A Slower Tempo
Having finished their performance at the first-semester festival, the band club temporarily lost its sense of purpose. The only officially scheduled event left was the second-semester winter regular performance, still two seasons away. In other words, there was no longer any fixed reason to show up at the club room for practice. If the end of April and beginning of May had been excessively hectic, mid-May brought a repeating calm, like the still surface of a tranquil lake.
“You came today too!” Choi Kang thumped Lee Suhyun hard on the back.
“I have to. It’s workout time.”
The fitness project that had been paused because of midterms was still going strong. If anything, Lee Suhyun seemed to have grown a little more fond of it now. He had definitely felt it while preparing for the performance—stamina was essential for band activities. It wasn’t as if the only thing a college student had to do was club practice. There were assignments for every class to handle and the occasional team projects that also demanded serious effort. Solid stamina was what made handling all of it possible. Of course, the simple, one-dimensional benefit of simply becoming healthier made up a big part of the reason too.
“Lee Suhyun oppa. Hello.”
Ji Sohye, who had now let go of her resentment at Lee Suhyun joining their gym sessions, gave a small nod.
“Sohye. Hi.”
The juniors Lee Suhyun had actually talked with the most were Taeho from the same guitar line and Sohye, with whom he worked out. Just those two.
“Oppa. How about a bet with me?”
“A bet…? What kind?”
Whether it was grade-cramming or billiards, the Spirit members were all hopelessly addicted to betting.
“If Kang oppa lifts more weight than you, he says he’ll buy you a meal.”
Lee Suhyun looked up at Choi Kang with a what’s-this-about expression.
“Competing with me wouldn’t even be a contest! It’s better to let beginners face off against each other!”
It wasn’t a wrong statement, yet Lee Suhyun still hadn’t heard any reason why he had to take part in this game.
“Don’t tell me… you’re not scared of losing to Ji Sohye, are you, Lee Suhyun?”
“…Then if I win, you’re buying me the meal?”
“You want to beat a girl and then expect her to treat you?”
Internal conflict surged through him. Personality was one thing, but pride was pride. Announcing that he would get a free meal here made him feel like something fundamentally male inside him was being crushed.
“Fine… Let’s do it.”
“Oh yes! Oppa, I’m really going to give it my all, so don’t you dare go easy on me, okay?”
Ji Sohye pulled her t-shirt sleeve way up as if eager to show off her biceps. Her arms were so soft and undeveloped that it was barely enough to claim anything was even rising.
“Anyway, if I’m not serious I won’t be able to beat you.”
…Even so, the difference in the weight the two of them lifted wasn’t all that large.
“Good! Then let’s crush it nicely today too!!”
Choi Kang, beaming at the thought of working his triceps, headed into the stretching zone with a spring in his step. Since Lee Suhyun had now learned the basic ways to handle the machines, he simply followed the routine that had been set for him.
“Haa… Haa…”
Sweat rolled down in streams. The mixture of pain and satisfaction made Lee Suhyun wipe his forehead. After finishing each set he would briefly check his phone, and the notification window showed that a message had arrived.
Park Juyeon, who had been nibbling on snacks in her room, moved her thumb again.
Lee Suhyun’s lips curved into a smile as he looked at the screen. What’s this? Does it look easy just because I’m doing it? Juyeon should taste Kang’s real intensity once…! Ever since the hidden-camera incident, Lee Suhyun had learned the true joy of dragging others into the same suffering.
“Lee Suhyun!”
The thunderous shout made Lee Suhyun jump; he nearly dropped his phone.
“What the hell? Why?”
“Why are you messing with your phone during sacred workout time!”
“Oh. Juyeon said she wants to come work out with us too.”
“…Park Juyeon?”
Choi Kang’s scolding face instantly switched to one of pure surprise.
“Last year she swore she wouldn’t show up until the day the earth was destroyed. She finally surrendered, huh.”
Lee Suhyun had no idea what she had surrendered to, but he gave an appropriate response anyway.
After an hour of intense exercise, the group headed out for lunch. Since they had asked in their group chat who wanted to eat together, Lee Seoeun was also at the student cafeteria table.
“Aaaah~ Just thinking that the semester ends in a month makes me so excited!”
