A Miserable Romance

Chapter 3 - Curiosity

Chase's apartment was already near when the incident happened so thankfully, his things weren't soaked that much, his laptop was completely fine. The rain was getting heavier at nang makarating sa apartment ay nakita niya si Kyle na nagluluto.

"Oh, Kuya, may dinala akong giniling dito, binili ko sa pinuntahan naming karenderya, sabay ka nalang?" Kyle said but gulped when he saw the usual bad mood on Chase's expression.

Chase just suddenly remembered that the weird guy he saw last night, this morning, and earlier was this guy's friend. But he immediately shake it off since this man wasn't at fault and nodded, "Sasabay nalang ako."

That made Kyle heaved a relief, "Ihahanda ko lang ang mga pinggan."

Chase went to his room and took a shower since he couldn't take the risk of catching up a cold. Nagbibihis siya sa kwarto ng biglang may kumatok sa apartment nila.

Si Kyle ang bumukas ng pinto at nagulat ng makita kung sino ang nasa labas, "Ofius!? Ba't ka basa?!"

Ofius was standing by their door, all wet as if he swam in the great ocean, shivering and his teeth were chattering because of the intense cold. "L-L-Lamig..."

Kyle immediately pulled him inside and have him go to shower, "Anong trip na naman 'to?"

Ofius was in intense cold and traveled his eyes around the place but he didn't see Chase. "M-Mas malapit lugar mo kaya dito..." he sneezed, "D-Dito na ako pumunta."

Kyle sighed frustratingly, "S'an ka ba pupunta? Kanina pa tayo umuwi diba?" but Ofius couldn't answer since he was in very cold.

"Maligo ka nga muna. Baka ano pa mangyari sayo at ako na naman tatawagan ni Tito." sabi ni Kyle

Pinahiram ni Kyle si Ofius ng mga damit nya nang matapos maligo ang kaibigan at parehong masikip ang damit at pajama dahil ipinanganak na talaga si Ofius na malaki at masiksik dagdagan pa ang taas ng pamilya.

But he couldn't help but to laugh, "Para kang suman."

Ofius dried his hair with the borrowed towel, "Nandito na ba yung roommate mo?"

"Huh?"

Ofius looked around once again, "Yung roommate mo."

"Ahh, si Kuya Chase? Nandito na siya, teka tatawagin ko kasi natapos ko na painitin yung binili ko. Sumabay ka na ring kumain." Kyle said and went to knock to Chase's room.

Only when the door to Chase's room opened did Ofius stiffened and tried to calm himself down by sitting on one of the chairs.

Kyle and Chase went to dining table and the latter frowned seeing the same face he saw earlier, sitting with a silly smile on his face.

"Ah nga pala Kuya, si Ofius." Kyle pointed to Ofius, "Siya yung kanina, medyo makulit pero mabait yan." He casually introduced him.

"Aalis siya pag humupa na ang ulan." dagdag nito.

Chase was never fond of making new friends lalo na kapag may bad record ka sa kanya. But as courtesy, he just nodded and said, "Chase."

And with his short answer, Ofius was hyped up and tried to stand only to have his thigh bumped on the edge of the table which made Kyle and Chase flinch in surprise. He made a silent "Aww" from the pain and then quietly sat back again.

Kyle stared at him in disbelief, "Kanina kapa abnormal." he murmured.

"Kumain na nga tayo, baka gutom lang 'yan." he added.

Chase joined them in the table having no thoughts on how tense the visitor was. But Kyle was quick to notice and frowned at Ofius, "Nilalamig ka pa ba?"

Ofius looked at him, "Ako? Nilalamig?" he smirked as if Kyle was talking nonsense.

"Eh lamig na lamig ka kanina ah."

Ofius laughed, "Ako?"

Kyle frowned deeper, 'nu nangyayare sa mokong 'to?

Chase felt he did nothing wrong so he ate quietly with the others restraining any vulgar conversation in front of him. And in just a few minutes, he ate his part all clean, "I'm done, I'll wash my dish." He said and without waiting for their answer, he turned around.

When he finished his chore he went back to his room without even giving a glance and that is the moment where Kyle started talking, "Kita mo 'yun? Yun yung sinasabi ko! Awkward diba? Medyo may sariling mundo?"

But Ofius was deep in thought, "Lagi ba siyang ganito?"

"Simula nang maghati kami ng space dito sa apartment, ganyan na talaga 'yan." sagot nito.

"Anong trabaho niya?" he asked.

