“Eomma, let me do the dishes,” Lanny begged in English as she watched her mother wash her hands.

A joyful smile cracked on her mother’s lips. She patted her head and said, “This is the first time my daughter asked to do a household chore. When you were here, you would always command your bunso (younger sibling, usu the youngest in the family) to do the chores. Oftentimes he can’t say no because you’re always busy working and watching over the sari-sari store. You can call me nanay (mother) instead.”

Lanny nodded and replied, “Yes, nanay.”

Meanwhile, his younger brother Junhong was still staring at her He ran to the living room to ask his father what’s going on.

“Tatay, bakit English nang English si ate? Di ba sa Korea naman siya galing at hindi sa Amerika? Bakit siya naghuhugas ng plato? Bakit kelangan pang ituro ni nanay na nanay yang tawag sa kanya? Sino ba yung kasama niya? Boypren niya ba o asawa niya? Ka-live in niya? Kasal ba sila? Koreano ba yun? Tsaka bakit ngayon lang umuwi si ate? Tatlong taon na nung huli siyang umuwi, di ba? May problema ba sa university niya? Nabuhay kaya siya nung tumigil na tayong magpadala? Tapos na niya ba ung kurso niya? Bakit hindi niya kinausap? Ano ba kasi ang nangyari? Share niyo naman! (Father, why does sister keep on speaking English? She came from Korea and not America, right? Why is she doing the dishes? Why does mother have to teach her to call her nanay? Who’s the guy with her? Her boyfriend or husband? Her live-in partner? Are they married? Is he Korean? Why did she come home just now? It’s been three years since she came back home, right? Is there a problem in her university? Was she able to meet ends when we stopped giving money? Did she finish her course? Why is she not to talking to us? What happened? Share it to me please!)”

Daehyun sat beside the inquisitive boy and answered his questions one by one.

“Kaya English nang English ang ate mo dahil hindi siya marunong mag-Tagalog at hindi marunong mag-Korean ang nanay at tatay mo. (The reason why your older sister speaks only English because she cannot speak Tagalog and your parents can’t speak Korean.)

“Naghuhugas siya ng plato dahil ayaw niyang maging pabigat at gusto niya ang natulong. (She did the dishes because she doesn’t want to be a bum and she likes helping.)

“Kailangang ituro yun ng nanay mo dahil hindi alam ni Lanny yun. (Your mother has to teach it to her because Lanny does not know.)”

“Ako nga pala si Jung Daehyun  –bows–. Asawa ako ng ate mo. Hindi niya ako ka-live in. Oo, kasal na kami. Koreano ako mula Busan. (I’m Jung Daehyun by the way. I’m the husband of your sister. We’re not partners. Yes, we’re married. I’m a Korean from Busan.)

“Ngayon lang umuwi ang ate mo dahil kelan lang naman kami nagkita. (She just came home because we just met recently.)

“Wala naman siyang problema sa university, tapos na niya ang kurso niya. Kinaya naman niya kahit hindi kayo nakapagpadala dahil may trabaho siya nun. (She had no problems in the university, she was able to finish her course. She was able to)

At higit sa lahat, nagka-amnesia ang ate mo dahil sa isang aksidente. Matagal ko rin siyang hinanap kaya ngayon lang kami nakapunta rito. (And lastly, your sister had amnesia due to an accident. It took me a long time to find her that’s why we just came here.)”

“Ah ganun ba… (Ah that’s why…)” then Junhong realized the Korean beside him just spoke fluent Filipino, totally taken aback and surprised. “M-Marunong kang mag-Tagalog?! Ay, tinuruan ka dati ni ate no?”

Daehyun shook his head. “Sa totoo lang, ayaw niya akong matuto lalo na pagkausap niya kayo sa telepono kaya nag-aral na lang ako. Nung araw na sasabihin kong marunong na akong mag-Tagalog, dun siya naglaho… (The truth is, she didn’t want me to learn especially when you talk on the phone so I self-studied. On the day I was going to reveal her that I know how to speak Tagalog, she disappeared…)”

Lanny’s father butted in and told Junhong, “Itigil mo na yang tanong-tanong at gumawa ka muna ng assignment mo. Ikukwento ko sayo mamaya ang buong nangyari sa ate mo, okey? (Stop the questions and do your homework. I’ll tell you what happened to your sister later, okay?)”

“Opo… (Yes…)” and he ran upstairs to his room beside Lanny’s, the one with the blue door.

When Junhong left, Lanny’s father approached Daehyun and said, “May mga tanong ako sayo tungkol sa anak ko at sa inyo, kung ayos lang ba sayo? (I have questions regarding my daughter and about you two, if it’s okay?)”

