Hatin' Hue: A JOKEN AU

HH 14

Han questioned Gold, his new friend, "Boyfriend ko siya ng isang buwan. Kaya ko ba?" It was evident to him that continuing to pretend to be in love with the person he truly loved would be quite difficult.

"How could you pretend not to be in love with a certain person while pretending to be in love?" he pondered, making his head throb.

With so much going on with Han's mind, taking his meds skipped past his memory as he was ranting to Gold. Suddenly, he had a cloudy feeling in his eyes. "Wala akong makita," he uttered.

Gold said in a panic, "What the hell, Han! Have you been taking your meds?!"

Han shushed Gold, saying, "Ikalma mo nga, lalo akong natataranta," and just requested water.

"There," Gold said while passing his beer glass.

"Ah pota! Tubig ba 'to sayo?" Han exclaimed as he took a sip of it.

Gold rolled his eyes, saying, "Yes, that's been my water for the entire day. Don't be maarte as if hindi ka malakas uminom."

"Fast is passed; ayokong magtamang hinala na naman ang bebissob ko," Han replied, raising his brows up and down.

"Stupid! Fast is what?" Gold responded, sounding a bit irritated.

Han muttered, "Gets mo na 'yon."

Gold looked amused and said, "Yeah, but I don't get how my brother would even want to date you. Anyway, are you feeling better?"

To tease the younger, Han lashed back, seeming to be arrogant, "Akala mo naman hindi humaling na humaling sa alindog ko 'to. If I know, mas masarap ako humalik kaysa sa fiance mo."

Gold silently wept as he thought of Crimson and his earlier confession. He responded, "You seem to be fine now. At kung ayaw mong magtamang hinala na naman si Cal, I should be going by now. See you never!"

Han waved back, saying, "Uy sakto! I can see you na! Sige bye, Gold. Salamat parati, tunay kang kaibigan."

But a man came up to them before Gold could even go. The old man said, "Who's this, Austin?"

Austin retorted, "It's Han, kuya's boy—," but Han interrupted.

"Boydigard po, Sir Hue," Han continued, "Bodyguard ni Caleb ho."

Mr. Hue said, "I see. Austin, you may leave. I'll have words with his new bodyguard," to which Austin complied right away.

Both men took a seat while they conversed. Han's heart continued to race, and he was practically gulping down every word that Mr. Hue spoke.

"Firstborns think they own the world. You know, no one, even when I promised them enormous sums of money, has ever remained Caleb's bodyguard for an extended period of time. He is, indeed, conceited. Unfortunately, he remains a Hue. His controversies were beyond our means as a family. Do your job well; I don't care how you protect him, as long as you keep our name safe. I heard about your eye condition; consider it all done. Simply ensure that Caleb stays out of any scandals until the end of the month," Mr. Hue stated with hardly a sidelong glance.

Han attempted to respond with all the respect that was left in him after being provoked, "Sir, mawalang galang ho, hindi arogante si Caleb. At consider it done rin ho, proprotektahan ko ho talaga si Caleb at ang mga bagay na pinahahalagahan niya. Too bad, Sir, I haven't heard being a Hue is important to him. Kaya hindi ko ho kailangan ng bayad niyo."

Following Han's words, Mr. Hue grinned. He rose up, saying, "Consider it done then. You're fired."

Mr. Hue encountered his son Caleb as he was leaving the pool area. With knotted brows, Caleb enquired, "What did you tell him?"

He stated, "I'll hire you a new bodyguard," and put his tobacco pipe in his mouth.

"You don't have control over my life," an enraged Caleb shot back.

His father lost his temper, and as usual, he raised his voice at him, "Arrogant piece of shit! Leave and don't you ever set foot in my house until I say so."

Without pausing, Caleb turned his back on him and made his way to his room, banging his door hard against the wall as he went to gather his belongings from the mansion.

"Caleb?" Han asked as he hurried to the location of the noise and noticed Caleb's furrowed brows. While he was moving quickly, tears continued to stream down his face.

Han attempted to calm Caleb down by saying, "Teka, teka, sorry na. Ano, tahan na," since he was unsure of what was happening. "Sorry na, hon. Tama ka naman pera nga ang dahilan kung ba't napalapit ako sa inyo. Kaya tahan na, hmm? I made up my mind; I acce—"

With tears streaming down his face, Caleb rushed to embrace Han. Maybe it's about his engagement, or maybe about hurting Han, or maybe about his dad and him being a Hue, or it could be all of them.

He's exhausted, so exhausted that he can't even comprehend his current state of tears. It felt lighter, though, with Han.

Caleb held Han's wrist with their bags as they left his room, saying, "We'll talk about that later. But we'll have to leave right now."

A few of the security guards stopped Caleb from getting into his car as they got to the gates. "Bawal niyo raw ho dalhin sasakyan niyo, Sir, sabi ni Sir Hue. Pasensya na ho."

Caleb swore, "Damn it!" But he continued, "Not you, manong. It's okay, just let us leave peacefully."

Caleb was squeezing Han's hand a little too tightly, and could still feel the strain even after they opened the gates. "Ba't ba tayo nagtatanan agad?" Han tried to lighten the mood, making some of their kasambahay giggle.

"What are you talking about?" Caleb shot him a lethal glance that caused Han to avert his eyes.

With a scared voice, Han said, "Sorry. Saan ba tayo pupunta?"

Walking out of the mansion, they noticed a familiar car parked across the street.

A man approached them and Caleb asked, "Crimson? What are you doing here?" Han felt a sudden shift in mood.

"Gold called me," he said, taking the bag that Caleb was holding and stashing it into the trunk.

Han remarked, "Salamat, gar, pero magcommute na lang kami ni Cal," and began to drag Caleb, but Caleb gradually relinquished his hold on him.

Han frowned as he saw Crimson grinning inadvertently after noticing it. "Get in, Han. Or I'll just see you at home; I have to talk to Crimson pa kasi," stated Caleb.

What Han heard startled him. He sat next to Caleb, biting his lower lip to contain his smile, and said, "Ha? Ano 'yon? Uuwi ka sa akin?"

Caleb ignored him, though Han's response fluttered him inwardly. "Crimson, take us to Han's place, please."

"Being with you makes the darkness a bit lighter, brighter, and better."

To be continued...