Chapter III

Two days later.

That evening was just like any other. Hongdae streets were crowded and there was no shop that wasn't open. Taemin had just left home after a hearty dinner of tofu and bean sprouts soup, carrying his violin with him. Everywhere was carpeted by street artists. Dancers, singers, rappers, magicians, comedians and musicians.
There was plenty of choice and that was why gaining something became difficult. Speaking for himself, Taemin could not certainly say he was a "street artist". He did nothing to appeal the audience, like screaming through a microphone or a megaphone; he did not give appointment to the people like telling them to meet him at a certain place, at a certain time. For him it was enough to carve out a piece of concrete, take his violin in hand and start playing.
It was not presumption, but just a way of doing. An opinion, too.
For him, a musician who believed himself that much had to be able to attract attention and make a living with his music and nothing else, every single time.

The public shouldn't remember the character, but his ability. Not the musician, but his music.
But Taemin knew that the world was very different, and that was why he did not care about how many people would stop and listen to him, or how much money they would throw at his feet. It was not his priority to brighten other people's evenings with his own music. And what if one day he would be left with no one listening to him, giving him a few coins to get by? It wouldn't matter, he would die of hunger.
Taemin played for himself, and no one else. This was his only thought. 

"So," you might say "Why did he choose to play in the streets, if it's not entertaining people what he wants ? Why does he not play his violin at home, " for himself " and seeks for a job instead?"

Because Taemin was like this. He was drastic. And obviously there's a reason why he chose to play violin in the streets, to try making money with it. 
He wanted to survive with his own music, and he wanted to do it for himself. Because he had to, he needed to. And 'that person' deserved it. 

And actually, despite all those not-so-optimistic probabilities we mentioned just above, Taemin never failed to catch the attention of a good number of people, as he played. In contrast to what he claimed himself, his talent was no joke. 
He had his 'own way', and it seemed to work perfectly on the audience.
Summing everything we've just said, Taemin absolutely didn't consider himself a street violinist, but he had his own goal. The violin was his instrument and vice versa. 
Together, they could make it. 

[...]

It was about 10:25 pm  when Taemin finally found a spot where to settle down. It was just in front of  the entrance of a cosmetics shop and a fountain, so it was not that bad. 
He noticed some people who were already there giving him a look as he took out the violin from its case. As always, it took a few minutes in tuning the instrument, causing some short mocking laugh from those who were still watching him.
Oh, was it that funny?
Taemin smiled softly at them while raisining an eyebrow, then he put the violin on his left shoulder and picked up the bow with his right hand. He started thinking. 
He closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, looking at his own hands while pinching the strings and pressing them on the fingerboard. 
He searched for a low sound, an acute, then a sweeter one. He put his left ear on the lower bout, focusing on the vibrations that were still emerging inside of it, and he remembered. He knew what to do and the melody began to build itself in his head. 

He straightened his back, relaxed his shoulders and rested his chin on its base. The bow began to slide on the strings, slowly at first, at times faster and then even slower. It was tilting, sinking, caressing. The bow itself seemed to change its mood and it was the violin to decide. Taemin became the instrument, just like every time. 

The sound of the violin broke through the chatter of the people, into the chambers of their minds. It was deep, it was intense, it was curious because it did not seem to follow a logical thread.
An ever-widening circle, composed of a growing number of people started to create around Taemin. No one dared to say a word, mouths in fact stood open in disbelief, for such a clean, unique performance from such a young and seemingly inexperienced guy.

At that point, everything around Taemin seemed montionless. But there was someone who was interested to hear him, to watch him playing up close more than everyone. 

Jongin was there. He finally made it to Hongdae after a successful hunt; he had followed the music and in