My Smiling Assassin (Completed)

Part 3

"MARC! Marc!"

"Te amo, Marc! I love you!"

"Marry me, Marc!"

Ilan lang iyon sa mga sigaw na malinaw na naririnig ni Marc nang bumaba siya ng black sedan sa harap ng isang hotel sa Catalonia, Spain. Malakas ang tilian habang isinisigaw ang kanyang pangalan. Nilingon niya ang pinagmumulan ng ingay. Naroon siya sa hotel para sa isang interview at hindi niya inaasahan na may mga fans na naghihintay sa kanya roon. Maluwang na nginitian niya ang mga ito, kinawayan, at binigyan ng flying kiss. The crowd went wild. Mabuti na lang at may mga guwardiyang kumokontrol sa mga ito. Kabi-kabila rin ang mga flashes ng camera.

Bagaman nakangiti ay okupado naman ang isip ni Marc sa tawag ng ama.

"Well, son, kailangan na nating tuparin ang napagkasunduan..."

Nagpakawala siya ng buntong-hininga. He shrugged off the thought kahit pa nga ba malabong magawa niya iyon. Tuloy-tuloy na siyang pumasok sa hotel.

"Mahal kita, Marc!"

Napahinto sa paglalakad si Marc. Kung sino man ang sumigaw na iyon, isa itong Pilipino, isang kababayan.

He grinned. Lumingon siya. "Mahal din kita!" aniya. Muli siyang kumaway at ngumiti sa mga fans bago tuluyang pumasok sa hotel. The interviewer and his crew warmly welcomed him. Ilang sandali pa at sinasagot na niya ang mga tanong ng interviewer.

"Your father bought you a motorized bike when you were four years old, correct?"

Napangiti si Marc sa alaalang hatid ng kauna-unahan niyang bike. "Ah, yes. We were still living in the Philippines back then. And that bike sparked my passion for this career. My family supported me all the way, which was why, we needed to migrate to Spain for my career."

"And now you are a MotoGP champion."

He nodded with humility. "Yeah. That's why I always thank my family a lot. I am blessed because I have a family and a team that creates a good atmosphere around me. They're the best support system."

"Judging from your performance, nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi believes that you could be the greatest rider. What can you say?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Marc. "Are you kidding me? He really said that?" hindi makapaniwalang tanong niya. Natawa ang staff sa kanyang naging reaksiyon. Who can blame him? Valentino Rossi was his idol. Isa ang lalaki sa mga successful rider na tinitingala niya nang husto. Kinumpirma ng interviewer na sinabi nga iyon ng kanyang idolo.

"Really? Wow! I'm... I'm speechless. I mean, having my idol say that is like Christmas! I have so much respect for him and everybody knows Rossi is my idol."

"Do you realize that your smile isn't only popular here in Spain, but across the globe?"

Natawa si Marc. Sa hindi malamang dahilan ay tuluyang nawala ang bigat ng dibdib at alalahanin na dulot ng pagtawag ng kanyang ama. "Eh...well I do not know what to say. They call me the 'smiling assassin,' eh. To me, it's all about work whenever I am on the racetrack. But after the race, after the competition, we are all friends." Yet he was aware that his happy-go-lucky demeanor helped to mask the raw aggression he showed on the tracks.

"Half an hour ago, you shouted something to a fan outside the hotel. What was that?"

"Ah, that? Eh, I said: 'Mahal din kita'. It's Filipino. In English it means 'I love you, too.'"

"Oh. She got your attention because she's..."

"Filipina," nakangiting sambit ni Marc sa interviewer nang hagilapin nito ang salita. "My mother is a Filipina. And I am half Filipino. I haven't able to go back to the Philippines for the past seventeen years so I kind of missed them, my kababayan."

"You still know how to speak Tagalog? And I learned that you also know how to speak Italian."

"Ah, yes. At home we still speak Tagalog, even my dad and my brother Alex who was born here also speaks Tagalog. Eh, I learned Italian because we have Italians in our team, though, inside the paddocks English is our common language." Ganoon pa man, mas nangingibabaw na ang Spanish accent niya. At ang "eh" ay hindi na nawawala.

"So now, you're on a break. Have you decided what you will do on your vacation?" tanong ng interviewer pagkaraang magtanong ng mga nangyari tungkol sa nakaraang season at sa paghahandang ginagawa ng team nila para naman sa susunod na season.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to unwind a bit." Beach, beach, and beach. Iyon ang plano ni Marc sa kanyang bakasyon.

"Can you tell us where you're planning to go?"

"Ah. No, no. Sorry," tumatawang pagtanggi ni Marc. Dahil sa pagtawag ng ama, duda siya kung makakapag-enjoy pa nga ba siya nang husto. There might be some changes to his plans.