Hia

 

“Ms. Kim?” Stevie calls for my attention. She must have finished reading the minutes of the previous meeting.

 

“Ah yes.” I stop clicking my pen and prompt my chair closer to the table. Everyone follows.

 

“First of all, a huge congrats to us again on the last collection. The reviews so far have been good and the sales back it up. Don’t be too harsh and give yourselves a pat on the back.”

 

Smiles widen and small laughs fill the room. Eventually, some members of the team start talking in praise of others. All of this is not blown out of proportion though, the team really did well for last season. I feel like it also made the group closer, albeit I do need to keep intact the professionalism within.

 

I clear my throat to make the noise die down. “However, there is, and always will be, room for improvement. Laging meron yan.”

 

What follows those words are notepads being turned to the next page, fingers typing quickly on laptop keyboards, and hands scrambling for pens kept in all sorts of places—pockets, pencil cases, even hair. When it’s time to get down to business, this bunch really does get into it.

 

“Now that everyone has been able to get enough rest the past few days, it’s back to the drawing board.” I stand up, walking around the room along the meeting table.

 

“We have to go back to how we went about planning last time. I think agree naman ang lahat na we had hiccups in the latter parts for the last collection, hmm?” I see heads nod in agreement.

 

“Any ideas why?” I pose the question to the group. These meetings never become a lecture or talk hosted by me, especially since most of the people in this room have either worked longer in the company than I have, seen me all throughout my life, or are just literally older and more experienced.

 

“Logistics?”

 

“Shipping delays?”

 

“Yung naging problem sa pagrebook ng venue?”

 

“Concept,” I answer after they chime in with their own input. “Don’t get me wrong, all your takes are valid, but those are things we’ll iron out as we continue releasing collections in the future. Minor problems, if you will.”

 

Chairs turn to face the front of the room where I stopped walking. “I think we worried too much about how the pieces looked, and focused less on what idea they speak to as a whole.”

 

“Was that worry valid in any way? Maybe so, if not for the talent and skill seated at this table.”

 

I place both hands on the table and lean myself closer. “Buong buhay niyo na ‘to ginagawa at buong buhay ko na rin kayo nakita gawin ‘to. Kaya I’ve seen that the success of the collections all of you have been a parts of narrows down to how good one question is answered.”

 

I go by the laptop that the projector was hooked up to and begin typing.

 

WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SAY?

 

“The bigger picture first, then we proceed.” I say with a confident smile.

 

“That question would require some time para mag-isip muna, so let’s not rush answering it now. If I may go back to those things we will iron out,” I say while going back to my seat.

 

“I think we can already do better than the last collection by having this one have its face. A storyteller to the story, kumbaga. Again, we don’t need to make any choices now, but as early as now I do suggest we pick one person lang. I suppose a friend to the House of Kim would be happy to become an ambassador for us. Stevie, if you can prepare a list—”
 

“Ms. Kim?” Andrea interjects. She’s one of the few people who got hired without transferring from the parent company. Regardless, I made sure from day 1 that anyone can speak up.

 

“Yes Andy?”

 

“While I do agree that having an ambassador for this season’s collection would be great, having someone from the parent company doesn’t seem like a good thing to push through.”

 

“I have the same thoughts as well, po.” Emily speaks, one of the younger members who showed great potential while at House of Kim and was transferred to this company. “I think it would be better if we go for someone completely new perhaps?”

 

“Then that narrows it down to a handful of people, I think?” I respond. “Ms. Elle Park, as you all know, is a friend to the brand but has maintained her free agency in the fashion world. I think she would be a good candidate.”

 

“Hia.” Miranda calls for my attention. She’s one of the more respected members of the team given her years of experience, success, and loyalty with the House, but to me she has always been Ninang Ira. Seeing her in this environment has been a new but welcoming change.

 

“Yes po?”

 

“I think Elle isn’t the right person for this campaign. Of course, she is perfectly suited to be a House ambassadress, but maybe down the line pa, iha. Why not try someone not in the fashion world at all? There are plenty of creative fields to look into for people.”

Again, head nods are seen among those in this meeting.

 

“Sige po ninang. Also, good on you Andy and Emily for pointing that out.” I take quick glances of thanks to the other two before talking any further.

