Chapter 49

“Tommy. I enjoyed our conversation today too.”

There had been no time to hesitate.

So in the end, Gyeol followed not his instincts, but the move he had calculated beforehand.

He chose Tommy.

“...Aah! Thank you!”

If he removed emotions entirely and thought only about securing the title of “main character,” then Tommy was the only viable choice today.

That was the same reason Gyeol had decided since morning that he needed to spend time talking with Tommy or going on a date with him.

Most importantly, the total filming schedule lasted fifteen days.

And today was only day five.

There were still ten whole days left.

If he wanted to maintain tension throughout all ten days, he had to choose carefully.

It was not uncommon for contestants who exploded in popularity early in a dating show to lose momentum later on and end up almost completely edited out by the second half.

Which meant Gyeol needed to objectively evaluate his relationships with the Alphas.

Yo Han Sung.

That side already had more than enough narrative built around it thanks to the Ivory Mansion date. And since Yo Han kept bringing up Yuli’s existence, avoiding him as much as possible would be best.

Shin Jun.

Separating personal emotions from him was impossible. On top of that, they were former groupmates. Gyeol needed to avoid him if he wanted to prevent backlash from idol fandoms.

Sun Choi.

Sun was genuinely a good person, but after openly declaring his interest and actively pursuing him, Gyeol had to be careful about approaching him first.

Woo Seok Jung.

Honestly, Woo Seok barely counted as an option at all. Gyeol had assumed he was interested in another Omega, so he had never seriously considered him. Even though Woo Seok had suddenly started acting strangely and expressing interest today...

He was still outside consideration.

Gyeol doubted his feelings would change.

So on Day Five of Pheromone Island, Gyeol chose Tommy.

They were not deeply connected yet, but Tommy had consistently shown interest in him. It felt like they needed at least one proper moment together.

And honestly, Gyeol really had enjoyed their conversation.

Tommy had lightened the weight on his heart, even if only a little, and Gyeol wanted to thank him for that.

“So that means Gyeol and Tommy picked each other.”

Isu Yoon clasped his hands together and said it innocently.

But nobody reacted.

Not the Alphas.

Not even the Omegas.

At that moment, the warning Gyeol’s instincts had been sending finally took shape.

A bad feeling.

Worse, it was a familiar atmosphere.

I know this feeling.

Back during trainee days...

Monthly evaluations. Potential debut lineups. It did not matter what the setting was.

Those same stares.

Those same negative undertones.

Eyes that used to turn toward Gyeol regardless of age or seniority.

...But why are the Omega contestants acting like this too?

Even if it was only suspicion, the feeling left him deeply uneasy.

But this was not the time to sit around thinking.

The flow of filming had become increasingly awkward, and Gyeol noticed one of the production staff resting their chin on their hand with visible exhaustion.

Before things could get any worse, Gyeol quickly moved things along.

“The order got interrupted just now, so if anyone wants to go next...”

Since he had chosen Tommy—someone who had already chosen him—the turn order effectively reset.

“Me.”

The one who raised his hand was Shin Jun.

Gyeol almost bit his lip on instinct but barely stopped himself. Instead, he forced the corners of his mouth upward.

Without realizing it, he squeezed the beer can hard enough to dent the edge.

“My choice is Gyeol.”

The firm declaration tightened painfully around Gyeol’s already anxious chest.

“The reason is because he’s the person who shook my emotions the most today.”

Jun turned and looked directly at him.

His dark eyes felt like they could expose every hidden corner of Gyeol’s heart.

Crackle. Pop.

Only the sound of the campfire filled the silence.

Nobody reacted.

Nobody responded.

Gyeol felt certain something was going wrong, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Producer Yoo sensed the strange undercurrent too.

As someone whose entire job revolved around observing contestants, assembling emotional puzzles in her head, and deciding how to edit them together, there was no way she could miss it.

Especially since staff had just reported to her about a certain conversation that had taken place earlier in the Omega dorm between Hee Jun, Jaekyung, and Hanseul.

Still, a producer’s first responsibility was keeping filming running smoothly.

And sometimes that meant breaking unspoken rules and intervening directly.

“Hold on a second. Let’s reorganize the order first.”

At Producer Yoo’s words, the contestants snapped out of it like waking from a dream.

Day Five.

By now they had started getting used to the cameras. Sometimes it barely even felt like they were there anymore.

“The Omegas will choose first. Let’s see... Jaekyung, then Hanseul, then Isu. After that, Sun, and Yo Han will go last.”

Producer Yoo was famous for provoking explosive situations.

But she did not always add fuel to the fire.

Especially not when the situation was already explosive enough on its own.

Too much stimulation too early led to disaster.

There had already been contestants in previous seasons who quit midway because of situations like this.

And contestants leaving was catastrophic for dating shows.

These programs revolved around emotional relationships and interpersonal narratives. Viewers became attached to specific pairings.

If one half of a pairing suddenly disappeared, the remaining person ended up stranded awkwardly alone.

