Chapter 1: Naughty friends

The street was bustling. At the distant food stalls, white smoke rose while a fragrant smell wafted in the entire alley. It was already dusk. Jovanni just came out from his campus, BU (Bohol University). He is one of the university working students, so he needs to accomplish his tasks after class before going back to his boarding house which is over ten minutes away from his campus, by foot. 

There were groups of students huddled at the food stalls, eating street food, but Jovanni walked straight, ignoring the appetizing aroma. He was a working student, so he was very economical. When he passed at the barbecue stalls, he heard a familiar voice.

"Jovanni!" 

It was Enrique, his board mate nicknamed King, with their other board mates, Gio and Leandro.

"King! Why are you here?" 

Jovanni was curious. Their boarding house is a bit farther from his university and his board mates aren't BU students. King is a BMI (Bohol Marine Institute) student while Gio and Leandro are both engineering students in TSU (Tagbilaran State University).

With a wicked grin, King replied. "We are here to buy chicken barbecue." 

"Barbecue? There are few barbecue stalls outside our boarding house..."

A crooked smile appeared on King's face. "It's way better here. There are many yummy legs..." 

Gio giggled while Leandro was holding his laughter.

Jovanni's innocent face stared at them.

King gestured to Jovanni to look at the entrance of the InfoTech campus, a computer college beside BU. Obediently turning at the opposite side, Jovanni saw the crowd of InfoTech female students, wearing their school uniform, a white long sleeves paired with a dark blue skirt which is only a few inches from their hips revealing the ladies' pretty legs.

Jovanni's face blushed. He immediately turned his head away from the sightly yet unsightly view. 

The three cracked up. King patted Jovanni's shoulder. "Am I right? The legs here outside your campus are yummier compared to the ones outside our boarding house."

Jovanni looked down. His ears and entire face were red.

Gio hit King's shoulder. "Hey King, stop playing around. Jovanni is still innocent."

"Yes, he is a hardworking and dedicated student, so spare him from the leisure and pleasure of a marine student life." Leandro seconded.

"Hey...hey... You sound like I am a terrible guy! We are in our blooming adolescence, so we must enjoy this stage while we can! Do you think we still have this privilege when we graduate?" 

"Why can't we?" 

"Of course you can, but it is not appropriate anymore. What do you think if a middle-aged man will peek at those ladies' legs."

Gio's thick eyebrows were wrinkled. "What should I think?" 

"You're so dumb! If middle-aged men will peek at those ladies' legs they will be called perverts, but if it's young men like us, we are just called naughty. Can you see a huge difference?!" King's chin rose up, feeling proud of his clever thought.

"Mmm. You got some points." Gio chuckled.

King smiled and turned to Leandro. "What about you?"

"Though your reasoning is naughty, it is quite reasonable."

"What about you, Jovanni?" 

Jovanni was still embarrassed, but he looked up and met King's eyes for two seconds. "It is still inappropriate..." 

 Gio burst into laughter.

"How can you say it is inappropriate? I clearly said we are just taking advantage of our youth."

"Women should be respected. Peeking at them isn't proper and decent..." 

Jovanni is innocent and honest. Gio and Leandro can't help applauding him.

"You are too naive..." 

King wasn't offended. He paid and took their order then led the others to sit at the elevated roadside and gave each a skewer of barbecued chicken legs.

"Do you know why those girls are still crowding at their campus' entrance at this hour?" King asked the others before biting his barbecue, but the three had no idea, so they shook their heads in unison.

"You are all naive, but I don't blame you since we are just freshmen. But as a BMI student, my network is wide, so I am aware of these interesting things... These ladies are waiting for BU's engineering heartthrob to pick them up, so do you think they deserve other's respect when they don't even respect themselves?" 

Gio's forehead furrowed. "Engineering heartthrob?" 

"Yes!" 

Three pairs of curious eyes stared at Jovanni. "I am an architecture student in BU, but I don't hear of a certain heartthrob..." 

"Well, I can't blame an innocent student like you, but he is famous. His name is well known even in BMI. And what's more? He is just a freshman like us, but as you can see, those ladies waiting are not only freshmen but sophomores and juniors too!"

"Whoa...! So famous, but our Jovanni here never heard of him. King, aren't you just making up stories?" Gio was doubtful.