 

“Anyway, I called for this meeting to again congratulate everyone but also point out what we need to be better at for this upcoming campaign. Siguro dahil napag-usapan na rin, might as well have our muse and theme as the main agendas for the next meeting.”

 

“I need everyone to send in a list of concepts and people suited for those concepts prepared by tomorrow. From there we can see if may common idea or person tayo in mind. Take note, a figure not affiliated to the fashion scene, preferably someone up and coming. Of course, creative dapat, mapa-movies, tv, or music. Is that clear?”

 

I hear multiple yesses. “I guess that’s our meeting done. I’ll just let Serena email everyone the details of our next meeting. Thanks everyone!”

 

I remain seated while everyone leaves and get my phone to check for any notifications. I’m not expecting anything urgent, but I can’t be sure yet because my phone vibrates nonstop as soon as I take it out of my bag.

 

Elle calling

 

Hia: Your timing is impeccable, Elle.

 

Elle: You’re one to talk. I’ve been chatting you kanina pa!

 

Hia: Oh, sakto naman. Lunch date?

 

Elle: Yep, I’ll send you the loc. You think you’re slick ha. The original plan was brunch.

 

Hia: Your plans, Elle. Therefore, not my fault hahaha. Anyway, I’m heading out na send mo ha.

 

Elle: You’re paying for ruining MY plans, then. Eto na! 

 

Hia: Whatever you say. Sige be there in a bit.

 

“So what took you so long to answer ba?” Elle asks as I hand the menu back to the waiter. “Don’t tell me you were at work.”

 

I raise my eyebrows at her. “You were? Ugh Hia!” She gives me a disappointing look.

 

“Bakit? What’s so wrong about going to work? It’s Monday.”

 

“Yes, the very next Monday a week after you just finished a major project that was months in the making? A successful collection release, mind you. Congrats again by the way.”

 

“Thanks.” I say both to her and the waiter who gives us glasses of water. “Sinabi mo na. I had the week off right after the release. What’s so wrong with going to work?”

 

“Correction. The TEAM had a week off. I know YOU didn’t.”

 

“Where’s the proof?”

 

“This!”

 

“This?”

 

“This date! You didn’t contact me for a week kaya. No messages or calls. You only do that when you’re at work. I even adjusted this date for brunch because you’d rather have it in the morning than at busy hours.”

 

“Awww.” I tease Elle for the mini rant she gave. “Nagtatampo ka pala?”

 

“Hia Kim don’t start with me.”

 

I laugh. “Okay I’m sorry. I just went offline for the week, nothing much happened really. Forgot to give you a heads up.”

 

She stays silent, trying to judge if I just lied right at her face.

 

“Bakit? I just stayed at home with the dogs, promise!”

 

“Ikaw ha, nagtatago ka na sakin ng mga bagay-bagay.” Elle says, in the most conyo accent you can imagine, that brings me to laugh even harder.

 

“Sayo lang,” I sarcastically say to her surprise. “If that doesn’t suffice as an alibi, I did go out window shopping for a bit. Disguised, so not even the paps could tell.”

 

“Fine, fine. Basta ikaw magbabayad for compensation. Alam mo, I even called TIta to ask about you.”

 

“Elle! The worry? Ano sabi niya?”

 

“Tinawanan ako! She said you were alive daw. Alive? What a way to answer.”

 

I burst out laughing imagining Mom on the phone. “Diba, even si Mom pinagtripan ka rin!”

 

“Hia!” Elle scolds me like a child for making fun of her even more.

 

“Stop whining na here’s your milk na.”

 

“Hia.” Elle’s stern voice and large eyes at me immediately switch to a kind look towards the waiter. “Thank you”

 

The conversation is put on hold when we both take sips of our drinks (Elle made me get cocktails with her).

 

“Unless…”

 

“Hmm?” I look at her, still taking a sip of my drink. This tequila sunrise is surprisingly really good.

 

“Unless you went on a date!”

 

Her claims make me spit out my drink. “Oh my God Elle!”

 

“That’s why you ditched me for a week and TIta wouldn’t tell me what you’re up to!” The face on Elle, she thinks she cracked the code.

 

“Elle,” I can’t believe I’m having to defend myself like this. “I stayed in for the weekend. I went out for groceries on Monday. On Wednesday, I took the dogs out for a walk and got them cute outfits for the holidays. The final time I went out was Friday. I took a look inside a record shop I saw beside the pet shop.”

