She had hoped that reading and writing Korean would come easily to her because of genetics. By midafternoon, Jeongwon had twisted Seomin’s mind into a confused mess. She never realized how difficult it would be to learn how to read and write her own language. She thought that speaking Korean would quicken the pace, but Seomin felt her progress inch slower than a tortoise. Seomin stared at the plate of brown rice and steamed vegetables in front of her. Instead of shoveling down her food, she could only groan. How was she going to survive the next three hours? She checked her cellphone and sighed. “You can do it Seomin. Just make it to 10 o’clock and you’re out of here.”

Seomin polished off her plate, making sure every morsel of food had made it to . This diet was not helping with her tired state, but she would have to persevere. She took her book bag and slung it over her shoulder as she made her way to her piano class on the main floor. Upon arrival, she was astonished to see the beautiful grand piano in the middle of the room. She dropped her bag by the piano bench before admiring the piano. Upon close inspection, she realized this was a Steinway baby grand piano. “How does the company afford so many pianos like this?” she asked herself in awe.

“Actually, this is the only one,” a voice responded. She turned around to see an older man at the door.

“I must be in the wrong class then.”

“Oh no, you’re in the right class if your name is Seomin. I believe you’ve been put in Master Piano with me.”

“But I can’t possibly use this piano…” she trailed.

He walked in and sat on a chair beside the piano. With his legs crossed, he motioned with his hand for her to sit on the piano bench. Once she did, he said, “That is for me to decide. My name is Richard DeMoore, but please call me Richard.”

“Mr. DeMoore, I–”

“Richard,”

“Mr. DeMoore,” she said but more firmly again, with a glint of determination in her eyes. She smiled cheekily when she realized he gave up. “Mr. DeMoore, what should I play?”

“Please sight-read this composition.” He leaned back on the chair and closed her eyes.

With a deep breath, Seomin focused all her energy into correctly playing the piece. It was quite a difficult piece, and throughout the song, she had to stop and repeat a section in order to correct her mistakes. At the end of the piece, a frown seemed permanently planted on her forehead. That…was a disaster.

“Excellent! You have quite the de