There was a sense of relief from the members of the Music Club, Grace, Moira, and Angela after they were able to overcome the problem they had with the unprecedented number of bands that registered for the Battle of the Bands. The proposal that Aiden submitted was able to solve other lingering problems such as student retention and the timeline for the event, which they were able to keep on its original schedule without having to disrupt the academic calendar and other events scheduled for the semester.
The proposal that Aiden brought forth was wide-ranging and unprecedented in scale and logistics involved. One of the major parts of the proposal includes inviting prominent and popular singers and bands to perform at the Battle of the Bands Festival, among those being invited were Silent Sanctuary, South Border, Magnus Haven, Juan & Kyle, Ben and Ben, the Juans, IV of Spades, SB19, Darren Espanto, Moira Dela Torre, Ysabelle Cuevas, and Jake Zyrus among others - the favor Aiden asked of the Vice Chancellor.
Another major part of the proposal was opening the Battle of the Bands Festival to the public, especially to other universities within Metro Manila, as well as Mount Charlotte High School and students from other High Schools - given that they have a written permit from both their parents and schools agreeing to their students attending the event. Furthermore, invitations will be extended to major donors and proponents of the performing arts and talent recruiters who might be interested in scouting the bands that would be performing during the event.
This was a subtle and ingenious move by Aiden to entice prospective and gifted High School students to attend Mount Juliet in the following academic year; the invitation of proponents for the performing arts was designed to open further investments in the area of the arts at Mount Juliet University, helping them expand and upgrade their area of studies for them to become even more competitive; and lastly, the invitation of talent recruiters would open the opportunity for participating bands to land a non-exclusive contracts with recording studios and agency to help them build their profile, increase their popularity, and exposure well beyond the university.
In just one section of his proposal, Aiden was able to target three different areas that would tremendously help Mount Juliet University – Enrollment, Investment, and Public Relations. Aiden's shrewd maneuvering was intended to boost the image of Mount Juliet as well as further increase its already prestigious standing, not just domestically, but also internationally – Aiden's subtle token of gratitude and thanks to Vice Chancellor Gutierrez for helping him with his selfish favor the previous day.
Additionally, like the Student Organization Fair, clubs and student organizations will be setting up booths and stalls to sell food, drinks, and merchandises to the attendees, a form of fundraising opportunity to help boost their funds and exposure – an expanded version of the initially proposed Music Club fundraiser. Local businesses within close proximity to Mount Juliet will also be invited to participate, as well as select businesses within Metro Manila to ensure that there is ample supply of food and drinks for the attendees during the entire duration of the event - adding more variety to what students and guests could buy.
Also included in the proposal that Aiden submitted was the deployment of the 2000-strong MJU ROTC as well as another 500-strong ROTC Cadets from Mount Charlotte High School to assist with crowd control and security operations within the venue – which would fall under the overall command of Cadet-Colonel Joshua Belarmino. The MJU Public Safety, as well as members of the Quezon City Police District will be providing traffic control and security outside the venue and the immediate exterior of the university.
Per the proposal, security measures are to be delegated to the Sergeant-at-Arms of the Student Council, the Commander of the MJU ROTC, and the Chief Security Officer of the University. Delegation of responsibility has also been divided, with the Chief Security Officer having overall command of the security and safety personnel, traffic and crowd control operations, and deployment outside the venue; the Sergeant-at-Arms will be overseeing the security operations within the venue, while the Commander of the MJU ROTC having operational authority over the ROTC Cadets from both MJU and MCHS deployed during the event; the latter two under the command of the Student Council President.
In addition, all ROTC personnel from both Mount Juliet and Mount Charlotte would be paid a one-time fee of ₱5,000 each for their service in providing security and assistance during the event – the funding provided by the university administration in addition to other expenses - the section within the proposal that shocked and surprised everyone who initially read the proposal after Aiden forwarded it to Grace and eventually the officers of the Music Club during the meeting.
Finally, another major part of Aiden's proposal was for the event to be covered live by the MJU Times, MJU Radio, and MJU TV. External media outlets were also poised to be invited to cover the event, such as ABS-CBN, GMA, TV5, 99.5 Play FM, 90.7 Love Radio, Magic 89.9 FM, and Mellow 94.7, among others.
The colossal size and scope of the Battle of the Bands Festival will require tremendous efforts and preparation from the Student Council, the Music Club, and the MJU Administration to pull off successfully. This is a daunting and enormous feat that can deliver a huge pay-off for all the parties involved, the university in particular if it succeeds, but with devastating and damaging consequences should it fail.
Although the planners were relieved to be able to clear their final obstacle with Aiden's eleventh-hour proposal, there was a creeping sense of pressure building up on the Music Club, and the Student Council as a whole, albeit something that they can't feel yet, given that the event is still weeks away. The hype and excitement for the release of the MJU Hotlist being front and center in the entire university.
As soon as the Music Club approved the plan, Aiden immediately informed Vice Chancellor Gutierrez who promptly approved the proposal, paving the way for the invitations to be sent out to the personalities and individuals that will be participating, performing, and covering the event. Additionally, the security measures that were part of the proposal was also transmitted to the Office of Chief Security Officer and the Office of the MJU ROTC Commandant, so that necessary preparations can be started immediately.
(T/N: The ROTC Commandant and the ROTC Commander are two different individuals. The Commandant being the Military Officer that has jurisdiction over all the ROTC Cadets at MJU; the ROTC Commander, Cadet-Colonel Joshua Belarmino, has operational command and is the highest-ranking ROTC Cadet over all the other ROTC cadets on campus)
After Aiden forwarded the proposal to the university administration, he quickly moved on from the near-miss of a disaster in regard to the Battle of the Bands and planted his focus on other pressing matters, such as the position of Attorney-General, for which he still needs to find a suitable candidate by the end of the week, in addition to other matters related to the Student Council that he needed to take care of, but most importantly, observing the matter that "Themis" informed him earlier – all of which preoccupied his thoughts as he made his way to Café Confiture to start his shift.
Meanwhile, Mingyu and Ball were feeling a different atmosphere than everyone else. While the entirety of campus was feeling excited and hyped about the release of the MJU Hotlist, they were feeling a sense of dread and nervousness as they were set to be summoned to the CGS3 Student Court in the days ahead. Although Mingyu and Ball were in the same situation, the former has more weight on his shoulders than the latter, given that he was being consumed with the guilt and responsibility of having dragged Ball into this situation, and was particularly stressing on how this could affect Aiden.
Having just getting the welcome party affair under control, he didn't want to burden Aiden with any more problems, especially a problem that he had caused. Knowing full well that if the MJU Press Corps or the Mingyunatics gets a hold of what happened at the Aquatic Center, it would cause a serious issue within the university. Since he's Top 6 in the MJU Hotlist, it would certainly attract the attention of everyone, and Aiden would end up having to fix the problem he caused.
Ball on the other hand, was consumed by the thoughts of what his mother, grandparents, and relatives would think if he they learn of this incident. It would be a great dishonor and embarrassment not just for himself, but also his family, and he would have to carry the label of being a pervert for the rest of his life.
Although all of it was basically Mingyu's fault, Ball never took it upon himself to blame him for it, since he understood that he meant well, and that part of the blame falls on him too, given that he chose to stay with Mingyu even though he knew that what they were going to do would land them into trouble.
After their encounter with Katrina outside the Aquatic Center, Mingyu and Ball agreed to keep this incident to themselves, and not involve other people. Having said that, both of them went on with their day, acting like nothing was wrong, though deep inside they were a complete nervous wreck.
The case against Mingyu and Ball are known only to a handful of people, namely: Katrina, Mingyu, Ball, Moira, Grace, Angela, the CGS3 Prefect, the CGS3 Prefect Office's Clerk, the 1st Circuit Student-Attorney, and the Heads of the Student Prosecutor's Office and the Student Defense Office.
