#7
“If given the question ‘Can Love Be Transferred Too?’, what do you think?”
An actor with a neat impression holding cue cards looked straight ahead with a bright smile.
“Hello, I’m actor Han Dajeong.”
A cute and cozy set. With her at the center, four men and women sat side by side, clapping with bright faces.
“We’re doing a program that’s hard to see anywhere else, with people who are hard to invite anywhere else. Now, shall we have each person greet the viewers and answer the question one by one?”
Han Dajeong spoke in a cheerful voice and winked at the young man sitting on the far left.
“It’s been a while, Juyeon-ssi. No… actually, I’m the only one seeing you again, right? I was the MC then too, and Juyeon-ssi was a dating program participant.”
“Ahaha, hello. I’m model Juyeon.”
The young man who smiled somewhat shyly fidgeted with the coffee cup in front of him. Clean subtitles appeared below.
[Appeared on DBS’s ‘One Year With You’. Actually filed for marriage after working with ‘living room husband’ Shin Igyeong.]
“I… well, it might sound cliche, but I think you forget love with love. Of course, within the bounds of not breaking legal and moral lines. Acting according to your heart isn’t wrong.”
The woman sitting next to him, with a youthful yet glamorous appearance, naturally chimed in.
“Come to think of it, Juyeon-ssi also cleanly ended a long relationship and got married like that.”
“That’s right. Igyeong-ssi helped a lot.”
“Mmm. I don’t think I could do that.”
She shrugged her shoulders. It was Ari, the main vocalist of girl group ‘Sweetest’.
“Of course, I’ve hardly dated, but I think it would take me a really long time to forget after breaking up. I think I’d be scared of replacing that person’s empty space with someone else… Actually, I’m a bit slow at everything. You know what I mean?”
“Ah, I know. I know.”
“Learning things, memorizing things, adapting… I’m really not confident about these things.”
Juyeon responded plainly.
“Right. I think there would be differences for each person, each love, each time period.”
“Good. Then shall we change the question this time? I can meet someone new in front of my ex, or I can’t.”
The hand holding the cue cards pointed to the right.
“This person is very hot these days. The idol of the pianist world, the goddess of concert halls. Shall we ask Mariella Kang-ssi?”
Unlike the other female guests, Mariella, who didn’t decorate her nails at all, smiled showing her neat white teeth.
“If I meet a really, really good person, and have a fateful love, wouldn’t it be possible? But, um… it’s not like they’d be invisible, and if I had to choose between someone I once truly loved at the same time, I think I’d be conflicted. The situation would be very compact.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But I think it’s possible.”
Mariella added cheerfully and naturally patted the man next to her.
“What about Yeseok-ssi? What do you think about living with an ex and current partner?”
Kim Yeseok, who had been listening intently to people’s conversation, waved his hands and sighed.
“Ugh. I’m already getting indigestion just imagining it. I may look like this, but I’m the owner of a delicate soul, yes.”
Playful subtitles appeared below.
[Ballad singer, Kim Yeseok. MBTI F participant.]
“Anyway.”
The camera focused on Han Dajeong in the center again.
“Right. The program we’re doing together, <Can Love Be Transferred Too?> is a blind dating project that brings together broken-up couples. And all with manifested people.”
“Do you mean all participants are male manifested?”
“Yes, that’s right. For convenience, we divided them into ‘Alpha Group’ and ‘Omega Group’. They get to know each other through a month of communal living.”
Ari asked with sparkling eyes as if interested.
“So now they choose? Whether to meet their ex again or meet someone new.”
“Exactly that. And the new person I get to know is someone’s X in this house.”
“Wow.”
Mariella honestly admired.
“More than morning dramas, somewhat, how should I put it… excessive dopamine secretion…”
“Hahaha!”
The screen naturally darkened and moved to interview footage.
[Q. When did you first fall in love?]
– Actually… I was too young so I don’t remember. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it was. But, just. One day I realized I liked them. I only learned the meaning of liking someone after I liked them. That’s how it was for me.
– I thought ‘what kind of kid is this?’ (Sound of production staff laughing) Really, from one to ten, nothing matched at all? I just didn’t like anything about them, everything.
Then you could just ignore them. But I couldn’t ignore them. Someone told me later. That it was because I liked them. It felt like getting hit on the back of the head.
– …I missed them even when they weren’t in front of me. I think I acknowledged it then.
[Q. How did you end up breaking up?]
