Uther's P.O.V
"Dad? Why, what's going on?" I was awakened by the sudden entry of a group of people dressed in scrubs.
"They're here to take care of you, don't ask questions, just let them do their work and you'll be healed soon!" Father smiled as the nurses started injecting me.
"Wait, stop! What's going on?!" I yelled and tried getting up from my bed, but they all just started pinning me down.
"What's going on, Dad? What are you making them do to me?!" I tried to break free, but my head started drifting away.
"I'm sorry, but this is for your own good. I can't let you die too!" I heard my father whisper in my ear before I lost consciousness.
"AAAHH! Please, make it stop!" I yelled, but no matter how hard I pleaded, they never stopped.
"We're done with the fourth session. If we try to do it again, his new heart might give up!" The quack doctor told my father that one of her assistants clogged my open wrist with herbs that made it heal, as if it weren't butchered just a minute ago!
"Dad, please, I can't take it anymore!" I pleaded, but he just smiled at me.
"We're doing this for you, I promise, you'll heal soon!" He said as black smoke started coming out of the fake doctor's nose.
"Mr. Moralez?" The quack doctor tried to open her book filled with her weird practices, but she's too late.
She suddenly collapsed on the ground as the black smoke escaped from her mouth.
"Tsk! Manager, get me another one!" Father just sighed as he stared at the now-dead Shaman.
"We could never find anybody that could save me, please, just let me-"
"NEVER! You cannot die, my son, you're too young, kind, and a loving kid; you shouldn't be a part of my suffering, you've done nothing wrong! All of you! Why can't I just be the one-" Before he could throw a punch at a wall, I ran to hug him.
"Please, Dad, I'm ready, don't make it hard for me to leave. You have to accept our fate, one day, I will too leave you, just like Mom did!" I smiled as tears flooded my vision.
"No! I won't let you die for my sins, I promise you, I'll find that Babaylan's kid!" He grabbed my shoulders and looked at me sincerely.
"But-"
"No buts, this one's a real deal. I know it, that rumoured late Great Babaylan has done so many miracles, I know he'll be the one to free us from this demise!" He insisted.
"All he is nothing but a fraud!" I sighed as I felt the tingling sensation in my heart.
"Boss, are you good? Do you feel light-headed, or a little uncomfortable?" Elle, his secretary, leaned towards me from the other side of my table as she waved a doll made out of straws at me.
"What are you talking about? Why are you still here anyway?!" I scoffed at her for being too nosy.
"I was tasked to look after you while my Chief's away-"
"Where'd he gone off to?!" She was startled when I suddenly stood up.
"I-I don't know, something about a villa- Boss, where are you going?!" I didn't let her finish.
"Code red, prepare Baby for me!" I told my secretary as I exited my office.
"Boss, the Winged One's being used by the Chief of Security as of this moment, our only available-"
"Winged One can go back without a pilot, YOU CAN CALL HER BACK!" I couldn't contain my anger.
I know why they returned there, I can feel it, that's why his secretary's here with that weird doll, he must have found my father!
"ACHAN?!" I yelled after seeing Achan suddenly vanish with that mysterious long long-haired man.
"Boss, don't run from me!" I heard Elle's voice behind me, but I didn't mind her.
"Uther? Son?" I stopped running out of the house after hearing my father's voice.
"Chief, Chief?" I tried waking up the Chief, but he's knocked out.
"Son?!" I heard him again.
"Upstairs!" I murmured before storming up the stairs.
"Boss, wait!" Elle couldn't keep up.
"Dad?" I whispered as I entered his room on the third floor.
"Boss, where are you?!" I heard Elle's panicked voice from downstairs.
"Is it really you?" I tried to walk to him, but I saw a book in his hand.
It's ominous, it exudes a dark feeling that even I, a human, could feel.
"I lost, but I won't let him win!" He smiled, and a black shadow came from his hands.
"Boss, watch ou-" Elle suddenly appeared before me.
And as I open my eyes, I just found myself inside a white room, my body covered in medical apparatus.
"It's a shame, but at least the Young Master's alive!" I overheard Miss Irene talking on her phone outside the room's balcony.
"We still have no information as to where Chief Allare went, but the security footage proves that he indeed went up the stairs a few seconds before Mr. Arthur died, hinting that he's the one that ki-"
"You have no proof?! All the footage you got from the villa was corrupted! There's no way that piece of information could indicate-" I slammed the table in frustration.
"You're the one who said it, before you lost your consciousness, your father's still alive, standing before you?" The detective from Beucrafs insisted.
"His death was not caused by a Paranormal Activity, Achan Allare's not a person you're looking for, so can you please let us grieve in peace!" I yelled at them.
These pesky organizations!
"If you have any information as to where this man lives, please don't hesitate to contact us!" The woman dressed in a suit gave me her business card.
After they left, I just threw it in the trash.
"Are you sure you don't want to involve them? We need to figure out who that man with long hair is. What if he's the same man that your father saw 30 years ago?" Miss Irene showed me her tablet with a screenshot of the villa's surveillance camera.
Achan and that boy with long hair were caught talking outside the house. And I also saw him inside the house for a brief second.
"That organization's too dangerous, we don't know what they would do to Achan if they found out his identity!"
"You're right... I'm glad you finally talked to me about this!" Miss Irene smiled sweetly.
