𝕮𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖔𝖑𝖔 XI ♚ His Little Cracks

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He looks up, frustrated, and silently asks the heavens—what the hell is her shoe size?

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"Where have you been?" pagtutuloy ni Juan Miguel nang binalak kong umakyat sa inuupuan niyang hagdan. Ang kaso, napansin kong may kaunting putik na iniiwan sa sahig ang mga sapatos ko. Paniguradong nanggaling ito sa tinaguan ko kanina. I sit beside him, pulling out my Korean doll shoes, one by one. Ipinagpag ko ang mga ito sa gilid para makaskas ang dumi paalis.

"I asked you a question, Georgie—"

"I was just walking around the garden, Your Highness," I say, trying to sound polite, but failing.

"At this hour? In the dark?" He sounds like a protective boyfriend all of a sudden. Which is weird because he's been eating up another woman's mouth just a minute ago. "I know we're within the palace walls, but you're a woman in a foreign land—"

"I'm already here, alright," I cut him off. "Besides, hindi naman talaga ako mag-isa. May kausap ako."

"Who?"

"A friend. I was in a video call with him."

He clears his throat. "Your boyfriend?"

Binalingan ko siya ng matalim na sulyap. "I said friend," masungit kong sabi.

Juan Miguel tries to lock eyes with me, but I keep looking down to my shoes, fiddling with them like they need more cleaning.

"You're angry," he says, and it's not a question.

"I'm not angry," giit ko, kahit na, oo, gusto ko nga talaga siyang hatakin ngayon mula sa mga paa niya't kaladkarin patungo sa may hardin. I spotted a nice patch of nothingness out there earlier, right past the pond. Perfect burial site, if you ask me.

"So, you're a size 9, huh."

Nalukot ang mukha ko.

"Your shoe size," he adds, clearing out the confusion. "I saw the clear sticker on your shoes. You haven't even taken it off."

Muli kong tinanggal ang sapatos ko. Sure enough, right there on the soft inner pad of my right flat is the sticker. Tinanggal ko 'yon at pinitik paalis. "Happy now?"

He nods, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Very."

I look at him again, my eyes now wandering to his muscular chest, barely contained by his white V-neck shirt. He's also wearing black joggers and white socks stuffed into a pair of grey Adidas slides. No scarf, no jacket in sight, even though it's basically freezing out here. Ganoon na ba talaga kakapal ang balat niya?

Anyway, ano ba'ng pake ko sa trip niya?

Tumayo ako't nagpagpag ng palda. Pagkatapos, umikot ako para ituloy ang pag-akyat nang mapansin kong tumayo rin siya. Naglakad siya paalis ng hall. My face scrunches up again—the hundredth time since I joined the Aguilas. At this rate, I'll be covered in wrinkles before I even hit my first month on the job.

"Miguel, saan ka pupunta?"

"To get some food," he mutters, lifting his shoulders lazily. "I've puked up everything I had, and now I'm starving."

"I will ask the palace maids to—"

"Por favor, don't. It's late. And honestly. . .I'm not exactly a fan of Korean food. If you make me eat that stuff again, I might not be able to keep it down."

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