Chapter 71

“Today, we’ll be proceeding with a physically demanding game. We recommend everyone eat a solid meal beforehand.”

Once the announcement ended, silence settled over the room.

From behind the closed bathroom door came the sound of water dripping. Apparently Isu Yoon was showering.

Slowly forcing away the remnants of sleep, Gyeol pressed the back of his hand to his forehead and let the afterimages of the dream drift apart.

I can’t believe I had to relive last night in my dreams too.

Thankfully, while his confrontation with Yo Han had still been ongoing, the noisy sounds of the production staff packing up and leaving had echoed nearby.

Gritting his teeth, Gyeol had barely managed a perfunctory nod goodbye before turning his back on Yo Han and hurrying down the hill.

He never looked back once before reaching the lodging.

One time should have been more than enough.

But somehow it had replayed itself inside his dreams too.

Without realizing it, that moment must have gotten under his skin far more deeply than he’d thought.

“Even after sleeping, I still feel exhausted...”

Lowering his hand, Gyeol checked the time.

8 a.m.

He dragged himself upright, stretched, and headed into the kitchen to gulp down bottled water.

The cold liquid spreading through his tight chest felt vividly refreshing.

Click.

Perfect timing.

With a towel draped over his head, Isu Yoon stepped out of the bathroom.

“Oh, Gyeol. You’re up?”

“Morning, Isu. Sleep okay?”

“Yeah. More or less. You slept okay too, right?”

For some reason, Isu looked drained.

Normally, he would’ve stubbornly stayed awake waiting for Gyeol to return last night, but instead he’d gone to sleep with all the lights turned off.

Something had definitely happened.

Still, if Jun Shin hadn’t sent his card to Gyeol, then naturally Gyeol had assumed he’d sent it to Isu instead.

Had he not?

I can’t exactly ask him that.

While Gyeol hesitated internally, Isu rubbed the towel through his damp hair and walked toward the kitchen.

“You’re gonna shower, right? I figured you’d wake up after the announcement, so I hurried out.”

“Yeah. You didn’t have to rush though... shouldn’t you dry your hair first?”

“I brought my own hair dryer. I’ll use that outside.”

Watching Isu smile out of habit with narrowed eyes, Gyeol silently nodded.

Just yesterday afternoon, Isu had been the person he felt most comfortable around on this island.

And now somehow things had become awkward between them.

Using the excuse of avoiding the atmosphere, Gyeol headed toward the bathroom.

“Gyeol.”

But before he could step inside, Isu stopped him.

“Yeah?”

“...I know this is probably a weird question.”

“......?”

Seeing his hesitation, Gyeol turned around fully, watching him with an expression that silently encouraged him to speak comfortably.

After fidgeting with his lips for a moment, Isu finally seemed to make up his mind.

“Jun Shin sent his card to you again yesterday too, didn’t he?”

Gyeol had expected the topic to be Jun.

But he hadn’t expected it to be about the card.

Which meant Jun really hadn’t sent one to Isu.

“Sorry. If it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer—”

Apparently misunderstanding Gyeol’s silence, Isu hurriedly tried to back off.

Gyeol waved his hands immediately.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not uncomfortable or anything. I didn’t get a card from him.”

“You didn’t?”

Isu repeated the words in obvious surprise.

Was that really so shocking?

Thinking that, Gyeol simply nodded.

“Then... before yesterday, he had been sending them to you, right?”

“Yeah. That part’s true.”

“......”

Isu’s expression twisted complicatedly.

Gyeol had no idea what kind of reaction he was supposed to have here.

Some responses felt presumptuous.

Others felt reckless.

And some stabbed painfully at his conscience.

This is why people shouldn’t keep guilty secrets.

“...Then who did he send it to yesterday?”

At this point, it was undeniable that Jun Shin hadn’t sent his card to Isu yesterday either.

Sensing Gyeol’s discomfort, Isu wore a conflicted expression before speaking carefully.

“Gyeol. If it’s okay... could we talk for a bit? Just thirty minutes. I won’t keep you longer than that.”

“Uh, of course.”

The two of them sat across from each other at the small table, each with a glass of cold water.

