He was toying around with the hand I lay against his thigh after I pinched him and I simply watched him intertwine our fingers over and over again in odd twists until I caught the time on his watch. I tugged my hand away from him and grabbed his wrist to make his watch face me.

4:10. That’s what his watch read and I hurriedly stood up to brush the dirt from my pants as well as pick up his jacket which was a complete mess after I sat on top of it. “What is it? Where are you going?” Chanyeol asked me, breaking me from my thoughts and from cussing at myself inwardly for not being conscious of the time earlier. He stood up as well and took his jacket from me but I shook my head and grabbed his hand in mine to drag him towards our next destination for this date. “Jagiya?” He asked me once more while we brisk walked towards the sidewalk, taking us away from the sunken garden. “. We’re going to be late. We need to hurry cause if we don’t, the place is going to be filled with people already and we might risk getting your identity revealed. . Soo Man is going to KILL me if that happens.” I ranted at him without looking back. His laughter was the only reply I got in return and I smirked at his obvious amusement at my uncharacteristic cussing.

We reached our destination just in time, as I raked my eyes on numerous food stalls just opening up for business with their owners busy taking out their products for sale. I squeezed Chanyeol’s hand in my grasp and dragged him to my favourite vendor. “KUYA MARK!” I greeted the older man jovially and he in turn smiled kindly at me in greeting as he took out my most favourite street food in the world to start cooking it for the incoming students like I used to be. I took a glance at Chanyeol’s reaction to where we are and I was met by the most adorable sight. EVER. He was standing there with his mouth unconsciously pursed making his lips pout slightly with his eyebrows furrowed as he observed the man in front of us take out more isaw to cook. A small giggle escaped my lips to which he smiled at hesitantly, obviously still unsure of what to make out of the food being grilled in front of him. I signalled to the vendor that I will take two of his freshly cooked isaw and offered it to Chanyeol whose eyes widened comically at the food I waved in front of him. “I thought I will never see the day when Oppa would turn down food.” I commented wryly when he still refused to grab the stick containing the isaw. “What is it?” He asked when he gave up and took the food from me when signs of giving up became non – existent from my part. “It’s barbecued pig or chicken intestine. Well yours is chicken while mine is pig.” I explained to him while I happily dunked my own isaw at the paper plate I was holding, which contained the sauce for it. “Intestine?” He repeated slowly, eyeing the food in his grasp with disgust and fascination at the same time. I wouldn’t put it past him if he’ll poke the isaw as if it’s alive and moving.

*Poke*

*Poke*

Yep, he’s poking it alright.

I finished off first the food in my mouth before replying to him patiently, “Oppa, he cleaned them before he cooked it. It’s clean I swear. I’ve been eating isaw since I was a kid and I never got sick because of it.” He still looked dubious and I was growing impatient already because we’re wasting time and the fangirls will be coming soon. I just have a nagging feeling that Chanyeol’s fans’ population in UP isn’t as low as I hoped it would be. Judging by the numerous stares he got when we stepped inside my college’s building, I’m positive that news about a young man who eerily looks like EXO – K’s Chanyeol is milling around UP Diliman’s campus with a strange looking girl.

*GROAN*

Lee Soo Man is really going to kill me if Chanyeol’s vacation here in Manila gets out to the fans. And what more is that I’m with him. Not that our relationship is a secret which would be expected but one thing Chanyeol never kidded around is when it comes to lying. He refuses to do so even if it meant risking his career. “I grew up, learning that lying to other people is morally wrong. Why should I change my principles now, if it meant I’ll gain little fans if I don’t keep my relationship a secret? I love my girlfriend, I’ve been with her for nearly two years and I hope that it’ll blossom more as times goes by. I don’t want to put a strain in my relationship by hiding it and lying all the time to my fans during interviews. I’m not saying that I will flaunt it to everyone but I will not deny it either. And besides I don’t want to lie to my fans anyway. A bond formed with lies will never have a positive outlook in the future. So if you insist that I lie about this then I’m sorry Mr. Lee Soo Man. You’ll just have to find another trainee for the job then.” Those were the words he uttered to his boss while I stood in the background, aghast at the idea that he’s risking his career just to save our relationship from potential disaster. I was willing to hide it from the public and go to the lengths to help him achieve his dreams but despite this I can’t help but feel touched at his words. And I guess I wasn’t the only one touched at his emphatic declaration because Soo Man gave his consent to let Chanyeol not lie about us after that and even went as far as wishing us a long and fruitful relationship.

“Ergh.” Chanyeol’s incomprehensible words shook me from my thoughts and I saw him with the isaw raised to his lips but still refusing to make that bite. “AISH, I thought you’re from EXO? Can’t you take eating something exotic?” I inquired at him with a roll of my eyes. *sigh* “And here I was hoping that you’d like it too since this is one of my favourite food.”

*CHOMP*

(O.O)

*CHEW*

“How is it?” I asked him slowly as I stared at him after he ate the isaw in one bite. Chanyeol chewed on some more, mulling over the taste and finally replied after swallowing thickly, “It’s not as bad as I thought it was.”

