Chapter 1.

“Are you Ms. Seo Min-joo?”

Her hand stopped.

Min-joo took off her headset and quietly asked back.

“Yes. Why?”

“Hello, this is the production team of Love Camp. We received the application you submitted.”

“…What?”

“You applied to participate in the program, didn’t you?”

For a moment, Min-joo wondered if she had heard correctly.

Love Camp was a popular dating reality show that had been making headlines lately.

The core concept of the program was that a “love coach”—a psychology PhD who also ran a YouTube channel called Love Incure—read the contestants’ emotions and guided them toward potential matches.

“Me?”

“Yes. It says you applied personally.”

Min-joo stared blankly at the monitor in front of her.

She had been buried in overdue revisions since morning, and now she had to deal with this absurd situation.

“Wait a minute. I never applied for anything like that.”

“Ah, then perhaps a family member submitted the application on your behalf.”

“…A family member?”

At that moment, one particular face flashed through her mind.

Min-joo bit down on her lower lip.

“I’m sorry. It looks like my younger sister submitted it without my permission. I have no intention of appearing on the show.”

Perhaps accustomed to being rejected, the Love Camp production team simply asked her to think it over and contact them again before ending the call.

The moment she put down her phone, Min-joo threw open the door across the hall.

“Hey! Seo Min-young!”

“Ah! You scared me. Why are you yelling?”

Min-young, who had been lying on her bed watching TV, jumped and sat up.

“You’re the one who sent an application to Love Camp, aren’t you?”

Min-young’s eyes widened instantly.

“What? Did they call you?”

“Yes!”

“Really? Yay! That’s great!”

Min-young jumped up and down without the slightest sense of guilt.

“What’s so great about it? Why did you apply without even asking me?”

Only then did Min-young glance at her sister nervously.

“No, it’s just… I thought it would be good for you to go.”

“I told you I didn’t want to.”

But Min-young refused to give up.

“Come on. Since it’s already happened, why don’t you just go? You might meet your soulmate there.”

“I told you. I don’t want to have my face plastered all over the place by appearing on a show like that.”

“What’s so bad about that? I think people who come out there confidently looking for love are much cooler than people who shrink back just because one relationship failed.”

At her younger sister’s frank words, Min-joo’s expression slowly hardened.

“I’m sorry. I’m just not that kind of person.”

She said it in a subdued voice and turned away, but Min-young quickly called after her.

“Unni, don’t you care about Mom and Dad?”

“What do they have to do with me going on that show?”

Min-joo turned around while still holding the doorknob.

Min-young added,

“Do you know how worried they are because you don’t date anyone and do nothing but work?”

There was some truth to that.

Her parents had never said much when she was in her twenties, but after she turned thirty, they cautiously asked her the same questions every time they called.

Was she seeing anyone these days? Was there anyone decent around her?

Min-joo was by no means opposed to marriage or relationships.

It was simply that, for now, she had come to like her work more than love.

“Anyway, I said I’m not going, so don’t say anything else.”

“Ugh, you’re so stubborn.”

Min-young watched her sister walk out after having said everything she wanted to say, then emptied the beer can in her hand in one go.

Her sister had met the wrong man and, for ten years, had shut the door to her heart and devoted herself entirely to studying and work.

Min-young felt sorry watching her sister let the most beautiful years of her life simply pass her by.

More than anything, she wanted to see her sister again—the woman who had once been brighter than anyone else when she was in love.

The day had gotten off to a bad start.

When she reached for some water, her hand slipped, causing the glass to fall to the floor and shatter.

While cleaning it up, she even cut her finger on a shard of glass.

The wound wasn’t deep, but when a drop of blood welled up, she somehow had a feeling that today was going to be a difficult day.

Should I just not go…?

After Love Camp contacted her, Min-joo told Min-young that she wouldn’t participate.

Perhaps Min-young had told their parents, because they soon called her as well.

They tried to persuade her, saying it was too good an opportunity to pass up, but she firmly refused.

Then, for the first time, her mother brought up something she had kept buried in her heart.

Are you still unable to forget that man?

Those words left Min-joo dazed, as though she had been struck hard in the back of the head.

She had believed she had truly forgotten him and was doing just fine, but it painfully dawned on her that, in the eyes of her family, she still seemed to be stuck in the past.

Realizing that they had been holding back because they were worried about her made her feel guilty as well.

And so, she changed her mind.

To prove to her family—and to herself—that she had truly forgotten him.

Min-joo quickly put a bandage over her finger and loaded her suitcase into the trunk.

Once she left Seoul, a clear sky stretched out before her, but the wind rushing past the car window felt strangely suffocating.

After driving for some time, the cars ahead suddenly began to slow down.

What’s going on?

Her view of the road ahead was blocked by the traffic.

