Chapter 81
Early morning, the kitchen displayed the same scene as the previous evening. The only difference was Cha Yoon’s tired-looking face.
Unlike the previous night when he went to bed early, he spent the night wide awake in the room without Seo-jung. It was understandable, really. He couldn’t sleep comfortably knowing that Ki Seo-jung was working without getting any rest.
As the dark sky began to show blue, his fatigue built up. Cha Yoon eventually had to get up. He thought about how tired Seo-jung must be in the control tower when even he felt this exhausted just lying comfortably in his room. His thoughts soon turned to breakfast. This was why he had been bustling about since before sunrise.
Cha Yoon reduced the induction stove’s temperature as he watched the broth boiling vigorously. The plates beside him contained completely different foods from the previous evening. Once again, seafood was thoroughly excluded.
He rubbed his bloodshot, tired eyes. Though his physical condition could hardly be called good due to lack of sleep, his mood was excellent. He couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of Ki Seo-jung returning after work to eat the food he had prepared.
“I’ll feed him a hearty breakfast and then we can take a nap together. We could also talk while looking at each other’s faces to make up for not seeing each other yesterday.” Cha Yoon continued making his own date plans following the previous day’s.
While he was running through his date simulation with Ki Seo-jung, a familiar voice reached his ears.
“You’re making breakfast too, hyung?”
The voice belonged to Jung Soo-ho. When Cha Yoon turned to look, he saw him wiping his forehead with a towel around his neck, as if he had just come back from exercising.
“Ah, shit.” Cha Yoon frowned as he detected the strong smell of sweat wafting over.
“Go away.”
He waved his hand dismissively, worried that the food he had prepared with such care might be contaminated by that sweat smell. As Soo-ho hesitated and started backing away, his eyes fell on the dishes Cha Yoon had prepared the day before.
“Ah, those braised short ribs were really delicious yesterday…”
Cha Yoon gave him a quick glance before saying, “Eat it if you want.”
Although his response was indifferent, it was nonetheless an affirmative answer. Surprised by the unexpected permission, Soo-ho’s eyes widened.
“Whoa, really? Is that okay? There’s a Post-it note here saying not to eat this.”
“Yes.”
Cha Yoon reached out, removed the warning note he had written, and crumpled it up. It was clear permission. “He’s letting me eat because I said I wanted to. He really does care about me despite what he says.” Jung Soo-ho’s eyes sparkled as if deeply moved.
“Cha Yoon hyung… I’m so touched. Actually, last night I was wondering if you disliked me. But today I finally know for sure how much you care about and like me… I’m sorry for misunderstanding all this time…”
Soo-ho rambled on, but Cha Yoon just frowned. There was no special reason why he had allowed Soo-ho to eat the food from the previous day. The dish had been originally made to feed something delicious to Ki Seo-jung. Yesterday’s food wouldn’t accomplish that goal anymore.
He was simply giving food that was destined for the garbage bag to Jung Soo-ho. To him, there wasn’t much difference between the two destinations. In other words, Soo-ho was reading too much into it.
“What are you talking about…”
Despite Cha Yoon’s cold response, Soo-ho wasn’t hurt at all and his eyes sparkled even more. He continued saying nonsensical things (in Cha Yoon’s opinion) about how he now understood Cha Yoon’s heart and calling him a tsundere. Watching Soo-ho who was busy making his own interpretations, Cha Yoon shook his head, giving up on understanding him.
Just like the previous evening, Cha Yoon finished plating all the food, covered it with a cloth to keep the dust off, and attached a newly written Post-it note:
Don’t covet this
– Cha Yoon –
Having completed his task, Cha Yoon left the kitchen and sat on the sofa—the same spot with the best view of the entrance hallway. Now he had only one thing left to do: wait for Ki Seo-jung.
Cha Yoon checked the time on his phone. It was currently 8:43 AM. “He should arrive by 10 AM at the latest.” After nodding slightly, Cha Yoon gave up looking straight ahead and turned his body to face the entrance hallway completely.
Cha Yoon fixed his gaze on the entrance corridor and began waiting for Ki Seo-jung. Many contestants came out for breakfast and passed by, but his eyes never left the end of the hallway.
Exactly two hours later, Cha Yoon, who had been sitting like a statue, stood up. His expression had grown quite serious. The reason, once again, was Ki Seo-jung. Seo-jung, whom he thought would arrive within an hour, still hadn’t returned home.
It had already been more than a full day since he last saw Ki Seo-jung’s face. A vague anxiety rising from a corner of his heart enveloped Cha Yoon. “Why isn’t he coming home?” Just as he sensed something was wrong…
At that moment, what came to Cha Yoon’s mind was the image of Ki Seo-jung and Song Joo-ah entering the X House together.
“No way…”
Could he be coming in after dating a female contestant? If it were anyone else, he might not suspect this, but with Ki Seo-jung as the protagonist, it was worth considering. After all, he already had a history of going on dates despite his exhausted body after night shifts.
