LIES AND SECRETS

CHAPTER FIVE

  Juan Miguel's

  Monday blues. Nakakatamad bumangon, sa totoo lang. Pero kailangan, pupunta pa akong university. For the first time after coming back here in my homeland, I'm going out. Cho would celebrate if he knew. Only if he knew. Surely, na kay Myko 'yun ngayon at nagrereklamo na masakit ang ulo. Myko is his manager, my former manager noong nasa industry pa ako. By the way.

 To inform my "ampon", tinawagan ko na lang si Myko. Cho can't answer my calls, sure ako. Busy pa 'yung mag-inarte. Mabilis lang din naman kaming nag-usap dahil bukod sa nagma-madali siya ay may pupuntahan din ako. Nag-abang na lang ako ng taxi sa tapat ng condo, hassle man pero kailangan. Lunes na lunes, coding 'yung kotse ni Cho. Ang loko ginamit ba naman 'yung kotse ko para magbar-hopping kagabi, kung hindi dahil kay Myko siguro hanggang ngayon wala akong kaalam-alam tungkol do'n. Luckily, may dumaan nang taxi. Mabilis lang din naman akong nakarating since malapit lang 'yung University.

"Hello po. Good morning!" bati sa akin ng guard.

"Good morning! Did the personnel from the office of the registrar informed you that I'm coming today?"

  "Yes po. Tumawag na po sila dito sa guard house last week. Kayo ho ba si Mr. Miguel Kim?" tanong niya.

"Yes po."

"May I ask for any identification card po? Pasensya na po sa abala, kailangan po kasi namin i-check ng mabuti ang mga pumapasok po dito sa University. Para rin po sa safety ng mga estudyante" paliwanag niya.

Nag-abot na lang ako ng id. I have an id for Miguel Kim since that's my other name, just dual citizen slash undercover agent things.

"Okay na po. Pwede na po kayong pumasok. Diretso po kayo sa opisina ng registrar. Salamat po!" masiglang wika ng guard.

Since I already memorized the blueprint of this University, finding that office won't be hard for me anymore. In a minute of walking, nakarating na ako sa tapat ng opisina. Hindi siya malayo sa guard house kaya mabilis ka lang talaga makakarating. The only thing I did after arriving was to knock, then entered.

"Good morning, Sir!" greeted by the personnel stopping whatever she was doing before I came.

"Good morning! I have prior commitment here. By the way, I'm Miguel Kim. The new applicant. You can call me Migs, para mas komportable pakinggan."

"We're glad that you came today, Sir Migs! As I am your guide today. May I request for an extra time? Magre-ready lang po ako."

"Of course. Take your time, Ma'am."

"I forgot. Forgive me for not introducing myself. I'm Mikaela Lacuesta po, you can call me Mika na lang po. While waiting po for me, you can visit and stay po muna for a while at our common area po. Just go straight from here po. Make yourself comfortable po!" bilin pa niya.

"It's okay. Thank you, Ms. Mika."

  Just as I said, hindi na mahirap para sa akin 'to. Basically, hindi ko na kailangan ng tour para dito. Pero, for them to not get suspicious of me I decided to accept their invitation. Simple as that. Nang makarating ako sa common area, lumapit agad ako sa vending machine. Got my daily dose of caffeine then looked for a vacant space, thus, here I am comfortably seated. I chose the seat where I can be easily spotted. I was busy checking mails when Ms. Mika came.

"Sir Migs! 'Buti po nakita kita agad. I'm sorry po for the inconvenience. Let's g?"

"No need to apologize, Ms. Mika. Okay, let's g!"

T I M E S K I P