Ch.4848. Do You Like Hana?

Juyeon first met Hana in the spring of last year.

It was after all the members of the 23rd generation had been selected.

Her bleached hair, so bright that light could pass through it, caught Juyeon’s attention first, followed by her delicate, densely packed facial features that stole her gaze.

The fact that she still remembers it now shows just how strong an impression Hana left on Juyeon.

A sparkling star.

Hana was literally like a character who had stepped out of a manga.

While that’s how she appeared on the outside, the content of her speech was overflowing with a sense of reality, which was also charming.

She seemed like the type who would have many real friends.

And apparently, she actually did have many friends.

Juyeon didn’t even feel envious.

Their basic specs were just too different.

Rather, Juyeon was simply amazed at how Hana treated someone like her with consistent kindness.

Throughout the year they spent together, she heard countless stories about boys who confessed to Hana and got rejected.

It wasn’t that Hana went around openly talking about her love life, but on days when Soeun asked, she would occasionally answer with something like, “This month… maybe two…?” As if recalling what she had eaten for dinner the day before.

Juyeon felt nothing about it.

Because it was only natural.

She thought that if she herself had been born a man, she wouldn’t have been able to help falling for Hana at first sight.

She thought she would continue to have no objection to that…

Her fingertips fidgeted with her phone.

The name displayed on the screen was [Lee Suhyeok]

Juyeon, who wanted to talk about the broadcast again now that exams were over, was hesitating.

If Suhyeok liked Hana…

Shouldn’t I not be doing this…?

Even without dating experience, it was easy to understand that repeatedly inviting a boy who liked another girl to your home wasn’t appropriate.

The scene she had witnessed earlier in the day replayed in her mind.

Hana and Suhyeok, backs pressed together, both carrying guitars.

The two couldn’t see each other’s expressions, but Juyeon, who had witnessed the scene from a distance as a third party, had seen it.

Their cheeks, flushed bright red.

“Hmm…”

It was difficult.

She couldn’t come to a conclusion.

She thought it would be hasty to determine that someone had romantic feelings for another person based solely on that.

So she decided to ask.

[Hello?]

After a few rings, Suhyeok’s voice came through Juyeon’s phone.

[He-Hello?]

[Oh. Juyeon. What’s up?]

[Ah. Um… Are you outside right now?]

The sound of cars passing by could be heard from a distance.

[I was at school until just now. Heading home now.]

Juyeon’s eyes widened as she checked the time.

The band practice had clearly ended at five, but it was now past nine.

[You were practicing alone until now?]

[No. I was with Hana.]

With Hana… just the two of them…

So they were together until this hour…

[I see…]

[Yeah. Standing while playing isn’t easy, you know. Haha. But why did you call?]

It happened in an instant.

Juyeon created ripples in Suhyeok’s heart as naturally as flowing water.

[Do you like Hana?]

Suhyeok, walking home with his guitar, blinked slowly.

[Uh… well… I do like her?]

Do you like her.

Or do you not like her.

If the choice was between the two, of course it was the former.

How could he dislike Hana who had helped him practice until this late?

[No, no. Not in that sense. Romantically.]

His steady footsteps came to a halt.

What on earth did this mean?

Suhyeok found it difficult to grasp Juyeon’s intentions.

Why was she suddenly asking this?

Juyeon’s question, the kind you might ask during a truth game on the last day of a school trip, was enough to throw him off balance.

[Th-There’s no way, right?]

But his answer at this timing was predetermined.

Who could bluntly say [Yes! I like Hana!] in this situation?

And Suhyeok wasn’t thinking of Hana in that way anyway.

No, to be precise, he was consciously refusing to think of her romantically.

Just as Juyeon saw Hana as a star.

To Suhyeok too, Hana was like a star.

It was only natural for him to think she was beyond his reach, regardless of any feelings he might harbor.

[…I see.]

With parched lips, Suhyeok waited for Juyeon’s next words.

[Okay then. Get some rest when you get home.]

[Huh…? Oh.]

[See you tomorrow.]

The call ended.

Standing there dumbfounded, Suhyeok couldn’t take his eyes off his phone screen.

It was like the aftermath of a tsunami passing through.

What was that call about?

He had questions, but it was too awkward to call back and bring up the subject again.

Meanwhile, Juyeon, who had ended the call…

“Ah. The broadcast…”

“I should have talked about it…”

Slightly flushed cheeks.

A sweet regret escaped from her lips.

* * *

What could have happened?

Soeun’s gaze turned toward Juyeon.

Juyeon, who was smiling unusually brightly today.

Even when Soeun had asked earlier if something good had happened, Juyeon had only replied that she was just in a good mood.

…There’s definitely something going on.

Soeun’s sharp intuition boasted an accuracy rate of nearly 98%.

“Everyone! Come over here!”

That aside, the president had to keep busy managing today’s schedule.

