—Did you all enjoy your meal?
—Oh no! While some of you enjoyed your meal with fluttering hearts, it seems some of you ate a lonely solo meal as well?
—But it's too early to be disappointed. Today is only the first day, after all. There's still plenty of time left to get to know each other!
—After one hour of free time, there will be a couple game where you compete for the first date ticket.
—The Alpha who had to eat a tearful solo meal will be given an Omega nomination right to choose a partner for the game.
—Now then, please get plenty of rest until the next announcement.
{Alpha × Omega Inner Interview}
Q: Jegal Minhyeok-ssi, you ended up eating alone. How do you feel?
Jegal Minhyeok: Uh... it didn't feel great. I mean, there was someone I kind of hoped would come.... Still, it's not like I wasn't chosen. It was just bad luck. And I have the Omega nomination right, so I can create an opportunity.
Q: Lee Yiyeon -ssi, how did it feel eating with Yoo Dohyun-ssi?
Lee Yiyeon : Neither good nor bad? Around that level, I think. But if I'd known there was an Omega nomination right, I might've been better off eating alone.
Q: Yoo Dohyun-ssi, how did it feel eating with Lee Yiyeon -ssi?
Yoo Dohyun: My heart was fluttering so much I couldn't even tell if the food was going into my nose or my mouth.
Q: You've said Lee Yiyeon -ssi has been your ideal type since your debut…?
Yoo Dohyun: Yes, yes. I'm seriously a fan. Honestly, when the door opened I really wasn't expecting anything, but he was sitting there, so I was like—Is this a dream? I don't think I even answered questions properly.... I don't even remember what I said, honestly. I didn't mess up, did I?
Q: Taeoh-ssi, how did it feel eating with Yoon Yeomin-ssi?
Taeoh: Uh... honestly, it wasn't comfortable. He's a much bigger senior than me... it was hard. He kept nagging.... I couldn't tell if this was variety or a variety officer academy.... How do I put it, he felt a little… like an old fogey.
Q: Yoon Yeomin-ssi, how did it feel eating with Taeoh-ssi?
Yoon Yeomin: A kid...? It felt like eating with a nephew. His hair color was loud, and... there definitely wasn't any sexual attraction. But he's far junior to me. He looked like he wanted to learn a lot, so I gave him some advice. He seemed really happy about it.
Q: What type do you like, Yoon Yeomin-ssi?
Yoon Yeomin: Sweet up top, tyrant down below? Haha.
Q: Jeong Daesu-ssi, you ended up eating with two Omegas. Congratulations. How was the meal with them?
Jeong Daesu: I could've had an intimate date, but one contaminant got in, so I was extremely displeased.
Q: Who is the contaminant?
Jeong Daesu: Can't you tell just by looking?
Q: Han Jisu-ssi, you ate with Jeong Daesu-ssi. How did you feel?
Han Jisu: No, no. I ate with our Dansol. There was something like a big boulder in front of me, sure, but I didn't care. Those fly-like pests swarming around a pretty, cute kid like our Dansol is nothing. Those folding screens? I can take care of them all. I'm Han Jisu. You know, right?
Q: Joo Dansol-ssi, you ate with Jeong Daesu-ssi and Han Jisu-ssi. How did you feel?
Joo Dansol: The braised short ribs... were delicious. For real. (Two thumbs up!)
After the storm-like meal time passed, Dansol went outside alone to spend his free time. He was heading behind the building where he used to hide at Chunmonggak.
There were footsteps following him, but Dansol, whose hearing was dull in one ear, didn't notice at all. He just crouched down in the spot he always sat in.
"When did you find a place like this?"
"Ah! You startled me...!"
Dansol jumped when Lee Yiyeon suddenly popped up behind him, and he ended up falling back onto his butt from where he was sitting.
"Are you okay? Sorry... I called you from behind—did you not hear? I thought you knew I was following you."
Dansol deliberately pretended not to see the hand that grabbed his arm to help him up.
If he got tangled up with Lee Yiyeon , all the point of coming back would be gone, and he might end up living that hellish life again.
"I was focusing a bit. Sunbae, you rest here. I'm going to go."
"No, wait!"
Lee Yiyeon didn't understand what was going on, but for Dansol, the best he could do was avoid him. If Yoo Dohyun—jealous and greedy—saw this…
"What are you two doing here?"
Damn it. Dansol ground out a curse in his head. He ran straight into the situation he least wanted to face, right from the first episode.
Back when he was on the program, he never imagined it, but Yoo Dohyun had actually been a longtime fan of Lee Yiyeon . The reason he came on this program in the first place was Lee Yiyeon , and even after the show ended, the two of them maintained a public relationship for quite a while.
Even after the broadcast ended, for a long time, Yoo Dohyun kept bringing up how Lee Yiyeon showed interest in Dansol early on, every time he did interviews.
