The Bolton Concert (3)

Among the crowd’s gazes, Theron returned to Selene’s side.
“My face is going to burn. Did you finally fall for me?”
“I don’t know about falling for you, but it was cool.”
He had asked out of a sense of bravado, feeling awkward, but at the unexpected answer, Theron felt his whole body heat up.
‘Cool?’
He hadn’t intended to hear such a compliment, but it felt like an unexpected windfall.
Theron had to keep his lips from smiling.
“By the way, Selene, you’ve been talking to me comfortably since earlier.”
“Yes. I know.”
“Are you finally going to talk to me comfortably?”
Although she had spoken informally a few times before, this was the first time it had continued.
Selene answered Theron’s question calmly.
“You keep speaking informally to me, so I thought it was unfair for me to be so formal all the time.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s an unfair situation.”
Theron smiled with satisfaction.
Finally, Selene had added his name to the list of people she spoke to comfortably.
Following Selene’s cousin’s fiancé, Rupert Shearsmith, and Selene’s ex-fiancé, Logan whatever-his-name-was.
Theron, who had been thinking of Logan, suddenly furrowed his brow.
‘Thinking about it makes me angry.’
‘What was that guy that he was even engaged to Selene?’
‘If you’re the eldest son of a prominent family, can you just get engaged without even asking the person’s opinion?’
‘Selene said they had no romantic feelings for each other at all.’
And yet, Theron was a little curious about Selene’s ex-fiancé.
He had heard that Logan Pembroke was the eldest son of the grand ducal family, but since he was studying abroad, Theron had never seen him at a social gathering.
Of course, that didn’t mean he wanted to meet him in person and see him for himself.
No, it was closer to not wanting to see him at all.
It would be even better if he just lived in that far-off country for the rest of his life and never ran into Selene.
“The last performer’s piece has ended. Is there anyone who hasn’t performed yet because they lack courage?”
The host cut off Theron’s thoughts, which were wandering off on their own.
It was a welcome statement for Theron, who had been staring at Selene’s face, not the performance.
‘It’s finally over.’
Although it wasn’t bad to listen to other people’s performances after a long time, he was bothered by the way people kept glancing at Selene, so he had been wishing for this time to end quickly.
“By any chance, does Miss Ashcombe still have no intention of fulfilling people’s expectations?”
But suddenly, the host, Neil Bolton’s gaze turned towards Selene.
He had even played the piano instead because he hated everyone staring at Selene with dazed eyes, but it seemed the people here still hadn’t given up.
Theron frowned and looked at Selene.
“If you don’t want to, don’t play.”
“Don’t you want to see my performance, Theron?”
Selene asked.
It was closer to a genuine question than a resentful one.
“Yes…?”
“I didn’t feel like playing today, but your performance was quite cool, so I wanted to show you mine too.”
‘Is she trying to seduce me…’
Theron knew that Selene had definitely changed from when he had first seen her.
But he still often couldn’t distinguish whether Selene’s words had no intention, or if she was trying to stir him up even a little.
‘Although my lower body reacts on its own no matter what she says.’
Still, it wasn’t good that he would show it like a dog wagging its tail at its master every time Selene spoke as if she were treating him specially.
And it was quite bothersome that his heart pounded as if it would jump out of his chest.
So, Theron did his best to pretend to be nonchalant, to be calm, and spat out an answer.
“Well… of course.”
He wanted to see it.
He had never seen Selene concentrate and play a piece.
Although he had played the etude or Carlo Lockwood’s ‘Red Rose’ in the piano room, both pieces were short, and he hadn’t been able to see her properly because he was sitting so close to her.
So, if she were to choose a piece she was confident in and show it to him from this distance, it would be another different sight.
“Alright.”
At Theron’s answer, Selene stood up from her seat.
As Selene walked forward as if to accept Neil Bolton’s suggestion, people clapped and cheered.
“Miss Ashcombe, what piece will you play?”
