Chapter 129
In the early dawn, with the moon still lingering, Seo-jung quietly opened the front door and left the accommodation. Unable to sleep properly all night, perhaps due to the aftermath of the previous evening, he rubbed his tired eyes a few times as if massaging them.
Lowering his hands, Seo-jung took a deep breath. Feeling the rather chilly dawn air, he slowly walked out of the garden.
After walking aimlessly for a while, he soon felt sand under his feet. Seo-jung paused briefly to look around. Unlike yesterday afternoon, the glimmer on the waves had disappeared, replaced by a quiet sea settled in its place.
The sound of crashing waves quickly vanished, swallowed by the heavily settled silence. Seo-jung, who had been watching the endlessly undulating waves, soon took out his phone.
It was also one of the many reasons that had kept Seo-jung awake last night. He stared at the rectangular screen of his phone.
“Ki Seo-jung, you worked so hard making the salad today.
Message sent by Shin Da-bin.”
As expected, nothing had changed from the previous day. The only message that arrived in his mailbox last night was the one sent by Da-bin.
Seo-jung put the phone back in his pocket only after the pinkish screen had completely turned black.
Taking a deep breath, Seo-jung organized his thoughts. Two days ago, unlike the past accident, Cha Yoon had woken up safely without a single injury. Not only that, his lost memories had miraculously returned, and now, as if he had come to his senses, he didn’t send a message to Seo-jung for the first time.
Everything was as he had wished for. With his memories back, Cha Yoon could resume his pilot job that he had quit, and he would go out without getting involved with Seo-jung anymore, living happily with someone new. The thing he had so earnestly wished for was starting to become a reality.
So he should be happy, he should just let Cha Yoon go, now moving in the right direction with peace of mind. But why did he feel this way?
The kind gestures Cha Yoon had shown upon arriving in Jeju Island had long been consumed by the anxiety and worry already present in Seo-jung’s heart. The fact that the daily messages from Cha Yoon had stopped coming made Seo-jung move in a strange direction, as if trapped in confirmation bias.
After a long time of being unable to move from his spot with a complicated expression, what woke Seo-jung was the sound of a notification.
“Ki Seo-jung, please come to the interview room right now.”
After checking the message sent by the production team, Seo-jung raised his head and looked around. Realizing that the sun had already risen and brightened the surroundings, he rubbed his face. Don’t think unnecessary thoughts. Seo-jung composed himself and his expression, then started walking.
The interview room was near the production team’s accommodation, a bit away from the New X House. Just as Seo-jung arrived in front of the interview room building and was about to open the door:
Seo-jung had to pause for a moment. He had spotted Cha Yoon approaching from afar.
Dressed in workout clothes, as if he had gone out for exercise, Cha Yoon soon came to a stop. He seemed to have recognized Seo-jung too. Despite being far enough away to appear only as big as a fingernail, Seo-jung felt that he had made eye contact with Cha Yoon for a moment.
After maintaining eye contact with Cha Yoon for a while, the stationary figure began to move again. Realizing that he was getting closer and closer, Seo-jung’s shoulders twitched.
At this rate, he would have no choice but to face Cha Yoon alone. That was the one thing he wanted to avoid.
Turning his gaze away, Seo-jung hurriedly opened the door and entered the interview room. Only after the door attached to the building had completely closed did Seo-jung let out a sigh of relief.
“Seo-jung-ssi, you’re here.”
“Yes.”
“Please go to the room on the left over there.”
“Thank you.”
After thanking the junior writer who greeted him, Seo-jung opened the door as instructed. Behind the door was Yu-min, the main writer who had gone to the hospital with him when Cha Yoon collapsed.
Seeing Yu-min sitting alone without any cameramen, unlike usual, made Seo-jung feel a bit puzzled. But that was all. Without thinking too deeply, Seo-jung gave a light bow and sat down.
“Seo-jung-ssi, you’re here?”
“Yes, Writer-nim. You’re working hard from such an early hour.”
“It’s nothing. Does it feel a bit new now that the interview room has changed?”
“It certainly does.”
Seo-jung, who seemed to be looking around slightly, nodded his head lightly, agreeing with the writer’s words. Thinking this was enough small talk to move on to the main point, Yu-min spoke in a careful voice.
“Seo-jung-ssi, is it okay if I ask you something before we start the official interview?”
What could it be that she’s being so cautious about? Seo-jung thought as he nodded.
“Yes, it’s fine. Please go ahead.”
“Well, since you’ve given me permission, I’ll speak comfortably. It’s about when Cha Yoon-ssi collapsed and we went to the hospital the other day.”
Yu-min decided to speak directly about what she was curious about rather than beating around the bush.
“At that time, in the emergency room, you mentioned that Cha Yoon-ssi had suffered from amnesia due to an accident. And later, when filling out the hospitalization forms, you put your name as his guardian.”