 

“That’s it. Really.”

 

“Okay fine, I believe you.”

 

“Thank you—”

 

“I wasn’t gonna blame you for ditching me for a date but you had to be super defensive about it—”

 

“Elle…”

 

“What? Just saying, if I can’t get you to slow down at your work, it’s likely—”

 

“Lila!”

 

I realize my voice might have been too loud because both Elle and I notice people giving us looks. I whisper a small sorry audible enough for people nearby to hear.

 

“Joking hehe,” Elle smiles apologetically to which I sigh. We both know it wouldn’t be best for a famous supermodel and a fashion house heir to cause a commotion enough to stir tonight’s social media feeds and tomorrow’s papers.

 

“Anyway, change topic,” I move on from the previous conversation instead of giving her the light silent treatment. Thankfully, Elle drops the topic and any attempts to interrogate me about the previous week. 

 

We instead talk about her latest gigs and the newest bits of gossip she got backstage from those shows. I go on to confirm such gossip with whatever I’ve heard from the designer’s side of the tsismis. On my side of the talking, I told her about all the places I saw on tiktok we could go to for future dates. This back and forth spans the entire hour and a half we were at the restaurant, right up to us heading to my car. Elle demanded that I take her to her shoot as part of compensation as well. Besides, It’s along the way to the office, and the radio silence for a week did make me miss her.

 

“Forgot to ask about work pala. Busy na ba kayo?” Elle asks while checking her makeup on the pulldown mirror.

 

“Di naman, initial plans pa lang for the next collection. Have to be ahead.”

 

“Starting up a brand, let alone one under the House of Kim, is tough. But I was serious when I said you should rest.”

 

“And I am! Elle let’s not talk about this again—”

 

“What I meant was live a little! Go out, have fun. Travel. Get lost somewhere. Actually not that last one, tag me along kung may balak ka.”

 

“Okay, the dogs and you, got it,” I let out a short laugh.

 

“Your name got brought up sa meeting kanina by the way.”

 

“Ugh, my impact talaga,” She tucks her hair behind the ear. “Bakit?”

 

“I suggested having a possible ambassador along with the next release kasi. The rest of the team preferred someone new who wasn’t affiliated with us kaya I brought your name up. Ninang Ira said someone else daw muna, saka na ikaw.”

 

“Ohh. Ninang has a point naman, Hia. And I am the obvious pick nga. Who did the team decide on?”

 

“I told them to send a list of possible concepts and people, we’ll probably have someone by Wednesday.”

 

“Bilis ko naman mapalitan,” Elle dramatically clutches her chest to make me laugh.

 

“Let me know who you pick ha, bestfriend privileges. Dadaan muna yan sakin bago sayo, hmp.”

 

“Sige, basta you promise to sign with us after this collection”

 

“Duh! I wear your clothes exclusively naman when I’m out. I should charge na nga even without the contract pa eh.”

 

“That’s for another time. We’re here na.”

 

Elle gets out of the car while I lower the window. “Don’t overtext me!” I yell.

 

“And don’t overwork!” She yells from the building entrance before going in as I begin driving off.

Arden (3 days later)

 

“Dee, you alright?” Tyler asks. He just got out of the booth recording a take for the second verse, or maybe the second half of a long first verse, or the chorus (we aren’t sure yet). I had my eyes closed and head down the entire time he was in there so he might’ve thought I dozed off.

 

I can’t blame him though. We got carried away with making the instrumental yesterday, and unlike him, I don’t necessarily clock in and out of the studio like a 9 to 5. There’s a reason why the sofa here is so comfy.

 

“Yeah, that take sounded good to me. Rick, can you play it back for T please, thanks.”

 

Rick, the other producer with me, hits play and adjusts different sliders on the panel. Tyler paces around the studio trying to judge every single bit of his take and the mixing so far. I go back to closing my eyes and moving my head to the music.

 

Tell me, what's your November? Is it a person?
Mine was the summer '06, I remember the (horn)
What if I thought the brake was the gas? What if I crashed?
What if these deep thoughts was my last?
Let me pull over, quick!

 

“Yeah, that was great.” I tell the two just as the new section of the verse ends and Rick stops the recording.

