— 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 —
Duri was walking up a small hill. The staff had instructed her where to go to reach Inferno, where she would be staying for the next nine days and, hopefully, find love.
She had been informed that some of the other participants had already arrived. Duri felt nervous as she walked there. She quickly tidied up her dress, trying to calm her nerves.
She was wearing a beautiful long dress in a lovely shade of pink. The fabric was light and soft, with delicate off-shoulder straps that gently hugged her arms. The dress had intricate detailing around the waist and chest, featuring little pink bows and cute small flowers sewn in. The overall effect was charming and elegant. She wore a small soft and shy smile.
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"Ohhh!" exclaimed Kyuhyun excitedly. The other panelists laughed at his loud reaction, but he didn't mind. He kept looking at the screen.
"Wow, she looks beautiful," Da-hee complimented. "She looks shy," Jin-kyung noticed with a small smile.
"She's the fourth to arrive. Right now, there are three girls and one guy, huh?" Ha-hae mentioned curiously. "I can't wait to see the other participants." They all agreed with Hanhae.
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She kept walking until she was able to see the Inferno. And she agreed, it looked like it. There was a broken airplane, used as a prop, and it was located in a way it looked like it had crashed into the island. Her eyes widened a little, she thought it was really interesting and her nervousness transformed into excitement. She saw there were already three people there.
They were sitting in what looked like wood stools. She could see there were 7 stools in total. In the center, sat a beautiful girl wearing a pink dress that complimented her hair color. A guy was sitting by her side, smiling and looking cute. She could tell he was close to her type, he had a pretty face. His outfit matched the setting perfectly. On the left, sat another beautiful girl with short hair and a white dress that highlighted her bright smile. Duri smiled, she felt like they could be good friends. She smiled looking at all of them as she was closer. They smiled at her as well.
Now, she had to decide where to sit, which she found to be difficult. Should she sit next to the pretty girl who might be a potential friend or the cute guy who was her type?
Duri walked ahead and sat on one of the wooden stools. She looked to her right and smiled at the person sitting by her side. She bowed a little as a greeting, which the person reciprocated with a smile of their own.
Well... this is inferno, a dating show.
"Hi, I'm Min-woo," the cute guy introduced himself and she smiled at him. "Uh, what's your name?" he asked. The two other girls were looking at her curiously.
"I'm Choi Duri. Nice to meet you all," she said, looking at Min-woo, and then at the two other girls, who she later learned were named Kim Gyu-ri - the girl with the pink dress - and Choi Hye-seon - the girl with the bright smile.
After Duri had taken a seat, another person seemed to be coming. A man approached them. He was wearing a red shirt, which fit him nicely. As he got closer, he greeted them with a hello. Everyone responded with a bow or a smile. He sat next to Hye-seon. He had a tan complexion, broad shoulders, and looked like a personal trainer. Duri thought he was handsome, he looked like a nice person, a little intimidating but he looked nice. But he was not her type. She wondered if they could become friends. Later, she discovered his name was Lee Jin-seok.
Next, a gorgeous girl joined them. She was wearing a beautiful long red dress that complemented her skin and hair. She smiled as she walked closer. Duri noticed how her eyes became smaller when she smiled and found it cute. She sat next to Gyu-ri and the new guy. Duri later learned her name was An Min-young.
There was only one stool left, and Duri assumed that one person was still missing. Soon after, a guy arrived, he greeted everyone, and took the last available sit next to Hye-seon. He smiled, and Duri later learned his name was Lee Gwan-hee.
Suddenly an alarm was heard, startling some of the participants. Then a woman's voice was heard. "Greetings, single. Welcome to the hottest inferno in the world, Single's Inferno." Some people looked at each other curiously and surprised.
Duri was surprised, she had watched the two other seasons of 'Single's Inferno' and it used to be more than 7 people. She assumed they changed it for this season and she was curious about how things would work out.
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"I thought everyone was beautiful," Duri said smiling at the camera. "I definitely think Gyu-ri will be the most popular, she's just so gorgeous."
"Min-woo is closer to my type, so I may be biased when I say I think he'll be popular." She says chuckling a little. "But... uhm, well the other guys are also handsome so it's hard to tell." She smiles.
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"The only way to escape this remote island is to leave as a couple." They all look surprised, Min-woo nods in understanding and Gyu-ri smiles a little, maybe in nervousness. "Welcome to Inferno. You are not allowed to reveal your age or occupation in Inferno. If you successfully become a couple, you can escape on Inferno and spend a night in Paradise." The participants smiled. "Now, please proceed to the cafeteria and enjoy your lunch." And that was the cue for everyone to leave and make their way to the cafeteria.
They kept walking until they found the cafeteria. It was... well, it set up the ambient very well. The plates and eating utensils were made out of wood. Duri smiled, it felt like it could be fun. While exploring the kitchen, Jin-seok discovered two boxes - one containing canned chicken breast and the other carrots.
After a moment, they started to peel the carrots. Duri was peeling carrots along with Jin-seok and Hye-Seon. After that, they decided to start eating. They were eating the carrots like that, raw. But Duri didn't have a problem with that, she had eaten lots of raw carrots when she was a kid. They were however usually smaller but it was still the same.
She sat beside Hye-seon and enjoyed the taste of the carrot. After a while, Hye-seon laughed at the situation commenting how she didn't expect the situation to be like this at all. "I pictured us wearing aprons and helping each other wash and prepare vegetables. But look at us." She said, everyone agreed and chuckled a little, they all found the situation funny.
