I Want You To Be My Last

Part 3 : Curious

It was days after Gulf got into this strange arrangement with a stranger that people close to him started noticing.

P'Best was driving him home after another ad shoot. Normally, this was when Gulf would try to get comfortable immediately after he got into the car to get some sleep - the usual hour-long drive back to his apartment would take longer during rush hour, and unfortunately, they were caught in it - but instead, he was grinning down at his phone like a lunatic.

The sound of P'Best clearing his throat noisily would have gone unnoticed if his manager didn't immediately follow it with a thoughtful, "Did you get yourself a girlfriend?" said P'Best in a way that Gulf supposed was teasing, but it was easy to tell when something was worrying the older man.

Gulf knew this was one of those.

He put his phone away, sliding it inside his pant's pocket before crossing his arms over his chest in defiance, aware of the way P'Best's eyes followed the movement with a knowing look.

Gulf shook his head and bit the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling.

"A boyfriend, then?" P'Best winked, which Gulf answered with an elegant eye-roll.

"Phi, I don't even have enough time to sleep," he countered, hoping he didn't sound as embarrassed as he felt. "How do you even expect me to find someone when my work schedule is crazy like this? They'll dump me the moment they realize my job is more important than anything in my life right now."

P'Best chuckled and shook his head. "You don't have to go all melodramatic on me, Nong. We both know you're deflecting, it's so obvious, so no, I'm not buying it. And I'm not asking you this now because I want to snoop around your personal life. That's your business, I know that. I'm asking you because it's my job to plan ahead of things just in case something untoward happens, just like the last time, you remember?"

Gulf groaned at that, couldn't not, remembering the mess he'd got into when his fans had found out about the existence of an ex-girlfriend from long ago, and how they'd stalk her social media accounts just to make sure he was telling the truth when he'd said they'd broken up. He had to apologize to her all over again, and for a completely different reason this time around even.

"Better be prepared, is all I'm saying." P'Best added.

Gulf sighed. "I know, but you don't have to worry about anything, okay? It's nothing. I'm not seeing anyone." he clarified, thinking about the person he'd been talking to for the past few days or so, and the fact that despite knowing he'd been enjoying their strange and sometimes confusing conversations, his original plan remained the same.

He had no intention of meeting S in person; he'd made that part clear from the very start. Really, P'Best had nothing to worry about.

Yet.

"But you are talking to someone, aren't you?" P'Best asked, following it quickly with a curt, "I mean, it's so obvious when you're practically glued to your phone even during breaks. And don't tell me you were just playing a game because we both know that's not it. You don't smile or giggle at your phone when you're gaming, you're mostly swearing at the poor thing and making scary faces when you're losing."

Gulf shrugged, unperturbed. It wasn't like he was forbidden to, but he guessed P'Best just needed to remind him of the ugly possibilities should something - unexpected happen again.

He shrugged once again in lieu of answering; it was quickly becoming an annoying habit at this point, probably, but he couldn't really be bothered to care.

"Be honest with me, Nong, please. Just for my peace of mind?"

"They don't know who I am anyway," he muttered, slowly, under his breath, just loud enough to be heard, hoping that was enough to ease his manager's worries. "And I have no plans on telling them either, so you know, you can quit worrying, Phi. It'll give you premature wrinkles."