Ch.15015. The Story Only I Don’t Know

The first song that Spirit’s 23rd generation decided to perform with a single pick.

Standing Luxury.

Standing Luxury was by no means a famous song.

In terms of popularity, it was rock bottom of the bottom.

If they were to perform it, there was a high probability that no one in the audience would know the song.

But conversely, this could be considered a song filled with Hana’s personal taste.

A song where the session musicians truly shine.

It wasn’t simply a song meant to highlight the vocalist, but one that empowered the instruments themselves.

It wasn’t too easy, nor was it absurdly difficult for ordinary college students to play.

Just the right level for passionate amateurs to tackle.

Still, it was good enough to make even first-time listeners think it was impressive.

While it was great that the members liked Standing Luxury and adopted it, Hana found herself with a new worry.

A concern that the other session musicians would never understand.

And that was…

“…Should I give the solo to Lee Suhyeok?”

Hana rested her chin on her palm as she checked the live performance video again.

The more she watched, the more tempting and cool the solo seemed.

It looked like something that could make for a flashy stage performance, and copying it would definitely improve her skills.

She was tempted, but to just unilaterally tell Suhyeok…

“If you want to do it, of course you should do it…!”

Given his personality, it was obvious he’d say something like that.

He’d probably give her all the solos for the entire semester if she asked.

It would be better if he had some ambition so they could negotiate back and forth.

Instead, Hana was troubled precisely because of his overly generous personality.

Her worries didn’t end there.

Hana’s gaze fixed on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” DVD tucked away in the corner of her bookshelf.

“Ah. I promised to show him that too…”

Why did everything require so much effort?

The funny thing was that it wasn’t because he did something wrong or was incapable.

If that were the case, she could just get annoyed or angry, but this…

Even as she fidgeted with her ear in frustration, no clean solution appeared.

Ugh… she couldn’t just pretend she never offered to show it to him.

Remembering Suhyeok’s bright smile when he agreed to make time, Hana swept her hair back.

“Let’s just go to school.”

She was under the delusion that talking things through at school would somehow sort everything out.

* * *

A youth with many worries is never alone.

But Suhyeok’s concerns were quite different from Hana’s.

The problem was the endless stream of messages he kept receiving.

[Suhyeok hyung, want to play ranked games today too?]

[We’re thinking of grinding on Wednesday dawn, what do you think?]

[Guys, Suhyeok oppa is seriously so good at gaming.]

The result of him running around like a slave for his teammates.

Suhyeok had completely shattered the likability ceiling with the Spirit gaming crew members.

Suhyeok’s character, who moved promptly according to their calls.

Moreover, with his excellent physical skills, he was seen as a godsend who could even secure impossible kills in their eyes.

Naturally, having a high tier in the game made him their superior.

Suddenly becoming a king who was treated like a slave, Suhyeok looked at his phone screen with a gloomy expression.

“Ah… I should never have done this…”

While it was nice to get closer to them, Suhyeok hadn’t joined the band to play games.

He joined because he wanted to play guitar, not to jungle in the game.

Besides, if asked whether the game was enjoyable, it wasn’t really.

Especially Sohye’s skill shots as support were pure terror.

Witnessing firsthand someone who wasn’t even Bronze but Iron for the first time, Suhyeok couldn’t help but be shocked.

With skills worse than the AI in the tutorial, he gave up trying to understand and just played as if she didn’t exist.

Monday was the day for regular practice.

With his guitar on his back, Suhyeok also grabbed his headset before leaving home.

Of course, the song he had playing was Standing Luxury.

Suhyeok really wanted to finish this song in style.

Expecting everyone to do better than last week, he opened the club room door, but…

“Juyeon.”

“S-stop it…”

“Come on~ Hurry. Hurry and do it~”

“Unnie. Why are you doing this… seriously…”

“Why, you ask… Well… because our Juyeon is…”

About to greet them cheerfully, Suhyeok quietly closed the door upon witnessing the rather embarrassing scene.

Juyeon sitting on Seo-eun’s lap.

Positioned like a mother with a child on her knee, Seo-eun was holding a microphone near Juyeon’s mouth.

“Just give up and sing~ Park Juyeon~”

“Ahh… stop it…”

It seemed she was forcing Juyeon to sing, but Juyeon didn’t seem very willing.

Seo-eun, apparently wanting to tease her for refusing, reached for her chest.

