Chapter 41
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Stimulation (2)
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Soft, dim orange lighting with a warm glow, private partitions at each table, sleek black-dominated modern interior.
We'd arrived at a high-end beef restaurant that looked luxurious at first glance.
Following the server's guidance, we took seats by the second-floor window overlooking the bustling street.
'I've only ever come to places like this when entertaining buyers... For arts high kids, is this just everyday stuff?'
The moment we sat down, Jin-seong sunbae started ordering with familiar gestures.
I poured water into three glasses and asked,
"This place looks ridiculously expensive. Is it really okay for me to be eating like this?"
"When you're the one getting fed, you just say thanks nicely and eat."
Da-eun sunbae, sitting across from me, picked up a few pieces of yukhoe from the side dishes and held them to my lips.
"Here, ahh—."
"Okayyy...."
I naturally took them with my chopsticks and popped them into my mouth.
Super fresh, perfect temperature—damn, this was good.
"Eating well!"
"Hey, you're here to get fed too, you know."
"Then I'll join the broadcasting club starting today."
"Disqualified for treating club membership like it's nothing."
"Ouch, what a shame~."
She cackled and patted Jin-seong sunbae's shoulder. He pushed her hand away and continued,
"Bu-bi has some budget leeway, so we pooled a bunch of stuff together. Don't worry about it, Do-hyun."
"Yeah, yeah. Eat up, no need to hold back."
"Anyway, if there's leftover budget, it might get cut next semester... But if we get a receipt and show it to the teacher, they'll approve it as a club dinner spot."
"Don't call it a 'fake receipt' like it's some pro term!"
...This school's rotten too, huh.
Still, their super casual handling of it put my mind at ease.
'Thinking about it, yeah, that makes sense.'
Right, as a fresh-faced first-year, I'm innocent. I'll just eat my fill and go.
"If shit hits the fan later, just say Jin-seong forced you! Here, ahh—."
"I'll eat on my own."
"Tch, no cuteness at all."
Da-eun sunbae puffed out one cheek after I took the food with my chopsticks again.
"We'll bring out your ordered tenderloin first."
Soon, platters of beautifully marbled beef cuts arrived one by one. With Jin-seong sunbae taking charge of grilling, I could just relax and take pieces as they came.
There's always that one person who loves jumping in to grill at times like this.
The rapid chopstick pace gradually slowed. That's when conversation really picked up.
"Oh yeah, Do-hyun. How was my cheering today? Pumped you up, right?"
"...You did something like that, yeah."
"What kind of reaction is that! Aren't you playing that well today because your sunbae cheered you on?"
I gave an awkward smile.
Aside from a bit of surprise, it hadn't affected my performance at all.
"But how'd you get into the hall? What about class?"
"What else? Skipped. Whoosh!"
"..."
"For small tests, we can skip once in a while for filming, but named evaluations like regular ones? The school films those directly, not the broadcasting club."
Come to think of it, I remembered those massive TV-camera setups under the podium. So that's what they were for.
"No big deal skipping without permission? Skipping class that easy?"
"Like when you came to the instrument room last time, Do-hyun... you're kinda like an old fogey, y'know? Lacking that human touch."
"Just say normal, please."
To not be an old fogey, do I need to throw on gym clothes over my uniform and diligently skip classes? No matter how I think about it, it's the people around me who's wrong. Feels like I'll get corrupted too.
"Anyway, you did great, Do-hyun. That time at the front gate, it felt a bit awkward, but today? Not a trace. Felt like you were even better than some third- and second-years."
"Nah, no way it's that good."
"It's 'cause I helped! You were all lost and begging me like, 'Help me, sunbae-nim!' with all that aegyo, right?"
"Do-hyun doing aegyo?"
"I'll ignore that. But yeah, thanks to you, I got a good feel for how to play it."
That much was true. I thanked her sincerely again.
"Ehe, no biggie! Having a junior makes this fun."
She adjusted her glasses with a proud look.
The praise shower continued after that. It was embarrassing to just sit and listen, but it felt good.
Jin-seong sunbae, not being from the music department, mostly described the vibe and feel, while Da-eun sunbae got technical about the orchestra—that contrast was fun.
After spilling a torrent of words, Da-eun sunbae caught her breath calmly and continued,
"Do-hyun, can I ask you something?"
"Gently, no hurting."
"Yeah, I'll ignore you too. Anyway... your orchestra, everyone sucked except the trumpet, right?"
"Uh, yeah."
...How'd she know?
They were relatively weaker, but on exam day, everyone pulled it off without a hitch, or so I'd thought.
"You can tell if you listen close—they were one hair from falling apart everywhere, and you barely held it together. Didn't feel it?"
"Hmm."
"A bit worse, and it'd have been a total mess. Plenty of useless ones too."
Barely held together...
I recalled the instruments fumbling tempos and messing up a ton the day before the exam.
'But "useless" is a bit harsh.'
Time was short, and I'd unilaterally pushed my direction, so her take wasn't off-base.
"Well, point is, you did great, Do-hyun. Good job leading. If it were me... I'd have bailed on a group like that, hehe."
She gazed out the window, exhaling softly through her nose, but her trailing tone was ice-cold.
"Kidding! I always give my all to whatever I'm assigned."
Her face lit up like nothing happened. The hand-wave and that last line overlapped, stirring a weird feeling.
I'd pegged her as sly but always upbeat, so that glimpse of steel surprised me. Was she just immature, or was there depth I couldn't grasp?
The food on the table started emptying out. Jin-seong sunbae set down his chopsticks with a clack, checked his phone calendar, and spoke up.
