Chapter 67

There were obviously a lot of cards at first glance.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

His heart began pounding heavily.

Like always, Gyeol started counting the cards one by one as he pulled them out.

One. Two...

By the time he reached four, he sincerely prayed this would be the last one.

...Four.

And then there were no more cards left inside.

“Haah....”

Relief drained all the strength from his body.

Without realizing it, Gyeol let out a deep sigh and hugged the cards against his chest with both hands before resting his forehead against the mailbox. He could feel his racing heartbeat gradually calming down.

Four cards.

It was not a small number.

Still, what mattered was that it was not a unanimous sweep.

...Though honestly, I thought at most there’d be three.

He had worried about an Alpha sweep only because he wanted to prepare himself for the worst.

Realistically, the highest number Gyeol had expected was three cards—excluding Jun Shin and Woo Seok Jung, both of whom he had clearly drawn lines with.

Jun...?

Gyeol’s gaze slowly lowered.

When he thought Jun had chosen someone else, his chest had felt painfully heavy even though he knew he had no right to feel that way.

But now that Jun had apparently chosen him, the emotions swirling inside him became impossible to describe.

Too many conflicting feelings tangled together.

Straightening his back again, Gyeol absentmindedly rubbed the edge of one card before finally unfolding them one by one.

But his expectations were completely wrong.

“...?”

It was not Jun.

Jun had not chosen him.

In the end, it seemed Jun had respected his wishes and chosen someone else.

Instead, Woo Seok’s card had arrived.

Ever heard the saying that no tree can resist being chopped down ten times? I’ll treat you well from now on ^^

The smiling emoticon at the end sent chills crawling down Gyeol’s spine while nausea twisted his stomach.

It was obviously Woo Seok.

No one else would refer to himself as “hyung,” and by Day 6 of filming Gyeol had already learned to recognize the Alphas’ handwriting to some degree.

But why?

Even after everything he had said?

Even after clearly rejecting him?

He still was not giving up?

Gyeol could not understand it.

Maybe it would make sense if he and Woo Seok had built some deep rapport or shared some great emotional history or connection.

But Woo Seok was truly nothing to him.

Gyeol checked the remaining cards.

You keep catching my attention.

Gyeol really seems like such a good person :D I want to eat French toast with you! Seriously!!

Since today was exhausting, I hope you have good dreams tonight, Gyeol.

In order, they were unmistakably from Yo Han Sung, Tommy, and Sun Choi.

Jun’s handwriting was nowhere to be seen.

After standing there quietly for a moment to steady himself, Gyeol finally left the mailbox area and headed toward his interview.

***

— Once again, you received the most votes today. How do you feel?

“I feel... humbled, mostly. It also gives me a lot to think about.”

— What kind of thoughts?

“Mm, following yesterday’s interview... I wondered if maybe I’d been acting too ambiguously, so today I really tried to be clearer, but....”

Gyeol trailed off weakly with a faint smile.

The youngest writer conducting the interview looked at him with sympathetic eyes and nodded as though she understood everything.

Producer Yoo sat behind the cameras and lights wearing sunglasses despite the late hour.

Whenever he conducted interviews, he always wore sunglasses as a way of concealing his emotions as the chief director.

The youngest writer nervously scanned the question sheet for a long time.

During filming, Kim Yoonjung had become a fan of Gyeol Go.

Which was only natural.

Not only did he consistently create the best footage out of the cast, he was also by far the kindest and gentlest person among them.

Gyeol Go was polite.

He had none of the arrogance or vanity common among celebrities, nor the attitude that staff should obviously wait on him. Every time he encountered a crew member, he greeted them personally. Whenever he saw Kim Yoonjung, he would ask if she had slept well or eaten yet.

And that was not all.

He was kind. He took initiative in cooking and cleaning. He handled everything first without complaint.

The production staff were only human.

It was impossible not to grow fond of someone who lacked absolutely nothing.

Of course, his natural charm also could not be ignored.

Even under harsh studio lights or direct sunlight, not a single pore showed on his skin. His large round eyes sparkled as if they held stars inside them, framed by long eyelashes and delicately sculpted features.

Gyeol looked absurdly beautiful, almost like a 3D game character brought into the real world.

Whenever he smiled with that face, it felt as though the entire room brightened several shades.

More than once, people had checked whether the lighting had actually been adjusted brighter.

And when he spoke softly in that pleasant voice, it made listeners want to keep listening forever.

It was honestly shocking that Gyeol had never become successful before now.

Every time she thought about it, Kim Yoonjung was reminded once again that the entertainment industry truly was not an easy place.

Anyway, because of all that, she completely understood why the Alphas kept throwing themselves at Gyeol like moths into fire.

If she were an Alpha, she probably would have lost her mind too.

