Chapter Thirty-Six Mia
Chapter Thirty-Six
Mia
This is the messiest show I’ve ever seen.
She made this entire TV show because she likes someone? Instead of just telling him? That’s so wild!
My pipe dream cuffle ship! It’s coming true!
After they uploaded the last recorded episode of The Cuffing Game at noon, Mia lay in her bed and scrolled through people’s various reactions to her interview. She’d propped the windows open,
and the cool ocean breeze filtered into the room. She could hear the seagulls, as well as the cast and crew members playing
out on the beach. The vibes were amazing, but they did little to ease her nerves.
She’d expected Noah to call her. Or even send a text.
Something to indicate that he’d seen her confession.
But when the one response she’d wanted never came, her heart sank.
She’d thought Noah, as dramatic as he was, would appreciate this public confession over a private one.
But maybe she’d just embarrassed him—and herself.
To distract herself, Mia watched The Cuffing Game in its entirety, something she’d been too busy to do until now. Celine had been right. It was almost comical how many times
Noah glanced off camera, presumably to look at Mia. Or how she and Noah snuck glances at each other when they were on-screen
together.
She’d just finished watching the latest episode when she got a FaceTime call from Jeannette.
Mia picked up instantly, eager to talk with her sister for the first time since she’d left for Big Bear. She’d been expecting
only Jeannette and was caught off guard when all four of her sisters crowded the phone screen.
A chorus of “Hi, Mia!” and “Hey!” greeted her. Tears erupted from Mia’s eyes.
“Hey, y’all,” she said, her voice cracking on the first word. “How are things?”
Lola’s jaw dropped open, while Cara and Marie gave her weird looks. Jeannette’s face went dead serious as she brought the
phone close to her face. “Mia? What’s wrong, hon? You okay?”
Mia shook her head, unable to lie to anyone for any longer. “No, I messed up. Big-time.”
“Did something happen with the show?” Jeannette asked. “It’s okay. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. I can change your flight to tonight,
if you want me to.”
“It’s not that,” Mia said. “I messed everything up.”
“What happened?” Jeannette asked. “Talk to me.”
Mia had avoided telling her sister much about the show, mainly out of guilt and fear that she’d only disappoint her. But now,
she told Jeannette everything, from how her crush on Noah had inspired the show to what she’d said during her interview this
morning.
Jeannette reacted appropriately, gasping or cursing at the right moments. As they talked, Mia realized just how much she’d
missed her sister. All her sisters. Back home, they’d talked almost every day about what was going on in their lives. Jeannette especially had been
her guiding light, her closest confidante. And Mia had felt so lost without her.
When Mia was finally done, Jeannette took a deep breath before she said anything, as was customary in the Yoon household.
“Mia,” she said, “I have a confession to make. Actually, we all do.”
Her sisters were suddenly all back, crowding the screen as Jeannette repositioned her phone.
Mia swallowed. “What?” she asked, unable to keep the panic from her face. “What is it?”
“We watched the show!” Lola blurted out.
Marie and Cara giggled, and Jeannette gave her an apologetic look.
“We got curious,” Jeannette explained. “I found it on YouTube, and I’d only meant to show them the first episode but then—”
“It was amazing!” Lola exclaimed. “We couldn’t stop watching.”
“And Noah is super cute!” Cara exclaimed. “Wow, so hot.”
Mia opened her mouth to protest when Jeannette beat her to the punch.
“Catherine Ji-ah Yoon,” she said, “Noah is way too old for you.”
Cara started arguing back, and Mia was smiling at the familiarity of watching her sisters bicker when she had a horrifying
realization.
“Wait,” she said. “How did y’all all watch the show? You couldn’t have unless you watched it on the living-room TV. And that means . . .”
“That your dad and I watched it, too.” Mia almost dropped her phone as their mom came into view.
“It’s quite impressive, dear,” she continued. “When I was your age, I was just trying my best to sneak into frat parties.”
“Tried that,” Mia quipped. “Didn’t like it.”
She winced the moment the words came out of her mouth. Her mom had complimented her work for the first time in her life, and that’s how she’d responded to her? Old habits sure died hard.
Her mom gave her a tight smile. “Well, we all have our own likes and dislikes.”
“And we all liked your show,” Jeannette replied, grabbing her phone away and saving the day as usual. “Even Dad.”
“Daddy was gasping and yelling the entire time.” Lola snickered. “Like he was watching a Cowboys game.”