As the conversation about the situation that occurred that day came up, Seo-jung swallowed. However, despite Seo-jung’s reaction, Yu-min didn’t back down.
“At the time, I couldn’t think deeply about it because of the chaos, but as time passed, it kept bothering me. It’s not common to list someone who’s not family as a guardian.”
“Yes… that’s right.”
“Actually, we weren’t unaware that Cha Yoon-ssi had suffered from amnesia. We had discussed it during our preliminary meeting with Cha Yoon-ssi. It’s part of our job to know about the contestants’ past to some extent before casting them. But we didn’t reveal this fact to the other contestants because we thought it was too personal.”
“…”
“But when I saw Seo-jung-ssi’s behavior at the hospital that day, I couldn’t help but be concerned. This isn’t something we can figure out on our own, so I thought I’d just ask you directly.”
After the long preamble, Yu-min looked into Seo-jung’s eyes and said:
“Is there anything you can tell us about Cha Yoon-ssi’s accident?”
“…”
“We have no other intentions. If we know about these things properly, we can prepare for any potential accidents and protect the contestants even after the broadcast airs. Of course, this part will be off the record and will never be broadcast. I promise.”
“The cameras aren’t rolling right now.” She added, as if to say he could speak comfortably without worrying about the broadcast.
Seo-jung rubbed his face dry. The gentle expression he had put on had long since disappeared.
He had guessed that Yu-min might find it strange enough. But he was taken aback, not expecting her to ask so suddenly and directly. What should I do, how much should I say?
Should I tell her that Cha Yoon and I were actually in a relationship? That we had a traffic accident on the day I received a proposal after 7 years of dating? That I was able to live without a single injury thanks to Cha Yoon’s sacrifice, but that I couldn’t bear the guilt and eventually left the injured Cha Yoon behind? Should I say that?
Numerous question marks swirled chaotically in his mind. Seo-jung wandered for a long time, following thoughts that led to more thoughts, unable to gather his wits.
“…ssi, Seo-jung-ssi?”
What brought him back to his senses was Yu-min’s voice calling him. Seo-jung hastily raised his head. He saw Yu-min’s face looking at him with a worried expression.
“Seo-jung-ssi, if it’s that difficult to talk about, we can just pretend I never asked…”
“No.”
Seo-jung, his face now pale, cut off Yu-min’s words.
“It’s not like that. I’ll tell you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Even after answering, he couldn’t easily start speaking. How long did he hesitate? Finally, having made up his mind, Seo-jung opened his tightly closed lips.
“The reason I know about Yoon’s amnesia is because I was with him at the time of the accident.”
“You were with him at the time of the accident?”
“Yes, we were on a trip together when the accident happened. Of course, it wasn’t Yoon’s fault. At that time, Yoon was severely injured alone, and in the process, I unilaterally cut off contact. That’s why Yoon was grumbling a lot when he first saw me in the X House. He probably felt betrayed.”
I see. At Yu-min’s soft response, Seo-jung paused for a moment before continuing.
“The guardian thing, it’s really nothing.”
Seo-jung explained that he needed to find a place to live due to work issues but couldn’t afford it, and Cha Yoon, knowing his situation, had offered to live together. He said he had listed himself as a guardian just in case, during that process.
In this way, Seo-jung conveyed a story that was neither entirely true nor entirely false, containing only the minimum information. Reasoning that it was the right thing to do, considering Cha Yoon, who would have to live normally again after the show ended.
“It’s hard for just senior and junior members of a club to share a house like that, you must have been closer than I thought.”
“…Yes, we were. After all. Yoon followed me well. He was a good… younger brother.”
But while he might deceive others, he couldn’t deceive himself. It was all just Seo-jung’s rationalization.
Of course, he couldn’t say there was absolutely no reason to protect Cha Yoon. But the bigger reason was because of himself.
Because he didn’t have the courage to cross that line created by society, because he couldn’t give up that nonsensical normalcy. So Seo-jung hid him again.
“I see. There must have been parts that were difficult to talk about, thank you so much for telling me, Seo-jung-ssi.”
“It’s nothing.”
But unable to know this, Yu-min thanked Seo-jung.
“Well then, shall we end the off-the-record part here and start the official interview? Please note that from now on, we’ll start recording.”
As the cameraman who had left returned, Yu-min began to ask the official interview questions.
“Yesterday, for the first time since coming to Jeju Island, you didn’t receive a message from Cha Yoon-ssi. How did that make you feel?”
“…Well. I guess it felt bittersweet. But I also felt relieved that Yoon seems to be taking the program seriously since coming to Jeju Island.”
The interview, filled with lies, continued for quite a long time. At Yu-min’s words that they would end here for today, Seo-jung stood up.
Just as he opened the door after finishing such a difficult interview, a familiar voice was heard.
“Finally, you’re out.”
It was Cha Yoon.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
