A Treasure Trove
A soft laugh escaped her lips. Ah. What am I doing? She felt pathetic for having been so tense just moments ago. After all, Su-hyeok wasn’t interested in that way at all. She was the only one making a fuss.
“Yeah. You can try it.” Her voice had become much more relaxed.
“Really?” His sparkling eyes were faintly visible through his bangs. Hana took a step toward her guitar for the boy who asked once more.
Hana pulled the guitar from its stand and plopped down on the bed. She plucked each string from top to bottom. The tuning seemed roughly correct.
“Hey. Go wash your hands!” Come to think of it, she had washed hers but he hadn’t yet. At her command, Su-hyeok dashed into the bathroom. Hana, who had plugged the tuner into the headstock just in case, felt the corner of her mouth twitch. It was a different kind of thrill than before.
No one in Spirit had ever shown this much interest in her guitar. Sure, people had casually said it was pretty in passing, but to truly appreciate its charm, which artists had made it famous, or why it cost what it did—you had to genuinely know and love guitars. In that sense, Su-hyeok’s reaction was explosive. That timid kid showing such an intense response. Hana felt oddly pleased and began humming as she played a fingerstyle song. The resonance was excellent, as expected.
“I’m back.” Su-hyeok emerged from the bathroom. Knowing guitars were sensitive to humidity, he had thoroughly dried his hands with a towel until not a drop of water remained before appearing before her.
“Sit here.” Hana patted the bed. Though he had been fixated on the fact that this was a girl’s room before arriving, now all his attention was captured by the guitar’s radiant glow.
“Here.” Hana held out a pick in front of him. It meant he could play.
“Will the noise be okay with the neighbors?”
“It’s fine if the amp’s unplugged. I’ve done it a lot at home.” An unplugged electric guitar wasn’t very loud.
Su-hyeok’s hand wrapped around the rather hefty rosewood neck. “Whoa...” Just like its appearance, the feel of it resting on his thigh was unfamiliar. It was a magnificent guitar, but the songs Su-hyeok knew how to play were very limited. He began playing the example she had taught him right there on the spot. Hana watched him with a pleased expression from the side. She felt a desire to teach him more guitar—a feeling hard to define, but if she had to put a name to it, it was like a teaching urge welling up inside her.
“This guitar is really nice.” Su-hyeok smiled brightly as he strummed an F chord.
“...Want to hear it through the amp too?”
“Huh?”
“The amp. If you plug in headphones, you can play right now.” Su-hyeok, who had been satisfied just from the brief demonstration, nodded eagerly as if he’d hit the jackpot.
“Wait a sec.” Hana got up from the bed and crouched on the floor to fiddle with the amp. She naturally handed the cable end to Su-hyeok. He plugged it into the jack. With the headphones connected, Hana knelt in front of Su-hyeok, who was waiting to play.
“Can you lean your head forward?” He did as told. She seemed intent on putting the headphones on him herself, her face drawing closer. Only then could Su-hyeok snap out of the “guitar” hypnosis. A girl’s room. A girl’s bed. And Hana’s somewhat defenseless appearance. Because she was wearing a large boxy T-shirt, he caught a glimpse inside her shirt as she leaned forward...
“Want me to kill it?” Hana’s slender fingers tidied Su-hyeok’s long hair. The soft leather touch covered his ears. At this distance, wouldn’t she hear his pounding heart...? Su-hyeok had no way to control his wildly beating heart. But Hana paid no mind to such things and pressed the amp’s power button. As soon as the red light came on, the second hypnosis followed. A heavy distortion sound pierced Su-hyeok’s eardrums. A very hard rock sound that perfectly matched the guitar’s shape. Su-hyeok played Standing Luxury, the song they’d just rehearsed together. -Jing jing jing jing jijing jing jing The sound was crisp and took gain extremely well, making the player feel even better. As Su-hyeok’s gaze fixed on the fretboard, Hana quietly sat down beside him. He was a strange guy. Asking to play guitar right after coming to someone else’s house. If anyone saw, they’d think he’d come to play guitar instead of watch a movie. Though she knew intellectually it was odd, her emotions were slowly moving in the opposite direction.