Whenever that clip of Yoo Dohyun smiling with watery eyes made the rounds, people blamed Joo Dansol for being fox-like. And whenever it seemed like things might finally die down, it resurfaced again, and they chewed on Dansol relentlessly.
'If I'm going to get tangled up with those two, it's better to quit midway right now.'
"I was going to talk to Dansol anyway. Did you hear about the room assignments? There's only one double room... so it seems like the two of us, the most junior ones, should use it."
'So that's why he hadn't brought it up yet.'
Originally, rooms were chosen by game ranking, but Yoo Dohyun had claimed he was "taking care of the seniors" and ended up sharing a room with Dansol. Because of that, during the time at Chunmonggak, Dansol couldn't sleep properly or eat properly, and he lost five kilograms.
Whenever Dansol entered the room, Yoo Dohyun would turn off his camera and complain like he was talking to himself, slamming things down and making it obvious he was irritated.
He rummaged through Dansol's luggage and used his things without permission, never saying thank you once. He even looked down on the brands Dansol used, and even when he broke things, he never apologized.
But the moment the cameras rolled, he became an angel, so more often than not, Dansol was the one who looked like the bad guy whenever he tried to confront him.
Near the end of the program, he even deliberately hid his own belongings and framed Dansol as a thief.
Thinking back to that made tears rise in Dansol's eyes. He'd gone as far as regressing, and yet he still couldn't do anything in front of these people. It made him feel so stupid.
'Stupid Joo Dansol! If you met them again, you should at least hit him once!'
Regressing didn't change anything. If anything, the severe social avoidance and self-loathing Dansol developed from being tormented for so long made him even more unable to move.
If it was going to be like this, he should've just died. What good did he think he was going to get out of coming here twice?
In an instant, Dansol's awareness was plummeting straight down. Just because he knew what hadn't happened yet didn't mean he could reverse it. After wandering for years and finally coming back, Dansol had neither the courage nor the will to fight a world that hated him for no reason.
"Hey, no, no. Our Dansol was going to share a room with hyung, right?"
That was when it happened. The one who caught Dansol's hand as he sank deeper and deeper into a sea so deep he couldn't even tell where the bottom was—was Han Jisu.
No one knew how long he'd been listening, but Jisu grabbed Dansol's shoulder and pulled him close as if he was going to hide him in his arms.
Everyone—Dansol, Yoo Dohyun, and even Lee Yiyeon —looked startled at Jisu's sudden appearance, aside from Jisu himself, who was all easy smiles.
—Did you enjoy your free time? Now, the schedule on Chunmongdo will begin in earnest. Those who have changed into comfortable clothes, please gather on the sandy beach below the Chunmonggak cliff!
Thanks to the perfectly timed announcement, Dansol was able to escape this awkward situation.
"I... I think I need to change clothes...."
"Ah, right. Sol, should we hurry back to our room, put down your luggage, and go change?"
"Ah... yes...."
Dansol saw Lee Yiyeon and Yoo Dohyun's stiffened expressions, but he pretended not to notice and walked back toward the lodging. Jisu, already slinging an arm around Dansol's shoulders as he followed, turned his head slightly and shot a cold look toward Lee Yiyeon and Yoo Dohyun when Dansol wasn't looking.
It was a completely different expression from the one he used when he smiled at Dansol, and Yoo Dohyun flinched.
"I'll go in first."
"Ah...! Yes...."
Even as Yiyeon brushed past like his mood was soured, Yoo Dohyun was still caught in that chilly sensation.
Inside the lodging, with his bag in hand, Dansol hesitated—then chose the variable called Han Jisu over Yoo Dohyun.
The warm attention was annoying, but compared to someone like Yoo Dohyun who showed open hostility, Han Jisu—older in both career and age—seemed like he would be easier to deal with. Dansol hurried into the attached bathroom and started changing into the training clothes Woo Hyun had given him.
This was a place where if you let yourself get swayed by useless emotions and failed to manage your expression even for a moment, you'd get swallowed alive.... He couldn't clearly remember what his face had looked like earlier, after getting dragged into Yoo Dohyun's mess.
Even after yielding the camera-free dressing room to Jisu and coming into the bathroom to change, Dansol kept replaying what his face had looked like when he entered the lodging, staring at the mirror above the sink.
'Was it like this.... No, I think it was stiffer.... Han Jisu sunbae was there too... What if I get dragged for it... When we play the game, I should act friendlier.'
Knock, knock—
"Dansol, what are you doing? Are you done changing? Want hyung to help?"
"Ah... no⁈ Sunbae, do you need the bathroom?"
When Dansol opened the door after finishing changing, Jisu looked disappointed.
"No, it's not that.... Sol, you're wearing shorts?"
"Ah... yes. I thought they were long pants, but they're shorts? Will it be cold?"
"Uh... no.... It's not that...."
