Ch.8080. Cheating

“…Yeah.”

If she wasn’t curious about kissing itself, that would be a lie.

“I guess I could try it someday if I get a girlfriend.”

The atmosphere turned strange.

Suhyeok scratched the tip of his nose as if embarrassed.

It was already a mistake that the conversation had come this far.

Who knew Juyeon would take his joking comment so seriously.

Feeling awkward, Suhyeok poured another shot of soju into his mouth.

Instead of answering, Juyeon fiddled with her lips using her fingers.

If Suhyeok had responded more actively here, she might have seriously considered kissing him.

After all, she was someone who had absolutely no expectations about romance.

Romantic relationships.

Romantic love.

Romantic kisses.

While such things might exist as reality for some people, Juyeon had lived as if they didn’t apply to her.

That’s why if Suhyeok really wanted it.

If it was with a friend she had opened her heart to, Juyeon thought it wouldn’t be so bad to give him her first kiss.

“So Suhyeok… what do you want to do going forward?”

Though he claimed he wanted to forget about that nameless girl, there didn’t seem to be much progress.

No. Looking at the current situation, it seemed to have gotten worse.

“Hmm… after going around in circles, there are ultimately two options.”

Despite the deepening emotional divide, the choices remained simple.

“Option 1: Confess. Option 2: Don’t confess.”

“Option 2 is already being implemented.”

“Right. Though it’s kind of funny to call doing nothing a choice.”

Suhyeok continued his explanation.

“If I confess, I’ll probably get rejected. Then I won’t even be able to be friends with her.”

“And if you don’t confess?”

“I can stay friends. I can see her face often, and occasionally go out to eat something delicious together.”

Perfect understanding of another person’s situation doesn’t exist.

The best one can do is to put oneself in that situation.

Juyeon imagined herself in Suhyeok’s position, assuming she had someone she secretly loved.

“…But if I were you, I think I’d choose option 2 too.”

10,000 won right in front of you.

100,000 won with a 50% chance.

Juyeon was the type to choose the 10,000 won.

While there was some satisfaction in small happiness, the choice was more strongly motivated by the desire to avoid potential unhappiness.

“But option 2 is really painful.”

“They’re completely fine while I’m alone going up and down in an endless cycle.”

“I guess there’s a reason why there are so many unrequited love songs in the world.”

Suhyeok smiled sadly.

This time, Juyeon took a sip from her glass.

“…Developing a habit of drinking whenever you’re stressed isn’t good for your health.”

Juyeon took away the soju bottle, which had very little left in it.

“If you’re having a hard time like today, you can come find me again, but don’t drink.”

A warm comfort.

It might be too grand to call it salvation, but for Suhyeok, Juyeon had become more than just a summer shade.

“Thank you, Juyeon.”

Instead of answering, Juyeon smiled gently.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah?”

Juyeon chuckled.

“There are plenty of women in the world.”

Juyeon never thought she’d live to see the day when she’d say something like this.

Such a common comforting phrase.

She never imagined she’d be saying something typically said to guys who’ve been rejected.

The situation felt so foreign to her that she felt like an actor in a drama.

“So it will pass soon.”

Despite trying to give cool advice, Juyeon had forgotten to give notice of her hiatus.

* * *

The end of May meant the end of the semester was approaching.

Before the time of liberation arrived, they first had to face the much-anticipated final exam period.

Suhyeok, who had been looking at PowerPoint slides thinking he should study in advance, picked up his phone when it suddenly started buzzing with messages.

[Anyone busy on June 4th!!!!! Who can’t make it? Hurry hurry hurry hurry]

A chat room he hadn’t seen before.

But all the participants were familiar faces.

Among the 23rd generation members, only one person.

Only one was missing.

He had already guessed from the mention of June 4th, but this…

[We need to decide what to do for Hana’s birthday party!]

“It’s already June…”

Suhyeok was newly struck by how quickly time was passing.

The tempo was incomparably faster than last year.

Group activities definitely had something that accelerated time.

Otherwise, how could a semester be ending already?

That aside…

About Hana’s birthday…

Suhyeok’s worries deepened.

This was something he couldn’t discuss with Juyeon as usual.

After all, the fact that he liked Hana had been a secret until now.

In the end, deciding what action to take was entirely up to him.

[I don’t have anything]

Unable to reach a conclusion, he sent a reply to the group chat for now.

[Juyeon said she’s free too, so we’re good~]

[@Kang]

[Kang! Check this and let us know!]

He remembered the day he gave Hana a block as a gift.

She had complained, asking if he needed a magnifying glass to make it…

This time, the first hurdle was whether to prepare something separately or not.

If he followed his heart and gave an excessive gift, she might feel burdened.

But if he didn’t give anything at all, she would probably feel disappointed.

Should he just go with the group gift?

Would that be okay?

The compass of desire was screaming, ‘I want to prepare something separately.’

But if he did give something, what should it be…

After going around in circles, Suhyeok turned to the internet.

