Gotta Be You {Chandara} - COMPLETED

23. GOING CRAZY

I was on the phone with Channie telling him where I am. Hyoni and I were in a cozy cafe hanging out after a short appearance in a talk show. Kaibigan kasi n'ya ang may-ari ng coffee shop who gladly reserved the entire second floor for us para tahimik kaming makapag-kuwentuhan at hindi makuyog ng fans. I still brought a bodyguard with me just to be on the safe side and he was downstairs happily doing his own thing.

"Dal.Komm Coffee dito sa Gangnam-gu. Kasama ko si Hyoni ngayon. Don't worry na. It ain't packed or anything naman. It's quite safe. Sige na. Bye. Love you." I dropped the call and turned to Hyoni.

"Isn't this the same building where you live? Daebak! You gotta see this, Dara. Look!" Nakakunot ang noo ni Hyoni at matamang nakatitig sa cellphone n'ya na tila naguguluhan sa nakikita.

She showed me some blurred and very dark photos of what looked like Chanyeol in my building's parking spot. One photo even showed me and him inside his car. Another photo was the two of us hugging in front of the car. Buti na lang buhok at side profile ko lang ang nakuha ng camera so I could easily deny it kung sakaling may mag-akusa na ako 'yun. It helped too na super pandak ko kumpara kay kapre kaya halos di na ko makita habang yakap-yakap n'ya 'ko. I guess being bansot has its perks din naman pala. Nang mapansin ko ang logo ng Dispatch sa mga litrato, bigla akong natakot. Have we been spotted already? Oh my goodness!

"What did the article say? Did they mention my name?" Medyo nanginginig na tanong ko. Panic starts creeping inside me.

Atubiling sumagot si Hyoni nung una pero she scrolled down her screen to show me what it actually says. Humigop muna ako ng iced coffee bago ko binasa.

'DISPATCH EXCLUSIVE: This dating rumor is as real as it can get! EXO's Park Chanyeol seriously dating Red Velvet's Wendy'

"What?! Ano daw?!!!" Halos mabuga ko ang kape na ininom ko dahil sa nabasa. Papaanong naging si Wendy ang dini-date ni kapre? Nababaliw na ata ang mga taga Dispatch tabloid.

They also posted some solo paparazzi photos of Wendy in front of the building where I live. They were quite high-res kaya alam mong si Wendy talaga 'yun. But all the photos of Chanyeol that Dispatch was claiming as with Wendy were in fact with me. Nakakaloka!

"Insane, right? Those couple pictures were all you, unnie. It can't be Wendy because I know most of your clothes, Dara. That yellow hoodie in one of the photos, we even we bought that together. I mean yes, they're both under SM, but how could they pair them up together? Saka no offense, unnie ha? But di hamak na mas gifted s'ya sa front area of you-know-where, so silhoutte pa lang ng katawan malayong-malayo nang maging si Wendy." Hindi alam ni Hyoni kung matatawa ba or what sa kalokohan ng Dispatch.

"Yung patpatin ko na namang katawan ang napagdiskitahan mo. Oo na. Flat-chested na 'ko. Happy? Actually, they performed together in SM Town last year. It was a duet. Yung 'Stay With Me' ni Channie that he recorded with Punch for Goblin. A lot of people shipped them na when they did that and they even did so many radio interviews together," pagkukwento ko naman.

"But these solo photos of Wendy in the parking lot. These can't be edited. That's clearly the building where you live, Dara. Dun din ba s'ya nakatira?" Gulong-gulo pa din si Hyoni sa article at kung papaanong nakonek si Wendy kay Channie.

"Nope. From what I heard, it was one of her family members living in that building and she'd come visit from time to time lang. She still lives in a dorm with her group until now. I just can't believe Dispatch would go through great lengths for a scoop that's completely fabricated. Nakakapikon."

Part of me was relieved na hindi ako ang sinangkot sa article dahil atleast hindi ako ang pagpipyestahan ng netizens at sasaeng fans lalo na ng die-hard obsessed fans ng EXO. They can be really brutal to be honest. But a part of me is actually annoyed that Channie is again being paired with another girl who's not me. I know we've been through this many times and dapat by now sanay na ko, but this Dispatch expose is gonna blow up. I really have a bad feeling about this. Nakakapagod na.