Ch.106106. Gift Certificate

Trust is important in any form of relationship.

Friends, lovers, family, teacher-student, and so on.

A relationship where trust has crumbled is extremely difficult to restore, and once doubt emerges, it commonly continues to eat away at the relationship.

The trust Hana had in Suhyeok was currently in a cracked state.

Of course, it wasn’t like he had to reveal everything about his personal relationships when they weren’t even dating, but she thought she should have at least heard about Juyeon from his own mouth.

Because it’s wise not to create situations where both parties might become sensitive.

After finishing her makeup, Hana grabbed her phone and tied her hair back.

She put on leggings and a t-shirt to go straight to the gym and headed out the door.

Seoul was under an extreme heat advisory today.

It was the kind of weather where you’d feel like you’d be cooked instantly if you laid your head on the asphalt.

The place she agreed to meet Suhyeok was a café they often visited together.

When she went inside, Suhyeok had already arrived.

“Hi.”

Suhyeok, who had secured a seat first, came over and stood next to Hana.

“…Hi.”

Hana replied with a prim expression.

Seeing his somewhat dumbfounded face made her unable to hide her annoyance even more.

No. How could he hug another girl right in front of me?

Even if it was Juyeon?

As the memory of that day flashed through her mind like a live video, Hana bit her lip repeatedly.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Get me what I like.”

Hana was being deliberately difficult.

Noticing her bad mood, Suhyeok tactfully brought her a Strawberry Delight Yogurt Blended.

This was Hana’s favorite drink.

It was a safe, reliable choice.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

Despite her mood, his pick wasn’t bad, so Hana eagerly sipped the drink through the straw.

“So… about what I wanted to talk about.”

“Lee Suhyeok.”

“Yes?”

“I really wonder what you’re thinking.”

After moistening her throat, Hana placed her hands together and rested her chin on them like a detective.

The atmosphere became similar to an interrogation room.

“Do you like Park Juyeon?”

“Ah. No?”

“Right. Then why were you hugging her?”

“But that wasn’t me, Juyeon suddenly…”

Suhyeok felt a bit wronged about being pressed on this.

He didn’t go to her first and hug her because he liked her.

And it would have been strange to reject someone who was trying to comfort him when he was feeling down by telling her to go away.

“Ha. Fine. Let’s say that was Juyeon’s doing. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“…Tell you what?”

“Why didn’t you tell me that you and Park Juyeon are always sticking together like that?”

“But that’s because Juyeon asked me to keep her streaming a secret.”

“No. Hey!”

Hana’s voice rose in frustration.

Everyone around them turned to look at Suhyeok’s table.

Conscious of the attention, Hana lowered her voice.

“You. Didn’t you want to try to make things work with me?”

She hadn’t intended to say this much, but Hana couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Always hanging out with me, watching movies, me helping you get that part-time job. I really thought we were.”

As she spoke, Hana felt like someone was poking her chest repeatedly, making her feel suffocated.

“I really thought we were doing pretty well together.”

Hana didn’t want to bring this up.

She was upset that she even had to say such things in the first place.

“But. Why are you acting like this?”

“Did you stop liking me? Am I not good enough anymore? Did you realize I’m not what you wanted after spending time with me?”

“I just don’t understand what you’re thinking, Lee Suhyeok.”

At Hana’s pleading voice, Suhyeok’s body stiffened.

“No. I…”

“Forget it.”

Though not even 10 minutes had passed since she sat down, Hana abruptly stood up.

“Get lost. Don’t contact me.”

Suhyeok couldn’t stop Hana as she strode out.

His heart was beating too fast.

-I really thought we were doing pretty well together.

-I really thought we were doing pretty well together.

-I really thought we were doing pretty well together.

-I really thought we were doing pretty well together.

Hana’s voice echoed in his ears.

Realizing the meaning of those words, Suhyeok finally understood how Hana had been looking at him.

Romantic interest.

A sign that it wasn’t one-sided.

But even after learning this, Suhyeok couldn’t simply jump for joy.

