Team Project Becomes a Battlefield
Lee Suhyun swallowed hard. The look in her eyes was sharp enough to cut. He had the distinct feeling that denying her now would lead to something he’d rather not imagine.
“Choi Kang. I told you not to glare at people like that.”
“I don’t take orders from anyone weaker than me!”
—Clang!
Lee Seoeun brought the drumstick down on Choi Kang’s head—twice the size of her own—with a resounding crack.
“We. Are. Having. An important conversation right now.”
Her mouth smiled, but her eyes did not. So this was the charisma of the central club president. After effortlessly subduing the giant who was twice her size in a single blow, Lee Seoeun turned around and rummaged through the drawer above the desk.
“Kang-ah. Where did you put the extra application forms?”
“Dunno. I didn’t touch them.”
The man flopped onto the sofa, arms crossed, and scanned Suhyun up and down.
“Ah! Found it! Here it is!”
Lee Seoeun grinned as she handed Suhyun the club application form.
“Just fill this out. By the way, what was it you were about to say earlier?”
The atmosphere made it clear his acceptance was already decided. Suhyun considered politely excusing himself, but one glance at the man guarding the door killed that idea instantly.
“Ah… never mind…”
“Then take your time filling it out and hand it back to me!”
Right. He had come here because he wanted to join anyway. His skills had been acknowledged… and they’d even complimented his guitar. Suhyun picked up the pen and began filling in the blanks one by one—name, student ID, major, motivation for applying… Huh?
“Excuse me.”
“Yeees~?”
“Is this question… supposed to be like this?”
The upper part had normal questions, but the further down he went, the stranger they became.
[Guitars are, by nature, Gibson or Fender]
A question asking him to choose between the two major brands of electric guitars. It was odd, but still within the realm of understanding. Since Suhyun played a Fender, he naturally wrote that down… The real nonsense started after that.
[What’s your three-rep max?]
[Do you have a favorite VTuber?]
[What’s your alcohol tolerance?]
[…Can you pretend you don’t know?]
“Ah~ The members each wrote down questions they were curious about~”
“Th-that… physical fitness is also necessary for the band…”
Why on earth would a band care about someone’s three-rep max? And what was a VTuber?
“Of course it is!”
Choi Kang shot up and strode toward Suhyun.
“A band is a space for strong men! Any beta-male attitude is—!”
“Kang-ah. Please shut your mouth for a second. If there are any questions that are hard to answer, you can just skip them. It’s fine to only do the normal ones on top.”
“Ah. Okay.”
[I’ve never been to a gym, so I don’t know.]
[I don’t really watch VTubers.]
[I’ve never drunk until I died, but I think I can handle more than one bottle of soju.]
What was with that “pretend you don’t know” one? It was clearly the strangest question, so Suhyun left it blank.
“I’m done.”
“Okay~”
Lee Seoeun took the form and read through Suhyun’s answers one by one. The most important parts were whether he could attend practice on time and his guitar skill. Though she played bass, she could tell at a glance that Suhyun was an exceptional player. Honestly, even an ordinary person who didn’t play in bands would have been stunned by his performance.
“Alcohol tolerance… no limit, huh…”
“No, it’s not that there’s no limit, it’s that I’ve never drunk that much…!”
“Then we can find out this Friday~”
“Sorry…?”
“Yep. Friday it is. We’ll check your alcohol tolerance while holding a welcome party!”
“Ah, you really don’t have to…”
“The members have been waiting with bated breath for a new guitarist~ They’re all nice kids! You don’t have to feel too pressured.”
At Lee Seoeun’s words, Suhyun’s eyes drifted to the ceiling, then toward Choi Kang. Right. Judging people by appearances wasn’t fair. But if he had met Choi Kang for the first time in a dark alley, Suhyun would have been ready to empty his pockets and hand over every last bill.
Forcing his positive-thinking circuit to activate, Suhyun nodded reluctantly.
“Uh… then I’ll come on Friday!”
“Ah, Suhyun-ssi. One last thing.”