As Gyeol had expected, during the free time given to the other contestants while the two matched couples were using the Time Booths, Jun Shin had drawn a line with Isu.

“...He said there’s only one person he can see. That he doesn’t think he has room to get to know anyone else.”

Even though Jun hadn’t directly said the person was Gyeol Go, it was basically a straight-up confession that Gyeol was the only one in his eyes.

Gyeol felt like his throat was burning alive.

Chronologically speaking, hadn’t this turned into Jun confessing his feelings to Isu only for Gyeol to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) reject him immediately afterward?

Why there of all places... No. It’s not even fair to blame him. He’d already been expressing himself directly to me the whole time.

If Gyeol had known, would his choice have changed?

He couldn’t say for certain.

But honestly... probably.

At the very least, he probably wouldn’t have pushed Jun away immediately after hearing that kind of confession.

That would’ve been too cruel.

No matter what Jun had done to him, Gyeol didn’t want to become someone like that.

He’d only wanted distance.

Cleanly.

To leave the past in the past until it eventually faded into memory.

While Gyeol’s thoughts tangled endlessly together, Isu quietly added,

“It was about you, right?”

“......”

Gyeol couldn’t answer.

He didn’t even know what expression he was supposed to make.

Right now, his face probably looked bizarre.

“Your expression right now is seriously weird.”

Isu laughed with a faint grimace.

“Sorry. It’s not that I’m uncomfortable or anything...”

“I know. If I were you, I’d probably have no clue what to do either. Honestly, I would’ve run away already.”

Isu let out a quiet laugh.

Reluctantly, Gyeol laughed too.

“But... even after hearing something like that, I still couldn’t get my feelings under control. I couldn’t sit still. I kept thinking about Jun the entire dinner...”

“So during the free date time last night, I went to him myself.”

“Oh. I see.”

“Yeah. Part of me hoped he might come to me after talking to you... but Jun Shin’s the kind of person who actually keeps his word. He never came. So I went instead. The person who wants something more should be the one making the effort.”

“Mm... yeah.”

“When I asked him whether things went well talking with you, his eyes immediately started tearing up.”

“......”

Idiot.

He cried in front of Isu too?

“You told him you were ending things between you?”

“...Yeah.”

Gyeol could picture it vividly.

Jun Shin with tears gathered in his eyes, trying to suppress his sadness.

Far too vividly.

Partly because he’d seen that expression many times before.

Partly because he’d imagined it countless times himself.

A sharp ache stabbed through his chest.

Gyeol lowered his gaze.

“So now we’re finally getting to the important part.”

After taking a sip of water, Isu tapped lightly against the table.

When Gyeol looked up, Isu leaned across the table slightly and asked,

“You really don’t have feelings for Jun anymore, right?”

Gyeol’s eyes widened faintly.

Under the table, he clenched his uninjured hand tightly into a fist before slowly loosening it again and again.

The answer had already been decided.

And not recently, either.

It had been decided eight years ago, the moment Jun Shin left him like that.

An answer that had never changed since.

“...Right.”

“Right.”

Repeating Gyeol’s answer to himself, Isu nodded.

His gloomy expression had brightened a little.

“Then, Gyeol... can I ask you for one favor?”

“......?”

A strange sense of dread crawled over him.

Instead of answering, Gyeol simply stared quietly at Isu.

“Can you help things work out between me and Jun Shin?”

And every second of this conversation was being captured perfectly on camera.

***

Title: Ughhhhhh I liked the R-Connect 10 actor duo but are they crashing and burning now?ㅠㅠ

Actor duo = Gyeol Go + Isu Yoon

That Omega trio over there completely killed my affection after all the backtalking, so;;

Meanwhile the actor duo had good chemistry, good friendship vibes, pretty visuals together, all-around wholesome energy, y’know,,,

I seriously thought they were the only actual worth saving in Flop-Connect. Like genuinely.

Pretty boys sticking together all cute and supportive, how was that NOT adorable?

But...ㅠ after Episode 10...

They’re doomed now, right..?

Yoon: “Can you help things work out between me and Jun?”

Gyeol: “I don’t think that’s something I can help with.”

My heart is being ripped apart rn..

Honestly kinda disappointed in Isu for asking that while knowing there’s Jun-Gyeol history...

