The Last Contestant

- Is this Seo Minju?

Her hand froze.

Minju slipped off her headset and asked quietly, "Yes, speaking."

- Hello, this is the production team of Love Camp. We received your application materials.

"...I'm sorry, what?"

- You didn't submit an application to appear on the program?

For a moment, Minju doubted her own ears.

Love Camp—the dating show everyone was talking about these days. Its whole appeal was the host, the so-called Love Coach, a psychology PhD who ran the Nutube channel Incurably in Love, reading the contestants' emotions and steering their matches with uncanny precision.

"Me? On that show?"

- Yes, our records show that you applied directly.

Minju stared blankly at the monitor in front of her. She'd been buried in overdue design revisions since that morning, and now this—she couldn't make sense of it.

"Hold on. I've never applied to anything like that."

- Ah, then perhaps a family member submitted one on your behalf?

"...A family member?"

Instantly, one face flashed through her mind. Minju pressed her lower lip between her teeth.

"I'm sorry. My younger sister must have applied without telling me. I have no intention of going on the show."

Perhaps rejection was nothing new to them, because the Love Camp team simply asked her to think it over and call back, then hung up.

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

"Hey! Seo Minyoung!"

"Ah! You scared me. Why are you yelling?"

Minyoung, who had been sprawled on her bed watching TV, jolted upright.

"You're the one who sent in an application to Love Camp, aren't you?"

Minyoung's eyes went wide in an instant. "What, did they contact you?"

"They did!"

"Really? Eek! That's great!"

Oblivious, Minyoung bounced on the bed with joy.

"Great? What exactly is great about it? Why did you apply somewhere without even asking me?"

Only when Minju's face went stern did Minyoung finally read the room. "Well, it's just... I thought it would be good for you to get out there."

"I told you no."

Even at that flat refusal, Minyoung wouldn't give up. "Come on, don't be like that. Since it's already come to this, just give it a try. Who knows—maybe you'll meet the man of your destiny there."

"I told you already. I don't want to parade my face around on a show like that."

"What's wrong with that? Honestly, I think people who go out and look for love with their heads held high are way more impressive than someone hiding at home because one relationship failed."

At Minyoung's blunt honesty, Minju's expression slowly hardened.

"I'm sorry. I'm not that kind of person."

She spat the words in a low voice and turned to leave, and Minyoung quickly threw out one more.

"Have you even thought about Mom and Dad?"

"What does going on some show have to do with Mom and Dad?"

Hand on the doorknob, Minju turned back, and Minyoung pressed on.

"Do you know how worried they are that you never date and do nothing but work?"

It wasn't an unfair point. Through her twenties, her parents had never said a word, but once she passed thirty, they began to ask, carefully, every time they called. Was she seeing anyone lately? Was there no decent match on the horizon?

Minju was by no means against marriage. It was simply that, for now, work had come to feel better than love.

"Anyway. I said I'm not going, so drop it."

"Ugh, you stubborn mule."

Watching her sister's back as she left the room, having said her piece, Minyoung drained the beer can in her hand in one go.

Ten years her sister had kept the door to her heart shut, buried in study and work, all because of one wrong man. Minyoung ached watching her let the most beautiful season of her life simply slip past. More than anything, she wanted to see again the Minju of those days—the one who, when she fell in love, shone brighter than anyone.

The day had been cursed from the start.

She'd reached for a glass of water, her hand had slipped, and the glass had shattered on the floor. While cleaning it up, she'd cut her finger on a shard. The wound wasn't deep, but when a bead of blood welled up, she had a nagging premonition that the whole day would be an ordeal.

Maybe I shouldn't go at all...

After Love Camp called, she had told Minyoung she wouldn't participate—but her sister must have tipped off their parents, because a call from them soon followed. They pleaded with her, saying it was an opportunity too good to waste, and she refused, firm and unmoving. Then, for the first time, her mother brought out the words she had kept buried all these years.

That single sentence left Minju stunned, as if she'd been struck across the back of the head. She had truly believed she'd forgotten everything, that she was doing fine—yet in her family's eyes, she was apparently still frozen in that moment all those years ago. The realization hurt. And when she understood that they had only ever held their tongues out of consideration for her, guilt came flooding in behind it.

So she changed her mind. To prove—to her family, and to herself—that she had truly let him go.

Minju slapped a bandage on her finger and loaded her suitcase into the trunk. Beyond the city limits of Seoul, a clear blue sky unfolded, yet the wind streaking past the car window felt strangely suffocating.

