## Chapter 233 – (7)
‘This is awkward.’
I’m unintentionally receiving affection, but I decided to ignore it for now.
It wasn’t unpleasant that Jessica seemed to like me.
But, ironically, the more she did, the further she drifted from my type.
That’s just how my wall is.
‘If you want me to like you, get close to other guys…’
She seemed pretty popular earlier.
I tried to avoid Jessica’s gaze.
Then her favorability went up by about 3 more points.
I’m going crazy. Seriously.
[If you have finished your meal, please return to your rooms.]
“Huh? Already?”
“It’s only 8 PM.”
“I’m a little tired, probably from the flight.”
Amidst that conversation, Taesung, a relatively short handsome guy, spoke to me.
“Are you okay, hyung-nim?”
Along with the title of “hyung-nim” that seemed to have become fixed.
“I’m not tired… it’s just a little awkward sharing a room with my partner.”
“Partner… ah, that’s right. Once we return to our rooms, we have to spend the night together.”
“Wow… awesome, I’m a little excited.”
“I’m in a te-, tent, and that’s… well…”
Since I was being called “hyung-nim,” I spoke informally, but no one seemed uncomfortable.
It was a bit absurd, but it was convenient and nice to be able to speak informally.
The man whose room was a tent had a strange expression.
Tents weren’t great for sleep quality, but they also had some good points.
The small space.
That was the advantage.
The meal ended quickly.
Since they had to return to their rooms, everyone naturally joined their partners.
It was a little scary to see the women who had been gossiping about the men join them with calm expressions.
The men were all happily chatting with the women.
Ignorance is bliss, they say.
Hearing well wasn’t always an advantage.
Jinju also came up to me with quick little steps.
“What did you guys say?”
“Huh?”
“Umm… at the table.”
“Ah.”
She seemed curious about the conversation that had taken place at the men’s table.
There was a good reason why the women had quickly joined their partners.
However, there wasn’t much to tell.
“Everyone was praising the women, saying how nice they were, you know?”
“Oh… nice?”
“And most of them said they really liked their partners.”
“Hmm~”
That was all there was to tell.
That’s really all that was said.
Jinju looked at me suspiciously, but that was the truth.
“Then what about Sung-han? Did you compliment me?”
“I was too busy eating…”
“Aww… what’s that…”
Jinju puffed out her cheeks, looking sulky.
I really didn’t have time to talk.
I was using all my concentration to eavesdrop on the women’s table.
Still, even if I didn’t say it, I did like my partner, Jinju.
I could tell how she was feeling just by looking at her face, without having to check her favorability.
“Well, Sung-han seemed to get along well with Ella. I saw you two moving around alone.”
“Ahaha… no, I didn’t.”
That’s really not true.
If Ella heard that, she would deny it with fire in her eyes.
The person who disliked me the most here was none other than Ella.
We arrived at the door to our room and found something like a wishing box next to the door.
“What’s this?”
Next to the wishing box was a small piece of paper.
[Vote for the opposite-sex participant you liked the most today.]
[*After writing, show the name of the person you voted for to the small camera in front of the box.]
[This vote can have a significant impact on the final result and your resort life.]
“The final result…”
If it’s the final result of a dating program, usually…
Doesn’t that mean couples are formed?
“Should we vote for each other?”
“…Okay.”
It was the first day anyway, and there was no one else to vote for.
I lightly accepted the suggestion.
I wrote Jinju’s name and showed it to the camera.
Jinju also wrote something and showed it to the camera.
She might not have written my name.
‘It doesn’t matter.’
I wasn’t aiming to win.
After voting, we went straight in, showered, and went to sleep.
There was some discussion about the order of showering, but I decided to shower first.
It wouldn’t take me long.
Plus—
“Don’t put on makeup. I’m going to shower and go straight to sleep anyway.”
“Ah… th-thank you.”
She seemed reluctant to show her bare face, and was trying to take a bunch of cosmetics with her, so I said I’d shower first.
Her favorability went up a little.
[Favorability: +10]
…But when I looked closely, it didn’t seem like she had much makeup on anyway.
After listening to Hanna’s lectures on makeup, I developed an eye for it.
Jinju’s makeup was light.
It’s always those kinds of people who are more self-conscious.
And so, the first night passed.
***
There was no morning broadcast.
It wasn’t until late, after 11 AM, that a broadcast came on.
[Please gather in the lobby.]
Jinju and I hastily got dressed and went out.
Before leaving, I glanced at myself in the mirror.
‘It’s not as good as what Hanna does…’
Before coming to Hong Kong, I met with Hanna every day to learn makeup.
As a result, I became able to do light makeup.
Still, it wasn’t as good as what Hanna did.
When I went to the lobby, everyone was standing there in comfortable clothes, looking a little sluggish, as if they had slept well.
