A Confession at the Han River
Contrary to Nayong’s hopes, Suhyun had gone on to join the central club and perform on stage as if to spite her. She couldn’t stand it. More precisely, she hated it. The fact that someone as socially hopeless as him—who could barely string a sentence together—had managed it. Last year he had gone along with every unreasonable demand she made, yet now he was gone.
Imagining him up on stage, looking genuinely happy with Spirit, made her feel sick. She had felt something similar once as a child, when her mother forced her to hand over a doll she cherished because her cousin wanted it. It was the same awful sensation of having something she had believed was hers taken away.
There was no way Suhyun, who had already tasted what a real band was like, would ever return to Purple Storm. No excuse would bring him back. But keeping Suhyun himself tied down might still be possible. Romance—the strongest bond between two people who were otherwise strangers. If that worked, she could definitely hold on to him. Or so she had thought.
“…So?” Suhyun replied calmly after blinking slowly. It wasn’t true that Nayong’s words hadn’t surprised him. Who confessed like that in the middle of a daytime lecture hall? And to make it worse, the person doing it was Nayong, someone who didn’t even qualify as a casual friend or someone he had any lingering feelings for. If it had been Hana or Juyeon saying something similar, he might have panicked, but Nayong was already out. In his mind, she was someone he had no reason to consider at all.
“What do you mean, ‘so’…?” Nayong was the one left flustered.
“You don’t seem very surprised.”
“…I was surprised.”
Something had changed. This wasn’t the Suhyun she used to know. Spirit must have altered him. But Nayong, unable to let go of the old Suhyun, refused to back down.
“Are you free this evening?”
“…No.” Suhyun’s eyes drifted toward Juyeon sitting behind them. “We’re going to the Han River today.”
Juyeon, who had been listening, picked up her bread bag and nodded gently. “Oh. We’re all going together with the band members today…”
“…I see.” Nayong bit down hard on her lip. “Got it. Then…”
Juho, who arrived late, found himself caught in the middle. The professor had given the group time to discuss, but the atmosphere among them was far from productive.
“Did you guys fight or something?” Suhyun sat frozen like a Moai statue. Nayong looked completely uninterested in the project. Juyeon sat between them, glancing nervously back and forth.
“…Sorry. I really can’t think of anything good right now.” Suhyun’s brain was overloaded with far too much stimulation to function normally.
“Haah. Then let’s all organize our ideas and send them over messenger by tomorrow.” Juho could tell no conversation was going to happen in this state.
Class ended just like that. Juyeon and Suhyun left the lecture hall and walked home together.
“So it wasn’t Nayong who likes you, huh?” Juyeon asked, glancing up at him.
“…You heard her. There’s no way I could like her.”
“Still, it seemed like she really likes you.”
He didn’t know. He truly didn’t know whether Nayong’s feelings were genuine. Maybe she was just a childish girl who wanted to torment the boy she liked, like an elementary school kid. But even if that ridiculous idea turned out to be true, nothing would change. Suhyun no longer wanted anything to do with them. Her half-confession was nothing more than an uncomfortable burden to him. It stirred no emotion at all.
“I don’t like her.”
“…I see.” Juyeon didn’t press further, sensing his discomfort. “Then I’ll see you later.”
At the fork in the road, Suhyun waved. “Yeah. See you later.”
Juyeon turned and walked the other way. Left alone, Suhyun ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Haa…” He hoped the Han River would help clear his mind.
* * *
There was no official schedule, but work had a way of appearing when you made time for it. Sitting in front of her computer, Hana scrolled down the mouse wheel. She checked the dates for the National University Band Competition guidelines. Then she opened the calendar on her phone.
[July 31 – Preliminaries]
[August 10 – Finals]
The competition was perfectly timed right in the middle of summer break.
“I wonder if the others will go along with it…” She wanted to perform. She wanted to show Spirit to a wider world. And beyond that, she wanted to prove how good they were. But this wasn’t something she could force on the members. At twenty-one, summer break was a time when they could do things far more valuable and exciting than a band performance. If even one of them decided to go backpacking in Europe, her dream would melt away like foam.
She pictured each member’s face in her mind. Seoeun would probably do it… or would she? She might turn it down, saying she had to spend time with Jaejun. Juyeon would probably just agree if asked—she rarely refused. Kang would do it if she bought him an expensive meal. Honestly, Lee Suhyun… Just thinking about Suhyun made Hana’s blood pressure rise. Why did he always answer group questions like they were personal? She was still holding a grudge over that travel-destination message. He had sent something that was a hundred percent guaranteed to cause misunderstanding and hadn’t offered a single word of explanation. She was definitely going to torment him at the Han River today. Suhyun was only fun when she was giving him a hard time.
