Ch.152152. First Snow

“How long are you going to like Suhyeok…”

Well…

“…I don’t know.”

Juyeon didn’t try to run away from the question.

In truth, she couldn’t escape from this situation anyway.

The fact that she was being asked like this meant it was already too obvious to deny.

“Suhyeok. He’s my boyfriend.”

It wasn’t a rude tone at all.

It was simply stating the facts as they were.

“I know.”

“Juyeon.”

Hana tried to make eye contact with Juyeon, but Juyeon refused.

“I know it very well…”

Juyeon’s hand caressed the glass that had water droplets forming from the ice.

The droplets trickled down.

Her hand grew cold.

“I’m trying to get over it…”

Hana didn’t say anything more.

Once she heard that Juyeon was already trying to move on, there was nothing left to say.

“Haah…”

A deep sigh escaped.

Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything.

No, she still had the right to say this much.

While there’s no definitive answer to how much one should interfere in their partner’s private life, she thought she could at least say something to someone who was openly showing interest in her boyfriend.

“Just don’t be too obvious in front of Suhyeok. You know he worries about you a lot, right?”

“…Yeah.”

Silence fell between them.

Hana tapped on the table and asked her next question.

“Did you buy a gift?”

“A gift?”

“You said you wanted to give Suhyeok something personally for his birthday.”

“Ah. That.”

“What did you get?”

“…A diary.”

Anyway, once the gift was given to Suhyeok, Hana would find out what it was one way or another.

“…That’s pretty standard. But he’s going to the military.”

“I heard you can take notebooks to the military.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

Hana felt relieved at the unexpectedly ordinary gift.

Now it was her turn, as the girlfriend, to prepare a gift.

Hana wanted to create an unforgettable memory for Suhyeok.

“What are you going to give him, Hana?”

Instead of a simple notebook, what will you, his girlfriend, give him?

“Me? Um… I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet.”

“Really?”

“Well. It has to be something amazing. I won’t disappoint him.”

Hana grinned as if to say not to worry.

“Let’s go now.”

There was still quite a bit of their drinks left, but chatting like this wasn’t helping either of them.

“…Okay.”

Juyeon agreed, and the two left the café.

“I’m going to look around a bit, you go ahead.”

Juyeon picked up the bag containing the strap.

Worried that Suhyeok might see it, Hana had asked Juyeon to hold onto it.

“Alright. See you at practice then.”

“Yeah. Bye.”

“Bye.”

The two turned their backs and walked in opposite directions.

“…Oh?”

After taking a few steps.

Snow began to fall softly from the sky.

Juyeon looked up at the hazy sky.

The first snow of the season.

When she opened her palm, the crystals melted into tiny dewdrops on her fingers.

Juyeon stared blankly at the scene.

After standing dazed for a moment, she continued walking toward the bus stop.

…To think that the cold weather would make her want someone to hold.

Juyeon thought this was very unlike her.

* * *

[Hey, hey, hey! Babe! It’s snowing! Snow!]

Hana pressed the phone against her cheek, making a fuss.

[What? Weren’t you with your friend just now?]

Suhyeok answered the call, but his hands were very busy.

Click-clack-click-clack

Countless pings from Taeho were appearing on the monitor.

“Hey! Lee Suhyeok! What are you doing!”

Choi Gang grabbed his bald head with both hands.

“Ah. Sorry. I got a call.”

[What’s going on? Who are you with?]

[I’m at the PC room with Gang and some freshmen.]

“Ah! Who is it! Yoon Hana?”

“Ah. Yeah.”

“Aish.”

Gang took Suhyeok’s phone away with his other hand.

[Hey! Yoon Hana! Your boyfriend is really busy right now, so call back later.]

[Hey. Who do you think you are!]

Gang hung up the phone.

Suhyeok froze as if he’d been put on pause.

Am I in trouble…? Ah. I think I’m going to get scolded.

“Hey. Focus.”

“Ah. Got it.”

Given the situation, Suhyeok tried to concentrate on the game again.

His phone vibrated once more.

Suhyeok tucked the phone between his shoulder and ear to answer his girlfriend’s call.

[…How long have you been dating that you hang up because of a game.]

[No. I didn’t hang up, Gang did.]

[Then why didn’t you call back.]

“Suhyeok hyung! Come over here now!”

Jiho’s urgent cry came from two seats over.

Instead of answering verbally, Suhyeok communicated with a ping.

[Hey. How did your appointment go?]

[She suddenly had something come up, so it ended quickly.]

[I see. That’s too bad.]

[…Not really.]

