And just who are you all?
Wei Pang.
We'd like you to come back to China with us.
Hey, Wei Pang is on second, and he still isn't here.
Has anyone seen him?
He's almost up for rehearsal.
What do we do?
Kai, sorry, but I've always hated you.
That hasn't stopped hurting.
But if Amamiya couldn't keep it to himself anymore, it must be hurting him a lot more.
Is it a deep wound?
Lech...
Is your wound deep?
What do you mean?
I saw you and Amamiya in the forest yesterday,
and you were crying.
You've seemed down since Amamiya left.
Are you okay?
Wait, is it my fault that something happened between you two?
It's got nothing to do with you.
Wait... Are you angry?
I'm so sorry!
You just looked so carefree, so I had the stupid urge to tease you.
Could you leave me alone?
Wait, but... if your performance falls apart because of me...
Yeah?
Afraid of some bad karma?
Don't worry.
My performance won't fall apart.
Your karma will be fine.
I'll turn this setback into strength, don't you worry.
See you at the final, Lech.
He sure is cheeky
for a guy who was just curled up crying.
Let me go to the hall already.
Oh, but you won't be performing today.
What?
When the organizers heard about your circumstances,
they were kind enough to move you to the last day.
Wha—?
Don't fight it. It's out of your hands now.
Now you get to practice as much as you want for the last day.
I can't believe Wei Pang isn't performing today!
Huh?
Wei Pang?
I found out why!
His father's in critical condition and was rushed back to China.
Really? To China?
What about the competition?
He has to make it back before the last day to perform.
Otherwise, he forfeits.
This timing is too good to be true.
Good thing we interviewed his father.
Now all he has to do is kick the bucket
and Pang can come back just in time to pull off a spectacular win on the last day.
This is so great!
I can flip this scoop into a book right away!
Victoria, this can't end well if it gets traced back to you.
I won't be found out that quickly.
The info's too shocking!
A-Awesome!
You'll get to perform with them soon enough.
My heart is pounding.
Ah, there you are.
Oh, Jean!
I heard Wei Pang is forfeiting?
We don't know for sure yet.
Huh, that's different from the one I got.
You're right.
There are two kinds?
Look, it's starting.
Sophie Ormesson, from France, number 45.
She will be playing on the Yamaha, performing the piano concerto in E minor, Op. 11.
You know, you should just accept your fate already.
What's got you scowling so much?
You get to practice all you want for three days!
You seem awfully well-prepared, judging by this room.
We can do this kind of stuff easily.
Don't underestimate us.
Would you leave me alone?
Of course, as you wish.
This is more than a few days' worth of preparation.
Was this all planned?
And if so, is Hao Pang's injury also just a brazen lie?
But why do it?
I know they say playing the last day is an advantage,
but would they do all this for such a stupid reason?
Well, no reason not to make good use of this accident I ended up in.
But will it really benefit Wei?
Don't be stupid.
Of course they'll judge differently between the first and last days.
There are even those who fake illness to bump themselves to the last day.
I see...
It's him we're talking about.
We'd never convince him to take part in dirty tricks like this.
Think of it as a form of parental love.
She's improved dramatically since the Long-Thibaud competition.
Her playing is more powerful and more graceful than I remember.
Damn it, I'm even reminded of her smell.
But in this revolting room, even the memory of that odor is comparatively comforting.
Women playing the piano never caught my attention before,
but this playing...
At age 20, filled with hope, courage, wariness, and doubt,
Chopin set out from Warsaw.
His destination, Paris.
That's right, the Paris of my home country, France!
No one is better suited to this piece than I am.
This is a painful way to learn that simply being good isn't enough to get me up on that stage.
It's just like Wei Pang said.
I'm just a spoiled brat who wants to run back to Japan as fast as I can.
But I can't.
There's still something left that I need to take care of.
I brought food.
You haven't eaten all day, have you?
Oh, right.
They were handing these out.
Wh-What in the...?
What are you doing after this, Kai?
I'm going back to practice.
I booked a room at the Chopin Academy.
Too bad.
Aubrey is coming up, you know.
Well, I'm going.
Have fun, you two.
Will he be all right?
Huh?
Are you sure you won't stay and listen?
There's something I need to take care of.
Take care of?
Yeah.
But the next player, Aubrey Theiss, is said to be as good as Wei Pang, if not better.
Sorry, Dad.
Tell me about it later.
I know Aubrey Theiss is great,
but there are others.
Sophie's playing helped me realize that you have to be the real deal to be in the final.
Kai is up against people on that level.
I need to make sure you're able to deliver your very best when you go up on stage.
So what can I do?!
Chopin only composed two piano concertos.
They're generally referred to as "No. 1" and "No. 2."
Contestants are expected to play one of those concertos in the final,
and as expected, the vast majority have chosen the showier No. 1.
