Ch.9595. Scared

The preliminary round of the competition is on July 31st.

Today is July 29th.

An unusual tension filled the club room.

“…Should we practice a bit more?”

At Hana’s question, the Spirit members showed ambivalent reactions.

Seo-eun turned her head away, while Choi-gang snorted.

Their reactions weren’t particularly strange.

After all, they had already practiced one song for an hour and thirty minutes.

Everyone had agreed to practice together daily during the final week before the competition.

Practicing a three-minute song for over an hour meant repeating the same song more than 25 times in a day.

But this arduous process was breeding doubt rather than confidence.

There was no progress.

This was closer to labor for maintaining the status quo rather than development.

“…I want to stop now.”

Juyeon spoke up.

“Why?”

“My throat condition… I think it’s better to manage my condition from now on.”

“Ah… that’s true. Then should just the session musicians practice together?”

“No way!”

Choi-gang stood up abruptly, looking exasperated.

“I’m sick of it! I’m fucking sick of it!”

“Hey, I’m sick of it too, you know?”

“What more do you want us to do here? Honestly, we finished the song over ten days ago!”

They completed the song in early July.

They perfected it by mid-July.

Late July had been nothing but hellish repetitive training.

“…But we might get nervous in front of the judges. We could make mistakes.”

“I’ve already made you into someone who can’t make mistakes!”

Choi-gang, who seemed to have a lot built up inside, appeared unwilling to compromise today.

Finally leaving his drum chair, he slung his bag over his shoulder and declared his escape.

“Hmm~ Then shall we do it one more time tomorrow as the final practice?”

To be honest, though she hadn’t said anything, Seo-eun was also quite tired.

If they continued any longer, what little affection she had for her instrument might disappear completely.

“…Unnie, you too?”

Hana looked at Suhyeok with a betrayed expression.

As if signaling, ‘You’re still on my side, right?’

“I can join you for individual practice if needed.”

“Argh! Everyone get out. All of you leave!”

Even Suhyeok, the trusted practice enthusiast, had taken the side of the other members.

In the end, they disbanded for the day.

Hana, not hiding her displeasure, puffed her cheeks.

“If we really fail, it’s all your fault.”

“Haha. Hana, don’t say such unlucky things.”

“Fine. Then everyone practice individually at home! Got it?”

“Of course!”

The loudest response came from Choi-gang, who obviously couldn’t have a drum set at home.

The club members began to leave one by one.

Juyeon approached Suhyeok, who was putting his guitar into its gig bag.

Standing awkwardly in front of him, she seemed to have something to say.

“…Suhyeok.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have time after this?”

“Ah. Yes.”

The relationship between Suhyeok and Juyeon was still awkward.

Juyeon had pushed Suhyeok away, and Suhyeok hadn’t tried to forcefully approach her.

But that didn’t mean Suhyeok thought badly of Juyeon.

Most of his memories with Juyeon were of receiving from her.

He was always ready to help if Juyeon needed him.

Juyeon and Suhyeok left the club room together.

Though summer days are long, it was past 8 o’clock, so darkness had settled on the streets.

“So… what’s up?”

Suhyeok asked once they were outside the building.

“…Walk me home.”

It wasn’t difficult, but it was a somewhat unexpected answer.

“Home?”

“Yes. Just to my front door. You don’t need to come in.”

“Why? So suddenly?”

In short, she was asking him to escort her home.

“I just want to talk with you.”

Had Juyeon’s heart softened?

Or did she now feel like telling him about concerns she hadn’t shared before?

Either way, Suhyeok was willing to accept her proposal.

“Okay then.”

Suhyeok matched his pace to Juyeon’s slow steps.

It had been a while since they’d done this, and Suhyeok welcomed the situation.

“How do you feel about the competition? Nervous?”

“…Yes. Because I need to do well.”

“But you’re doing the best among all of us right now.”

“That’s why I need to do well on that day too.”

While the competition was indeed stressful, Juyeon was currently dealing with several overlapping difficult situations.

Most of them were things she couldn’t tell Suhyeok about.

“We’ll be able to do it.”

“…Right. We have to succeed.”

Seeing Suhyeok’s dreamy expression, Juyeon nodded.

