Gurgle…
Slowly, the bulky man and the rude woman turned into pixels. The timer was still ticking down, and soon it reached the 50-second mark. Only ten seconds were remaining.
While the timer was ticking down slowly. Isaac and Luna hugged with eyes closed and lips connected. Their drenched clothes hugged their bodies, and the warmth oozing from their bodies was getting shared by each other.
Then, the one-minute mark was reached. The water was sucked inside the holes. Isaac and Luna fell to the ground with their wet hair covering most of their faces.
''Ugh!'' Isaac grunted in pain and coughed out the water that infiltrated his mouth.
Cough! Cough!
Luna patted her chest as she coughed out a mouthful of water. Once all the water was gone, she lay flat on her stomach and hid her face.
The tip of her earlobes was dyed in red, and the color reached to her cheeks.
Isaac knelt on the ground and moved the strands of wet hair out of the way. He gasped for air and noticed the tip of his fingers turning illusionary.
The same thing happened with Luna. Both of their bodies were slowly turning into pixels. Soon, both of them disappeared.
…
Cheers!
Isaac's eyes fluttered, and the first thing he heard was the eruption of cheers. At first, he saw the visor. Then, he saw the cheering audience.
''We have our winners!'' The handsome idol shouted in the microphone and truly seemed excited. They got better entertainment than they could have ever hoped!
Luna slid the helmet off her head and couldn't feel the wetness anymore. She touched her chest and felt the pounding heartbeat. The red color quickly dyed her cheeks, and she felt so incredibly embarrassed!
The bulky man and the rude woman were already standing. They glared hatefully at both of them and left without taking the second place trophy.
The handsome idol couldn't care less about them. He grabbed the first place trophy and handed it over to Isaac.
''Congratulations!'' He motioned for the cameraman to take a picture of them.
Isaac held the big trophy in his arms and saw Luna being motioned to stand closer to him. They moved closer to each other until their shoulders were touching.
Snap!
The picture was taken, and the crowd gave another round of applause.
Isaac and Luna stepped out of the platform and left the stadium while getting shouts of congratulations.
Luna's cheeks were dyed pink as she waved back to the crowd. Her innocent and beautiful looks made her attention point to the whole audience, and everyone began to love her.
In the hearts of many, she was already their Goddess.
Once they left the stadium, a bulky man and a rude woman appeared from the shadows of the hallway. Their eyes followed the two youngsters who left the stadium.
They looked at each other and nodded. When they took their first steps, suddenly, they were yanked back by a firm grip.
They turned around and saw two leanly built men dressed in a suit. Their eyes were covered with sunglasses, and there was a bulge around their hip.
Their guns were barely noticeable, but neither the bulky man nor the rude woman managed to see them.
''Hands off me!'' The bulky man felt enraged after getting touched and sent a punch at the lean-looking man.
Smack!
The lean-looking man slapped the fist away and grabbed the bulky man from the throat before slamming his head into the concrete wall.
Crash!
The bulky man's pupils became white as he instantly fell unconscious. He slowly dropped down to the ground lifelessly.
The rude woman paled and was then confronted by another lean man.
He leaned forward and whispered, ''Go home, wash your makeup, and sleep. Forget that this day ever happened.''
She shakily nodded and took off her heels before scurrying away. Once she left, the other leanly built man took a picture of the unconscious man and sent the photo to someone.
Then, they disappeared into the shadows and followed the two youngsters.
While walking in the crowded streets, Luna avoided looking at Isaac and tried to look anywhere else.
Isaac noticed it and said, ''I am sorry, I just… Really wanted to win.''
In his opinion, it was a lousy excuse, but he couldn't think better one from the top of his head. It was true that he did it to save Luna's life, so they could win, but he also wanted to kiss her.
He felt guilty and wanted to slap him in the face.
Then, Luna shook her head and said, ''It's fine… It's not like I hated it or anything…''
Her voice was inaudible at the end part, but seeing her face, she didn't seem to hate it, which made him relieved.
Rumble!
''Eh?'' Luna flinched, and like everyone in the crowd, she looked toward the sky.
Isaac's eyes widened in surprise. The sky became ashen gray, and thick black-colored clouds began to form in the sky.
''It's about to… Rain!'' He couldn't believe it. It was around twenty years ago when it rained last time in Winterland.
Every citizen shared the same shocked looks, and soon, waterdrops began to fall down. Everyone in the streets hurried back to the interiors.
Isaac grabbed Luna's hand and began running, ''Let's hurry up!''
She nodded with a surprised look. They ran as fast as they could, but the pace when the waterdrops fell down increased.
Soon, their hair was drenched. Then, finally, they reached the first place that was open for customers.
It was a tall hotel with fifty floors. It was the most famous hotel in the entire Brightstar and maybe even in the whole Starshow.
They entered the hotel and were finally safe from the rain. Seeing the heavy pour, they were sure that the rain won't end in a whole day.
Isaac pulled out his wallet and checked how much money he had in cash. He had around 200$, and it should be enough for them to afford one night.
They went to the reception desk, where a beautiful middle-aged woman was waiting.
''Two rooms, please,'' Isaac said once reaching the desk. Then, he noticed the receptionist's shaking her head.
''I am sorry, but the hotel is very packed, and no one is allowed to rent two rooms… The only choice is to share one big enough room to fit you two.''
''Ah…'' Isaac scratched his head and looked back at Luna, who was blinking innocently with the hue of pink in her soft cheeks.
''Fine…'' He had no other choice than accept it. The receptionist wrote their names down and gave them the keys.
Isaac paid and left toward their hotel room with Luna.
