“Sa tingin mo ba, may gusto din s’ya sa ‘kin?” my best friend, Minjeong, randomly asked me while we’re at the cafeteria to eat lunch. Kaming dalawa lang ang magkasama at the moment since our other friends were still in their respective classes, and that includes Jimin, the woman that Winter’s been crushing on for months now.

“Alam mo, what if umamin ka na lang sa kanya para malaman mo? You’re always asking me that, as if naman alam ko ang sagot.” I responded, sabay batok sa kanya. She rubbed the part kung saan ko s’ya binatukan while glaring at me. I just rolled my eyes at her, pero syempre, hindi s’ya nagpapatalo kaya ginantihan n’ya din ako.

“Eh baka kasi may alam ka. Ayoko naman kasing umamin nang ‘di ko alam if there’s a chance.” sagot n’ya habang nakasimangot. I just rolled my eyes at her once again, finding her situation ridiculous but amusing at the same time. I’ve never seen her this frustrated about her crushes before, so this is a new sight to see.

“She didn’t say anything to me about it. What I know though is that men are trying to vie for her attention. So if ayaw mong maunahan, galaw-galaw ka na. Alam mo, we’ve talked about this countless times already. At paulit-ulit ko na din sinasabi sa’yo to make your move.” mas lalong nagdeepen ang simangot sa mukha n’ya when I mentioned Jimin’s prospective suitors.

“Ayun na nga eh. She is a popular girl, and lots of equally attractive men are lining up for her. Sino ba naman ako para gustuhin n’ya? And ayoko din kasing masira friendship namin for something na di naman ako sure if may chance.” I raised my eyebrow at her when I heard what she said.

“So you’re not willing to take the risk? Are you even sure you like her?” I exclaimed, my voice raising an octave higher kasi she’s making me frustrated of how she’s been acting about her feelings. She bowed her head suddenly, seemingly finding her food more interesting than the topic at hand. Pretty sure I scared her a bit, but I still continued.

“Kung ‘di ka din naman pala sigurado sa nararamdaman mo sa kanya, then don’t bother confessing na lang. Baka magkasakitan lang kayo in the end.” I said sternly while glaring at her. She may be my best friend, but Jimin is my friend too, and I won’t tolerate her indecisiveness if it will lead to them getting hurt in the process.

“I’m sure about my feelings for her, Aeri. I’m just scared.” she finally answered timidly, her gaze still not leaving her food. I reached out to her face, lifting her chin and forcing her to look at me. The frown is still visible on her face. I somehow regret raising my voice at her but I still needed to be firm to get my point across.

“Look, I know you’re scared of how things will turn out. Pero pano mo malalaman na may chance pala if ‘di mo susubukan? The worst thing that could happen is for things to be awkward between the two of you for a while, pero if you won’t take the risk, will you be able to bear the weight of not knowing if she liked you back? You are friends before anything else, and knowing her, she won’t take this in a bad way.” I looked straight into her eyes, hoping that she’ll feel how sincere I was with what I said.

She was about to say something when we saw our other friends on their way inside the cafeteria, together with a guy whom we haven’t met before, who was animatedly chatting with Jimin. I heard Minjeong sigh beside me when she saw the scene playing out at a distance.

The other girls, Ningning, Ryujin and Yeji, immediately went to the counter to order food, while Jimin and the guy went to our table first.

“Hello, girls! This is Jeno nga pala, my suitor. Jeno, this is Aeri and Minjeong, the friends that I wanted you to meet na from another program.” Jimin said when they arrived, introducing the guy she was with. Wait, suitor? May pinayagan na si Jimin na manligaw sa kanya??

“Hi girls. I’m Jeno. Nice meeting you.” he extended his arm for a handshake, which Minjeong and I politely accepted.

“I’m gonna go buy food for us ni Jimin. Do you guys need anything?” he offered. Minjeong and I both shook our heads as a response.

“I didn’t know you already allowed someone to court you.” I immediately asked Jimin pagkaalis ni Jeno.

“He’s been very consistent and persistent kaya pinayagan ko na. Wala namang mawawala if I give him a chance, right?” I just nodded, agreeing with what she said. I secretly looked at Minjeong to gauge her reaction pero her face, thankfully, remained stoic.

