“I love you.”

Love – 4 letters, 1 word. Isang salita lang pero napakamahiwaga at napakamakapangyarihan. Yung tipong sigurado ka sa nararamdaman mo na hindi ka sigurado kung saan ka dadalhin nito. Yung hindi ka man sigurado sa paglalakbay, kabisado mo na at buong buo na ang litrato ng iyong destinasyon.

“I love you more.”

Love ulit – apat na letra, isang salita. A word that holds a lot of feelings and worlds, of galaxies and undiscovered possibilities despite being short and concise. Something that is somewhat incomprehensible but offers a lot of understanding, something intangible yet physicality was never its core aspect.

Love.

Pagmamahal.

Love.

Mahal.

Salitang madaling sambitin at masarap sa pandinig, lalo’t nanggagaling sa taong pinaka-iingatan at pinakamahalaga sa iyo. Salitang di ka magsasawang pakinggan kahit ikabingi mo man ang pagsambit at pagtawag nito.

If only things were that simple.

But what is life, indeed, if there are no twists and stupid spirals, right?

“I love you most.”

Tamang sambit lang ng I love you bago magbago ang lahat.

----

Blinking lights, deafening audio, and tons and tons of people. Just a regular Saturday night.

The club is packed to the brim. Who can blame people flooding night clubs and bars anyway? After a stressful week, alak talaga ang katapat.

I just shook my head at the irony of it all. Sakit sa ulo ang trabaho buong linggo tapos pasasakitin lalo ang ulo dahil sa hangover mula sa alak na for sure magdamag iinumin ng mga tao.

Who am I to judge? Eh isa rin ako sa mga taong yun.

I was so busy smiling and thinking to myself na hindi ko na namalayan yung paligid ko. Hanggang sa nakaramdam nalang ako ng isang matinding hampas sa braso.

“What the – !” sigaw ko sabay lingon sa kung saan man nanggaling yung nakaka tanggal braso na sapak, to return the favor sana.

 Tawang-tawa naman ang mga pokpak kong kaibigan na kaharap ko na ngayon.

“Lalim naman ng iniisip mo Madam ah,” natatawang sabi ni Yeri, isa sa mga close friends ko. Together with her are Jennie, Rosé, Joy, her younger sister Ningning, and my cousin, Karina.

Sinamaan ko naman sila ng tingin habang hawak hawak yung right arm ko.

“You really should’ve seen your reaction Ate Joohyun. It was epic.” Singit naman ng pinsan ko.

Hay bakit ko nga pinasama yung pinsan ko sa kanila?

Oh yeah, by the way, my name’s Joohyun, Bae Joohyun.

After the short chaos, we finally got ourselves settled into a booth. Lahat sila nasa dance floor na, ako nalang yung naiwan sa table with my cousin Karina.

“Hyun…” tawag sa akin ni Jennie when she came back to the table to get something from her purse.

“Hmmm?”

“Di ka talaga pupunta sa dance floor?”

Nag isip na muna ako for a while. I wanted to go there and dance the night away pero I can’t leave my cousin alone rin. I looked at Karina briefly and smiled at her then looked back to Jennie and shook my head.

Nagkibit balikat nalang siya. “Ikaw bahala.” And she went back to the dance floor.

Nanood lang ako sa kanila, quietly checking and chilling in my space nang biglang magsalita si Karina.

“Go na Ate Hyun. Alam kong gusto mo rin magsaya doon.” Napatingin naman ako sa kanya at ngumiti lang siya pabalik sa akin. “Don’t worry about me. My friend, Winter, is gonna be here rin naman so I technically won’t be alone since on the way na raw siya.”

I looked at her for a long time, searching for a bluff kung meron man. But all I found in my cousin’s eyes were sincerity and amusement.

“Sure ka ba talaga?”

Tumango lang siya at ngumiti. High ba tong pinsan ko at ngiti ng ngiti? Then suddenly things started to click in my head.

Napatawa nalang ako sa train of thoughts ko.

“Okay. If papunta na rin naman siya, sa bar nalang muna ako tatambay before I join Jennie and the others. Pero sure ka ba talaga dito Rina?”

