#86
The first date in Jeju Island was a nomination date.
The next morning, we were able to send texts to people we liked. The rule was that if the person I contacted texted me back, we could date for about three hours that afternoon.
The person I chose with a much lighter heart was naturally Jin Woohyeon.
**talk**
Let’s go out together.
Amazingly, at the same time I sent that text, my phone vibrated.
**talk**
I want to be with hyung.
When I hurriedly got ready and went down to the first floor, Jin Woohyeon, who was leaning against the stair railing, smiled brightly at me.
“Good morning, Sanho hyung.”
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“Thanks to you.”
He grinned and continued,
“I get to date hyung before leaving the show.”
At his voice clearly tinged with joy, I also answered with a voice full of laughter.
“Did your prediction come true?”
“My wish came true.”
Jin Woohyeon held out his hand to me and said affectionately,
“Shall we go?”
I was about to take his hand and go out when I happened to see Lee Chan sitting in the living room.
His gaze, whose meaning I couldn’t clearly understand, wasn’t as uncomfortable as before. Because there was no longer any reason to be desperately affected by his every look or piece of his heart.
We couldn’t handle any grand schedule. The time allowed for dating was far too short. All we did was drive slowly along the coastal road and sit facing each other at a cafe overlooking the horizon, sipping warm coffee.
But it was enjoyable. When you think about it, it was nothing particularly amazing, just ordinary everyday life, so why was it so thrilling? I was somewhat bewildered because I couldn’t even imagine I would be this excited.
“What’s wrong?”
It was when I was talking about wanting to eat tropical fruits to my heart’s content if I ever traveled to Southeast Asia. When an answer didn’t come right back, I turned my head to find Jin Woohyeon staring at me with a beaming face.
“Did I say something weird?”
“No. It’s not that… I like it.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yes. I like it too, mangoes.”
“…Ah, mangoes.”
If you like mangoes, why are you staring at me like that?
Perhaps reading the embarrassment in my voice, Jin Woohyeon laughed out loud.
“Southeast Asia would be entering rainy season around this time. Hyung has never seen a squall, right?”
I bobbed my head. To me, who had never been abroad, let alone to Jeju Island, squalls were just a phenomenon that existed only conceptually.
“Isn’t it similar to a shower?”
“It is, but it has a slightly stronger meaning. It suddenly pours down heavily and then clears up bright again.”
“It would be troublesome without an umbrella.”
Because you’d get soaked in the sudden rain, and by the time you’re frantically looking for an umbrella, it would stop as if nothing had happened.
Thinking that and nodding, Jin Woohyeon said gently,
“That’s right. I hadn’t gone because I thought that would be bothersome, but if I went with hyung, I think it would be nice even if we got caught in a squall while walking.”
At his words said with a beaming smile, I finally burst into loud laughter.
“You’re hitting on me saying you want to travel with me right now, aren’t you?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I want to go just the two of us, putting everything else aside. Please consider it positively.”
“Ahahaha.”
Amazingly, hearing his words made me want to do that. Several imaginings bubbled up over the vague conversation we’d had.
Scenes of standing side by side fanning ourselves busily saying it’s muggy, sharing sweet and sour drinks, strolling through bustling night markets, and watching sunsets and sunrises over the horizon.
Trivial if you could call them trivial, but therefore feeling even more magnificent – in those imaginations, I looked freely happy without any hesitation.
“Ah, we should head back soon.”
Jin Woohyeon, who had checked the time, slightly furrowed his brow as if troubled.
“Three hours seems too short.”
“Right.”
It would be nice if we could stay a little longer, but there was nothing we could do because of the production team’s request to gather on time.
Getting in the car following him, I suddenly thought: Now I want to be with you to my heart’s content without any restrictions or excuses.
In that sense, I wanted to date you.
* * *
When we headed to the location the production team had told us about, it was a private restaurant prepared for us.
Various dishes that looked splendid just to look at were laid out on the table until there was no empty space…
“Alcohol?”
Jeon Yudam, who had arrived around the same time as us, rushed over and unfolded a card placed at the edge of the table, reading it clearly so everyone could know its contents.
“It says here: ‘This is time to ask and answer each other’s honest true feelings.'”
