episode 9

Friends, the family you chose

"The mansion feels so empty now…“, Aejin mutters as she notices who returns from the homecoming trips. Miso is missing. And it shows.

In the faces of Yeonhee, Yumi, Johanna and Aejin is to be seen what Aejin is talking about. With the last loud contestant being sent home, it’s a lot quieter in the mansion. Mihoon and Nara both stay unaffected by the absence of the vBlogger, though.

Nara’s interview pops up and for the first time she wears something that doesn’t look like a fashion-gone-wild disaster. It’s probably the only dress she owns of no other designer than Kim Seokjin. It’s classy. And it’s a vibrant pink she sports. “I’m not sad about anyone being sent home at this point. I would be sad about Mihoon, but let’s be real, who would have expected Yoongi to send her home?“, Nara says and chuckles happily. “Now it’s going to get exciting. It’s the last week that separates us from the big revelation and a possible Happy End. Decisions have to be made. Words have to fall. Hearts have to be broken.“

And that’s when the typical intro plays.

“This week on Bachelors’ Paradise.“

The girls are back on unpacking their belongings, Yeonhee looking for a room on her own, now that there’s enough space. Aejin helplessly looks for someone else to share a room with and pretty soon ends up following Johanna into hers. Mihoon and Nara stick together like before and Yumi is left alone in the hallway, hesitant to knock on Aejin’s and Johanna’s door.

“Do you want to share a room with me?“, someone asks and when Yumi turns around and faces Jiwoo, she looks baffled.

“Jiwoo… you’re back?“, she asks, very confused.

“You missed me?“, Jiwoo asks back and giggles. “Oppa did want me back!“, she adds and then takes Yumi’s suitcase to get it into the room where she lives.

A little later the other contestants get to meet Jiwoo, too, and they’re nothing short from Yumi’s reaction.

“Holy *censor tone*!“, Aejin blurts out as she sees Jiwoo in the kitchen with Yumi. “You’re back…!“

“Yes! And see who is not!“, Jiwoo exclaims upbeat, the others look at her in even more shock as she nonchalantly proclaims the absence of Miso and her indirect win against the other female. Nobody dares to say something about her comment on Miso’s absence. Only Nara has to fight the urge to laugh, being somewhat amused about seeing Jiwoo back in the mansion.

“So…we’re the remaining ones? This is the final line-up before the final show next week?“, Yeonhee asks and her eyes wander around all the contestants and stay where Nara sits.

“Do you think there will be more eliminations now?“, Aejin wonders.

“I doubt it. We’re only seven left. And there are seven bachelors left, too. It’s probably one contestant for each bachelor.“, Yeonhee answers.

Nara immediately flicks her tongue, her lashes flattering as she eyes her like a judgmental cat. “There’s a lack in your logic.“, she tells her. “Your logic requires that each bachelor has one suitor. But do you see anyone sitting here that is interested in Jimin? I don’t.“

As she mentions Jimin, the females all look at each other and suddenly they all seem to try to figure who of the women is after which bachelor.

“OPPA IS MINE!“, Jiwoo squeaks, then hostilely glancing at each of the other females.

Aejin happens to be starred at right after Jiwoo claimed her possession. Maybe it’s just because she sits right next to her but the females all look at her, expectantly. Expecting that her answer is Taehyung. “…I might go for Seokjin.“, she answers and crosses her arms. Someone still holds a grudge against a certain someone. There is obvious confusion showing on Johanna’s face and also Nara can't really believe what Aejin just told them. They still move on.

“I…I like Hoseok.“, Yumi sheepishly voices out and blushes at mentioning that she has a soft spot for Hoseok.

“Oh, you don’t say.“, Nara jokes and giggles at the sight of an embarrassed Yumi. “Mihoon definitely is here for Yoongi.“

“I’m no-!“, Mihoon tries to protest but Nara’s whole hand is suddenly pressed upon her lips, blocking any sound from escaping the shallow depths of the woman’s throat. Her index finger is long not enough, hence the reason Nara’s entire hand is needed to shut the tsundere’s tsundere lover’s salt from spilling.

“Shhhhht! Just let it happen, babe. Just let it happen.“

Mihoon snorts but gives up, whereas not without glaring shortly at Nara, showing her the same affection that Yoongi allegedly is used to. He seems not to be alone. As Mihoon has resigned quickly, Nara’s eyes wander further and come to a halt at Johanna. Where also the eyes of the others suddenly lay with curiosity. Johanna notices, of course, and looks nervous around, not knowing what to answer.

“Pass?“, she says and Nara can’t help but sigh and shake her head, moving onto Yeonhee.

“You’re after Namjoon?“

“I prefer ‚into’. And why are you asking me first. What about you?“ As Yeonhee answers, the two females start a staring contest and the sparks between them are sure thing not happening out of romantic intentions.

“My love is endless.“, Nara answers and winks at her, trying to avoid to answer.

Yeonhee almost unnoticeable rolls her eyes and mutters silently. “Nice way to describe the term of being jumpy…“

“Pardon?“

The temperature in the room drops to below zero degrees. And it’s not pretty. Yeonhee‘s and Nara’s until now very professional expressions drop to leave space for gloomy shades of grey.

“I couldn’t understand you quite alright, would you repeat that once again?“, Nara dares Yeonhee.

The dark-haired woman takes a whole moment to contemplate if answering would be worth the trouble she’d have with Nara if she now answers. Her decision is to leave it be. “It wasn’t all that important.“, she says and leaves the room and the others behind, the  heels of her shoes clicking with every step she takes.

“Hah!“, Mihoon blurts out.

“Not now, love!“, Nara warns her and there is so much uncanny anger in her voice that even Mihoon keeps her quiet.

