Collide / [Park Jay]

19

Today's my first day at work and it didn't feel tiring at all. After ng dismissal, umuwi muna ako sa apartment para makapag-ayos at makapaggawa ng ilang homeworks. I was a bit surprised that the time just fits perfectly with my schedules. Natapos ko on-time ang mga kailangan kong gawin and right after that, I went to the store for my part-time work. I like spending my time well and keeping myself busy so what happened today was fulfilling to me.

I think I enjoyed my work a bit too well because I forgot to eat dinner. Nang nag-off na ako ay doon ko lang naalala kaya nag-stay muna ako sa store para kumain bago ako umuwi. Like always, I just bought a prepared meal.

"Malapit ka lang dito?" Haeyoon said as she went to me. Siya 'yong kasunod ko sa shift pero mas mahaba 'yong working hours niya dahil full-time siya dito.

"Yeah. Just few blocks from here." I smiled. She's kind enough to help me with stuff about work. Hindi rin naman gano'n kahirap kaya mabilis ko ring natutunan.

"Sa counter muna ako, ha? Eat well!" Paalam niya dahil may pumasok na customer.

I checked my phone in between eating. Recently, I always get flooded with messages from people I don't know. Not to be that kind of person but it does make me uncomfortable at times. Maybe I'm just not used to getting a lot of messages. Mga school-related chats lang 'yong kadalasan kong binabasa.

I then came across our group chat so I decided to read it. It seems like Hana and Sunhee had something to talk about while I'm offline. As I was scrolling, I keep on reading a specific name. Pinagpatuloy ko lang ang pagbabasa doon hanggang sa maintindihan ko na ang takbo ng pinag-uusapan nila.

It was a bit surprising, at least for me, because I still don't know much about most of my classmates, especially Jay. We rarely talk even though we've encountered a lot. He looks intimidating to me so I never really had a chance to talk to him. Sa classroom kasi, halos si Hana at Sunhee lang rin ang madalas kong kausap at kasama. I mean, nakakausap ko rin naman 'yong iba kong mga kaklase pero not to the extent of us talking about each other's personal lives.

"Don't you have kitchen at home?" I was spacing out when someone occupied the seat in front of me. Since we always bump into each other here, I'm not really surprised to see him now.

I looked at Jay intently and didn't say anything yet. After what I read in our group chat, I feel like I'm looking at him differently now. Well, if I'm going to think about it, that's always been my impression of him. He's someone who carries a very cold aura. So I guess, I'm not really surprised about him being mysterious. I'm just surprised that what I think about him was right all along.

"It's me." He added as he removes his mask. He's also wearing a beanie so he probably thought I didn't recognize him because I was silent for a while.

"Oh.." I nodded. "Came to buy something?" I asked casually as I look around.

"Yeah. Here." He said while lifting the plastic bag. It's bunch of canned beers. I raised a brow a bit, trying to make a guess. "This is for my friends." He countered like he knew what's on my mind.

"Okay." Tipid kong sabi.

I then excused myself so I can put my food tray in the counter. Akala ko ay aalis na siya pagkatapos noon dahil nabili na naman niya ang dapat niyang bilhin. Pero nanatili lang siya doon at tahimik na nag-cellphone. I assumed he's waiting for someone since he's not leaving yet. Hinayaan ko lang siya na gano'n.

When I was about to leave the store, he immediately rose from his seat and started following me.

"Pauwi ka na?" Tanong niya. At this point, I really don't know what is he up to. He usually don't talk to me this way.

"Yeah. How about you?" Kaswal ko na lang ring tanong.

"No." He said, a bit uncertain.

Wala na akong iba pang masabi kaya tumahimik na lang rin ako. For some reason, I feel like Jay has something to tell me but he doesn't know how to bring that up. If wala naman kasi siyang sasabihin, hindi naman siguro siya mag-aabalang lapitan ako kanina. Like what I've said, he usually don't talk to me this way so I was a bit confused.

Malapit lang 'yong apartment ko kaya hindi naman ako nagtagal sa paglalakad kasama siya. I thought he'll just remain silent the whole time. But when I was about to walk the opposite way to enter our building, he indirectly gave a confirmation to my thoughts.

"Yerim." He called me by my name for the very first time. Medyo nagulat ako doon. "Can I ask you a favor?" Sabi niya.

"Oh.. what is it?" Marahan kong tanong.

"Can you not tell anyone you're seeing me here?" He said bravely, leaving me speechless.