DISCLAIMER:

This chapter may contain a huge number of grammatical and punctuation errors. Feel free to point them out. (via X/Twitter and CC) I am not an expert in this field, so please bear with me.

 

——

 

MinJeong.

Kim Winter.

Personally, I don't have the faintest idea kung pa'no ko siya ipakikilala sa ibang tao, in a way na mai-eexplain ko nang mabuti. I'm fairly certain there is not a single adjective present in the English vocabulary to describe her accurately the way I want to.

How do I explain this?

If you were to look at her without paying too much attention, ang normal na iisipin mo lang ay isa siyang tipikal na estudyante na masiyadong lugmok sa pag-aaral. A nerd, if you may call it, but once you keep an eye on her, you'll realize that she's not just your typical bookworm. She's super interesting to watch; her cute little reactions to the randomest thing are what make me so drawn into her.

She's normally quiet sa personal, especially in class, but she tends to shriek in laughter whenever Ningning cracks a joke; that's the only thing that can make her lose her composure. I also find it really amusing how her voice can be so high in pitch when she's usually as quiet as a mouse. It got me wondering if she can sing that high as well.

She speaks pure Tagalog in the cutest way I know. I have never encountered someone who speaks the way she does, but I also love how she doesn't try to hide it. She would confidently do things her own way; if you don't like it, then so be it. Her cute little, faint accent appears rare but is really adorable when you hear it yourself. Her baby cheeks flush on any occasion that she gets complimented or is thrown into a state of agitated confusion.

She has the purest heart I know. I feel like she'd easily forgive an ex-convict acquitted of murder when it casually asked for her trust. And to think na mayroong kagaya pa niya na nabubuhay sa panahon na 'to, it can actually be pretty terrifying sa side niya, for she could easily get betrayed, get into trouble, and get taken full advantage of for trusting people too much. I just honestly think that she's too innocent to live in this world.

Also, one thing I can confidently say about her is that she's really pretty. She could literally surpass active celebrities on TV in a snap if she ever tried to become one, though I might still have to encourage her for a long period of time just to reach a mutual agreement. Ang hirap niya kasing i-convince sa mga ganiyang uri ng bagay. 

I'm not one to meddle in somebody else's affair. I don't really care about other people's businesses as long as they don't try to get into mine. And it was absolutely not my intention to pry into her business when some random guy bumped into her that day. I just found myself butting in when I saw her hurt herself. I was mad, but for what? We don't even know each other that well, nor are we close enough to offer each other help. But given the current circumstances I found myself in, I was there, holding her back to keep her from falling. When she asked me about that day, I was left with no choice but to confess that the thought of me finding her lovely was one of the major reasons why I lent her a helping hand. Can you blame me, though? It was the first word that came to mind when I first laid eyes on her.

In a way, the only thing that there is to dislike about her personality is that she's grown into deceiving herself in such a horrible way, saying she's fine—literally every single time that you ask her if she's okay. She'll flash that warm smile of hers as if you can't see how much she's struggling inside.

It's actually disappointing.

What's so hard about telling me that you had an awful day?

"Huy," I snapped out of it, nu'ng kumaway si Winter sa harap ko, looking like she's worried kasi kanina pa ako nakatulala, "Hindi mo ba gusto 'yung pagkain?"

"N-No, may naalala lang ako," palusot ko at uminom na lang ng tubig, "Sorry about that; I shouldn't be thinking of anything else when I'm with you."

Pero siya naman ang iniisip ko, 'di ba?

"Ayos lang, normal naman 'yan 'no." sumubo pa siya sa kinakain niyang steak at ngumiti. She's swaying her feet happily like a child na first time pinakain ng mommy niya sa Jollibee.

I chuckled and thought, eighteen years old na ba talaga 'tong kausap ko?

"Sa'n nga pala yung kinainan mo kagabi?" 

"It's a cafe near here lang."

"Palagi kaya si Yalu r'on?" tanong niya which made me look at her with so much confusion.

"Yalu?"

