The Genius Composer Starts Again - Chapter 10

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

“Next.”

At Baek Ga-hee’s merciless dismissal, a student could be seen tearfully gathering their sheet music.

Jeong Tae-seong clicked his tongue inwardly.

‘There’s no need to go this far.’

It was true their skills were lacking, but there was no need to humiliate them like this.

Nevertheless, Jeong Tae-seong didn’t step forward to stop Baek Ga-hee.

‘Unfortunately, she’s not wrong.’

Spending too much time on a student who wouldn’t meet the passing standard would only delay the exam proceedings.

That would affect not only the students waiting to take their exams, but also the professors’ condition.

If they couldn’t make proper judgments, they might miss precious gems.

‘It’s bitter, but reality is cold.’

Perhaps hearing harsh words early and backing out would be a better path for students with ambiguous talent.

The other professors had similar thoughts, which is why they didn’t add any comments to what Baek Ga-hee said.

They might even be grateful to Baek Ga-hee for playing the villain.

Just then.

‘Hm? That student is?’

The face of the student just stepping onto the stage looked familiar.

It was a student Jeong Tae-seong had noticed when supervising the ear training exam.

‘The name was definitely…’

Jeong Tae-seong looked at the name written in the last slot of Group 9.

‘Seol.’

Right. That was the name.

The single-character name was unique and had stuck in his memory.

While others were sweating and struggling desperately to write down even one more answer, this student had calmly filled in the correct answers.

They must have had exceptionally sensitive ears, even among those with perfect pitch.

‘I wonder what they’ll do this time.’

Once again, Seol had a face that showed no signs of nervousness.

After bowing in greeting, they sat down at the piano.

As their fingers touched the keys, they smiled gently for the first time.

As if meeting a dear friend after a long time.

-♪

The first note rang out.

In that moment, all the professors lifted their heads sharply.

‘There’s no stiff, tense feeling.’

It was a common mistake students made – their whole body would stiffen with nerves, preventing the music from flowing smoothly.

But Seol’s performance had none of that awkwardness.

-♩♬♪♬♪

The melody that followed was equally astonishing.

Dreamlike chord progressions, unfamiliar yet sophisticated rhythms, delicate melodies layered over a solidly constructed foundation.

All of it came together in perfect harmony.

‘This… isn’t the quality a student could produce.’

It certainly wasn’t something to present at a transfer exam.

Jeong Tae-seong forgot to take notes and stared at the stage. He almost had the illusion he was watching a ‘performance’ rather than an ‘exam.’

Baek Ga-hee paused her pen for a moment.

The professors beside her exchanged glances.

The professor who had been watching with arms crossed from beginning to end had unconsciously unfolded his arms and leaned forward.

Jeong Tae-seong’s lips curved up slightly.

‘It seems everyone’s thinking the same thing.’

He watched the performance with interest.

Seol was still playing the piano with a gentle smile. They seemed to be freely enjoying themselves on their own stage.

-♬♪…

The final chord faded away, and a breathless silence fell.

The professors’ eyes were all wavering without exception.

Jeong Tae-seong said nothing, savoring the lingering resonance.

Then Seol stood up and bowed to the professors again.

Clap clap!

“Bravo!”

Only then did one of the professors applaud and voice their praise.

“Not only your piano skills, but your composition ability is remarkable too, Student Seol.”

“Exactly. I was quite surprised.”

An elderly professor who rarely praised others took off his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief while agreeing.

“It’s been a while since I heard such a good performance.”

As this warm atmosphere continued, Baek Ga-hee suddenly interjected.

“Wait a moment. Student Seol.”

“Yes.”

“Did you really write this piece yourself?”

The blatant message contained in that question was unmistakable. The professors all turned to look at Baek Ga-hee simultaneously.

“It’s hard to believe a student wrote this directly. These days, professional composers sometimes earn pocket money by doing students’ assignments for them.”

