Maia and Ely’s flight was right on time. They finally were walking on Philippine soil.  Faith and Alex were there at the airport to fetch them. It was August and was the monsoon season for the Philippines so Maia was thankful that Faith and Alex were there despite the heavy rains.

            “I’m glad you came” Faith exclaimed as she hugged her friend tightly. She then shifted her attention to Ely who now was being carried by Alex, her husband. 

            “Hey, princess. Remember me?” she said as Ely nodded her head and puckered her lips for a kiss. Faith happily kissed the girl on her lips and was about to carry her when her husband dodged her hand away.

            Maia confused, looked at Faith curiously as Faith chuckled and held her hand to her belly.

“Really?”

Faith nodded and said, “two months…”

“WOW! Congratulations to you. It’s about time you have a baby! Nice one Alex!” Maia exclaimed punching Alex on the shoulder as her luggage toppled on the floor from too much excitement.  Alex laughed loudly though he seemed embarrassed because his face became beet red from Maia’s comment.

“Since the news, he’s become over protective. He doesn’t even let me carry anything” Faith complained.

“Because we’ve waited for it for years and I don’t want to lose it” Alex retorted.

“You should be glad, Faith. Not all husbands are like that.”

“Uhuh, I’m lucky to have him.”

“Yeah. So you better do as he tells you. "

"I don't see our Singapore boy. Where's he?”Asked Maia changing the topic.

“Oh, he’s got last minute shopping to do. He said he’ll just meet us at home.”

It was around 9 0’clock when Martin arrived at the house. He was carrying 3 large plastic bags full of what-not’s and food.

“Our golden boy arrives!” Faith exclaimed as Maia stood up to help Martin with his bags. Martin put down his bags and had Maia in a bear hug. “I’m really glad you came. You don’t know how much his means to me”.

“Of course I wouldn’t let this one pass”.

“Right now, I should be saying for us to party all night but Faith’s condition wouldn’t let us.”

“It’s okay you guys, you can drink all you want and party all you want just don’t leave me here alone and go club hopping.”

“Come to think of it, I think we’ll do just that” Martin joked. “See you’ll be here to take care of Ely while we party. PERFECT!”

Maia laughed as Faith snarled at Martin.

“You do that and you’re dead” Faith threatened. “Anyway, you can’t go bar hopping since it’s raining really hard, and Alex won’t drive you.”

“Seems you have forgotten, Maia can drive”.

“Seems you have forgotten too, she doesn’t have a car.”

“I was just about to say that.” Martin said defeated. “We could have a blast here…at home…with Ely sleeping…” he continued sarcastically.

“C’mon guys! You won’t leave me, will you?” Faith pleaded.

Maia and Martin looked at each other and after a couple of seconds, laughed out loud.

“Of course we will, but since you have been a really good friend to us, we’ll make an exception…this time.” Martin winked. “But promise you won’t let us go to sleep early, and we can make as much noise as we want.”

“Of course!” Faith agreed.

“If neighbors complain, I won’t be the one in trouble, it’ll be both of you” she pointed to both Maia and Martin.

Maia and Martin didn’t seem to hear what Faith had said because both were already happily in the kitchen and  mixing drinks and preparing snacks.

Maia was glad she was with her friends. It had been months since she felt this carefree. She was right to travel back once, she thought.

XXX

Yoo Mi sat on top of Hyun Joong and she started caressing his chest. Hyun Joong closed his eyes and enjoyed Yoo Mi’s touch.

“You like that?” Yoo Mi whispered and she started nibbling  Hyun Joong’s earlobe.

“Hmm, what are you trying to do?” He said huskily with his closed eyes.

“You know, what I like…” Yoo Mi said seductively.

Hyun Joong held her waist and pivoted his body as he was now on top of her. He lowered his head and kissed her lips softly. Yoo Mi answered his kisses with the same intensity and soon one of his hands slid through the strap of her dress and began pulling it down.

“CUT!” shouted the director. “That was a good take. Take five everyone!”

Hyun Joong withdrew his lips and hand as soon as he heard the director shout cut. He also stood abruptly and couldn’t look into Yoo Mi directly. He felt embarrassed after the scene.

