“Please breathe. You’re making me worried.”
Vishnu stiffened his body. His muscles tensed. He scratched his head, aiming to make sense of everything. Yet, he couldn’t. He wanted to smack himself. How could he act like that? Ever since he realized why he’d been feeling weird the first time he met Jerson until now, he drew the line. He just met the person for fuck’s sake so why would he feel that way? And to a man, huh?Everything just doesn't add up. There is no freaking way!He knows himself better! He isn’t against the lgbtqi+ community and the projects they had established helping them in battling for their rights over the time, and he’s definitely not homophobic, however, thinking he was one of them was way too absurd. He could never accept that. He’d been straight all his life!Vishnu took a deep breath while Jerson continued fixing his tie. Once again, he found himself attracted to Jerson’s fragrance. He stopped breathing again when he smelled the same fragrance he scented at the café. Boner. For some reason, he felt hot all of the sudden. He pushed Jerson away and glared at him. Good thing that Jerson had fast reflexes, avoiding himself from getting hurt. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Jerson cursed as he lay down the cold marbled floor. “I’m sorry,” Vishnu sincerely apologized. “But please if it is not necessary, could you stay away from me. Could you give me some space? Hmm?” Vishnu cautioned. Jerson wanted to ask what his problem was but it looks like just like he guessed, he was his problem. He sighed before getting up and trudging backward. He bowed his head in respect for Vishnu, his new boss, who seemed to be unimpressed by his sudden move. Even Jerson, himself, was flustered about it. His body moves on its own accord and before he knows it, he was already fixing his tie like it was a normal thing to do and that he’d been doing it a lot before. His body remembers some fragments of familiarity sensations he was never aware of. He looked heavenward. He cursed himself all over again. Such a reckless act… how could he?Jerson screwed up his face. “I’m sorry for being so… disrespectful. This won’t happen again,” he calmly apologized as he took off the apron he'd been wearing. Jerson pondered, perplexed by his own behavior. This departure from his usual self, unable to dismiss the situation casually, it left him questioning what was happening to him. The anomaly sparked a sense of self-reflection.Frustrated, Jerson bit his lips with the same thoughts bugging his entirety. He even forgot to ask Vishnu to take his breakfast first before leaving. He just stood there, astounded.“I’m leaving.”Vishnu didn’t wait for Jerson’s reply and sauntered towards the door. He didn’t bother looking back at Jerson to check if he would once again affect his racing heartbeat or not. He got a boner right after he scented him. It was rather shocking news and an unexpected unraveling of a twisted plot. He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Yesterday, he was acting like an innocent lamb, and now he was aroused just by his scent? What a perverted guy he is! He felt sorry that he had to push Jerson. Anyway, this might be just a confusion triggered by Noah. Whatever it is, he’ll find it out later. He gets in his car. He really just couldn’t stand being with Jerson and they would eventually end up fighting. He regretted why he didn’t reject Noah’s suggestion. He regretted that he was controlled by whatever feeling he had yesterday and he just let it control him. He regretted agreeing when Noah told him to bring Jerson along with him as his personal guard. He regretted it but why does he feel like he'd regret it more if he rejected all of it at once? Hah! I’m really out of my mind.Vishnu tried his best to get distracted by some other things. He brought his ass around the investigation process even though he didn’t like it and even checked the place of the crime. He reviewed all the cases that were pending and contacted his paralegal team to sort things out when he wouldn't be able to do it alone and needed manpower. When he was finally done arranging the cases from most difficult to solve and to the least, he called his secretary to bring him the paper that needed to be approved. He exhausted himself to forget Jerson and his unexpected attraction to him. “You should take a break, sir.”Vishnu waved his hand, dismissing his secretary. Observing Vishnu from a distance, Jerson made a conscious effort to conceal his presence, respecting Vishnu's request. He aimed to avoid irritating his new employer and maintain a low profile.Jerson frowned after sitting on the van and watched Vishnu again from the CCTV he had stored on Vishnu’s necktie. He got the urge to strangle whoever gave Vishnu these fucking jobs. He was seriously beaten up following the prosecutor almost everywhere. He hasn't seen, even once, Vishnu takes his meals. He wanted to remind him to eat but he was told to stay away. He never really cared for anyone but, the prosecutor, the big baby was sulking so bad that he drowned himself with paperwork. He was forced to follow him. Jerson smirked before shaking his head sideways. Choosing not to go home, Vishnu directed his secretary to summon the maintenance department to fix the compartment in his office. Deciding to sleep at the office, he rationalized that sharing a house with Jerson, no matter how large, would lead to undesirable consequences. Jerson's mere presence proved to be a significant distraction, and Vishnu feared he might inadvertently harm him, as had happened earlier.