The seven remaining contestants have only little rest as early in the morning, two certain someones are causing a ruckus. It’s loud. And someone drops a pot before bursting out laughing. Then the other person shushes the one who just laughed out loud and the sizzling of boiling water is the only sound to be heard again.

Johanna and Aejin are the ones to notice. Johanna because she’s already sitting in the living room, armed with a book which she didn’t manage to read as she only reached page 5 despite sitting on the couch for a while and Aejin, because the smell of food is attracting her too soon. The former night without a midnight snack left the contestant unsatisfied early in the morning.

“Good Mo- AAAACK!“

Aejin halts midway in the door and almost causes a crash as Johanna follows her shortly and just barely manages to stop and not bump into her. Johanna looks over Aejin’s shoulder to notice why the girl had stopped.

Two tall-grown, slender men are standing in the kitchen, both hair dyed in a nice tone of hazelnut and they could both be models of Vogue Korea. One is constantly giggling and trying to not be too loud while the other one is stone faced and looks as if he’s overly done with life.

“…uhm…hello?“, Johanna greets them and the stone face only looks up as the giggling one responds.

“Good morning! You’re the first ones we meet, seems like you guys are all of the long sleeping kind.“, giggle guy says before he finally introduces himself. “My name’s Lee Jaehwan, but you can call me Ken. And this is Chae Hyungwon. Just call him Hyungwon.“

The females skeptically examine the two men and slowly enter the infiltrated kitchen.

“I’m Johanna.“

“What are you guys doing here?“, Aejin asks without introducing herself like Johanna. “Are you supposed to be here?“

Hyungwon silently raises his eyebrows and his expression’s speaking volumes. It basically gives a ‚Wow… you’re serious?‘ vibe.

“We were hired to fill this mansion with beautiful people. Apparently there are not enough of them!“ The answer is met with little enthusiasm, but Ken’s sunny mood can’t be beat by anything. “Hahaha, don’t make that face, I’m just kidding! And of course, we are! We were invited to meet all of you!“, he informs them and acts a little offended but then goes back to his giggling. He has something oddly familiar to another bachelor. Johanna seems to think so, too. She eyes him more intensely, the little cogs in her head working shimmering through her eyes.

“And how is that so?“, Johanna questions.

“Because we’re friends with the bachelors, duh?“, Ken tells her and laughs. “Sooo… how about having some breakfast together? Neither of us can cook but it definitely was enough to make some ramyun. What do you say?“

Aejin and Johanna face each other shortly, nod and then join the two strangers eating ramyun in the early morning hours.

Away from the kitchen and the secret visitors, Yumi is sneaking out of her room, trying to find a room where she can get some space away from Jiwoo.

“I…I don’t mean to say that Jiwoo is creepy… but after she returned… she got… a little intense in how she claims your attention?“, the single mother reveals in her interview as in the footage she’s still running from said contestant. She’s even willing to sneak out into the garden, opening the glass door that leads to the backyard.

“Uuuuuuunniiiiiiie~“

Jiwoo’s voice rings calm in the hallway whereas she’s not to be seen. Yumi shudders and quickly gets out of the building, stumbling onto the cold ground with only socks on.

“Be careful, you might trip.“

A male voice catches her attention, a rather tall guy with pitch-black hair looking at her, a cigarette fuming between his lips. He wears black silk clothes that don’t look as if one would wear them casually every day. He has something daring, even teasingly still with the cheeky youth overflowing on his face.

“I…uhm…I…what?“, Yumi stutters.

“Oh my, you don’t even wear shoes. What got into you, woman?“, he asks and takes off the only non-black piece of cloth he wears to throw it around Yumi’s shoulders. A white jacket that was biting the blackness that was embracing his slender body.

Yumi stares at the cleavage that the silk blouse the guy wears reveals now that the jacket is gone. Her eyes grow bigger and bigger as her face suddenly takes the color of dark red.

“If you catch a cold, I might get into trouble for being with you and not telling you to get back into the warm house.“

“I…Jiwoo…you…what?“ Yumi is still speechless.

The guy laughs and shakes his head. “You better get back into the house.“, he tells her. He even throws his cigarette to the ground and stomps it out to accompany the female into the house when a noise stops them.

“Yaaayayaaaah!“

Another man happens to appear, walking across the corner of the house, looking a little disgruntled.

“See what happens when I’m doing a friend a favor. I arrive and nobody opens the door for me. I look fabulous, I feel fabulous… but do I look fabulous on TV? No. Because nobody opened the door for me and I was left standing in front of this giant house like a fool.“

In contrast to the slender guy in black, the other guy looks a lot less extravagant. Yet… his appearance is a lot stronger than the cigarette guy’s. He wears a striped pullover with a black leather jacket and even looks cute with his very normal, short hair but he moves graceful like a flamingo and keeps his chin up the entire time. Then he notices the very confused Yumi and a giant smile spreads on his face.

“Oh helloooooooo~!“, he says and flips his hair. “Taemin, introduce us.“

The guy called Taemin laughs. “Are you for real? I don’t even know myself who she is.“

Yumi gulps. “Y-Yumi.“

“Oh honey! You don’t wear shoes! Let’s go inside, quickly!“, the ‚fabulous‘ one says and gently shoves the woman back through the door.

Yeonhee obviously doesn’t know how she ended up sandwiched between Mihoon and Nara but as she sits in the left alone living room with nobody else there to help, she looks lost.

“I have no idea where everybody went… There’s nobody else here… wait. I LOVE JUNGKOOK - see, they’re all gone!“

Nara stands in front of the couch, hands placed on her hips as she poses in her green miniskirt that bites extremely with her yellow pullover and the purple stockings. She throws her hair over her shoulder and moves her lips from the left to the right, her eyes switching like from one side to another, expectantly waiting for a random Jiwoo to attack.