The 1st Circuit Student-Attorney is a member of the Judicial Branch that oversees the 1st Circuit of the Judicial System, which includes the College of Humanities, College of Global Studies and Social Sciences, and the College of Engineering and Architecture. They are tasked with informing the Student Prosecutor's Office and the Student Defense Office of any upcoming cases that the Student Court will be taking up within their jurisdiction so that they could assign a Student Prosecutor and a Student Defense Attorney.
All of the people that has direct knowledge of the pending case unanimously agreed to keep it a secret, given that Mingyu is a popular student in the university, and Ball is an international student. This was also in part due to the directive given by the Student Council Chief of Staff, who was concerned that it could throw the student body into a frenzy, especially the Mingyunatics. There was also a concern about the damage it would cause in the relationship between Mount Juliet and Thammasat University.
Moira was also concerned that this could completely overshadow the MJU Hotlist release and the Battle of the Bands Festival, in which the major changes and upgrade to the event have yet to be announced by the Music Club and the Student Council. Moira was also cognizant of the fact that it could put Aiden in an awkward position given that a number of people in the university are aware that Mingyu is one of his closest friends. This was an assessment that Angela shared, as it would be bad optics for Aiden and the Student Council, especially if Mingyu and Ball are acquitted, which could give rise to rumors and conspiracy theories that Aiden somehow pulled strings to ensure they are acquitted by the Student Court.
The following day, the atmosphere within Mount Juliet was full of energy and quite ecstatic, as it was the day that everyone was looking forward to – the release of the MJU Hotlist for A.Y. 2022 – 2023. As tradition dictates since the launch of the MJU Hotlist, all classes will be suspended an hour prior to the release of the list, which has always been schedule at noon of the release day.
The tradition of suspending classes stemmed from the fact that even faculty and staff also participate in the countdown of the release, akin to the New Year's countdown. This year's MJU Hotlist is even bigger than the previous ones, since a new list dedicated to the international students will also be included.
As the hype and excitement for the release grows bigger by the minute, the intensity of the PR Battle amongst the fanbases intensified along with it. A surprising turn of events also fed fuel to the energy-filled atmosphere at MJU as the newly minted Min's Guardians are doing surprisingly well in the PR Battle, although lacking the vast resources of the Aiden's Guardians, they were able to place themselves on second place in the ongoing PR Battle, mostly because of the "Kiss" from the welcome party, which catapulted Min into the spotlight, with his fans capitalizing on the fallout to further boost their stan.
In addition to Min's Guardians, fanbases for Ball, Bank, and other international students were starting to get attention and traction as well, with most of the fanbases concentrated on the Korean students, Japanese Students, and the European Students.
As the day began, the Hunters officially started the countdown on their official website, with links being shared through their social media accounts. The MJU Times, MJU Radio, and MJU TV also covering the countdown live. Concurrently, the Hunters also released their new phone application that was announced last weekend, which received almost 4k downloads a few minutes after it was launched.
The phone app, which was named "MJU-H" is an interactive application which allows the users to view the Hotlist Rankings since its inception. Users are also able to access the profile information of the people in their hotlist, which includes basic information such as name, birthday, age, college affiliation, major, height, hair color, eye color, blood type, and hometown. In addition, their profile also includes their favorite food, drinks, hobbies, ideal boyfriend/girlfriend, social media handles, among others.
Users have the ability to "Heart" and comment on the official pictures of the people included in the hotlist, other features include leaving testimonials on their profiles, as well as being able to share a specific or group of profiles in social media accounts. There is also an exclusive feature where users can buy up "beans" and give "gifts" to their respective stans. Fans who give gifts will be ranked based on the number of beans they used, with the highest ranked fans receiving a "Top Fan" badge on their account.
While everyone was preoccupied with the imminent release of the Hotlist, Aiden was looking through the binder which has a compilation of prospective candidates to be the Attorney-General. Although Aiden has looked through the list before, he decided to look through it again just in case he might have missed anyone that would best fill the position.
Although some of the prospective candidates were "good enough" for Aiden, none of them seemed to have impressed him. There was also the matter about one half of his officers preferring well-connected and established candidates and the other half opposing, with the majority of the candidates that Grace compiled falling under the former category.
All the profiles in the binder have the prospective candidates' official university photo on the center-top of the page, below the header which reads "Prospective Candidate for Student Council Attorney-General", below the picture was the candidates' basic information, extra curriculars, accomplishments, and other related information that can be considered for the position.
"None of these students feel like a good fit" Aiden commented, sighing out loudly as he placed the binder on his desk, rubbing his eyes as he leaned back on his chair.
After a few minutes, he leaned towards his desk and grabbed the binder again. Turning on the next page, he reviewed the next prospective candidate, which caught his attention.
"The 1st Circuit Student-Attorney, huh?" Aiden mused, his eyes focused on the profile in front of him, seemingly interested in the candidate. Aiden looked at the profile for a few more seconds before closing the binder and placing it in his drawer.
"I admit, her profile is pretty impressive, I didn't think she has that many awards and accomplishments. She would be an excellent choice, however.." Aiden whispered before turning his computer on.
"The search for an Attorney-General is starting to become more difficult than I anticipated" Aiden groaned as he waited for his computer to start up. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket, checking his phone, he saw that "Themis" sent him another coded message, "Code-113B. 98-0337. 99-0146. 8:20"
"Understood. Keep me updated on your end" Aiden quickly messaged back.
"It seems things are moving quickly on that end – quicker than normal, actually" Aiden commented, as he placed his phone on his desk before typing his credentials. After accessing his computer, he immediately opened a Microsoft word document named "MJU-SC 22-23".
Student Council
Mount Juliet University
A.Y. 2022- 2023
1. President: Aiden Kobayashi
2. Vice President: Grace Manalo
3. Chief of Staff: Moira Sato
4. Attorney-General: TBD
5. Student Ambassador Attaché: Antoinette Delgado
6. Secretary: Christopher Jay Tanjuakio
7. Comptroller: Katrina Tolentino
8. Treasurer: Kobe San Miguel
9. Public Relations Officer: Angela Dela Cruz
10. International Student Representative: Thapthim "Min" Nontanakorn
11. ROTC Attaché : Cadet-Major Amy Del Rosario
12. Sergeant at Arms: Aaron Keeling
13. Events Coordinator: Sherwin Go
After opening the word document, Aiden reviewed the current composition of his officers, which includes the names of the newly created positions and the students that will be occupying said posts. Noticeably included was the yet to be filled post of Attorney-General, which is arguably the most consequential new position added to the Student Council, hence the difficulty Aiden was facing in filling the new post.
The students who have already filled the other new positions for the Student Council were handpicked by Aiden based on their work ethic, expertise, personality, and accomplishments which he himself have personally witnessed or heard of, hence the swiftness in which he was able to fill those roles.
Unlike the position of the Attorney-General which faced opposition from half of his officers, there were no objections whatsoever for the other positions, given that the students that Aiden picked are already known throughout the university based on their accomplishments, academic standing, and experience, which falls within the duties and responsibilities of their new posts. Furthermore, none of the other new positions equals or exceeds the vast and vital responsibilities that the position of Attorney-General holds.
The Student Ambassador Attaché-Designate, Antoinette Delgado is a sophomore currently majoring in International Relations and Political Science from the College of Global Studies and Social Sciences. Like Aiden, she also serves as a Student Ambassador under the employ of the Mount Juliet Office of Admissions.
Additionally, she also serves as the Vice President of the Student Ambassador Association - which Aiden also leads as President - and holds the rank of Student Ambassador-II. Aside from being a Student Ambassador, she also works as a student counselor, assisting the admissions counselors with recruiting prospective high school students and engaging with different high schools in promoting the university.
Antoinette's strong interpersonal skills, reputation for creativity, proactiveness, and an extroverted personality were qualities Aiden considered for tapping her as the Student Ambassador Attaché.
The Secretary-Designate, Christopher Jay "CJ" Tanjuakio is a sophomore currently majoring in secondary education from the College of Education. Like Kobe and Moira, CJ is also an athlete, being a member of the Badminton team, in addition to that he is also a member of the Debate club, where he and Katrina became acquainted.