At the bus stop where the Spirit members had agreed to meet, only Seoeun and Suhyun were there when Hana arrived.
“Hi.” Hana wrapped an arm around Seoeun’s waist.
“Hana. What’s with the outfit? Don’t tell me you dressed like that because you want to get someone’s number at the Han River?”
Hana’s outfit today was unmistakably girlfriend-coded: a soft pink flare skirt paired with a warm-toned white blouse, accented by a black ribbon. Suhyun found it genuinely difficult to look away. She looked like a model straight out of a magazine.
“No, it’s not like that. It’s just the mood. Like going on an outing.” Hana raised one eyebrow as if to say, “What do you think?”
Realizing he had been staring, Suhyun cleared his throat awkwardly.
“…Lee Suhyun.” When he didn’t respond, Hana poked his side with her index finger. “Yeah?”
“Don’t you have something to say?”
“Something to say?”
“Yeah. Like an apology.”
Suhyun thought for a moment. “Nope.”
“Huu… You really are…” Hana fanned herself with her hand, pretending it was just the heat. She decided she couldn’t bring it up here and would have to pull him aside later.
“Who wants to ride a bike?” Choi Kang appeared from behind, his voice loud and enthusiastic.
“Lee Suhyun! You’re riding too!”
“A bike?”
“I already found the perfect rental spot!”
Juyeon, arriving last, was dragged along without understanding what was happening. And so the entire Spirit crew ended up forced into an impromptu cycling club experience.
The bus ride to the Han River took about thirty minutes. Even though the sky was already darkening, there were quite a few people out, probably because the weather was nice.
“Wow, that looks amazing. Should we order something later too?” Hana watched enviously as a couple ate tteokbokki.
“No way. Let’s go with the classics tonight. Han River ramyeon!” Seoeun, having been burned once by ordering delivery with her boyfriend, had already ruled that option out.
“Bike rentals are this way!”
They tried to rent city bikes, but only a few remained at the station.
“Um… Raise your hand if you want to ride.” Seoeun called for volunteers to mediate.
Only Choi Kang raised his hand. The others weren’t particularly interested.
“You want to go alone?”
“Sure! Call me later!”
Since he was genuinely excited about the bikes, he ended up separating from the group. Hana clicked her tongue in disbelief.
“Then… should we just grab a can of beer or something?” Seoeun smiled and pointed toward the convenience store.
Carrying ramyeon, snacks, and beer cans in plastic bags, the Spirit members spread out a mat on a patch of grass far from the station, since all the good spots were already taken.
“Shall we toast first?” Seoeun raised her can. The members huddled together and clinked their drinks. A cool breeze greeted them pleasantly.
“Kuuuh~ This is nice!” Hana let out an old-man-like exclamation after slurping a mouthful of ramyeon.
“Right? It’s been a while since I came to the Han River. Suhyun, do you come here often?”
“…This is my first time coming with other people.” He had only ever passed by before, never actually sat down and stayed.
“Really? You should come sometimes. Now’s the perfect season. It’ll get too hot once summer really hits.”
The conversation continued, mostly between Seoeun and Hana. Juyeon and Suhyun sat quietly, listening and sipping their beer. Hana planned to bring up the competition once the mood was a little better and Kang returned. Talking about dreams and ambitions was embarrassing without alcohol. But where on earth was that guy Kang…?
When the conversation lulled, Hana rested her chin on Juyeon’s shoulder.
“Tell me something fun, Juyeon.”
“F-Fun story?”
It was the kind of question that could trigger trauma. But the only recent fun story Juyeon had was one she absolutely couldn’t share with them. Her streaming life was off-limits here. Completely, absolutely off-limits.
“Ah. It’s not my story, though.”
“What? That intro sounded like it was going to be a romance story.” Seoeun pounced like a hyena.
“Hm? Ah… It is a romance story.”
“What?! Park Juyeon. You got a boyfriend? Who?”
“Whoa. Juyeon, you already—while I wasn’t looking?”
“…I said it’s not my story.” Juyeon turned her head toward Suhyun. “Suhyun got confessed to today?”
…That wasn’t exactly a fun story, was it? Hana’s eyes widened into perfect circles.