Work Text:
“Class dismissed.”
Pagod na tumayo si Riki sa kanyang kinauupuan bago nag-inat-inat matapos ang almost two-hour lecture nila sa GenMath. He cracked his knuckles that felt numb from all the equations and important details he wrote on his binder.
Tapos na ang klase nya, ngunit ang pagod nya ay padagdag pa rin nang padagdag. Bukod sa tinambak na homeworks at performance tasks sa kanila ay meron pa syang kinakailangan na puntahang group meeting doon sa may gazebo.
Bumuntong-hininga sya nang pagkalalim habang basta-basta na lamang na sinasalpak ang mga gamit sa loob ng bag. Mistulang inakyat at inikot nya ang buong campus nila sa sobrang pagod na nararamdaman.
“Uy, Riki! Tara na!” Sunoo—his classmate and groupmate at the same time—called him. Nasa may pintuan na ito habang bitbit ang dalawang makakapal na libro. Kasama rin nya si Jungwon, ‘yung isa pa nilang kagrupo na syang kasintahan ng nauna.
He lazily hooked his backpack on his right shoulder before walking towards the two. Agad namang nag-cling sa parehong braso nya ang dalawa bago sila maglakad pababa ng building.
Sakto namang pagkababa nila ay sinalubong sila ng napakataas na sikat ng araw. Alas tres na ng hapon at ang simoy ng hangin ay napakainit—parang pinapaso ang balat nila habang nagtatagal, kaya naman lalong sumama ang timpla ni Riki.
“Tanghaling tapat, nakasimangot ka d’yan!” Puna ni Sunoo sa kanya. Riki sighed for the umpteenth time today. “Ang init kasi.” He reasoned out.
“Hindi pa ba labasan nila Kuya Hoon?” Jungwon then asked.
Kumunot naman ang noo ni Riki. “Anong kinalaman ni Kuya Hoon sa usapan?”
“Eh, siya lang naman may kayang tanggalin ‘yang kapangitan sa mukha mo, eh.”
Umirap si Riki sa walang kwentang reasoning ni Jungwon. He sighed, again , before placing his things on the table. Inilabas nya ang laptop at ikinonekta ito sa data ng cellphone nya so he can browse online.
"Bili muna ako ng makakain natin," paalam ni Jungwon sa kanila.
"Kape lang sa akin."
"Hindi ka kumain ng lunch, 'di ba?" Sunoo asked, brows almost meeting at the center of his forehead.
Riki nodded his head in response. "Gaga ka! Gusto mo bang magka-ulcer sa ginagawa mo?" The older of the three whisper-shouted.
"Bilhan mo na lang din ng meal, ako na bahala sa bayad." Inirapan pa ni Sunoo ang nakababata bago kumuha ng pera sa wallet nya at ibinigay kay Jungwon.
Time flew by, and the three of them worked on their group work to be reported on Monday, next week. They occasionally talked to each other for follow-up questions, but they were fixated on their laptops most of the time.
Riki stretched his arms outwards, joints cracking from the way his limbs had been folded up for an hour. He rested his body by leaning on the backrest, head lying up from the way he was slouching on the chair.
He yawned, eyes feeling strained from having a somewhat staring contest with his laptop. Naramdaman nya na naman ang pagod nya from trying to understand the confusing math formulas, extended lectures, and the activities and seatwork given from each subject on his schedule today.
Agad naman ding nagising ang diwa nya nang tumunog ang cellphone nya sa lamesa. He almost-immediately picked it up at binasa ang notification.
From: kuya hoon
Hi, Ki! Busy ikaw?
A smile crept on his lips as if he just saw something on his phone that was worth smiling for. It is. He bit his lower lip before typing a reply to his kuya Hoon.
To: kuya hoon
yup huhu may ginagawa kaming group work nila sun at won
hbu po kuya?
The couple, on the other hand, eyed their friend suspiciously. Parang kanina lang ay nakasimangot pa ito at nakaka-intimidating tignan, tapos ngayon ay napakalawak na ng ngiti nya. Halos mapunit na nga yata ang pisngi nya sa kakangiti habang kinakalikot ang sariling cellphone. Hence, the two cared less. Alam naman na nila kung sino ang nagpapangiti ng ganoon sa kaibigan nila.
From: kuya hoon
Not really. Kakatapos lang ng class ko.
Where are you rn?
