Chapter 5: Hard Training (1)
The next morning.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The alarm woke Jinwoo up.
A notification was displayed on his phone.
Summer Vacation Begins
Vacation starts today.
He washed his face with cold water to wake himself up completely.
The moment he did…
The last high note he had sung on stage yesterday came back to him.
I definitely felt it…
I could feel Mister Paul’s senses…
Until now, the highest note Jinwoo had ever been able to sing was high F (F4).
The difference between that and high A (A4) was only three notes.
But the brief moment he experienced that high A…
…felt like an entirely different world.
And the intense, thrilling sensation he had felt throughout his body while singing it…
It was a pleasure beyond words.
“Mister.”
“What do I do now?”
Paul pretended not to understand.
“About what?”
“The high notes.”
“How can I sing them again?”
Paul cheered inwardly.
Everything is going exactly according to plan.
If I’m teaching him directly through my own body, there’s no way he’ll fail to reach those high notes.
A grin spread across his face.
Now I’ve got reliable insurance.
For a tenor…
High notes were like a drug.
Once a tenor experienced them, it became almost impossible to quit singing.
Paul had already made up his mind.
No matter what…
I’ll get Yoo Jinwoo onto the stage of La Scala.
Then I’ll return to my own time.
He clenched his fist tightly.
Because there’s something I have to set right in the past.
His eyes fell on the large poster of Enrico Luci hanging in the middle of Jinwoo’s room.
That bastard Luci…
“Mister.”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“I asked you to teach me.”
“I will.”
“I’ll teach you how to sing high notes.”
“But I have one condition.”
“A condition?”
Paul pointed at Luci’s poster.
“First…”
“Get rid of that annoying face.”
“Huff… Huff…”
Jinwoo’s mouth tasted bitter from exhaustion.
“I haven’t even run that far…”
Every cell in his body was screaming at him to stop.
But he ignored it and kept running.
Sweat poured down his entire body like rain.
Panting heavily, he asked Paul,
“Weren’t we supposed to be practicing singing?”
“Do you know why you suddenly lost all your strength on stage yesterday?”
“Because the high notes put too much strain on my body?”
“No.”
“It’s because of your weight.”
“You get drenched in sweat after walking for just five minutes.”
“If that’s how your body is, how do you expect to sing?”
“But aren’t opera singers supposed to be a little heavy?”
“My seniors always said having more weight gives you more power.”
Paul exploded.
“That’s complete nonsense!”
“Too much fat only gets in the way.”
“At your current weight, you shouldn’t be singing.”
“You should be in a hospital.”
Then he pushed Jinwoo even harder.
“Stop talking.”
“Run.”
“You’re slowing down already.”
After another full hour of running…
Jinwoo’s clothes were completely soaked.
“Haa…”
“I’m seriously dying.”
Paul finally nodded.
“Alright.”
“It’s not good to push too hard on the first day.”
“We’ll stop here today.”
Six weeks later…
“Huff… Huff…”
“That’s enough for today.”
“Already?”
Jinwoo caught his breath for a moment before standing calmly in place.
Watching him, Paul smiled to himself.
This kid’s tougher than I thought.
I figured he’d collapse within a week.
Instead, he’s trained every single day for six weeks without complaining once.
Jinwoo straightened up, taking his hands off his knees.
His hair was soaked with sweat, so he casually brushed it back.
The moment Paul got a clear look at his face…
He blinked in surprise.
This brat is actually pretty handsome.
Now that he’s lost the weight, his face looks completely different.
His body looks good too.
“Mister.”
“What?”
“You haven’t said anything until now…”
“But school starts again tomorrow.”
“I spent my entire vacation exercising.”
“You promised you’d help me sing high notes.”
Jinwoo wiped the sweat from his face.
Smiling, Paul asked,
“What do you think has changed over the past month and a half?”
“I lost weight.”
“A lot of it.”
“That’s right.”
“You’ve lost a tremendous amount.”
As the weight disappeared, not only his face but his entire body had changed dramatically.
The facial features and bone structure that had once been hidden beneath layers of fat were now clearly visible.
“And there’s one even bigger change.”
“What?”
“Your voice.”
“My voice?”
Jinwoo took out his phone and recorded himself speaking.
Then he compared it with an old recording.
The difference was obvious.
His voice had become clear and crisp.
The muffled, heavy tone was completely gone.
It sounded so different that people would believe it belonged to another person.
“You’re right.”
“I never noticed because I wasn’t paying attention.”
Paul smiled.
“When your body changes…”
“It’s like replacing your instrument.”
“If you’d kept practicing singing while losing weight, adapting would’ve been much harder.”
“I never realized that.”
“Thank you.”
It was the first sincere gratitude Jinwoo had ever expressed toward Paul.
Paul waved it off.
“Save your thanks.”
“Brace yourself.”
“From now on…”
“I’m going to make you hate me.”
Apparently…
Paul’s version of gratitude was announcing even harsher training.
The first day of the new semester.
Yawn…
“I slept well.”
Jinwoo stretched as he got out of bed.
The sun outside the window was high in the sky.
The warm sunlight made him feel refreshed.
Thenā
“Huh?!”
“It’s already nine o’clock?!”
He hurriedly put on his school uniform and rushed into the living room.
A sandwich was waiting on the table.
A note beside it read:
Eat before you go.
Jinwoo stuffed the sandwich into his mouth as fast as he could and ran outside.
“I’ve got to run.”
His strengthened legs pushed powerfully against the ground.
Before long…
He had already reached school.
Was the school always this close?
I’m barely even sweating.
All that training really paid off.
Smiling to himself, he headed toward his classroom.
