The Probability of Meeting My Ex in a Heterosexual Dating Program

Chapter 4

How did it come to this? Ki Seo-jung rubbed his face with his hands, his back to the camera installed in the hallway. He couldn’t bring himself to enter the room just yet. It felt like the moment he stepped in, it would all become real. He knew it had already happened, but still.

“What are you doing standing in front of the door?”

While Seo-jung was hesitating, Cha Yoon spoke up, having brought his suitcase. Seo-jung turned his body to make space for him to pass, but Cha Yoon stayed put. As if he had another purpose.

“You go in first.”

His face looked like he wanted to run away at any moment. As soon as their eyes met, Cha Yoon added. Seo-jung gripped the handle of his suitcase tightly.

“Why would I run away, Cha Yoon?”

Despite the force in his hand, Seo-jung’s voice was calm.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“…”

“I’m curious too. Why do you want to run away?”

Is there something you’re feeling guilty about? Cha Yoon shrugged and nodded towards the open door. Seo-jung was about to say something more but quickly stopped himself. He knew the moment he retaliated, things would escalate.

Seo-jung silently took a step forward, drawing an imaginary character for patience. Cha Yoon followed, his eyes fixed on Seo-jung’s back.

At the sound of the door closing, Seo-jung turned around. As he alternated his gaze between the closed door and Cha Yoon, Cha Yoon raised one eyebrow.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, nothing.”

“I thought you were looking at me strangely, like you had some expectations.”

At Cha Yoon’s sarcastic tone, Seo-jung closed his eyes deeply and then opened them. It was his second exercise in patience.

“If you have something to say, can you say it straight? Don’t beat around the bush.”

“If you didn’t understand, just forget it.”

Cha Yoon opened his suitcase next to the bed. He was acting as if nothing had happened, just going about his business. Seo-jung watched his back for a moment before settling in a spot a little further away. They were silently unpacking their suitcases together when suddenly:

“Ah.”

Cha Yoon, who had finished unpacking, was about to change his clothes when he suddenly made a sound. Seo-jung wanted to ignore it, but couldn’t. It was because of the low voice saying, “Hey.” Seo-jung swallowed a sigh and turned his eyes towards Cha Yoon.

“Go ahead, say it.”

“I don’t have to go to the bathroom to change clothes, right?”

“…”

“We’re both guys after all.”

The sarcasm started again. Feeling his emotions boiling up again after barely suppressing them, Seo-jung drew his final character of patience. But Cha Yoon, unaware of Seo-jung’s state, didn’t know when to stop.

Cha Yoon made a small sound and lifted one corner of his mouth.

“Or is it a problem?”

“…”

“What should I do? I’ll do whatever you want.”

Cha Yoon acted as if he was going to make a huge concession, but it was actually just an extension of his mockery.

The closed door, a space with just the two of them. There was no reason to hold back anymore.

“Cha Yoon, you seem to be lacking a lot in common sense.”

“…What did you just say? Common sense?”

“Yes, common sense.”

The words that came out of Seo-jung’s mouth, accompanied by a kind smile, were unexpected. For a moment, Cha Yoon thought his ears were playing tricks on him due to the gentle smile on Seo-jung’s lips. But the following response made Cha Yoon realize there was nothing wrong with his hearing.

“Shit, who are you calling…!”

“Didn’t you hear that there are cameras installed in the room too?”

Despite Cha Yoon’s expression contorting as if dumbfounded, Seo-jung didn’t back down. He pointed to the camera installed in one corner of the room.

“Even if we’re ‘both guys,’ stripping in front of a camera isn’t quite right, is it?”

“…”

“And why should I do what you tell me to? It’s not like you’re my avatar or something.”

Seo-jung shrugged. Unlike his calm tone, Seo-jung’s insides were in turmoil.

The shock he felt when he first saw Cha Yoon here had already turned into anger. He couldn’t understand why Cha Yoon was picking a fight like this. He understood the awkwardness of unexpectedly meeting in an unfamiliar place. But he hadn’t wanted this kind of reunion either.

