The Probability of Meeting Your Ex on a Straight Dating Show Chapter 10

Even knowing would change nothing, but still, he was curious. Yet he could read nothing from Cha Yoon’s face. Watching Cha Yoon crush the empty beer can, Seojeong barely managed to avert his eyes.

Get a grip. He moved the beer can he hadn’t taken a single sip from to the side. It seemed right that he should be the one to start things off after all.

“Then, I’ll open mine first.”

“Would you do that?”

Jeong Suho, who had been stroking his box, answered with already moist eyes. Seojeong slid a box of tissues next to Suho, then opened the box.

What Seojeong took out from inside was a teddy bear of a size nice to hold in one’s arms.

“Hmm, it’s a stuffed animal.”

Seojeong stroked the teddy bear in his hands. Despite having been washed, the bear that held 8 years of time was grubby.

“It’s a doll my X gave me as a gift because I was struggling with insomnia. It used to make a sound if you pressed it, but I doubt it works anymore.”

Even as he said that, Seojeong pressed firmly near its stomach. Contrary to his expectation, the voice Seojeong had recorded 8 years ago sounded from the teddy bear.

‘Sleep well and have good dreams.’

A voice that felt more youthful than now flowed out. Wow, so fresh. Amid the exclamations, Cha Yoon alone gave a snort.

That sound precisely pierced his ears, but Seojeong pretended not to hear and sat the teddy bear on the floor. Then he took out the X manual that remained inside the box.

“I’ll read the X manual, too.”

Everyone’s attention focused on him. Seojeong cleared his throat for a moment and began to read the content written inside.

“The Seojeong I know is a person who always thinks of others first, with consideration ingrained in his body….”

“Wow, you don’t seem like that at all.”

Of course, he had to be cut off before even finishing the first sentence.

There had never been audience interference like this. The cast members, who had been absorbed in Seojeong’s voice as if it were their own story, frowned at once. With a feeling of wanting to find the culprit who broke the mood, everyone turned their heads. And there, naturally, was Cha Yoon.

“…”

“You seem like someone who only knows himself and would abandon even a sick lover without a care. That’s unexpected.”

That was already the fifth time today. Ki Seojeong curled up the corners of his mouth like a picture. Not being swayed by Cha Yoon’s words—that was the wisest response Ki Seojeong could make right now.

“In Mr. Cha Yoon’s eyes, I must seem that way.”

“Yes, I’m quite good at reading people.”

Ki Seojeong simply smiled. Even when picked on, he didn’t actively defend himself. After lightly scanning the cast members who were quietly watching for cues, Seojeong shifted his gaze back to Cha Yoon.

“May I continue?”

Ki Seojeong calmly steered the atmosphere. Cha Yoon smirked and stared intently at him.

“Go ahead, do whatever.”

By this point, the residents had not only grown accustomed to the uncomfortable atmosphere but had even begun to find it interesting. The gazes alternating between the two even held a sense of anticipation for what novel thing Cha Yoon would say this time to shatter the mood.

Seojeong read through the remaining sentences methodically. As if living up to all the cast members’ expectations, Cha Yoon steadily interjected. Yet Seojeong never lost his composure.

“I hope Seojeong will be happy. More than me.”

Ki Seojeong safely finished reading aloud to the last line. After a moment of silence, the sound of applause, ‘Waaah,’ was heard. Ki Seojeong, smiling awkwardly as if embarrassed, cast his gaze toward Cha Yoon.

“Mr. Cha Yoon, would you like to go next?”

Ki Seojeong gently suggested. Everyone rolled their eyes and watched the two. Cha Yoon, though wearing an expression of annoyance, opened his own package.

“Wow, it’s a camera?”

Jiyoon, her eyes sparkling, showed interest. What Cha Yoon took out was, as Jiyoon said, a camera. Ki Seojeong’s pupils shook violently as he looked at the camera held in his hand.

“Yes. Because she liked taking pictures for me.”

Unlike how he was with Ki Seojeong, Cha Yoon answered in a slightly more refined tone. Ki Seojeong’s gaze was still fixed on the camera Cha Yoon was holding.

