Chapter 133

“А business gay performance.”

It was the kind of choice that would put a question mark in the minds of everyone except Yo Han and Gyeol—the production staff, network personnel, and viewers alike.

Then again, that had probably been true from the moment Yo Han included a business gay performance among the three options. Gyeol could easily imagine how viewers and online forums would react.

It was an old, nostalgic term people hardly used anymore.

Even in idol fandoms, it only surfaced from time to time because there was no exact substitute. Who could possibly have imagined it appearing on a dating show?

So even after Gyeol chose the business gay performance, people would have no idea what the two of them were actually planning to do.

They were going to put on a business gay performance on a dating show—not express genuine interest, but pretend to be interested in each other?

Even old-school idol RPF would not go this far. So what, were the two of them about to start some spectacular fake romance from this moment onward? The forums would be buzzing and swarming with noise the instant the episode aired.

“Really? So options one and three are out?”

Yo Han asked with an easy expression, smiling softly. It was a deep and intoxicating smile, like crema dissolving almost instantly over a shot of espresso.

“I suppose so.”

“That’s a shame.”

But from Gyeol’s perspective, option two had effectively been the only choice.

Of course, R-Connect junkies whose brains had been steeped in dopamine after years of loving the show—people no longer fazed by ordinary physical contact—would probably ask whether option one, the kiss, was not actually the lightest choice.

There had been countless kisses throughout the previous seasons of R-Connect. At this point, they were practically at the level of a peck when saying hello and another when saying goodbye. Pressing their lips together might have been the safest way to move on without creating much of an issue.

But not for Gyeol.

To him, kissing Yo Han was not something that would end after their lips touched once.

That was partly because of the past, but not solely because of the past.

It was a river he should not cross. Yo Han, with all his twisted tendencies, had already ambushed him with a kiss once where no one could see, but it would be entirely different for Gyeol to choose the kiss himself.

It felt as though something would become irreversible.

At the same time, it would feel like losing to Yo Han.

Besides, this was the point where he needed to remind himself of his original objective. Gyeol dreamed of using this program to relaunch his career. To achieve that, whether the attention was good or bad, he needed to choose the option that would create the most buzz and provoke the strongest reaction.

He could not choose a kiss that might quietly disappear without making waves, especially when it would feel as though he had personally given away so much.

Of course, if he considered publicity alone, he could have chosen the third option.

Yo Han Sung had appeared on a dating show and confessed to an unknown actor who had once been a failed idol.

That premise alone would cause an uproar. If the unknown actor then accepted the confession and started dating him before the show had even ended, Gyeol Go’s name would immediately be linked with Yo Han Sung’s and dominate public opinion throughout South Korea. The news would also spread gradually among international fans interested in Korean culture.

But he could not choose the third option.

Contradictorily, his promise to Sun played a major role in that decision.

Through his conversation with Sun, Gyeol had made up his mind. He would not abandon sincerity merely to satisfy his own selfishness. For the sake of the person who had accepted him exactly as he was, he would look directly at his own feelings and act honestly.

Thinking of Sun made the area around his chest sting. No matter how conflicted he felt, dwelling on Sun at that moment would be disrespectful to everyone involved. Gyeol pushed the thought aside.

“You don’t like it?”

“You ask me that surprisingly often.”

‘Do I? Is it some kind of habit of mine?’

Gyeol searched his memory, but nothing in particular came to mind.

There was no way for him to know it was evidence of how closely Yo Han attended to every word Gyeol said and engraved each one in his memory.

“You don’t have to ask what I want.”

“...You keep saying things that don’t sound like you. I can’t get used to it.”

“I don’t know. You have the right to treat me that way, and I’m in a position where I deserve it.”

Once again, a gap opened in their conversation, filled with invisible words only the two of them could read.

At the self-deprecating remark, Gyeol simply nodded calmly.

“Even so, we’re probably the only people who would openly do a business gay performance on a dating show...”

The future looked painfully uncertain. Gyeol frowned slightly as he spoke.

Yo Han gave a quiet laugh and held out his hand.

“I look forward to working with you, Gyeol.”

Gyeol truly had no idea what they were doing.

‘So from now on, are we supposed to stay attached to each other while “pretending” to be interested?’

“...Likewise.”

But there was one important truth. This choice was not merely the result of Gyeol calculating every possible method for his own success.

His heart genuinely leaned toward it.

It was time to admit it.

The person who confused his feelings more than anyone else right now was Yo Han Sung.