Viewer immersion shattered.

Ratings dropped.

Communities became flooded with speculation posts about why contestants left.

And for dating show audiences, gathering online to discuss ships and obsess over contestants was part of the fun.

Once negative discourse took over, viewers started leaving.

Which meant contestant withdrawals brought absolutely nothing positive.

Of course, celebrity contestants probably had more professionalism and responsibility than ordinary people...

But from Producer Yoo’s long experience in the industry, unexpected disasters exploded even when you weren’t inviting them.

There was no reason to knowingly leave obvious danger unattended.

“Alright. Let’s continue.”

The flow had briefly collapsed, but the contestants quickly refocused.

Only then did the visibly anxious production staff finally relax a little.

“...I...”

Park Jaekyung hesitated after starting his sentence.

He could not decide easily.

Until yesterday, he had consistently chosen Woo Seok Jung, after all.

“Jun. Let’s talk or go on a date sometime too.”

Jaekyung finally finished speaking.

The tone was not casual or carefree.

Nor did Jun really seem like a second choice.

In earlier interviews, Jaekyung had openly stated that he intended to pursue Woo Seok directly and did not even have a backup option in mind.

Producer Yoo already knew that the contestants sharing Jaekyung’s dorm room had essentially agreed to support one another strategically.

Hanseul had set his sights on Yo Han.

Hee Jun had chosen Tommy.

Which meant that °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° among the remaining options, Sun—who clearly only looked at Gyeol—seemed hopeless.

So Jaekyung had likely ended up with Jun by elimination.

Hanseul’s choice brought no surprises.

“Yo Han. And it’ll stay Yo Han going forward.”

Yo Han simply smiled and dipped his head slightly in thanks without giving any real answer.

Then it became Isu Yoon’s turn.

He stared down at his hands for a long while, fidgeting silently.

But in the end, he chose Shin Jun too.

Just as expected. Boring.

Producer Yoo watched the monitoring camera with half-lidded eyes.

That was exactly why she had given the Omegas first pick.

Because the results were so predictable they bordered on tedious.

This section would probably be edited down into a quick montage showing only the choices themselves.

Then it became Sun’s turn.

“Gyeol. I want us to keep talking, going on dates, and spending time together from now on too. And... please don’t get hurt again.”

Sun’s sincere words, delivered with bright red ears, were unexpectedly adorable.

Who would have imagined the undisputed top-tier Swimming Emperor of Korea looking like that?

Producer Yoo could already picture the internet and media exploding over it.

“...Thank you, Sun. I’ll be careful.”

Gyeol’s response was not bad either.

It was too dark to see clearly, but unlike before—when he merely responded politely—this time he genuinely looked shy.

There was a huge difference between emotions delivered through anonymous mailbox cards and pseudo-confessions spoken face-to-face.

Practically burying herself into the monitoring camera with excitement, Producer Yoo felt immensely satisfied with her brilliant decision.

Now only one person remained.

Yo Han Sung.

A memory from not long ago suddenly surfaced in Producer Yoo’s mind.

“PD! PD, this is huge!”

“Kim Yoonjung... I told you not to scream. My head’s killing me.”

“S-sorry! But Yo Han Sung—!”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up Yo Han Sung?”

At the youngest producer’s frantic excitement, Producer Yoo finally looked up from the proposal she had been reviewing with exhausted eyes.

Had Yo Han finally agreed to become a panelist?

Since Season 6, Producer Yoo had consistently tried recruiting him as a main panel member. Casting a famous actor who rarely appeared on variety shows was practically a guaranteed success formula for dating programs.

Their former panelist Kim Jinsoo from Season 5 had gotten arrested on drug charges, creating a massive headache.

After that, Producer Yoo had turned her attention toward Yo Han.

He was at the peak of his fame and wrapped in mystery.

There was no better casting choice.

But Yo Han rejected her every single time.

“Yo Han Sung said he’ll appear on R-Connect!”

Finally.

Internally, Producer Yoo nearly cheered, but she maintained a calm expression for appearances’ sake.

“Oh. So he finally agreed to be a panelist?”

“No! That’s not it!”

“...What?”

If not a panelist, then what?

A narrator?

Even then, she was nowhere close to the actual answer.

The youngest producer practically shouted breathlessly.

“He’s going onto the island! As a contestant!”

“What?”

Producer Yoo genuinely thought the younger producer had either misunderstood something or made another mistake.

Because who in their right mind would imagine Yo Han Sung himself becoming a dating-show contestant?

And yet it had been true.

Watching Yo Han’s unreal face filling the monitor, Producer Yoo swallowed dryly.

Even now, she still did not fully understand it.

Why would Yo Han Sung willingly join some ordinary dating program?

“I’m the only one left now.”

The camera zoomed in tightly on Yo Han’s face.

If he chose Gyeol too, then just like on the very first day, Gyeol would once again receive unanimous votes from all the Alphas.