ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗬-𝗦𝗜𝗫
─◌✰್ 𝗆𝗈𝗈𝗇
❝𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺...❞

"What did you say we're doing??" Alaska stared disbelievingly at the Assistant Producer, Park Soyeon.

"I said, you're going to be body painting!" she said once more, brown eyes alight with excitement. "It's where you get into swimsuits, and using this white canvas, you'll-"

"Paint with our bodies, I got it," Felix interrupted her, staring at the ginormous white board on the floor. "This is insane, isn't it?" He turned to Alaska for support.

The girl laughed, shrugging. "I dunno, I think it's kinda fun. Besides, it's been forever since I've seen you in a swimsuit. Do you still have that yellow pair with the chickens on it?"

"No, of course not!" he said, cheeks red. "I wore them when I was like, ten. How do you even remember that??"

She giggled, shrugging. "Damn, I liked those. I thought they were cute. Surprise me with which one you brought this time?" She wiggled her eyebrows at him, before scurrying off to change.

Felix stared after her, eyes cloudy with longing, before turning around and heading the opposite way to change too.

————————————

"Oh my gosh, I love them!!!" Alaska cried, practically leaping on Felix as she shamelessly checked him out. He wore bright blue swim trunks with little suns and ducks all over them.

"Stop staring at me like that, Laska," he mumbled, his cheeks aflame. "We're on camera, remember?"

She shrugged, grinning cheekily, before pointing down at her own lavender plaid bikini. "What do you think? Too much? I thought the matching top and bottoms were very in, and plus the white sandals really bring it together."

"Oh don't worry, you look amazing." Felix couldn't help but ogle her too, and she beamed, snatching his hand up in hers.

"You ready to make art?" She asked with a smirk, before leading him over to the blank canvas.

"So... what exactly are we supposed to do?" Felix glanced from the ground to Alaska, and back again.

She pointed at the huge containers and pallets of paint at the side of the room. "I think we use those and... paint! What colors do you want?" She hurried over to the cans and grabbed purple and yellow. "How about these?"

He grinned and nodded, holding his hands out to her. "Sure, gimme one."

Alaska passed him the purple, along with a huge paintbrush. "Let's get started!"

She scooped a huge glob of paint onto the brush, and splattered it across the canvas. The two cameramen, who had started filming right when they came back from the changing rooms, zoomed in on her.

"Your turn!" she encouraged, pointing the brush at him like a weapon, before splattering some more.

He stared at her, both mesmerized by her careless beauty, and nervous about getting dirty. He supposed it couldn't be that bad. Besides, he'd never had much of a problem with getting messy in the past. Being on live television was causing this bout of stage fright. He swallowed hard, staring down at the can in his hands.

"Oh c'mon Lix, it's fun!" Alaska encouraged, as she grabbed the green paint and started throwing the color down next to the yellow. "You've never minded getting a bit of dirt on you before."

He managed a smile, taking his brush and carefully spreading a bit of purple across the material.

Alaska brought over as many colors as she could carry, before coming to stand next to him, hands on her hips and brows raised. "Okay, what's gotten into you? You're like, totally silent. Where's my happy Felix?"

He shrugged, gazing down at the tarp, with his one brushstroke next to Alaska's many paint splatters. Before he knew what he was saying he blurted, "I feel like I'm not good enough for you."

She frowned, setting her brush down and sitting on the canvas, not caring if she got paint on her ass. "We've been over this a billion times before, Lix. And I thought you realized. You're wrong. Why is this coming up again, and why now?"

Felix sat down next to her, shoulders slumped. "I don't know," he admitted. "I didn't know I still felt this way until I said it, but I think this whole show has messed with my head. More than I thought it would, at least."

She reached a hand out, encasing his with her smaller one. "Why do you think that is? Nothing's changed between us. The laws don't mean anything while we're here."

He nodded. "I know that. It's just, back at home, when we had our marriage contract, it felt like there was no universe where we wouldn't be together. But now that the contract is broken, and you could be with any of the guys here at the mansion, I'm scared I'll choose one of them. Except Bin, they're all of royal blood. It would be legal, and you wouldn't have to try so hard to be with them."

Alaska frowned, her brows pulling together. "No, I've told you a billion times before, I don't want to be with anyone but you. I've loved you since the first day we met. Why would I throw that away just so I could stay a duchess? I like pretty dresses, but I love you. C'mon love, you can't actually be worried I'd leave you for one of those idiots, can you?"

"They're not all idiots," Felix muttered, but he couldn't help the smile spreading across his face. He hated the fact that after all these years, he still needed validation from her that they deserved to be together, that he was good enough for her. But every time his confidence faltered, Alaska was there to catch him, and set him back on his feet. They were meant to be together, and he just had to believe that.

"We're literally known around Moonstone and Obsidian as the couple who is meant to be together," Alaska voiced his thoughts exactly. "If any couple is going to be together at the end of this, it's gonna be us."

He chuckled, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "You're right. Who gives a shit about that marriage contract? We'll just-"

"We just have to win, right?" Alaska wiggled her eyebrows at him. "And then the laws don't apply to us!" She glanced over at the cameras, a lightly sheepish look on her face. "Erm, I mean... we can be together no matter what!"