“Maybe we missed out on another challenge?“, Mihoon mentions and Yeonhee immediately winces in shock about the thought that they let go of an opportunity to win the favor of the bachelors.

Nara frowns, noticing Yeonhee’s reaction.

“I doubt it. There are not a lot of us left and leaving half of us behind, what kind of challenge would that be?“ She sighs shortly and crosses her arms, clicking with her tongue, bothered of the boredom and also being stuck with Yeonhee. As if being with Mihoon would ever bother her…

“We checked the entire mansion, though. There was no one. They’re all gone. And even… “, Yeonhee halts for a mere moment, “…Jiwoo didn’t react to your Jungkook teasing.“

“This makes no sense, still.“, Nara decides and shakes her head. “I’ll find out.“

Mihoon gives her a last ‚Just leave it be and wait‘ face but the eccentric woman is already out the door, wandering the mansion like a girl scout looking for people she can throw her cookies at. In the meantime Yeonhee and Mihoon sit awkwardly next to each other, Mihoon leaning back a the couch, her eyes closed.

“Do you want… tea?“

The resident mermaid answers with a short shake of her head, yet Yeonhee quickly gets up to escape into the kitchen. On the way there she meets Nara again, crossing ways with her as someone arrives. Loud and.. very special.

“Yo heads! Why don’t you-!“, the guy shouts as he gets in and pauses at the sight of Nara and Yeonhee. The first a little baffled expression makes place for pure excitement and the wide grin lies cheekily on his lips. “Who are you and how do I make my life about you?“, he asks straight and looks intensely at Nara. Nara frowns but looks amused, too.  “I suddenly understand why those s go through this suffering hell. Heck, I’d do that with you on this show!“

“Thanks. And who’s that person that can’t hold back gushing compliments?“, Nara asks, the red tinted lips curling up.

“Cipher. I’m famous. I was on TV. Big thing. It was all ‚Do or Die‘.’“ The guy points at himself, his casual confidence overflowing. “And who are you, you gorgeous angel with that awesome ra- face?“

Nara scans him from head to toe, nods shortly and then grins herself. “I’m Ryuu Nara and I got this challenge.“, she says without explaining more, before the door opens another time and a guy with super curly hair enters, a facemask hiding half of his face, yet his eyesmile can be seen miles apart. Nara freezes for a whole moment as her eyes lock with his and there is something like a little spark to be felt, even to the audience.

“Hugo! Old friend, it’s been a whi-!“, Cipher wants to welcome him and even walks towards the newbie. Unfortunately Nara is so quick at pushing Cipher to the side and grabbing the new visitor’s wrist to drag him along, that Cipher looks baffled after the two as they walk into the living room, leaving him and Yeonhee behind alone.

“MIHOON! I HAVE SOMEONE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU!“

The scenes shift and back at the living room all of the contestants are sitting together with the male visitors.  Jiwoo also left her secret prying hideout, her eyes fixated on Taemin, the fabulous Jokwon, Cipher and Hugo. The six visitors are sitting with the females, Cipher very unhappily seated between the bunch of dudes, when the sulky him would rather be sandwiched between two of the gorgeous contestants, namely Nara and Mihoon.

“Those people are all famous.“, Jiwoo explains during an interview snippet. “Of course I know them. Taemin is a famous singer, just like Oppa. Jokwon is Oppa’s sunbae. Cipher and Hugo are from Do or Die. I think I don’t have to explain what Do or Die is, do I?“, she says and a short footage of Do or Die is blended in, showing Hugo on a stage behind his DJ-desk as guys are performing in front of it, the captions informing the audience about Hugo’s name and him competing in the survival show. After that Cipher follows, dubbed as the ‚Sharp-tongued rapping coach‘. “Ken is a model… I am not sure who the other one is, unfortunately. I’ve never seen him before.“

Inguk shows up on-screen, followed by another very well-known face. Park Bogeum, who is introduced by Inguk but also the little info box that informs the audience, that he’s an actor.

“Nice to meet you all again, ladies. As you can see, we have a few visitors. Talking about that, this is my actor colleague Park Bogeum, he’s here for the upcoming challenge, just like all the other gentlemen.“

“I knew it!“, Nara exclaims and Cipher winks at her which is answered to with a little giggle.

The MC clears his throat to get back to his speech, being interrupted by Nara and Cipher that abruptly. “Those seven gentlemen are some of the closest friends of our bachelors. They’re not allowed to tell you whose friends they are, so the challenge is finding out who of these males is the friend of the bachelor you want to make a good impression on.“

The moment he finishes his sentence, each of the women’s heads turn towards Nara. Except for Jiwoo’s. Jiwoo is staring at Taemin and JoKwon like a hungry tigress and JoKwon doesn’t take fondly of that. He looks pretty freaked out, even flinches back a little every time Jiwoo moves impatiently on her seat.

Inguk charmingly looks into the camera as he speaks. “Who can find out who belongs to who and will our visitors trick the lovely ladies? Find out after a short commercial break!“
 

Back on screen instead of the living room full of the contestants, there’s just the bachelors’ lounge, the couches there for the first time getting very, very crowded. The invited friends are all gathering and mingling with the bachelors, having a serious discussion.

“So what’s your first impression of our girls?“, Namjoon asks.

“First impression: Nara is the BOMB! Like, did you look at her just once?! The world needs that ra- face!“, Cipher exclaims and looks all aroused at the thought of the eccentric contestant.

