【Title: GUYS HOLY SH-T IT'S OUT, IT'S OUT LMAOOOOO】
You know that show everyone on socials wouldn't shut up about lmaooo. That
<Forever Alone Dating>thing. The air date FINALLY dropped lol. December 25th. Holy sh-t lmao, they picked one hell of a date.The MC lineup's out too. Looks like all the same people from
<X-Transfer>are coming back? Lulla's antics are so freaking funny, this is gonna be a blast lolol.【Comments】
Anon1: omg lmaooo I can already hear Lulla shrieking her head off at the forever-aloners all the way over here lmaooooo wait she doesn't actually hate them right
Anon2: the date came out so good. but isn't that day the Music Awards?
⤷ who cares, it's on N-flix anyway ⤷ ooh sweet, wonder if they'll drop a few episodes early again this time
Anon3: seems like they DM'd everyone who's even kinda famous on socials
Anon4: ugh Yoo Heeseo and Kim Jonghwan aren't coming ㅠㅠㅠ damn ㅠㅠ their faces looked so good together
⤷ lol those two dated and broke up ⤷ huh for real?? when?? the whole world spins fast without me ⤷ dated for a month then broke up crazy fast, heard somebody cheated. if they'd come on it'd literally just be X-Transfer lol ⤷ damn, that woulda been worth watching though
Anon5: anyway when do they even film this? there were sighting rumors going around
⤷ first shoot is August 1st yeah, it's official
【Title: GUYSGUYSGUYSSS omg everyone is he REALLY on Forever Alone Dating??】
Why the hell is a chaebol on this?
【Title: chaebols these days are so open-minded it's wild】
Lmaooo even though he's a total raging menace lol, he's a literal chaebol lmaoo, and apparently Gabaek gave the okay for him to appear, which is even funnier lmaoooooo. Isn't this gonna wreck their image?
【Title: lol Ga Gijo posted on Starstagram lmaooo】
Male Contestant No. 2, "Pop" lmaooo. Holy sh-t, he named himself after his favorite club.
【Comments】
Anon1: Pop [the club]: Gijo-chan, arigato~ sales skyrocketing~
August in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, wasn't just hot. It was blazing.
Last year they'd called it the worst heat wave on record. This year the heat broke even that, so that from the crack of dawn the warmth had been pricking at his skin like tiny needles.
Having barely made it through that swelter to arrive, Raon was now in the interview room on the twelfth floor of the N-network building.
Scrolling listlessly through his Starstagram DMs, Lee Raon let out a long sigh.
[Director Yoon Miji: Hi there~ Is this Lee Raon? Seo Minhee gave me your contact. I got the profile photo and you're just so striking, so I was wondering if a pre-interview might be possible? The location is…]
And right below it, his own reply:
[Sure.]
Lee Raon. You absolute idiot. You money-grubbing fool.
What had he been thinking when he accepted this? No matter how badly he needed cash, he never should've just grabbed at something like this.
The regret came crashing in too late, but it was way past the point of canceling.
<Even If You've Never Dated, You Can Find Love!> — shortened to <Forever Alone Dating> — was a dating program featuring lifelong singles alongside so-called romance experts, self-proclaimed and otherwise. The whole concept paired veterans who'd been through hell and high water in love with "forever-aloners" who'd never so much as held a partner's hand.
It was also the follow-up to <X-Transfer>, the show where exes met up to cry, scream, and stew in their old feelings. Ever since the article confirming production dropped, the project had been getting an absurd amount of attention.
That was exactly why he'd refused at first. It was the kind of gig where your face got plastered everywhere. For an introvert who hated being noticed, it was the worst possible program.
But five million won per episode.
The whole thing was planned for twelve episodes, so all told that came to sixty million won.
That wasn't the kind of money a fresh college grad could earn in a short stretch any other way.
His only alternatives were the so-called "high-pay" jobs at bars or hostess clubs, and he would rather die than do that.
It wasn't just that he didn't have the kind of personality to walk up to strangers with a bright smile. That sort of work also required drinking, and he couldn't touch a drop of alcohol.
And above all, Raon wanted to earn his money honorably.
So that he wouldn't be a shame to his parents up in heaven.
With a clear conscience.
In that sense, appearing on the program was the one thing Raon could do right now that was both legal and well-paying.
He needed to do something immediately to cover his cousin's drunk-driving settlement, after all.
That was the whole reason he'd shown up in place of the friend who'd gotten back together with his girlfriend.
But the human heart sways like a reed in the wind.
"Should've taken a calming pill first…"
They said it was just a casual chat, but conversation with a stranger was always terrifying and dreadful.
He hastily crossed himself, but maybe because he had no faith, God didn't soothe the chest that nerves had clamped tight at all.
"Raon!"
"!"
Raon, who'd been wracking his brain, shot up from his seat. Along with the click of the door opening, a woman and a man stepped inside, one after the other.
The man held a camera mount in his hands, and perched on top of it was, unmistakably, a broadcast-grade camera.
