A professor living a successful life with a secret. Two students who each have a hold on their mentor: one who knows her secret and another who reminds her of her first love... A romantic thriller that will leave you hanging for more. <An excerpt from the introduction>

■Characteristics■

1. Seo Jin’s painful memory, Yeonju

Seo Jin is still in love with her dead love Yeonhee. One day Yeonju, a freshman, becomes Seo Jin’s advisory student. Yeonju knew Seo Jin from Yeonhee, and Seo Jin happens to recall Yeonhee when she sees Yeonju. Seo Jin pushes her away for Yeonju’s own safety, but Yeonju holds Seo Jin’s pushing hands again and again. It’s another fun to watch their opposite image, as Seo Jin is socially pessimistic and depressive, and Yeonju is positive and cheerful. 

Seo Jin takes care of Yeonju in secret and she speaks her true heart only through her teaching assistant; and it makes the readers feel pity for her.

2. A trap like a thorn, Hee-eun

Hee-eun is the sister of Yeonhee, Seo Jin’s old love, from another mother. As Hee-eun’s mother remarried Seo Jin’s father, Seo Jin became young Hee-eun’s piano tutor. Hee-eun is a character who has watched the process Seo Jin and Yeonhee of the same age become friends and lovers, and has been showing an unusual obsession to Seo Jin. 

After Yeonhee is dead, she threatens and haunts Seo Jin with the matter of Yeonhee, and she is harboring hostility against Yeonju who shakes Seo Jin.

3. Yeonju’s competition

More than half of the scenes from the work is Yeonju playing piano, shutting herself in her practice room. Yeonju makes constant efforts to her intense practice: in order to change Seo Jin’s mind as the professor says she can’t be her advisory professor because of lack of skills, later for her greed to protect Seo Jin.

I particularly liked how the scene is directed when Yeonju is in the practice room. It didn’t describe Yeonju playing piano passionately from the view of an omniscient narrator; instead it showed Yeonju’s practice room is still occupied when other practice rooms’ light is turned off like a view from a security camera, successfully describing her effort realistically without feeling exaggerated.

Various events on the competition also add fun to the work.

I’d like to recommend <Serenade> to the readers who look for a fascinating Yuri or a music webtoon with a solid story.