L U N A

Two Bottles

Song of the Chapter: The Two of Us- Ali

Spending a day on our apartment is like going to a cemetery, the atmosphere is quite because everyone is ignoring each other. I know that this is the perfect time to finish the book that I am currently reading but this is not the perfect moment to take advantage of it.

I miss the noise of my roommates. I miss getting irritated to their habits.

After the incident with Sul Hee, they got angry to Ray. They kept on asking him why he let that girl hurt me and Na Rae. The most frustrated was Woozi. He cannot forgive Ray up until now. Whenever they had close contact, Woozi will snort or insult my twin.

Xin invited us to our so called ‘family meeting’ the day after. On that moment, he let Ray explain what happened. Xin was the only who comforted him. He got no concern from Aiden and Woozi.

The worst thing happened to Ray was with Aiden. He got almost kicked out of our apartment. He was the first one who saw us when we went back. He cursed when he saw the scratch on Ray’s neck but he got angrier when he saw me. I don’t have any wounds around my face and my neck. He keenly observed me until his eyes darted on my arms down to my hands.  A scratch from Sul Hee’s nails and bruises from her grip.

Aiden let me enter the unit but he blocked Ray. He pushed him until Ray lost his balance. Aiden began yelling that made Xin and Woozi went out of their rooms. Xian stopped them. Woozi took care of me.

The whole thing for me was just a plain misunderstanding. It should not be a big deal. However, the incident was different from what I experienced with Ray’s other girls. Usually, before they can pick a fight, Ray and I are going to run until we escape from their sights. I waited for Ray to hold and drag me out of the resto. But that’s not what happened. He only stood up and let us fought with Sul Hee. It was weird for me. Ray’s face looked confused and lonely that time.

I decided to go out for some fresh air because the silence is suffocating. I miss the chattering around the apartment. Thought we kept on arguing, I used to live with it for 2 years now.

Today is my rest day and usually, I am sleeping but with a peaceful mind. I can’t sleep well because I am afraid that the boys might get in trouble again. That is my predicament from last week’s incident up until now. However, I cannot stand it anymore. I need an escape even if just for this day.

I just put everything on my bag whether I need it or not. Laptop, phone, small panda stuff toy, perfume, tissue, wallet, keys of the apartment and my room, lipstick, loose powder, notebook, pen, umbrella and of course, the book that I am eager to finish.

Having trouble on what to wear is one of the problems of the girls especially if they don’t want to look fashion terrorist. Out of the dresses, shirts and pants that I tried, I ended up with my usual femme rock chic look. I wore a white t-shirt printed with ‘I H A T E M O N D A Y S’, black skinny jeans and brown low cut leather boots. I let my long purple hair down and I used my shades like a headband.

I still don’t have a car that’s why I need to commute from the apartment to shopping mall. This is tiring.  I should have asked Aiden to give me a ride. However, I am avoiding that he will think of it as a date. Argh, that kid. Sometimes, I don’t get his gestures toward me. If I am not Im Luna, I will definitely think that he is flirting with me.

My rest day is every Monday and this is the perfect day for me to go to shopping malls or at the coffee shops. Monday is always the busiest day to everyone’s lives. Everyone is at work. Everyone is at school. Everyone is trying to have a great Monday for believing that it will bring them a good luck for the whole week.

Well, it was just a superstition.

Because I never had great Mondays like they always believe.

That’s why I take Mondays as my rest day. No bad vibes clients. No heavy traffic. No hectic schedules.

I will spend this day as if I own the world. I will spend it in a positive-

“I do believe that I did not call you nor message you to meet me?” I bumped into someone that is going to ruin my day. The guy that I should never met. He is smiling at me as if he is glad that we bumped each other.

“You know what? I want to spend this day with some good vibes.” I exclaimed with sarcasm.

“Well, that’s not the case for me.”

I know Chase is a good man and he has nothing to do with whatever I am dealing. He is just an unfortunate man who met me at this side of mine. He is too positive for me. He is too bright for my sulky life. I hate him especially when he asked a favor from me. He may be angry that day, but I can see that he was delighted that we have a thing to talk about.

