“Walang tatawag sa akin unless someone is dying.” 

I heard Mama Shin say over the phone. Hindi ko alam if ganito na ba ka-dark ang humour ng mga doctors kasi there’s always someone on the brink of death in the emergency room. And to think general surgeon pa siya. Mama has seen some of the worst. 

Day off niya kasi and it’s Yuna’s birthday party. As much as possible, ayaw niya na tawagan siya. She hasn’t had a day off in over two weeks daw and has specifically asked for this day to be free. Miss na niya mga anak niya and wouldn’t want to miss Yuna’s party. 

Technically, Yuna’s birthday was yesterday, Friday. It was better to have the party on a Saturday. Kaninang umaga pa kami nag-prepare. I volunteered to help out since wala naman akong gagawin. They also asked Ate Marie to help na din so I might as well.

Mama has been fussing over the desserts kung lalagyan ba daw ng mango ang buko pandan or just leave it as it is. I personally love it with mangoes. So Ate Marie and I had been waiting lang for her decision. Ate Marie was ready to peel the mango and slice it up. Ako, ready na ako mag-halo. 

Yuna was busy cleaning and decorating. Yuyu was with Papa Shin doing errands. Papa was on call. He said the same na wag daw siya tawagan unless super important. Palagi naman may important na nangyayari sa ER I think? 

I don’t know who Yuna has invited. Ang alam ko, the clingies are coming. 

“Baby girl, who’s coming? Yujin and Wonny?” I asked when Yuna came strolling in the kitchen. 

“Yes! Pati na rin si Yeojin and Jinni.” She smiled. “Pupunta si Ate Irene diba? Tinext ko siya pero seenzoned ako!” 

Natawa ako when she pouted. Ate sometimes forgets to reply. Ang sabi niya, she replies in her head daw so she thinks she’s done it. I don’t know if true or she’s just making excuses kasi tamad siya mag reply. 

“Yes, she’s coming. She wouldn’t miss it. Si Ate Sohee? Punta siya?” I asked habang hinahalo ko ang mango sa buko pandan. Mama decided na lagyan ng mango in the end. 

“Daan lang daw siya kasi busy. Excited ka?” She teased. Until now, they still tease me about my crush on her. Ang tagal na nun. 

“Of course. Ang tagal na rin kaya.” I smiled. Okay, admittedly, Ate Sohee is really cool so you can’t help but just feel a little bit of kilig whenever you see her. 

A moment later, Yuyu came in holding a box of cake. She dropped it next to the buko pandan I had been mixing. Kinuha niya yung phone niya and started typing something. 

“Yuyu, pupunta daw sila Winter, Chae, and Ning mamaya.” 

After our talk, sabi ni Yuyu kakausapin niya daw si Winter. I don’t know if they have spoken already, I didn’t want to ask. Wala din naman siyang sinabi so wala din akong alam. Waiting lang naman ako. 

“Okay,” I said as I finished mixing. Tinakpan ko na and put it in the fridge. 

“Okay ka lang nandito si Winter?” 

I cleared my throat. “Why wouldn’t I be? Hindi ako yung umiiwas,” I said bitterly. I took the little cups Mama took out for the buko pandan and started wiping it. “If anything, I’m surprised na pupunta siya.” 

“Miss mo na?” 

I didn’t say anything. 

“Miss ka na niya.” She smirked. 

I rolled my eyes at her. “Sure, Yuyu.” 

Because someone who has been avoiding me would miss me. 

Sure.

We continued preparing for the party until 6pm. Umuwi muna kami ni Ate Marie to shower and get changed. Pagbalik namin kina Yuyu, the kambals plus Lia already arrived. Yuna was so happy with Lia’s gift. She’s a Sugar Ate and always gives the most expensive gifts. 

“Happy birthday, baby girl!” They all greeted her.

Not long after ay dumating din si Giselle with Soobin in tow. He looked a bit awkward when he crossed the threshold while carrying a huge box. I think it’s their first time to come together as a couple. And Yuna hasn’t met Soobin before. So when Giselle introduced Soobin to Yuna, nahiyang binigay ni Soobin yung gift kay Yuna. 

“Happy birthday,” he said.

“Ate Gi, house and lot? Ang laki naman!” Isa pa si Giselle na Sugar Ate. “Thank you.” She hugged Giselle and Soobin. Na-surprise pa si Soobin sa pag-hug ni Yuna sa kanya. 

Giselle beelined to me after greeting Yuna. “Winter is coming. Will you be okay?” 

“Why does everyone keep asking me that? Hindi ako ang umiiwas. You should be asking her that.” 

“Just making sure, KK.” She pulled Soobin with her. “Come, you have to meet Yuna’s parents.” 

