The Probability of Meeting Your Ex on a Straight Dating Show Chapter 16

Unlike his slowing steps, his body was faithfully making its way toward the X House. But upon arriving at the front gate, Ki Seojeong didn’t step inside—instead, he turned his feet toward the alley on the opposite side.

“What the…”

What stopped Ki Seojeong’s aimless wandering was a cheese-colored cat that appeared from somewhere unknown.

Looking down at the cat rubbing against his leg, Ki Seojeong bent his knees and lowered himself. The cat, unafraid of the stranger, met Ki Seojeong’s eyes and blinked slowly.

“Hey there.”

As if understanding his words, the cat meowed—meow, meow. Ki Seojeong’s hand naturally reached out to the cat’s back. The small warmth that touched his palm was comforting. The cat, seemingly not disliking his touch, rolled over and exposed its belly.

“Do you get fed around here?”

With his gaze lowered, Ki Seojeong’s long eyelashes swayed gently. You needed a human touch too. That reminded him of himself—always readily offering kindness to everyone just to avoid being disliked—so Ki Seojeong stroked the cat for a long time.

“Huh?”

A short exclamation was heard, and at the same time, the cat sprang up and quickly disappeared. Ki Seojeong’s gaze turned toward the alley where the cat had vanished. He’d wanted to give it some food. A lingering sense of regret washed over him.

“Oh, it is you, Mr. Ki Seojeong. What are you doing here?”

“I ran into a cat on my way home.”

It was Song Jua again. Ki Seojeong forced the corners of his mouth upward.

“But what now? It probably ran away because of me.”

“No, it’s fine. Are you just getting off work too, Ms. Jua?”

“Yes, I used my boss privileges to clock out early.”

“Is that so? It’s still before dinner. Shall we head in?”

“Sure.”

Song Jua nodded readily. Ki Seojeong naturally avoided her gaze and walked toward the front gate.

“Oh, did you two come back together?”

“No way—did you go on a da—te? Did you?”

“What, what? Is it true?”

As if they had been preparing an early dinner, the people gathered in the kitchen and at the table called out to the two of them.

“It would have been nice if it were a date, but it wasn’t. We just ran into each other out front.”

Song Jua shot back with a refreshing smile.

“Is that really true? Sounds suspicious.”

Kim Saeyeong’s gaze turned toward Seojeong, who was standing behind Jua.

“It really is. If it were a date, we wouldn’t have come in so soon.”

Ki Seojeong tossed out a joke with a composed face. Just facing everyone made him feel crushed by the atmosphere, but he couldn’t show it. Always putting others before himself was Ki Seojeong’s way of surviving and also his nature.

“That’s funny.”

The one attacking Ki Seojeong’s precarious mask was Cha Yoon. Again this time. Cha Yoon, alternating his gaze between Song Jua and Ki Seojeong, had one eyebrow raised.

A face that didn’t find it funny at all. Ki Seojeong was the only one who noticed Cha Yoon’s cold expression. He swallowed dryly.

“It’s only the second day—dating already would be against the rules—”

“You two haven’t had dinner yet, right?”

“Today’s menu is pasta and risotto—does that work for everyone?”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t like pasta and risotto? I love it. I’m so excited.”

Among the warm and cheerful group, the eye contact between the two continued for a long time. Ki Seojeong’s masseter muscle twitched as he gritted his teeth.

Then suddenly, all the tension drained out of him. The resolve he’d made the previous day came to mind. What are you going to accomplish by fighting with that kid? Get a grip, Ki Seojeong. He looked away first.

As Ki Seojeong’s gaze, which had been directed at him, vanished like a lie, Cha Yoon frowned. Reflexively, he moved to grab Ki Seojeong—but then Song Jua’s voice stopped him.

“Mr. Cha Yoon, they said the pasta is ready.”

“…”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Even when called, he stood motionless, so Jua turned her head. Where Cha Yoon’s eyes were fixed, as expected, was Ki Seojeong.

“Oh, did I interrupt you from going to Mr. Seojeong?”

