"Well, I'll leave you here first so you can rest or fix your stuff or whatever.  If you need anything, just tell me or any of the helpers, okay??"  She asked and I nodded.  "Okay, got it!!  Thank you again, Cassiee~!!!"  I said and she waved and left.

I sighed and smiled and flopped down on the bed.

Well, Day 1 in the Philippines.  Adventure, here we goooooo!!!!

*end of POV*

Meanwhile....

"Mommy, Daddy, are you out of your minds?!?"  Darren questioned as he barged in into his parents' bedroom.  His face looked so upset and shot daggers at his parents.  His fists were clenched tightly at his sides as he waited for them to respond.  His parents, who were on the bed reading, looked up at him, clearly startled.

"Son, what's wrong?  Come here."  They said and his mom patted the bed.  Darren hesitantly obeyed her and sat down awkwardly. "So, what's up?"  She asked and unclenched his fists.  "My, why did you ask Yunho to stay here?  We don't even know him!  He might be a bad guy!!"  He exclaimed.

"Ah, our Darren... Cassie knows him enough to let him stay here.  Besides, we've always had guests around.  Why would he be any different?  Just coz he's Korean and a star?"  She softly explained and playfully ruffled his shaved head.

"But still...we don't know him!!!  What if he's hiding an ugly personality or something?  Why is he even here in our country anyway?  Dad, tell Cassie she should keep her distance away from him!  I'm telling you, it's better to be safe than sorry!!!!  What if she falls in love with him?  And he's a star as you said!  He probably has hundred of girls back in Korea, she'll be heartbroken!  I know that type of guys, he's a player!  He's no good!  He should stay away from heeeer!!!!!  Who'll protect her once I leave?  Mom, Dad do you think I should just postpone my trip?  Until he leaves so I can keep an eye on her."  He breathed in and out after his long outburst.

He started mentally calculating the days but his concentration was disrupted when his parents chuckled.  He frowned as his mother started laughing.  Darren, who was still hotheaded, stood up and slammed the door on his way out.

"Honey, why is Darren acting like that?  I know he's being protective of Cassie ever since especially when it comes to boys but come on, postponing his work abroad?  I think he's overacting that's why I laughed."  Mara shook her head and continued reading.

"Dear, I think Darren's slightly intimidated of Yunho.  Think about it, Yunho's the first guy friend of Cassie to stay over.  He probably saw something in Cassie whenever she's with Yunho and vice versa that made him feel a little bit...insecure.  He's used to Cassie always looking up to him and ONLY to him.  Another young male's presence, one who is good looking and add to that his stature,  in our home with Darren's departure getting near, probably rattled him.  That's why he's against Yunho.  It's a male thing."  Ram explained.

"So in short, he's jealous of Yunho?"  She asked.  "I think yes, you can probably say that."  Ram agreed.  "Honey.... what if Darren's right and Cassie falls in love with Yunho? Okay, not really fall in love but....something smaller, like a crush?"  She put down her book and laid down.

"Hmm.. If it's only a crush, I don't mind.  It's about time for Cassie to have an interest in boys, don't you think so?  She has buried herself in school too much.  To be honest, I'd like Cassie to fall in love and experience the blissful feeling while she's still young.  And somehow, I can see some attraction between the two but I don't think any one of them is aware of it yet."  Ram admitted.

"That’s great!  I’m glad!  Dear, we're such cool parents, aren't we?  *laughs*  Oh I just remembered! Kat (Cassie's best friend) told me Darren used to scare off Cassie's suitors while they were both in college.  So maybe we can put some blame on him."  Mara joked. 

"Ah, but I'm glad our children are close and adore each other.  We did good, didn't we, honey?"  He asked and laid down beside her. 

"Yes, we did..  But we still have more to do for them.  Let's take a nap now, shall we?"  They kissed and entered dreamland for an afternoon nap.

YUNHO'S POV

I slept for a while after unpacking.  When I woke up, it was already 3:30 pm.  It took me a few seconds to remember where I was.  I grinned and stood up to stretch. 

*knock knock*

I opened the door and it was Yaya Flor, holding a new pair of slippers.  "For you, Sir Yunho."  She said and placed them on the floor.  "Thanks, Yaya Flor!  But please, just call me Yunho.  Oh, by the way, do you know where Cassie is?"  I asked. 

"Yes, she's downstairs.  Well, I’ll go now.”  Yaya Flor said and left after I said my thanks.  I checked myself on the mirror, styled my hair a little bit then headed downstairs.

“Oh!  Yunho oppa!!”  Cassie exclaimed as we met on the staircase.  “I was just about to come and get you.”  She informed and smiled.  I grinned.

“Realllyyy?  I was looking for you too.”  I replied. 

“Oh?  Well, uhm, I was gonna call you for merienda time.”  She said as we walked downstairs.

“Eh?  For what time?”  I asked.

“Snacks time.  In Tagalog, mer-yen-da.  Merienda.”  She slowly pronounced.  “That’s one tagalog word you should remember.  We, Filipinos, love to eat.  We always eat."

