(Sorry for my big yapping seshes. I don't have any irls who are into this story q.q)
You know what? I've been thinking about the lotus motif for Garam. Obviously, it is quite apt as his mode is impressionism and who does not know Monet and his lotuses, but I think the metaphor extends to Garam himself. The lotus, prized for its beauty, can only arise from enduring the mud. It is not Garam's talent that arose from the mud (the pain, the suffering); it is his bountiful grace towards the undeserving Heejae. It took until now for him to realize that he has that capacity to detangle the storm. Maybe soon, Heejae will realize that a knife need not cut; it could also protect.
Thank you for giving me this new perspective it's really beautiful.
(Mostly musing really. No spoilers)
Campton is such a tragic character to me because I feel like, in his attempt to "best" his teacher's failings, he is the one who gets stuck in the darkness of the terrible lessons Heejae imparted. Every hero needs their villain even when the villain wants to do better. I wonder what will be his catalyst to truly let go; not for the sake of absolving Heejae of his sins but to free himself from the cycle of resentment. Much anticipation!
agreed! your comment reminds me of this quote: "to forgive is to set a prisoner free, and discover that the prisoner was you."
Wah!! Isn't this the beginning of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice? The separation which leads to Orpheus going down to Hades, in the Dark, to find her and which he will always fail because he loves her? Will Kim Jeehae finally allow himself to look back? To clearly see Garam for where he stands and not the embodiment of his fears and failures (manager)?
Argh! I love this story so much!
woahhhhh WHAT
WOAH EXACTLY!! Compton is Hades , Garam is Eurydice and Heejae is Orpheus and this is the test of time for both Orpheus and Eurydice...Hell yeah guys !! We finally reached the real meaning of the title of the story !! Omg Vaenya love your comment so much !! This is peak literature ... the references, the music , the art everything is so peak
I saw a previous comment basically confirming what you just described
I don’t really know the whole Greek mythology, but the fact you could read the scene so well makes me admire you.
I’m sure the autor who has a deep love and passion for art chose to go in that direction.
I envy you
the whole journey being jae's unresolved insecurities and past issues. but this time, they both will come out of the underworld. because to love is to look back (▰˘◡˘▰)
that's very poetic and interesting but if heejae "looked back" per the myth, he would lose garam forever (as orpheus loses eurydice)? obv i hope that does NOT happen, but i'm worried that some kind of loss (even metaphorical) is inevitable if the author is aiming to play out the themes of the myth.
The reason Orpheus looks back in the Myth is because he fails to hear Eurydice's footsteps as they get closer to exiting the underworld, making Orpheus start to doubt Hades promise. Believing Hades is playing nothing but a cruel joke on him, it's the doubt and anxiety of the possibility Eurydice was never there with him that makes him turn around.
(=・ω・=) Then, isn't it great there are No more Eurydice ... joking aside, I think it's less Garam, the individual, and more the manager embodying the entirety of his fears of abandonment, his failures towards others, etc. He has to look back to really be like "okay yeah. I do love Garam" even if he fears what he might see. Maybe he fears seeing a man (himself) that has more to lose than he thinks? The loss can also be a good thing.
i think the footsteps thing is poetic license, but the rest of it is correct. she's following him but he begins to doubt, and so turns around. when he does, he sees her- and then she vanishes/slips away into the shadow of hades.
haha. well we'll see! i'm hoping for some kind of happy ending (▰˘◡˘▰)
Well I hope "No longer" Eurydice means that Orpheus will not lose Eurydice here... so hoping for a happy ending... though we would have to die from the daily cliffhanger, sexual tension , chemistry, stress , friction , drama a 1000 times before we survive to see the ending... But life is hard , so we all like our friction harder(and that makes us hard)...
Only at night and whilst drinking... Prof, are you ashamed of Garam or yourself..? I hope he treats Garam better eventually..
I dont think its about being ashamed, is more like he is interested in garam learning the pieces. Did you not see how he was holding his gems?? ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
Heartwarming! Local old man develops dacryphilia! Showcasing it is never too late to figure out a new kink!
I now know a new word/term 'dacryphilia'. Thanks~
The Prof is deep in the revelry of showcasing a gem to the world, whilst forgetting that he is not the only gem collector out there... I will be praying for Garam
I think I like Claren's characterization quite a bit. I like that she pointed out that the repertoire was tailored as a signifier of the maestro/prof's taste, not to Garam's forte. Maybe I am reading too much into this, but perhaps this is a nudge towards the idea that Garam should get another professor and leave. That instead of him being a poor student and shaming jeehae for a poor performance, he is in a way held back by Jeehae and their sentimentality... hmm codependency.. I like that.
wait *dies of cringe* This adds a lot of dimension to when Garam tells the prof that Jeehae can't get himself to hate Garam... BROTHERRR... MAYBE THE UNIQUE SOUND THEY WERE CHASING WAS JUST THE SYNTHESIS OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE LOVED YOU oh my god.
Claren is actually right. Heeja was a born talent. Someone who could learn music without trying. His sound is way different from garam. A storm can be too harsh on the lotus. Claren knows about it. Heejae's sound is intense- known to overwhelm his audience while Garam sound is soft- loving- like lotus - known to move his Audience heart by his sound and comfort anyone who steps into his world. Its heejae's ignorance that he knows all about music here that stops him from distinguishing the sound here. Each character is defined very detailed here.
(Not very coherent thoughts)
Out of all the students, I think he might be the one I feel the worst for; even Kruger is able to demolish the crumbling castle and rebuild his own foundations.
Campton feels like a haunted mansion. He cannot let go of what happened to him (not that he isn't entitled to his own experiences). While conducting, the control must feel freeing for a moment. For a second, he can pretend that he has things under his thumb. In a way, he must feel like he is better than Heejae since he at least has the decency of "aftercare" though it makes the art process no less toxic.
Does any art require this much suffering? Or does suffering only hamper the capacity for producing art? Idk, I do not like him, but I certainly pity yet understand him. Maybe he is not just a hero who was rejected; maybe he embodies all of Heejae's past ideals. By hating Heejae, he really became him.