Chapter 100
Despite Seo-jung’s unwelcoming tone, Cha Yoon entered the talking room without hesitation. Soon, the door that had opened closed completely.
A space with only the two of them left. Breaking the silence, Cha Yoon moved towards Seo-jung. In contrast to Seo-jung’s perplexed expression, Cha Yoon’s face bore a confident smile. His steps were so brisk that he looked like a victorious general returning from war.
Reaching the table, he sat down in the empty seat opposite Seo-jung. Seeing Cha Yoon suddenly so close, Seo-jung found himself speaking without thinking.
“…Why are you here, Cha Yoon-ssi?”
“I was told I had to come here to talk with you, hyung.”
That’s not what I’m talking about right now. Seo-jung squeezed his eyes shut, barely swallowing the words that nearly escaped his mouth. It was rather fortunate. Thanks to Cha Yoon’s response, Seo-jung also regained his composure.
He was flustered by the unexpected situation, and was still confused, but he couldn’t keep losing his senses. Since he couldn’t prevent the situation from occurring, he had to handle it as best he could.
Ignoring his rapidly beating heart, Seo-jung forced a smile.
“Cha Yoon-ssi, you must really like me a lot.”
This was the solution Seo-jung came up with. To treat it as lightly as possible, with just enough weight to pass it off as a joke.
It was a situation where a male contestant showed interest in another male contestant on a dating show. To defuse this absurd situation, his reaction was crucial. He had to make it into a light-hearted incident that they could both laugh off.
At Seo-jung’s words, Cha Yoon raised one eyebrow. He seemed lost in thought, but Seo-jung had no time to pay attention to such reactions. He was consumed by one thought: to quickly say what he had prepared and resolve the situation. He hastily opened his mouth.
“Even so, you can’t choose me here. This is a dating show. You should pick someone you really like, Cha Yoon-ssi.”
“…”
“I appreciate your desire to become close friends with me. So let’s pretend this never happened.”
With those final words, Seo-jung sent a meaningful look with all his might. It was a signal pleading for Cha Yoon to understand and not take this in an irreparable direction.
“This won’t do. Let’s not do this here, let’s go out and tell the production team. That you made a mistake. If it’s difficult for you to talk, I’ll speak with you…”
“That won’t be necessary.”
But Seo-jung’s efforts were rendered futile by Cha Yoon’s single sentence. Seo-jung, who had hurriedly stood up, stopped in his tracks at the sound of Cha Yoon’s voice. Naturally, all the words he had prepared afterward dissolved into thin air. He asked in a murmur.
“…What did you just say?”
“I said there’s no need to go to the production team.”
Because I didn’t make a mistake in choosing in the first place. At the firm voice speaking while looking straight at him, Seo-jung’s hands clenched.
“Do you think I’m an idiot who doesn’t even know what kind of show I’m participating in?”
“…”
“I know very well, that’s why I chose you.”
Seo-jung, who had been helplessly listening to Cha Yoon’s words, anticipated what would come next.
The end of this show didn’t mean the end of Cha Yoon’s life. Even after the show ended, Cha Yoon would still have to live in this society. So Seo-jung had to prevent Cha Yoon from regretting a momentary misjudgment, to stop his direct confession before it could come out.
“Cha Yoon-ssi, wait…”
“I want to date you, hyung.”
“…”
“I told you. That I like you.”
Cha Yoon lightly cut off Seo-jung’s words. As the firm voice pierced his heart, Seo-jung could no longer say anything. As if understanding Seo-jung’s state, Cha Yoon calmly continued.
“I understand why you’re worried and acting like this. But I have no intention of hiding my feelings.”
“…”
“It’s not a crime that I like you, so why should I hide it? I don’t want to do that.”
At the same time, Cha Yoon turned his eyes to look at the camera lens attached to the wall. He spoke as if addressing someone who might be watching the screen.
“People who criticize and spout nonsense about something that’s not even their business are the ones who aren’t in their right minds.”
Why should we care about such bastards? Cha Yoon soon took his gaze off the camera lens and turned his head. Unlike the cold gaze from just moments ago, a warm gaze now turned towards Seo-jung.
“You seem worried that I might regret this, but I think I’d regret more if I wasted time because of meaningless people like this.”
“…”
“So while we’re here, don’t think about anything. Just watch me closely and come over to my side.”
That’s enough for you to do, hyung. After finishing his words, Cha Yoon looked straight into Seo-jung’s eyes. Unlike Seo-jung’s slightly trembling eyes, Cha Yoon’s gaze was steady without a hint of wavering.