“Miriyeenda.  Snacks?  So we’re gonna eat again?”  I asked, amused, as we headed toward the dining hall.  She just laughed as a response.  On the table were 3 kinds of bread placed on it.  But one kind of bread caught my eye as we sat down.  It has cheese shreddings on top with white cream.

“Wow.  They all look yummy.”  I complimented.  She smiled satisfied.

“I don’t know if you’re still full but we always eat merienda every afternoon.  Here, try this, Yunho oppa.  It’s my favorite.  It’s called Ensaymada.”  She pointed to the kind of bread that I wanted to taste.  I took the cheesiest one and placed it on my plate. 

“How do you eat this?”  I asked.  I don’t know if we’re to use knives and forks or something else. 

“You may eat it however you wanna eat it.  Hmm, I usually eat it with my hands, but with a napkin or plastic, of course.  I find it tastier when eaten that way.  Hehehe…  Am I weird or what.”  She giggled and my grin immediately came out.

“Then I’ll use my hand too.”  I took a tissue paper and she watched expectantly as I took a bite. 

Oh, heaven!

I just sunk my teeth on the most soft and fluffy bread I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.  My mouth watered as it got better and better while chewing it, tasting the sweetness of the cream and the slight saltiness of the cheese.  The two flavors combined with the softest bread ever almost made my eyes roll to the back of my head.

“So?”  She asked.  I took a HUGE bite, making my Ensaymada half of its original size.  I closed my eyes and savoured the delicious bread and unknowingly….moaned.

“Oh my gosh, Yunho oppa!!!  Did it just make you moan?”  She asked.  My eyes flew open as I saw her looking at me, trying to suppress her laughter, with her hand on .  I realized my head was leaned back as I lost myself in my now favorite bread.

 I sat up straight and tried to swallow everything so I could reply.  Unfortunately, it went down in the wrong tube and choked.

“UHUH UHUUOH!!!!  UHOOH!!!  UHHOUOUOH!!!”  I classlessly coughed.

“Oh shucks!!!!”  Cassie exclaimed and gave me a glass of orange juice then proceeded to pound my back.  I could feel my face getting red from coughing and from serious embarrassment.  I don’t want to imagine the veins in my neck that started to appear.

It probably took a full one minute for my cough to die down.

“Are you okay now?”  She asked worriedly and rubbed my back comfortingly.  I nodded and finished my glass of juice.  She hurriedly poured more as she kept glancing at me.  Me, on the other hand, calmed myself before smiling up at Cassie.

“I’m okay now.  Saramat!!”  I beamed up at her to hide my embarrassment.  She laughed but I could sense that she’s still worried.  My heart fluttered as I appreciate her concern for me. 

“Really, I’m okay now.  It was the most delicious bread I’ve ever eaten I almost ate the whole bread at once!!!  That’s why I….” I trailed, too embarrassed to say I choked.  Great Yunho, good job on embarrassing yourself.

“I’m glad you liked it.  But it’s okay if you want to eat something else instead.”  She offered the plain, harmless-looking bread but I shook my head.  “I love this….mada something!  It’s now my favorite!!!!”  I proudly informed. 

“Okay, if you say so.  Eat another ensaymada.  But slowly, okay?  By the way, it’s Sa-LA-mat, not sa-RA-mat.”  She prounced each syllable slowly and clearly.  I nodded.

“Okay!  Ensaymada, sa-LA-mat!”  I carefully stated and she clapped.

“Yeeeey!  You’re an fast learner!”  She exclaimed and bit on her ensaymada happily.  I smiled at her giddyness and I had the urge to pinch her cheek.  No, cheeks.  But I didn’t do it.

“Oh!  I almost forgot!”  She said after we finished eating our Ensaymada.  She turned to me and said, “Tomorrow, I have work.  So I’ll be at school during the day.”

I got nervous all of a sudden.  What would I do without her?  If she’s at school, where would I stay?  Would I stay here at the house?  But if I do, what would I do?  I think it would be awkward to be with Cassie’s family alone, even though they’re really nice.

“But… Cassie, where will I….?” I asked, worriedly and looked at her for help.

“Don’t worry, Yunho oppa.  You can just stay at the house or go somewhere if you want.  Just as long as it’s not too far from here, we don’t want to get you lost.  And I’ll only be gone for 6 hours.”  She reassured and patted my arm.

“But… I’m…..shy around your family.  Can’t I just go with you?”  I asked hopefully.  “Pleeaaase?”  I put my hands together and pleaded her.

“Well… You can but I don’t know what you’re gonna do during those 6 hours.”  She said.

“I don’t care even if I have to wait.  Besides, it’s only 6 hours.  I’ve waited longer than that in my industry.  So can I go with you?  Can I?  Can I?  Can I?  I also wanna see where you work.  Pleeeaase?”  I asked again and gave her my puppy-dog-look.  She giggled at how I looked.

“Okay, okay!  Fine.  You may go with me.  You don’t have to give me that…that-”  She struggled for words to say.

“What, give you what?  My uber cute puppy-dog-look?”  I teased and I noticed she slightly blushed which made me feel warm inside.

