Deciding Us (KENTIN Au)

10.

He sits on the couch, staring at the tablet that shows calendars app with additional notes here and there. It is his schedules for the upcoming months and it is totally packed. He have schedules for almost everyday, three months period.

He have magazine shoots, ambassador products and reviews, shoots for a special TV series, cameo for a music video, acting classes and a reality show under his agency. 

"You're getting big, Justin. People have been wanting you here and there after your acting in Hanggang Sa Huli. That's why your schedules are packed. The agency is really proud of you," Pablo says, patting his shoulder proudly.

"I'm scared. It seems too much and I don't think I can handle it." He says his thoughts.

"Believe in yourself, Justin. You had worked hard for the past 3 years, so this is the fruit of your effort. You deserve it, Justin."

"How about you? You'll be as busy as me too," he concernly asks. "This is my job. As a manager, I am happy that my artist is doing well. The agency will assign another back up manager for you, in case of emergency. They will also make sure your safety, privacy and health on top despite the busy schedules. They will inform me later for the details."

"I will try my best," he mumbles. "I'm sorry for asking, but will this be okay with Ken? Especially for the reality show," Pablo asks.

"He doesn't care at all. Maybe he is more than happy to not seeing my face in the house," he shrugs. "You guys still didn't get along? Not after the family dinner?"

Justin freezes at the mention of the family dinner. He reminded about the kiss, which he decided to tell Pablo about it. "We.....kissed," he mumbles. "What? How? What happened?" Pablo seems totally in shock with the information.

He plays with his fingers, feeling shy to tell what happened but he needs to share it to someone,maybe he can use some advice from his manager.

"It was so sudden. We were cooking for lunch when he went out for some urgent call. He went home around 1.30 in the morning later, looked like a mess. He wasn't drunk because he is allergic to alcohol. But his eyes showed so much emotions that I can't describe. Then, I walked into the room with a glass of warm milk as he requested. He walked out freshly showered and suddenly pulled me in a kiss. A deep kiss, not a peck."

"Did you guys did it?" Pablo frowns, looking confused. He shakes his head off, his chest feeling heavy out of sudden. "No. He broke the kiss and admitted it was a mistake that won't happen again." He takes a gulp of plain water, trying to relax himself.

"Did you guys talked about it? What happened next?"

"No. We just let it be. We acted like it didn't happened."

"Will you let him be, if he did it again?"

"I don't know, and I hope he didn't."

• • • • •

Justin slumps on the couch at the living room, half ready to watch the next episode of Hanggang Sa Huli. His mind has been going around with his schedules, his conversation with Pablo and of course, the 'accident'. As much he wants to delete the memory of the kiss, it isn't that easy. But he is sure, it will slowly fades out as long as they didn't spend time together alone and mention about it.

Maybe, his schedules will help him forget about the whole thing so he can enjoy his life with light heart. Refocusing himself, he waits for the episode to play.

Ten minutes into the episode, the front door unlocks and Ken walks in looking tired, His red hair is a mess, he took off his suit leaving him in white shirt with few buttons undone. Instead of going straight to his room as usual, he stops at the couch Justin is sitting on.

"Jah, is there anything for dinner?" The question surprises him, and he looks at Ken in disbelief. "I restocked instant noodles," he answers, eyes back to the TV. Ken nods before heading to his room.

Shucks.

He curses in silence, knowing he doesn't have the heart to let Ken eats instant noodles as late dinner. He walks to the kitchen, deciding to make spaghetti bolognaise as it is quite simple to prepare. He tries to avoid Ken but he knows it is impossible for this two days, before he starts his schedules.

He focus on the spaghetti instead of the drama, preparing along Ken's coffee. Just about he turns off the stove after the sauce cooked, Ken walks out of the room in his night clothes.

"Where is the instant noodles?" Ken asks, tiredness evidence in his face. "I made spaghetti," he prepares a plate, putting it on the dining table. He pours the coffee into a cup, setting it in front of Ken.

"Thank you." Justin feels like his heart stopped when he heard the gratitude from Ken. He stares at him, who is enjoying the meal in silence. "Do you want some?" Ken offers. Justin shakes his head, wanting to ask about the unusual character of his 'husband' but decided to shrug it off. He walks back to the living room to finish watching the episode that had been interrupted.

He hears some noises from the kitchen, which he believes it is Ken doing the dishes and cleaning up. When he thought he is safe from another encounter with Ken, the guy sits beside him on the couch. He widens the gap out of reflex, not looking at his right side.

"Jah, can you massage my head? I'm having headache," Ken asks, his voice a bit soft than usual. "I'll give you painkiller instead," he replies as defensive mode.

Lord, he tries to ignore Ken after what happened at the family dinner but it seems like God had another plan for his life.

"I took painkiller after lunch, but the headache is still there," he mutters under his breath. Justin looks at Ken, before asking him to sit on the floor facing the TV so he can massage his head while sitting on the couch. Justin sits cross legged to avoid unnecessary skinship, putting a couch pillow on his lap before guiding Ken's head to rest on the pillow.

"I'm not really good at massage, so if it's not really helping, I'm sorry," he informs. He saw a small smile on Ken's face, before he closes his eyes to enjoy the massage. Justin tries his best to ease the headache, quite relieved to see his hands might do wonder because Ken isn't complaining anything.

He continues the head massage for another minutes before Ken assures him that the headache is gone and his head feels lighter than before. Justin wishes Ken goodnight to break the awkward moments after the massage. "Thank you for the massage, Jah."

"Goodnight too." This time, it is Justin's turn to freeze when Ken hugs him goodnight, a gesture that he purposedly skipped.