"Well, that's a given, isn't it?" Felix's mood was already lifting. He nudged her gently. "We've already won one challenge, we can win all the others too, right?" He glanced down at the tarp underneath them. "I guess we should get started?"

She grinned, nodding. "I think you're right." She picked up two paint cans. "But first, you have to pay for bringing down the mood like the party pooper you are."

Before Felix could process her words, she dumped the entire can of blue paint over his head.

"Alaska!" he yelled, jumping up, trying in vain to slough off some of the liquid from  his arms. "Why did you do that??"

"I just told you!" She smiled innocently at him. "Now you can just roll your body around on the canvas, if you want!" She leaned down to grab the pink paint next.

He smirked, watching with amusement and appreciation as she bent down. Did it make him a creep for staring at her when she was leaned over like that? Maybe. But he couldn't find it in himself to care. He never could, when it came to Alaska.

But right now, all he had on his mind... was payback.

He snatched up the orange paint next to him, and approached her. She was spreading a mix of pink and purple paint across the tarp, unaware of him looming over her.

"Hey Lix, could you pass me the-"

"The orange?" Alaska turned her head up at his words, right before he poured the contents of the can all over her head.

"LEE FELIX!!!" she cried, blinking up at him through a haze of purple. "You are gonna pay for that!"

"Oh yeah?" Felix raised his eyebrows smugly.

And then the wind was knocked out of him, because Alaska leaped on top of him, wrestling him to the ground.

She gazed down at him, a wicked smile playing on her lips. "Not so cocky anymore, huh?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, looks like you got me." Then, he grabbed her wrists, and flipped her over so she was on her back, staring up at him with a shocked gaze.

"Ouch, Lix!" she complained dramatically, struggling in his grip. "You hurt my back!"

He laughed, keeping her wrists trapped in his hands. "I might not be the biggest guy in the room, but you're tiny. So just sit still, okay?"

She glowered at him, and he could see that sassy sparkle come to life in her eyes. "Why? What if I don't want to, huh?"

Felix raised his eyebrows. "Because I wanted to do this, without you trying to run away." And with that, he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.

She let out a surprised gasp, before surging up and kissing him back. He smirked against her, a hand sliding into her paint-soaked hair.

"I'm covered in paint," she mumbled against his mouth, taking his momentary distraction to slide her hand out of his to try and push him away.

"I am too, what's the problem?" He stared expectantly, removing his lips from hers so he hovered a few centimeters above her.

She giggled and shrugged. "Then I guess there isn't one."

Felix smiled, sliding a finger across her lips, causing the paint to smear further. God, he could stay like this all day, kissing this woman who he still couldn't fully believe was actually his.

She kissed his finger in response. "I love you, my handsome stable boy."

"I love you too, my beautiful duchess. We're going to win this thing. And when we do, I'm going to marry you."

All Alaska could do was stare back at him, a look of determination lighting her eyes.

——————————

Alaska lay in bed, eyes closed, heart thudding in her chest. It had been thudding nonstop for the past three hours since she got back from her date with Felix.

The entire day had been perfect. Beyond perfect, really. The painting date was hot and fun, and the dinner was elegant and romantic. She continued to replay every moment over in her head, savoring every bit like pieces of rich chocolate.

They had to win this dating show. Because if they didn't, she wasn't sure what she would do if she couldn't marry Felix. The guys here at the mansion were amazing, but as far as she was concerned, they didn't exist as long as Felix was in her life. Jisung? Sweet, but way too crazy. Christopher? Even more overprotective than Felix. Jeongin? He was best friends with her brother, not possible. Changbin? Hot, but-

A clatter of something that sounded like metal rang throughout the bedroom, and Alaska sat up like she'd been electric shocked.

She whipped her head around to face Riley, who was glancing around the room in a wild panic, eyes wide.

"What was that??" JJ, in the bed on your other side, hissed at the two girls.

"I-I think someone was in here!" Riley breathed, getting out her bed and starting to hunt around on the floor. "And I think they dropped something when they left!"

"Why would they be so stupid?" JJ watched Riley with a frown.

"Who cares about that??" you exclaimed, throwing your covers off the bed. "I want to know who it was, and why they were in here! Were they peeping at us??"

"M-maybe it was one of the guys, pulling a dumb prank!" JJ said, and Alaska could detect the hint of a quake in her voice.

"Oh my gosh," Riley murmured, her voice so quiet Alaska could scarcely hear her.

"What is it?" Alaska demanded, coming to kneel next to her friend. Leaning in close to see what she was holding, she gasped, covering her mouth to quiet the noise. "Is that what I think it is?"

Riley nodded, holding up the item to the sliver of light shining through the window. Her hand shook slightly. "Yeah, I think so."

A knife, long and curved, glinted like a threat in the moonlight.

laska's note —
omgg, what's going on with these crazy people sneaking into the girls' rooms and watching them?? what do you think they're doing, and why? are they working together, or are they doing totally different things? and this person was holding a knife...
on a lighter note, how cute was felaska's date?? they're so cute, aren't they? i think they deserve to win this game hehe. i miss writing them so much, i have a couple fics planned for them and i can't wait to write them! let me know what you're looking forward to in the coming chapters!

𝖭𝖤𝖷𝖳 𝖴𝖯：
𝟮𝟳 - 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱,
┊ ⇄ ◁◁ II ▷▷ ↻ ┊