Everyone’s attention was turned towards Min, who was standing at the head of the conference table, sweating and catching his breathe. Grace, Katrina, Moira, Oscar, and Prince were staring at Min, slightly blushing, their mouths partly opened as they gazed on Min who was looking really attractive and sexy with him drenched in sweat, notwithstanding his haggard and unkept look. Although Aiden was looking as well, he tried his hardest not to focus entirely on Min, rather, he tried to move his eyes from one direction to the next, still within where Min was standing.
“Have you all started the meeting? Sorry for barging in like that” Min said as he unbuttoned the first two button of his polo as he tried to cool his body down.
Grace, Katrina, Moira, Oscar, and Prince gulped as they got a glimpse of Min’s upper chest. Like his face, it was sweaty as well, his toned chest particularly made Oscar moan silently as he started getting excited with what he was seeing. When Aiden’s eyes got a glimpse of Min’s chest, he lowkey blushed, and the scenes from his office the previous night flashed in his head again.
“Errr… Is everyone okay?” Min continued as everyone locked their gaze on him. Oscar suddenly stood up from where he was sitting and approached Min, who then started wiping the sweat from his face, slowly going down to his neck and then his upper chest. As Oscar wiped Min’s chest, he started moaning in excitement. Min didn’t seem to mind but was startled when Oscar started wiping his chest. Prince had a moment of confusion when Min unbuttoned his polo, she felt like she went straight for a few seconds.
As Oscar wiped Min’s sweat, Moira’s face started turning red, although she didn’t say or react in any way that would have defused the situation. She was fuming due to the simple fact that, in her mind, it should be Aiden doing what Oscar was doing. Grace and Katrina could only cringe as Oscar was lowkey taking advantage of the situation to grope Min, like Moira, they didn’t say anything or react. Min was a bit embarrassed, but didn’t seem to mind what Oscar was doing, let alone push him back. Under normal circumstances, any straight guy would’ve reacted from being groped like that.
When Aiden saw what Oscar was doing, he felt a bit irritated inside, he doesn’t know the reason why, but he immediately dismissed it as something more in line with his duties as President of the Student Council more than something personal in nature. Aiden is straight, but for some reason, Min’s presence and the misfortunes that he brings with him has had made Aiden react in ways that he hasn’t done before.
Aiden continued to watch Oscar being touchy with Min as the irritation started building up inside him. When it got to the point that he couldn’t stand it anymore, he suddenly slammed his hand on the conference table, interrupting Oscar, and causing everyone in the room to turn their attention towards Aiden who still had his usual stoic expression, but inside, he was irritated and starting to get annoyed with what he was witnessing in front of him.
“Enough! Min, get yourself freshened up” Aiden ordered as Oscar pulled his hand out of Min’s chest, “Katrina, check the storage room for any extra shirt that Min could use”, Katrina immediately complied as Min walked over to the couch and placed his backpack on it. Oscar pocketed his handkerchief and sat back down to his assigned seat.
“While I appreciate your gesture of kindness towards the International Student Representative, I strongly advice you not to repeat that playful and implicit advances in the future. This applies to both domestic and International Students, if you wish to do something of that nature, refrain from doing it within campus. Do I make myself abundantly clear Oscar?” Aiden fired his opening salvo, the tone of his voice sounded the same, but it was mixed with irritation and annoyance, something that Katrina, Aaron, Jasper and Mingyu would’ve picked up had they been present.
“Fine! I’m sorry Aiden” Oscar apologized as he pouted his lips, seemingly disappointed that his fun was interrupted, and that Aiden scolded him. Although he understands that this was part of Aiden’s job.
“Oscar! I told you to get a hold of yourself!” Prince interjected as she started nagging at Oscar.
“MinAiden for the win! Nice counter Aiden!” Moira thought to herself as she started grinning, catching the attention of Aiden.
“Is something amusing to you Moira?” Aiden asked, his eyes squinted.
“Errr.. No, it’s nothing, carry on” Moira replied, faking a laugh to avoid upsetting Aiden, and to deflect his questioning.
“Sorry again for being late, Aiden. Our professor was late dismissing the class” Min approached the head of the conference table again as he apologized once more. Just then, Katrina came out of the storage room with a shirt on hand.
“Aiden, we only have extra-large shirts in the storage room” Katrina said as he walked towards Aiden. As she got close, she held the shirt towards Aiden, which he immediately grabbed and threw at Min.
“Get yourself changed, the meeting has been delayed long enough” Aiden ordered as Min caught the shirt that Aiden threw, “Hurry it up”
“Right, I’m sorry” Min apologized again, looking defeated as he thought that the progress he had made with Aiden encountered a huge setback from his tardiness. He then walked towards Aiden’s office.
“Where are you going!?” Aiden called out to Min, surprised at the direction that Min was walking to.
“I’m getting changed, that’s what you said right?” Min responded, his defeated expression written all over his face, “I’ll be quick, I promise” he then opened Aiden’s office door and went inside.
Aiden wanted to say something back, but when he saw Min’s expression, he reluctantly allowed him to change in his office, without saying a word. This surprised Grace and Katrina, expecting that Aiden would follow up with his initial question to Min with something cold and witty. Moira turned a bit, opposite of Aiden as she grinned more. Katrina sat back down while Min changed in Aiden’s office, as she got situated, her phone vibrated accompanied by a notification sound. She pulled her phone out and saw that Angela responded to her earlier message.
“What is it?” Aiden asked as he turned his attention away from his office and towards Katrina.
“It’s from Angela” Katrina said, “It’s unrelated to the Student Council, so it could wait”
“Just say it. We’re not doing anything right now anyways” Aiden responded.
“Angela said she’s coming up here in a few minutes to hangout and wait for the meeting to finish” Katrina explained, catching the attention of Moira and Grace.
“Did she say why?” Aiden asked, curious as to why Angela decided to hangout in the Student Council Office, fully aware that they were having a meeting.
“She said she wanted to grab lunch with us after the meeting, apparently Mingyu, Jasper, and Aaron will join in as well” Katrina explained.
“Ooooooh” Oscar reacted with interest, catching the attention of Moira, Grace, and Katrina. Aiden just glared at Oscar after hearing him react.
“Don’t even think about it” Aiden commented as his glare intensified.
“Stop it Oscar” Prince added as she once again elbowed her friend.
“In any case, it doesn’t matter, have her stay in Moira’s office for the duration of the meeting” Aiden said as Katrina responded to Angela’s message. Aiden’s office door opened, and Min stepped out wearing an oversized shirt that says “MJU Wolves!”.
“Where am I supposed to sit?” Min asked as Grace gestured towards the chair next to her.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s get this meeting started” Aiden announced as Min took his sit. Oscar looked at Min who freshened up a bit and looked a little better than when he entered the room.
“First of, we need to-“ Aiden continued before being interrupted by Oscar.
“I know you!” He said in a loud voice as he pointed at Min, “You’re that International Student that our team intercepted on the first day, you were also at that group selfie with Jasper and Mingyu!”, Aiden’s face quickly soured but stopped short of saying anything. Grace and Katrina noticed Aiden’s changed expression, and quickly intervened to control the situation.
“Oscar, may I remind you that the meeting has already started, please refrain from interrupting and saying things that are not related to the agenda of this meeting” Grace quickly interjected, giving Oscar a serious and stern look.
“While we understand that you have an outgoing and playful personality, please restrain yourself from any unprofessional conduct during this meeting. You are in the presence of the Student Council President and the senior ranking Student Council officers” Katrina followed up. Min didn’t respond to Oscar sudden interruption, his head was a little bit down, but he was looking at Aiden who was within the peripherals of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge Aiden’s mood.
“Okay, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again” Oscar apologized half-heartedly.
