Chapter 27
Nakaupo kami ngayon sa cafeteria, eating breakfast in silence. For once, hindi magulo ang tropa. Siguro dahil pagod pa from the weekend or dahil lang masyado pang maaga para sa kalokohan.
Kasama ko ngayon sina Raegan, Forest, at Citrine—lahat busy sa pagkain. Si Min-Jae wala kasi nasa ibang building ‘yon, Business Management ang course niya, kaya solo siya sa schedule.
Kalmado pa ako kanina, pero biglang tumawa si Raegan habang nakatutok sa phone niya.
WTF,ano raw?!
Napatingin ako agad sa kanya, muntik ko nang malunok nang buo ang pagkain ko.
Si Forest, nakapatigil sa pagkain niya. Tumingin sa phone ni Raegan, tapos biglang nag-smirk. "Ohhh, Tite… ikaw na pala ang bagong campus scandal!"
THE HECK, ANO ‘TO?!
Hinablot ko ang phone ni Raegan at tumingin ako sa screen. Dun sa university forum, may isang post na nagti-trend—isang candid picture ng halik ni Margarette sa akin sa labas ng gym kanina!
Citrine, na kanina tahimik lang, biglang napatingin sa phone ko. She gasped dramatically. "Troney, you whore."
Si Forest tumawa. "Pero Tite, halik pa rin ‘yon. So paano ‘yan? Taken ka na?"
Minasdan ako ni Citrine na parang natatawa pero curious. "Hmm… pero troney, bakit hindi mo tinulak agad?"
Forest smirked. "So nagustuhan mo?"
Sinamaan ko siya ng tingin. "Huy, gago ka! Hindi, no!"
Pero deep inside, tangina… ba’t nga ba hindi ako nakagalaw agad kanina?
Raegan chuckled, "I’m just saying… Margarette is hot. Tapos vice president pa ng council? Powerful."
Forest joined in, "Oo nga! Power couple ‘yarn?!"
Citrine sipped her juice, amused. "Hmm… bakit parang ang defensive mo, troney?"
Minasdan ko silang lahat na may halong inis at kaba. Damn, paano kung nakita ‘to ni Professor Haneul?!
Nag-scan ako ulit sa university forum. May ilang comments na nagtataka kung may something kami ni Margarette.
Forest grinned. "Well, if gusto mo matapos ‘yan, kailangan mo magsalita."
Raegan smirked. "Or, shi… just embrace it. Hayaan mo silang maniwala na taken ka na."
Napabuntong-hininga ako. Bwiset ,isang umaga lang, may scandal na agad ako?!
__
Lecture Room
Pumasok kami ni Raegan at Forest sa lecture room nang medyo tahimik. Medyo may tension pa rin sa hangin after ng nangyaring “photo scandal” sa forum kanina. Sa totoo lang, parang gusto ko pa rin lamunin ng lupa. I can still feel my ears burning just thinking about it.
Pagpasok pa lang namin, andun na siya sa harap.
Professor Haneul.
Standing tall, nakatayo sa may podium habang inaayos ang mga notes niya. As usual, she was dressed in her usual crisp white button-up blouse, tucked perfectly in her black high-waisted slacks, partnered with her signature black pumps.
At syempre, hindi mawawala ang malamig niyang aura.
Cold. Composed. Calculated.
Parang wala siyang pake sa buong mundo habang busy siyang nagba-browse ng presentation niya sa laptop. Her expression unreadable—yung tipong kahit ibagsak mo na ang buong ceiling, hindi siya magpapanic.
Umupo na kami sa usual naming seats. Si Citrine late pa rin as always, pero may reserved seat na siya sa likod.
Nang nagsimula na si Professor Haneul magsalita, bigla lahat natahimik.
She didn’t even look up at us. She never really did. Sa totoo lang, parang palagi siyang may sarili niyang mundo. Kahit pa sobrang ganda niya—yes, I admit it, she’s beautiful—hindi siya gaya ng ibang professors na palangiti o friendly.
Siya? Hindi.
Wala siyang pake kung nakikinig ka o hindi. Basta ituturo niya ang dapat ituro. Bahala ka sa buhay mo.
Napatingin ako sa kanya habang siya’y naglalakad sa harap ng lecture room, hawak ang tablet niya habang pinapakita sa projector ang examples ng mga futuristic architectural designs.
She’s so composed… so cold. And somehow… captivating.
Napakunot-noo ako sa sarili ko.
Arushi, ano ba. Crush mo na ba si Professor?!
I shook my head slightly, trying to focus sa slides. Pero di ko maiwasang mapatingin ulit sa kanya.
Nagtaas siya ng tingin saglit para tumingin sa class—at doon nagtagpo ang mga mata namin.
Just a second. Isang segundo lang.
Pero ramdam ko ang pagbilis ng tibok ng puso ko.
Agad din siyang tumingin sa ibang direction. Parang walang nangyari. Parang wala siyang pake. Ganun lang.
Forest leaned closer at bumulong, “Uy… nagkatinginan kayo.”
Siniko ko siya. “Shhh. Ikaw talaga.”
Raegan smirked beside me, “Guilty.”
