Chapter 2 I Pity The One Who's Going To End Up As Your Husband!

"I'd like to eat some pizza… some pepperoni pizza… gooey cheesy pizza…" Hana kept on singing a weird song in the passenger seat which irked Ericka who was driving. They’re on their way to La Marina. "Boss, if you don't want us to end up in an accident, please stop singing that weird song." She ignored Ericka and looked at the view outside the window. She did stop singing, but now she wiggled around as if she was dancing to an imaginary beat. Ericka expelled a deep breath out of frustration. "Ooh… There's a new pizza joint. Let's try that one out!" Hana exclaimed excitedly like a kindergartener on her first school trip. Ericka parked the car and Hana went out to order herself. Of course, when she got out of the car, gone was the girl singing a stupid pizza song a few minutes ago. Hana was busy looking at the menu board while waiting for her turn when she noticed people whispering. What are they whispering about? Is it me? Is there something on my face? She looked around and noticed that the customers, especially the female population, kept on looking at something behind her. She turned around to see what was wrong when her eyes met a man's firm chest evident under a white shirt partially exposed beneath a burgundy trench coat. He was scrolling through his phone while waiting for his turn. She scanned him from head to toe. Wow, fashion over comfort. Can’t he feel this heat? Hana judged people right away in her head. Thankfully, she never uttered her thoughts out loud. The heat was at its peak and Princil was known for extremely high temperatures. She was amazed that someone would be daring enough to wear multiple layers of clothes at that time of the day. She looked up to see the man's face and she was not surprised to see a foreign man with a pale complexion, different from theirs who was born and raised in Princil. Well, she had no idea what his nationality was. Foreigners all looked the same to her anyway. However, she had to admit, the man's looks were above average compared to the foreign celebrities she knew. That’s probably the reason why the girls can’t stop looking at him. He was wearing sunglasses so she’s not sure if he noticed her looking at him. Whatever. She ignored the guy and turned to look towards the cashier again. Finally, it was her turn to order. "Hi. Can I get two pepperonis, two creole shrimp pizzas, one buffalo chicken pizza, one order of mozzarella sticks, and two colas in can, to go, please?" The cashier looked up at her and was dazed for a moment. She cleared her throat and the man punched her order into the monitor. "Of course. Uhm… would you like to add more?" "No, that would be all." She handed the money over to the man. The cashier looked at the woman wearing a semi-formal office outfit in front of him. She was almost as tall as him and looked like she stayed in air-conditioned rooms all her life for her complexion to be silky smooth. She radiated like the golden sun. He paused a while ago not only because he found her beautiful, but also because when he looked in her direction, he saw her next to the foreign man and they looked good together. If not for the fact that the two had not talked to each other at all, he would've assumed that they were together despite them arriving at different times. Hana waited for her order to arrive. The foreign man noticed that the service crew was almost done preparing Hana’s order, so he moved closer to the counter and closer to her. Because of his act, Hana caught a whiff of his scent. The scent was not overpowering and painful to the nose, unlike most of the cologne she used to smell from the men she frequently encountered. Surprisingly, she wanted to keep smelling his scent. She did not move away even though the man came too close for her comfort. People inside that pizza place had been looking at the man ever since he stepped inside. The women were envious when the man moved closer to Hana. They wanted to be close to the man, too! One of the girls mustered up her courage. Taking her wallet with her, she stood up from her seat. She lined up behind the man acting as if she wanted to order even though food filled her table, still untouched. After standing there for a while, the girl said, "Hi, I'm a patron of this pizza joint and I don't find you familiar. Are you new around here?" The girl successfully diverted the man's attention away from his phone. When the man found a pretty decent girl smiling at him, he smiled back. "Hi. Yes, I'm not a local as you can see." The woman laughed ‘gracefully’ at his reply. "Have you decided on what to order, yet? If you're undecided, I can recommend you some of my favorites." "Really? I'd like to hear what a pretty girl like you prefers. I'd like to try them." The woman blushed when she heard him call her pretty. That prompted her to tuck some of her hair strands behind her ear. The two talked about the woman's pizza recommendations. "By the way, I'm Audrey and you are..." "I'm Zeno." "If you are interested, I could tour you around. I know a lot…" Hana was listening to their conversation and when the man flirted back, she wanted to barf. As expected, a handsome man would act like a casanova, flirting with every woman who showed interest in