CJ currently works as a student administrative assistant for the Dean of the College of Education, charged with assisting the executive assistant in keeping the Dean's schedule updated, filing paperwork, printing materials for departmental meetings, and other clerical responsibilities. His superb organizational skills and great attention to detail were qualities that Aiden considered, which was also vouched for by Katrina, in tapping him as Secretary.
The Events Coordinator-Designate, Sherwin Go is a Sophomore currently majoring in Software and Computer Systems Development from the College of Computer Science and Information Technology. Sherwin is considered as a party meister at MJU, known for hosting, organizing, and planning parties outside the university that are widely popular with the students that attend them – mostly athletes, fraternity and sorority members, and other popular students on campus.
Sherwin is the only one from the new members Aiden handpicked that doesn't work for the university, and the only other member of the student council besides Angela who doesn't have any extracurricular activities. Furthermore, he is the only other person other than Aiden who's in the Top 10 of the MJU Hotlist from the previous year, ranking #7 just behind Mingyu.
Sherwin's resourcefulness, expertise in event planning, organizing, and hosting, as well as his extroverted attitude and outgoing personality is what Aiden considered for tapping him as Events Coordinator.
Although Grace provided a wide-ranging list of prospective candidates for the positions of Secretary and Events Coordinator, they were all completely rejected by Aiden. While some of the candidates have impressive backgrounds, experience, and accomplishments, their personality became the deciding factor for them to be rejected, as most of the candidates shared Grace's same stern and by-the-book personality.
The other candidates in the lists have the completely opposite problem, although personality-wise they were passable, they lacked the experience needed to be able to fill the positions. This slight obstacle forced Aiden to personally choose his pick for the positions of Secretary and Events Coordinator – to Grace's chagrin - much like he did for the position of Student Ambassador Attaché.
After looking through his incomplete list, Aiden minimized the Microsoft word window, and opened his Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts on an incognito Google Chrome window to observe the developments of the MJU Hotlist release countdown.
Although Aiden wasn't interested nor curious about the Hotlist release, he was more concerned about gauging the mood of the students, fanbases, clubs and organizations, as well as the overall atmosphere within the university – a precaution Aiden was taking as he wasn't fully convinced that the welcome party fallout has completely been contained.
Aiden was observing multiple live broadcasts from his Facebook, and Instagram accounts, and monitoring chatters on Twitter on his other monitor, while reviewing the budget for the organizations and clubs on the other, with the final draft of the proposal for the international student minimized and next to be reviewed and edited.
As he was reviewing and making corrections to the budget, he heard three knocks coming from his door. Aiden, without breaking his focus from the monitors in front of him, wondered who that could be early in the morning, as he was assuming most of his officers would either be in class or preoccupied with the events in preparation for the Hotlist release countdown.
Not wanting to be bothered in trying to figure out who it was, Aiden called out, "Come in!".
His office door opened a few seconds later, his face quickly turned sour as he got a glimpse of who entered his office – Min, carrying a drink carrier and a plastic bag.
"Oh.. For fuck's sake…" Aiden whispered in response, the clacking of the keyboard stopped a s he rolled his chair to the right to get a full view of Min.
"Good Morning Aiden!" Min greeted with a smile on his face as he closed the door behind him.
"It was a good morning… Until you showed up that is" Aiden coldly and wittingly replied, his facial expression the same as always, "What do you want this early in the morning, Thammasat Kid!?"
Min raised the drink carrier and plastic bag "I bought you cappuccino and breakfast" Min said before walking towards Aiden's desk, "I figured you could use some" he added as he placed the stuff on the desk.
"First of all, Thammasat Kid, I can buy my own coffee" Aiden said as he begrudgingly grabbed one of the cups in the drink carrier, unable to resist the smell of cappuccino.
"Second, I don't eat breakfast" Aiden continued as he took a sip of the cappuccino.
"Oh? But didn't you eat the cake I bought you the other day?" Min apologized as he pulled one of the chairs closer to Aiden's desk, "I guess I'll eat this then". "That was an emergency back then!" Aiden replied.
Aiden's eyebrows furrowed as he watched Min sitting down and getting ready to eat the food he brought, "What are you doing Thammasat Kid?" he asked, a hint of annoyance coming from his voice.
"I'm about to eat breakfast" Min responded, a bit confused about Aiden's question.
"Yes, Obviously I can see that Thammasat Kid!" Aiden responded wittingly, his eyes rolling.
"What I mean is, why the hell are you eating here in my office?" Aiden rephrased his question, taking another sip of the cappuccino before continuing, "This isn't a cafeteria you know!".
Min smiled as he opened the Styrofoam containing waffles with whipped cream, syrup, and strawberries, "I figured I'd eat breakfast with you, but then again, you don't eat breakfast".
"What's your point?" Aiden quickly responded, his eyes squinting as he focused his eyes on Min.
"I just wanted to spend time with my snobby cappuccino prince" Min teased as he softly bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from overly smiling.
"Ca-can you stop saying cheesy stuff like that Thammasat Kid!" Aiden quickly countered, flustered by what Min just told him, "Wh-why do you keep saying things like that!?"
"Just so it's clear, we're not dating! So there's absolutely no reason for you to be saying things like that!" Aiden continued, somewhat embarrassed, his face slightly blushing.
"There's also no reason for you to bring me meals" Aiden added before taking another sip of cappuccino.
Min laughed after swallowing the piece of waffle he was just chewing, confusing and somewhat annoying Aiden even more, "What the hell is so funny Thammasat Kid!?" Aiden asked.
"You say that but you're drinking the cappuccino I bought for you" Min replied before taking another bite.
"I said there's no reason for you to bring me meals, I never said anything about coffee!" Aiden replied, somewhat irritated that Min was trying to start a pointless debate.
"I thought you said you could buy your own coffee?" Min replied teasingly, pushing a bit more.
"I never said I won't take the coffee though!" Aiden responded as he took another sip of his cappuccino.
"Oh? So you're trying to say that you won't take meals, but you would take coffee?" Min playfully asked as he gave off his cutest smile yet, "Duly noted, Aiden!" he added before taking another bite of the waffle.
Aiden gave out a huge sigh, placing his cup of cappuccino on his desk, "You're impossible to deal with", sounding like a concession, he rubbed the bridge of his nose before burying his face on his desk.
Min dropped his fork on top of the waffle, leaning forward as he stretched out his right arm and patted Aiden on the back. "Stop it Thammasat Kid, that's harassment" Aiden said, his face still buried on his desk.
"Wait! It is!?" Min reacted as he pulled his arm back, his face panicked.
Slowly sitting back up, he looked at the flustered boy, "I don't know. Probably" replying with a straight face, Min unable to decipher whether Aiden just made a joke or if he was being serious.
"In any case, hurry it up with your breakfast, will you? I still have things I need to do" Aiden continued as he grabbed his cappuccino and started chugging it down. Min sighed again as he reached for his cup of cappuccino, taking a quick sip, reacting to the strong taste of the espresso.
Aiden caught Min's reaction at the corner of his eye before throwing his empty cup in the trashcan under his desk, "Like I said before, don't force yourself to drink it if you don't like it".
"Don't worry, I think I'm starting to get used to this" Min replied before taking a huge bite of waffle that was covered with whipped cream. As he put the waffle in his mouth, some of the whipped cream got caught on the corner of his lips, causing Aiden to cringe.
"Jesus Christ Thammasat Kid, can you eat with a bit of decency?" Aiden reacted as Min chewed the waffle he just put in his mouth.
"Why? What's wrong?" Min replied, food still in his mouth.
Aiden sighed again as he opened his bottom drawer, pulling out a paper towel, he stretched his arm out towards Min to give him the paper towel, "Wipe that whipped cream off the corner of your lips".
"Also, don't talk when your mouth is full, that's rude. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" Aiden continued as Min swallowed the waffle.
"You as the International Student Representative serve under me as Student Council President, and the manner in which you conduct yourself in public, reflects upon me" Aiden continued as Min used his finger to wipe off the whipped cream from the corner of his lips.
