Ch.36036. Alliance

Juyeon bolted without warning.

Suhyuk was left to bear the responsibility.

Hana’s rapidly blinking eye demanded an explanation.

“Um… Juyeon said… she had something to ask me.”

“What is it?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

It wasn’t that he was trying to tease Hana—he genuinely didn’t know.

But such a flimsy explanation was far from enough to satisfy her.

“Hey. Lee Suhyuk.”

As Hana took a step forward, Suhyuk instinctively retreated a step back.

“Uh… yeah?”

“Are you really going to be like this?”

“Like what?”

Hana placed both hands on the desk and confronted him accusingly.

“I taught you guitar and showed you movies!”

These were all things Suhyuk was grateful for.

He was so grateful that he’d even given her a gift.

“…Don’t tell me you two are dating?”

The possibility suddenly crossed Hana’s mind.

If they needed to meet alone, perhaps like Seo-eun’s sister…

“It’s not like that.”

Suhyuk answered firmly.

That was truly an unfounded rumor.

“But I really don’t know why Juyeon wanted to meet separately.”

“Really?”

It didn’t seem like he was lying.

Since he wasn’t the type to lie smoothly like a snake anyway, Hana easily believed him.

“…Alright then.”

Though she felt a bit disappointed with Juyeon, Hana decided to back down for today.

“Get home safely, Hana.”

Suhyuk grabbed his bag and gave her a kind smile.

“It’s only 8 PM, you know?”

“Still.”

“Besides, if we arm wrestled, I’d probably win.”

Though she was being snippy, looking at the skinny Suhyuk, Hana genuinely thought she might win.

“I-I’m going to start working out with Kang tomorrow, so I might win.”

“That means you’d only win starting tomorrow.”

Their pointless banter ended when Suhyuk left the club room.

Hana remained alone in the empty club room.

The space that had been filled with all kinds of noise and chatter just moments ago was now infinitely quiet.

-Ding-

Her long, slender index finger gently strummed across the guitar strings on the stand.

The familiar sound of standard tuning, starting with E and ending with E.

Hana plopped down in the seat where Suhyuk had been sitting and stretched out.

…She found herself thinking it was fortunate.

The fluorescent lights seemed unusually bright.

Hana showed no signs of getting used to feeling these emotions yet.

* * *

[School Pizza across from the main gate]

This was the message left by the kind escapee, Park Juyeon.

Suhyuk hurried his steps, turning his back on Hana who lingered in his mind.

When he reached School Pizza, the 23rd generation vocalist emerged from inside the store.

It was Juyeon.

“Um.”

He felt he should say something about her running off, regardless of her request.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

Juyeon nodded solemnly toward Suhyuk.

“But when you just leave like that—”

“I’ll pay for today’s sustenance in return.”

Juyeon lifted up a pizza box still warm with heat.

The complaint that had risen to Suhyuk’s throat quickly retreated at the mention of free food.

Was today his lucky day for material wealth?

Free gym membership followed by free pizza.

These were rare free events for Suhyuk.

“But… it’s nice that you bought it, but where are we going to eat it?”

If they were going to eat pizza anyway, couldn’t they have eaten inside the store?

If they couldn’t finish it all, couldn’t Hana have joined them?

“….My place.”

“Huh?”

For a moment, he wondered if he’d misheard, so he asked again.

“We’re going to eat at my place.”

Her tone was resolute, as if refusing to allow any questions.

“Oh… okay.”

Though he agreed, an unmistakable question mark hovered over Suhyuk’s head.

Why?

Just the two of them?

Pizza?

At Juyeon’s house of all places?

He thought maybe she wanted to talk about the broadcast, but it still seemed like an overreaction.

Though she had answered with a very serious face, Juyeon was just as troubled.

She had never once brought a guest to her home.

She had been invited to Seo-eun’s or Hana’s homes before, but Juyeon never let anyone into her own place.

She thought her room wasn’t worth seeing.

And after starting her broadcasts, it became absolutely forbidden territory.

If someone saw her microphone, wouldn’t they immediately figure it out?

While each was lost in their own thoughts, the two steadily made their way to the apartment building.

