Ch.129129. Someone Else’s Story

Taeho’s face turned deathly pale.

His quick-witted brain began to spin rapidly.

What’s going on?

How much did she hear?

Oh no… this is completely…

“H-Hana noona. Hello.”

“Not so hello for me.”

Suhyuk was equally flustered.

Of course, they hadn’t been gossiping or saying anything bad about Hana, but the fact that she had overheard their conversation didn’t look good at all.

“Hana. Don’t you have class?”

“The professor had something to do and left early.”

Hana plopped down on the sofa.

“Sweet deal, right?”

“…I see.”

Silence fell.

Taeho was racking his brain to casually change the topic, but—

“Suhyuk hyung, if you’re thinking about going skiing, I recommend—”

“So. Why were you talking about Lee Suhyuk seducing me?”

Fortunately, Hana hadn’t heard the full conversation.

She’d only caught Taeho’s last words.

“Ah… well…”

Suhyuk looked at Taeho with an awkward expression.

His face clearly said, ‘Hurry up and fix this,’ leaving Taeho in a dilemma.

Be honest.

Or deny everything.

Taeho chose the former.

“Ah, well… I’ve been wanting to get some dating advice lately.”

Hana’s previously indifferent expression brightened.

Dating advice.

Though her own love life was as barren as scattered ashes, stories about other people’s romances were always entertaining.

“Oh… you?”

“Yes.”

“But why are you talking to Suhyuk about it?”

By all accounts, Suhyuk didn’t seem like a good candidate for relationship advice.

What kind of counsel could one get from that clueless guy?

“Suhyuk hyung is pretty deep and thoughtful, you know. Ahaha.”

Unable to mention that Suhyuk was rumored to have charmed all the senior female students with his incredible flirting skills, Taeho successfully packaged him in a more flattering light.

“Hmm… Suhyuk does have that side to him…”

That was one of the reasons Hana liked Suhyuk.

Not being too frivolous.

Listening seriously to what others had to say.

“So you asked him because Suhyuk is a master at seducing me?”

Hana didn’t deny the phrase.

She had already been showing her feelings so openly that it would have been strange if the others didn’t know.

“Ah… yes…”

“Hey. Let noona help you. Tell me everything.”

With a pose like some kind of sage, Hana took off her shoes, sat cross-legged, and grinned.

“First of all, who’s the person?”

Taeho had to consider whether this needed to be disclosed.

Everyone has a certain level of closeness with others.

Suhyuk was definitely closer to him than to Hyejung.

Which meant he could be classified as an “ally.”

But with Hana, it was a different story.

Whatever Taeho said here had a high probability of being leaked to Hyejung.

After all, Hana seemed to be closer to Hyejung, being of the same gender.

“Hey, come on. Tell me quickly. I need to know to help you.”

“Just a female friend around me. Haha.”

“Oh. From college?”

“Yes.”

That seemed like enough information about the relationship.

“What’s the current situation?”

“Well… we spend quite a bit of time together, and we get along well during group activities?”

“Ohhh.”

“But I don’t know how to take it beyond that.”

Whenever Taeho tried to get closer, Hyejung would subtly draw a line.

When he tried to suggest doing something just the two of them, she would say things like, “Should we invite Sohye too?” always trying to add more people.

But it wasn’t like she didn’t respond to his personal messages either.

If she really disliked him, she would have shown it clearly by now.

Hyejung’s ambiguous attitude was making it hard for Taeho to breathe.

“Hmm… I see…”

After hearing the situation, Hana stroked her chin.

“How does it look to you?”

“Well, at least the possibility isn’t zero.”

“Really…?”

Taeho’s face brightened.

“Yeah. If she really disliked you, she’d give short answers or not leave any room for further conversation.”

Hana was an expert at warding off men she didn’t like.

She specialized in read receipts without replies and half-hearted responses, so she thought this situation showed quite a bit of promise.

“Oh. That’s a relief.”

“The best approach is to earn points by doing something together out of necessity.”

Sitting next to Taeho and blankly listening to the consultation, Suhyuk’s face suddenly felt hot.

Whether Hana realized it or not, that advice was based on the experiences of both Hana and Suhyuk.

“Forcefully asking her to watch a movie or go to an exhibition seems a bit amateur, you know.”

“Try approaching with the attitude of ‘I’m not trying to seduce you.’ In cases like this.”

“And if she agrees, look for ways to score points within the given time.”

Taeho glanced at Suhyuk.