Could there have been an accident?

The various misfortunes that had struck her that morning suddenly came to mind, and anxiety washed over her.

I have to get there on time…

Before she could finish the thought—

Screeeech!

A sharp sound of brakes rang out from behind her.

The car shook from the sudden impact.

Min-joo instinctively slammed on the brakes.

Her body lurched forward as the seat belt tightened painfully across her chest.

Her breath caught, and her mind went blank.

“Are you all right?”

The driver of the car behind her hurried over and asked anxiously.

Min-joo unfastened her seat belt and slowly stepped out of the car.

Fortunately, aside from a dull ache in her chest, she wasn’t seriously injured.

But her bumper was badly dented.

Of all days…

It took quite a while just to contact the insurance company and have her car towed to a nearby repair shop.

The other driver urged her to get checked out at a hospital, but Min-joo simply replied, “I’m fine,” before hurriedly hailing a taxi.

She had already been restless and uneasy, and now that a car accident had been added to the mess, she wanted to give up on the filming altogether.

But she couldn’t bring herself to cause trouble for everyone else because of her.

So Min-joo forced herself to pull herself together and headed to the filming location.

The scenery passing outside the window was beautiful, but she couldn’t see any of it.

By the time she arrived at the resort where filming was taking place, the shoot was already well underway.

The set overlooking the sea was far more spectacular than she had imagined.

Seeing the lights, cameras, boom microphones, and busy staff moving around made her nervous.

Min-joo took a deep breath and looked around for a familiar face.

“Writer.”

The moment she cautiously called out, the head writer she had met during the interview looked up.

“Oh, Ms. Seo Min-joo.”

Min-joo bowed.

“I’m terribly sorry I’m late.”

The writer, who had already heard about the accident, approached her with a worried expression.

“Are you all right? Were you hurt anywhere?”

“I was just a little shaken. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Seeing Min-joo’s calm demeanor, the writer let out a relieved breath.

“No, it’s all right. I’m just glad you’re okay. I was wondering if we’d have to skip your turn. Can you start filming right away?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Min-joo handed her suitcase to the writer, quickly touched up her makeup, and followed the staff’s instructions.

When she arrived, five pairs of men and women were already seated.

Perhaps because they were in front of the cameras, everyone looked nervous.

So this really is a reality show…

Just then, the head writer approached the PD and whispered something in his ear.

The PD, who had been checking the monitor, briefly looked toward Min-joo.

Min-joo bowed her head in greeting.

The PD gave a slight nod before sending a signal through the earpiece of the love coach, who was hosting the program.

The love coach checked that the camera was on him, then naturally smiled and continued the flow.

“Now, let’s introduce our final female contestant.”

The staff gave the signal.

Min-joo took a deep breath before slowly walking beneath the lights.

The moment she appeared, every contestant seated on the sofas turned their eyes toward her.

Clutching her handbag tightly, Min-joo greeted them with a slightly stiff smile.

“Hello.”

The brief greeting was followed by a moment of silence.

There was a hint of wariness in the female contestants’ eyes, while curiosity shone in the men’s.

Min-joo carefully sat down at the empty end of the sofa.

The female contestant sitting beside her soon spoke to her kindly.

She had a round face and large eyes, giving her such a cute appearance that she looked like a character who had just stepped out of a cartoon.

“Wasn’t it difficult getting here?”

“…A little.”

Min-joo answered with a gentle smile.

She didn’t bother mentioning that she had gotten into a car accident on the way.

“I didn’t realize there would be this many cameras.”

“I know.”

“It feels like I’ve become a celebrity.”

Min-joo gave a small laugh.

She had expected there to be a lot of cameras, but she hadn’t imagined this many.

Dozens of lenses surrounded them from every direction, their red recording lights reflecting as they focused on the contestants.

It felt as though she were standing right in the middle of a sniper’s crosshairs.

Then the love coach’s voice rang out.

“Next, we have our final male contestant.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than all the cameras turned toward the entrance.

The lights came on brightly, and a man slowly walked through the open doorway.

For a moment, silence descended.

He was nearly 190 centimeters tall and dressed in a neat suit.

Every step he took naturally drew everyone’s attention.

His well-defined features caught the light, his calm eyes were steady, and even the shadow beneath his jaw looked perfect.

“Oh my God. No way!”

“What? Is he a celebrity?”

“Exactly. I think he’s the most incredible-looking guy we’ve had so far.”

Gasps of admiration erupted among the female contestants.

Even the staff behind the cameras craned their necks to get a better look at him.

Min-joo, who had been talking to the woman beside her, turned her head at the commotion.

The moment she saw him, her heart dropped with a heavy thud.

It was Kwon Seok-jun.

The man who had abandoned her and disappeared ten years ago.