Paganini's Puppet | Ryeji

Julliard Pre-College

Ryujin POV
*gasp*

"Wow, she's playing it at full tempo!"

"Oh my god, she just nailed the run."

"Holy sh-, did you see that!"

"Her playing is so clean."

"Amazing! She hit all the off-the-fingerboard notes."

"Her finger spacings are perfect! Her intonation is flawless!"

I heard people praising me as I was playing the intense passages.

When I finally finished, my bow flew off the string and I took a deep breath before raising my head up.

*intense clapping*

"AMAZING!"

"I've never seen a student nail Dance of the Elves like that."

"Wow! she's easily the best cellist in the school."

"She might even be more talented than Yeji."

I glanced to see Yeji's face before taking my seat. I couldn't quite read it. Was is disgust? Anger? Jealousy?

All I knew, she wasn't pleased seeing someone receive more praise than her.

"Oh my god, why didn't you tell me you were so good at cello??" Chaeryeong asked.

"Isn't every cellist at this school good?"

"B-but you're like...a PRODIGY!"

"W- I wouldn't say I'm a prodigy..."

"Are you kidding? You're clearly the best cellist in the school. Even Yeji's scared you're more talented than her."

"Ahahahahah, well... that makes me happy."

"Wow Ms. Shin. I think you might just be the new ace of this school! Haha." Mr. Cheon commented.

I sure know that's going to anger the hell out of Yeji.

I internally smirked.

Good. A rude bitch like her doesn't deserve to be the ace of this school.

Some other students volunteered to play. Of course they were talented, but there was an evident gap in their level compared to the level of Yeji and I.

"Okay class! Thank you to everyone who volunteered to play. I can now see the range of talent within this class...haha."

That was lowkey condescending but oh well.

After class, Chaeryeong and I headed to lunch.

I was stunned upon entering the lunch room.

It was a super fancy dining hall straight out of Hogwarts. It had gorgeous chandeliers hanging 30 feet high, along with banners of the school logo.

"Wow...this place is huge. It looks like it came out of a fairy tale."

"Hehe. Well, when the tuition is ridiculously expensive and the kids here have extremely rich parents as donors, the school can do practically anything with the money they receive."

"Come on, let's find some seats."

Chaeryeong and I found empty seats by the end of one of the long tables.

I couldn't help but notice Yeji and Lia being surrounded by boys and girls, all who looked extremely wealthy.

Looks like they're the popular kids of this school.

"HIIII!!!"

I flinched at the sudden high pitch yell.

"Oh sorry, did I scare you?"