Ch.23023. A Promise to Be Sick

For college students without their own cars, a retreat is an adventure in itself.

In reality, it was a distance that could be covered with just a couple hours of sleep if traveling by car, but they had to take a long, winding journey using public transportation.

Suhyeok frowned as he checked the route on his phone.

How many transfers do we need to make for this?

It seemed like they would have to change at least four times, considering they also needed to be picked up from the supermarket after arrival.

“Lee Suhyeok!”

A familiar voice called from the distance.

It was Hana, waving her hand, dressed in a tracksuit with a hood.

Though she usually complained about Suhyeok always wearing his gray hoodie, today she was dressed the same way.

This was indeed the proper attire for a retreat.

“Hi!”

“Ah, two sophomores are here, but none of the freshmen? Is this for real?”

The Spirit band members who lived near the school had agreed to meet up and go together from Sangbong Station.

The sophomore members who were supposed to meet in front of the school were Suhyeok, Hana, and Juyeon, while the freshmen were just the drummer Sohye and female vocalist Jiyeon.

Hana puffed out her chest, determined to establish discipline today, but Suhyeok could only laugh awkwardly.

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he too wanted to give them a hard time.

“Hello, unnie!”

“Helloooo~”

The freshmen appeared together side by side, apparently having met up beforehand.

“Come on, guys. Let’s get moving quickly~”

Hana tapped her wristwatch, scolding them in a somewhat authoritarian tone.

“Ah! We just stopped by the convenience store to get something for you, seniors.”

Jiyeon handed Suhyeok and Hana some hangover remedies.

Hana, who had been about to scold them, cleared her throat awkwardly, feeling embarrassed.

“Ah. Well. This is…”

“We should all drink together for a long time today~”

“But Juyeon unnie hasn’t arrived yet?”

From the freshmen’s perspective, everyone unanimously agreed that Juyeon was the most difficult person to approach among the sophomores.

First of all, she hardly spoke.

Whether it was about the band or just idle chatter, conversation was necessary to build rapport, but Juyeon was like a stone.

Like an inanimate object, she gave no response no matter what signals were sent her way.

“You’re right. Juyeon is late. Should I call her?”

Just as Hana took out her phone, they heard it.

-Tap tap tap tap tap tap

Hurried footsteps from behind.

Everyone’s eyes turned simultaneously.

It was Juyeon, carrying a large black backpack that seemed a bit too big for her frame, unlike her usual bag.

Uneven breaths escaped from her lips.

“Hello, unnie!”

“…Sorry.”

“Juyeon, why are you late?”

Hana approached her and pinched Juyeon’s cheeks.

“And why did you bring such a big bag? I don’t think there’s much to pack.”

“Pa… pajamas, first aid kit, flashlight, Nintendo, this and that…”

While Suhyeok thought some items made sense despite seeming excessive, he couldn’t understand why she brought a Nintendo.

“Didn’t you bring board games today?”

Hana started teasing Juyeon playfully.

Juyeon’s face turned bright red.

“Ah. I didn’t bring them.”

“Really? I thought you might since we had so much fun with them last year~ I was thinking~”

Ugh…

People teased me so much last year…

I deliberately kept it a secret from Suhyeok too…

Juyeon wanted to go back home right now, as her dark history was naturally exposed.

She could feel her ears turning shamefully red.

“Let’s go then! We’ll be late if we miss the bus.”

The back row of the city bus.

The five members sat in a row at the very back, like high school students on a field trip.

Juyeon sat at the far left. Next to her was Suhyeok.

Hana took the middle seat, serving as a bridge between the freshmen and sophomores.

“By the way, Sohye.”

“Yes?”

Hana, who had been curious about something, looked Sohye up and down again.

“Why are you so dressed up?”

“What do you mean by dressed up?”

“Who comes to a retreat with full makeup?”

While there weren’t exactly rules for retreat attire, people typically wore comfortable clothes.

But Sohye’s look today seemed formal enough for a blind date.

“Ah. I just happened to wake up early, and it’s nice to look pretty for my unnies~ You know~”

“Is that so?”

As if that could be true!

For 20-year-old Ji Sohye, who would list sleeping as her hobby if asked about her interests, there was a definite goal she had to achieve today.

After all, today was the day she would spend the night with her ultimate senior!

The freshmen and sophomores didn’t usually practice together.

The only natural opportunity to meet was on the one day when seniors came to observe their practice.

The freshman, not wanting to miss this lucky opportunity of an overnight trip, was secretly burning with anticipation.

