Chapter 23: The First Date’s Enigma

Who would they date?

In the brief, tense silence, Dohwa’s mind raced.

‘Please, let it not be a direct selection method.’

Having binge-watched every dating show before appearing, he knew that scenes of alternating date requests were inevitable. And that’s where emotions invariably became entangled.

“Ta-da! Read it all.”

Woo Sori handed the paper he was holding to Kang Hae-il, and the others immediately crowded around them. Dohwa decided to wait patiently, knowing it would be difficult to see anything even if he went over now.

After everyone had read the contents of the paper, Kang Hae-il naturally slid it over to Dohwa.

[Sunny weather]

[Tomorrow is the highly anticipated first date! For a night sleepless with excitement, please check under your bed!]

[Note: You cannot share this information with others.]

While it was clear why Woo Sori had called it a date, there was no other discernible information.

‘It keeps exceeding my expectations.’

Glancing over, he saw Chaeyeon-woo already shifting in his seat, looking as though he might dash upstairs to the second floor at any moment.

“Should we check when we go to our rooms later? Or now?”

“I can’t stand not knowing.”

Unlike the composed Jae-hyun, Ma Won-ho seemed just as eager as Chaeyeon-woo to check immediately.

Dohwa, too, felt the urge to go and check right away, but the thought of what he would have to deal with afterward weighed on his mind.

“Hmm, since we can’t share it with each other anyway, there’s no need to look together. Just check whenever you want.”

At Woo Sori’s clarifying words, everyone nodded, and several people rose from their seats.

After watching them ascend to the second floor, the desire to check immediately surged within him, and he cast aside the blanket covering him.

“Dohwa, are you going to check now too?”

“…Yes. I’m curious.”

Woo Sori, one of the remaining individuals, spoke to him.

He reasoned that since he had to see it eventually, he might as well check now and prepare his response.

Unlike Chaeyeon-woo, who had practically sprinted up, Dohwa ascended the stairs slowly and deliberately. He didn’t want to risk a fall.

Upon reaching the second floor, he walked past the empty lounge and corridor, stopping before his door.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Yeah. Did you check?”

As he pulled the doorknob, Chaeyeon-woo, who had been looking in the mirror inside, came into view.

A quick scan of the surroundings revealed no traces, suggesting Chaeyeon-woo had already checked.

Chaeyeon-woo gave Dohwa a fleeting glance, then continued to preen his eyelashes in the mirror before finally rising and approaching the door.

“I’ll head downstairs first, so take your time and come down when you’re ready!”

With a wide smile, he clapped Dohwa on the shoulder, then released him and exited the room. As the door closed, Dohwa went to his bed and flopped down.

‘I should have brought my phone.’

It was too dark under the bed to see anything. His phone was downstairs, and he couldn’t be bothered to go back for it.

Leaning forward, he squinted into the darkness, and it seemed as though something was there.

He reached out and fumbled around, his fingers closing around something. Pulling it out, he found a familiar pink envelope, identical to the previous one save for its color.

The space under the bed must have been thoroughly cleaned, as there was no dust on it.

“I’ll go out a bit later.”

His neck and back ached from the awkward posture, and a dull headache throbbed at his temples. Was the traditional liquor he’d drunk earlier finally making its exit?

Lying on the bed, he opened the envelope to find a blank white piece of paper.

‘What is this?’

He froze for a moment, then flipped the paper over to reveal text. Just a single line.

[Tomorrow]

It was information that wasn’t clear at all, hardly even information.

“…What am I supposed to do with this?”

He turned the envelope inside out, searching for another paper, but found nothing.

Since it stated he couldn’t share the information, it seemed he wouldn’t know his date until tomorrow morning, just as it implied.

After staring blankly at the paper from his prone position, Dohwa slowly got up and left the room. He felt that being alone exacerbated his headache; he’d rather be with others.

He wondered if they had moved from the first floor to the second. He followed the sound of nearby voices.

“You’re here?”

As soon as Woo Sori spotted Dohwa, he greeted him warmly.

Having not yet checked his own message, Woo Sori’s face was devoid of worry.

For a fleeting moment, Dohwa’s gaze was drawn to the cups on the table; confirming they were empty, he took an unoccupied seat.

“Oh, right, Dohwa, could you tell us a bit about the plot of the book you wrote?”

It was Jae-hyun, seated right beside him, who brought up his book in a gentle voice, making Dohwa want to flee once more.

