On the next weekend during Saturday Fever, Rod and the New Mentor are no longer acting as guards—they attend the party as guests, just looking to hook up. Rod looks a bit tense and awkward, which is understandable. It's his first time being there among women he once knew either as matrons or childhood friends. Now, they're no longer his sisters or mothers. It's super weird.
The New Mentor, however, is snatching girls left and right without hesitation. Even when he gets rejected, he just shrugs it off.
"You and I could make beautiful babies together," the New Mentor says, trying to seduce a beautiful brunette.
She takes it as offensive and rude, so she splashes water in his face and walks away.
Oh lady, you don't do that to him. He'll punish you for good, Rod thinks to himself.
But the New Mentor just laughs, not laying a hand on her.
"You really let her go like that? She disrespected you!"
"Chill, Rod. Don't exaggerate rejection. Everyone's allowed to have preferences—it's fine."
"But what if everyone rejects you? Nobody wants you, nobody respects you?"
"Nah, boy, look," the Mentor says, pulling a bill from his wallet. "What can you buy with this?"
"A coffee and a bread," Rod replies.
"If I drop it in water, stomp on it, spit on it—can I still get that coffee and bread?"
"Yeah, unless you torch it," Rod grins, earning a light smack on the temple from the Mentor in which makes Rod laughs even harder.
"Anyway, the point is," the Mentor continues, "no matter how many people reject you, your value doesn't decrease. Just don't expect anything so you don't get torched. Now it's your turn. Go on—make your move!"
The Mentor nudges Rod toward a woman standing nearby. She's in her thirties, still beautiful, but Rod feels awkward around her. He remembers her as one of the women who used to spoon-feed him when he was a toddler.
"You into older women?" she asks, her body language quite inviting.
But something inside Rod screams that this is not okay. He turns back to the New Mentor. "I can't flirt with my 'mom'!"
"Yeah, I know how fucked up the system is," the New Mentor replies, "but she's not the only woman here. Go on, pick someone. If you can't—look." He turns Rod's head in a specific direction. "Your girl is right there."
Nathalie, with her big round glasses and flowery dress, looks beautiful as always. Two men surround her, each trying to win her attention. One of them grabs her hand, but she pulls away, clearly trying to escape the situation.
Without thinking twice, Rod stands up and walks over to intervene. These men won't take a "no"—unless it comes from another man… or perhaps a boy.A determined boy.
"Nathalie?" Rod greets, stepping in quickly and breaking up the pincer she's caught in.
At first, she needs a second to recognize him—he looks different from the Rod she's used to. But when it clicks, and she sees him with his sleek hair, neatly dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans, her eyes light up. She pushes past the two guys and throws herself into his arms.
"Hey! Finally I found you!" Nathalie says loud enough for the other guys to hear, making sure they know there's no competition.
"Come on, Nathalie," Rod says, leading her away—not toward the New Mentor, who is still bouncing between women and taking rejection like it's just another Tuesday—but to a quiet table in the corner where no one's paying attention to them.
"Rod, you're here!" Nathalie beams, her round eyes glimmering beneath her long lashes. She looks at Rod like he's the only one who exists. "How's your wound? It's healing, that's good! I—"
She keeps talking, animated and full of life, but Rod can barely focus. He's nervous. Nathalie is so gorgeous, it almost hurts to look at her. He feels undeserving, like he somehow snuck into a dream where she actually cares about him.
His mind races. What should I say? Something flirty. Cool. Smooth. Bold. Confident. Make her heart skip a beat. The New Mentor showed me the moves—take rejection lightly, make her smile, get that kiss.
Come on, Rod, you can do this!
"—Rod, do you eat well?" Nathalie asks gently, her voice soft and full of concern.
It's an easy question. So easy. But Rod is too deep in his own head, searching for the perfect line to win her over. He freezes. He can't even answer the simplest question.
"I, uh… I'd let you spoon-feed me again rough or gently." He tried to copy what he think The New Mentor was doing when he flirts and actually got the kiss.
It was weird as hell, of course, Nathalie look at him weird with entagled eyebrows, "Uhh... what?"
"I-I mean.... we can eat together... uhh, what you want to eat?" Rod scratches his cheek, and upset to himself, godamit! that was weird as fuck! why the hell I said that?!
"Uh... sure?"
Rod quickly scans the menu from the QR on the table and he choose just coffee. He doesn't feeling hungry at all, he already full eating up his groggyness.
Even after they ordered their food, Nathalie ask, "are you not hungry?"
"N-no."
internally, Rod was in so much chaos. God damnit can't you just say something interesting to not bore her out?! Say something! She is waiting! Look, she is started to look around scanning the room. in any time she will see someone else and leave you! Do something! Say something interesting!
