Bet On Love

18. Results

Yo could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he and the rest of the contestants lined up to take the stage one last time. They walked out in a single file line and stood along the edge of the stage. The two hosts of the pageant announced to the audience that the popular vote ceremony was about to start and that they could now make their way to either side of the stage to purchase roses and give them to the Star or Moon of their choosing.

"Contestants, please stand by." The host called out.

Wayo knew he shouldn't have thought this, but he was hoping that he would receive a rose from Phana tonight. He wasn't sure if Phana was going to be on the floor or not, because he was helping out on stage by administering the award sashes. But Yo still had a bit of hope.

Almost immediately people were flooding the stage trying to give roses to their favorite contestant and take pictures with them. Yo was feeling very overwhelmed at the number of roses and gifts he was receiving and how many people were taking pictures of him. He wondered how Ming was doing, but people were appearing in front of him so quickly, he didn't have a chance to glance down the stage and look for him. As confident as Ming was, he was probably enjoying every minute of this.

Soon, the Fairy Angel Gang appeared in his face with a much calmer Fatty. She was smiling and batting her eyelashes.

"Darling Wayo, you performed so beautifully!" Then she leaned close to pinch his cheeks and say, "I know that song was for me." She winked, handed him a rose then walked off grinning.

Wayo couldn't help but chuckle to himself and shake his head. Then Monty approached him.

"Good job, Ai'Yo! I know you'll receive many rewards tonight!" He said handing Yo three roses. He also gave Yo's cheeks a pinch and happily walked away.

After greeting and receiving roses from the rest of the Fairy Angel Gang and having his cheeks pinched a few more times, Yo rubbed his face. He was certain his cheeks were extremely pink by now. And with all the touching, he was happy he asked the stylist not to put makeup on his face tonight.

After the Fairy Angel Gang departed, he was approached by a good-looking guy he had never seen before. He was tall and slim like Ming, only he was a little taller and his body was a bit thicker. He smiled at Yo and handed him a small bouquet of six roses and a small stuffed teddy bear.

"Hello, Nong. My name is Sujin. I'm from the Business faculty. Great job tonight."

Yo smiled shyly and waiied to him, then accepted the gifts from him. "Khap kun khrap."

The boy turned to leave. Yo noticed that he had a slight accent when he spoke and wondered where he was from, but once again, he didn't get to think about this very long because more people were approaching him with roses and gifts and taking pictures.

Yo looked up briefly and saw P'Beam and P'Kit approaching. They each handed him a rose.

"Good job, N'Yo." Beam smiled.

"Yea, you have a really good singing voice." Kit smiled too. Yo smiled and accepted the roses. Kit then pulled another rose from behind his back. This one was a white rose and had a small note card attached to it.

"This one is from an admirer." He said, handing him the rose. Yo's eyes were wide as he took the rose.

"Thank you, P's."

Beam and Kit waved goodbye to him then walked away. After them, Yo was free to leave the front of the stage and stand along the back like the other contestants had done. As he walked to the back, a staff member came to collect his roses and gifts, but he held on to the white one. He was about to open the card and read it when loud squeals and cheers erupted from the audience and other contestants on stage.