Chapter 113
“Cha Yoon, we’ll end the Day 19 interview here.”
“Can I go home now?”
“Yes, you can go.”
Cha Yoon, who had participated in the interview more diligently than ever, quickly finished it. At Cha Yoon’s question, Yu-min, the main writer, nodded with a face that seemed to say, “What’s gotten into you?”
Cha Yoon left the interview room without saying anything to her curious expression. Right now, nothing was more important to him than returning to the X House.
He quickly reached the X House, utilizing his natural physical condition. As he opened the front door and entered, he saw the contestants sitting on the living room sofa on the first floor, each holding a glass of alcohol. Except for the reduced number of people, it wasn’t much different from the previous day. Cha Yoon, after scanning the drinking party members, tapped Gong Min-wook’s shoulder, who was sitting closest to him.
“Cha Yoon, finished your interview? Want to sit and drink with us?”
“Yes, no. More importantly, what about hyung?”
“Seo-jung? He went up first, saying he was going to shower and sleep.”
Cha Yoon answered Min-wook’s questions in order, then asked what he was most curious about. Shin Da-bin was the one who answered. Even though he had only used the term “hyung” without a name, Da-bin somehow understood who he meant. Cha Yoon almost blurted out, “I wasn’t asking you, sunbae,” but he held back, pressing his lips tightly.
“I see.”
Cha Yoon replied curtly and turned to head towards the second floor. “Yoon hyung, really not going to drink?” “He never drinks. Let’s just toast among ourselves.” Despite the voices following him, he didn’t falter and climbed the stairs, looking straight ahead.
Entering the room directly, Cha Yoon looked around. As Da-bin had said, a faint sound of water could be heard from the bathroom. Normally, he would have been upset about not seeing Seo-jung’s face and would have enthusiastically imagined his body instead, but not this time.
Considering what he had to do next, this moment when Seo-jung wasn’t in the room was the most opportune time.
With a solemn expression, Cha Yoon began searching for something earnestly. After rummaging through the bedside table and every corner of the bed, what he picked up was none other than Seo-jung’s phone.
With a trembling heart, Cha Yoon glanced at the bathroom door and turned on Seo-jung’s phone screen. The phone, without any lock, opened easily. He moved his hand, clutching his pounding heart. After several failed attempts due to his shaking fingers, a pink screen finally appeared.
Cha Yoon checked the name written on Seo-jung’s date card.
“It’s Shin Da-bin…”
Cha Yoon muttered quietly. As the junior writer had predicted, Seo-jung had indeed chosen Shin Da-bin. Cha Yoon couldn’t help but find this a bit strange. Why did he choose Shin Da-bin instead of someone he was reportedly interested in recently? Was there a need to do this? Unless he couldn’t choose…
As Cha Yoon continued his incomprehensible thoughts, he suddenly stopped everything. He reversed his advancing thoughts. Wait a minute…
“He can’t choose?”
Muttering to himself, Cha Yoon quickly pulled out his own phone. He immediately opened the NAEKBU app and checked his own date card.
Recipients:
Kim Sae-young
Seo Min-ha
Song Joo-ah
Shin Da-bin
Yeo Ji-yoon
As confirmed during dinner, the list of recipients was filled entirely with the names of female contestants.
After scanning the entire list, Cha Yoon quickly organized his thoughts.
Ki Seo-jung used his date card on Shin Da-bin because he couldn’t use it on the person he was interested in. And the recipient options for the third date card are all female contestants.
Combining all this information, there was only one conclusion. The person Ki Seo-jung was interested in was a male contestant.
I see, hyung’s new interest is a man. Cha Yoon nodded slowly. He accepted this fact faster than expected. Considering his personality, it was an unusually quiet and gentlemanly reaction.
In truth, there were parts he didn’t like. It hadn’t even been a week since Seo-jung said he still hadn’t forgotten his pre-memory loss self. Yet now someone else had caught his eye. Of course, there’s no correct timeline for forgetting someone, but from Cha Yoon’s perspective, this couldn’t be pleasant.
But it was Cha Yoon himself who had said Seo-jung could do anything. So Ki Seo-jung wasn’t at fault in any way. If there was any fault, it was his own for confidently saying that and then giving room for someone else to catch Seo-jung’s eye.
Cha Yoon had an uncharacteristically mature thought. However, contrary to his rational thinking, he couldn’t help but pout his lower lip. After pouting for a while, he soon shook off his upset feelings.