JoKwon snaps his fingers to interrupt Cipher’s gushing to bring something rather serious to the table. “Yes, yes, she’s great… but more importantly… what on earth is that crazy fangirl doing in the mansion?!“, he wonders and looks at Jimin in particular as if he already knew that it was his fault that Jiwoo is back in the game. Jungkook joins the judgmental stares, but the personal trainer seems unaffected.

“She’s cute, don’t you think so? And she loves Jungkook by heart. Pure love has to be appreciated.“ With a chuckle Jimin leans back and winks at Jungkook.

“If you appreciate her so much, why don’t you try dating her yourself?“, the youngest hisses at him and crosses his arms.

“Who knows… maybe I might do that for real.“

Jokwon’s face shows how skeptic he is. “Strange things work for strange people. Whatever floats your boat, boo.“

While one half of the group is continuing a discussion about Jiwoo, the other half sits awkwardly together as Ken eyes Yoongi and Seokjin in particular, Yoongi unable to stop throwing death stares at the fashion designer. Bogeum and Taemin also notice but Taemin rather listens to what Jimin has to tell about his master plans about how a triple marriage with Jungkook and Jiwoo would be fun while Bogeum helplessly looks for rescue.

“Something was really weird.“, Ken states during his short interview. “I could tell that Yoongi was having some very, very hostile vibes going for Seokjin. Is it because they both seem to like Johanna?“ The next interview popping up is Hugo’s. Hugo just sits there and laughs shortly.

The scenes shift once again and the contestants are all gathering in the living room, some very angsty looking for who of the visitors might be the friend of who they wish to be with, while other struggle in their decision who to pursue at all.

Nara’s face is popping up on the screen, a hint of frustration glimmering in her eyes. The info box dubs it as ‚Nara - on the verge of despair.‘  “I am a matchmaker.“, she says. “This is supposed to be easy for me. I know exactly who of the visitors belong to whom of the bachelors.“ She sighs heavily. “But I promised Namjoon not to interfere with others anymore, so I can’t help!“ And it’s driving her crazy. Yet, her main problem is another one. The camera man is talking for a moment, and his dim voice is asking her, why she isn’t going for one friend herself. Nara looks a little startled, but then chuckles quietly. “It’s not that easy, honey.“

In fact, while with the others, Nara’s eyes are constantly flashing back and forth and Mihoon next to her frowns at the sight of a very indecisive matchmaker. “Don’t you want to talk to people?“, Mihoon asks and Nara gives her friend doe eyes, in hope she leaves her be.

“What about you? You know exactly who of them is belonging to Yoongi.“, Nara reminds her.

Mihoon rolls her eyes and gives her a victorious smile, as if she’s trying to tell her that she doesn’t need to impress anyone to win over the producer. But her opinion changes abruptly when she notices Johanna approaching Hugo. “Yeah… and it’s time to defend my territory.“, she says determined and walks straight towards the two.

Left alone Nara remains in her cozy corner until someone approaches her first. Someone who greets her with the words “Hello gorgeous, let me ask you a very serious question.“ Cipher is standing right in front of her, a smug grin on his face as he wants to propose his newest business idea to her. “I’m planning to-“, he starts but gets cut off by a fleeing Nara immediately.

“Sorry!“, is her only reply as she disappears. Luckily, the contestant explains her hasty escape in her interview. “I know that Cipher is Namjoon’s friend. It’s natural that they are, they are both rappers and Cipher seems like a person that Namjoon would keep around him. I should be glad that he even approaches me first…“, she hesitates for a whole moment, looking intensely into the camera, “… but talking to Cipher and maybe getting stuck with him…that would influence me without me making a decision who to pursue on my own. That’s not what I want.“ At that she laughs. “So I fled like Cinderella did from her prince, leaving him with so much agony.“

Nara isn’t the only one who struggles. Other contestants struggle, too. Yumi is moving back and forth, helplessly trying to decide who she wants to talk to and she automatically gets attracted by Taemin and Jokwon the entire time, but for the only reason that she already got to meet them before. Aejin also doesn’t know how to proceed. She’s not even sure if she should approach anyone.

“For a fact, I am still angry.“, Aejin tells the camera crew in the little booth. “Taehyung left me dangling somewhere in the wind, I don’t even know if he really likes me or not! My love cell did not recover to be fooled! I really don’t know what to do… maybe I should really try to reach out for Seokjin.“

But that isn’t all that easy. Among the remaining men who are not already occupied (in other words Hugo who is sitting together with Mihoon and Johanna, eye-smiles showering them Mihoon glares at a very nervous Johanna, or Jiwoo creeping up on JoKwon and Taemin), none of the guys seem to be obviosly friends of anyone.

“What do we do?“, Yeonhee asks, looking around helplessly. “I can’t tell who is friends with whom…“

“Should we ask Nara?“, Aejin asks and looks for Nara, but she’s nowhere to be found, just as Cipher who probably ran after her.

Yumi is nervously watching how Ken, Hyungwon and Bogeum are having some of the buffet, Ken holding a flashy cocktail in his hands. This really is like any other cocktail party the girls used to experience during the beginning of the show. Just that there are suddenly men among them.

“Since Hugo is with Johanna and Mihoon, he’s probably Yoongi’s friend.“, Aejin says.

“Makes sense, he is a DJ, isn’t he?“, Yeonhee replies and looks back to the three remaining males. “Ken is a model, isn’t he? Is Hyungwon a model, too?“

“Wouldn’t that make them both friends of Seokjin then? Does that make sense?“, Yumi wonders and sighs. “I really can’t figure who of them would be Hoseok’s friend…“

“Maybe it’s best to approach them all and leave a good impression on each of them.“ Yeonhee’s suggestion is met with a nod, after all the three women have no clue who could possibly be a friend of their chosen ones.

