Gyeol opened his eyes close to evening.
His last memory before losing consciousness was thrashing underwater. The moment he recalled it, his breath burst out as if a fistful of water had drained from his lungs. Gyeol shot upright.
The rustling feel of the blanket was familiar.
He was on the bed in his lodging—the room he had grown somewhat attached to over the past two days.
“...What?”
Had the rescue team saved him?
Rubbing the back of his neck, Gyeol panted for a while.
Unlike the glittering surface of the sea reflecting sunlight, underwater had been pitch-black and dark. The terror of that moment had etched itself into his mind, refusing to fade.
Yuli.
I want to see Yuli.
I want to hear his voice.
The longing rose without context. He wanted to grab his phone and call immediately, but even then, he couldn’t help being aware of the cameras.
What do you think will happen if the world finds out a kid’s dad went on a dating show?
Yo Han had already given him that warning.
He had to be careful.
Pale-faced, Gyeol rubbed his arm and got out of bed.
First, he had to understand the situation.
Gyeol carefully opened the door and stepped outside.
In the modest living room, furnished only with a sofa and vanity, the production crew had gathered in a crowd. No wonder it had sounded noisy beyond the door.
“Oh, Gyeol! Are you okay?”
The youngest staff writer was the first to jump up and approach him.
“I’m okay. But I’m thirsty... Could I have some water?”
“Ah, maybe because you swallowed seawater. One second.”
The youngest staff writer hurried out.
Since filming was taking place on an isolated island for fifteen days, an emergency medical team was always on-site. A doctor asked Gyeol a few simple questions, then handed him medication.
“Your condition seems fine, but this is a tranquilizer, just in case. You don’t have to take it if you feel okay.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Just then, the youngest staff writer returned with a 500ml bottle of water.
His shock still hadn’t settled, so Gyeol immediately tipped the tranquilizer into his mouth and swallowed it with water.
“Gyeol Go. Can you continue filming?”
The flat question came from Producer Yoo, who had been silently watching the situation.
Gyeol looked at her with widened eyes, caught off guard.
Producer Yoo explained with a faint smile.
“Since an accident happened, we bear responsibility too. I thought it was only right to ask what you, the person involved, want to do.”
Though she was smiling, she didn’t exactly seem kind or considerate.
It felt like she was asking out of formality.
Nothing more.
Without thinking, Gyeol scanned the faces of the staff. He was checking whether Yo Han was there, but Producer Yoo seemed to take it differently.
“Of course, I’d like you to keep filming with us.”
“Ah...”
Yo Han wasn’t in the room.
Gyeol wondered whether he should correct the misunderstanding—and if so, what he should say—but she added in a firmer tone.
“To be honest, even if you said you wanted to leave, I’d try to stop you and persuade you. Since we both know how this works, I’ll be frank. You’re the most popular cast member right now.”
“......”
“So if you let this one slide, I promise nothing similar will ever happen again. And in addition, nothing disadvantageous will happen to you.”
The last part was strange.
Nothing disadvantageous?
Reading the confusion on Gyeol’s face, Producer Yoo offered him a handshake and said bluntly,
“I’m saying I’ll edit you well.”
Like most dating shows, R-Connect was infamous for provocative editing.
So-called “evil editing.”
In that sense, Gyeol was at a disadvantage. It wasn’t about how much screen time he got or how popular he was.
R-Connect Season 10 was a celebrity-and-famous-people special. Not a single cast member was without an agency.
When celebrities appeared on dating shows, their agencies usually exerted pressure so bad moments were filtered out and only favorable sides were shown, allowing them to avoid evil editing.
The size of the agency—and the influence that came with it—couldn’t be ignored.
But what about Gyeol Go?
After his contract renewal with LM Entertainment fell through, he had followed Kisoo Yang, who said he was starting an agency, and ended up here.
Kisoo’s agency was tiny among tiny agencies.
Scale? Power? Influence?
Connections?
It had nothing.
Of course, he had joined Season 10 on the recommendation of LM Entertainment’s CEO, but Gyeol no longer belonged to LM, and the CEO had no reason to look after him.
Dating shows needed at least one villain to gather dopamine.
Among contestants who all had something going for them, Gyeol was practically the weakest.
Perfect casting for a villain.
“You know what I mean, right?”
So Producer Yoo’s offer was essentially to fill the one thing Gyeol lacked.
The one thing effort alone could never overcome.
“Yes, of course. I look forward to working with you, Producer.”
There was no reason to refuse.
