"Thanks for picking me, oppa!"
A brief break.
As the matched partners moved to switch seats, Yuna sidled up close beside Raon and greeted him.
"Not at all. I'm the one who should say nice to work with you."
"Aw, you can talk casually with me, you know. I'm calling you oppa, after all."
At that, Raon gave an awkward smile. Maybe because he'd dug at one well, and one only, from elementary all the way through college. Faced with someone approaching like this, Raon's head spun busily over how to handle it.
But the other party was just as quick to read the room.
"Once we get more comfortable, drop the formal speech then. Calling you oppa's okay, right?"
"Yes, yes. That's fine… You can speak casually with me, too."
"No way. This kind of thing, you drop it when you're both comfortable!"
Saying it'd be a little weird if only one of them dropped the formality, Yuna quipped lightly.
Maybe thanks to her sociability, his body, tense all this while, loosened up little by little.
Choosing this person really was the right call.
Thanks to his diligent nature he'd gotten to pick a partner first, and the person he'd chosen was none other than Yuna.
Because she's so personable.
Raon knew it himself, just how boring of a human he was. On top of that, since he was incredibly shy with strangers, to adapt well to the program he needed to be paired with someone the opposite of himself.
The person most fitting for that was precisely Yuna.
Dobby's a bit hard to approach.
Maybe because she's older. Perhaps it was her calm, intellectual air, but oddly she was harder to talk to.
The same went for Jerry, who gave off that con-artist whiff.
And besides…
Doesn't he look close with Ga Gijo?
If he carelessly partnered up and Jerry told Ga Gijo about him…
Raon shook his head without realizing it.
He didn't even want to think about it.
"Alright. We're going back to filming!"
Before long, the red light on the camera came on.
Pulling himself together, Raon straightened his back.
"…"
"…"
The gaze of Ga Gijo, watching him relentlessly from one side,
he just ignored with all his might.
[It's free time until dinner. Please move to your respective rooms.]
[The luggage you brought is prepared in your rooms.]
With a closing note that they could tour the building's interior during the free time, the narration ended.
The contestants rose from their seats as if they'd been waiting for it.
"Oppa, shall we go too?"
Standing up together, Yuna held out a hand.
Then, seeing Raon freeze, she immediately apologized.
"Sorry. I was in the States up until recently. I'm a little touchy-feely."
"…It's fine."
Getting up awkwardly, Raon glanced around.
Thankfully, Ga Gijo was already heading off ahead of him.
His mind a good deal more at ease, he worked up the courage to ask a question.
"May I ask why you were in the States?"
"Ah, of course!"
Overcome with emotion just at the fact that he'd asked her a question, Yuna's eyes sparkled.
"It's nothing big. I went to my relatives' place for a bit, part travel. My aunt lives in California. You said you were in France too, Raon-oppa? How long were you there?"
"I wasn't there that long either. About a year."
"A year's still longer than me. Plenty of my friends do art, and a lot of them head to Italy and France."
"It's probably because the infrastructure there is the best."
"Right, that's what they say…"
Yuna was more lively and personable than he'd thought. And fitting her job as a tattoo artist, she had an interest in art and drawing too. Thanks to that, on the way to the elevator, they managed to exchange a few more words.
She seems like a good kid.
The way she kept the conversation going even though a man with no gift for chatter like himself could be stifling, and the way she was careful with how she addressed and treated him. Thankfully, she seemed like a decent person.
Oddly similar to Minhee, too.
"What. Why'd you two get so close?"
Jerry, who'd reached the elevator first along with Gijo, tacked on a remark that he felt left out.
"Talk with me too, Cherry. We're on the same floor anyway."
The 4th floor was the men's quarters, the 5th the women's.
Even with the rooms separated, as Jerry said, it was an environment where they could meet as much as they liked.
I'll just stay in my room.
From what I heard, it sounds like two to a room. Since his fellow forever-aloner 'Quokka' seemed quiet like him, he probably wouldn't go dragging anyone over.
