Ch.128128. To Impart Teachings

“…Prize?”

Suhyeok shifted his hips uncomfortably.

But that was a mistake.

Juyeon responded by tightening her grip around his waist even more.

A drop of sweat trickled down his nape.

Suhyeok’s body was becoming increasingly stiff.

“Yes. A prize.”

“What is it?”

Realizing she had no intention of letting him go easily, Suhyeok bit his lip slightly.

“…Close your eyes.”

Juyeon tilted her head back slightly, her eyes filled with a strange sensuality.

That gaze, resembling forbidden fruit, set off warning bells in Suhyeok’s mind.

Juyeon looking up at Suhyeok.

Suhyeok looking down at Juyeon.

Suhyeok shook his head as if to say this shouldn’t happen.

“That’s a bit…”

“It’s not like that time, so it’s okay.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. That time was on your birthday. It was a special day.”

He still had doubts about what she was planning to do.

But seeing how firmly she stated it, it didn’t seem to be what Suhyeok was imagining.

Right.

Maybe I’m just overreacting.

He didn’t want to be the person having strange thoughts when the other person had no such intentions.

Suhyeok’s eyes slowly closed.

Juyeon lifted her hips from his thighs and adjusted her position.

She knelt on the floor.

Her upper body leaned toward Suhyeok, whose eyebrows were twitching.

Her bangs still hung down, unstyled.

Juyeon’s fingers swept across Suhyeok’s forehead diagonally, like opening a curtain.

What followed was a soft sensation that Suhyeok knew all too well.

One of the softest parts of the human body left its mark on his forehead.

-Smooch

It was a very brief moment.

So brief that Suhyeok didn’t even have time to complain.

“Juyeon. This isn’t what you said.”

“…It’s different from that time.”

As if she had anticipated such a reaction, Juyeon gently closed her eyes.

“Still…”

“I heard in some countries overseas, this much is just a greeting.”

Juyeon gave a bitter smile and then distanced herself, as if promising not to approach him again.

“Suhyeok.”

“…Yeah.”

Juyeon paused for a moment.

“…Do you dislike it?”

Questions without objects always make people uncomfortable.

What is it that he dislikes?

Is it Juyeon as a person?

Or is it the brief kiss just now?

To be honest, it wasn’t unpleasant.

How many people on Earth would dislike such a shy, childlike kiss?

But he couldn’t simply say he liked it and ask for more either.

It was truly mysterious and complex.

Suhyeok couldn’t help but feel a sense of self-loathing rising instinctively.

He thought it was a moment where slightly misaligned tracks created a huge gap.

Where did we go wrong?

“…I don’t know.”

He chose the most convenient words that wouldn’t hurt either of them.

“…I see.”

Juyeon didn’t press further.

She was afraid to discover the truth that lay beyond.

“Shall we go now? Seems like we’ve finished the beer.”

Juyeon picked up the nearly empty can and shook it.

“Should we?”

“Yes. You need to rest too.”

Suhyeok put the trash in a bag and put his slippers back on.

Juyeon stood demurely in front of him, like a wife seeing her husband off.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah.”

“You still don’t want to date anyone, right?”

Juyeon sought confirmation of her insurance policy.

“…Yeah.”

“Take care on your way back.”

“It’s just right there, come on.”

“Still.”

Suhyeok opened the door and stepped outside.

The door gap gradually narrowed.

Juyeon stood there for a moment, staring at the direction where Suhyeok had disappeared.

“Haah…”

Suhyeok never made the first move on her.

She thought it was quite a bold seduction, and she had faithfully followed Seo-eun’s advice, but Juyeon hadn’t achieved the results she wanted.

I wonder if he would have done it first with Hana…

She knew that Hana was calling for Suhyeok’s time just as much as she spent time with him.

It was a well-known fact that Hana was competitive.

That was something she had clearly felt even in their first year, before knowing Suhyeok.

She had occasionally thought that Hana might have already gone further with Suhyeok than she had.

She had somewhat given up on that front.

If Hana had approached him, there was a high probability that he wouldn’t have resisted at all.

But if Suhyeok had taken the initiative with Hana, that would really be…

“No, Juyeon.”

She grabbed her cheeks with both hands, making a clapping sound.

She muttered to herself as if under hypnosis.

“It’s not over yet.”

All she had to believe in was Suhyeok’s single statement that he still had no intention of dating.

“…I love you.”

It was a phrase that didn’t come easily to her lips.

It was also a phrase she thought she might never say to anyone in her life.

But if she were to express the texture of her emotions in words, it seemed like this was the only phrase that existed.

Juyeon returned to her bed and pulled the blanket up to the top of her head.

“I love you, Suhyeok.”

Her words didn’t even escape the small room.

* * *

In the second semester, there isn’t much interaction between first and second-year students.

The reasons were quite complex, but the main point was that second-year students were no longer obligated to supervise the first-years’ practice.

Just as a child cannot stay in their parent’s arms forever, the same applied to the existence of new students.

Do this, do that.

