The mood on the beach was finally getting back to "Webnovel Premium" levels of romance. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of violet and gold. Keifer had set up a pristine white blanket with expensive wine, artisanal cheeses, and grapes that probably cost more than a mid-sized sedan.
He was leaning in, his hand cupping Jay-jay's cheek, his voice a low, seductive rumble. "Jay, I've been waiting all day to—"
BZZZZZZZZZZT.
A high-pitched mechanical whirring sound cut through the air. It sounded like a swarm of angry hornets, but much, much louder.
"What is that?" Jay-jay asked, squinting at the horizon.
A fleet of four high-tech drones, glowing with LED lights, descended rapidly from the clouds. They were flying in a tactical "V" formation, and hanging from each one was a familiar, bright red bucket.
"No," Keifer groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Please, no."
The lead drone, piloted by what was clearly Ci-N (based on the erratic wobbling), hovered directly over their artisanal cheese platter.
"TARGET ACQUIRED," a crackling voice boomed from a speaker attached to the drone. It was Felix. "INITIATING EMERGENCY CALORIE DROP. MUTYA IS WITHERING. REPEAT: THE MUTYA NEEDS GRAVY."
"Get that thing out of here!" Keifer shouted, standing up and waving his arms.
"STAY BACK, CIVILIAN!" the drone barked. "RELEASING CARGO IN 3... 2... 1... FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
The claw released. A 2-piece Chickenjoy meal with extra rice, wrapped in a plastic bag, fell with military precision, landing directly in the middle of Keifer's $500 bottle of vintage wine, knocking it over.
SPLAT. "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED," Ci-N's voice cheered through the speaker. "ENJOY THE BIDA SA SAYA, LOVEBIRDS!"
Within seconds, the other three drones dropped their loads. It was a full-scale Jollibee invasion.
A bucket of Chickenjoy landed on the silk pillows.
A Jolly Spaghetti box exploded near Keifer's loafers.
A Peach Mango Pie hit Jay-jay right in the lap.
The drones didn't fly away. They hovered ten feet above, their cameras swiveling.
"Wait," Jay-jay said, wiping a bit of gravy off her chin. "Are they... recording us?"
"WE NEED PROOF OF DELIVERY!" Josh's voice came through the comms. "AND EDRIX WANTS TO KNOW IF KEIFER IS ACTUALLY WEARING A V-NECK. HE BET FIFTY PESOS YOU LOOKED LIKE A K-DRAMA EXTRA."
Keifer stood in the middle of the "battlefield," covered in the scent of fried chicken and defeated romantic expectations. He looked at the drones, then at the scattered red buckets, and finally at Jay-jay.
Jay-jay was holding a piece of chicken in one hand and a peach mango pie in the other. She looked at the artisanal cheese—now covered in gravy—and then back at the drones.
"Well," Jay-jay said, her eyes lit up with joy. "I was actually kind of hungry. This cheese tasted like soap anyway."
She took a huge, happy bite of the chicken. "This is way better than wine, Keifer! Come on, eat the spaghetti before it gets cold!"
Keifer sighed, the "Cold King" persona finally crumbling under the weight of his friends' idiocy. He sat back down on the sand, picked up a stray chicken wing, and looked at the drone camera.
"I am going to fire all of you," Keifer said calmly.
"LOVE YOU TOO, BOSS!" the drones buzzed in unison before performing a synchronized victory loop and flying back toward the mainland.
The sunset was gone, replaced by the glow of the moon. They sat on the messy blanket, surrounded by grease stains and empty gravy containers.
Keifer wiped a smudge of spaghetti sauce from the corner of Jay-jay's mouth. "I spent six months planning the perfect, sophisticated getaway. And we ended up eating fast food delivered by a robot."
Jay-jay laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Keifer, the Watson life is great, but the Section E life is home. You can take the girl out of the classroom, but you can't take the Jollibee out of the girl."
Keifer chuckled, pulling her close. The smell of fried chicken was surprisingly comforting. "Fine. But next time, I'm bringing a signal jammer."
Don't bother," Jay-jay whispered, reaching for his hand. "As long as you're the one sharing the bucket with me, I'm exactly where I want to be."