"Yo- You, at least deserve to know what happened back then, Elle's still recovering because of me, after all!"
It's been two weeks since the incident, and up until now, we still have no idea where Achan and that man went. If I need some help finding him, Miss Irene must be the first one!
"Boss, good day!" Elle greeted me as I entered my office.
"You're back?" I smiled after seeing her well and alive.
"I've been unconscious for seventeen days, of course I have to go back now, I can't lose more sick leave!" She giggled.
"You're more worried about that?" I smiled after confirming that she's really here.
Achan would be thrilled!
"Who are you?"
"Arthur Moralez, can't you see?"
"NO! Sir Arthur would never hurt somebody he treasures! WHO ARE YOU?!"
"You don't have to know, you'll die with us after all!"
"I don't care who you are, you hurt them and you're dead, die!"
"Boss, are you in love?" Elle suddenly whispered in my ear, which shocked me.
"What are you still doing here?!" I yelled at her as I moved my chair away from her.
"I told you, I'm doing my job, until my Chief returns, I'll be the one taking care of you!" She smiled before sitting back in the chair that she pulled to sit in the corner of my room.
"So, are you in love?" She repeated her question as she rummaged through her paperwork.
"No-No?!" I tried to return to my table, but she suddenly turned to me and stared at my every move.
"You don't seem to realize it, do you- were you been in love before?" She pulled her chair next to me.
"No!" I almost raised my tone.
"Huh, I guess you never got out of your home before, oh well... I can't do my job well if I don't take good care of you, right?" She smiled at me before grabbing her tablet.
"What are you doing? Can't you see I'm busy?" I grabbed my laptop and went back to typing.
"Miss Irene, my beloved's already searching for my Chief, you don't have to worry about that-"
"Wh- Who told you tha- that that was what I was doing?!" I stuttered as I shut my laptop off.
"Eh? Weren't you exchanging information with the bureau of investigation just to find him?" She giggled before placing her tablet in front of me.
"What's thi-" I was cut off when I saw Achan's face on her screen.
"He's cute, right? I'm sure he's safe and doing fine, don't worry about him!"
"How can you tell?" I looked at her with sincerity.
"Well, for starters, his Totem that kept me alive recovered after it split in half!" She grabbed the straw doll from her pocket and showed it to me.
It's completely back to normal, as if nothing happened to it.
That was the thing that saved her from that man's attack...
"Not that, this!" I pointed at my heart.
"Oh, that? You just seemed too stressed out trying to find him, I know I am not supposed to butt in your business, but Chief Achan's precious to me... He's my saviour after all, and a friend, anyway. You, my dear Boss, had done nothing but worry about him!" She said that stunned me.
"You have been in this room for days since I came back, when are you gonna stop postponing your meetings and business deals?" She added.
"I just-" I couldn't even finish a simple sentence.
My mind went blank.
"I'm saying this because I take his order seriously- and my job... Stop worrying just about him, you have us to help you, I'm sure he wouldn't want you to turn out like this just because of him, right?" She continued after seeing me not say a thing.
She's right, though...
"My Chief told me to take care of you, now, please go out, please continue your life, Miss Irene, Chief Esteban, and I can help you find him!" She smiled after delivering her heartfelt speech.
"Good one!" I overheard Miss Irene's whisper from the slightly opened door of my office.
Is she the mastermind behind Elle's sudden, compelling motivational speech?
"Thank you, you two. Miss Irene, you're really the backbone of this company, and I'm sorry that I have been ignoring everyone lately!" I smiled as I watched her awkwardly enter the room.
"No prob, just please, I told you that you can tell me anything, if it wasn't for Elle's excellent observation, we wouldn't be able to figure out what to do to help you!" Miss Irene bowed to me.
"I truly appreciate your kindness towards me and my family, I sincerely apologize for not focusing on work these past few day-"
"It's given, you've suffered a lot, just a meeting with our potential new ambassador later this afternoon is enough!" She smiled as she revealed her intention.
"All these pep talks were because of that?!" I chuckled.
"I'm sorry... It's just-" Miss Irene tried to reason out, but I stopped her.
"It's fine, I appreciate it- but Elle, you promised me!" I turned to Elle, and she just looked clueless.
"O- Oh, yeah, my Chief. We WILL find my Chief!" She clapped her hands upon realizing what I told her.
"Elle?" I called her name after returning to my office from the meeting.
"Hmm?" She puts down her tablet filled with information as to where the police last saw Achan.
"How do you know you've fallen in love?" I ask her the question that has bugged me since morning.
"Well, first, there's a thing called love at first sight. It's when you feel the world around you has slowed down, you're eyes could only focus on them... You think about them constantly, you want to prioritize seeing their happiness, and you feel nervous around them. You cannot stop picturing the future with them on it, and when you can't see them, your temper shortens, it's like, you can't sit still, you just want to bask in their presence!" She giggled as she reached for her tablet.
All her words struck me, the night I saw him for the first time... The way I couldn't sleep that day after being that close to him, even though I just met him, my mind couldn't stop thinking about him-
"And that uncontrollable smile whenever you see him!" She smiled as she waved the picture of him on her tablet.
I covered my mouth as soon as I realized that I was smiling.
Have I really fallen for him?
"So, this is not a curse?" I touched my chest when it started to pound rapidly, just like before.
"No, Boss, it's a blessing!" She giggled before exiting Achan's Instagram profile.