“…”
Selene seemed to be thinking for a moment.
After a slight silence, she took off the gloves she was wearing as if she had finally decided and placed her hands neatly on the keyboard.
“‘Waltz Under the Moon’.”
Selene answered that and looked at Theron.
The corners of her mouth curved slightly.
And for good reason; ‘Waltz Under the Moon’ was the dance music that had been played when Theron had danced with Selene at the launching ceremony.
Recalling how he had tried so hard not to be nervous at that time, it was a piece that Theron could never forget.
Theron looked at Selene, who was at a distance where he could neither kiss nor touch her, and let out a deep breath.
‘See, she is trying to seduce me.’
But if he were to point out that she was seducing him, Selene would take a step back with an indifferent expression and tone, as if she had never done such a thing.
Theron, while sneering inwardly, did not take his eyes off Selene.
Just as the audience was concentrating on the performance that would soon flow out, Theron also held his breath, following Selene’s slowly moving fingers.
Before long, a beautiful sound flowed from under her touch.
Even while listening to the sweet melody, Theron did not miss Selene’s touch and movements, which moved as if dancing, and captured them in his eyes.
Her shining eyes, as if imagining a waltz unfolding under the moon, the hem of her skirt gently rippling as she pressed the pedal, her chest rising and falling with the climax of the piece.
Theron was completely captivated by that enchanting scene.
Selene, who had become one with the piano and was immersed only in her performance, was beyond compare to any work of art or the grandeur of any landscape he had ever seen.
The magic that unfolded under Selene’s hands and the atmosphere of this space that she created were truly fantastical.
Beautiful.
No, it was so great and wonderful that the word was not enough.
Had a person ever looked so cool in his life?
Theron could say with certainty.
That there was no one.
The only one who gave the feeling that the person themselves was sparkling and exuding an aura was Selene Ashcombe, who was right in front of his eyes, completely immersed in the piano.
Although he would get an erection just from Selene’s gaze, for now, he was so overwhelmed by the power pressing down on him that he could do nothing but swallow dryly.
At the same time, Theron realized.
That the fantasy that he might have been on par with Selene in the music world by now if he hadn’t injured his finger and had continued to play the piano in a wealthy environment was just a dreamer’s vain dream.
Selene’s performance now was the product of overwhelming effort and talent.
It was a realm that he could never reach in his lifetime, even if he tried with a mediocre talent.
To conclude that he could have played as well as Selene if he had been given sufficient support was just the crude self-comfort of a loser.
In that moment, Theron felt the shell surrounding him crack and disappear.
The old shell that had surrounded and covered his eyes and mind, preventing him from looking inside.
So, Theron thought that he might have been misunderstanding Selene.
That is, if her skill was at this level, it was not strange at all that she would win a competition.
That perhaps he had been unlucky and had been misunderstanding Selene.
‘Yes…’
‘A woman who plays so perfectly wouldn’t ask her uncle to bribe the judges of a competition.’
‘Why would she take such a risk?’
And looking back, the Selene he had experienced was not that kind of person at all.
Her deep eyes, which shone with madness when she talked about the piano, seemed pure rather than greedy.
Like a child engrossed in a deep longing.
Although it was something he had buried as if to ignore it, Theron suddenly wanted to dig up that truth.
What was the truth of that day he had heard?
Had Selene really tried to bribe the judges?
Clap, clap, clap.
Theron, who had been deep in thought about the corruption of the competition, realized that Selene’s performance had ended as he heard the applause of the people.
‘Damn it. I was lost in thought and couldn’t concentrate at the end.’
But there would be many opportunities to see Selene’s performance in the future, so he was not disappointed.
Because the days with Selene would continue even after today.
Theron, who was praising the excellent performance along with the others, unconsciously erased the end of the play that had started for the purpose of money from his mind.
As Selene Ashcombe, this woman, smiled faintly and looked at him, nothing else mattered.