Private But Not A Secret [on A hiatus]

Chapter Five

When I woke up this morning, Nunew had already left. I really want to speak with him today to express how sorry I am for the way I acted the other day; it was quite immature of me. Dragging him away from his friend and then ignoring him was not right. I hope to tell him this later in the afternoon when we all have breakfast together. This morning, Max, myself, and the others—except for Nat's groomsman—are scheduled to get our final fittings at a boutique near the resort.

"Max, have you seen Nunew?" I asked him. "Nope, he left quite early, but Nat called him to remind him about their afternoon fitting. He mentioned he was with a friend," Max replied. "A friend? Who? Someone we know?" I asked Max, a sense of desperation in my voice. "I don't know. Wait, let's talk about this later," Max said, his attention returning to the selection of ties before him. I decided to ask Net for information about Nunew. "Net, have you seen Nunew?" I inquired. "Yeah, I saw him this morning during my jog. He was with some guy, and they seemed to be having a good time, so I didn't bother them. Just greeted them and left," Net explained. "Again with the 'friend'... Was it the guy from last night?" I asked, but before Net could respond, I was ushered into a changing room.

"Here is your suit, sir. Let me know if you need anything," the attendant said with a peculiar tone, accompanied by a wink. I chose to ignore it and proceeded to get fitted for my suit.

After the fitting, we went for breakfast, where we were seated at a table next to Nat and his groomsman. I tapped Nat on the shoulder to get his attention. "Where's Nunew?" I asked. "Oh, he said he had breakfast already. If you want to see him that badly, you could join us at the boutique for our appointment," Nat suggested. I nodded and turned back to find the guys at my table staring at me. "What?" I asked. Poppy laughed. "Have you tried calling him?" "Of course, but his phone goes straight to voicemail," I replied, feeling a bit down. Poppy, sensing my serious tone, stopped laughing. "Oh, maybe he doesn't have your number saved and isn't the type to answer unknown calls," Poppy suggested. "Love the imagination, Poppy," Max chimed in, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

The conversation shifted to Max and Poppy playfully arguing . After breakfast, it was time for Nat and his groomsmen to get to their fitting appointment . "Max, are you sure you won't need my help? You can call me anytime," I offered. Max responded with a reassuring pat on the shoulder, "I know, Zee. I think it's actually better if you go with Nat and the others. Keep them safe and out of trouble," he said, his focus returning to organizing the things in his binder.

Arriving at the boutique for the second time that day with Nat and his groomsmen, we were greeted by Nunew, who was waiting at the entrance, his laughter infectious. I couldn't help but smile as I took out my phone to capture this moment of levity, but my smile soon faded when the guy from last night wrapped his arms around Nunew's shoulders. As if sensing my gaze, he whispered a few words to Nunew before slowly releasing him.

"Look, there's Nunew. Weren't you looking for him?" Yim pointed out, oblivious to the tension. "Hey, Nunew! Zee was looking for you!" he called out, his voice loud enough to make me wince and catch Nunew off guard. Nunew glanced at me, then at his friend, exchanged a few words, and then left. Nat and Nunew entered the boutique, leaving me outside.

"Aren't you coming in to meet Nunew?" Yim asked, his tone lacking any perception of the awkwardness that had settled in the air, can't he read the fucking room. And as if on cue, the boutique assistant from earlier that morning appeared, her intentions clear as she embarked on a one-sided flirtation spree with me. She "accidentally" tripped and sat on my lap just in time for nunew to get out the fitting room to see us, he looked at us then went back into the room. I pushed her off her and tried going to his room but Nat beat to it. I sigh and sit back down. When Nat got out, I thought of getting in but the designer went in.
Nunew came out of the room in his causal clothes and immediately went to stand outside. I finally build the courage to talk to him.

"Hey Nunew" he nods and walks away. He is ignoring me. Like how I ignored him.

Nhu pov

I woke up early in the morning to make sure that I didn't see Zee awake. I went to the bar we were at last night, but not to drink. "Morning, Alex," I said to Alex, who was wiping the table. "Why are you up this early? Is your crazy boyfriend giving you problems?" he asked. "No, and he is not my boyfriend," I replied. "Sure," he rolled his eyes. "Wanna have breakfast with me?" he asked. "Aren't you working?" I inquired. "I work nights; I was just helping with the tables, but I'm done. Let's go have breakfast," he said, holding my arm and taking me to the breakfast buffet. After plating, my phone rang. "Psycho boyfriend is up. He is probably calling to ask where you are," Alex said, laughing. I rolled my eyes. It was Nat calling me.
"Nunew: Good morning, Nat."
"Nat: Morning. Aren't you coming for breakfast?"
"Nunew: Oh, sorry, I was having breakfast with a friend. I'll be there in a second."
"Nat: No, no, you stay with your friend; it's fine as long as you get to the boutique for the last fitting in time. And don't drink. I don't want people attending my wedding hungover."
"James, in the background: Aiii man, so no bachelor party?"
"Nat: Yes, if you want to party, do it after the wedding!"
"Nunew, laughing: Don't worry, I'll be there on time."
"Nat: Bye-bye, have fun. Safe fun."
With that, he hung up.

"That was just my friend," I tell Alex. "The loud one getting married?" he asks. I laugh; Nat does tend to be loud. "Yes, him. Can you please accompany me to the boutique nearby this afternoon? If you don't have work," I ask. "Again, I only work nights. Of course, I will," he says.

After breakfast, we walk around and see Nat on his morning jog and greet him. "You know him?" Alex asks. "Yeah, he's a friend."

I had a lovely morning with Alex. I learned that his father is the manager of the resort we were staying at, so he had keys to get into places others couldn't, like the aquarium after hours. Since it was morning, the aquarium was closed, and only staff members were there to feed the animals. He let me touch the octopuses and feed the penguins while the other staff members were monitoring. At noon, my alarm rang, notifying me of the final fittings.

Alex took me to the boutique, and as we waited for the rest to come, he kept making dad jokes about sea animals. I was laughing so much I didn't notice that the rest had arrived. “Hey! Nunew! Zee! Was looking for you!” Yim screams, startling me. I see Zee next to Yim. Zee glares at Alex and me.

"Your boyfriend is scary-looking," Alex says, letting go of my shoulder. "He's not my boyfriend," I tell him. "Catch you later," Alex says, leaving. I gesture for Nat and the others to walk in first, then I follow. We were not even comfortably seated before one of the shop assistants started her obvious flirting with Zee. I tried not to pay attention. I even volunteered to be fitted first to get it over with.

While in the dressing room, I could hear the assistant consistently giggling and laughing. I left the room and saw her sitting on Zee's lap. I went back into the dressing room to give them space and to cry. "Nunew? Are you done?" Nat asked. "I'm coming in now," . He came in and saw me wiping my eyes. "Aww, Nunew. I honestly get it. I also fought back tears while fitting my suit. You look great," he said, hugging me, wiping more of my tears before leaving. I felt like a bad friend. Instead of being filled with joy for Nat’s wedding, I was crying over a man who doesn't want anything from me. The designer came in and altered anything that needed to be fixed. I should focus more on Nat's big day and less on Zee.

After I was done, I changed into my clothes and went out to wait for the rest.