Juyeon’s home wasn’t far from Suhyuk’s.

About a 3-minute walk.

All the studio apartments near the school were similar, but hers was relatively close.

“…Turn around.”

“Huh?”

“I need to enter the passcode, so turn around.”

Suhyuk promptly turned his body in the opposite direction.

Once the lock was released, Juyeon led him inside.

Like most studio apartments, the room’s structure was nothing special.

A desk and chair.

Next to it stood a long, mahogany bookshelf.

On the opposite side, a lilac-colored pillow and duvet cover were neatly arranged.

The color seemed to suit Juyeon very well.

“The-the bathroom is this way.”

Juyeon pushed the door open to let Suhyuk in.

When she heard the sound of water from inside the bathroom, Juyeon covered her cheeks with both hands.

She had brought a friend to her room.

A male friend at that.

Though this was the conclusion she’d reached after running countless simulations, the situation itself was unavoidably embarrassing.

She’d brought him here because she was afraid a passerby might overhear that she was a streamer, but…

Juyeon untied the knot on the pizza box with trembling hands.

After setting up a small table and placing the pizza box on it, Juyeon brought plates.

“I-I’ll go wash up too.”

As Juyeon hurriedly went into the bathroom, Suhyuk once again let his eyes wander around the room.

What caught his attention most was the large bucket on the desk.

Juyeon apparently stockpiled sweets, as the basket was filled with all kinds of candies and chocolates.

It was a bit frightening to think that all those sugar lumps went into such a small body.

Does she really eat all of that…?

“…Want some?”

Juyeon, who had emerged without him noticing, was looking up at Suhyuk with a towel in her hand.

“Huh? No?”

Brushing past him, Juyeon grabbed a handful of candy.

“Here.”

“No, I’m about to eat dinner anyway.”

“This is a bribe.”

“A bribe?”

Suhyuk blinked, having reflexively accepted the candy.

“I want to make a good impression.”

The nuance could be interpreted in different ways, but for now, the two sat down facing each other and began to satisfy their hunger.

The pizza Juyeon bought was a combination pizza with cheese crust.

It was the quintessential, classic choice of pizza.

Juyeon munched diligently with her small mouth.

While outwardly she seemed focused on eating, she was actually continuing to eat because she was nervous.

“So.”

Suhyuk asked after slurping up a stretched string of cheese.

“What’s this favor you mentioned?”

Juyeon’s expression suggested the inevitable moment had arrived.

Trembling slightly, she took a sip of cola before speaking.

“I-I wanted to get your opinion… about streaming.”

“You mean about the banner?”

“Not just the banner, but like… how to proceed… and various things…”

She had made this decision thinking Suhyuk would better understand and empathize with her situation.

“So the candy and pizza are payment for advice?”

Instead of answering, Juyeon nodded.

Holding a transparent glass, Suhyuk fell into contemplation.

Concerns about broadcasting…

Being a homebody who loved his room and games, he wasn’t unfamiliar with streaming.

But that was only from a viewer’s perspective; he had never tried commenting, planning content, or anything like that, so he couldn’t readily provide an answer.

“Is-is it difficult?”

Her eyes moved busily between the plate and Suhyuk’s face.

“No, that’s not it, but are you sure I’m the right person?”

“Well… when we talked before, you seemed to know more than I do.”

That was true.

Juyeon wasn’t the type to watch streams.

“Then Juyeon.”

“Yes?”

“What kind of broadcast do you want to do, and why?”

It was a question that probed a sensitive area.

At the same time, it was a question that needed an answer.

“I… want to change myself.”

“Change?”

“I… as you can see, I’m not good at talking, and I don’t get along well with others.”

A truth painfully shared.

Suhyuk’s breath caught at the overwhelming sense of empathy.

“So… I thought if I practiced like this, I might get better.”

“If I communicate and talk with other people, even online, I thought I might improve, you know?”

Juyeon was so similar to himself.

Suhyuk couldn’t refuse her request.

No, he didn’t want to refuse.

“…I’ll help you.”

Juyeon’s pupils gradually widened.

“But first, let’s buy a banner and hang it up.”

It was a moment when cold water was splashed on her emotional high.