Even after nearly drowning in the sea, Gyeol’s resolve to become the main character of R-Connect Season 10 hadn’t wavered in the slightest.
***
“Gyeol, how are you feeling? I was really worried.”
When Isu Yoon returned to their lodging, he checked on Gyeol.
He seemed badly shaken too, so Gyeol deliberately smiled brightly and reassured him that he was fine.
Then he heard what had happened.
It was shocking.
“...Really?”
“Yeah. Really!”
Yo Han had won the Alpha Death Save Match.
By rescuing Gyeol.
On top of that, he had even performed CPR.
“......”
Whether he knew how indescribably strange Gyeol felt or not, Isu’s face flushed as he chattered excitedly.
“It was seriously incredible. All the Omegas screamed. Yo Han Sung really is amazing.”
No.
Did that make sense?
When Sun Choi, Olympic swimming gold medalist, was right there?
“I was right next to you, remember? I saw everything. The second you fell in, Yo Han Sung suddenly accelerated like crazy and overtook everyone... Wow.”
“What was the rescue team doing? How did Yo Han Sung end up—”
“Oh, Yo Han Sung was faster. He brought you all the way to shore before the rescue team even got there.”
It was difficult to believe without having seen it.
Gyeol decided he absolutely had to monitor the broadcast later.
“Since Yo Han Sung took first place, normally he and whoever he chooses would go on the Ivory Mansion date today... but since there was an accident, they’re postponing the date until tomorrow.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Gyeol, are you really okay? You don’t look good.”
“No. I think I’m just still shocked.”
Feeling burdened by Isu’s worried gaze, Gyeol decided to change the subject. He asked the first question that came to mind.
“Then who is Yo Han Sung going on the date with?”
He could ask because he was sure it wouldn’t be him.
That man snarled at the sight of Gyeol’s shadow.
He didn’t know why Yo Han had saved his life, but wasn’t life and death too serious to be swayed by whether one liked or disliked a person?
Gyeol concluded according to a logic that matched his own sense of justice: he would have saved someone too.
“He hasn’t chosen yet. I think he’ll choose right before leaving tomorrow.”
Of course.
Yo Han had joined as the late-entry twist and immediately taken first place. The production crew would obviously want to milk the screen time.
Either way, for optics, Gyeol would probably have to thank Yo Han tonight for saving him.
This is seriously stressful.
He had to do it somewhere full of cameras.
Calming his already-complicated mind, Gyeol repeated that decision to himself.
***
While Gyeol lay unconscious, the contestants freely talked and enjoyed their dates.
As dinnertime approached, the production crew gathered them together.
“Please change outfits, touch up hair and makeup, and once you’re ready, we’ll proceed with today’s favorability vote.”
Considering they had voted at night until the previous day, this was quite early.
The contestants looked puzzled, but followed the production crew’s instructions and completed their votes one by one.
Because Gyeol agonized over it for so long, he was the last to visit the mailboxes.
Yo Han saved me, so visually, I should put my card in Yo Han’s mailbox today.
It was obvious.
Even knowing that, he didn’t want to send a card to that bastard.
Yo Han was desperate to tear him apart. He had even threatened him by bringing up Yuli.
Gyeol wanted to avoid him as much as possible and stay out of his orbit.
But...
It was hard to say the choice was entirely his.
Gyeol clenched his teeth, made up his mind, and stepped into camera range.
The five Alpha mailboxes waited for him in a row.
***
Crackle, crackle.
The sound of burning wood rang pleasantly across the beach.
It was a huge campfire.
Facing the flames that brightly lit the dark, deserted island night, the contestants all smiled with delight.
“Wow, this is so romantic.”
“I love this. What do we do?”
In front of the campfire, there were various beers and a generous spread of snacks.
“We prepared this since the Ivory Mansion date was postponed until tomorrow. Please relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourselves.”
At Producer Yoo’s explanation, the contestants responded brightly and sat down one by one.
“Since Yo Han Sung is here too, this is like a welcome party!”
At Tommy’s cheerful voice, the cast agreed.
Yo Han responded with a look, a handsome smile spread across his face.
Unbearable to watch.
Was this what people meant by selling dog meat while hanging up a sheep’s head?
Clicking his tongue inwardly, Gyeol looked for a seat.
Only a few were left.
Next to Jun Shin.
Or next to Yo Han Sung.
What the hell? I should’ve sat down earlier.
He had purposely moved slowly to avoid sitting beside those two.
As he stood there, troubled, someone called him.
“Gyeol Go. Sit over here.”