The black training outfit Woo Hyun gave him was a plain basic item. The top was an oversized anorak so it was wearable, but the short shorts—just like Woo Hyun said, that he bought them for himself but they were too small to wear—fit Dansol perfectly.
Below the shorts that reached the top of his thighs, Dansol's pale white legs and pinkish knees were fully exposed.
Seeing Jisu glance at his legs once and make an awkward expression, Dansol lost confidence. Jisu was tall and also wearing black training clothes, but unlike Dansol, his looked like they were tailored, making him resemble a sleek jaguar.
"Ah... is it bad?"
"Whew.... No. Our Sol, no matter what you wear, it's...."
"Huh?"
"No. Let's go, Sol. Stay right next to hyung, okay?"
Han Jisu's expression looked so resolute it felt like he was a warrior heading into a battlefield.
When Dansol and Jisu went down to the sandy beach below the cliff, the other contestants were arriving too. Jeong Daesu was diligently warming up.
With workout clothes on, his physique stood out even more. If Jisu was a jaguar, Daesu looked like a huge tiger. With the aura of an athlete, Dansol stood there staring blankly—then his eyes met Jeong Daesu's.
He was going to greet him lightly, but Jeong Daesu saw Dansol and turned his head away in one sharp motion.
'I was so busy trying to avoid Yoo Dohyun that I didn't think of that. He probably doesn't like me sharing a room with Jisu sunbae...?'
—All right, everyone, you've changed into comfortable clothes! As expected of top celebrities, even your visuals in workout clothes are dazzling. But we don't know if you'll be able to keep those shining looks until the game ends.
—Before we begin the game in earnest, just in case there's anyone who still doesn't know the rules of RO Match Survival, we will explain them.
—All games on RO Match Survival are played by Alpha and Omega pairs. Alpha with Alpha, and Omega with Omega, can never be on the same team.
At that, Jeong Daesu sent a sneer toward Han Jisu. Han Jisu deliberately stretched his back long and used his own body to completely block Dansol from Daesu's view.
—Before we announce today's game, Jegal Minhyeok-ssi, who ate alone during the meal time?
"Yes?"
—Jegal Minhyeok-ssi has been given priority to choose a partner first. Is there a contestant you want to team up with?
"Yes, there is."
—Could you take that person's hand and stand in front of the box?
Even before the regression, Jegal Minhyeok didn't really have a partner you could call an official couple. Maybe because he leaned more toward "artist" than "celebrity," he seemed like someone with no desire to stand out in a variety format like this.
He was handsome enough to be a luxury brand ambassador, but his permed hair that was nearly bob-length and his sleepy-looking eyes also made him seem like someone with no motivation for life.
Water was water, mountains were mountains—he was a handsome taoist-like man with that kind of vibe.
He also got eliminated early, so like Han Jisu, he barely had any overlap with Dansol. Before the regression, the only conversation Dansol had with him was basically "Hello" and "Yes."
The man who always walked like he was sliding along without any drive now strode forward as if he already had someone decided in his heart. Jegal Minhyeok's steps didn't hesitate. It was the brightest his eyes had looked since he'd appeared on this program.
Even as Dansol watched Jegal Minhyeok walk across the sand with long, steady steps, he was still thinking about who he should play the game with to get edited out.
Then, suddenly, Jegal Minhyeok's tattoo-covered hand extended toward Dansol.
"Dansol-ssi, do you want to do it with me? The game."
"Uh...."
—Jegal Minhyeok-ssi, you have chosen Joo Dansol-ssi. Since Jegal Minhyeok-ssi holds priority, Joo Dansol-ssi has no right of refusal. Could the two of you draw the game type from the box in front of you?
Without even realizing it, Dansol took Jegal Minhyeok's hand and went to the box, and behind them, the Alphas' faces full of regret were shown in close-up.
"Sorry. You might not like me.... So you pick the event, Dansol-ssi."
"Ah... no, it's not that...."
Minhyeok, who had no idea, yielded the chance to draw the event to Dansol.
Dansol put his hand into the box with a round hole cut into it. He felt a capsule shaped like a small sphere. Before the regression, he had solved a quiz game and went on another date with Lee Yiyeon ...
He wasn't confident with physical games, but if it was for the sake of getting edited out completely, maybe it was better to get eliminated early. Jegal Minhyeok didn't look like someone with an advantage in a physical game either.
Then, as if pulled by a magnet, one capsule slipped into Dansol's grasp. It felt like someone had placed it into his hand, and Dansol startled and pulled his hand out. The capsule was still clenched in his fist.
—Joo Dansol-ssi, could you open the capsule and tell us the event?
Maybe he imagined it. Dansol looked down at the capsule he'd grabbed by accident, and at the urging from the announcement, he opened it and checked the event written on the rolled-up paper inside.
"Paired... dodgeball."
Continue reading up to chapter 40+ at Novelshub.org