“Hyun Joong, I never expected you to be a very good kisser” Yoo Mi teased.

“I try my best. You were very good too” he said awkwardly.

“How many times do I have to tell you not to be awkward with me?”

“I’m trying my best noona”

“…And don’t call me noona.

Hyun Joong bowed at her and still did not meet her gaze. 

Yoo Mi did not know whether she’ll be upset or flattered at Hyun Joong’s behavior toward her. Upset, because a lot of men would die just to date her and Hyun Joong wasn’t taking advantage of his position. He didn’t seem interested in her and she was used to have men’s attention all the time. Hyun Joong was very different from all the men she’s met…and it attracted him to her all the more…and flattered because she feels he respected her and didn’t take advantage of her. No matter what, she still felt attracted to him either way.

“Ahhh! He’ll come to his senses sooner or later” she thought.

XXX

Martin had already gone to Singapore but Maia and Ely still had a week to spend in the Philippines. The week allowed Maia to talk with her other relatives and consequently found a male cousin who was willing to be her caretaker.

At the end of the week, Maia and Ely were ready to head back to Seoul.

BY the time they arrived, Maia immediately took out her hand phone and inserted her sim card to see if Hyun Joong messaged her over the two weeks they were in the Philippines. She constantly checked on her email but Hyun Joong never sent her one. She hoped he’d left a message on her cell phone, but there was none.

“What the…” she told herself and started dialing Hyun Joong’s  mom’s number. She later learned that he also was never in contact with his parents the whole time he was in Japan.

She tried calling his number again. It rang but he never answered it.

“I’m sorry Maia” Hyun Joong said to his cellphone. He was still at work and Yoo Mi was beside him when his phone vibrated. Nervous that Yoo Mi might discover Maia, he ignored the call and later turned off his phone. He thought he better talk with Maia the soonest time possible but just didn’t have enough time by himself.  He was always at work and by the time he went home, he was too tired to do anything more.

That day though, they finished with the shooting early. Hyun Joong was on his way to his service and decided he’d better call Maia on his way home. Just as he was about to close the van’s door, Yoo Mi appeared out of nowhere and was already inside the car before he could react.

“Where are you going this early?”

“Home…to rest” he responded.

“But it’s the first time we ended this early. Don’t you think we should go out?”

“Exactly. It’s the first time we ended early. We should take this time to rest. I haven’t had a decent sleep for months. I’m beat.”

“C’mon! This is our only chance to go out in public. It’s a great chance for our “relationship”, Yoo Mi chided.

Hyun Joong was too tired but he recalled the CEO calling him about going out with Yoo Mi for the public to see.

“I’m really tired, Yoo Mi ssi”.

“We’ll just grab dinner and go home directly afterwards” she pleaded.

Hyun Joong didn’t respond and closed his eyes.

“I take that as a yes” Yoo Mi said enthusiastically.

Their van arrived at a restaurant. Hyun Joong noticed there were too many people eating and hesitated for a moment before going out the van. He looked at his surroundings and some of the people on the street recognized them. He bowed at the people and greeted them politely as Yoo Mi exited the van and grabbed Hyun Joong’s hand and led him inside the restaurant.

The couple entered the restaurant hand in hand as a waiter led them to their seats. A few heads turned their way and figured someone took a picture of them with the camera's flash temporarily blinding him.

“Great, now I’m screwed” he thought to himself.

Yoo Mi flashed a shy smile and continued holding onto Hyun Joong. He thought, Yoo Mi was playing “Her ROLE” very well.

After dinner, they got out of the restaurant still holding hands as they headed to the van.

“Where do you live?”

“Now. You’re starting to be a gentleman” Yoo Mi said.

“What? I’ve always been a gentleman for you” he said.

Yoo Mi laughed and held Hyun Joong’s hand. She instructed the driver to her hotel.

“You want to come up?”

