BEYOND THE HEADLINES || LINGORM

CHAPTER 7

Lingling stayed on the beach until first light would begin to streak its rods of gold and lavender across the sky. The waves gently lapping at the shore didn't seem to quiet her restless mind either. Weighed down finally by sheer fatigue, she figured it was time to head back and flee for cover in her comfort zone. Her mind was churning, her emotions stormy and undefined, so she slid inside her car and drove quietly toward her condo, the hum of the engine mirroring her mood.

She could have gone to her family's house, but the anticipation of probing questions from her parents made her heart ache with all the dread. She was going to be unable to deal with concern from her parents, not when her mind was enmeshed in thoughts of the actress who, unwittingly, had disturbed her universe.

She drove into her condo, where she did not have to change from the clothes she'd worn all day. She fell onto her bed and let her body sink into the softness of the mattress as exhaustion and drowsiness washed over her like a wave, pulling her down into a deep, dreamless sleep with her thoughts freely wandering in the darkness.


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Meanwhile, Yaya and Junji, who just arrived to her condo, quietly observed Lingling, who was lost in her own world. Something has changed around their friend since all that rumor about her and the young actress. She was strange today, her mind elsewhere.

"Is she okay?" Junji asks in a low tone.

Yaya took a deep breath, furrowing her brows. "I don't know what to say. She's been acting like this lately. It's bothering me."

They sat there, silently observing Lingling, who was oblivious to the watchful eyes on her face. Drowning in her own consciousness, she seemed as if transported to another time where she could do nothing but be shown what was happening to her.

"You're acting very odd," Junji's voice cut through her dreamy state, full of concern. "You look terrible. As if you haven't slept for a month."

Yaya's expression softened as she asked, "Is something troubling you?"

Lingling tried a half-hearted smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm all right," she lied.

Junji wasn't buying it. "You don't look all right, Sirilak Kwong."

Yaya's voice was soft but firm. "You can talk to us, Ling. We're here for you. Is everything all right?"

Lingling slumped her shoulders, the weight of her emotions too much to carry by herself. She came over to them and sat herself down in the armchair, her eyes lost in the view outside the window as if searching for something that wasn't there.

"I don't know if I'm fine," she whispered, the words barely escaping from her mouth. "There's so much on my mind. I just need a break."

"You should take some rest. Auntie and Uncle aren't pressuring you to manage the hospital right now. You don't have to be perfect," Junji said, her voice filled with concern.

Lingling sighed deeply, her fingers trembling as she absently fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve. "I know."

Just when Lingling least expected it, Yaya sprang up and strode over to her. She enveloped Lingling in a hug that was a little too long. "We're not forcing you to talk or anything, but just bear in mind, we're here for you, always."

Lingling nodded slowly, heartfelt thanks swirling through her mind. The hug was one small, bright spot in a world that was beginning to feel hopelessly crushing.

In return to the silence, Lingling excused herself and went away to her room. Junji and Yaya looked at each other fidgetingly as if to be quiet on that issue. They continued looking at the hallway where Lingling was disappearing out of their site; both their minds were rained with loads of questions yet to be answered.

"I am not like some delusional shipper," Yaya mumbled, keeping her eyes on the closed door Lingling had entered. "But I think there's something between her and that actress. The way she's changed since those rumors started. It's hard to ignore."

Lingling was not so wrong when she said Yaya was the most observant among the three of them. She could always read Lingling like an open book, and right now, that book was full of pages marked with unspoken pain.

"They're just friends," Junji said to alleviate the tension in the room.

Yaya shrugged, though a flicker of doubt appeared in her eyes, revealing her increasing skepticism. She was putting together the puzzle pieces in her head-one she didn't even quite grasp but knew she should.

In Lingling's bedroom, the warmth of the shower became unforgotten as she drifted to her closet. There, under a pile of clothes, lay a small, unassuming box. The box that held all the things from Orm-things that had once meant something, now sealed away with Lingling's emotions.

Her fingers trembled as she uncovered the purple ballpoint pen in the box. The first gift Orm had given her on her birthday as a first-time couple and not just friends-when everything seemed simple and so certain.

Lingling looked at the pen, a bitter smile curving upwards at the corners of her lips as she whispered to herself, "You're... so unfair to me, Orm."

The words were soft, but their weight was impossible to deny.