-Jiiiiiing After finishing the part they’d practiced today, Su-hyeok took off the headphones. With an excited expression, he whipped his head around. He leaned in close to Hana sitting beside him. “Hana, this is really awesome.” His reaction was like a fan meeting an idol. Hana felt a bit smug, as if showing off a toy her childhood friends didn’t have.
“Hey. Put the headphones back on.” Hana took the guitar and ordered Su-hyeok. “Huh? Why?”
“Ah. Since you’re here, you should at least hear this guitar’s signature song before you go.” Su-hyeok fumbled the headphones back on. Confirming the volume was on, Hana began playing AC/DC’s “Back in Black.” It was a song every electric guitar beginner had to try at least once. And the guitarist from AC/DC primarily used an SG model, the same line as Hana’s guitar. The familiar riff echoed in Su-hyeok’s ears. Hana continued playing, bobbing her head up and down as if enjoying it. Even while listening to the music, Su-hyeok thought she was really good at everything. Her face was that pretty, and she played guitar well too. It wasn’t a particularly difficult song, but it was true that her playing was crisp with not a single mistake. When the first verse ended, Hana grinned at Su-hyeok.
“How is it?” Her tone was triumphant.
“...It was good.”
“What? Why’s your reaction like that? Did I mess up somewhere while playing?”
“...That’s not it.” Su-hyeok was scared that conveying his genuine, burning feelings would sound like a confession.
“Haah~ I wish we could play songs like this too.” Hana put the guitar back on the stand and stretched with a complaint.
“We can, can’t we?”
“Hey. How would Juyeon sing this?” That was true. Ninety percent of mega-hit bands had male vocalists. Most had gritty or piercing voices. Juyeon wasn’t bad at singing, but this kind of song was definitely impossible for her.
“These are just fun to copy alone and that’s it. Whatever.”
“I see.”
“Done now?”
“What is?”
“What... any more... things you’re curious about...” Since there were so many guitar and band-related items in the room, if Su-hyeok wanted, she could show or take them out. Su-hyeok’s eyes scanned Hana’s room once more. To him, her room was truly a treasure trove itself. If given time to explore, he’d want to look through every album on that bookshelf one by one. But if there was one more thing he wanted to see, it was... His eyes sparkled as he stared at the pedal board.
“The effects. You’re curious about those?” Effects. Devices connected between the guitar and amp to add various effects. The pedal board full of effects was Hana’s second treasure, something she’d researched one by one and bought with her allowance.
“Hmm... But these really need to be connected to a big amp to show their full potential.” She was fine with showing them, but they wouldn’t perform at their best in this tiny room.
“Next Tuesday, if I bring them to school, I’ll show you then.”
“...Won’t it be heavy?” There were clearly more than seven pedals. It looked like it weighed several kilos.
“Hey. I’ve carried this and the guitar to a performance venue an hour away. You think I can’t bring it to school?” Hana joked and picked up the CD, thinking it was really time to watch the movie.
“Watch the movie? Now?”
“Yeah. Sounds good.” Hana’s worry about being alone with a guy had long since melted away. Sharing the same hobby was an element that formed bonds more easily and strongly than anything else. Honestly, Su-hyeok would rather just talk more about guitars than watch a movie, but before he knew it, a vast universe was unfolding on the monitor.
“I’ll get the popcorn.” When Hana mentioned food, Su-hyeok finally remembered the cake he’d brought as a gift.
“Oh. Right!”
“Huh?” Hana, rummaging through the cabinet, gave him a look that said ‘why are you following me?’
“This... this.” Su-hyeok pulled out a small box from his bag.
“What is it?”
“Since it’s your first time coming over today... a gift...”
“Bread?”
“Cake.”
“Ooh~ Nice sense~ Then shall we eat that?” Hana closed the cabinet door and took out two forks instead. The two cleared the keyboard and placed plates on the desk before opening the box...
“Uh...”
“Pfft.” Su-hyeok, embarrassed, and Hana, failing to hold back her laughter. The cake looked like a half-sunken cruise ship, one side completely collapsed. Su-hyeok felt upset that the cake he’d carefully chosen was ruined.
“Hey. Let’s just eat it. It all tastes the same once it’s in your mouth anyway.” And Hana comforted him in a rather boyish tone.