Jungsu kept the song quite simple. It was Vivladi's Spring in the four seasons. Jungsu didn't add any embellishments again this time and played it quite slowly, deciding to simplify the song despite its difficulty. As he played the song, he heard a couple of ahhs as recognition lit up in their eyes at hearing the piece. He'd only played about twenty seconds of the song before stopping and dropping the violin from his neck.
He heard some quiet claps and bowed, feeling many surprised eyes fall on him.
Yet still, the eyes he felt the most were Bo-mi's as she seemed rather unimpressed for some reason.
"Could you play something faster Jungsu?" Bo-mi said to him, smiling as if she knew Jungsu could do so. Jungsu felt a muscle tick in his jaw before he relaxed and narrowed his eyes at her in irritation.
"Mrs. Bo-mi..." Jungsu said quietly, "I am not a professional in case you have forgotten. I think you are making things rather diffi-"
"Oh come on Jungsu! I know you can do it! Do it for your fans, or for your family."
Jungsu supposed he was performing for the wall as he had neither. Still, seeing Bo-mi's determined eyes, Jungsu pressed his lips together before giving her a look. She simply smiled at him, yet Jungsu could sense a newfound calculation in her eyes.
Shaking his arms out, he placed the violin once more between his neck and collarbones and raised his bow. This time he didn't bother holding back.
He started playing, and could immediately sense the quietness of the room. Everyone had gone still the moment the first note reached them. They all stood in awe as the beautiful notes floated towards them in quick and sharp, then soft and light melodies. Jungsu had decided to play Paganini's Caprice no. 24. It was a rather difficult piece, yet Jungsu simply wanted to shut up the lady that looked at him with expectant eyes. Needless to say, he would not be performing again for Bo-mi.
Jungsu had learned the violin as well in England, however, he had continued learning once he'd returned when he'd gotten the chance through his other missions. England had taught him quite a bit. He still had the calluses on the tips of his fingers as a reminder of the grueling hours he had spent with a violin. Still, it was something that he had enjoyed. Yet, he remembered that whenever his violin instructor told him to replicate a happy tone while playing, he was never able to. That's why he couldn't consider himself a musician.
He played roughly thirty seconds of the piece this time before stopping in unison with the fall in the chorus.
Looking up, he saw the shocked expression on Bo-mi's face, as if she herself had not expected him to play as well as he did. Still, it was not Jungsu's best performance.
Taking that as a cue, Jungsu placed the violin down into its case and stood in the silence, feeling unsettled under the numerous eyes on him.
Then slowly, there was clapping, much louder than last time and accompanied by loud cheers.
Yuri stood frozen for a moment before clapping while narrowing her eyes at Jungsu who stood indifferently.
"What the hell..." Yuri mumbled under her breath.
They rushed towards him in a crowd and Jungsu stepped back from their advances. However, he was unable to escape from Yeong-cheol's arms as he wrapped himself around Jungsu. Jungsu stood in place, not knowing what to do with Yeong-cheol who was now in his arms wiping away tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Jungsu, that was incredible! Why didn't you tell me you were a violinist?" Yeong-cheol buried his face into his neck while Jungsu had a look on his face that seemed to question his existence.
Pushing Yeong-cheol off him, Jungsu straightened his shirt and brushed his hair back, shuddering slightly as he rubbed his neck.
"Jungsu where did you learn to play like that?" Min-ji asked while looking up at him, grabbing on tightly to his arm.
"A teacher." Jungsu replied.
Min-ji frowned, then opened her mouth to ask more but was interrupted by Bo-mi.
"Jungsu! Jungsu! Would you play us another-"
"No." Jungsu shook his head firmly.
"But-"
"No. My fingers are hurting now. So is my neck. I'm sure you understand. Working us too hard is exploitation." Jungsu stood tall as he looked down his nose at the staff.
In that moment, he appeared to be a government official berating the staff for their exploitation of labour.
Bo-mi quickly backed down, grumbling quietly as she picked up her microphone once more.
"Alright contestants! Now that each group is done, we will be calculating the scores based on the performance and the timing."
As the staff started evaluating the performances and discussing who the winner should be, Jungsu looked around him. There were still quite a number of expectant eyes on him.
Widening his eyes, he asked, "What?"
"You.... how? What are you?" Na-yeon huffed, crossing her arms.
Jungsu felt his heart jump at the question. Narrowing his eyes he calculated the best route to exit the villa.
"He's a weird genius! You know like Einstein or something. I've heard a couple violin pieces and I can confidently say that Jungsu's was the best." Seung-gyu said while nodding his head. Jungsu relaxed once again.
"My accomplishments pale in comparison to Einstein. From the establishment of wave-particle duality, his quantum theory of light, and his theory of relativity, he has revolutionized our understanding of the world."
Jungsu opened his mouth to elaborate but then closed it once he saw the contestants looking at him as if he truly was a crazed scientist. The camera zoomed in to capture the moment Jungsu, disappointed, closed his mouth and folded his arms over his chest.
Yuri huffed out a breath as she nearly walked up to Jungsu to shake his shoulders and ask him whether or not he was an alien lifeform. Sometimes when she looked at him, she felt as though he were truly living in a different world from all of them. She had seen it in the way he refrained from smiling, almost as if he couldn't do it. She had only ever seen the barest hint of a smile on his face, and even that was rare. She'd never even heard him laugh before. Yuri wondered what he had done, where he had lived, and what he had experienced for him to be...him.
Jungsu shrugged off the arm that Yeong-cheol placed on his shoulder, but Yeong-cheol once again placed it back, laughing loudly.
