my Endless Blue

∞ Track #18: Hello Stranger pt. II

When we entered the waiting room, Miah had his back turned to us and his hands were both on his waist. Kuya Ynan gently closed the door and stood to my left side.

"Can someone tell me what exactly happened? Why did that Fritz guy end up scolding you, Mielie?" Miah calmly asked but I could sense that he's trying his best to keep his cool. Hindi rin siya humarap sa'min nang nagtanong siya.

Sobrang lakas ng kabog ng dibdib ko ngunit pinilit ko pa ring kumalma. "It was my mistake... When I heard a knock earlier, I thought it was Kuya Ynan — only to find out that it was that rude hooman... He mistook me for an intern and gave me a task because he found me 'maarte'. I tried telling him that he was mistaken but he left before I could even finish talking..." Maingat at marahan kong isinalaysay ang nangyari. Feeling bad, I looked down and kept my eyes on the concrete floor.

"Then why didn't you ask about the actual interns? You didn't have to fulfill the task, but you still did. Why is that?" I heard Miah walking towards where we were standing.

"I-I tried calling Kuya Ynan but he didn't answer. I didn't want to bother him anymore since sobrang busy niya kanina... And about the task, I felt bad knowing the interns would get in trouble if hindi nagawa 'yung task — ayun kasi ang warning niya kanina... I didn't want that to happen, so I decided to finish the task at hand. Hindi ko naman inexpect that that person would make a scene when I got back..."

"Kuya? Why did you leave him alone? You're completely aware how terrible most of these people are."

"S-Sorry Sir. Kinailangan ko kasing kitain 'yung stylist para sa wardrobe change na kailangan mo sa last scene... Wrong timing lang na dumaan si Fritz dito kanina. Pasensiya na..." Mahinahong paliwanag ni Kuya Ynan kay Miah. "Pasensiya na rin, Boss. Napag-tripan ka pa tuloy nung papansing prod manager na 'yun."

"O-Oka—" I couldn't finish talking to Kuya Ynan because we heard a knock on the door.

I heard Kuya Ynan talked to the prod staff outside, but I couldn't comprehend what they were talking about. Most probably because my thoughts were clouded by how pissed my boyfriend was at the moment.

After a while, nagpaalam si Kuya Ynan na may kailangan siyang puntahan bago tuluyang umalis. Me and Miah were left alone in the waiting room.

"You should fend for yourself first! You don't know these people so you don't owe them anything! Look what that Fritz guy did to you — there are people way worse than him that you might encounter in this heartless industry! If you keep being like this, they'll eat you alive!" Frustrated, Miah broke the silence. His voice was so loud that I ended up getting teary-eyed.

Scared at the thought of my boyfriend getting angry at me, tuluyan na ngang bumuhos ang mga luha mula sa aking mga mata. "S-Sorry... I didn't mean all this to happen. I just wanted to surprise you earlier... Please don't be mad at me..."

I heard his footsteps approaching me. "Mielie... Look at me..." I slowly looked up to meet his gaze. And same as what he's been doing before, he gently wiped my tears off my cheeks with both of his hands. "I'm not mad at you — I'm just worried... And also frustrated with myself... I wanted to punch that guy for yelling at you, but I couldn't do anything. What kind of a boyfriend is that?" I felt relieved that he wasn't angry at me.

Kaagad naman akong umiling sa sinabi niya. "No... I'm glad you didn't do that. Hindi siya worth it... Promise me you won't ever do something like that for me."

"Mielie..." Halata sa mukha niya ang hindi pagsang-ayon sa gusto kong mangyari.

"K-Kaze... I want us to protect Kaze — at any cost... Please?" To seal the deal, I went with my newly found secret weapon -> 🥺.