“Ako rin po, may mga tanong ako tungkol kay Lanny… He he… (I have questions about Lanny as well… He he…)” he replied, scratching his head shyly.

Lanny and her mother were busy catching up on each other when a loud knock on the gate and a chorused scream of “OY JUNHONG!” startled them. Lanny offered herself to go outside and check. When she opened the gate slowly, a horde of high school boys whistled.

“Hayup, ate ni Junhong yung nagbukas ng pinto! H-Hi po… si Junhong po? (Damn, Junhong’s sister opened the door! H-Hi… is Junhong there?)” commented oone of the boys who was wearing an L.A. Lakers snapback.

A tall guy sporting a burgundy hair winked at her, mouthing “I miss you” with no sound.

“Kung gusto mo ate sama ka sa laro namin, dyan lang sa may basketball court oh. Pakitaan mo kami ulit ng dribbling skills mo, (If you want, you can join us in our game at the bastketball court. Show us your dribbling skills again)” whispered a guy with his ed uniform, showing his black Nirvana shirt.

She could only watch them try their best to coquet her for she was totally overwhelmed by the attention she’s getting from a bunch of high school boys. Junhong came to the rescue, hiding his older sister behind him.

“Tigilan niyo ate ko, kakabalik lang niya dito. At higit sa lahat, may asawa na siya. Maghanap na lang kayo ng ibang lalandiin. (Stop pestering my sister, she just came here. And most of all, she’s married. Find someone else to flirt.)”

“Sad layp nu, may asawa na ang crush natin. Gwapo ba? (Sad life, our crush is already married. Is he handsome?)” asked a short guy chewing gum.

“Lanny, come here,” Daehyun appeared beside her, observing the group of high school boys. He spoke in Korean to intimidate the testosterone-filled creatures.

She followed him inside, still overwhelmed with her little brother’s classmates.

Junhong’s classmates pulled him and investigated the man who took Lanny.

“Ayun asawa niya? (That’s her husband?)”

“Koreano ba yun? (Is he Korean?)”

“Mayaman ba yun? (Is he rich?)”

“Paano niya naman nakuha si ate Lanny? (How did he get Lanny?)”

“Pinikot niya ba? (Did he force her to marry him?)”

“May anak ba? (Are there any children?)”

“Ilan ba? (How many?)”

“Ilang taon na yung asawa niya? (How old is her husband?)”

“Sino yun? (Who’s that?)”

He pushed them away from their house and scolded, “Dami niyong tanong. Mga chismoso ba kayo sa tindahan ni Aling Nena na ngumangata ng hopia at RC? Parang mga di lalaki tong mga to. Umayos nga kayo ng buhay niyo. May laro pa tayo mamaya. (You ask too many questions. Are you guys rumormongers  in Aling Nena’s store munching on hopia and RC [a soft drink brand]? You act like you’re not men. Get a life. We have a game later.)”

“Are you alright? You seem very shocked,” Daehyun asked Lanny as he gave her a cup of yellow tea. “Have some tea to calm your senses.”

“I never thought I’ll get a lot of attention from my dongsaeng’s classmates. I didn’t understand anything that they said, but there’s this one guy who winked at me  –winks at Daehyun–  and another who said he missed me and then this guy whispered to me like we know each other and some are eyeing me suspiciously. They’re really scary!” she narrated as she was clinging on his hand tightly. “I wanted to hide in a cave! It’s a good thing you came. Damnation carnation condensation…”

Daehyun can’t help but notice her flushed face as he was bashfully recounting her encounter with Junhong’s classmates.

“You’re flattered, aren’t you?”

That made Lanny’s red cheeks more intense. She can feel the heat of chagrin surrounding her. As much as she wanted to say no, her lips won’t move because it’s the truth.

She’s too bad at lying, Daehyun thought, observing his wife.

“You know, your father told me that you were an ulzzang back here,” he added, making her agape. “Those boys were your first fanboys. They know you for being bare-faced and always wearing shorts. But you always push them away, because you think of them as hindrance. But then, I remember you came to Korea confessing that–”

Lanny covered his mouth with her hand and roared, “You don’t dare say that!”

He took the hand that covered his mouth and more. “When you go to your convenience store, men would come to flirt, give you flowers and–” He knew he was going to be hit by her iron fist so he stood up and ran away.

“COME BACK HERE YOU ANNOYING THING‼!”

Lanny’s mother saw the couple chasing each other and said to herself, “Here goes Lanny, chasing boys to beat again.”

Eyo baby wassup! Finally update a chapterrr! It took me like really a long time coz I've been to a lot of stuff like parties and got sick as well. T-T

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