Ch.151151. How Long Will You.

“Come on, let’s keep up the energy!”

After an hour and a half of band practice, everyone looked like they desperately wanted a break.

“Aaaargh! I’m going to have a nervous breakdown!!!”

Choi Gang slammed his drumsticks down hard.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand his frustration. We must have practiced the same 10-second section at least 30 times.

“Hey. Quiet down. Let’s at least have some peace during our break.”

Hana, sprawled face-down on the sofa, shot Choi Gang a look of annoyance.

“Juyeon, is your voice okay? Let me know if it’s getting strained. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Seo Eun gently placed her hand on Juyeon’s shoulder as she sat on a backless chair.

“Yeah. I’m still fine.”

Playing instruments was certainly physically demanding, but singing put even more strain on the voice as time went on.

That’s why vocalists needed to carefully manage their condition right before a performance.

No matter how well everyone played their instruments, if the vocalist couldn’t perform at their best, the whole band performance would suffer.

“Hana.”

“Hmm?”

Suhyeok, who had been sitting in a chair at the desk, called her name.

“You said you’re meeting a friend after this, right?”

“Ah. Yeah.”

“Who did you say you were meeting?”

“Me? Minji.”

“Minji… who was that again…”

“Oh, you know. My high school classmate.”

Unlike Suhyeok, who was a loner, Hana kept in touch with many friends.

The fortunate thing was that none of them were guys, at least.

What Suhyeok found strange was that Hana preferred to communicate through DMs rather than regular messaging apps.

Why use DMs instead of chat apps…

Suhyeok, who had an account but rarely posted anything, still couldn’t figure out the answer to that question.

“Will you be out long?”

“No? Just… having coffee and probably heading home around dinner time?”

“I see. Got it.”

Juyeon, who had been listening to their conversation from across the room, had an odd expression on her face.

Today was supposed to be the day she and Hana would go to the music store to pick out a gift.

Hana.

So you’re lying about where you’re going.

Well… this needs to be kept secret after all.

A surprise, by definition, had to be done discreetly to be successful.

Watching the daily life of the couple from the sidelines, Juyeon couldn’t help but let her imagination wander.

What would I have done in that situation?

If Suhyeok had asked me to secretly prepare a gift…

She didn’t think she could have casually mentioned meeting a classmate like Hana did.

Juyeon didn’t have that many friends.

Maybe she would have said she had something she wanted to do alone?

But if Suhyeok had pressed for details, she probably would have given in and told him…

“So who’s available for lunch?”

Suhyeok asked the rest of the members, which was rare for him.

Of course, being alone with Juyeon would be problematic, but if everyone went together, it wouldn’t be an issue.

“I’m in.”

Choi Gang, who had been looking at his phone, gave the okay sign.

“What about you two, noona and Juyeon?”

“I… I have something to do.”

Juyeon felt disappointed.

Ah. Should I tell Hana I can’t go?

But saying that and then going to eat with Suhyeok would be too transparent.

Although going along to help pick out Suhyeok’s gift wouldn’t be welcomed either, she thought this was the more reasonable option.

“I’m meeting Jaejun oppa today~ Sorry~”

In the end, only Suhyeok and Choi Gang would be having lunch together.

After practice ended, the 23rd generation dispersed according to their individual schedules.

“Hey, Lee Suhyeok.”

“Yeah?”

“How about hitting the PC bang after lunch? It’s been a while.”

“Ah. Not a bad idea.”

“Should we call the first-years too?”

With his military service approaching, Suhyeok found himself increasingly wanting to spend time with his friends.

The actual content of the games didn’t really matter.

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

“Great! Let’s go right now! I’ll carry you.”

After lunch, Suhyeok went to the PC bang and put on his headset for voice chat, mulling over the conversation he’d had with his girlfriend about an hour earlier.

Minji…

I don’t think it was Minji back then…

“Hey. Pick your character. What are you doing?”

“Ah. Right.”

Suhyeok decided he would ask her about it when he got back.

* * *

2 PM, the appointed time.

The sun was still high in the sky, but a cold wind was stinging Hana’s cheeks.

“Ugh. It’s cold.”

Why did the weather always turn out like this whenever she planned to go out?

Hana felt her nose tingling from the cold.

“Hana!”

In the distance, Juyeon approached wearing a coat.

