February 3, 2020

Kahapon, ako ang duty mag-isa sa office dahil Sunday. Masyadong madaming ginawa dahil nandoon din si Sir Siwon at may mga report na pinagawa sa akin. I also catered some of his business partners who came to the hotel for the first itme. Kaya ako ang nag-supervise ng mga meal nila as well as their private room since wala kahapon ang head ng F&B na si Ma'am Sooyoung. 

It's a good thing, though, that it is my rest day, today. Kaya nandito pa ako sa kwarto ko, in-enjoy ang mga natitirang oras bago bumangon para magluto ng lunch. Jennie and Chaeyoung started working again last week kaya minsan, kapag off ko, ako na ang nagluluto ng lunch namin at dinner. Most of the time kasi ay lunch time na sila nagigising at lumalabas ng kwarto. Which, I don't mind since their jobs are requiring them to stay up until late night. 

I got a hold of my phone to check the time. It's almost 11AM, so I need to go out and prepare for lunch. While I am at it, I left a message in our family's group chat to ask how my siblings are doing. Ate Tiff is probably still awake and Lia's still at home since she doesn't have class until 2PM. Nakita ko naman na nag seen agad silang dalawa and now Ate Tiff's inviting us for a facetime call. 

"What's up, es?" natawa ako sa bungad ni Ate. I made sure to wear my earphones before going out of the room to not wake them out lalo kung mag-uusap kaming magkakapatid ng matagal. 

"Goodmorning to you, too, Ate." I said then rolled my eyes. 

"Mind you, sweetie, that it's night, here." 

"Whatever." now it's her turn to roll her eyes. "How's the covid situation right there?" 

"COVID? What's that?" 

"Ate.." may diin sa boses ko na tinawanan niya lang. 

"We're fine, here. I don't see it as a threat. Don't worry." 

"Ate Irene should learn how to chill, really. She's always overthinking things." napaismid ako sa sinabi ng bunsong kapatid na si Lia. 

"What do you mean by that?" natatawang tanong naman ni Ate. 

"Well, when the Taal volcano erupted, she wanted us to stay in Manila instead. Akala niya yata we live in Batangas, not Dasmarinas." I heard ate TIff's soft chuckle. 

"Don't mind your Ate, Lia. That's how single people are!" 

"Excuse me!" and they both laughed. "Why are you two always teaming up against me?!" 

"Even so, try to listen to your Ate, Lia. She's right naman, most of the time." 

We continued catching up while I'm making lunch. Soon, Jennie went out of her room and saw that I was on a facetime call with my siblings so she said hi to them. She took my phone para makipag-usap sa kanila at ako naman ay nag focus na sa pagluluto. Sakto naman na tapos na din ako sa lunch namin nang magpaalam si Ate at Lia. Ibinalik ni Jennie sa akin ang phone ko bago katukin si Chaeng sa sarili niyang room. 

The ingredients we have at home are good for beef caldereta. Favorite namin itong tatlo. Dinamihan ko ang patatas because Chaeyoung loves them. Kahit walang beef, basta may patatas sa caldereta, ayos na sa kaniya. 

"Ate Tiff said you should resign." halos maibuga ko ang tubig na iniinom nang sabihin iyon ni Jennie nang walang pasabi. 

"Really, Jen? We'll be talking about that now?" she shrugged. 

"She's just worried. You know, about your anemia, then the virus outbreak. You're considered a frontliner because you're a hotelier." 

"Hindi naman ako sa front office." dahilan ko. 

"Still." 

Ate TIffany knows about my struggles at work. She's not really convincing me to resign but I know that's what she wants me to do. Ate has a very chill work life. She is a designer for her own brand, Blanc and Eclare, as Ate Jessica's co-CEO. 

Since the two of them are the bosses, they aren't pressured by anyone. They can work whenever they want, they can go home whenever they want to. They only get too busy before and during Fashion Week as they have to design new clothes. 

"Kailangan na pala natin mag grocery." pagi-iba ko ng topic bago pa mapunta sa kung saan ang usapan. 

"Wala na ngang milk, ate." I chuckled sa sinabi ni Chaeng. Kaya tumangkad nang ganito ang bata na 'to, eh. 

"Saan tayo, Greenhills?" nag-taas ako ng kilay sa sinabi ni Jennie. 

"Oh? Hindi tayo magsha shopping ng mga imitation ha. We'll have to buy stocks." 

"Meron 'don." 

In the end, wala kaming nagawa ni Chae kung hindi mag-agree kay Jennie. Often, wala na kaming laban when Jennie immitates a cute whining child. It makes us cringe. Kaya kahit ayaw namin, naga- agree na lang kami para matigil na si Jennie. 

"Buti nalang marami tayong stock ng facemasks." sabi ni Jennie nang makapasok sa sasakyan niya. 

