Secret Admirer

2. Friends

"When are you going back?" Buri asked his friend who had been crashing at his place for over a week.

"I am staying here for a few more days," Ciro replied as he lay on the couch, catching a ball he had thrown upwards.

"I don't even understand why you are hiding here. You will have to meet him when you get back anyway." Yen commented with her eyes concentrated on inking the new tattoo into Buri's forearms.

The 'him' Yen mentioned was none other than Kayu.

On the night in which Kayu came to pick Ciro up from the bar, he had mistaken the younger guy to be Aya, his ex-girlfriend, who had broken up with him the same day. He still had fragments of memories in which he begged Kayu to stay with him and not to leave. He had even drunkenly kissed Kayu, hoping to rekindle the broken relationship. He clearly remembered Kayu resisting his advances with all his might. But Ciro was too drunk to realize that the person he was begging and kissing wasn't Aya but his secretary.

Once he got sober, he felt really ashamed and guilty about his behavior. He felt that he had completely ruined his secretary's image of him with that night's actions.

With a broken heart and guilt, he decided to hide in his friend's place for the time being. He was in no condition to face Kayu at the moment.

"I know, but I need to calm down a bit," Ciro replied.

It had shaken him violently when Aya handed him her wedding invitation and announced that she was going to marry someone whom her parents had found for her. She no longer wanted to be in a relationship with him and told him that it was over between them.

Ciro had always been really serious about his relationship with Aya. From the beginning, he had intentions of marrying her. But it was not the same for her. She only dated him because he was loyal despite being a total catch. She had no intentions of marrying him eventually.

This revelation had broken him inside out. He had gone to the bar that day to drink his pain away but ended up making a fool of himself in front of his secretary who always looked at him with respect and great admiration.

"Want to get another tattoo?" Buri asked.

The three of them, Ciro, Buri, and Yen have been best friends since high school. Their friendship had deepened over their common love for bikes and video games. Later on, all three of them moved to Sweden for their university.

During their university days, Buri and Yen dated for a while and decided to go back to being friends as they realized that the relationship wasn't going well. Both of them started dating different people but still remained close friends.

After graduation, Ciro started his own company while Buri and Yen started a tattoo parlor together. Buri handled the tattooing section while Yen handled the piercing and hairstyling session as the parlor expanded. 

Having made a fortune in Sweden, they moved back to Thailand to join Ciro who had left for the native country as soon as he graduated.

Ciro gave Buri a stingy side eye and said nothing.

Getting the message that was conveyed through the side eye, Buri shrugged. "I was just asking."

"I am not you, Buri" Ciro continued throwing and catching the ball. "I am not going to get my body covered with ink over a breakup."

Buri had gotten several tattoos after he broke up with the guy he had been dating in Sweden. He was still stuck in the memories of that guy that he wouldn't even hook up with anyone. His argument for getting more tattoos was that those tattoos could hide the scars left behind by the relationships in his heart. 

Buri scoffed. "You don't look heartbroken to me. I think you are more worried about that little secretary of yours than your ex-girlfriend."

"I am not going to waste my tears over someone who never valued me. Yes, I am worried about my actions toward Kayu as I know that I am someone he looks up to. I have to maintain my decorum." Ciro answered seriously.

"It's good to hear that you are not going to sit around and cry for that girl. She was a total bitch. You deserve better, buddy." Yen had never liked Aya. She felt that Aya had her nose high up in the air and looked down on Ciro and everyone around him.

But her friend was too blinded in love that he failed to notice this and had been a loyal dog to Aya. She was happy that Ciro had seen Aya's true colors.

"I am going to enjoy my single life for a while from now on. I can now concentrate more on my work than thinking where to take her for the next date or about how to surprise her every day." Ciro sat up on the couch. 

"You are the only one who would call 'concentrating on work' as 'enjoying the single life', Ciro." Buri joked.

Ciro just rolled his eyes at him. He had always been a workaholic and his workaholism had taken birth completely from the passion for his work. He loved his job and that was exactly what made him more successful than his peers.

"Aren't you worried that your company would be in trouble if you go MIA all of a sudden like this, without informing anyone?" Yen put down the needles and wiped the inked area on Buri's forearm neatly.

"Not really. I am sure that Kayu will take care of everything on my behalf," Ciro replied confidently.  

"You sound so sure na," Yen chuckled. "Do you trust him so much?"

"Of course, I trust him and his work. It's something that he earned," Ciro answered casually. 

In the past there had been instances where he couldn't be at the office for days because of some surprise trip that Aya had planned or for something else, Kayu had handled the work very efficiently and perfectly.

He had no doubts about Kayu's ability to run the company in his absence nor about the loyalty that the latter had towards him.

"Wow, that's new" Yen chuckled. "After hearing so much about him, I am really intrigued to meet this secretary of yours."

"I can introduce him to you someday," Ciro agreed.

"Do you at least have his photo with you?" Buri asked as he was really curious about the guy who could get Ciro's approval when it came to work.

"No. Why would I have his photo with me?" Ciro asked in reply. "And why do you even want to see his photo? Do you want to hit on him?"

"No, dude. I would never hit on my best friend's man." Buri said suppressing a teasing smile.

Ciro nodded not thinking much of this reply. He didn't think much of Buri addressing Kayu as his man. He was too dense to realize that his friend was teasing him. He thought that it was normal to be called 'his man' as Kayu was one of his trusted employees.