Jump Then Fall

IX. Kulay Rosas ang Medyas

Lunch was supposed to be simple.

A rare, quiet hour on a weekend. Bongbong was in Naga to spend time with Leni since she cannot travel to Manila because of some weekend work events.

Leni was reading through a folder, glasses low on her nose, completely absorbed.

Across from her, Bongbong wasn't touching his food.

He was looking at his phone.

Specifically, at a birthday greeting post that had been circulating all morning.

Old photos. Public tributes. Familiar names.

And one memory he wished had stayed buried.

He set the phone down a little too carefully.

"It's his birthday today," he said.

Leni's eyes stayed on the page. "I know."

That calm answer told him she already knew where this was going.

He leaned back in his chair. "Facebook reminded the whole country."

Now she looked up, already wary. "Daddy..."

He gave a humorless smile. "Naalala ko lang."

"Don't," she said, too quickly.

That only made the ache in his chest sharpen. "Don't what?" he asked, "Bring up that he used to court you?"

Leni closed the folder slowly. "I said don't."

The room fell quiet.

Bongbong looked away first, jaw tightening. "He did it so openly."

There it was.

Not anger.

Something sadder.

Leni sighed, leaning back. "Sobrang tagal na nun, Dad."

"I know." His voice was soft now. "But everyone knew."

She studied him carefully. "Why does this matter now?"

He let out a quiet laugh, but there was no amusement in it. "Because he could do something I can't."

That made her expression soften. "Bongbong..."

"He could want you in public," he said, the words coming slower now, heavier. "People saw it. People joked about it. It was out there for everyone." He looked at her, something raw in his eyes. "He got to let the world know you mattered to him."

Rodrigo Duterte, the 16th President, courted Leni for quite some time during their term.

Leni's fingers tightened around the edge of the folder. "Hindi yun ganon, Bong."

"Maybe not," he admitted. "But he still got to do it."

His voice dropped. "I don't."

The yearning in that confession sat between them, dense and unignorable.

Leni looked down for a moment. "Huwag na natin syang pag-usapan."

"It's not really about him," Bongbong said quietly.

She looked back up.

He held her gaze this time, no teasing, no practiced composure.

"It's about the fact that someone once got to pursue you where everyone could see," he said. "Flowers, jokes, public attention, people knowing he wanted you." His mouth twitched into a bitter half-smile. "And here I am, stealing lunch hours and quiet hallways."