From the beginning, it had been strange.
No matter how globally popular it was, R-Connect was, at the end of the day, just a dating show.
For someone as big as Yo Han Sung to talk about being a co-producer and panelist, and to already be on the island from Day 1—it was extremely strange.
The two late-entry twist cards that had been delivered to Gyeol were the same. This was an isolated island, cut off from the mainland. There was no way someone who wasn’t here could know what was happening on the show.
The fact that favorability votes were being made every day meant the late-entry twist had been on the island from the very first day.
The cast of R-Connect Season 10 consisted of celebrities.
Among everyone gathered on the island—including the production staff—there was only one remaining celebrity.
Yo Han Sung.
“Hello, I’m actor Yo Han Sung.”
The role of a late-entry twist was to overturn the entire game.
Since they entered the island later than everyone else, they had to overwhelm the existing cast and shake the hearts of those of the opposite dynamic.
Yo Han Sung was the perfect fit for that role.
Why didn’t I realize it sooner?
Well, it was already strange enough that someone like Yo Han Sung would take on the role of co-producer or panelist... there was no way anyone would think he’d be directly inserted into the show as a participant. With how expensive he was.
“I’ll be joining R-Connect Season 10. I look forward to working with you.”
With a faint smile, Yo Han Sung tilted his chin slightly upward.
“Is this... is this really happening?”
“Wow... this feels like a dream.”
The Omegas’ eyes sparkled with excitement. It was an entirely understandable reaction. If this had been the old days, when he knew nothing, Gyeol might have reacted the same way.
Back when he didn’t know the dark interior wrapped beneath that dazzling face and the packaging of kindness.
“...Ahh, what do I do? I feel like I’m going to lose.”
“Don’t say weak things, giant Potato! You can’t give up already!”
“I told you not to call me giant Potato...!”
On the other hand, tension hung thick among the Alphas.
Tommy, the youngest, had turned bright red, showing his reaction honestly. But the other cast members’ faces held a mix of shock and confusion.
“So from now on... we have to play a game with Yo Han Sung?”
As Gyeol casually glanced at the Alphas, his eyes met Jun Shin’s. Whether it was the sunlight or something else, Jun frowned slightly and looked back and forth between Gyeol and Yo Han Sung.
A feeling like something might be exposed crept over him, and Gyeol quickly looked away.
Jun Shin was perceptive. Especially when it came to Gyeol. After family—no, perhaps even more than his only real family, his older brother—Jun Shin was the one who knew him best.
“I’m happy you’re all welcoming me.”
This isn’t a field of landmines—it’s a field of time bombs.
“Then what about the co-producer and panelist thing?”
“That was just a smokescreen. I wanted to observe everyone naturally.”
“Wow, that’s insane. I knew something felt off.”
“Right! I was wondering why actor Yo Han Sung suddenly became a producer on R-Connect.”
No matter how capable Gyeol was, he couldn’t act excited like the other Omegas. So instead, he chose to act shocked—like he was too stunned to process it. Since both late-entry twist cards had been sent to him, it wasn’t an unnatural reaction.
But why had Yo Han Sung sent those cards to him?
The fact that Yo Han Sung had voted for Gyeol twice would be broadcast exactly as it was.
Even among such prominent cast members, Yo Han Sung had the greatest buzz. For someone like him to choose Gyeol meant, purely in terms of Gyeol’s goal to become the main character of R-Connect Season 10, it was an overwhelming advantage.
The problem was that Yo Han Sung wasn’t someone who wouldn’t realize that. Why would a man who seemed desperate to tear Gyeol apart create a situation that benefited him?
What’s his angle?
A faint sweat gathered in his palm. Gyeol quietly clenched his fist, trying to calm his racing heart.
Damn it. Did I come on a dating show or some kind of brain game?
Who comes on a dating show and has to think this hard?
The Alpha “Death Save Match” will now begin.
The rules are simple.
The Omegas will drift in the sea. The Alphas will start from the beach, enter the water, and rescue them.
Only one Alpha—the first to rescue an Omega—will win the Ivory Mansion date ticket.
The Omegas each secretly drew a ball. Animals were drawn on them. Rabbit, puppy...
Gyeol drew a unicorn.
