Saerom

Apparently, King Joshua needs to use the royal potty, so he’s keeping 200+ people waiting for him in the hall before we can start the next round. It has been 20 minutes, and still, his royal tush hasn’t showed up. How long does it take to go to the bathroom, jeez.

That girl that was talking to him, Number 92, is telling everyone that the numbers who get called up to him aren’t random, and that he’s targeting the people who have clashed with Chaeyoung. She also says that she suspects Seungkwan to end up there as well, because he’s been ‘sleeping with his girlfriend.’

The accusation makes me laugh out loud. Seungkwan? Sleeping with Chaeyoung? Ha! As if. That guy is like the most aual guy I have ever met, so there is no way. That accusation colored everything 92 says as a little hysterical and untrue to me, so I don’t know if I believe her completely.

But now that I think about it, what are the odds that two friends get chosen “at random” and those two friends just happen to be part of a group that targets Chaeyoung. I wouldn’t put it past him to rig the game like this. Or to build up this huge elaborate island just so he can marry one particular girl.

It should make me angry, but a part of me is a little relieved. If he wants to marry that chick, that means I won’t have to marry him.

But it also means I have to think about a life with Seungkwan, a prospect that also makes me shudder.

“Do you think it’s true?” Jiheon asks me, looking slightly upset. “Do you think that Joshua is going after Chaeyoung? Is this whole thing just a huge waste of time?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. What do you think?”

“I really hope not,” she says, looking down. “Marrying him is my only hope…”

What a naive little kid.

In any case, I’m glad I’m not caught up in this mess like Seungkwan is. Both he and her are now the center of attention. Cameras are pointing at them, everyone’s whispering about them. Chaeyoung sits with her head down to avoid all the nasty stares people are throwing at her. Seungkwan looks at her like a pitiful puppy, like he wants to shoulder her burden for her.

It’s the same way he looked at me when my home was flooded, or when I got arrested for stealing medicine.

He’s so ing nice. And she’s so lucky to have him on her side.

I wonder if I feel jealous of her for Seungkwan. If I’m being honest, there is a little bit of a sour feeling in me knowing that I had him, a perfectly decent, good person, and I pushed him away. And now, he’s there for someone else.

It stings a little.

I can’t believe I’m even thinking about this. I never wanted Seungkwan. The thought of marrying him made me depressed.

But that doesn’t mean his doting and attention doesn’t feel good. Have I lost him now? Have I made a mistake not agreeing to marry him when I had the chance? Is it too late now?

In the middle of these troubling thoughts, His Royal Majesty finally appears on stage to start the third round.

He looks different from usual. That smug look of arrogance on his face is now replaced by a weird kind of bitterness and determination.

“You’ll see,” Number 92 yells out loud for everyone to hear. “The ‘random person’ will be number 133 or 146 or 122 or maybe even 41. You’ll see that I’m right!”

Everyone waits expectantly as the random numbers flash on the screen. It stops at Number 152.

I look around me to see which of them is 152, fully expecting it to be someone involved in this whole Chaeyoung drama, but then I notice everyone looking at me.

.

I’m Number 152.