Stirring The Soul

Chapter 2

It's the usual busy first day of the new year at the London School of Music. You cheerily welcome the students into your class who carry the joy and expectation that comes with being back in school after the summer holidays. They excitedly catch up with each other about their holiday escapades and adventures. It's a mixed class of students aged from 12-16 years, each of whom has a specific learning need. Without wasting time, you get into the usual routine of introducing the lesson and song they will be learning for this first half term.

By the time lunchtime comes around you exhaustedly sit at your desk, relieved to take the weight off your feet. The first few days back are always a physical challenge. You go from doing nothing for four weeks to suddenly having to stand up and orchestrate a group of eager students through new pieces of music. Halfway through your lunch, you hear a knock on your door and see the headteacher bringing in someone you hadn't seen in almost a decade.

"Mr Brown!" you exclaim, jumping off your seat excitedly. "What are you doing here?"

"I should have put a wager on my prediction, Michael. Anna is indeed very happy to see you," the headteacher says, smiling. "I'll leave you two to catch up," he says as he leaves you with your old mentor from the Arts and Music Academy.

"Anna, how lovely to see you. I trust you're well?" he asks.

Mr Brown was the person who guided you through your music studies and you had a lot of respect and for him. He was also there for you while Mark was ill, and you easily regarded him as a parental figure. "I'm doing great Mr Brown. It's so nice to see you after all this time," you reply respectfully.

"Well, I'm not here just for a social visit I'm afraid, but rather to give you details of a potentially interesting job opportunity.

"Oh?" Your interest is piqued. Why would Mr Brown come all this way just to tell you of a job opportunity unless it was something quite extraordinary.

"Now, this isn't something I imagine you'd normally go for, but I got a request from an old friend working at our sister school in Seoul. He works closely with famous boy bands, er 'idols' I think they're called, and he said one of these boys has transferred to my Academy. I say 'boy', but really he's a young man, being twenty-one years old and all. Jungkook (that's his name) is quite a gifted young fellow and shows a lot of potential. He's going to spend six months honing his musical abilities at the Academy, but he really needs a personal piano tutor. He's already quite good at playing the piano, but he needs someone who can give him really broaden his repertoire and develop his skills. More importantly, as he is quite famous, these lessons need to be done discreetly. I immediately thought of you as you fit all the requirements. Your teaching skills are bar none, your piano playing skills exceed others, and you are the only one I can trust with discretion. So what do you say? Is it something you would do for me as a favour? And of course, there is the financial incentive."

Your mind is racing trying to process all this information. Whatever you thought the job opportunity was, you didn't think it would involve giving piano lessons to a famous idol from South Korea. You look at Mr Brown incredulously, but decide that you could do with making some extra money. It's not like you have any other commitments. Plus, there's the bonus of not having to deal with crowds of people. This one-on-one set-up is very amenable to you. And it'd be nice to teach someone older for a change.

You agree to take up the job and get the details from Mr Brown. He tells you that Jungkook will call you himself to arrange a time for his lessons. You thank Mr Brown when he leaves and smile at this unexpected turn of events.

When you return home, you change into comfortable clothes and settle in to dive into your favourite Chinese takeaway. Not even bothering to transfer the food into another container, you greedily stuff the noodles into your mouth. You're only a few mouthfuls when you hear your phone buzzing. Damn, why does someone always interrupt me when I'm eating?

Mildly irritated, you look at your phone and see 'unknown caller ID'. Wondering who it might be, you quickly gulp down your food and answer the phone.

"Hello?"

"Er, hello, is this Ms Murilo?" a quiet voice asks.

"Yes, this is she, who is this?" you want to get back to your food.

"Ms Murilo, this is Jungkook. Mr Brown gave me your number to arrange piano lessons. I'm sorry for disturbing you, is now a good time to talk?"

This guy sounds so shy that you feel bad for cursing him for interrupting your dinner.

"Hi Jungkook thank you for calling, of course now is fine. You can call me Anna by the way."

"Anna Noona, are you free on Friday evenings for lessons? Unfortunately, my study schedule is filled up during the school week. Or maybe Saturdays are better?"

'Noona?' You wonder what that means and make a mental note to look it up later.

"Friday evenings are perfect. Shall we say 7pm? Great. Text me your address and I'll see you this Friday. Thank you, lovely to speak to you too Jungkook."

You put your phone down and wonder for a few seconds about this young man you just spoke to. He spoke good English, if a bit cautiously. He seemed very polite on the phone. Hmm, this should be interesting. I can't wait to hear how good he is.