Withdrawing Together
Suhyun couldn't focus on the lecture at all. And the same went for Juyeon. After stepping out with Nayong and returning, Juyeon had worn that completely spaced-out expression the entire time. She wasn't even looking at the screen, just continuously scribbling something in her notebook... What on earth had she heard to end up like this? Even as he twirled his pen in circles, Suhyun kept imagining the conversation between the two of them in his head.
"That concludes today's lecture." The class ended a little earlier than usual. Suhyun, who had already packed his bag, rose from his seat.
"Where should we talk?" he asked Kim Nayong, who was still gathering her things in the next seat.
"Want to talk in the clubroom for the first time in a while?" The Purple Storm's hideout was tucked in the corner of the eighth floor of the Business School building. Though he had no desire to go, Suhyun followed her into the elevator.
When Kim Nayong entered the password and stepped inside, Suhyun instinctively felt his breath catch in his throat. The combo amp still covered in a thick layer of dust. The drum with its cracked cymbal still hanging there. It was because memories from the past year had come rushing back.
"So... what exactly did you want to talk about?"
"Suhyun." Kim Nayong tilted her head toward a chair, motioning for him to sit.
"I had a quick word with Juyeon earlier."
At the sudden mention of a Spirit member's name, Suhyun's body began to stiffen. He had come with a firm resolve, but the name Juyeon caused his defenses to crumble helplessly.
"She said you seem to be struggling to adapt properly to club life."
Suhyun's eyebrows trembled. Could those words be true? Had Juyeon really said something like that to Nayong? No. There was no way Juyeon would say that. Yet their bond was still too fragile for him to be completely certain. And perhaps those words were true. After all, even Suhyun himself often felt like he was just drifting on the edges. It happened when they shared old stories only they knew. It happened again during the conversation about original songs. I still haven't fully blended into this place. Maybe this was something that could never truly be fixed.
"...So?"
What was the real point she was trying to make? At his question, Nayong slowly approached him. She rested her hand on Suhyun's shoulder.
"I want you to come back to Purple Storm."
There were two main reasons Nayong was trying to hold onto Suhyun. The first was the continued existence of the club known as Purple Storm. The facts Suhyun knew about Purple Storm were secrets that could never be allowed to leak. Having him gain the courage or friends to spread that information was not welcome. He needed to remain their helper until the end. At least until he left for the military.
The second reason was extremely personal and important. Perhaps it was the real reason she was going this far.
Ever since Suhyun had joined Spirit, Nayong couldn't shake the unpleasant feeling that churned inside her. At first she had naturally assumed he would fail. How could someone like Lee Suhyun possibly get into a central club? It hadn't even made sense from the start. But he had passed with flying colors as if to show off, and now he looked at her with eyes that seemed to dismiss her more and more. Nayong could not accept the way the scales of their relationship were tipping.
"We had good times too, didn't we?"
Not many relationships are completely doomed from the very first meeting. Same university. Same department. The image-conscious members of Purple Storm wouldn't have openly ignored a classmate right from the beginning.
"...Still, I'm not going back." Suhyun answered with rare firmness. He wished she would stop trying to sell those shallow memories.
"Have you thought about what the Spirit members will think of you? You should consider their feelings too!"
"Suhyun. Wouldn't it be better for you to stay with us at the scale of a simple club like this?"
Lee Suhyun belonged beneath Kim Nayong and Purple Storm. That was how it should be.
"I'll talk to the others. I'll tell them you can play guitar here as much as you want!"
Her voice was full of appeal, regardless of how reasonable the content was. If he hadn't gotten into Spirit, Suhyun would definitely have hesitated here and wondered whether to return. But the person he was now was a proper guitarist of Spirit.
"...Playing by myself isn't really a band, is it?"
The excessively cold tone that came from his own mouth surprised even Suhyun.
At Juyeon's text, anxiety began to wash over Suhyun. The conversation with Nayong from a few hours ago still had him feeling unsettled. He had decided not to dwell too much on what she had said. He didn't want to get tangled up with her anymore. But Juyeon was different. Within the group called Spirit, Juyeon's very existence brought Suhyun a sense of relief.
Still, even someone like her is doing fine here... Although he himself was in the "someone like her" category, Suhyun felt a great deal of affection toward Juyeon. A sense of kinship that could be understood without words. Emotions that could be shared without explanation. When the other members were causing a commotion, Juyeon was often standing beside Suhyun, quietly watching it all with the same blank stare.
Yet the colleague he had trusted... She said you seem to be having trouble properly adapting to club life. Nayong's words still echoed in Suhyun's ears.
"Haah..." A sigh escaped him, heavy with murky anxiety. Suhyun rose from the bed in his room. If she had asked to meet fifteen minutes early, leaving now would put him there right on time. He pulled on the gray hoodie that Hana had approved as an excellent value item and began walking with heavy steps.
The Spirit clubroom door was already open. When Juyeon confirmed that Suhyun had arrived, she set the phone she had been looking at down on the sofa.
"Hi." Even though they had seen each other earlier that day, Suhyun greeted her awkwardly once again.
"Yeah." Juyeon was looking at him with a strangely solemn expression.
"Um..." Juyeon bent at the waist and pulled something from her eco-bag. A pure white envelope was clutched in her small hands.
"H-here. You just need to sign on this?"
"...Sign?"
"Today is the last time, but... I was happy to be together, even if it was only for a little while..."
Everything except the greeting was full of question marks. Suhyun's brain couldn't keep up with the conversation. He took the paper Juyeon offered him. It was covered in quite adorable handwriting, but when he read the content inside, he swallowed hard.
What the... is this...
After much deliberation for the sake of Spirit's endless development, Park Juyeon and Lee Suhyun of the Economics Department have decided to withdraw.
Thank you for accepting us all this time despite how clueless, lacking, and self-centered we were.
We hope you will be with a more wonderful vocalist and a more wonderful guitarist.
We will pay the membership fee only up to this month.
"Here's a pen." Juyeon tried to hand him a ballpoint pen as if everything had already been agreed upon. Suhyun felt the need to stop her for a moment.
"Why all of a sudden? Why are we withdrawing? And... why am I suddenly...?"
"I-I heard everything. You didn't actually get into Spirit properly. You were forced in, right?"
"M-maybe it would be better to talk with the Purple Storm kids again..."
It seemed Nayong had said something to Juyeon that left room for misunderstanding. He could clear that up later, but why was Juyeon suggesting they leave together as a set?
"...Why are you leaving?"
"Because I'm someone who lacks tact, is incompetent, and acts however I please... so it's inevitable... You sign too! Hurry! If we're any later, it can't be reversed...!"
She had thought they had been getting along fairly well, but realizing the members had simply been tolerating her made Juyeon feel like she might burst into tears at any second.
"Huh...?" It was the moment he asked for further explanation.
The firmly closed door burst open. The person who appeared was the president, her dark black hair swaying as she entered. Seoeun. At the sight of the two of them in an almost couple-like pose over a single pen, she tilted her head.
"Hi? What are you two doing?"
Before Juyeon and Suhyun could hide the paper, Seoeun reached the desk in a single stride. She began to read through the document Juyeon had brought, line by line. The gentle smile on her face gradually disappeared. The temperature hadn't changed, yet the air was growing cold.
"Who was it?"
Having read every word, Seoeun had identified the nature of the document. One corner of her mouth curled up in a dangerous arc.
"The person who said these terrible things to our Juyeon."
The two of them reacted as if asking how she could possibly know. As expected, becoming president of the central club was not something just anyone could do.