Ch.112112. Journey

# Travel Funds

The plan to enjoy a lavish trip with the prize money had long been abandoned.

Suhyeok had to earn his spending money through part-time work.

Hana’s uncle had been quite generous with the pay.

Even though it just meant rounding up to the nearest thousand won, Suhyeok was incredibly grateful for it.

The concert venue job required almost no work during the actual performances.

Plus, he could watch famous bands perform live for free—truly killing two birds with one stone.

There was no better part-time job than that.

He packed his belongings into a small suitcase.

Since it was summer, he packed plenty of t-shirts and towels.

Other than that…

He couldn’t think of anything else he needed to bring.

Phone charger and a power strip…?

Would he even need a power strip?

After zipping up his bag, Suhyeok turned off his computer and lights before heading out.

He wasn’t usually one to wear hats, but he thought it might be good to bring one for this trip.

It would probably be the time of year when he’d spend the most time outdoors.

“Suhyeok!”

At the bus stop.

Juyeon, who had arrived first, greeted him.

“Hi.”

“You don’t have much luggage.”

“Yeah… I think it’s just clothes?”

Both Suhyeok and Juyeon were nearly minimalists when it came to packing for trips.

In contrast, Hana and Seo-eun, who appeared later, had suitcases that looked like they were emigrating.

“Wow. It’s so hot. This is crazy.”

“Oh… what on earth do you have in there?”

“Clothes and shoes?”

“That’s all it takes to have that much luggage?”

Suhyeok couldn’t understand it at all.

“Hey. We need to take pictures. Pictures.”

“If we just take them…”

Hana took a step closer to Suhyeok.

She posed as if asking him to lend her his ear, and Suhyeok readily obliged.

“Do you think it’s appropriate to take pictures with your beloved Spirit while dressed so shabbily?”

When she put it that way, it did make sense.

“Yo!”

Kang-i, who arrived last, was wearing a huge straw hat as if he were a cartoon character.

“Kang-i, let’s not wear that on the bus.”

“Why?”

“People can’t sit next to you if you’re wearing that.”

At 21 years old.

Having just become an adult two years ago, Suhyeok was about to go on his first trip with friends.

Last year, he hadn’t managed to join any group.

The friends around him who had their own circles had already made plans among themselves.

The 23rd batch members might not find this trip particularly special since they had gone on trips last year too, but Suhyeok felt an inexplicable excitement just from being part of this journey.

“Hot, isn’t it?”

They had randomly drawn seats for the train tickets.

Juyeon, sitting next to him, casually asked.

“Yeah.”

-Whirrr

After a clicking sound, Juyeon turned on a handheld fan and brought it to Suhyeok’s face.

“…Feel cool?”

“Yeah.”

Suhyeok smiled at her kindness.

Meanwhile, Hana, watching from across, was radiating displeasure.

No.

No. You said you weren’t dating. You jerk.

Are you really going to be like that with her?

If you smile at her like that when you know she likes you, she’ll keep having feelings for you!

Watching Hana grinding her teeth to herself, Kang surprisingly spoke to her.

“Hey. Yoon Hana.”

“Huh?”

“Just buy one yourself. If you’re so envious of the handheld fan.”

“No. What are you talking about?”

“You were staring at the fan like you really wanted one.”

Hana snorted and held her tongue.

Sigh… forget it.

If it had been Seo-eun unnie, she might have said something, but she didn’t feel like chatting with Kang.

Their destination was Gangwon Province.

The train journey would take about two hours.

Everyone seemed tired, and the members arrived at their destination nodding off.

Juyeon leaned on Suhyeok’s arm to sleep, looking like a loving couple.

Hana’s expression, who had to wake her up, contained undisguisable displeasure.

“Hey. Juyeon. We need to get off.”

“Oh, I see…”

Hana also woke up Suhyeok beside her.

Instead, she slapped his thigh with a loud smack.

-Slap

“You wake up too! You jerk!”

As everyone got off the train blinking their eyes, a very empty scene unfolded before them.

“Whoa… there’s absolutely nothing here!”

“Hahaha. It’s not a bustling city, after all.”

Their destination was a hotel near the venue where the rock festival was being held.

Though they called it a hotel, it was closer to a motel.

