Samantha woke up at half past noon. She sleepily washed her face and whipped up some food for herself. She was having second thoughts on whether she should go to Frankie"s party. She didn"t want to go with Daniel, thinking about what happened last night made her nervous. But she had already made a promise to Jacob, so she got herself inside the bath.Frankie owns a tiki bar where she frequents whenever she has time. It has a really nice ambiance and so she decided to wear something playful, a flowy white floral chiffon maxi dress. She styled her hair in loose curls and applied very light makeup.
The doorbell rang and she knew it was Daniel. Samantha nervously opened her front door and saw him in a light blue short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt and navy blue pants. With a smile on his face, he took off his sungla.s.ses, "Hi. Ready?"
"Is this guy serious? Stop flas.h.i.+ng your smile at me. You"re too gorgeous!"
"Uh... h.e.l.lo, just a second.", Samantha turned to the side and got her purse and keys.
"Why don"t we bring just one car? We"re going to the same place anyway."
She thought about it for a second, it does make sense to bring just one car... but wouldn"t it be awkward with him alone in it? But if she refuses, she"d just come off as being unreasonable. "I guess, that"s fine."
"Do you prefer your car or-"
"Mine.", "I"d feel safer with mine.", she said to herself.
"Okay, let me drive... if that"s okay with you."
Samantha nodded and gave him the key. "Sure."
In the car, she was so quiet. Daniel glanced at her, "You look nice, by the way."
"Thanks... you too."
That was the only conversation they had except for Samantha occasionally telling him where to turn or where to go next. After driving for 20 minutes, they arrived at Frankie"s tiki bar.
There was quite a crowd of people but mostly it was Frankie"s family. The two met Samantha"s friends from the skydiving center and also Charlie"s group. Frankie is pretty famous in the city because of his bar and everyone respected the old man. On the first week that Samantha arrived in Country D, she found this bar suggested by Charlie where she spent the first few nights getting drunk. She met Frankie, little Jacob"s grandfather who was tending his bar and they started talking to each other about life. Samantha never revealed her ident.i.ty and just told people the name that Charlie had given her, "Kira".
Samantha then met Frankie"s son and grandson on the second week of her arrival in the country. Little Jacob loved Samantha and always plays with her whenever she visits. It was Jacob who asked her to sing a song for him and she happily obliged. Frankie and his son heard Samantha"s singing and was surprised by her captivating voice so they asked her to perform on their bar"s stage. At first, she refused but then Jacob persuaded her so she ended up agreeing to give it a try.
She performed one time and the audience loved it! They started asking her to sing some more and Samantha found it quite fun too so she sang a few more songs. And ever since then, whenever she visits, she would sing on stage. Frankie even offered to pay her but she never accepted it because she wasn"t doing it for money anyway. Almost 2 months later, she didn"t realize that she was being recorded on camera by a vlogger. Who was, coincidentally, a.s.sistant Ahn"s cousin! And that was how Daniel had found Samantha.
"Kira!!", Jacob called as he ran towards her.
Samantha picked him up in her arms and pinched his cheek. "Jakey!"
"Kira, you came!", an old man"s voice sounded not far from them.
"Happy birthday Frankie... Of course, how could I miss your birthday? Also, little Jakey invited me... how could I say no to this cute little face?", Samantha tickled Jacob as she played with him and he wiggled in her arms.
Frankie noticed Daniel behind Samantha and he turned his gaze to him, "Who is this handsome young man?"
"Ah, right...", Samantha glanced at Frankie and introduced, "Frankie, this is Daniel."
Daniel gave a polite smile to Frankie and saw his eyes slightly widen at Samantha as if he thought of something before he turned to Daniel again.
"It"s nice to meet you."
"Likewise, thanks for coming!"
"We brought gifts, this is from Kira and me.", Daniel gave the 2 bottles of wine to Frankie which he happily accepted. After exchanging some pleasantries, Frankie greeted his other guests.
In the table where Samantha was seated, her skydiving friends were there too. Daniel was at the next table with Lucas but he and Samantha were close by. Everyone was having fun eating, chatting and listening to good music, with the tiki bar"s atmosphere, it was very relaxing.
At the stage was Frankie"s son, Chris, performing, he just finished his song when his son suddenly came up to him on stage and whispered to his ear. He chuckled and ruffled Jacob"s hair before he spoke to the microphone.
"My son, Jacob just requested something... I think he"s already sick of listening to me sing."
Everyone laughed at Chris" declaration and thought that Jacob was cute. He then turned to Samantha, "Kira, Jacob just asked me to tell you that he wants you to sing."
The crowd cheered and chanted "Kira", Daniel turned his head and saw her blush because of the chanting. Somehow, he was happy to see that even though Samantha is in Country D, she got a lot of friends around her; he learned that she clearly has a lot more friends here than back in their country.
Daniel watched as Samantha got up from her seat and went up the stage. "I actually didn"t prepare a song tonight so I don"t know what to sing.", she spoke as she sat on the high chair.
"I"ll help you!", Little Jacob raised his hand and ran to her. His little finger moved around Chris" repertoire and pointed at a song. "This! Sing this!"
Samantha laughed, "Do you even know this song, Jakey?", Jacob shook his head, he really just randomly pointed at the song on the list.
Samantha whispered to Chris before she spoke to the microphone again, "h.e.l.lo everyone... I"ll be singing a song chosen by little Jacob. It"s called "Photograph" and this one goes out to those who are missing their loved ones tonight."
This will be the first time that Daniel will hear Samantha"s voice as she sings live. That 15-second clip that he listened to before already captured his heart, what more now that he"s here?
Chris started plucking and strumming his guitar and everyone in Frankie"s tiki bar turned their attention to Samantha when she started singing the first line of the lyrics.
~?????? ??? ????, ?????? ??? ???? ?????????~
"Wow! It"s been a while that I came here at Frankie"s and I"ve heard there was a pretty woman who sings here once in a while and has a really nice voice. I guess they were talking about your woman.", Lucas said to Daniel.
He heard his friend but he was too busy listening to Samantha as she sang the song beautifully in her own version since the original was a male"s voice.
~?? ??? ??? ???? ?? / ?????? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ?????? ????? / ??????? ?? ?????? / "??? ??? ???? ???? / ??? ???"? ???? ?? ?????, / ???? ??? ?? ?? ???? ????~
When Samantha sang the chorus of the song, she glanced at Daniel a few times as if she was subconsciously telling him the words herself.
Daniel"s heart fluttered every time she steals a glance at him. He"s hoping for a lot of things, he"s wis.h.i.+ng for both of them to have better days. That Samantha would remember him and that she would come home to him. Are those only going to be wishful thinking?
The people at Frankie"s bar admired Samantha"s singing and they started to sing along with her quietly.
Samantha"s voice is very soothing to the ears, she projected the song effortlessly. Daniel loved how she closes her eyes to the parts where she sang in falsetto and that her shoulders raise slightly when she sings high notes. He was very fascinated by how enchanting Samantha"s voice is, he secretly wished that he could take her away at that moment and lock her up so that no one else could listen to her sing.
~?????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? / ??? ? ???"? ???? ??? ??? ??~
~???? ?"? ????, / ? ???? ???????? ??? ??? ?????? ??...~
The song was coming to an end and Daniel wasn"t ready to stop listening yet. He had felt that although the song was not originally her choice, the message seemed to fit what"s inside her heart especially when her eyes would meet his every now and then. As much as Daniel was very hopeful for what will happen to them next, Samantha"s pain and baggage are just too much for her to handle. No matter how willing he is to help her carry all those with her, his willingness will be deemed useless if she truly won"t let him in.