“Like Suhyuk hyung?”

“That’s right. Like Suhyuk— Hey!”

Hana, who had fallen for the natural fishing attempt, frowned.

“So hyung really is a master after all.”

“Hey, what master? That blockhead.”

“But I’m curious about something.”

“What?”

“Are you two… not dating?”

As someone from a different year, the dynamic looked quite strange to Taeho.

Hana, who didn’t hide her feelings.

Suhyuk, who didn’t seem indifferent to Hana either.

Yet the two hadn’t announced any relationship.

But then what about Juyeon noona?

What was going on?

“No. He said he doesn’t like me.”

“What? Suhyuk hyung rejected you?”

Taeho’s mouth fell open.

Of all people, to reject Hana noona.

“Ah, no? I didn’t reject her.”

“What are you saying? If someone says they like you and you don’t accept, that’s rejection.”

Hana snorted and looked at him incredulously.

It would take forever to explain why he couldn’t accept her feelings.

But looking at just the result, what she said wasn’t wrong.

Suhyuk had become the senseless guy who rejected Hana, whom he had been secretly in love with.

“Wow… hyung. So I guess the guitar environment really helps create that kind of atmosphere, huh?”

“Uh… yeah? Hana and I got closer while practicing, after all.”

“But I’m kind of—”

Taeho was about to speak without filtering but closed his mouth when he saw Hana.

“Hmm~”

Hana felt her intuition sharpen.

“Taeho.”

“Yes?”

“Do you like someone in the 24th batch? Don’t tell me it’s Hyejung? Since you specifically mentioned guitar, it seems suspicious.”

Being quick-witted and controlling embarrassment were different domains.

“No way! It’s not Hyejung, noona.”

“Oh really? You should go look in a mirror, Taeho.”

Hana laughed loudly, slapping the sofa.

“Wow. This is amazing.”

“Ah, please don’t tell Hyejung or any of the others. Really, I can’t—”

“Okay, okay. What do you take me for?”

Despite her answer, Taeho remained anxious.

The cartel among female members was stronger than one might think.

“Hey, Suhyuk.”

“Huh?”

“You say something too.”

Hana looked at Suhyuk with amusement.

“You’re the master, after all.”

Taeho’s gaze also turned to Suhyuk.

“Um… well… I think being good at guitar really helps.”

The narrative between him and Hana had started with playing the guitar.

Because Suhyuk practiced guitar diligently, he was able to join Spirit and gain Hana’s recognition.

Despite his shortcomings, he had time to learn from her, and during that process, they were able to fill in more of their story.

“I came for dating advice, and the conclusion is to practice guitar hard?”

Taeho smiled wryly.

“No, it really helps! I’m not just saying that.”

“Hey! Being good at guitar is super cool! Why are you disrespecting Suhyuk!”

Rising from the sofa, Hana went behind Suhyuk and grabbed his shoulders with both hands as if defending him.

“I’m not! I’ll work hard!”

“You better not mess up on our inspection day.”

“Come on, noona. We’re experienced now, so we can play decently.”

Having performed once, the 24th batch had indeed developed some self-correcting abilities.

“Alright. I’ll look forward to it.”

“Ah, I have another class now, so I should go. Thank you.”

They hadn’t intended to chat for so long, but the three had been talking for over 30 minutes.

“Okay, take care~”

“Yes!”

As Taeho left the room, only Suhyuk and Hana remained.

“Phew…”

Sighing, Hana slowly leaned forward.

Her hands, which had been holding his shoulders, flowed down Suhyuk’s chest and wrapped around his neck.

“They’re cute. Those kids.”

In a position that looked like she was hugging him from behind, Hana pressed her cheek against Suhyuk’s face.

“What if they start dating before us?”

“…That could happen, I guess?”

“I’d be jealous.”

Faced with Hana’s animal-like gestures, Suhyuk could hardly move his face.

“I want the performance to be over quickly.”

“Ahaha…”

The winter break before Suhyuk went to the military.

Hana was planning to dedicate her entire break to Suhyuk.

Just as she was thinking about turning her head slightly to kiss Suhyuk’s cheek while no one was around—

“This isn’t a motel.”

The door opened with a creak.

Jaejun, wearing slippers and a thin cardigan, chided the two with half-closed eyes.

“If you two keep doing that, other kids will feel awkward and leave, you idiots.”

“Oppa, have you forgotten when you were caught rolling around on the sofa with unnie? Whatever~”

Hana completely ignored Jaejun’s words.