The Road We Walk On

83 | Setting the Stage

Today was already the 4th day of competition, and it was the piano category in the early afternoon. Early morning was the Harp and brass instruments. Seokhoon had to arrive earlier on campus to prep, but he was worried about Rona walking by herself, especially since Gabbie was still around. So he insisted that Rona take the car over to Juilliard. Even though Rona felt that Seokhoon was slightly exaggerating, she decided to listen to him.

Seokhoon left the house around 11am, all contestants needed to do a briefing and they were given time to practice a bit before the actual competition.

Remember, don't walk there alright? I have already informed Peter to have Marcus bring you to Juilliard, alright?

Seokhoon, relax. Yes I know I will listen to you, even though I think you are being a bit overprotective.

Doesn't matter, it is better to be safe than sorry. Seokhoon kissed Rona and that kiss ended up morphing into a 5 minute session by the door. Their lips moved in a well established rhythm and when Seokhoon tasted Rona, well he couldn't resist. He pushed Rona and she was soon leaning against the wall, her head was cradled by his hand to prevent her head from being hit by the hard wall.

Seokhoon's kisses always did something to Rona, so the moment she opened her mouth to accept his tongue. She just let her emotions guide her. Their tongues sliding together, lips were wet and eager. Soon they were both slowly running out of breath, Seokhoon released Rona's lips reluctantly, he looked down and saw Rona's expressions. Her lips were red from the kiss, her eyes slightly dazed with lust and her cheeks flushed pink. He smiled at the look of Rona, she just looked so freaking hot but he remembered what was happening today and composed himself.

I will see you later, I love you. He lightly pecked her cheek before walking out the front door.

Rona's legs were a bit wobbly and she continued to lean against the wall, staring at the door that Seokhoon had already walked out of. After some time, she eventually got her strength back and went to practice for tomorrow's competition.

Juilliard School, New York

At 12:45PM, a beautiful Audi car pulled up along the road just in front of the campus. The driver of the car got out and opened the backdoor for the passenger to disembark. The passenger was a beautiful Korean girl, with long black hair. She was wearing a two piece checked outfit and holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand

Thank you Marcus.

You're welcome, Rona. Please wish Seokhoon luck from us! I am sure he will do well.

Thank you Marcus I will be sure to tell him.

Rona made her way to the Michael Paul Hall, this was a different venue compared to the one where So Hyun performed. The theatre which the drama and dance majors were performing in was a space that was specifically designed for both drama and dance performances. However music needed a different set of acoustics for their performance so the competition for the Music majors were to be held in the Michael Paul Hall. It was a slightly smaller venue compared to the previous one, hence seats were only available to those 1st year students alongside the parents or guardians of those participating in today's competition.

Rona stopped and saw So Hyun waiting just outside the Hall. She ran up to So Hyun.

So Hyun, you are here early. Where are the others?

Steph told me she was 2 minutes away and Yoo Jung and Ryo are both 5 minutes away. We still have time, the competition starts at 1pm right? We will be okay.

You are looking really pretty. You are dressed so sweetly.

So Hyun blushed as she looked down at her outfit, she didn't think she put in a lot of effort in her outfit but now that she looked at it. She guessed she did put in a little effort.

Are you looking pretty because of Seungho? He did declare he will get to the top 5.

Only IF he gets in.

Oh I think he will do his best to get in. Before So Hyun could comment on that, Steph, Ryo and Yoo Jung arrived.

Hey Hey sorry we are slightly late. Wait a minute. Steph took a step back and looked at So Hyun, Rona and Yoo Jung's outfit. Are you girls matching? Why did you not tell me we were going to all be wearing two piece outfits? I would have matched. The three looked at their outfits and realised that one same level they were matching in terms of style, they were all wearing two piece outfits with a high waist skirt. They laughed when they realised how they managed to coordinate,  despite not having talked about it beforehand, Steph was the only one wearing jeans.

We didn't coordinate anything, this is totally unexpected.

Girls, I know the outfits are important but we should go in if we want to get good seats.

Oh right Ryo, sorry sorry, let's go in. The gang made their way into the Hall.

Michael Paul Hall, Juilliard School, New York

The gang decided to sit slightly further back this time round, a section of the seats had been cordoned off for parents of the participants. The group sat down on their seats waiting for the competition to appear. Seungho, George and Seokhoon were all participating in the piano category. Looking at the order, Seokhoon was going to be performing at the latter half along with George. Seungho was in the middle and Gabbie was also around the same. In total the piano cohort is the largest of the music faculty so there was a total of more than 30 students who would be performing.

Rona took a look at Seokhoon's number - he was 27, so the 3rd student to perform. Overall that was good, it is often known that if you perform more towards the end, you will have a more lasting impression on the judges as opposed to if you were number 1. Rona kept reading and realised the judging panel for the piano category was rather star studded. Apart from 2 Professors from Juilliard, they had invited Marc-André Hamelin (a composer and pianist virtuoso from Canada), Hélène Grimaud (an acclaimed French pianist) and Tigran Hamasyan (a jazz pianist from Armenia). Even though this competition was not a formal competition that would result in any grades - nonetheless to receive feedback from really famous and experienced musicians was an honor in itself, regardless of the outcome.

Today's competition was fairly simple, each contestant would be given 15 minutes to play their piece, there was no rules as to what piece they could play - they could select classical pieces, to jazz or even modern ones. If they felt confident in rearranging the piece they could (they just had to indicate that they did rearrange the pieces). There will be a short intermission of about 10 minutes once the 16th contestant has finished, after which the competition will resume again.

Note: I am not a musician, so the way I describe or write is gonna be rather mediocre so hope you'll can understand.