[Wasn’t it after a long time?]

Hana was taken aback by her own lie, but Suhyeok was too preoccupied to notice.

[Well, I’ll see her again when everyone gets together at the end of the year. Hey, I’m coming over there. Send me the address.]

[It’s the basement across from that malatang place.]

[Got it. I’ll be there in about… 30 minutes?]

[Okay, okay.]

As soon as the call ended, Suhyeok had to deeply apologize to his teammates.

After playing one more round, a sulky voice came from behind him.

“Hey. Lee Suhyeok.”

Hana rested her chin on top of Suhyeok’s head in protest.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“You’re having fun without me?”

“She goes out to play but gets mad at her boyfriend for doing the same.”

For a very brief moment, Suhyeok found Gang’s words refreshing.

“If you make one more smart comment, I’ll turn off your computer.”

“Wow. Then you and I are going to have a real fight.”

“Babe! I can protect you!”

Suhyeok lifted his head to meet Hana’s eyes.

He didn’t answer, just blinked.

His eyes seemed to say, ‘You want me to fight him?’

“Hey. When are you guys finishing?”

“About 10 more minutes for me?”

“Can I just sit here and wait?”

“Yeah.”

The PC room near the university, which had finished its semester, was naturally less crowded.

After winning this round, Suhyeok was finally able to face Hana properly.

“You should have just gone home to rest.”

“I came because I missed you. Are you going to keep saying things like that?”

“Hana noona. Was that our last game?”

Strangely, although Suhyeok was the one playing, the juniors asked Hana for confirmation.

“Yep. That’s it for games today.”

“Darn.”

“Ah, then should we play something else?”

Those who wanted to stay remained, while Suhyeok and Hana went back outside.

“Wow. It’s snowing.”

Suhyeok got to see the first snow of the year with his girlfriend.

Compared to last year, when he couldn’t even remember when it had snowed, this was a dramatic upgrade.

“You didn’t listen to me on the phone. I told you it was snowing.”

“No, I heard you. I’m just saying it again because it’s different seeing it in person.”

Suhyeok looked up at the sky.

White breath escaped from his mouth.

“This year is really coming to an end.”

“Hey. What do you mean ‘end’? We still have a mountain of things to do.”

“A mountain?”

“We have the performance, Christmas, and then your birthday the next day.”

How could the year be ending with three big events still ahead?

“Come to think of it, you’re right.”

“Ugh~ You dummy.”

“But I’ve never been this busy at the end of the year before.”

In high school, he just studied moderately and got through it, and last year, he just stayed home after the semester ended.

This was truly the first time in Suhyeok’s life that his calendar was so packed at the end of the year.

“Hmm. Then you’ll be busy from now on too.”

“Huh?”

“Meeting me on Christmas. Meeting me on your birthday. That’s already two confirmed events, right?”

“Is that how it works?”

“Yes. Absolutely.”

Hana, wearing a padded jacket, wrapped her arm around Suhyeok’s waist.

“It’s nice and romantic to see the first snow together.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Suhyeok and Hana walked down the slope with their arms linked.

Without umbrellas, their heads were getting increasingly wet.

“I need to go home and shower.”

“I’m too lazy.”

“Hey. You need to shower too.”

“Ah, right.”

Suhyeok remembered what he wanted to ask her.

“Was the friend you met today Minji?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I thought you said you were meeting Hyein or someone.”

“Ah…”

As soon as Hana heard Suhyeok’s words, she realized she had made a mistake in her lie.

“Originally, the three of us were supposed to meet, but I ended up just seeing Minji.”

“Oh, was that it? I didn’t know.”

“Well, both of them said they were busy and bailed anyway.”

Hana promptly threw both of her friends under the bus.

“The performance is just two days away now.”

“Did you invite your friends to come see it this time?”

Suhyeok wasn’t completely friendless.

He did have some people he hung out with in high school.

“…No.”

“Ah! Why not! Tell them to come!”

“It just… feels weird to have them watch.”

They would surely be shocked if they found out Suhyeok had joined a band and was dating someone like Hana.

And he didn’t want to show his former classmates him trying to look cool playing guitar on stage.

“Ugh~”

“Do you have a lot of guests coming again this time, Hana?”

“Yeah. We’re even short on tickets, so I had to cover some with my own money.”

“That’s impressive.”

For a rented venue performance, you need to pay for tickets to enter.

Each member was only given three free tickets.

The two arrived at Suhyeok’s home.

Hana took off her shoes and quickly turned around.

“Babe.”

“Yeah?”

“Is there anything you want for your birthday present?”