And, as if to make a point of it, he fixed it right in front of the desk where Raon sat.
Flustered, Raon parted his plump lips.
"The, the camera, why-."
"Ahh. Since we're all going to be on screen, you know. So it doubles as a camera test, and if your appearance gets confirmed we'll use it for the pre-interview footage. Of course, if it falls through, we'll definitely scrap it. I sent a quick heads-up by text."
"Ahh…"
Now that he thought about it, there had been a line like that. He'd been so nervous his memory was hazy.
"Like I said over text, I'm Yoon Miji, the planner and director for <Forever Alone Dating> this time around. Nice to meet you."
"I-I'm Lee Raon."
Tense all over, Raon accepted her business card. Watching his lost, wandering eyes, Yoon Miji smiled brightly and told him to relax.
"It's called a pre-interview, but it's nothing hard. The questions are just everyday stuff? Ideal type, that kind of thing, just a few. So take it easy. Talk to me like you would a friend."
"…"
That woman. She was definitely an MBTI 'E.' Telling a born introvert to think of someone he'd just met as a friend.
But he was the one who'd done the favor for his friend, and he was the one who'd agreed to the pre-interview. There was no way to back out now that he'd come this far, so Raon shut both eyes tight and nodded.
"Great, let's start, then. Let me know if you want more drinks or snacks."
"…Thank you."
Raon dipped his head and carefully sat back down.
Bleep — a light came on atop the camera.
Clearing her throat, Yoon Miji took a sip from a prepared glass of water.
"Then I'll begin. How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Our program runs on aliases instead of real names. When we sent the offer, what nickname did you say you'd go with?"
"'Cherry.'"
"The reason?"
"I… like cherries."
It was a rather plain reason, but Yoon Miji smiled and nodded.
"I see here you majored in Western painting at Hanguk University? I hear the competition there is brutal. Did you study abroad too, by any chance?"
"…Yes. I did."
"Where did you go?"
"Paris, France."
"My goodness. So you're a total study-abroad type, Raon. And you're so handsome, why on earth haven't you had a girlfriend?"
"Well…"
Raon's eyes darted around.
On a dating show with both women and men.
Because I'm gay…
That was something he absolutely, positively could not say.
Tock, tock.
A man walked the long corridor, the low click of his heels keeping time, and took a sip of his ice americano.
2 P.M.
Ga Gijo, who'd cut his way through summer weather just as miserably hot as everyone else's, looked around.
Twelfth floor, N-network building, Sangam-dong.
He'd only ever appeared on the news, so it was his first time at a broadcast platform like this. Gijo's eyes brimmed with rare curiosity.
He reached the very last room.
Arriving at the location he'd been given in advance, he skipped knocking altogether and opened the door.
"Who's——. Oh!"
Yoon Miji, who'd been poring over the contestant roster, sprang up with a wide grin.
Gijo too pulled the straw from his mouth, smiling brightly as he approached her.
"You're Director Yoon Miji, right? I'm Ga Gijo."
"Hello, Gijo. I'm Yoon Miji. So many striking people are coming in today."
The guy she'd met this morning had been the same. Gijo she'd seen plenty on socials and the news, but the real thing was so much more of a knockout.
A towering frame nearing 190 centimeters, broad squared shoulders. Below them, a firm, well-cut body. The slightly upturned corners of his eyes, sharp, defined features, and the small mole at the left corner of his mouth — he was as polished as any actor.
If the man from this morning was a pretty, pale fawn, this one was closer to a sleek, dangerous snake.
After they'd exchanged warm greetings, Yoon Miji sat down at the desk with a thrumming heart.
The man's looks were one thing, but with just these two she'd met today, she was so certain the ratings would explode that her heart trembled.
"Then I'll start, Gijo. Don't worry, there won't be any sensitive questions."
"It's fine, ask the sensitive ones. The trash reporters ask that kind of stuff all the time anyway."
The languid voice dropped onto the table. Leaning back into the chair, Gijo crossed his long legs. Unlike a certain someone earlier who'd gone pale past the point of mere nerves, he looked utterly at ease.
Bleep.
Confirming the camera light was on, Yoon Miji checked the contestant's particulars.
"You're plenty famous already, Gijo, but let's run through it anyway. How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-nine."
His words were rather curt, but knowing his free-spirited nature, Yoon Miji didn't mind.
"When you said you'd appear on <Forever Alone Dating>, didn't the Gabaek Group have anything to say? It's still a TV appearance."
"Who knows. I'm already the family black sheep, basically disowned. Ah, the chairman did say one thing. Don't drag the family name through any more mud."
"For your alias, you went with 'Pop'? Is there a reason?"
"A reason, huh."
What was it again.
Gijo slowly stroked his own jaw.
"All the people I've f-cked the hell out of were at that club. Women and men, every last one."
"…"
"Ah."
Gijo huffed a laugh.
"I'm not supposed to say stuff like that, right?"
