ENA·SBS Plus

“At present, it is about ‘Young-suk 70 : Sun-ja 30’.”

The aftershocks from the 32nd cohort ‘Random Date’ on ‘I Am SOLO’ (I Am Solo) shook ‘Solonara No. 32’.

On the broadcast on the 8th (Wed) of the ENA·SBS Plus reality dating program ‘I Am Solo’, stories of couples who grew even closer through the ‘Random Date’ or cooled off decisively unfolded, drawing viewers in.

From the very start of the ‘Random Date’, Young-suk launched an affection offensive toward Young-sik. She said, “Worried our ‘Cutie’ (a nickname used in the ‘Random Date’) might have a hard time,” and handed over vitamins and a heat pack. Referring to her past married life, she said, “I got up before my husband, cooked, cleaned, and even aired out the house,” and “I was happy doing what that person liked,” appealing that she was a tailor-made wife. Hearing this, Young-sik was surprised, saying, “So that is treating me like a total prince.” After the date, Young-sik confessed a reversal of heart, saying, “I felt that having someone adjust to me could also be fine,” and “At present, it is about ‘Young-suk 70 : Sun-ja 30’.”

The ‘Random Date’ between Young-su and Young-ja was the very definition of a ‘sibling vibe’. Young-su brought up Young-suk by saying, “In terms of looks, Ms. Young-suk is No. 1 among the female cast,” and added, “I have not talked with Ms. Ok-sun, but I think I might be quite high in her rankings,” showing confidence. In a post-date interview, Young-ja said, “No romantic attraction arose at all toward Mr. Young-su.”

The ‘Random Date’ between Sang-cheol and Ok-sun grew heavier as time passed. To lift the mood, Sang-cheol even performed on a kazoo, but Ok-sun covered her face with both hands in secondhand embarrassment. When Sang-cheol brought up Gwang-su again, Ok-sun instead offered an explanation, saying, “From Mr. Gwang-su’s point of view, it could certainly have been annoying.” Sang-cheol felt hurt, saying, “It feels like you are taking Mr. Gwang-su’s side.” Ok-sun drew a firm line: “I am neither on your side nor on Gwang-su’s side.” Near the end of the date, Ok-sun told Sang-cheol, “I think I need to take a little distance and think,” and Sang-cheol agreed.

After finishing the ‘Random Date’, Gwang-su returned and went to the women’s quarters to ask, “Has Ms. Ok-sun not come back?” Hearing she had not yet returned, Gwang-su vented, “Why are they keeping her so long?” A little later, when Ok-sun came back, Gwang-su quickly asked to talk. Ok-sun confided about Sang-cheol, “I thought there were parts where we matched well, but more on the side of ‘this will not be easy’…” Then Gwang-su appealed, “I thought I matched best with Ms. Ok-sun.” After completing his ‘Random Date’ with Young-suk, Young-sik talked with Sun-ja. When Sun-ja asked, “Did you have a good date?” Young-sik answered, “I have not sorted things out yet, so let us talk again today.” Sun-ja seemed to sense Young-sik’s change of heart, and Young-sik raised real-world concerns by mentioning the long-distance issue. In a later interview, Young-sik said, “The conversation with Ms. Sun-ja was not bad, but the texture of the conversation felt better with Ms. Young-suk.”

The biggest conflict erupted between Young-su and Young-suk. Returning from his date with Young-ja, Young-su had been drinking, and Young-suk felt he had not respected her earlier wish “to talk when no alcohol is involved.” Facing Young-su one-on-one, Young-suk raised her disappointment about this. Young-su explained, “I thought we could talk not today but tomorrow morning as well, in a sober state.” The gap between them did not narrow, and as the conversation went in circles, Young-su pressed his lips together in a ‘rabbit-teeth’ expression to show his frustration. Seeing this, the 3 MCs Defconn, Lee Yi-gyeong, and Song Hae-na burst into empathetic laughter, saying, “He is such a real-life guy.”

In the shared living room, Sang-cheol’s saju talk created an unexpected atmosphere. Sang-cheol said, “Before coming here, I had a saju reading,” and cited as a trait of the person he would end up with “someone with a prominent forehead.” Ok-sun was flustered, but Sang-cheol kept talking about saju, making things awkward. Young-ja and Yeong-cheol also had a subtle standoff over the dishwashing. When Young-ja asked, “Are you good at washing dishes?” Yeong-cheol replied, “I have never done it once.” When Young-ja said, “That is too shocking,” Yeong-cheol joked, “Are you going to make me do the dishes?” Yeong-cheol ended up doing the dishes, but Young-ja wore a complicated expression.

On the morning of day four, Young-su went to the women’s quarters and set up ‘1:1 talk’ appointments in order with Young-suk and then Ok-sun. He declared a ‘conditional straight-ahead’ to Young-suk: “I will try talking with Ms. Ok-sun later, but if I am not on her No. 2 list, I will head straight for you.” Taken aback, Young-suk said in an interview after their talk, “It felt like being notified, ‘If not Ok-sun, then you,’ and I felt let down.” Next, facing Ok-sun, Young-su asked, “Am I on your interest list?” Ok-sun answered coolly, “You are not ranked high.” After the talk, Ok-sun said in an interview, “It sounded like, if I am within his (favorability) ranking he will appeal, and if not, he will not, so it did not feel sincere.”

Having been at odds with Gwang-su, Sang-cheol asked him directly for a conversation. Sang-cheol began with a preemptive apology, saying, “First of all, I am sorry,” and added, “While I was talking with Ms. Ok-sun, I thought, ‘Did I take away many of your chances?’” Even so, he said, “There were a few points where I felt hurt by you,” and, “I felt somewhat looked down on.” Gwang-su explained sincerely, “I had no such intention at all,” and the two cleared up their accumulated misunderstandings. Around the same time, Young-ja expressed disappointment over the bromance-level friendship between Yeong-cheol and Gyeong-su. Watching the two take a walk together, Young-ja joked cynically, “Those two should be the ‘Hyeonkeo’ and the ‘Choekeo’.” Immediately after, in an interview, Young-ja revealed a reversal of heart about Yeong-cheol: “My feelings cooled in an instant. At first he seemed pure, but later he felt frustrating,” foreshadowing yet another tectonic shift in the 32nd cohort’s romantic landscape.

The 32nd cohort’s love lines, flipped by the ‘Random Date’, will continue on ENA and SBS Plus ‘I Am Solo’ at 10:30 p.m. on the 15th (Wed).