NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23
It’s been over two weeks since I started my trainee life.
When I arrived at the company and went up to the third floor to sign the attendance sheet, Team Leader So-hyun was there.
“Team Leader! I’m here!”
“Alright, Do-hee, quickly sign in and since Woo-ah is already here, head to the dance studio and take the lesson together.”
“Sure!”
After signing the attendance, I headed down to the dance studio on the basement floor, where Woo-ah Unni was dancing alone while looking in the mirror.
“Unni, I’m here!”
“Do-hee~ I missed you!”
As soon as she saw me, Woo-ah Unni ran over and hugged me.
Her actions were just like a puppy.
And it’s understandable because Woo-ah Unni practiced alone for half a year before I joined.
Normally, at big companies like ours, it’s normal to have at least 5 and up to 15 trainees.
But in our company, it’s just me and Woo-ah Unni, as we have four more years until the next boy group or girl group is published.
So, the existing trainees were either introduced to other companies or were in the process of selecting younger trainees.
They say that from next year, public auditions for trainees will officially start, so there will be more of us soon.
“You saw me yesterday too, so let go already.”
I pushed her away, saying that.
“But I still missed you, hehe.”
“More importantly, did you finish your foreign language homework?”
“…”
“Sigh… Are you going to get scolded by the teacher again?”
“Ugh…”
Woo-ah Unni, who struggles with studying, always gets in trouble for not doing her homework.
“Show me your homework; I’ll help you.”
“Okay!”
While I helped her with her homework as quickly as possible, our dance instructor came in.
“Hey kids, why aren’t you dancing right now?”
I quickly got up and greeted her.
“Hello, Teacher!”
“Right. Woo-ah, get up quickly too.”
“Hehe… I’m sorry.”
Following the instructor’s lead, we finished our stretching and started the actual lesson.
“So, do you remember the dance from the song we learned yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, let’s see you dance.”
The teacher played the song.
I danced with a noticeably different appearance than on the first day.
But just when I started getting too confident, the instructor kept shouting.
“Do-hee, your shoulders keep moving together! Maintain isolation!”
“Do-hee, you’re out of sync.”
“Keep it natural, natural!”
“Push your chest! Close! One, two! One, two!”
The dance lesson filled with harsh critiques eventually ended, and it was dinner time.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Yeah, Do-hee is keeping up pretty well now. If you keep this up, you’ll improve quickly. Work hard.”
“Yes!”
“And Woo-ah, you better keep working hard so you don’t fall behind.”
“Work hard so that you can’t be caught up!”
“Yes, Teacher~”
“Oh, and Do-hee.”
As I was going up to have dinner with Woo-ah Unni, the Teacher suddenly called me.
“Yes?”
“The Team Leader wants to see you, so go up to the 3rd floor.”
“Okay.”
When I got to the 3rd floor, the Team Leader was checking my journal.
“Team Leader, I’m here!”
“Yeah, good. Do-hee, how’s your learning going?”
“Yes! I’m working hard!”
“Right, you said you can’t come tomorrow because of the piano competition?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“But it’s the piano competition tomorrow; can you really skip practicing? You might as well aim for the top prize.”
“Well, I have to take dance and singing lessons too…”
“That’s fine. Today, just finish your journal and go home. Aim for that top prize tomorrow.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
“If you don’t win the top prize, you’ll get in trouble.”
“Yes, Team Leader!”
…A day passes, and the day of the competition comes—the last day I’ll be with the piano Teacher.
Today marks the end of six years of lessons.
Even if the Teacher hadn’t gotten married, this point had to come as I’m already on the path of being an idol trainee.
On my final day, as always, the Teacher cheered for me as I went up on stage.
“Do-hee, just do it as you usually do.”
“Yes.”
I gave a shorter answer than usual and went up on stage.
Looking out at the audience from the stage, I saw more people than before.
Most of them were probably reporters who had come to interview me because of my growing fame.
Today’s piece for the competition is Chopin’s Étude op.10 no.3, “Lento.”
I chose it to mark the end of my time with the Teacher.
As usual, I sat in front of the piano.
And like usual, I completed the one-minute performance perfectly.
As I came off the stage with a small round of applause, the Teacher embraced me as she had for the past six years.
Only after being wrapped in her embrace did it truly sink in.
This really is the end.
“Do-hee, you did really well today.”
“Yes.”
I held onto the Teacher silently for a minute.
“Teacher.”
“Yes, Do-hee.”
“The last time, your husband mentioned…”
“What about it?”
“After I become a celebrity, he said I could sing at your wedding.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Can I play the piano and sing as a congratulatory song at your wedding next month?”
It might be an unreasonable request, but I wanted to personally celebrate this bond that I was letting go of for the first time in this life.
It’s a bit unreasonable to ask, but I wanted to personally celebrate a connection I’m letting go of for the first time in this life.
“Really? Teacher is so nice.”
