The life nobody knew
To millions of A’TIN, Stellvester Ajero was sunshine in human form.
He was loud.
He was affectionate.
He was effortlessly funny.
He could turn the most ordinary rehearsal into a comedy show, sing until everyone in the room got goosebumps, and somehow find a way to make even the most exhausted members laugh.
But there was one thing nobody knew about Stell.
He had a family.
Not a secret pet.
Not a secret hobby.
Not even a secret vacation house.
A family.
A beautiful secret family that lived with him in a quiet, heavily secured house away from Manila’s busiest streets.
And that morning, Stell was standing in his kitchen wearing an oversized shirt, sweatpants, and fluffy socks while attempting to make pancakes.
“Daddy!”
A small pair of footsteps thundered across the hardwood floor.
Stell turned around.
Aning, his five-year-old daughter, came running into the kitchen with her hair tied into two messy ponytails.
“Daddy! Elio stole my pink spoon!”
“I did not!”
A four-year-old boy appeared behind her, clutching the pink spoon triumphantly.
“It was on the table!”
“It was MY spoon!”
Stell closed his eyes.
Five seconds.
That’s all it took for his peaceful morning to become chaos.
“Okay, okay!” he laughed. “Nobody panic. Daddy has solutions.”
Aning crossed her arms.
“What’s the solution?”
Stell held up another spoon.
“Green spoon.”
“I don’t want green.”
“Blue spoon?”
“No.”
“Yellow?”
“No.”
“Purple?”
Aning stared at him.
“Pink.”
Stell sighed dramatically.
“Of course.”
From the doorway came a soft laugh.
Y/N stood there holding two cups of juice.
“You know,” she said, “for someone who performs in front of thousands of people, you’re absolutely terrified of two toddlers.”
Stell immediately smiled.
“Because these two are more powerful than an arena.”
Y/N walked over and kissed his cheek.
“Good morning.”
Stell’s expression softened.
“Morning, love.”
Aning immediately covered her eyes.
“Ewww.”
Elio giggled.
“Daddy kissed Mommy!”
Stell laughed.
“That’s because Mommy is pretty.”
Y/N smiled and shook her head.
For five years, this had been Stell’s secret.
Y/N.
Aning.
Elio.
His little family.
The one part of his life that wasn’t connected to cameras, stages, interviews, or millions of strangers.
Nobody in SB19 knew.
Not Pablo.
Not Josh.
Not Justin.
And somehow, none of Stell’s family knew either.
Stell had always intended to tell them.
Eventually.
But eventually had become five years.
And now, completely unknowingly, the people Stell had spent years hiding his family from were driving straight toward his front gate.
