An Invitation to the Festival

It was the kind of scene you only ever read about in some Japanese manga. [...Just the two of us?] The thought acted like a breakwater, a way for him to keep his expectations from flooding out of control. Suhyun asked carefully.

Hana, on the other end of the line, didn't like his hesitant answer one bit. What was the big deal about it being just the two of them? Was he saying he didn't want to go?

"No, that's not it..."

He had simply assumed that someone as outgoing as Hana would be heading there with a whole crowd of department friends. She had even mentioned that they sold food last year. He pictured her wearing an apron and grilling sausage-and-rice-cake skewers. ...It definitely felt like her stall would have hit peak sales. If they were selling again this year, Suhyun knew he would gladly buy some from her.

The very words she had spoken hoping he would insist on joining her only ended up confusing him more. She clearly had plenty of people to spend time with. So why was she singling him out and asking him to go with her...? Was this actually a green light...? For real? From Hana? To him?

Suhyun was still a guy, after all. No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, there was a limit to how tightly he could seal off the thread of hope.

Hana wondered why he was dragging it out so much. Wasn't this simple? He could just say they could go together, or that he already had plans and couldn't go! Was answering one or the other really that hard?

If it had been an absurd question, she had been ready to hit back immediately. You're taking way too long to think about it. Is it fun stringing people along like this? She had planned to tease him with something like that, but...

A dazed sound slipped from Hana's lips. This guy... what the hell was he saying right now? Her eyebrows danced wildly. Even though Suhyun couldn't see her, her eyes darted frantically around her room, scanning every corner.

In her rush to hide her panic, an exaggerated lie burst out of her.

Hana fanned herself vigorously with the hand not holding the phone. What the hell is he even talking about...

Suhyun's laugh sounded sheepish.

Suhyun felt relieved. Of course. Her strong reaction actually let him bolt his heart shut even more firmly.

Since he had simply gone home last year, Suhyun had no idea how people actually enjoyed the festival.

Hana also wanted to move smoothly past the previous topic, so she kept her tone light.

After all, the quality at student-run festival stalls was pretty much the same everywhere.

After ending the call, Hana wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead.

"What kind of weird question was that..." It felt like she had poked something with her finger only to get uppercut in return.

Two days remained until the performance. From this point on, they were allowed to use the key to the small auditorium where the show would take place.

There were two main tasks. The first was to bring the equipment into the hall and dial in the sound. The second was to decorate the stage itself.

After all, a university auditorium wasn't built exclusively for band lives. One wrong move and the whole thing could end up feeling like a parent presentation at an elementary school arts festival. That was why preparing their own props was essential. The school grant and the membership fees they had collected were being used for exactly that.

"One, two, three!"

Choi Kang and Suhyun hoisted the plywood they planned to hang on stage.

"Good there?"

Suhyun's arms were shaking violently.

"Hmm... a little more to the left!"

Seoeun, watching from the audience seats, directed them with precise hand gestures like a real stage manager.

"How about now?"

"No! Take one step to the right! Yes! Now stop!"

"Whew..."

"Good work~"

Seoeun and the other female members gazed at the stage with satisfied smiles. The two-and-a-half-meter-long sheet of thin plywood had been covered in colorful spray-painted calligraphy. Hana had taken charge of all the decorations. Her impressive design technique was far beyond what anyone would expect from an amateur.

"It's totally different from the architecture department, unnie," Sohye said sincerely. She had come to learn how to work the lighting board.

"I'm pretty good at art too, you know." Hana didn't bother with false modesty. She had always been confident in her manual skills.

"Think you first-years will be able to handle this on your own next year?"

Half joke, half serious. While she was genuinely worried about the underclassmen, Hana also couldn't help feeling a touch of superiority, wondering if they could really pull off something like this.

"Hmm... Maybe Jiyeon will help? She's a visual design major."

"Right. We can just make Jiyeon do everything."

Hana scratched the tip of her nose, looking a little embarrassed at how arrogant she had sounded.

"Everyone! After we finish this we're grabbing food, then we're running a full rehearsal on stage! The OB seniors are coming later to check the sound for us."

