"Keith..."
"Do not worry, Rhia. We can still go to another restaurant tonight."
"But Mr. Protagonist-"
"Wait. I think I should call our driver to fetch us here. Just give me a minute here."
"..."
"We can still proceed with our date tonight. Let me find another restaurant, okay?"
"..."
Rhianne cannot help but smile wryly when she saw Keith is obviously nervous about their unexpected situation. He may look calm on the outside, but the rapid movements of his eyes, as well as the thin layer of sweat on his forehead, will never lie. Rhianne grew up with Keith on her side all the time. Of course, she can already recognize if something is wrong with him or not.
Earlier, Rhianne left her house with Keith since he invited her for a dinner date tonight. As for Candice, she stayed in their house because of her mother. Rhianne's mother told Candice to stay after knowing that she was one of the kids who previously stayed in their Welfare Agency. She wanted to know about Candice's life after she was adopted by her new parents.
Another reason why Rhianne and Keith left the house early was to avoid her brother. Francis will surely go against their plans for tonight and Keith will not be having any of it. He will just think of some ways how to face his sarcasm and hostility later after their date. What is more important for Keith tonight is to spend his time with his beloved girl.
But it seems like it is not Francis who wants to go against their plans tonight.
First. While they were in the car, the weather has suddenly changed. When they left Rhianne's house in the afternoon, the weather was still sunny and warm. But then that good weather suddenly turned cloudy when they were already halfway towards the restaurant's location that Keith reserved for tonight. The bright sky turns grey as they proceed with their plans. Before Rhianne can ask Keith about his plans for their small date, they heard the booming sound of thunder before the huge raindrops started to pour down.
Second. When they arrived at the restaurant, they did not expect that a lot of people had a reservation tonight. But Keith was not worried since he made a quick reservation a day before their date. But it turns out Keith made a huge mistake by writing the wrong date and time. Instead of tonight, he got confused with the dates and he made a reservation for next month.
The restaurant is unbelievably full of people too. Since the restaurant cannot accommodate them anymore, they had no choice but to leave and find another restaurant. Keith has a gloomy mood when he stepped out of the restaurant, but he quickly erased it since Rhianne is with him. Keith does not want his girl to see that he is having a problem with their date. Instead of getting upset, he should quickly make a solution before Rhianne becomes upset and disappointed with him.
Lastly, the car that he parked outside suddenly got a problem. After checking it, he discovered that two of his tires were flat and the car engine is not starting at all. Keith let out a frustrated sigh before he facepalmed. What kind of bad luck is this anyway? Why does he need to experience all of it when he invited Rhianne for a date tonight?!
"Keith." Rhianne called his name again.
"...Hmm?" Keith hummed as he try to send a quick message to their family driver.
"You do not have to call your driver."
"What?" Keith asked. This time, he stared at Rhianne with confused eyes. "Do you want to be stranded here inside the car in the middle of this heavy rain?"
"Of course not." Rhianne softly answered. "But being in a bad mood in this kind of situation will not help us either."
"..."
Since Rhianne already know what kind of mood he is having right now, Keith did not try to hide his foul mood anymore and he slowly let out a frustrated sigh. He really feels so upset that all he wants to do is to hide inside his room and avoid everyone until he feels better. Keith rarely asked Rhianne for a date since they are always together. But still, he wanted to bring Rhianne tonight and give her the best date that she deserves.
"This is a real failure, I guess." Keith muttered under his breathe.
"Hmm?"
"This is not what I planned for our date today." Keith finally admitted. "I am planning to give you a perfect date tonight. I will bring you out for a dinner at that restaurant then they will serve us all of your favorite dishes. After that, I am going to bring you to the park so we can stroll for a while. And when the clock strikes at eight, we will go to the riverside where we can watch the fireworks display I prepared beforehand."
But reality really knows how to disappoint him. None of his plans worked. Keith can also guess that the fireworks he ordered are now wet and cannot be used anymore. He really should have listened to Hansel when he told him to prepare a plan B in case his first plan did not work.
"I guess I should bring you back home now. Well... I can invite you for a date next time when I am fully prepared."
"We can still continue our date though?"
"Huh?"
When Keith looked at Rhianne, she was looking at him with her clear eyes. Keith is trying to find any hints from her expression that she is just joking, but he saw none of it.
"Mr. Protagonist, did I tell you before that the more we make our plans perfect, the more obstacles we are going to face?"
"Huh? Does it even make sense?"
"What I mean is, isn't it too boring if our life is already planned? Sure, it is good that we have goals to do, but we should also enjoy the process of it. Life will become monotonous and you will eventually get bored once you finally get your goal."
When Rhianne saw Keith's confused look, she can't help but let out a laugh. Rhianne knew to herself that she is not a good speaker. She can already guess what ideas are running inside his head right now.
"You know what? Instead of explaining it, I will just show it to you." Rhianne declared.
They are both amateurs when it comes to dating. This is Keith's first time planning for a date while Rhianne never experienced going on a date in both her past and second life. Both of them are still clumsy and obviously lost on what to do. But for Rhianne, she learned that planning too much is also not good. Even if Keith's plan for tonight did not work, Rhianne still knows they can still have a date and enjoy this experience.
"By the way, do you have an umbrella here in your car?"
"Yeah. There are two umbrellas at the backseat."
"Oh good! Then get it."
Though confused, Keith followed Rhianne and get the umbrellas from the backseat. After removing the umbrellas from its cases, Rhianne pulled Keith with her and they both stepped out of the car. After a few minutes, Rhianne stopped a taxi and they both get inside of it.
"What are you doing?" Keith asked.
"I am bringing you on a date!" Rhianne declared.
"..."
"You do not want to come with me?"
"No. That's..."
"Then?"
"I should be the one bringing you on a date tonight, though? Not the other way around."
"Hmm... If you really feel burdened with it, then just take me on a date next time."
"...You will still come with me if I invite you again? Even though I failed to give you a perfect date tonight?"
"Of course!" Rhianne readily replied. "Keith, tonight is not the only time we can go on a date. We still have a lot of days to spend together in the future."
Keith stares at Rhianne for a while before a smile finally shows up on his face.
"Alright. That's a promise."
"Good! Though you should really check the weather forecast before making your plans next time."
Instead of getting mad, Keith just let out a sigh before a soft chuckle escaped from his lips.
"Since we are already here, we will just continue our impromptu date! But Mr. Protagonist, please do not expect a lot from this date. Okay? These are just my on-the-spot ideas so just bear with me."
After staring at Rhianne who is giving him expectant eyes, Keith finally nods his head. Can he even refuse this girl? Of course not.
"Fine." Keith surrendered. "As long as I have the girl I like beside me, then the other details are not important anymore."
"Hey! Stop talking like that in public!"
"What? That is the most important part, okay? At least we are still together despite this weird situation we are having right now."
"Mr. Protagonist, you really need to check the weather next time. I don't want to go on a rainy date next time."
"Your Highness really knows a lot. Thank you for gracing me with your knowledge. This humble servant will listen to your wise words."
While the two of them are having a fun conversation in the backseat, the taxi driver can't help but secretly snicker at them.
'Ah... Young people these days.'