But?? I’m also kinda disappointed in Gyeol for refusing too.,,.ㅠ

The feeling is weirdly complicated??? Mixed emotions??? Is that the right phrase here

Nah Isu crossed the line hard there;; every time somebody on R-Connect says they’ll “help” someone’s relationship it ends in disaster

↳ 222 seriously isn’t that like an unofficial cursed phrase on this show by now?

↳ 3333.. I get he likes Jun and wants to try but asking Gyeol directly isn’t it.. lowkey just feels like a warning shot..

↳ OMG!!! I thought it felt like subtle competition tooㅠㅠ

How exactly did Isu cross the line lol ㅋㅋ “competition”? holy shit he didn’t even say anything that bad. People are dogpiling him just because Gyeol’s popular. If anything isn’t Gyeol weirder for listening to Isu’s feelings all this time while still dragging things out with Jun Shin??

↳ fr tho. If he already drew the line with Jun then what’s with the “I can’t help” thing??

↳ Why are you wording it so weird?? If this were like Day 13 or 14 near the finale then sure maybe?? But they haven’t even passed the midpoint yet and Gyeol already sorted out his position insanely fast?? If he’d done it any faster people would’ve bashed him for that too. Damned if he does damned if he doesn’t... just admit you want to hate Gyeol.

↳ seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋ did Gyeol even ASK about Isu’s feelings??? Isu’s the one who monologued for ten years straight. Gyeol sat there listening like an angel even though nobody asked.

↳ Honestly I think going “I like your OO~” over and over is its own form of competition too.. like “I called dibs so back off.” Basically marking territory.

↳ Oh great here come the Gyeol maids again. Gross as alwaysㅋㅋ why does this nobody actor have so many fangirls attached to him? Is the agency paying people?

↳ Gyeol’s agency is dirt-tier broke as fuck they can’t afford that shitㅠㅠ ℴℴ𝘮

Look at Isu fans tearing into Gyeol the second they finally get an opening after Gyeol treated Isu nicely this whole timeㅋㅋㅋ

↳ okay next Gyeol maid~

“Actor duo” my assㅋㅋㅋ how are people even putting Gyeol next to Isu Yoon as actors? Gyeol’s done nothing but tiny side roles at best

↳ fr this is ridiculous.. just because he’s doing well on Flop-Connect people are inflating him like crazy. Career-wise they’re not even close

...

I genuinely don’t get why OP’s disappointed in Gyeol refusing. This is a dating show, everybody’s fighting for themselves. Why would he help somebody else? Trying to “help” would probably make things even messier.

↳ EXACTLY.. and even if Gyeol drew the line, Jun still clearly seems ongoing about him.. if Gyeol started talking about helping and stuff, that’d come back as massive karma later.

Stop fightingㅠㅠ.. Isu and Gyeol haven’t even fallen out or anything why’s everyone acting like this..

↳ They did look awkward though

↳ The conversation literally just ended and we haven’t even seen what happens after yet, saying they’re awkward already feels prematureㅠㅠ

Day 7.. yeah this is around the point where these shows usually turn into total chaos..

↳ But this season’s level of insanity is on another level

↳ Means the cast is popular though

↳ If I were Producer Yoo I’d probably be having the time of my life rn

If I were Gyeol I’d quit Flop-Connect immediately; my head would explode;

↳ Like hell he’d quit. This is his number one failed-idol escape route!!!

↳ Gyeol can’t leave~~~!! I refuse to imagine Flop-Connect without him!

↳ Honestly without Gyeol this season would’ve been boring as hell

↳ frfr.. he’s carrying the whole show right now..

↳ Every Alpha and Omega on the island is losing their minds over him.. (positive + negative..)

...

Guys. Are you all fighting before even watching the preview?

↳ WAIT!!!! THE PREVIEW DROPPED???

↳ yeah yeah finally the Golden Date Card preview is up GO GO GO

↳ http://www.emflix-aloconnect.com/preview/199210

↳ holy shit Golden Date Card

↳ WHAT the Gold Date Card came this early??

↳ !!!!!!!!1 holy shit holy shit holy shit IM GOING RIGHT NOW