115 Concer

'Noticing' Hayden, they all turned to his direction and friendlily waved at him. Even Chung-hee. Hayden waved at them too.

As they walked around the stage, they faintly frolicked to the song. As they walked around, they crouched in front of some of the early birds and waved at them. Some of the members took other people's phone and shot videos of themselves or took selfies.

They were all too distracted to notice that Eun-ha crouched in front of Hayden's little group. Additionally, people were too 'intimidated' of Hayden's fame to stand adjacent to him in this uncrowded space.

As such, when Eun-ha crouched, she whispered. "Hey, you doing okay there?"

"Yeah, I am." Hayden smiled at her. He presented her his phone. "Take a video or not? This will be posted."

"Sure." Eun-ha giggled, taking Hayden's phone. She took a few selfies of herself. When she was done with that, she approached Sayuri and snapped photos with her.

Finally, Eun-ha called CHORUS and took a selfie with all of them with much difficulty. As CHORUS stopped roaming around, the people all stared at them with incredulous gazes.

Under the people's watchful eyes, Eun-ha walked back to Hayden, crouched, and gave him his phone back. This made many jealous, but not that much. Hayden was too handsome that they would have accepted it easily if Hayden and Eun-ha got together.

Needless to say, many took the opportunity to photograph this incident. Specifically, Hayden and Eun-ha's little moment of her handing him his phone back. When Eun-ha said something, and Hayden 'bashfully' laughed.

It was as if Eun-ha and Hayden was flirting. If only they knew… Sometimes, ignorance isn't bliss at all.

On that note, Eun-ha went away from Hayden. Although she did inconspicuously look back sometimes and smiled at him. A few minutes later, it was Sayuri who entertained Hayden.

"Maybe it's my lucky day." Hayden joked as he handed Sayuri his phone. "You guys will attract too much attention this way."

"Can't we be proud of our boyfriend?" Sayuri slightly pouted. She took the phone. "Don't worry. As long as there's no personal confirmation, nobody can accuse us of being in a relationship with you."

"I know. I trust you guys." When Hayden uttered those words, Daniel, Scarlet, and Zeke all narrowed their eyes. For Hayden to utter such words… Where the hell is the Hayden they know?

Alike Eun-ha, she took selfies with the phone. This time, she didn't take a video. Instead, she turned her back to Hayden's group and snapped selfies with them. Unlike the previous time, this attracted the attention of people.

When Sayuri went away, nobody else went to Hayden. One member isn't suspicious. Two members isn't. What of three? Well, probably wouldn't, but CHORUS understood that they shouldn't as well.

At the end of the day, no matter what, they were celebrities. Idols. They can't go running around focusing on a single person. A man no less. That would make the fans angry. Or incur extreme jealousy. That would be bad for their career.

Hayden noticed that Chung-hee also entertained fans with a smile on her face. An amicable one. Hayden chuckled at this sight. Her treatment of Hayden and her fans are vastly different.

In reality, Chung-hee wasn't that tsundere. She has proven herself to be sweet to members. She was even being shipped with Mieko, who similarly fanned the flames that is the fans' imaginations. It was all basic fan service.

'Why do I find her irresistible?' Hayden had a dry smile on his face. 'The same as Eun-ha and Sayuri. That cute tiger cub-like face. Ah… Why does she have to be so cute and beautiful… Tsk, I have watched too much anime…'

Hayden sighed out. A few minutes later, CHORUS went backstage again. Hayden's phone vibrated in his pocket. For the second time, Hayden and Eun-ha was trending.

Reading the comments, Hayden was inundated of all the shipping. The overanalyzing brains of the people all pointed out that 'there's clearly an extremely powerful spark between the two.'

Hayden scoffed at this comment. He was both honored and satisfied of the reactions. Now, they wouldn't be surprised if Hayden and Eun-ha was indeed in a relationship.

'As for Sayuri…' Hayden exhaled with his mouth. 'That would be harder… The plan I drafted earlier was merely for Eun-ha. Sayuri penetrating my defenses was out of my expectations… Still cannot believe I fell for that.'

Regardless, as the cautious man that he was, Hayden had indeed the formulated the gist of a plan for the polygynous relationship reveal.

