Gotta Be You {Chandara} - COMPLETED

17. LET OUT THE BEAST

The past months have been crazily busy for me. Kung anong ikinagulo at hectic ng schedule ko sa trabaho, s'ya namang ikinatahimik at chill ng relasyon namin ni Chanyeol na nananatili pa ring lihim sa publiko.

Busy din kasi ang EXO dahil itinuloy na nila ang naudlot na world tour para sa promotion ng album nila. Actually, I could count only on one hand kung ilang beses pa lang namin nagagawang magkita ni tenga. Pero kahit ganun ang sitwasyon namin, I know that my heart is in perfect condition. Masaya ako kung anuman ang meron kami. Although to be honest, a part of me is wishing na somehow maging out in the open ang relasyon namin. Ang hirap kasi mag-pretend and to act as if dating each other is a crime. But knowing the millions of saesang and die-hard EXO fans, for sure magugulo lang lalo ang komplikado naming mundo.

***

"Dara noona!"

Nagulat ako sa pagtawag sa 'kin ni Jiyong. Agad ko namang pinigil ang pagsara ng elevator going up our CEO's office para makapasok s'ya. Ipinatawag kasi ako ng CEO ng YG to discuss the newest project he has brewing up for me.

Jiyong quickly got inside the elevator, panting a little dahil bahagya itong tumakbo.

"Thanks," he muttered smiling widely at me.

"Aakyat ka din ba?" Tanong ko. I was smiling widely at him also. Iba talaga ang karisma ni Jiyong kahit kelan. Parang awtomatiko ka na lang na mapapangiti sa tuwing makikita mo s'ya. Ang guwapo kasi.

"Yup. Hey, I like your new hairstyle. Bagay sa'yo. Ang ganda," he even touched a strand of my hair which made me feel a bit uncomfortable to be honest. Kilig oo, pero awkward pa rin. This is G-Dragon we are talking about na isa sa mga unang naging crush ko when I first joined YG.

Sa totoo lang, isa s'ya sa mga naging dahilan sa pagkakasali ko sa 2ne1. Jiyong somehow convinced our CEO to get me on board after our bonding session sa isang karaoke club where I went all out sa isang singing performance just to get everyone's attention. Fortunately, nakarating naman sa CEO ang pagpapasikat na ginawa ko kaya naipasok ako bilang last member ng 2ne1.

He suddenly fished out his phone from his pocket and clicked for the camera. "Selca tayo? Post ko sa Instagram?" Tanong ni Jiyong.

"Uhm, okay." I immediately did my signature V post and he did the same thing.

"I tagged you on the photo and by the way, I just followed you on Instagram." Patay malisyang sabi ni Jiyong.

"What? May lagnat ka ba?" I asked him out of curiosity habang busy ito sa pagpindot sa phone.

"Wala naman. Bakit mo natanong?" He replied briefly.

"You've never followed anyone on Instagram di ba, so why on earth would you follow someone today and me of all people? For sure something is up. You're acting weird. What's happening? Iba ka ngayon," I told him.

"Mas gwapo ba?" Nakangising tanong ni Jiyong out of nowhere. Anong connect? Ang kulit talaga ng lahi.

"Oo na. Mas gwapo na," I gave in. Kasi hello, totoo naman.

***

"My golden couple Daragon is finally here!" Bati ng CEO namin pagkapasok namin sa opisina n'ya.

"Stop it. You're gonna make Dara here uncomfortable," nakatawang saway ni Jiyong sa pang-aalaska ni CEO. Only G-Dragon can do that. Others won't even dare.

"I'm used to it, Jiyong. Wala nang epekto sa 'kin ang ganyang hirit. Wala na bang iba?" I smirked and pretended to be nonchalant about it. Ilang milyong hashtags na ba meron ang #daragon? It's been going on and on since time immemorial. "So why are we here?" I asked sounding a little impatient.

