[Team Four] The Pianist: Lesson

[damagea.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry I'm late! ;;



When Chanyeol returned, Baekhyun had already cleaned up the mess he had created and was now standing by the teacher's piano, ignoring the younger pianist's entrance and just silently flipping through notes. Fortunately, the medicine had acted quickly so his hand wasn't shaking any longer and he could be back to his normal self, and pretend the scene Chanyeol had witnessed hadn't even happened.

Baekhyun could see from the side of his eye that Chanyeol was wearing a hoodie again, no specs this time, and he was carrying two take-away cups on a mug tray.

“I brought you Americano, here you go,” Chanyeol said and held out another cup when he walked closer. “I hope you're feeling better now,” he added softly.

The remark forced Baekhyun to turn his head slowly so he could look at his student. He hoped Chanyeol would discard the subject as fast as he brought it up because Baekhyun surely wasn't in the mood to cry against some kid's shoulder, so he simply waved his hand as he accepted the drink.

“Don't you worry about that,” he said as carelessly as he could, “but thanks anyway, I guess.”

Chanyeol snickered with his low voice and pointed at the cup in Baekhyun's hands. “By the way, I thought it's illegal in this country for students to treat drinks for you teachers, seonsaengnim. Yet, you don't seem to have a problem with that.”

Baekhyun raised the steaming mug against his lips. “Oh come on, a pianist like you shouldn't be the one obeying ridiculous rules that strictly,” he said muffling against the side of the cup.

“Whatever you say, seonsaengnim.” Another stifled laugh was uttered. Well, at least Chanyeol was on the state of joking again.

Baekhyun kept sipping at the coffee and tried his best not to show the disgust as the taste hit his buds. Evidently, Chanyeol had absolutely no idea about his drink preferences, but Baekhyun didn't want to reveal what a sweet tooth he actually had in real life because that would undoubtedly make him lose his authority. He ducked his head and put the concentration back to the notes in front of him so he wouldn't get caught.

“Oh,” Chanyeol exclaimed. “I forgot you wanted this off.”

Baekhyun averted his gaze from checking what Chanyeol was talking about but he couldn't help seeing from the corner of his eye the other crossing his arms and peeling the huge hoodie off, revealing a black t-shirt. After casting the hoodie into his bag Chanyeol stayed still, and was obviously waiting for Baekhyun's next instructions.

Baekhyun placed the coffee mug on top of the piano. He leaned his elbows on the same spot and then turned his head, gaze automatically traveling a bit too low to check how the tight shirt was conforming Chanyeol's trained chest muscles and arms. The kid was surprisingly fit.

Baekhyun let out a dry cough because he didn't want to ogle. “Okay let's start. First of all, I'm assuming you talked with Cho Kyuhyun about the details of the next month's competition you're going to participate in?”

Chanyeol nodded slowly.

“Good, because I decided not to waste any time and chose Brahms Intermezzo opus 118 number 2 for you to perform.” Baekhyun took a booklet and handed it over to Chanyeol. “It'll be great, if you will just practice hard and follow the written tempo commands carefully. We'll start working on this from today and will continue having lessons every day except Sundays. I'll figure out the classroom reservation for Saturday and I'll inform you about that later. But having no classes on Sunday doesn't mean no practicing on Sunday, I tell you. Five hours of playing minimum per day.”

Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun's extended hand. “Wait... you already picked the piece for me? Am I not allowed to do it by myself?”

Baekhyun sighed, he had somewhat expected that kind of response. The way Chanyeol was exchanging a look between him and the note booklet with such a disappointed face made him look like a child being banned from doing something fun but naughty. And that was just extremely rude and unprofessional.

“For the record, we have no time to lose. And as your teacher I'm very well qualified to pick the song I'm willing to teach you to ace perfectly,” Baekhyun explained tightly, maybe sounding too dour but he couldn't help it, since the displeased face the student in front of him kept making wasn't the sight he wanted to see in his classroom.

What's more, Chanyeol looked so young, more like resembling a teenager with bare arms and tight black jeans hugging his long legs, the look finished with black sneakers. Once again Baekhuyn couldn't help thinking to himself what kind of a pianist Chanyeol was even trying to be and if he even wanted to be taken seriously.

“It's decided. End of discussion,” Baekhyun added.

“But I don't even like Brahms! I've never liked playing pieces written by him. I haven't played Brahms ever since I was a high school student because his music doesn't have the feeling I'm trying to express in my playing. And you didn't even bother asking me that first,” Chanyeol quibbled with accusing tone. Everything Baekhyun could see and hear there was a spoiled kid complaining and now trying to take a martyr's role. And Baekhyun wouldn't swallow the trick that easily.