It involved shipping. Basically, a lot of moments with Eun-ha plus a lot of moments with Sayuri… Equals… Drum roll please… A lot of intense shipping. His plan was to incite an intense shipping war within the fandom.

And then someone 'smart' will step up and ask something along the lines of 'Wouldn't it be funny if Hayden, Eun-ha, and Sayuri are all in a polygynous relationship?' That would indeed be funny.

This plan may also be extended out to anybody who comes in to his… Love life. It is something that will be necessary as Hayden doesn't see his love life settling in the near future.

He considered the possibility of Chung-hee, Mieko, and Shu-Ching joining it. Though he wouldn't fall for the same trap all over again.

'What I have to be wary about is…' Hayden had a minor headache. 'Is all of their charms. Each of them has a unique charm. An irresistible one as well.'

Eun-ha's attractiveness stemmed from her perfect mix of sexiness, beauty, and cuteness. Sayuri possessed more of an extreme cute charm, yet also have a high amount of beauty and sexiness. That's how she got the fourth place in the Top 100 Most Beautiful Faces of the Year in the first place.

As for the three… Chung-hee had this wild and cute appeal. Reminiscent to that of a cute baby tiger.

Mieko had this princess or 'ojou-san' vibe. And she was a gamer. Every gamer dreamed of having a gamer girlfriend.

Lastly, Shu-Ching's pull was her extreme fairy-like beauty. She was someone that appeared to have come out of a fairytale. She was the epitome of beauty that surpasses Eun-ha's own. Although she cannot do 'aegyo' as good as the previous mentioned people.

'I guess, in a sense, it's kind of a bad luck that I met them, huh?' Hayden mused himself in his own head. 'Ahh, femme fatale. I hate it.'

…..

While Hayden, Zeke, Daniel, and Scarlet were in the Philippine Arena. Mindanao. Compostela Valley, officially Davao de Oro. In a remote part of the valleys, there was a cave.

Walking out of the opening of the cave were Rose, and her seven Walong Sinag ng Araw members. They all wore their uniforms, with Juan Tamad's the only one being worn in a loose manner.

"We've been tricked again." Rose had a nonchalant face. "Okay, let's go. We have another one to raid."

"Rose." Bryant stepped up. "I'm sorry, but we are all exhausted. We haven't slept for an entire week. Even our Level 4 wielder bodies cannot take this."

"You do what I say." Rose's expression sunk. Everybody recognized this as her 'do not question me or I'll kill you' face. "Or else."

"Rose." Bryant put his hand on Rose's shoulder. He looked in Rose's eyes directly and unrelentingly. He was the singular person that can do this.

This eye contact from Bryant roused Rose up from her rage. She shook her head and massaged her forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm… Also tired."

"Rose, there's no point in continuing this." Jasmine stepped up. "We have been at it for days. It's clear that we've been sent in a wild goose chase."

"Yeah, I-I'm sorry…" Rose conjured up a chair made of essence energy and sat on it. "I apologize for my own actions. It was unbefitting of a leader. It's just…"

"You don't have to explain yourself to us, Rose." Gerald laughed aloud. "Remember that we are your friends first before your subordinates."

"Thanks, guys." Rose looked around. She almost teared up as she can sense that everybody was willing to follow her lead even if it led to their death. "You guys are the best allies anybody can ever ask for."

"So cheesy." Juan Tamad groaned. Everybody ignored him. "Come on, shouldn't we head home and rest rather than having this moment?"

Nobody spoke, yet everybody agreed with his words. They were all too mentally tired. This was no way to live at all.

"Anyhow." Itim na Kabalyero's (Black Knight) absurdly deep voice rang out. He stretched his neck. "We should get a move on. If we get ambushed in our state, even if our combat prowess isn't affected, we won't stand a chance if we are overrun by sheer numbers."

"Without a doubt." Mahiwagang Mangkukulam's (Illusive Witch) oddly sweet voice resounded. It was soothing for everybody. "On top of that, Kamay ng Lagim's forces are unrestrained. If Black Devil wanted to induce mutual destruction…"

"Rose, being cautious is one thing." Engkanto spoke as gentle as possible. "Being a paranoiac is a whole another subject."

