It Was Always You (The Navalta Series # 1)

Chapter 36

Alas syete kinaumagahan ay nasa reception na kami ni Ryu para makapagcheck out na. Nang matapos naming isuli ang keycard at naghahanda nang umalis, narinig ko ang pamilyar na boses sa likod ko kaya nilingon ko.

It was Eli. "Ky, you're going? Akala ko you'll be here for two weeks. May one week ka pa ah" he asked nang hindi man lang nililingon ang kasama ko.

Tumango ako. "Oo, Eli. I need to go back to work." He realized I was with Ryu. Ryu's hooded, dark eyes are on Eli, his jaw clenched.

Hinawakan ni Ryu ang kamay ko dahilan ng pagkatitig ni Eli dito. "Oh, pare. Kamusta? It's been a long time." Si Eli kay Ryu. Ryu just nodded at him, not a hint of smile on his lips. "Ky, we need to go." Ryu whispered. "Sorry Eli, we need to go at baka ma-late pa kami sa work. Bye." Mabilis kong paalam at dumiretso na kami ni Ryu sa sasakyan.

Nanatiling nakapako si Eli sa kinakatayuan niya. Pumasok kami ni Ryu sa kotse at naglagay na ng aming seatbelt. "So, that Eli is the Eli from years ago, right?" seryusong tanong ni Ryu.

Tumango ako at diniretso ang tingin ko sa harapan. "At siya rin ang kasama mo kagabi?" his stare at me is scary. Nakaharap ako ngayon sa kanya, namilog ang mga mata ko at marahang tumango. How did he know?

"Hmmm.." his hands are on the steering wheel of my car ngunit hindi niya pa rin pinaandar ito. Umigting ang mga panga niya, magkasalubong ang dalawang kilay.

Marahan akong tumawa. "Galing nga eh, dito pa ulit kami nagmeet."

I was wrong to say those because his eyes darted at me, tagos sa kaluluwa. "Oh, is that why you two kissed?" he scoffed and turned on the engine of the car at umalis na kami.

Napalunok ako sa sinabi niya. Nakita niya iyon kagabi! Huminga ako ng malalim saka siya sinagot. "Correction, Ryu. He kissed me and in case you didn't see, I backed away and walked out."

His stare is on the road ahead of us. "Tsss." He cursed. I rolled my eyes at him at umiling.

My heart is pounding, alam ko wala akong kasalanan sa nangyari kasi totoo ang sinasabi ko. I didn't even kiss Eli back. I was taken aback at his actions too kaya ang tanging nagawa ko lang ay umalis agad. "Totoo ang sinasabi ko, Ryu. I never wanted to kiss him. I was shocked too kaya umalis agad ako at hindi na siya pinansin." Pagpapaliwanag ko.

The veins on his hands are evident, his jaw clenched, his face deadly serious. "I have been wanting to punch that guy eversince he tried to kiss you years ago. Mas lalo pa ngayon." Pagbabanta niya.

I bit my lower lip and chose to stay quiet. The whole drive was awkward, walang may nagsasalita sa aming dalawa. His face remained serious, I pouted and rolled my eyes at him.

I stared at the road ahead of us gaya nang ginagawa niya at nagdadasal na sana matapos na itong byahe na ito para mabawasan ang awkwardness.

Mahigit kumulang isang oras, nakarating na kami ng Manila. Dumiretso kami sa building ng NCFMC at sabay na pumasok sa opisina. Nagpaalam sa akin si Ryu na didiretso na siya sa opisina niya at ganoon din ako.

Nang marating ko ang opisina ko, nagulat si Nisha. "Engineer, akala ko next week pa balik mo?" kuryusong tanong nito. "H-huh? Ah, napaaga kasi nalaman kong ipapadala si Calvin sa Dubai kaya bumalik ako para maagapan ang trabaho." Pagpapaliwanag ko.