“Your personal chef is really good,” Doha said, licking a stray smear of sauce off his thumb as they stepped out of the humble farmhouse. Well, it appeared humble on the outside. However, inside, the furniture appeared to cost more than the entire house itself.
With every passing moment, it was becoming more apparent that Jace’s family had a lot of money. Him acting for pennies didn’t make sense. Or maybe it did.
Yeah, it definitely did.
Zeno followed a few paces behind them, still thinking about what Master As had told him a while ago. He thought he knew too much about living, yet in that sense, it felt he didn’t know anything at all.
Just then, the other four stopped, so he paused, too.
“What is he doing now?” Doha asked as he stared at the old man lying on the grass in a starfish position.
His eyes were closed, and his long beard swayed with the wind.
“He’s being one with the Earth,” Jace whispered back, nodding seriously. “Let’s go join him.”
Zeno gave Jace a skeptical glance, but when Jace darted forward, he hesitated only a second longer before striding toward the old man as well. If there was one person he was willing to follow on this Earth, it would be Master As.
He got his life story spot on.
Seeing Zeno follow without any complaints, the other three also trudged behind them.
They lay next to Master As in silence. However, the old man’s eyes suddenly snapped open.
“What are you doing?” he barked, loud enough to make them jump. “You all look ridiculous! I was merely resting!”
One thing was for sure.
This man was diabolical.
Then, like there was a switch to his personality, he lifted his chin.
“Since you’re all here, let’s not waste the opportunity.”
“You’re heading back tomorrow evening, yes?” he asked.
They nodded in unison.
“Then we’ll conduct our first drill.”
“A compliment battle!”
“A what?” Doha asked.
“You’ll be partnered up,” Master As declared, ignoring Doha’s question. “Your task is to identify the strengths of your partner. Not just physical but emotional, creative, and personal. To recognize the strengths of another is to acknowledge your own.”
Just then, a small notification blinked in Zeno’s periphery.
[Mission: Upgrade Romance!]
[Catch them all. Charm someone.
Deadline: 2 hours
Reward: +1 Romance
Failure: -1 Romance]
Zeno’s brows furrowed slightly at the new mission, but he looked up in time to see Master As pointing.
“You,” the old man said, jabbing his finger at Zeno. “And you.”
His finger swiveled toward Minji.
Minji’s eyes widened. “Me?”
Master As nodded. “Yes. You two shall be partners.”
Jace clapped his hands. “This is getting fun.”
“And you,” Master As continued, pointing at Doha. “With Jace.”
“What about me?” Eli piped up, lifting a hand.
Master As glanced at him. “You don’t want to be famous.”
“Observe them,” he added. “You’re good at that.”
Eli pursed his lips and crossed his arms but nodded silently.
“We’ll go first!” Jace said, clapping his hands together. Doha followed, and the two of them looked like two demented seals.
“Sit in the middle,” Master As commanded, and they followed instantly.
“You may begin.”
The two appeared more serious than Zeno expected. But then again, these two were probably the most unhinged individuals Zeno had met in this life.
Doha placed a hand over his chest. “Jace, you have a really nice smile.”
Jace smiled in response. “You have a nice body. You can probably lift me up with one arm.”
Eli’s eyes narrowed. That sounded too specific.
“You’re not great at acting,” Doha added.
“But you have a great personality,” Doha said. “You make up for it.”
Jace placed his hands over his heart and smiled. “Aww, that’s sweet.”
These two were definitely on the same wavelength.
“Alright, stop,” Master As sighed. “I think what you need is mental realignment.”
While the other two wanted to continue, Master As already waved a hand and turned his gaze to Zeno and Minji.
Zeno wanted to clear the mission, while Minji wanted to jump in joy since they were paired up.
She pursed her lips and went first. “Alright. Um. You’re very attractive, but you don’t brag about it.”
Zeno tilted his head slightly. “You have pretty eyes.”
Minji couldn’t help the racing of her heart. She was caught off guard by his directness. She hadn’t thought he would actually take it seriously.
“I mean it,” Zeno added.
Minji swallowed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. Uh… you’ve got a nice voice. It’s kind of low and calm, but when you’re mad, it gets very convincing. I think that’s one of your edges as an actor.”
Zeno gave a small nod, considering her words. Well, getting mad on this planet was probably the easiest thing.
“You’re honest even when you don’t speak. You fidget when you’re anxious. You break eye contact when you lie. But you always mean well,” Zeno continued.
Minji was once again perplexed. Jace and Doha were holding their breaths like they were watching a romance drama. It became more apparent that Zeno had a knack for writing!
Minji stared at him before looking away, her cheeks flushed pink.
“I’m glad you smiled today,” she muttered.
“Because it’s rare,” she added. “You used to smile a lot before, but it felt forced. Most of these days, although you smile rarely, it feels very genuine.”
Zeno looked contemplative. That was another piece of information about his past self. Was he truly unhappy?
“You’re a great human,” he said slowly. “You have no edges. You don’t hide things. That’s rare.”
From the side, Eli froze.
“You set aside yourself for others,” Zeno went on. “You try to light up the atmosphere even when you don’t feel like it. But that’s your charm. That’s what makes people comfortable around you.”
Eli’s throat tightened. He felt like his heart dropped in slow motion.
Because those were the things he noticed. The things he always noticed.
About Minji.
He didn’t think anyone else had.
Zeno’s tone wasn’t flirtatious or performative. It was just… honest.
Before Eli even realized what he was doing, he stood up abruptly, clapping his hands.
“Alright!” he said a little too loud, pulling a peace sign. “Uh, call of nature. I need to poop.”
All heads turned toward him.
Jace exclaimed in disappointment. “Aww, it was getting so good! I was invested!”
“Yeah, yeah,” Eli said quickly, backing away. “Too much cheese. I’ll be back.”
Minji tilted her head, surprised, her heart still racing from Zeno’s choice of words.
“Peace,” Eli said again before disappearing behind the nearest tree.