Chapter 46

Several members of the cast let out startled exclamations at once.

“D-directly? We’re not using the mailboxes?”

Tommy raised his hand in disbelief as he asked the question.

—Yes, that’s correct.

Still the only one standing, Tommy slowly shrank back into his seat like a deflating balloon.

Judging from the lack of further instructions or explanation from production, it seemed they were free to decide the order themselves.

Before the awkwardness could drag on too long, Jun Shin naturally stepped in to play MC like he always did.

“Then who wants to go fi—”

“I’ll go first.”

The one who cut him off was Woo Seok Jung.

The cast members, who had instinctively started reacting to the appearance of the first volunteer, hesitated.

Everyone was still exhausted from the tension Woo Seok had caused during dinner. Uneasy looks passed between them, worried he might ruin the atmosphere all over again after they had only just managed to smooth it out.

Unbothered by the subtle heaviness in the air, Woo Seok staggered to his feet holding a wineglass.

He already looked quite drunk.

His face was flushed deep red.

Beside him, Gyeol looked up at him with growing unease.

It was not as though Gyeol had chosen this seat willingly.

Woo Seok had shown up late and practically forced Tommy to move so he could sit beside Gyeol. Since the beginning of the drinking session, he had obsessively spoken only to Gyeol.

At first Gyeol had responded politely, but little by little it had started feeling burdensome.

In a group setting like this, it was always better to appear sociable with everyone equally.

But Woo Seok kept acting as though he and Gyeol were out on a one-on-one date.

That was not all.

Every time Gyeol awkwardly shortened his responses or tried talking to someone else, Woo Seok visibly drank more alcohol like he was making a point of it.

...No matter how I think about it, something is seriously wrong with him today.

People always said that uneasy feelings were accumulated data.

That instincts sounded alarms because negative experiences piled up somewhere deep inside the subconscious first.

Anxiously, Gyeol glanced over the bottles sitting in front of Woo Seok.

One empty wine bottle.

One half-finished soju bottle.

Of course he had deliberately chosen the strongest alcohol possible.

“Iiiii....”

Sure enough, slurred speech spilled out immediately.

Since Woo Seok himself had volunteered, nobody could really stop him.

The cast exchanged uneasy looks, but no one intervened. After all, it was only supposed to be a favorability confession. Surely nothing serious would happen.

“I liiike... this one.”

Speaking down to him casually, Woo Seok grabbed Gyeol by the shoulder.

The unexpected touch startled Gyeol badly enough that his shoulder twitched, but he forced himself not to react outwardly.

The rest of the cast looked equally uncomfortable.

Jaekyung Park especially could not hide his disbelief, openly frowning.

“Woo Seok, I think you’re really drunk.”

“Y-yeah. I think you drank too much.”

Jun rose from his seat and approached him while Tommy hurriedly chimed in beside him.

It backfired.

Woo Seok tightened his grip painfully around Gyeol’s shoulder.

“I’m not drunk! How much did I even drink?”

But his words dragged badly, his pronunciation sloppy and thick.

Fear curled coldly inside Gyeol.

Several of the men his brother dated had been rough with both their words and actions. Men who hit Go Joon even while young Gyeol was still in the house.

And yet his brother always acted as though he would gladly hand over his entire soul for them.

It did not matter whether they hurt him or not.

If they were Alphas, Go Joon lost all reason around them. He had always lived like someone intoxicated by something.

Gyeol hated it.

Hated it so much he had grown sick of the fact that he himself was also an Omega.

His stomach churned unpleasantly.

“Thank you, Woo Seok.”

Forcing a smile, Gyeol tried to shift his posture naturally and slip free from the grip around his shoulder.

But Woo Seok refused to let go.

Instead, his grip tightened even harder.

Then suddenly—

everything happened at once.

Still clinging stubbornly to Gyeol’s shoulder, Woo Seok lost his balance and stumbled, dropping the wineglass directly toward Gyeol.

“Ah!”

“That’s dangerous!”

The cast shouted in alarm.

Gyeol reflexively squeezed his eyes shut.

But even after several seconds passed, nothing happened.

No sour-smelling wine poured over his head.

No shattered glass struck his body.

Drip.

A wet drop landed against his cheek.

Only then did Gyeol cautiously open his eyes.

The first thing filling his vision—

was Jun Shin standing in front of him like a shield.

Drip. Drip.

Wine slid down Jun’s hair in scattered drops, tracing wet paths across Gyeol’s cheek.

A cracked wineglass rolled across the floor nearby.

Jun had taken both the wine and the glass °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° in Gyeol’s place.

“Jun! Are you okay?!”

At Tommy’s shout, Gyeol finally snapped out of his daze.

Tommy was holding Woo Seok upright around the waist, his face completely pale as he stared over at them.

