No More Thug Life, I’m Playing Music

#004 – The Giant (2)

A week passed, and the students’ interest in Jung Seojoon had waned.
The female students who used to flock around him during breaks were nowhere to be seen, and the other class students who came to gawk had stopped visiting.

Jung Seojoon believed it was because he was attending school quietly.
He thought it was because he had fully blended in.

“Who’s that kid sleeping over there?”
The teacher who entered the classroom asked. His gaze was fixed on the very back of the room.

“He’s the transfer student, sir.”

“Oh… that one?”
The male teacher clenched his fist and made a hissing sound with his mouth.

The students silently nodded in agreement.

“Wow, it’s like this school is his personal turf. Should we wake that punk—”

“Do you want me to wake him up?”
A female student sitting next to Jung Seojoon asked quietly.

The teacher clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Leave him be. He’s probably busy with his ‘night job’ or something. I don’t even know why we took in such a troublemaker….”

Rumors about Jung Seojoon had somehow become established facts.
But he himself was unaware of any of it.
He lacked awareness and didn’t care much about school life to notice.

Time passed, and the school day came to an end.

“Those skipping self-study, you know what’ll happen if you get caught causing trouble, right?”
“Yes, sir!”

“Good job today. Class president, lead the dismissal.”
“Thank you, sir!”

The loud voice startled him awake.

“Damn it… Slept the whole day again….”
No matter the time, books and the teacher’s voice were the perfect recipe for sleep.
Better than any sleeping pills prescribed by the hospital.

“Phew….”
Suddenly, he felt like these moments were a waste of time.

“Hey… no, friend.”
At my call, the girl next to me, who was packing her desk, flinched and looked over.

“Huh? Y-yeah?”

“You’re still like this. I told you to speak comfortably.”

“R-right….”

“Can I ask you something?”

“…What is it?”

“Earlier, I noticed some kids left after lunch. Why is that?”

“Oh, that’s…”

“I’ll explain.”

A girl sat down in front of me.
A composed-looking girl, but one who clearly didn’t listen well.
She was the one who had previously directed me to Choi Pilwook and was also the concertmaster of the orchestra.

Her name was Kim Bom.

Meeting her confident expression made me frown instinctively.
We had crossed paths several times, but not once had she apologized, leaving me unimpressed.

Kim Bom, unfazed by my reaction, simply shifted her gaze toward the girl sitting next to me.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Ah, I-I’m going!”
The girl hastily gathered her things and disappeared.

Still frowning, I addressed Kim Bom.

“Hey, student.”

“Why don’t you call me ‘friend’?”

“What? Friend? Ha.”

“Still upset about last time? You don’t seem as cool-headed as you look.”

Whose daughter is this, really?
Ignoring her, I got up from my seat.

She immediately stood up too, positioning herself beside me.

“The music teacher wants to see you.”

“…And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“This time it’s real. Do you think I’m stupid enough to pull the same trick twice?”

“Hmm.”
She had a point.

“It’s true, so hurry up and come with me.”

“To the auditorium?”

“Yeah.”
“You can go by yourself.”
“Hey, didn’t you hear me? The music teacher told me to bring you!”
“Good grief…”
I couldn’t understand how she could act so brazenly after what she had done.

“I’ll answer the question you asked earlier, so just come along without complaining.”
“Sigh…”

Reluctantly, I followed Kim Bom. As we walked, we came face-to-face with a male student exiting the next classroom.
It was a familiar face.
A boy I had scolded for trying something stupid. His name was… Park Jigeun?

I raised a hand to greet him.
“Long ti—”
“Ahhh!”
He let out a startled cry and bowed deeply.

Great, he misunderstood.
As I was about to explain, Kim Bom spoke first, her expression filled with disdain.

“Move.”
“O-oh, y-yeah…”
She shoved past Park Jigeun and kept walking, pulling me along by the arm.

