Morning in the villa no longer felt like the easy, curious atmosphere of the first day. Something had shifted after the first private date. The contestants had begun to observe each other more carefully, noticing glances, small gestures, and who seemed to gravitate toward whom.
The producers had arranged a long dining table for lunch in the garden. Plates, bowls of food, and drinks were set out buffet-style so everyone could serve themselves. It looked casual, but the atmosphere was anything but.
Everyone knew what this really was.
A quiet battlefield.
Yerin approached the table with a calm expression, though she could already feel the tension in the air. Conversations were louder, laughter a little sharper, eyes lingering longer than before.
Everyone had begun exploring their interests.
Everyone… except her.
Yerin moved naturally, picking up a plate and scanning the dishes. Before she could reach for anything, someone stepped beside her.
"Let me help you."
It was Kim Sohee.
Sohee's voice was light, but her attention was clearly focused. She picked up the serving spoon and began placing food onto Yerin's plate without even asking what she wanted.
"You should try this one," Sohee said casually. "It's really good."
Yerin blinked slightly but didn't object.
"Thank you," she said politely.
From the other side of the table, Bae Dahye watched the interaction quietly.
Her expression didn't change, but the slight pause in her movements said enough.
When everyone sat down, the seating arrangement formed naturally, but it created an interesting dynamic.
Sohee sat to the right of Yerin.
Lim Jiyeon slid into the seat on Yerin's left, her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp.
Across from them sat Dahye, directly facing Sohee.
Beside Dahye sat Shin Areum, leaning forward with bright curiosity.
And on Dahye's other side was Lee Haerin.
The rest of the contestants filled the remaining seats, chatting among themselves, but most of the attention centered around that small cluster.
It didn't take long for the tension to begin.
"So Yerin," Jiyeon said casually, resting her elbow on the table. "You were pretty good during the game yesterday."
Her voice had a teasing confidence to it.
"Were you holding back?"
Yerin shook her head lightly.
"No. I was just trying not to fall."
Areum laughed immediately.
"Seriously? You looked really steady to me."
She leaned slightly closer across the table.
"You're more competitive than you act."
Jiyeon smirked.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Yerin smiled politely, but her attention drifted for a brief moment.
She noticed something.
Haerin.
Haerin wasn't paying attention to the conversation around Yerin at all.
Her focus was entirely on Dahye.
Haerin quietly poured a drink and placed it closer to Dahye's side of the table.
"You didn't take any," Haerin said softly.
Dahye glanced at the glass.
"…Thank you."
Haerin smiled faintly.
Yerin noticed the exchange immediately.
Ah.
She didn't react outwardly, but the realization settled quickly.
Haerin was clearly interested in Dahye.
Yerin lowered her gaze slightly, pretending to focus on her food.
She didn't show that she had noticed anything.
Meanwhile, Jiyeon and Areum had no intention of holding back.
"Try this," Jiyeon said, picking up a piece of food and placing it gently on Yerin's plate.
"You didn't take enough."
Areum leaned forward.
"Wait, that one's spicy."
She quickly grabbed a drink and pushed it toward Yerin.
"You might need this."
The attention on Yerin had become very obvious.
Sohee noticed.
Of course she did.
For the first time since sitting down, Sohee's smile faltered slightly.
She watched Jiyeon casually adding food to Yerin's plate and Areum leaning forward to help her.
Something in her chest tightened.
Before she could stop herself, she reached for another serving spoon.
"You forgot the side dish," Sohee said, placing more food on Yerin's plate.
Her tone sounded normal.
But the gesture was deliberate.
Yerin blinked in surprise.
"Oh… thank you."
Jiyeon's eyebrow lifted slightly.
Areum noticed too.
Across the table, Dahye noticed everything.
Her gaze moved between Sohee and Yerin.
The way Sohee leaned slightly closer.
The way she kept adding food to Yerin's plate.
Her expression darkened almost imperceptibly.
She didn't say anything.
But the quiet irritation settled in her chest.
Haerin, meanwhile, had noticed Dahye's silence.
"Dahye," she said gently, "you didn't eat much either."
She pushed a plate slightly closer.
"You should try this."
Dahye glanced at her briefly.
"…Thanks."
But her eyes quickly returned to Sohee.
Specifically—
Sohee helping Yerin again.
At this point, the entire table had begun to notice the pattern.
Jiyeon leaned back slightly, amused.
Areum looked between everyone with open curiosity.
Haerin continued quietly trying to gain Dahye's attention.
Sohee kept finding small ways to help Yerin.
And Dahye sat across the table, watching it all unfold with a growing sense of irritation she couldn't quite explain.
Meanwhile, Yerin remained calm.
She ate quietly, occasionally responding to Jiyeon and Areum's conversation.
But she didn't actively encourage any of it.
She didn't try to impress anyone.
She didn't compete.
Yet somehow, the attention kept gathering around her.
And while everyone else at the table was trying to win over the person they liked—
Yerin's attention drifted, just once, toward Dahye.
Only for a brief second.
Long enough to notice Dahye watching Sohee.
Then she looked back down at her plate as if nothing had happened.
Around the table, something unspoken had begun to take shape.
No one had confessed anything.
No one had openly claimed anyone.
But it was clear now.
Everyone had started choosing their targets.