PLAY BACK. l, donghyuck

137

play back

           "bonak..." izumi's brow rose upon the recognition of that annoying voice. inis siyang napatingin kay donghyuck na kakarating lang sa resto.

"buti at nakadating ka." izumi chirp, agad naman napangisi si donghyuck. "sympre, ako lang to."

but instead of receiving a usual comeback or even an insult from izumi, the girl simply roll her eyes at him kaya't natahimik siya.

but can he blame his bestfriend? pinabayaan niya lang naman ito ng halos isang buwan, no communication, no explanation, no nothing. kahit simpleng hi o hello sa hallway di magawa. pinabayaan niya lang si izumi, umiwas ng walang pasabi.

and izumi on the other hand was beyond pissed.

she tried everything she could to reach out to donghyuck. it was scary, a nightmare. hindi niya alam bakit bigla nalang nanglamig, bakit bigla nalang dumistansya at bakit bigla nalang nag-iba. sure, they have that little argument ng bigla nalang siyang hinila paalis ni donghyuck habang nag-uusap sila ni junho but that's a small thing. konting usap at maayos din.

kaso paano aayusin kung siya mismo ayaw kausapin?

izumi was pissed but to top it all, scared. she's willing to lose everything, except for her family and friends. especially donghyuck. he was one of the most precious treasure she have and his action for the previous month, scared her shitless.

they could have just talk, the whole ignoring and pag-iwas was not necessary, but after the failure of series of her attempts, she decided to just give up and give donghyuck space.

what kind of bestfriend is she if she couldn't understand him.

and so, she gave him space.

as days passed by, para niyang pinanunuod ang sariling bangungot. everytime donghyuck would pass by her in the hallways not sparing her a glance, or when he would make a detour when he saw her inside the school premises, or when he would simply turn down invitations from their gang just to avoid her, it sends a pang into her fragile heart.

izumi was brave, 'palaban kaya to.' she would say, and everyone is aware of that. tila' parang walang kinatatakutan, but when it comes to donghyuck, agad agad siyang nanglalambot, like a porcelain doll with a fragile heart.

watching donghyuck ignore her while he spend most of his time with hyejin was really painful, no, not because she was jealous with whatever relationship they have, but because her nightmare is playing right infront her.

'hindi ako handa.' and indeed, she isn't. she isn't ready to share donghyuck yet — although she doesn't have any right to complain, but for the past few weeks it feels like donghyuck was slowly slipping away from her.

and that scared her, so much.

and when donghyuck chatted her about wanting to talk, damn, Izumi almost cried in joy and relief.

he still remembered, she isn't forgotten by him yet.

her perseverance paid off.

the two sat in silence, they only spoke when they gave out their order and once the waiter left they are covered in another wave of silence.