They had rented a total of two rooms.

One for the men.

One for the women.

“Let’s unpack and meet on the first floor.”

“Okay!”

The accommodation was quite old, requiring a key rather than a key card to open the door.

When Suhyeok opened the door and went inside, he couldn’t say anything nice even as a polite gesture.

“…It’s old.”

“Well, isn’t this part of the charm!”

At least it was fortunate that there were two single beds.

If they had been unlucky and everything had been booked, the two men would have had to share one bed.

The women’s room actually had one double bed and one single, so two of them had to share a bed.

Given the unsatisfactory state of the rooms, everyone agreed to minimize the time spent at the accommodation and mostly hang out outside.

“Alright then! Let’s go! Rock festival!”

Seo-eun raised her index finger high like a captain.

“But how do we get there?”

“There’s supposed to be a bus?”

“What’s this? The arrival time isn’t showing.”

Rural buses with long intervals between services.

The members were only able to board a bus that came after a long wait and head to the venue.

Though they called it a venue, the place where the stage was set up was a soccer field at a civic sports facility.

There was nowhere to escape the heat.

That was the first major hurdle.

“Water… water…!”

Hana kept repeating the same word as if possessed by an evil spirit.

“Drink this.”

Suhyeok handed her the bottle of water he had bought earlier.

“Ah. Thank you.”

They felt like they might collapse before even seeing the performance.

The people in the front row didn’t seem bothered by the heat at all, as they stayed put without leaving their spots.

“Hello everyone!”

A man presumed to be the host climbed onto the stage and grabbed the microphone.

“Thank you for coming all this way for the festival this year too!”

“So many people have come, and our awesome artists have prepared hard as well, so I hope you enjoy yourselves.”

“Without further ado, let me introduce the first team!”

Unlike solo concerts of specific singers, the rock festival system gave participating teams a fixed amount of time to perform.

The allotted time was about 30 minutes.

They were given time to showcase about 4-5 songs, including hit songs or unreleased new tracks.

If there was a similarity to music shows, it was that more popular teams were placed toward the end.

Since they were already there, the Spirit group decided to go toward the stage to watch the performance.

The first team was one Suhyeok had never heard of before.

According to Hana’s explanation, they were a relatively well-known team in the indie scene, but Suhyeok had never listened to their music before.

“Let’s go!”

Despite the energetic response, the sound was very slow and static.

There were many string sounds, and on stage, there were actual cello and violin players performing together.

“What erased that night~”

The singing voice echoed.

People in front were waving their hands from side to side, so Suhyeok also raised his hands above his head and waved along.

“So that love won’t lose its way~”

It was fresh.

Though it was the first time hearing the song, he thought it was really good.

That’s the charm of a rock festival.

While there might be maniacs who know all the artists, first-time attendees discover new music and fall for their charm.

For Suhyeok, who had experience making music himself, these experiences also sparked intense curiosity.

What is that sound effect?

How do they create that guitar tone?

The playlist of songs to add was growing in real-time.

Suhyeok was determined to stay and watch the performance, but Seo-eun and Juyeon said it was too hot and they would rest for a while in the tent at the back.

“Hana. Are you okay?”

Suhyeok looked at Hana, who was sweating profusely beside him.

“Hey. I’m not leaving here until I’ve seen all of this.”

Hana was even more into rock than Suhyeok.

She intended to attend rock festivals every year without fail.

“Really? I’m not going either.”

Hana glanced around slyly.

After confirming that Kang had gone to the very front row, Hana moved slightly in front of Suhyeok.

She leaned her back against Suhyeok’s chest.

“Hey. Can I lean on you for a bit?”

The skinship had suddenly become bolder.

Suhyeok smiled awkwardly.

“Ah. Sure.”

“No. This much is fine between friends.”

Hana emphasized that they weren’t lovers.

She was determined to make the most of this trip’s opportunity.

“Right. This much is fine.”

“Ah… I feel like I can survive now.”

Hana turned around slyly and this time leaned against Suhyeok face-to-face.

“H-Hana?”

“Yeah. It’s fine. Friends can do this too.”

Her tone suggested she wouldn’t accept any complaints.

Suhyeok gave up and had to spend time exploring new bands with her in that position.