“Whew~ I really can’t handle removing makeup after drinking~”

It never occurred to Hana that there might be an attractive guy in Spirit that Sohye could have feelings for.

Moreover, Sohye was a beauty who could rival even Hana.

It would be normal for someone like her to have zero chance of liking a bald, muscle-obsessed VTuber fan.

And she didn’t seem like the type to like Suhyeok either.

Meanwhile, Suhyeok was just silently listening to the girls’ conversation like he was taking a vow of silence.

Though the band had plenty of male members, today he was unusually traveling with four girls.

The male juniors who played games seemed to have become more comfortable…

But these socially adept female juniors were truly difficult beings to deal with.

“Alright! Let’s go!”

The complete Spirit band gathered at Sangbong Station.

Under Seo-eun’s direction, the Spirit members headed toward the Gyeongchun Line ticket gates.

“So, did you watch the soccer game yesterday?”

“Ah! I was so pissed off watching it yesterday.”

“So Baek Minji went on another blind date besides that guy she was seeing!”

“No way! What happened then?”

This was Suhyeok’s first time on such a boisterous trip.

Since he had never even traveled with friends before, this atmosphere felt both fascinating and awkward to him.

The corridor was wide enough for people to move in groups of two or three, and right now, Juyeon was sticking close to Suhyeok’s side.

Hana, Seo-eun, and Choi-gang.

All three were deeply engaged in conversation with the juniors.

The two who found it difficult to initiate conversations were serving as each other’s life preservers.

“Um.”

Suhyeok, who again had nothing to say, felt a bit self-conscious about staying silent the whole time, so he spoke first.

“Why did you bring the Nintendo?”

“Oh. It was delivered the day before yesterday.”

“Ah. You bought it recently?”

“Yeah… I’ve tried it a bit, and it’s fun…”

While it was true that it was fun, she had also brought it to have something to do if she found herself alone in a corner.

“What game are you playing?”

“The Legend of Zelda.”

Honestly, Juyeon preferred playing these games alone in her room rather than participating in rowdy drinking games.

Games were best enjoyed alone.

She thought you couldn’t fully enjoy a game when you had to be conscious of others watching.

“Ooh. I’ve been wanting to try that too.”

Suhyeok hadn’t bought one yet because the gaming console was quite expensive to purchase all at once.

“…Really?”

“Yeah! I like these kinds of games too.”

His tone revealed genuine interest, not just making conversation.

“Then… later… do you want to try it?”

“Huh?”

“Later. You can play it a bit if you want.”

Since they seemed to have gotten a bit closer after yesterday.

It was a rare invitation from the shy Juyeon, who had mustered up her courage.

“Sure.”

Suhyeok smiled pleasantly.

He was confident he could enjoy it if she let him play.

“But… Seo-eun unnie might tell us not to, so maybe we can’t…”

“Ah. That can’t be helped.”

The president was an expert at collecting loners hiding in corners.

The two of them would likely be dragged back to the drinking party.

Eventually, the train arrived, and the Spirit members occupied almost an entire row on both sides.

“Well, at least we get to sit down on the way~”

Hana, who had taken a seat next to Suhyeok, muttered while looking at the route map.

“Yeah.”

“Ah, but last year a senior brought an acoustic guitar, and we played with that.”

“You know how to play acoustic guitar too?”

“Well. I practiced a lot, and we often use acoustic guitars for busking performances and such.”

Suhyeok, who had been devoted solely to electric guitar, had never held an acoustic guitar.

“So why didn’t you bring one this year?”

“It’s nice to bring one, but coming home drunk with a guitar strapped to your back is not a good idea.”

Hana shook her head in disgust, recalling the senior from last year.

“Do you play acoustic?”

“No. Never.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t have the instrument, and I just didn’t like doing something else before mastering one thing completely.”

He had stubbornly practiced just one song for two years.

But now his thinking had changed a bit.

He felt his perspective had been too narrow.

Thanks to band practice, he had learned new songs.

Thanks to Hana, he had learned new techniques.

And the process was much more enjoyable than he had expected, so he had now largely let go of what had been almost an obsession.

“Really? Then do you want to learn acoustic guitar from me later?”

Hana’s hand wrapped around Suhyeok’s wrist and pulled it up.

“But with calluses like these, your fingers might hurt a bit?”

Hana smiled playfully.

Her bright golden hair formed an asymmetrical pattern as it fell according to the angle she was looking up from.

Suhyeok’s heart began to race again.

And Hana was completely unaware of it.

“I don’t mind the pain at all.”

That was Suhyeok’s answer.