"Oh yeah, the busking video should go up tomorrow or the day after. Final edits."
"File was named 'Final Final Real Final' or something?"
"Hurts my heart... But there's reasons."
He beckoned me closer and let out a long sigh, starting his gripe.
"Our school's YouTube has a tragic backstory, Do-hyun."
What followed was pretty unexpected.
The Ye-rim Arts High channel hadn't been active long, and as latecomers, they were focused on catching up to rival arts highs.
"Myeong-seong those guys... seriously. Let's snag first place once, Do-hyun. Help out."
Seeing the practitioner's stormy face, I got why Seong-hyuk had made such a fuss. The rivalry with Myeong-seong Arts High wasn't something to brush off.
"I've been helping with full sincerity so far."
"Exactly, so keep it up! Wanna come out with your friends next time? How's that?"
"Got any prepped content or items?"
"Not yet."
"Then can I bring my friends here again?"
"I'll make it happen somehow. Borrow some allowance..."
I chuckled dryly at Jin-seong sunbae seriously clutching his head in thought.
Never imagined I'd end up with that kind of responsibility. Too burdensome's no good.
"Fine, I'll think it over slowly. I'll go pay, so let's head out."
Jin-seong sunbae rummaged in his bag and stood. At the same time, the phone on the table buzzed.
[Ga-eul♬ : Downstairs]
Ga-eul... I blanked for a sec, but it had to be Kim Ga-eul. Her profile name, probably.
But 'downstairs' what?
Glancing around the table edge, I noticed the darkening window outside. A noisy group of high schoolers caught my eye on the street.
'...What.'
Kim Ga-eul was there.
Standing a step away from the group, looking up at us with her mouth agape like she'd been shocked silly.
"Oh crap."
Angry cat emoticon.
Angry dog emoticon.
Angry bear emoticon.
Angry rabbit emoticon...
I stared at my phone screen, a storm of furious animal emojis playing out, my face a mix of guilt and dismay.
Traitor!!!!!
Some eat beef, some do all-you-can-eat...
Tasty without me? Huh?
Makes me feel like I really betrayed her. I sent Kim Ga-eul a suitable excuse, then hurriedly pocketed my phone.
"Do-hyun, straight to dorms?"
"Dunno, thinking of stopping by the practice room."
"Feels great having such a diligent junior~."
"You're sounding more like a grandma than a sunbae."
On the street with the school gate visible in the distance, the sky had already gone full dark.
Belly full, I considered just resting, but since I hadn't practiced at all today, I decided on the practice room.
That's when it happened. Suddenly, a black sedan in the lane next to the sidewalk flashed its hazards and honked.
The passenger window rolled down, revealing Choi Je-hun teacher.
"Oh, teacher."
"Eating dinner before heading back?"
"Yeah, with sunbaes. You heading home?"
"Grading your lot kept me here this late—you've got it good."
"Haha..."
Grading till now? So scores come out tomorrow?
I asked right away.
"When do scores come out?"
"Tomorrow, first thing. Calling all piano majors together for a big reveal—tell your class rep."
"Ah, got it."
All together... that's awkward. Tomorrow means the bet results with that teacher go public too.
The teacher glanced back at the lane behind and continued,
"You taking private lessons or anything?"
"Nah, just self-practice."
"Right, you're self-taught. Thought so."
He tapped the steering wheel, raised the passenger window, and yelled pretty loud,
"Take good care of your hands, kid."
No time for goodbyes as the car pulled away.
Shows up casually, leaves casually—same in school or out.
"Your teacher?"
"Yeah, Piano Class A."
"Cool dude. Our dance teacher's dying to devour us kids."
Cool? Doesn't feel stylish.
"Practice hard, Do-hyun."
"Come hang in the instrument room whenever!"
We parted ways toward the dorms. I headed straight to the main building's practice rooms.
Inside, a faint greasy smell wafted from me. Even after deodorant, it lingered.
'Meat smell...'
Come to think, before regressing, when I collapsed from exhaustion, I reeked of meat too. Samgyeopsal back then, pricey beef today.
'Been a while already.'
Glad I'm adapting to school okay. Wonder if my mental age is regressing to high schooler levels—that a problem?
Pushing aside the brief reflection, I climbed the stairs. Sure enough, few practice rooms were lit.
Curious about occupied ones, I checked the reservation plates. First name I spotted: Baek Ji-ho.
'Like a ghost.'
If even Baek Ji-ho's practicing right after exams, how could I slack?
Exams done—time to run through all the pieces I've wanted to play.
I headed to another lit room farther down. The plate read Lee Ha-yeon.
'She's practicing too?'
Peering through the small round window, I saw Lee Ha-yeon's back, pounding the keys with intense fervor.
Felt way more powerful than usual. More objectively, she seemed to be over-forcing it.
'Won't find her future sound like that.'
Wonder when she started. Not wanting to disturb, I leaned against the wall by the door, avoiding the glass, and pulled out my phone.
'Know she left right after Kim Ju-hee's turn, no contact since...'
I checked the school homepage for main building practice room reservations. Just a hunch. Skipping lunch and dinner to practice till now?
'Can't judge, I've skipped meals practicing plenty.'
A few names popped amid the empty schedule.
Surprise hit me with a short "Ah."
712 Room ─ Lee Ha-yeon
13:15 ~
704 Room ─ Baek Ji-ho
13:57 ~
I stared blankly at my phone before pocketing it.
Then I headed straight to an empty practice room and flipped on the fluorescent lights.