Chapter Text
Melissa is absolutely certain that the nurses are whispering about her in their secret code. She picks up on fragments of English words and observes Nurse Princess mouthing words, as if discussing someone.
Attempting to eavesdrop discreetly, Melissa remains glued to the monitor, hoping for some miraculous translation to occur. Unfortunately, their rapid chatter and unfamiliar vocabulary only serve to heighten the mystery.
“It’s all harmless, by the way,” Santos suddenly appears next to her. “They’re not really talking about you. It’s about one of your patients.”
Relieved that Santos understands the nurses' language, Melissa lets out a sigh. Santos chuckles at her reaction. “Worried?”
“I wasn’t curious about it,” Melissa lies, shaking her head.
“You know, if you're eavesdropping on a language you don’t know, you could use a translator,” Santos suggests.
Melissa’s eyes widen. “I couldn’t impose on you like that.”
Santos laughs, finding the idea ridiculous. “Of course, I’m not saying I would translate for you. I mean, technology has evolved so much that it can translate languages now. Voice translator exists, if you didn't know.”
Melissa considers it for a moment before dismissing the thought. “Isn’t that, um, invading, Dr. Santos? I mean, it’s their privacy.”
“I’m just saying. You could blame me whenever you feel guilty using it,” Santos shrugs, grabbing a chart from the counter. “And you’re the one listening in on them in the first place.”
"I was just curious, that's all. They mentioned my name," Melissa explains apologetically.
Santos grins as if she already knew what Melissa was going to say. "Just blame me. I'm the mastermind and you're the unwilling accomplice."
Realizing she couldn't argue with Santos, Melissa reluctantly smiles before walking away.
Santos easily catches up to her and casually mentions, "By the way, when you hear 'paborito', they're usually talking about you."
"What does that mean?"
And, of course, that's when Santos decides to leave her alone.
That strange idea about the translator lingers in Melissa’s mind, for some reason. It’s not that she’s afraid of what people might think—okay, maybe that’s part of it. But it’s more than that. The way the nurses sometimes wink at her makes her feel like there’s an inside joke she’s not even invited to. She wants to know why they always give that knowing smile the moment they see her. That’s all.
Still, Melissa isn’t going to give in to this… this urge to know everything. She’s a savage, yeah. Classy, bougie, ratchet... sassy, moody, nasty.
That settles it. At least, for the rest of that day.
The next day, Melissa finds herself pulling out her phone, tucking it discreetly inside her black jacket.
She remembers which button to press when someone speaks. Earlier, she tried it on herself—seeing if it could translate whatever she said into another language. She’s not sure it’s entirely accurate, but maybe it can at least catch the gist.
When she speaks fast, though, the translator lags. So, half of her hopes, half of her still thinks this is ridiculous, but she’s counting on the nurses talking slowly.
She places the phone on the table beside her as she types up a case presentation with a patient. The moment one of the nurses starts speaking in Filipino, she presses the button—just to try it.
“Ayan na naman si gwapo,” Nurse Princess says with a grin.
There’s handsome again
Handsome?
Melissa casually glances in the direction they’re looking, trying not to be obvious. Her eyes widen slightly when she sees Dr. Langdon.
Nurse Perlah laughs. “Maninira na naman ‘yan ng araw ng iba.”
He’s going to ruin someone else’s day again
“Sabi ko sayo, maghihiwalay sila ng asawa niya. Dapat pinagpustahan natin.”
I told you, he and his wife will divorce. We should have bet on it
“Ayoko nga, wala na 'kong pera.”
No way, I don’t have any money
Melissa shifts in her seat, feeling a strange mix of curiosity and discomfort. She glances at Langdon again—watching how he talks to a patient and a nurse, how he somehow manages to look angry and charming at the same time.
Then he looks up, as if he felt her gaze. Their eyes meet.
Melissa freezes. He smiles at her. She gives a tiny wave back.
“Ang bilis talaga niya bumigay, basta kay paborito.”
