Hotel

Chapter 28.

Hotel

INSTEAD of June, the group that Dice had been handling debuted that April and the crowd welcomed them with so much love. Their marketing strategies started to kick off and the team's hard work was being paid off because they became well-known in just a span of two months and made it bigger in their first year.

And since the CEO of Eclipse' agency saw that the boys loved performing, it was decided to pull them out on the mission, they're just normal idol group now. At dahil siya ang manager ng mga ito ay hindi na rin siya kasama sa misyon ng Phoenix. Ang CEO na ang bahala dahil ito naman ang mangunguna sa pagtrabaho niyon.

"Herrera told me to let you know that your job for Phoenix at the moment is already done. You'll just be activated when badly needed."

Napangisi siya sa ibinalita sa kanya ng CEO na si Rexton dela Costa. Nasa opisina nito sila at hinihintay ang ibang miyembro ng Eclipse dahil may meeting patungkol sa nalalapit na Debut Concert Tour nationwide.

The first two years went smooth sailing. Since Eclipse was under the international leg of Montreal Entertainment Agency, they also became well-known in Asia. The group even recorded Japanese and Korean albums, alongside with their Filipino albums. At dahil palaging wala sa bansa ay tila LDR sila ni Kanon. He'd only go home for a very short span of time because their schedules were always jam-packed. Mahirap pero kinakaya nila dahil sa huli, ay para sa mga sarili naman nila ang lahat ng iyon. Para rin sa kanilang dalawa.

On the third year, the group promoted in some Western Countries and they had for almost three years in different parts of the world.

Kanon, on the other hand, was still working in the main office of FastEx. But since her cousin took over her position a year ago, her works had lessened. She continued vlogging and her uploads were more frequent than she did before. Noon kasi'y dalawa hanggang tatlong vlogs lang sa isang buwan pero ngayo'y lagpas lima na.

Dice believed their achievements now were more than what they dreamed of. That's why now that they're in the Philippines to have a short vacation, he's planning to propose to his girlfriend. Aba'y naunahan pa siyang magpakasal ng ilang miyembro ng Eclipse!

"Don't smirk. It's cringing me."

He looked at their head indifferently. They were now in Phoenix Agency for a meeting about a mission. He was activated a week ago to assist the agents and gather more information about a job. In short, he needed to hack another system in order to do so. In span almost five years, he only did seven jobs in Phoenix, this would be the eighth one. Alam na rin ni Kanon ang tungkol doon, at mukhang inisip nitong magaan lang ang trabaho niya sa roon at inakalang part-time job lang niya dahil nasabi nga niyang tatawagin lang siya sa tuwing kailangang-kailangan. Kung tutuusin ay tama ito, para sa kanya ay mas madali kung nasa likod lang siya ng mga computer kaysa sa ibang agents na nasa field.

Napangisi ulit siya dahil nasasabik na siyang makita ang nobya. Hindi kasi nito alam na napaaga ng isang araw ang uwi niya't susurpresahin niya ito.

"I said don't smirk."

"Why?" baling niya sa lakaki.

"Your dimples are bothering me. They look like your sister's."

Nagtaas siya ng kilay. "Do you like my sister, Herrera?"

"I—"

"I like your sister, bro!" sabad ng kadarating lang na si Rexton.

He just shrugged and stared at the latter who's now sitting in front of him. Nasa isa sa mga meeting room sila't hinihintay ang iba.

"But she's engaged and is already pregnant."

Dela Costa just looked back at him as if he could throw daggers using those sharp eyes of his.

"You should just court your childhood friend, you seem to be fond of her."

"Why don't you focus on your childhood sweetheart instead?" baling nito sa kanya.

"Why would we talk about my girlfriend?" takang-tanong niya.

Herrera, on the other hand, just browsed something on his laptop and shown that to him.

His mouth formed a grim line as he clenched his jaw while reading what was there, and he immediately stood up. His mood was completely ruined at once. Why, he thought he's going to surprise his girlfriend but he was surprised instead. What a sudden turn of events!

"Where are you going?"

"Start the meeting without me, I'm not feeling well." Nagpupuyos sa galit at selos ang kalooban niya't halos magdilim ang paningin. Pero hindi dapat siya magalit at hindi muna magpapaniwala sa nabasa.

"But you were just—"

"I'm a nurse, so I know my body very well," sabad niya sa sasabihin ni Rexton. Sa ilang taong magkakakilala sila ay alam na nila ang likaw ng bituka nila kahit papaano.

Gaston Herrera nodded once.

"Sige, sasabihin ko sa kanilang may sakit ka." At tumingin ng makahulugan sa kanya. Alam niyang alam na nito kung saan siya didiretso, at sinadya rin nitong ipakita sa kanya ang article na iyon.

"Damn it!" Iyon lamang at umalis na ng opisina. He went straight to the parking area and he drove his motorbike to Kanon's place. Tutal ay walang schedule ang Eclipse ng anim na araw kaya may libreng oras siya na puntahan ito. Kahit pa siguro may schedule ay gagawin at gagawin niya pa rin ang binabalak na mangyari matapos mabasa ang article na iyon—yayayain na niya itong magpakasal kaagad-agad. Damn romantic proposal, he'd just do it swiftly and they'd go straight on their wedding.

