‘I‘m SOLO’ 23rd season has concluded its ‘Romance Journey’ with the birth of the couple Yeong-ho and Hyun-sook.

On the SBS Plus and ENA real dating program ‘I’m SOLO’ that aired on Wednesday the 18th, the final selection scene of ‘23rd Solo Country’ was revealed, and Yeong-ho and Hyun-sook were the only couple to have a happy ending. In addition, Kwang-soo showed his ‘romance-half-break’ spirit by going ahead with the ‘Final Selection’ despite Ok-soon‘s rejection.

After finishing the ‘Date of Doom’ with Ok-soon, Kwang-soo called Yeong-cheol over to ask for advice on his worries. After hearing Kwang-soo’s heartbroken words, Yeong-cheol went straight to find Ok-soon, and Soon-ja‘s face hardened when she saw this. Young-ho also finished his ‘Misunderstanding-Full Date’ with Hyun-sook and returned to his dorm to vent his frustrations in front of Kwang-soo. Young-ho was distressed, saying, “Hyun-sook is a bright and witty person, but I feel like she will look down on me if I become heavy-handed.” In his interview with the production team right after, Young-ho also worried, saying, “I’ve heard a lot that men shouldn‘t be ’Boring’, so I’ve been anxious. What if she hates the way I try so hard?”.

After a while, the 23rd batch of single men and women began the ‘Super Date Mission’. In the mission to choose the ‘Solo Man Who Laughs the Longest’, Sang-chul won the date, and in the ‘Shedding Tears in Silence’ competition, Hyun-sook won the date. After finishing the mission, Ok-soon shed real tears later, and the single women tried to comfort her. Kwang-soo, who was watching Ok-soon cry, tried to hand her his handkerchief, but Young-chul quickly stopped him, but Kwang-soo ended up handing his handkerchief to Ok-soon. Ok-soon, who barely stopped crying, confessed the reason for her tears in an interview with the production crew, saying, “I got sad because I didn‘t have anyone I wanted to date, so I thought that even if I won the ’Super Date Ticket‘, it would be useless.” Nevertheless, Kwang-soo won the ’My Own Date Ticket‘ by writing the closest answer to the mission of guessing the ’Jikjisa Nongdari Count‘ and dreamed of a date with Ok-soon, but Ok-soon hurriedly went into her room as soon as the ’Super Date Ticket‘ mission was over.

Hyun-sook also won the date ticket, but she was just as distraught. Hyun-sook, who shed tears in front of the production crew again, said, “It would be nice if we could become a couple, but if not, that’s where fate ends,” looking disheartened. Yeong-sik, who won the date ticket in the ‘Blow up a balloon and pop it quickly mission’, also felt conflicted, thinking, “If I use this ‘Super Date Ticket” on Yeong-sook, won‘t I be too ‘straightforward”? People who keep pushing look unattractive.” Instead of the person he had a crush on, Sun-ja, Yeong-cheol looked for Ok-soon, saying, “My little sister, come out~”. Ok-soon consulted Yeong-cheol about her relationship with Gwang-soo, and just then, Gwang-soo approached the two of them and stood there blankly waiting. Upon seeing this, Ok-soon said, “I don’t want to talk anymore. I want to rest” and refused to talk to Gwang-soo. In the end, Gwang-soo turned around with tears in his eyes.

After thinking it over for a while, Hyun-sook went to find Yeong-ho and asked to talk. Hyun-sook asked why Young-ho had tears in his eyes after their ‘1:1 date’, and Young-ho confessed that his serious personality was a complex, saying, “I‘m not as fun as you think”. Hyun-sook was flustered and asked again, “Is that really why you cried?”, and Young-ho explained, “I think that’s why I can‘t have long-term relationships. (I met him because my personality was) fun, but we broke up later because he found out. That’s what I‘m afraid of.”. After Young-ho’s confession, Hyun-sook cleared up all the misunderstandings and laughed, saying, “That‘s ridiculous”, and confessed her difficult feelings earlier, saying, “When (he) said that family environment was important, I thought that (it might be difficult to get together with him)”. Young-ho wiped Hyun-sook’s tears and said, “I don‘t really care about that (family environment). You were really important,” he said with a ‘heart-fluttering comment. Young-ho then tearfully confessed his emotional wounds, and Hyun-sook hugged Young-ho tightly.

