Ch.8383. That Kind of Talk

The location was in front of Hana’s house.

A crimson streetlight illuminated the two of them, Suhyeok and Hana.

“…Yeah.”

Suhyeok lowered the bag he had been carrying on his back to the ground.

He unzipped it and took out a small box.

Hana, who immediately recognized what it was, casually brushed her hair back.

“Can I get excited?”

“Ah. No?”

“What? Did you buy something different from what I mentioned before? Seriously?”

Hana thought such a change of mind wouldn’t be so bad.

It might even make her more excited.

Suhyeok, fidgeting nervously, stepped forward and held out the box instead of answering.

“…Happy birthday.”

A congratulation that had been repeated countless times today.

Hana smiled as she accepted the gift.

“Can I open it here?”

“…Yeah.”

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of wrapping paper being torn seemed unusually loud in the night street.

With each movement of Hana’s slender fingers, Suhyeok swallowed hard.

Finally, it opened to reveal a silver star-shaped earring.

“…Is this it?”

Those were Hana’s first words.

Suhyeok looked at her with a rather puzzled expression.

What exactly did she mean by “is this it”?

“Yeah…?”

“I mean, is this the earring you wanted me to wear?”

As she framed it that way, Suhyeok felt strange.

His head moved slowly up and down.

“Yeah.”

“Really? Then I should try it on now. Hold this for me.”

Suhyeok took the torn wrapping paper and box, silently waiting until Hana finished putting on the earrings.

After removing the earrings she had been wearing, she replaced them with Suhyeok’s trace.

“…Is it pretty?”

The scene he had imagined since the moment he purchased the item was unfolding right before his eyes.

As if inviting him to take a closer look, Hana brushed her hair aside and stepped even closer to Suhyeok.

The distance between them was less than a single step.

Close enough to clearly smell her shampoo.

Suhyeok’s heart began to race wildly, as if it were broken.

“…Yeah. I think it’s pretty.”

“Thank you. I’ll wear them often.”

Hana seemed satisfied with his answer as she caressed her ear.

“H-Hana, what do you think?”

From Suhyeok’s perspective, she had only asked if they looked good on her, but hadn’t given any opinion about the earrings themselves.

“What do I think?”

“Well… I tried to prepare exactly what you mentioned, but honestly, objectively speaking, these earrings.”

Hana’s hand wrapped around Suhyeok’s trembling wrist.

“I like them.”

Time flowed slowly.

Simultaneously, his consciousness drifted away.

Suhyeok, at a loss for words, couldn’t even tell what expression he was making.

“…Huh?”

“I said I like these earrings.”

Seemingly not disliking his reaction, Hana playfully smiled and carefully examined his face.

Beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks.

His breathing, disturbed by nervousness.

“…Your face is red. What’s up?”

“Huh? Um…? No… that’s…”

Blood rushed to his face.

His face grew unbearably hot.

Suhyeok hurriedly turned away and covered his mouth.

It was certainly not a sight he wanted others to see.

“Lee Suhyeok.”

Just one step.

If only she would take just one more step closer.

Though she had never been in a relationship before, Hana could feel it.

That the way Suhyeok was looking at her now was certainly not the gaze of a friend.

That Suhyeok was probably feeling the same emotions as she was.

“…Yeah?”

“When did you say your birthday was again?”

It was a topic somewhat off from the flow, which helped Suhyeok regain his composure.

“Mine’s December 26th.”

“Then at that time…”

Hana trailed off, then moved in front of him again as he had turned away.

“I’ll. Give you what you want.”

“Yeah…?”

“On your birthday this year. Do you have plans?”

It was just the beginning of June, starting to get hot.

There was no way he would have plans for half a year later.

“No? I don’t think so?”

“Then think carefully about what you want from me by then.”

Hana’s hand ruffled Suhyeok’s hair.

Under that touch, like petting a dog, Suhyeok was crumbling.

The boiling affection resembled gravity.

Suhyeok was a prisoner who couldn’t escape from Hana.

“Thanks for the gift, Lee Suhyeok.”

Hana took back the box and wrapping paper from his hands and grabbed the doorknob.

“Around your birthday…”

“Around my birthday?”

She paused for a moment before continuing.

