Chapter 01

“Ms. Seo Minju, correct?”

Her hands froze.

Minju took off her headset and asked quietly, “Yes, speaking. Who is this?”

“Hello, this is the production team of Love Camp. We’ve received your application. Thank you for applying.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Didn’t you submit an application to participate in the program?”

For a moment, Minju wondered if she had heard correctly.

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

The program’s central concept was a “love coach,” a psychology professor with a Ph.D. who ran a YouTube channel called Hopeless at Love. He read the contestants’ emotions and guided them toward potential romantic matches.

“Me?”

“Yes. It says here that you applied personally.”

Minju stared blankly at the monitor in front of her.

She had been swamped with revisions since early that morning. What on earth was this ridiculous phone call about?

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

“Oh, in that case, perhaps a family member submitted the application on your behalf.”

“…A family member?”

Suddenly, a face flashed through her mind.

Minju pressed her lower lip between her teeth.

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

Perhaps they were used to being rejected, because the Love Camp production team simply told her to think it over and call them back before hanging up.

The moment she set down her phone, Minju flung open the door across the hall.

“Hey! Seo Minyoung!”

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

Minyoung, who had been lying on her bed watching TV, flinched and sat up.

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

Minyoung’s eyes widened instantly.

“What? Did they call you already?”

“Yes!”

“Really? Oh my God! That’s great!”

Minyoung jumped up and down excitedly, completely oblivious to her sister’s mood.

“What do you mean, ‘That’s great’? Why would you submit an application for something like that without asking me?”

Minju’s expression hardened. Only then did Minyoung begin to gauge her sister’s reaction.

“Well, I just thought it would be nice if you went on the show.”

“I already told you I don’t want to.”

Despite Minju’s firm response, Minyoung refused to give up.

“Come on, since it’s already happened, why not give it a try? You might meet your destined partner there.”

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

“What’s so bad about that? I think people who come out boldly to find love are much cooler than people who spend their lives shrinking back just because one relationship failed.”

At Minyoung’s candid words, Minju’s expression slowly stiffened.

“I’m sorry. Your sister just isn’t that kind of person.”

Minju turned away, her voice subdued. Minyoung quickly called after her.

“Do you even think about Mom and Dad?”

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

Minju turned around, one hand on the doorknob, and Minyoung added, “Do you know how worried they are because you never date and do nothing but work?”

It wasn’t as though Minyoung was wrong.

Her parents hadn’t said much when she was in her twenties, but after she turned thirty, they began cautiously asking her during every phone call.

Whether she was seeing anyone these days. Whether there was anyone decent in her social circle.

Minju wasn’t opposed to marriage or determined to remain single.

It was simply that, these days, she liked her work more than she liked love.

“Anyway, I said I’m not going. So stop bringing it up.”

“Ugh, you’re so stubborn!”

Watching her older sister leave after saying her piece, Minyoung downed the rest of the beer in her can.

Her sister had met the wrong man and, for ten years, had kept her heart closed, throwing herself into studying and work instead.

Minyoung felt sorry for her sister, who was letting the most beautiful years of her life slip away.

More than anything, she wanted to see her sister shine again, just as she had back when she was in love and happier than anyone.

The day had gotten off to a bad start.

As Minju reached for a glass of water, it slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.

While cleaning up the broken pieces, she even cut her finger on a shard of glass.

The wound wasn’t deep, but as a bead of blood welled up, she had a strange premonition that the day ahead would be a difficult one.

Should I just not go…?

After Love Camp contacted her, Minju had told Minyoung she wouldn’t participate. But somehow, word had reached their parents, and soon she received a call from them as well.

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

That was when her mother, for the first time, voiced something she had kept buried in her heart.

[Have you still not forgotten that man?]

At those words, Minju felt as though someone had struck her hard in the back of the head.

She had always believed she had completely moved on and was doing just fine. But the realization that, in her family’s eyes, she was still stuck in that time of her life hit her painfully hard.

When she realized that they had all been holding back their concerns out of consideration for her feelings, guilt washed over her as well.

And so, she changed her mind.

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

Minju put a simple bandage on her finger and loaded her suitcase into the trunk.

