Leon made a mistake. He was supposed to play key C. His finger slipped, and he ended up pressing C sharp.
'Fuck,' he thought, but continued playing still.
There were about five hundred people watching this solo performance of his. How could he mess up so obviously?
Leon grit his teeth as he began to play the piece aggressively, pouring out his frustration to the piano keys. Other than the sound of exciting and dramatic piano music, the entire theater was silent.
Every single person seated in the auditorium had their eyes fixed on Leon. The stage was dark with a single beam of light cast down on Leon and the grand piano before him. No one could look away from his explosive performance.
Leon played the powerful piece in an enchanting manner. His hands were going so fast that the normal human eyes couldn't follow his movements properly.
Strands of brown hair stuck to his forehead, almost touching the golden thin frame of his glasses. His white dress shirt was fully buttoned to the top, and the brown vest he wore over it gave him a scholarly vibe.
Only Leon, himself, knew how un-scholarly he was.
He wrapped up the piece he was playing with a strong chord.
The audience remained silent. Leon's hands were still pressed on the keys as worry made its way into his heart.
'Did they hear my mis-'
Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
Leon's thought was disrupted by the overwhelming applause that echoed in the theater as the audience stood up to give him a standing ovation.
'Oh, they didn't hear.'
Leon became disappointed. No one among the audience had enough musical intelligence to note that he'd made an obvious mistake during his performance.
He slowly stood up from the bench, a polite smile making its way to his pink lips. The entire form of his distant facial structure changed because of the simple smile he was wearing.
The slight frown lines by the sides of his lips disappeared, and Leon looked almost five years younger. He humbly bowed to the audience and accepted their praises before vanishing behind the red curtains.
The smile on his face vanished as well.
He put out his left hand and said to a stagehand, "Gloves."
His personal pair of black gloves was immediately placed on his hand.
He did the same thing with his right hand and said, "Water."
He received a properly sealed bottle of water from another stagehand.
The side of Leon's lips tugged up in irritation as he clamped the bottle of water underneath his pit, then put on his gloves.
Finishing up with that, a tall alpha with blond hair and brown eyes walked towards Leon, grinning wide.
"Leon! That was a great performance!" The alpha praised.
A polite smile returned to Leon's face as he said, "Thank you. I appreciate this opportunity."
This alpha standing in front of Leon was named Vaughn Chandler. He was Leon's senior when they were in university, and also the person who helped him with this recital.
The audience tonight didn't come for Leon. They were here for someone else who was far more talented than him. But the more talented one was in this industry, the more arrogant they were.
The person, Master Tomo, got a 'cold' at the last minute and said he couldn't show up. Vaughn was friends with this Master Tomo person, and in order for peace to reign, he arranged for Leon to take his place. Then lied to the audience that Leon was better and more renowned, but conserved.
Which was why they hadn't heard of him before.
"Don't thank me. If I knew that guy was going to back out at the last moment, I would have arranged for you to be the original performer of the recital!" Vaughn exclaimed with slight regret in his tone.
Leon sneered internally and thought, 'What standing do you have in society that makes you think that you could have arranged me as an original performer with this kind of audience?'
"I'm still grateful, senior," Leon bowed his head with grace, revealing the skin below his hair.
"Hmmm," Vaughn hummed slowly, his eyes lingering a bit too long on Leon's delicate neck.
Leon straightened his posture quickly, sensing Vaughn's unwanted gaze.
'What a perv,' Leon cringed.
"Well, I can leave now, can't I?" Leon asked, wanting to get away from Vaughn as fast as he could.
"No, no, no, no, no," Vaughn began to shake his head, "Someone wants to meet you. They were impressed by your performance."
Leon raised a curious brow.
"The person originally planned to ask Master Tomo to become their piano tutor, but upon listening to your performance, they decided you were better and want you now." Vaughn explained.
"Huh?" Leon said at a loss for words.
"You tutor a few kids, don't you? This person is high profile and wants to learn how to play the instrument," Vaughn inched closer to Leon as he spoke.
A high profile person wanted to hire him because of one performance. What were the odds? Leon was greatly interested. So much that a greedy smile appeared on his lips.
Vaughn noticed it quickly and said, "I knew you'd be interested! The person is out back. Would you like to meet him?"
"Of course!" Leon agreed.
He quickly took a gulp of the water in his hand and did away with it as Vaughn escorted him to meet the 'high profile' person.
This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for someone like Leon who worked odd tutoring jobs in the evenings and taught music at a small school during the day.
"So, who is this high profile person?" Leon thought to ask once he and Vaughn reached the back door of the theater.
"You wouldn't believe it even if I told you," Vaughn smiled mischievously.
"Try me," Leon confidently said with his lips curved upwards.
Vaughn didn't respond immediately, building up the moment before he uttered the name, "James AM."
Leon's lips curved downwards instantly as alarm bells rang loudly in his head.
"Unexpected, right?" Waggling his eyebrows, Vaughn failed to notice the way Leon's body had gone still.
"Are you so shocked that you can't even respond?" Vaughn laughed, seeing that Leon didn't respond after five seconds.
"I'm no longer interested," Leon suddenly said.
Vaughn was taken aback. "What? You're no longer interested in what?"
"Meeting him or tutoring him."