Later on the day at the Student Council press briefing room, the members of the MJU press corps were beginning to assemble as some members of the university staff are finishing up on the lectern and the stage where President Kobayashi and his guests will be speaking.
The Student Council press is as large as the main area of the Student Council room. The back of the room is where the lectern is located, on top of a stage a couple of inches from the floor. The lectern itself is made out of wood with the seal of the Student Council attached in front of it. Behind the lectern to the left is the Philippine Flag, to right is the Mount Juliet University Flag, and at the center just in front of the curtains, attached to the ceiling is the logo of the university. Behind the curtains is a wall which hides the stairs that leads below the briefing room, an area where members of the Student Council and their guests can wait until the press briefing starts. This area is accessible by openings on either side of the lectern and is where the Student Council members will emerge from when the briefing is about to begin. The waiting room below is also accessible from a different area of the university center which is key-card access only.
In front of the lectern, just above the first row of seats for the press corps are stage lights that are focused on stage. There are seven rows of leather theater chairs, with nine chairs on each row. The other end of where the lectern is where most of the cameras are located to broadcast the announcement live throughout the university. Behind the camera row is the control booths were the audio and video equipment are located, manned, and operated by communication students. On each side of the control booth are openings which leads to the entrance to the press briefing room. On either side of the theater seats are area where photographers can stand to take pictures of the press briefing.
As with any press briefing headed by the Student Council President, all activities and classes at Mount Juliet are temporarily suspended so that students, faculty, and staff could hear any announcements that the Student Council President may have. This is also a form of respect and projection of power and influence for the Student Council as a whole and underscores the importance the body holds in the university. All types of communication medium under the control of the MJU media will automatically interrupt their regularly scheduled programming and broadcast the press briefing live.
Members of the Student Council present for the press briefing that are waiting below the briefing room are Aiden, Grace, Moira, and Angela, they are joined by Oscar and Music Club President, Jonathan Lopez. As the group are waiting, Aiden had Oscar sign the NDA that he had Moira type up, before sending him the selfie he took with Min earlier in the day, to the glee and delight of Oscar who was finally onboard with Aiden's plan.
This was the first time Aiden will be showing himself to the press corps and the university since the welcome party, and he was already bracing himself for the imminent flood of questions in regards with the kiss that happened. Although he's personally shaken and troubled by it, the thought of facing the press corps and the university enabled him to compose himself, filling himself with the role of Student Council President and closing off any kind of individuality or personal emotions or feelings he might have about the affair that transpired during the party.
As tradition dictates, the Public Relations Officer, who also acts as the Student Council Press Secretary would start the press briefing five minutes early and then transition to the Student Council President who would formally begin the event, announcing the main topics of the press briefing before letting the press corps ask any questions that pertains to the university as well as any affair that the Student Council oversees. On average, regular press briefings headed by the Public Relations Officer lasts about half an hour, and any briefing headed by the Student Council can last up to forty-five minutes to an hour.
The press briefing room was filled with chatters and laughter when the "stoplight", a series of three lights above the openings behind the lectern turned from green to yellow, indicating that the press briefing was about to begin, somewhat lowering the chatter noise a bit. A few minutes later, the light turned red, indicating that the cameras are now broadcasting live, and that the press briefing was about to start. After a few seconds, Angela emerged from the left hand opening behind the lectern from the press corps' perspective and walked towards the lectern, with flashes and sounds of camera clicking replaced the chatters in the room.
As Angela stood at the lectern, she greeted everyone with a smile on her face, "Good Afternoon everyone" as the entire press corps and everyone else present greeted her back.
"Thank you all for coming, and I would like to welcome everyone to the first Student Council Press Briefing this academic year. Today, President Kobayashi will be announcing major changes that will affect the Student Council as well as the student body as a whole. In addition, the leader of the Hunters, Oscar Hernandez and MJU Music Club President, Jonathan Lopez will be doing major announcements as well as it pertains to their respective organizations" Angela said in her opening speech as the press corps started clamoring for answers, their voices overlapping before Angela slightly raised her hand to bring order in the briefing room.