“Anyway,” Jeannette said, taking the phone and walking away from everyone else, “we’re all so proud of you, and if Noah doesn’t
come running after all that, well, screw him! He’s not that cute.”
“Except he is,” Cara hissed.
At least three different voices shushed her.
“Thanks, y’all,” Mia said, wiping away the tears that had started falling from her eyes again. She could barely process what
had just happened in the last ten minutes, but she was grateful for everyone’s support, nonetheless. “My flight gets in tomorrow
afternoon, so I’ll see you soon.”
“Can’t wait,” Jeannette said, blowing her a kiss. “Good luck with today’s live stream! We’ll be waiting for you at DFW in
our Dolly Parton Christmas sweaters.”
“Please don’t,” Mia groaned.
“Come on, I know you secretly love them. We bought you one, too!”
A small smile crossed her lips as she thought back to how, just a few days ago, she’d sadly looked at her family’s matching
sweater pics, hoping they hadn’t forgotten about her. Now, all of that seemed silly. Of course they hadn’t.
“Okay, I’ll allow it. See y’all soon.”
“Love you!” exclaimed her sisters in varying pitches and volumes.
“Love you too.”
By the time they ended the call, the light of the late afternoon sun had started coming through the curtains of her room.
Mia got out of bed. It was time for the finale of The Cuffing Game.
She used another of Celine’s videos—one that Celine had personally recommended to her—to achieve what she thought was her best look yet: a face full of makeup that actually accentuated her
features, a sleek white evening gown, and her favorite pair of red heels. She felt good about her outfit, even more so when
her friends did double takes when she walked down onto the beach.
Alex whistled, and Kallie exclaimed, “Damn, Mia!”
Even Damien gave her an approving smile. “Now, let’s finish this show of ours.”
Mia smiled back and nodded at her friends.
Damien and Kallie had set up two tables on the beach: one with a camera connected to the laptop they were using for the live stream, and another smaller, decorated one where the cuffles were going to have their final dates.
Everything looked beautiful under the golden hour light.
The brilliant white tablecloth, the glass candle holders sparkling in the sunshine, and the bright bouquet of pink and red flowers capping the middle of the table.
Even the equipment on the other table looked gorgeous in the setting sun. Or at least it did to Mia.
Carlos and Violet, the first cuffle for today, came down in their evening finest. Carlos was in a white tuxedo while Violet
wore a bright yellow dress that glowed golden in the sun.
When the contestants and crew were all ready, Mia took a deep breath and stepped into the frame. Going live was nerve-racking,
but in a good way. The adrenaline cleared Mia’s head of all distractions. Including a certain frat boy with a cute smile.
“Ready?” Kallie asked.
“Ready,” replied Mia.
Damien started the live stream.
“Hi, everyone,” Mia said, looking into the eye of the camera. “Welcome to the live finale of The Cuffing Game. I’m sorry to say that Celine Huang and Kyle Yoshida have decided to drop out of the show. But we wish them nothing but the
very best! Stick around until the end of the live stream to vote for the winning cuffle. That lucky pair will win the cash
prize of five thousand dollars.”
She paused to look up from the camera. Damien nodded, and so did the rest of her crew.
“Our first cuffle took everyone by surprise, even themselves!” Mia continued with a smile. “But they’re still very cute. Please
welcome Carlos Manalo and Violet Russo!”
She stepped away from the camera, and Carlos and Violet began their date.
“So,” Violet said. “I can’t believe we made it to the finale. I can’t believe I’m here, honestly. Like, I just got here! I feel bad since I’m so new to the show!”
Carlos shrugged. “It’s okay, I was one of the original contestants and I was the first one to be eliminated, so we balance each other out. I, for one, can’t think of a better person to be by my
side today.”
“Aw, same!”
Mia watched the laptop screen as the viewer count ticked steadily up. Fifty people tuned in . . . then a hundred . . . five
hundred . . . a thousand. Then suddenly, ten thousand, fifteen thousand . . . seemingly in the blink of an eye.
Her palms started to sweat. She wondered if her own family was watching, too.
Comments, emojis, and unfortunately also spammers flooded the chat, too quickly for Mia to read everything. But she did see
several people talking about how cute Carlos and Violet were.
In a weird way, it’s like they were meant to be.
Violet’s yellow dress is so cute!! Does anyone know where she got it from?
Aw Carlos <3 Violet
“Since we just met each other a couple days ago,” Carlos said, recapturing Mia’s attention, “I want to make things clear. I don’t want you to feel pressured to get into a relationship with me because we’re on the finale of this show, okay? We can treat this as a normal second date if that helps.”