X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerFour days passed in the blink of an eye.
He became one with his bed, only researching ‘timing in relationships’ on the first day, and then deliberately avoided looking further. He had also preemptively told those around him that he would be busy for a while and had nothing to say about the broadcast.
Only Episode 0, which even Dohwa hadn’t known about, had aired so far, but more would continue to be broadcast.
‘I should just ignore it.’
He planned to binge-watch everything once all the filming was complete.
Still, having experienced things he hadn’t before, Dohwa wrote the first meeting scene for his next protagonists based on the events of the past three days, and the result was quite satisfying. His diary seemed to be a great help, so this time he intended to jot down everything he felt there.
After all, the emotions felt at the moment tend to fade after a day or two.
“……Bringing all this luggage is quite a task.”
Dohwa sighed deeply, looking at the bag filled with clothes for the second week. Seeing it on screen, the reality of actually appearing on a TV show he had only watched truly hit him.
Even clothes he would have casually rotated before now demanded his attention. Chaeyeon-woo was an influencer, and Woo Sori owned a brand shopping mall…
Though his fashion sense was notably lacking compared to the others, he was fortunate to have revamped his wardrobe with Kim Junhee’s help, so he had clothes to wear.
It was a blessing in disguise. Otherwise, he might have spent the entire weekday choosing outfits.
‘My future self will handle it.’
Shifting the burden of not bringing anything for the first week onto his future self, Dohwa picked up his phone.
[Koo Ye-jin:]
After calling a taxi and checking the estimated arrival time, it seemed he would arrive around 6 PM. If he arrived too early, it might be awkward with only a few people there initially, so this time he planned to arrive reasonably quickly and wait.
That was certainly the original plan.
“It’s raining.”
The weather rapidly worsened, and just before arriving, the rain intensified, causing Dohwa to frown as he stepped out of the taxi. Having forgotten an umbrella, he had no choice but to cover his head with his bag and sprint into the house.
‘Why is the yard so big?’
Not wanting to get wet, he ran incredibly fast without stopping, leaving him breathless. The air was humid, and feeling slightly damp and uncomfortable, Dohwa opened the front door, went inside, neatly placed his shoes aside, and slipped on a pair of slippers.
Then, he noticed two other pairs of shoes placed nearby.
‘Are only two people here?’
Hearing no voices, he cautiously stepped further inside, where the cool, air-conditioned air and an empty living room greeted him. Thinking they might be in the kitchen, he checked, but finding no one, he headed upstairs, intending to drop off his bag as well.
“……Ah.”
Feeling no presence, he entered the room, only to find that two spots, excluding Dohwa’s, were neatly arranged. ‘And something else has appeared.’
He wasn’t sure if someone had stopped by last week to tidy up, or if it was the two people who were currently here. He fumbled with his bag, placing it aside, then washed his hands and came out.
The thought of lying on the bed crossed his mind, but he suppressed it, left the room, and searched for people to greet.
‘Where is everyone?’
There was such an absence of any presence that he wondered if anyone was even there, so he looked around, wandering the second floor.
“Um, I’m here… Is anyone around?”
When no answer came to his words spoken into the empty air, his confidence waned, and his voice grew softer. Ultimately, he decided to go directly to the innermost second-floor playroom to check, slightly opening the door and peeking his face inside.
“Whoa!”
“Wow!”
A cushion flew directly in front of Dohwa’s face, and Ma Won-ho and Woo Sori abruptly appeared from the side. Then, the people hiding by the door burst out.
“Were you surprised? You don’t look surprised.”
“I was surprised, actually. I just froze standing up.”
Dohwa’s lips pursed as he saw Jae-hyun kindly responding to Chaeyeon-woo, who was tilting his head and asking if he was surprised, and Kang Hae-il standing at the very end, watching him.
‘Of course I was surprised; they ambushed me.’
Regaining his composure, which had momentarily fled, he awkwardly moved his body, which had been half outside the door, fully inside.
“Hello, everyone…”
“Hey, Dohwa, it feels like it’s been a while.”
“Nice to see you, Dohwa.”
“You came so late, we waited ages! My legs hurt.”
After he offered his greetings, everyone returned them with bright expressions, though he gave Chaeyeon-woo a playful glare for his grumbling. As everyone comfortably settled into their spots, Dohwa also found a seat near the door.
Ma Won-ho picked up the cushion that had flown earlier and was lying on the floor, then handed it to Dohwa.
“……Thank you.”
Hugging the soft, perfectly sized cushion, his startled heart began to calm, and his tension gradually eased.
“I only saw two pairs of shoes… When did everyone arrive?”
“The rest are probably all in the shoe cabinet.”
“Ah.”
Right. There was a shoe cabinet. His shoes were a bit wet, so he hadn’t put them away, and it never occurred to him that others would have placed theirs inside.
Everyone was looking at Dohwa, who had arrived last, but despite it being only their second meeting, he didn’t feel as nervous as before. Observing everyone in comfortable attire, he even had the presence of mind to notice a few who had changed their hairstyles.
Ma Won-ho pointed to two people and explained.
“Jae-hyun and Sori met at the door and came in together. It looks like Yeon-woo and Hae-il were already here, though?”
“I was first again this time! Hae-il came in five minutes after I arrived.”
“Everyone arrived before 5:40 PM.”
