(N/A: This is a RyeJi special chapter. Do enjoy.)

Ryujin's

"Pero so far, kumusta naman? Enjoy, 'di ba?" Nasa gilid kami ng stock room sa rooftop, mga nagtatago sa araw dahil umiinit na. Malamig naman ang simoy ng hangin pero kung naisip namin na magdala ng snacks no'ng una pa lang, baka hindi kami pawisan ngayon sa pag-akyat baba.

"Kung magkaaway pa rin kami ni Giraffe ngayon, baka hindi ang sagot ko. I changed my mind about her na. Wala na akong reklamo except sa magaling talaga s'ya mangpikon." Sagot ni Minjeong habang ngumunguya ng cream-o.

"Madali ka lang talaga mapikon." Mahaba naman pasensya ni Minjeong sa ibang bagay pero kapag asaran na, mabilis talaga s'yang mainis. Muntik pa nga kaming mag-away dati no'ng hindi ko pa s'ya kilala. Enrollment no'ng nakilala ko si Minjeong. Ang haba ng pila sa registrar tapos sobrang init pa. Nasa huli ako ng pila nang biglang kinuhit n'ya ako. Nagtalo kami kasi nakapila raw s'ya at may kinuha lang. Pasisingitin ko naman s'ya kaso tinaasan agad ako ng boses. Naging okay lang kami when we became classmates.

"Ewan ko sa'yo. Kayo ba? Okay kayo ng ex mo?" Of course, itatanong talaga nila 'yan. Kahapon pa ako kinukulit ni Ning to spill everything that's been happening.

Mukha kasi kaming okay lang, but it's far from reality.

"What if ikwento mo na mula simula kasi hindi ka naman nagkwekwento? Puro ka next month." Ning was right, ayaw kong ikwento kasi babalik lang ang lahat. Hindi pa ako ready na harapin ang nangyari sa'min.

But it's not bad to try to open up din naman.

(N/A: Kwento-kwento si Ryujin dito)

Yeji was that classmate who was cool no matter what she did. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and is always at the back of the class staring out the window. She makes me wonder what she's thinking about sometimes. I only hear her talk whenever she answers in class.

That's why I don't know what's gotten into me when I decided to get up and say 'hi' to her that day. Maybe I was drawn to her presence.

Tiningnan n'ya lang ako, judging my existence. Akala ko tatarayan n'ya ako like what I hear from others, most from my guy classmates.

But she smiled.

I was the first person to approach her in class. Others were intimidated to be even in her presence because of her cold eyes. She said she felt happy when I asked if we could have lunch together.

"So, Hwang Yeji?" She nodded while chewing her food. Kahit alam kong she's not the person they thing she is, cold-hearted, mute, alien (she was a transferee), hindi ko mapigilan na matakot kapag seryoso s'ya.

But her smile would throw all those thoughts away, and suddenly she's cute, clumsy, fun to be with, quirky; nawawala 'yung image n'ya na first impression ng lahat.

(N/A: Bold letters = present, either Ning or Winter lang.)

"Why did you transfer?" She drank water first and wiped with the back of her hand before answering my question.

"My family lives here now. I didn't want to go, but studying here is cheaper." No'ng una maiksi lang s'ya sumagot. She has walls that I still have to jump over, boundaries that aren't easy to cross kaya I'm glad she slowly opened up to me.

"Wala ka bang kasama kapag nag-stay ka sa states?"

"My older sister, but she told me to go with our parents instead. I didn't talk to her for a week because of that." Eventually, she would share things about herself without me asking. I took that as a sign that she was comfortable enough to tell me about her life. In that way, I felt like I was part of her every day na rin.

"Paano naging kayo?" Parang sobrang invested ni Minjeong, medyo nakakapanibago. Usually kasi sa dulo pa s'ya magtatanong.

"Naging kami siguro after a year? Parang it came naturally pero I asked her the question to make things official."

"Yeye."

"Bonel."

"Seryoso kasi. Ulit, ulit." Hindi n'ya mapigilang tumawa sa sarili n'yang joke.

"Okay, seryoso na." She put her chin on her hands and looked at me.

"Yeji, I know we've known each other for a—p'wede 'wag mo 'ko titigan? Hindi ako makapag-concentrate." Nakakaloko 'yung ngiti n'ya pero sinunod naman n'ya ako. Tumalikod si gaga.

"Yeji."

"Hehe, joke lang. Okay, I'm serious na now, baby. You may continue." Gago nga.

"Baby ka d'yan."

"My baby, hehe. Ano na?" Pinalo ko s'ya sa braso bago nagsimula ulit.

"We've known each other for a year pa lang, but I'm sure na what I feel for you is real, and I know, I don't know pala but can we—" Wala na. Nag-practice pa ako kagabi tapos matatameme lang pala ako sa harap n'ya.

"Make this official?" I nodded at her, avoiding her eyes because of disappointment that it didn't come from me.

"Yes, make this official. Pero if you don't feel the same way, tanggap ko naman if friends lang—" The unexpected kiss shut me up. 

It wasn't long, it was short and sudden, but it was enough to linger on my lips.

"Do friends kiss?"

"I don't—" Another smack.

"We can't be friends, Yodaeng. We're more than that a long time ago." Na-fefeel ko na 'yung luha, malapit na pumatak kaso...

"Yie, iiyak na 'yan! Iiyak na 'yan!" Umurong.

"Aww, that's so cute. What went wrong though?" Ang reason lang talaga kung bakit kayo nag-break ay dahil babalik s'ya sa states?" Ning was also closely listening, cute.

"Hindi. We tried LDR pero hindi n'ya raw kaya... so, I let go. Baka it's better na mag-break na lang kam kaysa nahihirapan kami pareho."