Ch.154154. The Final Performance (2)

“Oh! So many people have come to see us today!”

This was already her fourth performance.

No. Including the competition, it was her fifth.

Juyeon was not completely at ease, but speaking in front of an audience was no longer difficult for her.

“Class of ’23. Let’s hear from those who came to see us second-years!”

At Juyeon’s prompt, cheers erupted from various parts of the floor.

“Choi Gang! Your hairstyle is awesome!”

“Yoon Hana! Absolutely gorgeous!”

“Lee Seo-euuun!”

There were no names calling for Juyeon and Suhyeok.

Neither of them had invited any friends.

“Now, Class of ’24. Those who came to see our first-year friends!”

Even louder cheers erupted than before.

“Park Tae-hoooo!”

“Na Hyejung! You’re beautiful!”

Clearly, not only did the first-years have one more member, but they also had overwhelmingly more people they had invited.

“Wow. First of all, thank you all so much for coming today.”

“Both we and our first-year friends have prepared really hard, so please! Stay with us until the end!”

As Juyeon slightly turned her head back, the next song immediately began.

The Class of ’23 performed three more songs in succession.

Now it was time to change players.

It was the first-years’ turn to take the stage.

“Ahem… ahem…! Helloooo~”

Jiyeon, the female vocalist, greeted shyly.

Male audience members responded enthusiastically.

While no response would have been awkward, such enthusiastic cheering made Jiyeon feel pressured in its own way.

“Ah. Following our seniors makes me so nervous. Hehe.”

The Class of ’23 was secretly watching their performance from the very back of the audience, not from the waiting room.

“Jiyeon’s saying things she doesn’t mean again. As usual.”

Hana smiled foolishly.

“I know, right? They’re all good but still acting modest?”

“They worked hard too. They’ll do well.”

Indeed, the first-years had shown excellent performances during rehearsals.

“Go Ji Sohyeeee!”

As the stage was about to begin, Choi Gang shouted loudly as if he were at a sports game.

The disadvantage of drums was that they were at the back and hard to see.

Sohye waved her sticks in the air to show she had received her boyfriend’s encouragement.

Her friends’ squeals followed.

Clap clap clap clap

Music began to the rhythm of the drums.

The two in leather jackets, arms linked, watched their juniors with fond smiles.

“Taeho looks cool.”

“He sure does.”

“It would have been fun if they had become a couple too.”

If both the guitar lines in Classes ’23 and ’24 had been couples, that would certainly have been an event worth recording in Spirit’s history.

“Stop it. What are you talking about?”

Seo-eun, who had been listening to the conversation, shook her head.

“Still, it’s nice to see the first-years enjoying themselves.”

As with anyone, first experiences leave something to be desired.

The Class of ’23 also had their first performance when they were first-years.

Clumsy ensemble practice.

Rushed completion of just four songs.

Days of being scolded by seniors.

That’s why they had prepared with gritted teeth for the winter concert where they were first given eight songs.

That was also when their skills improved dramatically.

The same applied to the Class of ’24.

They too were now ready to create their own Spirit, emerging from their seniors’ shadow.

“I should go in now.”

With a rotation of four songs each.

As the first-years began their fourth song, Hana turned to look at Juyeon.

“Let’s go in, Juyeon.”

“…Okay.”

The Class of ’23 had tried to show as many different sides as possible in this performance.

That’s why their setlist contained a mix of various genres.

Jazz-style K-pop.

Hidden masterpieces from Korean indie bands.

Extremely classic hard rock, and so on.

From distinctive band sounds to more popular songs that were easier for people to respond to.

The next turn was the only calm song among this performance’s pieces.

It only required one acoustic guitar.

-Knock knock

The lights came back on the darkened stage.

Two chairs had been set up in the darkness.

On the left was Juyeon holding a microphone.

On the right was Hana tuning her guitar.

“We’re back again.”

The audience sent another brief cheer at Juyeon’s appearance.

“Since you all must be tired from jumping around, we’ll play a slightly calmer song to give you a break.”

“If you like the song, I’d appreciate it if you could wave your hands like this.”

Juyeon raised her arm slightly and waved her cute hand from side to side.

Hana also repeated her action like a helper.

Kind audience members responded warmly, following their gestures.

Tap tap

As Hana’s elbow tapped the body twice, a sweet fingerstyle acoustic guitar accompaniment began.

