Transit Love After Revenge – Chapter 14

Author: amourtentia

When he didn’t respond to her question, Haeyoung didn’t ask again.

At least he was quick to pick up on social cues. That made things easier.

They didn’t exchange a single word on the ride back to the house. Seongjun closed his eyes as if to shut everything out. Although a camera was mounted in the car, this scene probably wouldn’t make the final cut.

They had been drinking late into the night, so the drowsiness came quickly.

Since they had to hide their date, Haeyoung decided to stop by the mart and go in, and Seongjun went back to the dorm first.

Gaeun greeted him.

“Seongjun-nim, you’re the first one back. It’s just me here.”

“That’s great. Gaeun-nim, could you come here for a second?”

He regretted wasting the opportunity to have one-on-one time with other cast members because of that pointless date with Haeyoung.

Seongjun pulled out a pink box that had been buried deep inside his bag. He had thought he would have to throw it out, but apparently, it still had its uses.

“It’s nothing special, I just bought it for you to eat.”

“Huh? You bought this for me?”

“Yeah. Or, I mean, we can share it too.”

“Oh—thank you so much.”

Gaeun covered her mouth with both hands, touched.

Inside the box were colorful, eye-catching cookies neatly arranged in rows. With all kinds of toppings on top, they were clearly no ordinary cookies.

‘Yeah, this is why I paid so much for them. At least they’ll look good on camera.’

“They’re trending on social media these days.”

“Oh, I think I’ve heard of them! It must’ve been hard to get.”

“Do you like this kind of thing?”

“I love pretty desserts. Just looking at them makes me happy.”

“I see.”

Each cookie cost over 5,000 won. Is she the type who eats stuff like this often?

He wasn’t fond of women who were too extravagant. He didn’t have anything to his name yet, but the thought of a woman squandering his future wealth on frivolous things already irritated him.

‘What, she thinks she can live off my money and just loaf around? No way. I’d never be with a woman like that. Even though Seo Haeyoung wasn’t fun at all, I didn’t have any worries about that.’

Oblivious to his thoughts, Gaeun let out a little gasp and pulled out her phone to take a picture.

Still, she had that sweet, polite energy. That’s what a woman should be like. Seo Haeyoung was so stiff, sometimes he couldn’t even tell if she was into men or women.

While Gaeun was focused on the cookies, Seongjun’s gaze wandered down her legs.

‘She’s kind of lacking in the body department too. Does she even work out? Her butt… is a bit–’

There were a lot of little disappointments.

“Thanks again. I’ll enjoy these.”

Snapping out of it, Seongjun looked up and smiled broadly. The sleazy thoughts vanished behind a picture-perfect grin.

Still unaware, Gaeun shyly handed him a cookie, saying he should try one first. Seongjun took it with his mouth, and Gaeun averted her eyes, embarrassed.

‘How old is she, anyway? Up close, she seems older than I thought. Is she older than me? That’s kind of a turnoff.’

‘Younger girls were better. More bubbly. The older a woman got, the more calculating she became.’

If he ended up dating someone older, it might even make him look older. And if he wanted a long run in the entertainment world, looking young definitely worked in his favor.

“Why? Do I have something on my face? You’re staring…”

“No, nothing like that.”

‘Yeah, I should probably get to know Taeri too.’

He recalled the text vote from the day before, he had gotten three votes. One from Seo Haeyoung, the others from Gaeun and Taeri.

It wasn’t like he was desperate for female attention. He had options. No need to settle on one person already.

Let’s compare them. Pick the better one. And if neither works out, there’s always Minji.

Just thinking about it puffed up his chest. He already felt like he had three women wrapped around his finger.

“Gaeun-nim, do you have any plans tomorrow? If not, want to grab lunch together?”

“I’d love to!”

Their conversation kept going. Even as other cast members returned one by one, Gaeun didn’t move, which meant she was probably interested in him.

‘Well, of course she is. I’m the most popular guy here. Who wouldn’t be into me? Honestly, I’m the best-looking one too. If I were her, I’d be thanking my lucky stars to be sitting next to me.’

Just as Seongjun was basking in his own charm, a buzzkill arrived.

“Oh? Haeyoung-nim! Haeyoung-nim!”

