Ch.140140. Trying Hard

In front of Juyeon’s home.

Since it was late, Suhyeok escorted her to the building entrance.

He couldn’t go any further.

Even coming this far was something he shouldn’t have done.

“…Thank you.”

Juyeon couldn’t meet Suhyeok’s eyes.

She didn’t want to show him her tear-stained face.

“Yeah.”

No “sleep well.”

No “see you later.”

It seemed like they always exchanged similar greetings when parting.

Having made his choice, Suhyeok found himself with fewer and fewer things he could say to Juyeon.

“Don’t worry, Suhyeok.”

Juyeon’s lips formed a faint arc.

“The performance… I’ll do it properly…”

She offered words of reassurance to Suhyeok, whose face was clouded with concern.

“Take care, Suhyeok.”

Beyond the glass door,

Juyeon disappeared into the darkness.

Suhyeok stood there staring at the empty space she left behind before returning to the park.

Hana might still be awake.

If she saw any traces of his tears, she would certainly question him.

He sat on the bench and looked up at the sky.

The numbness weighing heavily on Suhyeok showed no signs of disappearing.

There was nothing he could do.

Only the responsibility for his choice remained.

He didn’t regret it.

Even if he could turn back time, Suhyeok would make the same choice.

…Because in the end, his heart had pointed toward Hana.

After sitting in a daze for about 30 minutes, he returned home and entered the door code as quietly as possible.

He didn’t want to wake Hana.

She didn’t stir when he entered.

It seemed she was still asleep.

Suhyeok had just taken off his clothes and was about to lie back down on the bed.

“…Where did you go?”

Hana’s eyes were fixed on the back of her boyfriend who had disappeared.

“Huh…? You weren’t asleep?”

“…I woke up.”

Suhyeok turned his body toward Hana.

Pure white nakedness.

Hana was still without a stitch of clothing.

“I just went outside for some fresh air.”

“…Really?”

Her eyes were half-closed.

She didn’t seem to have any intention of scolding Suhyeok.

“…Hold me.”

Hana opened her arms.

Suhyeok naturally embraced her tightly.

“…That’s strange.”

“Hmm?”

“This… doesn’t smell like you.”

Hana had embraced Suhyeok countless times.

She could easily distinguish his scent.

“Ah. I think I sweated a bit. Sorry. I’ll go wash up.”

“Is that so…? Is this sweat?”

Hana buried her face even closer to Suhyeok’s chest and sniffed.

“Hmm… since when does sweat smell so fragrant? Is this the power of love?”

“I’ll go wash up, Hana.”

Suhyeok, whose mouth was becoming dry, got up from the bed.

Soon, the sound of water came from inside the bathroom.

Eyes sparkling with intelligence.

Hana sat up and glared at the bathroom where he had fled.

“…Liar.”

Hana was fully aware.

* * *

Practice resumed.

“Hey! Lee Suhyeok!”

Choi Gang slapped Suhyeok’s back repeatedly.

“Are you healthy? Not sick anymore?”

“Hahaha… Of course. I’m all better now.”

“Seriously, what kind of man stays in bed for a whole week?”

Guilt filled him completely.

He could never admit that he had missed practice because of kiss marks.

“Sigh… I’m glad you’re better, but we’re in big trouble. What should we do…”

Looking at her phone, Seo-eun frowned at the backed-up schedule.

The fact that midterms had passed meant that about half of their practice period was gone, but their progress seemed to be less than 40 percent, let alone 50 percent.

“Looks like we’ll have to cram, right?”

“…Sorry.”

“Ah~ But getting sick was something you couldn’t help.”

No matter how much the schedule was disrupted, Seo-eun had no intention of scolding someone who had been ill.

-Creeeeak

The club room door opened.

In walked Hana, wearing a pink sweatshirt and a ball cap.

Her tight navy jeans perfectly showcased her superior figure.

“Oh! Hi, Hana~”

Seo-eun greeted Hana warmly, not having seen her for a while.

“Hi, unnie.”

Hana brushed past Seo-eun and approached Suhyeok.

“Lee Suhyeok.”

“Yeah?”

They had agreed to use formal names in front of the other members, despite having pet names for each other.

“Say ‘ah.'”

“Suddenly?”

“Hurry! Open your mouth~”

Suhyeok opened his mouth as instructed.

Hana popped a candy into her boyfriend’s mouth.

Suhyeok’s eyes widened at the unexpected treat.

Hana tousled his hair as if finding his reaction cute.

“Tasty, right?”

“Yeah.”

The pink atmosphere between them was overflowing, impossible to hide.

Seo-eun could immediately sense that there had been a seismic shift in their relationship.

The intensity was so strong that even Choi Gang, who was usually insensitive to others, could feel it.

