Chapter 29

Over the next few weeks, Jin-hyeong has been working hard to get this project done. Para akong VIP sa lahat ng mga ginagawa ni Jin-hyeong. I was just there watching him all he does to make this project be successful. Hindi pa ipinapaalam sa public itong solo debut ni BJH, so for sure once he dropped easter eggs about this project, I'm already seeing that his fans will be crazy about this.

Maybe I could speak on behalf of his fans. Nagtitimpi lang ako ng fangirling feels ko since nasa oras ako ng trabaho, but if they were in my position, they would freak out I guess most of the time.

"Raijine." Umangat ang ulo ko nang tawagin ni Jin-hyeong ang atensyon ko. He's sweaty on his tank-top and grey pants. "Call Chini. Tell her we'll be there soon. I'm just going to change."

Tumango ako. "Okay, I will. Are you done with your rehearsal?"

"Yes," he said, nodding his head. "I'll see you later."

Inabot ko sa kanya iyong duffel bag kung saan naglalaman ng extra clothes niya. I stayed inside the studio while BJH headed inside the shower room to have a quick bath and change his clothes.

Today was his final rehearsal. Halos isa't kalahating linggo rin kami nagpabalik-balik dito sa studio for him to practice the choreography of his debuted single. Kahit paulit-ulit ko ring napakikinggan ang music ni Jin-hyeong dahil sa paulit-ulit nilang pagpapa-practice, it didn't bore me. Napasasabay na lang ako sa pagsayaw nila.

It took him almost two weeks to finish the choreography as he said that he hasn't been performing for almost two years kaya need niya ang paspasang rehearsal which on the first day he did, parang hindi nawala sa paningin ko 'yong Jin-hyeong na napanonood ko sa mga music video at fan cams na napanood ko.

While waiting for BJH, I called Chini and she answered it quickly.

"What's up, girl? On the way na ba kayo rito?" tanong nito sa akin.

Umiling ako. "Not yet, but Jin-hyeong's already changing so we guessed we'll be there in thirty minutes or... maybe less. Anyway, ano nang ganap diyan? Dumating na ba 'yong mga fans ni Jin-hyeong?"

"Some of them, yes. Maaga talagang dumating and 'yong iba ya paparating pa lang... I guess? Wala namang nag-inform sa akin na hindi sila makapupunta today so I'm expecting all the ten people who we contacted will be joining us tonight. Hopefully, this would be worth it."

"Ah, I see. Mabuti naman kung gano'n. Kanina pa nga rin ako nanginginig sa lamig dito. Nakalimutan ko na naman magdala ng jacket."

"E, choosy ka kasi, e. Sabi mo kaya mong tiisin 'yong lamig, 'yan tuloy. Basta tawagan mo na lang ulit ako kapag on the way na kayo ni Jin-hyeong. Or just text me kasi kailangan ko pang i-brief 'tong mga faney ni Jin-hyeong so this little fan cup-sleeve event will be worth of our time."

"Sure, mag-text na lang din ako. See you later!"

When Chini dropped the call, I patiently waited for BJH to come out of the shower room. Napatitig ako sa speaker na pinaggamitan para patugtogin ang music ni Jin-hyeong. No one was around so I decided to play it. I clicked play on the laptop and lowered the volume down and the song begins to play. It immediately brought a smile to my face. His song is a bop and I know his fans or maybe those who aren't his fans would appreciate his music.

Natigilan lamang ako sa pagsabay sa music nang may marinig akon boses na nagsalita. I immediately paused the music and looked at the person who just came in. It was Dong-yoon and he was followed by Mi-sun. They were wearing some comfortable outfit that I believe they will be having some rehearsals as well.

"I thought no one would be here by now," panimula ni Mi-sun. Humalukipkip pa ito.

"What are you doing here?" tanong ni Dong-yoon sa akin. "Oh, don't bother to answer. You're here with your boss, right? You're his petty little assistant. Good to see you here though."

"Yeah, she's the rumoured new girlfriend though I believe they're just making it up for popularity. I've known this girl... she might just be after his money."

Hindi ako makapagsalita to defend my side. They even come in my direction and cornered me. I couldn't even look in their eyes and move out of position. They're trapping me, but for what?

"I'm sorry, we'll be leaving. I'm just waiting for Jin-hyeong."

