4 [Part 1] | Orange and Kisses
1730 Words
MINGI SLOWLY opened the head officer's room and bowed after Cloud and Merck Lee. "It is a pleasure to be invited in your office, sir."
Cloud smiled and gave Mingi a leading hand, showing a chair in front of him. "Be seated."
"Thank you, sir," he said with a smile and occupied the seat which Cloud has gave him. "If it is not offensive, sir, may I ask what has driven you both to call me here?"
"I actually have no idea what my brother has to talk with you and by that, he also used my name to make you come here." Cloud looked at Merck intently, as if telling him to tell the words he was wanting to say. "Let Merck tell you everything."
"Either only one of you has summoned me here, I will will go and follow your order, my lords."
Merck shook his head. "Masiyadong formal ang my lords. The first call sign is okay," Merck replied. Mingi nodded as a quick response. Kaunti na lang ay magsabi siya ng 'noted' o 'roger', e. "I called you here, actually, it is just my plan pero dinamay ko na rin ang kapatid ko."
"Understood, sir. What is it all about?"
"Just as we uttered minutes ago, we learnt that you are the one who protected Yunho." Merck paused for a second, leaving the two hanging. "I am grateful that you protected my son. If it was not you, then my son would already be gone."
"Yunho is still my young master, sir," Mingi replied and smiled. "As I made an oath to protect the gang, protecting young master is already a part of that. As long as I'm breathing, I'm willing to take risks just for the sake of the gang."
"With that regards, Mingi, I thank you for your loyalty." Cloud offered a hand that Mingi received with respect. "I am considering giving you a higher position just by seeing how committed are you. You are a capo now, once you accept my proposal, you'll get a higher position not just in the crew but in the council."
"I am glad to know that news, sir," with happy face, Mingi replied. "But I think somebody from the gang also deserves that promotion. I am not really chasing into the promotion, sir. I am already beyond happy to serve the gang well."
"Well, if you say so," Cloud muttered and intertwined his fingers. "Pero pag-isipan mo pa rin. This is a rare event for me to give someone a promotion. It just means that I saw a potential in you."
Mingi just smiled and nodded. All of a sudden, Merck interrupted their talk. "Well, I have a better proposal for you."
Mingi furrowed his eyebrows. "Allow me to hear your proposal, sir."
"As you know, I am the largest stakeholder of this gang, if you accept my proposal, I guarantee you a bigger profit." Mingi stayed silent upon looking forward to what Merck is about to say. "From what I heard today, you managed to protect Yunho by yourself only..."
"And by that, you mean what, sir...?"
Merck flashed a smile before uttering his proposal. "Be Yunho's bodyguard." Merck even cleared his throat before continuing in talking. "Be Yunho's exclusive bodyguard, to be exact."
"You want me to be Yunho's bodyguard, sir, is that exactly what you mean?"
"Yeah, that's what I am talking about. I mean, why not, right?" Merck even raised both his hands to his shoulder level. "I know you know that Yunho is a bit clumsy. And that leads to him being in danger for a lot of times already, including this. Akala mo si Serim na ang pinakamatigas ang ulo? Well, if that's what you're thinking, you don't know Yunho that much yet."
"What do you mean by that, sir?"
Cloud cleared his throat. "Mingi, you have been with both Serim and Yunho ever since. You all three are childhood bestfriends. Kahit nga na ngayon, e, hindi pa rin kayo nagkakahiwalay." Mingi just looked at them, being confused and all. "But I notice that you focus more on Yunho. I will not deny that I noticed that trait of yours. Hindi naman ako against sa ginagawa mo..."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, both of them are your young masters, but you only focus to Yunho," Cloud retorted and smiled. "And by that, you got Yunho's trust easily. That would be your greatest asset para maging bodyguard ni Yunho."
"We are doing this, not to pass the burden to you but because we know you can do well in protecting my son," Merck replied. "Well, if you despise the idea, let me know."
"Young master is not a burden to me, in the first place," Mingi replied and left out an assuring smile. "And I do not despise the idea, my lords. I just want to ask if it will be full-time or just part-time? With that regard, will I still be a gang member or just a bodyguard?"
"You will still be, Mingi. That is nothing to be worried of." Mingi looked at them with confused eyes. "You look confused, though. In case, you need time to think, quickly tell me."
