The Secret Gift Hunt
Yoon Hana only returned to the practice room once it was exactly practice time. “Hana, hi!” Lee Seoeun greeted her with her signature bright smile, wrapping an arm around her waist. Maybe she was in a good mood after seeing her boyfriend. “Hi.”
In contrast, Yoon Hana still couldn’t control her own feelings. “What’s wrong? Did something happen today?” “No. Not really.” “That’s weird… That’s exactly the face you make when something’s up.” Lee Seoeun was far too perceptive for her own good. Sometimes Yoon Hana wished she would just pretend not to notice, but Seoeun always saw right through her. “Just tell me~ I’ll fix everything for you~” “No. Let’s just practice. The others are probably busy.”
Yoon Hana flopped down onto a chair and looked across the room at Lee Suhyun, who was sitting by the amp. He was fiddling with his guitar as if nothing had happened at all. The very person who had thrown her heart into chaos looked far too peaceful compared to her. A moment later, Park Juyeon approached him, leaned down, and whispered something before walking past. Inside Yoon Hana’s heart, a sudden urge to snatch back the solo she had reluctantly offered him flared up.
“Alright, everyone! Let’s try playing the whole song through today~” It was finally time to see this through to the end. The rehearsal had already been delayed while waiting for the second guitar to join. If they kept going at this pace, they might end up having to cut songs—a total disaster. “One, two, three, four.”
Everyone seemed much more familiar with the song now, and the rehearsal flowed smoothly. The key section to check today was the guitar solo in the latter half. These kinds of parts only really required focus from the guitarist playing the solo; the other members providing backup didn’t need flashy technique. Lee Seoeun was simply repeating the chorus part she already knew, so there was no need for extra practice. Lee Suhyun, who had taken on the solo, successfully reproduced what he had practiced. If even Yoon Hana thought it sounded decent, the other members had no issues either.
“Ooh~ That’s pretty good. Let’s just do one spin at the end so we don’t forget the standing luxury move, and we can decide the rest of the setlist in the group chat?” There was hope in Lee Seoeun’s voice. If things went well, they might just barely avoid a last-minute cram session. “Okay, okay!” “I’m heading out?”
After practice, as everyone was leaving the room, Lee Suhyun and Park Juyeon immediately huddled together again, plotting something only they knew about. Unable to watch any longer, Yoon Hana barged in between them and stuck her face forward. “What are you two whispering about so secretively?”
The two of them paled, clearly not expecting her to interrupt. “Oh. It’s nothing.” “It’s just…” Their dumbfounded expressions only made her angrier. What the hell was it! All this time! “We’re just going somewhere real quick.” “Where are you going?” “That’s…” Lee Suhyun and Park Juyeon exchanged glances. Park Juyeon shook her head slightly, signaling him not to say anything. Understanding the context, Lee Suhyun replied with a serious face that he couldn’t tell her. Yoon Hana, already displeased with the whole situation, grabbed her bag. “Fine! Whatever! You two have fun without me!”
She spun around with an obvious pout. But deep down, she was hoping he would stop her. ‘You’re not going to stop me…? Hey. I’m making it this obvious, and you’re still not going to say anything…?’ If it had been Lee Seoeun or anyone with even a shred of awareness, they would have immediately tried to cheer her up. Wasn’t that only natural? How could they not try to fix things when she was showing this much disappointment? But her opponents were the ultimate loner squad. They simply looked relieved and continued whispering among themselves. “Damn it.”
Yoon Hana left the practice room, unable to bring herself to turn back and pathetically beg them to tell her. “Seriously… Park Juyeon. Lee Suhyun. Just watch what I do for you from now on.” Even as she muttered to herself, she couldn’t stop wondering where the two of them had gone.