Whether that confusion was the admiration and excitement from three years ago, the resentment and hurt that followed, the hatred he had felt when the program began, the inexplicable relief he felt toward the person who knew all his secrets, or some emotion he could not yet fully recognize, hidden inside the place where all those feelings had intertwined—

‘Whether you are truly the worst thing in my life or merely the lesser evil.’

Gyeol sincerely wanted to uncover where this emotion would lead.

Once the contestants gathered in the lounge again, they made a simple brunch with potatoes, pork, cabbage, onions, and packaged rice.

“I don’t see Hanseul.”

“He said he was going to rest at the lodging. He didn’t seem to be feeling well.”

Hee Jun answered Tommy’s question with an uncomfortable expression.

“Oh, then we should cook something and bring it to him.”

“Hmm... He did say he didn’t feel like eating.”

Hee Jun’s face darkened as he carefully chose his words.

“Jaekyung, is Hanseul really sick?”

Gyujin asked mischievously as he entered carrying a basket piled high with peeled potatoes. Jaekyung, who was lowering packages of rice into boiling water, answered dryly as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

“Yeah, well. That’s what he said.”

Apparently, the distance between Hanseul and Jaekyung had widened even further.

Standing between them and sautéing cabbage in oil, Gyeol realized Hanseul was not absent simply because he felt unwell.

‘The way Gyujin asked that means the three of them probably didn’t go off to talk together.’

But when Gyeol and Sun returned, Yo Han had been the only one left in the lounge.

‘...Hanseul isn’t the kind of person who would leave Yo Han alone.’

Gyeol’s gaze drifted toward Yo Han outside the lounge.

Yo Han and Sun had rolled up their sleeves and were splitting firewood under the blazing sun. They said they were preparing it ahead of time for the evening.

‘Maybe Hanseul had already talked to Yo Han before Sun and I got back...’

Crack!

Yo Han’s ax came down, splitting the log with a heavy, powerful sound.

“Let me have it, Yo Han.”

“Sure.”

Yo Han handed the ax to Sun and yielded his turn. Exhaling, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

Then he suddenly looked in Gyeol’s direction.

Startled, Gyeol snapped his gaze down to the frying pan. For no reason, he even set down the spatula and began jerking the pan like a wok. The cabbage repeatedly flew into the air and rained back into the pan.

“Ooh.”

Tommy, who was standing nearby cutting pork, reacted immediately.

Hee Jun and Isu joined in, saying Gyeol looked like he was really good at cooking.

‘That was pointless. I wasn’t trying to attract attention, but after doing something so ridiculous, now I look desperate to be noticed.’

“...It’s nothing.”

A quiet chuckle reached his ears.

It was Yo Han laughing.

‘Business gay performance or not, maybe I should take this frying pan outside and dump the cabbage over Yo Han’s head.’

‘No. I should think of it as part of the business gay performance—as though I’m giving the handsome bastard an extra helping of freshly sautéed, scorching-hot cabbage.’

“Gyeol.”

Snap.

At the sound of fingers snapping, Gyeol raised his head.

Jun stood at the counter with the onions he had chopped.

“Don’t overdo it.”

His expression was calm and flat.

Gyeol could not remember the last time they had spoken directly.

“Okay, thanks. You’re adding those, right?”

“Yeah. Can you sauté them with the cabbage?”

“Of course.”

The cabbage Jun had chopped fell into the frying pan. He quietly watched Gyeol cook the vegetables, then asked in a casual tone,

“Isn’t it hard? It looks hot. Should I do it?”

“Forget it. You expect me to trust you with this? I’d sooner leave fire in a cat’s care.”

The words slipped out naturally because the suggestion was so absurd. In the past, whenever Jun stood in front of a stove, he had burned everything in the frying pan.

“I’m better than I used to be. Give it here.”

As he spoke, Jun moved in beside Gyeol. Caught off guard, Gyeol awkwardly stepped back and yielded the stove to him.

Jun had been telling the truth. His skills had improved considerably.

Of course they had. Several years had passed. Jun was the leader of Moving and one of its oldest members, so perhaps he had learned to cook for the younger members.

‘Is he doing better now?’

Unable to leave the counter entirely, Gyeol shifted aside and searched for something else to do while glancing at Jun’s profile.

Jun had clearly not recovered enough to regain his usual playful energy, but his complexion looked much better.

Gyeol felt relieved. He had deliberately kept his distance, but he could not help worrying about him.

***

The third pheromone matching will now begin. However, this pheromone matching will offer a different reward instead of the usual timed booth. The couple who successfully matches will receive... A date pass to Ivory Mansion.