The morning after the launch, I woke up earlier than expected. The city outside my window was already humming with life, but I didn't feel the urge to rush anywhere. The event was over, and for once, the R&D team from B-town was given an entire day to relax before our trip back home. Dr. Besong called it a "post-launch mental detox."
At around 10 a.m., Michael showed up at the hotel with his usual soft smile and overconfident charm. I wasn't surprised. He'd already proven himself predictable in the most unpredictable ways.
"I thought I'd give the great R&D trio a proper D-City tour," he said.
Jefferson, surprisingly, was enthusiastic. "Why not? We've earned this."
Dr. Besong, in his usual serious tone, simply nodded. "As long as it's educational. I want to see the Biotech Central Hub here. We could learn a few things to upgrade the B-town branch."
Biotech Cooperation. The branch in B-town where I worked focused primarily on drug research and production. The real thing was found in D-city. That place was something else. More advanced. More technologically sophisticated. Where B-town was about trial tubes and assays, D-City was about robotics in bio-manufacturing, automated quality control, AI-assisted compound screening. It was... sleek.
We visited the D-City hub first. Walking through its high-security gates, I felt like I was stepping into a futuristic lab from a sci-fi film. Touchscreen lab logs. Sterile zones you accessed with face ID. Smart shelves that identified and restocked chemicals before they even ran out. Dr. Besong took mental notes like he was preparing a blueprint for our B-town lab's future.
After that, Michael took us on a quick city tour. I'd never say it out loud, but I liked being chauffeured around like royalty. The city was a patchwork of old and new. We stopped by the art museum with its bold sculptures and textured canvases. Then the maritime gallery, a coastal relic museum built into an old naval base. Then to the local craft market hidden in an alley of winding paths, where glass-beaded bags hung beside woven hats and wood carvings of animals stared you down like they were alive.
Lunch was at a hilltop restaurant that offered a view of the whole city. It wasn't even that expensive, but something about the way the sunlight kissed the wine glasses made everything feel luxurious. We clinked glasses. Ate. Laughed. Laughed more than I expected. Even Jefferson had jokes.
After the afternoon faded, we returned to the hotel. I was about to kick off my shoes and unwind when someone knocked on my door.
It was Michael.
"Come out with me," he said casually. "One last stroll before you disappear again."
I stared at him for a while, then shrugged. "Okay."
He took me to a modest bar at the corner of a quiet street. It was dim, cozy, and smelled of roasted fish and bobolo. He ordered something soft. I didn't. I asked for something stronger. I didn't even know what it was. I just needed to feel... something else. Something that wasn't this constant mix of betrayal and bruised dignity.
I got drunk. For the first time in my life.
Michael watched me with an unreadable expression as I laughed at things that weren't funny. Everything blurred around the edges. But I could see him clearly—Michael. He looked good, too good. His presence always stirred something in me, just like back then.
This wasn't the first time we'd been caught in a tension like this. Once, during our university years, we kissed after a long study session. The second time, I'd driven him out of my house because I was scared—scared of what we could become. The third time was after Alvin betrayed me, and Michael had held me as I cried in a hotel room.
Now here we were again.
I looked at him across the dim table, the alcohol spinning gently in my blood. I felt warm. Brave. Tired of running.
Maybe…
I shouldn't run. Again.