The Probability of Meeting Your Ex on a Straight Dating Show Chapter 27

“Looks like it’s bruising… that must hurt. How did that happen?”

“I wonder.”

At Jiyoon’s worried expression, Seojeong smiled as he concealed his wrist. A sign that he was fine. Yet his thoughts continued to race. The longer the conversation went on, the bigger the lie would surely become. It was right to leave as soon as possible.

“Well then, I’ll head in.”

“Yes, Mr. Seojeong, thank you for the cardigan. Ah! I think there’s a first-aid kit in the house—see if there’s any bruise ointment and put that on, Mr. Seojeong.”

“I will. Thank you for worrying about me. Then rest well.”

Seojeong gave a slight bow of his head in greeting and exited the terrace. Only after the terrace door was completely closed did he raise his arm. Under the bright living room lights, his wrist looked even worse. It had the appearance of having been bound somewhere, perfectly suited to invite misunderstandings—anyone could see that.

Concluding that he would have to wear long sleeves even inside the house for the time being, Seojeong climbed the stairs. Arriving in front of the door, he stood there like a stone statue and stared at the doorknob. The desire not to go in had tied Seojeong’s feet in place.

Ah, I really don’t want to go in. The suffocating air he’d face when he opened the door, Cha Yoon’s cold gaze, his icy voice. He hated all of it. He stood there sighing for a long while. Reluctantly, Seojeong grabbed the doorknob. He pulled it with force, and the door slid open with a soft sound.

“…”

What greeted Seojeong through the open door was a space devoid of any human presence. None of the countless scenes he had imagined in front of the door had become reality.

Seojeong cautiously entered the room. Just in case, he turned his head toward the bathroom, but the dark, lifeless light indicated Cha Yoon’s absence once again.

Once it was confirmed that Cha Yoon was nowhere to be found, the strength in his tightly clenched fist was released with a sigh of relief.

At the same time as relief, a question mark arose. Where was Cha Yoon? Seojeong checked the time. It had already been over 30 minutes since he had left Cha Yoon in front of the gate and returned to the house. Was he still there? Seojeong reflexively turned his eyes toward the window. Not stopping there, he even shifted his body as if he wanted to look outside immediately.

“…Ki Seojeong, what exactly are you trying to do.”

Muttering to himself, Seojeong let out a hollow laugh. He had been lingering around the house because he didn’t want to face Cha Yoon, yet now that Cha Yoon wasn’t in the room, he couldn’t stay still, his body heating with worry.

Seojeong deliberately turned his body and went to his own bed. Whatever Cha Yoon was doing and wherever he was, it wasn’t Seojeong’s concern. He just had to go to sleep. That was all.

Climbing onto the bed, Seojeong lay down. Even as he tossed and turned like someone uncomfortable with the bedding, his eyes kept drifting to Cha Yoon’s empty bed. Helplessly, he turned on his side, putting his back to Cha Yoon’s bed. Since he couldn’t control it by will, he simply blocked his view entirely. Seojeong forced his eyes shut.

Buzz—

What woke Seojeong, who had fallen asleep in the meantime, was the vibration sound ringing by his head. With eyes that wouldn’t open properly, Seojeong barely managed to read the message.

Be sure to apply medicine to the injured area.

The message read in his drowsy state contained words of concern for him. Seojeong naturally thought of someone.

Ah, it’s Yoon.

The drowsiness clouded Ki Seojeong’s reason. So it made him forget reality and inevitably dragged out the desires he had kept tightly hidden.

Seojeong closed his eyes as they were. He simply couldn’t overcome the overwhelming sleep. Even though his vision had gone dark, thoughts of Cha Yoon floated around in his head.

I shouldn’t make Yoon worry, Yoon gets upset when I’m hurt. But where has Yoon gone? Cha Yoon, who never left my side when I was sick, where is he now?

At the continuing thoughts, a sudden sense of dissonance enveloped Seojeong. And as if reading Seojeong’s mind, a voice whispered.