“You are not to speak unless spoken to, and never interrupt me again” Aiden finally spoke, “Obviously you’re not taking the current situation of the Hunters seriously. While I recognize that the Hunters are a part of the culture here at MJU, that doesn’t mean that I won’t suspend all of your activities. Ambushing both domestic and international students outside of campus, and groping the International Student Representative, those are grounds enough for me to suspend the activities of the Hunters and press complaints against you to the Student Court. Don’t push me Oscar, I’m warning you”
“I apologize for Oscar’s behavior Aiden. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again” Prince once again chimed in in defense of Oscar, who was clearly taken aback by the forcefulness of Aiden’s response.
“Make sure of it. One more interruption or disruption of this meeting and I will suspend the Hunters’ activities immediately” Aiden continued as Prince nodded in response, Oscar just stayed silent.
“As I was saying, firstly we will give the Hunters an allocated time in which all of you could interview and take pictures and/or videos of the International Students. The Hunters would have to request permission to the International Student Council, International Student Organization, or the Student Council at least 48 - 24 hours prior to your designated time to give the International Student in question time to prepare, this would also apply for any MJU Hottest appearances. Ambush interviews or sneak pictures and/or videos is strictly forbidden.
Secondly, general interactions with the International Students are permitted, as long as they are not harassed in any manner, and/or not made uncomfortable in any kind of way. Communications with the International Students generally considered outside normal interactions will be monitored by a member of the International Student Council, International Student Organization, and/or the Student Council, depending on the type of interaction that would occur.
Thirdly, the Hunters shall not, in any kind, manner, or form, entice or influence the student body to ambush or rush any members of the International Students, both within and outside the Mount Juliet Campus. Students are still permitted to take pictures or videos, as long as it’s within the view of the general public; picture or video taking within the confines of their private space is strictly forbidden. If an International Student(s) request that pictures or videos of them may not be taken, it is to be respected.
Fourth, stalking or private investigations regarding the International Students are forbidden, especially if this relates to their private life or personal information. This includes class schedules, phone numbers, LINE or KakaoTalk IDs or any messaging apps. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter stalking will still be permitted, as long as International Students’ pictures are not saved or stolen, and no posting of rude, indecent and/or offensive comments on their accounts.
Fifth, the Hunters are forbidden from entering the immediate vicinity of the International House or any areas, and locations where the majority of International Students are congregated. University-wide events, and other events that pertains to classes or academics are an exception.
That’s all that we have right now for the initial guidelines that the Hunters need to follow. This will be updated as necessary. Anything that are not included in this initial guideline will be included in the future if it’s necessitated. Do both of you have any questions or comments, changes? Do you find this reasonable?” Aiden explained as he laid out the guidelines designed specifically for the Hunters.
“I don’t have any problems” Oscar said, acting more serious and professional.
“I do” Prince said, “I feel like the demands of the Student Council are too restrictive!”
“Here we go” Katrina whispered, catching the attention of Moira.
“Please elaborate” Aiden responded as he turned his attention towards Prince, who looked more serious than she did earlier.
“First off, why do we have to make an appointment to interview, invite them to MJU Hottest, and take pictures and/or videos of the International Students? I feel like the Student Council is constricting our ability to fully interact with the International Students, and it hinders our ability to update our followers, supporters, and the majority of the MJU student body in regard to the International Students on campus” Prince explained her opposition to one of Aiden’s proposals.
“As I have explained in my email last night to the MJU Student Body, we can’t add to the culture shock of the international students on campus. Additionally, we can’t uniformly apply what you guys are doing with our domestic students to our international students, their culture, customs, and norms are different from ours, some of them might take offense to what the Hunters are doing. Furthermore, the international students are new here on campus, hence we can’t expect them to immediately adjust to the MJU culture overnight. I’m willing to make an exemption for highly outgoing, friendly, and adventurous international students, however, that’s the only concession I can make at this time” Aiden argued as Katrina, Grace and Moira nodded their heads in agreement. Min didn’t react or anything, his head is still facing down, and his expression was still the same as it was earlier. Oscar for his part just listened to Aiden’s explanation in response to Prince’s dissent.
Before Prince could offer a counterargument to what Aiden just said, the door opened, and Angela entered the Student Council room. Everyone turned towards Angela as she closed the door behind her, “I’m sorry for disturbing the meeting, you all could carry on. Don’t mind me” she said as she made her way towards Moira’s office.
As she passed where Moira was sitting, Angela whispered “23:59. Triple-T S. E-04. WWRN. EPO”. Moira immediately understood what Angela meant, although Katrina and Aiden heard what she said, they were clueless about what that meant, curious as they were, Aiden immediately brushed it off as they were in the middle of an important meeting. For Moira, who knew what Angela said cryptically, the message was “MewGulf. TharnType The Series. Episode 04. Will Watch Right Now. Earphones On”.
“What was that Triple-T S thing?” Katrina whispered to Moira, as Angela entered the office.
“She was probably talking to herself” Moira replied, trying to hide the fact that Angela was planning to watch a Thai BL series in her office.
“Okay then” Katrina conceded as she moved her focus back to the meeting. After Angela closed the door to Moira’s office, Prince almost immediately responded to Aiden’s counterargument before the meeting was interrupted by Angela’s arrival.
“I strongly disagree, the international students should learn to quickly adapt to our cultures here at MJU. It poses a great deal of inconvenience for our supporters and followers here at MJU to have our activities restricted. I also won’t approve of a half-baked concession you just offered” Prince rejected Aiden’s concession and argument with utmost stubbornness.
“While I do acknowledge that you have good restraints and self-control in normal conversations and interactions, your negotiating skills are abysmal at best. Crafting an agreement requires compromise on both parties, now I have offered our demands and proposed guidelines, opened it up for the both of you to consider and offer changes. But here you are demanding the Student Council to acquiesce because of…” Aiden paused as he looked at Grace, “What did she say earlier about the effect to the Hunters’ followers and supporters?”.
“Inconvenience”, Grace promptly replied as she kept her focus on Prince.
“Inconvenience” Aiden repeated Grace’s response with a hint of sarcasm, “If you feel like the Hunters are being inconvenienced by this, then let me be pragmatic, not only are your actions inconsiderate and inconvenient for the international students, it has started to become inconvenient for both the ROTC and Student Council as well. The irresponsible rousing of the student body has placed not only our international students at risk of being mauled and stampeded, your actions have also risked the safety of some of our domestic students and ROTC personnel. So if you’re going to use inconvenience as a negotiating tool, I suggest you reevaluate that approach. I would also like to add, for the record, that the Hunters are in no position to demand anything from the Student Council, your group is the belligerent party here. If you’re not willing to compromise, we can end our meeting here and I can issue an executive order indefinitely suspending all your activities immediately until it’s voided by my successor next academic year. You either lose some or lose everything. The fate of the Hunters’ activities rests solely on you, Prince” Aiden argued back aggressively prompting Oscar to show a worried expression on his face.
“Is this what you consider a diplomatic solution?” Prince scoffed at Aiden’s response, her face was visibly frustrated and irritated as she bogged down the negotiations with the Student Council with unreasonable demands and belligerent approach.
“No, I call it aggressive negotiation” Aiden responded with a witty remark causing Min to raise his head up and look at Aiden.
“I think that was from Star Wars” Min thought to himself as he gave a small but muffled chuckle.
“You’re strong-arming us here!” Prince replied, raising her voice. The members of the Student Council didn’t flinch nor react. Min however was starting to worry about the direction the meeting was going, though he couldn’t bring himself to speak or interrupt the exchange between Aiden and Prince.
“I’m not strong-arming anyone here, I’m protecting the general interest of the international students, the student body, and the image and reputation of Mount Juliet. If I was strong-arming the Hunters, I wouldn’t have called for this meeting at all, and I could have just suspended all of your activities last night. We’re here right now because I’m giving the Hunters a chance to amend their actions and create a more acceptable environment for the international students. It may not be a complete win-win for both parties, but we could at least settle for something that is workable, and that’s what I’m trying to accomplish here. You on the other hand, are not only bogging this negotiation down, but you’re pushing for something that would only benefit your organization, your followers and supporters, which is not in the best interest of all students and the university. If you continue to be stubborn, and force your one-sidedness, then I see no point in continuing this” Aiden replied, giving Prince one more chance to compromise on the proposal Aiden has laid out for them.