As she dragged me, she started chatting.
“Do you know someone named Kevin Jung?”
“No.”
“…Really? Have you ever seen me before?”
“No.”

For a moment, her expression shifted subtly before returning to normal.

“Hmm… Anyway, to answer your earlier question, the kids who leave after lunch are all majors.”
“Majors?”
“Yeah, like those aiming for college through athletics, art, or music. Our school has quite a few of them, me included.”
“They don’t study?”
“Of course they do. But for majors, practical skills are just as important as academics, so the school gives them options. They’re allowed to invest more time in the areas they’re lacking. The school cares more about college acceptance rates than test scores.”
“I see.”

“Anything else you’re curious about?”
“One thing.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know much about Ms. Seo?”
“The music teacher? Sort of. Why?”
“Is she a Miss?”
“Miss?”
“Is she married?”
“Oh… your choice of words. No, she’s still single.”
“Ah.”
I nodded in satisfaction.

“What’s with that smile?”
“Don’t worry about it.”

When we finally reached the auditorium, it was quiet.
Only a handful of majors were scattered around, practicing independently.

Looking around, I asked,
“The teacher?”
“She’ll come on her own, don’t worry.”
“…Are you messing with me?”
“Messing with you? Please. It’s better to come together anyway, right?”

Kim Bom smirked and walked off toward her practice room.
“Seriously, what’s with her…”

I stood there, dumbfounded, when a voice came from behind me.
“That sly fox. What a pain. You’re not falling for her, are you?”

It was Choo Minji, the student who had been teaching me the contrabass.
“As if.”
“Stay away from her. She’ll drain the life out of you.”

I followed Choo Minji to a practice room on the second floor.
Inside the small room were two contrabasses lying down—one hers, the other the school’s.

“Have you been practicing?”
It was the first time I’d seen her since the second lesson.

Since I had to practice alone here while the others used an off-campus studio to prepare for competitions, I was left to hone my skills on my own.

“Well, more or less,” I replied.

“Oh? Look at this guy. Feeling confident, huh?”

Instead of responding, I grabbed the contrabass and stood in position.
I immediately grasped the bow and began drawing it across the strings.

…

A short while later, all the orchestra members gathered on the first floor of the auditorium.
Seo Sooji, the teacher, stood on the platform with her arms crossed, scanning the group with sharp eyes.

“Concertmaster, is everyone here?”
“Yes, teacher.”

“Then, before we begin…”
Seo Sooji turned her gaze toward Choo Minji and Jung Seojoon.

“Is the gangster ready?”
“Yes.”

“Then let’s start with the C scale… Hey, Choo Choo.”
Seo Sooji called out to Choo Minji, but she sat there with a blank expression, giving no response.

“What’s wrong with her? Hey, Choo Minji!”

“…Yes?”
Finally snapping out of her daze, Choo Minji responded.

“Why do you look so out of it?”
“Ah…”
Choo Minji let out a hollow laugh and glanced at Jung Seojoon sitting next to her.

“It’s because of him.”
“What? He still can’t do it?”
Seo Sooji asked with a hint of disappointment.

“No… He already… No, just see for yourself.”

“What on earth are you talking about?”
Seo Sooji was irritated, feeling like her time was being wasted during an already busy period.

She shifted her gaze back to Jung Seojoon and continued speaking.
“I was clear with you. There’s not much time left until the recital, and I can’t afford to wait for anyone.”
“Yes.”

“If you can’t play the C scale by today, you’re out.”
“Yes.”

“So, are you still going to try, or do you want to quit now?”
“I’ll give it a shot.”

Jung Seojoon held the instrument and assumed the proper posture.

Seo Sooji leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs, her expectations low as she watched him draw the bow.

And then his fingers moved along the fingerboard.

Not to play the C scale.
But instead, a section from Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, The Titan.

[Woo- woo- woo-woo-woo—]

“…….”
Seo Sooji uncrossed her legs.

“What is… he… doing…”
She muttered to herself, her expression bewildered.

