04 Pick Your Arrows [End]

“Here’s the prize and gift voucher.”

Izek looked at the two pieces of small cut paper handed to him. He didn’t understand what was going on.

“There were four prizes last night after the last voting. The others already took the rest so only this one was left in the prize box.”

Despite the sudden hiccups last night, the show ended smoothly. Three pairs were announced during the last shoot today and each of them were given the chances to pick their pair’s prize in random inside the prize box.

Since it was not a very big scale production and on top of short shooting period, the remaining budget left was quite a lot. So they decided to splurge a bit on the gifts and prizes. The show was very generous; besides all cast getting paid for participating, the successfully matched pairs get to leave with prizes along with gift vouchers while the rest unsuccessful ones would leave with just gift vouchers.

He looked at her with raised brows, still not understanding. Why would he get a prize? He understood the gift voucher but the prize?

“You see, there was supposed to be four pairs at the end. But of course you guys weren’t supposed to know that. We only announced three after all.”

His brows arched high, forming delicate peaks of confusion while his mouth hung slightly ajar in a silent question.

So she explained, “It was rare for dating shows to get more than one pair. However, four pairs would look even stranger than three so we decided to drop it at that. Plus, three pairs out of six pairs is a more plausible outcome than four anyways so we figured it wouldn’t be too much of a big deal.”

To be honest, he could not see where this conversation was heading. His brows knitted together, drawing closer as if to piece a puzzle whose edges were still obscured.

“But,” she looked at him brightly and full of hope, “we female staffs could not help but rooting for you.” She smiled warmly at him. “After all, you never once changed your arrow.”

Izek felt his heartbeat quickens at the sudden anticipation of what he thought might likely be the case.

“So, we felt it’s a shame that you could not pair up with her even though your arrow finally got matched at the final voting.”

The surprise that had briefly illuminated his face now gave way to a puzzled furrow. He then felt as though his heart almost stopped and dropped all the way down to his stomach. The moment of realization unfolded with an almost theatrical precision. A quick, sharp intake of breath punctuated the silence and his eyes widened dramatically, his pupils dilating as if to absorb every fragment of the sudden clarity that had burst into his consciousness.

The sight jolted her, leaving her momentarily rooted to the spot because that’s the first and most expressive she had ever seen him since the show. She didn’t expect to see such reactions from him.

He gripped the papers in his hand. His quiet voice came, “The last pair from the final voting was supposed to be me and Thalia Vettel?”

She looked at him slightly surprised. So Izek did figure out how the voting box worked, only that he remained silent about it. She nodded with a smile and patted him reassuringly on his hand. “Thalia left so we told Tedd that you should still get the prize since you stayed and you deserved that much for us cancelling your pair at the end. After all, it was a successful match regardless.”

“Do you know why she dropped out at the end? What happened?” Izek asked. He saw what happened last night but he couldn’t figure out what could really be the cause for them to take her away. Or who the men were.

She shook her head. “Tedd didn’t explain so nobody knows why. He’s the producer so we didn’t try to probe further about it.” Her eyes darted around before leaning in and quietly whispered, “Although some of us heard from the grapevine that Thalia is his niece.”

She leaned back and winked supportively at him. “That’s a good start on how to find her, right?” She added hastily, “If you’re still interested, of course.”

“But anyways, thank you for willing to participate in the show.” She patted his hand once more and stood up. “We’re cheering you on, Izek Wolf. Best of luck.”

She then left, leaving behind Izek staring fixatedly on his prize and gift voucher.

One of the small paper was an ownership receipt for two watches--a set of matching pair. Given that they’re from a very big brand, he expected they’d cost quite a price. Him and his-supposedly-matched-pair were required to claim them later at the store. He figured he ought to claim his but what about the other pair of watch? Can he claim one and leave the other at the store? But the ownership receipt was for two... He sighed.

He stared at the other paper in his hand. The gift voucher. It was a per-entry buffet voucher with an unlimited time. His eyes scanned the name of the restaurant. He had never been there because it was expensive per entry but he heard the meat there was super good.

The corner of his lips curled up unconsciously. The gift voucher was more to his likings because he knew it matched her likes.

It did seem like sometimes she was purposedly avoiding him but he could not find one good and logical reason why she would do so, so he decided that would probably not be the case and it was all in his mind.

However, he remembered seeing her gobble on the food everytime she ate. She would sat quietly somewhere, minding her own business, tending to her food alone. He found it strangely appealing. She must had like the food served or just like to eat in general so, it’s a nice gift, just perfect for her.

It would be nice to have a meal with her too because they didn’t get to be alone at all throughout the show. He would love to take the time to get to her know better. He expected he needed to put in extra efforts because she seemed very distant from the get-go but he’s determined he could get her to warm up to him if he follows her pace.

If she questioned him about his intention of meeting up with her, he supposed the prize and the gift voucher would be a strong enough reason to justify his grounds in finding her.

So what’s left now is from where should he start in his search for her. The gears in his mind began to whirl in full force.

As he looked around aimlessly, his eyes settled on the figure of a man in his late forties and his pupils widened subtly. His brows then knitted together in a thoughtful frown, furrowing deeply as if to anchor his intricate thoughts. His gaze expanded in response, reflecting the brilliance of this newfound insight.

His smirk curled at the edges of his mouth, a sly, self-satisfied twist that hinted at secrets just beyond reach. It was a fleeting expression, quick to appear but also quicker to vanish, like the mischievous shadow flickering in the corner of his eyes as he made his way towards the said man.

“Hello, Tedd. Do you mind if we talk a little?”

Fin.

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