In that moment, like an unexpected rain shower, Cha Yoon’s youthful voice played back.

‘From now on, I’m going to record every moment of you, hyung.’

Putting down the camera and photo album, Cha Yoon had said that. It was right after he found out that Ki Seojeong didn’t have a single proper picture of himself. And as if to prove that his words were sincere, Cha Yoon picked up the camera every single day without fail.

Cha Yoon’s expression while gazing into the camera was always the same. A face that couldn’t be happier to be able to preserve Ki Seojeong’s every day with his own hands. Ki Seojeong felt love while looking at that face.

The empty photo album quickly filled up, and before he knew it, one side of the bookshelf was full of photo albums large and small. They were all memories born from Cha Yoon’s hands.

Recalling the photo albums he still hadn’t been able to throw away, Ki Seojeong bit his lip. He couldn’t even care what kind of expression he was making right now. The inside of his chest blazed fiercely, and his mouth went completely dry from the flames.

In the meantime, Cha Yoon had taken out the X manual. It was a gesture without any hesitation.

“The Cha Yoon I loved is a person who possesses the charm of sincerity. Because of that, he sometimes made me furious with his mean words, but he never once emotionally confused me.”

When he read the phrase, ‘made me furious with his mean words,’ laughter burst out here and there. Cha Yoon didn’t stop speaking despite the reaction.

“Whenever I said I was scared because I loved him too much, Cha Yoon would always firmly hold onto me without ever showing any sign of hardship.”

Ki Seojeong’s fingertips trembled. Saying that Song Jua was just an old friend, so there was not a sliver of reason to be anxious, Cha Yoon had reassured Ki Seojeong like that.

But the X manual Cha Yoon was reading now was the complete opposite of what he had said. The two seemed to have had a deeply heartfelt love for a very long time.

Then, what had Cha Yoon’s feelings for Song Jua been when he was with him? Ki Seojeong was swept away by the confusion crashing in like waves.

“I fervently hope that Cha Yoon will regain the heart he lost here. If he happens to fix his personality along the way, even better.”

As Cha Yoon finished reading the X manual, the residents who had been holding back their laughter snickered. Cha Yoon shrugged his shoulders as if completely unaffected and closed the package box.

With the two taking the lead, progress sped along after that. Except for Ki Seojeong, Cha Yoon, and Song Jua, everyone was busy tearing up as they read their X manuals. Even amid the sniffling heard from all around, Seojeong just nodded his head with a blank face.

“…Ah, this is really embarrassing. Shall we have a drink?”

Jeong Suho, who had been teary-eyed even before fully unpacking the breakup packages, spoke in a deliberately bright voice to lighten the mood. Everyone responded, saying it was a good idea. The residents, who had grabbed the beer cans in front of them and clinked them together, added various stories and tried to lift the sunken atmosphere.

With the alcohol going in, laughter filled the living room as if they had never been down. Among them, the only one not laughing was Ki Seojeong.

Like a scholar persistently observing a research subject, Cha Yoon examined Ki Seojeong minutely. The mechanical smile was nowhere to be seen; he wore the face of a man dying. And yet, unable to bring himself to shatter the revived mood and staying put, it was an unsightly sight.

Suddenly, the content of Ki Seojeong’s X manual came to mind. What had it said again. A person full of consideration who always thinks of others first, or something like that. The moment he heard it, Ki Seojeong declaring their break-up came to mind, so he had denied it, but considering the way he had seen him at the club and the pathetic state he was in now, it was a statement that made some sense.

But was that even a compliment? It just meant he was a pushover bastard. Cha Yoon, shaking his head side to side, downed the half-remaining wine. The astringent taste of wine lingered in his mouth.

In Cha Yoon’s thinking, that was nothing but a weakness. What if he had been Ki Seojeong’s lover? If it were him, he would never have told that to anyone. He would have hidden it tightly, concealed it, and protected him so that no one could use Ki Seojeong. A person so precious just to look at, to be treated in such a way…

Continuing the peculiar hypothetical, Cha Yoon suddenly came to his senses. Fuck, what am I even thinking right now. Have I gone crazy, seriously.