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Soobin. He smiled nervously at me before he followed Giselle to the kitchen. I don’t think he was briefed about meeting everyone else’s parents other than Giselle’s. It’s like an unspoken thing we’ve done as a group when we have partners. It’s like a rite of passage, so to speak. 

Cool naman parents ni Yuyu. Mama will just say hi. Papa will probably joke about doing a drinking match. Hindi naman siya nainom. 

Soon after, dumating na yung friends ni Yuna. Yujin and Wonyoung immediately went to greet Yuna before sila pumunta sa amin ni Yuyu to say hi. And then we noticed another group of people na nahihiya pumasok. Then Chae’s head poked out, looking around. I elbowed Yuyu at tinuro sila sa may door. 

Pinuntahan sila ni Yuyu while I went to where the clingies were. With how things were going, I think it was better if I wasn’t the first person Winter saw sa party. 

They were just on the veranda. Nag-bbq din kasi si Papa Shin and Hyunjin was helping. Soobin was just watching. I sat beside Giselle.

“Did Papa scare Soobin? Is that why he’s just standing there?” I joked, bumping Giselle on the shoulder. 

“I told him he didn’t need to help pero he insisted,” she laughed. “Now, look at him. So awkward.” 

Maya-maya din, Yuyu came out with the Three Musketeers and Chenle in tow.

“Nandito na sila!” She announced. 

Immediately, Soobin’s eyes lit up when he saw Winter and Chenle at pinuntahan niya kaagad. Natuwa din si Hyunjin. Actually, when Soobin and Chenle started hanging out with us, sobrang saya ni Hyunjin. Since gamers sila, may kausap na daw si Hyunjin about the games they play. According to Yeji, nakapunta na daw si Chenle sa condo nila to play. 

Sila na yung close. 

“Wait, tawagin ko lang kapatid ko.” Bumalik si Yuyu sa loob.

I got kind of awkward lang when everyone went to say their hellos. Nakaupo lang ako and just smiled at them. Hindi ko na rin pinansin yung pag-upo ni Winter sa tapat ko. I tried not looking at her. Keyword: try. 

Pero I couldn’t stop my eyes from looking at her until we locked gazes. Akala ko she would look away like she has been doing lately pero hindi niya inalis yung mga titig niya sa akin. Instead, she smiled. And ako naman yung umiwas ng tingin.

I wasn’t prepared kasi sa pag-acknowledge niya sa akin. 

“Hey guys, si Yuna pala. Kapatid ko. Baby namin.” Yuyu came strolling back out with Yuna beside her. I think the first thing na notice ng mga friends ni Yuyu was Yuna’s height. Kasi Ning’s eyes just scanned Yuna from head to toe and then tiningnan niya si Yuyu. Chaeryeong just silently looked on.

Pero ang saya lang ni Yuna when her eyes landed on Winter. 

“Ate Winter! Pumunta ka!” Winter was a bit taken-aback lang sa pag-hug ni Yuna. She kind of got swallowed in Yuna’s arms. Ang haba naman kasi ni baby girl. 

“Happy birthday, baby tangkad,” nag-muffle yung bati ni Winter when Yuna hugged her even tighter. “Hindi na ako makahinga, Yuna.”

Yuna only giggled before pulling away. Then she looked at Ning and Chaeryeong. “Hi Ate Liit’s friends!” 

Tumawa lang si Ning and Chaeryeong. And then Ning unceremoniously blurted out that bagay daw yung nicknames nila Yuna and Yuyu. 

Hindi naman nagpatalo si Yuna sa daldalan. Because one look at Chaeryeong and she already knew. 

“Ikaw ba yung crush ni Ate?” She pointed at Chaeryeong. Yung shocked face ni Ning was so funny. It was a mix of confusion and surprise lang. Chaeryeong only chuckled nervously. Yuyu just groaned.

“Baby tangkad, ang daldal lang?” Kinurot niya si Yuna. Nag peace sign lang siya. Hindi pa kami kumakain, but secrets have been revealed already. I could hear Papa just laughing sa likod. 

Winter was just as shocked pero not like Ning. Litong-lito lang siya sa mga nangyayari. She was looking at Yuyu and then at me. Then she pointed at Yuyu and then at me. 

Yuyu only shook her head when she noticed what Ning was trying to say. “Besties nga sabi ko, ang kulit. Hindi naniniwala eh. Masyado kayong assumera, ‘di niyo napapansin ang tagal ko ng nilalandi si Chae.” 

“Ha? So totoo yun?” She still couldn’t believe it. “Bakit hindi mo sinabi sa amin Chae?”

