Chopin grew up on a wide, endless flatland.
That's been going through my head since last night.
I want to see an even greater, more expansive forest.
I want to see an even more distant place.
I see you're alone today.
Lech.
I would have called out to you yesterday, but you were with Amamiya.
I guess you two patched things up!
You were watching?
Maybe you really are the master of this forest.
You just pop up out of nowhere.
Anyway, shouldn't you be heading to rehearsal?
Aren't you before me, at 10?
I told them I was feeling lousy this morning,
and they said Wei Pang turned up in time,
so I ended up switching with him.
Okay, cool.
Pang is already here, then.
So, do you feel better now?
Doesn't matter. I didn't actually feel bad.
I don't get why you lie.
You don't get anything from it.
But I do.
I get to uphold my peace.
Emilia died right there.
Wait, by "there," you mean...?
Exactly where your foot is right now.
Huh?
I'm the one who killed her.
Y-You need to knock it off with the lies.
Why would you joke about that?
Did I scare you?
You're right, I was just joking.
Emilia is still alive.
How naïve can you get? Don't take everything so seriously.
I don't feel like arguing with you,
and I have to go now, anyway.
I hope we can both play today with clear heads.
I'd love to, but you would have to forfeit the competition.
If you weren't there, then I'd definitely win.
Pang doesn't worry me.
Did you read that "Truth About Wei Pang" article?
Turns out he's just a poor, dirty orphan taken in by some gross man.
Not to mention his entire style is based on some incompetent pianist I've never even heard of.
He's beyond saving.
How dare you talk about Ajino like that!
Wha—?
Amamiya.
Kai, let's go.
O-Okay...
Honestly, what were you thinking?
Thanks. You showed up just in time.
By the way, Kai, did you hear?
What?
Pang switched his piece from No. 2 to No. 1.
What? Really?
Yeah.
He's really gunning for first place,
and he's definitely serious.
My, Allegra!
Hey.
Oh, he's so cute!
Is he yours?
That's right.
I was just about to throw this away.
What?
No!
A-Amazing, Allegra!
So your steadfast performance was one only a mother could play.
I have one more.
What? Huh?
What?!
Who does that Pang think he is?
He just had to make it in time.
Still, to think they'd spotlight his miserable upbringing to this extent.
I didn't realize he was so desperate to be seen as the tragic hero.
Besides, could his dad even talk this much while in critical condition?
Seems fishy.
Agreed.
That article does seem rather dubious.
To start with, would a mother really choose to die just because she hates her child?
On the contrary.
Pang's mother must have realized the only way to protect her beloved child was for them to die together.
B-But, Mrs. Granados...
Listen, a mother will always protect her child, if only by pure instinct.
Even if it means defying god.
I suppose you kids are just too young to understand.
But either way, let's be happy that Wei Pang survived.
Thanks to that, we get to hear him perform.
Come on, let's go.
Right...
Ridiculous.
I'm done caring about what anyone thinks of me.
Well, there is one.
Sosuke Ajino.
Mr. Ajino is the only one...
Could that article have caused him grief?
Could he be cursing my existence?
I could never face him now that that article is out there.
Maybe he hasn't read it yet?
No, he must have.
Which means the only thing left for me to do is bring Ichinose down.
I'll prove the superiority of your playing with my own two hands, Ajino!
If I can do that, maybe I'll be able to face you –
face my one and only mentor.
But I haven't yet defeated Ichinose with my playing!
Mr. Ajino!
Before I was saved by your playing,
I was known as a bomb and forced to live like trash!
I desperately pursued your sound.
I tried to seize it.
It was the only spider's thread of salvation to descend into my hell.
Mr. Ajino... Mr. Ajino!
That thread... That thread...
...will break!
Mr. Ajino!
Mr. Ajino...
Wei Pang, I believe?
Can I help you?
D-Does my playing cause you any displeasure?
What?
Of course not.
Why do you ask?
I doubt there's a soul alive who could listen to your playing and find it unpleasant.
My playing is based on yours.
If I hadn't come across your playing, I wouldn't be here today.
If that's true, I am greatly honored.
I knew it, he read the article.
In that case...
Do I have your blessing to continue playing the piano?
Blessing?
I'm talking about being the one to succeed your playing.
You know, it could be that the reason you were drawn to my playing in the first place
is that you and I simply share the same instinct for what sound we feel compelled to pursue.
Perhaps that's why your soul resonated so deeply upon hearing my playing.
Couldn't you think of it that way?
Unfortunately, I lost the ability to continue pursuing that sound mid-pursuit,
but you can go much further.
Do you really need my blessing for that?
B-But, I believed I was the only one to inherit your playing.
It's the pride I take in that which has gotten me this far.
Please, don't cast me aside.
Don't cut my lifeline.
I only got this far because I was chasing after you.
That's why I need you to acknowledge me!
