The Probability of Meeting Your Ex on a Straight Dating Show Chapter 32

The conversation was subtly off-key yet oddly fitting. Yeo Jiyoon thought to herself that a single word could have such an effect, but Ki Seojeong, through his conversation with Yeo Jiyoon, became certain that it was she who had given him the ointment.

“Ah, right. Hold on, Mr. Seojeong!”

Jiyoon, who had been fidgeting with the shopping bag of chocolates, suddenly dashed into her room. Before long, Yeo Jiyoon came back out with a cardigan in her hands.

“I wore it so warmly and comfortably yesterday, thanks to you, Mr. Seojeong.”

Yeo Jiyoon greeted him as she handed back Ki Seojeong’s cardigan, which was roomy in size. Seojeong took the cardigan and smiled.

“But… I didn’t prepare anything like this—what should I do.”

Yeo Jiyoon smiled sheepishly, somehow looking apologetic. It was because she felt she ought to do something in return, having received chocolates separately for just a single word of concern. Ki Seojeong looked at Yeo Jiyoon’s expression and let out a light laugh.

“It’s nothing, Mr. Jiyoon. I bought it because I wanted to. Your giving me the ointment is more than enough.”

“Then I’m glad. I’ll really, really enjoy these.”

“Yes. See you at dinner later.”

Ki Seojeong turned around with a smile on his face. Then, feeling a chill for some reason, he looked back. Not far away, Cha Yoon was standing there.

The Cha Yoon who had been speaking quite warmly that morning was nowhere to be found—anger blazed in his eyes instead. Evening comes and he’s making that face again. Ki Seojeong, unable to hide his bewilderment, met Cha Yoon’s eyes for a moment and let out a heavy sigh.

Starting an argument here would only make things uncomfortable for himself. Ki Seojeong avoided the gaze emanating from Cha Yoon and went into his room.

Left standing alone, Cha Yoon swept his bangs up.

“…This is fucking absurd?”

A hollow laugh escaped through his teeth. Thinking of Ki Seojeong, who had brushed past him and ignored him, Cha Yoon clenched his fist. A series of events that had unfolded throughout the day passed before his eyes like a panorama.

What the hell is that bastard Ki Seojeong up to? Cha Yoon was dumbfounded and exasperated.

Just this morning, it was that very Ki Seojeong who had called him by the cringey nickname “Yoon-ah,” hugged him, and done all kinds of crazy things. And then, come evening, as if he’d been waiting for it, he trotted right over to another woman and handed her chocolates.

I’m the one who gave him the medicine—so why is he thanking some random woman? Is he pretending not to know, or is he just stupid… No matter how he thought about it, it pissed him off.

Ki Seojeong had even lent his cardigan to a woman. And not just any cardigan—the one he had been wearing himself, reeking of his own scent.

Of course, Ki Seojeong’s careless actions didn’t actually hurt him in any way. After all, to him, Ki Seojeong was a person of no significance whatsoever.

The same went for what had happened at dawn. It was just a hug at most. As if a single hug with another guy would make him tremble—that didn’t make any sense. He was just a normal man attracted to women. Though he might have been with a man in a past he couldn’t remember, at any rate, now he was that way.

So the fact that his heart raced, his mind went blank, and he had stayed by Ki Seojeong’s side for over an hour—that was merely because he was surprised. Literally surprised by the sudden situation. That was why he couldn’t do anything and just held his breath. Yes, that was all it was.

Though Cha Yoon clearly appeared to have been affected, he couldn’t admit it and rationalized it to himself.

Once the mental victory was complete, what followed was a stream of harsh words about Ki Seojeong.

Come to think of it, Ki Seojeong had always been that kind of person. Someone who, the moment their lover—who had been injured in both head and body from an accident—woke up, discarded them as if it were a bother. And without even taking a proper period to mourn the breakup, as if he had been waiting, showed up on a show like this.

And that wasn’t all. Not content with that, like a fish in water, he was busy flirting with other women—in short, a piece of trash that could neither be reformed nor recycled. That was Ki Seojeong.

What the hell was the person appearing on this show alongside Ki Seojeong even doing? Didn’t they think to rein him in after seeing that sight? If it were me, I’d have made sure Ki Seojeong couldn’t lay eyes on anyone. No, I wouldn’t have even entertained the thought of appearing somewhere like this in the first place.

