Secret Admirer

6. Past 2

"I felt so stupid standing there, Kayu" Tears spilled down June's face as he remembered that day. "He was laughing and hugging his ex-girlfriend. Everyone around them was congratulating them on the inauguration of the parlor. It didn't look like he missed me. Not even a bit. It was as if me being absent in his parlor's inauguration didn't affect him at all."

June felt his heart ache just the way it did all those years back when he saw Buri together with Yen.

"Why did you have to lie to him that you won't be able to make it to the inauguration?" Kayu asked.

"Because I wanted to surprise him, damn it. I even wore the stupid clothes that he brought me that day so that I could make him happy. But little did I know that he had been too busy cheating on me that he didn't have time to care if I was there or not."

"June, are you sure that it was not a misunderstanding from your partner? Maybe they were just business partners and he was only hugging her in honor of that."

"No, Kayu. I am not mistaken. They were all over each other that night. I saw it. What kind of 'business' partners act like that to each other? Plus, he never told me that his ex was his business partner. Why would he hide something this big from me if there was nothing fishy?"

"Maybe because he knew that you might get upset."

"Did he think that I would never find out?" June was angry. The anger was not actually directed at Kayu but at Buri. It was the anger that was born from the pain of betrayal. "Plus, when all his friends were teasing him if they got back together, do you know what he said?"

Kayu shook his head.

"He said 'Of course, nothing could stop us from being together'," June remembered the exact word that stung him that night. "He even pulled her close and kissed her on the cheeks in front of everyone. You should have seen the cheering and catcalling there."

"He kissed her on the cheeks, June. Not on the lips," Kayu pointed out.

"He likes to kiss on the cheeks rather than lips. He finds it more romantic. He always kissed him on the cheeks."

"Can't blame him. I love to kiss your cheeks too." Kayu stole a kiss on his boyfriend's cheeks. Those squishy cheeks were one of the things he liked the most about June.

"Kayu," June whined. "I am beings serious!"

"I know, darling. I understand how you feel. Seeing the person you are in love with, alongside someone else is really painful. I had been experiencing it daily for the past few years. It's such a torture."

"Then, why did you interrupt me?" June sulked. "I want to vent!"

"Alright. I am sorry. Go ahead. Tell me the rest."

"No. Not in a mood," June pouted. Maybe it was because so many years had passed or maybe it was Kayu's presence, the past didn't hurt as much as it did before.

"Au? Are you going to leave me on a cliffhanger like this?" Kayu asked as he watched his boyfriend stand up with the empty beer can. "Tell me the rest na. Did you confront him? Did you slap him in front of everyone?"

June headed to the balcony with Kayu in tow. "Of course, I slapped him. I must say that slap was so satisfying. You should have seen the horror in his eyes when he saw me there," He scoffed. "I think he never thought that he would get caught this quick."

He settled on the lounge chairs on the balcony. Kayu sat opposite him.

"That day after stomping out of that place, I directly went to that condo I used to share with him to collect my things. He even had the guts to follow me there saying 'It is not what it looks like, June'." He mock-mimicked the way Buri had spoken to him that night. 

Kayu had to try hard to keep himself from laughing. His boyfriend was being too cute. The expression on June's face was too comical for Kayu.

June however was oblivious to all this. He was immersed in his own story. "He tried to stop me saying that it was all a misunderstanding. What misunderstanding? What did I even misunderstand? He just admitted that he is together with her to everyone and now what the fuck is he saying that I misunderstood?"

He fumed. "If he had lost interest in me, he could have said that, right? If he wanted to be with her that bad, he could have ended things with me first before going to her, right? Why did he have to cheat? Why did he have to make me feel like shit?"

Tears of anger and frustration flood his eyes. He furiously wiped them away, pretending to be strong.

"What did you do then?"

"I left that place and went to my parents. They didn't ask me anything. They didn't even scold me for my behavior. They just hugged me and said that they were happy that I decided to come home finally." June was thankful to his parents for being supportive of him during his toughest days.

Kayu pulled him into a hug. "It's all in the past na," He gently patted his boyfriend.

June suddenly grabbed his hand. "Kayu, come with me," He dragged his boyfriend back into the house.

He only stopped after they reached the small storeroom, a room where all of his old things were stored. He started rampaging through the things there.

"What are you looking for?" Kayu covered his nose as the place was dusty and June's moving things were making the dust particles fly.

"Got it!" June picked up a heavy cardboard box and placed it in front of Kayu.

"What is this?" Kayu asked.

"These... these are all the memories I have of him and our relationship." June swiped his hand on top of the cardboard box, wiping off the layers of dust on top of it.

Kayu could see a cute sticker that looked like a cartoon figure of a cat and a pig. "Is that a kitten and piglet?"

"Yeah," June chuckled. "We used to call ourselves that. He was the cat, and I was the piglet." June pushed the box towards Kayu.

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"Because I want you to get rid of it. Throw it in the trash," June said with a serious expression on his face. "I had tried to do it myself but each time, I would end up opening it and remines all the pain and sorrow that relationship gave me. That's why I am asking you for help. I want you to throw this away for me. I want to let go of the baggage of that relationship and start a fresh one with you. So, please help me."

Kayu looked down at the cardboard box thoughtfully.