"Yeah, yeah, okay, let's go home." Rose scoffed, rubbing her eyes. She stood up and dissipated the chair.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't have someone with Hayden's instincts for danger. That was why they couldn't detect somebody from tens of thousands of meters away. On top of Mt. Candalaga was a man.

It was Black Devil. He sneered. "Heh, idiotic Rose. You are still a young leaf as ever. Ah, you were not fit to lead Puting Araw at all. If only you didn't ally with the government, you'd still be the strongest organization around. All that power went to your head. Your ambitions blinded you. How pitiful."

Snapping, a portal disappeared as fast as it appeared. Black Devil vanished from his position alongside that.

…..

Kapangyarihan Building. Pangkat Anino Base. In the middle room of the third floor. The room was filled with trees, grass, and flowers. It had the ambiance of a forest.

In the very middle of the room was a tall totem. However, at the top of it, in place of an animal, it was a 3D version of the Pangkat Anino emblem.

On the left side of the room, Eva walked in. Her countenance was that of full of anxiety. She has been dreading a single matter for hours already. It was her brother's favor.

You see, Eva and Duke had made a pact, as aforementioned. This pact was that they would not let their own lives as a wielder interfere with their relationship.

That means, outside of the world of wielders, they are siblings. Inside of the world of wielders, they're enemies. That also meant that if they do encounter one another during a mission, they'll fight to kill.

There's one more unspoken rule of this pact. And that is they will, as much as possible, not endanger their sibling's life. If possible, they would omit their own sibling's deeds during reports. If possible, they would not speak of anything about their own sibling at all.

For years, they were able to stay alive and stay clear of facing themselves during a mission. Eva was naturally nervous of uttering anything regarding his brother as it was risky. Extremely risky.

If this backfires, not only would she risk her position in Pangkat Anino, she'd certainly have to betray her brother. That was not something she desired to do.

At that moment, the left side wall dropped down. In came Rhys. The wall closed up behind him. "Eva, you're finally going to reactivate the Home Base Totem?"

"Yes." Eva gulped. "it is the right amount of cautiousness to expect an attack on our base at any time. Also, I have information for you, Kuya."

"What is it, Eva?" Rhys could sense that something was amiss. "Are you going to ask me a favor?"

"Not exactly." Eva walked to the totem. Touching it, the totem glowed. "I have something that will interest you."

"I'm all ears." Rhys didn't take his eyes off of the totem.

"The thing is…" Eva bit her lower lip. Her unease reached its peak. She powered through it. "Blood King approached me, and offered something."

"Blood King? That proud Blood King?" Rhys was evidently shocked. "One of the Kamay ng Lagim's Limang Daliri Blood King?"

"Yes." Eva nodded. She was in too deep to back down. "He wanted me to inform you that Kamay ng Lagim is planning on waging a full-on war against Puting Araw."

"What?" Rhys narrowed his eyes. "Why would they do that?"

"The answer to that is what he offers." Eva's expression darkened. "In addition, he would act as a double agent for us. The reason for this? He'll answer when we hire him."

"Why would he approach you? And why didn't you kill him?" Rhys' voice was tranquil. One that gives somebody the expression of 'the calm before the storm.'

"He…" Eva hesitated. She inhaled deeply. "He's my brother."

"I see." Rhys laughed. He put his huge hand behind Eva. "I understand. I will meet with him. Bring him with you. In here."

"A-are you sure about that?" Eva hurriedly rotated her head towards Rhys. "I thought you'd be angrier…"

"Eva. We're Pangkat Anino." Rhys spoke. "What we uphold the most is a normal life. Loving your brother is part of that normal life. Also, we aren't bound to Pangkat Anino as that of a typical organization's. Besides, 'she' told me that something big will happen soon. And that Blood King, your brother, will play an enormous part on the fate of our Pangkat Anino. Not as an enemy, but an ally."

Eva couldn't articulate anything else. Rhys continued. "I was wondering how Blood King would go to be on our side. This is unexpected."

A few seconds has passed already when Eva finally verbalized her next words. "Come again? 'She' said that? All those?"

"Yes." Rhys bobbed his head. "Curious, isn't it?"

…..

2:00 PM. Philippine Arena. For the past hour, people came in flooding. The venue was packed with people, with Hayden's group being in the frontmost area of the VIP zone.

