Ch.103103. Results Announcement

Is the rainy season about to begin?

The sky was filled with gloomy, ink-black clouds.

Hana, who had been debating whether to bring an umbrella, left home thinking she might use one that someone had abandoned in the club room if it started raining.

The moisture-laden summer was unwelcome.

It felt like swimming without any water.

Thirty minutes remained until the preliminary results would be announced.

The Spirit members, who had agreed to gather at 10 o’clock to check the results together, began arriving at the club room one by one, their nervousness trailing behind them.

-Creeeeak

Hana opened the door and entered.

President Seo-eun had arrived first.

“Oh! Hana! Hi!”

“Unni. Hi.”

Seo-eun must have stopped by a café, as she was holding a coffee cup and sipping from it.

“Whew. I’m nervous.”

“Me too.”

For the past two days, they had been saying it would be fine if they didn’t make it through, but who actually wants to be eliminated?

Both Seo-eun and Hana were praying for good results.

“Oh my~ If we don’t make it, should we go drink makgeolli? It looks like it might rain too.”

“The results aren’t even out yet. Why so pessimistic already?”

“What should we eat if we pass?”

“If we pass, what celebration? We need to practice, unni.”

As they were chatting, the door opened behind them.

The next to appear was Suhyeok.

Seo-eun and Hana stopped their conversation when they saw his condition.

“Hey… you…”

“Huh? Suhyeok? What’s that? Are you hurt?”

“Ahaha.”

Just as expected, their reactions came pouring out.

Hana jumped up and strode over to him.

She thrust her arm out forcefully, but her touch was gentle.

“You. What is this?”

How could such a long wound appear there?

“Ah. This is just from falling down.”

Suhyeok knew his excuse sounded awkward, but he had no choice.

“Hey. Tell me the truth.”

Hana shouted, as if his explanation was absurd.

“How could this happen from falling down! Do you fall on the back of your arm?”

Generally, if someone falls, their knees or shins would be scraped first.

It made no sense that he would have such a large wound only on the back of his arm with no injuries elsewhere.

“No, I was against an electric pole like this—”

“Come on!”

Hana shouted, pressing him.

Suhyeok’s excuses died down.

The atmosphere grew tense.

With perfect timing, Juyeon entered next.

“Hey! Lee Suhyeok. Can you even play in this condition? Seriously, even though the results aren’t out yet, what were you doing? Couldn’t you be more careful?”

It was worrying and pitiful, but his refusal to explain properly was truly frustrating.

With an injury this severe, he should have gone to the hospital, and she felt hurt that he hadn’t contacted her at all.

“…It happened because of me.”

Juyeon approached Hana, who was pounding her chest as if she were burning with anger.

She stood protectively in front of Suhyeok.

“Suhyeok was stabbed with a knife.”

“What?”

Both Hana and Seo-eun, who had been watching, widened their eyes in shock.

“Hey, Park Juyeon. Don’t joke about this. The kid is hurt, and you’re making such a joke.”

“It’s not a joke.”

Juyeon wrapped her arms around Suhyeok’s arm as if hugging him.

“I’ve been stalked recently, and this happened when he was protecting me.”

The words registered in Hana’s mind, but her brain couldn’t process them.

“So… you’re saying Suhyeok was really stabbed with a knife?”

“Well… I wasn’t exactly stabbed, more like slightly cut, I think?”

Suhyeok, who hadn’t expected Juyeon to be so direct, gave an awkward smile.

“No. Wait. Hold on.”

Hana snapped back to her senses.

“Suhyeok, are you okay? Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere else?”

“He says he’s fine elsewhere.”

Juyeon moved even closer to Suhyeok, sticking right next to him.

She intercepted the question as if she were Suhyeok’s representative.

“And Ju… Juyeon, are you… right. Are you okay too?”

“I was fine because Suhyeok was there.”

That’s right.

Juyeon still didn’t know who Suhyeok had a crush on.

Her attempt to protect Suhyeok was actually giving him cold sweats down his spine.

Meanwhile, Hana’s face soured at the sight of the two looking like they had formed an inseparable bond.

What’s going on?

She was sure she and Suhyeok had been developing something.

From any angle, this situation made it seem like she would be intruding if she tried to get involved.

She was genuinely concerned, but her feelings were becoming incredibly complicated.

“Hmm…”

Unlike Hana who was making a fuss, Seo-eun remained calm.

Her cool head quickly organized the puzzle pieces.

While additional explanation about how the injury occurred was needed, the information immediately apparent was the emotional elements exchanged in the conversation.