“What’s with that? You should have worn something warmer in this cold.”

Hana was bundled up in a padded jacket.

“Ah. I’m fine.”

“Why are you trying to look stylish when it’s just the two of us?”

“I just wore what was hanging on the rack.”

What did she mean by wearing clothes because they were hanging on the rack?

Then again, her boyfriend’s thought process was similar, so it didn’t seem that strange to her.

After boarding the bus, Juyeon and Hana sat side by side in a two-seater.

Juyeon, who sat by the window, suddenly recalled the day she had taken the same route with Suhyeok.

It was the day he had asked her to go look at guitars with him.

“Hey.”

Her reminiscing was cut short.

Hana removed her wireless earbuds and spoke to her.

“Yeah?”

“Do you still play guitar these days?”

That was a painful question.

“No… these days… I just…”

The same old story.

Having lost her teacher, Juyeon couldn’t progress any further.

“Here. This is a channel I used to watch and learn from.”

Hana showed her YouTube screen on her phone.

“There’s nothing better than this. I’ve looked at a lot of different ones.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. I also taught myself at first, rather than learning from someone.”

She didn’t offer to become Juyeon’s teacher, nor did she suggest that Suhyeok could teach her.

This was clearly an attempt to draw a line.

“I’ll check it out. Thanks.”

“Have you found any good strings for your Strat?”

“I was planning to look today.”

“That makes sense. It’s always better to feel them in person before buying.”

That was the extent of their conversation.

Juyeon couldn’t bring herself to initiate further talk.

Hana glanced at her briefly before plugging her ears with earbuds again.

They only started talking again after getting off the bus.

“It’s been a while.”

“Yeah.”

“Have you been here before?”

“Ah. I…”

Juyeon’s expression became complicated.

Recognizing what that meant, Hana waved her hand dismissively, indicating no further explanation was needed.

As they entered the store, the usual solicitation began.

“Looking for anything specific?”

“Just browsing.”

“Feel free to look around.”

Accessories didn’t typically require specific stores.

Since they didn’t have a particular brand in mind, Juyeon and Hana headed toward an area where various straps were displayed.

“Hello. I’d like to look at these straps.”

“Ah. Yes, yes. Take your time.”

The two young women fingered through various leather straps.

“…See anything you like?”

Hana, who had already picked her favorite, glanced sideways.

“Yeah.”

“What is it?”

“This one.”

Juyeon had chosen a deep burgundy leather strap.

It was exactly the same one Hana had picked.

“Oh. I was thinking that one looked good too.”

“I think it’ll match Suhyeok’s guitar well.”

It would suit Suhyeok himself, but a guitar strap also needed to complement the color of the guitar.

“You’re observant. How much is it?”

Hana checked the price tag at the end.

68,000 won.

Slightly over budget.

But since she wanted to get something nice for him, Hana handed over her card without hesitation.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Yes. I’ll take your card.”

The gift shopping ended surprisingly quickly and easily.

Juyeon took out a 10,000 won bill from her pocket and held it out to Hana.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

“That… it’s more expensive than the budget we had planned.”

“No, no. It’s fine.”

“Still…”

“No, really. I’m his girlfriend, it’s just an extra 20,000 won or so.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Juyeon’s hand weakly returned to where it had been.

“Ah. Um.”

Ugh…! I hate this atmosphere!

Hana rubbed her face with one hand.

“You can buy the coffee then.”

“Coffee?”

“Yeah. I’m thirsty anyway. Let’s go in there and get something to drink before we leave.”

Since they had finished selecting the gift without any conflict and much earlier than expected, they had plenty of time to spare.

“Okay.”

“Great.”

And so the two entered a café.

Hana deliberately chose something expensive, close to 10,000 won.

“I’ll have that chocolate smoothie Oreo something.”

“Okay.”

Juyeon, on the other hand, simply ordered an iced coffee.

The two sat facing each other.

Hana thought that since opportunities to be alone like this were rare, she would take the chance to ask the question she had been holding in her heart.

Yes. When else would I get a chance like this?

It would be too complicated to arrange a separate meeting just to talk about this.

“Juyeon.”

“Yeah?”

Juyeon, who had been sipping through her straw, slightly raised her head.

“How long are you planning to keep liking Lee Suhyeok?”