I was relatively fine.
The Stamina skill washed away my body’s fatigue even with a little sleep.
[We will now announce the results of yesterday’s vote.]
[Depending on the number of votes received, you will gain more authority at the resort.]
[Conversely, if you don’t receive any votes, there may be some disadvantages.]
“Oh? They’re announcing it right away?”
“Suddenly?!”
“What should I do~”
“What if I don’t get any votes?”
Screams and sighs erupted from the participants.
Everyone said they were scared, but when I looked at their expressions, they seemed secretly confident.
They were all so beautiful and handsome.
They probably thought they would get at least one vote.
Me?
…I think I’ll get at least one vote.
It’s not like I’m particularly confident in my looks or anything.
I glanced at one woman.
[Personal Wall: 2.5D, Grand Duke of the North, a man who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside]
[Favorability: +55]
Jessica’s favorability had increased again overnight.
And her personal wall had become a little more specific.
…What the heck is 2.5D?
[First, we have two people who received 3 votes: Jessica and Kang-ryul?]
“Huh? Oh, me?”
Jessica, who had been staring blankly in this direction, stepped forward with a bright expression.
Then she bowed deeply and gave her thanks.
The man called Kang-ryul also went out.
I heard he was a rookie male actor who used to be a model.
He gave the impression of being a man without any flaws.
Kang-ryul also bowed and greeted everyone in the same way.
“Thank you!”
Everyone applauded Jessica and Kang-ryul’s polite behavior with warm expressions.
No.
Looking closely, the corners of the women’s mouths were twitching slightly.
It seemed like they were uneasy because the 3 male votes were concentrated on one side.
[And here are the people who received 1 vote.]
Seeing that they were announcing the 1 vote recipients right away, it seemed like no one received 2 votes.
[Ella, Jinju, Sung-han, Taesung.]
As their names were called, they came forward and greeted everyone lightly, as if they had made a promise.
“…What… I wasn’t called?”
“Hey! You said you’d vote for me!”
“You didn’t vote for me either!”
“Was this vote done properly?”
As soon as the announcement ended, the lobby became noisy.
The people who didn’t receive any votes started arguing with each other.
Some were upset that their pride was hurt because they didn’t receive a single vote, and others were furious that the other person didn’t keep their promise to vote for each other.
As the atmosphere became a little unpleasant, the people who received 1 vote awkwardly looked at each other.
And Jinju avoided my gaze.
‘She didn’t vote for me.’
I could tell right away from her guilty expression.
Then the one who voted for me was—
…Okay. I know without looking.
[Those who received votes, please move to the right side of the lobby, and those who didn’t, please move to the left to proceed with the meal mission.]
“Meal mission…”
“…Sigh, let’s go for now.”
“Let’s go too.”
The two groups split up and moved.
The difference in expression between the two groups was like heaven and earth.
They’re going to argue a lot over there today.
As we headed to the right, a door leading outside was open.
Judging from the flow, that seemed to be the destination.
As we went outside through the open door—
“Wow…”
A place like a campsite with neatly stacked logs popped out.
“Ssssh…”
As someone took a deep breath, everyone else took a deep breath as well.
I did too.
Even though they were cut trees, being surrounded by so many trees gave the feeling that the air in this area was especially clean.
I could feel the fresh air.
“Huh?”
While everyone was enjoying the air, I picked up the mission paper and read along.
“…Turn all the logs in the basket into firewood and light a fire. If you finish quickly, you will receive meal selection rights and special rewards.”
“Chop firewood?”
“It’s real… there are trees in the basket.”
“There’s an axe at the bottom of that tree, too?”
“An axe? Really… what should I do? I’ve never done it before.”
That’s usually the case.
Would someone living in the city ever have the chance to use an axe?
Then Jessica’s eyes sparkled as she came a little closer to me and asked.
“You’ve used one before, right?!”
It was a confident tone.
What does she think of me?
“Well…”
I grabbed the axe without saying a word.
“Ooh…”
“It suits you!”
“Really! You look like a lumberjack!”
Words that I couldn’t tell were compliments or not flew at me.
Even in the midst of that, the Weapon Mastery skill was being properly applied.
It’s a bit much to say, but I’d probably handle the axe better than a real lumberjack right now.
I felt that certainty.
“Yes. I think I’ve used one before.”
I tentatively placed one of the logs for firewood on the tree stump at random.
And lightly.
Without putting much force, I just used the weight of the axe to strike down.
Crack—!
The large tree split open with a refreshing sound.
Like splitting an apple.
“…Wow.”
“That’s insane.”
An exclamation that was probably too much for broadcast came from behind.
“As expected…”
[Favorability: +70]
Jessica nodded as she looked at me.
‘…It went up again…’
Stop going up.
