'Does my face look weird?'
I left because Sister Ji-ye suggested that we go and see the place where the preliminary round would be held.
I looked at myself enough in the mirror before I went out.
Uncle Franz said: 'Don't think that spending time on your appearance is a waste of effort. People judge you by how you look. Those who believe that taking care of themselves is superficial often feel inferior because their appearance does not improve... no matter how hard they try.'
As Ji-ye asked something, I went out into the hallway. Almost everyone was looking at me.
'What is this feeling? I feel a slight tremor in my body. I want to get out of here as soon as possible.'
It's a feeling I've never felt before. 'What is this called? Uncle Frédéric said that it was difficult for me to manage my emotions. Should I know this emotion?'
I don't know what kind of feeling it is... but I hate it.
A woman came out of a cafeteria, saw me... and dropped the drink in his hand.
Judging by the dark color, I guess it was brown. That coffee that adults never gave me.
Uncle Franz always taught me to be kind to women.
"Are you okay?"
Fluent Polish.
Ji-ye's eyes widened as if they were going to burst. His nervousness increased.
"Okay, okay, okay!"
Soo-hyun nodded.
Since the other person said it was fine, I guess I can let it go.
When I was about to get back on the road, I heard someone say something... in Korean.
"So... SOL was a Korean boy?"
A monologue.
But... in Korean.
Although I didn't feel anything special about my native tongue, I turned my head and asked with a slightly cheerful heart:
"Sister, are you Korean?"
After the Pole, this time... Korean.
Ji-ye's expression became confused.
"Huh? Ah... that... that, but..."
"I see. I'm Korean, too."
Ji-ye's expression became strange.
'If you're Korean, you're Korean. What does "I am Korean" mean?'
Only then did he observe it more closely.
He was 1.63 m tall, but the boy, at thirteen, seemed even taller.
Those children are already quite grown.
His eyes were not deep black, but blue-green. Like most piano prodigies, his white skin seemed never to have touched the sun. Red lips. A beautiful face. Anyone who saw it... it would stop.
"Ah... really?
He spoke to me informally as soon as we met, but it didn't bother me.
Ji-ye said, 'Don't get me wrong. Sometimes older sisters speak in a casual tone to get closer to you.'
"Are you a student here, sister?"
"… I wanted to be, but unfortunately I didn't have the opportunity."
"I see. Is it a good place?"
"Huh?"
"Does it have good facilities?"
'What does that mean?'
'See, where in the world is a place like this located?' There are few places that can match the Warsaw Conservatory, founded in 1810.
"Of course... right?"
"Ah. Of course."
Soo-hyun looked around with fresh eyes.
Ji-ye looked at the boy strangely, not knowing that he had never seen facilities like these.
SUN. The boy Lech smiled at. Judging by what they said, it seems that that smile happened after watching their preview video...
But Ji-ye didn't know what Professor Lech's smile meant.
"Excuse me, what's your name?"
"I'm Nam Soo-hyun."
"Huh? I think I've heard that name..."
"It's the first time I've seen you, big sister."
"Really? Well... do you know anyone around here?"
"Is there anyone else with the same name?"
"Of course. Didn't we know each other before?"
Gently, the professor turns. The light from the window casts soft shadows on his wrinkled but vivid face, as if the whole room is waiting for a conversation that had already begun without words.
"Welcome, Soo-hyun."
The voice is not imposing, but it has the texture of an old page that still retains clarity.
Soo-hyun walks in slowly. Their steps are brief, as if they were stepping on a memory that does not belong to them at all.
"I've wanted to see you again without screens for a long time."
'To come back... to see me? Have we talked before?'
But he doesn't ask. Just nod gently. It is his way of respecting that emotion that he does not yet understand.
"Thank you for coming. I know people want to see how you play, but I wanted to see how you're doing."
Lech points to the piano.
"I don't ask you to touch. Today I just wanted to look at you."
Soo-hyun turns his head to the piano.
A quiet space. A piece of furniture that has heard more secrets than words.
Walk towards it. Gently place your hand on the shiny edge of the instrument.
'This piano seems to know a lot of things. I hope you can hear me too.'
Lech sits across from him. No questions asked. There are no trials. Just wait.
Then, as if music were not a decision but a necessity, Soo-hyun settles down in front of the keyboard.
Rest your wrists, breathe... and drops your fingers.
Not to impress. Not even to respond. Just to remember that there are sounds that only exist when someone needs them.
And at that moment, Lech thinks:
'He is not thirteen years old. It's been all the years that someone who hears the invisible has played.'
Silently, the lesson that needs no words begins.
