Ch.28028. Wish

Suhyeok couldn’t become the kind of person who could lie with a straight face.

“No! Not at all?”

He rolled his eyes upward, trying to feign innocence.

He believed eyes conveyed the most truthful information.

But his exaggerated gesture only fueled suspicion.

Juyeon’s doubt gradually turned into certainty.

The secret she had kept so tightly hidden.

The Spirit members.

A secret she had managed to hide even from the perceptive Seo-eun unnie!

Just today, she had crawled all the way to that corner trash area to write a notice without being discovered!

“Uuuuuuugh!”

Making an incomprehensible sound, Juyeon shoved Suhyeok aside and ran off.

The direction she headed was not toward the pension building but toward the exit.

“Juyeon! Where are you going!”

Flustered, Suhyeok began running after her.

The sound of gravel crunching underfoot echoed through the night.

Being near a valley, the croaking of frogs also distinctly tickled their ears.

“Juyeon! I didn’t see anything, I swear!”

How could she hop around so well with those short legs?

Suhyeok pleaded sincerely while catching his breath.

“You did see it! You saw everything!”

Despite having drunk quite a bit, Juyeon kept moving forward with a straight posture.

“No, I didn’t! What was it that you think I saw!”

Ironically, it was Suhyeok who was running out of stamina first.

“Ack!”

Though he had started running impulsively, Suhyeok had injured his ankle today.

The pain that had been improving flared up again with the intense exercise.

“Huh…?”

Juyeon turned around at his cry of pain.

There was Suhyeok, clutching his ankle in agony.

“…Are you okay?”

Juyeon retraced her steps and crouched down in front of him.

“I… really… didn’t see anything. Juyeon…”

The first words he uttered through the pain were a lie.

Juyeon knew it was a lie, but she nodded anyway.

“Okay. But can you… get up…?”

“I’ll try…”

Suhyeok tried to stand up, wobbling as he pressed against the ground.

It was too much.

Every time he tried to take a step, a tingling pain surged through him.

Suhyeok, who seemed to need help, looked up at Juyeon apologetically.

“Can I put my hand on your shoulder?”

“…Yeah.”

Though she still thought Suhyeok was in the wrong, Juyeon readily offered her shoulder.

The tips of his left fingers, blistered from playing guitar, wrapped around Juyeon’s shoulder.

Suhyeok, leaning some of his weight on Juyeon, looked down at her again.

“Shall… we go?”

“…Yeah.”

The conversation didn’t continue.

There was a strange atmosphere that made it difficult to start talking.

They hadn’t exactly fought, and it was unclear if this was even something to be angry about, but an awkward air flowed between them.

Suhyeok glanced at Juyeon’s face, dimly illuminated by the moonlight.

“Suhyeok.”

At the entrance of the pension, now back where they started.

Juyeon stopped walking and looked up at him.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll make my wish now.”

“Wish?”

“Since I gave you the black rose… I get a wish, right…”

Suhyeok nodded calmly, as if telling her to go ahead.

“…Forget it. What you just saw.”

“Huh?”

“I know you saw everything… so… don’t tell anyone, and please forget about it.”

This was the best Juyeon could do.

And it was something she could ask because she trusted Suhyeok to some extent.

Juyeon’s round eyes filled Suhyeok’s gaze.

Understanding what her request meant, Suhyeok nodded.

“Okay.”

“…Thank you.”

When they opened the door and went inside, there were already more casualties.

“Ohhh~ What’s this~ You two~ Where have you been~”

A strong smell of alcohol stung Suhyeok’s nose.

It meant Seo-eun didn’t have much time left.

Even Choi-gang, who had seemed so sober, was leaning against a wall trying to sleep.

“Is the truth game over?”

“Yeah. All done~”

Seo-eun, thoroughly soaked in alcohol, hugged Juyeon.

“The truth is!”

“That I freaking love Park Juyeon~”

Embraced by the tall Seo-eun, Juyeon pushed her away as if disliking the smell of alcohol.

Eventually, Seo-eun also headed to the corpse room.

The sight of Juyeon struggling to carry Seo-eun, who was bigger than her, created quite an adorable scene.

Suhyeok and Juyeon, the last survivors, began tidying up the remaining trash.

“Su-Suhyeok, don’t clean up since your ankle hurts.”

Juyeon was concerned about him, who had fallen once more because of her.

“It’s fine. I’m just wiping the table. It’s nothing.”

