Sonata No.9 | MYG 🔞

39| Phone Call

Soundtrack: Scherzo in D minor, TN ii/40 by Sergei Rachmaninoff

The performances now over, everyone was gathered in the lobby of the David Geffen Hall. Journalists, performers, and public alike were chatting in an atmosphere of calm enjoyment now that the stress of the competition was down.

The duets were being interviewed, fans asked for autographs, and people were networking as a result of disc companies, College representatives, and orchestra administrators being around. Of course, Hoseok was the brightest of them all, managing like no manager could do and piling up business cards in his pockets like they were candies.

Yoongi was more than happy to have him around to run the show and avoid random private blogs and Instagram pages from asking them dumb questions. There was constantly traffic around him and Victoria, and at this point, people actually had to wait in line to see the both of them. They were definitely the most popular act of the whole show and Radulovic and Tharaud looked quite bitter about it, standing in a corner of the room with sulky pouts while their manager, a pudgy bald man, actually had to ask journalists around to interview them.

Meanwhile, Yoongi couldn't get a breather, people after people taking turns at asking his opinion about the other contestants and his chances of winning. He had the perfect answer prepared for everyone, modest but truthful, which he delivered with a signature mischievous smile that made ladies blush around him. He usually didn't like these sorts of events but was in a rather good mood for the moment, which maybe had to do with the fun he was having observing Victoria getting all flustered by the praises she was getting.

The girl, unused to this kind of attention, was as red as a tomato and seemed to not know at all what to answer to her new fans telling her she was the next Paganini. Letting-out some muffled 'thank you' before turning to her duet partner for help, she found out he had purposely got a little further to let her fend for herself, Hoseok at his side conjointly amused by her lack of knowing how to accept compliments.

It was almost time to get to the awards ceremony when Yoongi's cell phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

"Hello?"

He had spoken in English, yet the response was in a singing Korean.

"Hi! I've called four times in the past hour! Are you too busy signing autographs to take the time to talk to your old music professor?"

Yoongi grinned, happy to feel his mother tongue roll on his lips after such a long time.

"Famous life can't wait."

The laugh at the other end rumbled like gravel, hoarse and heartfelt, bringing a smile to Yoongi's lips until it changed into a cough, the wheezing sound of a labored breathing taking over, muffled like the man was trying to hide it.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I'm great!" the other gasped, still coughing.

Yoongi's eyebrows furrowed as he looked around the crowded room for Victoria, Hoseok, and Taehyung, pointing at his cellphone and making them understand he was going to slip out for a minute.

"Stop lying," he whispered, looking around to make sure no journalist was eavesdropping, even though they would probably not understand a thing, "I know you're not doing as well as you pretend..."

"I'm almost 70 and I smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for 40 years. At this point, I'm living on bonus time, so for the circumstances, I think I'm doing pretty damn well."

Yoongi scoffed, finding a calm spot near the bathrooms, away from the lobby and the noisy crowd. He sat down, leaning against the wall.

"So, you saw me live at the Juilliards, right? Is that why you're calling? Are you going to complain about my posture and nuances?"