The Strap
Everyone practiced, right? Now that exams are coming up, we won't be able to practice anymore. There's no way around it, is there?
Seoeun smiled as she issued a warning to the 23rd generation members. Just like cramming before a test, band practice worked the same way. Backing off any further would mean giving up on the performance quality. And none of the Spirit 23rd generation members were willing to compromise on the quality of their music.
Should I go hard with the feedback? Ready?
Hana, who had brought her guitar for the first time in a while, unzipped the case. A guitar the deep red of ripe cherries, its shape evoking the horns of a devil. An SG. With the strap already slung over her shoulder, it looked like she planned to play standing up from today onward.
Lee Suhyun.
No matter what the other members were doing around him, Suhyun was completely absorbed in plucking at his guitar, which wasn't even plugged into an amp. The setlist was packed with new songs. He had to memorize the sheet music. He had to listen to the tracks. He wanted to copy every single detail from the original artists without missing a thing. But the time he'd been given was painfully short.
Suhyun had never practiced under such a tight deadline before, like some kind of time attack. The pressure weighed on him twice as heavily because of it. The difference in quality between songs was obvious. And even the audience members who didn't listen to bands much would surely notice. The wild imagination unique to loners always assumed the worst-case scenario.
Hey!
Only after Hana tapped him on the shoulder did Suhyun snap out of his own world.
Huh?
Lee Suhyun. How about you start practicing standing up from today too?
Ah... yeah. Got it.
Suhyun had always played sitting down. Up until now, there had been no reason to stand. What if he got carried away trying to look cool, slung the guitar over his shoulder in his tiny one-room apartment, and accidentally slammed it into a bookshelf? That would be an absolute disaster. A scratch on his instrument would be nothing short of a catastrophe.
He pulled out a strap he'd never used before from his bag and threaded the still-stiff leather hole onto the strap pin—the metal pin that connected the guitar to the strap. He slung the guitar over his shoulder. The movement felt awkward. Even that alone made him feel like the whole atmosphere had changed.
Whoa...
His chest was swelling with emotion at the thought that the performance was right around the corner. That's when Hana's teasing voice came from behind him.
Hey. You're gonna play it like that?
Huh?
Your guitar. You're seriously gonna play it hiked all the way up to your chest like it's some school recital?
It was obvious, but the height at which the guitar sat depended on how you adjusted the strap length. There was no single correct way. Professional guitarists changed the position according to their preference and needs. However, one thing was clear: if you raised the guitar too high, it lacked dynamism and just didn't look cool.
Uh... is it too high?
Suhyun tried playing the song he'd been practicing moments ago in that exact posture. The feel itself didn't seem all that different from sitting down, so it felt comfortable enough. Instead of answering, Hana lifted her phone and took a picture, showing him exactly how he looked through someone else's eyes.
Hmm...
Even Suhyun had to admit that visually, it had zero style. And that was something he couldn't accept.
If you can only play like that, I won't force you, but try lowering it once.
Got it.
Hold the guitar for me. I'll adjust the strap.
Hana stepped right up in front of Suhyun. Like a wife fixing her husband's tie, she pulled the strap tight. Her slender fingers slid down along his shoulder. Suhyun's strap was the leather one that came standard with Fender guitars. It might be a basic item, but buying one separately definitely wasn't cheap. Its durability was solid too, so it could last a long time even without needing to buy a new one.
How's that?
Once Hana finished adjusting it, the guitar sat a good two hand-widths lower on Suhyun.
Uh... hold on.
Suhyun reached for a chord he usually grabbed without thinking.
Hmm?
The movement of his fingers wasn't smooth. A strange sensation, as if his wrist was being twisted, made him frown. Suhyun instinctively realized this was a massive debuff.
Huh...?
Confused, he tried playing the chorus of Standing Luxury, a song he'd been practicing for a month and had proudly considered perfectly mastered until now.
Suhyun, you ready?
Seoeun asked as if it was time to start practice, but he couldn't give her an easy answer. Hana, being a fellow guitarist, immediately understood the problem from his reaction.
Lee Suhyun.
Yeah?
From today on, every single practice, without exception, you play standing up.
Once the members finished setting up their amps, the joint practice began. The song they were working on today was one they were starting fresh.
...Suhyun.
Seoeun wasn't smiling anymore. And Suhyun knew exactly what that meant.
You didn't practice?
No... it's not that I didn't...