While the others are going on a collective hunt, Johanna and Mihoon struggle with their conversation with Hugo. Well, Mihoon doesn’t put a lot effort in starting a conversation whereas Johanna tries her best to decipher the mysterious DJ.

“You two were quick in figuring who you want to talk to.“ The male laughs through his mask and leans back on the couch.

“You’re a DJ, it makes sense that you’re the friend of a producer. The only other person that could have been a close friend to Yoongi would have been Cipher. But I think he’s Namjoon’s friend.“, Johanna explains how she chose to talk to Hugo.

Hugo then looks curiously at Mihoon who notices his urging gaze and just shrugs. “Intuition.“

The DJ goes on smiling until he figures that the two have difficulties in starting a conversation. Mihoon because… she’s Mihoon and Johanna because maybe, just maybe, she gets intimidated by Mihoon's aura that surrounds her like a death-threatening cloud.

“So, what is your problem with the bachelor of your hearts?“

The question gets the two women taken-aback for a whole moment.

“So instead of asking us ‚Why do you like him?‘ or ‚Tell me what connects you‘, you ask us what the problem is?“, Mihoon questions his way of approaching the issue.

Once again he eye-smiles and nods. “To prevent an answer like ‚Just watch the show‘.“

“It’s still difficult to answer to a question like that. Do we know the bachelors even good enough to have something that bothers us with them?“, Johanna questions and for the first time she and Mihoon seem to have something in common - despite the liking for a certain grumpy producer.

“That’s already a point that counts - you don’t know each other good enough.“, Hugo says and Mihoon snorts almost immediately.

“What you’re doing is making us question the concept of this show.“, she tells him, sounding a little harsher than maybe intended. “If we complain about that we don’t know the bachelors enough to voice out problems due to the lack of time we spend with them, then falling in love with them sounds like nonsense, too.“ At that she throws a side glance at Johanna who shrinks into the couch.

Hugo notices how Johanna’s soul is about to leave her body from the pressure coming from Mihoon. So what he does is taking her with him alone.

“Would you show me around a little, Johanna?“, he asks and the female is struck by surprise, yet gets up and the two walk away, leaving a more than perplexed Mihoon behind. The two wander around the mansion, Hugo not talking at all while Johanna explains where everything is, feeling a little awkward as she figures that he must have been in the mansion several times, if her assumptions are right. When the two get to the garden, the masked man finally talks to her again.

“Don’t let your voice get suppressed by others. Tell me what you wanted to tell me. About how you feel. How you doubt that you can know someone well enough to judge by the time spent in this mansion.“, he asks her to share her thoughts with him.

Johanna hesitates, surprised that he mentions the topic again, but after thinking over it for a little, she finally exhales loudly and lets her thoughts flow. “Since you’re Yoongi’s friend… there’s something I’d like to ask you. How… jealous does he get?“

Surprise is shimmering in Hugo’s eyes and he looks at Johanna, unable to speak. At first. Then he laughs. In the meantime Yoongi and Seokjin show up, both sitting next to each other in the interview booth. “Hmm… what I’d say what my biggest talent is… my profession not included?“, Seokjin speaks as he thoughtfully looks up at the ceiling before he claps his hands and smiles cheerfully. “I am good at telling jokes! Let’s show them!“, he tells Yoongi, sporting a face as if he’s about to die. “Knock, knock!“, the designer says and expectantly looks at his co-bachelor, eyes full of excitement as his mouth forms an expectant smile.  “It’s open.“, Yoongi answers. And Seokjin’s smile vanishes.

“When I got to know him… he wasn’t. But time changes people.  Just as certain incidents.“, Hugo answers Johanna.

“So something happened to Yoongi that he became like that?“, the girl wants to know but Hugo shrugs it off.

“You’ll have to ask him yourself. I can’t give an answer to that question.“

The answer leaves Johanna obviously unsatisfied. “…alright then.“, she says, the disappointment slightly showing in her voice. “I just… see jealousy as some kind of distrust. Maybe it’s because I don’t know these things very well… but isn’t it a form of distrust to be jealous? How can I trust someone that doesn’t trust me? Or who I barely know?“

That seems to be more of something that Hugo can work with. He nods approvingly, while listening to her worries and then unleashes his words of advice at her. And they’re cryptic as ever. “Imagine a very pretty flower on a field. This flower happens to see another flower that seems to be very pretty, too, but in its own way. Unfortunately that flower is surrounded by loads and loads of thorns. So the pretty flower that sees the other pretty flower wonders if the flower really is pretty or if it’s just the thorns that try to lure the flower into them. So, the flower may or may not be a pretty flower.“

“Which means I can never trust anyone?“, Johanna asks in pure shock.

Hugo laughs again. “The question is not if that flower is really a flower. Imagine the flower is a flower BUT it also has thorns. After all it grew its entire life surrounded by thorns, sharing the same soil. Maybe the flower just adapted to the thorns so it can survive. But it’s still a flower. The question is not if the flower is a flower. The question is, if the pretty flower, that wants to know, can survive even if it gets ripped by the thorny flower. Because that might happen, even if not on purpose. The flower in that case has to decide if it can survive loosing maybe one or two stems. If the flower only has one or two… that would be very tragic. Because then it can’t bloom. But if the flower has four or five, the loss of two stems isn’t all that bad and together the two flowers can become even stronger.“

“Hmm…“

Hugo opens the doors to the garden, looking outside. “Wow, what a beautiful night. You should go out and look at some flowers while thinking about my words. I should go back and talk to Mihoon, too, now that we had some time to share some thoughts.“

The camera pans over the different groups of people for a last time before the screen fades to black.

It’s the next day as the sun is shining brightly upon a very familiar city. It’s Seoul. And in front of the Sejeong Center for Performing Arts the cast of Bachelors’ Paradise is gathered. The seven visitors as the remaining contestants blink into the camera as Inguk announces the challenge of the day.

