Ch.13013. Our Hands Touched.

Friday evening.

The end of a tiring week.

The last person to enter the club room was President Lee Seo-eun, who had set the direction for today’s social gathering.

“Hi!”

As she opened the door wide with an energetic voice, the other members inside responded with grumbling.

“Noona. What are we doing today?”

“Yeah, unnie. Have you decided what we’re doing?”

Only Suhyeok, who was participating for the first time, and Juyeon, who didn’t have any particular thoughts, remained quiet. Hana and Choigang were grilling Seo-eun as if conducting a hearing.

“Ah. Of course! And today, I even have great news!”

Smiling brightly, Seo-eun held out her phone screen in front of them.

“Hmm?”

The members got up from their seats and rushed over like hyenas.

What was displayed on the screen were two online movie tickets.

“…You want us to watch a movie?”

“Yes! That super popular one these days! Galaxy of Guardians.”

“Oh! I was actually planning to watch that!”

Hana and Seo-eun squealed in that distinctive female tone.

Choigang must have been planning to watch it too, as he hurriedly reached for his phone to cancel his previous reservation.

“Juyeon, have you seen it?”

When Suhyeok casually asked the quiet Juyeon, she nodded slightly.

“My sister’s been dragging me to see them since last year.”

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that since the social club was formed, they had watched most popular movies together.

From Juyeon’s perspective, having movie watching as the club’s activity wasn’t bad at all.

No need to make conversation.

No need to worry about watching a movie alone.

Plus, if you’re lucky, you can taste various popcorn flavors!

“I see.”

In contrast, Suhyeok felt a strange distance from Juyeon’s words.

They’ve been doing this since last year.

The fact that there were so many shared experiences he couldn’t relate to, having transferred in late, was making a corner of his heart feel cold.

“So! We’re going to draw straws now!”

“What straws?”

“Huh? Since only two people can watch for free with these tickets, we need to choose who gets to go with me.”

Seo-eun fiddled with her phone.

Hana, who was sitting on the sofa twirling her hair, suddenly seemed to remember something and asked her a question.

“Unnie.”

“Yes?”

“But if you have two tickets, shouldn’t you just go with Jaejun oppa?”

For someone without a boyfriend, it might be different.

But Hana couldn’t understand why Seo-eun wouldn’t naturally go with her boyfriend when she had two movie tickets.

“He doesn’t want to go~ That guy.”

Seo-eun jeered at the mention of Jaejun’s name.

“I tried so hard~ to get him to come, but he was like ‘I don’t like crowded places’ and blah blah blah.”

“Whatever! I’m going with you guys! I’ll enjoy it twice as much with you all!”

Having finished setting up, Seo-eun asked each member to choose a number.

“I’ll take 1!”

Choigang shouted enthusiastically.

“Then I’ll take 4.”

Hana said without taking her eyes off the phone.

Suhyeok, sitting next to Juyeon, glanced at her.

The moment their eyes met in mid-air.

Suhyeok could immediately read her distress signal.

That expression that seemed to beg him to go first.

“I’ll take 3.”

“Okay! Then Juyeon gets 2! Here we go!”

As she pressed the button, red lines started descending all at once.

And the lucky winner is…!

“Wow! Congratulations, Suhyeok!”

Whether it was beginner’s luck or not.

Suhyeok became the owner of the free ticket.

“Oh! Thank you.”

Pleased with winning, Suhyeok smiled and glanced to the side…

“…3 was supposed to be mine.”

A voice so small it was barely audible.

But with his good hearing, Suhyeok didn’t miss that tiny mumble.

Wait.

So that signal earlier was her wanting to choose first…?

Juyeon’s protruding lip answered his question.

* * *

Suhyeok wasn’t the type to go to theaters often.

The reason was simple.

He was a loner, after all.

One could argue, ‘Even loners can go to theaters alone!’ but Suhyeok didn’t see much reason to sit alone in a crowded place spending over 10,000 won.

Why go through all that trouble when you could just buy it and watch at home once it’s released?

“So. I’ve got the tickets, but…”

Seo-eun stood in front of the members to explain the situation.

“Since it’s Friday night, there aren’t five seats available together. So we’ll have to split up into groups of two and three.”

“How do we decide who sits where?”

“Let’s group by popcorn flavor!”

At the mention of popcorn flavors, the members’ expressions changed simultaneously.

Popcorn is a crucial element of the movie theater experience.

