Ch.25025. I See Through You.

“Let’s prepare dinner!”

At Seo-eun’s call, the Spirit members began to move in unison.

In truth, the female students who had just stuffed themselves with hotteok weren’t particularly hungry.

However, the situation was different for the boys who had been running around playing foot volleyball.

They had been complaining about hunger every three seconds, and Choi Gang had even tried to snack on hotteok before dinner.

Eventually, President Seo-eun decided to start the barbecue earlier than planned.

The members assigned to start the fire began heading outside.

“Out of the way!”

Once the grill was amply filled with the charcoal they had brought, Choi Gang arrived with a torch.

The blue flame touched the black wood grain, but the fire stubbornly refused to catch.

This was to be expected.

College students weren’t likely to invest much in quality charcoal for a retreat.

The naive assumption that they could manage without fire starter, combined with cheap charcoal, led to an excruciating struggle.

Eventually, the members had to take turns performing what felt like a ritual before the charcoal…

“Ah! Are we sure this will light today?”

Hana, wearing work gloves, wiped away the sweat dripping from her forehead.

Last year, she remembered the fire catching quickly, but today it strangely wouldn’t light.

“Sh-should I take over?”

Juyeon, who had followed Hana outside, hovered nearby, watching carefully.

“No, no. I don’t mind doing this, I’m just annoyed it won’t light.”

Ugh. Next time we have a barbecue, I’m definitely not using this charcoal.

What brand is this anyway? Just watch me never buy it again.

“What were you doing inside?”

“Huh?”

“Did you make hotteok too while we were playing foot volleyball?”

It was an innocent question, but Juyeon hesitated to answer.

Would she get scolded for playing games alone in the corner…?

While not as strict as Seo-eun, Hana also disliked when people did things on their own during group activities.

She considered lying but realized there was no need.

After all, Juyeon hadn’t played games “alone.”

“I played games with Suhyeok.”

“With Lee Suhyeok?”

“Yeah. Suhyeok asked me to play together.”

Who suggested it first was debatable, but this was certainly a good response for Suhyeok’s sake too.

“Was it fun?”

“Super fun.”

“Suhyeok enjoyed it too.”

Juyeon smiled brightly.

The air around the charcoal was hot, but Hana’s mood couldn’t match its warmth.

What is this?

This strange, indescribable feeling?

She felt something similar earlier when she briefly entered the room.

After some contemplation, Hana diagnosed the emotion as “guilt.”

Perhaps the accident happened because she had dragged someone who wasn’t confident into playing sports.

She should have just let them stay and have fun at the pension instead of pushing them to join.

Indeed, forcing anything on others was never good.

“Um, shouldn’t you not focus on just one spot like that?”

Juyeon cautiously spoke to Hana, who had been absentmindedly heating the same piece of wood for some time.

“Ah, sorry. I was lost in thought.”

Hana regained her focus and, after enduring the arduous process, finally succeeded in lighting the fire.

The rest of the members began coming outside.

“Who’s good at grilling meat!”

Being known as someone who grills meat well was truly a peculiar position.

Being good at something was nice, but this particular skill inevitably led to labor.

In other words, it was an established rule that whoever claimed to be good at grilling would end up doing the grilling.

“I’ll do it!”

Taeho, the 24th generation guitarist who wanted to be a beloved junior, raised his hand high.

“Oh~ Taeho, are you good at grilling?”

“Yes! I’ll grill the meat!”

If you can’t win with musical talent, compete with sociability!

Seo-eun clearly appreciated Taeho’s attitude.

He was attentive and eager to help.

Perhaps she could even appoint Taeho as the next president.

But the foundation of being president was stable musical skill.

Someone who only held others back couldn’t possibly lead as president.

They didn’t need to be the best, but at least above average.

The president decided to wait and see, continuing to organize the table.

“Hey, we didn’t bring ssamjang?”

“I-I’ll go get it!”

As Suhyeok tried to stand up, Jiyeon, the 24th generation female vocalist sitting next to him, stopped him.

“Oppa, I heard you hurt your ankle! I’ll get it!”

No.

Don’t.

I’m trying to leave because sitting here with you all is too much for me!

With more than half the boys standing around the grill to help with the meat, Suhyeok found himself unwillingly trapped in a garden of flowers.

Worse yet, Hana and Juyeon from the 23rd generation were at the opposite end.

Following Seo-eun’s wish for everyone to get closer, Suhyeok had been thrown among the freshman girls and now wore a miserable expression.

He was like a lone sheep thrown into a den of social lions.