“Try it with some vinegar.” I suggested giving him my paper plate filled with the said substance. I requested for another order of isaw and gave it to him, to dip on the vinegar. “Don’t eat the entire thing in one go!” I scolded him when he opened his mouth to shove the entire thing once more. With a puff to his cheeks, Chanyeol timidly bit the end of the isaw and chewed on it more willing this time.

(^ O ^)

“Jagiya! It tastes awesome!” He told me happily with a mouthful of chewed up isaw that made me cringe. Chanyeol, who discovered a new found fondness for one of my favourite food, ignored my warning awhile ago when he shoved the entire thing once more to his mouth and ate it with a stupid grin on his face. And what transpired next just completely stumped me and made my wallet sob profusely from what he was doing.

Stick after stick, Chanyeol shoved as much isaw as he can to his mouth and ate it all with that same stupid smile gracing his lips. The food stall vendor was watching all of this with complete amazement and amusement as he grilled more isaw, since Chanyeol already finished off the batch he’s cooked for the incoming students. “Oppa slow down.” I pleaded to him when I feared that he’d be choking on the food lodged in at his throat when he started coughing and grunting to make it go down. He shook a hand in front of my face as if to say that I shouldn’t worry and Chanyeol let out a long exhale after his airways was cleared from animal intestine. But despite nearly choking to death, Chanyeol continued on wolfing down stick after stick of isaw whenever the vendor would put aside a freshly grilled isaw. I gaped at the older man when he announced that Chanyeol finished half of his stock and that I have to stop my boyfriend from consuming more or else he’ll have a stomach ache later for eating too much isaw dipped in vinegar. “Oppa, I think that’s enough.” I told him as he bit onto another stick of the exotic street food. “You’ll get a stomach ache for eating too much if you don’t stop. We haven’t eaten dinner.” I explained to him when I saw him pout with his teeth still gripping the animal intestine, ready to devour the poor thing. He nodded at this reluctantly and I faced the vendor once more to inquire on the amount I have to pay for the food that we’ve consumed in less than 30 minutes. I took out my wallet to pay for everything considering the fact that my boyfriend probably forgot to convert his money to Philippine Peso when we departed from the airport terminal two days ago. I gave out a grunt as I searched my wallet for more bills to pay the food vendor when I found that I didn’t have enough from the amount he asked of us. “Crap.” I muttered, as I turned the damn thing inside out just to see if I truly lack the cash. “Jagiya, what’s wrong?” Chanyeol asked me while he sipped from a water bottle that came out of nowhere it seems. “Where’d you get that?” I asked him while I stared at the bottle in his hand with horror, unconsciously I already knew the answer to my question but I had to make sure just in case he packed or bought his own before. “I bought it from him.” He told me simply while he offered the offending bottle to me and all I could do was shake my head at him. “Right.” I muttered sullenly. Great, more to pay for. I sighed inwardly and started going through my bag to see if any money fell out of my purse but like my wallet, none turned up. I must have used all my money at hand from our lunch and commute fare and even if I didn’t, Chanyeol ate so much isaw that I’m not exactly surprised we’re charged THIS much. “What is it?” He asked me once more, grabbing my wrist from its hold of my bag. “I don’t have enough money to pay him.” I whispered even if Chanyeol and I WERE speaking in fluent Korean the entire day which meant that the street vendor had no idea of what we were talking about. “I have some here.” He told me cheerfully, taking out his wallet from his back pocket and offered me an entire grand to pay the street vendor. “Where’d this come from?” I asked him incredulously. “Your mother gave it to me while you were in your room awhile ago as we ate breakfast.” Chanyeol explained with a lopsided grin. “Why does she give you allowance and not me? I’m her kid, damnit.” I muttered sourly at my mother’s obvious display of favouritism for my boyfriend over me. He merely shrugged and told me to pay the poor man already. Unfortunately, as it turns out, the food stall vendor didn’t have enough change to the payment we gave him and even if he asked the other vendors he’s friends with, they also didn’t have enough change to provide for us. I asked him what we can do to repay him somehow since I’m positive that I’m not the only one unwilling to leave the food stall with having paid more than half of the food we ate only, Chanyeol’s quite unwilling too. “Well, if you don’t mind could you be a translator for me today? I get foreign customers like your boyfriend but I can’t interact with ANY of them because I have no idea what they are talking about most of the time. My English isn’t that impressive either.” The street vendor requested which I repeated phrase per phrase for Chanyeol, translated already in Korean.

“Why not?” Chanyeol’s smile seemed to tell me after I recounted the entire events to him. “But you might get caught.” I whispered to him worriedly at that, fearing for his identity to be let out. “I’m on vacation anyway. It’s alright. And my fans already know that I’m dating you so it won’t be a complete surprise that they’ll put two and two together and they’ll figure out why I’m with you.” He answered me as he squeezed my wrist still in his grasp.