“As you got to know our visitors the last night, today you’re supposed to choose the visitor to work with for the upcoming challenge. For the challenge you’re supposed to find the bachelor of your heart in Seoul. And to do so you’ll need your chosen visitor’s help. So choose wisely. For those who manage to find their bachelors, there’s a special date waiting for them at the end of the day!“

As he speaks, Nara starts to nervously look back and forth between Cipher and Ken and of course Yeonhee notices.

“Nara for the first time was not in control of what happened, it seemed.“, Yeonhee explains, being interviewed in front of the King Sejeong statue. “I didn’t know who of the visitors would be Namjoon’s friend but thanks to her I could figure who it is.“

The first of the contestants to choose her visitor helper is Mihoon who aims for Hugo straight. Jiwoo is almost as quick as pestering JoKwon who immediately irks at how Jiwoo’s arms sling around his arm as if she’s some kind of creeping plant. Yeonhee hesitates for a moment before she moves towards Cipher who throws a very disappointed glance at Nara, still full of hope that she’d join him. Nara doesn’t seem happy to see Yeonhee proceed before she’s able to do anything but what makes her act in the end is Johanna who - against any expectations - walks past Hugo (who under his mask smiles as so often) and stops right next to Ken. Nara looks baffled for a whole moment, then a hint of anger reflects on her face before determination takes over and she joins Johanna next to Ken, throwing challenging glances at her. Just as Johanna is usually used to by Mihoon.

The remaining Yumi and Aejin look absolutely lost. Their eyes wander over each of the guys’ faces but none of them really seems to give them the right vibe. Yumi decides to act first. And she follows her intuition… lining up next to Taemin. Aejin struggles more, walking up and down, one time targeting Bogeum, another time stopping by Hyungwon. Her final choice happens to be Bogeum. And that’s where the challenge starts.

“How do you feel not being chosen by anyone?“, Inguk asks Hyungwon who looks into the camera like it’s the office.

“Do I need to say something?“, he asks and shrugs, moves his lips shortly as if he’s about to add some more but then remains silent.


The first couple that is followed by the cameras is JoKwon and Jiwoo who are immediately followed by masses of people. Jiwoo smiles happily as she walks side by side with the musician who’s anything else than as upbeat as her. He looks a little distraught but manages. The second couple is Hugo and Mihoon, Hugo walking all smiley while Mihoon follows him in silence with crossed arms. Taemin and Yumi look happy together as the male takes good care of the young mother and they seem to enjoy their time together as the walk down the paths next to the Cheonggyecheon.

The first group to face a challenge is the Ken-Johanna-Nara cluster that doesn’t seem to be too happy to be together. At least Nara isn’t as she can’t stop judging the heck out of Johanna.

“Alright, I’m here to give you the first hint. It’s a little tricky, I admit. And since you’re two… you’ll have to make a decision together.“, Ken explains.

“Wait, that means we have to share the final date, if we make it?“, Nara asks and looks at Johanna. “Oh man, what are you even doing here? You know that Yoongi’s friend is Hugo, don’t you?“

Johanna blinks at Nara. “Yes, but I decided to join Ken.“

“And that’s why?“, Nara urges.

“I think that’s obvious.“, Johanna answers, slightly annoyed by how Nara keeps questioning her intentions.

“… that doesn’t make sense.“, Nara scoffs.

To help the viewers understand her decision, Johanna is speaking to them in her interview. “I know it must look very surprising… but after I talked to Hugo, I saw some things differently from before. And I thought that maybe I should let myself for once just follow emotions over rational thinking. So what I did was trying to redirect where I was going.“

Nara doesn’t know about what made Johanna change her mind, so of course she is suspicious of how Johanna changed sides like that. And she’s not welcoming the sudden change at all.

“Oh babe, you should stop messing with the wrong women.“, she mutters quietly, yet Ken and Johanna both hear.

Johanna tries to act as if she didn’t hear it while Ken clears his throat shortly and then tries to continue with the challenge.

“You both seem to be interested in my dear friend. So you should know him well enough to know where he’d be going first to hide a hint for the next place you have to check out!“ Ken spreads his arms and grins widely, behind him the scenery of a shopping street with a bunch of fashion  cosmetic stores as much as food stalls and restaurants. “Oh and don’t forget, your time is limited! I heard that if you don’t manage to find my friend until 6 PM, you lose.“

The two women look at him in silence for a while before they both start trying to figure what place they could check out.

“Hey Ken.“, Nara addresses the model.

“Yes ma’am?“, he responds.

“Are you allowed to help us?“, she wonders.

He chuckles at hearing her question. “I am if I want to. But do I want to?“

“If you want your friend to end up happily, then yes.“, Nara tries to convince him.

Ken further chuckles and shrugs. “Try again.“

Nara pouts and sighs before she playfully places her hands on her hips. “Maybe he’s hiding somewhere here and you’re trying to confuse us. Let’s find out.“ At that, in her rainbow dress, Nara walks into the middle of the street, people around the two contestants and the model standing in a circle around them, phones out to record and take photos.

“KIM SEOKJIN’S DESIGNS AND HE LOOKS WEIRD WHILE EATING! AND HE ISN’T EVEN ALL THAT PRETTY!“

Laughters fill the air and Nara turns around to face a cracking Ken and a very shocked Johanna, shrugging and giving them an innocent little smirk.

“If that doesn’t bring Kim Seokjin out, not even milkshake would. And my milkshake brings out all the boys to the yard.“

Ken can’t stop laughing and he even claps his hands, hearing her speak like that. “Alright Rainbow Lady, you win. I’ll give you a hint. Try to find something that you associate with my dear friend. Something that connects you guys.“

“But there are different things that connect Seokjin and me and Nara and him. How are we supposed to find the right hint then?“, Johanna asks.

