## Chapter 236 – (10)
Why were the two of them playing a game in a room only accessible with two or more votes, and what did they gain?
The answer was quickly revealed.
[Everyone, please pack your belongings.]
“Huh? Why?”
“Are we sending someone home?”
“No way… This isn’t some audition program. Why would there be eliminations…”
“Then why are they telling us to pack?”
“Well…”
Everyone became noisy.
Amidst the confusion, I glanced at the two people who wore calm expressions, as if they already knew.
Those two were, of course, Kang-ryul and Jessica.
While everyone else was in a frenzy, those two maintained composed expressions.
Everyone returned to their rooms to pack.
I, too, exchanged glances with Jessica one last time before heading back to my room.
‘What was that expression just now?’
It was a bright smile, but it felt unsettling.
When I entered the room, Jin-joo was already packing.
“What’s going on?”
“I wonder…”
I also gathered my scattered belongings.
Since I hadn’t unpacked much, I quickly packed my suitcase, but Jin-joo seemed to be struggling quite a bit.
She had to repack everything, from cosmetics to her hairdryer and pre-prepared outfits.
After a while, an announcement came on.
[Please bring your luggage and move as your names are called.]
[First, Sung-han and Jessica, to room 501.]
As soon as we heard that, Jin-joo and I exchanged glances.
“Could it be…”
“…It seems like they’re switching rooms and partners.”
The right to choose a room and partner.
That was the nature of what Jessica had obtained in the room.
I said a quick goodbye to Jin-joo and went up to the fifth floor.
I cautiously entered the room, where Ella and Kang-ryul, the original occupants, were.
And the people in the tent room, who were still awkward with each other.
Everyone exchanged greetings hesitantly.
“…Um, hyung… It feels a bit awkward seeing you here.”
“Yeah…”
“Kang-ryul, did you know about this?”
Ella looked at Kang-ryul with sad eyes, as if she felt betrayed.
“Yes… The staff told me not to say anything.”
It seemed the production team had kept it a secret for this shocking moment.
While we were awkwardly looking at each other, the announcements continued.
[…Kang-ryul and Ella, to the tent room. That is all.]
Kang-ryul and Ella’s expressions darkened, and the people who had been staying in the tent room quickly grabbed their luggage, happy to escape the tent.
Taking the opportunity, some shouted at Kang-ryul as they left, seemingly holding a grudge.
“It won’t be easy!”
Having moved from the best room to the tent room overnight, the two didn’t have much to move.
They could leave their luggage here and just go outside to the pool next door when they went to sleep.
In this moment of awkward silence, the main culprit of all the commotion entered, rolling her suitcase.
With a very bright expression.
“Oh! Hello.”
The three of us stared blankly at her polite greeting.
And belatedly, Kang-ryul and Ella returned the greeting.
“Yes… Hello…”
“…Nice to meet you.”
They had no choice.
She was the one who had sent them to the tent, but at the same time, she would be their roommate for a long time to come.
Since I had become Jessica’s partner, I couldn’t avoid her either, so I accepted Jessica’s greeting.
“…Hello.”
“You can speak informally to me.”
“…Should I?”
It would be more comfortable to speak informally.
I had already dropped the honorifics with the men, and I was on familiar terms with Ella as well.
After that, we unpacked our luggage.
The funny thing was that everyone seemed worried about this whole situation.
Except for Jessica, no one actively unpacked their belongings.
They were worried that something like this might happen again.
Seeing that, Jessica was truly amazing.
‘She actually thought of coming to this room.’
Even if this room was spacious and nice, she would be living with the people she had sent to the tent.
It was a choice that couldn’t be made with just any heart.
A post I had seen fleetingly on the internet suddenly came to mind.
A woman with heavy makeup, piercings, and a tomboyish style = actually has a kind and gentle heart.
A woman who always smiles, has a soft voice, and clear eyes = has a strong personality and mental fortitude.
At the time, I just thought, “Is that so?”
But now, it didn’t seem wrong.
“Oh my, if you keep looking at me, I’ll get embarrassed…”
When she spoke in a cutesy voice, I immediately turned my head, and Jessica burst into laughter.
Even though she had taken out many of her belongings, Jessica still had a lot of luggage in her suitcase.
Among them were books, and I wondered what kind of books they were.
[Stranded with the Duke of the North for 300 Days], [I Became the Duke of the North’s Unrequited Love Interest], [Captivity, Obsession, Duke of the North].
She carries those kinds of books in her bag?