“That's not how piano competition world works. We don't get to decide or play whatever sounds fun to us. This isn't about fun. This is about respect, humbleness, hard practice and everything between.”

“I thought we all did this for the love for music?”

“Maybe we did, in the beginning yes. But we also have our responsibilities when the playing has reached this point of seriousness. So it'd be high time for you to start being humble and feeling honoured to get this opportunity, not complaining like a child about such frivolous details.”

Chanyeol quieted down, although Baekhyun could tell he was fighting himself in earnest not to start arguing back like he had already done on the day before. Baekhyun shot him a pregnant look to imply he was serious, everything regarding the competition was decided and no objections would be taken into account.

“Like I said, this is the end of the whole discussion,” Baekhyun repeated and placed the notes on the music stand. “Now sit down and play the piece for me, so I'll know if it's a big or a huge disaster.”

Chanyeol curled his lower lip but eventually did as he was told by sitting down and playing the piece in silence. He made no extravagant gestures but played it from the beginning to the end almost robotically.

"That was quite good," Baekhyun expressed his approval. "Now again. Try playing pianissimo parts even more softly."

The atmosphere stayed awkward and stiff, and Chanyeol didn't even bother looking at him when Baekhyun suggested next he should try tying the chords together more steadily. Maybe Chanyeol was trying to show his protest by sulking and keeping a bored looking face, but at least he completed all the further instructions Baekhyun gave him.

Baekhyun should have felt proud when there were no more strong objections heard and he actually had the peace for teaching, but it was slightly weird how quiet Chanyeol was the entire time. Before he hadn't only been babbling and rambling non-sense all the time, but all his actions and reactions had been extra as well. Now it wasn't only about talking but all Baekhyun's comments were also factored in with a very obedient manner. If Baekhyun asked Chanyeol to use more force during forte parts, he did. If Baekhyun asked him to pay more attention to pedals, he did. If Baekhyun suggested to try metronome, Chanyeol didn't complain but let the machine annoyingly tick the monotonous tempo next to him.

Then again, Baekhyun felt there was something big yet unspecified missing from the piece Chanyeol kept playing and he couldn't understand what was the magic word that was lacking. It was nothing like Fantaisie Impromptu they had try to work on on the day before – that mess had been all over the place with so many reckless mistakes Baekhyun had lost the count, but it surely hadn't lacked the same thing this piece by Brahms now did. This piece was supposed to be mostly soft and delicate, and even though Chanyeol pressed the ivory keys as gently as possible, he didn't manage to capture the spirit of the song.

And while Chanyeol resolutely avoided Baekhyun's gaze, Baekhyun himself couldn't help glancing at his young student in quick succession as he kept playing. Baekhyun tried his best not to stare too long when his vision registered to his brain that Chanyeol had a few tattoos on his arms, one smaller one near his wrist and two bigger ones a bit upper there. Baekhyun couldn't help wondering vaguely how on earth he hadn't noticed them before.

He got rid of stupid thoughts at once when he discerned he wasn't listening to the playing anymore but his mind was in such useless details.

The lesson went on with the same way for hours. Baekhyun kept playing parts of the piece with a smaller piano to give Chanyeol a better impression how it was supposed to sound and Chanyeol tried his best to mimic. Baekhyun made markings on the note paper and explained the importance of the nuance differences, Chanyeol simply nodding and humming next to him.

From time to time Chanyeol furrowed his brows, maybe in concentration or maybe because he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't interrupt.

*****

When they both let forth a long yawn at the same time, Baekhyun finally decided to call it a day.

“We will continue with this tomorrow again,” Baekhyun said tersely and stood up, stretching his arms a little bit since all the sitting and crouching had taken their tolls. “I hope you remember all the useful tips and instructions I gave you. Practice hard but remember not to stay up too late.”

Chanyeol let out a mumble as he also stood up, and from that Baekhyun could tell he was still sulking. The student started packing his bag in silence.

“I'm serious when I tell you this, but it was quite good today, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun continued, this time a little bit more gentle because the mere silent reaction the other gave back felt awkward. And he was actually telling the truth this time.

“I'm sorry I talked about a disaster before while it was nothing like that. You did well and I'm sure you'll start loving playing Brahms again.”

Chanyeol put his hoodie on, his hair comically being even a bigger mess when he pulled his head through the neck opening.

“It's okay. Thank you, Baekhyun-seonsaengnim. I'll do my best.”