The signpost of Juyeon’s love, which she had previously judged to be pointing in an unknown direction.

Now it was no longer a question mark.

Seo-eun’s eyebrows twitched uncomfortably.

“First, Suhyeok, sit down here. Juyeon too.”

Seo-eun seated the two side by side on the sofa.

She pulled up a chair and faced them as if conducting an interview.

“Um… this is quite sudden, but could you explain calmly?”

Suhyeok glanced at Juyeon.

Juyeon gave him a gentle smile in return.

“…Yes. Actually, I’m only telling you this now, but I…”

The explanation was more concise than expected.

Juyeon had been secretly doing internet broadcasts since the beginning of the year without the other members knowing.

Suhyeok found out midway and helped her.

Then the person she hired as her manager turned out to be strange and started stalking her.

It was quite a long story, but that was the gist of it.

“I see.”

Seo-eun nodded in understanding.

Choi Gang, who had entered in the middle of the conversation, peered over curiously, asking what was happening.

“Lee Suhyeok got stabbed with a knife.”

“What?”

Choi Gang looked at Suhyeok in shock.

“Did you win?”

“Uh… I guess?”

If they had to determine a winner and loser, it would be the guy who was arrested who lost.

“How was it! Was all that exercise worth it?”

Choi Gang, who had essentially become Suhyeok’s fitness mentor, laughed heartily.

Whether it was appropriate to laugh when your friend had been stabbed was questionable, but Suhyeok was genuinely grateful to Choi Gang.

“Yes. Very much.”

“Great! Keep working hard in the future!”

“Ah, but they said I need to rest for at least a month because of the injury.”

“What!”

Seo-eun decided to focus on calming the members first, putting aside the issues that would arise later.

“Juyeon must have had a hard time.”

Seo-eun gently stroked Juyeon’s back.

“No, Suhyeok had it worse.”

“But being stalked must have been really difficult. You should have told me.”

“But… it was embarrassing. What if you found my broadcasts.”

Honestly, Juyeon might have kept it secret until the end if she hadn’t already quit broadcasting.

“Come on! If you had told me you were doing that, I would have helped you! I would have secretly donated to your channel too.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell you!”

That feeling of a mother secretly reading her diary.

That’s why Juyeon had kept it strictly confidential from the other members until now.

“Still, next time something this serious happens, tell me too, Juyeon.”

“That’s right, Park Juyeon. Why only tell Lee Suhyeok? We’re all your friends too.”

Hana seized the opportunity to chime in.

It sounded like something a sister-in-law would say.

“…Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. And Suhyeok.”

Seo-eun made eye contact with Suhyeok, who was sitting down.

“You’re cool.”

Even though his arm was in terrible shape and he might not be able to perform, this deserved praise.

“Thanks for helping Juyeon.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I didn’t do much.”

“Ahaha. I’m just saying I probably couldn’t have taken a knife for someone.”

Suhyeok became embarrassed by the praise.

His face turned red.

Juyeon stuck close to him and showed no intention of moving away.

Like a cicada on an old tree.

Hana sighed at the sight.

“Haah… So what did the hospital say?”

Hana, finally calming down a bit, sat down on Suhyeok’s empty left side.

“They said not to overdo it.”

“So you can’t play the guitar, right?”

Suhyeok’s face darkened.

“But they said to monitor how it heals… and on the day of the competition…”

“Forget it. Don’t play.”

She was resolute.

“Ah!”

Seo-eun clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something.

“Hm? What is it?”

“It’s past 10 o’clock!”

“Oh.”

The issue had been so significant that everyone had forgotten their original purpose for coming here.

“Oh no.”

As the time to check the results approached, Hana’s heart began to pound.

She poked Suhyeok’s hand nervously.

“Hey, Lee Suhyeok. You check it.”

“Huh? Me?”

“I’m too nervous to look.”

“Ju-Juyeon, would you check it?”

“…Eh? Me?”

Seo-eun was just nervously chewing her lip at that moment.

“Oh!”

A short exclamation escaped from Choi Gang’s mouth as he fiddled with his phone screen.

“Hey, what is it! Choi Gang, did you see the results?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah! Shit! I can’t bear to hear it!”

Hana buried her face in Suhyeok’s arm.

Suhyeok was just as nervous.

“So, Gang, what does it say?”

Seo-eun asked, swallowing hard.

Choi Gang grinned.

“Well, of course…”

Suhyeok squeezed his eyes shut.

Juyeon stared straight ahead, frozen stiff.

“We didn’t make it!”