Blank Spaces
“Ugh! That sucked!”
Those were the first words out of Yoon Hana’s mouth the moment she stepped out of the tarot booth after shelling out a whole twenty thousand won.
“Huh? But you were totally into it inside. You were reacting like crazy.”
“Come on. How awkward would it be if I sat there and told them everything was wrong? I just played along.”
To tell the truth, Hana had gotten goosebumps all over from how eerily accurate the reading had been. From the question about whether she had someone she liked, all the way to the exact distance between her and that person—it had all matched perfectly. The so-called advice they gave her was stuff like, Be honest. It wouldn’t be so bad to just charge straight at your feelings. Having to sit there and listen to all that with the guy in question right beside her, Hana had felt like her face was going to explode from embarrassment. She’d wanted to bolt out of there as fast as possible.
Still, it wasn’t entirely without gains.
[One last thing you each want to ask.]
Suhyeok had asked some lame question about how he thought he’d do on his final exams, but Hana wasn’t about to waste her turn. [Do you think I’d be compatible with the person you mentioned earlier?]
When she drew the card, the answer came back immediately.
[Yes. You’ll be extremely compatible. That card is considered one of the very best when it comes to compatibility readings.]
She knew it had no real credibility, but feelings were feelings. Deep down, Hana felt completely satisfied that the money hadn’t been wasted at all.
“So what now?”
“Let’s get something to eat. Did you have lunch?”
“I was waiting to eat with you.”
It was twelve o’clock. To anyone looking, it really did seem like a lunch date.
“Wait, so you’ve been starving this whole time since you got here?”
“I wasn’t that hungry anyway.”
“...Oh my god.”
Hana grabbed Suhyeok by the wrist and started strutting down the row of food trucks like it was a runway.
“Hey. Eat whatever you want! Seriously, don’t even look at the prices—just go for it.”
Honestly, there weren’t many items over ten thousand won anyway.
“Really? Then, um...”
Since he was getting treated, Suhyeok decided to be careful with his choice. He went with hot dogs.
“One cheese dog and one plain, please!”
After paying and picking up their food, the two wandered around looking for an empty bench.
“Hey. Over there, over there!”
Hana spotted a couple getting up and quickly hurried over.
“Nice~”
She must have been in a genuinely good mood, because the girl who claimed the seat first broke into a wide grin. Watching her, Suhyeok knew he really shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help thinking that this felt like a date.
If he had a girlfriend… would he get to feel this way every day?
Maybe that was why people kept telling him to date. The strange new emotion he was experiencing for the first time was electrifying—and addictive.
“Hey. This is insanely good. Want a bite of mine?”
Hana, who hadn’t even wiped the ketchup from her mouth, held out her hot dog to Suhyeok.
“No, you eat it.”
“What? Don’t tell me you’re refusing because I already took a bite, like some elementary school kid?”
The mood suddenly shifted. It was because Suhyeok hadn’t been conscious of that kind of thing at all. On the other hand, Hana—who had been carefully watching his reaction—suddenly felt her face burning up. It was because he had hesitated to answer her joke.
“Are you a kid? You’re not seriously going to make a big deal about an indirect kiss at your age, are you? Just eat it already!”
Desperate to hide her flushed face, Hana shoved the hot dog straight into his mouth. At that point, there was no way he could refuse. And it really was as delicious as she’d said. Maybe it even tasted better because she had been eating it.
“Good, right?”
“Mmm...”
“Yeah, yeah. If you want more later, just say so. I’ll buy you some.”
After cleaning up their trash, the two walked slowly along the tree-lined path. The sky was gradually darkening. It was finally time for the main event of the festival—the celebrity performances.
Hana had looked up the list of performers on Instagram and showed the screen to Suhyeok.
“Is there any team you want to see?”
There were famous idols and popular rappers.
“I...”
Suhyeok tapped the screen with the tip of his fingernail.
“If I had to pick, maybe these guys?”
What he pointed at was an indie band scheduled for the very beginning of the show. As everyone knew, indie bands in Korea didn’t have that much name recognition. At a university festival, they’d be classified as the lowest tier. The fact that they were going on first proved it. The main dish came last. The appetizers were up front. The booking fees were also completely different for the early slots.
“So you’re okay with just watching them?” Hana asked, sounding a little surprised.
“Well… if you want to stay until the end, that’s fine too.”
“No. Let’s just watch the band and go.”
Hana wasn’t particularly fond of idol music. In fact, it might be more accurate to say she couldn’t stand it. There had been a time when bands and rock music ruled the world. But that was in the 80s—before Hana was even born. She often imagined what it would have been like if she had been born in that era. What if she had been born in the age of bands instead of this pop-dominated time? The best she could do in the 21st century was to trace the footsteps of rock stars in their prime. The era when they had commanded the world would never come again. And there were still no signs that band music would ever become a global mainstream trend again.
