Chapter 12

"I'll pick you up tomorrow. Then, let's go to the amusement park together afterward," he said. I simply nodded at him, a silly smile plastered on my face.

He finally went home and I finally went to bed for real. I kept tossing and turning, thinking about how our date tomorrow would turn out to be. In the end, I was too excited that I barely had any sleep.

We're going to the office in the afternoon, but I was already preparing my clothes in the morning. My sister and mother stared at me as I run from one room to another trying to look for clothes, but they did not say anything. I was too nervous to eat but I managed to gulp down my lunch. I was still busy contemplating whether I should change the bag I planned to bring when I heard the doorbell ring.

I almost ran downstairs if I did not hear my sister's name. Her Shopee order finally came. I rolled my eyes and went back to my room. Coincidentally, my phone on the bed suddenly rang. It gave me a bad feeling, as if there's a storm coming. I decided to just shrug it off. It's probably because I'm nervous about my date with P'Off later. I grabbed my phone and answered the call from my manager.

"Gun," the voice wasn't my manager's.

"P'Off?" I asked. The bad feeling I felt a while ago returned.

"Sorry," he said. His voice was soft, almost like a whisper. I hear a lot of chattering from thd background noise. My heart started being fast. My hands turned cold.

"Did something happen?" I asked. I instinctively bit on my nails. I walked back and forth to try to shake off some bad feelings that I feel.

"I had to go to the office early, so I can't go with you. Also, my phone is off. I'll just explain things when you come here," He was speaking fast. I can also hear his footsteps. Something must've hapoened in the office.

"Okay," I said. I grabbed my bag and went to my car.

"I'm really sorry," he said, then abruptly ended the call. After that, I drove as fast as I can.

A crowd was formed in front of the building. They wear clothes with logos from various magazines and tv stations, and there were cameras and microphones. I can't see the guards that were supposedly stationed at the entrance. I decided to drive around the building and enter from the back of the building. It was quite a walk from the parking lot to the main building, so I usually don't use this way. However, this long way is the best way today.

There were lots of phone calls going on and people going around. It gave me a hard time to reach the main office, but I got there eventually. The first thing I did was look for P'Off. I immediately hugged him when I saw him.

"P'Off, what's happening?" I asked. He hugged me back tightly and did not say anything.

"N'Off, N'Gun. They're waiting," He let go of me and we went inside the office together. Strewn on the table were various news and articles. All of them showed a photo of P'Off with P'Jane, but it was different from what I saw last night. This time, they seemed to be eating together. The time showed that it must've been before sunrise. I was stoned on where I was standing, until P'Off pulled me to sit beside him. He looked helpless, but he remained silent.

Finally, a staff explained what happened. Reporters are demanding for an interview with P'Off and P'Jane about their relationship.

"But we're not in a relationship!" P'Off exclaimed. His eyebrows were furrowed, his forehead creased. I looked at P'Jane to see her reaction. She was looking away from P'Off. She looked stoic.

"So here's what we're proposing," the director started speaking. P'Off sat down. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Don't confirm nor deny the rumors. Instead, what you'll be saying to the media is that we'll be switching characters. N'Off will be the main lead and N'Gun will be the rival," I felt offended. I wanted the main lead position. I wanted that potential big break to my career. I worked hard to reach where I am right now. I've been preparing hard for my role. They can't just take that away from me.

The director was looking at me expectantly. He knew that I would be the most affected. I looked at P'Off to ask him to reject the idea and saw him staring at me. He looked worried. My insides soften. He probably realized that this could be a great opportunity for his career to shine. He's always been a side actor in a lot of series. This can help him improve as an actor, which is what he always sought for.

Gun, you're going to regret this.

I don't care. At this moment, I don't care about what this might bring. A little delay to my career plans won't hurt me much. Not if it will help P'Off greatly.

Why can't they just admit that they were not in a relationship?

I looked at the reaction of the people around me. They were agreeing with the director's proposal. Some looked like they did not like it but they did not say anything. Even P'Jane did not move from her position when I looked at her a while ago.

Why is it so easy for you to change your mind when it comes to him?

I feel a little struggle inside me, but it's obvious which side is winning.

"Why can't we just-" P'Off started saying, but I cut him off.

"I think we should do that," I said. The room was silent. I started feeling uncomfortable. Then, the director clapped his hands.

"Alright. Prepare for the interview later," he said. With that, we were carried off by our own personal staff.

Everything that just happened doesn't feel real. P'Off and I were supposed to go to the office together. Then, we'd spend the rest of the afternoon in the amusement park. Instead, P'Off got caught in a dating rumor, and our roles in the series got switched.

I mentally applauded myself for bearing to fake a smile the entire interview. In reality, my heart feels heavy. After the interview, we had a meeting about changes in schedule and a lot of other things. P'Off and P'Jane were told not to go out with anyone in the mean time, and we ended up going home later than we supposed to. The amusement park would probably be closed already even if they weren't told not to go out. I feel hungry and frustrated and disappointed at what happened today. Today is February 14, but I wasn't able to spend time with P'Off. I wasn't even able to atleast go home with him. I went straight to bed when I got home.

Suddenly, I felt someone slightly shaking me awake. I opened my eyes and saw P'Off. I was still sleepy and my mind wasn't fully functioning so I just stared at him. Then, he said five words that jolted me awake.

"Let's go on a date."