"A modeling agency?" Jack asked.
"Yes," Cindy replied, holding his hand. "Initially, we had arranged a delivery job for you, but after seeing your face, I decided against it."
Jack looked at her in disbelief. Cindy thought it was because he was too overwhelmed, but in reality, it was because he didn't want such a job!
Most modeling agencies didn't allow the models any control over their bodies. That meant they couldn't eat what they liked, they couldn't meet people of their own accord, and the worst of it all… Jack would probably have his face plastered all over for everyone to see.
Sure, models also got a lot of women to mess around with, but after seeing the quests the system had, Jack knew it was for the best to lie low.
It made me grope a woman for the tutorial. Who knows what it will ask of me later?
As a model, Jack would require to keep a clean image. The tasks from the system might not always align with that image. Hence, being a model was a deterrent to his life goals.
Without a shred of emotion, he pushed Cindy's hand off his. Cindy was taken aback, wondering if she had offended Jack.
Only then did it hit her.
She never asked him about his past life. Given his handsome face, maybe Jack had worked as a model before, but something happened, and he ended up homeless.
Seeing another modeling agency might have brought back those memories to him.
I messed up!
Cindy thought and was about to ask Jack what was wrong, but he brushed her off.
"Let's end this… here," he said, smiling politely.
Although he smiled, Cindy saw the hurt look on his face. Well, it was more like frustration, but emotional thinking wasn't Cindy's strong suit. In her mind, she had offended Jack.
"I'm sorry, Mr Mills—"
However, her fanboy crew jumped in before she could smooth things over.
"Oi, brat! What is this ungrateful behavior?" the cameraman yelled. "Miss Cindy is being so kind to you, and you keep misbehaving with her."
"What do you mean you won't do the job?" the makeup artist scoffed. "Without us, you'll still be on the pavement, peeing in the same cup you drink from."
"Everyone, please calm down—!"
Cindy tried controlling them, but it was too late. The insults kept piling on and Jack, despite feeling grateful, reached his limit. Cindy was oblivious to what was happening, but he wasn't.
After the incident in the clothing store, the crew had been waiting for a chance to show Jack his place. Now they had it and were using it to degrade him in all sorts of ways.
Still, he felt thankful to the big-mouthed apes. After all, because of him, he got a reason to leave.
"I'm sorry," Jack said, pushing through the crew. "Miss Cindy, thank you for all the help. But I value my self-respect more than my appearance."
"Mr. Mills, it's a misunderstanding—!"
He snatched a notepad from a crew member and handed it to her, interrupting her.
"Please write your number here. I don't have the money to compensate you for everything you did, but I'll pay you every penny I owe to your channel."
Self-respect.
Cindy realized what could have happened in Jack's life. Models were often asked to do not so decent things, she herself was asked to perform a lap dance on a big investor.
She left her previous agency because of it. But she got lucky as another agency hired her immediately. It could be that Jack was asked to do something like that, and was fired upon refusal.
Cindy's eyes shone as she saw a man of honor and word in Jack. Unfortunately, the crew had ruined things. She couldn't ask someone like him to keep working with them after all the harsh things they said to him.
Still, she wanted to remain in contact with him.
She couldn't openly tell Jack that, so she opted for the second option and gave him her contact information.
Jack tore the page and tossed the notepad back to the crew member. He thanked them again before walking away.
Cindy couldn't take her eyes off his back. Something… was wrong with her. She hadn't acted like this before. Then why did she want to be close to Jack?
—x—
"Phew… that was easy," Jack smiled, pulling the black card from his inventory.
===
Item: Fortuna's Card
Type: Consumable
Description: A card linked with the Debauchery Earning system. All of the Host's quest money will be deposited into the card.
The card is bound to the host. If lost, it will automatically return to the inventory after an hour.
Current Balance: $200
===
"This is good, no… it's great!"
A card that won't get lost and basically, had no records of existing in the world, yet is usable everywhere. However, he didn't take the word for it. Jack wanted to test it and see for himself if it truly worked everywhere.
He walked into a nearby 24x7 store and grabbed some food and a cola since they didn't have any beer.
"That'll be 16 dollars."
Jack handed the card and… it went through.
Jack was surprised, as he expected it to decline.
"Sir, there's a line."
"Oh, I'm sorry, um… thanks."
Jack quickly grabbed the food and left, smiling like an idiot, and no one knew why.
"He looks fit. Maybe it's his cheat meal?" a man commented.
"Who gets four cheese sandwiches for a cheat meal?"
—x—
After having his fill, Jack wanted to relax and was looking for a cheap motel to crash at. Unfortunately, the system had other plans for him.
===
[Tutorial quest 02: Get Intimate.]
[Task: Share intimacy with a woman]
[Time: 4 hours]
[Reward: $1000]
[Punishment: All previous rewards will get revoked.]
===
Jack spat out the third can of cola.
"What?"
From groping to intimacy? Wasn't the progress a bit too fast?
He was shocked because of the pace, not because of the task. With his manicured looks, it wasn't too difficult to get laid as long as one looked at the right place.
The entertainment district!