Ch.146146. Nevertheless

“Ta-da~”

After a long time, Jae-jun visited the club room.

His girlfriend, Seo-eun, was holding a thin, wide donut box in her hand.

“My boyfriend bought these for us to eat~”

“Oh, Senior Jae-jun, what’s the special occasion today?”

“Hey, I used to buy you guys stuff all the time when you were freshmen, you know?”

“Wasn’t that just you pretending to be nice to win over Seo-eun?”

“Put that donut down, Yoon Hana.”

As December approached, practice sessions were becoming increasingly intense.

The members were diligently preparing for the winter performance.

“Ju-yeon! Come and eat too!”

Seo-eun called out to Ju-yeon, who was still sitting in the corner with her earphones in.

“Ah, okay.”

Ju-yeon approached the chattering group.

Unable to go near Su-hyeok, she asked Choi-gang to pass her a donut.

“Here you go.”

Choi-gang handed her the donut.

“Thanks.”

Ju-yeon didn’t join the conversation and wanted to continue watching the video she had been viewing alone in the corner.

Amid all this, Su-hyeok kept glancing at Ju-yeon to check on her.

He wanted to invite her to come and sit with everyone, but he wasn’t in a position to do so.

Hana was sticking close to his side, keeping watch.

Such was the fate of couples—even something as simple as offering a donut required careful consideration.

As always, Seo-eun was the one who took the initiative in these situations.

Rather than bringing Ju-yeon over, she sat down next to her and tried to start a conversation.

“Ju-yeon.”

“Yeah?”

“What were you watching?”

“Just a singer performing.”

“A singer? Who?”

Ju-yeon had been watching a Japanese indie artist singing with an acoustic guitar.

“Ah, I know this person!”

“Really? Are they famous?”

“Yeah, anyone who should know would know them.”

The two continued their friendly conversation.

It wasn’t Ju-yeon who was saved by Seo-eun’s kindness, but Su-hyeok.

Having a leader who skillfully took care of the members was truly a blessing.

“So Kang is doing public service, and Su-hyeok, when are you going?”

Jae-jun, chewing on the straw in his iced coffee, asked Su-hyeok again, though he seemed to have asked a similar question before.

“This winter.”

“Right after the semester ends?”

“No, around February…”

“Hahaha, hey, Hana. You must hate to see him go?”

When Jae-jun placed his hand on Su-hyeok’s head, Hana openly jeered at him.

“Are you teasing Su-hyeok because you’ve already completed your military service?”

“Those who’ve served always have the most fun teasing those who haven’t.”

“Seo-eun should have made you wear rubber shoes at least once.”

“Pfft. If you’re jealous, you should have dated someone who’s already served.”

Surely there must have been many men who had completed their military service among those who had approached Hana.

“I don’t want to.”

After confirming that Ju-yeon was deeply engaged in conversation with Seo-eun, Hana quickly leaned against Su-hyeok’s arm.

“I’m going to wait for him no matter what.”

“Oh really?”

“What’s with that reaction?”

“That’s something we’ll have to see.”

How many couples say they’ll wait, only to break up before even two months have passed?

Even those who wait for a year often break up before completing the remaining six months.

“I don’t need to see it to know.”

Hana could boldly declare that she would never let go of Su-hyeok.

“Yeah, yeah. Kang, you’re lucky you don’t have to go. You can keep seeing… Sohye, was it?”

Jae-jun knew the 23rd generation members in detail because he was in the same year as Seo-eun.

He wasn’t as familiar with the members from later years.

“Well, I’m just fortunate.”

“When you use words like that, you sound so Japanese.”

“Mochiron (Of course)!”

As the short break ended, Seo-eun collected all the trash.

“Alright~ Let’s practice now~”

At the president’s words, the members who had set up their instruments exchanged glances.

No matter how much Su-hyeok tried to avoid Ju-yeon, there were moments when the two had to interact.

It was a clear example of how group activities were never easy.

This was especially true during band practice.

When playing instruments or singing, it was natural for their eyes to meet.

Without a stage, it would feel more awkward to practice facing only the wall.

The only time the two could legally make eye contact was during those few seconds when they silently shared the music.

“Can I reach you?”

“Listen to this sound.”

Whenever Ju-yeon sang her self-composed songs, Hana was seized by the desire to go into some booth and play alone.

