After Beom Do-il’s birthday party ended, the participants were given time to sit with their current partners and talk about their experiences from the past week.
The Espers’ rooms had been prepared with drinks and snacks to make the conversations easier. Since the production crew had researched everyone’s preferences beforehand, each room was stocked with different alcohol. In Kang Chi-yu and Yoon Do-jae’s room—where both had said they liked beer—beer and matching snacks were set out. In Min Yu-hyun and Beom Do-il’s room, wine was prepared, since Yu-hyun preferred it and Do-il wasn’t picky. Meanwhile, in Lee Jun-hyung and Hyun Tae-oh’s room, both soju and beer were served, along with side dishes to pair with them.
Cameras had also been set up for recording, but since the cast could erase the footage themselves, almost nothing was actually being filmed. The atmosphere was relaxed and casual.
Yoon Do-jae and Kang Chi-yu shared a toast, trading encouraging words for surviving the week. One had confessed, and the other had rejected him, yet they sat drinking together without awkwardness. Thanks to Do-jae’s thoughtfulness, it felt comfortable. In fact, seeing him loosen up under the influence of alcohol made him seem unexpectedly endearing.
Do-jae was a lightweight when it came to drinking.
“I think it might’ve been better if we’d ended up partners at the very end.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because the feeling lingers differently between the first and the last. The depth, the weight—it’s not the same.”
“……”
“Will you be Pairing with Esper Hyun Tae-oh?”
“…No, I won’t be choosing Tae-oh.”
“Ah… Can I ask why?”
“Because neither of us wants to appear in Part 2.”
“…I see.”
“What about you, Esper Yoon Do-jae?”
“I don’t want to appear in Part 2 either.”
“Ah, but since you’ve already gone through the trouble of joining the show…”
Chi-yu trailed off, closing his mouth. Thinking about it, he himself had no desire to return for Part 2 either. For plenty of reasons. Do-jae probably hadn’t enjoyed the experience much either, so it made sense he’d want to finish here.
“I wanted to Pair with you, Guide Kang Chi-yu—not with anyone else.”
Do-jae, cheeks flushed with drink, smiled faintly.
“Ah, is that too much pressure?”
“No.”
“Then I’m glad.”
Do-jae nodded, swaying a little.
Chi-yu looked at him quietly, then said softly,
“You really can’t handle alcohol, Esper Yoon Do-jae.”
On the table in front of Chi-yu sat one empty beer can and another freshly opened. In front of Do-jae, the can they’d opened together was still half full.
***
In Hyun Tae-oh and Lee Jun-hyung’s room, the cameras had long since been switched off. Tae-oh sat with a beer in hand, furiously texting Chi-yu, while Jun-hyung drank soju and played games.
The cameras had been cut the moment Tae-oh used his ability to shut them down—right after Jun-hyung said they only needed enough footage of them drinking anyway. They’d clinked glasses, taken one sip, and that was it.
Since then, Jun-hyung had been glued to his game, and Tae-oh hadn’t stopped sending messages to Chi-yu.
“Tsk, what the hell’s he doing that he’s not even checking his messages?”
Annoyed by the silence, Tae-oh clicked his tongue.
“His battery was almost dead. Maybe his phone’s off.”
Jun-hyung, still playing, answered casually.
“What? Really?”
“Yeah. He went with Do-il to buy a watch earlier, and he said he only had one bar left. Then as soon as they got back, there was Do-il’s birthday party, and right after that the production crew had him in the Esper room for the event.”
“Tsk.”
“So, what’s your progress with him?”
Jun-hyung grimaced as he tossed back a shot of soju.
“What progress? I’m in the middle of seducing him.”
The cracker halfway to Jun-hyung’s mouth froze.
“You didn’t ask him out after all that?”
“No. I’m still working on it.”
Tae-oh’s face was dead serious.
…This idiot…
Jun-hyung’s expression twisted. No wonder Chi-yu had made that awkward face earlier when Jun-hyung asked about him while they were out buying Do-il’s watch.
“Still seducing him,” he says.
Chi-yu was already head over heels, body and heart both—there was nothing left to seduce. Watching a fool act like he was still reeling him in made Jun-hyung’s stomach burn.
“Just ask him out. Then, once you’re dating, make him want to Imprint with you. That’s all you need. Why the hell are you wasting time like this?”
“You think dating’s that simple? You have to build it up first. If I push too soon and get rejected, it’ll only make things harder later.”
“……”
“You don’t know how much I’ve thought about this. Just sit back and watch how I seduce Kang Chi-yu and make him mine.”
“Stop thinking altogether.”
“…What?”
“Forget it. If you keep pushing, you’ll just make things worse. Do whatever you want. No matter how it goes, the result’ll be the same.”
Jun-hyung turned back to his game.
