Seulgi's heartbreak did not come from a failed romantic relationship, but from her failure to pass her licensure exam.

The Phillippines has always given major credence and has shone the spotlight on those who passed the bar, to the would-be-lawyers, but has never given the same energy and recognition to those who worked equally hard to pass the state's licensure exam to be agriculturists, people who worked alongside farmers to produce the most fundamental of commodities - food. 

"Hiyang-hiya ako kina tatay at nanay 'tol," she said, crying as she refreshed the page of the Philippine Regulatory Commission website, hoping that her name would suddenly pop up in the list. But it did't. Not on the first time she clicked on it. Not on the tenth.

"'Pre," Joy said, as Seulgi's broken voice - and dashed dreams and hopes - rang loud and clear in the crackling static of their phone call. Her best friend came home to Negros Occidental - the site of "Escam" or "Bloody Thursday," one of the incidents that smeared and blotted the Philippines' history - where she waited for the results of the exams along with her family. 

That was a Friday. Seulgi returned to their apartment on Saturday, all silent and cold.

Joy could only respect her best friend's wish to be distant.

But on Sunday night, as Joy returned to their place, her eyes saw something that tore her heart into a thousand pieces.

It was Seulgi slumped on the bathroom floor, clot