Ch.5959. Awakening

“What! Hana, where did you go!”

When Suhyeok returned with Hana, Seo-eun, who had been looking after the freshmen, jumped out.

“I had something to take care of quickly.”

“You could have at least answered your phone.”

“I’m sorry.”

The seniors, including graduates, had long since optimized the sound for the performance venue.

“Oh! It’s Hana!”

The 20th generation bassist, Choi Jihyeok, greeted her warmly.

“Hello, oppa.”

“It’s been a while. First time since last year’s regular performance?”

“I think so? Or not? Did you come when we were recruiting new students?”

“That wasn’t me. Who are you confusing me with?”

“Ah! You should have come then!”

It was the kind of conversation that would have made Suhyeok stammer, but Hana had the knack for flowing through it naturally.

Hana finally finished greeting all the seniors.

Now it was time for the second-year students, the main performers, to show the results of their efforts in front of their seniors. The 23rd generation approached the ensemble with a mindset quite different from their usual practice sessions.

Seo-eun, as president, burned with a sense of duty toward the 23rd generation she had cultivated.

Hana wanted to move forward using her desire for recognition as a stepping stone.

Choi Gang aimed to prove that he was the star of the 23rd generation.

Juyeon just wanted this time to pass quickly.

And Suhyeok was determined to do his best to hear that he was better than his predecessor on guitar.

The current 23rd generation members rarely talked about the guitarist and vocalist who had left for military service.

When they did talk about them, it was just to say things like “that guy was really immature.”

They never mentioned how skilled they were or how they performed.

Though Suhyeok thought he had integrated well with the current members, the seniors’ evaluation could be different.

[Ah, but the previous guitarist played really well.]

[I know. It’s a shame. If only he hadn’t gone to the military.]

[Isn’t the performance too stiff?]

This kind of evaluation could naturally come up.

Suhyeok wanted to be free from the unpleasant pressure of possibly being compared to an ex, so to speak. Through skill, of course.

“W-well then, we’ll begin.”

Juyeon tapped the microphone with her finger, received signals from the members, and announced the start.

The first song was “Standing Luxury.”

It was Hana’s pick and also the song the 23rd generation had prepared for the longest time.

Juyeon’s voice layered over the smooth overdrive sound commonly heard in alternative rock.

Looking for the stars

Desiring shiny moonlight

Juyeon, holding the microphone, captivated the seniors’ eyes.

On stage, she was definitely a different person from the quiet loner who kept to herself in daily life.

Juyeon wasn’t good at revealing herself to others.

She wasn’t articulate and found it difficult to express her true feelings honestly.

That’s why she could love singing even more.

Singing was a way to borrow emotions in the most sophisticated manner.

She put the words she wanted to say and the emotions she was feeling completely into her songs.

It made her more free and made her shine even brighter.

Standing luxury under the moonlight

Reaching for the starlight

The song approached its climax.

A high-pitched part that required breath control.

Juyeon closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of the hot lights pouring down on her head.

Gotta love the way I escape this earth

With a refreshing shout, the drums led the members into the main riff.

Suhyeok and Hana played the riff facing each other.

Seo-eun lifted her bass slightly for the performance.

-Dududung dududung dududung du du du dung dudungttak

-Bam!

The drums slowed down.

The members made eye contact and played the final note of the song in unison.

-Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap

The seniors sitting in the audience all applauded.

“Ooh~ They’re doing well as the main performers now!”

“I know. Much better than last year. Hey guys~”

“Seniors! We’ve put in our time now, you know!”

Choi Gang shouted cheerfully from his drum chair.

“That’s right. Gang is almost due for military service too.”

“I’m going to serve as a public service worker!”

It was a tremendous shock.

Suhyeok trembled at the unexpected statement.

This must be a joke…

Tell me it’s a joke.

Such a big guy.

Such an incredible gym-built body owner—if he doesn’t defend the country, who will?

“Huh? Gang, are you really going to be a public service worker?”

Another senior who had been listening to the conversation asked.

“I got a grade 4 exemption!”

“Why?”

“Flat feet!”

“…I see.”

Those who had completed their military service were sad to have lost an opportunity to tease him, while those who hadn’t yet served couldn’t help but envy Choi Gang.