"Well, we're not in public right now are we? So it should be okay" Min sarcastically responded, causing Aiden to click his tongue, "Did I get the whipped cream out?".
"No, there's still some left!" Aiden replied as he stretched his arm out again, signaling Min to grab the paper towel and wipe his mouth clean.
"Since you're already holding the paper towel, can you wipe it off then?" Min teased, causing Aiden to cringe and subtly blush. "Do it yourself! You have hands!" Aiden replied as Min gave him a teasing smile.
"But my hands are kind of full right now" Min replied as Aiden looked at his hands.
"Your right hand is fr-"Aiden tried to respond, but before he could finish his sentence, Min used his right hand and grabbed his cup of cappuccino.
"But my left hand is holding a fork, and my right hand is holding this cup… So…" Min said his voice fading as he kept his teasing smile on his face.
"You wouldn't want the International Student Representative looking like this out in public, would you?" Min further teased, "Like you said, it would reflect on you".
"Damn this kid!" Aiden thought to himself, his heart beating faster, his face getting warmer as he slowly, but reluctantly leaned forward to wipe the whipped cream off of Min's mouth.
As he was about to wipe Min's mouth, one loud knock came from his door before it swung open. Aiden who had somewhat quick reflexes, quickly pulled his arm towards his nose and pretended to sneeze just as Angela and Grace entered his office.
"Sorry for disturbing Aide-" Angela said before realizing that Min was also in the office.
"Oh, Min! I didn't realize you're here too" Angela said, looking at Min who was trying his best not to laugh.
"You okay, Aiden? You got a cold or something?" Grace asked looking at Aiden who was pretending to wipe his nose with the paper towel just seconds ago was meant to wipe off the whipped cream off of Min's mouth.
"I'm fine" Aiden said in a muffled tone, "Can't the both of you wait until I tell you to come in?" he continued as he threw the crumpled paper towel in the trash can, "What's the rush about anyway?".
"I'm sorry, but you have to listen to this!" Angela said, turning her attention from Min towards Aiden as she passed her iPad towards him. "What's this about?" Aiden rhetorically asked as he played the video.
"According to projections, Aiden Kobayashi is slated to keep his spot in MJU's Hotlist for Academic Year 2022 – 2023…" the voice on the video stated before Aiden paused it, placing the iPad on his desk.
"You rushed over here for this? I can understand if it's an urgent Student Council business, but this?" Aiden said, a bit dismayed.
"Watch the whole video, it gets more interesting" Grace responded as Angela looked at Grace before looking at Aiden, "Believe me, this has the possibility of impacting the Student Council". After hearing what Grace had to say, Aiden picked up the iPad again and resumed the video.
"…2023. We're also receiving reports from multiple sources that Min's Guardians, the newly formed fanbase for Thapthim Nontanakorn also known as Min has been catching up to Aiden's Guardians in terms of the PR Battle happening right now"
"Accordingly, we have reports from our insiders in Aiden's Guardians that the bulk of the members of Min's Guardians are a break-away faction from Aiden's Guardians who are disgruntled by how Heidi Enriquez have been leading their organization. We will have more in regards with this developing story later in the day"
"In other news, there's a surprise expectation that Min has a high chance of breaking through the MJU Hotlist Top 10 this year due to his recent exposure in the social circles here at MJU, starting with his selfie with Mingyu Park and Jasper Hernandez, the #6 and #10 from last year's MJU Hotlist and ending with a bang, kissing Aiden Kobayashi, the previous year's, and this year's projected #1 in the MJU Hotlist"
"If Min does rank in this year's Top 10, he would be the first to do so in his first year here, and the first international student, breaking MJU records and making history " the video reported before ending.
Before Aiden could say anything, Grace spoke, "If Min does get into the Top 10 this year, it would mean that we will have three people from the Student Council that are included in MJU's Top 10 Hotlist".
"Assuming of course that Sherwin remains in the Top 10 this year" Grace added.
"You've got to be kidding me? Min in the Top 10? Plus the AGs splintering? Now of all times?" Aiden reacted as he passed Angela's iPad back to her.
"This will move the Student Council further into the spotlight, the optics would be good for us, but our moves will be carefully watched and criticized" Angela added.
"Speaking of being criticized, I already have some Student Senators clamoring for more oversight against the Executive Branch for our perceived overreach with unilaterally expanding the Student Council" Grace reported much to the annoyance of Aiden.
"The same movement is also gaining steam at the House of Representatives, mostly led by the opposition who are clamoring for a stronger mechanism for the separation of powers" Grace added.
"What does the Judicial Branch have to say about all this?" Aiden asked as Min wiped off the whipped cream off his mouth.
"The Judicial Branch hasn't reacted or commented on any of this, my guess is that there's nothing in the Student Government Constitution saying that there was an overreach on our part, given that the Executive Council approved this expansion" Grace replied.
"This could be a response for our surging approval rating and popularity among the students on campus, I don't see any other reason for them reacting like this" Angela interjected.
"Aiden, I think we need an Attorney-General now more than ever" Grace followed up.
"Yes, the worst part about that is there's not one on your list of candidates have the chance of overcoming the opposition within our own ranks" Aiden admitted.
"If it comes to it, I may have to choose someone outside the list you gave me, much like the others I've appointed on the Student Council up to this point" Aiden continued.
"I apologize for that Aiden, I should have been more expansive with our candidates" Grace apologized as Angela looked at Grace who looked low-key embarrassed and ashamed.
"It's fine, don't worry about that. Right now we have more pressing issues in front of us. It's not as bad as the welcome party fiasco, but we can't let the issue within the Student Government get any more steam" Aiden replied in a serious tone.
"In any case, Grace, as the Student Senate President, set-up a meeting with the opposition parties from both the Senate and House of Representative and get a list of their demands" Aiden quickly ordered before turning towards Angela.
"Angela, inform the rest of the Student Council minus the new appointees that we will have an emergency meeting at 15:00 today. Also, keep an eye out on the developing story in regards with the splintering of the AG, Heidi might react to this news sooner or later" Aiden continued before dismissing his officer, while Min remained seated listening in on the exchange happening in front of him.
"That's it all I have for now. If there's anything else, I'll communicate through the group chat" Aiden added before Grace and Angela took their leave.
After the door closed, Min was finally able to speak, "Is it that bad, Aiden?"
"It could be worse, but we're on a delicate situation now. We have a growing opposition forming within the Student Congress, plus we have news of the AGs splintering" Aiden replied, giving yet another sigh.
"Is it a bad thing that I get into the MJU Hotlist Top 10?" Min asked softly.
"Depends on how you look at it, but that sort of thing doesn't concern me, nor does it bother me" Aiden said, somewhat drained of energy after Grace and Angela delivered yet another bad news so early in the morning, and just after they were able to control the situation with the fallout from the welcome party.
Min sensing and feeling that this has stressed Aiden to a certain degree, started cleaning up, throwing his trash in the plastic bag, and placing the chair he used back to where it was. He quickly glanced at Aiden who was in deep thought. Without saying a word, he grabbed his cup of cappuccino and left Aiden's office to let the other boy have a bit of space to think.
After Min left his office, Aiden let out another sigh before moving his mouse to activate his computer that automatically went to sleep mode. He scanned the developments on social media to see if the news regarding the splintering of the AGs have reached the social circles at MJU. Fortunately, the dominating news was still the impending release of the Hotlist giving Aiden a bit of room to be at ease before resuming his work on the budget proposal before working on the international student outing proposal.
Later on the day, around 10 minutes before the scheduled release of the MJU Hotlist 2022 – 2023, Mount Juliet was in a complete standstill. The majority of the students, faculty, and staff converged in areas where there are large flatscreen televisions where they could join in on the countdown, namely the Student Center, the lobbies of the different colleges, the main lobbies of the Aquatic Center, the Administration Building, the ROTC Headquarters, the student dormitories, the International House, the ROTC Barracks' common areas, and the monolith touchscreens scattered across campus. There were also students and faculty members who stayed in their respective classrooms to watch the countdown where large flatscreen televisions were also mounted.
