"PD, is it really okay for that to air as is?"
Meanwhile, Writer Choi, who'd been listening to the self-introduction, whispered cautiously. No matter how you cut it, the word "sex" was a bit much, wasn't it?
At the remark that she was worried about the standards review, PD Park laughed quietly.
"It's fine, it's rated 19+. Our country's standards are looser than you'd think. And, well, we expected it."
That Ga Gijo's temperament and conduct were thoroughly free-spirited was already well known.
He'd been a little surprised by the blunt wording, but still, <Forever Alone Dating> was an adult-targeted broadcast.
Rather than everyone staying too prim and proper, having one character like that was exactly what gave a show its flavor.
"I'm seriously so excited, Miji."
When we first planned this, I wondered if it'd even work, but.
"I've got a feeling. A feeling."
His ten-plus years of broadcast experience were telling him.
This was definitely going to hit.
After Ga Gijo's shocking self-PR.
The other experts and singles, too, rose one by one to finish their introductions.
But because such a strong dose of dopamine had been splashed up front, even wanting to grab attention, there was a limit.
"This is all 'cause of you, Gi… no, Pop."
"What did I do."
"You went on like a sex parrot, so nobody's intro has any zing left."
"Bullsh-t."
At Jerry's grumbling, Ga Gijo let a chuckle slip.
Certainly no one had given an introduction as intense. After all, Raon too was fixed solely on 'Ga Gijo,' more than on any of the other contestants.
Should I give up even now?
It's still the early part of the program.
The reality that he had to be locked up here with Ga Gijo for ten days suddenly made him feel wretched. How was it that the moment he came to Korea he got tangled with the guy, and on top of that had to live together in Jeju with him?
But just around the time his feet itched to run.
The speaker rang out once more.
[Then, from now we'll begin the building tour. Everyone, please check your phones.]
At that, every contestant pulled their phone from their pockets.
Bleep-.
A notification chimed from someone's phone right on cue.
[The file we've just sent is the floor plan of this
<Forever Alone Dating>hotel.][The hotel runs from the 1st floor to the 6th, all the way up to this rooftop garden, and not far away there's one more small annex. We'll be calling that place the 'Red Zone.']
Red Zone?
Listening to the explanation, Raon frowned.
Something about even the name was out of the ordinary.
[The 4th floor is the men's quarters, the 5th floor the women's quarters.]
[And of course, even here, experts and singles sleep separately.]
After that, the narration explaining that they'd learn the other floors gradually moved on to the next mission.
[When we first introduced the program, we mentioned the
<Partner Match>. Do you remember?]
Yes-.
Several voices rang out here and there.
[Before you head to your quarters.]
[From now, we'll begin the
<Partner Match>.]
Partner Match.
The one matched one-on-one with you, to stay together until the program's end.
The contestants naturally began checking one another's reactions.
That included Raon.
And then, when his eyes met Ga Gijo's dead-on, he flinched and hurried to dodge the gaze.
Seeing this, Ga Gijo wore a meaningful smile as the broadcast continued.
[The partner match method isn't random.]
[It's by designation.]
By designation?
So that meant you could pick a specific someone to do it with?
As if to resolve this question of Raon's, the explanation went on.
[The singles directly select one of the experts as their partner.]
"!"
"?!"
The people seated on the singles' sofa were all flustered at once.
By what they'd just heard,
A single, directly.
It meant they had to choose one person from among those people.
…Hold on.
They said same-sex partners were possible too earlier.
So doesn't that mean if I mess up I could end up paired with Ga Gijo?
Spooked without realizing it, Raon gripped his phone tight.
Th-that, at least.
Absolutely not!
Getting tangled up thick with that Ga Gijo again.
He'd decline even if they offered him a hundred million.
But life never goes as you wish.
[The order for choosing partners.]
[Will go by the order you arrived here.]
"Wh-what?"
Tightly wound, Raon let out a sound without meaning to.
The broadcast, calmly driving him to the cliff's edge, added mercilessly,
[The single who arrived at the rooftop garden first. Please stand.]
Th-this is, what on earth…
On the verge of screaming on the spot, Raon bit down hard on his lower lip.
"Hurry and pick me, Cherry~!"
"Pick me and I'll teach you all kinds of things."
Just as he agonized.
Excited voices came from the expert side.
It seemed the only one who wanted to cry right now was Raon. As if this system gave them a dopamine kick, when he glanced over at the experts, they all wore eager faces.
To make matters worse, the singles beside him meekly offered messages of encouragement. You got this!
"…Haa."
Wanting to die even more, Raon heaved his backside, stuck fast to the sofa, up with effort.
Rising to his feet under everyone's attention, Raon turned his body toward the experts.
"Ah! Hold on a sec."
Just then, the woman who'd introduced herself as Yuna shot her hand up.
"How about we do it this way? Before the singles pick, we each get to say one line of appeal."
"Oh, that's not bad?"
The female expert sitting with her, Dobby, smiled brightly and volleyed back.
Before Raon could say anything, Jerry too agreed that it wasn't a bad idea.
And Ga Gijo, as well-.
"That's good, that."
He showed an enthusiastic reaction, smiling wide.
"…"
Suddenly set to receive appeals from all four experts, Raon felt his mind go faint.
But they'd already settled on their own rule.
The PD side must've found it fun too, since they didn't particularly object.
In the end, having missed his chance to push back, Raon looked at them with a half-resigned face.
Yuna, who'd first proposed the appeal format, grinned.
"I'm seriously a master at dealing with people. I'll treat you better than anyone. Cherry-oppa."
At the address that slid in suddenly, Raon was a touch flustered.
But all they had to do was use nicknames. Since there'd been no particular suggestion about modes of address, it wasn't a rule violation.
"Hey, already calling him oppa. This girl."
Jerry tossed in a comment.
Yuna shrugged.
"Rather than a younger one,"
Just then, Dobby, sitting demurely with both legs together, gave a light smiling glance.
"Wouldn't noona be able to teach you better, I wonder."
At that, gasp-like exclamations burst out from those around. Scratched in an instant, Yuna looked at her with startled eyes.
"Eonni!"
"Sorry."
Tossing a smiling glance toward her dongsaeng too, Dobby quipped breezily.
Cutting into that gap, Jerry hurriedly spoke.
"Isn't it easier to talk man-to-man? Just trust me and follow along, and you'll walk away with the prize money nice and tidy too, Cherry. Let's safely get both love and money together."
"Why's this guy sound like a con artist."
Listening in, Ga Gijo tacked on a tch.
At that, the people around burst into laughter.
Pricked by his own conscience, Jerry glared at his friend.
"Then you say something too."
When he shoved his friend's back, urging him to give it a shot, Ga Gijo abruptly smacked his lips.
Then, after glancing at Raon once…
"That hyung's damn good at everything."
"…"
"You know that, right, Cherry?"
What, what's that supposed to mean.
Listening, Jerry looked at him again with a spooked face.
But instead of any further explanation, Ga Gijo creased his eyes prettily and smiled.
A gaze glistening with desire raked over Raon relentlessly. Unable to budge an inch, Raon swallowed dryly.
[Then, now.]
After a short beat.
[Please choose.]
The time of decision drew near.
With every contestant's attention focused, Raon lowered his long lashes.
After hesitating a moment, he parted lips gone dry with tension.
"I…"
