Hidden Match: An Alpha-Omega Dating Reality Show - Chapter 5.1
“Found one!”
As Sian pushed through the dense bushes, he spotted a gleaming round coin.
It was a golden coin about the size of two 500-won coins placed together.
The letters ‘HM,’ which seemed to stand for Hidden Match, were engraved on its surface.
“……But why is it so quiet here?”
Perhaps no one else had come this way, because it was utterly silent. The air was filled only with the damp smell of soil and the sounds of unidentified insects.
Only then did Sian realize he was alone in a dark, unfamiliar place. The thought sent an inexplicable chill down his back.
Thinking he would pick this one up and return somewhere brighter, he bent down.
However, just before Sian’s hand reached it, someone’s foot stepped on the coin.
“What?”
Sian looked up in surprise and saw a familiar silhouette standing with the moonlight at his back.
“I think I found it first.”
“What kind of bullshit is that!”
It was Kang Juho.
He looked at Sian with an upturned smirk, then calmly picked up the coin.
Dumbfounded, Sian frowned.
“What kind of poor sportsmanship is this? I found it first.”
Even as Sian glared at him while suppressing his anger, Kang Juho remained unfazed. Instead, he scowled and stepped closer.
“……How did you find out I was appearing on this show?”
Kang Juho shoved his face closer and spoke in a low growl.
Sian flinched and stepped backward, but he didn’t get more than a few steps. A tree stood firmly behind him.
“What kind of creative bullshit is that?”
“Following me all the way here is considered stalking. Even you should know what that word means by now.”
Sian ground his teeth at the utter nonsense. This man was still living inside his own self-centered delusions.
“Why would I follow you? Didn’t you hear the preliminary interview and the rules? The contestants weren’t allowed to receive any information about one another. There’s a limit to how delusional you can be.”
“Seeing how worked up you are, I guess you really did follow me. You haven’t changed. You’ve made no progress at all.”
“……What the hell are you talking about?”
He was so angry that his throat tightened.
Kang Juho backed Sian all the way against the tree and brought his lips close to Sian’s ear. A chill instantly ran over Sian’s skin.
“Sorry, but I don’t have any feelings for you anymore. If it were just your body…… that might be a different story. And keep your voice down. What are you going to do if everything between us gets exposed?”
“You’re one to talk! If you’re so worried about that, why are you saying things like this right now?”
“I already checked that there aren’t any cameras here. You understand what I’m saying, right? Let’s keep pretending we don’t know each other from now on. Well, if your body starts aching and you come looking for me, I might consider it once for old times’ sake.”
“I seriously feel like my ears are rotting. Keep your delusions to yourself. Let’s live as strangers forever!”
Sian clenched his teeth.
He wanted to grab Kang Juho by the collar right then and there, but if he wanted to finish Hidden Match without incident, he had to endure it.
Kang Juho held up the coin he had snatched away moments earlier. Then he slipped it into the pocket of Sian’s robe and lightly patted his shoulder a few times.
“My. Looks like you’ve only found one so far. Make sure you work hard and collect plenty.”
Immediately afterward, Kang Juho turned around, gave a light wave, and disappeared.
As Sian watched him leave, his stomach churned. He desperately wanted to pull the coin out of his pocket and throw it away. Still, Sian soon calmed himself and gripped the edge of his robe tightly with trembling hands.
“……Just you wait, you lunatic.”
Worried that the microphone might pick it up, Sian muttered timidly and walked in the opposite direction from where Kang Juho had disappeared.
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“Sian-hyung! Did you find many coins?”
“Ah, no. Not really.”
As he walked in the opposite direction from where Kang Juho had gone, Sian eventually found himself in front of the pool. Ryu Hwajin stood there, waving to him. He seemed to have just come out of the water, and droplets glistened on his bronzed skin.
They had grown somewhat closer over dinner, and even though Hwajin didn’t know Sian’s age, he had started calling him ‘hyung’ without even asking.
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