The coldly thrown suspicion immediately split the atmosphere.

“Now that you mention it…”

“It is a bit excessive for a student work.”

Some agreed,

“Professor Baek. How can you be so suspicious without solid evidence?”

“Once you start doubting, there’s no end to it.”

Others objected.

Jeong Tae-seong stepped back and observed the situation.

‘I can understand why such suspicions arise.’

There was only one reason.

It was too excellent.

When anyone faces something they can’t understand, they naturally become suspicious.

And those suspicions weren’t always wrong. Rather than thinking a composition genius had suddenly appeared, this was much more reasonable.

‘But anyone with ears would know.’

That performance was real.

It wasn’t something a fake could imitate.

Moreover, Jeong Tae-seong had watched Seol throughout the entire performance. Their breathing, the expression that came alive on stage.

That wasn’t the attitude of someone who had stolen another’s composition.

Even thinking this, he didn’t step forward to defend Seol.

‘If that skill is real, they’ll face countless such suspicions in the future. If they can’t endure it, it’s better to fall now.’

He turned his gaze to look at Seol on stage.

Still a young face. It was hard to believe they had just delivered that spine-chilling performance.

There are many young geniuses.

The art world is overflowing with prodigies and child geniuses. But Seol had something a little special.

‘Experience. That realm that only years can build up – you have it.’

They possessed even what young geniuses couldn’t easily obtain.

Jeong Tae-seong could clearly see the thorny path ahead of Seol.

‘If you don’t have a vessel deep enough to handle your talent, only pain worse than death awaits.’

In that case, wouldn’t it be happier for the individual to just live an ordinary life?

So this was a kind of test.

‘Now, how will you overcome this?’

On stage.

Seol took a moment to catch her breath as she surveyed the professors. Then she met Baek Ga-hee’s sharp gaze head-on.

“Are you asking me to prove that it’s not plagiarism?”

“That’s correct.”

It was an unreasonable demand.

While it was easy to prove that something was plagiarism, proving that it wasn’t was difficult.

But such logical arguments couldn’t completely dispel this kind of suspicion.

At best, it would only result in ‘insufficient evidence.’

However, Seol eventually nodded her head.

“I understand.”

That was possible?

Jeong Tae-seong’s eyes widened as well. Whether she knew the professors were murmuring or not.

Seol sat back down at the piano.

“I’ll briefly show you the process I went through when creating this piece.”

Seol’s hands brushed over the keys.

-♩♬♪♬♪

It seemed like the melody they had just heard would continue, but soon the latter part changed.

-♬♪♬♪….

“At first, I was thinking of developing it like this. But it seemed too monotonous, so I changed it like this.”

Then new harmonies were layered on. Now the atmosphere of the piece was distinctly different.

Baek Ga-hee’s eyebrows twitched. The professor next to her unconsciously let out an admiring “Oh.”

“But when I did this, it became quite far from the feeling I wanted.”

Seol connected the melody again.

Same theme, different flow.

Three, four versions were born instantly on the piano.

Then, finally.

-♩♬♪♬♪

At last, the piece found its proper place.

It was a fragment of the perfectly arranged original composition she had played earlier.

“…I completed it this way. Since it’s a piece I first recorded with MIDI, I can submit the file if needed.”

Seol calmly withdrew her hands.

Silence flowed through the Exam Hall once again.

“This is…”

The professor next to her couldn’t continue speaking and pressed his lips shut.

It was understandable. She had clearly demonstrated a development process that would be impossible unless one was the actual creator, making the plagiarism allegations raised just moments ago seem meaningless.

“With this much, it’s certainly…”

“Hearing and seeing the process like this makes it convincing.”

Amid the professors’ murmuring, Jeong Tae-seong uncrossed his arms.

His previously relaxed gaze turned cold.

Only one thought crossed his mind.

A name that suddenly came to him.

Jeong Do-hyun.

‘What you’re looking for… could it have been that student?’

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————