The Probability of Meeting My Ex in a Heterosexual Dating Program

Chapter 24

Seo-jung boarded the bus on his way home from work, pressing his tired eyes and leaning against the window. As he took in the rapidly passing scenery, the bus soon came to a stop. It was Seo-jung’s stop.

The day had been exhausting with so much on his mind. As Seo-jung walked past the station, his footsteps suddenly halted in front of a dessert shop. He used to often stop by here on his way home from work to buy desserts. It was Cha Yoon’s favorite shop, despite his appearance suggesting otherwise, he enjoyed sweet things.

He should have just passed by, but before he knew it, Ki Seo-jung was inside the shop. It was as if he was in a trance.

“Oh! Hello.”

“…Yes, hello.”

“It’s been a while since you’ve been here!”

The cheerful employee’s voice snapped Seo-jung back to reality. He looked around the shop and swallowed hard.

Since he was already inside, he felt he should buy something. What should he buy? As he pondered, Yeo Ji-yoon suddenly came to mind. He thought he might as well buy some desserts as a thank you for the medicine.

The first thing that caught his eye was chocolate. After a moment’s consideration, Seo-jung picked up a box of assorted chocolates and handed it to the employee.

“I’d like this wrapped separately, please.”

“Of course, I’ll make it look pretty for you!”

“Thank you.”

Seo-jung smiled back at the blushing employee and looked around the store to see if there was anything else he wanted to buy. His eyes naturally gravitated towards the macarons.

His fragile heart responded even in a place like this. He told himself it wasn’t because of Cha Yoon, but that he was buying them as snacks for the other contestants. Ki Seo-jung rationalized this to himself several times as he filled his basket with macarons. Even so, the basket was mostly filled with flavors that Cha Yoon used to like.

When Seo-jung left the shop, both his hands were full of desserts.

“Oh, Seo-jung! You’re here.”

Hearing a voice filled with warmth, he looked up to see Seo Min-ha standing there. Seo-jung opened the middle door and entered, nodding with a smile.

As if responding to Min-ha’s words, a commotion erupted from somewhere. The source of the commotion was Cha Yoon.

Seo-jung felt Cha Yoon’s gaze on him as he stood there blankly. Seo-jung glanced at him briefly before avoiding his eyes and heading to the kitchen. He then placed the macarons he had bought on the dining table.

The first to follow Ki Seo-jung was Cha Yoon. It was a display of pilot-like reflexes. Cha Yoon, with his lips tightly pressed, stared intently at Ki Seo-jung.

“Wow! What’s this?”

“Oh, macarons!”

The other contestants soon crowded into the kitchen. Their eyes lit up at the sight of the colorful and flavorful macarons. Everyone huddled together, examining the various flavors. Jung Soo-ho rolled up his sleeves, declaring he’d be in charge of the coffee, creating anticipation.

The only one not focusing on the macarons was Cha Yoon. He was fixated on the other shopping bag that Ki Seo-jung was still holding. It was clearly from the same dessert shop, so why was he still holding onto it? He felt somewhat uneasy.

“Um, Ji-yoon?”

“Yes?”

“Just a moment.”

Amidst the chatter, Ki Seo-jung called Yeo Ji-yoon aside. Everyone else was too busy discussing dinner menus and which drinks would pair well with the macarons to notice the two slipping away. Except for Cha Yoon, who was on high alert.

Cha Yoon unconsciously furrowed his brow. Ki Seo-jung and Yeo Ji-yoon walked out of the kitchen and stood facing each other at the edge of the living room.

Cha Yoon slowly followed the two. Neither Ki Seo-jung nor Yeo Ji-yoon noticed his footsteps.

“Seo-jung, what’s the matter?”

Yeo Ji-yoon asked with wide eyes. Ki Seo-jung didn’t even think to look around. It wasn’t a particularly meaningful action for him.

“Here, take this, Ji-yoon.”

Ki Seo-jung handed over the shopping bag he had been holding onto. Ji-yoon’s lips parted slightly.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“It’s chocolate. To thank you for yesterday.”

Ji-yoon looked at Ki Seo-jung with a face tinged with surprise and gratitude. In reality, all Ji-yoon had done was express a common concern that anyone could have easily done.

“This is for me? Wow, thank you so much. Oh, right, did you apply the medicine well?”

She had thought he was just kind, but she didn’t know he was the type to be thoughtful about such small details. Ji-yoon accepted the chocolate with a shy smile and asked, looking at Seo-jung’s wrist area. She was asking if he had taken out and applied the medicine from the first aid kit.

“Yes. Thanks to your care, I applied it well before going out today. Thank you, Ji-yoon.”

“What? Oh, I’m glad!”

It was a conversation that was slightly misaligned yet strangely fitting. Ji-yoon thought about how a single word could have such an impact, but Seo-jung was convinced through this conversation that it was her who had provided him with the ointment.

“Oh, right. Just a moment, Seo-jung!”