Why are you pretending not to know now? Of course, you and Cha Yoon are already…

Before the answer to the question could be completed, Seojeong cut off the thought. Because he instinctively knew that going any further would shatter the illusion he had painstakingly built and force him to face reality.

It was a meaningless act. Even if he stopped thinking, it wouldn’t undo the breakup with Cha Yoon. Seojeong knew better than anyone that when he opened his eyes, the painful reality would be there again.

But even so, he wanted to deceive himself using drowsiness as an excuse. Even if only for a moment, he wanted to think of Cha Yoon, miss him, and love him without guilt. He wanted to do freely, even if only like this, the things he couldn’t do while awake. That was all.

Seojeong, who had always prioritized reason, decided to follow his instincts for once. Though his throat tightened, he persistently ignored it and curled his body in.

Just before crossing the threshold of reality, Seojeong barely managed to steer his thoughts and desperately recalled the illusion he had created. That he would thank Yoon for worrying about him, that he would pull Yoon into a tight embrace. Picturing things he could never do, he fell back asleep.

It was less than two hours later that Seojeong woke again. Slowly opening his eyes at the rustling sound, he saw a large silhouette.

The movements seemed quite busy, as if doing something. It was the early hours of the morning when even the moon was asleep, so the surroundings were dark, and his hazy mind still felt as if it was wandering in a dream.

That was why. That was why those words slipped out of his mouth.

“…Yoon-ah.”

Dream. The impact that single word carried was so immense.

“…Where did you go, and now you’re back.”

His voice was hoarse and lower than usual, but it was filled with affection so deep it made one’s heart ache. At that brief utterance, the silhouette stopped moving.

“Come here.”

Seojeong shifted his body to make space on the bed. Still, the silhouette stood motionless in its place. After staring at Cha Yoon for a moment, Seojeong tapped the empty space.

“Hm? Hurry up and come.”

Only then did the figure slowly move. When the shadow drew close enough to reach, Seojeong stretched out his arm. He intertwined his fingers with the silhouette’s hand and pulled. The massive silhouette was dragged in helplessly.

In the end, the two lay down on the same bed. A space far too narrow for two sturdy men to lie in. Inevitably, their bodies overlapped. Unlike Seojeong, who pressed close as if familiar, the silhouette—no, Cha Yoon—was completely stiff. Seojeong soothed Cha Yoon like that.

“…Thank you for worrying about me.”

Pat pat, a ticklish sound was heard rhythmically. With each pat of Seojeong’s hand on his back, warmth seemed to transfer, and Cha Yoon’s body gradually heated up.

“Goodnight, Yoon-ah.”

Seojeong whispered softly with his eyes closed. Just having his name called was enough to leave Cha Yoon unable to do anything, as if his entire body were bound tight.

Before long, along with the sound of steady breathing, the patting motion ceased. When the patting sound stopped, what filled the space was the sound of Cha Yoon’s heart.

Thump, thump, thump.

A sound far faster and louder, more than enough to fill the void and overflow, rang out.

“…Fuck, what is this.”

Cha Yoon muttered with a face flushed bright red. He couldn’t accept the situation that had unfolded in an instant. Why was his heart beating like this and acting up? Blaming his innocent heart, Cha Yoon was unable to relax his stiff body for a long time.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Wow…”

Inside the control room, Hyeyoon, the youngest writer who had been watching the fixed camera screen for the preview, took off her headset. The two cast members who had been marked as people to watch from the first day due to their explosive conversation had caused another incident in just one day.

Hyeyoon read down the sleep talk of Seojeong she had transcribed once more. Yoon-ah. Where did you go, and now you’re back. Come here. Hm? Hurry up… Hyeyoon couldn’t finish reading and closed her eyes. Even though she had only read the text, the scene she had seen moments ago vividly replayed before her eyes.

Can this even air? This isn’t America, it’s Korea? Hyeyoon rubbed her forehead with a complicated expression.

“Why, what’s the problem this time?”