The Reality of Soulmates

Chapter 1

"You are officially invited to participate in our new reality show, 'Soulmate or Bust.'" I read. I repeated the sentence over and over again until the words all blended together.

"What???" My best friend Yuna asked. "This is amazing!! I didn't think you'd actually get picked, but this means you get to meet your soulmate!!"

I set down the paper and kept stirring my salad.

"Why aren't you super excited?"

"I don't know if I want to do it. I entered as a joke."

"Oh, you're doing it." She shoved the paper in my face. "If I have to drag you there myself I will!"

*2 days later*

"Why did you pack so much crap?" Yuna asked as she unloaded my stuff.

"I'm going to be gone for who knows how long, so I made sure that I packed all that I'll need."

"Uh huh." She looked at my 3 suitcases.

"I may have overpacked."

"Really? I couldn't tell." She shook her head and got the other 2 suitcases out.

"He'll take those." A woman came over to me. She pointed to a boy who loaded my bags onto a cart and then into the house. "Maven?"

"That's me."

"Wonderful to meet you!" She shook my hand. "I'm IU, and one of the hosts of the show. If you'll come with me this way, I'll explain everything to you!"

I nodded and then waved to Yuna. She waved back and drove away. I walked with IU towards a small building on the side of the house and we sat down at the table that was set up.

"What do you know about this show?" She asked.

"Just that it's a soulmate show. I don't know if that means I'll find mine or if it means I'll help someone else find theirs."

"Great guesses. The first one is right. We've found your soulmate and invited him to the house. There are 9 other couples, so 20 of you in total. You'll be here for as long as it takes to find out which man is your soulmate. You'll be put through a series of games and tasks. To find your soulmate, you have to kiss him. But for it to work, you have to be inside the house. Okay? There are some exceptions, but don't worry about those."

"Got it. I think I can do that."

"And you're going to be the group leader. Which means you'll have the phone that tasks are sent to, you'll solve conflicts, lead group games, etc. Can you do that?"

I nodded. "I should be able to."

She smiled and took my hand. "We're so excited that you're here, Maven. I can't wait for you to find your soulmate. You 100% deserve it."

I blushed. "Thank you. And you can call me Mae."

"Of course. Now I'll walk you to your room and you'll be able to meet all the other girls!"

She took me to the giant mansion that we'd be staying in and walked inside. It was glorious. A chandelier in the walkway, a big staircase to the right, a giant kitchen and dining room to the left, and a living room right in front of us. It had a view of the pool outside and the valley behind it.

"Woah."

IU laughed and gestured for me to follow her. We went up the staircase and then turned right. We walked into a pretty big room filled with talking girls.

"Girls!" IU yelled. They all stopped talking and looked over at us. "Meet your leader, Mae."

They looked at me and squealed. Then I was suddenly showered in hugs and compliments. A little overwhelming.