Junhui still remebers.
Naaalala pa niya ang unang beses na magusap sila ni Mingming tungkol sa bagay na labis na nakapagpagulo sa kanya. He was like fourteen years old then, still young. Hindi pa corrupted ang isip niya. The only thing he loved doing at that time was hanging out with his precious friends and messing around with each other.
That kind of thing had never occurred to him. Neither thought of it.
"Gusto ko yata si Minghao."
Limang salita.
May kasama pang yata but enough to cause a whirlpool inside his head.
The first thing he felt was confusion. Hindi siya makapagsalita habang nakatitig lang kay Mingming na nakatitig naman kay Minghao na bumibili ng dirty ice cream nila. The expression on Mingming's face was something he had never seen before. He looked serious and solemn. Malayong malayo sa mukha nito na mapangasar. His face was not giving off any glint of joke in it.
The second thing he felt was surprise. Nang marealize niyang hindi talaga joke ang sinasabi nito, kusa na lang nanlaki ang mga mata niya. Humarap si Mingming sa kanya at natawa dahil sa reaksyon niya.
"Ang pangit mo."
He ignored that as he still stared at him with wide eyes. "A-anong sabi mo?"
Mingming raised a brow. "Ang pangit mo?"
Nakuha pa talaga nitong magbiro kahit na seryoso na 'tong pinaguusapan nila. He and Mingming were friends long enough to know what was serious and what was not. Palagi silang nagaaway, yes, but there were times na seryoso rin silang nakikipagusap sa isa't-isa. This was one of those times.
Nang mapansin nito na nakatitig lang siya rito, sumeryoso na rin ang mukha nito. Mingming got back to watching Minghao again. Mahaba kasi ang pila at nasa bandang gitna na rin naman ito. Kahit tuloy siya, palipat lipat ang tingin sa dalawa niyang kaibigan.
"I like him, I think." Paguulit nito sa sinabi nito.
There's no mistaking it. Alam niyang isa ang friendship nilang tatlo sa kaunting friendship na sobrang madikit. Unique din kasi kahit na tatlo silang lalake, hugs and kisses are also normal for them. Hindi kagaya ng ibang magkakaibigan na masyadong iwas sa intimacy. Siguro dahil sa kanya kaya ganito ang nangyare sa friendship nila ngayon.
Junhui likes hugs and kisses, anything that consists warmth. Malambing siya sa kaibigan at gusto rin niyang palaging nasa tabi lang niya ng mga ito. Kasalanan naman ni Mingming kasi hindi ito nagrereklamo sa lahat ng gawin niya. At kasalanan din ni Minghao dahil ini-spoil din nito silang dalawa ni Mingming.
That's why he knew that the like Mingming was talking about was different from the like they have shared to each other.
"You're both guys."
Were the first words that rolled out from his tongue.
He wasn't homophobic, okay. May iilan na rin naman siyang nakita na dalawang lalaking may relasyon. Hindi lang niya masyadong pinapansin dahil hindi naman niya naisip na pwede rin pa lang mangyare 'yon sa kanila. 'Yon lang kasi talaga ang unang pumasok sa ulo niya.
Mingming slowly nodded, still watching Minghao. "Obvious naman."
Not quite the answer he wanted to hear. He was confused, big time. He was also really surprised. Hanggang ngayon nga, hindi pa rin ito maprocess ng utak niya. He just didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to react. Kaya para lang siyang tanga na nakatulala kay Mingming habang patuloy pa rin siya sa pagkurap.
BINABASA MO ANG
seventeen complex
Short Storyin which woozi is the new tennant, coups is the owner, seungkwan and vernon are those typical bestfriends who always bicker, wonwoo is incharge of the vegetables in the garden, mingyu is the chef, dokyeom is mingyu's assistant, jun and the8 are room...
