Chapter 6

Kwon Seok-jun took a short breath before speaking.

“Choi Do-yoon had an upset stomach, so I agreed to go in his place.”

“…What?”

“Let’s go.”

Without even waiting for her answer, he strode toward his car.

What? So both of us came as replacements?

Min-joo felt frustrated by the situation. The more she tried to avoid Kwon Seok-jun, the more often she seemed to run into him.

A moment later, Kwon Seok-jun, now sitting in the driver’s seat, lowered the passenger-side window and leaned his head out.

“Aren’t you getting in?”

Min-joo had been standing there blankly because of the sudden turn of events. But when she saw the camera pointed at her and felt his gaze fixed intently on her from beyond it, she reluctantly moved toward the car.

The thought of being alone with him in such an enclosed space made her chest tighten, and her palms began to sweat.

Seo Min-joo, don’t be nervous.

Kwon Seok-jun isn’t bothered at all. Doesn’t it hurt your pride that you’re the only one getting worked up?

Avoiding him means losing. Act like nothing happened, just like he is.

Steeling herself, Min-joo climbed into the passenger seat.

Whether he had been doing well in the United States or not, the interior of the several-hundred-million-won sedan was spacious and luxurious.

After confirming that she had fastened her seat belt, Kwon Seok-jun gently pressed the accelerator and drove out of the resort.

Aside from the cameras installed inside the vehicle, there were only the two of them.

An oppressive silence settled over the car.

Min-joo wanted to turn on some music, but she couldn’t bring herself to move her hand, afraid that doing so would reveal that she was the only one nervous.

She turned her gaze toward the window instead.

The supermarket, which was only fifteen minutes away, seemed unusually far.

Then Kwon Seok-jun casually spoke.

“Are you disappointed?”

Min-joo turned her head and looked at his profile as he continued staring ahead while driving.

“What do you mean?”

He briefly glanced at her before speaking.

“You seemed disappointed that it wasn’t Choi Do-yoon.”

Did he think I would be happy about that?

If he really thought so, it was absurd.

“I was a little surprised, but I don’t care who I go with. It’s not like we’re going on a date.”

“I thought it was a date, but I guess you didn’t.”

“This is a date?”

“Does a date have to be something elaborate? If two people look into each other’s eyes in the same place and share even a little of their time, isn’t that a date?”

Min-joo was momentarily speechless at his casual remark.

“Then I guess we have different ideas about what a date is.”

“What do you consider a date, Ms. Seo Min-joo?”

“Well… to me, a date is something you do when two people have feelings for each other. If you’re simply spending time together, that’s just an appointment.”

“So you’re saying we’re merely sharing an appointment right now?”

“Yes.”

Min-joo drew a firm line between them.

She thought that should be enough for him to understand.

But his next words made her insides boil.

“Then I guess I’ll have to try harder from now on.”

“…What?”

“So that we can go on a date rather than just share an appointment. I want to make sure you have a better time than you do with Han Sang-ho.”

“What does that—”

Knock, knock.

Someone tapped on the passenger-side window.

Startled, Min-joo turned her head.

They had already arrived at the supermarket.

When she rolled down the window, a staff member who had been waiting for them bent down.

“Your supermarket shoot is ready. Please go inside right away.”

Min-joo nodded in acknowledgment and unfastened her seat belt.

The tense atmosphere that had filled the car moments ago seemed to dissipate with those simple words.

The supermarket was bustling, as expected on a weekend evening.

Min-joo pushed the shopping cart and quickly placed the necessary ingredients inside.

Kwon Seok-jun, on the other hand, leisurely pushed the cart beside her, looking over the shelves before casually picking something up and putting it inside.

Min-joo was putting milk into the cart when her eyes stopped on a familiar package.

What he had picked was none other than yogurt from the brand she usually enjoyed.

It’s just a coincidence. There’s no way he chose it because of me.

She tried to reassure herself, but combined with the suggestive things he’d said in the car, the fact that he had put an item that wasn’t on the shopping list into the cart made her heart flutter for no reason.

Kwon Seok-jun looked over the cart, which was now filled with groceries, and asked,

“What else do we need to buy?”

“Only the meat.”

He nodded and immediately headed toward the butcher section.

With her thoughts becoming increasingly complicated, Min-joo hardened her expression and quietly followed him.

When they reached the pork section, the middle-aged woman arranging the meat looked back and forth between them before greeting them with a bright smile.

“Welcome.”

“Could we get some pork belly?”

“How much would you like?”