Kyle continued eating, "Writer ata 'yun."

Ofius nodded.

Kyle smirked, "Loner. Baka nanggaling sa breakup."

"Kukunin ko ang heater."

Kyle and Ofius stiffened upon hearing the voice behind them. Chase came back and was behind them! They both refused to turn around.

"A-Ah, sige Kuya." Kyle stuttered in fear. Chase no longer stayed and bought the heater to his room since he will have cups of hot drinks this night.

"Narinig ba 'tayo?" Kyle asked and same as him, Ofius got scared. It was another bad impression of him to Chase, and he couldn't help but to think the list of his bad record to the man.

Morning came, when Chase woke up, he was leaning on his desk, and under his cheeks were papers and a pen. He groaned from the pain on his stiff neck but then saw that the dark clouds from yesterday disappeared and the bright sun came making him realize that it was already late in the morning. He yawned and went out just to see Ofius working on his laptop by the dining table. Mukhang nag overnight ito at hindi na umuwi.

The man was working on a floor plan on his high spec laptop and seemed to be fully focused so Chase didn't want to bother him but with just a simple creak on the floor when he tried to get some water, Ofius snapped from his concentration and turned around. Bigla itong ngumiti ng makita si Chase, "Andyan kana pala."

Chase nodded, "S'an si Kyle?"

"Maagang umalis, may exam raw." Ofius answered, "Bumili pala ako ng breakfast, gusto mo?"

Chase was taken aback from the invitation, usually, people who interacted him once would never interact again twice, narinig pa nga nito na pinag-uusapan siya.

Bago pa siya tumanggi ay tumayo na si Ofius para e set aside muna ang laptop niya at kinuha ang almusal na binili niya, "Bumalik ako sa bahay para kumuha ng damit at laptop, bumili na rin ako ng almusal na may extra kasi nakita ko walang laman ang ref niyo. Kinain ko na yung akin."

With swift movement, Ofius already prepared the extra breakfast pack he bought out, still warm and fresh. And as Chase saw the brand of packaging, mukhang bumili talaga siya sa isang magandang food store which made him a bit hesitant. He wasn't used to this, hindi nito alam ang isasagot sa isang estranghero na bigla-bigla nalang nag o-offer nito.

When Ofius saw Chase's expressionless face, he blushed. He suddenly felt embarrassed by this sudden enthusiasm from him. Mukha ba siyang feeling close?? sabi nito sa sarili.

"Ah, okay lang kung..."

"Salamat." Chase spoke and went to sit, "Babayaran ko nalang 'to."

Ofius immediately shook his head, "Hindi na, bayad ko nalang 'yan kasi nagovernight ako dito."

Chase looked at him, and it was the first time he directly meet this young man's eyes. Compared to Kyle and his friends whom he already saw, the appearance of this guy is outstanding. He has clear and fair skin, tall and handsome, even his eyes seemed to have a natural fade emerald shade. May lahi siguro. But thinking of all their encounters, Chase thought that he must be one of those spoiled rich kids na gagawin lang ang gustong gawin nila.

"Wala ka bang pasok?" Chase asked as he saw the man take his laptop again.

"Wala, gusto ng mga professors na ilaan nalang namin ang schedule for this day para sa mga plates namin." Ofius answered.

Chase nodded and continued to eat. Only the sound of Ofius clicking the mouse continuously could hear around when his phone suddenly rang. He answered it and it was actually Kyle who wants to video call.

"Uy preeee!!" pambungad na sigaw ni Kyle na mismong si Chase ay muntik ng magulat.

Ofius frowned, "Ano naman yun?" he asked lifting the phone to have them see his face.

"Si Stacy! Sasali sa pageant!" sigaw ni Kyle.

Ofius smiled, "Talaga? Akala ko ba hindi siya sasali?"

Jin took the phone from Kyle and there were screaming for a while, "Sasali na siya!! Kasi sabi tapos na rin ang finals during this time raw!" Jin exclaimed.

Stacy was Ofius's crush for a while now. Gentle and friendly, mabait at matulungin even though hindi sila same ng department he felt he was lucky enough na makilala siya through his friends. He was in the phase of preparing to pursue her and his friends were the all-out support he needed.

He suddenly got in a good mood and was laughing along with Kyle and Jin when he caught Chase staring at him.

"Ah, sina Kyle." He mindlessly reasoned out at hinanaan ang volume kasi baka nai-ingayan si Chase.

Chase was also startled realizing that he stared too long, "Mukha nga." sabi niya.

