Shoutout. / 황현진

48 | drifting apart

cara was starting to get worried of hyunjin. nagkakausap naman sila minsan but everytime, he sounded tired. matamlay siya at agad sinasabing matutulog na daw siya.

cara asked felix what was going on. sabi ni felix simula daw nung pumasa sila sa auditions nung monday, halos buong araw na daw si hyunjin sa school at kung hindi naman, may practice sila nina felix para sa presentation nila sa last day ng school festival. it was thursday now, exactly one week from now, quizz bee na.

cara barely even had time for herself. she was juggling her time between schoolworks, studying for the quizz bee and taking care of kkami. hindi naman din niya maasahan si renjun kasi may pasok na ulit sila.

when her phone started ringing, cara immediately picked it up but she was disappointed when she saw it wasn't hyunjin.

"kuya?" she greeted.

she heard some shuffling from the background followed by a faint smacking sound, "tumigil nga kayo―oh hey little sis."

"napatawag ka?"

"hi caraaa!" she heard someone yell from the other line.

"was that soonyoung?" cara laughed.

"oo. daming estorbo―dun nga kayo!" cara laughed again when she heard seungkwan's faint singing on the other line, "wala napatawag lang ako kasi diba hihiramin mo yung libro?"

cara closed her eyes in silent frustration. shit. nakalimutan niya.

"nakalimutan mo 'no?" wonwoo chuckled, "how about kumain tayo sa labas? ngayong saturday?"

"namimiss ka lang niyan!" jihoon yelled from the other line followed by seungcheol's "sabihin mo isama din kami!"

"sure kuya. sama mo na sila," cara smiled. medyo matagal na din silang hindi nagkikita ng kuya niya. mainly because pledis was an hour ang a half away from jyp. cara didn't want to travel that far everyday kaya hindi na siya tumira sa apartment ng kuya niya.

"hay. ang dami kong na namang pakakainin. but fine. saturday ha? 5:30. magkita nalang tayo sa mall."

cara asked her brother if she could bring kkami along. her brother quickly agreed. after that, ibinaba na ni cara yung tawag.

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"last one!" the photographer shouted. hyunjin striked a pose and waited for the camera's flash, "okay we're done!"

there was a split second before he was tackled with a hug by shane, "ang galing mo!"

hyunjin smiled shyly, "di naman."

for the few days that they have been together, hyunjin discovered that shane was a sweet girl. medyo clingy lang pero nevertheless, malaki din ang naitulong niya sa kanya.

"tara dinner tayo. libre ko," she pulled him by the arm when they were done with the photoshoot.

shane helped him with a lot of things. she helped him with his pronunciation, build up his confidence and a little bit financially kasi palagi siyang sinusundo ni shane at nililibre ng pagkain. she was really sweet and kind. she was like hyunjin's little sister.

they ate in a small hotpot restaurant. ito rin ang gusto ni hyunjin kay shane, game siya sa lahat ng gusto niya. hindi maarte at mapili.

after they finished their meal, they decided to walk towards the nearby park. gabi na pero shane wanted to stroll a little more in which hyunjin agreed kasi masyadong hectic yung preparations nila para sa pageant. minsan nalang silang magkaoras para magrelax.

malapit na sila sa park nung may makita si hyunjin na grupo ng mga lalaking nasa harapan nila, "long time no see, hyunjin."

agad na napakapit si shane sa braso ni hyunjin. sean grinned at him, "don't worry hyunjin, hindi ikaw ang kailangan namin. yang kasama mo."

hyunjin instantly pushed shane behind him, "wag niyo siyang gagalawin."

sean laughed, "girlfriend mo yan diba? baka naman gusto mong i-share samin."

hyunjin gritted his teeth. hindi siya pwedeng makipagaway ngayon. his wounds were healing by now, hindi na niya yung pwedeng dagdagan lalo na't next week na yung pageant.

"hindi ko siya girlfriend okay? layuan niyo siya," hyunjin yelled.

"girlfriend man o hindi, importante parin siya sayo diba?" sean told him, walking towards him.

suddenly, there were police sirens approaching towards their direction. agad na nagtakbuhan ang grupo nina sean. hyunjin felt shane hug him. he gently patted her head.

when shane broke the hug, she was grinning. she showed her phone to hyunjin proudly, "tumawag ako ng pulis!"

it was now hyunjin's turn to hug her, "thanks, shane."