The Probability of Meeting My Ex in a Heterosexual Dating Program

Chapter 2

A small bell chime greeted Ki Seo-jung as he pulled open the glass door. Stepping into the cafe, he glanced around before moving forward.

“It’s been a while.”

Shin Da-bin looked up at the voice, soft enough to tickle. Her long straight hair flowed over her shoulders. As their eyes met, Ki Seo-jung habitually raised the corners of his mouth.

After a brief greeting, Ki Seo-jung sat across from Da-bin. Until then, Da-bin hadn’t said a word. She just intently observed Seo-jung’s face.

“You seem to be staring quite intensely.”

“Ki Seo-jung, have you lost weight?”

That was Da-bin’s first remark after eight years. It might have been surprising, but Seo-jung just smirked. It was one of the most common things he’d been hearing lately, from coworkers to recent acquaintances.

After examining his sharper jawline and more prominent T-zone due to the weight loss in his face, Da-bin spoke with a rather serious expression.

“This isn’t the face you had when we were dating.”

“That’s a problem. You said my face was all you cared about.”

“Hey, watch your words. When did I ever say that?”

Ki Seo-jung, the person in question, shrugged and retorted lightly. But Da-bin wasn’t one to let his words slide.

“To be precise, I said the only things worth looking at were your ‘face and body.'”

“……”

“And you still look good now. I’m just a bit surprised because the vibe has changed.”

Ki Seo-jung, having lost the boyish charm that lingered here and there, now had the face of a full-grown man. Since his face, which was handsome enough to be beyond likes and dislikes, had matured even further, it was a blessing from Da-bin’s perspective.

“But you should work out a little more.”

When I first saw your chest and shoulders… Da-bin continued. Ki Seo-jung burst into laughter as if he couldn’t help it, then made an “ah” sound as if he’d remembered something.

“I brought this to give you, by the way.”

“Huh? What’s this?”

Da-bin’s gaze fell on Seo-jung’s hand. A rather thick envelope was visible between his long fingers. Seeing Da-bin’s puzzled look, Ki Seo-jung blinked slowly.

“Wedding gift money.”

“Wedding gift money?”

Seo-jung nodded at her parrot-like repetition. After watching his affirmative nod for a moment, Da-bin burst into laughter.

“Ah, Ki Seo-jung, you’re still so funny.”

“I thought you called me because you had good news. Was I wrong?”

As if infected by her voice full of laughter, Seo-jung’s lips also curved into a smile.

“Ki Seo-jung, can you spare some time”

“Oh, by the way, this is Shin Da-bin”

A message from an ex-girlfriend after 8 years of breaking up. Shin Da-bin was the one who made him realize his sexual orientation and one of the few people who knew about it.

So, of course, it wasn’t for a reunion. What reason would there be for a long-lost ex-lover to suddenly make contact? As he pondered this while looking at the text message, Ki Seo-jung recalled a forgotten memory.

‘I’m sorry, Da-bin.’

‘It’s okay, it’s not like you intentionally deceived me. Well, thanks to that, I got the title of Ki Seo-jung’s only girlfriend, so I’d say it’s a profitable deal.’

‘……’

‘If you really feel sorry, just come as a guest when I get married later. Be prepared to give a lot of wedding gift money then.’

Of course, he wasn’t naive enough to take Da-bin’s words at face value. He knew it was just something she said to ease his guilt, but that was the only thing that came to mind.

“You still remember what you said back then?”

“I shouldn’t forget. It’s a promise I made with someone important.”

Still the same. Hearing his glib response, Shin Da-bin thought.

A person who is kind and gentle to everyone without reason.

Yes, Ki Seo-jung was a man with many sins. Like many women before her, Shin Da-bin had also fallen for such a Ki Seo-jung and given him her whole heart. Although Ki Seo-jung couldn’t return those feelings… anyway.

“I really want to take that envelope of money, but unfortunately, that’s not the news.”

Shin Da-bin furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the envelope. Her expression was full of playfulness. Seo-jung pushed aside the coffee cup in front of him and leaned his upper body closer to the table.