Tumango lang siya.

“Pero if I know, pinagtatabuyan mo lang ako kasi Winter, your friend (oo, diniin ko talaga yung friend kasi ang cute asarin ng pinsan ko), is coming over.” I smirked when I saw her cheeks starting to turn red.

“Naku hindi Ate Hyun ah!”

Deny deny ka pa Rina. Huli ka na. Di nga lang kulong.

High nga talaga tong pinsan ko. High na high sa pag-ibig. Love nga naman talaga.

Tumawa nalang ako sa reaksyon niya. “I’ll just go to the bar nalang muna talaga. Be vigilant muna dito Rina ha?”

She nodded her head and after making sure she was all good in our booth at walang umaali-aligid na mga masasamang elemento, I made my way towards the bar.

Pero di pa ako umaabot doon when I suddenly heard someone call out.

"Hey..."

Napalingon naman agad ako sa kung saan nanggaling yung boses.

"Hmmm ---"

*snap*

"What?" My eyebrow instantaneously rose, bewildered by the sudden snap of the camera.

And then there was you, a girl smiling warmly at me na may halong kaba. "I just wanted to take your photo. You looked so stunning under those lights."

The warm smile turned into a shy one, a bear-like feature painting your face at napangiti nalang rin ako kasi ang cute mo tingnan.

"I hope you don't mind. I'm Seulgi by the way. Kang Seulgi.”

Pagpapakilala mo sa akin, extending your right hand for a shake while a sheepish smile makes its way on your lips.

So is this how you charm others?

I wondered but otherwise shook your hand with a reserved smile, unsure of where my night is going.

"Joohyun. Bae Joohyun," I replied.

An awkward silence followed. Napaubo ka naman ng kaunti para siguro tanggalin yung awkward air that’s growing between us.

“So…” panimula mo.

Nakatitig lang akong naghihintay sa mga susunod mong sasabihin. But I decided to spare you the awkwardness kasi napapakamot ka nalang sa batok mo eh.

Cute.

“Join me sa bar?” pag-aalok ko sa iyo. Bigla ka namang napatingin agad sa akin and slowly, yung mga mata mong kumikislap na parang mga bituin, they slowly became like crescent moons – heavenly orbs shining their warm light on me, as if I’m the center of the galaxy – as your smile grows bigger and bigger on your face.

You nodded your head with a sheepish laugh coming out of your lungs, the sweetest melody to my ears as if late, drowning the noise inside the club.

I guess this night won’t be too bad after all.

Amidst the chaos within the club’s premises, I felt calm and serene, safe and secure with you. Strange. I never felt this way with others I just met, especially with a stranger I met inside a bar.

Technically, you’re no longer a stranger. You already gave me your name so I guess that counts as kind-of-not-strangers-but-less-than-friends type of connection? I don’t know. I’ll just see where this will go. Mukhang matino ka rin naman kausap and not like other people.

“What do you want?” I turned to look at you when we got seated by the counter.

“Ha?” you responded looking like a lost little bear in the woods.

Lutang ata itong taong oso na ito.

Hindi ko na napigilang tumawa sa estado mo. Aakalain mo talagang kinidnap ka lang at kinaladkad papunta sa club. You just responded with an awkward laugh, hindi mo rin ata alam kung anong sasabihin at isasagot sa tanong ko.

“Tinatanong ko lang kung anong gusto mong inumin,” sagot ko sa iyo after the hearty laugh I had. “Hindi naman kita tinatanong ng pang Miss Universe na question.. uh.. Seulgi, right?”

You nodded in response coupled with an embarrassed smile.

“Ah, yes, drinks. Margarita nalang yung akin.”

“Okay. Two margaritas please,” I told the bartender.

“Two margaritas coming in a while for two lovely ladies for the night,” he added with a wink and napa smile nalang ako as a thank you. Yang kindat mong yan kuya, hindi yan gagana sa akin. Kung alam mo lang, I’m not into guys. so we’re playing on the same field. Yung mga ‘da moves’ mo kuya, ‘da who’ nalang talaga yan.

“Anyway,” I started again, turning my attention to the person bes