A Promise to Hurt
The MT trip was a full-blown adventure for college students without cars. In reality, the drive would have only taken a couple of hours with a quick nap, but they had to endure a long, winding journey on public transportation. Suhyun frowned as he checked the route on his phone. How many transfers does this even need? They were also supposed to get picked up from the mart after arriving, so it looked like they'd have to switch lines at least four times.
“Lee Suhyun!”
A familiar voice called from across the way. It was Hana, waving her hand. She had on a gray tracksuit with the hood pulled up. She always complained about how Suhyun only ever wore plain gray hoodies, but today she was dressed exactly the same. For an MT trip, this was clearly the right call.
“Hey!”
“Whoa. Two second-years showed up but none of the first-years? Is this for real?”
They were supposed to meet at Sangbong Station, but the members who lived near the school had gathered together first. The second-year members meeting in front of the school were Suhyun, Hana, and Juyeon. The first-years were just the drummer Sohye and the female vocalist Jiyeon.
Hana puffed out her chest, determined to set the tone properly today, but Suhyun could only offer an awkward laugh. He couldn't bring himself to say that he'd help scold them too.
“Hello! Unnie!”
“Hiiii~”
The first-years must have met up on their own, because they appeared side by side.
“Come on, kids. Let's pick up the pace~”
Hana tapped her watch pointedly and gave them a slightly nagging reminder.
“Ah! I stopped by the convenience store to get these for the seniors.”
What Jiyeon held out to Suhyun and Hana were hangover relief drinks. Hana, who had been about to scold them, cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Oh. Well. You didn't have to...”
“We have to drink for a long time together today~”
“But Juyeon unnie isn't here yet?”
From the juniors' perspective, if you asked who was the hardest person to approach in the 23rd generation, everyone would unanimously say Juyeon. For one thing, she barely spoke. Whether it was about the band or pointless small talk, you had to talk to build closeness, but Juyeon was like a literal rock. Even if you sent signals like an inanimate object, there was never any response.
“Yeah, Juyeon's running late. Should I call her?”
The moment Hana picked up her phone—
tap tap tap tap tap tap
Hurried footsteps echoed from behind them. All the members' eyes turned at once. Juyeon appeared, carrying a large black backpack that looked oversized for her frame compared to her usual bag. Uneven breaths escaped her lips.
“Hello!”
“...Sorry.”
“Juyeon. Why are you late?”
Hana walked over and pinched Juyeon's cheek.
“And why did you bring such a huge bag? It doesn't seem like there's that much to pack.”
“P-pajamas, first-aid kit, flashlight, Nintendo, and this and that...”
Some of it made sense even if Suhyun thought was that really necessary?, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out why she'd brought the Nintendo.
“You didn't bring any board games this time?”
Hana started teasing Juyeon playfully. Juyeon's face flushed bright red.
“I... didn't bring any.”
“Really? I thought you'd bring them again since we had so much fun last year~ I did~”
Ugh... Last year everyone teased her so much... She'd even tried to keep it a secret from Suhyun on purpose...
Her dark history had been exposed as naturally as flowing water, and Juyeon wanted to turn around and go straight back home. She could feel her ears burning an awful shade of red.
“Alright, let's go! We'll miss the bus if we don't hurry.”
The very back seats of the city bus. The five members lined up in the last row like high schoolers on a field trip. Juyeon sat on the far left. Next to her was Suhyun. Hana took the middle seat like a bridge connecting the first-years and second-years.
“By the way, Sohye.”
“Yes?”
Something had been bothering Hana the whole time, so she looked over Sohye's outfit again.
“Why are you so dressed up?”
“Dressed up?”
“Who goes full glam to an MT trip?”
There wasn't exactly a dress code for MTs, but it was normal to wear comfortable clothes. Sohye's look today, however, was styled enough that she could have gone straight to a group blind date without looking out of place.
“Oh, I just woke up early and thought it would be nice to look pretty for the unnies~ That's all~”
“Is that so?”
No way! Twenty-year-old Ji Sohye loved sleep so much that if you asked about her hobbies, she'd say sleeping. She had a goal she absolutely had to achieve today. After all, today was the day she'd be spending the night with Choi Kang sunbae! The first-years and second-years didn't even have overlapping practice days. The only time they could naturally meet was the single day when the seniors came to watch their ensemble practice. This lucky one-night, two-day opportunity was something the freshman had no intention of wasting. Her heart was burning with determination.
