The very energetic Kai shouted, "Kira! Wuhooo! Kira!", River hit his head to shut him up."Aww!!"
"You"re too noisy!", River complained.
Kai turned his head to look at River but he met Daniel"s glare. "What?! She"s good!!", Kai exclaimed.
Everyone else at their table shook their head.
Daniel ignored him again and focused on Samantha. As the song ended, the bar was filled with applause and Samantha bobbed a curtsy to the crowd before she came down the stage.
When she came back to her seat, Daniel leaned closer to her and whispered, "That was really beautiful, honey."
Samantha smiled at him but didn"t say anything. The way he spoke the words into her ears made her red. She took a bottle of beer from the table and finished it all up as she tries to hide her blush.
She thought she was able to conceal but Daniel saw it clearly, "Are you blus.h.i.+ng because you"re embarra.s.sed?"
"No, Daniel Cho! I"m blus.h.i.+ng because you"re such a tease! How could you breathe into my ear like that?"
Little Jacob ran towards Samantha and smiled as he pounced in her arms. "Kira!"
"Hi, Jakey!"
"Why are you so red?"
Samantha touched her face and glanced at Daniel who was currently watching her and Jacob. The little boy followed her eyes and he met Daniel"s gaze.
"??? ??? ????? ?? ?????", he said in all seriousness as he wrapped his little chubby arms around Samantha"s neck.
Daniel chuckled, "She"s not your wife. ???"? ????."
Little Jacob"s face scrunched up, "No, she"s mine! You"re just jealous because you don"t sing as good as her."
"Really? You don"t know that..."
Samantha laughed at the two of them bickering.
Jacob lifted his chin up arrogantly, "Oh yeah? If you"re so good why don"t you sing then?" he humphed.
"Jakey... why don"t you like him?"
Jacob lifted his head to Samantha and pouted his lips, "Because... because... he"s stealing you from me."
She chuckled, "No one"s stealing anyone, my dear."
"But I"m not stealing her, she has always been mine.", Daniel continued to pick on Jacob; the little boy pouted some more.
"Mr. Cho, I didn"t know you could be so petty to pick on a child."
"What? He started it.", he responded innocently.
Samantha shook her head.
"Kira, do you like him?"
Samantha"s brows raised, "Huh?"
"If he sings a song for you, I"ll let him have you."
Samantha"s lip twitched, "How could this little boy sell me out? Does he know what he"s talking about?"
Chelsea heard the three of them talking and she joined in, "Ooh, little Jacob! That"s a great idea, didn"t you ask Daniel to do some challenges for you, Kira?"
River chimed in and got excited, "That"s right! Why don"t you challenge him to sing? HAHAHA", they all laughed at the table as they tried to make Daniel Cho nervous. But Daniel didn"t look uncomfortable at all, he just sat there and listened to everyone talk about him.
Samantha became conflicted, how can she ask Daniel to sing? Wouldn"t that be too awkward? Does he even know how to sing? Samantha really had no idea. But wait, if he doesn"t sing... so... he would fail the challenge, right? A light bulb appeared in her thoughts and she turned to look at him.
"What?", Daniel asked not knowing what was on Samantha"s mind.
...
Samantha didn"t know how it happened. Daniel is now on stage asking Chris if it"s okay to use the piano. "What the heck, Samantha? You"re crazy! How could you challenge CEO Daniel Cho to sing in front of these people?"
Kai was already in a fit of laughter, "Pffftt.. I can"t wait to hear this guy."
Chelsea grinned, "I bet he is actually great at it.", Samantha"s hands became sweaty upon hearing Chelsea, did she just dig a hole for herself?
Kai scoffed, "Yeah right, what is he? Mr. Perfect? The guy"s good looking, he"s filthy rich, now he wants to show off his voice? I"m calling that bluff."
"Well, the challenge was only to sing on stage, he doesn"t need to have a good voice.", River added.
"Oh- d.a.m.n it. You"re right."
Good voice or not, Daniel was going to win the challenge as long as he performs on stage? This made Samantha feel uneasy, she could already see the outcome. Why did she agree to this? This time, she couldn"t run away anymore. She wasn"t even prepared for this. She was here for Frankie"s birthday wearing her free-spirited-Kira facade, was she going home today with that mask off?