Grace, Moira, Katrina, Kobe, Angela, Min, Mingyu, Cadet-Major Del Rosario, Aaron, along with Cadet-Major Montanillo, Cadet-Captain Francisco, Jasper, Ball, Bank all gathered by the conference table at the student council room to watch the countdown.
Aiden stayed in his office, trying to finish work on the amendments and editing of the proposal for the international student outing on one monitor, while the other monitored displayed the countdown which just passed the 8-minute mark.
"I'm so excited about this year's list!" Moira exclaimed as she and Angela started jumping.
"I didn't think that this is such a big deal here at MJU" Min suddenly chimed in as Jasper placed his arm around Min's neck, causing Bank to slightly purse his lips.
"Hey man! You could be in this year's Top 10!" Jasper excitedly said as he playfully punched Min's left arm.
"I know! I didn't quite expect it to be honest!" Aaron chimed in.
"You'd be making MJU history if you do, Min!" Rebecca added, "I'm not surprised though!"
"What makes you say that?" Katrina asked as she looked at Rebecca.
"Min already has a huge following, more so within the ROTC ranks, at least for out battalion anyway" Rebecca replied, "Right, ma'am?" she added as she looked at Cadet-Major Del Rosario
"Believe it or not Katrina, Min does have a huge following in the ROTC from both girls and guys under my command. I've also heard the same things from the other Battalion and Company Commanders" Amy responded with a smile.
"To think that Min has a huge pull within the ROTC. I never would've imagined" Katrina commented.
"Well, you have Cadet-Corporal Jane Domingo and Cadet-Sergeant Joyce Cruz to thank for that" Rebecca jokingly said as she and Amy laughed.
"Who are those two?" Katrina asked, grabbing the curiosity of Grace as well.
"Those two have a huge crush on Min here, and they've done nothing but talk about him non-stop to the other cadets" Alexis interjected.
"You must've really left an impression on them, Min!" Rebecca said giggling.
"Yeah, you've only met them once, and you already made an unforgettable impression!" Amy added as Min, Bank, Mingyu, Jasper, and Aaron looked at Amy.
"You know those chicks, Min?" Jasper asked as he looked at Min who seemed a bit confused.
"I don't think I know them though?" Min said, genuinely trying to think hard to remember who they were.
"True, you don't know them, but you met the two of them once, on different occasions" Amy said before giving off a laugh.
"Really? I have?" Min said, still confused as to when he met the people Amy was talking about.
"The first time you met Jane was during the Gerry's Grill incident. Remember the cadet that placed the cold pack and bandaged you up?" Amy explained as Min hit his fisted right hand onto his left hand.
"Ah! That time when the Hunters and Aiden were racing to get to us! So it was that cadet!" Min said as he remembered that night Aiden bumped into him in front of Gerry's grill.
"Next was Joyce. She was the cadet you were trying to get a reaction off outside the International Student Lounge Lobby before the joint meeting with the International Student Council" Amy continued.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Yes, I remember! I didn't think everyone saw that!" Min said his face flushed due to embarrassment.
"Yup. That's Jane and Joyce, your two biggest and most vocal fans within the ROTC" Amy explained before Aaron called everyone's attention as the countdown passed the 1-minute mark.
Everyone was getting ready as they watched the television, a small window on the upper left corner of the screen showing the live feed that MJU-TV was broadcasting at the Student Center lobby, where AGs are holding their Aiden-related paraphernalia as the timer countdown past 30 seconds.
The entire university was quiet until the timer hit the 10-second mark when everyone started counting down in unison, "10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1!".
When the timer hit zero, the song "Dynamite" by BTS started blaring in the background as the MJU Hotlist started showing the university-wide list, with the ranks fading in into the screens around the university.
The official release of the MJU Hotlist triggered varying reactions throughout the university, the leading reaction of which was celebratory, mostly for the fanbases of those within the Top 10 of the ranking – with the AGs spearheading the celebration.
There were also feelings of shock and surprise, mainly due to the fact that some international students were able to break through the Top 10 rankings on their first year, more surprisingly not even a month into their exchange program. Although it was already predicted that Min was going to place within the Top 10 of this year ranking, his position of #3 completely blindsided and surprised a lot of students.
The shocking part mainly came from the strong performance made by the international students, who just arrived less than three weeks ago. The unexpected inclusion of Ball into the Top 10 came as a shock to most, but not a surprise to many, given the exposure he and Min got from their now famous and popular selfie with Mingyu and Jasper, who now holds the #4 and #6 rank, respectively.
Although not as prestigious as the Top 10, a lot of students were surprised to see that there were multiple international students who also made it to the Top 20 of the rankings, with the female division coming out stronger than their male counterparts.
Even though there was an upset with this year's ranking, mainly coming from the international students, it was met with almost-universal praise, approval, compliments, and commendation from different sectors of the university community. Although polling for the event hasn't been finalized yet, there was near unanimous agreement that this year's launch was a great success and a major improvement from previous Hotlist release, a feat, which a lot of students say was incredible considering that their time table was significantly moved up from their original release date.
There was also universal approval from critical outlets such as the MJU-Times, MJU-Radio, and MJU-TV as well as popular and influential social media personalities from the university, even amongst the university faculty and staff who joined in on the event. Supporters and fans of the Hotlist were quick to praise the inclusion of the international students, which diversified the Hotlist ranking. The main area of praise was the major redesign and revamp of the Hunter's Hotlist website, which also included a major redesign of their ranking table, which added a more refreshing and modern aesthetics to it, and the launch of their MJU-H application which has seen over 7K+ downloads since its inception that morning.
Although most of the university approves of the Hotlist, which has become a part of MJU's culture, there were also critics of the event, both from the students and faculty. One of the major criticisms that was directed at the fanfare was that it showcases the underlying problem within the Filipino culture and society as a whole, where Filipinos tend to praise and idolize people with mixed heritage and foreigners over their own countrymen. The critics say this is evident by the fact that most people who made it to the Top 10 mostly have mixed heritage and are of foreign nationality. They further argue that the surprising performance of the international students in this year's Hotlist is evidence of the obsession Filipinos have with foreigners and would not hesitate to support them over their own.
In addition, critics say that the MJU Hotlist is a symbol of elitism and promotes the idolization and worship of people who, by society's standards, are good-looking and "ideal", completely disregarding individuals and groups who doesn't meet said standards. Furthermore, they lambasted the fact that a majority of students supported and contributed to the inclusion of certain groups of international students in the Hotlist because they were from countries where their culture and media have influenced the general Filipino society and youth. Although no country or groups were specifically named, student pundits and MJU media personalities deduced that they were referring to the Koreans and Thai students, given that K-Culture and Thai BL have been immensely popular within younger groups of people in the country, due to the former gaining immense popularity over a decade ago and has sustained its popularity, and the latter due to its sudden popularity due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown two years prior.
Although the scathing criticism was aired right after the release of the Hotlist, and during the midst of the celebrations, fans and supporters who got wind of it were quick to hit back with their counterarguments, saying that the critics has nitpicked their argument in a way wherein it would fit their views, and were not wholly objective in its analysis and conclusion.
Although fans and supporters of the Hotlist opposes the biased criticisms fired at the event, they do admit that Filipinos do tend to favor individuals with mixed heritage and foreigners. Their main counterargument was that there is nothing wrong about supporting Filipinos with mixed heritage, given that some of them have brought honor and glory to the country, an example of which were Miss Universe 2015 and 2018, Pia Wurtzbach and Catriona Gray, respectively.
Additionally, although they have mixed heritage, there is still Filipino blood flowing through their veins, and so long as they embrace the country's cultures, traditions, ideals, and history, they are still Filipino both in spirit and at heart, whether they are mixed. Furthermore, fans and supporters added that there is nothing wrong about idolizing foreigners, given that it boils down to each individual preference and tastes. In addition, they reiterate that there's a fine line between idolizing foreigners and turning your backs against your home country, the latter which they said is unacceptable and unpatriotic at the very least.