Tae-oh drained his beer and fired off yet another message to Chi-yu. Whether his phone was on or off didn’t matter—he wanted Chi-yu to open it later, see the flood of unread messages, and feel guilty. That was the plan.
Jun-hyung sipped his soju, giving the lunatic beside him a sidelong glance. The thought of this obsessive maniac becoming his friend’s Pair unsettled him. But he also knew how long Chi-yu had suffered in silence, nursing his feelings for Tae-oh. For that reason alone, he wanted to help however he could.
Still, giving Tae-oh advice would only backfire. This idiot would just take it literally and dig himself deeper. So Jun-hyung kept his mouth shut.
***
Beom Do-il entered his room with Min Yu-hyun and froze at the sight of the mountain of gift boxes stacked in the center.
Yu-hyun stepped closer, posing naturally for the camera with a polished smile.
“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I prepared a little bit of everything.”
“…Whoa! Guide Min Yu-hyun, you prepared all this?!”
“Yes. Go ahead, open them one by one.”
The stack towered over Do-il’s head. He eagerly tore the wrapping from the nearest box.
“Wow!”
The first gift was the latest in-ear mic—a hot trend among Espers. The ones issued by the Central Bureau were clunky and prone to transmission errors, so most bought their own. But the one Yu-hyun had given him was a limited-edition model—nearly impossible to get even if you had the money.
“How on earth did you get this!?”
“There’s nothing I can’t get. Do you like it?”
“I love it! Thank you so much!”
“Don’t get too touched yet. Keep going.”
Yu-hyun sat at the table, pouring himself wine, smiling with satisfaction like a parent delighting in a child’s reaction to new toys.
Inside the boxes were all kinds of things: perfume, a first-aid kit, shoes, clothes, sunglasses. Thirty-eight gifts in total.
The last and largest box contained a bundle of Min Yu-hyun merchandise—an odd gift, but Do-il, already overwhelmed, accepted it happily too.
When the gift-opening was done, the two sat across from each other, sipping wine.
They kept up camera-friendly chatter for about five minutes before Yu-hyun shut the camera off and relaxed into his chair. He slipped off his jacket, hung it over the backrest, unbuttoned a couple of shirt buttons, and drank at ease.
The shift in atmosphere after the cameras went dark made Do-il a little nervous. He sipped his wine, eyes darting.
“I’ve been thinking.”
“Y-yes?”
“That request you made.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I’ll agree to it.”
“Really?”
Do-il forced an awkward smile, clearly not happy. He’d only blurted out that request on impulse, drunk and influenced by Jun-hyung’s advice to see more people. But he hadn’t truly wanted to deceive Jun-hyung. The idea of wasting time like that made him regret it almost instantly.
He’d thought Yu-hyun had simply dropped the matter when he neither affirmed nor denied it the next day.
“You don’t look very pleased.”
Yu-hyun sipped his wine, watching him.
“…Ah… actually, I was thinking maybe we should just pretend it never happened…”
“Why?”
“I just… I don’t like lying.”
“Then don’t lie.”
“…Huh?”
“Let’s actually date. For real.”
“…What?!?!”
Do-il’s eyes went so wide they nearly popped.
***
Yoon Do-jae was the type to pass out once he’d had enough to drink.
After several empty exchanges for the sake of broadcast and more than three cans of beer each, he collapsed mid-sentence, head down on the table.
Chi-yu picked up the camera, deleted what needed to be erased, then shook him awake and guided him to bed.
The whole way there, Do-jae insisted he wasn’t drunk.
After watching him lie down, Chi-yu tidied up the table and left the room. Heading upstairs to his own room, he pulled out his phone—only to realize it had died.
He quickly plugged it into the charger once he got inside.
Normally, Chi-yu could handle five cans of beer easily and only feel pleasantly tipsy. But tonight, for some reason, he felt more intoxicated than usual.
Maybe it was the relief of finishing the first partner shoot. Only two more switches left—he just wanted to be done and return to real life.
He had joined the show recklessly, just to put distance between himself and Hyun Tae-oh. But the experience had ended up clearing misunderstandings and showing him Tae-oh’s true feelings. Even so, Chi-yu knew this kind of broadcast life wasn’t for him.
And he could see Tae-oh forcing himself too. He wanted to ease that burden as quickly as possible. He felt guilty, knowing Tae-oh had only agreed to appear for his sake.
Heading into the bathroom for a shower, Chi-yu thought about how he just wanted time to pass quickly, so he could go back to his ordinary life.
But when he came out, toweling his hair dry, he froze.
Hyun Tae-oh was sitting on his bed, leaning against the headboard, scrolling on his phone.
His hair was damp too, as if he’d just showered.
“Why are you here?” Chi-yu asked, towel still in hand.
“You weren’t answering my messages.”
“Ah, my battery died.”
Chi-yu came closer, picked up his charging phone from the nightstand, and switched it back on.
