Hidden Match: An Alpha-Omega Dating Reality Show - Chapter 3.1
What on earth was that man thinking, coming here?
Sian’s mind suddenly went blank.
The moment he came face-to-face with Kang Juho, Sian completely forgot that they were in the middle of filming.
Kang Juho was the first to look away. Watching him turn his head sharply aside as though uncomfortable, Sian clenched his fist tightly.
He wanted nothing more than to punch him right then and there, but he had to hold himself back.
Sian slowly took a deep breath and composed himself. He had come here to succeed, not to deal with Kang Juho.
– Welcome to Hidden Match, contestants. Now that all the contestants have gathered in one place, find the card and check your first mission.
The announcement echoing through the room pulled Sian out of his thoughts. While everyone looked around the room at the instruction to find a card, Ha Hyunsoo, the catlike beauty, picked up a small card lying in a corner.
“Oh, there’s something here.”
Ha Hyunsoo’s voice sounded fairly casual, but his movements were awkward in a way that was difficult to place. Sian guessed that a staff member had probably asked Ha Hyunsoo in advance to help move things along.
Ha Hyunsoo smiled as he waved the card he had found. When his slightly upturned eyes narrowed, he gave off a seductive air.
“Is it the mission card? Hurry up and read it!”
The people who had been standing awkwardly apart while watching one another’s reactions approached Ha Hyunsoo.
“I’ll read it. ‘Please draw one lot each from beneath the table. Go to the room on the second floor marked with a flag that matches the color you drew. That will be the room where you’ll be staying from now on.’ Ah! I think this is the room assignment!”
Kim Kanghyun pulled a container out from under the table. It was small, and when he opened the lid, several sticks were standing inside. As soon as Ha Hyunsoo saw them, he reached in and drew one first.
“Oh. Mine’s red!”
When he announced it brightly, the others approached and began drawing sticks one by one.
“Mine’s purple.”
“Ah, then me too!”
“I’ll draw next!”
Everyone began drawing sticks one by one with excited expressions.
“Huh? Sian-ssi’s is……. Yellow.”
Ha Hyunsoo and Ryu Hwajin drew the red sticks and became a pair, while Kim Kanghyun and Jung Taeoh drew the purple sticks. Kang Juho was now the only one who hadn’t checked a stick.
Sian bit his lip hard. If that man drew the same yellow color as him, the two of them would have no choice but to share a room alone.
When Sian glared at him, Kang Juho faltered and took a step back. He then approached and picked up the final stick. Swallowing dryly, Sian watched his fingertips.
“Oh! It’s red.”
“Then I guess the yellow room is a single room. Wow! Sian-ssi, you’re so lucky. Let’s go upstairs and unpack first. Ah, I’m exhausted!”
Ryu Hwajin joked as he lightly patted Sian on the shoulder.
‘A single room…….’
Looking at the yellow stick he had drawn, Sian secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Since he was aiming for the prize money, a single room wasn’t particularly advantageous because it would make it harder to secure screen time. But it was still a hundred, no, a thousand times better than breathing the same air as Kang Juho.
……But did that bastard just frown?
Sian was dumbfounded when he realized Kang Juho had scowled.
Sian was the one who had every right to be upset, so why was Kang Juho the one making a face?
‘Kang Juho, what the hell was that man thinking, coming all the way here?’
Suppressing his displeasure, Sian grabbed his suitcase. Led by Ryu Hwajin, the contestants began climbing the stairs one by one. Every step toward the second floor felt unbearably heavy.
‘Even if we were going to break up, we shouldn’t have ended things so badly that we’d want to grab each other by the collar if we ever met again.’
Whether it was because his luggage was heavy or because of his emotional turmoil, his hands soon began trembling.
Never in his wildest dreams had Sian imagined that he would meet the ex-boyfriend who had placed him in this absurd situation here. Touching the suppressor wrapped around his wrist, he continued walking with complicated feelings.
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“Wow…….”
After setting his suitcase down in the room, Sian slowly looked around.
Splash, splash.
The sound of waves drifted through the open window. A soft carpet covered the floor, and two large beds stood inside the room.
This one-room seemed larger than Sian’s entire home in Seoul.
Sian approached the wooden table placed in front of the window.
Neatly wrapped chocolates and a welcome card sat on top of it.
When he opened the card, he saw the words, ‘For Your Sweet Romance.’
“……A sweet romance.”
A bitter smile settled on Sian’s face.
Sian’s first and last relationship had been with Kang Juho.
He had loved him and wanted to give him everything he possibly could. But after their relationship ended in disaster, he hadn’t even considered dating again. Not once had he imagined forming a new connection with someone.
Living while pursuing something like romance was a luxury for the person he was now. Romance had become something far too barren and painful for him.
The phrase sweet romance might as well have been the furthest thing in the world from Sian.
“……Haah, I don’t know. Let’s just get some sleep first.”
After the room assignments, a problem was discovered with the cameras, so they were given a brief break while the equipment was repaired.
The others seemed to have gathered in the living room to talk, but Sian decided to lie down and rest for a while.
Perhaps because meeting Kang Juho had stressed him out, his head felt as though it were about to split open.
Sian rummaged through his bag, swallowed the headache medicine he had brought, and lay down on the bed.
He was so exhausted that he drifted off the moment he closed his eyes.
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