They further argue that it's a universal habit for people to idolize people from other countries, and this phenomenon is not just restricted in the Philippines, with them citing that BTS, Blackpink, and Twice are quite idolized in western countries such as the United States and Europe, even though they are Koreans.
Additionally, they attacked the flawed logic behind the critics' argument that the Hotlist symbolizes elitism and that it promotes idolization of individuals and groups that meets society's standards. In defending the existence of the Hotlist, they argued that with that logic, it would also categorize certain pageantries as symbols of elitism such as Binibining Pilipinas, Miss Universe, Miss World and other such pageantries which showcases female strength and character.
Furthermore, although they are cognizant of modern-day societal standards, there are certain aspects of these standards that they vehemently oppose, such as disparaging people who are overweight and obese, and people with mental disabilities, the crab-mentality, belittlement of other people's jobs or status, popularity-over-merits and "Walang pera sa course na yan" (There's no money in that major/course) mindsets which are rampant within the Filipino culture and society. Finally, they argued that people have the right to choose what and who they want to stan, whether it be K-Pop or Thai BL since people have the right to choose, whether or not they make the right choices based on those influences, are theirs to make.
Meanwhile, at the Student Council room, everyone was celebrating the release of the Hotlist like everyone else in the university. They also shared the shock and surprise about Min not only making it to the Top 10, but ranking #3 for this year, the reaction was also the same for Ball, Aaron, Moira, and Amy, they themselves included in the Top 10. Equally surprising was Ball and Rebecca being included to the Top 20 .
Aiden, Grace, and Angela were completely blindsided with the result, not expecting, or even fathoming that almost half of their officers made it to the Top 10, far from the three they were predicting earlier in the day. The unexpected turn of events effectively elevated the position of the Student Council even further and has placed them well within the spotlight, magnifying the attention that they will be receiving from the student body and the university.
What concerns Aiden the most was Min's ranking, although it was something to celebrate, it also elevates the concern that he has in regard to the reports about Min's fanbase being a splinter group from the AGs, which could cause friction between the AGs and MGs – the now de facto two largest fanbases at MJU.
Although Aiden was worried about the possible consequences of the release, he was still relaxed, given that Heidi hasn't responded or made any moves yet in regards with the splinter group, though he wasn't taking any chances and was already thinking of preventive measures and possible countermeasures in case something does come up in the future.
After quickly brainstorming, he took down some quick notes before resuming his edits and amendments to the international student outing proposal, which he intends to present to the Student Council before turning it over to the International Exchange Program for approval.
Before he could place his hands on the keyboard, his office phone suddenly rang. Even though he hasn't answered the phone yet, he already had a general idea who would be calling him at that moment. He gave out an annoyed sigh before picking up the phone, as soon as he placed the receiver on his ear, a familiar voice started speaking.
"Congratulations on ranking number one again this year, Aiden!" Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said on the other line as Aiden grimaced at being pestered about ranking first on the Hotlist – again.
"It's not really a big deal, it's quite annoying actually" Aiden responded, sounding dismayed.
"Why do you sound so defeated!? You should be happy! This is another accomplishment for you!" Vice Chancellor Gutierrez said, her peppy voice ringing in Aiden's ear.
"Why should I be happy about this? I'm going to have to deal with people congratulating me for the foreseeable future" Aiden responded with his usual tone of voice.
"It's natural for people to congratulate you, it's an incredible feat after all!" Vice Chancellor Gutierrez laughed as Aiden clicked his tongue.
"Hey, Old hag, if you have time to be calling me like this, shouldn't you be working on something important, or at least productive?" Aiden responded.
"Like I said! I'm not an Old hag!" Vice Chancellor Gutierrez replied, with a hint of laughter from her voice.
"Yet" Aiden replied with a straight face before ending their call. After hanging up his office phone, his phone vibrated four consecutive times, indicating he received messages.
After taking his phone out of his pocket, he looked at his notification banner and saw that he received messages from Chief, Beans, Dani, and Themis. Aiden unlocked his phone and looked at the messages in order that he received them:
Chief: "Congratulations on ranking first again on MJU's Hotlist! See you tonight! <3 <3 <3"
Beans: "Congrats Poker Face! I still don't get what people see in you! LOLOLOLOL!"
Dani: "Congratulations Aiden! I hope you enjoy the rest of your day! *Smiley face emoji*"
After reading all the messages of congratulations he received from his coworkers at Café Confiture, he immediately opened the message from Themis, which contained another cryptic message.
"Code-113C. 98-0337. 99-0146. !! . Be advised // 98-0473. 98-0488. 98.0491// C-M -> CGS3-P // CV-SU"
After reading what Themis sent, Aiden slowly placed his phone on his desk, "As long as it's under wraps" .
Aiden was so fixated on Themis' new message that he was just noticing the commotion happening outside his office, where Aaron, Min, Ball, Bank, Moira, Amy, and Rebecca are dealing with the consequences of their new found fame – a continuous barrage of notifications from their social media accounts.
"You guys will get used to it in time, like Jasper and myself did!" Mingyu reassured them as he and Jasper started laughing at the predicament their friends were facing.
Aiden scoffed as he looked at his phone, "Good thing I turned off all my social media notifications" before resuming his work on the international students outing proposal.
Angela ended their struggles when she suggested they hold a party to celebrate their friends making into the Top 10 and Top 20 of the Hotlist, to which Mingyu and Jasper quickly agreed.
"Let's celebrate tonight!" Angela further suggested as she started clapping her hands in excitement.
"Yeah! I'm in!" Mingyu and Jasper said in unison, giving each other a high five when they realized they said the same thing at the same time.
"Sounds fun! Count me in too!" Kobe added as Jasper gave him a fist bump.
"Same!" Aaron called out.
"We're also coming!" Min added as he looked at Ball, then Bank as the latter two nodded in agreement.
"Count us int too!!" Moira said as she and Rebecca raised their hands up.
"If, that's okay, Ma'am" Rebecca asked as she looked at Amy who just smiled before she nodded.
"Can I come too!?" Alexis chimed in, surprising Rebecca, who didn't think of him as a partygoer.
"Of course, if it's okay you with you ma'am?" Alexis added as she also asked Amy for permission.
"You two do realize we're not on duty right now, right? I'm just Amy right now, not your commanding officer, so you really don't have to ask me for permission. Besides, we don't have anything scheduled for the rest of the day" Amy said smiling, appreciating the fact that her officers were even asking her for permission to have fun.
"Yes!" Rebecca and Alexis said in unison as they gave each other a double high five.
As Amy watched Alexis and Rebecca celebrating, Grace leaned towards her and whispered, "Are you sure that's okay Amy? Aren't you a little bit easy on your officers?" she asked, curious as to why Amy was being lenient with them.
Amy looked at Grace who looked a bit confused, "I know you and I are by the book, personality-wise, but I give my officers and cadets a bit of lee-way, they're only people after all, but most of all students" Amy replied further surprising Grace.
"That's a surprise, I've always thought you were the same as Cadet-Colonel Belarmino" Grace replied.
"When it comes to carrying out our duties as ROTC cadets, Joshua and I have that very much in common, outside our official duties, however, that is where our similarities end" Amy explained.
"You should try and ease up a little Grace, I know when Aiden is around, you tend to hold back on your urge to enforce your by-the-book approach, but when he's not around, that's when you and Joshua start sharing the same personality, especially when it comes to Student Council matters" Amy continued.
"Rules, procedures, and protocols are in place for a reason, Amy. They are there to ensure discipline and proper organization, so they must be followed down to the letter. Deviating from them would erode their purpose, and can result in a chaotic and disorganized environment, a scenario that cannot be allowed especially for an organization such as the Student Council and ROTC" Grace argued.
"I'm not saying we should deviate from them, all I'm saying is that we shouldn't be tightly bounded by those rules. We also need to know when to strictly enforce those rules and when we shouldn't" Amy defended her stand before Moira interrupted their conversation.
"Hey! Amy, Grace! You guys also coming?" Moira asked as Amy and Grace looked at her direction.