The segment Jung Seojoon was performing was the opening of the third movement of Mahler’s The Titan, a contrabass solo that was significant for majors.

Although the melody wasn’t particularly complex, the passage embodied the essence of the contrabass.
It was frequently included in practical exams for music conservatories and used as an audition piece for orchestras.

“Hah…”
And now, the boy who had touched the instrument for the first time only a week ago was playing it.
Not just adequately—expertly.

“This is insane…”

-What, what is this?
-Isn’t that the piece Choo Choo always practices?

The other members reacted similarly, exchanging confused glances between Choo Minji and Jung Seojoon.

Only Kim Bom wore a knowing smirk, as if she’d expected this all along.

[Woo-woo-woo—]
The brief performance ended, and Jung Seojoon lowered his bow.

“Shall I do the C scale now?”

“Ah… no…”
Seo Sooji shook her head. She opened her mouth to add something, but the sound of clapping interrupted her.

Clap—clap—clap.

Everyone turned their eyes toward the source of the sound.

A middle-aged man with long hair walked into the auditorium. He was Choo Minji’s private tutor.

With an ecstatic expression, he strode toward Jung Seojoon and stopped in front of him.

“I thought I was mistaken, but I wasn’t.”

“Uh, sir?”
Seo Sooji, startled, addressed the man in a hesitant voice.

“It’s not time for Minji’s lesson yet. And more importantly, what are you even talking about?”

“Don’t you know who this student is?”

“What?”

“This is Kevin Jung! Kevin Jung!”

“Kevin… Jung?”

Seo Sooji frowned and asked, her confusion evident.
“The prodigy? The child genius?”

Some of the majors began murmuring among themselves.
“The ‘gangster’ was on TV?”
“Ah! I know Kevin Jung!”

Jung Seojoon scratched the back of his head awkwardly under the weight of everyone’s stares.

“What the…”
What nonsense is this?

An hour earlier.
In the practice studio of the city symphony orchestra at the Arts Center, two men sat across from each other in the lounge.

“Aren’t you heading out for Minji’s lesson?”
“I should go soon. Your lesson is tomorrow, right?”
“Bom? She quit taking lessons.”
“What… Why?”
“Not sure. I guess she’s switching instructors.”

“Hmm. It’s unusual to change instructors with just a year left before exams.”
“Haha, maybe I wasn’t good enough.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t joke like that. Too much modesty can be off-putting. Anyway, what were you watching?”
“YouTube.”

The man turned his phone to show the screen.
“It’s a channel run by my student.”

“Eh… Choo Choo? Choo Minji? I heard she’s up to something like that… Is it popular?”
“Of course. It’s about classical music, but surprisingly, even casual viewers watch it.”

“She should be practicing instead of wasting time… Wait, isn’t this that handsome kid? I remember seeing him before—he’s a piano major?”

“No, she says he’s a hobbyist.”
“A hobbyist? With that skill?”

“By the way, doesn’t he look familiar to you?”
“Now that you mention it, he does seem familiar.”

“I can’t help but think of that kid. You know, Kevin Jung. He had the same ‘I own the world’ expression when he played the piano.”

“Kevin Jung… Ah, the ‘Little Giant’?”
“That’s right. It’s such a shame when I think about him… A kid that young ending up in a psychiatric hospital.”

“A psychiatric hospital? I heard he passed away.”
“Really? I heard he went insane and was sent to some hospital abroad.”

“Tsk tsk… Whatever happened, everyone agreed that the music world lost a tremendous talent.”

“Exactly. He could play just about any instrument, and his musicality and technique were flawless.”

“Not to mention, that tiny kid had every piece of music practically memorized by heart.”

“Yeah… Hmm…”

The man stared closely at the screen and tilted his head.
“Wait a second…”

He searched for Kevin Jung on his phone. A picture of an eleven-year-old boy playing the piano appeared.

“Could the habits be identical?”