Hayden was getting suffocated of the number of people within the arena. If this wasn't CHORUS' concert, Hayden would've ran as far away as possible from this place.

This was worsened by his wielder senses. Sometimes, Hayden couldn't help feel that being a wielder was a curse for the likes of him.

That's when the big screen in front lit up and displayed a 10. Then 9. The crowd realized this and counted down with the screen.

Contrary to what his usual reaction would be, Hayden counted down with the crowd. He was in a concert. Not in an opera or some fancy schmancy event. It would make no sense if he wasn't hyped up.

When the countdown reached 0, smoke was released onto the stage as the lighting dimmed. Through his keen senses even without the usage of any power, he was aware that the stage opened up and a platform was rising. A second later, CHORUS appeared all in their colorful dresses.

The opening music of their first song, 'Blank Slate' reverberated from the speakers. The lights gradually lit up along with the gradually becoming upbeat of the song.

The audience cheered loudly for the performance. It was a cute dance that went well with the cute lyrics.

When that finished, CHORUS lined up based on their ages. Jin-ae greeted the audience. "We'll be stuck in your ears, eyes, and heart. Good afternoon everyone, CHORUS here."

Every single member of CHORUS bowed. Jin-ae followed up. "First of all, we would like to thank everyone for going to this concert."

Mieko translated. Jin-ae continued. "Thank you for all the support you've shown us through the years. Today is our first concert in the Philippines, and I must say that we are surprised."

Unlike the previous time, they didn't focus nor tease Hayden. At the end of the day, they were in a concert. They had to act prim and proper accordingly to how idols would be expected to act on a stage.

"True. The crowd's cheers are much louder than the other countries we've visited." Sayuri spoke up. Again, Mieko translated for her.

"I've noticed that as well." Eun-ha was the one to speak up this time. Her next sentence surprised the fans. "Kaya mahal namin kayo, Filipino VERSEs! (That's why we love you, Filipino VERSEs)"

She struck up finger hearts towards the audience. It was the typical fan service. As you would expect, the crowd bought this and cheered.

"Mahal ko din kayo, Filipino VERSEs (I also love you, Filipino VERSEs)" It was Shu-Ching's turn to show off.

Beneath the stage, Hayden faintly shook his head. He was the one who translated all those for them! 'Their pronunciation is on point.'

For the succeeding minutes, it was all greetings. Afterwards, it was all the normal concert stuff and fan services. Nothing special, really.

…..

"Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end." Past their fourth encore, Jin-ae said. She laughed. "It is already 5:00 PM, and we are getting scolded by our managers. For the last time, we will be stuck in your ears, eyes, and heart. This is our exit. Goodbye, VERSEs!"

Just like that, the concert ended. Well, not exactly. CHORUS partied on the stage as they roamed around it for more fan service. This time, Hayden was approached by Mieko.

"Hello there, Hayden-ssi." Mieko crouched, talking to him in Korean. Many people around them were observing. "You doing okay?"

"Yes, I am." Hayden dashingly smiled at Mieko. This stole the attention off of Mieko to him. "How about you, Mieko-ssi?"

"I'm good too." Mieko smiled back at him. She stretched her right hand. "Want me to take videos and selfies?"

"It will be my phone's pleasure." Hayden let out a little handsome giggle, stunning the observers. This made them forget briefly that they were in a CHORUS concert.

Mieko seized the phones from Hayden's hand. She stood up and brought the phone to the middle of the stage; wherein Chung-hee, Shu-Ching, Aiko, and Madoka were all jumping around.

Snapping a few selfies and taking short videos, Mieko walked back to Hayden and handed him his phone back.

Hayden thanked Mieko. To which Mieko replied: "It's but a small favor for you, Hayden-ssi. I hope to collaborate with you in the near future."

This little exchange was stealthily videoed by people. As such, even if they couldn't understand it, many will be capable of translating it when posted on the internet.

Nobody else approached him. Though he did notice that Shu-Ching was beaming at him time and time again. It was bizarre. Something that makes his heart skip a beat.

'She's too beautiful.' Hayden had to admit that nobody could possibly resist Shu-Ching's charm. 'She's too ethereal… Otherworldly… Tsk. I hate myself.'

Today, Hayden realized he has one weakness that he shared with most men: Perfect women. Specifically, Shu-Ching.