 

“That’s it so far, I can probably complete the verses by Friday so we can have the first version of the whole thing by Sunday. I’ll just send the drafts through vm” Tyler waves his phone at me.

 

“That sounds alright with me,” I look at Rick who nods in agreement. 

 

“Maybe have one of the verses with a faster rhythm in mind. We could slide this in as a refrain and have it as the latter pre-chorus. Kinda like it rushes into this sudden halftime that isn’t a halftime” I tell Tyler and follow that up with quick pats on the pillow on my lap to demonstrate to him the rhythm I had in mind.

 

“Yeah, I think I got what you mean.” 

 

I know that wasn’t the clearest explanation, but thank God Tyler is that good to get the point I was trying to get across.

 

“Buti na lang. Tyler, you have to teach me how you understand anything she says first take,” We all turn to the source of the snarky comment right by the door. There’s only one person who’d barge in my studio.

 

“Davis!” Tyler and Rick approach my friend and greet her with hugs. It’s a sour sight to see, not because of the two, but because I cannot think of a reason why Davis deserves such a warm welcome. Kidding.

 

“Nambibigla ah. What brings you here? Diba may work ka pa?”

 

“Rick, did she stay here through the night again? First of all, I gave Tyler a heads up. Second, Dena seriously, check mo naman phone mo if you plan on making this your permanent residence.”

 

I begrudgingly take a look at my phone, now only realizing it’s already 7:15 am.

 

“. Sorry guys, I have to go. Need to catch the train before peak hours.” I take my bag and hoodie hanging from one of the chairs. “Davis, pa-close na lang ng studio. Thanks!”

 

I wave the three a quick goodbye before sprinting for the building’s exit.

 

Mental note: Have a wall clock in the studio.

Davis

 

“Not from the Archive?” I take a seat on the sofa.

 

“She wanted to start from scratch. We messed around with the synths and keyboard the whole day yesterday, and she liked what came from it. The entire melody isn’t finished but we started on lyrics around midnight.”

 

“Is she okay?” Rick plays the recording after my question. 

 

Oh.

 

That’s why she wanted to take the train home.

 

“All the specific details are mine, everything that isn’t is more so hers. You know how she works around here. Yeah, It’s been a bit slow for this one. She seemed so invested that it would be a waste to cut off the session” 

 

“Don’t worry, we took breaks. And she really does setup a great environment, ” Tyler says right after to not make me worry.

 

“Should we be worried, instead?” Rick asks.

 

“I’ll let you guys know.” I do my best to respond to the two’s concerns.

 

“For now, you two should get going. Both of you aren’t built to be night owls like her and I wouldn’t want you to be,” I joke as I initiate closing the studio.

 

Maybe now’s not the right time to bring up the project.

 

 

 

Arden (11:18am, a sprint, a train ride, a cab ride, and a shower later)

 

“T, I have this great idea,” I start the voice message as I’m walking towards my closet, phone wedged between my shoulder and ear.

 

“So I was on the train, and unfortunately it was peak hours so it was just sardines in there. But that made me think of a great idea we could have before the bridge.”
I almost fall trying to put on my pants

 

“I won’t explain everything here, but bring over 8 of your friends at the next session. Just trust me on this one. Alright, take care.”

 

Today’s timing couldn’t get any better because as soon as I get fully clothed, the doorbell rings.

 

I wasn’t bothered to check if I still had food left in the fridge so I decided to order sa Foodpanda na lang. If meron pa, I can just call Davis over for lunch kasi maaga than anticipated naman dumating yung food, sakto sa lunch break nila.

 

I may have rushed to the door too quickly because I can’t remember if I paid na yung order and where I placed my wallet. Nahiya tuloy ako kay kuya magpakita. Dapat nga mainis ako kasi biglang paulit-ulit siya nag-doorbell.

 

“Hehe kuya, ask ko lang po if paid na, di ko kasi mahanap wallet ko.” I shyly ask while looking at all the pockets of my clothes, not daring to look at the delivery guy.

 

I notice the delivery guy’s feet aren’t that of a guy. It’s a lady in white converse sneakers and black slacks cut right above the ankle.

 

Call it dramatic, but I couldn't bring my eyes to confirm what my suspicions were.

 

It can’t be.

 

Hia Kim.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------