Ugh. Completely unaware of his mood, Gaeun called out to Haeyoung with a bright smile. Haeyoung walked over to them.

‘Why is she coming this way instead of going upstairs? Now it feels awkward, like I got caught cheating or something.’

‘Not that it matters. No matter what I do, Seo Haeyoung won’t say a word about it.’

“Did you go shopping? That must’ve been heavy.”

Gaeun quickly took the bags from Haeyoung. Only then did Seongjun step in to take them from her. ‘They weren’t even that heavy. What a drama queen.’

“I figured we would drink tonight, so I just grabbed a few light snacks.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Oh, Oh right, want to try one of these?”

What Gaeun held out was the cookie box Seongjun had just given to her.

‘Why is she handing that to her? To Seo Haeyoung of all people?’

He remembered how he had deliberately hidden the box to avoid giving it to Haeyoung earlier.

“What’s this?”

“Seongjun-nim bought these for us to share.”

Sure, he had said they could share them, but did she really have to offer them to Haeyoung? No sense of tact at all?

“Yeah, Seongjun-nim said these are super popular on social media right now.”

“Really?”

Haeyoung looked straight at Seongjun. She had seen him during their date earlier, she had to know exactly what this meant. Feeling exposed, Seongjun turned away.

“These must’ve been hard to get. Thanks, I’ll enjoy them.”

Smiling sweetly, Haeyoung reached for the prettiest cookie placed in the center of the box. Even though Gaeun, the one who received the gift, had started eating from the end.

‘Is she doing that on purpose?’

“Mmm, it’s really good! The aroma’s amazing. Can I have another?”

“Of course. There’s still plenty. Right, Seongjun-nim?”

“Yes, of course. Go ahead.”

‘Don’t. Stop eating them. If we’re going to share them, we should at least make it look good in front of the others too.’

Haeyoung grabbed another cookie, again from the center. The perfectly arranged cookies now had a gaping hole in the middle. Seongjun stared blankly at the now-ugly box of treats.

Crunch. The sound of Haeyoung chewing grated on his nerves.

* * *

“I’m going to change real quick.”

“Okay, come down soon!”

With Gaeun’s cheerful send-off, Haeyoung climbed the stairs. Even then, the chitchat between Seongjun and Gaeun trailed her like a stubborn echo.

“By the way, do you always smile like that, Seongjun-nim? Your smile is really pretty.”

“I smile a lot around people I like.”

“Huh? That’s a meaningful comment.”

Did Gaeun and Seongjun end up liking each other?

In the previous timeline, even without Haeyoung in the picture, Seongjun and Gaeun had ended up in a mutual love line.

The fact that nothing about Seongjun’s behavior or his love interests changed—even with his long-time girlfriend on the show, was almost laughable. But this was all within Haeyoung’s plan.

Today was the first date day. All the cast members were still hyper-aware of the cameras, putting on their best faces.

Which meant the PD was probably getting frustrated. They needed something juicier to stir up buzz. That’s what kick-started the hype early on.

In her mind, Haeyoung could already hear the tense sound effects that would be laid over Seongjun’s footage from today.

Before filming began, she had spent her spare time studying dating shows instead of eating or sleeping.

There were shows that became famous and others that flopped without a trace. She watched them all, every single one. And the more she watched, the more she understood.

The expressions and reactions producers loved. The ones that inevitably got featured in the edit. And the viewers’ reactions that followed were just as predictable.

―You could totally tell Seongjun wasn’t into the date. Sleeping in the car on the way back? Ugh. So much for being “polite,” ㅋㅋ. Haeyoung seems to have been hurtㅜ

└Stop projecting.

└Why are you acting like you are Haeyoung?

―It’s highlighted because of the editing. Haeyoung doesn’t seem to think much of it either

└Yes(x) Yes(O)

└Huh. Did you not see her expression when he dozed off?

―Exactly. If he didn’t want to go on a date, why come on the show? Just go date someone privately.

―He probably just wasn’t interested. Seems like he’s been all about Gaeun.

└What the ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He looked like a corpse even talking to Gaeun.

―Facts. These dating shows are basically influencer auditions now. Can we ditch the dead-fish guys already?

―Yeah, it was obvious.

└Who are you talking about? Seongjun? For me it’s Minji.

└OMG same. I was thinking the exact same thing.