Bitter Holidays in Jeju

Chapter 20

Napabuntonghininga ako. "Yup... they would definitely do that."

"Sabihin ko na rin ito since kinukwento ko na rin naman sa 'yo," aniko. Wala na naman sigurong mawawala kung sasabihin ko kasi hindi rin naman nangyari 'yong dapat mangyari. "After sana namin pumunta sa Sunrise Peak, he planned us to go to the Aqua Planet kasi malapit-lapit lang daw 'yon, but he suddenly changed his mind kasi nga baka sundan pa kami ng paparazzi."

Then Chini laughed out of nowhere. My brows furrowed out of curiosity. "Alam mo, iku-kwento ko lang din ito since maraming paparazzi ang lumalapit sa akin sa Seoul at nagtatanong kung nasaan si BJH. Since Mi-Sun and our boy have broken up, may bago raw ba siyang jowa and dahil kasa-kasama ka niya. They thought you're his new girlfriend. Kaloka, 'di ba?"

Napangiwi naman ako at natawa na lang din. "Nakaloloka nga. Bakit kaya iisipin nila 'yon? Ang layo naman ng reality para maging girlfriend ako ni Jin-Hyeong."

"So... Jelay..." biglang sumeryoso ang tono ni Chini. Natigilan din ako at nagtaka kung anong topic ang ipapasok niya ngayon. "Do you ever have a plan telling me where you are right now? Kung hindi ko pa rin alam hanggang ngayon?"

Napabitaw ako ng malalim na hininga. "Yes... may balak naman akong sabihin sa 'yo. Natatakot lang ako sa baka kung anong gawin o isipin ni Jin-Hyeong sa akin. He told me not say anything to you. He requested that tapos ayun, sinabi ko rin sa 'yo kasi akala ko hahayaan mo lang din kami."

"I would do that if he formally told me about it, pero hindi, e. You just went gone and I literally have to bust my ass over there and lie repeatedly to our clients. But luckily, I still pulled it through. But Jin-Hyeong and I talked it about already. At hindi ka naman niya sinisisi so don't worry about it."

My face lit up when she said that. Biglang kumabog ang dibdib ko sa kaba at tuwa. I just don't know how to explain what I'm feeling, but that kind of assurance helped me not to think about it dearly.

"Talaga ba? Sinabi niya 'yon?"

She aggressively nodded at me para maniwala ako. "Yes, he said that. He said that it was his fault and you were just doing your job. But just like I what said, he still has contract and he must abide it. But he can always have vacation from time to time. Ibibigay ko 'yon sa kanya at pinalagpas ko na rin naman ang Christmas season and you guy surely did enjoy here so it's new year so it's time to thrive for a better year na, 'di ba?"

"I agree... but you know, I also have to say this, but I found Jin-Hyeong happy, carefree, and he felt like he's in his own world. Kasi walang nakaaalam kung nasaan siya. Some people recognized him pero hanggang do'n lang 'yon. We spent the Christmas so good na sabi niya, forever holiday na lang para laging masaya. I thought he's right and all... but sometimes it doesn't always fun and happiness. Maybe what he went through in the military is something we won't be able to experience or know, but he felt better. He's opening much to me and I appreciate him when he does that. Always."

"I might know what exactly happened here with you guys, but good for both of you. Pero sabak na tayo sa trabaho pagbalik ng Seoul, a?"

Natawa na ako sa pagbalik niya sa topic na 'yon. Tumango-tango naman ako. "For sure! May kailangan na ba agad ako gawin?"

Umiling naman ito saka sumisip sa kanyang kape. Sinerve na rin naman 'yong pizza and we started eating a piece of slice.

"Wala pa namang gagawin. Bantayan mo lang si Jin-Hyeong. Gano'n. Iyon lang muna gawin mo. But I'll give you some heads up kapag may natanggap na rin akong email. For now, I'm going to stay here for three days saka ako babalik ng Seoul. I can't stay here for a week, ano ka ba!"

"Three days lang? E, saan ka naman mag-stay? Sa bahay rin ba nila Jin-Hyeong?"

She shook her head. "No. I just rented a hotel there. No'ng sinabi mong nasa Jeju kayo, alam ko na agad kung bakit. You didn't exactly say kung nasaan kayo, 'di ba? You just said you're in Jeju and that's all," paliwanag nito.