“To hell with that!” Prince lashed out, slamming her hand on the table. Startling Min, Moira, and Oscar.
“Very well” Aiden said as he turned towards Moira, “Prepare an executive order to suspend all activities of the Hunters effectively immediately, and tell Angela to draft an official announcement regarding the Hunters’ activity suspension”
“Wait! Just hold on a second Aiden” Oscar interrupted as he turned his attention towards Aiden.
“Last words?” Aiden asked, his right brow raised as he looked at Oscar who was already visibly troubled and concerned, “For the record, I don’t bluff in my negotiations. That’s something to think about, for future references”.
“No. As leader of the Hunters, I’m unconditionally accepting the demands laid out by the Student Council” Oscar conceded to the surprise and anger of Prince.
“What are you doing Oscar! Are you going to let the Student Council step over us!?” Prince protested as she raised her voice.
“Enough Prince!” Oscar raised his voice as he slammed his hand on the conference table, “Aiden is right about one thing, your negotiation skills are awful, and you’re making things a lot more difficult than it already is”
“You’re just saying that because you’re head over heels for Aiden!” Prince shot back at Oscar.
“I admit that I ‘am, but at least I have the foresight and rationality to preserve the existence of the Hunters! You’re too shortsighted and short-term goal oriented, it’s better at this point to lose some, rather than lose everything that we’ve all worked hard for! Get that through your head!” Oscar argued back as he tried to reign Prince in.
“No!” Prince was adamant and extremely stubborn.
“You will settle down, or as leader of the Hunters and member of the Gang of Eight, I will kick you out of the Hunters and label you as an outcast!” Oscar threatened Prince, which prompted the latter to shut her mouth and effectively quashing her resistant and stubborn attitude.
“You can’t do that, I’m a co-founder of the Hunters!” Prince replied, her voice lower than it did.
“You won’t be for long if I label you as an outcast. Now shut your mouth and let me handle the negotiations” Oscar demanded as Prince reluctantly obliged.
“I apologize for Prince’s behavior, she has no negotiating skills whatsoever, and runs her mouth using emotions. Aiden, I beg you reconsider your executive order” Oscar continued as he pleaded and tried to return Aiden to the negotiating table.
“Very well, if you’re willing to compromise, then I have no reason to take drastic actions” Aiden responded as he gestured to Moira to belay his last order.
“You don’t have to accept our terms unconditionally; I’m giving you the chance to change anything you find that’s too unreasonable for the Hunters. I’m willing to make concessions and changes that would benefit both parties” Aiden continued as Oscar was able to give a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, and I apologize for letting Prince handle the negotiations until now. I thought she was ready, but obviously she’s incapable of using cool-headed judgement” Oscar apologized again as his demeanor changed from what it was before the meeting started, giving off a more serious and professional persona.
“No need to stress over a mundane matter. Are there any changes you want to make from the demands I have read out earlier” Aiden once again asked.
“No, aside from the issue that Prince raised, I have no problems with the Student Council’s demands. If it’s not too overreaching, I would like to ask that you waive the requirement for the for highly outgoing, friendly, and adventurous international students” Oscar responded as Prince listened on, frustrated that Oscar was actually conceding to the Student Council.
“Of course, I’m not taking that offer off the table. Like I said, we’re willing to compromise in order to get something out of this meeting that would benefit both our organizations” Aiden said.
“Thank you. I do have a question though. In regards the interaction that would require presence from the International Student Council, International Student Organization, and/or the Student Council” Oscar asked, seemingly looking for clarification on the vague section.
“What is it?” Aiden replied.
“What kind of interactions are we talking about here. I think it would help us better if that section is elaborated a little bit more” Oscar explained.
“Of course” Aiden replied, “Interactions such as going outside the MJU campus, or travelling to distances more than a 10-mile radius from the university, or inviting any of the international students to any activities that could cause harm or injury”
“That’s understandable, the safety of our students is a priority” Oscar said, satisfied with Aiden’s elaboration, “This regulation only applies to the international students, correct?”
“Yes, you may carry on with your normal activities with the domestic students, however, don’t overdo it to the point that we need to summon you back here. Additionally, this guideline will be emailed university-wide and will act as the official rules in terms of interacting with the international students. Parts of it will be tweaked to fit certain organizations and groups” Aiden said as Oscar nodded in agreement and satisfaction.
“Do you have further questions or changes to what we have agreed on at this point?” Aiden added.
“This should be reasonable enough at its current form. I will bring this to the rest of the Hunters and vote on it. I will let you know if this passes or not. If it does pass, we will immediately start with formalizing this guideline within our organization and submit our planned course of actions, changes, and operating procedures to the Student Council for final approval” Oscar explained.
“Very well then. Your contact person on this will be Moira, all communications to and from will go through her, is that clear?” Aiden instructed Oscar as the latter nodded in agreement. Prince on the other hand, sat in defeat as Oscar and the Student Council reached an agreement that concerns that Hunters’ activities on campus.
“Any comments from the International Student Representative about the current form of the agreement?” Aiden continued as everyone turned towards Min.
“I think as it is, it should be fine. We’ll see how this works out, we can then add, amend, or remove things that doesn’t work out” Min responded, his demeanor and voice different from how he usual sound. Aiden took notice of this but did not change his expression.
“Any other comments from the Student Council members?” Aiden asked as his officers looked at each other, seemingly waiting for anyone to say something in regards with the matter at hand, “No? Then we can end this meeting here” Aiden concluded as Oscar stood up from where he was sitting.
“Thank you Aiden. I will contact Moira as soon as I have something to report” Oscar said as he excused himself, “Prince, let’s go” he called out as Prince reluctantly followed.
As soon as Oscar and Prince left the room, everyone except for Aiden gave out a sigh of relief. No one expected that the negotiations would go south like it did, although they expected Prince to drag the negotiations, they never expected that kind of reaction that she had.
“That was surprising” Min commented, prompting everyone to turn their heads towards him.
“What was?” Grace asked, curious as to what Min was talking about.
“That Oscar guy, he felt like a different person close to the end of the meeting. I just found it surprising” Min explained as he looked at everyone else in the room.
“Prince and Oscar are like that” Aiden responded, as Grace, Katrina and Moira turned their attention towards him, “Prince can be carefree, sometimes to the point of annoying, but when he gets serious about something, he throws away that carefree attitude of his, that’s why he’s in the Gang of Eight”
“As you could see, Prince is the exact opposite. In normal socialization, Prince is a bit more controlled compared to Oscar who can be extremely flamboyant and energetic. However, when it comes to more serious discussions, she tends to use her emotions more than her head” Aiden continued as he explained the difference between Oscar and Prince.
“Is that the reason why the Hunters are unorganized compared to your fan club?” Katrina asked as she leaned on her chair.
“Partly the reason why. It’s probably not publicly known, but I bet there’s a power struggle between Oscar and Prince when it comes to the direction of the Hunters. Personally, I think most of the Hunters support Oscar. Notwithstanding his personality, he has a steadier hand as a leader compared to Prince. Of course, that’s not to say that Prince doesn’t have backing of her own within the Hunters” Aiden responded as he organized his stuff.
“How do you know all of this?” Grace asked, “Did Oscar tell you?”
“No, it’s just a theory, based on my observations” Aiden replied, his gaze was focused on the folder and paperclip in front of him, but inside his head, he was a bit concerned about Min. He doesn’t seem like his usual self ever since he arrived.