Suhyun bit his lip hard. But to the others, he probably looked like someone who hadn't prepared at all. His playing really was that much of a mess. Every time the chords changed, his rhythm slipped. Whenever the bass and guitar were supposed to lock in together, every sound went off track.
But why is it like this?
Hana, who couldn't stand watching anymore, stood up for him.
Lee Suhyun. He says this is his first time ever playing standing up.
Hmm?
Seoeun's eyebrows drew together in an eight shape.
So you're saying you did practice, but playing while standing is the problem itself? Am I understanding correctly?
Suhyun nodded slowly.
Want to try it sitting down once?
When he played the exact same song sitting down, the sense of stability felt completely different. And it was such a clear difference that every member noticed it immediately.
Hmm... for now, let's have you practice sitting down.
The president had to make a decision. Turning the entire practice into a disaster just so Suhyun could train standing up wouldn't help anyone here. This was a problem Suhyun had to overcome with his own effort. It was something that wouldn't be solved unless he devoted separate time to it.
Suhyun, after we're done, stay behind by yourself and practice standing up.
Even without Seoeun saying it, that's what Suhyun had been planning to do anyway. The practice gradually began to find its rhythm. Only Suhyun remained seated while the rest of the members played exactly as they were. Everyone was giving their all to reach a condition where they could actually stand on stage.
Alright! That's it for today. Let's aim to run through the full songs tomorrow.
After going through another full round of the songs they'd practiced nonstop, Seoeun finally released the members. Everyone started packing up to leave, but Suhyun couldn't. He had to stay behind and practice standing up.
What? Lee Suhyun, you're not going?
Yeah. I'm gonna practice.
I see.
After confirming that Seoeun and Juyeon had left first, Hana deliberately waited until even Choi Kang was gone.
Then let's practice together.
No, no. Because of me...
What are you talking about? I was going to practice at home anyway. I might as well do it here.
She could make up any excuse she wanted. And it wasn't even a lie. Hana really had been planning to practice when she got home.
Hey. I'll give you some pro tips for playing standing up. Watch this.
In truth, it wasn't a particularly helpful tip. In the end, the most important thing for getting used to a new posture was simply the amount of practice. Suhyun played through every song standing up right there, and it took him about an hour just to get familiar with it. Of course, he hadn't even started practicing the new songs yet.
Once you're done with that, you should practice your performance too.
Performance?
What, did you think you'd play like a wooden puppet on stage too?
Right now he had to focus on producing precise sound, so he was staying perfectly still, but on stage, visual elements had to be considered as well. All of them together. Having fun. Showing that they were enjoying the music along with the audience was also part of preparing for the performance.
At Hana's words, something seemed to occur to Suhyun. He started playing the guitar while awkwardly swaying his body back and forth.
L-like this?
Hey. What are you doing?
Hana burst out laughing. Ah. I should upload this to Instagram Stories. It feels like too good a scene to keep to myself. The kindergarten kids doing their school recital would probably do it better than that.
Isn't this how you do it?
Yeah. You keep doing it like that.
Her voice was still full of mischief, so Suhyun scratched the back of his head.
We have one song this time where we do a twin solo, right? We haven't started it yet, though.
Yeah.
Twin solo. The term for a section where both guitars play solos. It was also one of the parts Hana was looking forward to the most in this performance's setlist.
When we do that part. We should do something like this too.
With the guitar still slung over her shoulder, she subtly stepped in front of Suhyun. She turned her body 180 degrees. Then she gently leaned her weight against Suhyun's back, pressing her own back against his. What followed was the solo part that Suhyun hadn't even touched yet. From behind him, where he couldn't see, came the sound of triplets. Suhyun felt his heart pounding wildly. Was it because of this posture, their backs pressed together? Or was he simply moved by the performance itself? He didn't know. He only knew that this moment could only be described as thrilling.
How about it? Don't you think it'll look badass on stage?
Creak.
Instead of answering, the one who opened the practice room door was Juyeon. She blinked a few times, then quietly closed the door again. Hana, who had been rubbing her back against his, felt her face growing hot even though she hadn't done anything weird.
What? What the heck. Why did she come in and then leave?
Yeah, seriously...
Meanwhile, Juyeon, who had turned right back around and started speed-walking home the way she'd come...
Does Suhyun... like Hana?
She could understand that much. But even she couldn't figure out why she herself had run out of the practice room like she was fleeing.