Ch.120120. What You Can Give.

Seo-eun loved events.

“Alright~ Everyone put one of these on your head.”

Seo-eun placed conical party hats—the kind even elementary school kids might refuse to wear—on the members’ heads.

“Oh, you’ve got a topping now? Like takoyaki?”

Hana giggled and punched Kang-i’s strong shoulders.

“Want me to lift you up for real, Yoon Hana?”

“Are you going to hit a woman?”

“Do you expect manners from a takoyaki?”

While Suhyeok usually avoided mentioning Kang-i’s baldness since it might be a sensitive topic, Hana seemed completely comfortable teasing him about it.

Ironically, Juyeon, the main character, was blowing up balloons with Seo-eun instead of joining the rowdy group.

“Juyeon, why don’t you go have fun? I’ll do this!”

“…I’m doing this because I want to.”

“Hahaha. But it feels wrong to make the birthday girl work.”

The original plan was to set everything up beforehand and then call Juyeon, but the reservation time made that impossible.

Juyeon had already been informed about this.

Suhyeok approached Juyeon and began taping “Happy Birthday” balloons to the wall.

“A little higher.”

“Like this?”

“No. A bit lower from there.”

Seo-eun’s directing was demanding.

“Is… is this okay?”

“Hmm… wait? Just a little more to the left.”

He had only managed to put up two letters…

With about ten more balloons left to go, Suhyeok felt his mind going blank.

Eventually, Hana took over the balloon-hanging duty.

Some tasks really should be left to those with experience.

Suhyeok keenly realized that lacking skill in something meant it was better not to do it at all.

-Ding dong ding dong-

The food deliveries started arriving one after another.

Fried chicken, pizza, pork hocks.

The members had ordered enough food to break the table.

Though Juyeon hadn’t even picked up her chopsticks yet, just seeing this scene made her heart swell.

“Juyeon~ I’m going to enjoy this~”

“But… I didn’t even pay for it?”

“Still going to enjoy it~ Happy birthday~”

The meal began.

Choi Kang claimed he’d come on an empty stomach and started inhaling food like a possessed person.

Juyeon wanted some spicy chicken.

But due to the table arrangement, it was just out of her reach.

Noticing Juyeon eyeing the chicken, Suhyeok casually asked her:

“Juyeon.”

“Yes?”

“Is there something you want to eat?”

“I want spicy chicken.”

Suhyeok smiled at the earnestness in her voice.

“Here.”

He thought the birthday girl deserved the drumstick.

“…Thank you.”

Juyeon responded with a smile.

“Hey everyone, so what song should we do this semester?”

This was a meeting they would have had during the first week after classes resumed anyway.

A song selection meeting for the winter performance.

While every performance was special, the club president felt they needed to be extra careful with song selection since this would be the 23rd generation’s final performance.

“Hmm… I do have some songs I want to try.”

Hana spoke with a pizza crust in her mouth.

“I want to reach the highest difficulty level once.”

Flashy fingerwork didn’t necessarily make a good song.

But walking a path they hadn’t tried together seemed meaningful enough.

“Hmm… are you talking about hard metal?”

“Jazz would be fine too, or rock. I just don’t want something ordinary.”

“Let’s go with rock! I can’t handle jazz drums! Sorry!”

As with all instruments, different genres required vastly different skills.

“So Hana wants to try a difficult song, what about Kang-i?”

“Can I have one last wish granted?”

Choi Kang put down his beer can and, unusually, set a serious tone.

“Um… well… if it’s something we can do?”

Seo-eun blinked a couple of times.

“Let’s cover Luca’s song!”

“…That VTuber thing?”

“Yes! Just this once! Let’s perform it just once!”

“Ah…”

Hana looked displeased.

Seo-eun was smiling, but clearly couldn’t make up her mind.

There were risks that came with performing anime songs or extremely niche music.

First, there would be internal disagreements.

Forcing people to practice songs they didn’t want to perform wasn’t ideal.

“Well… what does Juyeon think?”

In truth, Juyeon would have to overcome the most embarrassment.

Munching on a chicken leg, Juyeon nodded as if she didn’t mind.

“If that’s Kang-i’s wish.”

“I love you! Park Juyeon!”

“Hey, hey. It’s not confirmed yet. Lee Suhyeok, what do you think?”

Having already listened to the song frequently due to Kang-i’s evangelism when he first joined, Suhyeok was secretly looking forward to it.

If everyone else was okay with it, it might not be bad…?

“I… I’m fine with it.”

“What about you, Seo-eun?”