"We'll have to buy more, baka magkaubusan ng stocks kapag nag-worsen ang situation." tinanguan ko ang suggestion ni Chaeng. 

Because of the virus outbreak, pinagiingat ang mga tao whenever in crowded areas. Medyo dumadami na din kasi ang cases ng covid dito sa Pilipinas. Even Chanyeol reminded us in our group chat to avoid going to public places, for now. Kaya ngayon, since we are being careful, we decided to wear masks as we go out. Ito na ang gagawin namin tuwing lalabas nang bahay. 

Matagal na nang huli akong maka-experience ng peaceful day-off. Noong mga nakaraang rest day ko kasi, kung hindi tumatawag si Ma'am Taeyeon, bigla akong pinapapunta sa office dahil may kailangang asikasuhin na ako lang daw ang nakakaalam kung paano. 

Minsan, hindi ko na talaga alam kung reasons lang iyon para papasukin ako dahil hindi talaga nila kaya nang wala ako sa office. Minsan naman, iniisip ko na baka may gusto sa akin si Ma'am Taeyeon? Kaya hindi niya kaya na wala ako sa office. Hah! 

"Finally.. A peaceful day off." isusubo ko na sana ang ramen nang biglang tumunog ang cellphone ko. We chose to dine in a Japanese restaurant. Pare-pareho kasi kaming nag crave sa ramen at tempura. 

"Well.. the day won't be complete without that." I pouted before wiping the side of my lips and picking up my phone. 

"Excuse me." sabi ko at tumayo para hindi maistorbo ang pag-kain nila dahil sa tawag sa akin, nino pa nga ba? Edi walang iba kung hindi si Ma'am Taeyeon. "Hello, Ma'am!" I tried to sound bubbly as I can. 

"Ang tagal sumagot, ah." pilit akong ngumiti. 

"Sorry, Ma'am. May inasikaso lang po." 

"Alam mo naman na may event ka dito sa Hotel kaya sana mabilis ang response mo para hindi naabala yung mga nagta trabaho dito." wow, really? "Yung guest mo na nagpa-reserve sa veranda. May concern, pero ayaw makipag usap samin. Ang sabi, ikaw lang daw ang gusto niyang kausapin. Madami pa kaming ginagawa dito at hindi namin matapos dahil sa guest mo." 

Wow, I was bothered on my rest day only for that? For someone who works in the hospitality industry, they should know how to deal with an irate guest. They should have reasoned out, dahil kahit na guest ko iyon, wala naman ako sa office kaya hindi dapat ako ang gumawa ng solusyon doon!

"Sorry, Ma'am. Sige po. Tawagan ko nalang si Miss Lopez.. Ako na po ang bahala. Sorry for the bother, Ma'am." kahit ako sana ang dapat makarinig noon. Because I was bothered on my rest day. 

Nang maibaba ni Ma'am Taeyeon ang tawag ay agad 'kong tinawagan ang irate guest. Miss Lopez is a regular in our hotel. She is a socialite. She is the daughter of a Senator and often reserves the veranda for her parties with her friends. Hindi naman palaging maraming concern ito. Or maybe timing lang na wala ako sa Hotel. 

"Hello, Miss Lopez! This is Irene from Red Mare Hotel." bati ko nang sagutin niya ang tawag. "I received a call from my manager saying that you have a concern?"

"Oh, hi, Miss Bae! Yes, I am quite disappointed, actually, because my demands weren't met. This is the first time." I heard her sigh. "Or maybe this is the first time din that you are not here to supervise my reservation and such." 

Petty. Iyon lang ang masasabi ko sa dahilan nang pagka-bother nila sa rest day ko.

Nagtagal pa ako doon para tawagan ang ibang department na in charge para i-assist sila with regards sa concerns ni MIss Lopez. Then, I left a message for Ma'am Taeyeon para sabihin sa kaniya na settled na ang problema. Kaya bumalik na ako sa table namin. 

"Thanks for waiting!" sabi ko sa magkapatid at ibinaba na ulit ang cellphone. 

"I asked them to reheat your ramen when I saw that you're done with you're business." napangiti nalang ako kay Jennie.

"Thank you, Jens. May konting problem lang sa Hotel. Sorry, natagalan." 

"What's new, ate?" umiling iling si Chaeng. "You've never had a rest day na hindi nila binother." 

Tuwing ganito, wala akong ibang magawa kung hindi ang um-agree nalang sa kanila at tumawa. My friends are very vocal about their hate towards my hotel's management. They know Ma'am Taeyeon, too. But they just can't like the way she acts towards me sa work. Some think that this is her way of getting revenge towards me because of what happened between her and ate Tiff. Kaya lang, that would be super weird and unprofessional. 

Almost seven nang magdecide kami na umuwi na. Siyempre, I had to call my guest again and make sure that her demands are met at mabuti naman ay ganoon na ang nangyari. 