She laughed and then reached for my shoulder. My body startled when she touched me so she retrieved her hands from me. "Don't you worry, girl. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm not gonna do something bad, but I just have to let you know, Jin-hyeong isn't the type of person who would resort to someone like you. He may be brought you to Jeju because he has no choice. You're nothing to him. We've been together for a few years and I knew things better than you so watch out for yourself. He may look an angel to you, but he's a—"

"Gyaerang mwahanengoha?" We all heard Jin-hyeong coming in and they both had their eyes widened. Hinarap nila si Jin-hyeong na nasa likuran na lang din nila. (What are you doing with her?)

Mi-sun laughed cockily. "Amugutdo. Uriga naben jiteulhassdago gajeonghanen geteul gman dusipsio." (Nothing. Stop assuming we did something bad.)

"Nanen nega naben jiteulhassdago malhazi anhassda. Miseon, dangxineun banger jugipnida," Jin-hyeong countered. Alam kong hindi niya uurungan ang dalawang 'to. (I didn't say you did something bad. You're being defensive, Mi-sun.)

"Dangxineun aegadoega issspnida." Ngisi pa ni Dong-yoon. Masyado talagang arogante ang aura nito. (You're being a child.)

'Bangm mwrago hassni?" Jin-hyeong uttered seriously. He even walked towards him and they almost want to punch each other in the face, but I just had to come between them and pull them apart so a fight wouldn't even have to start. (What did you say?)

"Don't mind him. Let's just go," mahina kong pakiusap kay Jin-hyeong. I just grabbed his arm while we're trying to leave the dance studio.

Alam kong nagpipigil lamang si Jin-hyeong ng inis niya sa dalawang iyon. Nang makalabas kami ng studio ay pinakalma ko muna siya bago kami tuluyang umalis.

"Just let go of it. Hindi naman nila ako sinaktan," pagpapalubag loob ko sa kanya. He's not cool with it. Ramdam ko ang inis sa mukha nito. I'm just trying to calm him down by rubbing his arm. He's breathing in and out, chilling down his temper. "We should just go now and don't mind them. They're just trying to get on your head."

He grunted, shaking his head. "Once they tried hurting you, tell me, understand?"

I nodded, affirming my response to him. Hindi ko na siya binitawan. Nakakapit lang ako sa braso niya hangga't sa makarating kami sa elevator. Going down, pansin ko naman na kumakalma na si Jin-hyeong.

Nang makalabas kami ng TYPE ENT building, there were some people who were waiting outside, tinatawag nila si Jin-hyeong and some even asked for pictures pero dahil nagmamadali kami ay kumaway na lamang siya sa kanila at saka kami tumungo sa sasakyan para dalhin sa venue. The event is limited to chosen people so whoever going to be there, I hope they'll make it worthwhile, obviously, this is the moment that Jin-hyeong is the start of his solo debut.

While on our way there, hindi ako nakatakas sa mga tanong ni Jin-hyeong sa akin. Tungkol iyon sa mga pinagsasabi sa akin nina Dong-yoon at Mi-sun. I just told him that it's nothing even though some are low-key attacking him from behind. Ayokong sabihin iyon. It will just ruin his mood today. He'll be meeting some of his fans today and I wouldn't be the reason why he had to cut this even off because of me and those two.

Good thing, after reminding him that it's nothing, he felt better and surely, as soon as we get to our destination, he wouldn't be worrying about anything. Pagtuunan na lang niya ng pansin ang kanyang career kaysa sa dalawang 'yon.

It took us just around twenty minutes ride when we reached the coffee shop located in Bangi-dong. When the driver dropped us, sinalubong kami ni Chini before we could enter the shop. She briefed us for a moment on what we would do—totally, si Jin-hyeong naman talaga ang highlight dito at nakikinig lang ako sa magiging role ko for tonight.

The whole café has been rented for an hour just to proceed with this cup sleeve event. Only the staff of the shop and the guests are the only ones inside—not even the paparazzi was allowed.

I was told just to keep everyone feels okay and having fun at this event. If there are any concerns, they would be coming up to me and I'll just do whatever I can to help them.

As soon as we entered the shop, naabutan naming nakatayo ang mga taong nag-aabang kay Jin-hyeong. They were holding some small banner and they're waving it. Ang iba'y gamit-gamit pa ang lightstick ng daming grupo ni Jin-hyeong. I noticed that he was smiling when everyone received him as warm as he sees everyone. I know he wanted to get along with his fans and now is the time for him to bond with them.