Which was why she wanted to ask gentle questions if possible...

...but no matter how many times she reviewed the question sheet Producer Yoo had prepared, it was packed with provocative questions.

Tap.

Behind her, Producer Yoo lightly smacked her knee with a folding fan.

A subtle warning to hurry the interview along.

Right.

What could an ordinary employee do except obey her boss?

I’m sorry, Gyeol.

— Earlier during pheromone matching, you matched with Sun Choi. Did you expect that?

“No. Not at all. I was honestly really surprised.”

— The two of you hugged for quite a while inside the Time Booth, though.

“Ah, that was....”

Gyeol’s cheeks flushed pink.

It was a genuinely rare sight.

Cameraman, you’re zooming in properly on this, right? I seriously need to save screenshots later.

Secretly fangirling to herself, Kim Yoonjung waited happily for his answer.

“...I got a little overwhelmed emotionally. Sun comforted me.”

— Emotionally?

“Yeah. Um... maybe it was because of the pheromones? I think that was part of it.”

Touching the back of his neck shyly, Gyeol continued.

“Pheromone Time was really fascinating. Sun’s pheromones somehow make people feel comfortable... it felt like my complicated thoughts calmed down.”

— It sounds like your pheromone compatibility is really good. Sun said something similar during his interview earlier too.

“Really? I see. ...That’s kind of amazing.”

So heartwarming.

Gyeol was delicious in any combination, like pure MSG added to everything, but the ship Kim Yoonjung secretly held as her number one stock was still Sun-Gyeol.

Yo Han-Gyeol’s explosive sexual tension was incredible.

Jun-Gyeol’s tragic emotional devastation was irresistible.

Tom-Gyeol’s youthful cuteness was adorable too.

But still—

Sun-Gyeol remained her favorite.

The R-Connect production staff spent fifteen straight days stranded on an island barely sleeping in tents while suffering through filming, then spent months trapped in editing rooms afterward piecing together dopamine-fueled episodes until they practically died.

Even so, Kim Yoonjung loved her first workplace and first show more than anything.

Most of all, as someone with true fangirl passion, being able to become the very first viewer and watch everything unfold live on set felt like the greatest reward the industry could possibly offer.

— Earlier, after you accidentally ran into Woo Seok Jung and took a walk together, right before entering the lounge, was it true that Woo Seok caught you because you nearly fell?

“.......”

Just as expected, Gyeol’s eyes shook.

Suppressing her guilt, Kim Yoonjung carefully added another question.

— We reviewed the footage again from our side, but it didn’t really look like you were about to fall.

“...It’s true.”

— ?

“I almost fell, and Woo Seok caught me. ...Thankfully.”

Producer Yoo, who had been silently observing the situation, pushed his sunglasses up slightly.

Gyeol’s eyes looked desperate.

As if begging them to let things end here.

Kim Yoonjung glanced awkwardly toward Producer Yoo.

Honestly, Gyeol already had more than enough screentime. Likewise, their “villain,” Woo Seok Jung, also had plenty.

There was no real need to tie Gyeol’s interview into another incident here.

Producer Yoo tilted his chin slightly, signaling for her to let it go.

Kim Yoonjung immediately moved to the next question.

— You seemed to have been very close with Jun Shin.

“We spent a long time together as trainees. We also promoted in the same group together.”

— Jun Shin has been consistently expressing his feelings toward you. Why do you think that is?

“Well...? I think you’d have to ask Jun directly about that. I can’t know exactly what’s in his heart. It would also be rude of me to make assumptions for him.”

— Were the two of you really just friends?

“...What?”

— It doesn’t really feel that way. The way you talk with each other too. Before this, was there really never anything romantic between you two?

“...Of course not.”

The smile had disappeared from Gyeol’s face.

For some reason, he suddenly looked heartbreakingly sorrowful.

“We were just colleagues. Nothing more and nothing less.”

— Jun Shin said the same thing too.

“...Yeah. Because that’s the truth.”

Kim Yoonjung carefully watched his reaction.

Every time she did these interviews, she thought the same thing.

This really is awful.

Sure, the show centered around romance, but wasn’t this basically just interrogating people?

She hurried through several more questions related to Woo Seok, listened to his answers, and finally reached the final line on the sheet.

Feeling relieved, Kim Yoonjung spoke.

— I see. Then this will be the final question.

“Okay.”

— Earlier, you told Woo Seok Jung that there are currently two people you have in mind. Who are those two people?

“...Do I really have to answer that?”

— Please.

“.......”

Every single member of the production staff, including Kim Yoonjung, silently held their breath waiting for his response.

Unlike the other contestants, whose feelings had gradually become more obvious, Gyeol had never once openly revealed his true thoughts until now.

Finally, Gyeol’s lips parted.

“Sun Choi, and......”