Chapter 32

“Gyeol. Did you sleep well last night?”

“Sun Choi.”

Sun was dressed in a thin navy summer knit shirt with short sleeves and loose denim shorts that fell to his knees.

Gyeol had seen plenty of people dress similarly, but a national swimmer’s body was definitely different. The knit stretched tightly across his upper body, showing off his broad shoulders and chest perfectly. His exposed calves beneath the shorts looked unusually long and thick.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but Sun seemed more dressed up than usual today. The hairstyle with his forehead exposed gave off a completely different feeling too.

“You really surprised me. I never would’ve expected this.”

“Right. I was surprised this morning too.”

“What about the person who was here?”

“Ah, Yo Han Sung also left for a brunch date. With another Omega.”

I see. You really can’t let your guard down on R-Connect.

Still, eating with Sun instead of the difficult Yo Han was undeniably a good thing.

When Gyeol smiled messily in relief, the tips of Sun’s ears turned slightly red.

“Please... sit over here.”

Moving stiffly, Sun pulled out Gyeol’s chair for him.

“Ah, thank you.”

The table was covered in appetizing food. Thick slices of sugar-coated French toast, croffles topped with ice cream, plump eggs Benedict, scones with various jams and butter, even strawberry tarts. Drinks ranging from coffee to juice and tea were laid out as well.

“Oh, French toast.”

“...Yes. French toast.”

Repeating Gyeol’s words back to him, Sun sat down.

“This makes it the second French toast I’ve had with you, Sun.”

“Yes. Our second French toast.”

Gyeol let out a small laugh at Sun parroting him again.

“Why are you so nervous? You seem even more nervous than before.”

It was refreshing and amusing. The man who boldly declared he would pursue Gyeol in front of everyone completely fell apart whenever they were alone together.

“Ivory Mansion is even more overwhelming than I imagined....”

“It’s really glamorous, right? So you’re nervous because of the location, then?”

Resting his chin on one hand, Gyeol gazed steadily at Sun.

Sunlight filtered across Gyeol’s face and lingered along its curves. His clean skin shimmered softly like reflected light on water. His gentle smile and crescent-shaped eyes pulled at Sun’s gaze.

Today especially, Gyeol looked unbelievably beautiful.

Sun realized it was because Gyeol’s forehead was exposed today, making his eyes stand out more sharply. Suddenly, it became even harder to maintain eye contact.

“No.”

He did not want to keep acting this stupid.

If possible, he wanted to show Gyeol his cool side.

But whenever he ended up alone with Gyeol, something inside him kept malfunctioning.

Still, he had to say what needed to be said. This opportunity had not come easily.

Sun filled Gyeol’s glass with orange juice. Then he slid his own glass closer and poured it full of milk as well.

Gyeol laughed softly.

As though answering that laughter, Sun lifted his eyes and met Gyeol’s gaze directly.

“The only person who makes me nervous is you, Gyeol.”

That line carried quite a bit of force.

Even Gyeol, who had laughed off everything until now, felt his chest stir for a moment.

Unable to respond immediately, he hurriedly changed the subject.

“...Blood sugar! Spike. Will you be okay today too?”

“I’ll be fine. ...Can I be honest?”

About what?

Gyeol paused mid-motion while pouring iced Americano into a cup full of ice for Sun.

When Gyeol nodded, Sun once again looked directly into his eyes and spoke.

“When I’m with you, Gyeol, it feels like my blood sugar keeps spiking.”

“Huh?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Caught completely off guard, Gyeol burst into loud laughter.

“No, wait. You mean that in a good way, right? Blood sugar spikes aren’t actually good for you.”

“...Eating sweet things makes people happy, doesn’t it? It’s kind of similar. It even makes you feel a little lightheaded.”

Whether that was scientifically correct or not did not really matter.

“Mm, so what you mean is... being with me makes you feel good, like eating sweets? Is that right?”

“......Yes.”

With his ears burning bright red, Sun answered firmly and nodded. He looked like an employee giving a formal answer to his boss.

Smiling, Gyeol picked up his fork and knife. He pulled the French toast closer.

As repayment for last time, he wanted to cut the toast for Sun himself this time. Of course, the fact that he still did not trust the man who had practically massacred the toast before was an open secret.

“I feel the same way.”

“...?”

Scritch, scritch.

As Gyeol cut into the toast and spoke, Sun froze halfway through reaching out for the fork and knife.

“I feel good when I’m with you too, Sun. It’s fun.”

“...Ah.”

There he goes freezing again.

Is he even human? Or is he a robot?

Every single thing Gyeol said made this huge handsome man short-circuit. How could that not be entertaining?

“I’ll cut the toast for you. Last time, you murdered it, so now it’s my turn.”

“......Murdered. Yes.”

Sun awkwardly withdrew his hand. Maybe his throat had gone dry, because he gulped down his iced Americano.

Gyeol placed the neatly cut toast in front of him. Unlike the disaster Sun created last time, the pieces were clean and tidy and looked delicious.

“So we ended up having brunch dates twice in a row. At this rate, what if we even end up on the next brunch date together?”

As a joke, Gyeol speared a large piece with his fork and held it out toward Sun.

Sun accepted the fork with both hands and stuffed the huge piece into his mouth in one bite.

Gyeol had noticed this for a while now.

Sun had an enormous appetite.

He ate large amounts quickly and without hesitation. Older people would probably adore someone like him.

Gyeol himself was a picky eater, so he envied him a little. And strangely enough, watching Sun eat always made Gyeol hungrier too.

Quietly watching him, Gyeol picked up a piece himself and bit into the corner.

“The next brunch date too.”

“Mm, yes.”

After swallowing his food, Sun answered.

Quietly, he stabbed another piece of French toast with his fork.