"I understand the MJU Press Corps has a lot of questions, but I would like to ask everyone to please refrain from asking any questions until after the announcements are over" Angela added.
As Angela finished speaking, the remaining Student Council Officers, together with Oscar and Jonathan emerged from the same opening where Angela came out of earlier, causing everyone's attention to shift towards their group, as another round of flashes came from the camera.
"Members of the MJU Press Corps, please welcome our Student Council President, Aiden Kobayashi" Angela announced as Aiden made his way towards the lectern. As Aiden walked, the entire press corps stood up as a sign of respect to the Student Council President. Angela stepped backwards and stood behind him, to his left-hand side. Grace, Moira, Oscar, and Jonathan followed suit, and all stood behind Aiden, on his right-hand side, with Grace closest to Aiden, then Moira, Oscar, and Jonathan in that order.
As Aiden stood at the lectern he signaled for everyone to sit down, which everyone promptly did before beginning his speech as flashes from the cameras continued to go off, "Good Afternoon" Aiden said, his usual tone filling the entire room as everyone greeted him back.
"Like Angela has already mentioned, I do have a major announcement to relay to the entire MJU campus. Last week, during the Executive Council meeting, I submitted a proposal to expand the current 8-member Student Council to a 13-member organization. In addition to the position of the International Student Representative which has been formally and officially recognized by the Executive Council as a legitimate and new member of the Student Council, the positions of Attorney-General, Student Ambassador Attaché, Secretary, ROTC Attaché, and Events Coordinator will be added. Currently, we are compiling lists of suitable candidates to fill the position of Attorney-General, Secretary, and Events Coordinator" Aiden announced to the surprise of the press corps who promptly wrote down and/or typed what he just said as multiple camera flashes illuminated the room.
"As of this moment, I'm appointing Cadet-Major Amy Del Rosario, commander of the 1st and 2nd ROTC Companies as the first ROTC Attaché and will be charged with liaising between the Student Council and the ROTC while retaining her command authority" Aiden added.
"As the Chairman of the Mount Juliet Student Ambassador Association, I will be choosing from within our rank and file Student Ambassadors who will fill the position of Student Ambassador Attaché, who shall serve as a liaison to our Student Ambassadors who, in the near future will be posted at our partner universities abroad, as well as liaising with our future Student Diplomatic Corps, which will be composed of Student Ambassadors sent to us by our partner universities to facilitate student level relationship and discuss ways to improve our International Exchange Program and allow for our International Students to have a direct line of communication to their home universities, and vice versa" Aiden continued.
"To that end, we shall be announcing by the end of this week who will be named in the still vacant positions, and they shall be sworn in as new official members of the Student Council" Aiden concluded as the press corps started clamoring again. Aiden raised his hand slightly which quieted down the room before he introduced Jonathan Lopez who then took the lectern.
"Good Afternoon everyone, my name is Jonathan Lopez, this academic year's Music Club President. On the invitation of the Student Council President, I'm standing before you to announce that our club have finalized the details pertaining to this year's Battle of the Bands" Jonathan announced to the excitement of the press corps who started writing/typing down what he said as the cameras flashed again.
"The Battle of the Bands will be held on September 16, 2022, at Mount Juliet's Central Field. The main theme for this year will be love songs, any genre, any year. Registration period starts tomorrow at noon and ends on Friday, so for any bands who want to participate and register, please come to the Music Club room or to one of our registration booths that will be setup tomorrow in and around the student center. We look forward to hosting Mount Juliet University's Battle of the Bands 2022!" Jonathan added to the further excitement of everyone.
"More details and mechanics for the Battle of the Bands will be announced via our social media, and the official posters will be up by next week. Before I end my announcement, I would like to extend our thanks, on behalf of myself and the members of the Music Club to President Kobayashi and the Student Council for allowing us to announce this during this press briefing, and I hope everyone has a wonderful day!" Jonathan concluded as he handed over the lectern back to Aiden, the two shaking hands before the latter took the lectern again.
