At Long Last

Tiktok

It was amazing how the same two weeks, just a year apart, could feel so very different.

Maybe she was naive, but to Se-ri, the heaven-sent news of Jeong Hyeok spending a year in Switzerland had miraculously dispelled all the sadness that she would have otherwise felt.

For now, it was more of a "see you shortly" between the star-crossed lovers, and that was a very welcomed change in their cursed relationship.

A year was by no means long, but it was already a miracle to her.

They would once again part in two days.

But this time round, she would only have to endure six months and two weeks of loneliness before reuniting with Jeong Hyeok.

As with the case in the previous year, Jeong Hyeok had been relentlessly practicing for his upcoming performance at the annual Lucerne Music Festival.

On some days he would be out for rehearsals with the orchestra, on others, he would be at home.

It was a nice change for Se-ri, really, she was so used to being the one on the receiving end of drinks and snacks from her staff as she busied herself with work.

Now, it was nice playing the role of the giver to Jeong Hyeok, she thought.

The power woman in Se-ri relished in taking a back seat. She enjoyed toiling in the kitchen to make lunch and dinner, taking full responsibility of the household chores, all for her man who was doing his best for his upcoming performance.

She had lost count of the number of times she heard Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 coming from the piano room. Relentlessly practicing from day to night, Jeong Hyeok would hardly emerge from the room except for the occasional break.

The music was bold with grandeur, imposing yet majestic - it was no wonder that it was subsequently subtitled 'Emperor' by an English publisher, though the naming was widely-thought to deviate from Beethoven's ideals.

At times the house would be quiet, as Jeong Hyeok focused on poring over the music scores.

Interpreting the music by re-imagining,

Molding the articulation,

Highlighting the climactic peaks,

Trying to free the music from the stifling shackles of barren tradition,

Capturing the mood and socio-cultural components of the piece.

Bit by bit, the North Korean pianist was crafting and perfecting his rendition of the classic.

Would the relationship of the piano and the orchestra be that of an individual against the masses, or would it be a moving and uplifting dialogue of equals?

There was so much more to just playing whatever was written in the scores, Se-ri had learnt from some of her colleagues back at her company.

In a way, Jeong Hyeok had also helped widened Se-ri's social circle, as she delved more into the appreciation of music as an amateur to know him better as a person.

She would speak to musically-trained friends among her staff members, and through learning from these friends, it was as if another window to Jeong Hyeok's soul has been opened to her.

She was surely looking forward to this year's performance at the The Culture and Congress Centre in Lucerne as well.

"What are you busy with?" Jeong Hyeok's face suddenly appeared by her side, peering over her shoulder to look at her phone screen.

"Oh! You gave me a shock, Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi."

He curiously looked at the screen. "You were so engrossed...what's this?"

"Voting for my favorite actor and actress on TikTok for the Baeksang Awards. Like this..." Se-ri demonstrated, as she tapped votes.

"Whatever for...?"

"Love, of course."

Jeong Hyeok nodded with furrowed brows. Clearly this wasn't quite a North Korean thing. "And who is your favorite actor?"

"This one right here." Se-ri pointed at a particular face on the screen, before Jeong Hyeok took it from her hand. "Hyun-"

"Hmm. He looks like me."

Se-ri raised her eyebrows and nodded conspiratorially with a big smile. "Why do you think I have always told you, since day one, that your face is my type? I've always thought that he is your South Korean doppelgänger."

He didn't reply.

Quietly, Jeong Hyeok studied the smiling face of the actor on the screen, until he spoke again.

"For example, just an example," He was all serious. "If we both fall into a river, who would you save?"

"Neither. I am not a good swimmer." Se-ri took her phone back, before replying with a playful smile.

"If it's between me and him, courting you at the same time, who would you choose?" Jeong Hyeok asked, staring at Se-ri intently with his lower lip protruding ever so slightly in a pout.

Here we go again. Jealous little Hyeokky.

"Well...that's a tough one..." Se-ri pretended to look conflicted, watching the pout on Jeong Hyeok grow bigger from the corner of her eye.

"He's really good-looking but I love Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi best."

"You said it was 'love' earlier." He cast a mock reproachful look in her direction.

"It's a different kind of love! For him, it's a 'oh you're handsome' kind of appreciative love. But for you..." Se-ri pressed her lips to Jeong Hyeok's.

Again and again, she kissed the pout away.

"You are to me, what music is to your life."

Thankfully, the pout transformed into a small, smug and contented smile.

"That's better."

"Now, please pass me your phone as well so I can download TikTok. Help me vote for him and his female co-star."

The furrow between his eyebrows came back. "Why should I help?"

"One kiss for every vote." The seasoned businesswoman was quick to barter.

"That's a terrible deal, Yoon Se-ri."

"Five."

"Ten." Jeong Hyeok was quick to counter.

"You'd make a pretty decent businessman, Ri Jeong Hyeok-ssi."