Suhyun, who had been packing up his guitar, turned at Lee Seoeun’s call.
“Everyone else is the same age as you, so feel free to speak casually from now on, okay?”
“Yes… I mean, sure. Got it.”
“Take care~”
As Lee Seoeun waved, Choi Kang also raised his hand high.
“See you later! New guitarist.”
“Uh… yeah… I’ll be going?”
Grabbing the doorknob, Suhyun escaped the club room and hurried down the stairs. He’d passed. He’d been accepted into the central club! If he’d known it would be this easy, he should have applied last year. Suhyun felt both happy and resentful toward his own foolish self. He couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.
He had wasted his entire first year of college—the year he’d looked forward to so much—on a worthless small club. That had been the worst decision. Or… if he had auditioned as a freshman instead of transferring last year, would he have failed anyway? Come to think of it, what happened to the previous guitarist? He had joined in such a daze that he’d forgotten to ask why they were recruiting someone new. He decided to ask at the next practice or during Friday’s welcome party. Humming to himself, Suhyun walked down the hill. For the first time, it felt like spring might finally be coming to him too.
The group chat for Purple Storm, the Economics department’s band club, was filled with a stormy, gloomy atmosphere. The remaining members were at their wits’ end over Lee Suhyun’s declaration of withdrawal.
Purple Storm received activity funding and a dedicated space from the school, but no one actually knew their proper activity records. Because they had never done any external activities even once. What they needed was a cozy hideout and some pocket money from the funding. They had zero interest in performances. There were audits at the end of each semester, but they could just forge something and submit it. As long as they took a few photos holding instruments in a plausible location, there was no need to submit videos, so they figured they wouldn’t get caught. In short, as long as Lee Suhyun kept his mouth shut, everything would be fine.
Friday, the day of a required major class. It was the first time Suhyun would face the other Purple Storm members since declaring his withdrawal. Two nerve-wracking events in a single day… and on top of that, there was supposedly a welcome party in the evening!
“Haa…”
Right. There was no running away now. Facing his former members was awkward, but there was no way around it. He couldn’t just skip class, and it might be better to get used to it as quickly as possible. As usual, he took the seat farthest in the corner. After setting down his bag, Suhyun glanced around like he was scouting enemy territory. He never thought he’d experience the feeling of sharing a classroom with an ex while having done nothing wrong. The word “unfair” floated above his head.
“Class will begin now.”
He thought the class would start without anything special happening, but…
“From this session onward, we’ll be looking at examples of how behavioral economics is reflected in policy.”
“And as I mentioned, I’ll be dividing you into groups to research specific cases for each policy.”
Groups… groups… groups… Why groups…? Team… team project…?!
Cold sweat began to trickle down Suhyun’s forehead. Team projects were truly one of the things he hated and felt most uncomfortable with in college. You couldn’t just keep your mouth shut, communication with others had to be smooth, and if you were unlucky, you even had to present in front of all these people! Suhyun stared blankly at the screen as if his soul had left his body, only snapping back to reality when the group assignment screen appeared.
Please, please don’t let it be the Purple Storm members! Anyone but them—even Chinese exchange students would be fine, just not them!
Pouring every ounce of desperation in the universe into his wish, Suhyun watched as the list was read out starting from Group 1. Unfortunately, the heavens were not on his side.
[Group 6. Lee Suhyun, Kim Nayong, Choi Juho, Park Juyeon.]
Kim Nayong… Kim Nayong, of all people! The fact that he had to be in the same group as that cursed ballad-obsessed vocalist made Suhyun’s hands and feet tremble. Choi Juho was… just someone whose name he vaguely knew… Park Juyeon…? He felt like he’d heard that name somewhere…
As Suhyun frowned and tried to recall the hazy memory, his pupils began to tremble.
[Do you know Juyeon? Park Juyeon?]
It was the name Lee Seoeun had mentioned with a grin. Wait a second… If things continued like this… he…
“Ah… hello…”
The person who appeared in front of him, trembling and speaking in a voice that barely came out, was none other than their new vocalist.