Jonathan's announcement reverberated throughout campus, it's effectiveness of denying further oxygen to the kiss that happened during the welcome party was beyond Aiden's expectations, albeit he doesn't know it yet. The Battle of the Bands is one of the "Big Three" events during the 1st semester at Mount Juliet, ranked by popularity, turnout, and social media traffic, the other two events under the "Big Three" are Foundation Day and the MJU Olympics which are also major events later in the semester that are being looked forward to ever year by both the student body, and the university faculty and staff.
"Thank you for that announcement Jonathan, let me assure the Music Club that the Student Council will provide any and all assistance to your club to make this year's Battle of the Bands a success" Aiden said, "Next, we have Oscar Hernandez from the Hunters who is also making a major announcement" Aiden continued as he invited Oscar to the lectern.
Of course, Oscar was basking in the attention he was receiving as camera flashes went off in his face as the press corps anxiously await for what his announcement is going to be. Grace, Moira, Angela, and Jonathan we're forcing a smile as they watched Oscar doing weird poses in front of the press corps, as if he was doing a photo shoot for a fashion magazine - Aiden remaining stoic amidst the spectacle.
"Alrighty, beautiful and lovely people of the press corps! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to feel like an actual model for a few seconds" Oscar began as laughter erupted in the briefing room.
"In any case, per the request of President Kobayashi…" Oscar paused as he turned to face Aiden, slowly flashing his long fake eye lashes, as Aiden felt a light chill run down his spine.
"Per the request of our handsome Student Council President, I was also invited to join in the press briefing to announce the release date of our new MJU Hot List" Oscar began causing the press corps to lean forward in anticipation of his announcement.
"Because of President Kobayashi's request, the Hunters will be expediting the release of our new Hot List. Originally, it was schedule to be released this Saturday, but I've ordered my team to have it released by Wednesday at the latest" Oscar announced as the press corps started writing/typing what he said, with some of the female journalists flailing at the announcement.
"I hope everyone looks forward to our new hot list!" Oscar concluded, giving a wink before handing the lectern over to Angela.
"Right, thank you for that exciting announcement Oscar, and now to the final segment of the press briefing, we will give the press corps a chance to ask anything related to the Student Council, university, or any of the announcement that was just made. Please keep order, decency, and decorum when asking questions" Angela announced before she handed the lectern back to Aiden, who was internally reluctant to face the questions the press corps was going to throw at him.
As Aiden predicted, he was hounded by the press corps with questions mostly related to the kiss, but the narrative was soon pivoted towards the expansion of the Student Council, the Student Ambassador Corps, and topics regarding the International Students. Of course, both Jonathan and Oscar got a share of questions from the press corps, as it relates to the Battle of the Bands and the MJU Hotlist respectively. The press briefing ended up being an hour-long affair, but Aiden's plan managed to work, after the press briefing, Angela reported that there has been a shift in the news cycle and chatters on social media, with the Battle of the Bands, the new MJU Hotlist, and the expansion of the Student Council trending.
As Aiden, Grace, Moira, and Angela was heading back to the Student Council room for a quick debrief, the "Cappuccino Power" GC started lighting up, catching the attention of Moira and Angela, since Aiden's phone's notifications were off, and Grace wasn't in the GC, they weren't able to react.
"Hey, guys! Has anyone seen Min? We haven't seen him at all this morning" Ball messaged on the GC, causing Moira to report the situation to Aiden.
"Aiden!" Moira called out as they reached the Student Council room, "Have you seen Min this morning?"
"Why? What about that Thammasat Kid? He showed up my office this morning" Aiden said as he slightly looked at Angela, since it was because of her that Min went to his office that morning in the first place.
"Ball says he hasn't seen him all morning" Moira reported.
"That Thammasat Kid's probably in class or something, tell Ball not to worry too much" Aiden said as he dismissed Moira's concerns before entering the Student Council room, followed by Grace. Moira messaged Ball on the GC and relayed Aiden's message before silencing her phone as she and Angela followed Aiden and Grace inside to start their debrief.