“I’m really tired Yoo Mi”

“Just have a cup of coffee”

“I don’t drink coffee”

“Then just a drink. “

“Yoo Mi…”

“What? Are you gonna reject another invitation from me? When will you stop rejecting me and start making the first move? You’re making me look like I’m the one chasing you. You are frustrating Hyun Joong” she finally said visibly irritated.

Hyun Joong was surprised at Yoo Mi’s reaction at him. “Hey, don’t make a scene. I’m sorry” he apologized.

“Are you? Then act like you are!” she screamed and started stomping toward her hotel.

“Yoo Mi! Wait!” he called after her but Yoo Mi didn’t stop and continued walking inside. Hyun Joong followed her and by the time she reached her hotel door, Hyun Joong grabbed her hand and spun her around.

Yoo Mi was slammed against her door as she looked up at Hyun Joong, clearly surprised.

“Wh…What?” she finally asked.

Hyun Joong just stared at her and didn’t say anything but continued to grab her arm. He then sighed deeply and finally said,

 “Sorry.” He dropped his hand and turned around and started walking away.

Yoo Mi, still surprised from Hyun Joong’s reaction, called him back.

“Hyun Joong…!” she cried. “Hyun Joong…! I…like you…”

Hyun Joong stopped for a while upon hearing Jung Yoo. A part of him wanted to go back to her and tell her how he felt but thought it would be better to continue walking away and pretend he didn’t hear.

Tears started to fall on Yoo Mi’s eyes as Hyun Joong continued walking away.

“I like you!” she screamed again but He never looked back. Heartbroken with his reaction, she dropped on her knees and started to cry.

“What is she screaming out now? I hate this!” Hyun Joong muttered to himself and he continued walking out of the hotel.

By the time he reached his van, he brought out his phone and punched Maia’s number but he didn’t want to discuss his predicament with her on the phone. He wanted to talk to her face to face. He was still hesitating on calling her but pressed the call button anyway. When he heard Maia’s number ring once, he immediately pressed the end call button.

“Ahhhh!! !” he screamed in frustration and threw his phone on the leather seat.

Once he got to his hotel, he again took his phone and dialed the president’s number.

“Hello? Good evening sir. Sorry to be disturbing this late, I just wanted to talk you.

“Is that so? What do you want to talk to me about? Oh, by the way, that’s a good thing you and Yoo Mi did earlier this evening.”

“Eh? I’m sorry sir but I don’t get what you are saying.”

“One of the staff here at the office was surfing at the net and saw pictures of Yoo Mi and you eating at a restaurant. I really thank you for going along with it. Haven’t you seen it yet?”

“No sir, I just got home.”

“There are already at least a thousand views and comments are already flooding in...Seems the public is buying our story.”

“What?!? This fast?!? Dang it!

“Uh, about that… I really am sorry sir for not telling you earlier, but I really wanted to inform you that I…..”

“Yes…that you…”

“That I…” Hyun Joong cleared his throat. “…that I am dating someone already before Yoo Mi.”

“There! At last! I’ve told the president... He thought satisfied with himself.

There was silence at the other line.

“Sir... Are you still there?”

Hyun Joong heard the president sigh, “Have you talked to your girlfriend about it?”

“No sir, I haven’t. I’m hoping she still has not seen those photos at the restaurant.”

“Well, do you think she’ll understand? I mean, we’ve already started the rumor; we might as well get on with it until the end. You just have to let your girlfriend understand the situation. Do you think she’ll understand?”

“But I...Hell! I'm really screwed! ...My fingers are crossed.”

“Okay, then talk to her. You can handle her, right?”

“Yes sir. I will take care of her. Thank you for your time.”

Okay. Good bye.”

“Bye.”

Hyun Joong was still disappointed with the outcome of his talk with the president. He didn’t want to go on with the agreement but he couldn’t just contradict what the president had just said. Now, he has to explain to Maia and make her understand. “How do I do this?” He kept thinking.

It was still early and he thought of calling Maia. He knew Maia would be furious about him not calling her but also hoped she’d understand.

Maia was already preparing to go to bed. After tucking in Ely, she took a bath and changed into her PJs. She was still upset that Hyun Joong never remembered to call them but did not want to assume anything.