"My brother is one of a kind. Hey Jungsu, what else can you do? You must have picked the music category for a reason."
The contestants leaned in for the answer. Even Dong-ha who was standing away from the crowd around Jungsu, leaned in unconsciously.
"I didn't pick the music category. I had no other option as every other category was full."
"Right." Yeong-cheol said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"You must've played the piano. Or perhaps the recorder-"
Yeong-cheol was interrupted by Bo-mi's announcement.
"Okay! After thoroughly analyzing the performances, we have decided on the winner."
The chatter quieted down as contestants waited impatiently while Bo-mi drew out the announcement.
Finally, she opened her mouth and said, "The winner is... the music category! Congratulations!"
Jungsu nodded his head in acceptance. That was the least they could do for him after he'd practically given them a free performance.
Min-ji and Ae-ri jumped up and down, pushing Yeong-cheol out of the way as they shook one another's arms in excitement.
"We will give you some time to discuss where you would like to go for your day out. But please do decide quickly as we would like to prepare for it as soon as possible."
Jungsu turned towards Min-ji and Ae-ri in question As they shuffled over away from the other contestants and discussed where they should go.
"You should decide Jungsu. I don't think we would've won if you weren't there." Ae-ri said.
Min-ji nodded in agreement and they both looked at him in question.
"Thank you nuna, Min-ji. Then I would like to go to Busan."
"Oh! Good choice, Jungsu! Is there a particular reason you chose Busan?" Min-ji asked.
As much as Jungsu had thought of using the trip for better reasons, he'd heard the food in Busan was quite good. So, Jungsu wanted to go to Busan. He deserved that much after eating the mediocre food in the villa. And there was no guarantee that Jungsu would be able to accomplish anything with the cameras following him like a leech. Jungsu nodded, content with his choice.
"I hear it is a beautiful city." Jungsu replied, causing Min-ji to smile and Ae-ri to nod in agreement.
"Bo-mi! We've decided on Busan!" Ae-ri announced, causing other contestants to grumble in jealously.
"Grreaaattt choice!" Bo-mi gave them two thumbs up and discussed with the staff for a minute.
"Okay! Everyone is dismissed for the day. We will meet again at night around the campfire for storytime!" Bo-mi sang in joy.
Jungsu watched as the others headed inside, yet he remained in place as he approached the staff. He watched the man silently, anger causing his blood to pump faster.
Grabbing him, Jungsu pushed him forward with his arm around his shoulders and whispered in his ear, "So, why did you do it?"
The man froze at his words then attempted to walk away, however was stopped by Jungsu's iron grip.
The man then chuckled robotically, and asked, "Wh-what are you talking about?"
"You smoke a vintage brand, don't you? You're right-handed, but you use your left hand when smoking. Maybe that's why you weren't able to get rid of the ash from your sleeves. Ah, it's still there." Jungsu pointed down at the man's left sleeve and smiled, causing the man to start trembling under Jungsu's cold eyes.
"I wonder why people don't pay as much attention to the left as they do the right. Or even the patterns they leave behind. Just like you."
The man stood still, looking straight into the forest with Jungsu as he whispered, "You get up at three in the morning, always headed to the washroom. That watch on your wrist," Jungsu said while glancing down, "is not something an ordinary showbiz worker could buy. Especially not someone who monitors the cameras. You seem to be the gambling type, don't ask me how, I can just tell." Jungsu chuckled.
"Yet where are you getting that money from, hmm? It can't be your wife, you're not married. It also can't be your family, otherwise, you'd be in a higher position by now."
The man breathed faster and faster in fright, wondering if he was more scared of getting caught, or simply of Jungsu himself.
"Now, you're gonna tell me who you're distributing the footage to, and if you're the dealer, or if there's more parties involved." Jungsu patted his back lightly.
As they stood facing the forest, the other staff members couldn't help but smile at the humble image Jungsu had created in their minds of himself.
________
It had gotten quite dark. Yuri sat between Ae-ri and Dong-ha as she glanced across from her at Jungsu who was leaning forward in his seat with his elbows resting over his knees. The fire danced in between them, illuminating his face while the shadows accentuated his contours as he gazed into the fire.
She wasn't the only person staring at him though, as Yuri could see a couple eyes on him while glancing around the circle they sat in.
Suddenly, she saw Min-ji leaning against Jungsu as she stretched her arms, a poor attempt to hide her intentions. Yuri glared at the two as Jungsu simply looked down at Min-ji and then back into the fire.
"So, I fell over the boat. I was so embarrassed when the fishermen had to fish me back in. They threw a net on me! Can you believe it?!" Seung-gyu shouted in disbelief, causing everyone, except for Jungsu, to laugh.
"Okay, next story is from Jungsu!"
Jungsu looked up from the fire and straightened into his usual position.
Thinking for a moment before he opened his mouth, Jungsu's smooth voice fell over them, causing an unusual hush to sound as all the participants were now paying extra attention to him.
"I was working at an ice cream convention once, it was a part-time job. I had to wear a penguin costume and was trying to hand out some ice cream samples. Then this little boy came up to me and he started tugging my costume. Before I could realize it he'd peed on me and stolen my samples." Jungsu paused for a moment, as if continuing was too painful for him.
Everyone remained silent as they pressed their lips together to hold back their laughter in the face of Jungsu's pained expression.
"I still can't stand the sight of them."
"Of-of who Jungsu?" Yuri asked, choking back a laugh.
"Children." Jungsu said simply.
One beat, two beats, three beats, before everyone erupted in laughter while holding onto their stomachs.
Jungsu looked around at him at the staff and contestants and wondered what he had said wrong.