"Sure, I might as well" Amy said as she looked at Grace, who also nodded in agreement.
"Alright! This is going to be fun!" Jasper exclaimed as everybody looked forward for the party they were going to have at the end of the day.
"Where are we going tonight? Have you thought about it, Angela?" Kobe asked. Angela paused for a moment as she thought of the perfect place where they could celebrate, there was a moment of silence as the other waited for Angela to reply.
Angela's eyes suddenly sparkled, "Sangyupsal!" she exclaimed to the agreement of everyone in the room.
(T/N: Sangyupsal is one of the most popular places to eat in the Philippines, which began its boom prior to COVID-19 Pandemic. An attributed to the country's love of Korean cuisine and their culture in general)
"Bet! I'm going to be eating a lot tonight then!" Mingyu exclaimed.
"Same here bro, same!" Jasper added.
"Hey Kobe! Want to bet on who can eat the most? Mingyu or Jasper?" Aaron said, challenging Kobe into another wager.
"You're on!" Kobe responded, "I'm pretty sure Mingyu would win this one, athletes have a huge appetite!" he added, sounding confident, seemingly forgetting that he lost a bet with Aaron once during the international student orientation.
"What about Aiden? Let's invite him too!" Min asked out of the blue, causing Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron, and Jasper's facial expressions to change.
"Right! We totally forgot about President Kobayashi!" Alexis exclaimed upon realizing that they forgot to invite him as well.
Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron, and Jasper almost immediately cringed at the suggestion, their facial expressions have "that's a bad idea" written all over it. The other members of the Student Council remaining quiet, with Moira and Angela's faces closely resembling the reaction of Aiden's closest friends.
"Is something wrong? Why did everyone get quiet?" Rebecca asked as she scanned the room.
"I don't think that would be a good idea" Katrina responded, confusing Rebecca who was under the impression that Aiden was also her close friend.
"I'm with Katrina on this, I think it would be best to leave Aiden be" Mingyu added, laughing awkwardly.
"I think that would be the best option too" Jasper agreed as he gave the most innocent smile to at least help uplift the mood.
"I'm with them on this one too" Aaron chuckled, "Besides, we already know what he's going to say".
"Which is?" Rebecca asked as everyone's attention was focused on the four friends.
"Not interested" Katrina, Mingyu, Jasper, and Aaron said in unison, causing Ball, Alexis, Rebecca, and even Amy to react with amazement.
"Can't we at least try? You know, as a form of courtesy?" Rebecca suggested, as she looked at Min who initially brought up the question, who nodded in agreement.
"I'll be honest, I'm with Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron and Jasper on this one as well" Moira interjected, with Angela nodding her head right beside her.
"Considering Aiden is still in his office means his busy working on something, and the fact that he hasn't said anything up to this point proves that" Moira explained.
"I feel bad not extending the invitation to him though" Rebecca mused as she second guessed the idea.
"It'll be fine Rebecca! Aiden doesn't eat breakfast or dinner anyways, except for occasions that he would have to actually eat something, take the welcome party for example" Mingyu chimed in.
"Oh? Really? I didn't know that. I guess I'll have to take you guys' word for it, you know him best anyways" Rebecca said as she finally conceded, Alexis following her lead.
"Thank you guys for understanding!" Katrina said, thanking Rebecca for heeding their advice.
"Yeah, Aiden isn't really the type to hang out with other people, especially large groups of people. Unless of course it's something that he absolutely must do" Mingyu added.
"Aiden doesn't even hang out with us" Jasper chuckled, "We more or less just escort him around".
"Even though Aiden is like that, we still consider him as our friend though" Aaron added with a smile.
Katrina, Mingyu, Jasper, and Aaron's united defense of Aiden was an extremely rare display, which surprised everyone who was in the room. The subtle hints that they dropped gave everyone an idea of Aiden's character and personality which has eluded almost everyone on campus. Their unyielding understanding and consideration for Aiden shows the respect, bond, and relationship they share with him.
"I understand" Rebecca responded with a smile on her face, "So, what's the plan tonight though?" she added, pivoting the discussion back to the celebration they were having later on.
"Oh, right! Let's go to Inner Seoul, that's the closest one to the university" Angela replied, "Let's meet up at the main gate around 16:30? That alright with everyone?", ironing out the details for their plans.
As they finalized the details, Min slowly gave a grin. Ball noticed this at the corner of his eye and started having a nagging feeling that his friend was about to do something, though he can't tell what. Just as he was in deep thought, Min started walking towards Aiden's office, opening the half-closed door.
"Hey Aiden! You want to come with us tonight?" Min called out with his usual teasing smile on his face, catching everyone's attention, leaving them shocked, surprised, and blind-sided. Ball sighed, facepalming himself as he slowly shook his head.
Aiden immediately stopped what he was doing and slowly slid his chair to his right. As he cleared his monitor, Min was met by an annoyed look and a cold, sharp death stare, "Not interested", before sliding his chair back and getting back to work.
Min awkwardly laughed before closing the door, as he turned around he was met by multiple sighs, facepalms, and head shaking from everyone.
"I had to try" Min said chuckling, earning him another round of facepalms and head shaking from everyone.
After everyone has had the time to move on from what just happened, Angela went over their plan one more time before everyone decided to leave the Student Council room so they could grab something quick to eat and prepare for their afternoon classes.
The group eventually went their own ways after they reached the lobby; Amy, Rebecca, and Alexis heading back the ROTC barracks; Grace returning to her dorm; Moira, Angela, Katrina, Mingyu, Aaron, and Jasper heading to the central cafeteria; Min, Ball, and Bank returning to the International House. Though it goes without saying, the group's appearance at the Student Center lobby created a huge commotion, given that most of them were in the Hotlist, with the students taking pictures and videos of Mingyu, Aaron, Jasper, Moira, Amy, Rebecca, Min, Ball, and Bank – the boys getting most of the attention.
Halfway to their respective destinations, Mingyu and Ball suddenly received an email that was sent by the International Exchange Program, requesting them to immediately report to their office. This made Ball nervous, knowing that the email had probably something to do with the incident at the Aquatic Center, which Ball momentarily forget due to the festive atmosphere earlier.
Since Ball was still in close proximity of the Student Center, and Mingyu already in the building, they were able to get to the office quickly, with the two boys meeting each other in front of the International Exchange Program office. Of course, both Mingyu and Ball had to come up with a plausible excuse to their respective friends for why they were leaving all of a sudden. Min and Bank easily believed Ball's excuse, as did Aaron and Jasper with Mingyu.
Moira, Katrina, and Angela were the only people who knows the real reason why Mingyu had to leave, though they didn't share the information with Aaron, even though he was a part of the Student Council, as they tried to limit the knowledge of Mingyu and Ball getting summoned to the Student Court to only a handful of people to ensure that the information doesn't leak.
In keeping with their determination to keep the incident a secret, Grace, Moira, and Katrina negotiated with the CGS3 Prefect's Office to ensure that Mingyu and Ball's summon was given to them privately and inconspicuously, an exemption from the more public presentation of the court summons to students.
Although there's already an established precedence for this kind of exemption, it's rarely used by any of the Prefect's Office, and even if it is used there are very strict criteria that needs to be met. The exemption would also have to be approved by the Circuit Student-Attorney that has jurisdiction over the issuing Prefect's Office before the private summons can be officially presented to the student(s).
In this particular case however, there was a legitimate concern that serving Mingyu his court summon in public would cause an uproar from his fanbase – though not as large as the AGs, is still pretty sizeable - which could lead to an incident that could disrupt university activities.
Another important factor that the Prefect's Office considered was the involvement of Ball in the incident. Serving an international student a court summon openly would undoubtedly cause a scandal that could cause irreversible damage to the newly established relationship with Thammasat University.
When Mingyu and Ball entered the International Exchange Program Office, they were immediately led by an administrative assistant at the front desk to a conference room, where they were asked to wait. It was another 10 – 15 minutes before Director Guerrero entered the conference room, accompanied by a student that had a College of Law insignia on her uniform.
