Iron Wall Hana – Does He Like Me?
In Hana’s mind, there was only one thing. A wildly intriguing hypothesis had just streaked across her thoughts like a shooting star. Guys liking her wasn’t exactly headline news. She got asked for her number all the time. Confessions rolled in on a regular basis. So the idea that Suhyun might like her didn’t feel strange at all. When she actually thought about it, had any other guy ever done this much for her? Bringing her home to watch movies. Calling her out every single week to teach her guitar. At that point, wasn’t it perfectly reasonable for him to catch feelings? Right? If she were a guy, she probably would’ve fallen for herself too.
It sounded arrogant as hell, but Hana was fully aware of how pretty she was. Ah, crap… Did I spoil him too much again? Yoon Hana, you sinful woman. Still… well… if Lee Suhyun ever worked up the courage to confess and beg her to accept him…
Hana snuck a quick glance at him from the corner of her eye. Unlike with other guys, she didn’t immediately decide she’d shoot him down.
…It tastes like strawberries.
Meanwhile, Suhyun had taken a long pull through the straw and was now completely absorbed in judging the merits of this luxuriously named beverage. Couldn’t they have just called it a strawberry smoothie? He honestly couldn’t taste much difference from a regular one.
“Ahem… ahem!”
Hana, whose face had grown hot all on its own, let out an awkward cough.
“How’s the taste?”
“It’s strawberry flavored.”
“Hey. Who doesn’t know that? I’m asking if it’s good or not.”
Her expression looked pleased, but her tone was deliberately sharp. As usual, Suhyun found her emotions impossible to read.
“…It’s good.”
A strawberry drink packed with sugar was bound to taste good. That much was obvious.
“See? I told you I don’t drink it for no reason.”
At Hana’s little giggle, Suhyun smiled too. Today’s Hana really was blindingly pretty. The way her golden hair swayed seemed made for her.
“Drink this and your whole day feels sweet, doesn’t it?”
“But if you have too much you’ll probably gain weight.”
“Do you always have to kill the mood like that before you feel satisfied?”
“…I read online that blood sugar levels are important.”
Hana decided that both Park Juyeon and Lee Suhyun were the type who mumbled everything but still managed to say exactly what they wanted.
The two of them left the café and started walking back up toward campus.
“Got a lot of exam prep?”
Hana, still chewing on the paper straw, asked in a muffled voice.
“Um… probably about average?”
Since Suhyun didn’t have any friends in other departments, he struggled to give a clear answer. If he had a comparison, it would’ve been easy.
“Hearing you say that, it sounds like you’re totally free.”
“What about you, Hana?”
“I want to die. I’m swamped.”
“Architecture’s always like that. Ugh. Maybe I should just drop the major.”
“What’s ‘drop the major’?”
“Drop architecture. Means leaving the field entirely.”
“Oh…”
Then if he left the economics department, would it be “drop econ”? But that overlapped with business administration, so the term felt a little ambiguous.
When they opened the door and stepped back into the club room, Seoeun was slumped over while Juyeon waited for them, tablet stylus in hand.
“…Just how far do you two go to buy coffee?”
Seoeun sat up, eyes half-lidded, and asked the pair.
“We went to the one right outside the main gate.”
“Why all the way there?”
“The school café closed forever ago. And unnie, we weren’t gone that long—how are you already dozing?”
“Hana dear. Your words are ice cold.”
Claiming she’d show her what cold really felt like, Hana crept up behind Seoeun and pressed the ice-packed drink cup against her cheek.
“Eumiya!”
Seoeun flinched hard. The sound startled Juyeon so badly she dropped her stylus. It rolled across the floor and stopped right in front of Suhyun’s shoe. He bent down, picked it up, and held it out to her.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
The tablet screen Suhyun accidentally saw was a PPT he recognized. Same department, same material. His eyes widened when he noticed which page she was on.
“Juyeon.”
“Yeah?”
“You’ve already studied all the way to that point?”
“…Yeah.”
She answered calmly, but Suhyun couldn’t hide his shock. That was last week’s lecture. If she was telling the truth, she had basically finished preparing for the entire exam.
“For real? From the beginning?”
He asked again, still unable to believe it.