Soeun called the members gathered for practice over to the desk.

“I’ve organized a list of all the seniors we need to call, okay?”

One of Spirit’s long-standing traditions.

It was calling graduates to invite them to the regular performance.

This system wasn’t born out of blind respect and reverence for seniors.

Most of Spirit’s equipment had been provided by graduates.

The equipment currently enjoyed by the students was a luxury set that would take years of saving the school’s support funds to purchase.

And it was all provided by the graduates.

OBs who had lingering regrets from their school days would readily contribute large amounts for the kids’ equipment.

And after successful regular performances, they would always cover the costs of team dinners.

Because of this, all past presidents of Spirit,

or members who understood how Spirit operated, recognized that this level of service was their rightful duty.

“Just use the same template as last year, and mark the results with names and batch numbers in the group chat when you’re done!”

It’s difficult explaining to the first-years.

The main second-years were all experienced.

Except for one person.

Suhyeok.

Suhyeok’s face darkened as he received the list.

‘Seniors’

It was hard enough dealing with the current third and fourth-year students…

The batches assigned to Suhyeok were the 9th and 10th.

In terms of age difference, they were seniors from a distant past, more than a generation apart.

“Alright! I’ll give you an hour! Let’s meet back here when you’re done~”

“Unnie~ I’m going to buy coffee to drink while I do this, want to come?”

“Sure! Anyone else coming?”

“I’ll come too!”

Soeun and Hana left the room arm in arm, with Choegang following behind.

Left behind were Suhyeok and Juyeon.

There was still some awkwardness remaining from yesterday’s phone call, but Suhyeok quietly sat down next to Juyeon.

“…Juyeon.”

She looked up from the list of seniors’ phone numbers she had been staring at.

“Don’t worry, Suhyeok.”

She smiled brightly, as if she knew exactly what he was worried about.

“Huh?”

“I’ll send this to you.”

After fiddling with her phone, Juyeon sent something as a message.

It was a photo.

Text that resembled an algorithm.

Suhyeok read the contents.

[Hello! I’m Park Juyeon, a vocalist from Spirit’s 23rd batch. Are you Senior XXX?]

↪[YES OR NO]

[I’m contacting you because we’re having our regular performance on XX/XX at XX, and I was wondering if you might be able to attend, if it’s convenient for you.]

↪[YES OR NO]

[Yes! Thank you! OR If you do happen to come, we would appreciate it if you could send a message to this number!]

With this… I can do it…!

“Did you write this?”

Suhyeok, visibly brightened, looked at Juyeon with admiration.

“I-I made it last year… because I knew I could never do it on the spot.”

Of course, this might have been an unnecessary procedure for other members who were good with words.

But for Suhyeok right now, Juyeon’s cheat sheet was as valuable as a secret martial arts manual.

“I see. Thank you. This would be good to pass down to juniors too, don’t you think?”

“…Is it that good?”

“There might be more people like us in the future.”

The word ‘us’ made Juyeon’s heart pound.

A group had formed.

A small group of just the two of them that no other member could intrude upon.

“Then… want to try it with this?”

“Now?”

“Yeah.”

Suhyeok, whose mouth was going dry, nodded.

It was something he had to do anyway.

And it didn’t seem like a bad idea to try it now when things were calm, rather than when other club members were making calls.

“Then… I’ll start with this person.”

[9th batch, male vocalist. Choi Seonggwang]

A senior whose name sounded strong from the start.

As Suhyeok began to dial, Juyeon started to tense up beside him as if it were her own task.

After a fairly long ring, a deep voice characteristic of a middle-aged man came through.

[Hello.]

[Ah. Hello.]

[Who is this?]

[I, um…]

Seeing Suhyeok’s seemingly brain-frozen response, Juyeon quickly showed him her phone screen.

[This is Lee Suhyeok, a vocalist from Spirit’s 23rd batch. Are you Senior Choi Seonggwang?]

Since the phrase was written specifically for Juyeon, Suhyeok accidentally introduced himself as a vocalist.

[Oh~ Male vocalist, so you’re in my line! Are you a freshman?]

This was a question not covered in the manual.

[Ah. No. I’m a… second-year!]

[Hahaha. Why are you so nervous?]

At least the senior didn’t seem like too much of a traditionalist.

[Are you calling about the regular performance?]

[Yes. Yes!]

[I’ve been transferred to a provincial office this year, so I don’t think I can make it. Have fun with the performance~]

[Ah. Yes!]

[Okay~ Fighting~]

Suhyeok couldn’t even recite all of the prepared manual.

The senior had already hung up.

“Phew…”

Beads of sweat formed on Suhyeok’s hand holding the phone.

That’s how nervous he was.

“Thanks to you, I survived, Juyeon.”

Suhyeok expressed his sincere gratitude.

Instead of answering, Juyeon shyly made a V sign with her fingers.