The guy shrugs. “I didn’t hide the thing, don’t kill the messenger.“

The females start thinking again and as time goes by, both of them have ideas where to go.

“Let’s check out some fashion shops.“ - “Let’s check out Subway.“

Nara and Johanna eye each other, speechless that they have different ideas where Seokjin hid the hint.

“I’m sure he put it somewhere that has to do with fashion. That’s what connects all of us.“, Johanna claims but Nara vigorously shakes her head.

“6-inches are stronger than clothes! They’re more important.“

Johanna frowns at that and so does Ken. Just that he can’t help but start laughing again. “What if he hid it in a cosmetic store?“, he tries but the females both shut him up immediately.

“NO WAY!“, they bark at him in a choir.

Both of them are very sure of where to look for the hint but neither of them wants to give in.

“We don’t have the time to play around and I want to win this!“, Nara says.

“Then think of what connects all of us with him and not only you!“, Johanna slowly loses her patience.

“Then how about making it more interesting? Split up and the one who finds this hint, I will accompany. The other one loses instantly. How’s that?“, Ken suggests.

“Deal!“

“So you think you’re able to handle someone like Namjoon?“

Cipher and Yeonhee sit together in a coffee shop, the male not looking very happy.

“Yes, I think so.“, Yeonhee answers.

“No, no, no.“, Cipher contradicts and shakes his head. “There’s no ‘I think’ in this. You either know or you don’t. If you want Clyde, then you need to be Bonnie. Thinking you’re Bonnie or pretending to be won’t do. So don’t give me that ’I think so’ .“

Cipher’s words come harsh and Yeonhee looks taken aback as she sits on her chair, her cup of tea untouched in front of her.

“Don’t get me wrong, I mean we’re here for how long? 20 minutes? And you already told me most about you. I’m being honest with you right now but you don’t match with Namjoon at all. There’s not the fire, the passion in you that is required to be with someone like him.“

Yeonhee gulps as she listens to what Cipher has to say. “So you won’t help me with the challenge?“

“No.“, he answers straight. “I won’t.“

“Isn’t that unfair?“, Yeonhee asks, hoping to be able to convince Cipher to change his mind.

“Not at all. Men like Namjoon need a different kind of woman. Someone who dedicates herself to him. He’s a man of big dreams and big ambitions. You can’t just hold him down or leave him alone with his struggles because you care far more for your own success. Love is about being a team. Not being fighters on your own and then when it looks okay, being together for once to just part ways again. That’s not how love is supposed to be. It’s no freaking spa!“, he fights back, being more devoted and passionate about this than expected from a cocky rapper like him. “I’m not only talking about Namjoon but about men in general. Do you really think you’re ready for a relationship?“

“I… don’t know.“, Yeonhee once again is insecure.

“See? If you’re not sure of that, don’t even try.“

Yeonhee silences, fighting with herself to remain put. And then, once she gathered courage again and overthought some of the points, she’s willing to combat Cipher.

“What if-?“ - “No!“
“Can I-?“ - “NO!“
“But-!“ -  “NO!“

“You’re really not giving me a second chance.“, she figures, disappointment filling her voice.

“It’s not about second choices. It’s do or die. When you’re dead, you’re dead.“ He shrugs and sips on his coffee, before he puts his cup back on the table and his voice switches from the angry love protector to a more business related tone. “Talking about doing things… can you give me Nara’s phone number?“

Yeonhee finally gives up, sighs and leans back on her chair.

Yeonhee isn’t the only one who has troubles with getting along with who is supposed to be her helping hand. Aejin, too, is struggling to get along with Bogeum. Or better said, Bogeum is confronted with an angry Aejin who isn’t all that easy on him as she complains about Taehyung the entire time.

“So, you go tell your friend that this is NOT okay!“, she tells Bogeum who irritatedly blinks at her.

“…uhm… okay.“, he says and wants to walk further.

“Like how can he make me feel so special, asking me to be the Harley to his Joker and then suddenly act as if he’s not interested in me?!“, she goes on. “Look, Seokjin is such a Gentleman! Why can’t Taehyung be a little like him?!“

“I have no clue.“, Bogeum mutters and breathes in loudly.

Aejin goes on, flipping her hair. “I came here to find love! My love cell is reanimated and what does he do? Is he a prince or something that is suddenly too good to be with me?! Did I do anything wrong?! I was just myself the entire time and he changed like I know I’m moody but heck, this guy’s moods change like a rollercoaster! I’m getting a whiplash!“

The music playing in the background while the two are shown together gives their conversation a very comedic vibe. That Bogeum isn’t all amused, however, he reveals in his interview.

“I know why Taehyung suddenly distanced himself from Aejin. She’s… complaining quite a lot, isn’t she? Taehyung is very easy-going. He wants to enjoy every moment of the day and when there’s something bothering him, he’ll just take it as it is if it’s not worth the struggle. Aejin… might have gotten him into a very uncomfortable spot if she confronted him him with things like she confronted me today. I don’t think they match quite well…she might be a little too tough on him.“, he says and then laughs a little. It’s an insecure laugh. “Aejin, if you watch this later, please don’t hate me.“

“Hey Aejin.“, Bogeum interrupts her. “Do you want some ice-cream? To brighten up your mood again…“

Aejin stops and blinks at him shortly, before a smile covers her lips and she nods. “Sure!“

For a moment Bogeum looks baffled at how easy he just managed to get her into a good mood again. Yet, Aejin isn’t reckoning with how much time it will take to eat that ice-cream… and that Bogeum has no intention to get her to Taehyung.