“Psssh.  Uber cute?  Yeah right.. Anyway, I have to be at school at 9am.  So we’ll leave the house at 8:40am.”  She notified and  I nodded and smiled as I think about her profession.  She’s a teacher at the school so she's great with kids. 

“Got it!  But only a 20minute-difference?”  I wondered. 

“Oh the school’s inside this subdivision.  It’s so near you can see it from my bedroom.  So if you get tired of waiting or something, you can just go back here at the house.  It’s only a 15minute walk.”  She explained.

“Oh!  So it’s really near!  Uwaaah.  I’m glad you don’t have to go far to work.”  I said earnestly. 

“Yeah, it’s great.. Anyway, wanna go see the school from my room?”  She asked as we both stood up.

 
“Sure!”  I agreed and followed her up to her bedroom.  I felt grateful and excited that I would finally have the chance to take a peek inside her room.  And no, I don’t have a erted mind.  It’s just that, I know it’s her personal space. I feel like I can get to know her more just by looking at the stuff inside her room.

When we reached her door, she stopped me from entering.  “Wait, I’ll just uh, check my stuff real quick.”  She then closed the door.  After a few seconds, she opened it.  “Okay!  Clear!  Haha.  Come on in.”

I stepped into her room and my eyes started darting from here to there.  Her room is simple and modern.  Quite girlish but not overly girlish.  It’s just right.  It has a feeling of warmness and coziness in it that can make you totally relaxed.

“You have a nice bedroom, Cassie.  So neat.”  I complimented sincerely.  I then became aware of my actions.  I might mess up her room or dirty a spot.

“Thanks!  I try to keep it that way. Oh, come.  See that?”  She beckoned me over to her window and we both kneeled on the chair that was propped below the window.  Then she pointed to a big blue roof.

“See that blue roof over there?  That’s the school, it’s quite close, isn’t it?”  I looked over to where she was pointing and it as indeed really near her home. 

“Yup, I saw it.  I can’t wait to see it tomorrow!”  I said and stood up.  My eyes landed on a part of her wall full of pictures.  She noticed where I was looking at and said, “Wanna go look at the pictures?”  She asked and I nodded.

We both went to it and I studied the pictures.  Most of the pictures were with her family.  From her younger years up to now.   But several pictures caught my eye and I felt a strong emotion upon seeing them.  It made me feel….upset.

“Who is he?  Why is he always with you?”  I asked and pointed to those several sickening pictures while frowning. 

“Oh, him? It’s Mark.  You know, the guy who was with me when we assisted you during the cf shoot?  The other intern, remember?”  She asked.

“So you’re close now?” I asked bitterly, feeling more and more upset by the second.

“Uhm, I guess you can say that… He’s also working at the school.”  She informed.

Oh joy.  Now I really need to be with Cassie tomorrow when she goes to school and guard her from that Mark.  He looks like a bad boy.   Who knows what he’ll do to my Cassie.  I mean, to Cassie.  I was deep in my thoughts when somebody yelled.

“CASSIE!!! WHY ARE YOU TWO IN YOUR BEDROOM?!”  Kuya Darren roared and we both jumped from the loudness of his voice. 

“K-kuya, don’t get mad.  I just showed him the school.”  She answered but I could tell she’s afraid.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have ente-” I started to apologize but he cut me off.

“I’ll have a word with you,  Cassie.  NOW!!!”  He yelled again and she meekly followed him out of her bedroom.

Great.. Just great.

I glared one last time at the pictures then left her room as well.

[A/N]  Hello!  Sorry for being so late at updating.  But I'm hope you like this chapter! :D

TO MY NEW SUBSCRIBERS, HELLO! KAMUSTA? ANNYEONG! :D

TO MY STILL HERE SUBSCRIBERS, THANK YOU! SALAMAT! KAMSAHAMNIDAAAAAAAA!!!!

@kprincess1995 - Yes, the close the better! *wink wink*

@888888 - Haha, you noticed!!! :D He's still cute though. LOLS.

@myalteregoCMist - Hahah!  The pics fit, right? :)) Gosh, when will he step at NAIA again? Waaaah! 

@cherry1001 - number one fan yung momy ni Cassie! :))) She's really cool, huh? Haha. Eh kung ganon ba naman kapogi eh! :)) I'm a petal!!! ^_^

@aejae22 - Hahahaha!  yeheeey! kinilig kaaa!!! Parang ikaw naman ang naimagine ko sa kama mo. (Okay, that sounded weird) well, gwapo talaga fafa ko. Hahahah. at magaling ang mommy, napapayag nia si yunho! hahaha. nwey, yup. only child! grew up with my 2 girl cousins tho. ahah. ako panganay. XD

@mieyLa - mrs. shim!!! you're heeeere! *huuugs* hahaha. ang saya lang! :D  oh, dapat pala nilagay ko din na ganun nga kakilig si yunho babe. hahaha.

@alliekhot - Hello!! Sorry kung mejo boring chappy ngayon. haha. di bale, next chapter!! ;)