“Aiden!” Katrina called out as everyone else in the room was looking at him, wondering why he was staring out into space all of a sudden.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t forget all of your revisions. I need to organize and compile them for my meeting tomorrow with the Executive Council” Aiden responded as he got up from his chair.
“Also, Moira, can you type up my notes for this meeting, I don’t need it right away, but have it done by Monday” Aiden added as he passed his clipboard to Moira.
“Right. I’ll work on it this weekend” Moira responded as she took the clipboard from Aiden, “Do you want a hard copy or a soft copy of these notes?”
“Hard copy” Aiden responded, “Make sure all of you are ready for our next meeting. Moira, make sure Amy is on that meeting as well” Aiden added as he walked towards his office. As he opened the door, he turned back around and looked at Min, who was still sitting on the chair, obviously bothered by something, “Everyone clear the room. Min, I want you in my office once everyone has left” he ordered as he stepped into his office, closing the door behind him.
Grace, Moira, and Katrina looked at each other, surprised by what Aiden just said. The trio then looked at Min who looked surprised and petrified by Aiden’s sudden summon. Moira suddenly blushed, remembering what happened the night before.
“You think-” Moira blushed as she gulped, “You know…”
Grace and Katrina blushed as they shushed Moira, Grace covering Moira’s mouth before she could say anything else that could make the situation awkward. They were also concerned that Min might overhear what she was trying to say, as the affair that happened in Aiden’s office last night flashed in their minds once again.
“Mind what you say idiot!” Katrina whispered into Moira’s as Grace covered her mouth, “Last night was awkward enough, don’t add to that awkwardness anymore!”
Moira nodded as Grace slowly removed her hand that was covering Moira’s mouth, “In any case, go a get Angela so we can head to the cafeteria, we don’t want Min to get in trouble for having Aiden wait” Katrina continued as she kept her voice into a whisper.
“Alright, let me put this clipboard on my desk, and I’ll get Angela as well” Moira said as Grace and Katrina backed off to allow her to get underway. As Grace and Katrina gave Moira her space back, she immediately grabbed the clipboard and cantered towards her office, pushing open the door which caused Angela to jump out of the chair she was sitting on, pulling the earphones out of her ears.
“Holy shit Moira, you scared the hell out of me!” Angela said as she placed her hand on her chest, trying to calm herself down after being surprised out of nowhere, “Is the meeting over?”
“Yeah, but we need to leave now. Aiden wants us to clear the room” Moira quickly explained as she dropped the clipboard between the monitor and keyboard of her desktop computer.
“What’s going on?” Angela asked, curious as to why Moira seemed so frantic all of a sudden.
“I’ll explain later, right now we need to go” Moira responded as Angela paused the video she was watching and pulled the other end of her earphone out of the earphone jack on Moira’s desktop computer, before putting it in her pocket as Moira grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the office.
As they stepped out, Moira closed her office door before she, Angela, Grace and Katrina walked out of the Student Council room. As soon as the girls left, Min took a deep breathe before getting up from where he was sitting, and slowly made his way towards Min’s office, his heart beating fast due to nervousness.
As he stood in front of Aiden’s door, he took another breathe before knocking three times, “Come in” Aiden called out from his office. As Min opened the door, he saw Aiden leaning his buttocks in front of his desk looking at his phone, as he entered he closed the door behind him and just stood by the door.
“Did you need me for something?” Min started as Aiden turned his attention towards him, still holding his phone on his hand.
“Sit” Aiden replied as he stood upright, putting his phone in his pocket. Min complied immediately and sat on the armchair closest to the door. Aiden walked towards him and stood in front of him. Min was thinking that he was going to get a scolding from Aiden because he arrived late for the meeting with Oscar and Prince, which has been bothering him since the meeting started. He lowered his head down, trying to avoid eye contact with Aiden.
“Are you okay?” Aiden asked as he stood in front of Min, “You don’t seem like your usual self”
Min was surprised, he was really expecting Aiden would be scolding him for being late. The last thing that was on his mind was for Aiden to be asking if he was doing okay, “Yeah, I’m good”.
“You’re lying” Aiden quickly responded, surprising Min even more, “I rather you be honest, than straight up lie to my face. I want to know what’s wrong; I can’t have the International Student Representative attending the meeting tonight acting like this”
Min kept quiet as he focused his attention on the floor, he didn’t want to say that the reason he wasn’t himself was because he thinks that the progress he had made with Aiden hit a major setback. It was too embarrassing to say or even admit such a thing.
“Am I talking to myself here?” Aiden added sarcastically, “Oi! Min!” Aiden raised his voice, finally getting Min’s attention who looked up and saw Aiden standing just a foot away from him. Min’s face looked so disappointed and defeated, almost resembling a pouting puppy. When Aiden saw this, memories of his younger brother flashed in his head, remembering the times when Itsuki would look sad when their Mom wouldn’t let him play outside or eat sweets before dinner.
Aiden’s thoughts were filled with his younger brother, that he unconsciously ruffled Min’s hair, just like he used to do with Itsuki. This was his way of comforting his younger brother whenever he was feeling down or sad. In addition to the memories he had with his younger brother that came flooding back to him, he remembered his younger self that used to live at the Labrador Mansion.
“A-Aiden?” Min stuttered, his face started blushing and getting warmer as Aiden softly caressed and ruffled his hair out of nowhere. Although Min was surprised, he didn’t want Aiden to stop, he suddenly started asking himself whether this was a normal feeling for anyone just wanting friendship with someone, especially with a guy. Min was starting to feel comfortable with how Aiden was ruffling his hair, and unconsciously moved his hand over where Aiden’s hand was, touching it slightly. The slight touch was enough to bring Aiden back to reality, and when Aiden realized what he was doing, he quickly took his hand off Min’s head, and stepped a few feet backwards.
“Wha-what was I just doing!?” Aiden exclaimed, confused as to why he was ruffling Min’s hair like that.
“Errr… You suddenly started doing that… I was just as surprised you know” Min scratched the back of his head, keeping his head down, still blushing.
Aiden cleared his throat as he composed himself before he spoke again, “Anyways, as I was saying, what was wrong with-”, before he could finish, Min interrupted him.
Min raised his head up, his face still blushing, which was obviously visible, “I liked it though…”
“Hah!? What are you talking about!?” Aiden asked, confused as to what Min was saying out of the blue.
“Your hand felt so soft, it felt so soothing and comforting when you were ruffling my hair” Min responded, his voice was soft and calm.
“Ha-have you completely lost it!?” Aiden shot back, taken by surprise by what Min just said, “If you’re not going to answer my question, you’re free to go”
Min sat for a moment, trying to think his next course of action. After a few seconds, he stood up and walked towards the door, as he held on to the doorknob, he spoke again, “I was just worried that you were mad at me for coming to the meeting late”. As soon as Min finished what he wanted to say, he opened the door, but before he could take a step, Aiden spoke.
“I’m not mad…” Aiden paused for a bit, “I guess you could say I was a bit curious, that’s all”
Min was relieved that Aiden was not mad at him, he slightly smiled before turning around to face Aiden, who was holding the back of his neck, looking on the floor. Obviously embarrassed with their exchange. Min smiled like he usually does, “I’m glad to hear that”.
Aiden clicked his tongue before raising his head back up again, his usual expression all over his face, as if nothing happened, “Don’t think too much about it, it’s not that huge of a deal. You can go”.
Min smiled again, causing Aiden to snort, annoyed at the fact that Min was lowkey teasing him. Just as he was about to leave the office, Aiden called out to him, prompting Min to face Aiden again.
“I forgot to tell you; I emailed your professor for your 13:00 class. I told her I have you assigned on an official Student Council errand, so you’re excused in class for today. Go and join the others for lunch. You can call us even” Aiden said as Min gave a confused look.
“What do you mean even?” Min asked, “Also, how do you know I have class at 13:00?”
