The second word was crab.
Kang Chi-yu, Lee Jun-hyung, and Beom Do-il raised both hands in V-shapes and wiggled them up and down. That gesture had become second nature ever since their Esper Academy days, whenever the word “crab” came up—because Beom Do-il always did it.
Hyun Tae-oh stretched his hands out sideways, bending them like hooks, while Yoon Do-jae, unsure how to mimic it, just lifted and lowered his hands in clumsy indecision.
Min Yu-hyun pressed his thumbs and index fingers together, bringing both hands to his mouth.
He was the only one to act out eating crab.
The third word was rain.
In perfect sync, Kang Chi-yu and Hyun Tae-oh each raised one palm to the sky as though catching falling raindrops. They even tilted their heads upward at the same angle.
Min Yu-hyun and Yoon Do-jae both used one hand to shield their heads, while Beom Do-il and Lee Jun-hyung held their fists in front of their chests, like gripping umbrella handles.
Every Pair got it right.
After all ten rounds, the final victory went to Lee Jun-hyung and Beom Do-il, who had managed one more correct answer than Kang Chi-yu and Hyun Tae-oh.
***
“I gave up the first prize to Tae-oh, and now I get this luck.”
Lounging at the end of the sofa, chin resting on his hand, Lee Jun-hyung spoke lazily.
Beom Do-il chuckled and asked where he planned to spend his one-month vacation.
“Not sure.”
“Want to look it up together?”
“You mean go together?”
“You planning to go alone?”
As the two bantered back and forth, Yu-hyun’s face hardened.
Of course, he had no right to tell Beom Do-il not to spend his vacation with Lee Jun-hyung. Long before Do-il ever had feelings for him, the two had built a deep friendship, closer than anyone.
So there was no reason to resent their talk of traveling together.
Yu-hyun wasn’t Do-il’s Pair—and even if he were someday—that wouldn’t give him the right to interfere with Do-il’s private life.
Still, he couldn’t stop the sour taste in his chest.
Just as he was sinking into those gloomy thoughts, Beom Do-il suddenly stretched out a hand as if reaching to pull him out.
“Let’s all go together. When I get a Pair, I’ll bring my Pair too. Tae-oh and Chi-yu can come. Ah, Do-jae, can’t you get a month off?”
He grinned, insisting that trips were best with everyone together, and this group would make it really fun.
Tae-oh, Chi-yu, and Do-jae were included—but not Min Yu-hyun.
When I get a Pair, I’ll bring my Pair too.
Yu-hyun repeated those words over and over in his head.
“Yeah—going all together sounds pretty fun.”
Jun-hyung nodded, glancing at Tae-oh.
Feeling their eyes on him, Tae-oh dropped Catdog, which he had been holding up by the scruff to “punish” it for biting, and glared at them.
“Don’t be stupid. I’m spending my vacation with my lover. Just the two of us.”
“Ha, knew it.”
“Where else would the great Hyun Tae-oh ever go?”
Jun-hyung sighed, and Do-il added with a laugh, “Exactly.”
Jun-hyung shrugged.
“Still, ever since filming PairBorn, you seem less hostile to people. Thought maybe you’d changed.”
“That guy’s built on a foundation of hating humans. That doesn’t change.”
“What? Guy?”
Tae-oh scowled instantly. Do-il blinked at him in mock surprise.
“I was talking to Jun-hyung—why’re you eavesdropping, Mister Guy?”
Once, Do-il had always said Hyung, Hyung. But with filming nearing its end, he now deliberately emphasized guy instead, smirking as he said it.
His cheeky tone drew quiet laughter from Chi-yu, Jun-hyung, Do-jae, and Yu-hyun.
“Anyway, our episodes start airing again tomorrow, right?”
Jun-hyung turned to Yu-hyun, who nodded.
“Last week was the Black Gate special. Starting this week, they’ll pick up with the first Game Mission.”
“Ah, the picture guessing game.”
“Wasn’t Do-il the star of that one?”
Chi-yu laughed. Do-il only shrugged, but Jun-hyung smirked and told Chi-yu:
“Oh yeah, that scene with Do-il and Guide Yu-hyun—comment section was full of ‘LOL.’”
“Haha, of course. And Yu-hyun yelling ‘You said you won a prize!’ was hilarious too.”
“This week should be me, Tae-oh, you, and Do-jae, right?”
“Yeah, that sounds right. Tae-oh’ll get a lot of screen time.”
“Oh, definitely.”
Jun-hyung nodded.
While Chi-yu and Jun-hyung chatted, Tae-oh ignored them, too busy sparring with Catdog, who gnawed furiously on his hand.
Do-jae watched them, wondering whether they were playing or fighting.
Yu-hyun pretended to focus on his phone, but Do-il’s words—When I get a Pair, I’ll bring my Pair too—echoed again and again in his mind.
Was he happy about the show getting a second season, or happy because it felt like Do-il was inching closer to him? He wasn’t sure. But happy was happy, so he decided to just embrace it.
Time passed, and the third partner shuffle began.
