Ch.126126. Late Night Practice

“Juyeon.”

“Hana. Hi.”

Hana and Juyeon met at the entrance of the school gym.

The relationship between the two was taking quite an unusual turn.

If one were to define their relationship with a name, they were indeed friends.

But the inner contents were no longer the complete intimacy and friendship they once had.

The name of the emotion that had infiltrated between them was ‘competitiveness.’

Naturally, Hana and Juyeon, now in opposition over Suhyeok, couldn’t maintain the same gentle atmosphere as before.

What was peculiar was that despite this, their exercise class continued on as usual.

Neither of them could find a particular reason to stop it.

They weren’t treating each other as ‘enemies’ or ‘villains.’

To each other, they were essential band members.

The bond they had built together over time clearly still existed between them.

Hana took Juyeon to the stretching zone as she always did.

“How’s the songwriting going?”

“Hmm… Okay, I guess?”

“Ask me if there’s anything you don’t know. Or if you’re worried about something.”

“…Yeah.”

It was an awkward response.

But Hana deliberately didn’t want to be more proactive.

“Hana.”

“Yeah?”

“…Did you meet Suhyeok yesterday?”

Hana suddenly recalled the memory of kissing him yesterday.

The corner of her mouth curled up slightly.

She couldn’t openly smile about it.

“Ah. We worked part-time together for the venue booking thing.”

“Did you drink?”

“Did Lee Suhyeok tell you that?”

It didn’t feel good to know that after spending time with her like that, he had separately contacted Juyeon.

“No.”

Juyeon had simply guessed because Suhyeok should have been awake at that hour, but he didn’t respond to her messages, claiming he was tired.

His claim of being tired wasn’t a lie at all.

In reality, Suhyeok had to drag Hana all the way home, and when he finally got to his own place, he passed out.

“Just a feeling.”

The two moved to the weight machines, taking turns doing sets one after another.

The senior, Hana, lifted slightly heavier weights.

Juyeon’s weight was about 15kg less, which was roughly the right difference.

“…Juyeon.”

Drops of sweat fell to the floor.

Having finished contemplating, Hana thought about bringing up what had been on her mind.

“Yeah?”

“About Lee Suhyeok.”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s just leave it during practice.”

Juyeon’s gaze fixed on Hana’s eyes.

“…What do you mean by ‘leave it’?”

“There are other members too. Seo-eun unnie and that Choi kid. Let’s think about them and restrain our personal feelings during practice.”

Hana shrugged and nodded as if asking if Juyeon understood.

In short, she was saying not to make such blatant displays of affection that would make others uncomfortable.

“…That’s unfair.”

“What?”

Juyeon thought Hana’s words were those of someone who wasn’t desperate.

Juyeon was gambling, not knowing if she could spend all her time with Suhyeok.

Sometimes without personal feelings.

Sometimes blatantly.

This was something Hana could say because she was already in the fortunate position of receiving Suhyeok’s love.

Asking her to suppress her feelings for the sake of others meant either she wasn’t desperate or…

Otherwise, her heart was just that small.

“I… don’t want to hide it.”

Juyeon expressed her refusal.

“Isn’t it better to think about the other members too? Don’t you see how unnie feels awkward?”

“If I hold back the whole time like you say, and winter comes and Suhyeok leaves.”

Juyeon clenched her fist.

“I’ll definitely regret it.”

“Hey. No. I’m just saying to restrain yourself during practice time. Who said you can’t talk to him at all?”

“Hana.”

“What.”

“I’m not you.”

Value judgments differ from person to person.

What seems absolutely right to one person might be completely incomprehensible to another.

“Don’t force me.”

Juyeon turned her back and headed to the changing room.

It meant their joint workout was over.

With a complex expression, Juyeon stood in front of the mirror with the hair dryer.

She wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do.

What would be the worst outcome of making such a decision?

The answer was simple.

Lose Suhyeok.

Lose Spirit.

…Not a big deal.

If Suhyeok officially started dating Hana, it was all an inevitable future anyway.

If her confession succeeded, she might not lose Suhyeok.

The emotion called love was slowly eating away at Juyeon.

Juyeon knew it too.

That she was changing.

But she couldn’t stop.

She shouldn’t stop.

Because she felt she could only let go if she did everything she possibly could.

Juyeon intended to look at Suhyeok earnestly, to the point where she would have no regrets.

“…I’m sorry.”

Juyeon was someone who put Suhyeok before Spirit.

* * *

Juyeon didn’t neglect her guitar practice.

In fact, she was practicing and playing so diligently that her studies were becoming neglected.

It was because she felt she needed to be able to do whatever Hana could do.

Don’t compare yourself. Fight your own battles.