She had been driving for a while when the cars ahead suddenly began to slow.

What's going on?

The vehicles blocked her view; she couldn't see past them. Had there been an accident? The string of small misfortunes from that morning flashed through her mind, and unease crept over her.

I have to get there on time...

Before the thought could even finish—

Screeeech!

Brakes shrieked behind her, and with a sudden jolt, the car lurched. Minju slammed the brake on instinct. Her body pitched forward and the seatbelt cinched hard across her chest. Her breath caught, and her mind went white.

"Are you okay?"

The driver of the car behind came hurrying up to her. Minju unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out slowly. Aside from a dull ache across her chest, she was mercifully unhurt. But the bumper was crumpled.

Of all the days...

Contacting the insurance company and leaving the car at a nearby repair shop ate up a good stretch of time. The other driver urged her to get checked at a hospital, but Minju answered only a brief "I'm fine" and hurried to flag down a taxi.

Her nerves had already been frayed, and with a car accident piled on top, she wanted to call the whole thing off—filming and all. But the thought that her absence might inconvenience everyone else made her force herself to steady her heart and head for the set.

The scenery flashing past the window was beautiful, though nothing of it registered in her eyes.

By the time she reached the resort where filming was taking place, the shoot was already in full swing. The seaside set was far more dazzling than she had imagined. The lights, the cameras, the microphone booms, the staff bustling everywhere—her tension climbed on its own.

Minju steadied her breathing and searched for a familiar face.

"Excuse me—writer-nim?"

At her careful call, the head writer she'd met at the interview looked up. "Oh, Minju! You made it."

Minju bowed at the waist. "I'm so sorry I'm late."

The writer, who had already heard about the accident, hurried over with a worried face. "Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"Just a little shaken, that's all. I'm sorry for the trouble."

At Minju's composed manner, the writer let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness you're okay. I was actually debating whether we'd have to skip your segment. Can you go straight into filming?"

"Of course."

After handing her suitcase to the writer, Minju hastily touched up her makeup and followed a staff member's guidance. The place she arrived at already held five pairs of men and women, each settled into their seats. Perhaps because of the cameras, every face was taut with nerves.

So this is what they mean by reality...

Just then, the head writer leaned toward the PD and murmured something. The PD, who had been watching the monitor, lifted his gaze and looked toward Minju. When she bowed her head in greeting, he gave a small nod and signaled to the Love Coach, the host presiding over the program. The Love Coach confirmed the camera on her and smiled smoothly, carrying the flow forward.

"Now, let me introduce our final female contestant."

The staff's hand signal dropped. Minju drew a deep breath and walked slowly into the light.

The moment she appeared, the eyes of the contestants seated on the sofas all swung toward her. Clutching her handbag tightly, Minju offered a slightly stiff smile.

"Hello, everyone."

At the brief greeting, the set fell quiet for a moment. A subtle wariness flickered in the female contestants' eyes; curiosity gleamed in the men's.

She eased herself onto the empty seat at the end of the sofa, and the woman beside her struck up a friendly conversation. With her round face and big eyes, she had the adorable look of a character popped straight out of a comic book.

"Was getting here a lot of trouble for you?"

"...A little."

Minju answered with a soft smile. She didn't bother to mention the car accident on the way.

"I had no idea there'd be this many cameras."

"Tell me about it."

"It feels like being a celebrity, honestly."

Minju managed a light laugh. She had expected a lot of cameras, but not this many. Dozens of lenses were reflecting red recording lights from every direction, trained on them. It felt, somehow, like standing in the crosshairs of a sniper's scope.

Then the Love Coach's voice rang out.

"And next, our final male contestant."

Before the words had even finished, every camera swung in unison toward the entrance. The lights blazed up, and through the open doors a man walked in, unhurried.

A hush fell over the room.

Nearly 190 centimeters tall, immaculately dressed in a crisp suit. Each of his steps held the room's gaze captive. The fine features the light revealed, the composed depth of his eyes—even the shadow falling beneath his jawline were flawless.

"Oh my god. Unbelievable!"

"What—is he an actor or something?"

"Right? He's got to be the most stunning male contestant they've had all season."

Hushed exclamations burst from among the female contestants. Even the staff behind the cameras craned their necks to get a look at him.

Minju, mid-conversation with the woman beside her, turned her head at the murmur that rippled through the room.

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

It was Kwon Seokjun.

The man who had abandoned her and vanished, ten years ago.