Lee Seoeun’s head was already full of plans to hang out with the members. Beach if it was the sea! Mountains if it was the mountains! Anywhere would be fun with the members. Hunting for good restaurants was a given, and it would be nice to come back with some nice life photos too!
“Suhyun, where do you want to go? Sea? Or mountains?”
“I…”
He had never gone to either with his family, so he couldn’t really decide. But if he had to pick based on activity, the sea side… Since it had been quite a while since he last swam, he thought it might be nice to go once.
“The sea?”
“Whoa~ Don’t tell me you just want to see us in swimsuits, Suhyun?”
Lee Seoeun poked Lee Suhyun’s side with a mischievous grin.
“Well, if I were a guy I’d probably be a little curious about Hana’s swimsuit too?”
“I’m not really curious.”
Choi Kang, chewing meat across the table, threw in a blunt remark.
“That’s because Kang has a virtual avatar girlfriend, so he can’t cheat~”
“When I look at you people and then look at Ruka, she really is an angel, you know?”
“Yeah~ Got it, so just keep watching her~”
Tastes were all different anyway. Lee Seoeun chose understanding over persuasion.
“Don’t the first-years have any plans?”
Lee Seoeun asked Ji Sohye with a bright smile.
“Us? Hmm… Some of the kids who live in the countryside are going back home, so I’m not sure.”
“Then you guys can just go visit their hometown.”
“Hyejeong says there’s nothing to see in her super rural village.”
“Then just spread out a map, drop a pin in the center of gravity, and go there!”
In fact, that was the method Lee Seoeun had used last year.
“But if we do go to the sea, how are we getting there?”
Lee Suhyun, who had been trying to picture the details, asked Lee Seoeun.
“Us? We’d probably take an express bus.”
“I have a license!”
When Choi Kang tried to volunteer, Lee Seoeun immediately tried to stop him.
“I’m still too young to die!”
“I drive well!”
“No way! We’re definitely not riding in your car!”
Once again it was the president and the members bickering. Lee Suhyun rested his chin on his hand and gazed out the window where sunlight was streaming in. It really is so different from last year. He was slowly getting used to this noisy scenery.
“This is hard…”
Yoon Hana kept stretching her hand out and closing it. Having spent her whole life giving other people relationship advice, she found herself completely lost when it came to her own romance.
She thought the atmosphere that night had been good enough. They had spent the festival day almost like a date, and it seemed like they had roughly confirmed each other’s feelings. But Lee Suhyun hadn’t crossed the line.
What had been lacking? Had the aftermath of the day she drank and made a mistake been that big? But if that were the reason, Lee Suhyun wouldn’t have waited three whole hours for her. If he had hated the mistake, he simply wouldn’t have shown up at all. Which meant that couldn’t be the reason… The more she thought about it, the deeper she sank into the swamp.
At the same time, realistic factors were weighing on her heart like shackles. In a few months Lee Suhyun would become a soldier. Could this aching heart she felt right now really stay unchanged through all that time?
She had met him in March. They had only known each other for barely two months. On the other hand, military service was eighteen months. It meant being forced to wait more than five times the length of time they had known each other.
Of course she understood that she liked him and that he was a good person. Dating him would obviously be wonderful. Just holding his wrist and walking around with him already felt this good—if they ever kissed, she thought she might actually faint.
But if the reason he wasn’t confessing was that he didn’t want to burden her with the fact that he had to leave… If that was the reason… then Yoon Hana had to give him certainty.
‘I’m confident I can wait for you the whole time.’
She had to say those words if they were ever going to be together. And she knew it was not something she could say lightly. She didn’t want to tell Lee Suhyun some casual lie just to date him for a while. That wasn’t the right attitude toward someone precious.
“Yeah… I’ll wait…”
Lee Suhyun must have his own thoughts. And Yoon Hana hoped he would be the one to hold on to her. If he conveyed his feelings with sincerity, she thought she would be able to give him the confidence that she would wait.
Yes… She would stop being impatient and just wait… But that was that, and this was this… Still, it annoyed her that Lee Suhyun had gone home like that that day and then not sent a single message afterward. Fine, don’t confess! But you could at least contact me!
She fiddled with her phone, thinking of typing out a complaint text, but Yoon Hana puffed out her cheeks and held back. Let’s see who wins. She was glaring at the screen with fierce eyes when—
“No… what is this… this crazy fast pace…”
Yoon Hana’s head spun.