Ch.108108. Seo-eun’s Request

Juyeon smiled brightly.

Behind her was a long black guitar gig bag.

“Hmm. I think I chose really well.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I like it.”

What Juyeon had chosen was from the same line as the one Suhyeok had demonstrated, just in a different color.

Vintage white.

A guitar in a warm cream color with a slightly aged tint.

Juyeon was very satisfied with her new instrument.

It didn’t overlap with Hana’s or Suhyeok’s guitar colors.

It was also different from Seo-eun’s sunburst.

Of course, she probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to perform with the guitar on stage, but adding something new and distinctive was quite exciting.

“Now I just need to get better at playing.”

Now that the ingredients were prepared, all that was left was to cook them well.

Juyeon clenched her fist like a cartoon character.

“Yeah. I’ll help you.”

Watching her, Suhyeok smiled slightly.

As long as Juyeon was willing to work hard, Suhyeok wanted to help her as much as possible.

Perhaps it was a concept of giving back what he had received.

Hana had taught him without asking for anything in return.

He had always hoped that someday he would be able to teach juniors or others.

Who knew that day would come so quickly.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah?”

“Want to get some coffee?”

She was thirsty, and she wanted to thank Suhyeok for coming with her.

“Sure. Let’s go.”

Suhyeok and Juyeon entered a large chain coffee shop.

Juyeon ordered a sweet iced tea and a cookie.

Suhyeok ordered an iced Americano.

Looking at the guitar placed across from her, she felt a bit strange.

Suhyeok was always the one carrying a guitar.

Juyeon was used to going back and forth without even a bag dangling from her shoulder.

“For the guitar… can you teach me once a week?”

Juyeon was proactive.

“Sure. Let’s do that.”

“Which day?”

“Any weekday during the day works for me.”

“Then let’s do Monday.”

Juyeon took out her phone and marked it with a check.

“Um… Juyeon.”

“Yeah?”

Suhyeok thought about discussing what he had been pondering from dawn until morning, now that they were face to face.

“Well…”

While he didn’t mind teaching her guitar, there was something he needed to tell her.

Thinking that it would eventually come out anyway, Suhyeok decided to reveal what he had been hiding.

“You know that girl I like.”

Not expecting this topic, Juyeon’s eyes widened before returning to their normal size.

“Yeah…”

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

Suhyeok knew this would happen but continued anyway.

“It’s actually Hana.”

“Oh…?”

“I… like Hana…”

What was the proper etiquette in this situation?

Was it polite to keep hiding the truth?

Or was it more courteous to tell her first?

He couldn’t know the right answer.

But Suhyeok felt he should tell Juyeon before confessing to Hana.

“I… see.”

Juyeon tapped the cold glass with her fingers.

She had once thought it might be possible, but since Suhyeok had denied it before, she had firmly believed him.

“So… you’re… going to confess to Hana…?”

“…I think so.”

Control your expression.

Control your expression.

Juyeon’s mouth kept biting her own lips.

“But… didn’t you say before that she wouldn’t accept you at all?”

“Yeah.”

“Did Hana tell you that directly?”

The verification continued.

Suhyeok slowly nodded his head up and down.

It was a painful memory he didn’t want to recall.

“I asked her if she liked me, and she said no. She asked why I would even say such a thing.”

“Then. Just…”

…shouldn’t you be here with me?

“But. Something seems to have changed recently, and she said something that seemed to give me a bit of hope.”

Suhyeok was in agony.

Explaining this to the person involved made his head feel like it was about to explode.

Juyeon’s constantly changing expression made Suhyeok continuously watch for her reaction.

“So for now… I’m probably… going to give it a try…”

Regret. Sadness. Betrayal. Resentment. Wistfulness.

Juyeon’s mood, which had been good until just a moment ago, plummeted to the ground.

But despite that, Juyeon managed to smile.

“…I see.”

“Yeah.”

The bewilderment gradually subsided.

On that day when Suhyeok had saved Juyeon.

She had made a promise to herself.

That she wouldn’t give up on Suhyeok no matter who he liked.

Anyway, the moment she started comparing herself to others, Juyeon lacked confidence against anyone.

That’s why she gave up on being selective about her opponents.

Narrative.

If one person falling for another is a narrative, then Juyeon thought her narrative was incomparable to anyone else’s.

