Before going to the studio, the company assigned Draken he had a two-hour conference meeting online to discuss the plan. To sum up what happened: the theme for the first round was youth, and they were going to do a teenage love look. The majority believed that 'Teenage Love' was the best way to represent the themes. Draken just went along with it.
I was getting ready in the living room when Draken approached me.
"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Draken asked with a worried expression.
"Yes, It's not like I have something better to do," I replied as I fixed my boots.
"But there will be people, and they might believe the rumours." He began pacing.
"I know, but if I focus on that, I'll never live a normal life." I sighed.
He frowned then said, "If you say so."
"Do you like my outfit?" I asked, doing a twirl.
I was wearing a white off the shoulder crop top, a black leather skirt and a pair of brown knee-high leather boots.
"You're always beautiful. You are the Rose Fleur, after all," He said as if he practised his words.
Even though people said it all the time, I was upset when Draken did the same. I mean, would it kill him to give me his honest feelings about my outfit?
I pouted, "What a boring response."
"I think you look cute," He said quickly, then ran away. By the time I had turned around, he was already running. But I did manage to catch a glimpse of his reddened ears.
By this point, I already figured out he never intended for anything bad to happen to me. It was just a series of unfortunate events.
Thanks to Draken's fans from the Livestream who reached out to me, I also found out that he's had a crush on me for a long time now.
But I definitely wasn't going to bring it up. I planned to tease Draken any chance I get without making it obvious. That is until he confesses on his own.
We were escorted to the studio by Simon.
Draken's staff for the competition were briefed about the filming, and the cameras were already set up.
When I got there, most of the staff did not seem to like me. The staff personnel gave me weird looks now and then, but for the most part, I was ignored completely. It was annoying. But at least they were open about their feelings towards me. Or at least that's what I thought at first. Because I didn't do anything, They began openly badmouthing me when I was near.
Since they didn't bother to hide how they felt about me, I did the same.
I complained about their makeup style, colour scheme, outfit choice, other plans etc. I nitpicked anything I didn't like. It may have made them hate me more, but it was not like I was just complaining.
I offered solutions, showed them how to do it better or did it myself. Even though they hated me for this, they couldn't complain because I was right. My solutions were better than theirs. So soon they began checking with me to verify their ideas.
Even though we didn't like each other, we worked together for Draken.
It was the day of the pop star Modelling Competition. I was doing Draken's makeup and making sure his outfit was perfect when he started complaining.
"Why did she decide to fly here on the day of the competition? I couldn't even object because I need a partner for the competition. If she quit, I'd be forced to drop out. But look at this, she still hasn't shown up."
"Calm down. You will get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that," I scolded as I fixed Draken's shirt.
"Okay," He nodded.
"Good boy. All done." I said, confident that I had made the prettiest anyone could have ever made him.
"I bet she still hasn't arrived." Draken pouted.
We were in the dressing for an hour and did not know what was happening outside, but Draken did not seem optimistic.
"Hey, be a good boy and don't complain about her out there. You don't want to gain haters because of this." I warned, but then I realized something, "Wait, this isn't even like you. You never complain. What is wrong?"
He paused, then looked as if he was debating whether to tell me.
After a bit, he pouted and explained, "I want to win. This competition is the first of mine you're watching. I have to win." He clenched his fists.
I pat him on the shoulder, "No, you don't. Do your best, and I will be happy, okay?"
"If you say that, I won't have any motivation to win anymore." He frowned.
"Fine. I'll be happy either way, but if you win, I will reward you."
"For real?" He looked happy.
I sighed, "Yeah."
"What's the reward?" He tilted his head as he looked into my eyes expectantly.
I had no reward planned, so I began to panic inside. However, I remained calm outside and replied, "Surprise."
"You have no idea what the reward will be, do you?" He totally saw through me!
"Why would you say that?" I asked.
"You avoided my eyes and shortened your sentence. Evidence you're lying or at least nervous. Can you still deny it?"
'He read me like a book! But he is no match for my ultimate technique.' I smiled brightly, confident victory was mine, "You should go out there now that you are ready."
"Way to avoid the question, but fine. I'll be a good boy." He smirked at me.
"Weirdo," I muttered.
We exited together. The staff were all busy preparing for when Draken's partner arrived, so they could get things done quickly to make up for her lateness. They did not even notice us.
Luckily, I brought my camera. As Draken's partner still had not arrived, we had a mini photoshoot. Since the photographer was yours truly, we got some stunning pictures.
After an hour of this, Simon walked over and informed us that Draken's partner would not be joining us today.
Draken's pupils shrank, his fists clenched his fists in his lap, and he bit his lip. He looked scared. I rested my hands on his hands to calm him down.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Madame Cholé has been in an unfortunate accident. She fell down the stairs while she was here late last night to practice."
