Hello, Stranger [BEN HARDY]

XI: Farewell

At six in the evening, Azlin is finally all packed up and ready. Well, she could've finished packing as early as 3 p.m, but because Ben could help his cheekiness and kept bugging her for cuddles all afternoon, it took her longer than usual. She'd also taken care of the social media issue--well, temporarily--by contacting Cher, in which she advised that she disable her notifications and stay away from social media for the meantime until the issue dies down. So thankfully, Azlin's phone is now peaceful and quiet, although she's slightly regretful that she won't be able to access her account for a while.

Cher promised to keep tabs on the issue for her and update her whenever necessary, at the same time apologizing that she couldn't see her off. Azlin doesn't mind this at all; in fact, she's already so thankful to Cher for willing to help and guide her through this mess.

As Azlin finishes checking out of the hotel, she glances at Ben who's standing a few feet away from her, busy talking to someone on the phone. Fortunately, Ben is well disguised with his favorite black beanie and shades, so he's able to accompany her at checkout without grabbing unwanted attention. Although the checkout staff did keep glancing at him, as if trying to remember where she'd seen him before.

"We're in the lobby. Yeah, okay. Thanks." Ben says through the phone, coming closer to her as the call ends. He nods towards the entrance, and Azlin turns to see a black van waiting just outside.

"My manager's here. He'll drive us to the airport." Ben picks up Azlin's luggage and starts walking.

"Your manager?" Azlin gulps nervously as she shuffles next to him. "Isn't he like... mad at me? For you know... for what's happening?"

Ben chuckles. "Don't worry, he knew I'll be going to the exhibit. And he already knew something like this would happen."

"But does he know about me? About... us?" She carefully asks, but before Ben could answer, a man walks around the hood of the car and towards Ben.

"Hey man," Ben exchanges bro hugs with him, who looks to be around his early or mid-thirties. He's casually dressed in a simple button up shirt, blue jeans, and loafers, giving him an all in all friendly vibe. Ben taps the man on the shoulder and motions towards Azlin. "Jason, this is Azlin, and Azlin, this is Jason, my manager."

"Hello Azlin, nice to finally meet you." He smiles and offers her a handshake. Although surprised, Azlin manages to accept it. She didn't expected Ben's manager to be a young, down-to-earth looking guy. To be completely honest, she actually had imagined him to be a grumpy old man always dressed uptight in a suit.

"Nice meeting you too, sir." Azlin timidly greets, in which he waves his hand dismissively.

"Nah, just call me Jason. Come on, we don't want you to be late for your flights, you lovebirds." He proceeds to lug Azlin's things into the back of the car, together with other more luggage which Azlin assumes are Ben's. Meanwhile, Azlin's eyes widen at the newfound knowledge that Ben's manager, in fact, knows about their relationship. She looks at Ben in confusion, in which he just smiles cheekily and shrugs.

Once they're all settled in the van, they're immediately on their way to the airport, and there's not a single moment of silence as Jason immediately rants at Ben.

"Ben, you crazy ass." He exclaims. "You didn't tell me you brought Joe along last night!"

"He said he wanted to come!" he defends. "I couldn't just say no to him, could I?"

"I didn't come with you because you said the attention would be manageable. But then you bring Joe, so there's now two of you. So based on how many articles appeared about you both, I'm kinda guessing that you were, you know," Jason shrugs sarcastically. "Flocked by dozens of people or so?"