Hidden Love | KaiRain

CHAPTER 3:

RAIN'S Point of View 

I had been trying to ignore it for days—Kai’s sudden distance, the way she seemed to avoid me at all costs. It wasn’t like her. But today, as I sat with Fyang at our usual spot in the cafeteria, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. I stared at my Coke, drinking it absentmindedly, while Fyang talked about her crush na hindi pa niya sinasabi sa amin. My mind kept wandering back to Kai.

Bakit nga ba siya biglang naging ganito?

Before everything started to change, Kai and I would hang out after school, talking for hours about anything and everything. Actually, our last hangout was when she said she was hungry, so I brought her 24C. It was supposed to be just a casual afternoon, but after that, she started ignoring me. She wasn’t just distant—she was actively avoiding me. I’d gotten used to how at ease she made me feel, parang nothing else mattered when she was around. But now, it felt like she was slipping through my fingers, like she was becoming a stranger.

“Uy, bakla, okay ka lang ba?” Fyang asked softly, breaking into my thoughts. I gave her a half-smile, trying to hide how lost I felt.

“Yeah, just thinking,” I muttered, my eyes darting to my phone as I saw the usual message notifications from our group chats. But there was nothing from Kai. The silence between us was deafening.

“Hmm, parang alam ko na 'yan. May problema kayo ni Kai, noh? Pansin ko, hindi kayo nagpapansinan. That’s unusual for you two,” she said, taking a sip of her palamig, looking at me with that knowing look.

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure if I had a problem with Kai. She just decided not to acknowledge me after our last hangout. Did I say something wrong? Did I do something to make her pull away?

“I’ve been trying to reach her, but she’s avoiding me,” I blurted out, the words slipping before I even realized it. Fyang’s expression was a mix of sympathy and it was screaming ‘I knew it.’

“Malay mo, may problema lang siya. Kasi umiiwas ang isang tao pag may pinagdadaanan,” she suggested.

“Maybe,” I said quietly.

Though my heart wasn’t convinced. We used to be so close, almost inseparable. But now, every time I tried to talk to her, there was this distance, this unspoken tension hanging in the air. I tried to push it aside, focusing on Fyang’s random chismis about her crush—although I was starting to get a sense of who it might be. Still, deep inside, I couldn’t stop thinking about Kai. I hated how much it hurt. I hated how confused I felt. And I hated how powerless I was to fix it.

The next few days felt like a blur. Every time I saw Kai around campus, the familiar ache in my chest came back. I missed her. I missed the easy conversations, the laughter, the way we could talk about anything without things getting weird. But now, everything feels so different. When our eyes would meet, she’d quickly look away, almost like she was afraid of something. Every time she did that, it felt like a stab to my chest. I tried to ignore it, but it was hard.

Minsan, naiisip ko—was it me? Did I say something wrong? Did I do something to make her feel like she couldn’t be herself around me anymore?

One afternoon, while I was walking with Fyang, I spotted Kai from a distance, sitting alone. My heart raced, but I hesitated. I wanted to run to her, ask her what was wrong, and tell her I missed her. But I wasn’t sure if she wanted that, or if she even wanted to talk to me.