Managing the Korean entertainment industry: I have superpowers, but I won't say.

Chapter 87 The Sound of the Viennese Piano

Su Yu didn't see Park Jiyeon off at the airport the day she left for Vienna. Choi Min-soo did, and he took a picture of her at the airport and posted it in the company group chat with the caption, "Our actress has departed."

In the photo, Park Jiyeon is wearing a gray sweatshirt, without makeup, with messy hair, and holding a script. She looks like she's going to school, not to film a movie. Chae Soo-bin replied with a "fighting" emoji in the group chat, Kim Go-eun replied with a fist emoji, Yoo In-na replied with a string of hearts, and Sulli replied with "Have a safe trip, unnie."

Su Yu did not reply.

Vienna and Seoul are seven hours apart. When Park Ji-yeon arrived, it was afternoon local time, the sun was shining brightly, and the streets were lined with classical buildings. She stayed in an old-fashioned hotel; the room wasn't large, but the window faced a cobblestone street, and she could see the church spires in the distance.

After settling in, she sent Su Yu a message: "Arrived. The hotel is alright." Su Yu replied: "Okay. Take lots of pictures." Park Jiyeon smiled at those three words, tossed her phone onto the bed, and went to take a shower.

The filming location was the Vienna Music Association building, which contains a small concert hall with wooden walls, a gold chandelier, and a Steinway piano in the center of the stage. This is the most important scene in the film—the blind pianist's last performance.

Park Jiyeon had to walk onto the stage with her eyes closed, sit down at the piano, and play a Chopin Nocturne. She didn't actually play it; her hand position and expression had to be correct, and the piano sound was added in post-production. But she still practiced that piece, playing it to the air in her hotel room every day, tapping her fingers on the table. Her roommate's assistant said, "Unnie, can you change to another piece?" She said, "No, this is the only one."

The first scene is the first time the female lead touches the piano after she goes blind. There are no lines in the script, only actions and expressions. Park Jiyeon closes her eyes, her hands slowly sliding across the keys, from the low register to the high register, the sound getting louder and louder, her expression changing from pain to calm, and from calm to something indescribable.

The director is Austrian and doesn't speak Korean, while Park Ji-yeon doesn't speak German, so the two communicated through a translator. During the first take, the director spoke a long passage in German, which the translator translated into Korean: "He said you played too cleanly; she wanted the feeling of being out of control."

Park Jiyeon nodded and started again. On the second take, her hands pressed harder, the keys making a harsh sound. Her brow furrowed, and her lips trembled. The director yelled "Cut!" and the translator said, "He said the emotion is right, but his hand position is too tense. Relax a little."

For the third note, Park Jiyeon closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and placed her hands on the piano keys. She didn't play a melody; she simply pressed the keys, held them down, and waited for the sound to slowly fade away. Then she smiled, a very small smile, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

The set fell silent. The director didn't call "cut," the camera zoomed in, and filmed for a long time. Finally, the director stood up and said "thank you" in Korean—that was the only phrase he knew. Park Jiyeon opened her eyes and smiled.

After finishing work, she sat on the steps outside the concert hall, holding a bottle of water. Her assistant handed her her phone, saying, "Director Choi is asking how the filming went." She took the phone and saw a long message from Choi Min-soo, the last one being, "Representative So is asking how the progress is."

Park Jiyeon's heart skipped a beat when she saw the words "Representative Su". She typed, "Very good. Director is satisfied." After sending it, she handed the phone back to her assistant, stood up, and dusted off her pants.

"Unnie, it's cold outside, let's go inside," the assistant said.

"Wait a little longer." Park Jiyeon looked at the church in the distance, its lights shining, its spire clearly visible against the night sky. She thought of Namsan Tower in Seoul, the night breeze along the Han River, and the view from Su Yu's office window. Those things were so close to her, yet so far away.

On her fourth day in Vienna, Park Ji-yeon filmed a crying scene. The female lead was in her hotel room, alone, recalling the last thing she saw before she went blind—a fallen leaf. The script said, "She cried, but without making a sound."

Park Jiyeon sat on the edge of the bed, head down, shoulders trembling, tears falling silently onto the carpet. The director watched from behind the monitor, not calling "cut." She cried for a long time, until her eyes were red, and her assistant, watching from outside the set, also cried.

After the director yelled "cut," Park Jiyeon looked up, her eyes swollen, and asked in a nasal voice, "Was that a good take?" The translator said, "The director said it was good." Park Jiyeon nodded and went to the restroom to wash her face.

After washing her face, she saw several messages on her phone. Cai Xiubin sent "Unnie, you've worked hard," Kim Go-eun-fat sent "Ji-yeon, fighting!" and Sulli sent "Unnie, are you crying? I checked the weather forecast, it's raining in Vienna." At the bottom was a message from Su Yu, just four words: "Don't push yourself too hard."

Park Jiyeon stared at those four words for a long time. She remembered that Su Yu had said something similar in Seoul—"Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

He was always like that, saying very little, but always hitting the nail on the head. She wanted to reply, so she typed "I understand," deleted it, then typed "I'll try my best," deleted it again, and finally typed "Okay." After sending it, she placed her phone face down on the table and said to her assistant, "Let's go back to the hotel."

On the eighth day, Park Ji-yeon's last scene. After the female lead's performance at the concert hall, she walked out of a side door alone and stood in the alley.

A breeze blew by, and with her eyes closed, she sensed something. The script didn't specify what she sensed; the director said, "Just act whatever you want." Park Jiyeon thought for a moment, stood there, raised her hand, and caught something—a non-existent fallen leaf. She held the leaf in her palm, looked at it for a long time, and then smiled.

This scene was filmed in five takes. In the first take, Park Ji-yeon's expression was too understated; in the second take, it was too intense; in the third take, the emotion was right, but the hand position was wrong; in the fourth take, everything was right, but the direction of the wind changed, and the lighting was off; in the fifth take, the wind came, the lighting was right, and Park Ji-yeon's expression was perfect.

Filming has wrapped. The local staff applauded, and the director came over to shake hands with Park Ji-yeon, saying something in German that the translator said, "He said you are a very good actress and we will work together again in the future."

Park Jiyeon bowed and said thank you. She stood in the alley, looking at the surrounding European architecture, cobblestone streets, gaslights, and the distant sound of church bells. She took a deep breath, took out her phone, snapped a photo, and posted it to the company group chat with the caption: "Filming wrapped. Thank you everyone."

Su Yu replied with two words: "Come back."

Chae Soo-bin replied with a hug emoji. Kim Go-eun replied with a thumbs-up. Yoo In-na replied with a string of exclamation marks. Sulli replied with "Unnie's treating." Park Ji-yeon looked at these messages and smiled.

She turned and walked back into the concert hall, her assistant helping her gather her things. Park Jiyeon stood on the stage, looking at the Steinway piano. She walked over, sat down, placed her fingers on the keys, and played the first note.

She had practiced Chopin's Nocturne for so long, and finally played it on a real piano. The sound echoed in the empty concert hall; it was beautiful.