“It was my fault you had to rush here for the meeting, I placed undue pressure on you to be here” Aiden said as he somewhat apologized to Min, “Just a wild guess”.
“You’re having too many accurate wild guesses for today. In any case, you don’t have to blame yourself for that, you weren’t able to guess that my professor would dismiss our class late today” Min laughed as he teased Aiden, “Thank you though, for clearing my 13:00 schedule”.
“Whatever! Now get out of my office, I have things I need to do” Aiden responded as he shooed Min away.
Min smiled again as he left Aiden’s office, heading towards the cafeteria to meet up with the others. As he was making his way towards the elevator to go to the cafeteria, located on the ground floor of the Student Center, he received a message from Moira.
Moira: “Hey Min! Do you have class at 13:00?”
Min: “No, not anymore. I’m heading to the cafeteria to join you guys”
Moira: “Good! Can I ask you a huge favor?”
Min: “Yeah, what is it?”
Moira: “Angela left her wallet on my office desk; can you grab it for me?”
Min: “Yeah, I’ll grab it and meet up with you guys in a minute”
Moira: “Thank you so much! Cappuccino Power is here, except for you and Aiden, hurry up! ?”
Min: “Alright. I’ll be quick, see you in a bit”
Min placed his phone back in his pocket as he turned back around to retrieve Angela’s wallet in Moira’s office. Meanwhile, Aiden was working on the revisions that was sent to him by Aaron, Angela, and Katrina when he remembered that he forgot to write something on his notes that he gave Moira earlier.
“Crap. I forgot to add the timeframe for the release of the guidelines” Aiden sighed as he got up from his chair and made his way to Moira’s office. When Aiden entered the office, he immediately walked towards Moira’s desk, and found his clipboard between the monitor and the keyboard. As he grabbed the clipboard, he accidentally moved the mouse, which automatically woke the computer back up, turning the monitor on, revealing a video on full screen mode that read “LINE TV” on the top right of the screen, and “Me Mind” on the upper left. Aiden moved the mouse again and revealed the title of the paused video he was looking at “TharnType เกลียดนักมาเป็นที่รักกันซะดีๆ | EP.4 [3/4]”.
“TharnType? Is this some kind of drama? That writing looks Thai” Aiden told himself, “I wonder if Min, Ball, and Bank knows this drama”, out of curiosity, Aiden played the video, which was stopped at exactly 07:45 / 14:31.
Aiden didn’t notice that Min entered the Student Council room as the time read 07:53 / 14:31, there was no dialogue happening and the background music from the video started fading. Min stepped into Moira’s office just as the timer on the video read 07:58 / 14:31, Min immediately stopped dead on his tracks when he heard what was said on the video Aiden was watching. Min placed his hand over his mouth as he reacted to what he just heard, Aiden’s face was subtly cringing, and a light blush formed on his cheeks after reading the subtitles on the video.
When Aiden looked up, he was surprised to see Min standing by the door, his face was as equally surprised as he was, and embarrassed by what he just heard. Unfortunately for Aiden, he did not pause the video and it kept on playing, when the timer reached 08:04 / 14:31 the same words were spoken again, causing Min to blush, his face started getting warmer. When Aiden heard the same word spoken again, he quickly paused the video stopping it exactly at 08:04 / 14:31.
Min slowly removed his hand from his mouth, “Wha-what are you watching?” he stuttered as he pointed at Aiden, who was clearly embarrassed and dumbfounded, having found himself in another awkward situation with Min, who he just dismissed a few minutes ago.
“I-I just played the video! I swear I wasn’t watching it!” Aiden responded defensively, his face blushing.
“A-are you watching porn!?” Min gasped in shock and disbelief.
“Are you fucking insane!?” Aiden shot back as he grabbed the nearest object he could find and threw it towards the other boy. Min was able to catch it before it could hit his face, looking at what Aiden threw at him, he was surprised it was Angela’s wallet, the very thing he came to get, “Thanks Aiden!”
“What the hell are you thanking me for!?” Aiden asked, irritated at Min’s earlier suggestion he was watching porn on Moira’s computer.
“I actually came back here to get Angela’s wallet, and you happen to just threw it at me” Min responded, smile on his face.
“Wipe that smile off your face, it’s irritating” Aiden responded, his voice cold again, “Mention this to anyone, and I will kill you, you understand!?” Aiden added as his face began to twitch, his eyes squinted.
Min’s body shivered as he felt a murderous aura emanating from Aiden, “I-I won’t say a word. I promise”
“Good, you may leave. I’ll see you tonight at the meeting” Aiden said as he shooed Min again, prompting him to exit Moira’s office, before leaving the Student Council room to meet up with the rest of Cappuccino Power at the cafeteria.
Aiden returned to his office with the clipboard in tow, closing the door behind him as he entered, “Why do I always end up in the most awkward situation with that Thammasat Kid?” Aiden sighed as he slowly walked towards his desk, as he got closer, he laid the clipboard on top and made his way behind his desk to sit back down and resume his work.
As Aiden got situated in his chair, he paused for a minute, turning the chair a little bit towards the right, where his peripherals were directly focused on the armchair that Min was sitting on earlier. He was reminded of the moment he was ruffling Min’s hair, just then, his younger brother’s image flashed in his head, “Itsuki..” Aiden whispered, placing his right hand on his chest, feeling the pendant under his polo.
“Mom… Itsuki…” Aiden whispered again, his voice filled with sadness and loneliness. He pulled the chain that was holding his pendant, taking it out from under his polo, holding it on his right hand. The pendant that Aiden was holding was actually an early gift for his 9th Birthday from his mother and younger brother. The pendant itself is 5-inch obelisk shaped 24-carat diamond, the sides of the pendant is adorned by a 14-carat white and yellow gold that intersects in the middle of the diamond, in that intersection is a small titanium plate engraved with “YAKL”. The surface of the white and yellow gold is adorned by tiny 14-carat diamonds, precisely spaced. On the top part of the necklace where the chain is attached to, and directly above of the titanium plate is a small 10-carat pink diamond, holding the chain and the ends of the white and yellow gold adornment together. It may not be fashionable or stylish, but it’s an extremely important memento for Aiden, this pendant also proves Aiden’s real identity and lineage. Aiden’s younger brother, Itsuki, had a similar pendant, engraved with “IAKL”, but was lost when he perished from the accident.
As Aiden reminisced about Itsuki and his mother, his office phone suddenly rang, breaking Aiden’s reminiscing. Aiden looked at the phone as it rang the third time, sliding his pendant back under his polo before he picked up the phone, “Student Council, Office of the Student Council President, this is Aiden Kobayashi speaking”.
“President Kobayashi, this is Annette Bernabe, Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s Secretary” Annette greeted from the other line.
“How may I help you Ms. Bernabe?” Aiden asked as he leaned towards his desk.
“Vice Chancellor Gutierrez requests your presence at her office immediately” Annette replied, to the confusion of Aiden.
“Did she say why?” Aiden inquired, still trying to figure out why the Vice Chancellor was asking for him out of the blue.
“She just said she needed to see you immediately, she didn’t say anything specific, just that you get here as soon as possible” Annette answered.
“Inform the Vice Chancellor I will be there momentarily. Thank you” Aiden replied as he ended the call.
Aiden sighed, not wanting to head to the Administration Building, especially around this time when the majority of the campus is on lunch break. He knew that his fanbase will be lurking around, and it was too risky for him to be walking outside without catching the attention of the AG.
“This better be important” Aiden told himself as he got up from his chair, grabbing his cellphone and iPod before he walked out of his office. As Aiden left the Student Council room, the students on the hallway almost immediately got their phones out and started taking pictures and videos of Aiden, although annoyed at this fact, he kept his stoic expression on, ignoring the students around him and as he walked the opposite way from the elevators.