As thoughts spiraled one after another, sparks flew in all directions. And then back to square one.

Cha Yoon felt as though his entire body was ablaze. The fact that Ki Seojeong didn’t even properly know who had given him the medicine, yet was blindly thinking about getting along with that woman, was infuriating no matter how he looked at it. Setting everything else aside, it seemed he needed to correct at least that misunderstanding.

After standing still for a few minutes to compose himself, Cha Yoon went up to the second floor, threw open the door, and entered the room. From the bathroom attached to the room came the sound of water. For an instant, Cha Yoon recalled Seojeong’s body from the time he’d seen it before and irritably shook his head.

Now that he was here, he needed to say it clearly. Cha Yoon planned to declare to Ki Seojeong that the ointment he had so gladly received wasn’t from Yeo Jiyoon—it was from him. So stop dreaming false hopes and get a grip. Sitting on the bed, he gritted his teeth as he listened to the sound of water soaking Ki Seojeong’s body.

But the longer the waiting time stretched, the more a doubt arose in Cha Yoon’s mind—a doubt as to whether it was right to reveal that the one who had bought and given that medicine was himself.

To be more honest, he was embarrassed. The moment he said it was something he had bought and left there, Ki Seojeong would also come to know that he had been worried.

Fuck, why did I go out of my way to buy medicine for someone who treats playing with other people’s feelings like a daily routine? For a bastard like that, who discards people when he gets sick of them and is only good at playing nice—why the hell.

“…Fucking hell.”

Cha Yoon muttered quietly. It was exactly that. He felt absolutely fucking terrible.

As Cha Yoon irritably swept his hair back, his eyes caught the medicine pouch. Seeing the neatly placed medicine pouch made his teeth grind together. It vividly brought back the image of himself wandering the streets late at night, searching for a 24-hour pharmacy. Why on earth had he done something so unlike him, something that didn’t suit him at all.

Cha Yoon’s face burned with embarrassment. He couldn’t just leave that medicine pouch—the very source of it all—sitting there untouched.

With a thud, the medicine pouch fell into the empty trash can. It had been crumpled up by Cha Yoon. Cha Yoon left the room just like that.

Then he turned back and firmly closed the door. Even in the middle of all this, the thought that someone else might accidentally see Ki Seojeong’s body just as he had made his blood boil. The sigh Cha Yoon let out was laced with anger.

Before long, Seojeong came out of the bathroom, lightly towel-drying his wet hair. The bruised area was taking on an even bluer tinge as time passed. Clicking his tongue, Seojeong walked over to the bedside table.

It was around then that he sensed something was off. Seojeong furrowed his brow. The tabletop was clean and empty. Rolling his eyes, he saw that the trash can was now filled, unlike before.

“…”

Inside it, the medicine pouch was crumpled and shoved in unceremoniously. After staring at the trash can for a long while, Seojeong ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth. So he didn’t even want to see the medicine being applied. The meaning was so clear that he let out a hollow laugh.

He hadn’t even expected anyone to buy him medicine. But there was no need to go this far.

Somehow, a stubborn streak rose up in him. Seojeong fished the medicine pouch out of the trash can, took out the ointment, and slathered it thickly over the injured area.

Knock, knock. Seojeong, who had been staring at his glossy wrist, looked up at the sound of a knock. Before long, the door opened.

“Mr. Seojeong, come out and have dinner.”

“Yes, I’ll be right out.”

It was Jeong Suho who had poked his head in. Seojeong pulled down the sleeves he had rolled up and left the room.

Dinner was no different from usual. People laughing and chattering, and in their midst, Cha Yoon making his foul mood known as much as possible.

Those who had been on edge watching Cha Yoon on the first day now seemed used to it and left him alone. Seojeong likewise joined that camp. Though a persistent gaze clung to his profile, Seojeong stubbornly looked straight ahead.

As dinner wound down, Minwook clapped his hands to draw attention.

“Shall we start having dessert now?”

“Great! Anyone want coffee?”

“I’ll have alcohol instead of coffee. If I drink caffeine in the evening, I can’t sleep.”

“I’ll have champagne too. It’d be lonely for Mr. Saeyeong to drink alone.”

At Saeyeong’s words, Jua winked and replied. Coffee cups and glasses were placed where the dishes had been cleared. Minwook set the macarons on the dining table.