How could he feel good after being told not to contact the girl he liked?

Instead, he felt guilty for ruining what had been going well between them.

Ruined the competition.

Ruined the relationship.

Ah… what am I doing?

Looking at the more than half-full pinkish strawberry drink, Suhyeok pulled at his hair.

I should confess…

Now that I know this, I should definitely do it…

But there was uncertainty about Hana’s current upset state and what would happen with Juyeon.

Everything was unclear.

Yet even in the midst of all this, he subconsciously knew what he needed to do.

-I need to apologize and properly convey my feelings.

It seemed best to confess as soon as possible.

* * *

When I told him not to contact me, this guy really doesn’t.

Hana was glaring at her phone with fox-like eyes.

Really? He’s not going to?

He’s really not contacting me?

Shouldn’t he come and at least give me a hug to say he’s sorry after I said something like that?

He patted Park Juyeon on the back when he doesn’t even like her, but he won’t give me anything after I said all that?

Steam was practically rising from the top of Hana’s head.

She was so angry that food wouldn’t go down properly.

She was confident she could go on the trip without saying a single word to Suhyeok.

But if she really did that, Suhyeok might be happily giggling with Park Juyeon.

She didn’t like that either.

“…This is so damn frustrating.”

Not the language of a cute girl.

But what could she do when the situation was so annoying?

Ugh. To like such an idiot.

She’d heard that first loves are always painful, but Hana never imagined it would hurt like this.

Getting up from bed, Hana took out the guitar that had been hanging on the stand, untouched for a while.

The red SG that had returned home after the competition was canceled.

Nothing beats guitar for stress relief.

Playing an instrument had many positive functions.

First was the sense of achievement.

It’s thrilling to be able to play songs that you couldn’t play before through practice.

Being able to play your favorite songs and receiving praise from others for it makes you feel twice as good.

Second was expression.

People express themselves in various ways.

Some write.

Some express their individuality through fashion.

Music is one of the most sophisticated methods among them.

Hana often played to express her emotions.

When she was in a good mood, she would play funky cutting-style songs, and when she was feeling down like now,

[MASTER! MASTER!]

The gravelly voice coming through the headset.

What she was playing vigorously while shaking her head was “Master of Puppets” by Metallica, one of the classic artists of metal music.

It was a song that required not only brilliant technique but also endurance.

That’s because the heavy riffs were repeated countless times.

The solo in the latter half was quite difficult too.

It was a song that those who dream of speed playing would challenge at least once.

“Whew.”

Hana, who had completed the song without even taking a breath, smiled contentedly.

I’m not even thinking about that jerk now, which is good.

Right. Forget him!

Play guitar and forget!

Since it had come to this, Hana started playing a medley of famous parts from classic metal bands.

She didn’t put down the guitar for a straight hour until her fingers were swollen.

“Haa… I can’t play anymore.”

Her stamina couldn’t keep up.

Playing an instrument requires quite a bit of concentration, so beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.

She turned on the air conditioner.

It felt like she could breathe again.

Hana was habitually debating whether to check her phone again, but she decided not to look at all and went to the bathroom.

After washing her face, she returned to bed.

Still, she couldn’t help but be curious, so Hana slightly unlocked the screen.

And there it was.

Hana opened the chat room by pressing the name Lee Suhyeok.

What he had sent was a gift certificate for ice cream from a famous chain store.

The text message was just one line.

[I’m sorry, Hana.]

Looking at the screen, Hana clenched her fist.

She hit herself on the head.

“No. Why are you smiling? Are you stupid, Yoon Hana?”

Even she found it ridiculous.

After badmouthing Suhyeok all this time.

Just because of this one line.

Just because a mere 5,000 won gift certificate arrived, the corners of her mouth were twitching, and she felt like an idiot.

They say love makes people foolish, and that was absolutely true.

“If you’re going to do it, you might as well confess too… Lee Suhyeok…”

While she was happy about the apology, Hana wondered when on earth he would finally confess.