To Ki Seo-jung, Cha Yoon was still the person he loved. How could he have wished for this worst-case scenario where he had to watch him with someone else, labeled as someone’s ex-boyfriend?

“If you want to do a nationwide nude show, I won’t stop you. Just do whatever you want, Cha Yoon. Don’t ask me, I have nothing to do with it.”

Ki Seo-jung even went as far as to kindly designate a spot, saying, “You should strip right there in front of the camera so everyone can see clearly.”

Numerous sarcastic remarks followed. But what struck a nerve with Cha Yoon was Seo-jung’s wording that he had “nothing to do with it.” After a moment of silence, Cha Yoon’s face crumpled again as if upset.

Nothing to do with it? Whether I take off my clothes or not? Whether everyone sees it on camera or not? His train of thought became somewhat strange, but Cha Yoon, unaware of this, couldn’t control his temper and lashed out.

“Do you think I’m a pervert like you?”

Pervert. At that one word, Seo-jung’s clenched fist tightened again. It was all too clear what Cha Yoon had in mind when he said that.

‘I dated you? For seven years at that?’

‘…’

‘Does that make any sense? Think about it logically. How can I date someone with the same thing down there? I’m not a pervert.’

‘…Yoon-ah.’

‘Fuck, don’t call me like that. It gives me the creeps.’

The conversation at the hospital, still vivid even after six months, stabbed sharply at Seo-jung’s heart. He felt a throbbing pain, but didn’t even flinch.

“I’m still far from catching up to Cha Yoon, who wants to strip in front of the entire nation.”

Watching Seo-jung retort without backing down, Cha Yoon let out a scoffing laugh. Seo-jung closed his half-unpacked suitcase. He just wanted to leave this space, having already reached his limit.

Seo-jung stood up from his spot. Cha Yoon frowned at the sudden movement.

“Whatever you do is your freedom, but I don’t have a hobby of watching other people naked.”

“…”

“I’ll leave so you can change comfortably. Come out when you’re done.”

Seo-jung left the room, lightly ignoring Cha Yoon who was staring at him with a crumpled expression. Soon after, the door opened and closed.

“Wow…”

Cha Yoon stared at the firmly closed door and suddenly burst into laughter. He ran his hand through his bangs irritably and threw the clothes he was holding.

The red light on the ceiling camera blinked.

Even after closing the door and leaving, Seo-jung’s footsteps didn’t stop. Like someone being chased, he walked until he reached the second-floor terrace.

Sitting on a wooden chair, Seo-jung took several deep breaths. It was only after a long while that his rapidly beating heart found its normal rhythm and his reason slowly returned.

And then he realized. The identity of the sense of déjà vu he had been feeling all along.

From the blunt way of speaking, to the lack of consideration, the attitude that seemed unaware of the need to hide his emotions, to the temperament that only felt satisfied when things went his way.

It was all reminiscent of Cha Yoon from seven years ago when they first met.

The back of his head throbbed. Why had he thought that all Cha Yoon had lost was just his memories of their relationship? That couldn’t be all.

“…”

When he closed his eyes, Cha Yoon’s face from earlier floated in his dark vision. Only then did he see it. Cha Yoon’s immature face.

So, the person standing in front of him wasn’t the twenty-nine-year-old Cha Yoon. It was just the twenty-two-year-old Cha Yoon, untouched by Ki Seo-jung’s hand.

His ex-boyfriend had gotten younger.

By seven years, at that.

***

[Misc] Today’s officially released “Please Take Care of My X Returns” official trailer

Source: ZVING YouTube channel

Captured in order of appearance in the interview room

Catfish not yet revealed

(Photo)

Female cast:

Seo Min-ha
Kim Sae-young
Yeo Ji-yoon
Song Joo-ah

Male cast:

Ki Seo-jung
Gong Min-wook
Jung Soo-ho
Cha Yoon

(Photo)

Come to think of it, this time they’re not just sending messages, but using a separate app?

896 comments

– Whoa, what’s with the male cast

– Holy shit, this is it!!!

– Wow, this season of PTCOMX is gonna be epic lolololol

– Is this a new drama?! Where is it airing?

