Be My Boyfriend (1)

Jack ordered a coffee for him while waiting. They were supposed to meet at 1 pm, but Jack had arrived fifteen minutes early since he had nothing much to do.

Besides, it's important to get acquainted with the city. It's embarrassing if I only know a bit about this place.

At first, Jack assumed he was somewhere in the USA, but that was far from true. Fortuna had created an entire new continent resting between North America and Europe. Much like Australia, it was both a continent and a country called New Borealis.

Named after the northern lights, the democratic country was half the size of Australia, was located in the northern Atlantic, and stretched towards the equator. At the moment, he was in the beach city of Stranford. Popular for its views and its top universities and schools.

Although New Borealis was an independent nation, it used US dollars as its official currency, showing off their close relationship with the states. That was about everything Jack knew so far.

He had barely taken a sip of his cold coffee when the doors were opened and Cindy walked inside. Without makeup or her usual high-end clothes, she looked like a campus belle.

She wore a short-sleeved checkered shirt along with denim shorts that showed off her long legs. Many guys looked at her, but her eyes looked at one man.

"Hi!" she exclaimed, waving her hands at Jack.

Jack smiled and waved back at her. Cindy sat down next to him, and everyone's eyes went back to doing their usual business. After all, Cindy was beautiful, but Jack wasn't lagging in terms of looks, and the guys didn't want to waste their time hitting on her when she had Jack around her.

"Sorry, I'm late," she apologized.

Jack sneakily looked at the time and smiled. What late? She was there ten minutes early. She most likely didn't think he would arrive even before her.

"Not at all," Jack replied. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

Cindy fished a card out of her breast pocket and handed it to Jack.

"There's five thousand dollars in it," she said. "I… know it's not a lot, but that's all the compensation I got left from the modelling agency."

Jack raised an eyebrow. He knew they were there to settle the so-called debt, but he had no intention of asking for money from her. He was there to pay her, but it seemed she didn't want it.

As for him, he would have taken the card had it not been for the night he spent with Angela, but now he wasn't short of money. Besides, he was more interested in what Cindy was talking about.

"Compensation, as in…?"

Cindy smile wryly and nodded.

"I ended my contract with them."

"Wait, what? Why would you do that?"

"…you're the reason."

As if realizing she said something unnecessary, she quickly corrected herself.

"After meeting you, I realized what kind of attitude the agency's employees had towards the homeless," she said. "At first I thought what happened with you was a onetime incident, but after the fight, I realized things were not as they seemed."

She continued, "So I did some sneaking around and found that the money from MeTube that belonged to the homeless people were never handed to them. Not only that, all those jobs we gave them, they were fired from it within a month. All those companies only wanted publicity, not the responsibility."

Jack nodded along. He had a feeling something shady was going on with the agency and the crew, but even then, he didn't think they would sink so low.

Sure, the homeless weren't entitled to the money the agency made through social media, but they shouldn't have promised them a share if they weren't going to follow through.

"After that, I hired a lawyer and threatened them to hand over the money, or I'll leak their scandal to the media, and they folded." she smiled. "With the help of my lawyer and a private detective, I found out most of the people and gave them the money they deserved."

"And this is my share?"

Cindy nodded, not meeting his eyes. Jack knew why she was having like that. Since his video was never completed, he didn't deserve any money. The five grand she gave him was her way of thanking him for opening her eyes.

Perhaps I was too quick to judge her.

The agency must have fired Cindy after all the drama. That, coupled with the problems she had in the previous studio, it was unlikely any top-notch agency will hire her.

One could say Cindy's career was more or less over.

It wasn't fair to her, but the world itself was an unfair place. Jack was the living example of it. His existence itself was unfair to the other men of the world.

Ahem… I shouldn't boast too much, or those goddesses will screw me over. Cindy, however, is different.

Unlike him, Cindy didn't boast about what she did. She did what she thought was right, even at the expense of her dream career, and was content with the outcome.

Jack didn't know many people who would torch their livelihood for the sake of others. He knew he wouldn't. It was the first time Jack's view of influencers was shifted.

Not all of them are bad, huh?

With that thought in mind, Jack slid the card back to Cindy. She was taken aback.

"Is this too little?" she mumbled. "I knew it. Wait, I have more—"

Cindy was about to pull out another card, thinking Jack was returning the money because it wasn't enough. Suddenly, he laughed and Cindy turned to look at him.

"I returned it because I don't need it," Jack replied. "Thanks to you, I got cleaned up and found a decent job. A job that I love."

"But the money—"

"Keep it, or perhaps help another person like me. Yeah… that'll be the best solution."

Cindy couldn't believe it. However, she didn't insist and took the card.

She thought Jack was a good man, but she was wrong. He was a great, selfless man.

Even if he had a job, he could have used to money for himself. Yet, he didn't. If that wasn't the sign of greatness, then she didn't know what was.

[A Gold Maiden's affection for you has increased.]

[$100 was added to the card.]

[Current balance: $32,099]

Wait, what? Why I didn't get any affection money from Angela or others?

[It's because the host formed a physical bond with them prior to an emotional one.]

You're saying I could have made more money if I only talked more to them?

[This feature is only available for a few selected tiers.]

That's a bullshit excuse, Jenna, and you know it.

[Please contact Goddess Fortuna if you have any complaints.]

…

"Jack… is everything okay?" Cindy asked, snapping her fingers before his face.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack said, nodding. "So… what will you do now? I don't think agencies are lining up to recruit you at the moment?"

Cindy smiled wanly before nodding.

"You're right… that's why I was hoping you could help me."

"How will I help you?" Jack shrugged. "I'm barely holding myself—"

"Would you please be my boyfriend?"