opened his arms with a wide smile and hugged him warmly.
"You were right. I apologize. I shouldn't play your song at my whim. Is it a romantic story or is it real?"
"Well... Since they are stories that I made up, they probably contain things that I have experienced in my life."
"Haha, I see. Is that why you are my only friend?"
While still hugging Frédéric, Franz looked up and saw a familiar little face peeking out from behind the zelkova. His face lit up instantly.
"Soo-hyun! Come here. Why are you hiding?"
Only then did Frédéric realize that the boy was awake. He smiled sweetly and also waved.
"Soo-hyun! Did you sleep well?"
Perhaps because they had spent the previous day together, Soo-hyun walked over without hesitation. He didn't run to hug them, but he didn't stop either.
However, when he arrived in front of the piano, he stopped. The immense black body of the instrument seemed so imposing that it forced him to hesitate.
Franz came over with a smile, put his hand on the boy's shoulder, and led him gently.
"Have you ever seen a piano?"
"No. It's the first time I've seen him. But I've heard the sound."
"Oh... why don't you come here?"
"Yes, my mom said there's a piano academy across the street. I hear it from there every day."
"Ah, I see. How about the performance you were listening to then?"
"Eh... I didn't feel comfortable. Sometimes I just didn't want to hear it."
"Hehe, can you tell me more about that?"
Franz sat next to Frédéric on the piano bench and lowered his body a little to be at Soo-hyun's level.
Soo-hyun frowned, as if thinking about it for the first time:
"Well... it is constantly cut off. Sometimes it overlaps and hits hard. It's like turning the tap on and off. And that... It's uncomfortable."
Children's expressions may not be sophisticated, but they are the most sincere.
Frédéric, who was listening with a smile on his face, asked:
"And how was our performance now?"
"Wow! It was the best!"
"Huh? What does 'the best' mean?"
"It was amazing!"
"Ah... I guess that's a modern expression. So, it's a compliment, right?"
Soo-hyun nodded excitedly, then pointed his finger at Franz.
"When I hear Uncle Franz playing, I feel like a storm is coming and lightning is falling! I get goosebumps and it's cold. It's like being alone in a place where wind and rain are blowing. But I'm not afraid. On the contrary, my body starts shaking and I want to dance right away."
Frédéric turned to his friend and laughed loudly:
"My sincere congratulations, Franz!"
Franz smiled too.
With his arm resting on Frédéric's shoulders, he asked:
"Then what do you think of this old man's interpretation?"
Frédéric raised his eyebrows and looked at him, expectantly.
Soo-hyun replied in a serious voice, as if he was struggling to explain it precisely:
"When you play, man... It's like a nursery rhyme. Like singing in front of parents who laugh and applaud in a warm room, in the middle of winter. No... Maybe it's like singing a sad nursery rhyme, alone, in an empty room. It's so relaxing, I feel like I'll fall asleep soon... but at the same time, I'm sad to fall asleep because I'd stop listening to the music."
Franz laughed and patted his friend a little hard on the shoulder.
"Hahaha! Does it seem like you've been praised more?"
Frédéric smiled broadly at Soo-hyun, not even turning to Franz. He stroked his head tenderly and said:
"Thank you."
"Hahaha."
Then Franz's face suddenly appeared next to Frédéric's, and while he was also stroking the boy's hair, he asked:
"Soo-hyun."
"Yes?"
"Wouldn't you like to learn to play the piano?"
"Mmm..."
Soo-hyun looked at the large, black-bodied piano in front of them. The black and white keys seemed so far apart that even stretching out my arms I couldn't reach them all. And the bank was so high... that it seemed clear that he would not be able to reach the three pedals on which the feet of the elderly rested.
'As my mom always says... isn't that something you can do when you grow up?'
"Can I do it?"
Frédéric asked quickly:
"Do you really want to?"
"Yes!"
"Oh!!"
"But the piano is so big... I don't think I can even reach it with my feet."
Franz, with a mischievous gleam in his eye, replied:
"You learn to pedal much later. The basics are best learned now, at your age."
Soo-hyun just blinked. I didn't fully understand what "the basics" or "ideal" meant, but...
'I guess, more or less, it means it's okay to start like this.'
Franz, still with his mischievous expression, put his arm around Frédéric's shoulders and asked:
"Then which one of us do you want to learn from?"
Soo-hyun's eyes visibly trembled.
Franz, who is fascinated with his grand gestures. Frédéric, who with a few movements made the heart vibrate.
Who should I choose?
The boy's eyes slowly turned to Franz.
'I guess, for kids, the most fun thing is to play with someone who moves around a lot.'
Franz smiled like someone who wins a bet... although the words that came out of his mouth went in another direction:
"Moving the body freely in front of the piano is in line with musical and mental freedom. But a pianist who plays tense or exaggeratedly excited... It relates to the piano as if it were a machine. If a child starts learning with me, he might mistake debauchery for freedom."
He paused briefly, then lowered his voice slightly:
"Art becomes freer the more you practice it, when you know how to contain it and maintain its limits."
Franz got up and walked behind Soo-hyun, bent his knees, put his face behind Soo-hyun's head, and looked at his friend.
Beauty is born from the harmony between imagination and understanding, which unfold freely. The desire to please or surprise others can lead artists off the path of true art. That's why the best teacher for you right now is my friend, who is right in front of you. It's not too late to learn from me after learning the fundamentals of it.
Frederick couldn't answer and only looked at his friend's face.
Franz, who had been smiling at his friend, put his hand on Soo-hyun's shoulder and spoke.
"And your innocence is also the best medicine to heal the wounds of the past, my friend."