“Uh… yeah… why?”
It was a little embarrassing to ask so bluntly, but Suhyun couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
“What’s your GPA like?”
Before Juyeon could answer, Seoeun jumped in.
“Our Juyeon’s been hitting the books again. She got all A-pluses last semester~”
“Really?”
To Suhyun, who had once tried imagining what a perfect top student looked like, Juyeon seemed almost mythical.
“Ahaha… I think it was mostly luck…”
Before she started streaming, first-year Park Juyeon had been surprisingly idle. While the other band members were grinding techniques and memorizing sheet music, all she had to do was learn lyrics. Since she was already a decent singer, she had tons of free time. Every day she came home and reviewed that day’s lecture notes like a high schooler cramming for finals. Objectively it wasn’t that difficult, but very few college students actually bothered. Maybe one in a hundred.
Still, Juyeon found the whole thing a little embarrassing. Having so little to do that she studied alone even in college? Plus, since she hadn’t made many friends, the only people who knew she was the department’s top student were the Spirit members.
“Ha. Teach me your ways…!”
Suhyun—who sometimes played on his phone in class or nodded off—grabbed Juyeon’s hand like a drowning man clutching a lifeline.
“Heyy. Lee Suhyun! You little punk! Trying to mooch off Juyeon’s notes for free is super shameless!”
In truth, Hana didn’t care about the notes. She just hated seeing Suhyun hold Juyeon’s hand, so she barged into the conversation.
“Ah… is that so? Yeah… she might not like that.”
Suhyun glanced around, wondering if there was anything else he could offer.
“Th-then… want to drink some of this?”
He held out his cup, which still had plenty left.
“…If you have questions, feel free to ask anytime.”
For Juyeon, having someone actually come to her with questions made all that solitary studying feel worthwhile.
“Then I’ll just have one sip…”
The moment Suhyun started to extend the cup after hearing her answer—
“Hmm?”
A straw suddenly slipped between Juyeon’s lips. But it wasn’t the drink meant for Suhyun.
“Drink mine. It’s the same flavor anyway, Juyeon.”
Juyeon ended up sipping from Hana’s straw.
“…Thanks.”
She had already been feeling sleepy because Seoeun kept dozing off. Gulping down the sweet strawberry drink, Juyeon looked at Hana.
“Hey. Let’s actually study now.”
Hana forced a smile and pulled her laptop out of her bag.
“Okay.”
Everyone had their own study style. Juyeon and Suhyun used tablets for both viewing PPTs and taking notes. Hana watched lectures on her laptop and wrote everything by hand in a notebook. Seoeun preferred printing every single page.
A rare quiet settled over the club room. Then Suhyun’s finger poked the back of Juyeon’s hand.
“Juyeon.”
“Yeah?”
“I don’t really get this part.”
Juyeon stood up and leaned in close beside him. Her soft dark brown hair brushed against his shoulder. Thanks to her petite frame, she didn’t even have to bend very far.
“Why does it work like this here?”
“Ah. The professor gave extra notes on that. Just a second.”
She carefully explained the section Suhyun had missed. Hana’s eyes stayed fixed on her laptop screen, but her ears were laser-focused on the conversation between the two.
“Hana.”
When Seoeun suddenly called her name, Hana whipped her head around in surprise. Smiling slyly, Seoeun slid closer.
“Let me whisper something.”
“Why? You’re about to say something weird again, aren’t you?”
“No way. When have I ever said anything weird? Everything your wise unnie says is for your own good.”
“What is it then?”
Hana tilted her head and offered her ear.
“You…”
Seoeun drew out the pause, building tension. She could barely hold in her laughter. Hana might look different outside the club, but to Seoeun she was just an adorably green little sister.
“…If you keep staring at him that obviously, don’t you think Suhyun will notice pretty fast?”
Hana’s eyes flew wide. She shot up from her chair, grabbed Seoeun’s shoulders as if to say something, then abruptly sat back down.
The eyes of both Suhyun and Juyeon—who had been quietly exchanging questions—turned toward them at the same time.
…Her face felt like it was on fire.
Hana collapsed forward onto the desk to hide her embarrassment. Behind her, Seoeun clutched her stomach, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.