 “I’m sure he has his own reason for doing so. I just wish he hadn’t had a change of heart.”

Maia was  already lying in bed but could not sleep. She didn’t think of anything in particular but her thoughts kept on wandering towards Hyun Joong. Somehow, there was something that’s bothering her about him. It was almost midnight when she finally gave up trying to sleep.  She stood from her bed and went to check on Ely who was sound asleep on the other room. She then proceeded to the kitchen and made herself some milk then returned to her room and sat on a couch wondering what she would do instead. She did not want to watch TV so she decided to open her laptop and surf the net instead.

“It’s been awhile since I checked my Facebook. Martin might have already posted some pictures.”

True enough, Martin has already uploaded tons of pictures with just 2 weeks in Singapore.

“Well, it seems you are having a blast”  she commented on some of the pictures.

After checking on Martin’s photos, he scrolled down on her homepage and something caught her eye. She clicked on the update and led her to AKPop’s page. It had Hyun Joong’s picture there together with a girl. They were holding hands.

“Hmmm…Must be her co-star. She looks pretty.” Maia said. Then read the article that came along with the picture.

“…There were rumors going around Hyun Joong and Yoo Mi and it seems that they are confirming it with this picture. The fan, who supposedly took this picture informed AKPop that they were on a dinner date and seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.

In addition, the fan said that the couple was also holding hands the whole time.

“Well, they look perfect for us, and we are happy for both of them”, other fans commented.

Fans are eagerly anticipating their love story as the couple is also part of an upcoming drama to be shown later this year… end of article.

While reading the article, Maia started feeling a lump in her chest. She did not want to believe the article and thought that it was part of Hyun Joong’s job to do that.

However, she kept on wondering why Hyun Joong had ignored her texts and calls and somehow, the picture seemed to fit the reason why he’d ignored her this past month.

“It doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t make sense.”

It was already morning and Maia had not slept at all. She kept on thinking about the article she read.

She went to the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Dark circles appeared around her eyes. She thought she looked like a raccoon. She combed her hair feeling disgusted with herself. Her head was also starting to hurt from lack of sleep and thought of drinking some painkillers before her headache becomes fullblown.

After drinking the painkillers, she went to check on Ely who was still sleeping and draped a blanket on her daughter. As she began tucking the blanket on Ely, she felt Ely was warm to her touch. "Huh? You're feverish", Maia mumbled. Not in any alarm, she went to the bathroom and got the thermometer. Ely wasn't feverish; she really has fever because the thermometer read 39.1 degrees celcius.

She calmly removed her comforter and replaced it with a thinner blanket and got a wet towel which she immersed in cold tap water and began a sponge bath and did it a couple of times. Ely's temperature subsided a bit but she still had the fever.

She prepared her daughter soup and woke her up and fed her then made her swallow some medicine for her fever. She wasn’t in any panic as she knew what she was doing.  However, she began to worry when, after two days Ely was still sick. She got into panic when Ely, who was lazily eating began to shriek and cry. She ran over to her and hurriedly got her jacket, the carkeys and rushed her daughter to the Hospital because her nose was bleeding.

At the hospital, she couldn’t think straight. She didn’t call Hyun Joong in fear of being rejected again as she anxiously waited for the doctor’s diagnosis. Ely was crying for her while the nurses inserted IV on her arm. She had done the procedure a dozen times but seeing her daughter undergo with it was a different feeling for her. She felt as if the sharp needle was piercing her heart instead as Ely’s cries of pain echoed inside the room.

After some time, Ely had calmed down and was carried by Maia as the doctor approached her.

“The blood test came in” the doctor said.

“Maia looked at the doctor anxiously waiting”

“Have you been traveling out of the country for the past week, Ma’am?”

Maia nodded and said, “Yes doctor. We came from the Philippines just last week.”

“The symptoms fit then” the doctor added. “Your daughter has a very low platelet count and the bleeding tells us that the disease is already in its advance stage. We need to transfuse blood as soon as possible. The nurse will let you sign a consent form in just a while. We believe your daughter has Dengue Fever.”

“Oh my God.”