“Never mind! Go home~ Prepare the song well until the day after tomorrow. I’ll call you!”

Hana managed to hold back the words lingering on her lips.

‘I wish we weren’t just friends.’

There was no reason to rush ahead more than necessary, indulging in momentary sentiments.

What she needed was patience.

She just needed to help Suhyeok gather a bit more courage.

“Haah…”

The sound of the front door locking could be heard.

The silver earrings sparkled in her palm.

Hana, who had been caressing them with her fingertips, smiled wryly.

“His sense is really terrible.”

…But I like it anyway.

* * *

Final exam period.

Although exams were right around the corner, Suhyeok was fully focused on his song composition.

[A heart already leaning]

[Words I couldn’t say]

[Whenever I see you, my mind goes blank again]

These were no longer fictional lyrics based on hypothetical situations.

They were essays and non-fiction in themselves.

“Whenever I see you~ my mind goes blank again~”

-Ding dong

When the notification sound indicating the recording was complete rang, Juyeon stopped singing.

“…Is it done?”

“Yeah. I think this will work.”

Inside Juyeon’s house.

Suhyeok wanted to create an audio file of the song first for his composition work.

“Don’t you want to listen to it again?”

This was her first experience with recording and monitoring.

Juyeon had only ever sung songs, never properly listening to her own voice.

A person’s voice is always captured differently than how they think it sounds.

She expected a cool husky tone, but when she actually heard it, it sounded more like a bright idol song.

She wondered if this was really okay.

“Yeah. It’s exactly the feeling I wanted.”

After completely saving the file, Juyeon poured juice and handed it to Suhyeok.

“Good job.”

“What did I do? You’re the one who sang.”

Suhyeok laughed and joked.

The orange juice sliding down his throat was sweet.

“But is it okay to spend so much time on this during exam period?”

“I know it’s not the smartest choice, but I just wanted to do this.”

Juyeon sat next to him and offered what seemed like the most reasonable explanation.

“Because of her?”

“…Yeah.”

“Are you having a hard time?”

By this point, Juyeon was starting to dislike the object of Suhyeok’s unrequited love.

Just who was this girl to torment her friend like this?

What was so great about her?

Juyeon only wanted to ease Suhyeok’s pain.

“Why don’t you try to let it go completely after finishing this song?”

“…I will. I really need to end this now.”

Though she had spoken out of frustration, Suhyeok agreed with her.

Juyeon’s eyes widened at his significantly changed attitude.

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve made up my mind.”

“About what?”

“Once all this busy stuff is over, I’m going to sincerely confess to her.”

Juyeon had always thought Suhyeok was like her.

She firmly believed he was someone who, like herself, feared getting hurt.

But now his choice was…

“…Will you be okay?”

What followed his steps toward courage was worry rather than encouragement.

“…Yeah.”

Juyeon’s front teeth gently bit her lower lip.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yeah.”

“This is just my personal opinion.”

“Yeah.”

Juyeon turned her head to meet his eyes.

“…I wish you wouldn’t confess.”

Suhyeok, who had expected encouragement, looked at Juyeon with surprise.

“Of course, whatever you choose is your decision, but I’m unconditionally on your side.”

“I’m probably the person who cares about you more than she does, with a high probability.”

“So what I want to say is…”

“When I see you struggling…”

“It makes me feel… bad too… so just…”

As she spoke, Juyeon realized her logic was weak and she was being too meddlesome.

“I just… don’t want to see you hurt and suffering…”

Suhyeok, who had been silent for a moment, opened his mouth.

“…I’m sorry.”

“…Huh?”

Juyeon’s eyes widened.

“I… I think I’ve been relying on you too much.”

Suhyeok felt comfortable with Juyeon.

He thought they were close enough to easily share various concerns with each other.

For him, she was both a shade and a pillar of support.

But that wasn’t the case.

Because of his constant complaints, Juyeon was also suffering.

She too was becoming sick from hearing the same repertoire of stories over and over.

The act he had done to alleviate his sadness was hurting someone else.

Suhyeok felt a surge of self-loathing.

He should have just suffered alone.

He had been living that way all along, so why was he causing trouble for others now?

Damn it. Damn it.

“I won’t talk about these things anymore.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

That was the first time Juyeon had ever raised her voice at Suhyeok.