Chapter 3: 2

Chapter 2 – Tonight’s Promise

“Wow, wow, wow, this is fantastic! This piano is like nothing I’ve ever known before yesterday!”

Being praised so frankly with a beaming smile, the corners of Adonis’ mouth naturally curled up.

“The extension of the sound has improved significantly, but more than that, it’s the touch! Playing it makes me feel wonderful, and there are no weird parts stuck, making it smooth and easy to play! It’s as if I’m playing a brand new piano!”

“Thank you. Your performance was also excellent, Angela. The piece is original, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It’s called ‘Requiem’, which was the first song I ever learned from my mom.”

“The piece you just performed was very impressive, but perhaps you could play something that employs a slightly higher scale, such as… let’s see.”

“Oh, so this is a request.”

As one would expect from a pianist at a piano bar. It seemed she was accustomed to being requested for playing a musical piece. As Angela settled into her chair, she reached forward with her small palm and said, “Go ahead!” with a smiling pose.

“Are you familiar… with my favorite song, ‘Piano Solo for the Right Hand’ by Merch Greenfield?”

The high tension in the girl’s voice abruptly ceased, and instead, she went, “Ahh…” with her smile shifted into a bitter one.

“Um, I’m sorry. I do know that, but you see.”

Angela extended her right hand and waved it in a fluttering motion.

“My hands aren’t large enough to perform that piece. I have made several attempts at it…”

“Piano Solo for Right Hand” was composed by pianist Merch Greenfield, whose left hand was lost in an accident.

As the name signified, this superb piano piece, to be played with only one right hand, demanded excessive usage of the right hand, to the extent that if one did not witness the artist playing it, one would think that it was being performed with both hands. Although many pianists have tackled this piece at least once owing to the rarity of one-handed playing, very few have succeeded in making it a part of their repertoire.

Since the composer Merch had already faded from the stage, this piece was a rarity that few pianists nowadays can handle.

Taking the fluttering girl’s hand in front of him, Adonis gazed at her intently. I see. In terms of cuteness, there was no complaint, but as a pianist, she was barely up to par.

“A-Adonis… can you play the piano?”

Embarrassed, the girl asked with her hands withdrawn. Oops. It was the first time for him to touch the hand of a girl involuntarily he had encountered.

“This is my favorite song for the time being.”

Over her right shoulder, behind Angela in the piano chair, Adonis reached his right hand to the keyboard while still standing. Several bars of “Piano Solo for Right Hand” easily resonate.

“You see.”

Adonis’ long fingers danced at full speed on the keyboard. Sensing some sort of enthusiasm emanating from the body of the girl who was staring at his hand, Adonis involuntarily halted from playing. That was not so much the fervor of excitement from listening to the performance, but rather such as the flames of rivalry. Like a hot wind rising up.

“… Angela?”

“… No.”

“Eh?”

“No, no, no! Indeed, my hands are too small for this! I can’t play it. Not this one! But you know what, I can play any song that is not affected by the size of my hands!”

When Angela turned around vigorously, she bluffed with overacting. Was she a surprisingly competitive person? Switching seats with her, he faced the piano.

“Eh… then, what about this?”

Adonis played Balakirev’s “Islamey”.

“… This is impossible.”

“Eh, and this one?”

Adonis played Chopin’s “Heroic Polonaise”.

“… This is equally impossible.”

“Well, how about this?”

Adonis played Liszt’s “Études d’exécution transcendante S.139R.2b, Wilde Jagd”.

“…”

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Having played a succession of the world’s most difficult piano pieces, one after another, by the tuner, Angela leaned against a pillar and cast a faraway glance.

“Everything is against my little fingers here…”

“No, I’m really sorry. I had no idea you couldn’t handle any of these.”

Adonis’ follow-up words were incendiary and gutted Angela’s heart.

“In the first place, if you can play it yourself, then do it yourself from the very beginning!”

“The ‘Requiem’ that you played for me, Angela, was quite marvelous, so I thought I’d like to hear some of the other songs as well.”

“If that’s the case! Just pick a song that can be played by someone with smaller hands, it makes such a difference!”

When the girl took the young tuner’s hand, she matched it with her own palm to show the difference in size in a very particular manner.

Although the difference in size was indeed striking, he was more concerned about Angela, whose face was turning bright red. This time, she can’t seem to shrug it off in a devious way because of her hand-to-hand contact with him, whereas earlier she had turned down the request herself.

“Ah, seriously! That’s right!”

Angela let out a bashful yell before releasing her hand.

“Come here again tonight! I’ll let you savor my skills as a pianist to the fullest!”

As she declared this, Angela made a scary face as best she could and glared at Adonis. She was a busy girl, both shy and talk volubly.

“That’s not fair.”

“Why?”

“Because a piano tuned by me is fifty percent better.”

“Oh? What impressive confidence that you have. But even with that, I’m going to show you what it’s like to play the piano before an audience!”

“Then let’s compete.”

“Compete? Like what?”

When Adonis flashed a fearless smile and folded his arms, the girl was understandably excited.

“Tonight, during the interval of the piece, I will come up on stage and play the piano. The judges will be the customers at the bar. We’ll let the audience decide who played better by their applause.”

“Are you sure you want to do that? This is my home ground, and I am the billboard girl. You are a stranger and a man. You can tell which one of us is likely to be more popular with the old guys before we even start performing, can’t you?”

“Even so, let me show you what it’s like to play the piano for an audience.”

Adonis put on an air of triumph. Upon realizing that her words had stirred him up, Angela grinned back. The two cast challenging glances at each other for a while, assessing each other’s commitment.

“The stage will be set at twenty o’clock, and I’ll bring you onstage to a storm of boos.”

“Tonight’s guests are lucky. They’ll have the opportunity to hear a true piano performance.”

All of a sudden, Angela focused her attention on the store’s pillar clock.

“Oh no, it’s already 16:30!”

The girl quickly grabbed the paper bag she had brought with her.

“I have to be home before the drawbridge is raised at 17:00. But I’ll be back at night. You have my word, Adonis! I’m going to have you thoroughly defeated!”

“This is a promise, Angela. I won’t run or hide.”

With her tongue sticking out slightly, Angela waved her hand in a charming smile, opened the door to the store, and rushed up the stairs. Once the tumultuous girl was gone, the piano bar was perfectly restored to its former serenity. For Adonis, it was as if what had occurred just now was all a dream or an illusion.

No, this was neither a dream nor an illusion. He distinctly remembered Angela’s swaying blonde hair as she played the piano.

“The blonde pianist… Angela, huh?”

Adonis regained his composure and turned to the grand piano, tapped the keys, and refocused on the sound adjustment work. His emerald, green eyes were closed.

T/N:

All the piano songs are real except for Requiem and Piano Solo for Right Hand

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