Napatingin muli ang dalawa sa kaibigan nang ibagsak nito ang cellphone sa lamesa at nag-inhale exhale nang ilang beses. Kapansin-pansin din ang namumulang tenga nito at ang pilit nyang pagpipigil ng ngiti.
"Kinikilig ako!" He covered his face with both of his palms, feeling the blooming heat on his face.
"Anong sabi?" Jungwon curiously asked.
"Ang pogi nya mag-type."
"Tangina." Sunoo made a face with Riki's antics. Jungwon sighed and palmed his face.
Riki laughed, throwing his head back while holding his tummy. After recovering, he grabbed his phone to type a reply to his suitor.
To: kuya hoon
sa may gazeboooo
From: kuya hoon
Alright. Wait for me there. See you :)
As if Sunghoon magically lifted his mood, the younger went back to work on his laptop wearing a smile that never left his lips.
"Ako na ang bahala sa ppt. Send nyo na lang sa akin 'yung na-research nyo, 'tsaka paki-summarize na lang." He said without even glancing at his groupmates.
"Akala ko ba si Sun ang gagawa ng ppt?" Jungwon had his forehead creased from confusion.
"Ayaw ko kayong mapagod, ako na 'to." Riki chuckled from the way the two glanced at each other. “Kaya ko na ‘to, promise.” He even added.
“Weird mo, tanga,” umiiling-iling na komento ni Sunoo sa kanya.
Riki sipped on his drink while his other hand continuously typed on the laptop. The two, on the other side, fixed their things and are already preparing to go home. The youngest of the three glanced at them, confused by their sudden actions.
“Uwi na kami,” paalam ni Sunoo. Riki pouted like a kid. “Samahan nyo ako!”
“Riki, malaki ka na. Kaya mo na ‘yan, ‘di ba?” The said guy made a face by the way Jungwon used a reverse card sa sinabi nya kanina.
From afar, Sunghoon was seen casually walking on the grounds, just several walks from the gazebo. Nakasuot ito ng simpleng puting t-shirt at itim na pantalon na syang una niyang nahugot sa cabinet nya. Nakababa at sinuklay nang maayos ang itim nyang buhok habang may suot na salamin. Aside from his height, he also stood out from the crowd because of him carrying a guitar on his back.
“Uwi na kami, ah? Kaya mo ‘yan!” Pang-aasar ni Sunoo na siyang sinamaan lang ng tingin ni Riki.
He sighed before stretching his head from left and right. Inunat din nya ang kamay nya at mga tuhod nang biglang may magtakip sa mga mata nya. Hindi naman sapilitan ang pagtakip, kundi parang simpleng ipinatong lang ang kamay roon. The younger whipped his head to the back only to be met with those pair of orbs he had seen thousands of times before. With that, Riki instantaneously smiled.
“Hi,” bati ni Sunghoon sa kanya.
“Kuya,” Riki muttered, smile growing bigger.
“I suppose, kanina ka pa rito?” The older guessed. “Sorry, natagalan. May pahabol pa kasi si sir sa amin.”
Riki giggled, “It’s fine, kuya. Besides, I’m preoccupied with these piled-up works naman.” He then followed it with a short laugh.
“You need help?”
“Nope, I can manage.” The younger flashed a small smile. Sunghoon nodded before placing his things beside Riki.
Natahimik naman silang dalawa nang mag-focus na muli si Riki sa tinatype nya. Sunghoon was just watching and telling him kapag may typo siyang nagawa, which was a big help for someone like Riki na tamad mag-proofread.
Sunghoon left for a while to buy food for them to eat. Halos mag-aalas singko na rin ng hapon kaya naman nararamdaman na nila pareho ang pagkagutom. He went to a nearby fast-food restaurant, just in front of their campus, to buy snacks. Mas okay sana sa convenience store dahil mas mura, kaso mas malayo pa ‘yon and it would take him time. Riki’s grumpy when he’s hungry.
Nang makabalik sya ay nadatnan nya si Riki na napapapikit na habang nagtatype. Minsan ay bumabagsak na rin ang ulo kaya naman nagugulat ito bago bumalik sa ginagawa. Sunghoon smiled, finding the younger adorable.
“Rest muna ikaw saglit?” He said as he sat beside him. Riki pursed his lips as he shook his head, no.
“Malapit naman na itong matapos, then after that uuwi na rin ako.”
