Hot take dulu: kita terlalu mudah terharu.
Bestie, jom cakap benda ni straight.
Kalau dia pick you up, reply text elok-elok, tak menghilang 12 jam tanpa sebab, and actually dengar bila you cerita… itu bukan “princess treatment”.
Itu basic human decency.
Tapi entah macam mana, zaman sekarang bila lelaki buat benda paling normal pun, kita dah macam, “Aww dia effort gila 🥹”
Girl. Stand up sikit.
Dia bukan bina rumah untuk you. Dia cuma call Grab bila hujan.
Bare minimum tapi dipackaging macam premium
Kadang-kadang kita sendiri yang over-hype benda basic sebab standard dating scene sekarang memang floor-level.
Contoh:
Dia text “dah makan?”
Kita: “Omg caringnya.”
Dia tak flirt dengan perempuan lain depan-depan.
Kita: “Loyal king.”
Dia datang on time.
Kita: “Green flag gila.”
Dia bayar kopi Zus Coffee sekali.
Kita: “Princess treatment unlocked.”
Relax dulu sis.
Of course, appreciate lah orang buat benda baik. Kita bukan suruh jadi tak bersyukur. Tapi ada beza antara appreciate dengan letak dia atas pedestal sebab dia buat benda yang memang sepatutnya dibuat.
Kalau you dating someone, dia patut respect your time. Dia patut communicate. Dia patut jujur. Dia patut treat you macam manusia, bukan macam optional side quest.
Itu bukan bonus feature. Itu standard package.
“Tapi susah nak jumpa lelaki macam tu sekarang…”
Ha, ni part yang ramai akan cakap.
And honestly? Betul juga. Dating scene memang penat. Situationship sana sini. Orang takut label. Orang nak girlfriend benefits tapi tak nak commitment. Orang ghosting macam itu kerja part-time dia.
So bila ada guy yang consistent sikit, memang rasa macam jumpa unicorn kat tengah KLCC.
Tapi just because ramai orang below standard, doesn’t mean basic effort suddenly becomes luxury.
Kalau kedai mamak satu kawasan semua teh ais cair, then ada satu kedai buat teh ais sedap… okay kita happy. Tapi kita tak panggil dia five-star dining, kan?
Same energy.
Princess treatment tu apa sebenarnya?
Princess treatment bukan semestinya bouquet RM300, dinner omakase, or hotel staycation every month. Kalau mampu, okay lah slay. Tapi bukan itu saja.
Princess treatment is intentional effort.
Dia ingat small details.
Dia plan, bukan last minute “u free tak?”
Dia buat you rasa secure, bukan confused.
Dia communicate even when benda awkward.
Dia tak buat you begging for clarity macam you customer service tiket.
Most importantly, dia tak buat effort basic nampak macam charity.
Sebab ada lelaki yang buat sikit, then expect applause besar. “I dah reply you what.” “I dah keluar dengan you what.” “I dah tak layan ex I what.”
Okay? Medal nak size apa?
Girls, raise the floor.
Kita kena stop clap untuk effort paling basic.
Say thank you, yes. Appreciate, yes. Tapi jangan terus bagi title “different from other guys” sebab dia tak disrespect you.
The bar cannot be in the longkang and we still call it romantic.
You deserve effort yang consistent, bukan crumbs yang datang bila dia bosan. You deserve clarity, not mixed signals with nice packaging. You deserve someone yang tak buat you rasa demanding just because you expect respect.
So next time dia buat benda basic, smile je.
Tapi dalam hati, remember:
Bare minimum is not princess treatment. It’s just the entry ticket.