Still, the situation wasn’t entirely negative. Hadn’t it become much easier to identify the culprit now that the range of Ki Seo-jung’s new interest had been significantly narrowed from all contestants to just the male ones? Cha Yoon tried to think optimistically even in this gloomy situation.
As he was lost in various thoughts, believing the conclusion he had drawn to be true, there was a sudden click sound from behind him, making Cha Yoon flinch. There was only one door behind him. The tightly closed bathroom door.
“What are you doing there?”
And as if to confirm Cha Yoon’s guess, Seo-jung’s voice was heard. Shit, when did the water stop? He seemed to have missed it, being too distracted. Cha Yoon cursed at his carelessness and quickly rolled his eyes. He saw Ki Seo-jung’s phone still in his hand. He couldn’t let Seo-jung find out that he had been snooping through his phone.
He felt as if cold sweat was running down his spine. What should I do? In a brief moment, hundreds of thoughts raced through his mind. But no matter how much he pondered, no answer came. In the end, Cha Yoon hastily threw Seo-jung’s phone onto the bed.
“What? What are you talking about? I didn’t touch any of your things, hyung. I just thought I saw some hair on the floor here, so I was cleaning it up…”
Cha Yoon turned around, spilling out his prepared self-defense. However, upon seeing Seo-jung drying his wet hair with a towel, he couldn’t continue speaking. Cha Yoon barely managed to hold onto his sanity when faced with Seo-jung’s face, as pure as a flower petal laden with morning dew.
Damn, this hyung is attacking with his beauty again. What does he do every day to make his attack power increase day by day? What are people like me who are weak to visual stimuli supposed to do?
After muttering to himself for a while, Cha Yoon took several deep breaths with his eyes tightly closed. After a while, when he finally calmed down, he slowly lifted his eyelids slightly. Through his narrow field of vision, he saw Seo-jung standing with an expression that seemed to say he couldn’t understand what Cha Yoon was doing. His appearance, still perfect for blinding eyes, remained unchanged in its radiance.
Shit, this won’t do. Cha Yoon finally gave up on opening his eyes fully.
“Anyway, I absolutely didn’t do anything strange.”
Cha Yoon concluded, keeping his eyes half-open to maintain a blurry vision. He emphasized his innocence by stressing the word “absolutely,” not realizing that this might actually raise more suspicion. Seo-jung, while thinking this, didn’t probe further and nodded as if accepting it.
“Alright. I just wondered why you were standing in front of an empty bed.”
Seo-jung put the used towel in the laundry basket and walked towards where Cha Yoon was standing. Cha Yoon couldn’t help but be flustered by Seo-jung’s face gradually filling his vision.
Even when they were quite far apart, Seo-jung had been overly stimulating. Now that he was getting closer, Cha Yoon didn’t know what reaction might come. He might even spill out the crime he had been trying to hide, like someone tortured by beauty.
“W-w-what? Why are you suddenly coming towards me?”
Cha Yoon unconsciously closed his eyes while thinking this. He didn’t forget to slightly spread his arms subtly. It was a pose as if he was expecting something.
“Is there a problem with me going to my own bed?”
But Seo-jung, as if he had no intention of meeting Cha Yoon’s expectations, stood beside him instead of in his arms. He looked down at the bed for a moment before bending over.
“Why is my phone here?”
At the low muttering voice, Cha Yoon’s eyes flew open. Distracted by Seo-jung’s beauty attack, he had forgotten about the situation at hand. Cha Yoon, his mouth twitching, spoke in a voice more trembling than usual.
“You dropped it there, so that’s why it’s there. Right? It’s not like the phone has legs, so why else would it be there?”
Cha Yoon, who had directly moved the phone, feigned ignorance as if he knew nothing about it. Despite Cha Yoon’s chattering voice, Seo-jung still kept his eyes on the phone.
When he pressed the side button, the phone screen lit up, tinting his face pink. Seo-jung blinked slowly and finally turned his eyes from the screen.
“I find this a bit strange too.”
“…”
“I always keep my phone in the same place, by the headboard, in case I can’t answer an urgent call. But when I came out after showering, it’s here?”
“…”
“Why would a phone without feet be here, Cha Yoon?”
Seo-jung showed Cha Yoon the phone with its pink screen lit up. On the screen, the “Date Card” that Cha Yoon had last checked on Seo-jung’s phone was glowing.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
