“Everyone is seated, so we’ll begin filming. Standby, cue!”
Clack, as the slate sound echoed, everyone glanced at each other’s expressions. The female participants were generally gathered in small groups with other female participants, and the male participants with other male participants, while Juhoon and Yunchae were affectionately sitting close together.
Those two are practically already an official couple.
Sungjin was truly grateful to them. They were virtually the only pair providing the content that both the production team and viewers would have anticipated most. The other participants also seemed to be gradually gauging and interacting with each other, but no one was displaying such obvious chemistry as those two.
Just as the participants were scanning each other with appropriately manufactured smiles, an announcement voice rang out from the speaker.
[Hello, good morning today as well. Did you have good dreams last night?]
Even at the greeting the production team had inserted without much meaning, Sungjin felt his heart sink. It couldn’t really have been caught on camera, right? His heart was pounding so much he couldn’t control himself. He was barely maintaining a calm expression when the announcement continued flowing from the speaker.
[The third day at COOL&BEAUTY has dawned. Today is finally the day when all participants will be given a date opportunity—aren’t you all excited?]
“Oh.”
“Wow.”
At the news that all participants were guaranteed a date opportunity, everyone wore expressions full of anticipation. However, there was one exception. As if something unpleasant had happened since morning, only Yuwon was frowning.
Seriously, that guy. I keep telling him everything’s being caught on camera but he doesn’t even care.
Only Yurim, watching this, was anxious, but since the cameras had already started rolling, all he could do was subtly make throat-slitting gestures among the staff. Yuwon, who should have been watching this, had no interest in Yurim whatsoever.
[Today’s date will be conducted with LoveMatch, a dating app that uses cutting-edge emotion analysis and AI ideal type matching system.]
At the announcement that soon flowed from the speaker, everyone’s heads tilted in puzzlement. What on earth was AI ideal type matching? As everyone stared at the speaker with bewildered faces, the speaker continued its explanation.
[LoveMatch recommends partners with the most compatible views on dating and marriage based on the questionnaire you answer. Today, all participants will participate in the LoveMatch survey and proceed with one-on-one dates based on the AI analysis results. The pairing criterion is the partner with the highest compatibility in the LoveMatch system.]
So basically they’d have them do something like a survey and connect people with similar ways of thinking based on the results. Then isn’t it just matching based on survey analysis results? It didn’t seem necessary to add “AI” in front to make it sound like actual science and technology were involved.
The same thought occurred in several participants’ minds, but no one bothered to point it out aloud. In the end, it was probably all stuck on for promotional purposes to make a living. The fact that they were promoting everything as AI seemed to fit with the latest trends.
[Then we’ll begin the LoveMatch analysis now.]
As soon as the speaker’s announcement flowed out, the production team came out and handed tablets to each participant one by one. Sungjin also received the device the staff offered him. On the main screen was a typical dating app start screen.
[Please create your profile and respond to the survey.]
Sungjin entered his profile as the speaker instructed.
Name: Yoon Sungjin
Age: 28
Gender: Male
Desired matching gender: [ ] Female [ ] Male (Multiple responses possible)
……
Sungjin checked only ‘Female’ without hesitation. It felt strangely like the back of his head was burning, but he squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. After that, surveys literally checking values and tendencies continued. They were questions asking about basic thoughts on ideal types, what’s important when dating, what one wants in a marriage partner, etc.
There were also questions asking about physical ideal types. Since he wasn’t actually going to meet a real woman anyway, he made up appropriate answers. He preferred a delicate and pure image rather than a healthy one. His partner’s financial capability didn’t really matter. After all, he’d be the most insignificant one anyway. As he checked each one, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
What if the result came out that no one wanted him? According to the earlier explanation, they’d match people with the most compatible views on relationships, but they didn’t say they’d necessarily allocate one date per person.
As worry belatedly rushed in, the other participants’ hands were also getting faster.
Well… it’ll work out somehow.
They said they’d analyze and match with AI. Sungjin didn’t want to complicate his worries further and quickly finished the survey. The moment he finally raised his head, what he saw was Yuwon glaring at him with terrifying eyes.
Wh-what am I supposed to do?
I tried to ask you why you did that yesterday, but you fell asleep first. Sungjin swallowed the complaint he couldn’t bring himself to voice and lowered his head again.
A short while later, all participants’ survey responses were finally complete. Participants who finished the survey first seemed to be murmuring with each other about what responses they gave, but only coldness flowed between Sungjin and Yuwon.
Of course, that direction was one-sided. While Sungjin deliberately ignored Yuwon’s gaze, the speaker began its announcement again.
[All participants’ responses have been completed. Now please press the button on the screen to check your respective matching partners.]
Just as it said, the tablet screen had changed to a pink-mood result confirmation button. Please. Please let it be someone less scary at least. Sungjin pressed the button with desperate hope. Then dazzling light poured from the screen and someone’s profile appeared with an effect.
Huh.
Name: Seo Yunchae
Age: 28
Height: …
The profile’s owner was none other than Yunchae, who was currently practically in an official couple state.
Why…?
Even though he asked inwardly, everyone knew the answer. The survey results must have paired people with similar views on dating and marriage. As Sungjin raised his head in bewilderment, Yunchae was also looking at Sungjin as if she’d received the same result.
Sungjin almost stammered unconsciously but came to his senses and bowed his head to greet Yunchae. Yunchae also had a somewhat surprised expression. It didn’t seem like a hostile reaction of “why that bastard of all people,” but it didn’t seem particularly welcoming either, so it wasn’t very pleasant.
Of course, that would have been the same regardless of who the partner was. After confirming his partner like that, his face felt hot belatedly. There was only one person who would glare at Sungjin like this.
……
Sungjin desperately tried to ignore the gaze glaring at him from right beside him, but after recalling the fact that this entire situation was being caught on screen, he barely raised his head to look at Yuwon.
……
As expected, Yuwon was glaring at Sungjin with eyes that looked ready to devour someone. Sungjin tried to smile and opened his mouth.
“Um… are you… satisfied with your matching result?”
As if to say what kind of thing is that to say now, Yuwon’s eyes became even sharper. Eek. Sungjin swallowed a scream inwardly and looked at the screen of the pad Yuwon was holding. The pad displayed a bewildering result.
Your matching partner.
Name: Im Jiyoon
Sungjin almost let out an incredulous laugh for a moment.
Why on earth? Even from Sungjin’s perspective, it was absurd that two people who seemed incompatible at the level of oil and water were matched. But he soon figured out the reason.
Yuwon must have checked male in the desired matching gender, and Jiyoon would have only checked male, so Jiyoon’s matchable candidates were only Yuwon, which is why they ended up paired like that. Otherwise, there’s no way those two would be each other’s ideal type.
He didn’t know how great the development personnel who made this AI matching system were, but like many AI products that just stuck on plausible names to sell, it didn’t seem to have particularly great utility.
When he raised his head to check the other participants’ reactions, among the female participants too, there seemed to be people matched with the same sex, as they were checking each other with surprised faces. As the participants began murmuring one by one, an announcement voice flowed from the speaker.