– I didn’t know we’d break up. We fought too often. I said let’s break up a lot, and each time hyung would tell me to cool my head and cut off the conversation.
But one day when I said let’s break up, he said okay. That was our last time.
– Even when we were together, I felt lonelier. I wanted to get closer, wanted to go further, but there was an invisible wall that kept blocking me. I thought I wasn’t someone who could get over that… I wished he’d hold onto me but he didn’t. So that’s how we ended.
– Were we really love? Or habit? I wasn’t sure. I thought if we separated, I’d know the answer.
[Q. What do you think it would be like to meet your X again?]
– I think it would be okay. I organized things well.
– I don’t know. I thought I’d forgotten everything… but after deciding to appear, they started appearing in my dreams. There’s an unresolved knot between us, so would it be okay? I think I’ll have to meet them to know.
– …Ah, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. Just give me a moment…
A neat townhouse prepared somewhere in Seoul. The sound of wheels rolling in the alley leading up to the three-story building, then someone appeared.
“Is this the place?”
The first participant to enter only after carefully comparing the address written on the note with the sign next to the entrance.
His gentle and neat impression wasn’t particularly striking, but when he turned his head, the mole on his nose tip stood out slightly.
When he put on indoor slippers and entered, there was a [Residential Life Rules Guide] on the first-floor living room table decorated with fresh flowers.
Looking around and checking the cameras, he showed the guide toward the lens and read clearly.
“One, only names are revealed until the designated date arrives. Jobs and ages cannot be revealed. Guessing or asking about the other person’s X is also prohibited.”
The young man who nodded while stroking his chin read the next item in a soft voice.
“Two, eat dinner together every day.”
“Three. Rooms are for two people. Use with the same manifested group.”
“Four, do not date a specific person before making the final choice. This includes both outside and inside.”
As soon as he put the card back in place, the doorbell rang. It was the sound of another person arriving.
The startled young man put down his suitcase and hurried to the entrance. He staggered briefly as if he’d stepped wrong with one foot, then sighed softly and muttered while moving his lips. Slowly, slowly. Let’s not rush.
“Welco… oh, that’s not right. Ahaha. Hello.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Like that, people came to the townhouse one by one and began filling the living room sofa.
Total number was eight people. Four alphas and four omegas sat facing each other, examining each other with curious gazes.
“…Um, shall we introduce ourselves?”
Since it was the first day they met, an awkward atmosphere lingered. Among them, the most gentle-natured beauty pointed to the person sitting on the far right and suggested starting introductions from there.
The young man with a mole on his nose tip who had arrived at the accommodation first hesitated before opening his mouth.
“I’m Yoo Sanho. Manifested… uh, we can say our manifestation, right?”
“I think so? They said we just can’t reveal age, job, and X.”
“Right, we have to decide roommates anyway.”
A young man sitting a bit away, with several flashy piercings on both ears, spoke in a lively voice.
“But I think I can tell somehow. Aren’t you an omega? Um, I know we shouldn’t judge just by appearance. It’s just a feeling!”
“Uh… that’s right. Everyone seems to think so.”
The era of dating while being particular about biological sex had passed. Manifestation was just manifestation too; there was no law saying you had to match up. Still, since the influence of pheromones couldn’t be completely ignored, the atmosphere naturally flowed toward dividing into alphas and omegas and exploring.
“To summarize… let’s see. In the alpha group we have Han Jiwon-ssi, Bae Taeseong-ssi, and Lee Chan-ssi and Choi Eungi-ssi.”
“In the omega group we have An Rei-ssi, Kim Sehyeong-ssi, Hwang Yeonwoo-ssi, and Yoo Sanho-ssi.”
“Everyone’s here, right?”
The young man with flashy piercings, An Rei, looked at the alpha group participants once with something unsettled, then fidgeted with his chin. At his pondering “hmm,” Yoo Sanho quietly asked.
“Is there something bothering you?”
“Ah. No, no. Just. Now we have to decide roommates…”
An Rei who stood up abruptly grabbed Yoo Sanho’s hand and asked.
“Would you like to share a room with me, Sanho-ssi?”
“Uh…”
Yoo Sanho, who kept blinking his round eyes, answered “yes” in bewilderment.
“Would I be okay for you?”
“What’s wrong with Sanho-ssi? Let’s get along well!”
“…Yes, sounds good…”
It was truly a statement marking the beginning of catastrophe.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