Director Guerrero invited Mingyu and Ball to sit at the conference table, with him and the female student sitting across from them. The atmosphere was tense, as it was obvious in Mingyu and Ball's faces that they were nervous and anxious, knowing full well what this is all about.
"I can't express enough how disappointed I 'am over this incident, even though it's just an allegation" Director Guerrero opened the meeting, keeping his voice calm and professional.
"Mingyu" Director Guerrero continued, "You probably already know why you were called here for".
"Yes, sir" Mingyu responded, his voice somewhat dry and devoid of his usual energy.
"I have to say though, that I did not expect this from you. Especially since you're the Vice President of the International Student Organization" Director Guerrero added, disappointment evident on his face.
"As for you Mr. Pattaya, I didn't take you for someone who would be involved in something like this" Director Guerrero added as he gave out a sigh, leaving both Ball and Mingyu speechless.
"I'm not saying that you two actually did it, but the very fact that the two of you are being accused of something so serious is pretty concerning at the very least" Director Guerrero continued, the tone of his voice changing to a more serious one, "In any case, both of you are here to receive your court summons".
"Under normal circumstances the Prefect's office wouldn't be serving your summons this way, but since we received an official request from the Student Council Chief of Staff to keep this matter discreet and given the unique case of an international student being involved, we're making this rare exception" Director Guerrero explained, as Mingyu and Ball continued listening in silence.
"Considering the damage this would cause to Mount Juliet's reputation, as well as our relationship with Thammasat University, and our other partner universities, we cannot afford to make this case known, hence this entire affair will be kept confidential. Of course, both of you will still have to appear at the CGS3 Student Court and let MJU's Justice System take its course" Director Guerrero added.
"What would happen to Ball if we're found guilty?" Mingyu asked, finally breaking his silence as he voiced his concern for his friend.
"I would prefer if both of you are acquitted by the Student Court, however, if the both of you are convicted, you two would face expulsion. Mr. Pattaya would be sent back to Thailand and my office would have to inform Thammasat University of what transpired – a worst case scenario I would rather not experience" Director Guerrero replied, adding more weight to the guilt that Mingyu was already feeling.
"In any case, I have said all I need to say. I'll turn it over to this young lady over here" Director Guerrero said as he gestured toward the female student with them in the room.
"Thank you, Director Guerrero" the female student said as she slightly nodded her head.
"Mr. Park. Mr. Pattaya. My name is Angelbelle Rodriguez, the 1st Circuit Student-Attorney that has jurisdiction over the CGS3's Prefect's Office" Angelbelle introduced herself, Mingyu and Ball slightly nodding their heads in acknowledgement.
"I'm sure you both understand the gravity of the situation you're in, and the possible consequences if this ever leaks to the MJU Press Corps at this point in time" Angelbelle said, her voice soft and calm.
"Normally, a member of your College's Prefect Office would serve this to you, but this is no normal circumstance, hence the necessity for me to personally deliver these summons" Angelbelle continued as she placed two neatly folded papers on the table. Sliding one towards Ball, and the other towards Mingyu.
"I know this information is already stated in those summons I just gave you, but your Student Court appearance would be this Friday in the CGS3 court room at 15:00" Angelbelle added.
"Will this be a public trial?" Mingyu asked, causing Ball to quickly lift his head up as he looked at Mingyu.
"That goes without saying, Mr. Park" Angelbelle replied, causing Ball to pivot his focus towards her.
"All Student Court trials are open to everyone here at MJU, that's explicitly stipulated in the Student Government Constitution, so there's nothing I can do about that" Angelbelle responded. Ball's face turned pale as Mingyu clenched his teeth in frustration.
"If this is going to be a public trial anyways, why are we even keeping this a huge secret?" Mingyu asked, frustrations and disbelief hinted in his voice.
"Though I can't do anything about the trial being open to the public, I do have the power to influence the time of the trial" Angelbelle replied, keeping her demeanor calm.
"What do you mean?" Mingyu asked, "What does that have to do with anything!?" he added. Angelbelle placed her hand on her mouth as she tried to muffle her laughter, causing Mingyu to furrow his eyebrows.
"It seems the rumors were true about you, Mingyu Park" Angelbelle said as her laugh turned into a chuckle.
"Rumors? What rumors?" Mingyu asked, curious as to what Angelbelle was referring to.
"That you're pretty slow. It's pretty hard to believe that you graduated from MCHS as Top 5 in your batch" Angelbelle replied, a smile on her face.
"How do you even know that!?" Mingyu asked, curious how she knew about his High School records.
"As the 1st Circuit Student-Attorney, I have access privileges to students' personal information as well as education history" Angelbelle replied to the shock of both Mingyu and Ball.
"Anyways, moving on from this irrelevant topic" Angelbelle continued, trying to keep herself from smiling.
"The timing of your trial has been scheduled at a block when students are in class. Furthermore, there are no classes from the College of Law that are schedule to watch at the time of your trial, and only the Student Judge, the Student Bailiff, Student Prosecutor, Student Defense Attorney, and the jury would be attending. The auxiliary staff will be in attendance as well, but that's pretty much it" Angelbelle explained.
"What about after the trial is over? What if the jurors leak this to the MJU Press Corps?" Mingyu asked.
"After the trial is over, there's no longer any point in keeping this a secret" Angelbelle replied.
"Whether the two of you are convicted or acquitted, by the time the trial is over, this issue would already be a moot point. If you're convicted, this issue would no longer concern the two of you since you would be in the process of being expelled; if you're acquitted, then your innocence is proven, hence it's only going to be a small blip in the university's news cycle even if it does leak to the press corps. However this trial may turn out, it would become irrelevant once it's all over and done with" Angelbelle continued.
"She does have a point, Mingyu" Ball said, finally breaking his silence.
"In any case, I've already submitted your case files to the Student Prosecutor's Office and the Student Defense Office. Though, I don't know who's going to be assigned as the Student Prosecutor nor your Student Defense Attorney since that's outside the purview of my office" Angelbelle added.
"That's all I have for you guys today. Do you have any questions or concerns?" Angelbelle asked as Ball and Mingyu made eye contact, the other waiting for the other to ask something.
"I do have a question" Mingyu said, pausing for a bit, "Does Aiden know anything about this?".
"President Kobayashi?" Angelbelle responded, "According to Chief of Staff Sato, President Kobayashi has not been informed about this whole affair, they would rather get this matter settled without him knowing".
"The reasoning for that decision was that they rather not bother President Kobayashi with any other issues, given that he already has a lot on his plate that he has to deal with, especially after the fallout from the welcome party, or so I was told by the CGS3 Prefect's clerk after the Prefect's meeting with Vice President Manalo, Chief of Staff Sato, and Public Relations Officer Dela Cruz" Angelbelle continued as Mingyu was able to breathe a sigh of relief, not wanting to bother Aiden with problems that he had caused.
"If that's the case, then it's all good" Mingyu said, cracking a smile.
"Mr. Nontanakorn and Mr. Chungwatana hasn't been, nor will they be informed of this either, the same goes for the other members of the Student Council, aside from Ms. Tolentino who, of course, brought the allegation to the CGS3 Prefect" Director Guerrero chimed in.
Ball was able to feel a little bit at ease, knowing that Min and Bank hasn't been informed of his current situation, knowing full well that Min would overreact, and Bank would worry to death if they heard that he was being summoned to the Student Court for something so scandalous – at least for their culture.
"In any case, if you two don't have any other questions, I will be taking my leave" Angelbelle said as she got up from her chair, "Thank you for your time Director Guerrero" she added as she shook the Director's hand before walking towards the door.
As Angelbelle was about to grab the doorknob, she turned around, "By the way, good luck to you both", before finally opening the door and leaving.
After giving a few words of advice and encouragement to Mingyu and Ball, Director Guerrero left the room as well, with both Mingyu and Ball following a few seconds later. After leaving the International Exchange Program office, they went on their separate ways, taking care to hide their summons from everybody.