A short rewind is shown before snapshots of the day are following, showing how Nara is raiding every Subway on the street, how Johanna finds a T-Shirt with Stars and a little piece of paper on it, how Mihoon is finding Yoongi in his ’Genius Lab’, Jiwoo who is looking for JoKwon who at some point started hiding from her, then Yeonhee who leaves the venue, Bogeum and Aejin eating ice-cream together and Yumi who ends up spending a day with Taemin without making any process.

At the end of the day Yumi, Jiwoo, Aejin, Yeonhee and Nara sit together in the limousine, Nara not looking as happy as always, a thoughtful Yeonhee sitting next to her, while Aejin is rather upset with how Bogeum screwed her chances over.

“What happened to you, unnie? You didn’t meet Hoseok?“, Jiwoo asks Yumi who shakes her head with a soft smile.

“I chose the wrong guy. But it was still nice to spend time with Taemin.“

“For me Jokwon-oppa didn’t want to bring me to Jungkook-oppa. It’s unfair how they were allowed to just not bring us to our bachelors!“, Jiwoo complains.

Yeonhee, Aejin and Nara all sigh in silent agreement.
 

Back at the mansion, for the first time since so long a rose ceremony is taking place and it looks more crowded than for the last few weeks. Next to each of the bachelors, their visitor stands and Yumi’s mouth drops open as next to Hoseok, Hyungwon is standing.

“…I’d never have imagined Hyungwon and Hoseok to be friends, really.“, she states as her interview shortly pops up.

JoKwon stands right next to Jungkook, Hugo as expected next to Yoongi. Namjoon and Cipher stand together, so do Jimin and Taemin. Taehyung and Bogeum are the remaining ones besides Seokjin and Ken.

Yeonhee’s face shows up on screen. She looks worried and massages her temples but remains silent.

“So ladies, this week you spent most of your time with the closest friends of our bachelors. And as the friends and advisors, the opinions of our visitors are very important to the bachelors. Let’s see how much they affected them and who of you will be on stage of the final episode when we’ll reveal who of our bachelors is a Hidden Card and who is not.“, Inguk introduces the ceremony.

The MC turns around to wait for the bachelors to decide who goes first and none of them seems like they want to start. Except for Hoseok, who nudges Hyungwon to tell him to hand him a rose. Hyungwon does as his friend requests and with his rose, Hoseok walks to Yumi with a soft smile.

“Will you accept my rose?“, he asks and Yumi nods, blushing as she receives the flower.

The next one to grab a rose is Ken who passes it to his friend Seokjin whose eyes are switching back and forth between Johanna and Nara. He looks conflicted and nervous. But then he starts moving… and walks towards Johanna, throwing an apologetic gaze at Nara who gives him a pokerface.

“…would you like to accept this rose?“, the fashion designer asks and Johanna accepts with a smile. Seokjin nevertheless looks at Nara. “I’m sorry… I just have one rose left.“

Bogeum and Taehyung exchange glances as Seokjin moves back to the rows of bachelors. And they’re both on the same page.

“I’d like to pass my rose to Seokjin.“, Taehyung says. Aejin’s mouth drops open as she hears him say that and he immediately looks at her, too. “I’m sorry Aejin. We had a great time and it was really fun. But… to me you’re just a friend. That’s why I’d like to give Seokjin the opportunity to keep two contestants instead of one.“ And so he pushes his rose into the designer’s hands.

“You don’t need to do this.“, Seokjin tells him perplexed but Taehyung shakes his head.

“Take it.“

With the second rose, Seokjin insecurely walks towards Nara who still gives him a pokerface.

“…would you accept this rose?“, he asks her. Nara inhales slowly but then nods and grabs it, while next to her angry tears are rolling over Aejin’s cheeks.

“I felt betrayed. This wasn’t fair.“, her voice dubs the situation in the background.

Next to hand out a rose is Yoongi. And he looks extremely gloomy since Seokjin gave his rose to Johanna. Without looking at anyone, he walks straight towards Mihoon and hands her the rose without asking her to accept it. And she takes it without responding anything.

Even though Aejin is already eliminated, Yeonhee keeps staring back and forth between Namjoon and the pile of roses. She’s nervous and the moment Namjoon starts moving, she seems to stop breathing.  Namjoon gets a rose even though in his back Cipher is shaking his head and with the rose he walks up to Yeonhee and reaches it out to her.

“Will you accept this rose?“, the question falls and Yeonhee breathes out a relieved “Yes“.

The remaining two bachelors are Jungkook and Jimin, Jungkook standing strongly with his arms crossed, not moving just the tiniest bit. Yet, Jimin seems to be excited for this. He urges Taemin to get him a rose and the moment his friendly really passes the rose to him, the contestants are all surprised with JoKwon mouthing a very visible “Hell no!“.

Jimin smiles, looks at the red flower and then moves towards the contestants, each of them surprised that he got to hand out a rose at all. And even more when the person he hands the rose to is Jiwoo.

“Will you accept my rose and be on stage with all of us in the final show?“, he asks.

Jiwoo instantly nods, grins and takes the rose, JoKwon being ready to protest.

“What the heck?! How is he allowed to do that?! It’s Jungkook’s decision to keep her or not, isn’t it?!“, he complains and Jungkook next to him looks as shocked as the other contestants.

Inguk shrugs and as there’s no satisfying explanation following, Jungkook shakes his head, walks past Inguk and on his way outside tackles the little stand where the silver plate with the roses is standing on. As the plate smashes to the ground, Jungkook leaves, JoKwon following him quickly. The camera staff is following them outside but Jungkook shoves the greedy lenses of them away from himself, before he jumps into one of the cars outside and flees the mansion.

That’s where the screen turns black.

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