It was around 13:45 when they finished the debrief, which consisted of talking about the current news cycle and current trends, their next steps in further containing the fallout and controlling the narrative, as well as talking about what they will be discussing during their weekly Student Council meeting later and arranging Min's interview in MJU's Hottest which Aiden and Oscar agreed on.
Grace was the first to leave as she has class, while Aiden, Moira, and Angela remained seated at the conference table, watching WNN and monitoring the situation on campus closely. Although Aiden has classes, he's allowed to miss so long as his reasons for missing are related to the Student Council, this privilege also extends to all members of the Student Council and could use this privilege whenever they see fit. Of course, given Aiden's impressive academic standing, he can afford to miss multiple days of classes, and still come out on top, given that he can effortlessly catch up to his classes, and even does extra credit activities to further boost his grade.
When Moira checked her phone, she was surprised to see that the "Cappuccino Power" GC was full of messages, exchanged between Ball, Aaron, Mingyu, Jasper, and Katrina. When she opened it, she quickly backread on all that was talked about, and apparently Min has his phone shut off, and has missed his afternoon classes, and is still nowhere to be found. Angela who was also backreading looked at Moira before the latter informed Aiden again, albeit hesitantly.
"Aiden, about Min…" Moira said taking Aiden's focus from the television.
"Now what?" Aiden responded, sounding uninterested at the slightest, "What about the Thammasat Kid?"
"He's still missing, and apparently he missed his afternoon classes" Moira reported, expecting Aiden to say something smart, but was surprised when Aiden took his phone out and started reading the conversation in the "Cappuccino Power" GC.
"Does Ball have any idea where Min could've gone?" Aiden asked Moira, as the latter messaged the GC, to which Ball replied in the negative, followed by another explanation that he, Bank, Jasper, Aaron, Mingyu, and Katrina have searched the entire university to no avail.
"Should we ask the ROTC for support?" Moira asked as she and Angela looked at Aiden who seemed to be in deep thought.
"Did anything happen for Min to act strange like this?" Aiden sent to the GC, surprising everyone.
"The only reason that I know for Min to act this way if he's sulking. He's never pulled anything like this since Middle School though" Ball explained.
"I'll take care of it, you all go back to whatever you have been doing" Aiden replied, confusing everyone who read his message.
"Aiden, should I inform Amy?" Moira asked again as Aiden got up from his chair.
"No, I'll deal with this myself. You two stay here and continue monitoring the situation, let me know if anything changes both on campus and online" Aiden said before leaving the Student Council room. Moira and Angela were left speechless, not knowing what Aiden was going to do, nevertheless, they followed his instruction with Moira monitoring the news, while Angela kept a close eye on social media.
Aiden went to the central cafeteria, where there was still a sizeable amount of students, not minding the stares, squeals, pictures, and videos being taken of him. His only concern at the moment was dealing with Min, who according to Ball, was sulking, and Aiden has a pretty good idea what he was sulking about, and most importantly, he already knows exactly where Min is.
After buying something from one of the stalls, he made his way to the ground floor of the student center and entered a corridor which was a key-card accessible only for staff, which he was able to open thanks to the access privileges that Vice Chancellor Gutierrez gave him. As soon as he entered the empty corridor, he walked a little bit before reaching a window, he then opened it and jumped out.
Aiden landed outside the student center, the area where he's at is the place he and Min met for the first time, the hidden area behind the hedges that Min accidentally found on his first day at Mount Juliet. Just as Aiden had suspected, Min was hiding here, sitting on the grass, his back against the tree he was leaning on when they met. Since Aiden was coming from behind, Min didn't notice him approaching and as Aiden got closer, he noticed Min's air pods protruding from his ear.
When Aiden got in front of Min, he found that the latter was sleeping, much like how Min found him during their first meeting. Aiden gave out a sigh as he pulled out a cold apple flavored C2 from the plastic bag he was carrying before placing the cold drink on Min's cheek, immediately waking him up.
"What the!? Aiden!? What are you doing here!?" Min asked in a surprised tone before Aiden dropped the drink on Min's lap.
