So while the probability of Sungjin’s popularity suddenly exploding and being snatched away by someone else wasn’t high, it was necessary to stimulate Yuwon’s anxiety to induce more active participation.
That would also make for better ratings.
How much of a topic would it become if that Lee Yuwon, who had consistently rejected appearance offers for most broadcasts, was shown on air fretting over just one ordinary man?
He was already curious. It was something to look forward to both as production staff and as a relative who had watched Lee Yuwon since childhood.
Yuwon had never been desperate about anything until now. The person himself might think differently, but that’s how it looked from the perspective of someone watching from the side. This guy, who had people around him solving everything for him even when he stayed still, people who were anxious about not being able to give him one more thing—he was now restless like a puppy that needed to pee for the first time because he couldn’t control one person as he wished.
He still didn’t know what kind of person Yoon Sungjin was, but at least from outward appearances alone, he didn’t look like someone who would intentionally toy with Lee Yuwon. Rather, it seemed the opposite. The Sungjin captured in the 24-hour cameras was the type who was extremely conscious of others’ reactions, far from putting others in the palm of his hand and manipulating them. To the point where it felt frustrating to watch.
It was fascinating, really. Usually, people with that level of looks would have those around them trying to please them to some extent.
When you gathered people with outstanding looks and financial abundance like in COOL&BEAUTY in one place, funny scenes would often unfold. Things like people who were clearly desperate for attention outside becoming flustered by treatment different from the outside when they came here and found too many accomplished people—that was typical.
Wasn’t that the case with Harin right now? In reality, everyone would have cast those who bullied Harin as villains and treated her as a pitiful, delicate object of protection. But here, since Harin’s looks didn’t particularly stand out, she seemed unable to adapt from the moment she immediately joined the ranks of the unpopular.
On the other hand, Sungjin seemed more accustomed to such treatment. Strangely so, considering with those specs, people around him wouldn’t have left him alone, trying to make something happen.
The so-called myth that nice guys are unpopular with women is an illusion. Someone who is sincere, family-oriented, faithful to those around them, and has looks to that degree—naturally, there would be more than enough demand, so there would be plenty of people trying to snatch them up as quickly as possible.
So it was even more entertaining from a watching perspective. The combination of Sungjin, who looked like he should be living up to his face value but couldn’t do so at all, and his cousin in front of such a Sungjin, trying to do something and only doing things that lived up to his face value—it seemed like comedy from afar, tragedy up close.
Even now, watching that Lee Yuwon unavoidably cooperating with the type he would hate the most was enjoyable just by watching.
Ah… the CEO told me not to make him do anything that would damage his image too much.
But what could be done? Setting aside the moral responsibility as a dating show, the sight of a top model suffering because of a so-called nuisance character ordinary person would create buzz both internally and externally. Beyond everything else, it was simply enjoyable to see Lee Yuwon suffering.
As a result, the Yuwon and Harin pair didn’t even pass the first round. Even though other participants somehow managed to complete it even if it took a long time, Yuwon and Harin failed even that.
Just as he was briefly wondering whether he should edit it if Lee Yuwon couldn’t stand it and raised his voice at Harin, Yuwon only let out a long sigh and didn’t show any particularly threatening behavior. Even that was a reaction shown when Harin, who didn’t want to fall into the water, struggled and hit Yuwon’s head.
[Points acquired in Round 1 are: 1st place 10 points, 2nd place 8 points, 3rd place 6 points, 4th place 4 points, 5th place 2 points, 6th place gets nothing.]
With Round 1 ending like this, Sungjin made a fairly good start. He wasn’t aiming for the date ticket, but at least he succeeded in not being a nuisance to his partner. That alone was satisfying enough.
Occasionally, Yuwon shot terrifying glances that bothered him, but he desperately pretended not to notice. It was because he was still a blank slate about what kind of reaction he should show in front of the camera.
His fear intensified because he didn’t know what purpose Yuwon had or how he planned to act. Moreover, it was too unfair that the fact that he liked men was a fatal secret he could never reveal to others, but to him, it was nothing at all.
If only Yuwon weren’t a celebrity who had publicly revealed his preferences, they would both be unable to carelessly disclose things for the sake of their public image. Yuwon was a famous slut known for not discriminating between men and women, and Sungjin was the opposite.
Far from being rumored about, he hadn’t even revealed his face on SNS, so no one knew him except his colleagues around him. His college classmates had never even seen Sungjin’s changed appearance, so they wouldn’t even realize that the Yoon Sungjin they knew and the Yoon Sungjin appearing on COOL&BEAUTY were the same person.
They were polar opposite types in many ways. Sungjin was simply scared of Yuwon. At the same time, he worried about what this person who was terrifyingly beautiful wanted. While Sungjin was worrying with his small head, the second round began. This round was also a team competition.
[Round 2 will proceed with a different partner, not the Round 1 pair.]
Sungjin’s new partner who became a team with him was Yeonjin. She was working as a famous academy instructor in XX-dong and was also known for her highly accurate online lectures.
Students taking Yeonjin’s classes must be very confused. The instructor who was in charge of their math special lecture until last month suddenly appeared on a dating show looking for a romantic partner. However, Yeonjin showed a quite enthusiastic attitude.
I came here because I sincerely want to meet a good connection.
Like Suyeong, Yeonjin was a self-made type. She didn’t seem to have come out to gain popularity and fame through appearing on COOL&BEAUTY, but rather to truly meet someone at a level that matched her. That’s why she had firmly occupied the seat next to Muncheol since yesterday and was firmly grasping connections with the mainstream cast. In many ways, she was a type of person that didn’t match Sungjin.
I just hope I won’t be a burden again this time.
[Now we will reveal the format of the second round.]
The second round was matching the same pictures. But not doing it alone—doing it together with a partner.
[The female participant will first select and flip a card, then the male participant will find the matching pair for that picture and flip the second card. If you fail to match all pairs within the time limit, it’s an automatic failure.]
Ah… Sungjin had prided himself on having better than average memorization skills, but games with this kind of time limit or pressure were his kryptonite. Moreover, if he didn’t do well, he would be a nuisance to his paired partner. It was a prerequisite that made even the ability he could demonstrate run away.
“Please… take care of me.”
“Yes, let’s do our best.”
The second round, which began in a tense atmosphere, was even fiercer than the first round. It was because the participants who had shown pathetic skills with futile physical comedy in the first round had staked everything on this round.
Sungjin also tried his best to do well, but he couldn’t even compete against people who had nowhere left to retreat.
“A7!”
“D2!”
“B4!”
Among other pairs who shouted out card numbers that sounded like codes as if auctioning them and matched them perfectly, Sungjin desperately followed along, squeezing out his memory. He was fairly confident in his study brain, but how could he beat prodigies who had been accepted to medical school with that study brain, graduated early from science high school, and entered the country’s largest engineering school?
Some participants even possessed a superpower-like ability called instant memory storage. Why is this kind of thing not a superpower that only appears in superhero movies but a real function that some geniuses possess? And why do several people out of this small number of people have it?
What was even more surprising was the fact that none other than Yuwon was also one of them.
“B3.”
“E1.”
“C6.”
As if he had appeared on the program solely to match these cards, he matched cards faster than anyone. Even the time his paired partner hesitated to choose a card seemed wasteful. This was the first time seeing Yuwon so enthusiastic since coming here.
“A2.”
“D1.”
Like that, the picture matching ended in an instant. Thanks to each pair having one ace who staked their life on picture matching, Sungjin’s ranking ended up below average.