“Then what could it be.”

“Hey, don’t make that face at me. Are you trying to charm someone again?”

Shin Da-bin side-eyed Ki Seo-jung’s handsome face.

“Actually, you almost had the chance to give me wedding gift money.”

“Almost?”

Shin Da-bin began her story. Ki Seo-jung’s brow furrowed slightly at the words ending in past tense.

“Yeah. But that bastard cheated, so it fell through.”

Ki Seo-jung immediately looked at Shin Da-bin with a worried face. That gaze alone seemed to conjure up the text messages that would be poured out to him. Da-bin pressed down her rising smile and spoke with a voice mixed with a sigh.

“That’s why I called you. I want to get revenge on that bastard.”

“Revenge?”

“You still feel sorry for me, right?”

Ki Seo-jung slowly nodded. Still feeling a great sense of debt, he wanted to help Shin Da-bin as much as he could.

As if reading his mind, Shin Da-bin relaxed the corners of her mouth that she had been pressing down. Her lips curled up into a wide smile. Finally, after a long preamble, it was time for the main point.

“Then come with me to this place.”

***

[News][Official] Highly anticipated ‘Please Take Care of My X Returns’… First broadcast on February 9th

[Every News = Reporter Jung Yoo-won] The release date for ‘Please Take Care of My X Returns’ has been confirmed for February 9th.

According to an insider, ‘Please Take Care of My X Returns’ has completed four weeks of filming and is currently in the final stages of editing.

The production team stated that they were particularly careful about spoilers during filming to maintain the immersion and entertainment of the program, and that this season will feature new and diverse forms of fun and emotion not seen in previous seasons.

The official trailer for ‘Please Take Care of My X Returns’ is set to be released on the 10th.

Comments 267

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  ⤷ 22

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  ⤷⤷ 222

– Koreans really love dating shows..

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  ⤷ 3 It’s fascinating

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– The teaser will be released the day after tomorrow, I want to see it soon, curious about the male cast’s faces

  ⤷ It’s obvious.. (See more)

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– I’ve come to find the dopamine I requested

***

After the sound of entering the door lock password, the tightly closed front door opened. Ki Seo-jung appeared with a light so bright it could blind one’s eyes.

“Excuse me.”

A pleasant low voice echoed in the entrance, but there was no response. Looking down, he saw indoor slippers clustered in a corner of the entrance.

Seo-jung put on the slippers placed on the far left and started walking. Following the long corridor with steady steps, he soon found himself in a spacious living room.

A space with no sign of human presence. It seemed he was the first guest to arrive.

Seo-jung looked around from where he stood. Everything his eyes fell upon was unfamiliar. But this was the space he would have to stay in for 4 weeks, having decided to appear on the show. He needed to get used to it as soon as possible.

What caught Ki Seo-jung’s eye as he was surveying his surroundings was a pink paper on the living room table. At a glance, he could see the words ‘X House Living Rules’.

Ding-dong-

The door lock sound stopped Seo-jung as he was about to head towards the table. He turned towards the sound, and soon the second guest appeared.

The woman who discovered Ki Seo-jung opened her eyes wide in surprise. She apparently hadn’t expected someone to be there already. Seeing the woman standing still, Seo-jung spoke first.

“Hello.”

“Ah, aah! Yes, yes! Hello!”

Only then did the woman shake her head. It was as if Seo-jung had broken a spell cast on the woman, which made him chuckle softly.

“I was just about to check that, we can look at it together.”

Seo-jung, having contained his laughter, pointed at the table. The woman, having seen where his finger was pointing, must have also noticed the pink paper as she answered with a cheerful voice, “Sounds good.”

After briefly introducing themselves, the two sat down on the long sofa. Min-ha was the first to pick up the pink paper. Seo-jung, looking at the paper in her hand, spoke.

“There’s a QR code.”

“Ah, it looks like we need to scan this in the Please Take Care of My X application.”

Right! Seo-jung nodded in agreement as he watched Min-ha’s eyes sparkle as if she had made a great discovery.