She had become close with someone who, very rarely, had the exact same personality as her.

They shared their worries and grew together.

On the most precarious night.

He appeared like a hero and protected her.

To ask her to give up on liking Suhyeok, with a story like something out of a movie or novel.

It was too cruel for a 21-year-old hungry for love.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah.”

“Whatever choice you make…”

Unlike the hesitant Suhyeok, Juyeon’s path was straight.

“I’m on your side, Suhyeok.”

His heart wavered once again.

Perhaps because she had said what Suhyeok most wanted to hear.

It also contrasted with Hana’s attitude.

Unlike Hana, who had told him to get lost for not telling her about Juyeon, Juyeon respected him even though he had told her belatedly.

“Thank you, Juyeon.”

“It’s nothing. After all, that’s… just what you were originally planning to do.”

She just learned that the person was Hana.

Juyeon’s situation couldn’t get much worse.

But when the two of them got together…

Juyeon closed her eyes tightly.

She didn’t want to think about that yet.

“Still.”

Even in this situation, Juyeon was hoping to grasp a thread of hope from the bottom.

“You can still teach me guitar, right?”

“Yeah.”

Suhyeok nodded.

“Then that’s fine.”

Juyeon stood up and slung the guitar over her shoulder.

Perhaps because she was thirsty, her drink was empty.

Since Suhyeok had also finished his coffee, the two were in a state where they could leave at any time without it being strange.

The two boarded the bus home side by side, as if nothing had happened.

Unlike when they first came, the conversation had disappeared.

Juyeon looking out the window, and Suhyeok glancing at her from time to time.

Juyeon’s arms were tightly hugging her newly purchased guitar.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah?”

“What would be a good first song to learn?”

Suhyeok didn’t know beginner songs.

So this was quite a difficult question for someone who had dived headfirst into the most difficult songs from the beginning.

“Um… There’s a song called ‘Falling Slowly’? I heard it’s really easy.”

“Do you know how to play it?”

“…No.”

Juyeon chuckled.

“Then you can’t teach me, can you?”

“I can practice it beforehand.”

“You’d go that far?”

“It’s a beginner song, so it shouldn’t be too difficult, right? I’ll give it a try.”

Comfortable.

Despite having just discussed such a heavy topic, Juyeon still had something that made Suhyeok feel at ease.

“Okay. Then I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

Juyeon rested her head on the guitar’s headstock.

Her brown bob hair falling at a constant angle toward the floor, following gravity.

Her dyed hair, illuminated by the midday sun, made her look like an anime character.

“…Yeah.”

Despite feeling sorry for Juyeon, Suhyeok now felt like he could really confess to Hana.

* * *

It was common for Hana or Juyeon to call Suhyeok.

Even Kang would contact him first quite often, making Seo-eun the one with whom Suhyeok had the least personal contact.

Today, however, the president had called him out to have dinner separately.

Suhyeok, whose energy had been drained from visiting the instrument market with Juyeon during the day.

He blinked slowly on his bed and opened his phone screen.

[I have something to tell you! And I want to treat you to a meal~]

[How about dinner together tonight if you’re free!!]

[(Cat jumping emoticon)]

Ugh…

I don’t want to today.

But seeing Seo-eun talk like that, there must be something going on.

Seo-eun wasn’t someone who acted without reason.

Just look at her activities in the department.

She was the type to plan things precisely and tried to resolve most things within that framework, even when having fun.

For someone like her to call him out separately.

“Haah… well, whatever.”

There was no reason to refuse.

Besides, Suhyeok still felt very sorry about failing the competition.

How hard could it be to share a meal?

The location was a famous spicy chicken stew restaurant near the school.

As Suhyeok entered the restaurant in his slippers, Seo-eun raised her hand high.

“Suhyeok!!”

“Hey. Hi, noona.”

“Excuse me! One bottle of soju here!”

He didn’t expect to drink, but Suhyeok accepted the glass Seo-eun handed him.

What’s going on?

Does Seo-eun noona have some trouble?

Not knowing that he was the cause, Suhyeok looked at her with a worried expression.

“Noona. Did something happen?”

“Yes. A very important matter.”

Seo-eun playfully shook her head up and down.

“What. What is it?”

Seo-eun filled her own glass and raised it.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah?”

Seo-eun bowed her head as if pleading.

“Please revive the Spirit.”