“Over time, Sir?” the Secretary asks. Vishnu nodded.“I don’t feel like going home.”Vishnu's secretary, named Rose, tilted her head in curiosity. It was unusual for Vishnu who usually was so eager to left work to go home to suddenly decide to stay overnight. Not only had he completed all the paperwork ahead of time, but he also delved into briefings he usually neglected and personally visited the investigation. The change in his routine is undoubtedly intriguing.Rose couldn't help but wonder about the sudden change in her boss's behavior. A question lingered in her curious mind: What could have caused this changes?“Hearing that from you… did something happen?”“Nothing big,” Vishnu answered before focusing again on browsing something on his laptop. Rose shrugged it off thinking that his boss was going through something momentous change. He’s too old for that though. Rose chuckled.Jerson's complexion soured at the news that the Prosecutor wouldn't be going home tonight. This meant he would have to spend the night inside the van he had brought to guard Vishnu. Dealing with all the dipshits that were following the Prosecutor all day, Jerson made sure of it that they were killed before they could pose any threat to the seemingly indifferent Prosecutor.Imagining himself staying at the Van, Jerson felt greatly aggrieved. He wasn’t in a very good mood about what happened earlier and now he has to spend all night in his rusty van. “Fuck that Prosecutor! Fuck this set-up!” Jerson cursed while gritting his teeth. In a sudden burst of frustration, Jerson angrily typed Noah's number and forcefully tapped the call button. Puzzled by the intensity of his anger, he contemplated, “I must be losing my mind.”“Speaking,” the other line mumbled.“Noah…” Jerson said. Should I really need to do this? “Can you hire someone to protect Vishnu in the morning while I take over at night? I have to continue my studying this year. I can’t extend my leave of absence anymore,” Jerson declared. He took a leave of absence from his school because of an accident. His original plan was he was going to start all over again. Grab what Vishnu offered him and continue studying at Vishnu’s school where Vishnu graduated, but all of it had changed in just a matter of time because of Vishnu's shitty temperance and attitude. His records in his previous school were all good. His marks passed the average. It will all go to waste if he follows his previous plan. His efforts before the fucking accident will all go in vain.Although he couldn’t really remember it all well, he surprisingly remembers all the lessons. His memory was affected by that mishap causing him to involuntarily forget people and some events. He even forgot people’s faces. One of those faces seemed to be owned by someone important to him. Except for his classmates and Noah, no one visited him at the hospital so he decided to just leave it like that. It’s a good thing that he couldn’t remember the guy’s face. It’ll only make it harder for him to move forward if he does. That accident almost killed him and he knows that the group who were after his parents were hunting him. “Did you just call me Noah?” Noah asked in excitement. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you say my name. Did something good happen?”.“Just the usual,” Jerson retorted. “Have you thought about it? I could recommend someone who’s more adequate for the job.”“Jane… Is Jane okay with you?” Jerson tilted his head in contemplation. Jane embodied the kind of woman he would choose to fall in love with—strong, independent, and reliable for tasks like this. He knew Jane liked him. If only he’s straight, he'd court Jane without a doubt.“Jane is very dependable. Besides, Vishnu seems comfortable around girls so….”“Aight! I’ll send Jane there tomorrow. Good luck with your studies.”“It’s not like I am wanted or something! You can’t make me cover my face!” Jane hissed. Noah frustratedly massages his temple. “You aren’t but the exact struggles fit with being known by most people. Humanity wags their tails for the so-called white lotus and all that crap,” Noah declared. “What do you want me to do? Cover my face then?” Jane crossed her arms and raised her right brow. “Over my dead gorgeous body! I’ll just sue them for intruding on someone's privacy!” she added.“And you believed you could sue your fan? That’ll ruin your image, idiot!” “I don’t care! I have another job aside from acting goody-two-shoes!” Noah groaned. This woman acts differently when Jerson is around, but when it’s only the two of them, she’s really getting into his nerves. He looked at Jane again, who was acting like a brat. Noah didn’t know why he chose this woman and now he regretted such a reckless decision. She’s giving him a severe headache. “I’ll fire you,” Noah warned but this didn’t star