For him, the juniors’ questions felt like an interrogation.

“Suhyeok oppa, what’s your major?”

“…Economics.”

“Oh! So you’re in the same year as Juyeon unnie?”

“That’s right.”

“I heard the first-year guys in Economics are really handsome.”

“OMG, yes! I went to a group blind date last week and there was this super hot guy.”

Economics had a huge enrollment, so naturally there would be more handsome guys proportionally.

Conversely, that meant there were also plenty of average or unattractive guys too.

Humans always interpreted results in the most favorable way.

“Oppa, if you know any juniors, could you set up a blind date for us?”

“For real. We can put together a really good lineup too.”

Suhyeok’s head was spinning.

How am I supposed to introduce you to something I’ve never experienced myself?

He didn’t know a single junior in his department.

“Ahaha…”

“Sohye! If Suhyeok oppa sets it up, you should join too~ Okay?”

“Nah… I prefer to stay single by choice. Not interested in that stuff.”

After politely declining, Sohye looked away as if she couldn’t care less about them.

Her gaze was fixed on Choi Gang, who was diligently grilling meat wearing only a tank top despite the chilly weather.

She wondered how much exercise it took to build such firm shoulder muscles.

Though she’d tried various methods to get closer to that sturdy embrace, Choi Gang was proving to be an even more formidable opponent than expected.

He rejected all private meetings, claiming to be busy.

Even after joining the same gym to see him more often, their conversations remained minimal.

Even today, despite dressing up nicely!

She had barely managed to speak to him.

But it was too early to be discouraged.

Sohye and several other members were looking forward to another event:

The crates of soju they had brought.

Those clear green bottles were still sleeping in the refrigerator, waiting to make their appearance.

“Enjoy your meal!”

Taeho, taking the lead, brought over the grilled meat.

Thick slices of pork belly were piled high on disposable plates.

They were cooked to perfection.

The combination of pork belly and herb salt created an irresistible, savory flavor.

They decided to rotate the grilling duty, but Suhyeok declared he was really fine and would take the next shift.

After wolfing down his meat, Suhyeok stood up abruptly.

“I’m going to help the others grill now!”

“Eh? Oppa, you finished already?”

“Suhyeok! You can eat more before switching!”

“No, I really want to grill right now. No, let me grill!”

Hoping that the seating arrangement might change by the time he returned from grilling, he pushed past the juniors and took over from Choi Gang.

As the other guys went to eat, Suhyeok found himself grilling alone.

He actually felt comfortable in this situation.

Maybe I should just stop eating and keep grilling here.

It felt good to be helpful to the other members, and he was at ease. This seemed to suit him.

He was sweating from the heat, but he didn’t mind.

“…Hey.”

Suhyeok, who had been staring intently at the grill wondering when to flip the meat, looked up.

Standing before him was Hana with a somewhat prim expression.

“Hm? You don’t need to switch with me yet.”

Suhyeok had been grilling for less than five minutes.

“I’m not here to switch with you.”

“Then?”

Hana extended her arm toward Suhyeok.

In her hand was a generously prepared lettuce wrap.

“Ah. Open up.”

“No, I’m fine. Go enjoy your meal comfortably.”

“Just open up. The person grilling is supposed to be fed by others. That’s how it works.”

While this might be common practice, Suhyeok felt embarrassed at the thought of Hana feeding him.

His mouth opened rather timidly compared to the size of the wrap.

Hana, having none of it, shoved the wrap into Suhyeok’s mouth.

He felt the texture of green onions and the saltiness of ssamjang in his mouth.

Underneath were thin slices of garlic and two thick pieces of meat.

“Thwank you.”

Suhyeok mumbled his thanks while chewing, which made Hana chuckle.

“Hey, since you hurt your ankle, just do this for a bit and come back. I’ll send some juniors over.”

“…I’m fine though.”

“Just listen to me.”

Shrinking at her motherly tone, Suhyeok nodded.

Hana returned to her seat.

Seo-eun, who had been eating right next to her, gave her a mischievous look.

“Hana-chan.”

“Yeah?”

“Did you just feed that wrap to Suhyeok?”

“Yeah, why?”

Seo-eun giggled, finding something amusing.

Hana raised one eyebrow.

“What?”

“Oh, I just remembered last year and found it funny.”

“Last year?”

Why was last year suddenly being brought up?

Seo-eun gestured for Hana to lean in closer.

Wondering what she was about to say, Hana obligingly offered her ear.

“Last year, didn’t you say you hated how obvious it was when girls made wraps for guys?”

Hana’s cheeks instantly flushed red.