I Would Hate To Be You

Chapter 36 [iridescent]

Chapter 36

"Hoy, Sash Marquez, kaunting reaction naman diyan," I demanded while shaking her senselessly. 

It's been almost a minute since I spilled the tea to her. And this is all I'll get from her? Silence? Hindi ko ganito na-picture out ang magiging itsura niya. Because hello, I've waited until weekend before I could finally tell her. Ayaw ko kasing i-announce sa kaniya via phone. Tapos . . . ganito lang? I expected her to be hysterical. I mean, not like she'll flip the entire world because of this announcement. But . . . I guessed I was waiting for her to be shocked . . . even a little.

Because boy, the Elysse Abella totally had a different reaction. When I got to the office the following day, nakaabang na siya sa desk kung saan ako assigned at sobrang kilig na kilig siya. I literally just stood in front of her and she squealed for good two minutes or more, without saying anything. Her face was blushing the entire time and afterwards, she kept on telling me na ang haba raw ng buhok ko. She was so, so happy for her cousin because finally, he was able to confess. She even told me how much she had to battle every single day—keeping her mouth shut. Naawa naman ako sa kaniya kasi alam kong ang hirap no'n. So, I decided to forgive her for all the times she had to lie to me.

After just looking at me boringly, Sash finally spoke. "This is not even news," she casually said.

We're lying on my bed while my laptop is open. Katatapos lang namin manuod ng (yet another) Japanese anime movie—I've Always Liked You. 

My mouth gaped because of what she said. "What do you mean?" I asked her, confused.

She eyed me lazily and sighed. "A, aware na ang buong mundo na may gusto si Jin sa'yo, ikaw lang ang huling nakaalam." Umiling siya. "Totoo talaga si Jin sa sinabi niya na kapag sumali ka sa Running Man, ligwak ka kaagad. Atom Cervantes, out," she said, copying the way PD-nim announces the ousting of each Running Man member.

Halos malaglag ang panga ko. "So . . . you also know?" I can't believe this. How come? How come I don't have an idea? "How did you know? When did you know? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Friend, gusto mo mag-send ng google form since ang dami mong questions?" she joked. Mahina kong pinalo ang kamay niya. "Joke lang. Ito naman, gigil ka kaagad." She straightened her back and spoke again. "I guess no'ng unang kita pa lang namin sa DC last April, na-feel ko nang may something siya sa'yo. But of course, since ayaw kong maging malisyosa, hindi naman ako nag-isip ng masama. Sabi ko baka gusto niya lang talagang bumawi kasi nga naman kawawa talaga ang ganda mo. Nag-commute ka mag-isa at may pa-hilik moment ka pa sa bus. My gosh, Atom!" Humalakhak siya. Tingnan mo ang isang 'to! When she caught me staring at her blankly, she carried on. "But then . . . he started giving more attention, getting to know you, learning what you love and doing it with you. Salute din kay sir kasi in fairness, kahit na sinungitan ko siya ng mga first few encounters namin, nag-tiyaga siya sa'kin. Only because he wanted to get to know the people who matter to you."

Pakiramdam ko nagpe-playback sa utak ko ang maraming beses na nag-initiate si Jin na lumabas kami nina Sash. Kapag lumalabas kami, usually apat lang kami. Ako, sina Sash, Elysse at Jin. We formed an inner circle—which was good because Sash is not a fan of big groups. Sobrang relator din 'to kaya kung sino lang ang nasa circle niya, 'yun lang ang kinakausap niya. She's not very good with strangers. And boy, unlike me na hindi napipirmi sa bahay, she, on the other hand, could spend the entire day just watching anime TV series and Japanese movies. Minsan naman nagbabasa lang siya ng manga. She's such a homebody. Hindi siya kaladkarin kagaya ko.

And the more I think about those moments, the more I realize that yes, Jin did all of those. Ang dami ngang beses na siya mismo ang nagyaya na isama namin si Sash. At kapag magkakasama kami, lagi siyang nakikipagkuwentuhan sa kaniya. He looked for a common ground—which is their undying love for almost-anything-Japanese. Manga. Anime. Japan as a country, in general. Name it.