Common encouraging phrases were everywhere, but she couldn’t ignore the mountain named Hana that she had to overcome in her romance with Suhyeok.

In the empty club room.

When Juyeon, with her guitar, pressed the switch, the lights came on with a click.

What she took out of her bag was the cream-colored guitar she had bought with Suhyeok.

Now quite familiar with it, Juyeon turned on the amp and connected the cable to the guitar.

As she was about to tune it and practice…

“Hmm?”

Despite plucking the string, no sound came from the amp.

What? Why?

Even turning up the amp volume didn’t make a difference.

Wondering if the cable was the problem, she tried replacing it with another one, but it was the same.

Could it be the guitar…?

But how could that be when the guitar was so new…

It seemed too new to suspect the guitar.

Besides, it had worked fine at home just yesterday.

Juyeon repeatedly turned the amp off and on.

She eventually became scared.

Did I break the amp…?

This was a common phenomenon among beginners.

When equipment that had been working fine suddenly stops working in their hands, they panic excessively.

Despite it being a bit late in the evening, Juyeon urgently called Suhyeok.

[Su-Suhyeok!]

Suhyeok, who had been lying blankly on his bed.

His eyes widened at Juyeon’s urgent voice.

[Yeah? What’s wrong? Did something happen?]

[I… I! I think I broke the amp!]

[Huh?]

[Can you come to the club room? There’s no sound…]

At her final words, which were barely audible, Suhyeok hurriedly put on his slippers.

No. What could Juyeon have possibly done to break the amp?

It wasn’t like she had kicked it while practicing a performance, and it might just be a simple cable contact issue.

Suhyeok, who had exited the elevator, grabbed the doorknob of the club room.

Inside, Juyeon was fiddling with the amp, looking tearful.

“Su-Suhyeok.”

“You said the amp is broken?”

“There’s no sound…”

“First, calm down.”

Suhyeok crouched down next to Juyeon.

The amp settings seemed fine.

The cable Juyeon was using also seemed to have no issues…

“Can I see the guitar?”

Juyeon nodded and handed the instrument to Suhyeok.

Indeed, as Juyeon had said, there was no sound at all.

Finding it strange, at that moment.

“Hmm?”

Numbers began to register in Suhyeok’s eyes.

The volume control knob on the guitar.

It was set to 0.

As he turned the volume knob with his pinky, a resonant clean tone filled the space.

“Huh? Huuuuh?”

Juyeon was completely flustered.

In contrast, Suhyeok burst into laughter.

“Juyeon.”

“Wh-what? How did you do that?”

“You didn’t try turning this, did you?”

“That?”

Realizing that what Suhyeok’s finger was touching was the volume knob, Juyeon’s face turned bright red.

It was almost like calling someone on a phone and saying, ‘I think I lost my phone.’

She couldn’t bring herself to look up.

“…Sorry.”

“Hahaha. No, it’s okay. I’ve done the same thing before.”

It was a mistake any beginner might make.

If anything, it was fortunate.

If something had actually been broken, they would have had to send it for repairs.

“Ugh…”

Unable to overcome her self-loathing, Juyeon buried her face in the sofa.

Why can’t I do anything right?

I wanted to impress him, but at this rate…

“But why are you at the club room at this hour?”

9 PM.

It was indeed late to be at school.

“…To practice guitar.”

“Now?”

“Yeah. I do it every day.”

The heat in Juyeon’s cheeks still showed no signs of cooling down.

“Really?”

Recalling his own days as a complete beginner when he practiced daily, Suhyeok wanted to help Juyeon.

“What are you practicing these days?”

“What you taught me.”

“Let me see.”

“Ah. It’s not ready yet. I’ll show you when it’s complete.”

The reason for practicing was to show Suhyeok that she too could play the guitar impressively.

Showing him now would surely disappoint him.

“Come on. If you complete it, there’s nothing left for me to help with.”

Suhyeok really wanted her to feel comfortable about guitar practice.

“Go on.”

“…Okay.”

Juyeon went back to the amp and took the guitar.

-Ziiing

She’s still not used to quickly changing chords, so the rhythm is slightly off.

A short solo came up.

Though the tempo was slow, Juyeon managed to play all the notes correctly, slowly completing the entire piece.

Her face reddened from the performance she wasn’t satisfied with.

Even after finishing, Juyeon kept glancing at Suhyeok’s reaction.

“So… how was it?”

“Wow… You’ve been playing for less than a month, right?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re really good. No, should I say you’re working really hard? Anyway.”

Suhyeok’s eyes sparkled brightly.

Juyeon thought that if she continued like this, she might really become good at guitar.

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Truly. I think you’re better than me.”

Suhyeok smiled brightly.

Juyeon gripped the guitar even tighter.

“…Thank you.”

Juyeon now had more reason to work harder.