Duri nodded in agreement, she spoke with an amused smile. "A friend of mine was in the show last season and she told me how fun it was going to be. And how it didn't really feel like an inferno. No one saw this coming huh?" She said laughing a little.
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"Oh? Her friend was in the show last season?" Hanhae asked curiously. The other panelists seemed curious as well. "That means Jin-young knows her." Kyu-hyun pointed out and everyone looked at the youngest.
"I guess I do, but who's the friend?" He asked curiously, just at that moment the screen continued playing, it was now showing Duri alone by the beach where they did the personal interviews.
"I guess we'll find out," Da-hee said interested and focused on the screen.
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—-——-——-——-—
"It was actually my friend who suggested I come to Single's Inferno." Duri explained with a smile. "She was here last season and found someone to love, I joked about how I was jealous and she told me to come and enjoy Inferno." She chuckled.
"Who's your friend?" One of the staff asked.
"Wouldn't you wanna know?" She teased before laughing heartily. "It's Yuri, my bestie."
—-——-——-——-—
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"Ohhh Yuri." Exclaimed Dex, remembering his friend from inferno.
"So she's Yuri's friend, I wonder how her journey in Inferno will be." Jin-kyung added curiously.
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Some conversations were happening. Because Duri was sitting at the end next to Hye-seon, she didn't get to speak to the guys much. Nevertheless, she was happy eating her carrots.
"I feel like a rabbit," she said, chuckling a little. Hye-seon and others agreed. She made eye contact with Minwoo who smiled at her. "You look like one too," he said, and she smiled in amusement.
Suddenly, the alarm sounded, and everyone expected the woman's voice to sound so they wouldn't get scared like before. "Singles. Now, we're going to match the couples who will go on a date in Paradise." Everyone looked at each other in surprise.
"Already?" said Hye-seon, confused. Duri furrowed her brows in surprise and confusion. She didn't expect the matching to happen so quickly. She hadn't even gotten to talk to the guys besides saying hello and her name. She guessed this match would be based on first impressions. Everyone looked nervous.
"Please check under the table where you are seated." Everyone did as asked and found a ticket. "Please write down the name of the person you'd like to go to Paradise with on the Paradise-bound ticket. Couples that match will leave for Paradise immediately." Everyone looked shocked at this.
Duri felt nervous. She looked down at her ticket and took a pen to start writing down who she wanted to go to Paradise with. 'This is so nerve-wracking,' thought Duri.
...
PARADISE-BOND COUPLE MATCHING RESULTS
"Now, we're going to match the couples who will go on a date in Paradise." The voice spoke. They were at the place with the crashed airplane, waiting for the results.
The matching process started with Gwan-hee, who gave his ticket to Hye-seon without making eye contact, perhaps due to nervousness or lack of confidence (maybe he didn't have the balls to do so). Next, it was Hye-seon's turn to deliver her ticket. She gave it to Gwan-hee and they formed the first couple. Duri was surprised but happy for them.
It was then Gyu-ri's turn to deliver her ticket. She didn't look nervous and Duri wondered if she was hiding her nervousness behind her calm appearance. Gyu-ri gave Min-woo her ticket. Instead of moving to Min-woo's turn to deliver his ticket, the voice announced it was now Duri's turn.
She was a little nervous and tried to remain composed and smiled as she walked towards the guys. She then gave her ticket to Min-woo, who looked surprised by the unexpected turn of events. She walked towards the guys and gave Min-woo her ticket, who looked surprised definitely not expecting it.
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"Ohhh!" The panelists exclaimed in surprise. "He got two tickets?" Jin-kyung asked surprised. "Wow, I didn't expect this." Hanhad said making the others agree."
"I kind of expected it though," Da-hee shared. "Since both Gyu-ri and Duri mentioned him in their interviews I had a feeling this could happen. I just wonder who he'll choose,"
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It was now time for Min-woo to deliver his ticket. Duri felt nervous.
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"Min-woo will go for Gyu-ri, right?" Said Kyu-hyun curiously. "I think he'll go to Duri." Da-hee said leaning forward in interest to the screen.
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Min-woo started to walk towards the women. Gyu-ri and Duri were nervous, although they tried not to show it. He walked past Gyu-ri and Duri started to feel more nervous. He passed Hye-seon and then Duri, to finally give his ticket to Min-young.
Oh... She thought. She didn't let her affect her, after all the voting was done by first impressions.
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"What?" Everyone said at the same time. "He didn't choose neither of them?" Jin-kyung said surprised. They were all shocked.
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It was now Min-young's turn, and she gave her ticket to Jin-seok, who also gave his ticket to her. The couples that were formed then left for paradise. Leaving Gyu-ri, Duri, and Min-woo alone at Inferno.
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"Wait, the two who chose Min-woo and Min-woo are staying, isn't this like a love triangle?" Hyun-kyun asked surprised and in amusement.
"Oh this ig gonna be awkward." Dex said excited to see how it would go for the three of them.
The screen then changed and showed the couples arriving to Paradise.
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—-——-——-——-—
"See, I knew he was going to be popular." Duri joked as she laughed a little looking at the camera and shrugging.
—-——-——-——-—
—-——-——-——-— = interview
————————— = reaction
Written: Feb 2, 2024.
Posted: Feb 5, 2024.
Edited: ✓
I wanted the cherry separator to be png, and at first was but now it isn't??? I don't understand. 😫😔