When word got out that the filming location was a "sweet potato field," unlike Team B's staff—who left early in the morning looking miserable because only the junior staff were going—Team A, which was set to film Yi Yiyeon and Yoo Dohyeon's hotel date, was all cheerful, humming along. But in just a few hours, the mood flipped 180 degrees.
Even when they first sat facing each other in a quiet restaurant at a hotel about ten minutes from Chunmongdo, the two of them looked so picture-perfect that PD Choi had no doubt they were the true main characters of this episode.
But almost as soon as Yi Yiyeon sat down, she changed the romance genre the staff had been expecting.
"Sunbae, the atmosphere here is so nice. I really wanted to come here with you at least once—"
"You can hint around, but I don't think you'll get it, so I'll say it just once."
"What?"
"Dohyeon, you know this, but I'm not interested in you."
Hearing Yiyeon's words, Dohyeon looked flustered, his hand trembling as he lifted the water cup in front of him.
"Ha... I know you're interested in someone else. But... it's only been two days. We can still get to know each other more, can't we?"
"You and I—were we strangers before this program? No."
"Back then…! That was just me chasing you alone as a fan…!"
At Dohyeon's rebuttal, Yiyeon let out a dry laugh instead.
"And now it's different?"
"What's different? No, I mean, compared to that kid—"
Hit right on the mark, Dohyeon squeezed his eyes shut. The words he couldn't spit out in front of the cameras were obvious.
"...I'm curious. I want to know. I get anxious that other people might find out before me."
"Ha, so what you're saying is… I'm not even someone you're curious about?"
"I already know exactly what you're thinking. How could I be curious about you, about you."
But Yiyeon didn't waver at Dohyeon's reaction and continued calmly.
"Hyung... you'll regret saying that someday."
"I didn't want to string you along, even if it's for 방송. So... you should stop wasting your time on me too."
In truth, Dohyeon showing interest in Yiyeon wasn't something that started yesterday. Even before debut, he'd come by the agency or her house claiming he was an aspiring actor, and after debut, he somehow got Yiyeon's number—calling out of nowhere or showing up at after-parties for her projects.
Because he kept appearing while pretending it was "by chance," people around Yiyeon called Dohyeon "Yi Yiyeon's fanboy."
It had been a long time since the affection Dohyeon showed—once only cute—started to feel creepy and frightening.
From the moment Yiyeon received the cast lineup for the program, she'd already decided: this time, she would draw a clear line.
Dohyeon's feelings had already crossed past affection into something close to obsession.
When Dohyeon stormed off, thumping away from the table, it was Yiyeon who also calmed down the murmuring staff.
"Sorry, everyone. Since we're already here, let's at least eat before we go. PD Choi, look at me for a second."
Even while following Yiyeon out of the building, Mijin's head felt like it was spinning. Should she have been at the sweet potato field—no, back at the lodging? Should she be grateful the assistant PD wasn't here and that she hadn't had to come running over from digging sweet potatoes?
Her head was buzzing.
"PD, I'm sorry. Let's not air this."
"No—! You could've at least warned us. Does Yiyeon think this is her first day on TV? You should've settled this between you two beforehand."
"Did you even give me time to?"
Mijin, fumes rising off her, pulled a cigarette from her pocket and put it in her mouth. At Yiyeon's question, it was true—she didn't have anything to say.
Chunmongdo and Chunmonggak were packed with cameras to an obsessive degree. The only things the cast could control were the cameras in their rooms—but since Yiyeon and Dohyeon wouldn't be sharing a room, it probably felt stifling from Yiyeon's side.
"Still...! I mean...."
PD Choi's pride wouldn't let her say it: if you were going to cause this kind of havoc, you should've gone to a sweet potato field—no, a garlic field—instead of an expensive hotel.
"I'll cover today's venue fee and the staff's meal costs."
When Yiyeon pulled out a black card from her own wallet, PD Choi swallowed the words she wanted to say, forcing them down.
"Still... what if Yoo Dohyeon just refuses to film after that?"
"He's shrewd—so much it's irritating. He doesn't do things that hurt him. Once he cools down, he'll come back, so don't worry."
Just as Yiyeon said, Dohyeon was obsessed with protecting his image. But what gave Yiyeon even more certainty was Dohyeon's fixation on her.
Iyeon's insides were a mess too—things she couldn't possibly lay out for PD Choi.
Normally, even with Dohyeon's constant advances, it would've been enough to play it off like they were just close senior and junior.
But Yiyeon's mood had already twisted when, while out jogging early that morning, she saw Jegal Minhyeok and Dansol leaving together in a car.
If Dohyeon wasn't around, the seat beside Dansol could've been hers.
Because of Dohyeon's overly aggressive pursuit from the start, Yiyeon already felt like she'd been excluded from Dansol's world.
Iyeon was sure Dansol avoided her because of Dohyeon.
"We're back...?"
The date pass was valid until 7 p.m. Originally it had been until 2, but after the assistant PD got an urgent call from PD Choi, the filming time got pushed to 7.
Thanks to that, the two of them—who even downed the makgeolli that came out with snack time—managed, with the help of alcohol, to dig up all the sweet potatoes, then even help out with work at the village head's orchard before returning.
Holding both arms full of fruit to share, Dansol happily opened the door to Chunmonggak.
But no one answered.
After returning from the date with Yiyeon, Dohyeon had shut himself in his room, and Yiyeon, also seemingly in a low-pressure mood, had locked her door, saying her head was pounding.
Taeoh, still upset about what Yeomin did to him, had cried himself to sleep.
