The party proceeded accordingly. Fran was elated to see his grandmother having the time of her life. Contrary to what Aunt Angie said earlier about how grandma wouldn’t like the party arrangements, the Grande matriarch was full of enthusiasm. She joked, laughed, and entertained the guests.
Though, in the middle of the party, something happened unexpectedly. One of the party organizers approached Fran and his mom. The woman invited them to talk privately. They left their table discreetly and followed the organizer to their station located not far from the event hall.
“What happened? Is there something wrong?” It was Fran’s mom who asked the question first.
The organizer sighed. She looked stressed. “The thing is, the singer we hired cannot make it tonight because of a traffic accident. We were informed about this just half an hour ago. We thought he could still make it, but, the opposite happened.”
Fran began to sweat all over. He felt like his heart would leap out of his chest. He knew where this conversation was going and he didn’t want to be part of it.
Fran saw his mom giggled like a school girl. That made him more nervous than ever. Oh, God…
“So, you want my son to replace the singer?“ said his mom.
The organizer nodded in agreement. “When Mr. Steven Grande learned about our predicament, he suggested to look for your son. He told us that Fran here is a great singer.”
“Of course, my son is a great singer!“
“Mom!” Fran shook his head. He said to the organizer, “I know how to sing, but, I’m not that great. Please, look for another—”
His mom interjected, “Sweetie, do not look down on yourself. You are a great singer. We all know that. Your Uncle Steven won’t suggest someone who’s underserving. You know how perfectionist that man is. Besides, this is for your grandma. Please, sweetie, will you sing for your grandma tonight?“
Beads of sweat were forming on Fran’s forehead. When he was young, he used to sing during programs at school. Fran was even a choir member when he was still active in church. When he was in grade 10, Fran joined a singing competition in a local TV network. However, he chose to quit after the first round. That was the last time Fran sang in front of an audience. Things happened that made him stop singing.
Fran felt a warm feeling enveloped his being. His mom was hugging him lovingly. Her warm embrace calmed his restlessness. “Sweetie, it’s time.”
It might sound confusing to others, but, Fran understood his mom words immediately. He exhaled and said to the organizer. “I’ll do it.”
The woman jumped out of happiness. “Thank you, Fran!“
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“However, I have one condition.” He said. The organizer was all ears. “No posting to any form of social media. Tell the guests that they are not allowed to post my performance to the internet. Or might as well, tell them filming is not allowed during my performance. My relatives already know about this rule.”
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The song he sang was a favorite of his grandparents. It was the song his mother would sing to him every night when he was a child. Good thing, the live band hired by the party organizers knew how to play the song.
Fran saw that no one from the guests was filming his performance. Everyone was listening to him with so much interest and admiration.
When the song ended, everyone was silent for a moment. It was Fran’s grandma who broke the silence and started to applaud his performance. Everybody followed suit. Some of the guests even stood up just to express how impressed they were with Fran’s singing.
Fran kissed his grandma and went down the stage. He saw his mom and Aunt Angie—both wiping their tears away.
Fran couldn’t help but laugh; however, he couldn’t also deny the warm feeling that enveloped his heart upon seeing the reaction of his mom and aunt.
Instead of returning to his designated table, Fran decided to go to the comfort room. His hands were shaking.
Fran washed his face and look at himself in the mirror. A smile curved on his lips. Silently congratulating himself for a job well done.
When Fran was about to step outside the comfort room, he bumped into someone unexpected.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” A tall man with broad shoulders and a piercing gaze was standing in front of him.
“Nigel Alva…” Fran realized that he said the man’s name without any courtesy. He quickly shifted his tone. “Sir, I—”
“No need for formalities.” said the man. He was smiling, but, his eyes were showing the opposite. “I like your singing.”
“Thank you.” Fran nodded courteously.
Silence emerged between them. Fran couldn’t think of anything to say to Nigel Alva. He was about to bid him goodbye when he heard him say…
“…you’re beautiful…”
Fran froze. He felt nervous and awkward. He met Nigel’s gaze and fear quickly emerged from the pit of his stomach. He left the guy without even saying goodbye. It was the first time he felt he was in danger. He didn’t expect for an elite boss like Nigel Alva to come at him like that.
Fran’s mind was in a puddle. He went back to his table like he was in autopilot mode. The rest of the evening went by accordingly.
Fran was still in a confused state even after he was in the limousine going home. His mom saw his state and hugged him. Because of that, Fran went back to normal.
When they arrived home, Fran immediately went to his room and took a shower. He felt refreshed afterward. He remembered that he turned off his phone during the party. He turned it back on and was surprised.
Maybe the caller realized that he wouldn’t answer the call, that’s why, the caller sent him a text message.
