Chapter 15
Faculty Room Encounter
(Arushi POV – Faculty Room, 9:40 AM)
Pagkatapos naming kumain sa cafeteria, dumiretso na ako sa faculty room.
Si Professor Hwang kasi, gusto akong kausapin about dun sa event na sinasabi niya.
And today, I made my decision.
Kailangan ko na siyang sabihin sa kanya.
---
Pagpasok ko, naamoy ko agad ang distinct scent ng coffee na parang signature smell ng faculty room.
Tahimik sa loob.
May ilang mga professors na nakaupo sa desks nila, either checking papers, typing on their laptops, or reading documents.
Hinahanap ko ng tingin si Professor Hwang—
Pero ang unang nakita ko?
Si Professor Haneul.
Nasa desk niya siya, arranging some papers with a serious expression.
Para bang sobrang focused siya, pero—
For a brief second, I caught her looking at me.
Our eyes met.
---
Eye Contact. Again.
Nagtagal ang titigan namin ng isang segundo.
Dalawa.
Tatlo.
Then, she looked away first.
She returned to her papers like nothing happened.
Pero ako?
Shit, bakit parang nanlamig bigla ang buong katawan ko?!
Hindi ko alam kung anong expression meron ako ngayon, pero I knew I looked stiff as hell.
Bakit ko ba siya laging nakakasalubong?!
Napalunok ako, forcing myself to act normal.
Hindi ko dapat bigyan ng meaning ‘yon.
I cleared my throat and quickly walked towards Professor Hwang’s desk.
---
The Conversation with Professor Hwang
Professor Hwang looked up and smiled. "Ah, Miss Costa. Buti dumaan ka. About dun sa event—"
Tumango ako, noticing from my peripheral vision na nasa kabilang desk lang si Professor Haneul.
Nasa pagitan lang namin ni Professor Hwang ang desk niya.
I tried to focus.
Professor Hwang beamed. "That’s great! Alam kong busy ka, but I think this will be a good opportunity for you."
Tumango ako.
Pero kahit tapos na ang usapan namin, hindi pa rin ako umaalis.
Kasi nararamdaman ko—
Si Professor Haneul, she was listening.
---
Unavoidable Tension
I snapped out of my thoughts. "Ah, no, Professor. That’s all. Thank you."
Tumalikod na ako para umalis.
Pero bago ako lumabas—
I stole another glance at Professor Haneul.
At hindi ako nagkamali.
She was already looking at me.
Napakagat ako sa loob ng pisngi ko.
I didn’t know what to do.
Damn it.
So, I did what I do best.
I played it cool.
I raised a brow, as if silently saying: Bakit ka nakatingin?
Pero hindi siya natinag.
She just smirked.
At tangina, yun ang tuluyang nagpawala sa composure ko.
I quickly turned around and walked out of the faculty room.
My heart was beating too fast.
Damn it.
This was getting out of hand.
__
Hallway, 9:55 AM
I'm walking in the hallway, papunta sa lecture room para sa class namin with Professor Haneul.
Tiningnan ko ang oras sa phone ko.
5 minutes before class.
I know, medyo maaga pa, pero gusto ko pa rin mag-settle down. Baka gusto kong mag-refresh muna or mag-check ng mga notes ko bago magsimula.
Habang binabaybay ko ang hallway, abala ako sa pag-scroll ng phone ko.
Hindi ko rin alam kung anong klaseng content ang chine-check ko, kasi it was all just random stuff.
Bigla na lang akong napahinto ng konti, parang may naramdaman akong presence.
---
The Unexpected Presence
I felt someone walking beside me, and when I looked up, there she was.
Professor Haneul.
Seryoso pa rin ang expression niya, parang hindi napapagod magmukhang intense.
Kahit wala naman siyang sinabi, you could feel the whole aura shift when she walked beside me.
Tama ba yung nararamdaman ko? Parang lahat ng tao sa paligid ay nagiging background noise na lang.
Lahat ng attention ko napunta sa kanya—
Her sharp features, her neatly pulled-back hair, and of course, that commanding aura na hindi mo basta-basta pwedeng i-ignore.
Hindi ko alam kung paano ko siya titignan, kaya tinanong ko na lang sarili ko kung anong tamang reaction.
---
Trying to Play it Cool
I decided na wag na lang muna magpansin.
Feeling ko kasi, parang awkward kung magkausap kami bigla sa hallway, lalo na’t hindi kami close.
Wala akong gustong masabi na stupid or out of place.
Kaya I just went on scrolling on my phone, pretending that nothing was weird or different.
Pero feeling ko, medyo obvious na parang hindi ko kayang hindi mag-isip ng sobra.
She’s so damn close to me.
Nasa gilid ko lang siya, and I could almost feel her presence pressing against me.
The way she walks, the way she carries herself—it was all so deliberate.
Like she knew exactly what she was doing.
---
The Silent Walk
We walked in silence for a while.
Sa unang tingin, wala namang kakaibang nangyayari, but I could feel the weight of it all.
Professor Haneul kept her eyes straight ahead, never once looking at me.
It was like I was invisible to her.
But in that same exact moment, I realized something:
I didn’t mind.
In fact, it made me a little bit... intrigued.
I wasn’t used to this kind of tension with a teacher, especially not one with this kind of commanding presence.
---
Breaking the Silence
After a few moments of walking, she spoke.
And I almost jumped from how unexpected it was.
Napatingin ako sa kanya, but I didn’t say anything right away.
I was so caught off guard.
What the hell? Bakit ko ba siya pinapansin ng ganito?
She gave me a quick glance, but didn’t stop walking.
At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel like she was testing me.
Was she testing me?
I wasn’t sure, but I couldn’t shake the thought that I was failing the test.
---
Walking Into the Unknown
After a few more steps, we reached the lecture room.
She opened the door and motioned for me to go in first, which I did.
When I stepped inside, the class was already starting to fill up, but as always, there was a slight shift in the air when Professor Haneul walked in.
Everyone noticed.
Everyone always noticed.
I sat down and tried to focus, but the encounter earlier kept lingering in my thoughts.
Why was she looking at me like that?
Why did she speak to me like I was being observed?
The questions kept swirling around in my head, and I couldn’t quite shake off the feeling that there was something more to this connection.
---
Back to Reality: The Lecture Begins
Professor Haneul quickly started the lecture, and I did my best to pay attention.
But honestly, my thoughts were all over the place.
The way she spoke earlier... it felt like she knew exactly how to get my attention.
I couldn’t decide if I was annoyed or fascinated.
Kasi, come on, hindi ko na kayang magpanggap na wala akong nararamdaman sa mga moments na yun.
It wasn’t just her physical presence; it was something in the way she spoke, in the way she looked at me, and in the way she carried herself.
Para bang...
I was caught in a web I didn’t even know was there.
And as much as I tried to ignore it, I realized—this connection, whatever it was, wasn’t just going away.
---
In the End
I glanced up from my notes and caught Professor Haneul’s eyes once again.
This time, she didn’t look away.
She just stared at me, almost knowingly.
And for some reason, that gaze made my chest tighten.
Fuck.
I quickly looked down at my notes, pretending to write, but inside I was a mess.
Is this how it’s going to be? Every time we’re in the same room, I’ll feel this way?
If so, I might be in big trouble.