He was fine communicating with her via video calls or phone calls, and texting. He was okay as long as they'd see each other whenever they're available. But, now he wanted to keep Kanon by his side even if she refused to. Hindi sa wala siyang tiwala rito, wala siyang tiwala sa taong nakapaligid dito. Lalo na ang Katerina del Rio na iyon—Shit, Daisuke! Get a hold of yourself! She's still your girlfriend's mother so you should respect her! His mind castigated.

Mabuti na lang, hindi rush hour kaya hindi traffic at napatakbo niya ng mabilis ang kanyang motor. Mabuti na lang din at iyon ang minaneho niya kanina imbes na ang sasakyan kaya mdali siyang nakarating sa village kung saan nakatira si Kanon.

Pero papasok pa lang siya roon nang mapansin niya ang isang kulay abo na sasakyan ang papalabas ng village. The Mercedes-Benz wasn't heavily tinted so he could still see the inside, and he saw his girlfriend sitting in the front seat and the guy who's driving was the star of the said article.

Mabuti at mabagal na ang pagpapatakbo niya kung hindi ay baka sumemplang na siya sa biglaang pagpreno niya. He sighed harshly as he clenched his fists on the handle.

Tiwala siya kay Kanon at ang utak niya'y inuudyukan siya na hintayin na lang itong makabalik sa condo nito. But he didn't trust that guy, given the fact about what happened during high school...

"Goddammit!"

Pinaharurot niya ang motor para maabutan ang mga ito. Pasimple lamang siyang sumunod hanggang sa makarating sa pinuntahan ng mga ito.

They went inside the restaurant just as where did they go years ago.

"Kanon, why are you with him?" Hindi niya alam kung ano ang eksaktong emosyon niya nang ibulong ang mga katagang iyon sa sarili. Pain, anger, confusion...

When he courted her, he had a slight feeling that she's still not  over with her ex-boyfriend. Lalo pa't sa dalawang naging ex nito ay ang una ang madalas nitong mabanggit noon. Natigil lang noong seryosohin niya ang panliligaw at tuwang-tuwa siya dahil epektibo ang panunuyo niya. Nakalimutan na nga nito ang mga naging boyfriend mula noon.

Pero ano iyon? Bakit magkasama ang dalawa? Sinundan pa rin niya ang dalawa't pumwesto siya sa bandang gilid kung saan hindi siya makikita ni Kanon dahil nakatalikod ito sa kanya.

May sinabi ang gagong lalaking iyon sa nobya niya at bahagyang natawa ang huli.

"Damn it, Kanon, don't do this to me."

He immediately called Kieffer Sandoval.

"Why?" bungad nito sa kabilang linya.

"Check if there's someone named Lemuel Castillo checked in your hotel." He didn't know who's Sandoval before. He met him in Phoenix and learnt that he's the head of that hotel.

"Huh?"

"Just check it or I'll just hack into your system so I can see—"

"Alright, alright," agap nito. Matatag ang security ng hotel pero pipilitin niya pa rin kung sakaling hindi ito pumayag. "Saang branch ba?"

Sinabi niya ang branch at ilang sandali pa ay kumpirmado na ang kanyang hinala. Sa kaparehong palapag, at kaparehong suite naka-check in ang gagong iyon.

"Shit! Are we talking about the same Casti—"

Ibinaba niya ang tawag nang hindi pinapatapos magsalita si Sandoval at tumingin ng masama sa lalaking kasama ni Kanon.

"Fuck you!" mura niya habang nakatingin ng masama sa banda nila Kanon. Napapitlag pa ng waiter na nag-serve ng tubig sa kanya pero hindi siya natinag.

Um-order din siya ng pagkain na hindi naman niya ginalaw. Halos kalahating oras na ang nakalipas at 'di pa rin tapos ang dalawa kaya hindi na niya hihintaying matapos kumain ang dalawa. Akmang tatayo na siya nang walang tigil sa pag-vibrate ang cellphone niya mula kanina. At dahil hindi inaalis ang tingin kay Kanon ay nakita niyang nagpaalam ito at hula niya'y sa restroom nagpunta habang hawak-hawak nito ang cellphone.

His phone vibrated again as he was about to follow her. Mukhang tatawagan siya nito at marahil ay sasabihin kung nasaan at kung anong ginagawa nito. That thought calmed him down a bit so he checked his phone to see who's calling. It might be her.

But he got it wrong because Kieffer Sandoval was the one who's calling. He rejected the call and now, he was fuming again. He had enough. Susundin niya si Kanon sa loob ng banyo at kung maaaring ikulong niya ang mga sarili nila sa isa sa mga cubicle doon ay gagawin niya. Kahit doon na mismo niya ito yayaing magpakasal, kahit doon sila mag-usap at kahit doon na niya ito aangkinin ay wala na siyang pakialam basta masigurado niyang hinding-hindi na ito makakabalik pa sa dating kasintahan.

°°°

Hi!

WN replied to my email and informed me that Phoenix series can now be voted with Power Stones again. ♡

Enjoy reading!

-Jade