CHAPTER NINE

Just Friends?

[ Jimin’s. ]

[ 5 Months, 2 Weeks, 5 Days. ]

I knew it. 

It’s already a week after that conversation we had, and I haven’t seen Minjeong for more than five minutes ever since. Everytime I try to talk to her again, she finds another excuse to stay away from me, and I found myself hanging out with Lia, Ningning and even Jeno more since Aeri and Jaehyun had already gone home. 

I told them to go home na, since I know Aeri’s not really comfortable with staying here and Jaehyun has things to do with his own company that he’s managing. Wrong move, maybe? I don’t want to overstep myself, so last week was the last time that I ate with Minjeong and Chaewon sa bahay nila. 

Thank God for Aling Pacing, who I managed to befriend through the week and was actually letting me enter her kitchen and cook anything I want there, plus minsan tinuturuan niya pa ako sa mga ibang pagkain na gusto kong lutuin. 

God, is it possible to miss someone like this even if we’re just in one town, literally just a house or two away from each other? 

Pero anyways… 

Before we parted ways a week ago, Minjeong actually told me about the information she gathered with the snooping around she did for the name I gave her. 

I had a little inkling about Mr. Tomas when I met him noon, but Minjeong told me that his name wasn’t Thomas Isaiah Yoo, but Tobias Isaac Na. Beyond all the moves I’ve been making on her, I find myself grateful that she actually did that for me—I do hope na I won’t lose her because of those moves, though. 

(I’ve never wanted someone as much as you.)

To be honest, I didn’t really want to find my father anymore. Siguro, may reason kung bakit pinili ni Mama na mag-isa niya akong palakihin noon, though I didn’t really want to be raised by Jaehyun’s father but my own. I wanted to find him when I was young and ask him kung bakit hindi siya nagstep-up for me, but when I grew up I found that urge and that want disappearing slowly. 

If I find him now, what would I even tell him? 

That I hate him for not being there for me when I needed a father, and have a great life?

“Girl,” Ningning calls me just as I’m in the middle of these thoughts. I looked up from my trance and saw her struggling with the bucket full of water, so I helped her immediately. 

“Pansin ko lang, nung isang araw ka pa tulala. Are you already having second thoughts about being here?” 

I smiled at her. “Hindi naman… I actually love it here.” 

"Eh bakit nung isang araw ka pa nakabusangot?" Ningning asks, and I let out a sigh at that.

"Just… I have a lot of things in mind. Anyways, malapit na ba matapos sila Jeno sa repairs nung house?"

At the corner of my eye, I see Minjeong arrive at the farm with Jaemin and Ryujin in tow. They're carrying a lot of construction materials while talking to each other—half of me wants to go and talk to her, while half of me wants to do nothing at all.

"Ewan ko ba kay Jeno, mabilis naman gumawa 'yan hindi ko alam kung bakit ang bagal ngayon." puna ni Ningning, and I tilt my head at that.

"Really?"

"There's someone he likes here kasi." Lia says with a smile, and just when I was about to ask her who it was, she looked at me knowingly.

Oh. Right.

I remember the incident a week ago, when Minjeong offered me an out that put us in this avoidance situation.

"Well, whoever it is, ewan ko nalang kung bakit hindi nila magugustuhan si Jeno pabalik," nakangiting sabi ni Ningning, and even if she's not looking at me I know she's practically talking to me with that.

"Maayos naman si Jeno eh."

"Sis, what if you make him your jowa na?" 

"Ay, ang conyo lang, ha! Echosera, hindi ako haharang sa way ng true love ng dalawa dito?"

But I'm not interested in him at all, I thought, just letting them playfully quarrel in front of me. I think I'll never be interested in him because of her.

Ah, I don't know.

I don't really know if sure na ba ako with this, or if I just like the attention she has been giving me for the past weeks na magkasama kami—and with her avoiding me so suddenly, it's practically tearing me apart.

Kulang nalang, itext ko siya ng Minjeong, give me attention! or something, kaso I don't want to be foolish just because of these unsettling feelings in me.