A few moments later, everyone was already on the table. We were all talking about random things, from school works to how Jeno convinced Jimin to let him court her. While the other girls were teasing the potential couple, Minjeong just stayed silent throughout everything, not a single word coming out of . So imagine everyone’s surprise when she suddenly spoke, saying something that nobody, not even I, was expecting.

“Aeri and I are dating.”

Our table suddenly went silent. Everyone’s head snapped towards Minjeongs’s direction with their eyes wide and their jaws slacked. Even I was caught off guard, not knowing what to say.

“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered to her when I recovered from the initial shock, making sure that she’s the only one who could hear me. She just pinched my thigh, her eyes telling me to just go with it.

“What?! Ha? Kelan pa? Paano?” Ningning was the one who broke the silence. Everyone was still looking at us, waiting for answers, so I looked at Minjeong so that she can save us from this situation she put us in.

She was about to respond when the bell suddenly rang, indicating that our next class will start in 15 minutes.

“We’ll explain it to you guys tomorrow. We have a quiz for the next subject so we need to go na. Bye!” She immediately stood up, grabbed my hand, and went straight towards the exit.

Halfway through, I realized that she was still dragging me so I forcefully pulled my wrist away from her grasp, which made her stop in her tracks. I was now the one dragging her papunta sa CR that is rarely used by the students.

“What the hell was that, Minjeong?!” I yelled at her once I was sure that no one was inside with us. I saw her eyes full of guilt, tears threatening to pour out of it. She lowered her head, not wanting to look me in the eye. I immediately pulled myself together when I saw the guilty look on her face.

“Could you please explain to me why you said that?” I asked her, voice now softer than a few seconds ago. She must’ve sensed that I’ve already calmed down so she raised her head, her gaze now meeting mine.

“I-I… I don’t know what came over me. My mind was suddenly clouded with jealousy when I heard what she said about her suitor that I didn’t know what I was doing anymore. I’m sorry if nadamay ka pa sa katangahan ko. I’ll clarify to them na lang tomorrow na I was just messing around.” I heard her sigh for the nth time today. I fully faced her, now holding her shoulders to somehow appease her.

“Look, I know Jimin has already let someone court her formally, but it’s not yet too late to confess. Siguro eto na yung sign mo to tell her how you feel, either to help yourself move on or bring your relationship with her to the next level. It’s obvious that your feelings are weighing you down lately. I just want what’s best for you.” She seemed deep in thought after hearing what I said, probably contemplating if she will heed my advice, so I left her alone while I approached the mirror to fix myself before we go back sa classroom.

Nagulat ako when I saw her reflection in the mirror. She was now smirking at me, a mischievous glint visible on her eyes. Now, what the hell is she planning to do?

“How about we continue with the “pretending to be a couple” thing? I just wanna see if it will affect her in some way bago ako magconfess sa kanya.” I swiftly turned my body to fully face her, my eyes now widened in shock. I looked at her incredulously, but the smirk was still plastered on her face.

“What? Are you out of your damn mind?!” I hissed, not finding the idea appealing at all. For someone who is a consistent honor student since primary school, she could really be stupid when it comes to dealing with her feelings.

“This is dumb, I know, pero wala namang mawawala if we do this, right? This could actually be fun if you think about it. If wala talaga, then we’ll stop and tell them that we “broke up” ‘cause it didn’t work.” she retorted. I wanted to rebut but my mind just went blank. This is absurd! Now I am very much convinced that my best friend is going insane.

For a moment, nobody spoke. We stared at each other, both eager to win this fight, until she decided to look away. Napahilamos s’ya sa sarili n’yang mga kamay. The smirk adorning her face earlier was now replaced with a frustrated look.  

“I’m sorry. I’m not gonna force you to do it na. I guess you could say na sobrang desperada na talaga ako. I don’t even know anymore! This is so frustrating.” she groaned. “Tara na nga, baka ma-late pa tayo.”

She was already walking towards the door, ready to head out, when I suddenly grabbed her wrist, immediately stopping her in her tracks.

“Ur