Aiden wasn’t planning on riding the normal elevators down to the basement as there was a chance he would accidentally run into one of the Aiden Guardians members. Unlike the other students on campus, the AG tends to invade Aiden’s personal space, which greatly annoys him. Unlike Min who he can talk back to casually, he can’t bring upon himself to talk back to any of his constituents, which he took an oath to serve and defend – a duty he is strongly bound to. Aiden made his way towards where the maintenance elevators were located, on the other side of the floor he was on, he was planning on riding it down the basement and utilizing the tunnel that runs beneath the Student Center and Administration building to avoid exposing himself in the open, lest he be rushed by his fanbase. He was hoping a staff member or faculty would be in the area so he could access the tunnels and get to the Administration Building quickly, but more importantly unnoticed.
When Aiden reached the basement, he noticed that there was barely anyone around, which irked him a bit, as this increased the possibility that he would have to go top side to get to the Administration Building. Aiden wasn’t paying attention as he walked in the basement corridor, his head tilted towards the floor as he thought of possible scenarios that could happen if he couldn’t access the tunnel. As he walked in an intersection, he accidentally bumped into someone, causing some folders and papers to fall and scatter on the floor.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” Aiden asked, not looking at the person he bumped into, as he stabilized himself after being pushed back by the collision.
“Aiden?” a familiar voice called out. Aiden looked at the person he bumped into, and to his surprise, it was his advisor, Dr. Carla Harrison, “What are you doing down here?”
“Dr. Harrison! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump into you. I wasn’t paying attention” Aiden said in surprise, his voice got higher, but his face remained stoic.
“It’s okay, no harm done” Dr. Harrison said as she bent down to collect her stuff that fell on the floor, Aiden immediately crouched down to help his advisor pick up her stuff from the floor. When they finished collecting everything, Aiden stood back up and faced his advisor.
“I’m sorry again Dr. Harrison” Aiden apologized again as his advisor looked at him with a smile.
“Don’t worry about it, Aiden, no harm done. So what are you doing down here?” Dr. Harrison asked again as the two of them stood in the middle of the empty corridor.
“I was on my way to the Administration Building. I’m not entirely keen on walking outside around this time of the day” Aiden responded as Dr. Harrison nodded her head.
“Is it because the sun is up, and you don’t want to run into your fanbase?” Dr. Harrison deducted as she gave a chuckle.
“Pretty much” Aiden responded, “It would be a bother to run into the AG and start getting sweaty and smelling like sweat for the rest of the day” Aiden replied as he gave a small sigh.
“That’s understandable. I’m actually headed to the Administration Building, I’ll let you in the tunnel if that’s where you were headed” Dr. Harrison responded as she started walking towards the tunnel entrance, Aiden following as he walked beside her.
“So, how’s your semester going so far? I haven’t seen you since advising last semester” Dr. Harrison said, as she started another conversation.
“Rough” Aiden responded in a straight face, as he kept his eyes in front to avoid colliding with anybody else down in the basement.
Dr. Harrison gave another chuckle, “Straightforward as ever. You should visit my office sometimes, you usually did last semester”, Aiden snorted in response as the two walked, Dr. Harrison’s heels making a clacking noise that was echoing within the empty corridor.
“I did, didn’t I? We did talk a lot about domestic and international politics, as well as the creation of the International Exchange Program and the ISO” Aiden replied.
“That we did, and I’m so glad that the university was able to establish the IEP in such a short time and was able to conclude agreements with different universities during the summer” Dr. Harrison commented as they reached the tunnel doors. She paused for a second and grabbed her Faculty ID card, swiping it on the card reader, unlocking the doors. Aiden opened the door, letting his advisor enter first as he followed after her.
“You’ve got to hand it to MJU’s connections. It wouldn’t have been possible without them” Aiden replied as they walked in the tunnel.
“I’m just glad that we were able to start the program, Kaori has been pretty excited about it” Dr. Harrison said, “So when is the ISO meeting? I’m looking forward to meeting the International Students”
“It probably won’t be until sometime next week. I’ll let you know when it would be, I was planning on sending you an email anyway when we have decided on the time and place, you are the ISO’s advisor” Aiden replied, “Speaking of Kaori-sensei, I’ll have my Chief-of-Staff send you invitations for the Welcome Party this Saturday as well, you and sensei are pretty much the founding mothers of the IEP”
“Thank you Aiden. I look forward to the invitation then” Dr. Harrison said as they got closer to the other end of the tunnel, “Is the ISO planning on participating on the Student Organization Fair this Friday?”
“No. That wouldn’t be necessary, we’re assigning tutors and mentors for the International Students anyways, although Director Guerrero is still working on the final details and implementation of that project” Aiden replied.
“Is that so? Keep me posted on that as well, if you can” Dr. Harrison asked as they reached the door leading to the Administration Building’s basement.
“I will. I’ll try to visit you and Kaori-sensei once everything has settled a bit” Aiden said as he pulled open the door, letting his advisor exit first.
“Thank you Aiden. By the way, why are you going to the Administration Building for?” Dr. Harrison asked as she stood in front of Aiden, the door closing behind them.
Aiden scratched the back of his head before responding, “Vice Chancellor Gutierrez summoned me, I don’t know the details”, Aiden crossed his arms as he gave another sigh. “Her secretary called me earlier and said she wanted to see me, she made it sound like it’s urgent, but was pretty vague about it”.
“Well, good luck with your business with the Vice Chancellor. I’ll see you around Aiden” Dr. Harrison said as she excused herself before walking off. As his advisor walked away, Aiden went the opposite direction to look for the nearest elevator to head to the 5th floor, where Chancellor Gutierrez’s office is located.
The 5th Floor of the Administration Building is where the offices of the high-ranking university officials are located, which includes the office of the Chancellor, and the Vice Chancellors, among others. When Aiden stepped out of the elevator, he immediately saw a number of high-ranking university officials as well as administration personnel walking about the corridor. Aiden immediately started walking towards Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s office, which was located next to the Chancellor’s office, to the west end of the Administration Building.
As he walked down the corridor, he was greeted by several Administration personnel, some of which he didn’t know, and some he knew due to their position in the university. Although Aiden wasn’t the type to exchange greetings with random people, given that he holds a very influential position within the university, he needed to keep up appearance and reluctantly greeted everyone who had greeted him. The walk towards Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s office was not a long one, since her office was only a couple of meters away from the elevators. When he reached the front of her office, he straightened his polo, and took a deep breath before entering the office.
“Aiden Kobayashi to see Vice Chancellor Gutierrez” Aiden said as he walked in the office, catching Annette Bernabe by surprise, who was sitting on her desk, typing something up on her desktop computer.
“President Kobayashi, I didn’t expect you so soon” Annette responded, surprised at the speed in which Aiden was able to reach the office.
“You did say to report here as soon as possible” Aiden responded, his voice sounding confused, his face remaining stoic as he stood in front of the Annette’s desk, “You can drop the “President”, you don’t have to be so formal, given that you’re older than me”.
“R-right, let me call the Vice Chancellor” Annette replied as she reached for the phone on her desk.
“There’s no need for that” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as she emerged from her office, catching Aiden and Annette’s attention, “You can come in Aiden”. Aiden nodded his head as he complied without question, walking towards Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s office as Annette looked on, her hand still on the phone receiver.
“Annette, I don’t want to be disturbed until my meeting has concluded” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added as she gave Annette instructions, before walking back to her office.
Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s office was nothing but impressive to say the least, the double doors that led to her office was made out of walnut, which was adorned by handmade wood carvings. Behind the doors was a spacious and modern looking office, the entirety of the walls was basically made out of mahogany. On the floor in front of the double doors was a circular mat, that has the MJU logo adorning it. To the left of Aiden was a fireplace, on its left are bookshelves that were built into the wall and was filled by all sorts of books of different sizes and fields of studies. Across from the fire place was a couch, and a coffee table in between, there were also two arm chairs on either end of the coffee table.
