Choi Jeong-yo returns

Episode — Choi Jeong-yo returns as Luca Domenico

At a monastery in Slovakia five years earlier, Luca Domenico lives as a monk. A fellow monk asks if he would like to see the performance of an Asian pianist that might help him recover his memories. Luca thanks him, sees that it is Kang Pi-o performing a concerto, and throws the ticket into the garbage.

That night, he recalls being pushed in the past by Kang Pi-o and being told it was his fault. Troubled, he returns to the garbage bin and retrieves the ticket.

Meanwhile, Kang Pi-o hesitates to touch the piano when he receives a message from Hong Jae-in asking if he is awake. He denies it and says he will call her later.

A former classmate, Jang Seok-han, discusses the guest conductor Luca Domenico—whom they know is Choi Jeong-yo—with other musicians. He boasts that Jeong-yo would not notice if he played the cello faster or missed the music. His peers chide him for being jealous and decide to test Jeong-yo’s ability.

President Yoon Seong-ju introduces Choi Jeong-yo, under the name Luca Domenico, to the orchestra. Overhearing Jang Seok-han’s remark about the name change, he reminds them they are there for music, not names. During rehearsal, Jeong-yo stops the group, pointing out that a cellist was late in measure 11. Jang Seok-han admits his mistake, but Jeong-yo explains that dragging the opening note compromised the sound of the entire orchestra. He instructs them to restart from the first movement.

President Yoon praises the rehearsal and introduces Jeong-yo to Professor Do Hyun-soo, who embraces him warmly. Professor Do admits he and President Yoon searched for him but never imagined he was in a monastery. He apologizes for sending him to the Harmonie International Competition against his wishes but says Jeong-yo has become an extraordinary person. He mentions the planned concerto with Kang Pi-o. Jeong-yo replies that he has seen Pi-o’s performance video and suggests they play together. Professor Do recalls their brilliance as a duo and hopes Jeong-yo can help Pi-o out of his slump.

Pi-o attempts to practice and later meets Jeong-yo to choose another soloist for his debut concerto. Jeong-yo repeats Pi-o’s old advice about stage fright: to face the problem head-on.

Jeong-yo meets his brother, who asks about their father’s alcoholism and criticizes him for wasting money. He remarks that Jeong-yo would have won the Harmonie competition had he not been kidnapped. He questions why Jeong-yo claims amnesia instead of putting people in jail or breaking their fingers to make them disappear. Jeong-yo replies that waiting is worse than the beating itself. His brother sneers, saying Jeong-yo has planned everything.

Meanwhile, Kang Ji-hye tells Manager Eden Yoon she opposes the concerto featuring Kang Pi-o and Choi Jeong-yo. Manager Yoon counters that Pi-o will soon be forgotten since he has not performed in a long time and receives few invitations. Ji-hye insists Pi-o must recover on his own. Manager Yoon wonders why Ji-hye is so opposed to Jeong-yo.

Later, Jeong-yo meets Kang Ji-hye to discuss restoring the symphony orchestra’s budget, promising to prove his worth. She says she will consider it, then probes his memories. He asks if she remembers anything about his parents. She tells him his mother suffered a brain hemorrhage in the concert hall during his competition and that she called emergency services. Jeong-yo cries, confessing he feared he had been abandoned by his parents. He asks if she opposes him and Pi-o performing together. He insists that playing alongside a famous pianist like Pi-o would be a dream come true and asks her to speak to Pi-o, promising to help him overcome his slump.

Ji-hye is thrilled with the praise for her son’s talent. She tells Pi-o to think about playing in a concerto with Choi Jeong-yo because of their chemistry. She tells him that it is his choice.

Kang Pi-o contacts Vogel to find out who had Choi Jeong-yo kidnapped.

Hong Jae-in invites Pi-o and Jeong-yo to a piano performance by former classmates. Jeong-yo told them that the pianist was good and also the ensemble. The pianist offers himself as the soloist for the concerto with Jeong-yo.

Jeong-yo tries to convince Pi-o to be his soloist telling him that he would rather perform with him. He says that it would help his debut if Pi-o agrees. Kang Pi-o agrees to being his soloist. 

Maestro Kang wants Pi-o to play Mozart Twenty so it would show him as coming out of the dark into the light. He challenges Pi-o to learn the new piece. Jeong-yo agrees that they could play something else. Pi-o says he will do it. Maestro Kang tells President Yoon that he believes in Jeong-yo’s ability to pull it off. He is ready to cede the seat as conductor to Choi Jeong-yo on the 80th year of the symphony orchestra.

Kang Pi-o practices Mozart and gets the jitters back. He goes out to practice in another place but returns to the practice pieces of elementary. He throws up after a while. He goes to Choi Jeong-yo to help him overcome his trauma. He is treated the same way as Kang Pi-o helped Jeong-yo before. He brings him to a violin player in the subway who is playing to comfort the hearts of his listeners from the chaos of life. He tells Pi-o to comfort himself like the violinist.

Pi-o remembers how he overheard his grandfather ask his mother who his father was which broke him and how he found comfort in music. Jeong-yo encourages him to soothe his own wounds. Pi-o begins to play the piano with confidence. Kang Ji-hye asks Choi Jeong-yo what he did to Pi-o that made him play so well.

Jeong-yo visits the piano room where he and Pi-o used to play together until his mother had the brain hemorrhage. He remembers some details of the night which he denies when Kang Ji-hye asks him if he remembered anything. 

Jang Seok-han asks Kang Pi-o why he was doing the concerto with Choi Jeong-yo when there was a rumor going around that he was responsible for the disappearance of Jeong-yo. He challenges Pi-o not to ruin the concerto.

Pi-o overhears the musicians talking about his performance that has not overcome his slump. He asks Jeong-yo why he chose him as soloist and when others were waiting for him crash. Jeong-yo says that it might be him that they are testing as a conductor to fail. He tells him to play the piano with the imaginary orchestra in Jeong-yo’s mind and they were able to do the performance. 

Their first concerto was a great performance. Pianist Kang Pi-o and Conductor Choi Jeong-yo were able to prove their abilities and given a standing ovation.

Vogel messages that he found out who ordered the kidnapping. The photograph shows Pi-o’s mother meeting with the kidnapper whom he met when he went to Slovenia with Vogel. 

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