Karina's

We stopped by a small town to eat. Almost 2 hours kaming bumyahe ni Jaehyun, my childhood best friend. Buti na lang mas sanay na s'ya mag-drive ngayon 'coz if Dad sent him para sunduin ako 2 years ago, I would've declined and chosen to commute instead. The dorm/school where we stayed was far from the city, but I didn't really notice since I fell asleep the whole ride. My Dad's place, our place, is an out-of-town vacation house. We spend our weekends there; talking about his workplace, school, future plans, what we'll do next week, etc. Giselle said I'm lucky to have these conversations with him kahit na once a week lang kami magkita. Yeji agreed considering how her parents are away all the time.

The resto was quiet though it was almost lunch time. I think an old couple owns and runs the resto with their daughter who took our orders. Jae was smiling at the woman but she was looking at me. He rolled his eyes with a tiny smile on his face.

"You always get the girls, bakit ganon? You're not gay naman, not even bi."

"I'm a charmer, what can I do?" Perks of going to a small restaurant are obviously, they're not as busy compared sa fast food chains, or larger places. Therefore, our order arrived after just 10 minutes.

"Where's Dad?" I asked him mid-subo. He put down the spoon full of rice and answered.

"He's waiting for you at home, probably watching TV or checking e-mails. Deretso ba tayo do'n or you have something else in mind?" I nodded, taking a sip from my iced coffee.

"He didn't tell you?" He shook his head no.

"Sabi lang sa'kin sunduin kita. No details whatsoever." That's kinda weird.

"Bakit pala ikaw sumundo sa'kin? Dad's too busy?" He adjusted his seat, leaning back, having difficulty swallowing his food.

"I don't know. Nautusan lang ako dito, Kari. Driver mo lang ako." I glared at him. I know what he's implying but I don't wanna talk about it for now.

I have something else in mind, though.

"Why did you ask me to kiss you sa cheeks in front of my friends? What were you up to?" I opened our messages and read the exchange.

Jae
Today 8:30 AM Jae
Kari Kari
yeah? what's up? Jae
Dad asked me to fetch you Kari
eh? okay Jae
Anong oras? Kari
up to you Jae
9? Kari
yeah sure Jae
BTW, paglabas ko ng car
kiss me sa cheeks
and look happy while doing it Kari
for what??? Jae
Trust me Kari
okay??? Jae
Anyway, I'll be there soon Kari
alright
ingat! Jae
Thanks. Let's eat din. Kari
as long as you'll pay, i'll go Jae
Hahaha alright

"I hugged you pa even if we don't do that." He smirked at me.

"You trusted me though. Ginawa mo pa rin." I punched his arm.

"You see, your Dad is making sure na walang lalaking umaaligid sa maganda n'yang anak. But, it doesn't mean na safe ka rin sa mga babae." I know the thing about guys pero not the girls.

"So, I made you do that para makita if any of your girlfriends like you." This guy, seriously.

"That's absurd. Plus, who would? And how will you determine?" He finished his coffee before responding.

"By their reaction. But, it's for me to know and for you to find out." I sighed out of frustration. He's always like this, even with Gigi who dated one of his friends, and Yeji na sure along hindi ako ang gusto. He's always playing mind games with me and I'm not having fun.

"You're not gonna tell me o wala naman talaga?" Umiling lang s'ya ulit, putting his tongue out this time to annoy me even more.

"Fine. I'll find out myself. I'm sure na wala naman talaga." Unless he saw Minjeong, pero hindi naman talaga sure 'yon. My friends keep saying na yes, she likes me, but I don't see it...?

"You're always so clueless, Kari. Ang hirap mong magustuhan."
 

Yeji's

"Is Winter okay? She's been quiet this morning. Should we ask?" Gigi whispered beside me. We're eating with them and I've been wondering as well dahil kanina pa n'ya nilalaro ang pagkain n'ya.

"Winter, okay ka lang?" She looked up at us and smiled, but I know it was not real. Comparing this smile to her previous smiles, naiipon eyebags n'ya kapag ngiting-ngiti s'ya, but this smile, seems sad and hurt.

"Okay lang ako, hehe. Kulang lang sa tulog." She answered before whipping her phone out. Maglalaro, as usual.

Ryu was looking at her while we were having the conversation. She turned to look at me, it looked like she was about to say something, but decided to ask Giselle instead. See? I'm not avoiding her, she's avoiding me.

"Giselle, may kapatid bang lalaki si Karina?" Ningning joined, putting her phone down to listen. She was on a call earlier, with who, I'm not sure. Winter side-eyed her but returned her attention sa game n'ya.

"I think she told us na meron s'yang kuya? But I haven't seen him yet. What I know is... he looks sharp? Cold, parang si Karina lang din kapag seryoso, taller than her, and he's really nice." Winter's expression was a bit unreadable, parang masaya na maiiyak na ewan.

"Sabi ko naman sa'yo Minjeong. Kapatid n'ya 'yun." Minjeong—I mean Winter looked surprise sa narinig n'ya, but it was as if she's panicking inside dahil nahuli s'ya or something.

I guess our suspicions have been confirmed. Gigi was smiling from ear to ear when I turned to look at her.

"What about Karina's brother?" My friend asked knowingly, siniko pa ako under the table.

"May sumundo kay Karina kanina, 'di ba? Medyo fitting naman sa description mo kaya baka kapatid n'ya 'yon." We nodded at the same time. May point naman si Ryujin but why are we talking about this?

"Then, why did you say it that way kay Winter? Did Winter think that he's not Rina's brother?" Nag-sink sa upuan si Winter, not literally, but you get me. It's just that her frame became even more smaller. Nagsuot na rin s'ya ng earphones.

"Haha, ano, hindi naman. Wala lang, nagtalo lang kami ni Minjeong kanina na baka hindi n'ya kapatid kasi may kiss sa cheeks tapos may hug pa." Okay? Still suspicious though.

"I think Rina told us na he doesn't do that to his brother. Close sila but not to that extent." The table fell silent, only the low murmuring of other students can be heard. Nagtinginan lang kaming apat until we all looked at Winter who's now focused sa game.

"So..." Ning finally said a word, and I think I know what she was about to say.

"Straight s'ya?" The four us said in unison with Winter looking at us with a clueless expression.

She removed one of her ear buds, "Anong meron?" Our eyes shared the same look.

"Conspiracy theory, hehe." She diverted her attention back to the game. I wonder if she pretended not to hear us or if she didn't really hear.

Rina, she's so obvious. How are you not getting this?

constants <3
Today 1:02 PM aerinizer
rina how to train this dragon
sino ba sumundo sayo? yuji
it's jae how to train this dragon
jae??? childhood friend who used to like you? yuji
yes, that jae
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...sinabi ko 'yun? aerinizer
girl is forgetful af yuji
iba ata yun
but what about jae? aerinizer
rojen mentioned about it and we thought it's our brother
but you kissed him? sa cheeks? with a hug?
yaks char ½ yuji
hahahaha he told me to do that how to train your dragon
in front of winter's snacks yuji
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girl di ko na narinig boses nya simula nung alis mo
and the fact that rojen said
wait, should we tell her, yej? how to train your dragon
wag na yuji
HUH
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ryujin said "sabi ko naman sayo minjeong kapatid nya lang yun" yuji
so winter thought jae is my brother how to train your dragon
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pag nakita talaga kita yu jimin, I will smack you in the head yuji
WHY aerinizer
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people often mistake jae as my brother though it's kinda expected how to train your dragon
then why was winter sad yuji
idk? aerinizer
ibahin ko na lang ang question
why kiss him