"Oo, yung pusa," natatawang tumingin lang siya sa 'kin, but it didn't answer my question directly so I continued to stay puzzled, which is tinawanan lang niya bago siya sumagot, "Eh kasi, 'di ba ginger siya, tinagalog ko lang kaya naging Luya, at pinagbaliktad para mas maganda pakinggan."

I chuckled on my seat.

Winter and the way her mind works.

"I thought it was one of your friends names," natatawang tugon ko sa kaniya na sinagot niya lang din nang pag-ngisi, "Nevertheless, it sounds cute nga. Maybe we should go there after natin dito?"

"Ha?​ Kakain na naman tayo?"

"If you want to?" tumingin siya sa 'kin nang nakakaloko at parang gulat na gulat sa sinabi ko, "I was just kidding. We can drink coffee nalang, or alcohol if you want since they sell alcoholic beverages din." 

She remained silent at parang nag-isip pa nang malalim kung papayag pa ba siya sa offer ko. That's when I remember na baka may duty siya sa work tomorrow. I might be bugging her long enough already, mukha pa naman na siya yung tipo na mabilis madrain pag madalas lumabas ng bahay.

"Or not? If may duty ka tomorrow, we can visit next time na lang," I assured, pero she remained silent pa rin sa upuan niya, got me wondering to myself kung may nasabi ba ako na hindi niya nagustuhan, "Winter?"

"Tara!"

I nearly jumped on my seat nu'ng bigla siyang sumigaw, even yung mga tao sa kabilang table ay nagtinginan sa'min.

"You scared me." Napahawak pa ako sa dibdib ko dahil sa gulat pero tinawanan niya lang ako.

"Iniisip ko lang kasi sila Ningning. Panigurado ay yari na naman ako sa kanila pag nalaman nilang lumabas tayo ng hindi sila kasama." She said nervously.

"Well, we're not going to tell them, are we?" nagpatong pa ako ng isang daliri sa labi sabay kinindatan siya.

"Baliw." 

Nagtawanan na lang kami pareho as we continued eating our food.

 

—

 

"That's weird, they said na palagi lang siya rito." dismayadong sabi ko at tumingin kay Winter. She was looking for Yalu rin, pero kita sa mukha niya na nalungkot siya dahil parang wala siya dito ngayong gabi.

My eyes roamed around the room once again, hoping to see our little Yalu wandering around. But to no avail; he's nowhere to be seen. We just remained rooted there—heaving deep sighs.

"Mukhang gumala ang pogi." she chuckled as she said in dismay.

"Do you want to go home na? Sorry, I was the one who said na palagi siya rito pero hindi mo siya nakita." I lowered my gaze; feeling ashamed, pero she confusingly looked at me instead.

"Hala, bakit ka humihingi ng pasensiya? At saka, bakit uuwi ka na? Akala ko ba gusto mong uminom?"

"Just me?"

"Syempre, ako rin," she let out a soft laugh, hinawakan niya pa ang braso ko para hilahin papunta sa may vacant na table, "Maupo na tayo, baka mauubusan pa tayo ng pwesto kung mag-iisip pa tayo nang matagal."

So we did. We waited for a few minutes lang at umorder na nang maiinom. It arrived sooner than expected naman, so while we were having fun drinking, I showed her some pictures I took of Yalu kagabi and I could already see her eyes sparkling kahit sa pictures niya pa lang ito nakikita. She's scrolling through the photos I took while I'm just here, sitting, and staring at her. I wasn't joking when I said na sobrang laki ng potential niya sa pag-aartista. I mean, just look at her, she doesn't even wear makeup and yet, she's already this pretty.

"Winter, have you ever considered yourself being an artist?" I questioned, literally out of nowhere. 

Itinigil niya ang pagtingin ng pictures sa phone ko at iniabot ito pabalik sa 'kin. Kita sa mukha niya na nagtataka siya kung bakit ko naitanong bigla ang tungkol do'n. She was quiet for a while; it's like she's thinking about it thoroughly before niya ako sag