lonely sounds | l. heeseung

31. raw emotion

3 days passed as the first round of the competition awaited all the violinists. Ever since the conversation Heeseung had with Eun byul regarding her new reason for competing, there was an awkward tension between the two. Their conversations with each other were limited and Eun byul tried to avoid Heeseung as much as possible. And though each practice went well, their musical chemistry was not sparking any sort of harmony.

Eun byul and Heeseung woke up bright and early for the first round. And for the first time, Heeseung finally woke up on time. They carried all of their belongings: dress, suit, violin, sheet music, and headed out the door, making their way to the theatre. As they walked back through the revolving doors, the lobby was filled with less people, but the same frigid tensions from the competitors remained.

Heeseung walked in and saw many familiar faces, some of which shocked him. He approached one and tapped on his shoulder while he was talking to another violinist.

"Jungwon?" Heeseung questioned, "Is that you?"

The boy turned around to face his senior. He gave Heeseung a smile despite the confused look on his face.

"Heeseung sunbae," he beamed, "Nice to see you here."

"What are you doing here?" Heeseung asked, "I mean it's kinda weird to see you at the theatre this early in the morning... unless you're an accompanist too?"

Jungwon nodded his head while Heeseung's eyes opened widely.

"I needed a little break from piano competitions. My competition season is not going very well and Kang Taehyun, the violinist I'm working with, needed an accompanist since his accompanist left the country. Plus, I thought it would be fun to compete against you in a different situation," Jungwon exclaimed with a mischievous smile.

"Well, best of luck," Heeseung responded, putting his hand out to shake. Jungwon gladly accepted his handshake and then they went their separate ways.

**

Eun byul was scheduled to go perform at 11:00 am which was a while from the current time of 9:15 am. This time the competitors were allowed to linger backstage for as long as they wanted and there were TVs all over the hallways and private rooms so the competitors could view their opponents.

For round I, Heeseung would accompany Eun byul to perform Mozart's Sonata in G major, K. 301. The classical piece with a soft melody played over and over again in Eun byul's head as she had earbuds in her ears and closed her eyes, trying to soak in the music. With her fingers she imagined she was holding her violin, pressing and moving her fingers along the strings. She had no idea of Heeseung's whereabouts since he wasn't in their dressing room, but she couldn't care. As long as he played the music right and he allowed her to lead, the first round would go well. She had attempted to portray expressions of elegance and serenity, but it still felt robotic to her.

However, her peace and quiet was soon disturbed by Heeseung. He barged through the doors and looked at Eun byul. She took her ear buds out her ears, paused the music, and looked at him in utter puzzlement.

"What's going on? What's with your dramatic entrance, Heeseung?" she questioned him, slightly annoyed.

"Jungwon is here," he said.

"Well it makes sense because he's your biggest fan-"

"No, he's here as an accompanist," Heeseung cut her off.

"What? Are you serious?" she let out a dry scoff.

"Yeah, I just talked to him, but he's accompanying Kang Taehyun and from what we saw, he placed second in the prelims. He played to almost perfection."

"Well, I got to say that sucks, but we can't do much about him. If anything, he's just going to be an obstacle to get over. At the end of the day, we're leaving with that trophy."

**

After 5 competitors went up and finished, there was a short intermission and then the competition would resume. Eun byul and Heeseung were up first once the 30 minute intermission ended. Feeling much more confident this time, she walked out to the hallway. She wore a satin burgundy gown with her hair tied back into a neat bun. Heeseung was all dressed in a classy black and white suit. They headed out of the dressing room, Eun byul with her violin.

"You don't need the sheet music?" she stopped him before she closed the door.

"Never needed it in the first place," he exclaimed confidently, "Now come on, let's get the highest score."

The two walked down the hallway, leading to the back of the stage. An announcement over the loudspeakers alerted the audience that the competition was about to resume. A couple moments later, the stage manager directed Eun byul and Heeseung to the entrance of the stage. As they waited, Heeseung gently took Eun byul's hand and squeezed it.

"Good luck," he whispered softly.

"Next up is Cha Eun byul, rank 23. Accompanist, Lee Heeseung."

Eun byul took a deep breath and walked back onto the bright, hot stage. The audience applauded as she stood in the center of the stage and Heeseung on the Steinways & Sons piano. He unbuttoned the button on his blazer as he sat down on the piano bench, readying his fingers on the keys. He pressed each key with soft elegance, starting off strong, allowing Eun byul to lead. As they calmly made it to the 6th measure, the music began to sound different.

"What the hell is going on?" Eun byul thought with irritation as she continued to play.

It was Heeseung. He was fighting her for the spotlight. It was audible in every aspect. Even the audience was excited and shocked to hear the cocky pianist. Each note and chord was louder and grander than the initial. Eun byul quickly eyed him and showed him a face of disapproval. Heeseung looked at her and gave her a mischievous smirk.

"Sorry Eun byul," he mouthed.

Eun byul turned away in annoyance, proceeding to stand her ground. Instead of fighting for the best performance against her sister, she was fighting her own accompanist. Afterall it sounded bad enough that the sounds of the piano were overpowering the violin at a violin competition.

"That fucking shit head," she thought with fury, "He's trying to screw us over and get me out of the competition."

Her playing began to sound more fierce and strong. Rather than following Mozart's sonata with the sweet tranquil melody, this was the battle song of Eun byul against Heeseung. It was full of energy and fiery tension which was a fight between the two. Eun byul's sound slowly grew louder and louder, her bow making grander movements. She wouldn't let her accompanist steal the show. She finished the last note of the piece with empowerment, her arm flying into the air, sweat dripping down the sides of her face. The audience was silent and then broke out into a roar with whistles and screams. She paused to take a deep bow and proceeded to storm off the stage. She was fuming with utter humiliation and anger. Heeseung followed her quietly until they both made it back to the dressing room. He closed the door and turned around to face Eun byul.

"Heeseung what the fuck were you thinking?!" she yelled at him, "Do you realize you jeopardized our chance at winning? You were all over the place and caused me to mess up too. Do you understand what you have just done? I chose you to be my accompanist because I trusted you weren't going to pull any kind of shit on me, but you pretty much fucked up the first round. I know you're an egotistical pianist, but to pull this crap at a violin competition is ridiculous! It's practically sabotage!"

"Hey, I know you're freaking out right now, but you have to wait and see the results-"

"The results? Heeseung you got to be fucking with me. We didn't even make it in the top 10. We're going to be eliminated. I can't believe you-"

But before she could finish her sentence Heeseung cut her off, his lips crashing against hers. After he pulled away, leaving Eun byul in complete shock after the kiss, he smirked at her.

"Eun byul, sometimes you just need to shut up and trust the process."