"I could ask you the same thing. Why are you hiding out in my hiding spot?" Aiden asked as Min got up from the ground.
"Oh, it's nothing" Min responded softly, averting his eyes away from Aiden.
"You're not a very good liar are you? I didn't think you would sulk about me deleting the selfie from your phone this morning" Aiden said, surprising Min.
"How did you know?" Min asked, surprised how Aiden was able to figure everything out.
"It was pretty obvious from your sad attempt to hide your feelings this morning" Aiden said as he opened the other C2 in the plastic bag.
"I'm sorry, Aiden. It's just, that was a really important picture for me" Min admitted, his voice soft and disappointed, his face looked like a sad puppy, which Aiden wasn't able to resist.
Aiden clicked his tongue, "Give me your phone" he commanded as Min followed without any hesitation.
"Aren't you going to at least unlock it?" Aiden added his face looking impatient.
"Oh, sorry. The password is my birthday, its-" Min said before being interrupted by Aiden.
"022103. I got it" Aiden said as he inputted the code to Min's phone which unlocked it.
"How, do you know that?" Min asked, surprised that Aiden knew when his birthday is. He was shocked but was happy in the inside that Aiden knows his date of birth, causing Min to slightly smile at the sudden and unexpected revelation.
After a minute, Aiden threw Min's phone back, "You're not to let anyone know about this, got it!?" he instructed, his voice cold and commanding, but was a little shaken.
Min was confused at what Aiden did, and so he looked at his phone, and to his surprise, his phone's wallpaper was their selfie from that morning. He checked the gallery and Aiden has sent the picture again, which made him really happy.
"Why?" Min asked, his eyes sparkling, "Why would you send it to my phone? I thought you didn't want me to have this selfie?".
"Because you're sulking, and Ball and the rest of Cappuccino Power has been blowing up the GC" Aiden responded, "You should contact everyone and let them know you're feeling better now".
"Is that really the reason why?" Min pressed, causing Aiden to slightly blush.
"Of course Thammasat Kid! What other reason could there be!? I'm trying to make sure that the whole student body wouldn't cause any incident because of what happened during the welcome party, and this is the last thing I need to be dealing with right now" Aiden forcibly explained, avoiding eye contact with Min who couldn't help but smile.
"You know, Aiden, you're not really good at lying either" Min chuckled, causing Aiden to become flustered.
"Whatever! I'm returning to the Student Council room, don't forget to message the GC!" Aiden said dismissively before walking back towards the window he used to enter his hiding spot. As he was about to climb through the window, Min called out to Aiden, "Thank you Aiden, I really appreciate it. I love you!"
The last words that came out of Min's mouth caused Aiden to hit his head on the window pane and snagging his foot on whatever he was stepping on to get through the window, causing him to fall on the floor of the student center corridor. Min laughed after seeing what happened to Aiden before the latter put his arm out of the window and gave Min the middle finger before walking back to the Student Council room, his pride, dignity, and his head hurting. Min laughed again before drinking the C2 that Aiden gave him, smiling at the fact that Aiden fed him that morning, and he got their selfie back. After finishing his drink, he turned off his phone's airplane mode and a gush of notifications and messages greeted him. He did as Aiden instructed and messaged the GC. Unbeknownst to Min and Aiden, Cadet-Major Del Rosario was leaning on the other side of the hedges, and had listened in on them, a smile on her face formed after hearing Min say "I love you" to their Student Commander-in-Chief.
Later that afternoon, at the Student Council room, there was a sense of awkwardness between Min and Aiden, with Amy the only one in the room knowing the reason why, though she kept it to herself and not allow herself to be exposed. Aaron, Katrina, Moira, and Angela expressed their concern and relief after finding out that Min was doing okay, with Moira revealing that they almost deployed the ROTC to start looking for him – again.
Of course, Aiden quickly ended their conversation as they started discussing several different topics at hand, which included the list of students that Grace had compiled for the positions of Attorney-General, Secretary, and Events Coordinator. The student candidates came from the different colleges at MJU, with wide-ranging backgrounds, accomplishments, and specialty, which the group debated on. The positions of Secretary and Events Coordinator were easily approved by the Student Council, however, they hit a huge obstacle when it came to the candidate for the position of Attorney-General.