Juyeon, who had been standing next to Suhyeok, quietly approached him.

“Suhyeok.”

“…Yeah?”

“What grade did you get?”

“…Grade 1.”

“You’re healthy.”

“That’s right.”

“Then why are you so sad?”

Ah…

This feeling couldn’t be explained in words.

No, even if explained, it wouldn’t be understood.

This pain!

This suffering!

This injustice of the world!

Instead of answering, Suhyeok let out a deep sigh.

“Come on, guys~ Let’s keep going! We have a long way to go!”

They had prepared 8 songs.

They had just finished one, so they still had a lot left to do.

Seo-eun thought the balance of songs for this festival was perfect.

First, she had definitely secured the most important element: mass appeal that the audience would enjoy.

There were sweet love songs with an acoustic feel, and they had also covered idol songs that other bands had done in rock versions.

They had also selected songs from famous foreign bands that weren’t too difficult but were well-known.

The audience response was as good as guaranteed.

For the rest of the songs, she tried to respect the members’ tastes as much as possible.

Songs that would help the 23rd generation improve their skills.

Songs that the general public might not know well but had excellent band sound.

And finally, to crown it all, a song that was uniquely theirs.

[The Dawn Is Blue]

In Spirit’s long history, few generations had created their own original songs.

Copying.

There were many people who were good at faithfully reproducing others’ performances.

But creation was a completely different realm.

One needed to understand the structure of music and also have an understanding of what they wanted to express.

It wasn’t that beginners absolutely couldn’t compose songs, but without the basics, one couldn’t even start composing.

“Now… we’ll perform our last prepared original song, ‘The Dawn Is Blue.'”

Juyeon gripped the microphone with both hands.

Despite her determination not to be nervous, Hana couldn’t stop her heart from racing wildly.

The people sitting in the audience felt like judges from an audition program.

Especially when she looked at Jaejun, who was sitting with his arms crossed and a languid gaze, that feeling intensified.

He was like a teacher to her, and he was also the president of the only generation that had created an original song here.

“Here we go!”

-Jjak jjak jjak jjak

-Bbabababa bbambbam bbambbabba bbarara

The intro was a part where Hana played alone, without even the sound of drums.

After the melodic line developed for one round, the rest of the session came in at once, as if supporting her.

“Ooh… Wow. This is cool.”

“I know. Did Hana compose this?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“Jaejun, what do you think?”

For Jaejun, who had already heard the demo several times during the process of seeking help from Seo-eun, there wasn’t much new.

“As long as they’re having fun, it’s fine.”

It wasn’t like they were entering a competition.

It was just something they should enjoy doing among themselves.

There was no point in being too detailed about what they did well or poorly.

As the second verse chorus was ending, Juyeon timidly called out “Guitar!”

It was Suhyeok’s solo part.

Jaejun had never heard Suhyeok’s original solo before.

‘Hmm…?’

Jaejun uncrossed his arms and leaned forward in his chair.

First, the way the notes connected was unique.

What scale was he using?

He couldn’t figure it out at once.

The second surprising point was the level of completion.

A solo within a band song needs to make the maximum impact within the given few measures.

If the version Hana had brought before was bland and common, this one was compact and clean enough to believe a professional composer had done it.

It doesn’t seem like Hana did this…

Did Suhyeok do this?

“Even~ if I~ melt~ and~ disappear~”

After Juyeon successfully belted out the final high note, the session carried the heightened atmosphere straight to the end.

The structure repeated the main riff from the beginning at the end as well, so everyone strummed vigorously.

-Bba babam bba bbabba

The song ended.

Sweat dripped from Suhyeok’s forehead.

The first thing he checked was Hana’s expression.

Her face, tinged with a light pink, showed a mixture of excitement and tension in a 50-50 ratio.

“Woohoo~”

The seniors stood up and applauded together.

Watching this, the freshmen also joined in the atmosphere with excessive praise.

“Juyeon unni! You’re so cool!”

“Gang hyung! Saikou! (The best!)”

“Seo-eun unni is so gorgeous…”

The 23rd generation members came down after putting their instruments on the stands.

The seniors were getting ready to leave after watching.

“Wow. You guys are accomplishing what we couldn’t do—creating an original song!”

Hosung, who was the 20th generation drummer, praised the 23rd generation kids proudly.

