I Can Hear Your Heart

20. Strange Dating with GM

I didn't find Alex anywhere this morning. He disappeared and did not return. Okay, maybe he's gonna need more time to calm down.

I opted out of the room at seven o'clock a quarter in the morning. If there's Alex, I'm sure I'm still locked in the room between my chatter and Alex.

Still sleepy, honey, bob again, yuk. Another hour. You were naughty last night.

Ma'am at the call house said Rania naughty. He wet the bed again last night, Pa.

What am I being naughty?

Good morning, Lord, may today all work and other business runs smoothly continue to be able to return to Medan.

Ih, you, mode aja...

Hehehe. Abis...

Finish eating straight out, okay?

Yeah, deh.

Mas, Sister Ana called. Said he had a bad feeling keep asking us to rush back to Sumedang.

Do you know how Ana's mom is? I was a little away from him - he was immediately anxious not to fall asleep. Don't be too horrified.

Ma'am Ana's a replacement for your Mama, Mas. Not horrified by the words of parents can be good.

Even if only the four of us can not reduce our spirit! This will be the beginning of our greatest adventure.

Not horrified the talk of the husband more quality again.

I entered the hotel restaurant and found the four youtuber circling the round table and became the first guest to have breakfast this morning. The atmosphere of the restaurant is still quiet.

"Good morning," I said to the four youtubers who immediately threw the best smiles from their lips.

"Again, Ma'am..Ma'am.. The manager." Various pronunciations behind the word Bu signifies they are not practicing gimmick-kan. Just silence me naturally.

"Morning tumben is about to finish breakfast."

"But looking for location filming, Mrs Manager." One of them opened his mouth. He's quite fat. His face was round like a full moon and his eyes wore thick minus glasses. She was wearing a necklace of tiger fangs around her neck hung with a black rope - either just an accessory or a talisman I didn't want to know.

"But not to the former Lamara Hotel?" I'm affirming.

"No, Mom."

"If so, is it none of your business?" Sadana put on a face of dislike for my meddling attitude.

"I don't want to interfere..."

"Good then." He cut my words quickly. "Because you have no right to interfere. You are not my mother, nor are you my friend. Unplug, yuk." He ended his dislike by wanting to pass quickly from before me. His three friends got up and followed him.

***

It's already night time. My watch showed at seven in the evening and I just finished looking at my appearance in front of the mirror in the bathroom. Knee-length Slim dress with a black V-shaped collar that I matched with a roll of bun hair. I'm more like going to an office party than on a date.

Before closing my door, I looked again at the room, there was no sign of Alex being here. He was so angry with me that he wouldn't even see me again?

If he understood a little bit of my problem that he and I were different. Okay, he's not just any ghost - he's a good, unique ghost. He was not creepy at all even too charming as a ghost. Perhaps that was what kept him from being exiled from other ghosts because he was not scary at all. If he were a human being I would have confidently agreed to his wishes.

"Are you ready?" The general manager showed up by my side. It was a bit of a shock to see him covering me in front of my room. "You are so beautiful." He smiled as he looked at my appearance and I immediately looked down at him who appeared in casual clothes with a shirt and jeans, shoes.

I definitely feel saltum. "My clothes...Can you just wait for me for a second?" I was just about to turn my back into my room, when the heavy hand of the general manager held me back.

He shook his head. "Like this. You look so pretty."

"But, Mr. GM..."

"Don't you forget my name? Just call me by my name. Come on."

He stuck out his hand and we walked into the elevator. We opted out of the back door of a quieter hotel right where the general manager parked his buggy car whose roof could be opened and could only be climbed by two people so there was no place for other passengers. He opened his car door for me, fitted me a seatbelt before running into the steering wheel.

For a moment the car has been speeding on the streets of Bandung city splitting the noise. I try to enjoy the wind that slaps my face. Tickling my ears like when Alex whispers too close to me.

....

Am I dead?

Is this heaven?Why does it look so mundane?

"You're not dead yet and you can't die." It sounded like the wind in my ears. He put me on the outskirts of the grassy back yard of the Supreme Hotel.

Wait.

I rediscovered my consciousness, this was definitely not a dream and a creature like a human figure shrouded in mist or mist in the shape of a human figure...

Ghost in my hotel room?! So the goddamn ghost that ransacked me and pelted me with books off the bookshelf really exists? Not dreams?

My body should be shaking with fear right now from meeting a ghost. But no, I'm not afraid at all.

But aren't ghosts afraid of daylight? Or is it just vampires and dracula who are afraid of daylight? Ah.., my reference to ghosts is only from fiction novel books.

