The Probability of Meeting Your Ex on a Straight Dating Show Chapter 28

Approaching and speaking was the main writer, Seo Yumin. She glanced over Hyeyoon’s laptop screen, where the cursor was still blinking, and only then understood Hyeyoon’s strange behavior.

“Our little treasures have finally caused an incident.”

It’s certain that something happened between those two. Muttering to herself like a soliloquy, Seo Yumin nodded as if agreeing with her own words. Watching Yumin, Hyeyoon was simply restless. She was worried about the reactions of Seo Yumin and Director Kim Seohyo, who were broadcasters through and through.

“Um, Writer… In my opinion, this shouldn’t be aired…”

“What, you think it shouldn’t be aired?”

When the senior asked with a smirk, Hyeyoon cautiously answered yes.

“After all, this is Korea. Even for the protection of the cast members…”

“Right.”

“Yes, I also know that buzz is important, of course… Wait, yes?”

“For now, let’s not air it and keep it on hold.”

“Oh, really?”

Hyeyoon, who had expected a definite no, widened her eyes in surprise at the unexpected answer.

“What, did you think I’d say we have to air it no matter what?”

“It’s not that, but…”

“Don’t worry. No matter how crazy Seohyo PD and I are about broadcasting, we’re not low enough to ruin someone else’s life.”

That wasn’t what I meant…. Hyeyoon bowed her head in apology. Seo Yumin patted Hyeyoon’s slightly drooping shoulder and spoke playfully.

“Hyeyoon, but don’t throw away the preview—make sure to write it down well.”

“Yes?”

“Who knows? They might become the final couple and we can properly milk it for all it’s worth in the behind-the-scenes content.”

“Yes, I will… Wait, final couple?”

‘Final couple’ was an abbreviation for the final couple. Startled, Hyeyoon urgently asked toward Seo Yumin, who was getting up.

“Writer, could two men actually become the final couple on our show?!”

“Why not? As long as the broadcast is entertaining and comes out well, anything goes.”

Seo Yumin beamed as if it were obvious. It was the typical mindset of broadcasting people.

∞ ∞ ∞

At the buzzing sound, Seojeong, who had been deep in sleep, reflexively reached out and picked up his phone. What woke Seojeong was the alarm he had set the day before. Turning off the ringing alarm, Ki Seojeong sat up.

Perhaps it was because fatigue had accumulated. Contrary to his expectation that he would have trouble sleeping, he felt refreshed, as if he had slept soundly. He seemed to have had a pleasant dream, but no matter how hard he tried to recall it, he couldn’t remember a thing.

Pressing his aching eyes as if massaging them, Seojeong glanced to the side. His gaze naturally stopped at Cha Yoon’s bed. The bedding, neatly arranged just like the previous night, showed no signs of use, as if no one had ever lain there.

Seojeong furrowed his brow slightly. Surely he hadn’t come into the room at all since yesterday? While he was making his own conjectures, an unfamiliar object caught his eye.

He picked up a plastic bag placed on the bedside table. The bag labeled ’24-Hour Pharmacy’ was filled with various things, starting with bruise ointment, followed by pain patches, bandages, and other miscellaneous items.

“…”

A bag of medicine that someone had definitely left behind. Someone who knew he was injured. Seojeong thought of Cha Yoon. At the same time, strength went into the hand holding the bag. The bag rustled and crumpled with a sound.

Seojeong’s face was filled with a mix of emotions. Just as he was floundering in indescribable feelings, another phone vibration pulled him back to reality. At this hour, the only place that would contact him was work.

Carefully putting down the bag as if it were a precious item, Seojeong picked up his phone.

“…Huh?”

Seojeong, who was about to check his colleague’s message, couldn’t help but pause. It was because of the screen he saw as soon as he turned on his phone.

Be sure to apply medicine to the injured area. (22:56)

Your X did not choose you.

Had he checked it while half-asleep? The NAEKBU app was open on the screen. As Seojeong read the message, trying to recall what he didn’t remember, his expression gradually hardened.

