Office Diaries - Chapter 179

Don’t ask me if I love you. Don’t ask me if I care

If you’re playing with my feelings it’s more than I can bear

And if this one-sided romance won’t even be given a chance

Even if I do love you, even if I truly care

If it’s not what you’re feeling it’s something I can never bear

I know this one-sided romance won’t be given a chance

So don’t ask me if I love you ’cause I know this dream of love won’t come true…

Soon, the music came to a halt, and yet, Anjee’s voice still rang inside the room. When at last, it had truly ended, everyone was quiet until the host started clapping and everyone did the same.

“BRAVO!”

“That was such an amazing performance!” the host crowed as she stood up and signaled for Anjee to join them on the couch as she introduced her again. “The newest singing sensation, Anjee!”

Anjee avoided Peter’s gaze as she took a bow and forced herself to walk towards the host. She could feel his eyes on her and her heart raced manically in her ċhėst. Standing next to the host, she found herself being ȧssisted towards the sofa and in a few seconds she was seated right next to Peter!

Ehhhh…

She wanted to complain or to stand up and walk away, but that was very irrational and rude.

“It feels so good to be with artists who do great things today,” the host told the audience before turning to Anjee. “It’s a coincidence too that you have the same name as the one Mr. Anter Kim loves,” she added and Peter frowned.

“It’s not a coincidence,” Peter muttered under his breath but only Anjee who turned red was the only one who heard him.

“So, Ms. Anjee, your song has been such a hit to the masses. I heard you wrote it yourself?” the host prompted and Anjee nodded in answer. Her throat felt dry and so she couldn’t speak.

“Can you tell us the story of the song?” the host asked again. “When you sing, you sing so passionately so we’re all curious to find out what made you write and sing that song.”

Urgh… Awkward. The question was totally awkward, Anjee thought but she was trapped.

There was a momentary silence after. Anjee still couldn’t speak and so Peter sighed heavily and placed a hand on her thɨġh out of the blue surprising everyone watching.

“She asked you something Anj.”

The gesture made the people look confused as well as… curious.

“Ah…I…” Anjee inhaled deeply. She hadn’t realized how dumb and dense she’d been up until now. “I wrote that song for a friend,” she said and everyone waited for her to continue. “I, I fell in love with my best friend but didn’t tell him. I…” she glanced at Peter who was now smiling gently at her “I was an idiot. I thought he didn’t really love me so I always brush him off every time he asks me if I love him.”

“So you mean to say that you thought that his love was a different kind of love?” the hosts prompted again and Anj nodded.

“How about now?” Peter asked, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

The host felt a little annoyed since she was the one who was supposed to be asking the questions but didn’t say anything since she was curious too. Besides, not only her, but the people around them finally smelled something explosive from the two. Most of them were even wearing an “aha!” type of expression on their faces.

“Now, I think I can’t sing the song like I used to,” she answered honestly but Peter wouldn’t let her off yet.

“And why?” Peter pressed on, his eyes boring on her embarrassed face.

“Ah…Mr. Anter Kim, I think Ms. Anjee is a little uncomfortable,” the host said as she looked from Peter to Anjee then to the audience. “It’s getting quite intense here don’t you think?” she said as she laughed nervously while fanning her face with her hands.

The crowd laughed with her but they focused their attention once more to the handsome men on the stage.

“Let her be uncomfortable,” Peter retorted, his annoyance obvious in his voice. “She made me suffer for a while too,” he added, but his voice no longer had that hard bite into it. In fact, he had pursed his lips together in a pout like a sulking child.

“I can’t sing that song anymore because I now know that the person I love, loves me back,” Anjee answered softly as she turned to the writer who was now beaming at her in spite of the blatant surprise on the host’s face. “I’m sorry,” she apologized as she placed a hand on Peter’s thɨġh, the same way the writer held her earlier. “I thought you were just fooling around.”

“Have you read the book?” Peter asked and Anjee shook her head and the writer pouted again.

“I will read it later. I promise,” she cajoled, looking totally worried.

“Excuse me, Mr. Anter Kim, Ms. Anjee, I take it that you two know each other?” the host asked but then decided to be bolder. “I mean we’ve been getting hints since a while but is he the one you were singing about and is she the one you wrote about?”

“YES!” the couple chorused and they smiled at each other. “She’s the Anjee I was talking about in my book,” Peter answered.

“He’s the man I wrote the song for,” Anjee added and the two held hands, lost in their own world while the host tried to get their attention.

At the backstage, Jun Kim had her face buried in her palm once again. She was a bit pissed off as the couple really ought to remember where they were. At the rate they were ogling and groping each other they ought to get a room.

“At least that ended well, don’t you think?” Ken Han stated as he joined his lover where she was standing and looked at the besotted couple on the stage.

“Yeah, but I wish those two would remember they’re still live on television!” Jun wailed as she continued to hide her face which made Ken burst out laughing.

“C’mon,” the president said as he nudged her arm. “Let’s signal out respective wards and tell them to behave…”