“When this night passes by, where.”

“Will we have arrived?”

“I can’t see the star that resembles you.”

“You’ve hidden slightly behind the clouds.”

Unlike the intense previous songs, this had a cute and adorable atmosphere.

Suhyeok’s feelings were incredibly complicated as he watched the two perform.

A collaboration between two women who had liked him more than he deserved.

One became his current girlfriend, and the other did not.

“Darling, my heart for you.”

“Is wavering.”

“Come closer and hold my hand.”

Hana’s playing style changed.

From here, it was a solid stroke.

With the pick she had been holding in her mouth now in her hand, she played with a smile as if truly enjoying the music.

“I love you.”

Strum

“Always.”

Strum

“Just like now.”

Strum

The song ended with perfect timing.

As soon as the stage darkened, Juyeon and Hana carried the chairs back to the waiting room.

Now it was time to return to the stage as a complete group.

The atmosphere was ripe for exciting popular songs that awaited them.

“How was it? One song like this was okay, right…? Haha.”

Juyeon scratched her cheek.

“Even ten songs would be fine!”

From the back, Jiyeon cheered for her direct senior, Juyeon.

“Now let’s heat things up! Let’s jump around with all of you. Drums, please!”

The song began with Choi Gang’s drum solo.

This was actually the Class of ’23’s original version with slight arrangements to a K-pop song.

“Jump!”

Even the socially awkward Juyeon was channeling her inner social butterfly now.

When she jumped on stage, the other members holding instruments also gave small jumps in place.

Black and white flashing lights like in a club.

The live hall filled with 20 and 21-year-olds descended into wild frenzy.

“I don’t believe in love!”

“I won’t cry again!”

Juyeon’s refreshing shouting.

Many audience members had goosebumps all over their bodies.

Despite it being winter, sweat poured down profusely.

Everyone’s carefully styled hair was now damp with sweat.

“…We’ve come to our last song.”

When Juyeon trailed off regretfully, boos poured from the audience.

“Ahaha. But since this is our last performance, we have a special final course left.”

“This song is a bit more special to me.”

The two hands holding the microphone trembled slightly.

“It’s the first original song I’ve ever made.”

“Ooooh~~”

The audience, unaware of the story behind it, responded enthusiastically.

“Ah. Actually, I didn’t make it myself. Our members, especially Hana, worked really hard on it, but I wrote the lyrics.”

Suhyeok, with his hand on the neck of his guitar, silently watched Juyeon’s back as she communicated with the audience.

“The title is ‘So I Played Guitar’! I started playing guitar in the summer, and it was really fun and great.”

Juyeon’s memories of the hottest summer.

Even if they had cooled now, that temperature still lived and breathed in her heart.

“Although I’m not wearing a guitar today, I hope you’ll enjoy our original song.”

Hana’s refreshing crunch sound kicked things off.

After two measures, Suhyeok, Seo-eun, and Choi Gang all joined in with their accompaniment.

Juyeon nodded her head to the beat.

Suhyeok.

You know.

“Not knowing how to speak up”

“I curled up alone in a small room”

“Saying I’m comfortable being alone is an excuse”

“I tried to attach a plausible reason”

The verse started calmly.

The audience held their breath and listened to her story.

How a timid and weak person conveys their heart.

It was music that had brought them together and made today possible.

After the building pre-chorus passed, what followed was a chorus like a shout.

Hana stomped hard on the drive effect pedal with its crisp sound.

“Because I had nothing I could do”

“Because I hated myself for not changing”

“I played guitar”

“Intoxicated by the drum sound”

“I shake my head”

True to the lyrics, Juyeon tensed her eyes and shook her head up and down.

“The heart that won’t stop”

“The vacuum tube that feels like it will burst”

“Can it reach you”

“Listen to this sound”

The second verse also flowed without mistakes.

The part that followed was the bridge, which served to elevate the song.

“Even if you’re not by my side.”

Among the many young people gathered in the live hall, only four noticed something unusual.

This was the first time they were performing this original song.

Only the Class of ’23 members knew the original lyrics.

These weren’t the lyrics they had practiced.

What Juyeon was singing now were lyrics that no one knew, her own unilateral lyrics.

“Even if the sound loses its light.”

“I won’t forget”

“All those traces of the nights I drew you.”

A tear streamed down Juyeon’s cheek.

Goodbye.

Suhyeok.