  ↳ It’s not a drama, it’s a dating show with regular people lol. It’s a ZVING original so it’s not on TV, you can only watch it on OTT

  ↳↳ Wow!! They’re regular people!! I gotta watch this haha. Thanks!

– My dormant dopamine has been fully revived.

– Damn, I’ve been living just to watch this

– There were rumors that some people from agencies were cast this season, seems to be true

  ↳ I heard that too… I thought it might be ㄱㅅㅈ, but looking at the photos, it seems right?

– Dopamine at full max, when does this start?

  ↳ First episode airs on the 9th of next month, go to ZVING

  ↳↳ Thanks~

– OMG someone I know is on itㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– I came in thinking how disappointing it would be again, but what?

  ↳ I saw the number of comments and thought something crazy happened again, and it really did

– I hope this doesn’t turn out to be another height 165cm situation… I’m a bit scared suddenly;

  ↳ No, you can tell from their faces. These aren’t faces that would be short

– Looks like the production team got burned after picking based on profile pics last season and getting catfished, so they went all outㅋㅋㅋ

  ↳ Ah, if you recruit someone from the wilderness, you should get someone from the wilderness, not someone from reality~!!

  ↳ What’s this wilderness catfish story?

  ↳↳ I think it means they had a meeting based on photos uploaded to a dating app, but the photoshop was so heavy that the real person looked very different from the photos?

  ↳↳ (Photo) This is one of the male cast from S5. Left: dating app, Right: real life

  ↳↳↳ Holy shit, zero conscience

– Why haven’t Ki Seo-jung and Cha Yoon debuted yet with those faces..?

  ↳ Maybe that’s why they’re here now? To debutㅋㅋ

  ↳↳ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋAgree

– PD Kim really did a great job this timeㅆㅂ

  ↳ As expected, women do the big jobs…

– Wow, the day has come when we get equal visuals for both genders

  ↳ This is my first time seeing equal visuals in a dating show

  ↳↳ Mine tooㅋㅋㅋ Wow, it’s actually possible….

– Alright, I’m off to subscribe to ZVING right now

  ↳ Want to split the cost?

  ↳ Can I join too?

  ↳ I’ll… quietly line up here..

  ↳ (Link) Those who want to split, come this way

– I don’t watch dating shows, but what’s this catfish thing???

  ↳ It refers to people who don’t enter with everyone else at the beginning, but are introduced midway ㅇㅇ They do it on purpose to add drama. Roughly when love lines are forming, suddenly a new person appears and the love lines get all mixed upㅋㅋㅋㅋ

  ↳↳ Oh I see, thanks for the explanation!!

– I was so busy admiring their faces that no one’s talking about the appㅋㅋㅋㅋ

  ↳ Lolㅋㅋㅋ Please pay attention to our app too!!

  ↳ PTCOMX app: (sad face)

  ↳ ??? Huh? There was talk about an app?

  ↳ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ so funny (actually, I just noticed now too)

  ↳↳ 222 I just found out from this comment;;;

  ↳↳ For real, I came straight to the comments after seeing their faces so I didn’t even know there was talk about an appㅜㅜ

– Oh, an app~~ But Ki Seo-jung’s smile is really crazy; I was surprised by the capture so I went and watched the teaser video and got a full face attack; I had to take a break for about 5 minutes because I couldn’t get my senses back. Phew, I need to go watch it again

  ↳ Lolㅋㅋㅋ Put that much soul into talking about the app too

– In the previous article, they mentioned something about new fun, I guess this is what they meant by making their own app

  ↳ Seasons 1-5: Sent messages using the basic messaging app

  Returns: Send messages using a self-produced app

  In the end, it’s the same as sending messages, is this really that new..?ㅎㅎ

  ↳↳ Yeah, other than the app changing, I don’t really see any other differences

– Using a self-produced app seems meaningful enough to me..ㅠㅠ The app looks cute and plump too

↳ True, the program quality seems higher tooㅋㅋ

↳ Agreed, even if it’s just an app for sending messages, I think it’s fine

– The visuals of the male cast are insane this time… Are they really ordinary people?ㅠㅠ

↳ ㅇㅇ They’re real ordinary people

↳↳ How is that possible… Did they search the whole country?ㅠㅠ

– I’m so excited, when does this air?ㅠㅠ

↳ First episode airs on the 9th of next month!

