CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A Proper Label

[ Jimin’s. ]

[ 4 Months, 3 Weeks. ]

A week into staying at San Lazaro while waiting for that jerk to show up, I already made up my mind that I’m going to ask Minjeong to be my girlfriend tonight.

Well, technically, in the eyes of the public we’re already together because of what she said last week, but I still want to ask her officially or my life wouldn’t be complete if I don’t make her mine. 

Luckily, Jaehyun knows a lot of romantic restaurants in San Lazaro, especially the private ones so we wouldn’t worry about the press barging into our business. I booked it under Aeri’s name para iwas leak yung date schedule namin (Aeri thankfully agreed), and now what’s left to do is ask her out for another date. 

The problem is, I’ve been seeing Minjeong a little gloomy the past few days; I don’t know the reason why, but I have a feeling that she’s homesick—this is the first time that she’s staying in another city for more than just a day, and I know that she’s having a hard time adjusting. 

The last time na nakatulog siya normally was when she got drunk, and I didn’t want to get her drunk just because of that; naiwan ko rin kela Aeri yung melatonin gummies that helped me sleep, and I didn’t want Aeri to come here since I knew na baka may naghihintay sa labas na mga paparazzi. 

She’s turning and stirring around in her sleep kahit na katabi ko siya matulog, and it’s also kept me up all night due to worry that she might not be okay with such a drastic change even if it’s just been a week here. 

“Minjeong,” I called out, having slept only a few hours since I felt every turn she made while trying to sleep. 

“Minjeong, can we talk?” 

“Hmm?” she stirs and turns towards me again, and I can see the bags under her eyes as she slowly opens them to look at me. 

“Minjeong, baby, do you want to go back to San Juan?” 

Natulala siya ng konti before reaching for my hand, interlacing our fingers together as she pulls me closer, hugging me tight as she releases a shaky breath. 

Even if she doesn’t say anything, I could feel her sadness as I settle my hand on her back, rubbing it up and down slowly as she took a long breath—

Nagpanic na ako as I feel something wet hitting my shirt, then another and another as I feel her shoulder shaking slightly, at kahit na I want her to show me even her most vulnerable sides, I have a feeling that she wants to keep it a secret even from me. 

“Baby, I like you,” I said, for I still know it’s too early for the other l-word in our relationship. “…can you tell me what’s wrong? I noticed that you haven’t slept well lately…”

She doesn’t answer me immediately, and the shaking of her shoulders continues as I hold her through this, and I do my best not to pressure her with anything as we have all the time to ourselves today—as long as Ate Irene does not come busting the door down, I hope. 

“M-Miss ko na yung farm mo,” she whines, and I feel her hand snaking around my waist as I laugh at that. “Gusto ko nang bumalik, pero alam kong hindi pa tayo tapos dito.” 

“You can go back,” I said, though a frown settles on my lips as I wonder if she’s going to go home without me. “But I can’t come with you, since I need to finish things up here.” 

“Ayoko bumalik dun ng hindi kita kasama,” sagot niya, and a knot that seemed to appear in my heart disappears entirely. “We only have, like, four months and two weeks left. Ayokong maubos yung oras natin na hindi tayo magkasama, Jimin. Your parents—”

“My parents are not us,” I said, tucking her hair behind her ear as I slid my thumb across her cheek, wiping her tears away as I found the right words to say. “We’re not going to be like them, losing time so fast. I can go see you every so often after the six months in the farm are over—”

“P-Paano kung lumipat na ako sa San Lazaro?” tanong niya, looking at me for approval which I am still hesitant to.

“M-Matagal ko naman na plano iyon—”

“I want you to do that because you want it, and not just because of me,” I said, my hand carefully settling underneath her jaw and her neck, holding her face steady so I could kiss her forehead properly. “Gusto ko na magdecide ka ayon sa gusto mong gawin. Do you really want to move to San Lazaro?” 

Tumango siya, but I can see a hint of hesitation in her eyes—hindi pwede na may ganun, so I knew I had to make her be sure of her decisions para hindi naman drastic ang mangyayari. 

“Baby, as much as I want you to move to San Lazaro, I don’t want you to do that if you’re not fully ready,” I said, and she hums as I pull her closer and kiss her cheeks, then the spot underneath her eyes as I hug her tight. “As you said, we still have four months or so left. We can use that to have more fun, because I love having fun with you.” 

“H-Hindi mo pa nga ako girlfriend—”

“That’s why I was thinking of asking you out on a date,” I said, and she tilts her head as her tears finally stop from rushing down her cheeks. “In a restaurant, this time. I think I made it romantic enough for you to say yes?” 

She laughs at that, at tuluyan na siyang tumayo at nagstretch ng arms niya, and I look away as the stretching causes her loose shirt (another one of my shirts) to hike up, exposing her midsection. 

“May dress code ba diyan?” tanong niya, and I smile at her. 

“Even if you wear pajamas, it would still be romantic for me, baby.” I said, and she laughs at that as I sit up, throwing my full weight onto her as we fall back into the bed again, at nakapatong yung half ng body ko sa kanya. 

“The reservation’s not until 1 pm,” I said, moving to hug her close and pepper kisses all over her neck. “We can… have some fun until then?” 

“Naging code word mo na iyan para… para doon?” nahihiya niyang sabi, at nang tumango ako out of playfulness bigla niyang itinulak yung sarili niya away from me.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, and she pouted as she tried to run away from me, but I dove in and caught her, hugging her tight and pulling her back next to me. 

“Ayaw mo ako ikiss nung