“Still, this should be pretty good, right?”
The spot Hana and Suhyeok claimed was fairly close to the front. Sure enough, the crowd gathered to watch the early, less popular artists wasn’t that big.
“Yeah. As long as you can see their faces, it’s a success.”
Once the setup was finished, the performance began.
“Hello, everyone!”
“Hello~”
The vocalist, whose long hair was even longer than Suhyeok’s, smiled brightly.
“University festivals! They’re so romantic. I used to enjoy them a lot myself. I’m deeply moved to be standing here singing in front of all of you.”
He looked down at the audience with a satisfied expression.
“Anyone who knows us, raise your hands!”
When Hana shot her hand up high, Suhyeok glanced around and raised his too.
“Whoa! More people know us than I thought? Haha, that’s a relief! So, what’s our biggest hit song?”
There were some answers, but the voices weren’t as loud as expected.
“Mm-hmm! That’s okay! No problem! We’ll make sure to show you everything we’ve got today, so please enjoy yourselves. Here we go!”
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
A heavy bass line anchored the sound. Just from the first intro, both Hana and Suhyeok felt like they were falling completely for the band in front of them. This was Suhyeok’s first time seeing a professional performance in person. And for him, it was an incredibly surprising—and magical—experience.
“Endless Season”
“Blue lips resemble a blue apple.”
The lyrics were far from mainstream pop. They felt like love songs, yet they weren’t straightforward. Still, the words clearly stimulated the imagination. They were pulling the listeners into a world that couldn’t be understood. It was a story that belonged entirely to them, not something made by others. Simply presenting their own world to the public already looked radiant.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The song slowly wound down along with the slowing drums. They had only played three songs, but their allotted time was already up.
“That was Ashen Mirror! Thank you!”
Hana watched them bow and leave the stage, then poked Suhyeok in the side.
“Let’s go now.”
“...Yeah.”
The two slipped out of the crowd. At this point, the only real option left was the drinking tents.
“Um… want to check out the drinking area?”
It had been part of Hana’s original plan, but she hesitated quite a bit before suggesting it. After the mess she’d caused yesterday, asking him to drink again didn’t seem right.
“No. I’ll pass on the alcohol.”
As expected, Suhyeok turned down her suggestion immediately.
“If it’s just the two of us drinking, there’s no real reason to go to the drinking tents, is there...”
“Really? So you’re saying you’d drink if it wasn’t at the tents?”
“I’m fine with it, but… are you sure you’re okay, Hana…?”
Yesterday’s Hana had been a complete mess.
“I won’t drink too much. Let’s go.”
Even so, Hana didn’t want the day to end like this. She grabbed his wrist again.
The two left campus and stopped by a convenience store. They bought some simple drinks and dried squid, then settled down in a gazebo in a nearby park.
“Isn’t… isn’t it illegal to drink here?”
Drinking in public. Suhyeok felt like the entire world was staring at him.
“It’s fine as long as we’re not loud. And we’re not here to get wasted—it’s just one can of a drink.”
What Hana had bought was a peach-flavored beverage with added alcohol.
“Really? But if we get caught and have to pay a fine...”
“Ah! I’ll pay it! I’ll pay, okay? Or what, do you want to go drink at my house?”
“That’s not it...”
When he said he didn’t want to go to her house either, Hana looked a little hurt. After all the times he’d come over and hung out at her place.
Hiss.
When they cracked open the cans, the sound of carbonation fizzing up could be heard.
“So… it wasn’t anything special, but how was the festival?”
Hana quietly asked for his thoughts.
“It was great. I feel like I did a lot of things I never would have done if I’d been alone.”
Getting a tarot reading. Standing in line to buy food. Going to see a performance—everything had been a first for him. They might have been familiar to Hana, but Suhyeok had already experienced countless firsts with her.
“Really? That’s good, then.”
Hana took a sip of her drink. Even the rough feeling sliding down her throat tasted sweet.
“What about you?”
This time Suhyeok asked her. Honestly, hadn’t dragging him around been boring for her? Maybe she had just felt sorry for him and gone along with it a little longer? Suhyeok knew very well that he wasn’t exactly the most fun person to be around.
“...It was good.”
Hana met his eyes. A strange, subtle tension flowed between them. Suhyeok was the first to look away.
“...That’s a relief.”
Not knowing what to say, Suhyeok fumbled for a new topic.
“Oh, right. Hana.”
He called her name as if something had just occurred to him. Hana, who had wanted to ride this flow a little longer, gave a small nod.
“What?”
“I think you should thank Juyeon later too.”
“Huh? Why?”
As expected, it seemed Hana had no memory of it at all.
“Juyeon and I carried you and washed you up together.”
Hana bit her lip slightly.