Box Number Five

Minju felt her heart drop to the floor.

Box five.

She couldn't believe it. A man who loved staying active and managed himself with such discipline had chosen to spend the entire weekend at home watching TV.

"Three of you picked box five—it must be very popular."

The Love Coach's eyes sparkled with interest as she looked over the three men.

"Box five actually represents rest and togetherness. To some, it might look like the laziest choice of all, but it's also the option that allows you to spend the longest stretch of time with the person you love. It seems the male contestants who chose box five place greater value on simply being together than on any flashy date course."

The Coach turned to Minju with a gentle smile.

"Unfortunately, though, the night is short and our time is limited, so we'll divide the evening among the three of you and proceed with a Relay Date. Minju, you may decide the order of the dates yourself."

At the Love Coach's words, Minju found herself lost in thought.

She'd counted herself lucky if even one of them stood up—she'd never imagined all three would.

And the thought that she would have to go on a date with Kwon Seokjun, the very man she most wanted to avoid, already made her head throb.

She was standing there with a troubled expression when Ha-yun, who had been waiting at box six, pouted her lips at Seokjun.

"Seokjun, did you lie to me?"

"Me?"

"You said you go running every single morning."

"Yes. That's true."

"Then why did you pick box five?"

Ha-yun's question was steeped in pure indignation—she'd chosen box six because of him, only to be left empty-handed.

Seokjun gave her a courteous smile, one with a clear line drawn through it.

"Running is my own private routine. But if I were spending a weekend morning with someone... I thought even sitting on the sofa doing nothing and watching TV together might be fun."

"Tch. I like watching TV too."

Ha-yun stuck out her lips, voicing her disappointment all too plainly, and the Love Coach clapped softly to draw everyone's attention back.

"Well, all choices are now complete. As soon as the rooftop set is ready, we'll move there."

The moment the Coach left her seat, the set descended into a flurry of activity—staff swapping camera batteries, rearranging lights.

Taking advantage of the commotion, the male contestants filed into the building one by one. Once their low laughter faded beyond the closed doors, a subtle, distinctly feminine stillness settled over the garden.

It was Na Seon-young who broke the silence. Glancing into a compact mirror, she reapplied her lipstick with practiced ease, then spat out her words without taking her eyes off her own reflection.

Getting chosen by three men all at once—you must be so pleased with how popular you are.

The words were framed as envy, but the tone that seeped out, damp and sour, was thick with jealousy. Minju didn't avoid the sharp gaze fixed on her in the mirror; she answered evenly.

"They didn't choose me because they like me—they chose me because of the TV. So there's no need to keep me in check."

"...What did you say?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected reply, Seon-young's hand froze on the lipstick. Minju held her gaze with unshaken eyes and drove the point home.

"I mean, since I have no interest in Kwon Seokjun, you don't need to waste your energy watching me."

"Who said I was keeping you in check? I was just asking. Minju, you really have a talent for making people sound crazy."

Seon-young's voice rose in flustered protest, and Minju was about to fire back that she was glad to hear it wasn't jealousy—when Ha-yun, who had been observing the exchange, cut in.

"But Seon-young, honestly, aren't you a little jealous? When Minju picked box five and I saw Seokjun—the hottest guy in this camp—and Sangho stand up at the same time, I was so envious. That's the kind of scene any woman dreams of at least once."

Seol-hee, waiting beside her, nodded vigorously as if she'd been waiting for her cue.

"Exactly. Nobody stood up for me and I nearly died of embarrassment. Minju unnie has to do a relay date with three men, so it'll be exhausting, but honestly, anyone can see she's this season's confirmed main character, right?"

The more the two women gushed, the more viciously Seon-young's face twisted.

"Main character, my foot. Going on dates with three men doesn't mean everything goes your way."

Seon-young scoffed.

"That's right. So you focus on winning Kwon Seokjun's heart, Seon-young. Don't waste your energy on me."

With a brief tilt of her head, Minju turned away without a trace of regret—all before the flushed, flustered Seon-young could manage a retort.

"Unnie, I'll come with you!"

Seol-hee hurried after her. All that remained in the quiet garden was the sound of Seon-young fuming alone.

Three tables stood on the rooftop, spaced at even intervals.

Seokjun, Munyeol, and Sangho sat at them in order, each waiting for Minju. Under the lights swaying in the night breeze, the three men's gazes converged on a single point—Minju, standing at the rooftop entrance.

"Minju, you may sit wherever you'd like first."

At the Love Coach's instruction, silence fell. The cameras cut back and forth between the faint tremor in Minju's eyelids and the three tense faces. She took a moment to take in all three of them.

Then, as if she'd made up her mind, she strode forward without hesitation.

Everyone had assumed she would naturally head for Sangho. Her prediction failed beautifully. The sound of Minju's heels stopped in front of Seokjun.

"...!"

The eyes of the watching male contestants went round.

Seokjun, too, seemed caught off guard—one eyebrow lifting.

As she sat down across from him, he picked up the wine bottle and spoke.

"Unexpected."

"What is?"

Minju raised her wine glass and answered absently.

"I didn't expect you to come to me first."

"No special reason. I just thought sitting in order from the entrance was the most efficient use of time."

"So you sat there simply because it was the first seat. Is that what you mean?"

"My apologies if that disappointed you."

She said she was sorry, but her expression said nothing of the sort. At the dry undertone—I didn't sit here because I like you, so don't get the wrong idea—Seokjun let out a short laugh.

"Actually, it suits me even better. Now I get to talk with you before you're worn out."

Seokjun absorbed her cold demeanor with easy grace and lightly raised his own glass of wine.

"Whatever the reason, the man sitting in front of you right now is me."

His smooth smile and unwavering eyes reached her.

Minju studied him over the rim of her red wine. He was playing the gentleman for the cameras, but beneath it she could still glimpse that stubbornness of his—the way he always pulled the other person into his own rhythm.

Watching that self-assured attitude, defiance stirred in her.

"Your confidence is remarkable. The way you interpret everything as being about yourself."

Minju took a sip of wine and swallowed slowly before continuing.

"You say Seo Minju, who measures everything in efficiency, finds talking to you uncomfortable—yet she came to you first. Which means I was on your mind that much. That's a kind of interest too, isn't it?"

"Reading more into the dream than the dream itself, I see. But you're wrong. Getting an unpleasant assignment done early only makes the time left afterward more enjoyable."

"..."

The eyebrow that had been so relaxed twitched, ever so slightly. To have his time with her defined as an unpleasant assignment to be dispatched quickly—Seokjun let out a disbelieving, hollow laugh.

The PD and writer watching the taut air between the two swallowed dryly.

Unshaken, Minju set her wine glass down with a clack and asked.

"I'm curious about something."

Instead of answering, he tilted his chin up slightly, as if to say go on, and held her gaze.

"Why did you choose box five?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"From what I hear, you're active enough to run every morning. Don't you think spending a weekend morning watching TV at home is a waste of time?"

Minju was throwing his own words back at him—the very ones he'd once used to push her. He didn't look away; he answered calmly.

"It's true I used to think that way."

Well, of course. People don't change.

Minju was about to turn her head with a bitter smile at his admission when Seokjun's low voice slipped into her ear.

"But I've only just now learned that time spent with the person you love is worth far more than rushing around alone. Even if that way of living is what everyone else would call a waste of time."

"How fortunate. That you've realized it now, at least. I hope things go well with whoever you meet from here on."

"You never know. That person might turn out to be you, Seo Minju."