While the current main generation was fully responsible for planning the stage, fine-tuning the ideal sound was usually left to the alumni. It required more professional knowledge—specifically, a lot of technical expertise. College students who had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only been playing their instruments for a year or two often lacked the necessary depth.

The Spirit members filed out of the auditorium. Juyeon had been given the very important job of key keeper.

"Did you lock it properly?" Seoeun waited until the end so she could walk out with her.

"Yeah."

As they left the student welfare building, bright sunlight poured over them. The wind had grown hotter. Suhyun was finally starting to understand what Juyeon had meant when she said wearing a leather jacket outside on a day like this might actually kill him.

They split into small groups at the student cafeteria. The moment they sat down to eat, the topic at the table made Suhyun want to die from discomfort.

"So how many people did you invite?"

"I confirmed around thirteen for now?"

"Ooh... Park Taeho's got some serious networking skills."

"I participate in department activities like crazy, you know."

Park Taeho—the guy who won with sociability instead of skill! This was the moment his incredible web of connections shone brilliantly.

Promotion was one of the indispensable parts of any performance. No matter how hard you practiced or prepared, a show with no audience was meaningless.

In that sense, Spirit had begun posting promotional content on various SNS accounts two weeks before the confirmed performance date. The more outgoing members posted on their personal accounts, raking in DMs and likes. An invisible hierarchy had naturally formed among the members because of it.

Bringing five to ten people was the norm. With eleven first- and second-years, if each brought ten guests and they added the alumni, they could easily fill the 150-seat auditorium.

Of course, that was only the ideal scenario. In reality, it was rare for a college band performance to sell out completely.

"Suhyun hyung, did you invite a lot of friends too?"

Taeho asked the question to Suhyun, who had been quietly forcing food into his mouth without saying a word.

"Ah... um..."

I want to crawl into a mouse hole.

Honestly, it wasn't that he hadn't invited anyone. Even a loner like Suhyun had a few people he exchanged greetings with. He had squeezed out what little courage he possessed and asked two of them to come watch, but neither had given him a definite yes.

"If I have time, I'll stop by~ Where is it again?"

They hadn't even asked what time it started. It was basically the same as saying they weren't coming. Damn. Damn it. His spirit was crushed.

Hana had told him to post something on Instagram for promotion, but the only people who followed him back were the other Spirit members. He had never thought lacking friends was a handicap before, but for the first time Suhyun felt a sting of regret over his pathetic social circle.

"Aww, it's just because a lot of the older guys are in the military, right? Ahaha."

Taeho, who had asked without thinking, quickly read the room and tried to smooth things over.

"Ahaha. Yeah! Everyone's off serving in the military so there's no one left to invite!"

Suhyun agreed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in an even more exaggerated tone.

"Hana noona, how many people are coming for you?"

Figuring Hana wouldn't mind the question, Taeho changed targets.

"Me? Let's see... just counting the DMs I've already received, it's probably around... twenty?"

Twenty people... The crushing reality hit Suhyun so hard his soul nearly left his body. He was struggling to get even two people, yet she already had twenty who had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reached out first. He felt like swallowing his pride and begging her to give him half.

"Juyeon, did you manage to get any friends from your department to come watch this year?"

Seoeun asked in the tone of a teacher checking homework assignments.

"...Yeah."

Juyeon, who had been chewing her food, gave a big nod.

Betrayal! Park Juyeon! Even you?

The loner alliance was beginning to crack.

"One person confirmed."

It wasn't a shocking number, so Suhyun let out a small sigh of relief.

"Wait, so that friend is coming alone? What~ No way, is it a guy?"

"...Yeah."

Juyeon's calm confirmation sent the entire table into panic.

Park Juyeon's man. Who on earth could it be!

"Our Juyeon got herself a boyfriend without her unnie even knowing... When did our little Juyeon grow up so much?"

They had practically raised her, the way they fussed over her.

"So who is it? Do you have a picture?"

Hana, who could never resist this kind of conversation, leaned forward with sparkling eyes.

"...Lee Suhyun."

"Ugh, that's so boring."

"Hey! Suhyun hyung doesn't count!"

"Juyeon~ That's not an audience member, that's one of the performers."

As boos rained down, Juyeon met Suhyun's eyes across the table.

"He's a classmate in our department..."

She pouted, convinced she hadn't said anything wrong.