"Uh---" Rod open his mouth but he can't figure out what interesting thing to tell her, his memories look back at how The Mentor flirts, and he says, "—you have… very juicy lips."
Silence.
Nathalie blinks. She froze. Trying to understand if he's joking or drunk.
"I… have what?" she asks slowly.
Rod freezes. Abort mission. Abort mission.But it's too late. He wishes he could dig a hole under his feet and hide there forever.
He tries to backpedal. "I meant like—you're… your lips are good, the lipstick color is good! Like peach fruit."
"Rod, what are you talking about?" Nathalie looks scared now.
Oh no! She's thinking of walking away! I have to do something!Rod opens his mouth and says, "I think you're the best girl here."
It sounds friendly, but it doesn't fix the awkward situation they're in right now.
"Thanks," Nathalie responds shortly.
She stops talking altogether, and even when the food arrives, she stays silent. Rod can't say anything else to fix the situation.
Later, when Geofry—the singer in the tunnel—releases his charm on stage, Nathalie finally smiles and doesn't look away from him. Rod knows he's lost her.She'll be into someone else, all because he doesn't know what to say.
So Rod decides to let her go. If she isn't interested in him because of his mistake, then at least he'll make sure she's treated right by whoever she chooses.
"I'm sorry," Rod says.
Finally, Nathalie looks at him. "Why?"
"Because I don't know what to say," Rod drops the try-too-hard act and just gets honest.
"Yes, I noticed you were being weird. Why?" Nathalie's voice sounds suspicious.
"Because I like you so much. I wanted to tell you that. But I was afraid of being boring, so I tried to be interesting." Rod lets it go.At least he told her how he truly feels—without trying to make it sound cool.
"Oh…" Nathalie lets it sink in quickly, and when she realizes why Rod was saying weird things, she understands.And she laughs.
She laughs for quite a while, and it makes Rod wonder if he said something stupid again.But it doesn't matter. If she's not meant to be with him, at least he already told her—and ended the crush without hostility or lingering awkwardness between them.
"So you were trying to flirt with me!" Nathalie finally gets it.
"Yeah. I know I'm just like a brother to you, but to me… you're not just a sister," Rod nods. He knows he said the right thing, and he has no expectations.He's already accepted that Nathalie might not be meant for him.
"You're so silly. I thought you were bored with me, or that I was wasting your time… because you wanted to be with someone else…" Nathalie fixes her hair with a gentle move.She looks back at Rod, and he finds her lively eyes on him again.
"No, no. I really want to be with you, Nathalie. But I'm not forcing you.Well, honestly, I'd be really upset about it, and I might go crazy knowing you're with someone else.And one day, I might see your child roaming the worker tunnel. Oh damn…" Rod can't even imagine it. That would be a nightmare.
"What are you talking about, Rod!" Nathalie pulls his ear gently. "Why do you think I come here every week?"
"You said you're looking for your dad?" Rod lets her play with his ear.
"Yes, but I'm also looking for you. If I can't find my dad… at least I can see you again," Nathalie looks at Rod with an inviting, cute smile.
"Understandable. They made sure the only way we could meet is through this event."
"Rod! Oh my God!" Nathalie feels a mix of hilarity and disbelief. "Rod, you don't get it, do you?"
"Get what?"
Nathalie feels the urge to tell him right away, but she wants to know how long it takes for him to realize it. "Never mind."
The Saturday Fever ends with both of them just hanging out in the corner of the room, talking and giggling.Rod, who had already let her go and accepted that she might not like him that way, surprisingly feels relaxed. For the first time, he can truly listen to what she says instead of being stuck in his head, trying to impress her.
Rod tells her about his daily life, and she shares hers too. They even try to guess which of the men in the room might be Nathalie's father. At the very least, he's probably in his 30s—but there's a good chance he's in his 40s.
Somehow, Rod notices that their conversation flows more easily when he doesn't expect too much from Nathalie.A few guys come over, trying to steal her attention, but she refuses them. She stays with Rod until the Saturday Fever ends.
"About your father," Rod says before letting Nathalie go, "you can request a DNA paternity test to see who's a match. They can do it for free to avoid any inbreeding issues."
"Oh, they can? How?" Nathalie looks so hopeful.
"I'll figure out how. I'll see you next week," Rod assures her with a thumbs-up, a silent promise that he'll take care of it.
"Thank you, Rod. I'm looking forward to seeing you again next week."And then—without warning—Nathalie leans in and kisses him on the cheek.
Rod feels a sweet electrocution buzzing from his cheek all the way through his body. He can't stop smiling—from the moment Nathalie waves goodbye and disappears behind the nursery tunnel, to the moment he lays down to sleep, and even into the next morning when he wakes up.