Rewritten

In Between

The subtle competition between Sunghoon and Ni-ki went on for weeks.
And Sunoo was oblivious to it all.

One cool morning, Jungwon and Sunoo were hanging out in one of the school benches that lined up the school's pathway.

"Oh wala na bang ganap sa inyo ni Sunghoon? Anong petsa na?" Jungwon interrogated.

"Ay ewan ko dun. But like you said, hangga't hindi clear ang label wag mag-assume and that's what I'm doing."

"Tama lang noh. Wala bang formal na panliligaw? Charizzzz...."

"Parang wala naman..."

"Pero nagdi-dinner kayo palagi?"

"Dinner lang naman."

"Wala kayong napapag-usapan?"

"Nothing serious..." Sunoo replied, "tungkol lang sa school, family, sa inyo ni Jay, kahit ano..."

"Anong tungkol samin ni Jay???"

"Haha!! Wala..." Sunoo defensively answered, "Na-mention lang ni Sunghoon how Jay seems happier these days daw especially nung official nang naging kayo."

"Wow haaa... talaga ba... hihihi"

"Tse!"

"So ano pa?"

"Yun lang!" Sunoo snarled, "Ano pang gusto mong malaman? Na patay na patay sayo si Jay?"

"Alam ko na yun noh..." Jungwon said proudly, "I meant, ano pang napag-usapan nyo ni Sunghoon?"

"Wala na nga... yun lang."

"Di mo na sya ulit tinanong ulit tungkol dun sa 'Do you like me?' eme?"

"Di na no.... Surprisingly, parang di naman ako nagmamadali." Sunoo said, "Ewan ko ba. I think I'm just enjoying what we have now. Yung friendship namin. Like with Ni-ki din."

"Huh? Anong with Ni-ki?" Jungwon asked, surprised.

"Parang same lang din. Masaya din kasama yun noh. Masarap din kausap."

"Teka lang, teka lang. SAGLIT!!"

"Ano??"

"Eto para clear..." Jungwon made a dramatic pause and then, "Do you like Sunghoon?"

"Yeah...."

"Not as a friend lang haa, as someone more than that."

"Yeah... oo. I think I like him. Pero ineenjoy ko nga lang kung anong meron kami now... Like I said, ayokong mag-assume."

"Okay, what about Ni-ki?"

"What about him?" Sunoo asked, confused.

"Do you like him?"

"As a friend? Yes..."

"Eh as more than friends?"

"Hmmmm... I- well, Ni-ki's likable-"

"OH MY GAHD!" Jungwon exclaimed, cutting Sunoo off.

"But!" Sunoo continued, "I don't see him that way anymore... gaga, di pa nga ko tapos!"

"Ay okay... so para clear lang haa... si Sunghoon talaga gusto mo pero ayaw mo lang pangunahan mga bagay-bagay, ganun?"

"Yeah, ganun nga... Let things run its natural course. Kung dun kami papunta eh di go.. but then again, nasa kanya yung bola. Wala sakin."

"Okay... so bale pag tinanong ka ni Sunghoon kung kayo na, sasagutin mo?"

"Heheh... uu...?"

"Higaaaaaad!!!" Jungwon shouted which made Sunoo laughed, "Okay, what if... eto hypothetical lang ahh, what if, like ka lang as a friend ni Sunghoon tapos nag-tapat sayo si Ni-ki? Anong gagawin mo?"

"Huh? Baliw!"

"Hypothetical nga lang!"

"Di ako gusto ni Ni-ki noh! Friend lang tingin sakin nun."

"Kaya nga what if!!!" Jungwon insisted, "Sinong pipiliin mo, mahal mo o yung mahal ka??"

"Ang classic naman ng dilemma na yan! KZ Tandingan???"

"Ano nga?!?!?!?!?"

"I dunno... ewan ko..."

"Eeeeh yun lang." Jungwon grinned.

***