Perhaps the most important point after the movie content itself.

Everyone had their own preferred flavor.

Original. Sweet. Cheese. Onion. And so on.

Hana was the first to speak up.

“I want onion! No compromise!”

“So that’s one vote for onion! What about the rest?”

“I only eat original. The rest have no fucking class.”

Hana frowned at Choigang’s somewhat aggressive statement.

“What are you saying? Onion is much tastier. Original is too bland.”

“Whatever. We’re sitting separately anyway, so what’s the issue?”

“Right, right. And I agree that original is the classic choice~”

Hana was annoyed that Seo-eun, who usually took her side, always stuck with Choigang when it came to popcorn flavors.

“What about Juyeon and Suhyeok?”

“I’ll have original today.”

At Juyeon’s answer, Hana’s gaze fixed on Suhyeok.

She radiated an aura that seemed to say, ‘You’ll eat with me, right?’

As the odd one out, Suhyeok had no choice.

And strangely, he was quite familiar with this kind of situation.

“Um, I’ll have onion.”

The Spirit crew entered the theater with their popcorn and drinks.

Seo-eun’s group was in row J, while Suhyeok and Hana were in row K.

The seats where Suhyeok and Hana sat seemed designed for couples, as the two seats at the end were separated from the center like an island.

“Lee Suhyeok.”

The movie hadn’t started yet.

Hana whispered his name in a small voice.

“Yes?”

Suhyeok also lowered his voice in response.

“Who’s your favorite character?”

Galaxy of Guardians was already a multi-part film series.

Today’s movie was the fourth installment.

“…I haven’t seen the previous ones, so I don’t know?”

Hana, who had been casually putting popcorn in her mouth, tilted her head.

Did I hear that right?

“…Why didn’t you say something?”

“Everyone wanted to see it, so…”

“No! Hey! You won’t understand the story if you haven’t seen the previous ones!”

Her tone conveyed her disbelief even as she whispered.

If he hadn’t seen the previous films, he should have said something!

If he had, they could have watched a different movie, or postponed it to next week…

“Haha. Well… um… I can just watch the previous ones at home later.”

Seeing his awkward smile, Hana felt a lump in her throat, like she’d eaten a sweet potato.

“…Lee Suhyeok.”

“Y-yes…?”

Suhyeok sensed the sudden change in atmosphere.

He began to tense up, wondering what he’d done wrong this time.

“I have Blu-rays of the previous films at home, so you can watch them later.”

“No, no. I’ll buy them myself.”

“Why waste money when I already have them?”

From Hana’s perspective, since they couldn’t cancel the tickets now, this was the best she could offer.

“But I’m watching this one for free anyway?”

At Suhyeok’s whisper, Hana’s face changed to look foolish.

That’s right.

Come to think of it, this guy isn’t even paying.

She briefly thought maybe she shouldn’t care, but that wasn’t right.

It wouldn’t be okay for him to be the only one not fully enjoying something they all came to enjoy together.

“No. You have to watch them all. Though I heard this one can be enjoyed casually even without seeing the previous ones.”

The movie started before she could finish her explanation.

Hana had no choice but to close her mouth.

The vast universe unfolds, and alien life forms fill the screen.

But Suhyeok couldn’t focus on the movie at all.

All because of the popcorn.

No.

More precisely, because of Hana’s fingers.

Every time Suhyeok naturally reached into the popcorn container, Hana’s hand would invade and tickle the back of his hand.

Hana’s face, illuminated by the screen.

Her flawless porcelain-like skin boasted a beauty that naturally drew compliments.

But unlike his racing heart, Hana seemed completely oblivious to their fingers touching, as she stared straight ahead with an engrossed expression.

In the end, only Suhyeok was conscious of it.

Feeling that he wouldn’t be able to watch the movie if he kept being distracted, he decided to adopt the most peaceful solution available to him.

“Ah~ That was good~”

As the ending credits roll and the lights come on.

Stretching widely, Hana felt an unusually complete sense of satisfaction.

It seemed like she had eaten almost all of that large popcorn.

Could it be that Suhyeok had lied even about liking onion popcorn?

“Lee Suhyeok.”

“Yes?”

He turned his head toward Hana as he was cleaning up the trash.

“Don’t you like popcorn?”

After hesitating briefly, he managed to come up with an excuse.

“I ate a big lunch earlier today.”

In truth, Suhyeok had been extremely hungry.