If winning awards at the competition makes you happy.

Juyeon was ready to give her all on stage.

She thought it was the most efficient way to make Suhyeok happy.

As they talked about the competition and practice, the two soon reached the fork in the road that separated Suhyeok’s path from Juyeon’s house.

From here, it was only about a minute’s walk to Juyeon’s home.

-Tap tap tap tap tap tap

The sound of someone running came from behind them.

Suhyeok didn’t react much, but Juyeon was startled and grabbed Suhyeok’s collar.

“…Juyeon?”

A small child ran past them.

Even after confirming it was just a child, Juyeon’s trembling didn’t seem to subside.

“Ah…”

Juyeon exhaled painfully.

Her face had turned pale.

“What’s wrong? Did something really happen?”

“…No.”

“No, you don’t seem fine at all. Are you really okay?”

Juyeon’s eyes met Suhyeok’s.

The competition was just two days away.

She didn’t want to shake Suhyeok’s or the other members’ mental state with her personal issues.

“…Later. No, I’ll tell you after the competition.”

Juyeon forced a smile and postponed her explanation.

“Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

“Promise.”

Suhyeok held out his pinky finger.

It was a trivial form of promise for adults, but Juyeon readily hooked her finger with his.

“Yes. Promise.”

Juyeon’s unexpected request.

And her reaction to the situation just now.

A chilling feeling swept through Suhyeok’s mind.

“Suhyeok.”

“Yes.”

In front of Juyeon’s house.

A package box of ambiguous size was placed on the ground.

“Do you remember when I said I’d grant a wish when I reached 500 viewers?”

“Of course I remember.”

“Is it still valid?”

“Yes, definitely!”

After entering the password, the sound of the lock being released was heard.

“It won’t be long now. Be prepared.”

“…Do I need to be prepared?”

“I’m joking. Thank you, Suhyeok.”

Juyeon grabbed the door handle.

“No problem. Call me if you need anything else.”

“…I will.”

“Sleep well.”

“You too.”

Suhyeok turned around and went down the stairs.

The sound gradually faded away.

Juyeon, standing still, looked at the package box on the ground with trembling eyes.

She hadn’t ordered anything.

Her parents hadn’t sent anything either.

An uninvited guest in itself.

Juyeon reached out, took the box inside, and sat down in front of her computer chair.

Voicecord was filled with bright red notifications.

Juyeon froze at the sight of the red circles.

They were all messages from the new manager she had started collaborating with.

Messages from Yeni World.

[Yeoni! Did you receive the gift well?]

[It’s a best-selling nutritional supplement that’s really good for throat health. Please try it!]

[Oh! And Epina is looking for streamers to collaborate with next time, would you like to participate? haha]

[Have a happy day today too!]

Even though she hadn’t replied, the messages kept coming.

He had sent a gift despite her never giving him her address.

Honestly, she wanted to block him, but even that scared her.

She knew the situation was going very wrong, but Juyeon didn’t know how to handle it.

After all, he hadn’t actually done anything harmful to her.

Sometimes she felt like someone was following her when she was walking alone, but there was no physical evidence.

She felt like she was caught in paranoia.

The anxiety was gradually eating away at her, which was why Juyeon had briefly asked Suhyeok for help.

Juyeon opened the box.

It was quite a large box to contain just vitamins.

There was something that appeared to be vitamins, and the other item was…

A T-shirt.

There was nothing special about the design.

It was a shirt with the logo of company C, known for jeans.

When Juyeon checked the inside of the T-shirt, she got goosebumps again.

Size XS.

The exact size that would fit Juyeon’s body.

How…?

How did he know?

If he really…

Though she hadn’t mentioned the competition, she had said she would take a break from her personal broadcasts for a few days due to personal schedules.

Honestly, she didn’t want to return.

If there was any driving force to continue this, it was only Suhyeok’s wish token.

It felt like she wouldn’t miss anything if she quit right away.

Even if she wanted to confide in someone, only Suhyeok knew about the existence of her broadcast.

Juyeon put the T-shirt back in the box exactly as it was and climbed onto her bed.

She hugged her knees and buried her face.

“…I’m scared.”

In truth, Juyeon wished Suhyeok could have stayed by her side longer.