“Ugh~ I could never fall asleep with makeup on after drinking~”
Hana hadn't even considered that there might be an attractive guy in Spirit worth dressing up for, so she never imagined Sohye might be harboring a crush. Besides, Sohye was beautiful enough to rival even Hana. It was only natural that the odds of her liking a bald, gym-obsessed, VTuber fanatic were zero. She didn't seem like the type to like Suhyun either.
On the other hand, Suhyun sat there like he was practicing a vow of silence, simply listening to the girls' chatter. It wasn't that there were no guys in the group, but today they were unusually traveling with four girls. At least the male juniors who played games seemed a bit easier to get along with... Outgoing female juniors were truly difficult creatures.
“Alright! Let's do this!”
The full Spirit lineup had gathered at Sangbong Station. Following Seoeun's instructions, the members headed toward the Gyeongchun Line ticket gates in a noisy group.
“So, did you watch the soccer game yesterday?”
“Yeah! I was watching and got so pissed off.”
“That's why Baek Minji went to a different blind date instead of meeting that guy she's been talking to!”
“No way! That's crazy. So what happened?”
This was the first time Suhyun had experienced such a lively trip. Since he'd never even gone on a trip with friends before, the atmosphere itself felt both fascinating and awkward. The aisle was wide enough for groups of two or three to walk together, but right now Juyeon was sticking close to his side. Hana, Seoeun, and Kang were all deep in conversation with the juniors. The two people who found it hard to start conversations had become each other's life vests.
“Um.”
Today, as always, Suhyun had nothing to say. It felt too awkward to stay completely silent, so he spoke first.
“Why did you bring the Nintendo?”
“Oh. It was delivered the day before yesterday.”
“Ah. You bought it recently?”
“Yeah... I've played it a little, and it's fun, so...”
It was true that it was fun, but the real reason was to have something to do if she ended up alone in a corner.
“What game are you playing?”
“The Legend of Zelduh.”
Honestly, Juyeon much preferred playing something like this alone in her room over noisy drinking games. Games were best enjoyed solo. She believed you couldn't fully enjoy them when you had to worry about other people's reactions.
“Whoa. I've been wanting to try that.”
It was quite expensive to buy a console outright, so Suhyun still hadn't gotten one.
“...Really?”
“Yeah! I like this kind of game too.”
It wasn't just empty words—his tone carried genuine interest.
“Then... later... do you want to play a bit?”
“Huh?”
“Later. We could play for a little while.”
They seemed to have gotten a bit closer after yesterday. It was a rare invitation from the timid Juyeon, who had mustered up her courage.
“Sure.”
Suhyun smiled happily. As long as someone told him what to do, he was confident he could enjoy it.
“But... Seoeun unnie might tell us not to, so we might not be able to...”
“Ah. Can't be helped then.”
The club president was an expert at dragging loners out of corners. The two of them would probably get pulled back to the drinking circle anyway.
Soon the train arrived, and the Spirit members piled into nearly an entire row of seats.
“Wow. At least we get to sit the whole way~”
Hana, who had taken the seat next to Suhyun, murmured while looking at the route map.
“Yeah.”
“Oh, but last year a senior brought an acoustic guitar and we played it and had fun.”
“You know how to play acoustic guitar too?”
“Well, I practiced a lot, and when we do busking or performances, acoustic guitars get used a lot.”
Suhyun, who had been single-mindedly devoted to electric guitar, had never once touched an acoustic.
“But you didn't bring one this year?”
“It's fine to bring it, but carrying a guitar back home while drunk is just asking for trouble.”
Hana shook her head as if the memory of last year's senior was too much to bear.
“Do you play acoustic?”
“No. Never once.”
“Why not?”
“I didn't have one, and honestly, I didn't want to do anything else until I completely mastered this one thing.”
For two years, he had stubbornly played only one song. But now his thoughts were starting to change a little. He realized his perspective had been too narrow. Thanks to ensemble practice, he'd learned new songs. Thanks to Hana, he'd picked up new techniques. And the process had been far more enjoyable than he'd expected, so he'd let go of much of that obsessive stubbornness.
“Really? Then do you want to learn acoustic from me later?”
Hana's hand wrapped around Suhyun's wrist and lifted it up.
“But with calluses like this, your fingers might hurt a bit?”
Hana smiled playfully. Her bright golden hair tilted asymmetrically depending on the angle she looked up from. Suhyun's heart began to race again. And Hana was completely unaware of it.
“Pain doesn't matter at all.”
That was Suhyun's answer.