"Of course not! Jovanni's classes are mostly in the morning, but I heard this guy's classes are mostly in the afternoon since he is a partygoer."

Gio's face turned sour. "A student like that exists? What a pleasant life he has!" 

"Yes! His life is really pleasant since he is not only rich and handsome but also the engineering dean's son!"

"Our dean's son?!"

"Yes, Jovanni, have you met him?" 

"No. But I heard some of my female classmates talking about our dean's son."

"See! He is famous. It is only you who is not aware of his disturbing presence. It is said that his female classmates always swarm at him which makes the guys jealous."

"It's just over a month since we started college, so it's no wonder Jovanni didn't bump him yet, but the acquaintance party is coming." Gio said.

"Yes. Jovanni, you will surely meet this legendary heartthrob."

"It doesn't matter whether I meet him or not. I am not a girl, so why would I look forward to meeting this heartthrob." Jovanni refuted.

"You are too boring." King chuckled.

Jovanni smiled and stood up. "I know. I'll go ahead. I have to study, so I can't accompany you any longer. Thank you for that 'yummy barbecued chicken legs'..." He faintly teased King while wiping his butt. Gio and Leandro can't hide their grin.

"You're welcome. Go, you may go. You are too dull anyway. Ah! Wait... Look, the heartthrob is here." King gestured at a shiny black car that stopped at the InfoTech's entrance.

The door at the driver's seat opened. A young man, wearing a white T-shirt, faded black jeans, and white Nike shoes, got out. He was just wearing casual clothes, but he looked striking. It was still dusk and the street lights cast dim lights, but it was enough to illuminate the young man's handsome face. He is around the same height as King, who was the tallest among the four of them. His skin is fair and smooth. He is emitting a strong and imposing aura that one can feel even at a distance. 

The crowding ladies were ecstatic upon seeing the young man, but their smiles were very fine and gentle.

"F*ck! This man is a head-turner! I thought my friends were just exaggerating..." King cussed.

The speechless Gio and Leandro nodded while biting the empty bamboo skewer. 

Jovanni was standing still, looking at his board mates' funny behavior. They were acting worse than those InfoTech ladies!

"What's wrong?" Jovanni asked. 

"What's wrong?! Jovanni, can't you see what's wrong with that guy over there?" King's face was distorted.

"What's wrong with him?" Jovanni faintly uttered. That guy's stature is good. His face is handsome and he has a car. There's nothing wrong with him.

"He is too eye-catching! He's an eyesore!" King gritted his teeth.

Jovanni's innocent face filled with question marks looked at the irritated King. Since when did visually attractive people become an eyesore?

The three guys were intently looking at the legendary heartthrob who was leisurely walking and effortlessly attracting the pretty ladies. Their faces slowly turned sour, especially King. Jovanni was the only one remaining calm and composed. 

The four of them watched as the heartthrob invited three girls. The girls immediately followed him to his car. They even opened the car doors themselves and got in. The young man walked leisurely towards the driver's seat, spinning his car key. Before he got in, he looked at the opposite side where Jovanni and his board mates sat. King, Gio, and Leandro immediately turned their heads away, but the innocent and curious Jovanni remained looking for three seconds! His innocent eyes meet the young man's mischievous eyes. For a moment, Jovanni felt a chilling sensation from the heartthrob's piercing gaze. Then, he saw the guy smirking at him before getting in his car and drove away.

"He is a proud man..." Jovanni uttered.

"Yes, he is, but how can you say so? I thought your mind isn't keen enough to judge people." King asked.

"He smirked at me."

"What...! F*ck! Jovanni, you are doomed!"

"Why!?" Gio and Leandro yelled at King's disastrous words.

"As my friends said, Kirt Valdez is a black-hearted man. He holds grudges and would never fail to seek revenge..." 

"That's complete nonsense! Jovanni didn't do anything wrong..."

"Yes King, you are exaggerating." Leandro added.

"Yes, you are right. I just blurted it out since my classmates overstate when talking about that guy as if he's some god. They think highly of him, but now that I saw him, I can say that he's just a typical upper-class person that likes to flaunt his riches. So, Jovanni, there's nothing to worry about."

"I didn't do anything wrong. There is no reason for him to seek revenge, so there is really nothing to worry about..."

Hopefully, there is nothing to worry about...