Piano Lesson

“Is he late…?”
Selene stood at the entrance and watched the main gate, but the familiar car did not arrive.
Considering Theron always arrived about 10 minutes before the appointed time, it seemed something had come up.
Selene waited at the entrance for a little longer after the appointed time, then turned around.
If something had happened, a call would come soon, and she could wait while practicing the piano until then.
Standing still like this was one of the things Selene found to be the biggest waste of time.
Returning to the piano room, Selene opened the lid she had so carefully closed and placed her hands on the keys.
Her flow had been momentarily broken by going to meet Theron, but once she started playing, it was easy to get lost in it.
It was probably also because she had received praise from Gwendolyn a little while ago.
If she continued to improve like this, the hope that she might win the competition and attend graduate school across the sea surged like a wave in Selene’s chest.
She stopped her fingers, which moved gracefully like a dance, when she had played ‘The Age of Love and Romance’ once from beginning to end.
Although it was a short time, she had been so engrossed that her breathing had become quite fast.
Her heart was pounding as if she had run a short distance, and her gaze was sharp.
As a result of that immersion, even though she had played this piece countless times today, the one she had just played was her favorite.
Selene, who was breathing fast, suddenly remembered something she had forgotten and looked towards the door.
‘By the way, Theron Cox is still…’
“…”
But surprisingly, Theron Cox was already standing at the door, as if he had been there for some time.
However, Theron Cox, who was standing with his arms crossed and staring straight at this place, had no expression, as if he were a different person.
He seemed displeased with something, yet he did not take his eyes off this place.
“You play well.”
As their eyes met, Theron opened his mouth.
Selene, shaking off her surprise, replied, “It’s a piece I started practicing less than a month ago. I haven’t memorized it completely yet.”
It wasn’t that she was being humble; it was the truth.
Among professional pianists, this level of performance was just an unfinished painting.
Theron took a step and approached the piano.
“No. You certainly play well, Miss Selene. To the extent that I can understand the evaluation that you are the most anticipated pianist in the empire.”
“Since when have you been listening to my performance?”
“From the beginning. The road was under construction, so it took some time.”
“But your expression, unlike your words, is not one of deep impression.”
It wasn’t that she wanted sincere praise.
Selene was just curious about Theron’s true intentions.
His attitude, praising her with his mouth while looking displeased somewhere, was inconsistent.
“If you’re uncomfortable in the piano room, you can leave.”
Selene thought Theron’s current attitude was related to the bad feeling he had briefly shown when she introduced the piano room.
He had said he couldn’t play the piano because of finger pain, so he must still have some lingering regrets.
“Why do you think I would feel uncomfortable in this piano room?”
“You’re not smiling at all.”
At Theron’s somewhat crooked question, Selene answered without difficulty.
He wasn’t smiling.
Although he wasn’t a person who smiled all the time like a clown, the corners of his mouth were generally gently curved.
His tone of voice was also gentle.
When she brought him here last time, he seemed to be forcing a smile, but now he wasn’t even making that effort.
At Selene’s point, Theron slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Then he touched his lips with an embarrassed face.
“No. It’s just that your appearance, playing the piano, Miss Selene, was so beautiful that I was momentarily surprised.”
Selene decided to let go of Theron’s unbelievable lie.
“Did you become completely unable to play the piano after you injured your finger, Mr. Theron?”
“I can play. It’s just that the pain starts after 30 minutes, so I’ve been staying away from it.”
“Then that means you can play short pieces.”
Selene noticed that even though Theron had a sullen look in his eyes, he hadn’t taken his eyes off this piano for a while.
She didn’t know what was making him so angry, but if he had lingering regrets, she thought it wouldn’t be bad to let him experience the piano after a long time.
Selene pulled Theron’s hand, who was standing as if frozen, and sat him down on the piano stool.
“If there’s a piece you remember, would you like to play it?”
“…”
“You can press the keys however you like.”
This was probably close to pity.