He only turned back to Jua after hearing Ki Seojeong’s name. Jua was nodding as if she’d known it all along. Only then did his reason return. Letting out a hollow laugh, Cha Yoon swept his bangs back.

“What are you talking about.”

“Why? If you want to go, you can go and come back.”

“…”

“Go and bring Mr. Seojeong over.”

Jua shrugged as if to say what’s the problem. She even gestured for him to go quickly—and at her movements, Cha Yoon scowled.

“Are you out of your mind? Why would I go to him? What is Ki Seojeong anyway.”

“…”

“Instead of holding me back with nonsense, just eat your food.”

Cha Yoon turned around without hesitation. Watching his retreating figure stride away, Jua shook her head.

“Damn, he just won’t admit it no matter what…”

Ever since entering the X House, Cha Yoon had been radiating with his entire body that Ki Seojeong bothered him. Yet he insisted he had no feelings whatsoever—to Jua, he looked like an idiot.

If it had been anyone else, she’d have just called him a dumbass and ignored it, but the other person was Cha Yoon. Her friend of twenty years.

Whether she liked him or not, he was a longtime friend, so she couldn’t just brush him off. Moreover, the fact that Cha Yoon had appeared on “Please Take Care of My X” was partly her responsibility.

Jua recalled that day a month ago when she’d talked with Cha Yoon.

‘I got caught by Deacon Seo while kissing my girlfriend, and it all got back to my parents. It wasn’t like I committed a crime, but I’m sick of living in hiding, so I told them I’m going abroad and to consider themselves daughter-less. Then they said whether I go abroad or die, I can do whatever I want, but I have to clean things up without damaging the church before I leave.’

‘Then clean it up quickly and leave Korea. Why are you loafing around at someone else’s house?’

‘That’s why I came to you—to clean it up.’

Song Jua carefully explained the proposal and plan she’d received from her acquaintance Kim Seohyo. It was a heterosexual dating show, so if she went on with him, everything would be brushed off as a mere incident, and then she could just leave Korea.

‘You know me. I don’t even have any male friends besides you, let alone a boyfriend. So you—’

‘Hey.’

‘…’

‘I have no intention of going on that kind of thing, so look elsewhere.’

He stood up as if it wasn’t even worth hearing more.

‘I’m going to sleep, so leave on your own.’

What stopped Cha Yoon, who was heading to the bedroom without hesitation, was one sentence from Jua.

‘What if I told you your ex is on it? Would you still not go?’

‘…What are you talking about.’

‘Ki Seojeong. Your ex. He’s appearing there with his ex-girlfriend.’

She threw Ki Seojeong’s name out there thinking she had nothing to lose. Unlike how easily he’d cut off his long-term lover, Cha Yoon had shown strange behavior over the past six months.

The Cha Yoon who’d lost his memory found the traces of his own life over the past seven years distasteful. Yet he never threw those traces away, stacking them in a corner of the warehouse, and while he felt uncomfortable with contacts from acquaintances he’d known before the accident, he stubbornly kept his old phone number. Like someone waiting for a specific message.

A moment of silence passed, and that day, Song Jua ultimately got what she wanted.

Of course, the choice was Cha Yoon’s, but it was she who’d informed him of Ki Seojeong’s appearance. She couldn’t just pretend not to know and ignore it with a clear conscience.

She didn’t know how Ki Seojeong felt, but at the very least, she hoped Cha Yoon would properly realize his own feelings and do something about it.

The mere fact that she’d appeared on the show meant she’d already achieved all her goals. The remaining time until filming ended was just bonus time for Jua.

After a long while of alternating glances at the spots where the two had disappeared, Jua’s expression became resolute.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Haa…”

Only after the door clicked shut could Seojeong let out a deep sigh. His eyelids were heavy, weighed down with fatigue. He had a burning desire to sleep soundly for a long time in a comfortable space.

But there was nowhere Seojeong could rest comfortably. His gaze, blinking slowly, landed on the full-length mirror placed in one corner of the room.

His own reflection hiding behind the door looked utterly miserable.