Once she left Seoul behind, a clear sky stretched overhead. Yet the wind sweeping past her car window felt strangely stifling.

How much time had passed?

The cars ahead of her suddenly began slowing down.

What’s going on?

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

Could there have been an accident?

Anxiety washed over her as she suddenly remembered all the misfortunes that had befallen her that morning.

I have to get there on time…

Before she could finish the thought—

Screeeeeech!

A sharp braking sound rang out from behind her. A sudden impact jolted the car.

Minju instinctively slammed on the brakes.

Her body lurched forward, and the seat belt dug hard into her chest.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her mind went blank.

“Are you all right?”

The driver of the car behind her hurried over, looking flustered.

Minju unfastened her seat belt and slowly got out of the car.

Thankfully, aside from a dull ache in her chest, she didn’t seem to have suffered any serious injuries.

However, her bumper had been dented.

Of all days…

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

The other driver urged her to go to the hospital, expressing concern, but Minju simply replied, “I’m fine,” and hurried to hail a taxi.

She had already been feeling unsettled and anxious. With the car accident piled on top of everything else, she wanted to call the whole thing off—the filming, everything.

But she couldn’t bring herself to inconvenience everyone else because of her.

Forcing herself to pull it together, Minju headed to the filming location.

The scenery passing outside the window was beautiful, but she barely noticed any of it.

By the time she arrived at the resort where the show was being filmed, filming was already well underway.

The set, nestled along the seaside, was far more glamorous than she had imagined.

The lights, cameras, boom microphones, and crew members bustling about made her nervous all over again.

Minju took a deep breath and looked around for a familiar face.

“Excuse me, Writer.”

At her tentative call, the head writer, whom she had met during her interview, looked up.

“Oh! Ms. Seo Minju.”

Minju bowed politely.

“I’m so sorry I’m late.”

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

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

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

At Minju’s calm response, the writer let out a relieved breath.

“No, it’s okay. I’m just glad you’re all right. We were wondering whether we’d have to skip your turn. Do you think you can start filming right away?”

“Yes, of course.”

Minju handed her suitcase to the writer, quickly touched up her makeup, and followed a staff member to the set.

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 is what a real reality show is like…

Just then, the head writer walked over to the PD and whispered something in his ear.

The PD, who had been checking the monitor, briefly lifted his gaze toward Minju.

When Minju bowed her head in greeting, he gave a slight nod before signaling to the love coach through his in-ear monitor.

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

“All right, let’s move on to introducing our final female contestant.”

A signal came from the staff.

Minju took a deep breath and slowly walked beneath the lights.

As she appeared, the contestants seated on the sofa all turned their eyes toward her.

Clutching her handbag tightly, Minju greeted them with a slightly stiff smile.

“Hello.”

At her brief greeting, the set fell momentarily silent.

A curious wariness flickered in the eyes of the female contestants, while the men looked intrigued.

Minju cautiously took the empty seat at the end of the sofa. The woman sitting beside her struck up a friendly conversation.

With her round face and big eyes, she had an adorable look, as though she had stepped straight out of a cartoon.

“Was it difficult getting here?”

“…A little.”

Minju replied with a gentle smile.

She didn’t bother mentioning that she’d been in a car accident on the way.

“I had no idea there would be so many cameras.”

“I know, right?”

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

Minju gave a light laugh.

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

Dozens of lenses surrounded them, their red indicator lights reflecting as they filmed from every direction.

It felt as though she were standing at the center of a sniper’s crosshairs.

Just 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 at once.

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

For a moment, silence fell over the room.

Nearly 190 centimeters tall, he wore a perfectly tailored suit.

Every step he took drew attention.

His well-defined features emerged beneath the lights, his gaze calm and composed. Even the shadow beneath his jawline seemed flawless.

“Whoa. Oh my God!”

“What? Is he a celebrity?”

“I know, right? I think he’s on another level compared to all the male contestants who’ve appeared so far.”

Soft gasps of admiration rippled through the female contestants.

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

Minju, who had been chatting with the woman beside her, turned toward the commotion.

In that instant, her heart dropped with a heavy thud.

It was Kwon Seokjun.

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