China Doll [DaraGon/NyongDal]

{ 09 }

{ 09 }

Para akong naupos na kandila paglabas ko. My bravado immediately turned to ashes as soon as I left the restaurant's premises. Goodness, I'm so stupid! Bakit ko ba 'yun sinabi sa kanya?! I should have just let him on his way and kept my mouth shut para wala ng issue. For sure, iisipin niya lang na bitter pa rin ako dahil may feelings ako sa kanya, knowing how his mind works.

I heaved a deep sigh before walking around. Siguro naman ay may malapit na fast food dito 'di ba? I desperately need that food right now and I'm not in the place to be picky.

After roaming around for five minutes, I finally saw a burger joint, much to my happiness. Mabibilis ang hakbang ko papalapit doon dahil talagang nagpo-protesta na ang mga alaga ko sa tiyan.

The place was packed when I came in, probably because it was lunchtime. Hindi ko na iyon pinansin. I immediately went to the counter to order. Matapos kong um-order ay dumiretso ako sa isa sa mga tables. Good thing that I still managed to snag one in the middle of the busy noontime.

"Here's your order, ma'am!" Masayang sabi ng server sa akin bago niya mabilis na inilapag sa lamesa ko ang binili ko. Nginitian ko siya at nagpasalamat bago ako nagsimulang kumain.

I was too engrossed with my food that I was surprised when a shadow loomed over me. Agad kong iniangat ang tingin ko, thinking that a stranger may want to share the table because of the lack of space, but my eyes widened when I saw Jiyong's face staring down at me. His eyes were dark but half of his face was still covered with the mask and he was still wearing a cap. Umupo siya sa tapat ko at agad naman akong lumingon-lingon sa paligid sa takot na may makakilala sa kanya.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! How did you find me?!" I hissed. "Paano kung may makakilala sa'yo rito?! Idadamay mo pa ako!" Nanggigigil na tanong ko. Parang lumipas bigla ang kalam ng sikmura ko dahil sa kanya.

"I thought you lost your appetite?" Balik-tanong niya nang hindi pinapansin ang mga sinasabi ko. I could see some people sending us looks and my heart raced in nervousness.

"I lost my appetite because I was eating with you." Mariin kong sagot. "Kwon, you have to leave. It won't take long before these people know who you are."

He discreetly swept the place with his eyes before looking back at me. Akala ko ay sasabihin niya nang aalis siya, but man, I was dead wrong. "Ano naman?"

"Ano naman?!" I almost screeched if only I wasn't containing myself. "Kwon, you're famous. Do you really want to be hounded here with people?" Seryoso kong tanong. "Bakit hindi ka na lang nanatili do'n sa restaurant? It would have been much safer for you."

"I can't just stay there with all the words you told me spinning in my head."

Napalunok ako bago nag-iwas ng tingin. I bit my lip before answering. "Look, that was out of line. I apologize. Hindi ko na dapat 'yon sinabi because you were right, it's all in the past. I was just... anxious, I guess." Kibit-balikat ko. "You can forget about that."

"Do you think it was that easy? You throw those words into my face and now tell me that I should forget about it?" He seriously questioned.

"Ano bang gusto mong sabihin ko?!" Frustrated kong tanong. "Okay na nga–"

Agad siyang nagsalita para putulin ako. "You telling me all those things certainly mean nothing's okay between you and me, miss."

"Fine, then." I squared my shoulders before slightly leaning back to my seat. "What do you want to happen?"

"Let's talk. About that. About us."

I flinched at the word he used. Us. This is the first time I've heard this from him. Even in the past, it had always been him and me. There was always a boundary between where he ends and where I begin. Yeah, he definitely had his plans straight even in the beginning of our relationship. I was the only one who had the priorities tangled and look where it placed me?

"We're talking now."

"Not here, Dara."

Parang may bikig sa lalamunan ko pero hindi ko ipinahalata. "Where?"

Hindi na niya nasagot pa ang tanong ko nang may isang grupo ng mga babae ng biglang sumigaw ng "KWON JIYONG!!!" From there on, everything had been chaotic.

Agad na tumayo si Jiyong at sa pagkagulat ko, hinawakan niya ang braso ko. People were beginning to take pictures of us as he dragged me away, but I was surprised to suddenly feel a cap placed on top of my head. "Keep your head down," he whispered amidst the chaos and I instantly followed.

Jiyong kept me close to him. Wala siyang pinapansin sa mga tumatawag sa kanya. Hindi ko alam kung saan niya balak pumunta. Wala siyang kotse, of course, parehas kaming naglakad lang.

He tugged my arm. I looked at him and saw him mouthing "Run." Tumango ako at naghintay when he covered my hands with his and suddenly began running.

I was surprised, to put it charitably. Here I was, after several years, holding hands with my jerk of a first love, running together escaping civilian fans from hounding us. God, this seems so far-fetched. If anyone told me that I would hold Jiyong's hands outside of the shooting set three days ago, I would have laughed at their faces. Pero ngayon?

My legs were burning but I did my best to keep up with Jiyong's pace because I know we'd both be in a real mess kung hindi ako makakasunod. Both of us were panting hard but no one even tried to stop for a moment. Medyo nakalayo na kami sa mga tao at may iba na ring tumigil na sa paghabol but there were still stubborn ones who kept on pursuing us.

Jiyong turned on a narrow alleyway and went straight before turning right again. I didn't pay much attention to my surroundings because all I wanted to do was get out of there and go back to the peaceful set.

Masikip ang dinaanan naming eskinita at nagulat pa ako nang bigla akong hilahin pababa ni Jiyong. Our breaths were labored as we faintly heard the disappointed voices of the people pursuing us. Unti-unti akong nakahinga ng maluwag nang marinig kong isa-isa na silang nagsialisan nang mapagtanto nilang hindi na nila kami nakita.

Ubos ang lakas na napaupo ako sa semento at pagod na sumandal sa pader sa likuran ko. I closed my eyes as I savored the gradual betterment of my breathing. Gustong-gusto ko nang magsisigaw at sisihin si Jiyong pero alam ko namang napaka-immature no'n, aside from the fact na wala na rin itong mababago.

"I'm sorry," basag niya sa katahimikan.

Hindi ako sumagot. Huminga lang ako ng malalim bago tahimik na tumayo at pinagpagan ang suot kong damit. "Next time, 'wag mo na akong idamay sa mga trip mo. Kung gusto mong makipag-patintero sa fans mo, gawin mong mag-isa." I made a move to leave when I remembered that I was still wearing his cap. "Pahiram muna ako nito, ah?" I last said before walking but he grabbed my wrist.

"Iiwan mo na naman ako?"

I can't help but to scoff at his words. "Sino bang unang nang-iwan," I muttered under my breath, still not looking at him. "Ano pa bang gusto mo?"

"I told you, let's talk." Magpo-protesta pa sana ako nang tumayo siya at tinitigan ako ng matiim. Parang may bikig sa lalamunan ko nang tumitig ako pabalik. "I'll fetch you later. 'Wag kang aalis ng wala ako. Wala kang sasamahang iba kung wala ako." Seryosong sabi niya bago ako muling hinila palabas.

When we got out of the alley, I saw a car waiting for us. Pagbukas ng window sa passenger seat ay nakita ko ang manager ni Jiyong. Walang salitang binuksan ni Jiyong ang backseat para sa akin bago umikot sa kabila.

Needless to say, it was a quiet drive.