This is the right way to do it.

Seniors constantly giving instructions prevents the development of self-regulation.

Therefore, second-year students avoided seeking them out more than necessary.

After class, Suhyeok headed to the club room again today.

Hana had class at this time, and Juyeon didn’t follow him for some reason.

Ironically, he was becoming more comfortable during the times when they weren’t in the club room.

It was fine even with just one person there, but when both were present, it felt like he couldn’t breathe properly.

-Creeak

As he opened the door and entered, guitar sounds were coming from inside.

The 24th generation guitarist.

Park Taeho.

His guitar skills had improved quite a bit, but he still possessed skills far from adequate to lead the main generation.

“Oh? Hello, Suhyeok hyung!”

“Oh. Hi.”

“What brings you here?”

“Ah. Just came to practice.”

The first song the 23rd generation decided to practice was a hard rock song suggested by Hana.

Even for Suhyeok, it seemed like a song that would take quite a lot of time to copy with good quality.

Therefore, his goal was to come and practice during his free periods whenever possible.

“Really? Haah… but I’m in a bit of a hurry now, could you help me?”

“I don’t mind helping, but is it urgent?”

Suhyeok examined Taeho’s face and put his bag down on the sofa.

“…Kind of.”

Seo-eun had already announced through a notice that they should develop their skills independently.

Give feedback among yourselves.

Coordinate practice times among yourselves, but Taeho was feeling anxious about his skills that weren’t improving much.

For the winter performance, first-years also had to prepare 8 songs.

They had to prepare the same number of songs as the seniors.

“Hmm… okay. But I don’t know this song, can I listen to it once and then help you?”

“Ah. Yes.”

The basics of copying is listening to the song a lot.

Suhyeok connected the speaker, listened to the first-years’ ensemble song all the way through, and nodded.

“Hmm. I see.”

“…What do you think?”

“Which part is yours?”

“Here, guitar 2.”

Suhyeok took the sheet music and quickly flipped through the pages stapled together.

“Hmm… since you’re good at backing now, is the arpeggio the problem?”

“The arpeggio is one thing, but I’m also not sure how to position my hand here at the back.”

A section where the chords change rapidly.

Suhyeok also stuck out his tongue at the bizarrely marked sheet music.

“You’re right. Is this really correct?”

“…I don’t know.”

Unless it was sheet music provided by the original creator, sheet music floating around the internet was often wrong.

This happened because people copied by ear, and even if the notes were correct, the fingering to perform them was often wrong.

“In times like this, it’s good to check if there’s a guitar cover.”

Suhyeok took out his phone to see if there was a cover video of the song.

“Oh. There is. Here.”

Guitar covers were rarer than vocal covers, that’s true.

But for famous band songs, there were usually one or two available.

“Really?”

“Let’s look for the finger positions here.”

Taeho and Suhyeok sat side by side, skipping to the relevant section and looking at the same screen.

“Ah. This!”

“Yeah. It’s different from the sheet music.”

Suhyeok tried to figure out the chord by inferring from the sound and hand position.

“It’s something like this, right?”

“Ohhh!”

Taeho clapped his hands beside him, loud enough to be embarrassing.

“God Suhyeok! God Suhyeok! God Suhyeok! God Suhyeok! God Suhyeok!”

“It’s nothing special.”

Although he felt good about the praise, it was still embarrassing.

“Hyung. Then can you give me one more tip?”

“Sure.”

“Ssseup…”

Taeho glanced toward the door, confirmed that no one was about to enter, and swallowed.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“I, um…”

Taeho wasn’t the type to trail off.

Thinking it must be quite a serious question, Suhyeok nodded with a serious face.

Is this the moment I finally enter the ranks of a reliable senior?

Is this the brilliant moment of social skill level-up?

“I’ve developed feelings for Hyejung…”

“…Huh?”

Hyejung?

The only Hyejung that Suhyeok knew was Na Hyejung from the 24th generation.

“W-wait. The Hyejung I know?”

“…Yes.”

Lee Suhyeok. Shocked!

So there was such a backstory to those kids who always seemed busy giggling and playing among themselves.

“S-so?”

Since Suhyeok liked Hana, he thought it was understandable.

Hanging out together, joking around, performing together – wouldn’t it be natural to develop feelings?

Suhyeok himself could think of two people right away.

“You’re like… a master, right?”

“Huh?”

“You got Hana noona, and I heard you also got Juyeon noona…?”

Hearing such words from a junior who wasn’t even in the same year, Suhyeok felt dizzy.

I see…

So that’s how the rumors spread…

He couldn’t think of anything to deny it.

Because from a third-person perspective, it wouldn’t be strange at all to perceive it that way.

“I don’t think that’s quite right… um… so what do you want me to do?”

“Teach me!”

Taeho bowed his head.

“Honestly, if you could get Hana noona, you must be a dick master!”

Just as the cry for mentorship became meaningless.

“What are you guys doing?”

For some reason, Hana, who should have been in class, was leaning against the doorframe with a lollipop in her mouth.