Soon-ja was worried because of Young-chul, so she decided to have a ‘1:1 conversation’. Then, she complained, saying, “70% of our conversations were about Gwang-soo, Ok-soon, and everyone else worrying about each other. Young-chul showed that he didn’t understand, but reassured Soon-ja, saying, “I‘ll quit being an Ojirapper now. My ability is lacking, so I didn’t get the ‘Super Date Ticket’, but I‘ll try to make tomorrow into a ‘Super Date’.” Soon-ja’s heart was soon softened by Young-cheol‘s charismatic ‘oppa power’.

And so, for the first time in the history of ‘I’m SOLO’, the night passed without anyone using their Super Date Ticket, and as soon as the morning came, Gwang-soo visited the women‘s dormitory and greeted them, “Ok-soon, did you sleep well?” Ok-soon clearly told Gwang-soo that she was rejecting him, saying, “I came (to ‘Solo Land’) to meet someone I could date with the intention of marriage. By that standard, I don’t see a future with you.” Gwang-soo apologized, saying, “I‘m sorry for hurting you with my immature words and actions,” and said, “I hope you think of Ok-soon not as a tragic female contestant who wasn’t chosen, but as someone who was the number one pick.” Ok-soon unintentionally hurt her feelings until the end, and snapped at Kwang-soo, who had hurt her feelings, saying, “I didn‘t think that way from the beginning until you specifically told me so. Don’t frame it like that!” Right after, Ok-soon firmly expressed her intention in an interview with the production team, saying, “I don‘t want (Kwang-soo) as my lover or spouse.”

At the same time, Hyun-sook prepared breakfast for Young-ho. On the other hand, Young-sik asked Young-sook out on a ‘Super Date’ after much thought, and even mentioned a date after he left ‘Solo Land’, saying, “What are you doing next weekend?” However, in her heart-to-heart interview with the production team, Young-sook made it clear that she had no romantic interest in Young-sik, saying, “Instead of being exciting and cool, what if someone who was once my friend suddenly confesses to me and makes me feel awkward?” After hearing from Sang-cheol about Soon-ja’s true feelings about not liking ‘We Are the World’, Yeong-cheol started writing a letter for Soon-ja. Yeong-sik also brought the stationery he had ordered after entering ‘Solo Nation’, and coincidentally, the two of them chose the same stationery, sending everyone into a trance. After a while, Soon-ja was moved to tears when she received a handwritten letter from Yeong-cheol. However, Yeong-cheol broke Soon-ja‘s emotion by adding TMI, saying, “Young-sik also ordered the same stationery.” In the end, Soon-ja called Yeong-cheol back and brought up his earlier remarks about Yeong-sik, and Yeong-cheol said, “If you don’t like the other person, you work on improving and adjusting to each other, but if you say ‘I don’t like this‘ before you even meet them, it seems like your relationship is already difficult. I want to meet someone who will accept me on days like these.” Soon-ja nodded, convinced by Yeong-cheol’s words again. However, Yeong-cheol returned to the shared living room and said bitterly, “Based on the current mood, there‘s going to be one couple (in the final selection).”

In the ‘Final Selection’ that finally took place, only Yeong-ho and Hyun-sook chose each other. Yeong-sik chose Yeong-sook, who had been going straight until now, but no one chose Yeong-sook, and Yeong-cheol, Soon-ja, Yeong-soo, and Yeong-ja all gave up on making a final selection. On the other hand, Gwang-soo steadfastly chose Ok-soon, showing his ‘Romance is a broken heart’. Ok-soon said, “I had so much fun and I learned a lot”, and did not make a final selection. After the final selection was over, Yeong-ho expressed his strong determination, saying, “If a problem arises, I will resolve it then and there”, and Hyun-sook said, “My lawyer!”, pointing to Yeong-ho with eyes full of affection.

While everyone was congratulating Young-ho and Hyun-sook for decorating ‘Solo Nara 23rd Street’ with a happy ending, the new romance of the 24th season can be seen on ‘I am SOLO’, which airs on SBS Plus and ENA at 10:30 PM on the 25th (Wednesday).

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com Reporter jhj@donga.com