“Hey, if you two are going to be like that, why don’t you just date?”

Choi Gang, who knew the rough outline of the tightrope story between Juyeon and Hana, shook his head as if it were pathetic.

“We are dating.”

Hana didn’t deny it.

In fact, she thought this was a good opportunity.

Since Juyeon already knew,

explanations were only needed for Choi Gang and Seo-eun.

“What?”

“I’m dating Lee Suhyeok.”

Hana demonstratively kissed Suhyeok on the cheek.

-Smooch

“What? Seeing a couple for the first time?”

“What the hell? You’re really dating?”

Even Choi Gang couldn’t hide his surprise when such an answer came from his casual remark.

“Hey, it’s less shocking than you dating Sohye, isn’t it?”

Hana wrapped her arms around Suhyeok’s neck as she sat, sneering at Choi Gang.

“What’s wrong with me!”

“Honestly, dating a baldy like you isn’t exactly normal.”

While Hana was bickering with Choi Gang, Seo-eun’s face darkened considerably.

She was worried about Juyeon, who hadn’t arrived at the club room yet.

Even though she had asked them to hold off on dating…

Seo-eun pressed the bridge of her nose firmly with her thumb and index finger, as if she had a headache.

So it ended up like this after all.

I wonder if Juyeon knows?

Seo-eun didn’t think they would act like this without talking to Juyeon first.

-Creeeeak

The door opened once more.

The final member of the 23rd generation.

Juyeon appeared.

“…Hello.”

As if nothing had happened.

She put down her bag and sat on the sofa, seemingly accustomed to seeing Suhyeok and Hana so close together.

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Before the air could get any stranger, Seo-eun immediately cut in with talk about practice.

“Alright, since our schedule is tight, let’s get right into the explanation, shall we?”

Seo-eun quickly drew a timetable on the whiteboard.

“So we need to go through these three songs at least once by next week. No matter what. No exceptions.”

“If we can’t complete this much, we’ll have to discuss reducing the number of songs. There’s no choice.”

“Everyone practiced today’s song, right?”

All the members nodded in unison.

Suhyeok, in particular, seemed to have practiced even harder out of guilt.

“How’s the original song coming along? Any progress?”

Seo-eun looked back and forth between Juyeon and Suhyeok.

There couldn’t have been any progress.

The two hadn’t been in contact privately.

“I’ll talk with Hana about it starting today.”

Juyeon slowly closed her eyes.

It was unusual for her to change her mind, as she had always insisted on working with Suhyeok.

“…I’ll help as much as I can.”

Hana also didn’t elaborate further.

She knew it was out of consideration for each other.

“I’d like it to be completed within next week.”

“Yeah. I’ll try.”

“Okay. Then let’s start the ensemble practice.”

Everyone shouldered their instruments and aligned their gazes.

-Clap clap clap clap

The ensemble began with Choi Gang’s signal.

Since they were behind schedule, the feedback was conducted even more strictly.

“Seo-eun unnie, are you having trouble?”

“Uh… why?”

“Your rhythm seems to be lagging a bit. It feels like you can’t keep up with the tempo toward the end?”

“Should I try using a pick?”

“If that’s more comfortable for you, give it a try.”

It seemed that Suhyeok had prepared the most diligently among the session musicians.

“Okay. Then let’s start a new song on Wednesday.”

The first hour passed tightly with practice, without any idle chatter.

“Okay, I’m heading out!”

“Yeah. Good work.”

“Anyone want to have dinner toge…”

Seo-eun trailed off.

It was something she always said after practice, but now it was something she shouldn’t say.

“Ah, sorry. We’re busy.”

Hana grabbed Suhyeok’s wrist.

“Looks like we can’t today.”

“I see. You can go.”

“What about you, Juyeon?”

Seo-eun turned her head toward Juyeon.

“I’ll eat with you, unnie.”

“Sure. Should we get something delicious? I recently got some allowance.”

Seo-eun’s role as the president was to somehow protect Juyeon.

“…Yeah. Let’s eat.”

Juyeon smiled, though it was impossible to tell if it was genuine.

“Let’s go, Lee Suhyeok.”

Hana grabbed the doorknob, having packed her bag.

“Ah. Yeah.”

Suhyeok followed Hana.

Choi Gang followed behind them, leaving only Seo-eun and Juyeon in the club room.

“…Juyeon.”

Seo-eun was anxious.

She couldn’t fathom what was going on in Juyeon’s mind.

She seemed to already know.

But watching her act as if nothing had happened made Seo-eun feel increasingly uneasy.

“Yes, unnie.”

“…Are you okay?”

The question encompassed multiple meanings.

Juyeon understood the context well.

“…I’m trying.”

That was the best answer she could give.