Seo-jung unconsciously clenched his fists. It was the same this time too. Cha Yoon was always different from himself, who was always in a hurry to hide. Once he acknowledged his feelings, he acted without hesitation. As if nothing scared him, as if people’s gazes meant nothing. He was so different from Seo-jung, but that’s why Seo-jung couldn’t help but love this side of him even more.
Was it because of Cha Yoon’s feelings discovered in the X Room? Seo-jung couldn’t help but waver helplessly.
He knew he should say something, but his voice wouldn’t come out. Only the sound of his frantically beating heart buzzed in his ears.
Cha Yoon read the emotional turmoil in Seo-jung’s heart. He wanted to push further, but uncharacteristically, he exercised patience. He recalled the saying “You can’t get full with the first spoonful” that he had thought of at the dining table. Rather than seeing Seo-jung completely lock himself away due to unnecessary greed, it was better to step back for today.
Let’s take it one step at a time. After finishing this surprisingly normal thought, Cha Yoon tapped the table with his finger to get Seo-jung’s attention.
“They only give us 30 minutes for one-on-one conversation. So let’s stop talking about this and talk about something else.”
I just came from the NEW Room and have a lot to ask you, hyung. At Cha Yoon’s playful voice, Seo-jung blinked a few times and then slowly nodded.
“…Do as you wish, Cha Yoon-ssi.”
As soon as Seo-jung gave his permission, Cha Yoon lifted the corners of his mouth. Along with his smile, the plump aegyo-sal under his eyes became visible. Seo-jung’s gaze was drawn to it.
The playfulness on Cha Yoon’s face pricked Seo-jung’s heart. Was it because he had discovered a moment he had been holding onto? Even though he wanted to pretend not to notice, it was difficult to ignore the sincerity in Cha Yoon’s eyes. He let out a light sigh at the sight of Cha Yoon constantly tugging at his heart, trying to wedge himself into the gaps.
“Do you usually not eat breakfast, hyung?”
“I used to. Not anymore though.”
Back when he lived with Cha Yoon, Seo-jung ate three meals a day without fail. It was thanks to Cha Yoon’s efforts to ensure Seo-jung ate properly. Even when Cha Yoon was away on flights, it was no exception. At those times, Cha Yoon would prepare meals in advance, put them in containers, and even label them with dates to take care of Seo-jung.
When such a diligent Cha Yoon disappeared, Seo-jung stopped eating breakfast. To be more precise, he couldn’t eat anything at home. Whenever he sat at the dining table, he was reminded of Cha Yoon’s face looking at him from across the table.
Unaware of this, Cha Yoon leaned his upper body more towards Seo-jung and lifted the corners of his mouth.
“Then would you consider eating if someone prepared it for you?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Ah, what kind of answer is that? You should give a definite answer.”
I heard someone can prepare breakfast with only the foods you like, hyung. Really. I heard they’re a good cook too. The mature demeanor he had shown just moments ago had disappeared somewhere, and Cha Yoon quickly began chattering, enthusiastically trying to persuade Seo-jung.
After that, the conversation between the two continued without seeming to end. After the promised 30 minutes had passed, there was a knock at the door.
“Looks like our conversation time is over.”
What did we even do for time to fly by so fast? While Cha Yoon blinked as if dumbfounded, Seo-jung stood up without hesitation. As Seo-jung’s eye level suddenly rose, Cha Yoon frowned.
Am I the only one who’s disappointed? Cha Yoon, who was already not in the best mood for not getting a proper answer to what he wanted, grumbled as he stood up to follow. As they came out of the room, they saw the production team waiting for them.
“Please don’t disclose anything about the X Room and NEW Room to the other residents. Seo-jung-ssi, you can return to the X House as is, and Cha Yoon-ssi, we’ll conduct the interview you couldn’t do earlier now.”
Unlike Seo-jung who nodded nonchalantly, Cha Yoon wore a disappointed expression. He had naturally thought they would return together.
“Ah, do we really have to do the interview now? Can’t we do it tomorrow?”
“No, we can’t. Tomorrow has its own interviews.”
As if this wasn’t the first time they had heard such whining, the production team skillfully responded to Cha Yoon’s words. As a not-quite argument started with one person saying they’d do it later and the other insisting it had to be done now, Seo-jung, who had been standing beside them, gave a light bow as if to excuse himself.
“I’ll be going then.”
“Why are you going alone? I’m coming too, so let’s go together.”
“Good work, Seo-jung-ssi.”
“Thank you for your hard work, writer-nim.”
Wait, just a moment. Why are you ignoring me? I said let’s go together. Hyung, can’t you hear me? Hyung!
Although there were desperate calls for him, Seo-jung left the building as if he couldn’t hear a thing.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