Ignoring the persistent throbbing in his head from the traditional liquor, Dohwa remained seated while several others went downstairs to retrieve more wine for a second round.

Woo Sori and Ma Won-ho, who were casually drinking alcohol for a second consecutive day, were at the center of the activity.

While the peaches were meant as snacks, Dohwa, whose gaze was fixed on the peach Jae-hyun was meticulously peeling beside him, listened to the conversation with one ear, his attention primarily on the fruit.

“Was there anyone whose job surprised you the most, everyone?”

“For me… it was Kang Hae-il!”

Executive Director of Geumgang Group.

As soon as Chaeyeon-woo uttered his name, everyone’s gaze immediately shifted to him. It certainly made an impact.

Dohwa himself never expected to actually meet a third-generation chaebol, the kind he only ever saw in dramas.

“It doesn’t really interfere with my work.”

Dohwa recalled Woo Sori mentioning last night that he had worked until morning and was exhausted, yet Kang Hae-il showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

Perhaps his air of relaxed composure was simply backed by his wealth.

He took a bite of the peach, and the sweet juice burst forth, making him chew faster. It was perfectly ripe.

“What about everyone else? For me, Dohwa was the most surprising.”

A choked sound escaped him.

At Woo Sori’s sudden remark, the peach he was chewing nearly went down the wrong pipe. Fortunately, he didn’t choke. He wiped his mouth with a tissue, then chewed and swallowed diligently.

“In what way?”

“Hmm… I didn’t have a specific job in mind for you, but I never imagined you’d be a writer. You’re good at cooking, so I didn’t think your profession would be in that field.”

As Woo Sori spoke, tilting his head to one side, Ma Won-ho, who had asked the question, nodded.

Then, abruptly, Chaeyeon-woo turned his gaze to Dohwa and posed a question.

“Who surprised you the most?”

Pondering it, Dohwa realized it was fascinating to meet people with such diverse professions, many of which he’d never encountered before.

Yet, if he had to pick just one, Ma Won-ho stood out as the most unexpected, compared to the others whose professions made sense once revealed.

“Me?”

“…Yes. I thought you might be in a similar field, but I never expected you to be a film director.”

It was evident from their time together at dawn that he was an avid reader. And not just any reader, but one with enough depth to have read two of Dohwa’s own works, starting with the sci-fi genre.

“Mr. Won-ho, do you also write screenplays yourself?”

“*Seasons* is a work I conceived and wrote myself. My next project is also currently in the planning stages.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Wow!”

Exclamations of admiration came from Jae-hyun and Chaeyeon-woo on either side.

Shrugging as if it were nothing, Ma Won-ho leaned back against the sofa. As they chatted, two bottles of wine were easily emptied, prompting Jae-hyun to pick up a new one.

“It’s convenient that it’s not a cork stopper.”

He opened it by hand, without an opener, and poured it into an empty glass.

With their professions having just been revealed, the conversation naturally centered on that topic.

“Has everyone traveled a lot?”

“I used to travel often when I was young, but I haven’t recently.”

Chaeyeon-woo initiated a discussion about travel, and they began talking about the places each of them had visited.

While his parents still traveled abroad frequently, Dohwa had never had the chance, so he listened silently to their stories.

Having snacked intermittently, he eventually set his fork down on an empty plate.

“What? I only had one of these!”

Chaeyeon-woo, who had belatedly reached for a peach, made a mournful face and glanced at the others.

‘Why are they staring?’

It was enough to make one squirm. Avoiding Kang Hae-il’s piercing gaze, Dohwa looked elsewhere. If there had been any peaches left, he would have taken them, but the generous supply had already vanished.

Just then, a creeping weariness began to set in.

Vrrrm—

[Please send a message to the person you are most interested in today.]

Exactly at midnight, the same message was sent to everyone.

This time, instead of immediately dispersing, some people sent messages right then and there, while others put their phones down, seemingly lost in thought.

His headache had barely subsided, and now agonizing over whom to send a message to only worsened his condition.

Without even a moment to consider others, Dohwa, his body overcome by fatigue, was ultimately the first to rise from his seat.

“I’ll head off to rest first.”

After all, he’d have to be up and about from morning tomorrow.

“I hope you all have a good night.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Go on ahead!”

Receiving farewells from the others, he returned to his room.

‘Who… should I send it to?’

With the remaining task still unresolved, his steps felt heavy.

The others who remained also knew that Dohwa had not yet sent his message.