That's why I need your approval!
What am I, a kid?!
In that case,
please let me hear the very best No. 1 you can muster.
I want you to stay calm, take control, and pull the very best out of the pianist Wei Pang.
But...
What if that means knocking down Ichinose?
Would you still not mind?
I wouldn't mind at all.
Knock him down fully.
I want to see what becomes of you, Wei Pang.
I want to find out how the sound I pursued will develop.
So don't fear anything anymore,
and play to your heart's content.
The hand he offered me was large, warm, and it totally enveloped me.
Mr. Ajino...
I won't fear anything anymore.
That's what my one and only mentor told me!
I feel so light.
I can feel strength surging through my body.
The sights themselves haven't changed, but everything looks as if it's shining!
So, in the end, Pang ended up playing second.
I wish he had been the grand finale.
But look around.
The crowd is impatient for Wei Pang to start.
It looks like Hao's plan went rather smoothly.
Hmph.
If the story is that he's in such critical condition, why can't he just off and die for real?
The final stage.
The second participant of the last day is Mr. Wei Pang, from China, number 48.
He will be playing on the Steinway, performing Piano Concerto in E minor, Op. 11,
Allegro maestoso,
Romanze - Larghetto,
Rondo - Vivace.
Wei Pang, from China.
I've never felt like this before.
I feel so grateful for everything right now.
For this atmosphere, for being able to participate here,
and even for that tabloid article.
Hao,
thank you for finding me in the garbage.
You gave me the piano and allowed me to encounter Mr. Ajino himself.
Thank you.
I'll never feel love for you, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Isn't it just about time for Wei's performance to start?
There's no need to worry.
Wei will win.
That much is certain.
I've listened to it countless times before, but I'm just now noticing...
This piece is beautiful.
Hao...
Hao!
Can you hear me play, Hao?!
I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Huh? It changed.
Wait.
What is this kind singing?
What's happening?
Something is different.
Am I losing control of myself?
But I don't hate this.
What is this?
If Pang has managed to attain such a kind way of playing,
he is a truly fearsome pianist.
That was perhaps his only weakness.
Wei Pang continues to evolve.
Kai...
No one stands a chance against Pang's playing anymore.
The songs... The songs...!
One after another is flowing out of me.
It's as though I've become one with the soul of this piece.
I can't believe it!
I always thought the piano was something to be commanded,
but if you free it, it starts singing on its own!
Or am I the one singing, Mr. Ajino?
I planned on playing the second movement in a poised manner to depict the futility of love.
So how are the sounds I'm making overflowing with so much love?
I had a plan, but instead I'm falling into playing the piece exactly as Chopin wanted.
Mr. Ajino, do you mean to tell me that there was this much love inside me?
Mr. Ajino...
Have I been placed under some kind of spell?
This sound is far too kind to be coming from me.
Are you listening, Kai?
Wei Pang is sure to win.
I don't think there's anyone in the world who could surpass this No. 1.
But still, having borne witness to this is the treasure of a lifetime.
For both Kai and me.
Huh?
Did I mess up that passage a bit?
No matter.
Music is alive, after all.
What's more,
I am also alive.
I'm alive and playing the piano.
I can't believe playing the piano is this enchanting
and fills me with this much joy.
Pang is smiling while playing?
Starting today, I live my life for the piano.
That woman who birthed me –
I mean, my mother! I'm even grateful to her.
Your life may have been a tragic one,
but I will become proof that you lived.
I'll become someone you would have been proud to have brought into this world.
That's how great of a pianist I'll be.
I promise you!
Mom,
thank you for giving me life.
Hao, can you hear those cheers?
Hao!
We don't want to wait for the press and the crowd to get here, so let's get to the waiting room.
So did that kill him or not?
Idiot! Keep an eye on him until he dies!
A-Anyway, just call me back once you're absolutely sure he stopped breathing.
He won't go down easily!
Well, that decides it.
You never know.
There are still two left to go.
That's true.
Poland's new star, Lech Szymanowski, has yet to play.
I bet Weber will be at a loss for how to score this performance.
Careful, Ichinose.
We're almost in the clear.
It'll be fine, Mukai.
Mukai!
Ah! Doi!
Nice to meet you, I'm Aoi Doi.
Are you Mukai's... girlfriend?
Uhm...
Doi has lived here in Poland since she was in middle school because of her parents' work.
That's right.
She also knows quite a few people involved with the competition.
I sure do!
Especially Emilia –
that is, Lech's older sister.
We're really close.
Wait, Emilia is Lech's sister?
Huh? You know about Emilia?
It's so unfortunate what happened...
She hasn't woken up in the five years since the accident.
If only she could have been here to compete, too.
Oh, Lech!
They were just talking about Emilia.
So it's not just me, then.
Everyone's got baggage, whether big or small.
Lech.