* * *
Before practice had started, Lee Suhyun had taken advantage of Yoon Hana going to the bathroom to ask Park Juyeon for help picking out a gift. After Lee Seoeun had told him to look after Yoon Hana during the MT, he had thought about preparing a small present as the club president suggested. However, he knew all too well that he had no sense for these things. Lee Seoeun had already given him advice, so asking her again felt awkward. Among the girls his age, the only remaining candidate was Park Juyeon. He had felt they had grown a bit closer during the MT, so he mustered the courage to ask her to help him choose a gift. After all, they had been in the band together for a year—she probably knew Yoon Hana pretty well, right? He figured she would at least know what she liked.
That was how they ended up sneaking out together without telling Yoon Hana. “…Juyeon.” “Yeah?” “…What are you doing?” The two of them had gone into the city to pick out a gift. But she had been staring at her phone the whole time, so Lee Suhyun glanced at her screen and couldn’t hide his bewilderment. [Gifts for women in their 20s] [Gift recommendations for female college students] He had brought Park Juyeon along because he thought real-life advice from someone beside him would be better than internet recommendations. “…Well, this seems more reliable.” Park Juyeon quietly hid her phone behind her back. “But then why… did you agree to come?” Thinking about it, she was right. If she had just said from the beginning that she didn’t know what Yoon Hana liked, he wouldn’t have dragged her all the way out here! “That… That’s because… You…!” Park Juyeon still couldn’t let her guard down around Lee Suhyun. What if he got upset that she refused and spread rumors about her streaming? Falling into paranoia was an unavoidable process for loners. They naturally assumed the worst possible outcome. “I was worried you’d tell people about my streaming…” She answered in a shrinking voice, but Lee Suhyun’s reaction was unexpectedly cold. “Oh. About that.” He looked at her with a slightly pitying expression. “Can I say one thing?” “Huh? What?” “That… your stream.”
No way. She had told him not to watch and to forget about it, but had he actually gone and looked? Park Juyeon was startled at first, but she was also curious about what he would say next. “Yeah.” Maybe he had seen her acting cute? Or her singing? Or maybe… that sad scene where she told a funny story and no one laughed… “Change your banner.” “…Huh?” “Your top banner. You need to redesign it.” He had so many harsh things he wanted to say, but if he had to start somewhere, fixing the banner seemed like the right first step. Lee Suhyun wasn’t usually one to speak harshly, but he couldn’t hold back on this. “Why the banner?” At her confused tone, Lee Suhyun pressed a hand to his forehead. “That thing… My thirteen-year-old cousin could make something better.” “No way…? That can’t be… Isn’t it fine? I… I stayed up all night worrying about it and made it…?” There was an unmistakable tremor in Park Juyeon’s voice. Her small hands had unconsciously clenched into fists. “Then that’s an even bigger problem, isn’t it?” Lee Suhyun thought it would have been better if she had just said she made it without any sincerity. “It’s that bad…?” Park Juyeon covered her mouth in shock. B-But none of the people who came to watch her stream had ever pointed out the banner… Some of them had even said it was cute! “Yeah.” “Oh no. What do I do!”
Park Juyeon had come to help pick out a gift for Yoon Hana, only to end up in a mental breakdown. In truth, she had far too few viewers to receive any kind of feedback. With only 86 subscribers total, fewer than ten people regularly watched her live streams. About half of them just left the stream running without any reaction. Essentially, she was just chatting with three or four viewers. There were even days when she had fewer viewers than the Spirit members. “Hmm… But can’t you just look at other popular streamers’ banners and make something similar?” “Wh… Who?” Lee Suhyun scratched his head and listed the first streamer that came to mind. Thanks to Choi Kang, he had ended up watching the VTuber Ruka. He had thought her channel looked pretty stylish and cute. “Ruka? Do you know Ruka, Juyeon?” At his answer, Park Juyeon’s neck drooped down to the right. Lee Suhyun tilted his head at her unexpected reaction. “You can just search for her and she’ll come right up.” Just as he reached into his pocket to pull up reference material, she spoke. “I-I think it’s rude to compare me to a big VTuber who’s been swallowed up by capitalism…!” Lee Suhyun wondered if this was what a small business owner hostile toward large corporations felt like.