Saerom

I half-expect him to push me away and spit on me, but he doesn’t. He lets me kiss him and when I pull back to see his expression, he almost looks cute. His lips are parted, and he stares at me, confused, like he doesn’t know what is going on or what he’s supposed to do.

I’ve never seen him so close up before. He’s got pretty lips and half-moon eyes, and his skin is flawless. I almost want to kiss him again.

All the cameras are pointed at us, and I’m acutely aware of the silence in the room. Everyone is staring, waiting for my next move. Even he is waiting.

But I feel like I’ve pushed my limits enough. I’m afraid doing anymore would lead me to be humiliated on camera so I get off his lap, wink at him and walk away, down and back toward where all the other contestants are.

Everyone stares at me. The venom they had in their eyes toward Chaeyoung, I’ve taken it all away. You’re welcome, Joshua.

I look over toward Chaeyoung. She isn’t staring at me; she’s staring up at Joshua. The poor girl looks heartbroken, on the verge of tears. She then begins to walk away toward the exit. Seungkwan, who was staring at me through all this, hesitates, then goes after her.

I look up at Joshua, expecting him to look guilty as he watches his girlfriend run off in tears, but no. He is also staring right at me.

Huh. Maybe she isn’t his girlfriend after all? Maybe he really is in this game to find a wife. I mean, if I were him and the love of my life just watched me get kissed by another person, I sure as hell wouldn’t be staring at the person who kissed me. I’d be trying to explain myself to her, go after her, tell her I’m sorry and that it won’t happen again.

Wait… am I actually… doing well in this game?

He’s noticing me. He’s curious about me. He’s staring at me out of 200 more or less beautiful people.

Could I be the one who hits the jackpot here? Marry the heir of a huge company and zoom up the social ladder. The thought brings a giddy stir in my chest.

And then I hear him talk to the producer. “Give her a hundred points,” and looks startled when his voice projects to the rest of the hall. He’s forgotten to turn off his mic!

He turns it off, looking annoyed at himself, and then throws another glance my way. He sees me grinning back at him.

Then he just disappears backstage, as everyone prepares for the next round.

It’s not just him who’s looking at me; it’s everyone, including my old partner who is now with this mischievous-looking guy. The fact he was left over and had to take Jiheon as a partner when I was called up to the stage is not a great sign - for Jiheon. He probably chose the X for this round, and knowing her, she probably chose ♥.

I walk up to them and take Jiheon’s arm. “I’ll take my partner back, thank you very much.”

He gives me the stink-eye. “Let her decide that.” He turns to her. “Jiheon?”

“Um… I’d like to stay with Dino. Sorry.”

Wow, so even Jiheon seems to somehow have lost trust in me. Jokes on her, though, because I was about to offer her some of my points out of the kindness of my heart in case Mr. Dino or whatever his name was shorts her.

It doesn’t really matter what happens to me though. I can lose ten points every round and still end up winning. Though it would be nice to have a trustworthy partner that would ensure I get enough points to get the benefit of having dinner with him.

I hate myself for saying that, but I’m ahead in this game, and I’m just going to have to swallow my pride and simp for that , so yes, I’m going for the prize.

Jiheon doesn’t want to be with me, Seungkwan has gone after Chaeyeon. Begrudgingly, I turn to find Mingyu.

I find him sitting with that pretty heiress, Number 0. He looks relaxed, happy even, to be with her.

“Be my partner,” I say as I approach him.

Number 9 turns to him expectantly and crosses her arms, waiting for his answer.

“Um…” he begins. “Look, I don’t really want to leave Nagyung hanging, so…”

“So you’ll leave me hanging?” I scoff.

“You have 100 points, Sae. You’re good.”

“ you, Mingyu,” I mumble, feeling hurt again.

It probably showed on my face because he didn’t like seeing me like this. “Look there’s a hack to this game, and it’s–”

“Don’t tell her,” Nagyung interrupts him, frowning in his direction. “Why do you want to give her an advantage? She’s already winning.”

Mingyu hesitates, caught between the death stares of me and that Nagyung girl. He looks between us, torn. But I swear if he doesn’t tell me the hack, I will make him my enemy and never speak to him again. Screw him and his handsome face that rejected me last night and is now considering screwing me over for another pretty girl.

“Sorry,” he says, avoiding my frigid gaze, then retreats back to Nagyung, who seems satisfied by his betrayal.

I roll my eyes and turn away from him. Screw him. When I get rich and marry a chaebol, he’s not getting a single penny.

-

I ended up with a , the one left over after 146 was called up to the stage. I kept choosing X with her because I just know she’s also choosing X, so better to lose five points than ten.

Of the people who were called up to stage with Joshua, two of them were in that friend group that people guessed would be up there, since that group targeted Chaeyoung in the past. I hear whispers about how this was Joshua’s way of getting rid of people Chaeyoung didn’t like, and that it’s clear that she’s at least special to him. And he’s special to her as well.

That’s why she stormed off after I kissed him.

I should view her as competition, but I almost feel bad for her. Not only does she have to deal with everyone thinking she’s competition, but she also had to watch me kiss her man. The poor girl.

And Joshua’s a dumb- for putting her in that position. If I were her, I’d dump his . I wish she does dump him, not only because I want his heart to break but also because I want to be the one to snag his fortune.

The game ends after ten rounds. I ended up with 65 points. More than half of the contestants ended up with negative points and were disqualified.

To my surprise, Jiheon and her partner survived with zero points each. Mingyu and his partner survived, also with zero points. Seungkwan and his partner probably survived with zero points, too.

I later learned what the dumb “strategy” was. That conniving heiress, Nagyung, was the one who came up with it: simply switch phones with your partner. To safeguard your points, you’ll always choose ♥. It’s so simple, I feel dumb for not thinking of it earlier. It made me realize that I really need to watch my back with that girl. She’s way smarter than she looks.

But all in all, this game ended with a good outcome for me. It wasn’t a good outcome for Joshua though, that’s for sure. He was so out of it for the duration of the game, upset, unnerved. Everyone could see it, and everyone could guess why. 

A/N: Is anyone reading this story on here? If not, I'd like to stop posting here and instead focus on the Wattpad version here. Double-posting gets tiring and I feel like no one is reading here? If you are reading, do comment and let me know so that I can keep posting the chapters! If not, I'll discontinue from posting on here and focus on posting on Wattpad instead.

Thanks!