As Chaeyeon-woo made a V-sign with his fingers, and Jae-hyun added his comment, Dohwa’s pupils dilated in shock. He had deliberately arrived at 6 PM, thinking everyone might be late.
‘Weren’t they all coming after work?’
Everyone here is so diligent. Contrary to his plans, Dohwa, who had no deadlines and was practically living a semi-unemployed life, ended up being the last to arrive again.
Next time, he’d make sure to arrive on time. Sitting quietly and just listening to the conversation, he began to feel an unfamiliar sense of awkwardness.
“This is our second meeting, and we’ve all decided to speak informally. Is that alright?”
“……Yes, please speak comfortably.”
Jae-hyun kindly pinpointed the source of the awkwardness, and Dohwa nodded awkwardly.
“Alright, Dohwa.”
Then, Ma Won-ho, who had been using formal speech just moments before, instantly switched to informal language, making Dohwa let out an involuntary chuckle.
“Okay, then I’ll call you all ‘hyung’ now.”
“Really? Try ‘Yeon-woo hyung,’ ‘Yeon-woo hyung’!”
“……You’re the same age as me.”
Seeing Chaeyeon-woo sway his upper body from side to side as he spoke, Dohwa made an incredulous face, and laughter erupted beside him. Perhaps due to the number of people, the conversation flowed without interruption.
Far from being awkward after five days, their immediate playful teasing was so distracting that any lingering tension completely vanished.
“Everyone hasn’t eaten yet, right?”
“I’m starting to get hungry.”
“Do we have to go grocery shopping again today?”
Given the time they met, dinner conversation immediately arose. Wondering if they’d have to cook again today, he quietly looked outside to see a fierce storm raging, now with wind joining the heavy rain.
‘Absolutely do not want to go out.’
The thought that it would be better to cook than to go grocery shopping crossed his mind.
Jingle-jingle—
Whatever it was, fate was already decided. Hearing the bell, everyone headed downstairs to the first floor.
[Today:]
[The first two people to arrive will be in charge of dinner today! P.S. Direct assistance cannot be provided.]
Whether fortunate or not, with the dinner duty assigned by the directive, Dohwa, having arrived late, was automatically excluded. Based on arrival order, Chaeyeon-woo and Kang Hae-il were on dinner duty.
“Earlier, I saw several meal kits on the island counter.”
“Oh, really? Then we can just make those.”
“I’m confident in cooking rice!”
It seemed Dohwa wasn’t the only one who had been anxious recalling their cooking skills, as Woo Sori’s words clearly brought a sense of relief to everyone. Chaeyeon-woo smiled brightly, sidled up to Kang Hae-il, and extended a hand, suggesting they do well together.
‘Now that I think about it, there *was* something there.’
Reflecting, Dohwa recalled seeing something on the kitchen counter earlier and inwardly rejoiced at the conclusion that he wouldn’t have to grocery shop or prepare dinner. “There’s one more.”
That is, until Kang Hae-il pulled out another piece of paper from beside him.
[House:]
[Everyone, please complete the puzzle frame in the 1st floor living room!]
They said not to help, so he guessed the rest of them were supposed to do that. It was fine upstairs, but the first floor felt a bit chilly, perhaps because the air conditioner was on and no one was there.
Dohwa shivered once and looked around for the air conditioner remote, when a low voice spoke from beside him.
“What are you looking for?”
“……The air conditioner remote.”
“It’s right here…”
As Kang Hae-il immediately pulled the air conditioner remote from the table drawer and handed it over, Dohwa’s eyes widened for a moment before narrowing again. He hadn’t expected it to be there.
Thinking no one would mind if he slightly raised the AC temperature, he secretly adjusted the remote while they were distracted by the puzzle.
“I’ll just turn up the temperature a bit.”
“It’s fine if you turn it off.”
Dohwa only sought understanding from Kang Hae-il, who was watching him, and when the air conditioner made a sound, Woo Sori looked in their direction, but…
“What are you doing?”
“I turned up the AC a bit.”
“Oh.”
Nodding and quickly losing interest, they rejoined the others, and a large box in Ma Won-ho’s hands immediately caught Dohwa’s eye. The frame is bigger than he thought.
“There was no mention of a deadline for this, right?”
“Nope, it just says to complete it.”
“We definitely can’t finish it today, but a 1000-piece puzzle should be quick if we all work on it a bit.”
Dohwa blinked, wondering if he had misheard, but the rattling sound from inside the box made him accept reality. ‘I haven’t done a puzzle since I was a kid.’
A thousand pieces. Already anticipating a tedious future, he glanced towards the kitchen. Cooking with a meal kit seems much more fun by comparison.
After opening and closing the box, everyone headed to the kitchen. Turning on the lights, they saw various meal kits laid out on the island counter.
‘This must be an advertisement, right?’
The brands were clearly visible, and they were arranged in a way that obviously looked staged. Scanning them with his eyes, Dohwa picked out one meal kit, brought it forward, and clutched it tightly in his hand.
The others also examined the meal kits one by one.
[Mille-feuille:]
Having found something he wanted to eat, Dohwa subtly observed the others, trying to entice someone to join him.
Your next favorite story awaits! Don't miss out on After My Online Identity Was Exposed, The Crown Prince Wouldn't Let Me Go – click to dive in!
Read : After My Online Identity Was Exposed, The Crown Prince Wouldn't Let Me Go
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