Her taste was very obvious.
Especially the last book…
“…If you’re done unpacking, let’s go to the living room.”
“Okay.”
I pretended not to see it and moved on.
Kang-ryul and Ella were already sitting in the living room.
I felt awkward being among them, so I stayed with Jessica.
It was a bit awkward being in a relationship of beneficiary and victim of the room assignment.
I sat down in the living room with Jessica.
In the awkward atmosphere, Kang-ryul was the first to speak.
“We didn’t get to talk much before, but now we can talk a lot.”
With a friendly smile, Kang-ryul extended his hand to Jessica.
Ella’s lips pouted slightly.
I also extended my hand to Ella.
Ella looked at my hand in confusion.
“…We’ve already talked a lot.”
“I know, I just wanted to hold your hand.”
“W-What are you saying!”
Kang-ryul was shocked by the conversation, and Jessica was surprised.
Kang-ryul chuckled in admiration, wondering how I could say such things without changing my expression.
Jessica…
“…I’m jealous…”
…she muttered quietly.
Ella didn’t take my outstretched hand.
Kang-ryul’s hand was also ignored by Jessica because of the commotion I had caused.
In the meantime, Ella’s favorability increased.
[Favorability: +35]
It didn’t increase much, but if I kept at it, someday…
Yeah, someday it might rise to Jessica’s level.
[We will now conduct the vote for today.]
An announcement came on, and I asked the two where the voting box was, since I hadn’t seen it.
“Ah… it’s over there.”
There was a small voting box and ballots next to the tent.
As neighbors on the fifth floor, they shared the voting box.
“Has everyone decided who to vote for?”
“Yes.”
Jessica answered Kang-ryul’s question, and I nodded as well.
Ella glanced at us, and I looked at Ella at the same time.
When our eyes met, Ella quickly turned her head away.
Her ears were red.
She just couldn’t be honest.
We finished voting and even had dinner.
There were no major incidents during dinner.
It was just the members who didn’t receive votes pointing at the dishes and complaining that they had prepared all the vegetables and fruits themselves.
Of course, there was a subtle tension.
Who voted for whom?
Were they lying?
An unknown tension filled the dining hall until the end of the meal.
It was amusing to watch their eyes moving busily.
And the real incident occurred after dinner.
I was aimlessly exploring the resort during my free time, and Jessica followed me around, claiming to be my partner.
Then I witnessed the scene.
The smoking room.
A corner on the first floor, outside the camera’s blind spot.
Two unknown men and women, who had been excited to escape the tent…
…were passionately making out.
“Oh!”
Instinctively, I covered Jessica’s mouth with my hand and hid.
Thanks to quickly hiding, we weren’t caught.
“…Oppa, didn’t you hear something?”
“It must have been someone shouting from somewhere else… Let’s continue…”
Then they shared another deep kiss.
What?
Are they crazy?
Are they hoping the broadcasting station will edit it out?
Even so, how can people with some level of recognition do something like that?
Seeing them act like this on just the second day, a lot must have happened in the tent.
With young men and women sleeping in a small tent, it was possible.
But they had so much to lose.
At that moment, I felt my palm getting wet.
Jessica kept licking my palm, protesting against my forceful covering of her mouth.
She wasn’t a dog…
When I removed my hand, Jessica put her hand on my waist.
“What…”
“Shhh…”
‘She was crazy too, wasn’t she?’
While I was thinking that,
Click.
Something made a sound on my waist.
“You can talk now.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I turned off the microphone.”
“…Huh?”
I could turn it off and on?
I hadn’t received any explanation about that.
I had only been told to fully charge it before going to bed.
Well, I just accepted it without question, even though it should have been obvious that I could turn it off.
“Have you always had it on? That must be uncomfortable.”
“…”
She was right.
Jin-joo didn’t know either.
Perhaps Jin-joo had never done variety shows before, so she kept the microphone on.
In comparison, Jessica seemed to know because she had a lot of experience in variety shows.
I could turn off the microphone, and there was a blind spot for the camera.
So that’s why they could do something like that.
…I learned something good.
“…Should we do it too?”
“…No.”
I lightly flicked Jessica’s pouting lips.
“Tch… You were honestly tempted, weren’t you?”
I was tempted.
Seeing others kissing made my desires stir a little.
And seeing her up close like this, Jessica was quite pretty.
“No way.”
I’ll say it again, Jessica was not my target yet.
…Not yet.
We decided to go back to our room and go to sleep.