Pagbalik sa apartment, the first thing we did was take a bath. Nauna si Chaeyoung, sunod ako, tapos ay si Jennie. Pang last siya dahil siya ang nag drive. Habang iniintay naman namin matapos si Chae sa bathroom, we decided to sanitize everything we bought before bringing it inside the apartment. This is part of the safety measures na sinabi ni Chanyeol na dapat gawin na namin. Some may think that we are over-acting. And that it's too early to be this cautious. Kaya lang, prevention is better than cure, hindi ba?

"I heard from Lisa na classmate pala ni Chef Jung si Seulgi noon." ang sabi ni Jennie habang pinupunasan ng wet tissue ang mga pinamili niya. 

"Hindi malabong mangyari. She studied in La Salle, too, diba?" she nodded. "Eh.. how's Lisa?" ngumisi ako nang biglang magbago ang expression sa mukha ni Jennie. She made face at tinapunan na lang ako ng tingin. 

"She said that she's happy naman.. for me." 

Jennie and Lisa were bestfriends before they became a couple. It's a good thing, though, that they remained that way even after they broke up. As far as I know, Lisa still loves Jennie. I'm not sure about the latter. Obviously not because she is too in love with Kai, right now. 

Alam ko na Jennie asked Lisa about her opinion about settling with Kai. Oo, ganoon yata ka-manhid si Jennie Kim para itanong pa ang ex niya tungkol sa kung papayag ba itong magpakasal kay Kai. It's like she asked for Lisa's blessings. Hindi ko din alam dito. As if she won't marry Kai if Lisa said no. 

"Nag-propose na ba?" I asked, trying to peek on her ring finger na wala pa namang laman. 

"Hindi pa. But you know, we have already talked about it. So.." I know I'll support her whatever it takes. And it looks like Jennie is genuinely happy and in love with her boyfriend so I have no right to be against them. Besides, it has been years. "Teka nga muna, ikaw yung dapat ini-interview ko, eh." 

"What?" I gave her that look at tumawa nalang. 

"Anong 'what?'" she rolled her eyes. "What talaga. What did you feel when you saw her post on Instagram for the first time after a while?" 

"Why are we talking about this?" 

"I asked first, Bae Joohyun." natawa ako. 

"What should I feel ba?" she looked irritated so I just sighed. 

Really, Irene? Ano nga ba ang dapat na naramdaman mo, kung biglang lumitaw ulit nang parang wala lang ang taong mahal na mahal mo, na at the same time, taong sobrang nananaket sa'yo ngayon?

"Nothing.. just that.. I'm happy for what she has achieved." ngumiti ako, inaabangan ang magiging reaction ni Jennie sa sinabi ko. 

"Really... are you genuinely happy for her?" I smiled. 

"Jen, I shouldn't be bitter about a person's success just because I am here, still stuck in the past. Besides, wala naman akong magagawa na because she chose this path. We are the writers of our own stories. I am not her Editor in Chief to meddle in with her decisions." she laughed at my reference. 

Seulgi and I.. we were not a thing. That's what I am sure about. We were not committed with each other. Walang label. Magulong usapan ba iyon? No. There was no mutual understanding in the first place, dahil ako lang naman. 

Ako lang naman ang hulog na hulog sa kaniya. Ako lang naman iyong mahal na mahal siya. Ako lang iyong nangako sa sarili ko na mamahalin siya, kahit anong mangyari, kahit may mahal siyang iba. 

"Besides, masaya naman yata sila ni Tzuyu." 

The last time I've heard about Seulgi, or the last time she was here in the Philippines, rather, I knew she had her eyes on someone called Tzuyu. A BS Biology student back in UST. There were rumors among our circle that Seulgi was trying to pursue Tzuyu but I never confronted her about it. Because I know when she's in love. I know also, that it will only hurt me if I hear it from her myself. 

"Yan pa din pala ang pinaniniwalaan mo, hanggang ngayon?" I shrugged. 

"Dahil iyon ang totoo." natahimik nang sandali si Jennie, probably trying to remember what happened after graduation. 

"Pero mahal mo pa?" sandali akong natigil sa ginagawa ko. Napatingin ako kay Jennie na may mapanuring mga mata. 

Love. What is Love again? 

Love is kind. It bears all things. Hopes all things. Endures all things. And most importantly, 

Love is unfailing.

"HIndi naman nag-bago 'yon, Jens." 

Iyon na lamang ang sinabi ko bago pumasok nang tuluyan sa apartment dahil saktong tapos nang maligo si Chae. 

Walang nagbago. Walang magbabago. 

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kagabi pa dapat ito, actually noong Monday pa dapat. kaso wala akong naisulat dahil nawili ako sa pagbabasa ng fanfics at mga au over the weekend. :D

Anyway, thank you for reading this! And please stay safe and healthy! 

- a