He ruffled his hair and pulled the fringe back so his forehead was revealed, putting a cap backwards on and threw the backpack over his shoulder. Then, Chanyeol was about to open the door but stopped his hand in the middle way.

“By the way, was Brahms your favourite composer when you still played?” he blurted out. He spoke towards the wooden surface, not even turning around to look at Baekhyun.

Baekhyun was taken aback from the sudden question.

He hadn't expected Chanyeol to bring that up since the only reason they were even put together into this situation was to train Chanyeol, not to talk about Baekhyun. Not about his favourite composers, not about his playing history, not about the accident, not about the state of his hand. Baekhyun remembered his student had maybe mentioned earlier about something knowing his name. Yet, he hadn't expected the other to be interested in his life any deeper than any other student would have a interest in their teacher's matters.

“I-- well yeah, I kind of liked playing his music,” Baekhyun then said, clearing his throat a little bit. “I still like listening to his compositions, I admit that.”

“So you still listen to classical music? Even after...?” Chanyeol turned so he could look at him.

“Of course, it's naturally part of my job. I need to evaluate the pieces before I make a decide on what to teach and what suits my student the best,” Baekhyun said, with a shrug of his shoulders.

“How long did you even play before you started teaching?”

“Um I believe it was almost 25 years?”

“Huh? It was that long!” Chanyeol's exclaimed, with a mixture of awe and surprise.

“Yes, quite a long time.”

“But then it also must be so hard,” Chanyeol uttered a low sigh. “To lose something you did for so long.”

“I didn't only play piano for long time,” Baekhyun chuckled humorlessly. “Playing the only thing I ever sacrificed myself for. I sacrificed all those years for one thing only. And then it was matter of seconds and it was taken away from me for the rest of my life, end of the story. Very simple story if you think about it.”

Chanyeol stared at him uneasily. “You are talking about that awfully lightly and carelessly. Doesn't it bother you? I don't think I could do that if I were in the same position as you.”

“There's really nothing you can do about it, there's nothing I can do about it. In fact, there's nothing anyone could do about,” Baekhyun answered shortly and arranged a pile of notes from the music stand, shoving them inside a clear file. “So what's the point being bothered about it? Better to talk about it lightly.”

“I saw you and your hand hurting earlier today, seonsaengnim. Didn't seem that light for me,” Chanyeol continued with a serious tone, his gaze then dropping towards the floor.

“Does it... hurt often like that?” he then ventured to ask.

Baekhyun could only shrug again. “No no no, not really. It's usually in control. Today was just a bad day.”

“I was surprised to see that, seonsaengnim. In internet articles they only wrote about the numbness and how you have no sense of touch left in your fingertips. I thought that's it and now I feel sorry I didn't know earlier it could hurt like that. I can't even imagine such pain you must go through and the fact you don't want anyone to know about it saddens me even more. And then I had guts to get angry at you although earlier I had just seen you suffering like that.”

“You couldn't know, and that's fine, Chanyeol. Really. We're good.”

“And I could only imagine if the same kind of accident happened to me... I'd cry in my bed for the rest of my life, not going out and showing my face anywhere ever again.”

“Don't think about it. It already happened to someone else so it's safe to believe it won't happen to you.”

“It still makes me sad.”

“You shouldn't think about this too much,” Baekhyun answered. He didn't like how depressed Chanyeol managed to sound and how he seemed to be in such low spirits just because of thinking about Baekhyun and his accident, not because of the bad choice of a competition piece anymore.

“And really,” Baekhyun continued, this time trying his best to cheer his student up, “maybe the accident was the sign of something bigger. Maybe it was meant to be like this. Maybe I wasn't supposed to play for the rest of my life anyway and maybe I already achieved everything I needed to. And now it's your time to shine.”

“It's hard to see it like that. That it was meant to be, seonsaengnim.”

“Like I earlier said, don't you worry about that too much.”

Chanyeol kept looking gloomy, which was disconcerting.

“Anyway,” Baekhyun continued because he had started wanting to get out of the situation as the talk had gone on, “you have way more important things you should be focused on. That's why I'm telling you to stop worrying and simply enjoy what playing gives you. Practice hard and I'll see you tomorrow.” He stressed the last syllable to emphasize the end of their conversation. Luckily Chanyeol seemed to get the not-so-subtle cue as he simply nodded and then silently pulled the door handle down.

Chanyeol sent one more meaningful glance at Baekhyun's direction.

“Take care, Baekhyun-seonsaengnim,” he said softly before trudging out, and then Baekhyun was left alone.

