“saan tayo tambay after class?” rei asked her best friend of 9 years as they walk through their hallway, “or sama nalang tayo kina yujin? nag-aaya magkaraoke, kasama sina yuna.”

 

“pwede naman pero ask ko muna si wonnie.” jiwon says, retrieving her phone out of her pocket to send a message to her girlfriend.

 

“nagreply na? nagmessage si yujin, tapos na raw class nila.” rei asked after a moment.

 

jiwon looked at her phone and shook her head, “hindi pa, baka nasa class pa.”

 

the two of them decided to take a seat at the nearest bench to wait for wonyoung’s message.

 

“alam mo ba nagbreak na raw si minju at chaewon?” rei started as she suddenly thought of the gossip she got from her classmates earlier.

 

“bakit daw? ang tagal na nila ah.”

 

“apparently, nafell out of love raw si chaewon,” rei says, eyebrows furrowed, “tangina, pwede pala yun kahit ang tagal niyo na.”

 

“hindi naman sa tagal yun minsan.” jiwon says, taking a short glance at her phone to see if her girlfriend replied but saw none.

 

“true pero sana magtagal kayo ni wonyoung.” rei almost pleaded, it’s comical.

 

jiwon laughed, “ipipilit ko kung hindi.”

 

the two best friend shared a laugh before they were stopped by a gasping hyunseo. they all looked at the woman, staring at her curiously.

 

“ano nangyari sayo?” rei curiously asked, pulling the girl to sit beside them.

 

hyunseo breathed deeply before talking, “i was looking for you everywhere,” she says, wiping her sweat with the back of her hand, “hindi ka nasagot sa tawag ni ate gaeul!” she slapped rei’s arm.

 

“huh? ay nasa bag phone ko.” rei tried avoiding the continuous attacks of hyunseo, “bakit hindi si jiwon tawagan niyo?”

 

“wala pa raw siya nung bagong number ni ate jiwon.”

 

“sana kay wonyoung niyo pinatawagan.” rei rolled her eyes, rubbing the sore spots from hyunseo’s attacks.

 

hyunseo suddenly looked like she remembered something, “ay hala! ayun, pinapahanap kayo ni ate gaeul kasi ayaw magpadala ni ate wonnie sa clinic.”

 

jiwon furrowed her eyebrows, “clinic? bakit?”

 

“nilalagnat tapos ayaw naman pumuntang clinic.”

 

jiwon immediately stood up, putting her bag over her shoulder, “tara, nasaan sila?”

 

hyunseo and rei immediately stood up as well, “nasa library sila ngayon, iidlip daw dun si ate wonnie.”

 

jiwon sighed, thinking how hardheaded her girlfriend is sometimes. sure, wonyoung is independent most of the time as she doesn’t want to rely too much on someone, and jiwon wishes she would.

 

and when she caught sight of her girlfriend head down on the table far from the strict librarian, she couldn’t help but let out another sigh. her heart hurts seeing wonyoung pale and restless.

 

“tulog?” jiwon asked gaeul as they step closer to the table the two are occupying.

 

gaeul nodded, “mhm, masakit daw ulo eh.”

 

“uminom na ba ng gamot?” jiwon asked as she stood behind wonyoung, putting the back of her hand on the latter’s cheek.

 

she’s warm.

 

“hindi pa, ayaw pumuntang clinic eh, pero nagpakuha na ‘ko kay yujin.”

 

“akala ko aalis yun, inaya nga kami eh.” rei wondered.

 

“yeah, ipapadaan ko lang.”

 

jiwon continues to stare at her girlfriend as the other engages in a conversation. her eyes just wouldn’t leave wonyoung’s frame.

 

“hi, babe.” her eyes shifted for a second to the newl