Because he had realized the meaning of the message.

One fact he had temporarily forgotten came to mind. The name of another person who knew he was injured.

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

‘I think there’s a first-aid kit in the house—see if there’s any bruise ointment and put that on, Mr. Seojeong.’

Yeo Jiyoon’s voice from the terrace the previous day passed through his mind. Suddenly, Seojeong let out a laugh. It was an expression that didn’t look happy at all. The heart that had been infused with expectation was dragged down into the mud in an instant.

Thinking about it, it was an assumption that didn’t make sense from the start. It was Cha Yoon, of all people. He might double the pain, but he wasn’t the type to prepare medicine. Especially not for someone like him, who had no feelings whatsoever, who was nothing more than an unwanted past.

Knowing that, his own pathetic self, trying to nurture greed over a single small clue, was utterly laughable. Seojeong looked down at the medicine bag sitting alone on the bed. Regardless of gratitude, the bag now held no meaning for Seojeong. Simply because the identity of the one who left it had changed.

He poured out all the medicine inside. After looking at the ointments that spilled out in a tumble, he soon moved his hands mechanically.

∞ ∞ ∞

Having finished preparing for work, Seojeong opened the door and went down the stairs. Perhaps because he had come out a little later than the previous day, Song Jua was nowhere to be seen in the living room. Crossing the quiet living room, Ki Seojeong headed straight for the entrance.

He wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible before running into anyone. Just as Seojeong, having neatly arranged his removed slippers, was about to step outside—

Right before Seojeong grabbed the front door handle, the door lock clicked open and the front door swung open. Seojeong reflexively stepped back.

The person who opened the door and entered was Cha Yoon.

Their eyes met in the air. Even though he was the person he most wanted to avoid right now, Ki Seojeong habitually scanned Cha Yoon’s face.

Among his sweat-soaked face, as if he had just finished exercising, what caught Seojeong’s eye were Cha Yoon’s bloodshot eyes. Seojeong frowned slightly.

On days when Cha Yoon lacked sleep, blood vessels would invariably appear in his eyes.

So what those red eyes indicated was one thing: that Cha Yoon really hadn’t come into the room last night. It was the moment conjecture turned into certainty.

Cha Yoon, who had been trailing after him persistently, trying to protect Song Jua from him. He must have been angry enough to barely stand it, since Seojeong had sent that message despite his efforts, rendering them useless. He might have found it so unbearable to be in the same room that he couldn’t stand the sight of him. Thinking that way, everything made sense.

Cha Yoon had given up sleep because he didn’t want to be near him. And yet he had thought such a person had bought medicine for him. Thinking back, he was so stupid he laughed. What significance could his being hurt possibly have to Cha Yoon.

Yet at the same time, he was worried. Because he knew that on sleepless days, Cha Yoon would be more subdued than usual. He could picture Cha Yoon struggling all day today.

But Seojeong had no right. Worrying about Cha Yoon wasn’t Seojeong’s role. It was Song Jua’s.

Seojeong, who had been opening and closing his mouth as if about to say something, pressed his lips into a straight line. All that was permitted to Seojeong was this kind of silence.

It was Ki Seojeong who looked away first from the prolonged eye contact. If they stayed like this, he didn’t know when his insides would twist and an argument would break out. So it was better to leave this place as quickly as possible. Just as he was about to pass Cha Yoon and open the front door—

“Ahem. …Are you leaving now?”

After an awkward clearing of the throat, a voice lower than usual flowed from him.

For a moment, Ki Seojeong thought he had misheard. He had considered the possibility that Cha Yoon might speak to him first. That was precisely why he had tried to leave quickly.

But he had thought it would only be the foundation of another fight. Not a normal, friendly greeting like ‘Are you leaving now?’

Blinking his eyes, Seojeong slowly turned his head. The expression on Cha Yoon’s face, who had asked the question, was also strange.

Seojeong couldn’t accept Cha Yoon’s words at face value. Is he preparing a new kind of provocation? He raised his guard and observed Cha Yoon.

“Yes.”