“Hmm~ Well… rather than us, it’s more like Hana carried us!”

Seo-eun rubbed Hana’s shoulders with both hands.

“Ah. Stop flattering me.”

“Why~ You like being praised inside~”

This unni.

Unnecessarily perceptive.

“Jaejun oppa! Oppa, hurry up and praise our original song too! Okay?”

Unable to resist Seo-eun’s aegyo, Jaejun approached the members.

Hana’s lips twitched with anticipation that the high-nosed Jaejun would praise her.

What will he praise?

Will he say the riff is cool?

Or that the chorus is well-made?

I put a lot of effort into the bridge part too…

As Hana swallowed nervously, Jaejun walked past her.

Ignored.

It was blatant disregard.

He stopped in front of Suhyeok, who was quietly chatting with Juyeon.

“The solo. You made it, right, Suhyeok?”

Caught off guard by the senior’s question, Suhyeok froze.

“Me?”

“Didn’t you make it?”

“Ah… Yes.”

“It was cool. Good job.”

Jaejun reached out and patted Suhyeok’s shoulder.

Though it felt good to be acknowledged, Suhyeok instinctively turned his head toward Hana.

As soon as their eyes met, Hana avoided his gaze as if running away.

“Guys! Good job!”

The seniors began to leave the auditorium one by one.

“Oppa! You know you have to come to the performance too, right?”

“Hey, I’m job hunting. I can’t.”

“Hyung! We’ll be waiting!”

“Gang, hyung has to live a real life now… Hyung is getting old too.”

And so ended the rehearsal in front of the seniors in a bustling atmosphere.

Seo-eun returned to the auditorium, dragging her tired body after seeing the seniors off.

“Guys… good job everyone…”

With this, all the tasks that needed to be done were finished.

All that remained was to enjoy the stage.

Seo-eun was about to feel proud of herself for overcoming another big hurdle.

“Unni! You worked hard~”

“No, no~ It’s fine~ Let’s all go home and rest now! Managing your condition before the performance is important too.”

Everyone packed up their instruments and left the auditorium.

During this process, Hana didn’t talk to anyone.

As she silently put her guitar gig bag on her back and was about to leave, Suhyeok followed her like a tracker.

“Hana.”

“What.”

He followed her out because he was worried, but Suhyeok didn’t know what to say.

“Do… do you want to eat together?”

This was the best he could do.

He was willing to buy her food if she wanted.

“I’m not really hungry. The freshmen were saying they were going to eat something earlier, why don’t you go join them now?”

Her voice was calm and composed, showing no signs of anger.

But Hana still had her back turned and wouldn’t show her face to Suhyeok.

“No, that’s not what I…”

“Lee Suhyeok.”

She stopped in her tracks.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

Beyond her soft yellow hair, Hana’s eyes sparkled.

This wasn’t an exaggerated description.

Hana’s eyes were so full of moisture that they seemed about to spill tears at any moment.

“Go.”

Hana turned her back again and moved forward.

Suhyeok bit his lip hard.

Should he really go back like this?

Unconsciously, Suhyeok clutched the ring necklace Hana had given him.

Is it okay for someone like me to do this?

This wasn’t rational.

He didn’t even know if this was the right thing to do.

But just this once, he decided to follow where his heart pointed.

-Tak tak tak tak tak tak tak

Successfully reaching Hana, who was walking away, with light jogging steps, Suhyeok roughly grabbed her wrist.

“Hey. You. What…”

Hana couldn’t continue her words.

Suhyeok’s arm wrapped around her shoulder.

“…You did well. Really.”

The strength drained from her arms that were about to push him away.

“Regardless of what the seniors say, I really like the song you made.”

The moisture that had gathered in Hana’s round eyes now flowed down her cheeks.

She could feel Suhyeok’s body heat.

Hana didn’t dislike his warmth.

“You were the best, Hana.”

Hana’s hand, which had been awkwardly facing the ground, weakly traced Suhyeok’s back.

“…Say it one more time.”

It wasn’t difficult.

He could say it many more times in the name of friendship.

“Your song was the best, Hana.”

Hana now had to clearly acknowledge the name of the emotion rising within her.

21 years old. Yoon Hana.

For the first time, I have someone I like.