Kang Chi-yu and Hyun Tae-oh stayed paired, Beom Do-il was matched with Min Yu-hyun, and Yoon Do-jae with Lee Jun-hyung. They carried out their daily tasks in those groups.
Yu-hyun and Do-il grew noticeably closer through their work together.
Tae-oh still acted like Chi-yu was the only person alive. Do-jae and Jun-hyung, neither quite comrades nor real friends, moved through their days with that in-between distance.
The Protect Catdog and Kang Chi-yu Project continued without incident.
Even though Chi-yu wore the earpiece mic Tae-oh had given him—ready for an Emergency Assembly—no alarms were ever raised.
The whole week passed quietly.
Like the calm before a storm.
***
At last, the first round of partner changes ended, and the long-awaited fourth week of recording began.
As the Production Director had said from the start, week four would feature heart-to-heart interviews and time to choose their final partner.
For that week, all official duties were suspended. The cast had to live entirely in the dorms, staying close to whoever they hoped would become their Pair.
Of course, everything had to be captured on camera—giving viewers the chance to see even the most intimate attempts to form a Pair.
They called it “the last week to decide,” but for the cast it was essentially a vacation.
Yes, the cameras were everywhere and they couldn’t leave the dorms, but still—it was a welcome break.
Especially for Hyun Tae-oh, who was practically desperate to cling to Kang Chi-yu.
He all but lived in Chi-yu’s room, fighting territorial battles with Catdog.
Because of the week-long dorm shoot, cameras were even installed in the bedrooms. But Tae-oh didn’t care in the slightest. He acted the same whether they were rolling or not.
That day too, he lay sprawled across Chi-yu’s bed, locked in a turf war with Catdog.
When Catdog crouched, butt wiggling in attack position, Tae-oh smirked with a “Come at me” face, chin in hand. Catdog pounced and bit into his right arm, leaving him yelping “Ow, ow, ow!” repeatedly.
Chi-yu sat at the window-side tea table with Jun-hyung, laughing at the scene.
Jun-hyung had come to Chi-yu’s room because of the camera in his own. Even if they promised to edit out anything unnecessary, there was still a big difference between acting under a camera and being free of one. He preferred not to be alone.
Lately, it felt awkward to be alone with Do-il, and being with Yu-hyun or Do-jae was even less comfortable.
So he came to Chi-yu’s room—but with Chi-yu’s clingy shadow there, peace was impossible.
Not unpleasant, but definitely exhausting.
“Hey, why don’t you go back to your room?”
Jun-hyung snapped after losing focus from Tae-oh’s loud yelps.
“This is my room. Where should I go?”
Without blinking, Tae-oh lied, and in an instant Chi-yu’s room was declared his own.
Jun-hyung shook his head, muttering that with that shameless poker face, Tae-oh could easily become an actor.
Tae-oh snorted, but Chi-yu admitted with a smile that watching him act would probably be funny.
Catdog kept up its relentless assault.
Jun-hyung laughed along with Chi-yu but slowly lost his smile.
For some reason, the moment felt strangely foreign.
There was Catdog, Chi-yu’s ability, and so many unresolved issues still hanging over them. The stillness of the Association, the Bureau, and RISG was too unnatural.
Then a thought struck him.
“No way… is the lab waiting until filming ends?”
Tae-oh froze mid-swing, still holding Catdog by the scruff.
“Think about it. There’s no way it would be this quiet otherwise. They even sent Catdog to Chi-yu.”
Tae-oh, who had been lounging on the bed, sat upright.
Sensing playtime was over, Catdog bounded into Chi-yu’s lap and settled there.
Chi-yu stroked its head gently.
“They’ll make their move after this week.”
Tae-oh had already thought the same. With cameras fixed on Chi-yu, experiments or other operations would be difficult.
That was why, when Catdog was first discovered, the lab had insisted on sending it—concerned about how it might look on broadcast.
But because they hadn’t anticipated Catdog’s Marking and teleportation abilities, they’d had no choice but to label it a “mutant beast” and leave it with Chi-yu.
Which meant the real beginning would likely come after filming, once everyone returned to their regular duties.
“You’ll have to be careful once shooting’s over.”
Jun-hyung said gravely to Chi-yu.
Chi-yu nodded, gaze drifting to Catdog.
He could guard his own safety, and he trusted Tae-oh. But Catdog worried him.
The thought of it vanishing, rampaging, and suffering was unbearable.
“I’ll make sure I don’t lose Catdog.”
Chi-yu murmured, stroking the little creature already asleep on his lap.
“Well, we’re here too. Don’t worry too much.”
Feeling guilty for troubling him, Jun-hyung tried to reassure Chi-yu.
Chi-yu smiled faintly and nodded.
From the bed, Tae-oh spoke firmly:
“We’ve got everything ready. You don’t need to worry.”
His voice carried a weight that erased doubt.
With Tae-oh there, Chi-yu felt no fear.
It was as if no matter what happened, Tae-oh would save him. That unwavering trust felt almost unshakable.
And once again, Chi-yu realized—he trusted Tae-oh enough to stake his life. The thought tugged a small smile to his lips.