The group agreed that the student to fill the position should come from the College of Law but were divided over whether the candidate should be a sitting Judge in the Student Court, a prosecutor, or an experienced defender. Another area that was hotly debated was whether they should go for someone already well known in the College of Law, or they should pick someone lesser known.
The argument for selecting a well-known student from the College of Law was that it would make them easily identifiable, using their established popularity and connections to quickly consolidate support for their candidate, and position the Student Council in the good graces of the College of Law. The argument against this was that people might perceive the Student Council as somewhat elitist and only choosing their candidates based on their popularity and connections instead of their merit and accomplishment, regardless of if they are popular or not.
The deadlock came to pass when Aiden suggested that he will think over the pros and cons of both side's arguments, and if need be, he will find a suitable candidate outside the list that Grace has provided them. This compromise was easily accepted by both sides and the debate over the Attorney-General was temporarily put aside – for now.
The next agendas of their meetings went faster, which included the budget for the organization and clubs, progress on the scheduling of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff's meeting, discussion on the finalization of the proposal for the international student outing, the International Student Organization meeting, containing the fallout from the welcome party, updates and reports regarding Monica Sawyers' probation period, Min's exclusive interview with MJU's Hottest, and the agreement that the Student Council reached.
Before their meeting was formally ended, the discussion regarding the Attorney-General was brought up again, leading to another round of debate. To quickly wrap things up, Aiden further suggested that he will be scouting the College of Law and attend Student Court hearings to see if they could find any other suitable candidates that Grace might have overlooked. Additionally, he suggested that the leaders of the two sides of the debate accompany him so that they could settle that matter right then and there if they somehow find a suitable candidate outside from what Grace has compiled, to the agreement of both sides.
As the meeting ended, Cadet-Major Del Rosario formally thanked Aiden for being named as the ROTC Attaché, which most of members of the Student Council already knew was coming as Aiden has invited Amy to all Student Council meetings since the academic year has started. Min for his part also thanked Aiden for making his position an official part of the Student Council, to which Aiden said was "necessary" given that the international students would become an integral part of the student body, hence needed to be properly represented in the Student Council.
Aiden was the first to leave after the meeting concluded, instructing Moira to write up a summary of the meeting and email it to him once she's done as he left, he also gave similar orders to Katrina and Kobe in regard to the club and organization budgets. Of course the members of the Student Council were wondering where Aiden was going in a hurry, with Grace telling them that it was for "personal reasons".
Of course, the Student Council members took it at face value as no one dared to ask Aiden any details, lest they face his sarcasm and cold attitude, which no one was in the mood for, considering that Aiden has already had a rough day, given that he had to deal with a massive fallout from the kiss that happened during the welcome party and the MJU press corps. Grace and Kobe were the next to leave, followed by Amy, Min, Katrina, and Aaron. Moira and Angela stayed behind to finish up things and clean before leaving.
As Moira and Angela left the Student Council room, the former sent a message to the M.A.S.S. GC asking the others to meet them at the west gate. The group then convened at the café they went to last week, before proceeding to talk about any and all updates in regard to Min and Aiden. Ball dropped the bomb on the squad when he told them the details of Min's confession. They also exchanged pictures that they might have had of the two before they started talking about their strategy moving forward now that Min has already achieved his initial goal of confessing to Aiden.
The squad decided that they will continue supporting the two in the shadows and will use any and all possible opportunity to strengthen and improve their relationship. They also agreed on using their positions and social standings at MJU to ensure that no third party can interfere between Min and Aiden.
Aiden arrived at Café Confiture 30-minutes earlier than he planned, which surprised him, given he had to take a longer route to ensure that no one from MJU noticed or followed him. The doors were still locked when he arrived, having to call Beans to unlock the door for him so he could get inside. After being let in, he immediately went to the staff locker rooms, putting his bag inside the locker he used to use when he was working there during the summer. He took his apron out of his bag, putting it on top of his white polo and jeans, before clipping his name tag on his apron. He looked at the mirror inside his locker and ruffled his hair a bit, before heading towards the bar where Beans was making a cup of hot cappuccino for him.
