Once Upon a Time in South Korea

Revealed

*
KAI'S POV

"Good moooooorrrrnnniiiiiinnnngggg~!" masayang sabi ko pagkapasok sa kwarto nila Suho-hyung.

No one seemed to notice me kahit na halos sigaw na yung greeting ko sa kanila. Oh, well. Okay lang yun.

Napansin kong iilan na lang ang wala pa sa kwarto. Occupied ang mga kama nila hyung at Sehun at wala nang space para makaupo pa ako. I shrugged and happily sat on the floor. Okay lang ulit. Someone would definitely sit beside me later. Hindi kelangang masira ang good mood ko dahil lang hindi ako nakaupo sa kama.

During breakfast, Suho-hyung told to to come here by 10am. Base sa wall clock nila, 9:55am na. Anytime now, papasok na rito si Suho-hyung at mag-uumpisa na ang meeting.

Nung una, nagtaka ako sa biglaang meeting na ito. Maraming pwedeng dahilan pero isinantabi ko na lang ang pag-iisip nun. Bukod sa pwede yung ikasira ng magandang mood ko, nakakatamad din so hihintayin ko na lang na si hyung mismo ang magsabi kesa naman manghula pa ako.

Nagulat na lang ako nang may umupo sa tabi ko. Nang makita ko na si Venus pala yun, ngumiti ako at binati siya. "Good morning, Venus!"

Inirapan niya lang ako at saka niyakap ang mga binti niya. Napa-pout ako dun. Wala ba talagang kakausap sa akin sa kwartong 'to?

Tiningnan ko ang buong paligid ko. On my right, I saw Luhan-hyung whispering something to Xhelle which made the latter giggle. On my left was Baekhyun-hyung tucking Julie's hair behind her ear. She was blushing in the process. Hindi kalayuan sa BaekLie, nandun naman si Umin-hyung na nakaakbay kay Anje. Behind them was Sehun glaring at Lizzie who was unaware because she was focused on her phone. Katabi naman ng Baeklie sina Chanyeol-hyung at Ria na busy sa panunuod ng kung ano sa phone ni hyung. Annah and Tao was both leaning against the headboard, busy conversing about something I didn't have any idea what. Si Joona naman ay kinikiliti ng dahon ang tenga ni Kris-hyung at sa pagkakaalam ko, naiwan sina Soo at Loi sa kusina. The sight of them had me heaving a breath. Well, they were technically busy with each other. Nawala na ako ng gana makipag-usap. Nawala na rin ang magandang mood ko, sa totoo lang. Nagsisisi tuloy ako na tiningnan ko pa sila.

"Napapansin mo rin pala."

Mabilis akong napatingin sa tabi ko. Did Venus just talk to me? Sa gulat, hindi masyadong nag-function ang utak ko at ibinalik sa kanya ang tanong. "Uhh, napapansin ang alin?"

She tsked. "Sila."

Seconds after analyzing what she said, I chuckled. "Ah, oo. Matagal na, actually."

I looked at them again. Sa tagal kong nag-oobserve sa kanila, I still haven't gotten an answer on why they behave like that. Gusto kong tanungin sina hyung tungkol sa mga pinaggagawa nila pero hindi ko magawa. I didn't know why and it really frustrated me.

"Ahh..."

Natahimik siya pagkatapos nun. Ako naman, nakinig na lang sa ingay na nililikha ng mga tao sa paligid ko. I hated to admit this but I was glad she didn't ask further. Hindi ko in-expect na may iba pang nakakapansin bukod sa akin kaya ikinagulat ko yung pagtatanong na yun ni Venus.

Mas lalo akong nagulat nang sumandal sa akin si Venus. Trainee ko siya pero hindi kami ganun ka-close, hindi tulad ng iba. We fought and teased each other. Pabiro ko siyang inaakbayan at niyayakap but there never came a time when she was the one who initiated the skinship. This was the first.

"Inaamin ko, I'm happy seeing my friends happy, Kai. Pero aaminin ko ring natatakot ako para sa kanila. Natatakot ako na baka hindi totoo ang lahat. You know what that means?"

I remained silent.

"Masasaktan sila. And them getting hurt is the last thing I wanna see."

I know, Venus, but being in the middle of it all is much painful. Seeing every lie, fake smile and hugs and hearts soon to be broken---everything---made me want to explode. I wanted to interfere but letting your friends know my hyungs are lying is what I couldn't dare do. I love my hyungs and I care for your friends. Naiipit ako at hindi yun madali.