"Are you going for real?"
Abel stood leaning on the door to Maevie's room as he watched the stylist get his 'nemesis' ready to go on a dating show.
"Uh Huh…" The girl in question made a noise of acknowledgement as she could not open her mouth.
"So, you're going on a date with a random guy?"
"It's not a random guy. The production team arranged for it." Maevie explained.
"But he's still a stranger to you, isn't he?"
"…" Maevie thought for a second. "Practically. Yes."
"And you're going on a date with him?"
"Third brother it's not a date. It's just a day out. Besides, the production team will be following us everywhere."
"So. It's a date with a random guy and strangers following wherever you go."
Maevie could not handle it anymore. She turned sharply and gave him a fierce questioning look.
"What's the problem?"
Abel himself could not say what the problem was. It was just that he did not want Maevie to go in this show for some reason.
"Just don't go."
"???"
Maevie was flabbergasted. How could he just ask her to not go when she had signed the contract a long time ago and with just a few hours to go? And she told him exactly that.
"I don't have money to pay the breach of contract." She told her third brother.
"I'll pay for it!"
Abel stood up straight and walked into her room, ignoring the surprised look on her face on what he had just said.
"I'll pay whatever the amount it is."
This statement made Wander who had been silently sitting on the couch of her room stand up. But before he could say anything to the third young master, Maevie spoke up.
"Third brother. I know that you are worried about me going to this show. But Wander will be following me too so there's no chance of anything happening."
"…"
"Besides. If I abruptly quit the show with only a few hours left to shoot, not only would I have to pay a hefty amount, there would be no show that would be ready to invite me if this incident got out."
Able rethought what Maevie just said. Her reputation had always been bad. And she just crossed a turmoil not long ago. If she did what he had just said, the little betterment she had just gotten would also fall down the ditch.
"Hmm…" He nodded.
Maevie gave him a smile for understanding. Then. The third master recalled what the girl had said.
"Who said I was worried about you? I just felt bad for whoever you're paired up with."
Abel almost stammered. But Maevie did not expose him anymore. She just nodded indulgently to her older brother and promised him.
"Don't worry, Third brother. I'll treat whoever I'm paired with well."
Abel clearly saw the teasing look on her eyes. And chose to remain silent.
Wander who had almost had a heart attack: "…"
'No one can understand how this pair of siblings interact.'
.
.
.
After about two hours, Maevie came to the meeting point set by the production team. It was a small café with a cozy atmosphere.
And Maevie was inquiring about the cafe with the woman who had just brought out her cup of coffee. It turned out, the woman was the owner of the café. But due to its location there was not much traffic.
Maevie took a sip of the coffee and couldn't help but be amazed by the taste. She loved the earthy and light bitterness that came along with the fragrant sweetness.
"It tastes so good. Why aren't there many customers?" She mumbled to herself. Totally forgetting that she had a mic on her and a camera that was capturing every movement she made.
"If this was near my place, I'd go there every day. The interior decoration is also very cozy. Perfect for a date."
Just then, she heard the bell ring as someone opened the door. She turned to see a man enter the café with a few people following with camera and all and immediately knew he was her date for the day.
"Hello!" She greeted the man. "I'm Maevie Oz."
"Oh My God!" The man placed his hand on his chest and turned back for a second and then turned back to her once again.
"Hello. Maevie." He shook her hand. "I'm Zenot."
But before he could release her hand, he paused as he stared into her face. Completely breathless. Maevie tilted her head a little and blinked a few times.
"Umm…"
She wiggled her fingers a little and that did the work. Zenot woke up from his trance and quickly released her hands and apologized for his action.
"I'm sorry. It's just…" But he was still breathless. "It's just you're so pretty. Much more than on screen."
"Oh…" Maevie was not expecting to be complimented suddenly and blushed a little. "Thank You…"
"I ordered myself a coffee. What would you like to get?"
Seeing the man's flustered self, Maevie initiated the conversation.
"Oh… I… I'll have a cold coffee."
Maevie couldn't help but smile as she saw man's shy actions. She found it quite adorable.
After a few minutes, Zenot calmed himself enough to have an undisrupted conversation. The two talked about themselves, their career, their hobbies and other things.
It turned out. Zenot was a blogger and live streamer with a remarkable following. But he had problems with his love life and he didn't understand why all his previous girlfriends left him. And that was why he came to the show to learn.
"So… I'm a mentor? Me… I, myself have never dated before so how do you know…" Maevie turned to the production team and questioned.
"You're a girl. You should have an idea of what a girl wants." The PD responded.
"But not all girls have the same desire." Maevie stated before she turned to her 'pupil.'
"Did they say anything that they're not satisfied about before they… you know?"
Maevie did not want to say 'dump you' straight at the man's face.
"A common complaint I got was that they found me not caring enough."
"?" Maevie gave him a puzzled look. "And you didn't change after the first time…"
"It's not that I didn't change. After I broke up with my first girlfriend for the same reason, I tried my best to change. I recorded every important day to make sure I don't miss it. I bought every ...."
The man continued to narrate all the things he did during the second relationship. But he was still dumped. And then not long ago, he found this young lady that he really liked and began to pursue her.
After seeing each other for about two months, he felt that they had something and was confident that she'd agree to be his girlfriend. But the girl did not share the same thought that he had.
And when he asked the reason, it was the same. "I don't feel you care…"
"I honestly don't know where I'm doing wrong. I asked all my friends for help and they were as equally puzzled as I am."
Maevie thought for a few minutes. She too didn't know what could be wrong with this man if what this man was saying was the truth. But since all his past partners gave the same reason for the breakup, there must be something.
'But how…'
Then an idea came up.
"I have an idea…"
Zenot gave her all his attention.
"From now on, treat me like how you treated your past partners."