"He'll be here any minute." He spoke as though he were desperate to see my death. Then without waiting for my reaction, she carried me back. It covered me with its body and carried me flying with its body feeling icy cold on my skin.

"What's wrong? Hey, are you okay?"

"Alex."

The general manager flicked his finger in front of me and made me instantly realize where I was. There's no Alex here, just the general manager of the Royal Garden Hotel, where I work GM. Mario. She's staring. Slowly my smile wiggled.

"Who is he?" He paused as if waiting for me to answer. The focus is stable staring away at the street in front of him occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror to make sure other vehicles are behind. "Man with Alex's name." He made it clear his curiosity when I was still silent. This time for a long time he looked at me.

"Ohh, he's just a friend."

"Or someone who is more than a friend?"

You joke. You don't even know who Alex is there's no way we can fall in love. He's just a friend. Very good friend.

My heart retaliates.

"Where are we?" ask me to divert the conversation. We headed to a house and then stopped in front of a gym.

"Gym's?" I looked at him with almost glaring eyes. He chuckles at my behavior. "I always do my first dates at the gym. You know I really like sports?"

"Oh, yeah." I'm nodding. I know he likes sports, but even if you're a sports enthusiast, wouldn't it still seem weird to bring someone you date to the gym?

"But after exercise maybe we can eat simple with healthy food at a restaurant near here. Promice." His promise while raising his index and middle fingers. He can guess my mind. I don't talk, my eyes move to see my clothes. As if understanding he spoke again: "Gym has a rented outfit you can wear." He opened the car door for me to come back. Removing my seatbelt slowly I wondered how unattractive I was that he took me to the gym instead of to the hawker or the cinema. Ckckck.

And when climbing the floor of this gym, I just realized that I didn't even hear my general manager speak in his heart any more than the words he had just put out of his mouth while talking to me.

He approached a long table like a reception desk and greeted the two women behind the table warmly.

"Fresh." Mr. Mario said the sport he wanted to play without asking me. I know at the hotel he's used to doing just that - he's the ultimate decision-maker, but now we're dating even though it's a date that's out of expectations and obviously needs to be questioned because she's not showing any emotional interest in me. But still he should have asked my consent first. Fortunately for him because I am among those who are lazy to argue in public.

"Sir Mario." A woman at the reception desk greeted him with a big smile before the rkami actually arrived in front of him. "Well, her boyfriend now, sir?" Mr. Mario smiled charismatically and the woman behind the reception desk grabbed the membership book that Mr. Mario presented while looking at me. "Mom just got home from work, huh? Don't bring a change of clothes?"

"Yes, don't bring it. Just count the clothes, yeah."

"Good, sir." Soon one of the women had ushered me into the clothes room behind the reception desk. I was asked to choose one of the clothes I was going to wear. I grabbed a dress and went to the dressing room.

There aren't many people in the dressing room so I can finish getting dressed as soon as possible. After putting my clothes in the locker and locking them, I met Mr. Mario who had been waiting for me in the fencing arena.

He came up to me and put a shield all over my body. On my chest, legs, hands and head. I grabbed the fencing in place and we started playing.

"You should have asked me to do another sport." He moved his sword of fencing and with a swerving motion managed to knock down mine. He beats me easily like an adult beats a one-year-old kid running. In five minutes of play, my sword had fallen three times.

"Don't you like this sport?" I glared at him as I bent down to reach for my fencing sword. "You look awestruck at the sword in my closet."

"That's because he's moving." I saw Mr. Mario looking at me seriously. "I'm not crazy" I said, "the sword is moving."

"You think that's like that?" We started playing again. "Then what else did you see there?" That question jolts me. What does Mr Mario mean? Could he have seen Alex? Pretending not to see it? Pretending to tell me that there are no ghosts in the hotel when he knows there are.

Who exactly is he? Why is he hiding that?

"Stop thinking. Control of your mind is bad."

Whatdoes thatmean?

"What's the point of being able to hear someone else's voice if you can't even hear your heart?"

Buarrr! I feel like lightning is grabbing me. This was not an original guess, clearly he knew I could listen to the inner voice of others.

Shutt.... Shutt....

"Aww!" I screamed pain. My armour fell, his bond broken by Mr. Mario's sword. Blood poured out from the cut on my right arm. He looked at me who was grimacing for a moment then approached me and I tried to run.

I can't hear his heart just as I can't hear Alex's. But he's not a ghost, he's a human. I should have heard all the voices of the human heart.

Then who is he?