"What will be my job?"
"The background of your job if you will accept my offer?" Mingi nodded in response. "You will be guarding Yunho wherever he go. As a safety measure as well, you will be living with him inside his condominium unit."
"Have you already talked with him about this regard, sir?"
"I haven't yet talked to him about this. He even does not know this plan of mine," Merck replied with worried eyes. "But I know that he'll accept it when he knows that it is for his safety. Also, you are his most trusted person inside the gang, I know that he will not despise that idea."
Mingi avoided gazes before having a deep sigh. "With that, sir... I will accept your offer. In accordance to what my oath has said, I will protect the gang until my last breath. As young master is included in this gang, it will be my pleasure to guard him for you."
"Well, thank you for accepting my offer, Mingi. I know that it is a big risk for you to take but you still grabbed my offer. I know you'll do a great job." Merck offered a hand. Mingi first stood up before accepting the hand. It is a basic etiquette in respecting the leader of the gang. "Care if you start your new job now? Your first task is to take Yunho back to his condominium unit, safe and sound."
After that talk, he immediately grabbed all of his things and put it on the expensive bulletproof sedan which will be his car to take Yunho to the condo unit where he is residing.
Due to extreme drunkenness, hindi na nagising si Yunho kahit ano pang yugyog ang gawin niya. He has no choice but to carry Yunho to the sedan, using the bridal way. Siniguro niyang nakahiga ng maayos si Yunho sa backseat at nakaayos ang seatbelt nito bago siya pumunta sa driver's seat at magmaneho.
"Are you really fine to drive alone, Mingi?" another higher ranking gang member asked him. "It is past three in the morning. Baka anong mangyari."
"Worry not for me, Eunhyuk," he replied and smiled. "You should go and sleep already. You must have had a lot of beer just couple of hours ago."
"I would really admit that I am already sleepy and yeah, I will go to bed after this," he said and waved his hand. "Have a safe trip."
Kaagad niyang pinainit ang makina at pinaandar ang kotseng gamit. The car is a real expensive and a limited edition so although it is fast-paced and swift, the car's motion is still light, stopping one from having a motion sickness.
"Hng," Yunho, from the back, groaned and grabbed his head. "What a pain in the head..."
Holding the steering wheel with his left hand, Mingi used his right hand to touch Yunho's forehead. "You are still burning, young master. You should have more sleep."
"Where will we go?"
"Sleep first," Mingi replied and tried to close both Yunho's eyes. Luckily, Yunho, in his tipsy mode, quickly followed his guard's command. "You will know once we have headed."
He grabbed his hand back to the steering wheel and heaved a deep sigh. "I actually don't want to be your bodyguard, though," he uttered in a low tone, complaining for short. "But there is this something inside me that tells you might need me."
Mingi looked back and gave Yunho a glance and a smile of adoration. "It's kind of corny but I guess, it's my calling. To be your bodyguard," he said, flaunting a proud smile. "Kanina lang, you told me that I should be the only one celebrating what happened. With that, I know that you're praising me. Unexpectedly... my heart felt like exploding that time. What more if you tell me that you like me as well..."
---
YUNHO GROANED and grabbed the part of his head that was in pain. He slowly opened his eyes and blinked twice after, as if reassuring something. "It's weird, why does it feel like a familiar place to sleep on?" He even grabbed the thing he was laying on and gaped his mouth open. "This is my bed. Pa'nong nandito ako?"
Mingi, on his plain shirt and a blue short, came into the setup while carrying a bed table. "Oh, young master, you're already up."
"Am I dreaming?" Yunho asked all of a sudden before rubbing his eyes. "Why am I here all of a sudden?"
"Did I shock you also?" Mingi asked and flashed a smile. "Master Merck ordered me to bring you here."
"Oh, I never anticipated that thing," Yunho replied and smiled. "Sorry kung inabala ka pa ni dad."
"Hindi naman po abala sa 'kin, young master." Mingi moved and placed the bed table in front of Yunho. "I have made you a breakfast. It must not be as good as the ones you usually eat, I think you'll appreciate this."
"Siyempre naman," Yunho replied and gave Mingi a thumbs up. "Mingi, by the way, I have something to talk with you..."
"About what, young master?"
- Writer