“What if the boss gets killed on my surveillance? What would be the requital?” Jane inquires. The question was presumed to be innocent by quite a lot of people but Jerson, who knew Jane for years knows that this isn’t just a simple question she had come up with out of curiosity. Jerson suspects that Jane was cautious of the fact that she happens to be inferior compared to Vishnu. Jane, who used to be in the limelight, doesn't want to suffer the same fate as those she tormented. She despised being perceived as incompetent when compared with others. If Vishnu were to join the Empresí, her rank will go down by one and that’ll make her the fifth. She’ll be assigned to an unstable squadron by then. She didn’t want that. With that kind of thought, Jane had her hidden agenda upon signing the contract. If Vishnu decided to get engaged with the Empresí — which is possible if they were to mention his past background — Jane wouldn’t think twice about harming the Prosecutor. Even though she knew
“Spacing out again?” Alec inquired when he saw Jerson had fallen again in his pool thoughts for the fifth time. Alec leaned his back on the couch before he threw the document on the table. “All the documents you ask for are compiled in that folder.” Alec looked Jerson in his eye and continued, “Are you sure you’ll continue? You could just drop out.” Alec examined the whole room and found out that the interior design hadn't changed even one bit. With Jerson’s preferences, this was just as Alec expected it to be. Jerson didn’t like changing the floor plans of his room. Jerson would instead stick at the current than adapt to the new one. He’d say his most used iconic line: “Too troublesome.” Indeed, it is true that adapting to change is problematic yet mandated especially to businesses as they wouldn’t grow and survive if they
"That's not quite achievable," Jerson responded. When Alec heard this, his brows furrowed in concentration. “What? Why?” Alec asked. Jerson sighed contemplating whether to tell the suspicion he has in his senses to his friend. "The Prosecutor had a lot on his plate at the time. Even solving this case wouldn't take long; the prosecutor couldn't possibly fit it into his already overburdened schedule," Jerson asserted confidently as he gazed out the window. As he reflected on Vishnu’s confession from the day before, he was torn between two opinions. Whether they knew each other or they both went insane. It seemed to come out of nowhere. He was taken aback to the point where he simply pushed Vishnu away and walked out of Vishnu's office. Vishnu had agreed to ta
The next few days were a living hell for Jerson. He didn't get a good night's sleep for the next few nights after Alec informed him that Vishnu might join their team for their school's criminal investigation. He looks out of his bedroom window. The sun was setting brightly, but this did nothing to improve his already sour mood. He let out a sigh and decided to continue closing his eyes. He wished that he’ll be able to enjoy peaceful days from this day onward. A loud knock woke him up after a while. It appears that the person who is banging on his apartment door has the intention of ruining it. Jerson's eyes twitched in irritation as his face darkened. He was having a difficult time keeping the irritation from thriving inside him. In the end, he gets out of bed and makes his way to the front door, ready to curse whoever pushed his temperance to the limit.
"What exactly does that mean?" Jerson couldn't contain himself any longer. He hadn't anticipated this. What about his parents? What murder attempt? And what about the funeral of his lover? How did the prosecutor find out about this? He was confident that he had successfully concealed his identity, particularly in light of the incident involving his parents. How could this information have gotten out? Did he fail to conceal it? Furthermore, he was unaware of his lover's funeral. How did Vishnu find out about the funeral when the news had not reached him? Similarly, how does Vishnu know he had a male lover? "It is exactly as I said. Did you not look into your kidnapper and the attempted murder that occurred on that bridge?" Vishnu inquires. Jerson was unable to res
“Is this standard practice?” Tyler asked as he saw Jerson slanted his back at the couch. Begetting so much thought in his mind, Jerson couldn’t answer instantly. He only stopped contemplating the circumstances he’d been facing when he felt uncomfortable by Tyler’s stares. He clicked his tongue before turning to Tyler. “What?” Jerson asked, slightly flabbergasted. “You’re so out of it,” Tyler commented. “What do you wanna drink? Beer as usual?” Tyler consulted again. This time, Jerson nodded and decided to pay more attention to the man he was currently with. In fact, he decided to go to this bar to forget about everything, but, instead of distracting himself, here he was still in deep thought about what the Prosecutor declared. He really needed a break from his di
“For now, you are the person of interest. The Avialanché set their eyes on you, Vishnu,” the girl in a black fitted dress said. “The place of their transaction is at the small bar in the intersection between this City and the C City. Red sent me their location. Get yourself prepared,” the girl added. Vishnu adjusted his suit and stared at the girl intently. “You said last time that everything was fine. Why the sudden change of the situation? Did their boss get his brain back?” Vishnu inquired. Before answering, the girl swayed his hand. These gestures were meant to dismiss her dependents that were silently eavesdropping on their conversation. Her dependents looked at each other and smirked maliciously. As they get what their chief was trying to convey through, the boys in their formal suits followeth the order of their chief.