Daesu and Jisu had just finished arguing with the staff, protesting the way the production team had extended the date time without warning.
The first person to come out upon hearing Dansol's voice was Jisu.
"Sol, you're back? How was it today? Wasn't it hard when filming got longer all of a sudden?... But what is this? What's with how you look?"
Rubber boots, work pants, even a straw hat—item after item that had been handed to him. Dansol looked exactly like a farmer.
Like a mole dragging around clumps of dirt, Dansol held out the basket he was carrying with both hands toward Jisu.
"Hyung! Look at this! I picked it!"
Even though Minhyeok had offered to carry it, Dansol refused and chose only the prettiest, plumpest ones. The basket held sweet potatoes, tomatoes, apples, even bell peppers—gifts the village head piled on because he was grateful and impressed.
"That... wasn't a date?"
Jisu looked at Jegal Minhyeok with suspicion. Unlike Dansol—who looked like he'd crawled out of a dirt pit—Minhyeok looked fairly fine.
Under Jisu's look—Explain what you did after taking my precious Dansol away—Minhyeok avoided it and carried over the box of sweet potatoes he'd loaded in the trunk.
"Let's roast sweet potatoes for a late-night snack, Dansol. There's so much that even our staff will be able to eat."
As Minhyeok said, the quantity was enormous. Once the staff started helping carry the boxes, the commotion drew the cast out one by one.
Daesu, apparently just out of the shower and wearing a navy bathrobe, greeted Dansol with his eyes.
"Sol... you need to speak up and tell the truth. What did that guy do after taking you out? Did he make you work like crazy?"
"No! Absolutely not! I had a lot of fun today. Hehe."
Still unable to drop his suspicion, Jisu watched as Dansol carried the basket toward the kitchen—going in to wash and prep what could be eaten right away.
Daesu followed behind him.
"Dansol."
"Ah! Sunbae, look at this. It's so pretty, right?"
Like they were his own children, Dansol showed Daesu his harvest the same way he'd shown Jisu.
"Uh... yeah."
Daesu didn't understand what was "pretty" about bell peppers at all, but he answered while looking at Dansol's bright smile.
Dansol, not noticing, turned his back and soaked the vegetables under running water.
"Pretty."
"Let's roast them later. Did you eat dinner?"
"You seem to like stuff like this."
At Daesu's shy question, Dansol kept scrubbing sweet potatoes as he answered.
"Yeah. I didn't know, but… I think I do."
"...Remember that."
"Huh? Wh-what? Sunbae! Where'd you go...?"
With the water running loud, Dansol didn't hear Daesu's reply and asked again—only to find that Daesu, wearing a look like he'd made up his mind, had already left the kitchen.
—Alpha and omega of Chunmonggak, did you enjoy today as well?
—Some of you may have enjoyed a fun date, while others may have spent the day alone back at the lodging.
—But it's too soon to be disappointed. This is only the beginning of your journey in RO Match Survival in Island. You'll have many more chances for dates, so don't worry too much.
—However, you do understand that not everyone can make it through the journey together, right?
—As the title of our program suggests, never forget that you've entered a survival competition.
—This week, the first elimination will occur in RO Match Survival in Island.
As usual, they were sitting around a fire in the front yard, eating the sweet potatoes Dansol and Minhyeok had brought back.
Even though he'd tried to shake off life after regression while spending time with Minhyeok, Dansol was once again thrown into the heart of the survival.
Even before regression, eliminations started from the first week.
—Each cast member receives one elimination vote.
—With this vote, you may nominate exactly one person—alpha or omega—to be eliminated.
—One important point: in RO Match Survival, it is possible to transfer your vote to someone else.
—If there is someone you must compete against for the same person, then use any means necessary to seize another person's vote. Our production team will not condemn you, nor stop you, for striving to obtain votes.
—Because actions done in the name of love always transcend good and evil.
What a joke.
Dansol felt his improved mood crash to the ground and get dragged through the mud.
Those pretty words basically meant: we'll film everything you do to get votes and turn you into a nationwide—no, global—piece of trash.
To Dansol, the vote was the root of malice.
When he shared a room with Dohyeon, a scene of them tearing the room apart looking for Dansol's "missing" vote had been maliciously edited to frame him as a thief who stole Dohyeon's belongings.
Absurdly, Dansol's vote was found in the pocket of an outer coat they'd searched multiple times.
It was obvious someone had hidden Dansol's vote on purpose, then put it back—but Dansol had no choice but to endure it in silence.
Just not sharing a room with Dohyeon made filming this much easier.
Feeling weirdly grateful toward Jisu, Dansol looked up at him, where Jisu was resting his chin on Dansol's head.
"Why?"
Jisu asked with his lips.
Dansol smiled sheepishly.
"Nothing."
Finding that cute, Jisu—fresh from a shower and still soft and fluffy—patted Dansol's hair.
From all around, the alphas' eyes sharpened and gleamed.
But the sharpest shine belonged to Matteo's eyes as he learned about the vote. His face was swollen, like he'd cried all evening, yet only his murderous stare sparkled bright.
A lion doesn't use its full strength to chase a deer. But a deer being chased by a lion runs with everything it has.
Chased by the lion named Yoon Yeomin, Matteo finally decided to become the first alpha in the entire history of R-O Match to eliminate an omega.
{Preview}
Late at night, a man stands under the big pine tree in Chunmonggak's front yard, stacking stone cairns over and over while muttering.
"×××... I'll be the first to get rid of you on this island."
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