“Hi. Sorry for disturbing you. My name is Noah—the one you helped bring to the hospital three days ago. I just want to talk to you. I owe you big time. Please answer my call.”
Fran covered his mouth in disbelief. He remembered the handsome colossal titan he met at the bookstore. The one who had his attention from the get go…
His phone rang. Fran lost his grip in surprise, causing his phone to fell flat on the floor.
The phone kept on ringing. Fran looked at it in a daze.
*****
Noah woke up with a severe headache. He looked at his phone to check the time—freaking 6 o’ clock in the morning! Noah was supposed to sleep until noon. He groaned out of frustration. He remained in bed and tried to recover his sleep.
But to no avail. Noah couldn’t sleep again. His headache was too painful; it forced him to stay awake. So, he rose from his bed and decided to take a shower to relieve the uneasiness he was feeling. He took off his clothes and lazily went to the bathroom.
Yesterday was Nico’s birthday. They partied for the entire day. Together with their friends, they went to some exclusive club that offered booze and leisure. Noah was not someone who liked to party. But, he didn’t want to be a party pooper either. He played games with his friends, danced with them, and drank booze with them. Noah went home past midnight.
After the shower, Noah felt somewhat refreshed. Though, his headache didn’t vanish easily. He rummaged the medicine cabinet searching for some Advil to relieve the pain. When he found the medicine, Noah stepped outside of his room and walked to the kitchen to look for something to eat.
Noah found a slice of pizza inside the fridge. He placed it in the microwave to heat it up for 45 seconds. He ate the pizza before taking the medicine.
Noah went back to his room. He opened the door leading to the balcony and decided to watch the scenery outside. His residence was located at the 35th floor of a high rise condominium.
Looking at the people and vehicles below, Noah couldn’t help but feel amused. They looked tiny and vulnerable. It seemed like he could easily crush them using his fist. Noah shook his head. What was he thinking?
When he got tired looking at the scenery, Noah went back to his room. He looked at his phone and remembered something.
Three days had passed. Noah had been busy dealing with his everyday life that he had forgotten to reach out to the guy who helped him. Noah clicked his tongue. How could he forget, really?
Well, after the night he was discharged from the hospital, Noah was coerced by Natalie to be her companion in a trip with his sister’s classmates. For two days, he was busy humoring his sister and bowing down to her whims. When Noah returned, he was dragged by Nico and friends for the former’s birthday party.
So, today, Noah decided to call his ‘savior’. Though, the call went unanswered. Well, it was understandable because it was still early in the morning.
At ten in the morning, Noah called again—but still, to no avail. The receiver didn’t pick up his call. He started to get irritated. Noah decided to temporarily forget his agenda with the stranger. He changed his clothes and went out.
It was Noah’s turn to bother Nico and Addie to practice with him. He went to the former’s house and was surprised to see Addie eating breakfast at Nico’s. Well, it was pretty convenient to know that his two friends were together because he didn’t need to go fetch the other. They could practice right there and then.
So, the three friends spent their day in the studio owned by Nico’s brother. They practiced their music, even though, they were still lacking a vocalist.
At seven in the evening, Noah and his friends decided to call it a day. Nico and Addie went home together in the latter’s car. While, Noah went home alone driving his own car.
Before driving, Noah tried to call his ‘savior’ again. This time, the call was not answered yet again—and it seemed like the person on the other line turned off his phone! Because when Noah called again, he heard a gentle female voice telling him that the number he was trying to call was temporarily unavailable. Noah threw his phone in the backseat and drove off angrily.
However, a debt must still be paid. So, upon reaching home, Noah did not stop calling his savior, even though, he kept on hearing the female gentle voice. Noah sent a text message to the other line to introduce himself and to state his purpose. Though, the other line was still unmoved.
However, nothing could stop a persevering heart. Surprisingly, Noah was able to reach out his savior a quarter before midnight. The other line finally answered his call.
Noah heaved a sigh of relief. It felt like he managed to close a multimillion business deal with some big company.
He enthusiastically said, “Hello. This is Noah.”
Haha ..so determine~~
Love it
Thanks for the update 🥰
Thank you for reading ❤️
Of course !!it’s such a good novel
I wouldn’t like to miss it.!!!😊
I love itttt, more more
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
okay Nigel Silva, watch yourself!
thanks for the chapter <3
Hi! Sorry, my mistake. It’s actually Nigel Alva. Maybe because I was rewatching Area no Kishi while writing this chapter that’s why I kept on writing/thinking Silva. 🤣 Thank you for reading ❤️❤️❤️ I already edited this chapter ✨
Thank you for the chapter <3
I guess beautiful coming from Nigel Alva is a little different than hearing it from a middle school girl, based on Fran’s gut reaction to it. I wonder if Mr. Alva is connected to Noah or his friends.
Bro that Alva was a creep