"You look rough Poker Prince" Beans commented as she poured the cappuccino in a white cup placed on top a white saucer, "You better drink up, it's going to be a long night".
"It should be fine" Aiden said as he pulled the saucer towards him, "Working here is a lot easier than dealing with the entire MJU student body" he admitted before taking a sip of the warm drink that Beans gave him. As he was drinking, Chief and Dani entered the shop, the former picking up the latter on campus.
"Oh, Aiden! You're early!" Chief greeted as she and Dani walked up to him.
"Well, it is my first day, it would be rude showing up late" Aiden replied before taking another sip of his cappuccino.
"By the way, Aiden. I saw your press briefing earlier. Sounds like you've had a rough day" Dani commented as she and Chief stood beside Aiden.
"What presses briefing? What was it about?" Beans asked, looking at Dani.
"The Student Council held a press briefing today, Aiden talked about the expansion of the Student Council, the Music Club President also gave an announcement in regard to this year's Battle of the Bands, and the leader of the Hunters announced an expedited release of the new MJU Hot List as well" Dani explained as Beans and Chief nodded in unison.
"They also talked about the k-"Dani was about say something when Aiden cut her off.
"I'd stop right there Dani" Aiden said in a cold voice as he slowly returned his cup on top of the saucer.
"Right. I won't mention it again" Dani responded with a smile before heading towards the staff locker room so she could get read.
"What was that all about? So what did you not want Dani telling us?" Beans asked Aiden to the latter's annoyance.
"If I tell you, then it would make the "not telling" part moot doesn't it?" Aiden sarcastically responded as Chief laughed at Aiden's response.
"He does have a point you know" Chief told Beans who conceded to Aiden's point before pulling the saucer towards her and started washing the cup Aiden used.
"If all possible, I rather not have any conversation regarding MJU while I'm working here, it kinda defeats the purpose of working here to get away from all the things happening on campus" Aiden requested, his face looking the same, but was somewhat drained and exhausted.
"Alright, I understand. No MJU things while you're working here, got it. I'll let Dani and Beans know" Chief said before heading towards the staff locker room.
"Appreciated, Chief!" Aiden said before he started putting down the chairs that were placed on top of the tables, preparing the main area of the café for the arrival of the customers.
"Such a diligent kid" Beans whispered to herself as she watched Aiden get to work, chuckling at the sight as she finished washing up the cup.
Just as Aiden was preparing the main area of the café, Beans turned on one of the televisions in the common area to at least provide some background noises as she and Aiden worked. As the television was blaring, a sudden breaking news interrupted the programing. This caught Beans' attention and turned it up as the newscaster started giving out details.
"We have breaking news! The President, Chairman, and CEO of the Labrador Group of Corporations, Carlos Labrador has just returned to the country after historic business dealings in Thailand. The deal that the Labrador Corporation has sealed will boost the trade and technology exchange between the private sectors in Thailand and here in the Philippines. Malacañang has welcomed this development as it directly helps the administration's agenda in its campaign to strengthen cultural, economic, and military ties with Thailand. This is what Chairman Labrador has to say with their newly concluded deal" The Newscaster said as they played a recorded video of Chairman Labrador after arriving at NAIA.
Aiden shifted his eyes towards the television as images of his father was shown, he fisted his hands as his anger towards his father stirred inside him. He wanted to release what he was feeling but knows he couldn't since he's at work, and it risks revealing his true identity to everyone. He knows that if his father learns of his survival, he will go after everyone Aiden has associated with and use legally questionable tactics to oppress them for keeping his survival a secret, regardless of if they knew about it or not.
"We're excited and looking forward to our new business partners in Thailand, and we also welcome our renewed and strengthened business relations with our oldest and reliable partners. I hope that with these new deals, we could expand our market in other sectors of the Thai economy and continue to bring prosperity to both Thailand and our country" Chairman Labrador said before being escorted to his vehicle.