The day that I prayed to be good was easily vanished when Chase talked to me. I am with him now. I supposed to be eating at my favorite Italian restaurant but he insisted that he will treat me a lunch. I ended eating the Chicken Teriyaki at this Japanese restaurant. I cannot eat it well because I know what the best Chicken Teriyaki tastes like and it can only possibly made by Xin.

“You know what? This is where you can eat the best Chicken Teriyaki.” He adored so much this restaurant. I just nodded and kept beating the chicken on my bowl. “You don’t like the food?” I looked at him. He is already staring at me while slowly munching the food inside his mouth.

This moment gave me a chance to look at Chase’s feature. He looks so manly for me a while ago but now he is a little closer to me, I can see that he had feminine features too. His complexion looks like he really took care of his skin. His eyes are dreamy but wild. His lips are naturally tinted with red.  His teeth are perfectly white. And his hair…why he is healthy looking guy despite of his style? He is wearing white long-sleeve polo shirt with two loosen buttons that shows his fine chest, black wrist Swatch, tattered blue denim jeans and a Birkenstock sandals. He’s kinda ragged but still looking decent. Chase is a one fine man. Maybe that is the reason why he wants his good reputation back on social media.

“Luna?” I was shaken up when he called my attention. I suddenly ate the food though it’s tasteless for me. Gosh, I’m going to message Xin so that he can cook me a Chicken Teriyaki.

Before I can say something, a strange girl walked towards us and greeted Chase. He stood up and the girl warmly hugged him. They said few things before the girl left. She greeted me but I just nodded my head.

“So, what are you going to do after this meal?”

“Chase, can I have this day to be my free time? I already told you that I am going to help you but I cannot today. Besides, I don’t have my- Chase looked at my side bag and he clearly saw my laptop.  I scratched my head and sighed, “Okay. I just want to have a free-

“I’m going to Malaysia tomorrow for work. Though I already made another account, I still have many followers on my hacked account. Just to let you know, I am a traveler and a blogger at the same time. In every one week, I only have 3 days free time and the remaining days are for out of town job. However, when the hacker started posting awful things about me, I lost big clients that trusted me. No one contacted me from day 1 of my misery. I almost lose my job. Luckily, one of my clients did not believe what posted on my account. She called me last night to write about this fantastic place in Malaysia where she wants to go. I am thankful because she can be my instrument for regaining my reputation and my job.”

“Did you just say that so I will feel guilty?”

“A little? But when I asked you for a favor I never had a chance to tell you my reason. I don’t want you to think of me as someone who has narcissism. I just want to explain that my means of living requires the good social interaction on the net.”

He talks as if he is negotiating with me. I believe at some point, I can work well with him. No flirting just pure business.

“I think it will not take so much time for me to help you today. But let’s go somewhere else.” I picked up my bag and stood up from my chair. Finally, we are going out of here.

“You’re still not finish!” He pointed at the food as if he was worried that I did not eat well.

“Chase, maybe the food tastes good. But I have standards with Chicken Teriyakis. And I like it when it’s homemade.” I gestured him to stand up and follow me out of the restaurant.

Mondays are really not for me. Chase’s hacker is more skilled than me. We already spent 5 hours tracking the hacker but I cannot decode Chase’s account. I am already frustrated that led me to drink 3 cups of Caramel Macchiato. Chase on the other hand, patiently waiting for me to finish. Sometimes, he glances on laptop’s screen but he kept on tapping on his phone most of the time.

Aside from his waiting game, I noticed that there were three different girls who approached him. He greeted them well and two of them hugged him warmly. I saw their eyes. Their glances were not friendly. As if Chase was someone special to them.

“The sun is going down now!” We are sitting beside the glass window of the coffee shop. I can clearly see that the sky is turning darker. “This is why I hate Mondays.”

He looked again to my screen and sighed, “I should be preparing for my flight tomorrow.”

“Chase, you just ruined my day. I hope I did not bump into you a while ago.”

“Luna, if you only decoded it faster then I think we already finished.”

“Are you blaming me for ruining your schedule?”

“I did not say anything.” He waved his hand and took a sip to his coffee. “Well, let’s talk about something that is relevant to our personal lives.” He leaned towards the table as if he was excited to ask me questions.

“I don’t like you asking personal questions.”

“Why did your parents named you Lu