Only three out of the 12 contestants have chosen No. 2:
Wei Pang from China,
Olesya Yushchenko from Ukraine,
and Satoru Mukai from Japan.
Many classical music aficionados prefer No. 2,
but I have to say that I prefer No. 1,
so the bliss of getting to hear it here in Warsaw...
Ahh, I just want to hear Ichinose's No. 1 now!
Most contestants practice here.
There he is!
Excuse me, is room 435 available?
I reserved the neighboring room without thinking...
I have to apologize.
But what should I say?
He's got an important final ahead of him,
and I've done something I can't take back.
But... just maybe...
Maybe it isn't that big a deal to Kai.
Right.
Kai has always been so easygoing and carefree.
Of course I'm wrong!
I hurt you in your most important moment.
People hated me since I was a kid, and I got used to it.
It's no big deal.
I don't care.
I got stronger ever since I met Amamiya.
I felt unstoppable.
We've had ups and downs, but Amamiya was my first brother-in-arms.
Even if we're apart...
No matter where he is...
Just knowing that Amamiya is out there, fighting with his piano like I am, gave me strength.
I figured that, if I ever became a fully-fledged adult piano player,
that would go on forever.
If I could keep up with Amamiya,
no matter where in the world we were, our hearts would face the same direction.
That's what got me through it all.
Just how much have I depended on Amamiya?
I skipped out on Aubrey Theiss' No. 1 to come here,
but it seems you're in no fit shape to practice.
That's not true!
Are you all right?
There are only three days left, including today.
Piece of cake!
Three days left...
All right, it's time for your final lesson.
That also means saying goodbye to Ajino.
The people who mean the most to me are leaving me one by one.
He played the left hand's part with his right hand and redid the recording again and again
to make me this CD.
I only saw him playing with his left hand once,
and it sounded permanently stiff because of his accident,
as though he was getting stuck on certain notes.
The piece he practiced over and over again
was the orchestral part of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1.
That's enough.
It seems you're not able to concentrate on playing.
Should we stop?
N-No!
I'll just try again from the top!
I mean, you can really hear the playing from the other rooms, so I got distracted.
All right, Kai, let's talk a bit, shall we?
I've taught you all sorts of things over these past few years, right?
Yeah.
I remember every last thing you taught me!
Now, this will be my final lecture.
Forget all of it.
Huh?
Forget everything I've ever taught you.
Forget everything?
The ability to forget is an important skill in itself.
Ajino is trying to leave my side!
I could never do that!
Listen, Ichinose.
Everything you need is already in your very flesh and blood.
Oh, right, I meant to give this to you.
This is from my... from the forest piano.
Reiko entrusted it to me right before I left Japan.
It's her idea of a charm.
You know, Kai.
Even without that charm, the forest piano still exists within you, doesn't it?
You can't lose the things you've made truly your own.
I've taught you everything I have to offer,
and I'm certain you've made it all your own.
So don't worry, and forget it all.
Confront the final as a blank slate.
The piano concerto will be a joint effort with a large group of professionals.
You'll need to sharpen all your senses,
heed the sound and breath of the orchestra,
and figure out how best to communicate with the audience and other musicians.
That's your true battle.
Yeah.
Things like the particular edition of the score and playing Poland's Chopin
do not matter.
You've already learned 99% of what you need.
The remaining 1% –
rather, the remaining infinity – is something you must feel for yourself on stage!
You understand why, don't you?
Because the stage is alive.
Exactly.
You'll do great, so have faith in yourself.
You don't need to recreate what I've taught because you are yourself:
an original by the name of Kai Ichinose.
The final is not the end,
but rather the start for Kai Ichinose the pianist.
Oh, right, and you should stop using that recording.
What?!
You want to take this from me?!
No way! This is mine!
I won't take it, but listening to the same recordings over and over will give you idiosyncrasies.
If I had been able, I would have loved to help by playing with you.
So that's why he practiced so hard...
Always be in control of yourself.
Th-That's harsh.
Telling him to forget it all?
I see what you're getting at, but did it really have to be today?
It's the same either way.
It's like you're trying to push him away.
I hope he's not crying right about now.
So, will you be able to let Kai go that easily?
Yes, of course.
I've always done my absolute best with him precisely so that he would be ready when I left his side.
Now I want to entrust him to a genuinely world-class coach
so that he can go even further.
What do you really think?
Just what I said.
Now that I've cried it all out, I'm a lot calmer.
I'll face all sorts of things in life.
But for now, I need to clear my mind.
If I've made it all my own, I can do this.
I just have to focus.
Then I can empty my head and go to the forest.
I can hear the orchestral part coming from somewhere...
Am I hearing things?
Huh?
The next room over?
Are they matching my playing?
They're following along.
This feels so nice!
This sound is...
Amamiya...
S—
Sorry I'm late.
I'm here to help you.