On the way home.
Jo Sung-hyun and Chae-yoon were walking side by side, holding hands.
Chae-yoon, who was holding two of his fingers, had a happy face.
She must have been unfamiliar with the attention of her friends, but she didn't seem to feel bad or anything.
"Chae-yoon."
"Yes?"
"What are you so happy about?"
"Hehe...."
Chae-yoon laughed once, and then lightly shook his hand that was holding Jo Sung-hyun's fingers to express his excitement.
"My friends said they liked my piano!"
Jo Sung-hyun paused.
The expression 'friends' from Chae-yoon's mouth was not easy to hear.
He remembered exactly what Chae-yoon said when she went to the market with him and saw Youngjoon.
Despite Youngjoon's greeting, Chae-yoon said she wasn't very close.
The fact that the word 'friends' came out of the child's mouth itself made Jo Sung-hyun very happy.
"Did you feel good because your friends liked your piano?"
He asked, and she nodded her head vigorously.
He looked really happy.
Well, Chae-yoon's favorite and most interested thing was the piano, so maybe it was natural.
"I felt like I became The Little Mermaid."
Chae-yoon said.
And at that, Jo Sung-hyun fell into thought.
'I felt like I became The Little Mermaid.'
Jo Sung-hyun knew what The Little Mermaid meant to Chae-yoon, so he couldn't easily pass over that remark.
"Chae-yoon."
"Yes?"
"Do you want other people to listen to your piano and like it?"
"Hmm...."
Chae-yoon seemed to ponder, then opened his mouth.
"Yes...no...?"
She said in an uncertain voice.
At that, Jo Sung-hyun blinked.
He thought he would definitely say yes from his reaction just now, but it seemed that it wasn't completely good either.
"Why yes and no? Do you like it and hate it?"
"I don't hate it, but...."
"Then?"
"My piano is mine, but... I'm happy if my friends like it...."
Chae-yoon stuttered and explained.
Jo Sung-hyun walked and listened to Chae-yoon's explanation calmly, trying his best to understand.
"So you have some performances that you only want to do, and some that are okay to show to others, right?"
When he asked, Chae-yoon smiled brightly and nodded her head.
Jo Sung-hyun was a little surprised by Chae-yoon's words.
The child had a clearer sense of self-worth than he thought.
Chae-yoon was only seven years old, but even though her expression was immature, she was firm in her will.
Jo Sung-hyun couldn't help but be amazed by that.
In fact, even though it was a natural thing.
"Then, Chae-yoon."
"Yes?"
"When you can play the piano in front of other people later, do you want to? If it's a performance that you don't mind showing."
"I like the piano."
It was a non sequitur, but that meant she wanted to.
Jo Sung-hyun smiled softly and stroked Chae-yoon's head.
While thinking a lot in his head.
* * *
When they returned home, Jo Sung-hyun and Chae-yoon played the piano together.
It was a time when Chae-yoon laughed the most, and also showed a serious face.
At the same time, it was a happy time for Jo Sung-hyun.
He had always liked music from the beginning, and it was natural for him to be happy to watch Chae-yoon's happy face right next to him.
Ding-dong.
Chae-yoon moved her short fingers hard and tapped the keys.
The child was playing one of the OSTs of 'The Kingdom of the Wind' that she had done with Jo Sung-hyun last time, 'Do You Want to Play with the Fallen Leaves?'.
Chae-yoon had been playing the same song continuously since the piano came.
As if, she knew no other song.
Jo Sung-hyun had been watching her until now.
The reason was clear.
Except for the beginning, before she completely learned 'Do You Want to Play with the Fallen Leaves?'.
'It keeps becoming a different music.'
It was the same song, but Chae-yoon kept changing it.
Sometimes she varied the intro part with a bouncy feeling.
And sometimes she left only the basic melody and changed everything else to create a dark atmosphere.
He didn't know if she was doing it deliberately or just instinctively playing as she wanted.
He was just curious and watched quietly to get to know Chae-yoon a little more.
Jo Sung-hyun, who was sitting on the sofa behind the piano and listening to Chae-yoon's performance, soon looked at Chae-yoon with an interested face.
It was a calm feeling until just now, but now it changed a bit dynamically.
It wasn't a dynamic feeling that the season of fallen leaves, autumn, could express.
A lively dynamism that felt like the birth of a new life, or like a cool water sound.
It wasn't just because he was surprised that Jo Sung-hyun was interested in it.
Chae-yoon had been playing with a new feeling all along.
When she finished from the beginning to the end, there was never a time when it matched exactly.
Sometimes all the notes except the melody were different, and sometimes only one note, or the rhythm, was different... Until now, the child had been playing differently.
'But....'
Now, it matches the one she played a few days ago.
And then suddenly the atmosphere changes again.
It's hot.
It's passionate.
It's a different feeling from the lively dynamism.
Jo Sung-hyun felt goosebumps on his arms, which had been still without knowing what Chae-yoon was expressing.
If he didn't know anything musically, he might have just accepted it as playing differently from the original, or as amazing, but....
"This is... not just that level."
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