Behind the armchair across from the bookshelves was a conference table, also made out of mahogany that could sit at least eight people. To the right of the conference table was a 5-tiered black glass display stand that was filled with different decorations and pictures, next to it is a large window pane, overlooking the grounds in front of the Administration Building, in front of the window pane was Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s desk, which was made out of chestnut, and was also adorned by handmade wood carvings. On her desk was a telephone, two computer screens, a bunch of documents neatly compiled, a fountain pen holder, a name plate, a drink carrier that had two to go coffee cups in it, and a takeout bag from one of the bakeries around the area, in front of the desk are two white armchairs that were facing each other. Beside the desk, placed against the wall was a large standing printer, not far from it was a long table that was also placed against the wall, which has a Keurig Coffeemaker, a bunch of Keurig coffee pods, a variety of tea cartons, and a number of expensive looking mugs and cups sitting on top of the table, on the wall above the table are three different diplomas, on the far left was a bachelor’s degree, on the center was a master’s degree, and the last was a doctorate degree. Right next to it was an open doorframe that led into the kitchenette, beside the doorframe was an actual door which led to the restroom, in between the doorframe and the door was a vase filled with roses placed on top a wooden table.
Beside the door that led to the restroom, and to Aiden’s immediate right was a large aquarium that was against the wall. Beside the aquarium, against wall close to the double doors was a large glass display cabinet that displays all the awards and trophies that was awarded to the Vice Chancellor and Mount Juliet University.
“Are you just going to stand there?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as she walked passed Aiden, who was just standing in front of the doors, scanning the entirety of the room.
“No, obviously not” Aiden responded as he walked towards Vice Chancellor Gutierrez’s desk, sitting on one of the white arm chairs in front of it.
“Why was I summoned here?” Aiden asked as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez took her seat behind her desk.
“Oh, nothing in particular, I thought we could use this time to catch up on some things, you still owe me an explanation on the whole polo thing during the first day of classes” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, her face grinning teasingly.
“Hah!?” Aiden reacted loudly, his voice echoing in the room, “You called me all the way here just to chat!?” he added, his face looking annoyed and surprised. Vice Chancellor Gutierrez could not help herself but laugh at Aiden’s reaction.
“That’s gross abuse of power you know” Aiden added, his arms crossed as he focused his gaze on Vice Chancellor Gutierrez.
“So is looking up Mr. Nontanakorn’s personal files without justification” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez retorted as her laughter died down, wiping a small tear from her eye, “It seems like you’re showing interest in him”.
Aiden froze in place, he was lowkey blushing, though not clearly visible on his face, he clicked his tongue, “Touché, old hag”, he conceded as he leaned back on the arm chair.
“You could have just called my phone; I would have been keener on exchanging pleasantries in the comfort of my own office” Aiden continued.
“I haven’t had the chance to have a proper conversation with you in a while, and since I’m not that busy today, I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity. We may not get another chance, considering that this semester is probably going to be busy for the both of us” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez replied as she pulled one of the coffee cups out of the drink carrier, “Here, this is for you” she added as she handed a large to go coffee cup to Aiden.
“What’s this?” Aiden asked as he grabbed the cup from the Vice Chancellor.
“Hot Cappuccino with three extra shots of espresso with whipped cream on top” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez replied as Aiden’s face brightened up a little, showing hints of excitement. “This is for you too” the Vice Chancellor added as she took a plastic container out of the take out bag on her desk, holding down the napkin and fork on top of the container as she gave it to Aiden.
“Coffee crumble cake with toffee layers” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as Aiden took it from her hand, the latter looking like a kid who was brought to a candy store for the first time.
“Is this a bribe?” Aiden asked, looking suspiciously at the Vice Chancellor, “Cause if it is, it’s working”.
Vice Chancellor Gutierrez chuckled, “Of course not, the least I could do is to feed my guest”.
Aiden snorted as he opened the plastic container, “I’m hardly a guest, I’m still technically under your household, though I live at a different place”. Aiden grabbed the fork and dug in the cake, taking a piece of it as he placed it in his mouth, the sweetness of the cake filling his palate.
“True” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez countered as she gently folded the take out bag and threw it in the trashcan under her desk, before she grabbed the other coffee cup on the drink carrier, taking a quick sip.
Aiden laid the fork down on the napkin as he took a sip of his cappuccino, “So how did you know I accessed Min’s personal information?”.
“I gave you access to that database, so obviously I could monitor what you’re doing” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez replied as she placed her coffee cup on her desk, “You don’t get interested in something, or someone so easily. How is Mr. Nontanakorn different?’
“He gets on my nerves; I can’t stand him in all honesty” Aiden replied, “Though, he has some positive traits. I would at least admit to that”.
“Is it because of the polo incident?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez asked, her voice sounding serious.
“Perhaps” Aiden quickly responded as he took another sip of his cappuccino, as the Vice Chancellor focused her attention on Aiden.
“To be honest, I didn’t think you would wear Mr. Nontanakorn’s torn and dirty polo. I was half expecting that a neat freak like you would pass out or something” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez continued, “Do you have a thing for Mr. Nontanakorn? Aiyeeeeee!” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez teased as she leaned towards Aiden, poking his cheeks repeatedly.
“No, I don’t! Stop poking my cheeks” Aiden responded as he gently shoved her hand away from his face, “I just find him interesting in certain areas, and what I did on the first day was my duty as Student Council President, nothing personal. For the record, it took a lot of will power to exchange polo with a random stranger, I can’t even do that with Mingyu, but I didn’t want our new international student to walk in on the auditorium looking like what he did. It’s just bad optics for the university”.
“You sound just like Yuriko” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, her voice softened as she opened her drawer, pulling out a picture frame, looking at it for a brief moment before she slid it towards Aiden.
Aiden grabbed the picture frame from the desk and moved it closer to his face. It was a picture of himself, Itsuki, his mother Yuriko, his aunt Yukari, and Vice Chancellor Gutierrez that was taken 12 years ago in the Labrador Mansion gardens. As Aiden looked at the picture, he used his left hand to pull his pendant out again, holding it firmly as he looked at the photo in front of him.
“I haven’t heard from Yukari ever since that day, and it seems like not one of her closest friends and associates here in the Philippines have heard from her either” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez commented as Aiden looked at the photo.
“I could only imagine that Aunt Yukari was affected by Mom’s death, they were close growing up. I haven’t even gotten in touch with my grandparents for over a decade now, Aunt Yukari even, she just kind of disappeared after this last visit. No contact whatsoever, she just went under the radar” Aiden said as he placed the picture frame on top of the desk.
“I think that would be for the best, given that you’re trying to lie low and not alert your father about your survival. I will try and pull some strings and see if I could at least locate and contact Yukari” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, “As long as you’re under my household, I will protect you. That’s the least I could do in memory of Yuriko”.
“Thank you, and I ‘am grateful for the protection you have offered for all these years” Aiden added as he looked at Vice Chancellor Gutierrez, “Once I graduate, I’ll probably move to Japan, far from my past”.
“I just want to be rid of my bad memories here, I don’t want to do anything with the Labrador family. My dad took everything from me…” Aiden continued, his voice breaking. Vice Chancellor Gutierrez got up from her chair and walked in front of Aiden, kneeling in front of him, “I can’t say I understand how you feel, but I do understand your desire to rid yourself of your past” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said as she held onto Aiden’s hand, “You’re kind-hearted and too nice, normal people would want to seek vengeance, but you chose to hold it in and move on, and I respect that”.
Aiden lowered his head, as tears started forming in his eyes, “It’s not fair, why did Mom and Itsuki have to die, it’s so unfair”, he continued as tears started rolling down his cheeks, “Will taking vengeance change anything? Will it bring them back?” he continued as grief took over Aiden, completely breaking down the normal persona he usually wears, revealing a soft and damaged Aiden, still haunted by his past.
