HE SAW THROUGH THE HANDSOME FACADE: OH HAPPINESS! 1

He put the straps of the guitar case on his shoulders as two of his servants and the chauffeur put his suitcases in the car. This is the day. He is beyond excited. He loves the city of Chiness. It's big, busy yet clean. To add, the thought of driving to Madame Lila Ji's abode always bring wonderful memories. He put his earphones on and browsed on his phone. After finding his favorite playlist, he pressed the select button and closed his eyes.

'I hope she looks like a girl now,' he smiled.

Kenji is fond of Joe. He recalled the very first time he saw her. They were nine years old. She was called Josephine back then. It was a birthday party and since the Ji and the Chen families were business partners in the society, David, Josephine and himself were present. She was so cute back then and her hair in curls was very lovely. He wanted to dance with her so much, but several boys were talking to her. That time, he was so shy that he could not even say hi. He remembered seeing his cousin talking to her. And he remembered telling himself that David was so lucky.

However, two years later after that, Josephine's parents died in a car accident. He remembered seeing her at the funeral, but her appearance changed abruptly. The beautiful little girl he saw at the party became a boyish one. And the fact is she really looks handsome as a boy. He opened his eyes from the memory and chuckled. From that time on, she was called Joe.

Joe became one of his friends and she was really good at sports. She can do what a guy could do. Even lift things a guy could and think how a guy does! At first, it was freaky, especially because he knows she is a girl and he was taught and trained to be chivalrous. But later on, he did not mind. Being close to Joe made him a very happy person.

Two hours passed by so quickly. They finally reached the Ji's estate at Chiness. The gate was immediately opened after Bob, the chauffeur, introduced himself. Servants came to meet them when they reached the front porch of the mansion. They took his luggage as Bob opened the door for him. He took his guitar and stepped down.

Matthew, the butler, told him that Madame Lila was not in the house at the moment but David and Joe were. He apologized as well because they were expecting Kenji the next day. Then, he immediately addressed the maids to prepare Kenji's room.

Kenji nodded before responding, "It is all right, Matt. I do not really require a fancy welcome." He smiled after and patted Matthew's shoulder. They went into the house and a maid immediately went to fetch David.

Upon seeing him, David smiled widely and with open arms gave him a welcome hug. "Kenji, mom said we should be expecting you tomorrow. What happened? You're a day early," he said and let go.

Kenji smiled at him. "I know. But knowing Madame, she would make it into a fancy celebration so I decided to come earlier to avoid that. You know I dislike big celebrations. If I could avoid it as much as possible, I would," he replied.

"Good thinking," he said and looked at Matthew. "Matt, is his room prepared?"

"They are at it now, young sir," the butler answered. "Give us about a couple of minutes."

"Thanks Matt, no rush. You can go back to what you were previously doing. I will take care of Kenji," David responded.

Matthew lowered his head and left.

"So, I see you still haven't given up on your music, yet," David motioned at his guitar.

Kenji chuckled, "Where's Joe?"

"Wait… " Joe motioned then looked up the stairs. "JOE!!!!" he called.

Kenji looked away. He still could not be used to how David treats Joe as one of the boys. To be used at how Joe acted boyish is another thing. That, he could comprehend. But, treating him as a boy? That, he would never do. It would be against all his principles, not to mention his heart.

"I'm coming, jerk," he heard Joe respond. The two of them looked at each other and chuckled.

"Is she still boyish?" Kenji asked, hoping that she was not.

But to his disappointment, David nodded, "Before we graduated, a girl stalked her. And THAT girl was really cute."

They laughed. They only stopped laughing when they felt someone at the stairs looking at them. It was Joe. Kenji smiled at her. It was true. He sighed. She still looks like a boy… a handsome boy!

"Finally…" David said. "What took you so long?"

"Oh shut up," Joe glared at David.

Then, she smiled at Kenji and rushed to give him a hug. Kenji smiled as he hugged her back. Though she looks like a boy, her hair smells floral. It was perfectly sweet. He inhaled but quickly scolded himself to come back to his senses. Though he detests treating Joe as a boy, he must act to talk to her casually as if she was a boy. Though he does not want to let go of the embrace, he must… otherwise….

So, "Ow… that hurts, muscular woman!!!" he teased.

Joe let go and punched him on the left shoulder, "I'm not buff."

Kenji laughed, "So, you still look like a boy," he said and scrutinized her from head to foot. "Tsk… tsk… tsk… what a disappointment," he added and put his arm on her shoulder. "I told myself I might end up pursuing you. What was I thinking?" he lied.

Joe scoffed at him but he smiled at her adorably while nodding his head. This made Joe laugh in return,

"How can you pursue someone who is more handsome than you?" she teased back.

The three of them laughed at the same time. David pulled Joe from Kenji's arms and put her in his, "Joe, do me a favor, can you ask the maids to serve us some snacks?" he asked.

"Okay," Joe answered and ran to the kitchen.