'! That is highly suspicious. It was probably done on purpose. But that's not important right now. Draken comes first. This competition is significant to him, and I can not allow the enemy to get what they wanted.' I expressed my thoughts, "Okay, this means we need a new model."
The entire staff looked at me. As if I was some monster. Meanwhile, Draken looked at me, shocked.
"What? We have no time for sympathy. We can sympathize after Draken has successfully modelled on stage." I explained.
Simon thought about it, then agreed. "She is right. We need to focus on the competition right now. We can always visit her after."
"Alright, where are we going to find a talented model that can replace her?" Someone asked.
I started brainstorming, but I came up with nothing.
Dejected, I look at Draken, who I was about to let down. However, instead of seeing his saddened face, I saw the face of someone with an idea.
"You have an idea, don't you?" I asked.
He nodded, "What about you?"
I was flustered. I was the one who suggested focusing on the competition, but I had no idea who could be Draken's partner. "W-well, Umm... you see... uhh... you know..."
"You have tons of experience being a model, and you have been here supervising the entire time, so you already know what we need to do." He said excitedly.
'Rose, you dummy! He meant you should be the model.' I got excited that there was such an obvious and simple solution, "Yes! That is true. And I am already here, so everything can progress quickly."
"Exactly," He replied with a relieved smile.
Some staff members gave weird looks, but most of them were happy that we finally made progress. I was immediately rushed off to the dressing room.
It did not take very long, thanks to the staff's preparation.
I practised a bit with Draken for an hour. Then we began playing a multiplayer game. He stayed in his dressing room while I stayed in the one intended for his partner.
However, after a couple of minutes, Draken stopped playing. It was as if he was AFK, so I went to check on him in his dressing room, but his door was open.
Draken was talking to a girl. She had short straight purple hair. I was only able to see her back view then. She looked attractive.
"What are you doing here?" Draken seemed a bit annoyed.
"I heard what happened and came to give my support. You need a model, right?" She asked
Draken answered, "No, we already have everything planned."
"But without a partner—"
"I have a partner." He cut her off.
"… How did you find one so quickly?"
Draken began to question her, "Don't worry about that? How did you hear what happened? There is no way it would have been announced."
She smiled, "I have my ways."
'That is highly suspicious. Your timing is also too good. Without me, you would have been Draken's saviour. Was that intended?'
"Who is your partner? I'm sure you couldn't have found someone worthy at such short notice."
'You're not exactly helping yourself with those words. Did you plan this? My amazing instincts are telling me you did.' I had just figured her out when I made a huge mistake. I sneezed.
"She is." Draken smiled proudly.
I could have sworn I saw a hideous look on the girl's face as she glared at me, but when I blinked, there was a warm smile. It was so contradicting I thought I was seeing things. She even waved at me.
"Well, it seems Draken is well taken care of." Her smile brightened, "Let's hope nothing bad happens to you."
Her last sentence seemed more like a warning than anything.
"Of course, I'm not naive enough to let someone hurt me and ruin Draken's chances of winning." I put emphasis on someone.
Her bright plastic smile remained intact, but I saw her eye twitch. 'She was irritated by my words! Doesn't this prove her guilt?'
"Anyway, I think you should take your leave now, Pandora." Draken dismissed her.
"Agreed," I said without a second thought. I didn't like Pandora. She seemed dangerous.
"What?" She looked confused.
"I hope you enjoy our show!" My lips curved upwards as I emphasized the word our.
She left the room with her fists clenched.
"Did something happen between you two? You seemed oddly hostile," Draken asked with an eyebrow raised.
"I was simply matching her energy," I replied.
Draken sighed, "I need to reset my boundaries with her."
"Huh?"
"If I don't remind her of her place often, she crosses the line and when I confront her, she blames me for not being clear enough." He explained.
"Sounds toxic." I was honest.
"Although she makes me uncomfortable sometimes, she is friends with Vasuki and the others, and I can't easily cut her out of my life."
"So she just acts like this all the time? Hurting people, just to be by your side?"
"Yes..." As he admitted that, he looked at me, terrified.
I could already tell what he was thinking, "She can't hurt me easily, don't worry. I won't end up like your previous partner."
"How did you know what I was thinking?" He asked shocked.
"I can read minds," I replied with a serious expression.
"Really?" He blushed slightly and looked at me for my answer, expectantly.
"I was kidding." I giggled. "Don't think about her now. Think about me and our performance in two hours." I pet Draken's hair carefully, so I wouldn't mess up his hair.
He was still blushing slightly, but he seemed to have calmed down, so I had done my job. We continued playing and chatting until it was time for the competition.