Chapter 133
As the sun began to set, the cast members who had gone on dates returned one by one to the New X House. Seo-jung and Min-ha were the first to arrive. Cha Yoon, who had been preparing dinner at home, put down his knife and went to greet the two when he heard the door open.
“You’re back early.”
Seo-jung looked over Cha Yoon, who was smiling at him. Wearing an apron decorated with small flowers, Cha Yoon clearly looked like he had been doing kitchen work.
He swallowed a sigh. Couldn’t he just rest comfortably if he stayed at the lodging? Cha Yoon had been on his mind throughout the date. Now, knowing that he had been doing housework, he felt oddly upset. Seo-jung’s mood dampened, and he closed his mouth.
“Ah, Seo-jung oppa said he wasn’t feeling well, so we came back a bit early.”
“Is it because you couldn’t sleep? You’ve been up since dawn today.”
Cha Yoon’s expression quickly changed upon hearing that Seo-jung wasn’t feeling well. He looked at Seo-jung once more with worried eyes, as if waiting for his response, but Seo-jung’s closed lips didn’t part.
Cha Yoon took in Seo-jung’s face and then rubbed his eyebrow. He could clearly see that Seo-jung was in a bad mood, but he couldn’t understand why. As he tried to gauge the reason, Min-ha spoke up again.
“When did you come back, Cha Yoon oppa? We thought we were the first ones back. You went on a date with Joo-ah unnie, right?”
Every sentence Min-ha spoke ended with a question mark. It felt like being bombarded with questions.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it a date. We both just rested in our rooms.”
“What?”
“I’ve just been at the lodging.”
“Oh… really? Cha Yoon oppa, you didn’t go on a date at all today?”
As Min-ha asked again in disbelief, Cha Yoon responded in a playful tone.
“You keep poking at a sore spot.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“I thought you must have gone out. I mean, you worked so hard to earn points.” Min-ha started to explain, waving her hands as if to show she had no ill intentions. Listening to her lengthening explanation, Cha Yoon guessed that this conversation would never end if he let it continue.
“I’m just kidding. So, what did you two do on your date? I’m curious.”
“Ah, oppa and I went to the beach today, dipped our feet in the water, had a meal, and then visited a cafe.”
Relieved that the topic had finally changed, Min-ha cheerfully recounted her day with Seo-jung.
It was Ki Seo-jung, standing next to the two, who became alert at these words. He hadn’t expected to share such details with Cha Yoon. He unconsciously glanced at Cha Yoon, as if checking his reaction.
But it seemed to be unnecessary worry. Contrary to his concerns, Cha Yoon’s expression wasn’t bad. Was that a relief? Even as he thought this, seeing no particular reaction made him uneasy in its own way. He felt dizzy from the unpredictable flow of emotions.
“Oh right, the egg tarts there were delicious, so we bought some.”
In the meantime, Min-ha, who had been talking for a while, clapped her hands and showed a shopping bag. “Seo-jung oppa suggested buying these,” she added, not forgetting to mention.
“Really? I really like egg tarts.”
Cha Yoon’s gaze, which had been directed at Min-ha, turned to Seo-jung. When their eyes met, Seo-jung flinched and pressed his lips together. He had read joy in Cha Yoon’s eyes. As if Cha Yoon had guessed that the reason for buying the egg tarts was because of him.
Everything was as Cha Yoon had guessed. Throughout the date, Seo-jung had been worried about Cha Yoon who remained at home. So when he encountered Cha Yoon’s favorite dessert at the cafe, he couldn’t just pass it by.
“Can I eat all of these? I don’t want to share with anyone else.”
Cha Yoon, who had already received the shopping bag, asked Seo-jung. Beneath his playful tone, a subtle possessiveness was revealed. Seo-jung was speechless at these words and couldn’t say anything for a while. Just as the silence was about to become awkward, Seo-jung opened his mouth.
“We bought… a lot.”
“Yes, I know. But I’m still greedy.”
“…”
“But I’ll hold back.”
Because we really don’t have much time left. Cha Yoon uttered words that only he and Seo-jung would understand, and then closed his eyes again.
“You must be tired. Go wash up and come back.”
“Oh, won’t it be hard to do everything alone?”
“The person who’s been resting at home all day should do it. Go on now.”
“I’ll wash up quickly and come back to help you.”
Min-ha showed her determination by clenching her fist and patting Seo-jung’s shoulder.
“Oppa, let’s go together.”
Both of them needed to wash up, and their rooms were in the same direction. Nevertheless, Min-ha’s suggestion wasn’t welcome at this moment. Seeing Cha Yoon, who had come here alone and was just preparing food, made him feel concerned.
But there was no reason to refuse the offer, and there was even less he could do if he stayed here. It would be good if he wasn’t a hindrance.
In the end, Seo-jung went to the lodging with Min-ha, but he kept thinking about Cha Yoon long after Cha Yoon had disappeared from his sight.