Without hurrying Baekhyun gathered rest of his belongings and put them into the brief case. Chanyeol's words filled with worry stayed in his mind and he was also still surprised how boldly Chanyeol had asked those questions about him feeling about all this. After all, it was the subject majority of people around him avoided bringing up; even Kyungsoo didn't dare to talk about it too often, because he knew well how Baekhyun wasn't fancying the subject, but he concentrated on more practical things like asking if Baekhyun had eaten, slept or cleaned his apartment. As a well-known recluse among his group of friends and family, Baekhyun most definitely was famous as well for not talking about feelings and shit.

What had surprised Baekhyun the most was that it hadn't felt that uncomfortable to talk about the past a little bit with Chanyeol. In fact, it had also been the first time since the accident when the roles had kind of been reverted- now it hadn't been the other part who was consoling him but it had been Baekhyun convincing the other person his situation wasn't the end of the world.

Maybe Chanyeol could relate as a budding professional pianist to his feelings a little bit better than anyone else. Or maybe Baekhyun simply didn't like seeing his student being sad when he needed to concentrate on the upcoming competition and all other worries were supposed to be washed away. Or maybe Park Chanyeol just wasn't that bad as a person after all. Maybe. Who knew.

Turning off the lights Baekhyun put his jacket on, exited the classroom and, to his enormous surprise, faced again the one and only Park Chanyeol, who was leaning awkwardly against the wall in the empty corridor.

A shy smile was spread on Chanyeol's face as he saw Baekhyun. “Umm, I thought I could wait for you so we could walk together. You take the subway too, right?”

“You, why-- yes,” Baekhyun stammered in confusion. He didn't know in that second how to make an excuse to refuse because it was obvious from his appearance, jacket on and everything, that he was ready and on his way to leave the building anyway.

“Great, let's go.”

They walked through the corridor side by side, and for a moment Baekhyun feared Chanyeol had asked him to accompany him because he wanted to go on with the accident subject. But after a short silence between them, and Baekhyun already panicking it'd be such an awkward walk all the way until they'd reach the station, it turned out Chanyeol was exactly the same like he had been during their initial meeting. As they got outside, Baekhyun could observe how his student loved talking about himself and his life, while he himself could mainly stay quiet and take the listener's role.

Baekhyun quickly learnt that Chanyeol still lived with his family, his parents were very proud of him and encouraged him for his piano career but they were also quite strict about it, his big sister had just got married and it wouldn't be a big surprise if they'd hear news about her pregnancy very soon. Chanyeol was allergic to animals although he loved them but the family actually had a small toy poodle because that dog breed also suited allergic people if it wasn't too severe. Chanyeol's best friend was called Oh Sehun although he wasn't musical at all. Chanyeol liked computer games but his mother tried to restrict him playing too much. Chanyeol's favourite color was black, he enjoyed drinking beer but couldn't drink it often. Chanyeol had got a laser surgery for his eyes because glasses could be annoying although they could also be very stylish. Chanyeol was very competitive, he hated losing or being even the second best and he wanted to be the best pianist in a whole world.

Like during their lessons, Baekhyun couldn't help glancing at Chanyeol when he was in the middle of fierce explanation about his capability of playing even more instruments besides piano because he simply loved all kind of music. At the same time there was something so boyish yet something mature in him as he went on with the light chatter. He was so incredibly cheerful and the earlier sulking and gloomy expressions from the lesson were now totally forgotten. The way Chanyeol moved his hands in a gestured manner while explaining was somewhat cute, and that made Baekhyun smile faintly a little bit to himself.

Yeah, Park Chanyeol definitely wasn't such a bad person he had maybe judged before.

When they reached the subway gates, Chanyeol waved his hand to point at the sign for the opposite direction where Baekhyun was about to go. “I'll go that way,” he said.

“Right. Have a safe journey back home,” Baekhyun wished politely.

“Thank you, Baekhyun-seonsaengnim.”

They parted with one more short exchange of goodbyes, and Baekhyun was just about to dig out his T-Money card, phone and earphones from his pocket, before he heard Chanyeol hollering his name behind him. Baekhyun took a look over his shoulder.

“You have a nice smile, seonsaengnim.”

That came out of nowhere, so Baekhyun could only send Chanyeol a puzzled look.

“You should do that more often. Smile, I mean,” Chanyeol called out before starting to walk in a slouchy manner to the opposite direction, a dimple formed on his cheek and a teasing look on his face.

“It suits you,” he added.




Your turn, orangegreenlove.