"Accordingly, in a press release by the Labrador Group, they have said the Chairman Labrador, and his wife, Vice President for Operations, Clara Eunice Labrador will be travelling on a three-week business trip in Europe to seal a comprehensive business deal with European companies and corporations before returning to the country" The Newscaster concluded before the regularly scheduled program resumed.
Aiden tried to control his emotions before it got the best of him, he calmly breathed in and out to calm himself down before anyone could notice his sudden change of mood. As he was trying to get his emotions controlled, Dani came out of the locker room before Beans made a comment, "Did you see the news?".
"What news?" Dani asked as she walked towards Bean, "Did something happen?"
"It's about the Labrador Group. That family is super rich, and well connected!" Beans commented.
"I mean, they are the richest family here in the Philippines, and their business dealings allow them to have connections even within the government" Dani said, "I heard they also have a son who's studying abroad!"
"It must be nice to be married into that family!" Beans commented as Dani laughed at her comment.
"This is true. Imagine being married into a family with all that money" Dani added.
"I'm stepping out for a little bit!" Aiden suddenly called out before walking out the front entrance. Causing Dani and Beans to look at each other.
Unbeknownst to Dani and Beans, he overheard their conversation, not knowing about Aiden's personal history. Of course their comments infuriated Aiden, for obvious reasons, but he also understood that they have no idea that he used to be member of the Labrador Family, and the only things left tying him to them is his blood and his pendant that would prove his identity and position as the legitimate successor to the Labrador Group of Corporations, and not his half-brother, who was born through a mistress while still married to his mother - the son that Dani was talking about. That same mistress is the same woman his father eventually married, this fact made Aiden remember his mother and younger brother, who died because of his father. His anger is also directed towards his step mother who he believes also played a role in their deaths, although he doesn't have any evidence that links her to their deaths - yet.
Aiden went outside to cool his head, trying to think of something to calm himself down quickly before the customers start coming in. The last thing he needs is snapping at a customer and losing his job on his first day back, he tried brainstorming but couldn't think of any happy thoughts that could calm him down, given that all the thoughts and memories he had was filled with sadness, sorrow, and anger.
Most of his happy childhood memories are associated with his mother and younger brother, and every time he thinks of them, his mind automatically directs his memories to the night they both died, whatever memories he might have left has become warped, "What the hell should I do?" Aiden whispered to himself.
"All of my memories are completely unreliable, and anything else that isn't just reminds me of mother and Itsuki's death" Aiden commented as he struggled to find even a single ounce of memory that could abate the anger he's feeling.
Just then, he felt his phone vibrating in his apron, he reluctantly took it out and saw that Min sent him a message on LINE, he opened it and read his message,
"I hope you're doing okay, Grace told us earlier you have personal reasons for leaving early. Don't forget to eat, and make sure you sleep early!"
Aiden sighed at Min's message, "Why does he message me like I'm his girlfriend or something?". Before Aiden could do anything else, another message came from Min, this time, sending Aiden their selfie together from that morning, followed by another message,
"Be safe my snobby cappuccino prince! *Heart emoji* *Flying kiss emoji* *Hug emoji*"
Aiden clicked his tongue, annoyed, and irritated by that fact Min is acting like they're a couple. He then shoved his phone back into his apron, before walking back inside Café Confiture, his anger was replaced by annoyance and irritation towards Min. Aiden didn't notice, but the effect that Min has on him allowed for his anger to greatly subside and left him feeling a bit lighter than when he walked out.
When Aiden returned inside, Beans quickly called on him, "Hey! Poker Prince! You okay?"
"I'm fine" Aiden dismissively responded; his only thought right then was slapping the hell out of Min for sending him cheesy messages. Just as Aiden was reaching towards a damp towel by the sink next to Beans, the door opened, and a customer walked in.
Aiden turned around and greeted their first customer for the night, wearing his expressionless and stoic face, he greeted the customer without his cold tone, "Welcome to Café Confiture!"