Chapter 10 — Reality, Ratings, and a Shirtless Disaster

Narrator: Noa thought her week couldn't get weirder until her boss shoves her and Reno into a live taping of a dating reality show called *"Love Mic'd Up!"* The network mistook their chaotic behind-the-scenes videos as a couple audition.

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Now, they're fake-dating on national TV with lights, cameras, and a flamboyant host named Taka, who *lives* for drama. Noa just wants to survive without tanking her career, but Reno treats it like theater class meets bachelor party.

Momo, the genius editor-slash-pervert, makes it worse by cueing slo-mo shots of Reno shirtless.

Forced into cheesy couple games, over-the-top intimacy challenges, and a hot tub scene with three jealous "real contestants," Noa starts to lose her grip on what's real and worse, starts feeling things.

Things she swore she wouldn't feel for a guy made of graphite.

"I didn't sign up for this," Noa muttered, staring at the set.

It looked like a love hotel fused with a YouTube studio. Fairy lights. Plastic roses. A bed in the middle of the stage for "symbolic chemistry," according to the script.

Reno, meanwhile, was shirtless, sipping coconut water through a heart-shaped straw.

"You say that, but you're wearing waterproof lipstick," he noted.

Noa glared at him. "Because there's a *hot tub round*, not because I want to kiss you in front of an audience!"

He winked. "Let the record show: she brought her own gloss."

Before she could strangle him with a mic cable, a booming voice echoed from backstage.

"Places, darlings! We're live in three!"

Taka, the host, strutted out in a glittering suit that looked like it cost a kidney and screamed *I do jazz hands in my sleep.*

"Camera loves you, sugar!" he said, air-kissing both of them. "No fighting before Round One. Save that for the spicy edit."

---

Five minutes into the broadcast, Noa regretted everything.

The first game was called **"How Well Do You Know Your Partner?"**

Reno buzzed in before every question, giving absurd answers with full confidence.

Taka: "What's Noa's favorite food?"

Reno: "Passive aggression and bubble tea."

Noa: "It's udon—"

Reno: "With a side of guilt."

The crowd laughed. Noa died inside.

Next question:

Taka: "What's Noa's biggest fear?"

Reno: "Marriage."

Noa: "Excuse me—"

Reno: "To me. Specifically."

Taka clapped. "We love trauma flirting!"

---

Meanwhile, backstage, Momo the editor was already splicing slo-mo clips of Reno's towel slip "accident" from earlier.

"Do we have more abs shots?" she asked.

An intern looked terrified. "We have, like… twenty."

"Not enough. I want sweat glistening like it's a music video from 2009."

---

Back on set, Reno and Noa were thrown into a blindfold round.

Noa was blindfolded. Reno had to guide her through an "intimate obstacle course."

Obstacle #1: Crawling under a row of low tables without showing butt crack.

Obstacle #2: Feeding her strawberries without touching her lips.

Obstacle #3: Whispering something "romantic" into her ear.

Reno leaned in. His breath was warm. "You're my favorite human disaster."

She nearly fell off the foam platform.

---

After the round, the real contestants—three hot influencers named Juno, Mark, and Liv—joined them in the hot tub.

Noa slid into the corner, trying to disappear.

Juno raised an eyebrow. "So… you're the viral sketch-girlfriend?"

Mark laughed. "I thought you were actors. You're *actually* dating?"

Reno grinned. "She drew me. With her love."

Liv sipped wine. "That's hot and terrifying."

Taka slid in with a giant inflatable flamingo. "Oh this is good. Stay tuned, everyone. We're gonna see if love is truly… unscripted."

Noa whispered to Reno, "If you take your pants off, I swear I'll drown you."

He raised both hands. "No nudity. Just vibes."

---

Later, backstage:

Noa was toweling her hair off when Momo popped up with a tablet.

"Fan reactions are insane. They think you two are either soulmates or slowly unraveling."

"That's because we are," Noa said, exhausted.

Momo tilted her head. "Can I ask something?"

"...Sure?"

"Is he really just a drawing?"

Noa paused. "He was."

"Because," Momo continued, "this doesn't feel fake. At all."

Noa looked at Reno from across the dressing room. He was talking to a light fixture. Shirtless again.

"He's not *real-real,*" she said.

"But he feels *real to you.* Right?"

Noa didn't answer.

Because she didn't know anymore.

---

That night, they weren't sent home.

They *won the round.*

Apparently, their chaotic energy tested higher than the rest of the polished contestants.

Taka called it "raw, unpredictable romance with a hint of insanity."

Momo called it "golden content."

Noa called it "the beginning of a nervous breakdown."

---

They were given a new challenge: **Couple Confession Booth.**

One camera. Two chairs. Zero filters.

Noa sat first. Alone. Reno had to go second, separately.

"Describe your partner," the producer said.

Noa took a deep breath.

"He's… annoying," she said. "Loud. Unfiltered. Probably allergic to silence."

Pause.

"But also… kind. Weirdly loyal. And sometimes, when he looks at me like I'm not a total disaster, I forget that I made him up."

Cut.

Reno entered next.

"Describe Noa," the same prompt.

He smiled. "She's chaos in eyeliner. A hurricane in human form. Sharp tongue, softer heart."

He paused.

"I wasn't supposed to exist. But now that I do, I think… I only want to exist if she's around."

Cut.

Momo watched both recordings.

She leaned back and whispered to Taka.

"You know this was supposed to be a joke show, right?"

Taka sipped wine. "Then why am I crying, darling?"

---

After filming wrapped for the night, Noa sat in the hallway outside the greenroom.

Reno plopped down beside her.

He was still damp from the hot tub. His shirt was open again.

She didn't even bother complaining.

"I didn't think we'd win," she said.

He bumped her shoulder. "Didn't think you'd survive my strawberry technique."

They sat in silence.

Then Reno said, "Can I ask something real?"

She nodded.

"If you had to choose—me or the reality?"

She looked at him.

He was smiling, but something in his eyes trembled.

She leaned in.

Pressed her forehead to his.

"I hate that you're making me think about that."

He kissed her temple.

"I hate that I don't want to hear the answer."

They didn't talk after that.

Didn't need to.

---

Later, in the editing room, Momo rewound the footage again.

Zoomed in on Noa's face after the blindfold game.

Paused.

Smiled.

"This isn't fake anymore," she whispered.

---

And outside, across the internet, fans began posting clips.

#SketchBoyfriend trended for the first time.

Noa didn't know it yet.

But her quiet, boring life?

Over.

Completely.

And the sketch that walked out of her book?

Was about to become a household name.