“Kicchan is not a slut!” I finally snapped. Lahat sila ay napatingin sa gawi ko. “And he was a first born! It was his parents that failed to notice that their son was not an Alpha and neglected him after knowing the truth!” sigaw ko sa kanila. “Aki-san,” Chihiro called out to me and tried to calm me down. “Pinapunta niyo lang ba ako dito para marinig ang mga pang-iinsulto niyo sa ibang tao?!” buska ko sa aking mga magulang. They didn’t even falter by how I acted. “Wala kayong alam kung ano ang pinagdaanan ni Kicchan bago niya nahanap ang Alpha na nakatadhana para sa kanya. Madaling sabihin na isa lamang siyang Omega dahil wala kayo sa posisyon niya! Kahit kailan, hindi naging mababa ang tingin ko sa kanya dahil lamang sa hindi kami parehong Alpha. Kung tutuusin, mas lalo akong humanga sa kanya noong lumaban siya hanggang sa huli! Wala kayong karapatan na pagsalitaan ng masama si Kicchan!” I bursted into tears. [Ah. Come to think it, I think I haven’t told Chihiro yet

I thought we were going straight home after a whole day of strolling in the mall but… “Isn’t this a motel?” I asked with a blank expression. Chihiro on the other hand was beaming with delight and excitement, simply locking the door to our room. “Nagpaalam ako sa mga magulang ko, Aki-san,” he reasoned out before taking off his jacket. “Okay but… why are we here in the first place?” I asked again in an uncomfortable tone. “Gusto kong masolo ka ulit, Aki-san,” he admitted without hesitation. “Saan ka kumuha ng pambayad dito, Chihiro? I fired you, remember? You’re practically jobless. Please don’t tell me that you borrowed money from your pa—” “May ipon ako, Aki-san,” putol nito sa akin. “Huwag kang mag-alala. Pinag-isipan ko ito nang mabuti.” [Stop looking so ridiculously serious. It’s creeping me out!] I shouted in my mind. Napaatras naman ako ng kaunti nang humakbang palapit sa ‘kin si Chihiro. Was it because we’re the only ones inside this room that I

Nagtaka si Haneda-san sa mabilis at biglaan kong pagsulpot. Ito kasi mismo ang nagsabing magpahinga muna ako saglit pero hindi man lang tumagal ng limang minuto ang pagkawala ko at heto ako ngayon tila mas lalong nadagdagan ang problema. “May problema ba, Hanamichi-kun?” kamusta ng matanda sa akin. Kasalukuyan pa itong naghahalo ng semento at tubig. Hinihingal naman akong napasagot, “P-pasensiya na, Haneda-san. May nakakita k-kasi sa ‘kin at baka akalain niyang wala akong ginagawa kaya bumalik na lang ako,” pagpapaliwanag ko. “At sino namang nakakita sa ‘yo? Sa inaasal mo ngayon para kang nakakita ng multo,” aniya sa sobrang pagkamangha habang nagpupunas siya ng pawis sa kanyang noo gamit ang braso niya na may mantsa ng semento na nahaluan na ng tubig pero hindi iyon naging abala sa kanya. Napabuntong-hininga naman ako. “Hindi ko po kilala. Nakasuot siya ng itim na tuxedo at mukha siyang yayamanin,” pagkukuwento ko. “Tuxedo? Malakas ba ang kanyang dating?” us

“He was three years older than me. We came from a family of Alphas. Him being born the eldest and the only Omega — his existence was considered as heretic,” pagsisiwalat nito. “We grew up being separated from him and were told to never get near him or involved with him. But sometimes, I would catch him making weird glances at us; we had another brother who was also an Alpha who was four years younger than me. I didn’t understand why was that or what were the consequences of having an Omega in a household that were full of Alphas. I didn’t despise him but I didn’t get to know my brother that well either. He was like a stranger to me. We would only see and meet him during very special occassions and urgent family matters but I never had any proper conversations with him,” kuwento niya habang nakatitig sa malayo. “When I reached the right age and learned about the dIfferences of Alphas, Betas and Omegas, that was when I finally understood the meaning of my older brother’s weird gla

“Chihiro?!” I exclaimed, hindi makapaniwala sa nakikita ko ngayon. Chihiro who was panting and out of breath tightly but gently wrapped me inside his big, warm arms before warning Jirou. “Layuan mo si Aki-san, Arisawa-san. Hindi ako magdadalawang-isip na kalabanin ka kung sasaktan mo siya!” Kung kanina ay tila nag-alala nang bahagya si Jirou sa akin, ngayon ay napalitan na ito ng iritasyon dahil nakita niya si Chihiro. “Seriously? Why did you have to appear now? I was having a fun time with Izumi,” dismayado at tila galit niyang saad. Chihiro clenched his teeth. “Umalis ka na!” “Chihiro, I am fine.” Sinubukan kong awatin sila sa pamamagitan ng pagpapakalma ko kay Chihiro. Ramdam ko ang tensiyon nito dahil kahit yakap-yakap niya ako ay nanginginig pa rin ang kanyang braso. Jirou sighed in defeat. “Ah, I give up. I really just wanted to help, Izumi,” kausap nito sa akin, paying no attention to the guy who just snapped at him a while ago. Pagkatapos niyon ay tin