“Unnie!”

Startled, Juyeon jumped up from her lap.

Juyeon’s cheeks were bright red.

Suhyeok, who had witnessed this awkward scene live, was seriously considering making a run for it.

Only after standing up did Juyeon notice Suhyeok had entered.

Her dark brown pupils dilated.

“Uh… ah… uh… ah…”

Juyeon, at a loss for words, made incomprehensible sounds.

And Suhyeok wasn’t much different.

“Ah. Hello?”

“Oh? Suhyeok’s here~”

Seo-eun, who had just played the prank, smiled broadly at him as if nothing had happened.

“Ah. Yeah.”

Juyeon’s hands crossed to cover her chest.

Strangely, it was Suhyeok, who had entered late, who felt guilty about her gesture.

At a loss for words, he sat down on a chair in a very demure posture without saying anything.

Ah. I want to go home.

Why do I always face such trials?

-Thud

As the door opened behind him, Hana, the last member to arrive, entered.

“What’s this? Is today special? I’m the last one?”

If only Suhyeok had been alone, she might have had a chance to talk to him.

Feeling disappointed, Hana examined Suhyeok’s face and tapped his petrified shoulder.

“Hey. Lee Suhyeok.”

“Hello.”

A soulless response.

Noticing he was clearly different from usual, Hana tilted her head toward Seo-eun.

“He’s been like this since he saw me touching Juyeon’s chest.”

“Ugh. Unnie, you really need to stop doing that.”

Hana, who had been victimized by Seo-eun several times before, narrowed her eyes.

It might be fine when it’s just girls, but not when guys are around.

“But Juyeon won’t sing for me.”

Juyeon, who was petite, had curled up and was now crouching hidden among the drums in the corner.

“Juyeon. Let’s get up.”

Hana pulled Juyeon out as if lifting a stuffed toy.

Juyeon collapsed into Hana’s arms.

Choi Gang, who seemed indifferent to what they were doing, had wireless earbuds in, but soon looked around as if he’d finished watching something.

“Oh! Isn’t that our jungler!”

Only when his heavy hand landed on Suhyeok’s shoulder did Suhyeok return to reality.

“Ugh!”

The sensation was similar to when his grandfather would grip his hand tightly for a handshake when he was young.

Suhyeok looked up at the owner of the voice.

“We’re playing ranked games today too, right?”

For a very brief moment, Suhyeok was caught in the illusion that Choi Gang might actually be a demon risen from hell.

“…I guess so.”

“Hey~ everyone~ let’s start now~ let’s finish quickly!”

At Seo-eun’s signal, everyone began taking out their instruments and moving to their positions.

Time to turn on the amps and warm up a bit.

Suhyeok briefly played his signature piece.

Though he had practiced Standing Luxury a lot, it still couldn’t match the comfort he felt with this piece.

It felt like returning to a spiritual home.

On the other hand, watching Suhyeok warm up, Hana found herself growing even more troubled.

Should I really be taking the solo when his fingers move so well?

While she might not know other techniques, she had no confidence in matching Suhyeok’s speed playing.

“Everyone ready?”

At Seo-eun’s signal, the ensemble began.

Today’s goal was to try up to the second verse.

For most songs, once you’ve mastered the first verse with some degree of completeness, getting to the second verse is usually quick.

Standing Luxury was no exception.

Once the first verse was roughly sorted out, moving on to the second verse didn’t seem too challenging.

The ensemble was definitely better than last week.

Even Hana, the ensemble leader, thought today’s practice wasn’t bad.

After playing the same song for an hour straight, the 23rd generation members were ready to wrap up.

Finally, Seo-eun wanted to announce the big event for this week before ending.

“Everyone~ You know about the joint MT for first and second years this weekend, right?”

A question mark appeared above Suhyeok’s head.

He had heard about an MT, but he didn’t know it was this weekend.

“Don’t be too harsh when watching the juniors’ ensemble, okay? Let’s just keep it friendly and focus on getting to know each other!”

While everyone nodded and started packing up, Suhyeok stared blankly at Seo-eun like an idiot.

Finally noticing Suhyeok, Seo-eun quickly retraced her memory and asked with a hint of concern:

“Did I not tell Suhyeok about this?”

The MT schedule had been announced before Suhyeok joined, a fact that all the members had forgotten.