The other cast members had all risen from their seats in confusion, while even the production staff had become frantic discussing whether they needed to intervene.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Jun straightened up and brushed back his damp hair.

His white shirt was soaked through with reddish stains.

“Thanks to Woo Seok, I got to experience a wine shower.”

Jun spoke in an easy, joking tone.

For one long second, nobody reacted.

Then Hee Jun Kang—who was friendly with Jun—smoothly picked up the joke.

“That wine was expensive, though.”

“Oh, really? No wonder it smelled so nice.”

Sniffing the wine lingering on his palm, Jun smiled warmly.

One by one, the cast members joined in, slowly easing the atmosphere back into something lighter.

“Are you okay?”

Jun looked down at Gyeol as he asked.

“...I’m okay.”

No.

He was not okay.

Gyeol’s chest felt twisted and unsettled.

I’m supposed to be the one asking if you’re okay.

He wanted to demand why Jun was saying those words instead.

I pushed you away. I rejected you. It’s only been a few hours, so why are you still protecting me?

He wanted to yell at him for being such an idiot.

After quietly examining Gyeol’s face, Jun unconsciously raised a hand.

His fingers stopped midway toward Gyeol’s cheek.

In the end, he never touched him.

Instead, Jun lowered his hand weakly, pulled out a tissue, and handed it over.

“There’s wine on your cheek.”

“Ah? Oh.”

Gyeol rubbed at his cheek with the tissue.

Watching silently, Jun clicked his tongue softly before carefully reaching over and lightly catching Gyeol’s wrist to guide the tissue into the correct spot.

“Here.”

“...Thanks.”

The moment his purpose was fulfilled, Jun let go without hesitation.

Gyeol pressed the tissue against his cheek.

It had only been a brief touch, but the place Jun had grabbed still felt unbearably noticeable.

“Uh... Jun.”

Woo Seok stammered while grabbing onto Jun’s sleeve.

“I’m sor...ry....”

It was impossible to tell whether he genuinely meant it or was simply drunkenly babbling whatever came into his head.

“It’s okay. You’re not hurt, right?”

“Y-yeah. Tommy caught me.”

Jun answered calmly, then gently patted the back of Woo Seok’s hand where it clutched his clothes.

“That’s good, then.”

Someone nearby whispered that Jun really was unbelievably gracious.

But Gyeol could tell.

Jun was furious.

And that gentle pat against Woo Seok’s hand had really just been a way to remove it.

When you spend years watching someone, they eventually become engraved into your subconscious.

You start noticing things nobody else sees.

Picking up on things others miss.

Looking at them automatically, even against your will.

The slight tilt of Jun’s head.

The way his smile pulled tighter.

The habit of tapping his index finger against his thigh while suppressing anger.

Even after eight years, those habits had not changed at all.

Every single one of them appeared whenever Jun got angry on Gyeol’s behalf.

Every single time.

“I’m gonna go take a quick shower and change clothes. You guys keep having fun.”

Waving casually, Jun left his seat.

As he did, he shot a meaningful glance toward the production staff.

A signal.

He was creating an edit point for them and silently asking them to clean up the situation afterward.

The staff—who had been debating whether to intervene—immediately all turned toward Producer Yoo.

The cast felt the same way.

There was no realistic way to continue the favorability voting without Jun present.

Arms crossed, Producer Yoo thought for a moment before finally waving broadly.

“We’ll pause the favorability voting for thirty minutes. The cameras will stay on, so feel free to talk and relax.”

The moment the announcement ended, Jaekyung Park released a heavy sigh and rose to his feet.

“I’m gonna go inside and rest for a bit.”

“Oh? Oh, let’s go together.”

Hee Jun Kang hurried after him, clearly in a bad mood himself.

Then suddenly, as though something occurred to him, he looked back.

“Hanseul. Want to come with us?”

Since Hanseul had been assigned to the same bungalow as Jaekyung and Hee Jun, he was trying to include him.

“Yeah. I’ll go.”

Having silently observed everything without much expression, Hanseul obediently followed after them.

Woo Seok muttered that he felt sick and staggered away, while kind-hearted Tommy immediately chased after him shouting, “Woo Seok, you gotta hold it in!”

Looking worried, Isu Yoon also stood up after repeatedly glancing back over his shoulder.

Since he left without saying anything to Gyeol despite them sharing the same lodging, it seemed obvious he was going to check on Jun.

Should I go see Jun too?

No... after what I said earlier, I probably shouldn’t.

Caught between the two thoughts, Gyeol eventually forced himself to let it go.

He could not shamelessly follow after Isu when Isu had openly confessed that he liked Jun.

At least this way, Gyeol could avoid having to make the decision himself.

That was what he told himself, anyway. ℯ

But a new problem awaited him.

Because only three people remained sitting in front of the blazing campfire.

Yo Han Sung.

Sun Choi.

And Gyeol Go.