I'd recommend you the movie whiplash.
Of course I love it Ahaha.
maybe because I studied visual arts... but arts in general, drives you to emotional extremes, you want to feel everything and become one with your art, so I totally get that obsession that goes over the irrational and gets you competitive, at the end it's also a clash of egos.
I like how the author shows the piano like a thriller aesthetic extension of his body, since he's in that process of finding his soul..
I am actually so surprised to hear this is a slow burn in the first place, like atp the music teacher is a terrifying person to me. They're all terrifying the way they're hyper competitive and cutthroat and closing in on the one unsuspecting naive garam. Genuinely one of my best reads but damn no way I could have ever called this a romance(⊙…⊙ )