Ch.20020. Mysterious Double Kill

“Huh…?”

Suhyeok asked her to repeat what she’d said, thinking he must have misheard.

“Ah. Was my expression a bit off?”

Seo-eun smiled gently as she organized the sheet music one by one with both hands.

“Hmm~ But honestly, they’re not very good, right?”

“In this state, I absolutely can’t let them go on stage.”

“I feel like each person needs a lot of individual practice~”

Her true feelings were completely different from how she had acted in front of the juniors.

It seemed the contents of her notepad truly reflected her honest thoughts.

“But then, shouldn’t you be tougher on them…?”

Suhyeok didn’t think it was right to ignore problems when you clearly knew what they were.

“Well… that’s a difficult question.”

Seo-eun continued in a calm voice.

“Each student has their own reason for joining the band.”

“Some, like Hana, joined because they genuinely love music.”

“Others, like Juyeon, joined because they want to change themselves.”

“The guitarist before you—who’s left now—said he joined the band because he thought it would make him popular, you know?”

Among the many clubs at university, each band member had different expectations.

What they wanted to gain was different.

Their goals were different too.

Coordinating these different standards and purposes was precisely why a president existed.

Knowing the weight of her position, Seo-eun wasn’t one to hastily impose her own values.

But she did have her own clear guideposts.

“One thing’s for sure—if we just scold them for not playing well, they’ll definitely stop enjoying it.”

The club wasn’t the military.

Nor was it an entrance exam testing technical skills.

The essence of this gathering was to come together and enjoy making music.

At the very least, Seo-eun didn’t want to see beginners develop an aversion to their instruments.

Suhyeok fell into thought at Seo-eun’s words.

Her point certainly seemed reasonable.

If Hana or Choegang had berated him mercilessly for not playing guitar well, he would have probably quit the club in tears by now.

So you have to consider all that when giving feedback…

He had thought it was just about analyzing and pointing out what was good and bad.

“Do you understand a bit better now?”

Seo-eun turned to him with a relaxed smile.

“Yeah. It’s complicated…”

Despite being only one year apart, Suhyeok felt that Seo-eun was remarkably mature.

“Still, during the last two weeks before the performance, if they can’t play properly, they’re dead~”

She suddenly stood up from her chair and thrust her fist forward.

“You should prepare yourself after midterms too, Suhyeok.”

“Hmm…?”

“We’re planning to perform an original song this time.”

“An original song?”

He had expected intense practice, but something completely different came out of Seo-eun’s mouth.

“Yes! Hana and I have been ambitiously preparing a song since winter.”

Despite joining late, why were there so many things in this club that he only found out about afterward?

First the MT trip, and now some other secret…

“So is the song finished?”

“Not yet! Ask Hana to let you hear the demo sometime!”

Remembering that Suhyeok and Hana had watched a movie at her house, Seo-eun sidled up next to him.

“So, was it nice without me that night?”

The Spirit Club’s undisputed champion of perceptiveness.

Professional relationship advisor Seo-eun began teasing him like a predator who had found prey.

“Huh? No, well… that…”

“Tsk… not much of a reaction… Hana seemed to enjoy it a lot… Was it not that fun for you, Suhyeok?”

That wasn’t it at all.

If anything, he had enjoyed it—Suhyeok certainly didn’t dislike Hana.

“No! It was fun!”

Not realizing it was Seo-eun’s bait, Suhyeok fell right into the trap.

“Ohhh~ Really?”

“Ha-Hana even invited me to come over again.”

“She said that? The movie must have been really enjoyable~”

The president’s eyes narrowed slyly.

“I guess she’s concerned because I haven’t seen it…”

“Ahaha. Is that so? Planning to watch part 2 at Hana’s place?”

He thought it was just the natural flow of conversation.

But that was just Suhyeok’s misunderstanding.

Information that Hana had tried hard to keep secret flowed freely from his mouth.

Perhaps Hana…

The corners of Seo-eun’s mouth turned up ever so slightly, too subtle for Suhyeok to notice.

* * *

“Suhyeok!”

It was an energetic voice, but one he didn’t want to hear.

