Coveted (EfEP #2)

Chapter 22: Naw and Chwe (Part 1)

Chapter 22: Naw and Chwe (Part 1)

The next few days, everything almost went back to normal in the palace, but the thing is... they're back to square one in investigating the case.

Now that their primary suspect is gone, people seemed to have gathered in groups at the palace. Never alone, always with a company. Friends are observing each other discreetly, afraid that one of them may be a traitor.

"Who do you think is the traitor?" tanong ni Seulchan sa mga kasama.

Nasa isang exclusive cafe ang tatlong magkakaibigan ngayon. It's still snowing outside and what better way to fight off the cold than to have a steaming cup of coffee—or in Pearl's case, a hot chocolate drink—in your hands.

Tumingin-tingin muna si Liza sa paligid bago sumagot. "Pwede bang pag-usapan 'to dito? Baka may makarinig."

Seulchan just shrugged. "This is an exclusive cafe and we are in a private room. So, ano na?"

Pearl shared her opinion first. "There are four of them according to the trial they held for Chan Lien. I think Pum is a guy, and Naw and Chwe is a girl."

"Paano mo nasabi?" tanong ni Liza.

"Obvious naman kina Chwe at Pum dahil sa kilos nila. Si Naw, feeling ko lang."

Binaba ni Seulchan ang cup sa saucer bago nagsalita. "Naw can be used for both genders according to my baozi."

"Who do you think they are? I mean, right now we literally can't trust anyone but ourselves," sabi ni Pearl.

"Chwe, I think, could be Caressa. You know, Kai's girl? Pum can be Sehun? Naw... may be Shani," sabi ni Liza habang malalim ang iniisip at nakatingin lang sa design ng dingding ng cafe.

Halos masamid si Seulchan sa iniinom na tea. Nakakatawa naman kasi talaga na naisip yun ng kaibigan.

Sinamaan siya ni Liza ng tingin na nagpaliwanag din pagkatapos. "Seryoso kasi. Si Caressa, well nabalitaan kasi dati na dalawa ang kapangyarihan niya, at hypnotism yung isa. Si Pum, 'di pa ako sure kasi hindi pa naman niya ginagamit ang ability niya so far."

"Ikaw na rin ang nagsabing hypnotism," kontra ni Pearl. "Kung pagbabasehan si Nami noong trial, para siyang inatake sa puso. Nangyayari yun 'pag may nakabara sa daluyan ng dugo sa puso, kaya posibleng ginawang frozen yung dugo niya. And since balitang-balita na may advanced skills 'tong mga nakacloak, sino ba ang merong pinakamalapit na ability dun?"

Si Seulchan ang sumagot. "Kaya na ring i-kontrol ni Chan Lien ang temperatura sa katawan ng tao, so kung ito ang pagbabasehan..."

"...si Minra si Chwe," sabay-sabay na sabi nila.

Nagkatinginan ang tatlo at biglang tumawa si Liza. "I cannot believe na hindi ko yun naisip. You're a genius, Pearl!"

"Okay," singit ni Seulchan. Nae-excite tuloy siya sa mga natuklasan. "Si Naw naman. He or she can reanimate the dead and raise an army of zombies kung tama ang pagkakatanda ko nung musical day."

"Let's check Liza's hunch first," suggest ni Pearl. "Sabi niya si Luhan daw yun. Luhan can read people's thoughts, pero imposible na ma-invade niya pa ang isip ng mga patay na since they are already considered brain dead. It's not him."

"I got something!" saad ni Liza. "Shani can animate inanimate objects. Maybe her advanced ability is animating people's corpses to make zombies. It all fits!"

"How about Pum?"

Sabay-sabay na nagbuntong-hininga ang magkakaibigan. That person's identity is hard to crack. He's the enemy's boss afterall.