***
As the sun rose and set, time flew by quickly on Jeju Island. Perhaps because they felt there wasn’t much time left, the cast members left the New X House for dates at least once, and up to three times a day.
While numerous people came and went through the entrance, only Cha Yoon consistently remained at the lodging.
#Day 2 of Store Opening, Lunchtime, Common Area.
‘Huh? What’s this, Cha Yoon didn’t go on a date?’
‘No, it just turned out that way.’
#Day 2 of Store Opening, Evening, Cha Yoon & Woo-jun’s Room.
‘Oh! Cha Yoon, you were in the room? What about your date?’
‘I rested at home today.’
#Day 3 of Store Opening, Morning, Beach.
‘Yoon hyung, good morning! Are you going on a date later?’
‘I’ll probably stay at the X House without going anywhere.’
‘Ah….’
#Day 3 of Store Opening, Afternoon, In Front of the Kitchen.
‘Cha Yoon oppa, surely not today too….’
‘Yes. I rested, in my room.’
‘….’
As conversations flowed like this, even the cast members who hadn’t noticed at first began to realize that Cha Yoon always stayed at home unable to go on dates.
And this fact became quite a hot topic of conversation among the cast members.
‘I guess Cha Yoon didn’t gather enough likability points to buy a date ticket?’
‘If he had, he would have bought and used a date ticket by now.’
‘He worked so hard cleaning… what a shame.’
Although Cha Yoon had chosen not to buy a date ticket of his own will, the rumor spread among the cast members who didn’t know the truth. Perhaps due to sympathy for him, when the cast members returned from their dates, they started bringing back desserts like pudding or macarons.
As the overflowing snacks filled up the refrigerator, unable to be consumed, there was one person who brought different kinds of food from the others. It was Ki Seo-jung.
After returning from his dates, he always arrived earlier than usual meal times. In both hands, he carried food that could be eaten for lunch or dinner. As the already prepared food was placed on the table, Cha Yoon naturally moved away from the kitchen.
Today was no different. What Seo-jung brought for dinner was braised cutlassfish and stir-fried black pork.
“I was craving cutlassfish, Ki Seo-jung is the best.”
“Seeing this makes me really hungry. Let’s eat dinner quickly.”
The cast members started their dinner, admiring the menu choices.
Amidst the sounds of dishes and chopsticks clashing and conversations, Cha Yoon’s voice was particularly clear.
“It’s nice and comfortable to eat something prepared by someone else.”
As he said this, Cha Yoon looked at Seo-jung who had bought the food. Seo-jung, who had been subtly checking if Cha Yoon was eating well, hesitated as if startled.
“Thank you, hyung.”
That thank you sounded exactly like he meant ‘thank you for thinking of me’. It felt like his intentions had been completely exposed. Ki Seo-jung hurriedly turned his gaze towards the food he had bought.
“…Cha Yoon-ssi also prepared meals for us to eat every time.”
“Is that so. Well, I guess you could think of it that way.”
Cha Yoon nodded as if he wouldn’t bother to refute. Unable to say anything more to that, Seo-jung also closed his mouth.
“Today is the last day of the store, right?”
“Yes, it’s the last day. But wasn’t the likability point store system really good?”
“Soo-ho certainly seemed excited. He even canceled my date request to Ji-yoon.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that thanks to it, everyone went on dates with many people…”
Soo-ho, who was speaking as if trying to smooth things over, suddenly stopped talking. It was because he made eye contact with Cha Yoon. Soo-ho’s mind raced quickly. Wait, didn’t Yoon hyung say he couldn’t go on dates for all three days? And here I am asking if it was good or not. Soo-ho awkwardly ran his hand through the back of his hair.
“Uh, come to think of it, maybe it was just okay? No, I mean, the date with noona was good, but the system was a bit… No, but it wasn’t that bad either…”
Soo-ho, who was rambling, became increasingly confused about what he was saying. Someone please help me. Soo-ho looked at the cast members with a pitiful expression. In the end, it was Yeo Ji-yoon who stepped up.
“Soo-ho, why are you being so cautious? It’s not like there won’t be any more dates just because the store is closing. Cha Yoon, you don’t worry either.”
“That’s right. Cha Yoon oppa, don’t be discouraged!”
“Yeah, I’m sure there will be more opportunities.”
The dinner table suddenly turned into a place of encouragement and support for Cha Yoon. Cha Yoon was bewildered by the sudden change in atmosphere, but he had no intention of ruining it. He didn’t want to create any more situations that might make Ki Seo-jung uncomfortable. Cha Yoon nodded moderately.
“Yes, that would be nice.”
And so, the noisy yet quiet dinner came to an end. As the cast members who had cleared the table were about to prepare for a proper drinking session, all of their phones rang.
Tomorrow will be the last official date at the X House.
The last official date will be an X’s nomination date.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