“Um… four geun of pork belly and three geun of pork shoulder, please.”

Min-joo spoke while looking at the shopping list on her phone.

But at Kwon Seok-jun’s next words, she couldn’t help lightly biting her lower lip.

“Ma’am, please split it into two geun of pork belly and two geun of ogyeopsal.”

“You know your meat.”

Ogyeopsal.

Because Min-joo liked it more than ordinary pork belly.

The string of coincidences made Min-joo’s heart keep wavering.

“Young couples shopping for groceries together always look so nice.”

Min-joo was startled and immediately shook her head.

“Oh, we’re not married.”

“Really? You look like newlyweds at first glance.”

The woman grinned knowingly as she wrapped the meat.

Min-joo didn’t know what to do and quickly looked away, but Kwon Seok-jun beside her said nothing.

He simply wore a faint, ambiguous smile as he accepted the wrapped meat and placed it in the cart.

After finishing their shopping and getting back into the car, Min-joo looked at him as he started the engine and asked accusingly,

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“We’re not going to see each other again anyway. Why do you care?”

He spoke calmly as he shifted the gear into Drive.

The car smoothly left the supermarket parking lot.

“People might misunderstand when the show airs.”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not, we don’t know yet.”

“…What does that mean?”

“It’s possible you and I could become a couple. You never know what might happen.”

“No. That won’t happen.”

“We’ll see.”

Even in response to her firm denial, he didn’t so much as blink.

He merely turned the steering wheel with a faint smile whose meaning she couldn’t decipher.

The lights came on in the accommodation’s courtyard, and the savory aroma of food filled the evening air.

As the contestants gathered in small groups to prepare dinner, Han Sang-ho rolled up his sleeves and headed toward the kitchen.

“Sang-ho, you can cook too?”

He smiled gently in response to the female contestant’s question.

“When you live alone, you end up learning.”

His movements were quick and neat.

He minced garlic, chopped vegetables, and seasoned the food with natural, efficient movements.

Unlike the other male contestants, who claimed they couldn’t cook and simply sat in the living room watching, Han Sang-ho had stepped forward on his own and was actively helping.

For some reason, seeing him like that made him look even more attractive.

When the savory aroma of sesame oil spread through the air, the women began expressing their admiration.

“Wow, you look like a chef.”

“At this point, shouldn’t you go on a cooking show?”

Then one of the female contestants playfully said,

“I like men who are sexy when they cook.”

“A ‘sexy man who cooks’? That’s too much praise.”

Han Sang-ho smiled sheepishly as he stirred the pan.

Min-joo wanted to help him since he was so busy working by himself, but she couldn’t bring herself to push through the group of female contestants surrounding him.

She quietly organized the groceries they’d bought in the back.

Then Han Sang-ho called her.

“Min-joo.”

“Yes?”

She raised her head in surprise at the sudden sound of her name.

“Could you prepare the mushrooms for me?”

“Oh, sure.”

Min-joo hurriedly finished organizing the groceries and went over to Sang-ho.

At that moment, the gazes of the female contestants around him subtly shifted.

He could have called any of us who were standing nearby. Why did he specifically call the woman who was farther away?

A moment later, after silently exchanging glances with one another, the women pretended they had other things to do and left the kitchen.

“How should I cut them?”

“The size doesn’t matter. Just cut them into bite-sized pieces.”

Min-joo nodded, washed the king oyster mushrooms, and began slicing them diagonally.

The tip of her knife struck the cutting board in a steady rhythm.

“Is this about right?”

“Oh, you’re good at this.”

At Sang-ho’s compliment, Min-joo suddenly felt the tips of her fingers grow warm.

After that, she did her best to act casual as she prepared the ingredients he asked for, moving naturally around the kitchen.

As though they had been cooking together for a long time, the two of them worked together with surprising ease.

A faint smile lingered at the corners of Han Sang-ho’s lips as he explained the recipe to her.

Perhaps she had simply been infected by his smile.

Min-joo kept finding herself smiling and felt embarrassed by it, but before long, she relaxed and began enjoying her time with him.

A male contestant watching them closely from the living room quietly remarked,

“Those two look like they could become a couple.”

“It’s only been one day. Isn’t that a little fast?”

“Look. They smile every time their eyes meet.”

At those words, everyone’s attention turned toward the two of them.

Just then, whatever Sang-ho had said caused a bright smile to spread across Min-joo’s face.

From a distance, Kwon Seok-jun had been watching the scene.

Quietly, he rose from his seat.