– Ex-boyfriend, you fucking bastard, why didn’t you contact me, you piece of shit trash who’s never been helpful till the end

↳ Suddenly the ex-boyfriend is getting cursed to deathㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

↳ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– ㅋㅋ Looking at the full cast this season, they’re at least aiming to be influencers

↳ 2 Glad I’m not the only one who thought this..ㅋㅋㅋ

↳ 333 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

↳ 44 I mean, they were told to pick based on looks, but isn’t this too much;

↳ 5 Sigh, I had high hopes

↳ 66 Give me back my PTCOMX ㅠㅠ

– Whether they came through agencies or aiming to be influencers, it doesn’t matter. It’s better than wasting airtime with completely clueless male cast;

↳ Totally agree

↳ True, at least it’s pleasing to the eyesㅋㅋ

– Wow, two people I know are on it… that’s interesting…

– No matter how you look at it, there are plenty of people ready to jump ship. Delicious

↳ For real, last season everyone seemed totally closed off, but this season it’s like “love is an open door”ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

– This is the first time I’ve envied the female cast while watching a dating show

***

[Gossip] I know Cha Yoon from PTCOMX and he’s definitely not someone who wants to be on TV

People seem to think he’s an aspiring influencer or actor based on his looks

I can’t say much in detail, but I worked at the same company as Cha Yoon?

He did retire a few months ago for personal reasons

The Cha Yoon I know is definitely not the type to crave being on TV..

He’s not in financial trouble where he’d need to sell enzymes, and his job is really solid

So everyone I know who knows Cha Yoon is flipping out seeing this nowㅋㅋ

83 comments

– Prove it first before you talk

↳ Everything I could use as proof is related to personal information so I can’t

– Whoa, you know him?

– What’s Cha Yoon like in real life? Does he look exactly like that?

↳ If anything, I think he looks better in person?

↳↳ ??? He could look better than that? Is he even human? Not AI?

– Is Cha Yoon tall?

↳ 2222 Is he tall?????

↳ 3 This is the most important question

↳ Yeah, he’s tallㅋㅋ I’m pretty tall too, but he’s about 15cm taller than me

– Couldn’t he have changed paths to become an influencer or actor after retiring?

↳ 222 Personal reasons = Could be PTCOMX filming

↳ No way, after studying for that, he wouldn’t do thisㅋㅋ Especially since he’s so passionate about his job

– What’s his job?

↳ If I say this, I’ll get doxxed too, so let’s just say it’s a professional job

↳↳ ㅅㅂ With that face, he chose a professional career

– Who would believe you when you say this without any proof

↳ Yeah, if you don’t want to believe it, then don’t

– Welcome, fiction writer

↳ Bye bye, fiction police~

– Wait, why would someone with no interest in TV, who makes good money and is passionate about their job, go on PTCOMX?

↳ We speculated with people who know him, and it seems like it might be because of his ex-girlfriendㅋㅋ He was known as a total romantic at work…

↳↳ He looks like someone who’d have lived a wild life? A romantic with that face? Shit, I’m fainting ㅜ

– Please share some stories about his romantic side

↳ First of all, he’s not the type to smile much in front of others, but when he’s on the phone or texting with his girlfriend, he’s just all smiles. Once I happened to overhear him on the phone, and he was kind of throwing a tantrum asking her to say ‘I love you’ quickly… I was a bit surprised because he’s not like that at all when working ㅋㅋ Even when the team wants to go for dinner, he always goes straight home saying he has to pick up his girlfriend or has plans with her, etc. And in our job, we go on a lot of business trips? Every single time he goes, he comes back through customs with both hands full of gifts for his girlfriend

↳↳ With that face, doing things like that… it’s like a whole romance movie

↳↳ This is so delicious, please don’t delete this post

↳↳ Why did such a romantic guy break up? I’m so curious I’m going crazy