In no time at all more people started coming into where we are and some people stared at Chanyeol curiously as we hung out next to the vendor. The idea was that we’d translate the orders of Korean students in Tagalog at the same time, explain in Korean whatever the vendor would mention to them like the total amount of what they have to pay. So far, the vendor didn’t request for help from us and so Chanyeol and I occupied ourselves by playing cat and mouse with my hands because I teasingly refused to let him hold my hands. That is until I heard the most annoying voice in the world utter the very words I dreaded, “Wait! Doesn’t he look like Chanyeol Oppa?”

“OPPA?! Who told you, you can call him that fat ?” I nearly growled at her in annoyance if I didn’t have to focus on other things. I glanced up in alarm at my boyfriend who was uncharacteristically looking at me with a calm and collected façade while he looked back at me with a smile. I was already expecting him to be the one panicking in a frenzy like he’d normally do in tense situations like this but here he was acting as if someone didn’t notice him at all. Chanyeol grabbed my hands that fell limply to my sides and gave out a cry of triumph as he interlaced our fingers together, which meant he won our little game while I strained my ears to listen on to the conversation between fat and her friend who apparently was Kuya Mark’s new customers.

“He does! OMAYGAHD! HE DOES LOOK LIKE CHANYEOLIE~” Squealed by the other girl with her order half raised to her lips as they stared unabashedly at my boyfriend.

“But why is he here?” Fat whispered curiously. “And who’s the chick he’s with? She better not steal my oppa.”

I tried, I really tried my best to maintain my cool. But no one can call Chanyeol, oppa, the way I do. No one. Even our friends know that. I may not be as affectionate and obviously Chanyeol initiates most of our skinship together but I can get quite… how do I say this without sounding like a caveman?

I can get really territorial.

I’m not clingy nor am I possessive but when girls like her get all up in my face because they THINK that I’m stealing Chanyeol away from them (he’s not a goddamn trophy), I can get y. And like Chanyeol would always tell me after I apologize to him for my y behaviour to his fans, “Why? You were right in putting them in their place. I’m not theirs, I’m yours.” And he’d tell me this in the most clueless and adorable manner, as if he really didn’t know why I found the need to apologize, as if my actions weren’t questionable at all.

And he’s correct. I do have the right to feel offended at girls like her who acts as if I’m not worthy of Chanyeol’s time. To those girls who tells me through heated comments online and sometimes in person when they see me with him, that I only got together with my boyfriend because he’s popular. An attention they would say.

They weren’t there for the hardships he faced while training. They weren’t there to support him through nights of self doubt and insecurities. They weren’t there in times of his sickness and being homesick as well. They weren’t there to witness the bad days. They weren’t there during those times after training non – stop for more than a week. They weren’t there when he would question himself if he should just stop altogether and move on from his dreams. They weren’t there.

But I was.

And this thought was what calmed me down and prevented me from calling out to the fat for her unnecessary possessiveness to MY boyfriend. And this thought also was the one that made me understand Chanyeol’s cool demeanour. “Appa,” I started with a smile as Chanyeol made me twirl in front of him, using my hands in his grasp to manoeuvre me. His eyes sparkled at my pet name, the pet name that indicated our little secret of owning a huge stuffed toy version of Luffy back at my place. Our son. “OMMA.” He told me in a sing song voice, as his arms wrapped around me and swayed our bodies to non – existent music. I laughed at his antics and swayed my body with him, “Yah, stop it. I think the vendor is calling out for us already. Time to see your English skills put to the test.” A puff of his cheeks was what I got in reply along with an eager nod.

The two girls from awhile ago were still there and as expected fat never wavered in staring at Chanyeol and she also didn’t fail to glare at his arms that were wrapped around my waist. I ignored her and headed towards the street vendor who was now entertaining foreign students as they bought some snacks from him. The Korean students crowded in front of the cart didn’t bat an eyelash when they spotted the two of us. One of them even conversed with Chanyeol easily as if the latter was actually a student from UP. Not one of them recognized him and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Why aren’t they spazzing out?” Wondered fat ’s friend. My attention from the female Korean student in front of me asking tips on what to order, was slightly grabbed by this snippet of conversation I picked up from Chanyeol’s fangirls near us.

“Isn’t that guy Chanyeol?” She continued on while her friend remained quiet.

“I really thought it’s Chanyeol oppa. They look so similar. But then again, this guy is too chubby to be him.” Fat said after awhile in a contemplative tone. I suspect she’s giving Chanyeol another once over. “Oppa is slimmer and leaner than this guy.” She reasoned out as an after thought.

Thank you Chanyeol for pigging out on my mother’s food yesterday and this morning which lead to your cheeks becoming fuller. Thank you so much chicken adobo. Really, thank you.

I gave a big grin to the girl in front of me and helped her some more on choosing what to order. And this grin even widened further more when I saw from my peripheral vision that fat and her friend are already making their way towards god knows where. “That’ll be just 20 pesos for the squid balls.” I said to the woman reaching out for her order from the vendor, fat and her friend completely wiped out from my line of thought.