“Sinabi ko kaya? Sa birthday mo. Pero hindi rin kayo naniwala!” Chae argued. “Naguluhan din ako at first pero naisip ko rin na hindi naman ako lalandiin ni Ryujin if mag-on sila ni Karina.”

“Hindi talaga kayo magjowa?” Ning said while elbowing Winter.

“Paulit-ulit, Ning?” 

“Bes? Ano na, bes?” Winter only sank in her chair when the attention was on her.

Tumawa naman ang clingies, especially si Lia. She was full-on doubled over in laughter. “Oh my god, don’t tell me you guys still didn’t believe them even after the bet? Did you really think RJ would just willingly give her jowa away to someone else for fun?” She snorted and then looked at me. “You know, we’ve all been accused of being KK’s girlfriends in the past. I guess I can’t blame you. The Yuyu’s are very very close.” 

“Ako rin, pinagkamalan na boyfriend niya.” Hyunjin added.

I could feel my face heating up. It’s not really a big deal sa akin when people assume na one of the clingies is my partner. I never cared so I never corrected. Pero nakakahiya lang din kasi ako na yung pinag-usapan. 

And then it suddenly occurred to me that I did get quite a bit concerned that Winter thought magjowa kami ni Yuyu. Then maybe…

But I shook my head at the thought. Because it’s not like Winter has feelings for me to be avoiding me because she thought Yuyu was my girlfriend.

Pero at the same time, wasn’t I quite obviously showing my interest kay Winter? 

“Pero may crush na kaya si Ate Yuyu.” Yuna suddenly blurted.

“Baby girl!” I hissed at her.

“Ay, hindi ba sila aware?” She giggled. “Anyway, Ate…” she looked at Chaeryeong. “Chae? Ate Chae? Good luck na lang kay Ate Liit and her dramatic .” 

“Wag mo naman takutin baby tangkad!” Yuyu whined. 

Everyone laughed except si Ning na litong-lito pa rin. She whispered something kay Winter and Winter just nodded and sank even further in her seat. 

“Teka, teka. Kung hindi kayo magjowa…” she pointed at me and Yuyu. “Bakit beb tawagan? Bakit Yuyu? Bakit ang close?”

“Actually,” Yuna interjected. “Kaming tatlo Yuyu.” She grinned. “Mas gusto ko lang talaga tawagin na baby girl kasi special ako.” 

“Ha?” 

“Ate Yuyu kasi, hindi niya mabigkas pangalan ni Ate Liit before. Palagi niya sinasabi Yujin until sa nainis siya, nag shortcut na lang.” Yuna explained. “Ate Yuyu’s last name is YU. Ako naman ay YU-na,” she said emphasizing the ‘Yu’ in her name. “So ayun Yuyu. Pero ayokong may kagaya so baby girl ako. Diba mas cute?” She laughed. 

There was a collective nod of understanding from the Three Musketeers. Parang nalinawan lang sila kung bakit Yuyu ang tawagan namin. They never really asked before. 

When I learned how to talk kasi, I couldn’t quite pronounce Ryujin. Para akong nabubulol everytime I said her name. So naisipan ko na lang siyang tawagin si Yuyu na Yuyu until it became our nickname for each other. 

“Bakit beb?” Ning asked. 

“Have you met RJ?” Giselle piped up this time. “She’s such a baby kaya! So pabebe. Kaya we all call her baby sometimes. Or beb lang when it comes to them.” 

When Yuyu was going through puberty, ang pabebe niya, yes. She was already so dramatic naman as a kid pero it doubled and she got so much attitude. It got to a point where I called her pabebe then shortened it to bebe then beb. I don’t call her beb often. I do it sometimes as lambing. 

But Ning, I think, was just hard to convince. Kasi she asked one more time, “bakit ang close?” 

“Ning, ang daming tanong? Di ka pa rin convinced?” Yuyu sighed. “Eto kasi yun…walang kasama si Yuyu palagi kasi ang laki ng agwat nila ni Ate Irene at super busy parents nila. Busy din parents ko pero may nagbabantay sa amin. So palagi kaming magkasama, including Yuna. We grew up together basically. And close kami kasi sadyang clingy lang talaga si Yuyu kasi bunso at binebaby sa kanila. Ewan ko sa inyo pero lahat kami clingy sa isa’t-isa.” 

“At hindi niyo ba napapansin na may palayaw kaming lahat?” Hyunjin questioned them. 

Ning nodded. “Oo! Ang dami niyong nicknames grabe lang?”

“Ganyan lang talaga si Bal. Mapagmahal.” Hyunjin snickered. “So kung may palayaw ka from her, goods ka na.” 

I don’t know when I started giving them nicknames. I guess it was just my thing. I do it as a way to lambing lang kasi and it’s very sweet