Justin knew he had given it his all, but in the end, Wynter Morgrave had won.
Her performance had been impeccable, flawless beyond measure.
The judges, mostly bound by the standards of technical mastery, had made their decision, though the scores between the two of them were very close.
It was the closest score a competitor of Wynter Morgrave had received after competing with her while she was as flawless as she was.
Once the awarding was over and Wynter walked past Justin, for the very first time, she opened her mouth to speak with her competitor.
"I gave it my all this time. I was the most serious and had given my everything in my performance," she said, looking at him with a smile.
That smile was still the same as her usual one, guarded.
But her eyes spoke a lot more to him.
She was telling him that he had come that close to her seriously giving her everything in a competition.
As great as she was, Wynter felt that most of her competitors had already given up when they saw that she was among them.
But despite knowing this, and despite her showing such a performance, Justin had still given it his all.
She had gone before him, she was the second to last to perform, while he was the last. Despite all that, Justin had not wavered and had even given it his all, coming close to her score.
Justin slightly tilted his head, wondering why she was suddenly saying this.
"You were great," Wynter said before finally walking away.
Justin blinked.
He felt heavy because he had lost and would have to follow Lucius' condition. But somehow, he felt like he wouldn't regret anything since he had given it his all and performed as best as he could.
Now, he even felt better after hearing such words from Wynter Morgrave.
He glanced to one side where Kathrine was sitting.
Kathrine smiled at him while giving him two thumbs up.
She also mouthed, "You were seriously amazing."
He chuckled.
He was not feeling bummed out that his friends couldn't support him. After all, they couldn't always have the time like back when they were high school students.
But having one still be there, it still felt great.
He raised his chin and looked at her smugly.
Kathrine raised an eyebrow before shaking her head with a laugh.
After a while, Justin went to Lucius, who was in the waiting room, not wanting to interact with other people.
"I guess I'll have to follow Teacher for now," he started upon seeing his serious look.
"For now?" Lucius asked.
"I won't give up on trying something new. But if, at this moment, I am not yet ready, then I shall do what my teacher thinks is best for me," he grinned.
Lucius raised an eyebrow. He could see how Justin had regained his composure a week before the competition.
He had noticed how Justin was pressuring himself, but he had not pointed this out. He had wanted to see how this person would overcome it.
Seeing Lucius' serious look, Justin started explaining himself more.
"I mean, I know I will become better. And surely, there will come a time when I will be even better than Miss Morgrave. But, of course, I won't wait until then. I will start looking for other ways to improve myself and stuff…"
He kept speaking, not noticing that a smile had actually appeared on Lucius' lips.
Justin did not know, but as Lucius had stood in the audience a while ago, arms crossed, a rare smile had played on his lips.
Especially when the scores and winners had been called.
Justin had placed second, losing against Wynter, but Lucius had not seen him as a loser.
In fact, he had seen something far greater.
Justin's performance had done something extraordinary.
Something Lucius had already seen the first time Justin had gone up against Wynter Morgrave, the reason he had allowed himself to be swayed by Wynter.
Justin's music had moved people.
As the applause had continued to fade after Justin's performance, Lucius had observed the faces around him. Some audience members still sat in a daze, as if trying to recover from the emotions Justin had stirred within them.
Others, eyes still glistening, had whispered to each other about how deeply they had felt his music.
That was what had mattered.
Wynter had shown all the best technicality in the competition, and people had talked about her style, but not one had spoken about how the music had pulled them into feeling more.
In Lucius' eyes at that moment, technical perfection was a tool, but emotion, true, undeniable emotion, was the soul of music.
And Justin had poured every ounce of his being into his performance.
"Justin," Lucius finally said, snapping Justin from his muttering.
His voice was calm, but there was a rare warmth in it, "You lost."
Justin, still trying to find ways to make his teacher let him do what he wanted in the future, looked at him, pursed his lips, and sighed.
With a wry smile, he said, "Yeah, I did."
Lucius let out a short chuckle, "But you made them feel something real. And that is why I won't stop you from doing what you want while I am back in Europe."
Justin blinked, his expression shifting, then it went blank. He obviously had not expected to hear these words from Lucius.
"Technical mastery can be learned," Lucius continued.
"But the ability to make music breathe? That is something only a handful of musicians ever achieve. You have it. That is why I won't shackle you with what I think is best for you."
Justin frowned slightly, "So… what are you saying?"
Lucius' smirk deepened, "What I'm saying is that I never said anything about agreeing to what you want only if you won against Miss Morgrave."
Justin blinked.
Lucius smiled, "Go and find more about yourself, and then play however you want. Show them why your music exists in the first place."
For a long moment, Justin didn't speak. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face.
"Sounds like you are even permitting me to break the rules," he said, a spark of excitement in his voice.
Lucius simply turned away.
"I'd be the one to pull you by the ear from the stage if you do that," he said over his shoulder.
"Now, just do everything without hesitation. You did great overcoming the pressure you were giving yourself."
Justin laughed, the weight of the loss slipping off his shoulders.
He hadn't won the competition. But in Lucius' eyes, he had won something greater.
And that was enough.