LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 18
Chapter 18
! Male contestants, please move to the talking room right now.
Following the notification message, all the male contestants headed to the talking room together. It seemed to be to prevent them from knowing who was whose ex.
Perhaps because it was late, the outside was quiet as a mouse. Even Min-wook and Soo-ho, who usually chattered away, were silent, and only the sound of footsteps echoed.
Seo-jung thought of the cat he had seen this evening. Wondering if he might see it again, he rolled his eyes and looked around, when a large figure caught his eye. It was Cha Yoon.
Cha Yoon was frowning at him. He had been sullen since they gathered to go to the talking room, and his expression had worsened over time. What’s he so displeased about? Seo-jung wanted to ignore him, but couldn’t due to the intense gaze that seemed to pierce through his face.
Seo-jung, who had been pressing his eyelids, suddenly stopped walking. Cha Yoon also stopped, as if he were a pet in a game. After standing still for a while, Seo-jung approached Cha Yoon after confirming that the distance from Soo-ho and Min-wook had widened.
“Mr. Cha Yoon.”
“What.”
“You have something to say to me, don’t you?”
Despite the gruff response, Seo-jung asked without caring. When Cha Yoon didn’t give any particular answer, Seo-jung spoke again.
“I know everything, so just talk.”
The tone was as if coaxing, saying he’d listen to anything. Ki Seo-jung was acting like an adult talking to a disobedient child. Cha Yoon felt somewhat offended. His already furrowed brow creased even more deeply.
But it wasn’t the time to back down just because he felt bad. Cha Yoon wanted to be sure. He needed certainty, not just suspicion.
Finally, Cha Yoon put down his pride and asked.
“Did you pick Song Joo-ah?”
It was an unkind question without any explanation of the context. Nevertheless, Seo-jung understood the meaning of the question perfectly. This was a question about his first date partner.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t expected Cha Yoon might be curious about this. But when he actually heard it directly from Cha Yoon, he was at a loss for words.
At the same time, the image of Cha Yoon being careful while looking at the cards replayed in his mind. When it became clear that it was all for the chance to date Song Joo-ah, a sharp pain struck his heart.
On the other hand, he also thought: if what Cha Yoon wanted so badly wasn’t Song Joo-ah but someone else, would that have been okay? Seo-jung shook his head. No matter who he put in that place, the pain wouldn’t lessen.
Seo-jung finally admitted it. If Cha Yoon didn’t want him, it couldn’t be even slightly okay no matter who the other person was.
“The date. I’m asking if you picked Song Joo-ah.”
Unlike a moment ago, when Seo-jung hesitated to open his mouth, Cha Yoon asked the question again as if urging him. Seo-jung still couldn’t speak. Cha Yoon’s lips twisted as he waited for Seo-jung’s response. Sometimes, silence could be an answer.
“I guess you really did pick Song Joo-ah.”
“……”
“I see.”
Cha Yoon turned his body and moved forward.
“Mr. Cha Yoon.”
Watching the receding back, Seo-jung called Cha Yoon’s name without realizing it. But Cha Yoon never looked back.
***
“You can enter this way.”
Following the writer’s guidance, he stepped into the room. In the pink interior, there was only a desk, chair, and laptop sitting alone. Seo-jung sat in the chair.
True to its name as a talking room, a chat window was open on the laptop. With a ‘ding’ sound, the chat partner entered. Although it was an anonymous conversant with no name or face revealed, Seo-jung could tell. Who was behind that.
He could picture Cha Yoon sitting in front of the laptop with a very displeased expression. Seo-jung felt an intensifying headache.
If he had his way, he wanted to leave without exchanging a single word. Further, he wanted to leave this X House. But there were too many people working hard for the program to behave like that just because he was having a hard time. He couldn’t cause trouble for such a trivial reason.
Right, it’s not difficult to endure. Come to think of it, this was what Ki Seo-jung could do best. So he shouldn’t complain. Now was the time to try hard as always. After organizing his thoughts, Seo-jung placed his hands on the laptop keyboard. Seo-jung’s fingers moved slowly.
Me
Hello.
May I ask you about Joo-ah from now on?
It was his own way of asking to focus sincerely on the task at hand, as they were currently filming.
But Seo-jung missed an important point.
The fact that Cha Yoon was the exact opposite of him.
A moment later, along with the ‘typing…’ indication, a gray speech bubble came back from Cha Yoon.
Song Joo-ah’s X
You’re talking as if my opinion is really important
You’re going to ask anyway even if I say not to
Just do as you please
Seo-jung’s mouth fell open at the speech bubble that appeared.
“This guy really…”
What is he trying to do? Seo-jung muttered quietly. Seeing Cha Yoon doing exactly what he used to do in university gave him a headache.
Does he not even realize that cameras are rolling? Seo-jung quickly shook his head. Of course, there’s no way Cha Yoon would forget that. He probably just doesn’t feel the need to hide his feelings and personality.
After thinking for a moment, Seo-jung decided to have the conversation and wrap it up while trying not to upset Cha Yoon as much as possible.
Me
Could you tell me what kind of food Joo-ah likes?
Song Joo-ah’s X
You should find that out yourself
You’re trying to take the easy way out too much
Seo-jung generally asked trivial, surface-level questions. But even those seemed to come across to Cha Yoon as interest in his ex-girlfriend, as he maintained an uncooperative attitude throughout.
Me
Does Joo-ah like walking?
It was when he asked the fifth question.
Song Joo-ah’s X
?
What if she doesn’t like it?
Your car broke down, right?
Don’t tell me you’re planning to get a ride in Song Joo-ah’s car
And use that excuse to get closer to her with this wish coupon thing?
Getting closer with a wish coupon. He had never even thought of such a thing. Seo-jung frowned at the sudden accusation and moved his hands.
Me
What?
What’s that all about suddenly
Song Joo-ah’s X
Isn’t it obvious
What’s your intention in asking that when your car is broken down
If you’re not impurely considering the wish coupon, there’s no reason to ask that, is there?
Or try explaining
I said try explaining?
? Why isn’t ‘typing…’ showing up
? Are you sleeping?
Cha Yoon kept pressing Seo-jung without giving him a chance to speak. It was impossible to know exactly what had set him off.
That hot-headed temper of his. Seo-jung had typed up to “It didn’t mean anything. I just wondered if Joo-ah liked walking dates” with a slightly fed-up expression when the bell signaling the end of the chat rang like a savior.
Seo-jung hesitated for a moment and then deleted everything he had written. There wasn’t a huge reason. He just wanted to get a small revenge on Cha Yoon, who was pressuring him about his feelings for Song Joo-ah. It was behavior uncharacteristic of the usual Seo-jung, but that made it more like Ki Seo-jung. After all, he often acted unlike himself when facing Cha Yoon.
Seo-jung quickly typed:
Me
Time’s already up.
Thank you for your answers.
Song Joo-ah’s X
What are you talking about
Answer before you go
Ignoring Cha Yoon’s words clinging on like a limpet, Seo-jung hurriedly left the chat room.
– The chat has ended –
Only after confirming this message did Seo-jung bury his head in his hands. He never knew 30 minutes could feel this long. Seo-jung was completely drained after being harassed by Cha Yoon throughout the entire chat time.
Due to Da-bin’s non-participation, Seo-jung waited briefly while the other contestants had two chat sessions. After another 30 minutes or so passed, it was when he opened the door following the production team’s instruction that he could leave the talking room.
Seo-jung reflexively flinched and shuddered. As soon as he came out, he made eye contact with Cha Yoon, who was waiting like a totem pole.