him. Hana was not sure who started this trend, but ever since casanovas were featured in different reading sites as male leads, men with fuckboy vibes in real life had also become widespread. Do flirty men also read romance novels? How were they able to materialize such characters in real life? Anyways, she detested such guys. She shuddered mentally. Thankfully, her order arrived. She left the establishment in big strides as if the place was on fire. When she left the pizza place, the foreign man's gaze followed her even though his mouth continued conversing with the woman flirting with him. Hana caught his attention the moment he entered the pizza place. When everybody was looking at him, he was looking at the woman before him instead. And when she looked back at him, he almost let out a loud intake of breath in shock. Good thing he was able to hold it in. The woman was… breathtakingly beautiful. Her wavy hair that reached her waist framed her cute round face. The frame of her rectangular glasses held back her side bangs away from her face. An innocent face and a nerdy look combined with uniform seduction were just too much for him. Not to mention that her height was what he preferred in a woman. Physically, she's top-tier, yes. However, the man felt a mysterious pull towards the woman. He wants to learn more about her. When she left, his gaze gravitated to her, more especially towards her plump backside that bounced in every step. Hmmm… Maybe I should frequent this shop. He did not know that Hana did not have any plans to return to that shop soon because of him. "Whoa, Boss, isn't that an overkill?" Ericka looked at the five boxes of pizza and the plastic bag in her hands. "I'm planning on eating pasta for dinner. I'm not going to help you eat all that. I'm on a diet." "Who said I'm going to share them with you? I'm eating all of these myself and I'm not gonna share." After saying this, she started munching on the mozzarella sticks she ordered. I give up on this woman, Ericka thought. Ericka looked for another restaurant where she could buy her dinner on their way to La Marina. Thankfully, she was able to find one. When she walked out of the pasta restaurant clutching a bag with a box of food and Diet Coke in it, she saw Hana frown at her. "You know, even if you eat healthy foods all your life, as long as you pair it with diet coke, you will still end up bigger than your desired size." "Boss, it's 'diet' coke for a reason." "Really? Then, why did you only order a small portion of your meal? I'm paying you huge amounts of money, and you starve yourself? Are you this thrifty? What are you even saving your money for? You don't even date." "I'm not starving myself. I just don't binge eat like you do, but I at least eat three times a day. And what about you, Hana, you earn a lot of money even if you just stay in your house and sit all day. What are you even saving your money for? You don't even date,” Ericka retorted. "Whatever. Just don't pass out on me one of these days." The two continued bickering to La Marina. Ericka eventually slowed down in front of an intricately designed wrought-iron gate. The guard recognized the red car and before it completely came to a stop, he opened the sliding door and saluted to greet the people inside the car. Ericka honked the car to acknowledge the guard as she rolled down the window and smiled at the man. The man smiled widely upon seeing the two beauties acknowledge him. The place they entered was La Marina's head office where the majority of the office staff stay. A separate structure was built in the middle of the sea where marine biologists, divers, fishermen, and other people involved in fish production were based. Hana was not interested in the chaotic offices that only had boring paperwork. What she wanted to see was how the operation in the middle of the sea flowed. Every time she visited the base in the middle of the sea, she always learned something new and that’s what she looked forward to the most in her every visit. "Hana! You're late!" Someone’s scream broke her trail of thoughts. Carlos is the current manager of La Marina. He’s also the husband of one of Hana's friends. He was also one of the few who knew of Hana's ‘weirdness’. It's not that she's trying to hide it. She just did not want to publicly air it to everyone. Hana brushed off Carlos’ greeting with a smile and a hug. The two immediately started talking seriously about business after the greeting while Ericka struggled with Hana's food. Along the way, many staff passed by them to say hi. It’s rare for her to visit the site so a lot went out of their way to say ‘hi’. She just greeted them with a nod of her head as she continued talking to Carlos. Ericka joined them midway after she ditched Hana's food somewhere. "Will we be staying the night in the middle of the sea?" Carlos nodded his head. She looked over her shoulder and said, "Ericka, don't forget my food. If you leave them behind, I'm going to feed you to the sharks." Ericka just sighed. She had just finished placing them in the fridge when Hana decided to go visit the other base of La Marina found in the middle of the sea. She had no choice but to get them again. What a high-maintenance woman! I pity the one who's going to end up as your husband!