Chini coordinated with this coffee shop and they host most of the cup sleeve events so their staff will handle the program. When the event started, there were a lot of games and most of them are having a lot of fun. Jin-hyeong happily joined them. Chini only decided to get a few guests for this event kasi ayaw niyang magkagulo at ipaparinig kasi nila ang debuted single ni Jin-hyeong at the end of the event and of course, they are forbid to record or say a word about it.

Knowing everyone agreed, I felt like there's no need for us to worry. Hindi nawala sa event ang pagpapa-picture kay Jin-hyeong. Of course, they all had a little interaction with him. Dahil limited lang din ang oras namin, it was quick but everyone enjoyed it. Sa dami rin nang merchandise na naka-display sa table and all those stuff ay for grab ng mga attendee. Kahit ilan pa ang kunin nila, it's for them.

When the event is about to end, pinapakinggan na sa lahat ang single ni Jin-hyeong. Lahat nakinig at nang matapos pakinggan iyon ay hindi magkamayaw sa tuwa ang lahat. Bawal kasi ang magrecord o kung ano man kaya pigil na pigil ang lahat na maglabas ng phone nila. In the end, Jin-hyeong took the opportunity to thank everyone who joined with us today and he hope that this is not the first and last cup sleeve event he will attend and expects more in the future.

Its a good thing for all of us that nothing bad happened and we're all relieved that no paparazzi found us here. We're happy that all the attendees respected the rules Chini gave them. When it's time to leave, it feels like Jin-hyeong doesn't want to leave and so when we do.

"So, it's a success for a first cup sleeve event," Chini said, smiling so wide. Alam niya kasing maaaring maulit pa ang mga ganitong event in the future. "What can you say about this? Do you want to do this again?"

BJH nodded. "Yeah, that would be lovely. This is kind of intimate and very personal, but not to the point of invading privacy and such. I would love to do this soon if time permits us once again. So, good job, Chini and Raijine. We actually made a great team."

Hinawakan niya kami sa magkabilang balikat. I don't know if he want some hug kasi ibibigay ko 'yon nang walang pag-aalinlangan.

"Ako pa ba?" Ngisi ni Chini. "Anyway, what do you want to do now? Do you want to be anywhere else?"

Naningkit ang mata ni BJH. "I know you wanted to do something tonight, but I think I need some rest. I've been out all day so I guess I deserved this before everything becomes a day full of stress again."

"I agree, but I would drink some wine tonight. I would be celebrating alone—oh you're joining me tonight, Jelay, right?"

Napalingon ako saglit kay BJH and he just nodded at me and I know what he already means with that gesture.

Nang dumating na ang driver ay unang inihatid si Jin-hyeong sa kanyang condo. Chini just reminded him that if he needs something or there's an emergency, he should immediately give her a call. Pagkababa niya ng sasakyan ay hinintay muna namin itong makapasok sa loob ng building so we'll be sure that he made it to his room safely.

Pagkarating din namin sa bahay, PSG isn't around so Chini instanly grabbed some bottle of soju's from the fridge. We were having fun, but I also had to take a rest since I've been out the house since early in the morning and watched BJH then take care of him.

The next morning, Chini exaggeratedly come inside my room and woke me up like something bad happened. Kamumulat pa lang ng mata ko pero pinanlakihan na kaagad ako ng mata ni Chini. Kahit tulog pa ang diwa ko, I can already feel that Chini has something to share and I believe it's not good based on her expression and the way she just entered my room, waking up me so bad.

"Ano bang meron?"

Ang bilis ng bawat paghinga ni Chini kaya naman hinawakan ko ito sa magkabilang balikat para pakalmahin 'to.

"So, anong meron?"

"Jin-hyeong's solo debuted single has been leaked." When she said that, nanlamig din ang buo kong katawan.

"Hala... paano?"

She shook her head. "I'm trying to know how it happened pa. Pero what the fuck!"

"Alam na ba ni Jin-hyeong 'to?"

"No. I don't know. I haven't called him yet, but I'm not sure kung alam na rin niya 'yon. But what the fuck. Maligo ka na. Pupunta tayo sa condo ni Jin-hyeong. We're going to find out how the fuck did this happen." Nanggagailiti niyang tugon.

Napahugot na lamang ako nang malalim na hininga. This is not a good way to start the morning, but I have no choice. Whoever leaked BJH's music, may kalalagyan sila. And Chini's right. What the fuck?!

***

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know your thoughts! I would appreciate it so much!

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