Indeed, this was where a loner like him sought help.

After searching for a while, Suhyeok headed to the club room.

Today was the day he would meet Hana, the soon-to-be birthday girl.

The reason was to create a demo for a new song.

With lyrics and melody completed up to the first verse, it was now time to arrange the session.

-Click

The door wasn’t locked, so he just pushed it open.

“Oh. Lee Suhyeok. Hi.”

Today’s Hana was a bit different from usual.

She was sprawled out on the sofa as if it were her own living room.

Her loose fashion aside, what felt new was that she was wearing glasses.

“Hana. Do you usually wear contacts?”

“Huh? No?”

“Then why today…”

“I bought these the other day, what do you think? Fashion glasses! It’s my final exam look.”

He’d heard of wedding guest looks or summer vacation looks, but what kind of concept was a final exam look?

“I think it suits you well.”

A pretty face looks pretty no matter what it wears.

Even glasses without prescription couldn’t hide Hana’s beauty.

“Ooh! Is it better with them on?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What? So what you said earlier was just talk?”

He was getting used to this kind of black-and-white rhetoric.

“Anyway! We need to get to work now.”

The preliminaries were in early August.

They had about two months left.

The song needed to be completed by the end of June so they could practice in July.

And finalize everything in August.

Excluding about ten days when they’d be too busy to work on it at all, they had about 20 days left to produce the song.

Hana took out her guitar and placed it on her thigh.

“So did you find the references I asked for?”

References.

What Hana had asked Suhyeok to do was find examples of songs with the feel he wanted to achieve.

Getting inspiration or hints from others’ work was fundamental.

They could determine the texture of sound and equipment to use based on that.

“Yeah.”

Suhyeok took out his phone and pulled up the music he had saved.

“Let’s see… Ah. It has a bit of a 2000s rock ballad vibe? Something like this?”

The samples Suhyeok brought were band songs that could be found among popular karaoke hits.

“Given the lyrics, I thought we should keep the tempo slow, with some clean tones mixed in here and there.”

It was definitely faster to discuss with samples than to talk abstractly.

Having properly grasped Suhyeok’s intention, Hana stroked her chin.

“…This kind of song requires a good vocalist.”

Basically, these songs don’t have flashy sessions.

While there might be solo parts that come in during the middle or latter part, like a burning time, the rest of the song requires the vocalist to lead the atmosphere.

“I believe Juyeon will do well.”

There was no doubt.

Juyeon was the best singer among all the people Suhyeok knew.

This was acknowledged by all her broadcast viewers.

If individual abilities had levels, Juyeon would undoubtedly be number one in the 23rd generation.

“Agreed. Then let’s put that aside and work on the bassline first.”

Once the drums and bass were set, the guitar could add variations within that framework to achieve the desired feel.

Intense research began.

“How about this?”

“A bit darker feeling.”

“Should we rework it in minor then?”

“I think that would be good.”

Create and destroy.

Create and destroy.

They had already discarded more than ten attempts.

“…Hey. Wasn’t there anything that felt just right?”

Quite a few things had passed by Hana’s ears that seemed okay.

“There were some good ones, but they didn’t feel 100%.”

He wanted 100%.

Because it was a song they were all doing together.

And because they would be evaluated on it.

If a moment of failure and frustration came, Suhyeok didn’t want to blame himself for not giving 100%.

“Sigh… Let’s take a short break then. Whew. My brain isn’t working.”

Hana put the guitar on the stand and crawled back onto the sofa.

Setting aside thoughts of music for a moment, concerns about Hana’s birthday resurfaced.

“Hana.”

“Yeah?”

“If someone gave you 50,000 won, what would you do with it?”

“Why so suddenly?”

“Just curious.”

That amount was the upper limit Suhyeok had set for himself on how much to spend on a friend’s birthday gift.

“I’d probably order delivery food.”

Delivery…?

But giving a delivery app gift card as a birthday present seemed…

“What about objects… anything…?”

That seemed too lacking in form.

Hana’s gaze turned to Suhyeok.

Wondering why he was acting strange, she soon realized her birthday was approaching.

Tsk. So he wants to get me a gift.

He seemed to be trying to ask indirectly without giving himself away, but Hana had already figured out the situation.

Now, about what she wanted…

The unexpectedly specific price made it more difficult to decide.

50,000 won.

That amount could definitely buy something decent.

“…Accessories.”

“Accessories?”

“Yeah. I’d probably buy something like a necklace or earrings.”

Suhyeok’s expression brightened.

The answer was clear.

“I’d prefer something not too flashy, in a size that’s not burdensome, and in silver or gold tones. The brand doesn’t matter much.”

This was more like an answer key than a cheat sheet.

Suhyeok mentally repeated it so he wouldn’t forget, while wondering about Hana’s excessive kindness.

“Got it? Lee Suhyeok? I’ve told you everything.”

Seeing her laughing brightly, Suhyeok’s face turned bright red.