She kept feeling like she was becoming petty.

She could sense that both Su-hyeok and Ju-yeon understood each other’s circumstances and were being careful.

They hadn’t committed any crime, but at times they were avoiding each other so thoroughly that it seemed excessive.

Nevertheless, every time they performed this song, a vague anxiety about Su-hyeok would rise within her…

To be in this state even after receiving so much affection from her boyfriend.

This was all Su-hyeok’s fault.

It happened because Su-hyeok treated her too well.

The so-called “love goggles” were firmly in place over Hana’s eyes.

His upcoming enlistment was serving as the fuse for their love.

“Wow, that solo is delicious.”

Jae-jun, who had been listening to the performance from behind, applauded.

“Did you compose this, Su-hyeok?”

“No, Hana made it.”

“This kid?”

“Come on, Senior Jae-jun. Could you stop dismissing me?”

Despite being about to graduate from the main year, the truth was that everyone still looked like youngsters to Jae-jun.

“Alright then, let’s do an OB performance together later, Hana.”

“I don’t want to. What about Su-hyeok if you play guitar?”

“We’ll send that guy to the military.”

“Ah, I really hate that.”

Hana’s response showed her disgust.

Ju-yeon, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly thought about her own future after the performance.

Would she be able to come back here even after graduating?

After all, it was a club room she had grown attached to.

A place with many good memories, many painful memories.

A space filled with precious memories of Su-hyeok.

But now, if the excuse of practice disappeared, then this place too…

Even though she had decided not to have negative thoughts when they were all together, it was still hard to control.

Ah, I should get up soon.

“Hey, unnie. Practice is over, right?”

Ju-yeon, turning her back on the other members who were bickering, asked Seo-eun.

“Yes, we’re done for today!”

“Then can I leave first?”

“Of course~”

Seo-eun no longer tried to hold back members after practice to eat or hang out.

It was an inevitable progression.

The path they had chosen.

Ju-yeon thought about saying goodbye to the members, but seeing they were deep in conversation, she quietly slipped out of the club room.

There was no point in making a scene.

All she would get in return were pitying looks.

Facing those sympathetic eyes was more painful than she could imagine.

Outside, after taking the elevator and walking through the corridor.

It seemed that winter was slowly approaching.

I should wear a scarf…

Ju-yeon adjusted her bag strap once more and trudged toward the main gate.

Passing the three-way intersection that separated Su-hyeok’s house from hers, she arrived at her home.

No more visitors came to her house.

Since Su-hyeok had been her only visitor, his absence meant no visitors at all.

Soon, he would leave for the military and wouldn’t even be her neighbor anymore.

I really don’t like that.

Though he was already a lost connection, it was painful to see another link that tied them together crumble.

Maybe I should move too.

But even if I move, I’d still be right next to the school.

Just as she was calming herself down, telling herself not to waste money on something pointless…

-Bzzzz

Her phone vibrated.

The message was from an unfamiliar group chat.

[Su-hyeok’s Birthday Preparation Group!!!]

That’s right…

Su-hyeok’s birthday is in December…

She remembered their conversation about birthdays.

Ju-yeon’s was on August 31st, the day before the semester started.

Su-hyeok’s was on December 26th, the day after Christmas.

They had engaged in a meaningless competition about who had the more depressing birthday.

Ju-yeon scrolled up through the group chat, reminiscing.

[Since the performance is on the 23rd, I was thinking we could do it all at once during the after-party.]

[Yeah, that sounds good to me too]

Ju-yeon couldn’t reply.

There was someone else who had the final say.

[Okay, let’s do it then. It won’t be easy to gather everyone again at the end of the year anyway.]

After Hana replied, Ju-yeon finally moved her fingers.

[I think that’s good too.]

I want to go back to that birthday.

The day Su-hyeok accepted her.

The first time she kissed a boy she liked.

It was really nice back then.

It was truly an unforgettable birthday.

In Ju-yeon’s house, the effects pedal he had given her as a gift was still in its box.

She hadn’t even stepped on it hard once, fearing it would reduce its lifespan.

“I want to… give him a present…”

But she didn’t want to make things difficult for him.

“But if I just ask permission…”

Buried deep in her chat history was her private conversation with Hana.

Biting her nails, Ju-yeon mustered the courage to ask.

[Hey, Hana.]