Ji-yoon, who had been fiddling with the shopping bag containing the chocolates, suddenly dashed into her room. She came back out quickly, holding a cardigan in her hand.

“Thanks to you yesterday, I was able to wear this very comfortably and warmly.”

Ji-yoon said as she handed over the oversized cardigan that belonged to Ki Seo-jung. Seo-jung smiled as he took the cardigan.

“But… I didn’t prepare anything in return. What should I do?”

Ji-yoon smiled bashfully, feeling somewhat awkward. She felt like she should do something in return for receiving chocolates for just a word of concern. Seeing her expression, Ki Seo-jung let out a light laugh.

“It’s okay, Ji-yoon. I bought this because I wanted to. You taking care of the medicine is more than enough.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I’ll really, really enjoy this then.”

“Sure. See you at dinner later.”

Ki Seo-jung turned around with a smile. But then, feeling somewhat uneasy, he turned his head. Cha Yoon was standing not far away.

The morning’s Cha Yoon, who had spoken to him quite warmly, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, anger was blazing in his eyes. Back to that expression in the evening. Ki Seo-jung, unable to hide his bewilderment, met Cha Yoon’s eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

Starting an argument here would only make things uncomfortable for himself. Ki Seo-jung avoided Cha Yoon’s intense gaze and went into his room.

Left alone, Cha Yoon ran his hand through his bangs.

“…This is fucking ridiculous?”

A bitter laugh escaped through his teeth. Cha Yoon clenched his fist, thinking about Ki Seo-jung who had ignored him and walked past. It was because of the series of events that had unfolded throughout the day, passing like a panorama.

What the hell is Ki Seo-jung doing? Cha Yoon was dumbfounded and frustrated.

Just this dawn, it was that same Ki Seo-jung who had called him by the ticklish nickname ‘Yoona’, hugging him and making a fuss. And now, as evening came, he was eagerly running to another woman, giving her chocolates.

He had given Seo-jung the medicine, so why was he thanking the wrong woman? Was he pretending not to know, or was he just stupid… No matter how he thought about it, it pissed him off.

Ki Seo-jung had even lent his cardigan to the woman. And not just any cardigan, but one he had been wearing, full of his scent.

Of course, Ki Seo-jung’s casual actions didn’t really affect him. After all, Ki Seo-jung was a person of no significance to him.

The incident at dawn was the same. It was just a hug. How could he be shaken by a mere hug with another man? He was just an ordinary man attracted to women. Even if he had dated men in a time he couldn’t remember, that wasn’t the case now.

So the fact that his heart was racing and his head was fuzzy, causing him to stay by Ki Seo-jung’s side for over an hour, was just because he was surprised. Surprised by the sudden situation. That’s why he couldn’t do anything and just stayed quiet. Yes, that was all it was.

Although Cha Yoon seemed clearly affected, he couldn’t admit it and rationalized it to himself.

Once his mental victory was over, he moved on to badmouthing Ki Seo-jung.

Come to think of it, Ki Seo-jung had always been that kind of person. The type to discard a lover who had just woken up after injuring both head and body in an accident, as if they were a nuisance. And then, without even taking enough time to mourn the breakup, appearing on a program like this as if he had been waiting for it.

Not only that, but like a fish in water, he was busy flirting with other women. In short, Ki Seo-jung was trash that couldn’t be rehabilitated or recycled.

What was the person who appeared on this program with Ki Seo-jung doing? Didn’t they feel the need to control him after seeing this? If it were me, I would have made it so Ki Seo-jung couldn’t see anyone else. No, I wouldn’t have even thought about coming to a place like this in the first place.

As his thoughts snowballed, sparks flew in all directions. And then back to square one.

Cha Yoon felt his whole body burning up. It was infuriating to think that Ki Seo-jung didn’t even know who had given him the medicine, yet he was already thinking about getting along with that woman. If nothing else, that misunderstanding needed to be cleared up.

After standing still for a few minutes to calm himself down, Cha Yoon went up to the second floor and burst into the room. The sound of running water could be heard from the attached bathroom. For a moment, Cha Yoon remembered Seo-jung’s body that he had seen before and irritably shook his head.

Since he had come in anyway, he needed to speak clearly. Cha Yoon planned to declare to Ki Seo-jung that the ointment he had gratefully received was not from Yeo Ji-yoon, but from him. So don’t dream futile dreams and come to your senses. He sat on the bed, grinding his teeth as he listened to the sound of water soaking Ki Seo-jung’s body.

However, as the waiting time grew longer, doubts began to form in Cha Yoon’s mind. Doubts about whether it was right to reveal that he was the one who had bought the medicine.

To be more honest, he felt embarrassed. The moment he said he had bought it, Ki Seo-jung would also know that he had been worried about him.

Fuck, why did I buy medicine for someone who makes a habit of playing with other people’s feelings? Why bother with someone who’s only used to pretending to be nice and discarding others when he gets bored?