Chapter 294: BACK AT THE SHIP

INITIALLY that particular post was largely ignored. Lost in the flood of other posts, it hardly caught anyone’s attention. But then, slowly, people started to notice it. A few comments trickled in. Then it was shared once, twice, and then a handful of times. The shares just kept multiplying, from dozens to hundreds, and then into the thousands. Within hours the post was all over the internet, spreading from platform to platform and igniting fierce arguments everywhere.

- Wait, so Jeon Hyunsik is the son of a pharmaceutical chaebol? That explains a lot.

└ His family probably used their money to cover up his crimes. That’s why he was never caught before.

└└ Exactly. And now that a bigger chaebol is involved, his family’s money doesn’t work anymore.

- I don’t believe this. You can’t just post something like this without solid proof.

└ The poster said to look it up yourself. There are photos out there.

└└ I just checked. There’s literally a photo of Jeon Hyunsik with the Chairman of Jeon Pharmaceuticals at some charity gala. Their resemblance made it obvious that they’re father and son.

└└└ That still doesn’t prove he did what the post is accusing him of.

- This is insane. If this is true, then Jeon Hyunsik is a monster.

└ The way he acted on the show always seemed a little off to me. I thought it was just editing, but now I’m not so sure.

- His fans are going to have a hard time defending him after this.

└ Some of them are still in denial. I’ve seen them calling this a smear campaign.

└└ A smear campaign? The show literally kicked him out. That doesn’t happen for no reason.

- We finally know why he was removed from the show. And honestly, this is worse than I expected.

└ I’m just glad he’s apprehended. I hope justice will be served for all of his victims.

- This post is clearly fake. Someone is just trying to ruin Hyunsik’s reputation.

└ Oh please. What reason would anyone have to make up something this detailed?

└└ You’d be surprised. People do crazy things for attention.

└└└ So we’re just going to ignore the fact that the news report literally matches what the poster said?

- The fact that his family threatened those victims into silence makes me sick.

└ This is why rich people think they can get away with anything.

- I always knew there was something wrong with him. The way he looked at Haneul gave me the creeps.

└ Right? I thought I was the only one who noticed.

└└ I noticed too, but I thought I was overthinking it. Turns out my gut feeling was right.

└ Oh my god, can you people stop clout-chasing? We’re not even sure yet if this was really referring to Jeon Hyunsik and you’re already connecting it to Kang Haneul?

- This is why I never trust chaebol kids. They think they’re above the law.

└ Not all of them are like that. But the ones who do make the rest look bad.

- How can people still defend him after reading this? The evidence is right there.

└ Some fans will defend their bias no matter what. It’s honestly sad.

└└ That’s called willful ignorance. And it’s really annoying.

└ What evidence are you talking about? All of these are just hearsay.

***

While heated arguments continued online, let’s rewind a few hours to when Haneul returned to the ship. The PD and the staff who had driven them back made a point to discreetly bring Haneul and Taeyang on board without drawing attention. It wasn’t difficult, since most of the contestants were in the dining hall having lunch at that hour. So, they managed to slip in unnoticed.

The first thing Haneul did when he got back to his cabin was take a hot shower. He hadn’t been able to wash up since yesterday, and the sweat from the mission, along with the sweat from his heat, had long since dried on his skin. He hadn’t really noticed it at first, too distracted by everything that had been happening. But on the ride back to the ship, he’d become acutely aware of it and felt immediately uncomfortable.

As he washed himself with his favorite body wash, his mind drifted back to what the PD had told him and Taeyang during the ride back. The program would prepare a private room on the ship where the two of them could meet and exchange pheromones. It would be tucked away in a part of the ship that contestants rarely visited, and they would make sure there were no cameras inside or nearby.

That was a relief for Haneul. He’d been wondering how he and Taeyang were supposed to meet regularly over the next month without raising suspicion. So knowing the PD had already arranged a private space for them took a weight off his shoulders.

He let out a sigh, thinking about how the next month would go. But he quickly shook it off and lightly tapped both his cheeks. This was fine. This was the best possible outcome from that whole mess. It’s just... his face grew warm at the thought of him and Taeyang meeting up to exchange pheromones. How were they even supposed to do that? Would just holding hands be enough? Or would it require something more? Like h-hug... or k-ki--

No. He wasn’t going to think about that right now. He still had the rest of today to not worry about it. He could save the worrying for tomorrow.

Just as Haneul finished showering and dried himself off with a towel, an announcement echoed through the ship.

[Attention all contestants. The Argo will be departing soon. Our next destination is Mokpo, and we are expected to arrive in about five hours. Please take this time to rest and prepare for the next mission.]

Haneul pulled on a fresh pair of sweats. So they were setting sail now? That made sense. They were already behind schedule, so it wasn’t surprising they left as soon as he and Taeyang were back on board.

That’s when he heard a knock at the door, followed by a familiar voice. "Haneul, are you in there?"