There might be many ways to act as a senior, but this seemed to be all Suhyeok could properly do.

“Then just do that much.”

Juyeon was contemplating whether to do the dishes.

She had already picked up a sponge, but the overwhelming fatigue was signaling her to go to bed.

“Juyeon. Just leave the dishes for tomorrow morning.”

Suhyeok limped over to her side.

“…Okay. You should go to bed too.”

The clock had already passed 3 AM.

“Alright.”

Suhyeok entered the room where the boys were staying.

Juyeon watched his back until he disappeared, then went into the girls’ room.

The juniors with their bad sleeping habits were already sprawled in various poses, but Juyeon managed to squeeze herself between Seo-eun and Hana.

It had been too long a day for someone as introverted as her.

Just as she was thinking how exhausting it was to be around so many people,

the highlight of the day.

That unforgettable scene flashed through her mind once more.

She remembered Suhyeok’s face when he discovered her writing the hiatus notice.

“Ah… ugh… ubrbrbrbrb…”

Though she couldn’t make much noise with others sleeping nearby, Juyeon tormented her blanket in agony before finally falling asleep.

* * *

Baa- baa- bababa- bababa- babarababa- rababa-

It was a sound that shouldn’t be ringing for young men who hadn’t yet completed their military service.

The one cruelly playing the reveille remix was Spirit’s leader, Chairwoman Seo-eun.

“Everyone! Time to wake up! It’s 10 o’clock!”

She was waking up the members with a megaphone she had obtained from somewhere.

“Ugh…”

The zombies scratched their heads as they got up.

Most of the juniors were exchanging greetings with hollow eyes.

“Whew… are you okay, hyung?”

Taeho, brushing his bangs aside, sighed while holding his forehead, apparently still nursing a headache.

“Ah… yeah. I think I’m okay.”

What concerned Suhyeok more was his ankle.

It had been swollen before bed, but now it seemed to have subsided somewhat.

As he trudged out, opening the door listlessly, ramen preparation was already in full swing outside.

“Well, look who’s up. Lee Suhyeok?”

Hana approached him with chopsticks in hand.

Had she washed her hair? Or was Hana’s hair always this neat even after sleeping?

Her flowing golden hair continued to arouse Suhyeok’s curiosity.

“Yeah.”

“Sleep well?”

“I think so.”

“Want some ramen?”

“I’ll eat if you’re offering.”

“Hmm… Ah, I think I’ll need to boil another pot after this one.”

The situation was that over six people had already said they would eat from Hana.

Given the limited size of the pot, any more would be difficult.

“No… then I won’t eat.”

He had said he would eat if offered, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he didn’t.

If it was troublesome for Hana, Suhyeok could do without ramen.

“No! It’s fine! Go sit down, I’ll boil it right away.”

Knowing Suhyeok’s personality, it was obvious he would just say he wouldn’t eat, so Hana pushed him to sit at the table.

Next to emerge from the girls’ room was Juyeon.

Wearing baggy sweatpants and an oversized box tee that swallowed her small frame, she immediately turned her head away when her eyes met Suhyeok’s.

A gesture as if she didn’t even want to make eye contact.

Suhyeok, who was about to greet her, felt his breath catch and awkwardly tapped the table with his index finger.

Was he being disliked?

Was she still upset about yesterday?

“Hey, everyone! Be careful, it’s hot!”

Hana brought the pot and placed it in the center of the table.

“Wow! Thank you, noona!”

“Thanks, unnie!”

“Ah~ Enjoy everyone~”

It was Hana’s consideration, as she had left early due to drunkenness and couldn’t help with the cleanup.

The members gathered closely, slurping ramen from paper cups.

Suhyeok found it amazing that such a family-like scene had come to him too.

“Ah. Is it for real that we have to go to school tomorrow?”

“Seriously… no way.”

“Second-years, you know you need to practice for the ensemble, right?”

Trivial chatter exchanged here and there.

Suhyeok, who had been just nodding along and laughing with everyone, turned his head when he felt a finger poking his side.

When had she come beside him?

Juyeon was looking at his face with a rather prim expression.

“Yeah?”

“…Can I have your ear for a moment.”

Juyeon asking Suhyeok to lend her his ear.

He slightly shifted his face to the right.

“You… you remember the wish, right?”

Juyeon had lain awake worrying that Suhyeok might have forgotten his promise in his drunkenness.