Cha Yoon quickly moved. His targets were the female contestants currently staying at the X House. He went around every corner of the house to find them.
The first person he encountered was Seo Min-ha. Cha Yoon grabbed her just as she was coming out to the living room.
“Ah, you startled me!”
“What are you doing today?”
“Pardon?”
“I asked what you’re doing. Are you going out? Outside? Going on a date?”
Min-ha tilted her head at these sudden questions from someone blocking her way. The more confused she looked, the more Cha Yoon fired questions like an intense interviewer.
“No? I’m just planning to rest at home today…”
“Okay, fine then.”
Despite demanding an answer, Cha Yoon turned away without even listening to the end of Min-ha’s response. Min-ha blinked as she watched Cha Yoon walk away, then shrugged her shoulders. “That guy is really weird…”
That was just the beginning. Cha Yoon went to the terrace, the garden, and eventually even to the female contestants’ rooms to ask about their schedules.
“You’re absolutely sure you’re not going anywhere?”
“I told you I’m not.”
Da-bin nodded at his repeated question. Cha Yoon narrowed his eyes, scanned her expression, and then left. He got clear answers from Kim Sae-young, Yeo Ji-yoon, and even from Shin Da-bin, who had been his main person of concern. Now only Song Joo-ah remained.
Just as he was about to knock on Joo-ah’s door:
“Looking for Joo-ah?”
Cha Yoon stepped slightly aside at Da-bin’s voice from directly behind him and nodded slightly.
“Yeah, well.”
“Joo-ah’s not in her room. She went out a little while ago.”
“What did you say? What did Song Joo-ah do?”
“I said Joo-ah went out a while ago.”
Da-bin pointed toward the entrance with her finger. Cha Yoon messed up his hair as if bewildered. Gone out? When did that happen?
“Did she say why she was going out?”
“I didn’t really ask. She did say she’d be a bit late. She was dressed pretty nicely when she left, so I think she might be going on a date?”
Shin Da-bin took a sip of the coffee she was holding. At Da-bin’s casually thrown comment, Cha Yoon’s face contorted as if he’d been hit in a vulnerable spot.
He was annoyed, but he wasn’t angry at Ki Seo-jung. After all, the dates were arranged according to the female contestants’ wishes. Ki Seo-jung wouldn’t have had any choice in the matter. In other words, Ki Seo-jung had been dragged to a date he didn’t want to go on.
Cha Yoon had an uncharacteristically rational thought. The fact that he could think this way, something difficult just two days ago, was all thanks to his newfound peace of mind.
Thoughts like “Even so, Ki Seo-jung likes me,” “Our hearts have been connected for a long time,” and “His feelings won’t change because of one date with someone else” reflected what could be called the composure of someone secure in their position.
Recalling the kiss they shared in the bathroom, Cha Yoon seemed to calm down as his face gradually relaxed.
He had heard everything he needed to know. There was no reason to keep standing there. Cha Yoon walked to the living room sofa without saying anything more. Da-bin let out a small laugh at Cha Yoon’s quick disappearance and took another sip of her coffee.
By the time evening fell completely, Cha Yoon was sitting on the sofa just like the previous day. Familiar laughter kept coming from the kitchen, but the expression of the man sitting on the sofa was somehow stiff.
He checked the clock hand that had reached “8” and turned his eyes toward the kitchen. There, he saw Song Joo-ah smiling and swirling a wine glass.
Cha Yoon’s brow furrowed. Yes, that was the problem. Song Joo-ah was visible in the X House.
Though he had been desperately looking for Song Joo-ah, Cha Yoon wasn’t at all pleased when she returned to the X House after her outing. It was understandable. There was no one beside her.
“Why are you alone?”
“What do you mean?”
“Where did you leave Ki Seo-jung and come back alone?”
“Why are you asking me about Seo-jung oppa?”
The memory of Song Joo-ah’s confused expression came back to him, and Cha Yoon’s chest swelled. And what filled that empty space was the vague anxiety he had felt in the morning—a feeling that something was going wrong.
Cha Yoon shook his head hurriedly. What could possibly go wrong? Rather, everything was finding its rightful place after all the wandering and mistakes.
It had been almost two full days since he had last seen Ki Seo-jung. That must be it. The expression “lovesickness” didn’t come from nowhere—it was the feeling of missing someone you couldn’t see. Though he tried to compose himself with various excuses, he couldn’t control the sweat gathering along the lines of his palms.
Finally, unable to bear the anxiety any longer, Cha Yoon pulled out his phone. Not long after his fingers moved, the one-on-one chat window with Ki Seo-jung appeared on the screen. What are you doing and where? When will you arrive home? I’m worried because you’re not coming back late… He had so many things he wanted to say that he was trying to prioritize what to say first when he frowned.
“It’s past your work hours, why aren’t you coming home?”
1
“I’m waiting, so come straight home when you finish work.”
1
“…What’s this?”
Why is the number 1 still there? Cha Yoon closed his eyes deeply and opened them again.
