~Oh Sehun~

"Ano?! Stranded?!" sigaw ko sa cellphone na hawak ko. "Niloloko mo ata ako, Kyungsoo eh!" Napa-facepalm ako at napasabunot sa buhok ko. 

May mga kaluskos sa kabilang linya before i heard his voice again. "Hindi ah, Sir!" angal ni Kyungsoo. The line's geting choppy already at medyo hindi ko na siya naiintindihan. "Totoo lahat ng sinabi ko sayo! Promise po!" 

I sighed and stared at the ceiling. "Kapag nalaman kong--"

'toot toot toot'

"WTF?" i cursed as i stared at the phone. Mukhang nalowbat na ata si Kyungsoo o nawalan na ng signal doon sa pinuntahan niya. Dapat kasi hindi ko na sia pinayagang umalis eh. Now, i'm left here in the house with no one but Luhan. 

Napatigil ako nang maisip yun. 

What should i do? Kailangan ko na bang magpakita sakanya? 

Halos mahulog naman ako sa kama ko nang kumatok si Luhan. Syempre, alam kong siya yun. Sino pa ba diba? 

"Master Seth?" tawag niya at parang may iba akong naramdaman. There are times that i love it when he talks to me. I already allowed him to come and visit me here, in my room. But still, with the lights closed. 

We talk for sometime and i ask him questions. I can say that we're friends now. 

But after seeing him in the mirror, i wanted that friendship to become more. Hindi ko ma-explain kung paano. But i like the way he talks, i like it when he stammer, when he walks around the room, or when he stumble when nervous. 

"Yes?" i called. 

"Master, tinawagan po ako ni Kyungsoo." he said and i can almost see him nearing his mouth on the door knob. You see, he doesn't have a loud voice. "Hindi daw po siya makaka-uwi ngayon kasi na-stranded daw po sila nung boyfriend niya." 

Nanlaki yung mga mata ko sa sinabi niya. 

Boyfriend niya? Ibig sabihin magkasama sila ni Kai ngayon? Kilala ko yung negro na yun... kilalang-kilala. 

Ayaw ko nang isipin ang posibleng ginagawa nila ngayon.

"Master?" 

I came back to reality and rubbed my forehead. Kung anu-anong images ang pumapasok sa isip ko. Basta ang alam ko lang, si Kim Jongin yun eh! Hay. Konting ingat lang kay Kyungsoo. Baka kung anong gawin nung lalakeng yun sa inosenteng si Kyung. 

"Y-yes." i answered. "Tinawagan din niya ako kanina." Tumayo ako at kinuha ang salamin na binigay sakin ni Sulli. Tinitigan ko yung reflection ko dito. Siguro nga, ito na yung pagkakataon para magpakita ako kay Luhan. Hindi bilang si Oh Sehun, kundi bilang isang halimaw. 

Tatanggapin niya kaya ako? 

Ibinalik ko yung salamin sa ilalim ng kama at tumingi sa pinto. 

"May kailangan ka pa ba, Luhan?" tanong ko at saka naglakad papalait sa pinto. 

There's a long pause before i heard him clear his throat. "A-ah." simula niya at napangiti ako. He really is cute when he hesitates on saying something. "May nakita kasi akong scrabble board sa basement kanina, Master. Naisip ko lang kung..." he trailed off. I can sense na nahihiya siya. I grinned and shook my head. 

"If we could play?" i finished his sentence. 

"Pero Master, okay lang po kung ayaw niyo!" mabilis niyang sagot. "Maiintindihan ko naman po kung--"

"No." i answered, grinning. "It's fine, Luhan. Actually, i also need to talk to you." There, i said it. I clasped the robe around me and closed my eyes. Images of him running away are flooding my thoughts. 

There's a pause again and a series of tapping on the floor. It seems like, he's nervous. Medyo kinakabahan siguro kung ano bang pag-uusapan namin. When in reality, i should be the one getting nervous right now. 

"Sige po, Master." sagot niya and i can hear the nervousness in his voice. 

I sighed and stared at the ceiling. "Meet me at my study room, and bring the board game." i said as i clasp the doorknob. I want to see him already. Why is that? 

There's a series of footsteps and i listened to it fade away. Agad akong pumunta sa closet ko at naghanap ng pinaka-makapal na robe at mask. Kumuha din ako ng shawl at pinulupot iyon sa leeg ko. I feel like i'm being toasted underneath but i don't care. 

I need to see him. I need him to see me. 

I sat the same way as i did when we conducted the interview. I faced the wall and kept the lights off. The light from the glass window is entering the room, giving me access to look around. 

I tensed up when i heard the door of the study room open. 

"Master?" 

There's a thud and i know that he already placed the board game on top of the table. I heard him pull a chair and he tapped the table. "M-master Seth?" tawag niya ulit. 

"Luhan... I... you need to... uhh..." i trailed off, touching my temple.

"Hm?" he hummed in question. "Ano po yun?" 

Kahit pa anong gawin ko, natatakot parin ako. Natatakot na hindi niya ako matanggap at tumakbo siya palayo. Pero hindi din naman pwedeng habang buhay nalang akong nagtatago diba?

Nauubusan na din ako ng oras. Time's running and i must do what i can to chase it and go with it's flow. I know this would be hard. 

But do i have a choice? 

Tumayo ako. "Luhan, it's time you see my face." i whispered and touched the hem of my robe. I closed my eyes and removed the shawl around my neck.

"M-master..." 

"Look at me." i said as i fully removed the robe that covers my whole body. I turned around and faced him.

My eyes remained closed as i felt his eyes on me. "This is the reason why i hide, Luhan. This is the reason why i hide from everyone, why i have these robes. I am a monster." i said and i can't look at him. I don't want to see his expression. "I'm not normal... i'm ugly." 

"Master..." i heard him say. 

And for an unknown reason, i suddenly looked up at him. 

Luhan's eyes are opened wide. He looked at me and i can see nothing but sadness in his eyes. I'm expecting something else. Fear. Dismissal. Hesitance. 

But no. Wala akong makitang ganun. 

"You're not ugly, Master." he suddenly said and shook his head. "You're not." 

I gasped as i looked at him. Then his lips formed one of the tiniest smiles. 

He placed his hand on his heart. 

"What's in here matters the most, Master Seth," he whispered. "And you're beautiful enough, for me." 

*****