“Yes. The next brunch date will be mine too. And I’ll have it with you, Gyeol.”

Suddenly, he held the toast out toward Gyeol.

Just like during their first date.

Something tickled strangely near Gyeol’s chest.

He bit down lightly on the inside of his cheek.

Because those words stirred up memories of someone buried deep in the past.

Someone who had treated Gyeol unconditionally well.

Someone who kept expressing his feelings steadily, regardless of how Gyeol responded.

Sun was not the first person to approach Gyeol like this.

Kisoo says we should break up.

His first love.

...Then we should break up.

I said I can’t.

What?

I can’t break up with you. I’m not breaking up with you.

That person was on this island right now.

...I don’t want to hold you back. And I don’t want you holding me back either.

Don’t say things like that. How are you holding me back?

The face that had burst into tears still remained vivid in his mind.

Jun Shin.

I like you, Gyeol.

.......

I really like you. So don’t abandon me.

Why was he suddenly remembering that now of all times?

Thinking about Jun Shin while sitting here with Sun was unfair to Sun too.

Shaking off the fragments of the past, Gyeol reached out to take the fork.

But Sun did not hand it over.

Instead, Gyeol’s hand landed awkwardly atop the back of Sun’s hand. Warmth spread from Sun’s skin to the tips of Gyeol’s fingers.

It was as hot as Sun’s ears, which had remained red the entire time.

“The next Ivory Mansion date too. You’ll come with me.”

Their eyes collided directly.

For some reason, unease seized Gyeol, and he could not look away from that unwavering gaze.

“Eat.”

Sun did not pressure him for an answer.

After cleanly saying what he wanted to say, he simply tilted the fork and held the toast near Gyeol’s mouth.

Slowly, Gyeol withdrew his hand.

After hesitating briefly, he lowered his head and accepted the toast with his mouth.

Sun’s direct gaze still remained fixed on him.

Maybe that was why.

Even something as simple as taking food into his mouth made Gyeol’s cheeks burn hot.

***

Woo Seok Jung was in a bad mood.

Even while sitting among the others eating a lively late breakfast, his thoughts were elsewhere entirely.

It was because of the mission they had received the moment they woke up.

Day five at Pheromone Island.

The morning mission will be arm wrestling. The winning Alpha and Omega contestants will receive brunch date tickets.

Luckily, Woo Seok Jung’s first opponent had been Jun Shin.

That worked out well, because he had no confidence whatsoever in beating Sun or Tommy. Jun was solidly built too, but Sun and Tommy were in completely different weight classes.

The match between Sun and Tommy had been intense.

Veins bulged along Sun’s swimmer-trained forearms, and the Omegas screamed in excitement.

Tommy was no joke either. He clung on with all his strength and endured stubbornly.

But in the end, even Tommy could not overpower Sun.

At that point, Woo Seok Jung had started to think he might actually have a chance. Tommy had probably drained a lot of Sun’s strength already, so if Woo Seok Jung could just easily crush Jun Shin and advance, maybe he could somehow pull off a win.

For this exact day, he had locked himself in the gym, choking down chicken breast and sweet potatoes while lifting heavy.

His chest swelled with confidence.

Jun Shin wins!

But Woo Seok Jung did not even last a few seconds before Jun Shin completely crushed him.

Jun stood up casually, dusted off his hands, and grinned at Woo Seok Jung.

Good game, Woo Seok.

That smug bastard.

The way he smiled while pretending to encourage him irritated Woo Seok Jung to death.

Final round: Sun Choi versus Jun Shin.

The final winner is Sun Choi. Congratulations.

When Sun defeated Jun Shin, Woo Seok Jung had felt great.

But that satisfaction lasted only a moment.

I want to have a brunch date with Gyeol Go.

Sun had chosen Gyeol—who was literally still at Ivory Mansion—as his date partner.

Was that even allowed? Shouldn’t that be against the rules?

Woo Seok Jung had wanted to protest, but once production accepted it, he had no power whatsoever.

That irritated him too.

Production acted like as long as something was entertaining, nothing else mattered.

What kind of staff ran a dating show with no rules and no consistency?

And so Sun left for Ivory Mansion while everyone else cooked together.

Still in a filthy mood, Woo Seok Jung wandered between the people working while pretending to prepare ingredients.

Even though he ate the food everyone else made without issue, his anger still had not faded.

He could not shake the feeling that production was biased.

From the start, it felt like they kept introducing systems designed to disadvantage him.

What should I do?

I can’t just fade into the background like some extra.

How do I crush Jun Shin and Sun Choi while becoming the most popular contestant myself?

He was sitting lazily at the table, doing nothing to help clean up, completely absorbed in those thoughts when—

“Oh! Yo Han’s coming!”

At Jaekyung Park’s shout, every contestant except Woo Seok Jung immediately crowded toward the lounge entrance.

What was so exciting about some Alpha bastard showing up?

Woo Seok Jung disliked Yo Han Sung too.

Why did someone that huge have to appear on the exact dating show he was on and muddy the waters? Because of Yo Han, he felt even more overshadowed.

“Yo Han isn’t alone though?”

Guess Gyeol’s coming too.

At this point, Woo Seok Jung did not even want to see Gyeol’s face. There was no reason to welcome an Omega who had spent the night clinging to another Alpha.

“Is that Gyeol?”

“But Gyeol’s on a date with Sun right now.”

“Huh?”

As the confused voices piled up one after another, realization suddenly struck Woo Seok Jung.

The man who had been lounging around heavily planted in his seat suddenly shot upright and sprinted outside.

The moment he saw the figure walking beside Yo Han Sung, delight spread across Woo Seok Jung’s face.

I was right.

I’m a genius after all.

“A late-entry Omega twist!”

“No way, seriously?”

A new Omega had arrived.