I ignored them.
Focus, Arushi. Architecture. Training. Hindi crush.
---
Tumakbo ang oras nang mabilis habang nagtuturo si Professor. Her voice was steady, and the way she explained concepts was flawless—parang sinulat niya mismo yung libro. No stutters. No fillers. Laging diretso. Walang halong emotion.
And yet… every word was so precise, so intelligent.
Gusto ko siyang pakinggan. Kahit hindi ko siya maintindihan minsan.
Tahimik.
Walang gustong magsalita.
Napatingin siya sa row namin. Oh no. I know that look.
SHIT. BAKIT AKO?
I slowly stood up, feeling all the eyes in the room land on me.
Nag-raise siya ng brow saglit, then slowly nodded.
Adequate?! Yun lang?
Umupo na ako agad, but I heard Raegan whisper, “Aba, kinabog mo.”
Forest leaned over again, “Pero bakit parang ang sungit niya lalo sayo?”
Hindi ko na lang pinansin. Pero sa totoo lang, yun din iniisip ko. Mula nung training, parang mas naging malamig siya sakin. Mas cold. Mas… distant.
Or ako lang ba ang feelingera?
---
After 40 minutes, the lecture ended.
Pero bago siya lumabas, she glanced at me. Mabilis lang. Halos hindi mo mapapansin.
Pero napansin ko.
Raegan nudged me, “Bro. Tingnan mo, pa-simple pero may tingin talaga si Professor sa’yo.”
I rolled my eyes, “Tingin lang yun. Baka akala niya magulo akong estudyante.”
Forest laughed, “Or baka kilig siya kasi may pa-scandal ka na with Margarette!”
Tangina talaga.
---
Paglabas ko ng classroom, huminga ako ng malalim.
Gulo ng utak ko.
Naiisip ko pa rin yung kiss ni Margarette…
Yung paningin ni Professor Haneul…
Yung forum scandal…
And worst of all—yung dreams ko about that faceless girl na paulit-ulit bumabalik.
Parang ang daming sabay-sabay nangyayari.
Hindi ko alam kung sino ang gusto kong takbuhan o kung gusto ko lang magtago.
Pero isang bagay ang sure ako.
That cold, distant professor in front of the class?
She makes my world burn quietly.
---
Tahimik. Iyon ang unang pumasok sa utak ko nang makarating ako sa rooftop.
I needed this. Like, super duper needed this kind of peace.
After ng training, my body still hurts like hell, and then that damn kiss incident with Margarette, like seriously, kailangan ba talagang i-upload pa 'yon sa university forum? People are insane.
I gently opened the rusty rooftop door. It creaked, as usual.
The moment the wind hit my face, I closed my eyes for a second.
Ang sarap ng hangin. Sobrang presko, and the view—ugh, chef’s kiss.
I slowly walked to my usual spot, malapit sa edge pero may enough safety rail.
I sat down, back resting against the wall, and pulled out my novel.
It was a slow burn romance novel. Irony. Ako rin ata slow burn ang buhay. I let myself get lost in the words, sa bawat dialogue ng characters, pretending na hindi ko nararamdaman ang bigat sa dibdib ko.
I don't even know how long I was reading, pero habang nagfe-flip ako ng pages, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier… until my vision dimmed and I surrendered to sleep.
---
Dream Sequence — The Garden
Pagdilat ko ng mata, nandoon na naman ako.
Sa paraiso.
That same surreal place from my dreams. The sky was painted with hues of pink and lavender, and the grass was greener than anything I’ve ever seen in real life. Flowers bloomed in slow motion. Petals floating in the air as if dancing with the wind.
And she was there.
The faceless girl.
Pero this time... she wasn’t just a blurry figure. May shape na siya. Her outline was clearer. She had long, flowing hair na sumasayaw sa hangin. Suot niya ay isang white dress that hugged her silhouette. I couldn’t see her face still, but her presence? It was soft. Comforting. Familiar.
My heart skipped. Her voice—soft, angelic, pero parang may kirot. She looked at me and slowly stepped closer. I didn’t move. I was frozen. Her hand gently brushed against mine.
She smiled. I couldn’t see it, but I felt it.
My heart thudded. “From what?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she reached up and cupped my cheek.
Bago pa ako makatanong ulit, bigla niyang hinawakan ang kamay ko at dinala ako sa gitna ng hardin. Doon may isang fountain, crystal clear ang tubig, and when I looked into it, I saw myself.
But... I wasn’t alone.
Kasama ko siya.
We were laughing.
Happy.
Then the wind blew harder, petals swirling around us like a storm of memories, and suddenly everything blurred.
---
Back to Reality
May mahinang boses akong narinig. Then, may mahinang yuko sa braso ko.
Napabalikwas ako. My eyes shot open and I was back at the rooftop, the book I was reading now resting sa dibdib ko. Nakaupo ako sa semento, medyo lamig na dahil sa hangin.
Damn. That dream again.
But this time, something was different.
Mas malinaw siya. Mas real.
Her voice echoed in my mind.
I sat there in silence, staring out at the horizon. The sun was slowly setting, casting golden hues across the cityscape.
My heart was still racing.