After finishing the breakfast, he thanked Ofius for the food again at humanda na para lumabas since he need to make the last chapter of his book.

"Lalabas ka ba?" Ofius asked

"Oo."

"Sabay nalang tayo. Dala ko kotse ko sa ibaba, baka pwede rin kitang ihatid sa pupuntahan mo," Ofius offered.

Chase was in dilemma again. No one had offered this too much generosity in a span of one hour, nagsisimula na siyang mag-isip kung may trip ba si Ofius or may hidden agenda kay minabuti nalang niyang hindi tanggapin ang alok.

"Salamat pero magandang mag lakad-lakad muna ngayon." tipid na sagot niya at tumalikod na bago pa sumagot si Ofius.

Pero bago pa siya humakbang papalayo, Ofius spoke, "Ah, Chase?"

Chase stopped and turned back.

"May alam ka ba na lugar na pwede pag tambayan? I asked for permission to Kyle if I could stay here and work on my plates and he said yes giving me the extra keys but I realized na parang ang boring rin dito." sabi niya

"Wala ka bang alam na lugar?" Chase asked back that made Ofius's smile stiffened, ang tono nito kasi ay parang 'mukha ka namang mahilig sa gala, imposibleng wala kang alam na tambayan'.

He scratched his head to ease the tension, "Haha, wala eh. 'Di ako masyadong naglalabas." pagsisinungaling nito.

Chase seemed to have believed him and thought for a bit, since this guy is obviously an architecture student. He should have a good environment to stay on, cool and relaxing to work efficiently and he could only think of one place.

And as soon as he suggested Kaye's café, he still ended up in Ofius's passenger seat because he forgot that it was also his destination. It was mindless of him, he thought. Ofius was humming a good tune as he pass by the main road.

"Pwede bang magtanong?" Ofius suddenly asked.

Chase turned to him as a signal to ask away.

"Taga rito kaba?" he asked Chase.

Chase stared ahead, "Hindi, taga probinsya talaga ako, sa Visayas."

"Hm...Ilang taon kana dito?"

Chase delayed a second before answering, "About 3 years."

Ofius nodded as he turned to another street. Kyle has been his friend since they were kids, his circle of friends was also his friends. Kyle started his tenant life 2 years ago, and during this time, he didn't notice he has this gloomy roommate. He actually didn't noticed Chase until that night where Kyle said he got drunk and did something weird to his roommate. He couldn't remember what happened but seeing that Chase was interacting with him just fine, he shrugged it off. He wanted to ask Chase kung anong apelyido nito at edad pero nararamdaman niya na ayaw nang sumagot nito so he calmed himself down from personal questioning and spoke, "The Town Festival will start a few days, dadalo ka?"

Chase saw the decorations in every corner of the main street for the upcoming festival that everyone anticipates yearly, "Depende sa sched."

"Gusto mo bang sumama? May hiking camp sa third day." Ofius was enthusiastic in the invitation but Chase flatly refused, "Ayoko."

Silence surrounds the car again and Ofius's enthusiasm dropped low again. He was a great outdoor person and would always invite anyone to any fun activities he would know, kahit mapa estranghero pa 'yan kasi pinaniniwalaan niya na kailangan nating gumalaw-galaw bago pumanaw and that's the reason why sometimes, he couldn't understand those bored and lazy persons.

Nagdidilig si Kaye sa garden ng café sa labas at pinabayaan muna ang mga staffs niya na maghandle sa customers kasi medyo hindi na rin maganda ang landscape sa labas when a luxurious car stopped in front of her café. And what's more is that she saw Chase get off from it and following him was a very handsome young man!

"Kaye." Chase spotted her.

Kaye was in shock by this and turned to Chase in disbelief. Chase was late to realize what was on her mind and frowned, "It's not what you think."

"Chase." Tawag ni Ofius ng biglang makita siya na huminto sa harapan ng babae.

Chase snapped Kaye off and said to her pointing to Ofius, "Customer."

Kaye no longer entertained her thoughts and put a smile, "Oh, good morning Sir. What can I do for you today?"

"Table for one. Kailangan niya ng magandang space kasi gagawa siya ng school works." Chase said.

Kaye nodded, "We have a lot of solo good spaces here."

But Ofius didn't want that, he wanted to work along with people, 'di talaga siya sanay na mag-isa gumawa kasi alam nitong magse-selpon lang siya buong araw! But he saw Chase's serious face and was obviously telling him that he didn't want company while working.