“If you all want to do it, I’m in.”

Seo-eun was never particularly picky about song selection.

So the key was now with Hana…

“Ugh! Fine! Let’s do it! It’s just one song!”

Though Hana really didn’t want to do it, she decided to respect the majority opinion.

“I love you! Yoon Hana!”

“Get lost. Don’t.”

Hana frowned in disgust.

“Suhyeok, is there anything you want to do?”

Seo-eun turned to face Suhyeok.

“Um…”

He actually wanted to try another original song.

But Suhyeok couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Because “Maze” had been a failure.

Unless others suggested trying again, he thought it would be wrong to bring it up first.

“Nothing in particular.”

“I see. What about Juyeon?”

The birthday girl and final person to be asked.

“I… want to write a song…”

“Ohhh…”

Everyone was surprised to hear this from the vocalist rather than one of the instrumentalists.

“That’s great! There are plenty of people here who can help if you want to write an original song.”

Seo-eun pointed at Suhyeok and Hana.

“Yes. I want to learn from Suhyeok and perform my own song on stage this time.”

“Blue Dawn” was Hana’s.

“Maze” was Suhyeok’s.

It seemed like Juyeon would be the protagonist of the final original song.

“Great! Let’s do it!”

“Yes! I’ll help you.”

“Hey, Park Juyeon. I know better than Lee Suhyeok, so come to me.”

Juyeon just smiled without answering.

“Sigh… shall we blow out the candles on the cake and continue drinking?”

Seo-eun had prepared a mini cake separately from the pie gift.

“Let’s sing!”

Seo-eun, ready with party poppers, carried out the time-honored birthday tradition.

“Happy birthday to you~”

“Happy birthday to you~”

“Dear Juyeon (Park Juyeon)~”

“Happy birthday to you~”

The poppers exploded with a bang.

“Make a wish! Juyeon!”

At Seo-eun’s words, Juyeon glanced at Suhyeok standing beside her.

His smiling face.

Juyeon closed her eyes and silently made her sincere wish.

That’s right.

If not now, when else would I make this wish?

“Cake goes with soju!”

Choi Kang, with cream on his lips, gulped down soju.

“Ah, that’s going to taste awful!”

“It gets better as you drink!”

“No, no, no! I’m not drinking! I said I’m not drinking! Lee Suhyeok! He’s bullying me!”

Using Suhyeok as a shield was meaningless.

The party room descended into chaos.

As the number of empty bottles increased, the members gradually lost their senses.

“Hey… Suhyeokie…”

Hana, completely drunk, had already been escorted to the sofa.

Choi Kang said he was sleepy and started snoring in a corner.

Seo-eun seemed to be the only one still somewhat sober.

“I… I forgot to call Jaejun oppa. Are you guys still having fun? Got it?”

After fumbling for her phone and unlocking it, she stumbled outside.

Once again, the two alcohol champions remained until the end.

Juyeon and Suhyeok.

“Are you okay, Juyeon?”

“…Yes.”

“Go rest if you’re tired.”

“I can drink better than you…?”

Both were quite strong drinkers, but if pressed, Juyeon would be the winner.

“Right. Well, let’s drink a bit more then.”

Suhyeok and Juyeon clinked glasses, just the two of them.

“…Suhyeok.”

It would be a lie to say they weren’t tipsy.

Having consumed over two bottles each, it was hard to remain completely sober.

“Yes.”

“Is there anything you want for your birthday?”

“For my birthday?”

“…Yes.”

Suhyeok hadn’t thought about it since his birthday was still quite far away.

“I… hmm… well, I’d be happy with anything you all get me.”

He didn’t seem to particularly want any material things.

“There’s something I want…”

“Oh, really? What is it? Was the pie not good?”

“No… I haven’t even opened it yet… I’m sure it’s delicious. I like it.”

“Then what?”

In Juyeon’s eyes, Suhyeok’s face filled her vision.

Lifting herself slightly, Juyeon leaned her upper body closer to Suhyeok.

“Will you give it to me if I tell you?”

“…If it’s something I can give?”

He actually had an effects pedal he’d bought separately at home, planning to give it to her when they went home.

“Yes. It’s something you can give.”

“What is it?”

“Close your eyes for a moment.”

Having heard similar lines before, Suhyeok instinctively flinched.

But that was something only bold people like Hana would do…

He didn’t think Juyeon would do such a thing at all.

“What I want for my gift is…”

Juyeon slowly leaned toward Suhyeok, who had his eyes closed.

-Smooch-

“…Done.”