Letting him play this grand piano, which was more precious to her than anything, was a deep sympathy for Theron Cox, who could no longer play the piano.
Although she wasn’t good at empathizing with others, this matter didn’t feel like someone else’s business to Selene.
“…”
But despite her suggestion, Theron Cox remained still, doing nothing.
If he had clearly expressed his intention to refuse, she wouldn’t have held on, but he didn’t, so it was ambiguous.
Selene sat next to Theron and comfortably placed her hands on the keyboard.
Do-re-mi-fa-sol.
As she lightly pressed them in order, the familiar notes echoed freshly in the piano room.
At the sudden clear sound, Theron flinched.
His eyes, which had been motionless for a while, turned to the white keys.
It looked like someone hesitating whether to cross a line drawn in front of them.
Selene decided to give Theron a push from behind.
“You remember the fingering, right?”
Selene pulled Theron’s hand and placed it on the keyboard.
Do-re-mi-fa-sol.
As she pressed them in order again, this time Theron silently followed and moved his fingers.
The same sound echoed, an octave higher.
Selene smiled faintly at Theron’s appearance, which was like a child tapping the keyboard for the first time.
“You’re doing well.”
Theron narrowed his brows.
“I used to play jazz mainly. No matter how long it’s been since I played the piano, a basic scale like this is nothing.”
“So you played jazz.”
Unlike the piqued Theron, Selene calmly pointed that out, and his momentum gradually subsided.
“It’s because I first learned the piano at a pub. If I played boring classics at a pub, popcorn or cheese would fly at me from the drunk audience.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s a story of the common people that you can’t understand, Miss Selene.”
But Selene was also interested in jazz.
Although jazz was not yet considered mainstream, she found it very interesting that the pieces were played impromptu.
There was a unique charm to jazz, which was free and casual.
Especially since it was a genre that was far from Selene, she felt that way even more.
“Could you play a simple jazz piece for me?”
Theron seemed to hesitate.
“…I’ve forgotten how to play.”
Was this a roundabout way of refusing, or had he really forgotten how to play?
Certainly, since jazz is played with a pianist’s sharp sense and rhythm, it was plausible that he had forgotten after being away from the piano for a long time.
However, to believe his words at face value, she didn’t know how much he had played the piano or how passionate he was about it.
If he had really, truly loved it, it would be ingrained in his body, and no matter how long he was away, his hands would move as if on strings.
But Selene soon gave up trying to figure out what the truth was.
Come to think of it, whatever the truth was, there was no reason to force him to play a piece.
“Shall we get up now?”
“Already?”
Just as she was taking her hands off the keys and about to get up from her seat, this time Theron grabbed her hand.
“I thought you were getting bored.”
“I didn’t say that.”
What on earth was this attitude?
He had a sullen face all along, but when she suggested they stop, he held her back.
Although Selene couldn’t understand his dual nature, she obediently sat down at the sight of Theron’s eyes, which seemed not to want to leave this room right now.
It was probably because Theron, sitting in front of the piano, looked not like an adult or a gentleman, but like a child.
Sitting in front of the piano, he was like a child who wanted to put a large candy in his mouth, glancing at it, but hesitating while imagining the scolding he would get from the adults afterward.
Selene pretended not to know and asked Theron, “Since you said you don’t like things that are too easy, what should I play?”
“I’ll leave it to you, Miss Selene.”
“Then I’ll play an etude that can be played with just the right hand, so you can try to follow.”
The piece she chose was a practice piece that students beginning the piano learn first, very easy and moderately fun to play.
As Selene played the first eight bars and looked at Theron, this time he pressed the keys without hesitation.
Ding.
He seemed to be following along well, but then a wrong note was heard in the middle.
Selene smiled and covered Theron’s hand, holding his fingers.
“That’s wrong. You should have hit this one just now.”
She moved his fingers as if teaching a baby to walk and made him press the key.
“…”
Theron’s hand became as stiff as a tree branch in winter.