H.O.T 1: Dante (R-18/SPG)

7

Schedule: Two updates every Friday.

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"NOONA!" parang naeskandalo na pagtawag ni Dante sa babae. Pulang-pula ang mukha nito na para bang napahiya. "Hyerin noona, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here because you weren't responding to my mails," sagot ni Hyerin habang sinusuot ang eyeglasses nito. Pagkatapos, tumingin ito kay Dante. Pero mabilis din namang lumagpas ang tingin nito sa lalaki para tingnan siya. "Oh..."

"Oh," sabi ni Mij nang matauhan siya. Pagkatapos, tumingin siya kay Dante na tumingin din sa kanya na parang natataranta ito. "Should I have asked first if you were single, too?"

"I'm single and very much available," mabilis na paliwanag naman ni Dante na mukhang natauhan na. "I wouldn't have invited you here otherwise."

"I'm 59% convinced," maingat na sabi niya. "I'm giving you more time to explain."

"Miss Mijiko Pineda, let me introduce you to Hyerin noona," sagot ng lalaki. "She's my editor at work." Pagkatapos, tumingin naman ito kay Hyerin na tinatali na ang blonde hair nito sa isang messy bun. "Hyerin noona, this is Mijiko Pineda. She's my date."

Date.

Plausible.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," halatang nakokonsensiyang sabi naman ni Hyerin. Pagkatapos, tumayo ito at lumapit sa kanya. Sa pagkagulat niya, hinawakan nito ang mga kamay niya. Ngayong nakatayo na ang babae sa harapan niya, saka niya lang na-realize na maliit ito. She was a voluptuous woman with puffy cheeks and milky white skin. "Mijiko-ssi, don't worry. Dante and I are just co-workers and friends. I have a girlfriend and she's Filipina. I'm actually here to spend my vacation leave with her but I thought I should also drop by here to check on our precious artist. Just so you know, that kid hasn't been productive for the past months and he's so behind his deadline."

Napangiti siya dahil bukod sa na-relieve siya sa mahaba nitong paliwanag, naramdaman din niya ang playfulness sa boses nito. Ngayon pa lang, masasabi na niyang may sibling relationship ang dalawa sa kabila ng pagiging co-workers ng mga ito. "That's too much information but thank you."

Ngumiti sa kanya si Hyerin na lalong nagpa-cute rito. "I should probably leave–" Bigla itong natigilan nang kumalam ng malakas ang sikmura nito. "Oops."

"You should stay and eat something first," nag-aalalang sabi niya rito. She just met Hyerin but she already wanted to protect this little cinnamon roll. "And it wouldn't be wise to leave now because it's still raining hard outside."

"I know but..." Tumingin ito kay Dante. "I don't want to ruin that child's sex life."

Nag-init ang mga pisngi niya sa mga sinabi ni Hyerin pero hindi rin niya napigilang matawa. Kung ibang tao siguro ang nagsabi niyon, baka na-offend na siya. Pero may something kasi sa babae na nakakagaang ng loob.

"Stay, noona," sabi naman ni Dante, saka nito ipinaikot ang mga mata kay Hyerin bago ito naglakad papunta sa kitchen. "I'll cook ramen for us. Please wait here."

And just like that, he left them in the living room to cook.

Ramen is a survivor, huh?

"Mijiko-ssi, I'm terribly sorry for the horrible timing," seryosong sabi ni Hyerin noong nakaupo na sila sa sofa. "I'm used to staying at Dante's place whenever I'm here in the Philippines so I didn't bother to text him first. And since I'm often here, he gave me a duplicate keycard. As far as I know, he's single and he doesn't really bring girls in his place." Marahan nitong tinapik-tapik ang mga labi. "That sounded like a lame excuse. I'm very sorry."

Napangiti siya dahil sa dami ng mga sinabi nito, isa lang ang pinakatumatak. "So, I was the first woman he brought home?"

"As far as I know, yes," sagot nito sa nag-aalangang boses. "But I can't be too sure. We really don't talk about stuff like that."

Oh, that makes sense.

Ngumiti na lang siya dahil hindi naman mahalaga kung siya ang una o hindi. She was just there for a hookup, not for a romantic relationship. "So, you're an editor?" pagbabago niya sa usapan. "And Dante is your artist? Sorry, I thought he was a graphic artist but I'm not sure if they need editors in that line of work."

"He probably didn't tell you because that kid is too humble for his own good," nangingiti habang iiling-iling na sabi ni Hyerin. Pagkatapos, nagkuwento na ito. "Are you familiar with webcomics?'

"Yes," mabilis na sagot niya. "Oh. He's a webcomics creator?"

"He is," pag-confirm nito. "And he's one of the most profitable and successful artists of Sunnytoon– our company. In fact, his hit series 'Bad Kids' has been adapted to a drama. It's yet to air but the teasers and trailers have been released."

Napasinghap siya dahil alam niya ang tungkol doon. "Bad Kids is on my to-watch list! My favorite Kpop idol is the male lead so I am eagerly waiting for it to air!"

Alam niya rin na based sa isang webcomics ang Bad Kids dahil noong ni-release ang cast list, kasama roon ang image ng mga webcomics characters na gagampanan ng mga ito. Pero hindi naman siya nagbabasa ng webcomics kaya hindi niya inalam kung sino ang artist niyon.

And Blueberry didn't tell me!

Pero hindi naman siya nagtatampo. Konti lang. Aware naman siya na wala itong right na ipagkalat ang trabaho ni Dante kung hindi naman pinapaalam iyon ni Dante sa mga gaya niyang ngayon lang nito nakilala.

Mukhang ibang case lang 'tong si Hyerin na medyo madaldal.

"Ladies, the ramen is cooked," mayamaya ay sabi ni Dante habang nakasilip muna sa kusina. Nang lingunin niya ito, nakita niyang matalim ang tingin nito kay Hyerin. "Noona, I heard everything. You should have given me the chance to tell that to Mij myself."

"You wouldn't because you're too humble to brag about your success. You also tend to downplay your status," playful na sagot ni Hyerin, saka ito tumayo at mabilis na naglakad papunta sa kusina. "I missed your ramen, Dante-ya."

"Whatever, noona," iiling-iling lang na sabi ng lalaki. Pagkatapos, naglakad ito palapit sa kanya. Kitang-kita ang panlulumo sa mukha nito nang umupo sa tabi niya. "I'm sorry about this, Mij."

Ah, hindi pala panlulumo ang nasa mukha nito ngayon– panghihinayang 'yon.

Ay, may nabitin?

"We can have ramen first," nakangiti at playful na sabi ni Mij. "The night is still young, Mr. Dante Jung."

Dante smiled at that. "Agreed, Miss Mijiko Pineda."