** Twenty- Four **
**Third Person POV**
"I'm already 15 minutes late, and this is what I'm going to catch." Uno, the only Founder of the clan, looked around at the officers in front of him. "Nono, Otso, can't you really control the members without me? Or are you tired of your positions?"
"Don't talk to us like that, Uno," Otso replied with annoyance. "I'm even fresh from the airport, from Manila. I came straight here because I knew you were going to be late."
"We are performing our positions well, Boss. The newbies are just really rude these days," Nono reasoned.
"Really? Are those newbies in front of you?" Uno gave a low but disgusted response, and for a moment, Nono and Otso exchanged glances before he continued, "Primera has been in the clan for two years, while Anonymous has been in the clan for three months. Is that your newbie?"
Silence prevailed throughout the hut, and the tension returned. No one wanted to speak, and almost all the members bowed their heads to avoid Uno's disgusted look.
Rhea sighed as she bowed down, while Marjorie was still giggling and staring at Rhea, as if she wanted to sprint to her and rub her face on the floor.
"Team Leaders! Sais and Juviler! Don't you have any action to take? Your pets' heads are inflating!" Uno continued angrily in a high tone.
Even though their heads were focused on the floor, Sais and Juviler exchanged glances for a moment. Sais was about to speak when Juviler suddenly elbowed her. The girl frowned and accidentally raised her gaze to Uno, who was looking pointedly at the two of them.
The girl blinked involuntarily and bowed again.
"Boss Uno, can I speak?" Sais tried to remain calm, but the nervousness she felt prevailed. "We would like to end this problem by terminating one of them."
After she uttered the word "terminate," all eyes turned to her, especially Almira and Jc, who were obviously not happy, as indicated by their frowns.
The young woman felt a cold hand firmly grip her arm, so she turned to see Jc's frowning face looking at her, the young man showing disapproval.
"No worries. Primera won't be terminated," Sais whispered to the young man with a reassuring smile and a playful wink.
"What, Lil_ron? Do you need any special orders from me?" Uno responded sarcastically.
"Are we just going to terminate without a proper trial?" Lil_ron dared to answer, looking at Uno.
"Let's go through counseling to be fair," Juviler added, obviously having second thoughts, then glanced at Uno to see his reaction.
"All officers, outside," Uno ordered. "Princebeybe, Primera, Four, and Anonymous, out."
The officers of the hut came out one by one, followed by the names mentioned by Uno. But the lack of reaction from Almira and Jc, who were just watching them leave, stole his attention.
"Four," Uno approached him.
"For the counseling to be fair, I will stay here. It might even be said that the counseling was biased," Four explained defensively.
"Not as an officer, but involved in this problem," Uno argued in a serious tone.
"Are you serious, Boss Uno?" Four protested immediately.
"Can you just cooperate without complaining?" Uno replied.
Four frowned for a moment as he looked the Founder in the eyes and then angrily obeyed his order.
"What, babygirl? Special mention?" Uno called out to Almira, who was trying to avoid his gaze.
"I agree with what Four—" she was cut off.
The girl bowed as she said this, but Uno's voice raised her up before she could finish her statement.
"Out!"
"Why are you so angry!?" Almira immediately looked up at Uno and matched his high voice.
"The weather is cold. I want to warm up," the young man justified with a mischievous wink.
"Then throw yourself in the oven!" the girl replied philosophically, then turned her back and walked out of the hut.
"What kind of answer is that, Almira Antopina!?" the young man shouted in annoyance as he followed the girl.
"Shut down your corny lines, Lorenz Gabito!" the young woman answered while continuing to walk without looking at the young man who was following her.
=================================
All the officers were in the garden of the park, including Rhea, Ceejay, Marjorie, and Jc. This was their chosen place for counseling. From left to right, Marjorie, Ceejay, Rhea, and Jc sat next to each other on the bench, while the officers stood in front of them.
"In your group messages, I know you four have a problem, especially Primera and Anonymous," Uno started in a calm tone to ease the tension between the two who were in conflict. He then looked at Rhea. "You were the first to insult, Prim. What really is the problem?"
The girl swallowed and clasped her hands together as she stood up. Uno and Rhea met each other's eyes, but before the girl could begin to explain, Nono interjected.
"Just a reminder: we respect the speaker. There is no overlap to understand each other," Nono reminded, then looked at Rhea and nodded with a smile. "You can speak."
She nervously pressed her hands together as she began to speak. "Everyone probably knows that Princebeybe is courting me..." The young woman hesitated, confused about whether she should continue the topic she started. "B-but the clan doesn't know that we are already in a relationship."
After her statement, all eyes turned to Rhea, especially Ceejay, who smiled at her, while Almira's eyes widened in surprise and Jc's eyebrows met in confusion.
"Liar! You're not even including his name in your signature!" Marjorie protested.
Rhea fixed her deadly gaze on her, and their hot gazes met. Before Rhea could insult her, Lil_ron became alert.
"Anonymous, she's not done yet," Lil_ron's weak but emphatic voice interjected.
Marjorie's only response was to frown and keep her mouth shut.
"I have been telling her to distance herself from Princebeybe for a long time, but she still has the nerve to flirt with my boyfriend," Rhea continued.
Marjorie frowned and snubbed the girl.
"Can't you really stay away from Anonymous, Princebeybe?" Nono asked Princebeybe.
Ceejay's eyebrows immediately met. "I have no reason to stay away from my friend."
"You too, Anonymous. There must be a limit to your closeness with Princebeybe because he already has a girlfriend," Lil_ron added.
A flat smirk floated on Marjorie's face as she met the young man's gaze. "Is the closeness between Primera and Four without limits?"
Everyone shifted their gaze to Jc, who at that time had his arms crossed and was looking down while listening to them. There was no sign of reaction on the young man's face except for his half-smile and a nod.
"Just a moment," Uno intervened again. "We know that the problem of the four of you is very personal. After all, you can fix it privately." Uno looked around while speaking to gauge the reactions of the four. "But since the clan is already affected, we will intervene if you allow."
The four nodded almost in unison, their minds focused on something else even though they were still looking at Uno. When Uno took his eyes off Rhea, the girl sat down again.
"Four," Uno said as he looked at Jc, "What is your status with Primera?"
Jc immediately looked up at Uno and let out a smirk. "Is that a serious question, Boss? It's funny to hear."
"Can you just answer?" the Founder replied again.
Jc's response was a short laugh, then he continued, "Primera and I have been friends for two years. Now you're going to make it an issue?"
"You haven't answered the question yet," Uno's tone became serious, causing Jc's smirk to disappear.
"A serious answer? I don't like Primera, and we don't have a relationship, period," Jc answered firmly.
"Why do you have to sleep in the same room with her?" Ceejay immediately scolded Jc, his tone revealing restrained annoyance.
"If you're a decent man, can your conscience handle sending a beautiful girl home late at night?" Jc argued.
The hot and intense gaze of the two young men returned. Poker-faced, but Jc's look was calm while Ceejay's face was frowning.
"Hey, beautiful girl," Lil_ron teased Rhea with a smile.
Rhea replied with a sarcastic smile, then looked in another direction.
"Okay. The court has to decide," Almira's statement calmed the heated gaze between Jc and Ceejay.
The officers immediately gathered in front of the four who were sitting, turning away from them to prevent them from reading what they were discussing.