I'll just stay as quiet as possible and get through this.
Without getting tangled up or standing out for no reason.
But no sooner had he made that resolve,
"Cherry."
than the very person he most wanted to avoid beckoned.
"Come here. Let's ride together."
"What? Hey, you've gotta come with me."
"We're on the same floor anyway."
Having answered carelessly, Gijo jerked his chin toward the thoroughly tense prey.
"What're you doing, not coming?"
"…"
And here I thought I'd just managed to slip past.
Summoned out of nowhere, Raon swallowed dryly.
When he reflexively looked at Yuna beside him, she too seemed rather taken aback.
"Do you two know each other?"
"Same-school alumni."
After the short explanation, Gijo pressed the elevator button.
Ding-.
With a clear chime, the door opened.
Stepping inside first, he looked at Raon and smiled.
"What're you doing, Cherry."
Not following hyung.
"…"
"…"
I should've toughed it out somehow, whatever it took.
He'd expected it, but the moment the door shut, a suffocating silence fell.
Swallowing dryly, Raon glanced at the floor number ticking down by one.
But unlike the nuance that he was about to say something any second, right up until they reached the 4th floor he didn't utter a single word.
Is he minding the cameras?
Then again, all of this is being recorded too.
Since even his voice would be picked up, even Ga Gijo couldn't speak carelessly to him.
Thinking that, the cameras that had felt nothing but oppressive started to seem a little like a savior.
[4th floor.] [Door opening.]
The instant he heard that, Raon, fist clenched tight, stepped off the elevator as if fleeing.
Looking hurriedly around, he spotted a sign marking the room locations not far off.
Thankfully, the experts' and lifelong singles' rooms were split completely left and right.
It meant that even on the same floor, they were on opposite ends.
But Ga Gijo didn't go to his own room.
"Wh-why are you following me?"
As if this were his own turf, Ga Gijo, who'd invaded the lifelong-single section so matter-of-factly, smiled.
Then, taking a few more steps toward the prey,
he abruptly reached out and gripped the shoulder that was nothing but bone, hard.
"Ngh?!"
Startled by the sudden restraint, Raon swallowed a groan.
In the blink of an eye, Gijo yanked him in close and pressed his lips to his ear.
"Hey."
"…!"
Raw breath bored into his eardrum at once.
Raon hunched in on himself without realizing it.
So that his voice wouldn't bleed into the mic.
Very carefully, he let out one word at a time.
"It's damn good to see you after so long, Raon."
"…"
"For you to be a forever-aloner."
You're no virgin, though.
"I f-cking took your dick, didn't I."
The hand gripping his shoulder tightened.
"No, wait. Did Raon take mine?"
"Wh-what the."
At the last line, Raon, jolting at last, stepped back.
Not at all like a man who'd been gripping him tight just a second ago, Gijo released his target readily.
Then he smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
"See you later, Cherry."
To Raon, those words sounded just like a warning.
That if he ducked away minding the man's mood even one more time, he wouldn't be let off.
That kind of terrifying warning.
"Wow, they did this up properly."
Jerry, who'd ridden up in the next elevator, marveled the moment he entered the room.
The room, decorated in retro style like the exterior, was trendy without feeling especially dated, thanks to the tastefully chosen props.
"They must've put a lot of thought in. They're serious about the set."
As he toured the room, Jerry spotted a camera installed in one corner of the ceiling and waved at it cheerfully.
The changing room's separate, right.
The only rooms without cameras or audio were three in total.
The dressing room for changing clothes, the toilet, and the bathroom.
It was a given, since you'd be exposing your body, but still.
Having looked around a good while, Jerry even pulled out his phone and snapped photos all over the room.
Then, spotting Gijo sprawled out alone on the bed, he narrowed his eyes.
"Hey, Gi… no, Mr. Pop."
"What?"
Not taking his eyes off his phone, Gijo answered carelessly.
Jerry swallowed with a hngh.
"What's your deal with Cherry?"