And the way she's smiling while talking to Jaemin…

Ugh, I hate myself for what I'm about to do.

I didn't even wait for what Ningning and Lia had to say when I got up to leave, and I'm sure they must have noticed me staring daggers at Minjeong and Jaemin conversing in front of us all.

I had to do something, or I'm going to go insane.

("Nag-away ba kayo ni Karina?" Ryujin asks Minjeong, who could feel a certain someone's glance from a mile away, making her shiver as soon as she entered the farm with the subject of that someone's jealousy.)

("Hindi…" Minjeong replies, and she wishes that the ground would swallow her whole when she sees that girl marching furiously towards her.)

"Minj—"

"Karina, pwede ka ba makausap sandali? Tungkol lang sa bahay?" 

Ugh, Jeno.

I had no choice but to nod at that, changing course and following him to the wooden house with Yeonjun in tow as well. I took one more glance at Minjeong who's scowling now—

Wait, is it because of me, or am I delusional again?

"Malapit na ba matapos?" I asked impatiently, at kita ko sa mga mata niya na naguguluhan siya. "If not, I think I'm going to take a second opinion and ask Aeri to call in some—"

"Oo, malapit na… Pwede ka na tumira dito bukas, siguro. Gusto ko lang malaman kung pwede ka ba maaya na kumain—"

"No," I said, and I don't know what's gotten over me or why I'm so annoyed with him asking me on the spot like this. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to have lunch with you."

"Pwede ko matanong kung bakit?" he asks, and I don't even know what to say—

"Sorry, pre, nauna na ako ayain siya eh."

I look back at Minjeong who offered me a small smile, and I took it as a sign to tag along with her as she's walking away from Jeno.

"Always the savior," I muttered under my breath, though I'm sure Minjeong heard it just fine—I see the tips of her ear go red again.

"Nagluto na ako in advance," mahinang sabi ni Minjeong while we're walking to Chaewon's house again—it seems like she still hasn't gone home. "I think mamaya na uuwi si Ate Seulgi, since nagtext siya na magluto daw ako ng maraming sinigang."

Oh. The last time I met her was in San Lazaro, two weeks ago.

What did she do in San Lazaro, again? I didn't really know—except the fact that I knew she's staying over at Ate Irene's for the entirety of her stay there.

"I actually met and ate brunch with her before I moved here," I said, and Minjeong's eyes lightened up upon hearing that.

"Talaga? Wait, tinanong mo siya about dun sa tatay mo?"

Oh, right… That.

"She told me na wala siyang kilalang nakatira dito with that name eh."

She took a beat of silence before replying to me.

"Pwede ko naman tanungin si Papa—"

"No!" I exclaimed, but I tried to calm myself down when I saw her flinch with my suddenly loud voice. "Uh… I mean, no… You don't have to do that. We both know na if you ask him, he's going to use it to make you go home, right?"

"Yeah…" mahinang pagsang-ayon niya, and I see the crease in her forehead with her brow arching troublingly.

I took it upon myself to move closer to her and use two fingers to force the arch away, massaging her forehead gently just like her hands some time ago. 

"Wag ka na sad," I said with a grin, "I don't really need the reunion with that man for now, baby bunot."

"Ayan ka nanaman eh…" Minjeong whined, but she didn't really stop me from massaging the crease on her forehead away. 

"Sorry, you're just too cute to tease eh. Shall we go home na?"

I realized the meaning of what I said too late, when Minjeong was staring intently at me after saying that. A little panic enters my system as I try to reason out what I really mean, but she smiles before I could open my mouth to speak.

"Yeah," she says, and have I met someone even more adorable than her? No, I don't think so. "Let's go home."

Ate Seulgi arrived at 3 pm, and guess who she's with?

That's right. 

Ate Irene is here, and if grabe na makatitig yung mga kapitbahay sa pagdating ko two weeks ago, mas grabe nila tinitignan ang Ate ko na hindi man lang napansin iyon.

"Ate, what a surprise…" I said—well, not really, since I've been receiving messages from her about Ate Seulgi and how they might get back together, though I'm just ignoring th