Chapter 1

Nanatili akong nakatulala habang nakatitig sa kanya. Unti-unting bumabagal ang bawat paghinga ko, at parang ayaw na yatang mawala ng mga mata ko sa kanya.

He looks more than I imagined him to be. More... different.

He looks manly, unlike what my colleagues told me last time. They said he looks childish.

Pero ano ka ba naman, Seph? Being childish is a trait. A behavior. Kaya ngayong mukha pa nga lang ang nakikita mo, paano mo nasabing mali na kaagad ang sabi ng mga kakilala mo sa kan'ya?

But then his voice also sounded so deep on the speaker.

But he's also wearing a normal shirt, na may jejemon ngang print na design. Which is not so appropriate to where he is right now.

The office is big, almost as big as the two rooms I have at home combined. With a modern touch in almost everywhere, in its interiors and even the paintings on the wall, the whole room looks more than just a normal office. But then this boy, is wearing something so inappropriate in a such a luxurious and formal room.

So, ano ba talaga? There's only one way to find out.

Nanindig ang mga balahibo ko saglit nang makita ko na naman siyang ngumisi. But that smirk only lasted for a second on his plump lips. The next millisecond, it was gone. And now he's back with his innocent-looking face.

He indeed does not look like how I expected him to be. Yes, he looks childish because of his attire at such a formal office. But who knows, maybe he dresses up like this every day. Besides, this is an office in his own home. Which means, he can do anything he wants to do in here. He can dress whatever he wants.

I swallowed hard as I tried to look away for a second to reach something in my skinny jeans' pocket, then sighed as I returned my attention at him.

"Persephone Jade Velasco," sabay pakita ko sa agent i.d ko. "You probably know me, hmm?"

He stared at my i.d for a while, before tilting his head to the side, a gesture commonly used when being confused on something.

His brows also met, and his mouth slowly hung open. And a few seconds later, he raised his left hand to cover his still opened mouth.

He looks like he's acting, in my perspectives, and somehow sarcastic. Hindi ko na alam ngayon kung paano siya patutunguhan. I actually thought of giving him a candy to convince him to come with me once I found out that he has a childish behavior. Pero sa napapanood ko ngayon, I don't think any of my colleagues were right.

I cursed in my head. I should've asked my father more about this. Shit!

"I don't know who you are, Miss." He said carefully.

Binaba ko na lang ang i.d ko. Napabuntong hininga muna ako at yumuko, bago siya hinarap ulit.

With a smirk on my face, I said, "You sure 'bout that, kid?"

Tinanggal niya ang kamay niya sa kanyang bibig. Then proceeded to acting like a child who's accused of lying.

Hindi ko na alam kung anong papaniwalain ko. He does looks like he's acting. And who knows, maybe this boy had also been trained for his early years, like me. He's also raised by a rich family, who maybe is keeping their profile lowkey to prevent the media from attacking them, or just to avoid certain conflicts to their wealth.

Or maybe... hiding from someone.

I composed myself and tried to stop my thoughts from consuming my time here, then corrected my posture.

"Well, it doesn't really matter, kid. You're still coming with me."

I took huge steps to eat the distance between us. And when I'm finally in front of him, on the side of his large office table, I smiled.

"Are you willing to come with me?" I smiled even more until my lips started to feel numb.

I have to look friendly, kahit na nararamdaman ko nang baka pinaglalaruan lang din niya ako. I'll just figure out a way to know if he really is just acting once I bring him home. At kapag umaarte nga lang 'tong lalaking 'to, paunahan na lang kami sa pag-alam sa mga sariling pakay namin sa isa't-isa.

His eyes were now wide open as his head raise up to meet my gaze, with his mouth now in an o shape.

"Mommy doesn't even want me to talk to strangers, ang sumama pa kaya?"

My smile faded. "Well, you already broke your Mommy's rule, then. You were already talking to me the second I talked to you on that little speaker outside, even when you still don't know me. So, I assume, you still acknowledged me as a stranger back then, hmm? But you still talked to me."

He looked down and started to lower his head from where it is when he talked to me. But I was already so excited to end this day, and this part of my mission. Kaya kailangan ko nang magmadali, hindi na ako magpapaligoy-ligoy pa.

I crouched down and put my pointer finger at the bottom of his chin, and raised his head up to let our gazes meet again. Now, his brown eyes are filled with evident fear. Which made me think about what the hell am I doing again.

I already witnessed lots of scared eyes whenever I tried to brutally convince my victims to spill something, or even when I'm just talking to them about some debt he or she owes my family. Kahit na sa mga panahong kinakausap ko lang sila ng malumanay para man lang magbigay ng kahit ano na makakatulong sa mga nakaraan kong misyon, kahit gaano kaayaw na ipahalata, talagang nakikita ang takot sa mga mata nila.

But this boy, is just freely showing his scared eyes to me, like he's not afraid to be called a weakling for being this scared by just a girl. Kaya nagsimula na naman akong magduda kung totoo ba talaga ang kinikilos at pinapakita niya.

At baka kung ano pa ang pinaplano niya ngayon. Baka nagdadrama nga lang 'to ngayon kasi alam niya ang plano kong dalhin siya sa bahay ko, at baka d'on na niya ipakita ang totoong kulay niya.

But heck, I have no time to waste, and more importantly have I no time to doubt. Bahala na kung anong mangyari mamaya. He can't be that strong. And I certainly did a lot of workout and more training before I went for this mission. Hindi naman siguro ako matatalo agad.

Oh, cut the probability, Seph. Talagang hindi ka matatalo agad.

"One more time, big boy. Are you willing to come with me?" I slowly whispered, now gripping the collar of his shirt.

Mas lalo lang siyang natakot, at naramdaman ko pa ang mahina niyang panginginig. But I didn't let him have any time left to decide to answer me. Agad ko nang tinakpan ng panyo na may chemical ang bibig niya, naghintay ng ilang minuto, at agad siyang binuhat para dalhin na pauwi.