“Then I’ll try scanning it.”

Min-ha took out her phone and scanned the QR code. Soon after, the living rules written on a pink background appeared on the screen. Min-ha exclaimed and flapped her hand towards Seo-jung.

“Seojung, the rules are up! Let’s look together on my phone!”

“Shall we, then?”

Matching Min-ha’s excited reaction, Seo-jung scanned the text on the small screen with his eyes.

X House Living Rules

Welcome to all residents of X House.

We will guide you through the rules to be followed during your 4-week stay at X House.

– All residents cannot arbitrarily reveal their X to other residents.

– No information other than names can be arbitrarily revealed.

– During the 4-week period of residence, you cannot date anyone.

– All displays of affection except confessions are allowed.

– You must eat at least one meal a day with one or more residents.

Despite the effort put into it, there wasn’t particularly new information among the written living rules. Seo Min-ha seemed to have similar thoughts. Ki Seo-jung broke the silence by raising the corners of his mouth.

“Looks like we’ll have to take turns preparing meals.”

“That’s right. Seojung, do you know how to cook?”

“I know how.”

Just can’t guarantee the taste.

The easy-going Ki Seo-jung had equally undemanding taste buds. Having grown up in an orphanage, he ate anything as long as it wasn’t spoiled. It was Cha Yoon, who lived with him, who suffered because of his dull sense of taste.

‘Hyung, never cook again.’

The day Cha Yoon first ate dinner cooked by Ki Seo-jung, he issued a cooking ban to Seo-jung. After that, during the 5 years they lived together, cooking naturally became Cha Yoon’s responsibility.

“Oh no, I can’t cook either, what should we do?”

Ki Seo-jung, who had been lost in thought, barely came to his senses at Min-ha’s voice. Seo-jung smiled habitually again.

“Let’s try our best to assist those who are good at cooking.”

As Seo-jung and Min-ha were talking, the rest of the residents arrived one by one. Before long, the once-empty living room was bustling with people.

Excluding himself, five cast members had already arrived, but Shin Da-bin wasn’t among them. He thought that maybe Da-bin wouldn’t move in on the same day.

Then, who should he send a message to? While thinking these pointless thoughts, Seo-jung participated in the conversation adequately.

“What’s your name?”

“Ah, I’m Song Joo-ah.”

It was then that he realized something was going wrong.

Song Joo-ah was the seventh resident. A familiar face and name. Of course, it was impossible to forget. Song Joo-ah was Cha Yoon’s long-time friend who knew about their relationship.

What’s your MBTI, Joo-ah-ssi? Well, the best one among them? Ah, Joo-ah-ssi, you’re really funny. While light questions were being exchanged, only Ki Seo-jung was serious.

Even now, six months after breaking up, memories of Cha Yoon kept coming to mind, leaving his heart in tatters. And now he had to spend a month with someone related to Cha Yoon. Ki Seo-jung swallowed the sigh rising in his throat.

When he looked up, he saw Song Joo-ah looking at him.

‘You remember me, right?’

Although not actually spoken, Joo-ah’s eyes seemed to say that. As he kept his mouth shut, not knowing how to react, Seo Min-ha’s voice was heard.

“Oh, looks like one more person is coming!”

At that, Joo-ah’s gaze left Ki Seo-jung and turned towards the entrance. As Seo-jung was feeling relieved, the sound of the front door closing and footsteps approaching the living room were heard. The sound of footsteps, neither too fast nor too slow, continuing at regular intervals, was somehow familiar. Ki Seo-jung’s senses heightened.

Soon after, the owner of the footsteps revealed himself.

Neatly arranged, glossy black hair, a smoothly protruding nose bridge as if drawn, and plump lips beneath it.

It was a face he knew all too well.

As the man finished climbing the stairs, exclamations were heard from various corners, but Ki Seo-jung couldn’t make a sound.

At that moment, their eyes met. The man, who had been expressionless until then, smiled with his eyes as if he had been waiting for this.

“Hello.”

Finally, the last cast member had appeared.

It was Cha Yoon.