“You’ve been strong all these years Aiden, whether you take vengeance or not, I will support you with whatever you decide, you choose your own path, and whatever it may be, however hard that path you may take, I’ll be by your side, supporting you all the way. I’m sure Yuriko and Itsuki are watching over you” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added as he tried to reassure and comfort Aiden.
Aiden started crying as he wiped the tears from his eyes, all Vice Chancellor Gutierrez could do was watch and comfort him as much as she can, “Your friends may be able to help you, especially Mr. Nontanakorn”.
“No..” Aiden responded, his voice raspy, “ I don’t want to drag them with my personal problems, this is a fight I have to overcome by myself” he added his voice breaking, but his resolve stronger than ever. Vice Chancellor leaned towards Aiden, giving him a hug as Aiden let his tears roll down, releasing the pent-up emotions he has been keeping inside.
“Just remember, I’m always here if you need someone to talk to, okay?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added as Aiden started calming down, “You’re not alone in this”.
“Thank you” Aiden said, as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez broke their hug, “I’ll stay my course and keep doing what I’m doing until I graduate, when that time comes, I can finally break away from my past”.
“I feel great anger and hatred towards that family, I just chose to take the high ground and not fight them, I rather not tarnish Mom’s and Itsuki’s memory any more than it already has. That family be damned” Aiden continued, his sadness was replaced with anger, his resolve getting stronger, fueled by his hatred.
“It’ll be okay, Aiden. Just be strong and keep doing what you’ve been doing. I think that you being busy this academic year would help you keep your mind off your family and your father” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added as she stood back up, sitting down on the arm chair across from Aiden, crossing her legs as she got situated. Aiden wiped the tears off from his cheeks and eyes, his stoic expression returning, his eyes squinted, filled with anger and hatred towards his father and the Labrador family. He took a deep breath and calmed himself before he grabbed his cup of cappuccino, taking a sip off of it.
“I’m sorry, I just had a moment of weakness” Aiden said, his voice returning to its usual coldness. Vice Chancellor Gutierrez gave a sigh, giving a worried expression on her face, but was confident Aiden could overcome what he’s going through, just as he has been doing for the past ten years.
“In any case” Aiden said before pausing for a brief moment, clearing his throat as he changed the topic of the conversation, “I already have my proposals and talking points ready for the Executive Council meeting tomorrow morning, I’m still reviewing the revisions my team have submitted, and will be included in tomorrow’s meeting”, he continued, as Aiden tried to give off a show of strength and determination.
Vice Chancellor Gutierrez nodded her head, understanding that the persona that Aiden has been wearing all these years is just his defense mechanism to allow him to keep living without being haunted by his past. Although she can’t say for certain, she feels as though that his current façade is not just connected to the incident from ten years ago, but a culmination of things that has happened in the past decade that Aiden may have experienced that she may not have knowledge of, and as such, has let Aiden keep doing what he was doing, waiting for the day that he would open up all the things he’s been keeping inside him.
“As expected from the Student Council President, meticulous and diligent” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez responded, going along with Aiden’s change of pace, “What do you have for the Executive Council, Aiden?”
“Before I get into it, do you mind if I use your restroom really quick?” Aiden asked as Vice Chancellor Gutierrez nodded her head in response. Aiden got up from where he was sitting and calmly walked towards the restroom. Vice Chancellor Gutierrez also got out of her chair and walked back to her chair behind her desk, grabbing the picture she showed Aiden, and sitting it upright behind her keyboard.
“Yuriko, Aiden has grown up to be an exceptional young man, I’m sure if you were still alive, you’ll be proud of him as I ‘am right now” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added, as her eyes started tearing up, “I did say I support Aiden with whatever he wants to do, but I personally would want him to take his hatred and anger, and use it to avenge you and Itsuki, and take what’s rightfully his. It agitates me to see Carlos’ mistress and bastard son enjoying the life that Aiden is supposed to have, he doesn’t deserve the hardship, and suffering he’s going through right now” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez lamented as she looked at the picture, that reminded her of the happy days with Yuriko and Yukari, as well as Itsuki and Aiden’s cheerful and innocent smiles and childhood.
As Vice Chancellor Gutierrez reminisced and lamented, she heard the restroom door closing, indicating that Aiden was about to head back. She immediately wiped the forming tears off her eyes and composed herself as Aiden walked back towards her desk.
“Anyways” Aiden began as he sat back down, “I have a proposal for the expansion of the Student Council to properly delegate responsibility and ease the burden on the current officers, I also have a proposal that would formalize the position of the International Student Representative in the Student Council. We also have our proposal for the activities for the 1st semester, and another proposal for transferring some allocated budget from the ISO to the Student Council Budget”.
Vice Chancellor Gutierrez was legitimately surprised at what Aiden just said, not expecting that Aiden would be bold enough to suggest expanding the current Student Council, “Are you serious? I’m not too sure that the members of the Executive Council would be open with those proposals”, she countered, as she leaned on her desk.
“This is a matter of evolving the Student Council to be able to tackle new challenges and needs of the student body as well as the International Students here on campus. If the body is not able to be flexible with the changing times, it would render our current student government institutions irrelevant, and would cause a disconnect with the current trend and flow of student affairs. Additionally, the Student Council needs to be in a position where it could expand its reach and influence to proactively handle any problems that may arise in any sector of the student body. Our goal here is early prevention, rather than intervention. It’ll be in the best interest of the students and the university to tackle any arising problems immediately, rather than let it fester and grow to a point that it could harm our students and damage the image and reputation of the university, not just in the domestic sector, but also the international one, most especially the latter, given that we have just managed to establish a foothold in that area” Aiden explained his reasoning for the proposal.
“Your justification may or may not pass, depending on the sort of expansion we’re talking about here, you are aware you need to get at least a majority of the Executive Council members on board for your proposals to pass” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez countered, “The expansion of the Student Council aside, you may run into a hurdle with the re-allocation of the budget, since that’s already been decided”.
“However the outcome maybe tomorrow, I won’t know unless I try” Aiden replied, his eyes filled with determination, his previous persona nowhere to be seen.
“It might help if someone could support your expansion. An International Student might be able to nudge the opinion of the Executive Council in your favor, though there’s still no guarantee it would work” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez added, still worried about the probability of Aiden’s sweeping and bold proposals being accepted by the Executive Council.
“An International Student you say?” Aiden commented, placing the side of his bent index finger on his lips, deep at thought. Vice Chancellor Gutierrez looking at Aiden as the latter was in deep thought.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning on asking Mr. Nontanakorn!?” Vice Chancellor suddenly blurted out, as if able to read Aiden’s train of thought. The Vice Chancellor’s sudden comment broke Aiden from his deep thoughts as he adjusted his focus on the Vice Chancellor.
“You read my mind” Aiden commented, “It might work, besides, that Thammasat Kid has an impressive background in terms of academics and extracurriculars, he might just be the one we need to make this happen. Though I may need your assistance on this” Aiden added.
“Assistance? In what way?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez asked as Aiden leaned towards her, whispering his plan to get Min on board.
“You want me to do what!?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez reacted to Aiden’s plan, “I mean, it’s not impossible”
“Would you do it? It would help the Student Council a lot if you put your weight behind us, you are a very influential individual here in Mount Juliet” Aiden added as he sat back down.
“Okay, I’ll go along with your plan. It seems interesting enough, though I’ll probably hear an earful from Dr. Chua about this later on” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, as she reluctantly agreed to Aiden’s plan, “You said 8:30 sharp right?”
“Yes, that’s correct. If my hunch is correct, that should be the opportune moment” Aiden said as he closed the plastic container of his cake.
“You’re leaving already?” Vice Chancellor Gutierrez asked as Aiden collected the plastic container and his cup of cappuccino.
“Yes. It’s about time for me to head back to my office, I still have a meeting tonight with the International Student Council” Aiden said as he walked towards the double doors to return to the Student Center.