"10 bucks says he has a good voice.", Chelsea started to bet.
"Deal!", responded Kai with a handshake.
Samantha sneered, "I can"t believe you guys. You even pushed me to challenge him and now you"re betting?"
River shrugged, "I"m just here to enjoy the party.",
Daniel Cho sat in front of the digital piano that was situated diagonally on stage. But where Samantha was seated, she was directly facing him.
"Ooohh... This mister... He"ll be playing and singing at the same time, huh? I can feel it already.", Chelsea commented.
"Hey! How could you fawn over some guy? I thought you only have eyes for me?", Kai retorted possessively.
Chelsea glared at him and scoffed. "You say that yet your heart is not for me. How selfish."
Chris helped Daniel hook up the microphone and leveled it to his mouth. When he left the stage, a few keys from the piano were played as Daniel checked it before he leaned towards the microphone, "This is for you."
As he spoke those 4 words and nothing else, his eyes were set to the woman who was seated a few meters in front of him. She swallowed when their eyes met, "This is it... this is where Kira ends.", she had already expected.
Daniel Cho"s fingers started to glide over the keys and the music intro played through the speakers. He leaned into the microphone and opened his mouth to sing the first stanza. His voice was clear and melodious; the women in the audience had hearts in their eyes.
As soon as Samantha heard him sing, her heart fluttered like how a horse"s feet gallop on a field. "Can he be any more attractive?", she thought.
Daniel performed his rendition of "Say You Won"t Let Go" and Samantha thought how the lyric she sang earlier somehow responded to what he was singing.
~? ???? ? ????? ??? ???? / ??? ???"? ????? ???? / ????? ? ?????? ?? ???? ???? ? ??? ?????? ?? ??????? ?? / ? ???? ? ?????? ??? / ??? ? ????? ?????? / ??? ? ????? ???? ???? ??? / ????? ??"?? ???? ??? ??? / ???? ??? ??? ???"? ??? ??... ???? ??? ??? ???"? ??? ??~
(Samantha: ~?????? ????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? / ??? ? ???"? ???? ??? ??? ??~)
"Woah! Tall, hot and heavenly voice... Kira, if you don"t want him, you can throw him towards me!", Chelsea remarked.
"Tch.", Kai scoffed. "Okay, I admit... his voice is d.a.m.n good."
"What do you mean good? He has got an excellent voice! Now, pay up!"
Samantha didn"t notice the two squabbling. Her attention was all towards Daniel who was singing emotionally on stage while his fingers danced on the keyboard. And the entire time that he was pouring his heart out through the song, Samantha"s emotions were running wildly. Her thoughts were clear as she recognized every feeling she"s experiencing at the moment while her heart is aching. "Love, Fear, Guilt, Admiration, Sadness, Longing"
"How could this beautiful man want to be with me? I clearly don"t deserve such an amazing person."
Daniel would sing and look into her eyes with deep attraction. He would glance at the keys from time to time and close his eyes whenever he makes Ad Libs.
Samantha didn"t notice her eyes became moist, she listened and adored him whilst allowing all the sentiments to rush through her and take over her senses; she became vulnerable.
The audience clapped and whistled when Daniel ended his song flawlessly; he looked over at Samantha.
A tear escaped from her eye and River noticed it, "You"re crying?"
She snapped out of her trance and wiped her cheek. She got up from her seat abruptly and exited the bar, leaving Daniel confused by her reaction.
Samantha"s heart raced as she walked towards the seash.o.r.e just in front of Frankie"s tiki bar. Her chest heaved up and down; she clutched it. And with all her might she fought with herself not to cry. "I can"t... I can"t let him see me like this."
"Don"t be weak like this. Not now. Not while he"s here."
Daniel left the small stage and followed her outside. Turning his head from left to right, he saw Samantha by the beach. He hastily walked towards her but just as he got close, Samantha stopped him.
With her back facing him, "Don"t. Please don"t come near me.", she said.
But this time, he didn"t hesitate. "You can"t stop me."; he rushed behind her.
Daniel grabbed Samantha"s arm and pulled her towards him. She gasped when she b.u.mped into his warm and firm chest. And at that moment, the wall that she built so hard around her heart... collapsed.
Samantha lifted her head and met his eyes; her breathing hitched. And almost instantly, she burst into tears with a sorrowful cry.