After all, the person calling him was his former bandmate.

Kim Nayoung, the leader of Purple Storm.

“…Hi.”

This was why he hated Fridays.

And he hated Friday mornings with Behavioral Economics even more.

“Can you spare some time after class?”

“Why?”

“I want to talk to you about the small group.”

I don’t really want to hear about it.

He wasn’t even curious about Hana anymore.

While his satisfaction with Spirit Club wasn’t 100%, he was sufficiently enjoying the band life he had dreamed of.

The people were nice, and making music was fun.

For him, Purple Storm was like a ghost from the past.

“Just give me 5 minutes, that’s all!”

Nayoung, seemingly determined to block his escape route, had specified an exact time limit.

He was going to make an excuse about having practice after class, but…

Saying he couldn’t spare even 5 minutes wouldn’t be a valid reason.

“…Fine.”

Not being skilled at refusing, he reluctantly nodded.

“Thank you!”

Nayoung walked into the lecture hall alongside Suhyeok, acting naturally friendly.

Looking around, she successfully spotted Juyeon sitting in a corner, almost as if hiding.

Nayoung had no reason to harbor ill feelings toward Juyeon.

But it did seem quite odd that she was the vocalist of the central band club.

The vocalist is the position that must stand at the very front of the band.

The one who directly communicates with the audience, the one that even people with little interest in bands pay the most attention to.

Though she hadn’t known her long, Juyeon was clearly a very shy and passive type.

She didn’t seem like someone who would do something like join a band.

“Hi, Juyeon~”

Nayoung sat next to Juyeon with her distinctive nasal voice.

“Oh. Hi.”

Unlike the somewhat awkward pair, Juyeon was lost in her own world with her own concerns today.

Feeling bad about forcing Suhyeok to eat cream puffs last week, Juyeon had brought small, round glutinous rice donuts from a bakery to make up for her mistake.

The ultimate snack—chewy and sweet!

Surely no one could dislike this sweetness!

…At least, that’s what she thought?

If Suhyeok enjoyed them, she was even considering giving him two.

But her first hurdle was that Suhyeok wasn’t sitting next to her.

Handing a donut only to Suhyeok across an empty seat would be extremely difficult.

The natural thing would be to give one to Nayoung and one to Suhyeok.

But if that were easy, Juyeon wouldn’t have been a loner.

If she couldn’t even give one to someone in the same club, how could she casually offer bread to someone she’d only met twice…!

“Juyeon.”

Nayoung turned slightly toward her and whispered.

“…Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Oh. Sure!”

Juyeon flinched and nodded with stiff movements.

“It’s a bit personal, so can we talk outside?”

Anxiety began to creep in.

Could it be because I don’t speak up during team projects?

But I think I uploaded the most research materials…!

Following Nayoung outside like someone being dragged away by a school bully, Juyeon stopped in front of the stairwell and heard something rather unexpected.

“Is Suhyeok participating properly in your club?”

“Huh…?”

Half truth.

Half lie.

Nayoung began skillfully editing what had happened, feeding Juyeon distorted information.

We had a minor disagreement and tried to talk it out, but he wouldn’t listen.

He refused all communication with Purple Storm members, quit, and suddenly applied to Spirit.

He didn’t join Spirit because he liked it—it was a retaliatory move to show us up.

Such bold lies were possible because Nayoung thoroughly understood Suhyeok’s personality and relationships.

Suhyeok could never win against her in this kind of conflict.

“So, Juyeon.”

In the tone of a tragic heroine, Nayoung gently placed her hand on Juyeon’s shoulder.

“I don’t want you all to suffer because of that inconsiderate, selfish, inadequate guy.”

Nayoung’s plan was simple—once rumors spread and Suhyeok was discarded like trash, she would pick him up.

“You know it too, right? That he’s not the type of person who fits in a central club like yours.”

Everything seemed plausible.

But there was one thing.

One fact that Nayoung had overlooked.

The various things she said to bring Suhyeok down were actually…

“…I’ll go tell the president unnie that I’m quitting too.”

Words that stabbed Juyeon instead.