Fortunately, Teacher smiled with a genuinely happy face.
She hugged me again and patted my back.
“Oh, our Do-hee has such a beautiful heart. I’ve had so much fun because of you for the past six years.”
“Yes, Teacher. Me too…”
And just like every other time, I won another award and continued the record.
Everything was the same as usual, except for the fact that it was the last time.
.
.
.
Wedding day.
Mom is doing my fashion show after a long time.
“Do-hee, try this on.”
“I’m just going to wear what I have on now, okay?”
“No way. We have to make sure you look as pretty as possible for Teacher’s wedding song.”
“No, I look pretty in anything I wear!”
“Oh, stop talking nonsense and try this on.”
“Why are we going with pink?”
“You’re going to have to wear even crazier stuff once you become an idol, anyway. Now hurry up.”
“Ugh.”
Did I really want to be an idol?
These days, whenever I do something, Mom keeps going on about becoming an idol.
I guess I fell for her heartfelt speech. Sigh.
In the end, I ended up wearing a forced pink tweed dress to Teacher’s wedding.
As I entered the bridal waiting room, Teacher, wearing a white wedding dress, greeted me warmly.
“Do-hee~ You’re here! Do-ah is here too!”
“Oh my, Teacher, you look so beautiful~”
“Thank you, Mother. Haha.”
Today, I didn’t run to hug Teacher like I usually do.
After all, I can’t wrinkle the wedding dress on the wedding day.
I just slowly approached and offered my congratulations.
“Teacher, congratulations on your wedding. You look so pretty.”
“Thank you, Do-hee. You look beautiful today, too.”
“I have to perform a wedding song at Teacher’s wedding, so I have to wear something even prettier than usual.”
“Haha, that’s right. Do-hee, since you’re all dressed up, let’s take a picture together.”
“Sounds good.”
“Photographer! Could you please take a photo for us?”
Teacher asked the photographer, who was waiting in the bridal room, to take a picture.
“Yes, understood.”
I stood next to Teacher for the photo.
Then Teacher patted her knees and said,
“Do-hee, let’s take a picture like we used to, you sitting on my lap.”
“If I do that, Teacher’s wedding dress will get wrinkled, and that won’t do.”
“It’s okay. If it gets wrinkled, we can smooth it out again. The photo will last forever! Come on!”
As Teacher patted her knees again, I cautiously sat on them.
I tapped my knee again and carefully sat on the teacher’s knee.
Even sitting there, I couldn’t lean my head against her chest for fear of wrinkling my wedding dress.
The teacher gently pressed my head down to rest on her chest.
Your clothes are going to get wrinkled…
As we got ready, the photographer shouted.
“Alright, we’re going to take a picture. One, two, three!”
The flash went off, and the photo was taken.
Later, I checked the picture, and it captured me and the teacher smiling brightly.
After taking the photos, the teacher was busy welcoming guests, so we quickly left the bride’s waiting room and sat at the guests’ table.
While eating the course meal, I chatted casually with my mom and Do-ah until the lights went out and the wedding ceremony began.
The groom entered, and then the bride made her entrance.
During the wedding, I kept my eyes on the teacher.
And before I knew it, the officiant’s remarks were over.
The MC said.
“Next, there’s a congratulatory song to celebrate today’s blessed wedding.”
It was my turn to perform.
“I’ve heard beforehand that the congratulatory singer is quite remarkable.”
“They’re a genius pianist who has won the grand prize a whopping 12 times in the most prestigious competition in Korea and is a future idol trainee representing Korea! And above all, they are the bride’s most beloved student, Do-hee Lee. Please give a big round of applause!”
I received applause as I walked to the piano, took the microphone handed to me by the staff, and spoke.
“Hello. I am Do-hee, the student of the most beautiful bride, Joo-yeon-ji.”
“The piece I will be performing today is a composition by Schumann, a representative composer of Romantic music, arranged for piano by Liszt.”
“The title of this piece is ‘Dedication.’ As the title implies, it’s a song Schumann dedicated to his beloved wife, promising to devote his life to her the day before their wedding.”
“I hope the lovely couple, my beloved teacher and her husband, will have a beautiful married life just like this beautiful piece.”
Why is this more nerve-wracking than a piano competition?
I sat down at the piano and began to play.
Today’s performance felt more emotional than ever.
After finishing the performance, I said a simple thank you and returned to my seat amidst applause.
When I got back, my mom, with a playful expression, started talking to me.
“Our daughter is amazing~!”
“Yeah, I know.”
Feeling flustered, I wanted some alone time to sort out my thoughts, but my mom kept talking.
“Surprisingly, you didn’t cry this time. Your expression looked like you would.”
“I don’t know. I cried inside.”
“Haha, you cried inside. Did my daughter get middle school syndrome?”
“Ugh, stop it already. Don’t irritate me.”
“Look at you getting mad at your mom. Definitely going through puberty!”
“Ugh, I said stop it!”