The Road We Walk On

40 | Day 1 (2)

Block B, Room 134, Faculty of Music, Juilliard School

Seokhoon, Seungho and George were already sitting down, Seokhoon had purposely chosen the corner seat in the classroom. Gabbie was late and when she tried to search for Seokhoon she was disappointed that he had sat in the corner so she couldn't squeeze beside him. She was still not close enough to the other two to warrant them moving seats so she could sit beside Seokhoon. She looked back and saw the girls from the other day, when she saw how they avoid eye contact, she smirked.

About 2 minutes later, James walked in.

Good Morning everyone, welcome to the first module of your first semester of your first year. WOW, that was a lot of first. Okay today would actually be a rather easy day. As most of you know in Juilliard, the reason why each major is kept fairly small is because we spend a lot more time with our students 1-1. It is through those teachings that we can give you very specific instructions and also make sure that everyone here gets equal attention to their craft. If the major is too big, well eventually that would lead people to be left out in large group settings. So in order to facilitate your individual training, as you can see at the back, there are some of your other professors or trainers who will be taking note. Today you will be playing for us.

Relax, this is meant to mark you down or even mark you up. We need to know what kind of a pianist you are so the next time you go for your modules not just me but the other teachers would be prepared. So let's start, who wishes to volunteer first?

A brave soul chose to go first, it was sometimes better to go first that way - there are no expectations that come before you. The students were allowed to choose any piece from either Mozart, Bach or Chopin. As the evaluations progressed, volunteers began to slow down. So James called out names, the next name that he called was Seungho.

Seungho breathed out a loud breath before he headed towards the piano. He quickly wiped his hands on his pants, after a couple of seconds he started to play. From the first note,

Seungho's playing had set the mood and tone in the room. Seungho was a gifted pianist, surprisingly he did not start piano at a young age, he fell in love with it after his parents dragged him to a classical performance. During that performance, a 8 year old boy was completely amazed by the movement of the pianist's finger movements. After that, he insisted that he learn how to play the piano. At first his parents just went along with his whims, it was only after the 4th lesson that his teacher said Seungho had a natural gift of music and from that point on Seungho kept playing. Even though he had started a bit later compared to some of her peers like George and Seokhoon, the fact that she was able to qualify for Juilliard, speaks to his level of talent.

After Seungho, Gabbie was chosen next. Gabbie cringed at the thought of playing after Seungho, even though she knew she was not the best depending on who she went after, she could still place well. But now that she had to perform after Seungho, she knew what she was up against.

Gabbie approached the piano and began to play. Even though Gabbie was not as talented compared to Seungho, she was a decent pianist. The thing that she did lack a lot was understanding the music pieces she plays. If anything Gabbie was perhaps extremely detached from music, very much seeing it as a tool rather than a craft. Gabbie knew from the volume of the applause that she did mediocre. She had messed up a bit of the tempo and flow, pissed at the order she sat down rather angrily. Seokhoon at the corner of his eye, just looked at Gabbie for a split second before returning his attention to the next student.

Soon it was George's turn. Among the three of them, if Seokhoon was considered the best, George is often a close second. George's parents were both trained pianists, even though his mother retired early when she got married. George grew up listening to both his father and mother playing the piano. Wherever he went piano was a constant in their lives, both for him and his older brother. George chose one of the harder piano scores to play, it either reflected complete confidence or ego. In the case for George, it was complete confidence. His fingers slide through the piano keys, playing with enough strength and yet softness as well. George received probably the loudest sound of applause so far.

Next was Seokhoon, he was the 2nd last to play. In Chungah High, the vocal or singers often get more spotlight just because of Cheo Seojin agenda but that didn't mean that Seokhoon was a horrible pianist. Had more attention been given to the piano specialisation, people all around Seoul would acknowledge that Seokhoon was one of the best young pianists in Korea. Seokhoon, calm and collected, walked up to the piano. He did a quick warm up before playing a rather classic Beethoven song.

The moment he started playing, the entire room was silent. Not a single sound could be heard, everyone was glued to Seokhoon's playing. One thing that Seokhoon was good at was the concept of performing. As much as a pianist must play the correct key and tempo. It is also the pianist's role to convey the music through their fingers. This was not something easy, and it was not that Seokhoon had mastered that but having gone through much in his life. Music had been his solace, it was what brought him some bouts of peace no matter how long or short they were. Music was also one of the things that connected him to Rona, as such, playing this specific piece came naturally to him. The hearts in the room were melting and there was an individual sigh coming from every single lady in the room. Seokhon sitting there at the piano, playing that piece, it was beyond romantic and completely looking like a movie. This scene, this image not only created some Seokhoon fangirls but spurred Gabbie even more that this is the person she deem worthy of being with her.

Once Seokhoon was finished, the professors and trainers clapped loudly. They were definitely taken by Seokhoon, of course he was not perfect but that does not mean he was not on the road to being perfect.

Looks like we have a new monster in this batch. One of the trainers whispered.

This is going to be fun, to train someone who probably will blow everyone's mind and hearts every single time.

Note: Seokhoon is too handsome for his own good - seriously. We will definitely get handsome Seokhoon!