“Are you sure? Kahit umidlip ka lang saglit, I’ll wake you up naman. You cannot work efficiently kapag inaantok ka and there will be a tendency na baka sumakit ang ulo mo.”
Riki rolled his eyes upwards, “Okay, Doc.” Sunghoon laughed along.
“Come on, I’ll sing you a song so you can sleep agad.” The older reached for the younger’s hand that was resting on top of the laptop’s keyboard and enclosing it with his. “Sandal ka muna sa akin.”
Kinuha muna nya ang gitara mula sa bag nito at pinatong ito sa ibabaw ng hita. He then guided Riki’s head to lean on his shoulder, making sure that he felt comfortable.
Unang strum palang ng gitara nya ay napangiti agad si Riki. Hindi pa familiar sa kanya noong una ang tugtog but when Sunghoon sang the first line, lalong lumawak ang ngiti nya.
Huwag kang matakot, ‘di mo ba alam, nandito lang ako.. sa iyong tabi
Sunghoon’s voice was low and soothing. He wasn’t just serenading his ears, but also his soul. Riki instantly had his eyes shut close while smiling foolishly.
‘Di kita pababayaan kailanman.
Riki fixed his position on the older’s shoulder, hands clinging on his arms. Mahina lang ang pagkanta ni Sunghoon, just enough for the younger to hear him. Ayaw nya rin naman na makaakit ng atensyon kung lalakasan nya ang pagtugtog. Hangga’t maaari, he doesn’t want any spotlight.
Kasama mo naman ako.
Halos makatulog na si Riki nang makaramdam sya ng pagdampi ng labi ng nakatatanda sa noo nya. Ramdam nya kung paano umakyat ang init papunta sa kanyang pisngi, kaya naman itinago nya ang mukha sa may leeg ni Sunghoon. The latter just chuckled with the sudden movement.
Riki wasn’t really in favor of Sunghoon before. Masungit kasi ito dati, lalo na noong unang pagkikita nila. Tahimik lang din ito at intimidating tignan dahil sa facial features nya, lalo na ang makapal nyang kilay. But the sudden turn out of events happened kaya naman nandito silang dalawa ngayon, clinging on each other. Sinong mag-aakalang kung sino pa ‘yung taong hindi ginugusto ni Riki noon ay ang parehong taong magdadala sa kanya sa mundo ng pag-ibig?
Growing up, Riki was full of love from his dada and papa. They were the ones who taught him about love. When he was a kid, he thought love was something you feel towards a person who cared for you—just like how his parents did for him. Tama naman ‘yun. But Sunghoon deepened his beliefs when he found out love is more than just about caring, but is also about risking .
Alam naman nating lahat na kaakibat ng pagmamahal ang risk na masasaktan ka throughout the process. You cannot really avoid getting hurt dahil maraming dahilan at paraan na pwede kang masaktan habang nagmamahal. Riki is the kind of person who’s afraid of getting hurt, thus, Sunghoon was there beside him.
Huwag kang matakot na umibig at lumuha, kasama mo naman ako.
Kaakibat no’n, he also found out that love exists because of us. We, as humans, are capable of love and being loved. Love is within human nature. Kumbaga, the purpose of us being here is to love . Because love is the root of all the kinds of good in the world.
Makapangyarihan ang pag-ibig na hawak mo sa 'yong kamay.
Riki had viewed love as something valuable, a unique feature of us humans. While Sunghoon, he grew up not believing in love. He thinks love is something that people are doing to receive something in return, particularly, to receive love too. In short, love for him is somewhat like a “giving and receiving” manner before.
But now? He viewed love as something wonderful . Whenever he’s thinking of ‘love’, he always pictures out the most beautiful things he could ever think about; like a field of beautiful tulips, a newly decorated guitar—or particularly, Riki himself.
He glanced at the sleeping boy on his shoulder, a small smile creeping on his lips. He strummed his guitar for the last time before whispering in the younger’s ear—
‘Di kita pababayaan kailanman.
He planted a chaste kiss on the younger’s forehead before placing his guitar beside him oh-so-carefully, afraid that a little movement of him might wake the sleeping Riki up. He then brought his right hand up to brush the younger’s silky locks. Isinandal nya ang ulo sa ibabaw ng kay Riki, eyes now slowly closing.
Now, this is love. And he could never ask for more.