When he peeked inside…
Class had already started.
He quietly opened the back door.
Slide… Bang!
The training had definitely worked.
Unfortunately…
It also meant he hadn’t gotten used to his new strength.
He accidentally slammed the door much harder than he intended.
In the silent classroom…
The noise echoed loudly.
Trying to sneak in quietly had completely failed.
His homeroom teacher looked straight at him.
“Who are you?”
“A transfer student?”
“I don’t remember hearing we’d be getting one.”
It was his own homeroom teacher.
Huh?
What’s he talking about?
Embarrassed, Jinwoo smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry.”
“I overslept.”
“I’m late.”
Just as he started walking toward his seat…
His teacher stopped him.
“No.”
“I asked who you are.”
Every student in the classroom turned to look at him.
The teacher sounded completely serious.
Only then did Jinwoo realize…
He genuinely hadn’t recognized him.
Several girls whispered among themselves.
“Is he the new transfer student?”
“He’s handsome.”
“I know!”
“He kind of looks like an idol.”
Jinwoo had always been good-looking.
His face had simply been hidden beneath excess weight.
Now his neat facial features, dark eyes, and high nose bridge stood out clearly.
After six weeks of training…
His well-built body looked more suited to an idol’s stage than an opera stage.
“Teacher…”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I’m Yoo Jinwoo.”
His teacher’s eyes widened.
“Yoo Jinwoo…?”
“Jinwoo?”
“You?”
“What happened to you?”
The teacher wasn’t the only shocked one.
“That’s Yoo Jinwoo?”
“No way!”
“That’s impossible!”
Both the teacher and the entire class stared with their mouths open.
Finally…
Jinwoo understood.
“Ah…”
“I lost quite a bit of weight.”
“I see…”
“You’ve worked really hard.”
“You’ve changed so much that I honestly didn’t recognize you.”
“I’m sorry.”
His teacher thought for a moment.
Then his expression suddenly changed.
“No.”
“I shouldn’t be apologizing.”
“Just don’t be late again.”
“Everyone, face the front.”
Even after class resumed…
The students kept stealing glances at Jinwoo.
“…Phew.”
Jinwoo quietly sighed in relief.
What a way to start the semester.
Jinwoo checked his schedule.
“Second period is Understanding Art Songs.”
He gathered his books.
That class was held in the lesson room instead of the regular classroom.
On the way there…
A girl named Yoo Mijeong stopped him.
“Um…”
“Are you really Yoo Jinwoo?”
The other girls around her stared at him as though he had become an entirely different person.
“Yeah.”
“I guess everyone’s uncomfortable because I lost so much weight.”
His gentle voice flowed naturally.
M-My goodness…
That voice almost melted me.
His sharp features.
His broad shoulders.
And now…
That soft voice.
Mijeong swallowed nervously.
That’s really the Yoo Jinwoo I knew?
I had a winning lottery ticket right in front of me and never even noticed.
If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve treated him better.
Blushing slightly, she said,
“Maybe everyone just feels awkward because your whole vibe changed after losing weight.”
“But…”
“This is the first time you’ve ever spoken to me since we became classmates.”
“So of course it’s awkward.”
Mijeong froze.
“Huh?”
“Oh…”
“I guess you’re right…”
“Haha…”
“I’m heading out.”
Jinwoo walked away.
One of the girls beside Mijeong muttered,
“You’re so fake.”
“What?”
“Have you ever talked to Yoo Jinwoo even once before today?”
“So what?”
“Did you?”
“Exactly.”
“That’s why I’m still not talking to him.”
As the girls looked ready to start arguing…
Jinwoo simply walked faster toward the lesson room.
“Seriously…”
“Can losing weight really change things this much?”
He couldn’t help smiling.
“It still feels pretty good.”
At the same time…
He clicked his tongue at how differently everyone was treating him now.
“Everyone, come in.”
“Since it’s the first day back after vacation…”
“Today’s presentations will be by Jinwoo and Miju.”
“You both prepared, right?”
“Come on up.”
Jinwoo’s eyes widened.
I completely forgot.
For the past six weeks…
His daily routine had been exercising until he nearly collapsed.
School assignments had completely slipped his mind.
“Jinwoo.”
“What are you waiting for?”
Lee Miju had already opened the PowerPoint presentation and was looking at him.
Jinwoo awkwardly walked onto the stage.
After glancing around…
He quietly whispered,
“We’ve never rehearsed today’s song together.”
“I prepared everything.”
Miju answered expressionlessly.
Unlike everyone else…
Her attitude toward Jinwoo hadn’t changed at all.
Neither before…
Nor after…
She was the school’s top student in both academics and practical performance.
This was a group assignment.
And everyone in the group shared the same grade.
If I admit I didn’t prepare…
Miju’s score will suffer too.
What if she loses first place because of me…?
Today’s song was “Zueignung (Dedication)” by Richard Strauss.
Fortunately…
It was one of Jinwoo’s favorite songs.
He had listened to it countless times.
He didn’t need any extra practice.
Let’s just do it.
Standing beside Miju…
He listened as she confidently gave their presentation using the slides she had prepared.
When she finished…
The teacher smiled.
“Good.”
“Now let’s hear the performance.”
Miju quietly sat down at the piano.
She rested her hands on the keys.
Although Jinwoo was nervous about performing without a single rehearsal…
He gathered his courage and stood beside the piano.
“…Hoo.”
Don’t panic.
I can do this.
From a corner of the room…
Paul rested his chin on one hand, watching everything with great interest.
A finely tuned instrument…
After spending two months adjusting it…
I’m curious to hear what kind of sound it’ll produce.