“Oh.”
“However, remember two things: ‘Curiosity requires a price, and if you want to turn away from the truth, you must pay the cost.'”
The rules were simple. You point to someone and ask them one question you’re curious about. The other person must never answer with a lie, and if they don’t have confidence to answer truthfully, they should rather stay silent.
If you heard a truthful answer from the other person, the person who showed curiosity would drink a glass of alcohol, and if the other person remained silent, the person who stayed silent would drink.
Sitting around with a large whiskey bottle in the center, we ate food for a while and watched each other’s reactions.
Was it because it was an object with the power to make others answer only the truth? Even though it was just a bottle of alcohol, we couldn’t help but glance at it.
‘I wonder if the first question will come from between the Alpha couple.’
They had bickered on the plane, but then got along fine at the lodging, so I wondered if they’d go on their date safely today, but Bae Taeseong and Han Jiwon had crossed paths again. The evidence was that Han Jiwon’s text had arrived to me this morning.
Since I could see Bae Taeseong glancing at the bottle several times as if he had something curious, I thought he would ask the first question…
“Well then.”
The arm that had been taking care of me the whole time suddenly stretched forward and brought the bottle over to pour the first drink.
“Since the stage is set, we can’t not do it, right?”
Jin Woohyeon smiled as he filled the glass in front of him with golden liquid.
“Lee Chan hyung. I’m curious about something regarding hyung.”
I said to Jin Woohyeon with a puzzled expression.
“You’re supposed to ask the question, then listen to the answer and drink the alcohol, right? You don’t need to pour it yet.”
“I feel like I’m going to end up pouring it anyway.”
Was that trust that he would hear the other person’s answer, or did it mean that no matter how much he avoided it, he would keep asking questions until he poured that alcohol into his own mouth?
Thinking it was the latter, Lee Chan smiled crookedly. He even leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as if to say, go ahead and try.
“Right. There are some question marks between us that we haven’t been able to exchange. Ask away.”
“Do you regret treating Sanho hyung badly?”
A not-short silence flowed. Lee Chan looked at me with a complicated expression.
“…Yeah.”
He said in a calm tone.
“I regret it. Not being able to become a better person.”
Jin Woohyeon willingly emptied his share of the drink.
I calmly mulled over the words Lee Chan had left.
I wasn’t sure how deeply those words affected my heart. Even if I dissected what I couldn’t clearly express or distinguish, it would be meaningless.
Still, the moment our eyes met, I knew. At least that he was also making an effort to leave the time we spent together as memories. That he was acknowledging his selfish behavior toward me.
It was a moment when I was somewhat comforted by facts I could understand because we had known each other for so long.
“Then I’ll ask a question this time.”
The bottle that had been placed close to Jin Woohyeon instantly fell into Bae Taeseong’s grasp. I thought he would also pour alcohol into his own glass like Jin Woohyeon had.
But.
“…Huh?”
The place where Bae Taeseong tilted the bottle was not his own glass, but Han Jiwon’s glass.
“Han Jiwon, you. Do you have confidence to meet me again?”
As he expected, Han Jiwon silently drank the alcohol. Even though it must have been strong liquor that would make onlookers frown, the person in question remained calm.
“It might sound like an excuse, but I haven’t come up with an answer yet.”
“……”
“But that’s not the answer you want to hear.”
Han Jiwon said in a calm voice.
“That’s why I drank it.”
Soon his hand grasped the bottle.
Pouring the contents into Bae Taeseong’s glass, Han Jiwon asked,
“Let me ask you. How about you? If I said let’s meet again, do you have confidence to do that?”
Bae Taeseong fiddled with his glass for a long time. His dark pupils, which had been looking at the swirling liquid, turned toward me for a moment.
Soon, Bae Taeseong drank his share of alcohol.
“Then let’s ask Sanho this time.”
Thanks to several questions, the alcohol had decreased considerably. Han Jiwon, who had been quietly watching it, asked me.
“Sanho.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“When you think about it, setting aside all the other people.”
Those ‘other people’ would mean Lee Chan, Jin Woohyeon, and himself.
“Do you have feelings for Taeseong?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
