The Villain Let Their Guard Down
The villain had let their guard down. No. Was it even accurate to describe it that way?
With a coffee in one hand, Yoon Hana stepped into the club room. The moment she entered, the sight that greeted her was the two extreme loners stuck tightly together.
“Hey. What are you two doing?”
Hana strode forward and immediately shoved her face between them.
“Suhyun was having a hard time making the calls to the seniors, so...”
“Why would calling be hard?”
“Well... it’s his first time, so he’s nervous about it?”
Suhyun had called a total of four seniors. One hadn’t picked up, but the other three had. Naturally, none of the adults were nasty to their much younger junior, yet Suhyun could feel his energy draining away with every word. Especially when unexpected questions not on Juyeon’s crib sheet popped up—his flustered stuttering had become routine.
“Really? Then should I help? I can pass on some tips for this too.”
“It’s okay. Juyeon already helped a lot, so I think we’re good.”
Suhyun smiled. But the smile wasn’t for her.
“...I see?”
Feeling awkward, Hana swept her hair back. From now on, I have to drag him out whenever I go get coffee. Leaving just those two—who hated going out—alone together had turned them into magnets.
Hana spun on her heel, crossed her legs on a chair, and opened her phone. Now it was her turn to get to work. She began making calls without the slightest hesitation.
"Senior! Hello~ This is Yoon Hana, guitarist of the 23rd generation!"
"Ah~ Of course~ We’ve prepared really hard this time too~ Please make sure to come watch us!"
"Whoa! You remembered? Thank you! Ah! Yes! I understand!"
The conversations flowed like water. Hana even traded jokes with the seniors she already knew. Watching her, Suhyun felt like he might crumble to dust from the sheer sociability radiating off her. She seemed like she was from another planet. How could anyone talk to adults that easily?
Lee Seoeun, sitting beside her, was putting on a performance equal to or even better than Hana’s.
"Yep! Ah~ Jaejun oppa’s doing well~ I’ll tell Jaejun oppa to contact the seniors for you!"
Choi Kang was a mystery, but he didn’t seem to be struggling at the level Suhyun had feared.
"Yes! Senior! Then we’ll be waiting!"
As expected, the only person Suhyun could truly relate to was Juyeon.
"Ah... Hello... This is Park Juyeon, vocalist of Spirit’s 23rd generation."
Juyeon still found the seniors intimidating. Even though she had done this last year, it wasn’t enough to make her a seasoned pro. Perhaps because she was anxious, she kept her notebook open and continued drawing circles with her pen.
After roughly an hour of what felt like torture by telephone relay...
“Okay! Good work, everyone!”
Lee Seoeun gathered all the lists the second-years had collected.
“The first-years are coming at six! Everyone mentally prepared?”
They all knew exactly what the preparation was for without needing to say it.
“Even if the kids play well, keep a straight face, got it? You especially, Suhyun!”
Lee Seoeun singled him out.
“I know.”
Having taken lessons from Hana and practiced with Juyeon, Suhyun had nothing to fear. He still felt uneasy that the target was Taeho, but he couldn’t back out now.
“Then let’s go eat~ What should we get?”
The 23rd generation members poured out of the room together. Hana grabbed Suhyun’s wrist.
“Ya. Lee Suhyun.”
“Yeah?”
“Want me to tutor you again on getting scolded? Final special practical lesson?”
If he accepted, they could slip away for just ten minutes and eat together—just the two of them. That was Hana’s calculation.
“Ahaha. It’s fine. I already practiced separately with Juyeon. Yeah.”
Park Juyeon. Park Juyeon. It was her again! Park Juuuyeooon!
Hana’s eyes sharpened just a little. Juyeon felt a prickling heat on the back of her head.
“Ah~ I see. Well then! Let’s just go eat!”
Hana forced a smile, pretending nothing was wrong. To hide her embarrassment, she smacked Suhyun hard on the back.
Ow... that hurts!
It hurt, but Suhyun couldn’t show it and simply smiled.
Spirit’s 24th generation. Only a month ago, they had no idea how to approach ensemble playing. Now they had reached the level where they could perform the three prepared songs with their eyes closed. The practice period had been generous relative to the number of songs. If the usual window from joining the club to the festival was two months, the 24th generation had been given roughly two weeks per song. Compared to the seniors who had to prepare eight songs, it was more than enough time. Thanks to that, Taeho—who was still clumsy on guitar—had been able to supplement his personal practice effectively.
“The seniors said they’re coming at six.”
Jiho, the bassist, spoke up.
“Looks like they’re all coming to watch us practice together.”
“No way! Is Kang oppa coming too?”
Sohye shouted, voice brimming with excitement.
“Probably? They said everyone’s coming.”
Normally only a few would drop by in rotation. It was rare for all the seniors to show up at once.
“Whoa... are we about to get destroyed?”
“Don’t jinx it, idiot.”
“But Hana unnie is seriously scary...”
“I don’t know what Juyeon unnie is thinking, so honestly she scares me more.”