"Oh, you came." Nam Soo-hyun, who was not entirely familiar with the rules of Korean etiquette, simply bowed slightly. It wasn't the kind of greeting you'd expect from a Korean kid." Hello, professor."" Hahaha, you're still very polite."
They say that bad manners destroy both reason and justice, but also that refined manners can make even what we don't like seem acceptable. Surprise was clearly reflected on Professor Lech's face when he heard those words come out of the mouth of Soo-hyun.Su grandson himself, he was already seventeen years old, but he had never said anything like it. He was surprised that a child of barely thirteen years old should speak with such maturity, as if he were an old man." Where did you learn that?"
"I was told by the ajusshi I lived with." Ajusshi?"" Yes, the men she lived with. I had mentioned it to you before, remember? The man who taught me Polish." Ah, they must have been very good people." Yes, they took care of me as if they were my parents."
Lech let out a slight laugh. I'm glad to hear that you had such a warm relationship with them. Well, do you want to sit here for a while?"
When Soo-hyun saw Professor Lech gently tap the piano bench, he understood that he was inviting him to sit down. The professor, then, knelt on one knee, approaching his height to look him straight in the eye.
"I can't help but be curious. I'm sorry for asking you to come today." Curiosity? About what?"" About the piece you will play in the second preliminary round."" Oh, that."" Yes. You've already decided on it, right?"" Of course I have already decided, I hoopoe. The preliminaries are still a few days away, but I'm sure you've already decided too." Yes, yes, I've already decided."
Lech looked at him with a mixture of excitement and contained expectation. What piece are you going to play?"
Soo-hyun softly tapped the closed lid of the piano before replying, "The Mazurka in B-flat major." Oh! Chopin's Mazurka in B flat major! What opus number is it?"" Op. 7, No. 1."" Hahahaha! Very well! Excellent choice!"
Soo-hyun looked at the professor with a somewhat bewildered expression, who couldn't contain his laugh of excitement.
'He also plays the piano, so why is this grandfather so excited?'
Professor Lech, still smiling, spoke to him sincerely: "I'm curious to know why you chose that piece. May I ask you?"
Soo-hyun looked at him for a moment, as if he was going to answer, but then closed his mouth without saying anything.
Lech encouraged him in a calm voice: "What's wrong? Don't you want to tell me?"" It is not that." So?"" It's just that... I don't know how to say it." Okay, you can speak calmly."
Soo-hyun lowered his gaze, carefully sorting out his thoughts. His slow and thoughtful way of speaking was not common for a child of his age. Professor Lech, seeing him so concentrated, couldn't help but feel proud. He let enough time pass for him to think clearly, and in the meantime he changed the subject slightly to lighten the mood:
"While in Poland, you should visit Chopin's birthplace. It is in Żelazowa Wola, about 32 kilometers west of Warsaw."
Soo-hyun, who was listening absentmindedly, pursed his lips slightly, and replied in a somewhat listless voice, "I heard it's just a house where he lived until he was seven months old. They told me it wasn't worth going because there's not much to see."
"...?"
Lech was stunned. 'How does this child know that? Did he really look into it? Almost no one knows that detail, not even many Chopin lovers.'
"Uh... Did you really hear that? Well, and you're coming to Poland in February? A festival is held that month in honor of Chopin's birthday. There are many interesting things during that time. The festival takes place on February 22."
Soo-hyun, with his head resting on the palm of his hand, replied nonchalantly, "That man was not born on February 22, but on March 1."
Lech's eyes widened.
'What is this child saying?'
Almost everyone believes that Chopin was born on February 22. Even the festival in his native country is celebrated on that day. But scholars of the subject know that Chopin himself claimed to have been born on March 1. There were probably errors in the official records of the time, which caused confusion with the dates.
"March 1st?" Yes. He got angry when I mentioned that my birthday was February 22nd."
"...."
Lech blinked, confused. 'Who got angry? Do you mean Chopin?'
It seems that the child has read a book narrated from Chopin's perspective. Lech decided that later he should research what book it was, maybe there will be a Polish or French edition.
As he watched him, he noticed Soo-hyun slowly raise his head, as if he had finally managed to collect his thoughts. With his eyes fixed on Lech, he replied with surprising honesty:
"I chose that piece because I heard that mazurkas are the works that best reflect Chopin's style. They say that in them you can find the whole spectrum of human emotion, and that they express its essence more deeply than any other work. They told me that he began to compose mazurkas since his adolescence and that he never stopped doing it until the end of his life."
Lech's expression immediately lit up.
'The perfect answer.' Just the answer I expected to hear.
And then, a thought flashed through his mind:
'My ajusshi told me that he has been composing music since his adolescence and that he has never given it up, not once, in his entire life.'
Who was the boy referring to? Was he talking about Chopin? Or perhaps the master who had raised him?