Soon after, he was thrown into the sea, sitting atop a unicorn-shaped float.
“...I—I’m scared.”
It was an honest reaction. Every time a wave rose, the float bobbed up and down significantly. Fear crept in.
Now he understood why, during the pre-meeting, the staff had asked if he was okay with going into the water.
Clinging tightly to the unicorn’s neck, Gyeol cautiously looked around.
Out of camera view, a rescue team was waiting.
The other Omegas, spaced apart on their floats, seemed calm. Isu Yoon, sitting on a puppy float, noticed Gyeol’s gaze and even waved.
Terrified, Gyeol awkwardly smiled and waved back.
I can’t swim.
He carefully looked down at the sea. The water was clear enough to see through—but the bottom was nowhere in sight.
That meant it was extremely deep. His feet definitely wouldn’t touch.
Shit.
If he fell, he’d die. He’d die.
To make matters worse, he had no idea which Alpha would come to rescue him. According to the staff, they would also draw balls randomly.
Hurry. Whoever gets the unicorn, I don’t care who it is—just come save me. Please?
No—except Yo Han Sung.
And thinking about it again, not Jun Shin either.
At that moment, a wave surged violently.
“—!”
Flattening himself against the float, Gyeol barely avoided being thrown into the sea.
“Haah... haah...”
His breath came in gasps. What kind of insane game was this? This was ridiculous.
Bang!
The starting signal fired. The Alphas, lined up on the beach, all began running at once.
Sun Choi. Please be Sun Choi.
He was an Olympic-level swimmer. This was basically handing first place to him.
Gyeol narrowed his eyes, trying to see who was coming to rescue him. But the distance was too far; the Alphas looked like tiny dots, making it impossible to tell who was who.
“...Who is it?”
In an instant, one person dove into the water first.
Soon after, the other Alphas followed.
Running and swimming—especially in the sea—were completely different. The rankings shifted quickly. The two people pulling ahead, cutting through the water faster than anyone else...
There were two of them.
But something was strange. Both of the leaders were heading straight toward Gyeol.
“...Huh?”
For a moment, he didn’t understand—but the answer came quickly.
There were five Alphas now because of the late-entry twist, but still only four Omegas. That meant there must have been two balls with the unicorn on the Alpha side.
Who is it?
Biting his lip anxiously, Gyeol stared intently at the two approaching figures.
Then one pulled slightly ahead, taking the lead. A long, streamlined body, arms cutting cleanly through the water with powerful strokes.
Sun Choi...!
There was no way he could mistake him. The year Sun Choi dominated the Olympics and swept gold medals—anyone in the country would have seen his races countless times.
Gyeol had too. He had watched the footage over and over, amazed that someone could swim like that. For someone like Gyeol, who feared water and couldn’t swim, Sun Choi had seemed even more impressive.
Outside the water, Sun Choi was like a big dog. But once he entered the water, he cut through it like a shark.
His heart thudded low in his chest. He didn’t know if it was fear—or because Sun Choi was coming to save him.
The distance was now about fifty meters.
Clutching the unicorn’s neck tightly, Gyeol silently cheered for him.
Faster! Faster! Please save me!
But Gyeol could no longer see the person coming toward him.
It happened in an instant. A massive wave rose up like a gaping mouth and swallowed the unicorn float whole.
“—!”
Seawater flipped Gyeol over. Even as he was dragged by the wave, he clung desperately to the unicorn’s neck like it was his lifeline.
As expected, the water beneath him was incredibly deep. Nothing touched.
In the chaos, overwhelming fear crushed him. Cough. He swallowed a mouthful of water, unprepared, and began to thrash helplessly.
But he still clung to the unicorn’s neck, unable to get out of the water. The float had completely flipped over. Disoriented, his head kept slamming into the underside of it.
Cough. Cough.
Am I going to die like this?
“Dad!” Yuli’s face, waiting for him, appeared vividly in his mind.
He didn’t want to die like this.
He hadn’t come on a dating show, pushing himself this far, just to die.
As his breath constricted and his mind went blank, his consciousness fading—
Gyeol accepted the end that had come too soon.
Yuli.
I’m sorry.
His vision flickered, then went black.
At that moment, someone grabbed Gyeol’s waist and pulled him up.