"Fine. Let's talk business. One word: collaboration. Gold and diamonds boy Jiyong here, plus you, vampire goddess Dara, his baby girl, together. We're creating a new YG sub-unit and it's gonna be called... wait for it... DARAGON! Genius, right? Your record's gonna sell like hot pancakes. It will be amazing," our CEO revealed the surprise and my heart almost exploded with joy.

This is huge for me. Imagine isang buong album with "The G-Dragon" himself? It's every idol's dream! Kumutitap ang mga mata ko sa excitement.

"You like it, Dara? You and me together?" Nahihiyang tanong ni Jiyong which cut my reverie a little.

"Like it? No, I don't like it at all! Are you crazy? This project is freaking amazing! I love it! I'm in! Definitely in!" I replied with so much enthusiasm at napayakap pa 'ko sa kanya nang bahagya sa sobrang saya.

***

"Imagine that? G-Dragon and me? Who would have thought di ba?" I told Chanyeol on the other line.

"I'm so happy for you, Sandy. Good job! I'm sure it will be successful," sagot ni Channie.

"Bakit parang hinihingal ata boses mo? Okay ka lang ba?" Nag-aalalang tanong ko.

"I'm okay. Napagod lang. Dance rehearsals kasi. But don't worry about me. Just focus on your new project. Make me proud, okay? Anyway I gotta go. I love you, bansot," nagmamadaling paalam ni Channie.

"Salamat. I love you, kapre. Just don't be too hard on yourself ha? Inoperahan ka kaya hinay-hinay please," I reminded him.

"Yes boss!"

***

"Congratulations on the tremendous success of your album and world tour. You guys look amazing together!" Bati ng isang reporter sa amin ni Jiyong.

We were in a press conference here in Taiwan to recap our recently concluded world tour for Daragon the album. It went multiplatinum in Asia and in so many countries in Europe and America as well just a few days after its release.

"Thanks for that. We're really thankful to our fans all over the world for their amazing support," Jiyong said humbly while flashing his sweet smile.

The music video of our dance carrier single "White Apple" even surpassed the record previously held by Gangnam Style on YouTube.

"How do you feel about your achievement, Dara?" Another reporter asked.

"I'm super happy and proud. All our hardwork paid off and doble ang saya ng puso ko kasi madami kaming napaligayang fans," sagot ko.

"With the recording, rehearsals, shoots and even the world tour, hindi ba kayo nagkasawaan na magkasama? Or on the contrary, hindi ba kayo nagka-developan?" The reporter teased which made me blushed a little. Grabe. They're putting us on the spot. This is so awkward. Good thing Jiyong saved me and took charge answering.

"Dara is a breath of fresh air. She's fun to be around with. So definitely hindi nagkasawaan. Nadevelop? Yes yes. Of course. I've come to know her a lot in the past months na magkasama kami. We're together almost everyday and when you're paired with someone as charming and as beautiful as Dara, it's so hard not to feel something. Bato ka na lang siguro kung wala kang maramdaman," dire-diretsong sagot ni Jiyong na ikinabigla ko.

Halos mahulog ako sa upuan. Tama ba ang naririnig ko?

"Are you saying you've developed feelings for each other during the course of Daragon?" One of the reporters stood up and asked the dreaded question.

"Yes. I'm inlove with Sandara Park and I'd like to believe that the feeling is mutual. I am pursuing her and I hope all of you guys can cheer us on so things will lead us to something beautiful," binalingan ako ng tingin ni Jiyong and he was smiling from ear to ear. Kulang na lang magkaron ng red hearts yung magkabilang mata nya.

Is he for real? My jaws dropped and my eyes dilated in shock. Naka-drugs ba si Jiyong? Anong pinagsasasabi nito?

My eyes scanned the entire venue habang kumakabog ang dibdib ko sa kaba at namumuo ang pawis ko sa noo. Cameras flashing, fans and reporters are all over. Jiyong just said those things on national TV!