Juyeon always froze up in front of the underclassmen. She never said anything harsh, but she didn’t offer praise either. Even when a few brave first-years tried talking to her, her replies were slightly cold and tinged with discomfort. It was only natural that the freshmen found her intimidating.
Soon the door swung wide open.
“Hey everyone! Hello!”
Lee Seoeun greeted them with a bright, cheerful smile, waving her hand.
“Hello!”
“Hello, unnie.”
Only Seoeun returned the greeting. The rest of the 23rd generation members sat down on the sofas and chairs with sullen expressions.
“Practice going well?”
Like an MC holding a microphone, Seoeun naturally took control of the atmosphere.
“The reason we’re here today—as you all know—is to evaluate whether you can stand properly on stage.”
Taeho swallowed hard. An evaluation? This was a university club, not an idol debut program.
“So don’t half-ass it! Show us one hundred percent of what you’ve practiced.”
Seoeun clapped her hands sharply.
“Everyone to your positions!”
At the president’s command, the 24th generation members took their places in front of their amps.
“You know you have to play standing up today, right?”
“Huh?”
Surprised gasps came from several of the members. They had never once practiced standing while playing. None of the seniors had ever told them to.
“What? Were you planning to sit down during the actual performance?”
“Guys... we can do this, right?”
Jiyeon, the vocalist—who didn’t have much difference between sitting and standing—looked around anxiously at the others. Taeho looked devastated. Hyejeong seemed uneasy. At least Jiho appeared to be keeping his composure.
“Let’s try?”
At Jiyeon’s glance, Sohye began clapping out a steady beat. The first song started with a heavy bass line.
With his arms crossed, Suhyun watched their performance closely. The overall quality wasn’t bad. But Taeho, unused to playing standing up, was rushing the beat just like Suhyun once had. Since Suhyun had gone through the same thing, he believed Taeho would overcome it soon enough.
The first song passed without incident.
The 24th generation glanced around, trying to read the seniors’ reactions. Seoeun only gave one word: “Next.”
After listening to all four songs, the 23rd generation immediately left the room the moment the performance ended, just as they had planned beforehand.
“We’ll talk among ourselves for a bit and come back.”
With only those words, they left. The first-years fell into a panic.
“W-was it that bad?”
“No way. You guys did well. It was fine, wasn’t it?”
“But why did the seniors react like that?”
“Ugh... I think we’re screwed...”
“Maybe they’ll come back and just give us feedback?”
Taeho—who had given the weakest performance—bit his nails. Five minutes that felt like an eternity passed. Then only one person returned.
“Han Geonwoo. Come out.”
With her right hand on her hip, Hana jerked her head, signaling him to follow.
The first one called was the male vocalist, Geonwoo. His eyebrows trembled. What is this? Don’t tell me I’m the only one who sucked and now I’m being dragged away.
Negative thoughts dominated his mind the entire way to the stairwell. The place Hana led him to was the exact same staircase where she had once torn into Suhyun.
“Stand right there.”
Geonwoo stood exactly where Suhyun had once stood and found himself facing five seniors lined up on the dark stairs above. It was pure terror. Especially Choi Kang’s silhouette, occupying an entire row by himself at the top, radiated enough pressure to intimidate anyone.
“Geonwoo,”
Club president Lee Seoeun spoke.
“Why do you think we called you?”
It had begun.
“Um... I... I’m not sure...?”
“Ya. You really don’t know?”
Hana pressed him with a sharp voice.
“I’ll ask again. Why do you think we called you?”
“Because... we didn’t practice well enough?”
“You know. So why pretend you don’t?”
Choi Kang clicked his tongue in disbelief. Suhyun and Juyeon, sitting side by side, simply watched without saying a word.
“Do you really think you can go on stage in this state?”
“...No.”
“You spend all your time drinking with your friends and going to the billiard hall instead of practicing properly—is that it?”
“Ha... Seriously... I can’t even...”
Hana let out a hollow laugh, completely fed up. Deciding she had done enough, she poked Suhyun hard in the back from behind—a signal for him to say something.
“Geonwoo,”
Suhyun called his name quietly.
“Get a grip. Seriously.”
He repeated the exact words Hana had once said to him.
“Stop drinking so much.”
Geonwoo felt a surge of anger. No matter that they were seniors, meddling in his personal life was crossing the line.
“...Don’t you think you’re going too far?”
The MZ blood in his veins rejected this kind of authoritarian nonsense. Geonwoo wasn’t the type to just take it.
“This isn’t right! It’s not like I skipped practice. I showed up on time every single day and practiced. So why are you doing this? What the hell?”
His angry, resentful arrow was pointed straight at Suhyun. Caught off guard by the unexpected resistance, Suhyun unconsciously asked for help.
“...What do I do?”
Hana slapped her own forehead.
“What do you mean, what do you do? You ruined it! Lee Suhyuuun!”
Only then did Geonwoo realize this had all been a hidden camera prank.