Second Chance

ATHENA 13

“He said what???”, panlalaki ng mata ni Minhyuk.

Nakarating na kami sa condo and he wanted to stay for a cup of coffee. This guy really doesn’t know how to rest!

Maghahating gabi na ayaw pa din paawat sa kwento.

“He said I’m a hypocrite.”
“Wow. That’s just mean!!!”
“Ya. You know I deserve it.”

Masakit man, I knew I deserve every bit of shade Theo showed to me. Nagulat nga ko na di siya nagbeastmode dun eh. He was surprisingly calm when we were talking.

“Still. I went out so that you two could talk. I didn’t know he would be that mean to you.”

Napabuntong hininga na lang ako. Bakit parang mabigat pa din pakiramdam ko? Parang kulang pa din yung pag-uusap namin? I thought I could finally be relieved when I said sorry, but it’s more complicated than that I guess.

I hugged Minhyuk on the couch. Buti na lang andito siya.

“Couldn’t you be my boyfriend instead???”, pagpapacute ko dito.

Bumitaw naman siya sakin, diring diri.

“Ya!! I don’t like girls remember!!!”

Natawa na lang ako. Ang sarap talaga biruin nito.

Minhyuk’s gay. Ako lang nakakaalam sa agency namin kaya sobra na lang kung makadikit to sakin. Even Rachel, she doesn’t know. Sigurado kapag may nakaalam, he would be kicked out of the agency. Korea isn’t really that open to such cases.

“Ah!!! I have a plan!!!”, biglang sigaw nito.
“Plan?”
“Why don’t we make him jealous???”

Binato ko nga siya ng unan.

“That’s nuts!!!”
“It’s a good idea! Maybe he could let out his true feelings for you! Didn’t you notice how he glared at me? I’m sure he’s feeling jealous!”
“He’s not.”
“How do you know???”
“He likes someone else.”
“Eh?? I don’t think so!!!”

Naalala ko kasi kanina sa kotse yung nakita ko sa phone ni Theo. His lock screen was a picture of him, Becca and Sabrina. Kahit na siinabi niyang hindi sila, I still had my doubts. Kung di naman kasi mahalaga sa kanya si Sab, he wouldn’t put that on.

“He does….at least what I think.”
“You wanna bet??? Then let’s make him jealous!”
“There’s no point.”
“But, do you wanna know or not???”

I didn’t want to agree pero Minhyuk is really persistent. Plus, his offer was very tempting. Kung aalamin lang naman kung nagseselos ba talaga si Theo and nothing more…I think okay lang naman???

The next morning, kumatok ba naman si Minhyuk sa unit ni Theo. Sinubukan kong pigilan siya pero binuksan naman agad ni Theo yung pinto.

“Oh, hi! I just want to bid you goodbye! Last night was really fun. Thank you!”, sabi nitong si Minhyuk.

Mukang di naman natutuwa si Theo sa presensya niya.

“Yeah. Sure.”
“I’ll go ahead then!!”

Lumapit naman sakin si Minhyuk at hinalikan ako sa cheeks. Kinindatan pa ko!

“See you soon, okay??”

Umoo na lang ako. Aba talagang loko to!!! Kina-career  talaga plano niya eh!!
Napasilip naman ako kay Theo. He was just raising a brow on him. Babati sana ako pero sinara na niya yung pinto. Nagthumbs up naman sakin si Minhyuk.

For the next two days, he continued his plan. Lagi siyang tumatambay sa condo, waiting for Theo when he comes back or goes to work. It’s either lalabas din kami na nakaakbay sakin si Minhyuk or even holding hands. That one time, nagkasabay kami sa elevator, bigla akong binulungan ni Minhyuk.

“Let’s get him crazier.”, bulong niya.

I can see from the elevator’s reflection na nakatingin samin si Theo. As usual, his reaction was reserved. But I can see he’s glaring at us.

Nung tumunog yung 2nd floor, bumaba na siya.

“Oh? Aren’t you going in the basement??”, sabi ni Minhyuk.
“No. I’ll just take the stairs.”, sagot naman ni Theo.

Nung nagsara yung elevator, tawang tawa naman si Minhyuk. I didn’t want to believe that it was jealousy. Theo’s probably fed up seeing us always. Hay. Nagguilty na tuloy ako.

Then one day after my meeting in WAR, sumama na naman sakin si Minhyuk sa condo. We saw Theo and Becca papasok sa unit nila.

“Hi Becca!!”, pagbati naman ni Minhyuk.

Becca waved hi to us. Then hinila niya yung damit ng daddy niya.

“Daddy? Maybe Tita Athena can come with us instead?”

Theo looked at me then to Becca. “No, baby. Busy si Tita Athena mo.”
Pero biglang sumabat si Minhyuk.

“She’s not that busy! Right, Soyi? Maybe we can come with you! What’s the occasion???”

Ughh. Sasabunutan ko na talaga tong baklang to eh.

“It’s Becca’s first day of school tomorrow. They have some kind of party for the students and parents.”, cold naman na sagot ni Theo.
“Party?? Oh yeah! We’ll be there!”
“Minhyuk. I don’t think Theo wants us there.”, pandidilat ko na dito.

Tinignan ko ulit si Theo. Seryoso pa din muka niya.

“Please tita Athena!! Daddy will be very sad if he’s going alone. Mommy can’t come.”, sabi pa ni Becca.

Huh? Bakit kaya wala pa din si Sabrina? It’s very unusual na hindi siya sasama sa kanila ah.

“We’ll come! Don’t worry Becca!!”, sabi ni Minhyuk.
“Yay!!!”

Mukang napilitan na lang talaga si Theo.
Pagkapasok nila sa loob, binatukan ko si Minhyuk.

“Ow!!! What’s that for???”
“That’s for forcing things! Theo obviously doesn’t want us there.”
“Who says I’ll go too? I’ll let you go alone.”
“WHAT???”

At ayun, iniwan niya nga ako. We agreed to go at Becca’s daycare center pero Minhyuk made up a lie that he had an emergency. Well that leaves me alone with them.