Depression Plutus (Curse #4)

CHAPTER 4 Cat and Dog

OTTILIE VIRSES POV

"Nag-aayos ng groceries, bakit?" I barely looked at him.

He threw his arms out, gesturing wildly at the scattered bags and items. "This kitchen looks like a disaster zone!"

"Relax, maayos din 'yan mamaya," sagot ko sa kan'ya at muling nagpatuloy sa ginagawa ko.

Napaka-arte naman ng prinsipe na 'to, hindi makapag-antay. Bahala siya diyan, madami pa akong gagawin. But then I saw his face reddened, and I could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

"Everything is out of place! How do you even function with these mess?!"

"Napapano ka ba? Aayusin ko nga 'yan mamaya, saglit lang kasi," nagtitimpi kong sagot sa kan'ya.

Plutus looked like he was about to explode, without a word, he started grabbing cans and items from the counter, arranging them with military precision. He grouped the cans by color, neatly aligned them by label, and stacked the boxed items in perfect rows. Even the vegetables were sorted by size and shape.

Napanganga na lang ako pinaggagawa ng asungot na 'to. Is he a neat-freak? Agad na napatampal ako sa noo ko, ano na lang magiging buhay ko nito?

"Are you serious right now?" I said while pulling my hair down while watching him do the work.

He shot me a death glare. "If I'm going to live here, you'll keep things in order. Understand?"

Napanganga ako sa sinabi nito, "Wow, ikaw na nga lang nakikitira!"

Plutus arched an eyebrow, folding his arms arrogantly across his chest. "Let's be clear, if you hadn't messed up the ritual with your incompetence, I wouldn't be stuck in this pathetic little house. And let's get something else straight. I'm highly particular about my environment. It's you who needs to adapt and meet my standards."

I stared at him, stunned. Did he seriously just say that? My hand hung in the air as I tried to process his arrogance. Oh no, panibagong problema na naman ba ito? Hindi na ako nilubayan ng problema!

"Teka, baka pwedeng pag-usapan 'to? Grabe naman ata adjustment na gagawin ko," I finally managed, my voice cracking slightly.

Plutus's smug grin widened. "You heard me. I have no intention of living in a pigsty because you can't manage to keep things in order. From now on, you'll do things properly, or I'll make sure you regret it."

Napakurap-kurapa ako sa pagiging bossy ni Plutus. The stress of everything, the spell, burying me in the ground, the threat of being trapped in this house with him, suddenly weighed down on me. Bahay ko pa ba ito o baka ako na lang ang nakikitira dito?

"Hindi naman ata makatarungan 'yan, Plutus." My voice was quieter than I intended, but there was an edge to it. "I'm supposed to adapt? To your standards?"

Plutus arched an eyebrow as if he couldn't believe I was even questioning him. "Obviously. You're the one who dragged me into this mess. The least you can do is make my stay tolerable."

I dropped the chips onto the counter and pressed my hands into my temples, trying to push away the building headache.

"Ugh... the stress," I muttered under my breath, more to myself than to him. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation right now."

Plutus tilted his head slightly, still smirking. "Oh, believe it. You're responsible for me now, and that means making sure things are done right."

"Ang dami ko ng pinoproblema, Plutus, dumagdag ka pa." Reklamo ko sa kan'ya sabay sinabunutan ang kulot kong buhok na nagpangiwi sa kan'ya.