He always gives in so quickly to his favorite
Melissa’s eyes flicker back to the nurses, then quickly down to her phone. The word paborito flashes on the screen—Santos had said that’s what the nurses call her.
Favorite. That must be it.
But… his favorite? Whose favorite? Langdon’s?
She shakes her head. No. Enough. She’s had enough of this.
Melissa locks her phone and shoves it deep into her pocket. She shouldn't have done that.
Not today. Not again.
One afternoon, when everything starts to pile up and feel too much, she steps outside. Just for a breather. She stares up at the sky, trying to slow down her thoughts, when suddenly, Langdon walks up beside her.
“Doing good?” he asks.
“Oh… Yes, Dr. Langdon,” Melissa nods, throwing a quick glance his way.
He really is handsome—the nurses weren’t wrong. Not that she hasn’t noticed. She just… doesn’t want to notice. That’s easier. But the whole “favorite” thing still nags at her.
A minute of silence passes before she decides she’s not going to overthink it today.
“I’m going inside first,” she says.
But just as she’s about to step through the doors, Langdon gently stops her with a hand on her shoulder.
“Are you free later?”
“Like… free from what?”
Langdon shrugs. “From anything. For dinner.”
“I’ll be picking up—”
“Your sister,” Langdon finishes for her. “Yeah, I know that. You’re right. Take care.”
Before she can say anything else, he’s already walking away and disappearing inside.
“—naman niya si paborito.”
“Kinamusta siguro.”
Melissa’s hands are shaking a little as she fumbles to open the translator app. She presses the button, moving subtly closer to where the two nurses are chatting at the corner.
Perlah laughs. “’D’yan nauwi lolo at lola ko na magkasama.”
That’s how my grandparents ended up together
Princess grins. “Ano? Laging nagtitinginan na parang gustong maghalikan?”
What, always looking at each other like they want to kiss
Melissa nearly drops her phone. The words hit her hard—and then harder still when someone suddenly appears behind her. She jumps, struggling to hide her screen.
Turning around, she finds Santos standing there, one brow raised, a grin tugging at her lips.
“Couldn’t resist, huh?” Santos teases.
Melissa clears her throat, trying to play it cool. “Yes? Do you need something from me?”
Santos taps a finger on her chin, pretending to think. Then she says, “This is why I don’t listen to gossip or rumors, you know? You start off thinking it’s nothing, and then boom—you’re in too deep. And I believe in self-fulfilling prophecies.”
Melissa narrows her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Whatever you hear, you think about it. Whatever you think about, you do it. And when you do it—there, prophecy fulfilled,” Santos says with a vague little shrug.
Melissa really should stop talking to Santos so much. It’s like she let something into her life and now can’t figure out how to shut the door on it.
Still, she opens the translator app again the next week.
To be fair, the flood of emergencies and patients last week felt like drowning.
But can someone hear Melissa out, please? It’s not like she’s just bored, with nothing to do, eavesdropping for fun. It’s more like—whenever she has even a sliver of free time—she has to do it.
She’s a hundred percent sure that if she doesn’t listen in when they talk about her, she’ll regret it forever. Dramatic? Yes. Accurate? Also yes.
“Alam mo, feel ko naiintindihan niya tayo.”
You know, I feel like they understand us
Melissa stiffens, her spine going rigid as if a jolt of electricity has shot through her. A prickle crawls up the back of her neck. Do they know?
The thought slams into Melissa's chest like a blow, knocking the breath from her lungs. She forces herself to look away, feigning a calm she doesn’t feel.
The paper rustles faintly as her grip tightens, betraying the tension in her muscles. The text swims in front of her eyes, meaningless now. She isn’t reading. She's silently praying they don’t notice.
“Hindi ’yan, sure ako. Pero 'di bale, mabait naman 'yan. Kaya nga siya ang paborito.”
That's not it, I'm sure. But it's okay, that one's kind anyway. That's why they're the favorite
There's that word again.
Melissa’s feet shift on the floor, uneasy, while she pretends to study the paper in front of her. She doesn’t even see the words.
Her eyes land on her phone screen placed on the table, staring like someone’s life depends on it. Maybe her own.
“Ay, ate, tingnan mo. Nakatingin na naman si gwapo sa paborito niya.”
Oh, sis, look. Handsome is staring at his favorite again
And just like clockwork, Melissa glances to her periphery, checking if Langdon is nearby. Of course he is. And of course, he’s already looking—like he’s been waiting for her to notice him.
Melissa tightens her ponytail, a nervous reflex, and silently pleads with her feet to walk away.
“Hala ka. Parang kakainin.”
Uh-oh. Like he’s about to devour her
“Kung makatingin, parang tingin na jojowain.”
The way he looks...
The translator app seems to have missed the rest of the sentence. Melissa tries not to let it bother her and chooses to let it go.
“Tingin na gustong hilain sa liblib na lugar at—” Princess raises both hands, fingers miming exaggerated kissing motions.
A look that says he wants to drag her to some remote place and—
“Ewan sa ’yo.” Perlah slaps Princess’ hands lightly and rolls her eyes. Then she claps her hands together like she just had a revelation. “Tingin na sasambahin!”
A look that says he’d worship her
Oh god. Melissa really needs to stop doing this to herself.
“I think, Dr. Langdon… you need to stop looking at me like that.”
“What?”
“You need to stop this—this look you have when you look at me.”
Langdon smiles. “I have a look I use when I look at you?”
Okay. He’s teasing her. Melissa should not be flustered.
She’s still flustered. “You… there’s… they say you look at me like you… you want me—no! Not like that! I mean like you want to drag me into some remote place—and that I'm your favorite...”
“Wait, wait.” Langdon raises a finger, squinting at her, eyes filled with amusement. “Let me get this straight. You dragged me in here. And now you want me to stop looking at you... because I’ve got ‘this look’? What the fuck is that look?”
His voice is low, sweet, slow—like he’s genuinely curious, waiting for her answer.
And Melissa, for reasons she doesn’t understand, closes her eyes, leans in, and kisses him.
Unromantically, of course.
Melissa opens her eyes a second later to see Langdon staring, wide-eyed. She pulls back instantly, backing into the wall like she needs physical space to process the chaos.
She forgets how to breathe. Ironic, really—for a doctor.
But when you’re standing this close to someone, they can tell if you’re holding your breath.
“Hey, Mel,” Langdon whispers. “Take a deep breath in…” He pauses, waiting. “…and breathe out.”
She follows the simple, oddly comforting instruction, counting in her head, trying to get her heartbeat to chill.
“You okay?” he asks.
Melissa glares at him. “Am I okay? Seriously? I just… I did…”
Langdon tries to hide a smile. “Yes. My lips were definitely on yours. I can confirm that.”
She freezes, like she’s turned to stone. This is not how she imagined this going. It’s not like it’s her first kiss—but it’s definitely her first with him, in a hospital storage room, of all places. It’s giving medical drama. It’s giving bad decisions.
“I’m sorry,” Melissa blurts out. “You just get this look.”
Langdon tilts his head, eyebrow raised. That stupid little gesture she finds so irritating.
“This is just how I always look at you,” he says casually, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
Typical Langdon—so effortlessly indifferent, as if nothing in the world could touch him. But it does. It always does. He just turns it into fire.
“I noticed that,” Melissa mutters. “I don’t even know what look they’re talking about.”
She sidesteps him, like she’s trying to physically escape the source of her stress—and her daydreams.
“You’ve got to stop translating the nurses’ gossip and rumors, Mel. Although you're indeed my favorite.”
“You knew?”
“I think they knew you knew. They always talk louder when they’re near you—probably just to accommodate you,” Langdon says, chuckling.
“You’re right…” Melissa groans. She pulls her phone out of her pocket, partly in embarrassment and partly in disbelief. She opens the translator app and shows him the last thing it picked up.
A look that says he’d worship her
Langdon blinks. Then smirks.
“Oh. Whoops,” he says, grinning. “They caught me, huh?”