✯

[ ahn [name]’s pov! ☆ ]

ㅤ the date was 20th of march. to you, it was a day which had become a day even more important than any holiday, national or not.

ㅤ (that was a hyperbole; an exaggeration — you really respect your ancestors and your history.)

ㅤ but going back to the day which had been marked with as many holographic animal stickers you could fit in the small square in your yearly calendar, you now stood in front of his front door.

ㅤ whoa—! you were avoiding him since your graduation, why are you at his house now? well, you aren’t that mean to ignore him on his birthday of all days. even with your devastating feelings for him, you were still best friends.

ㅤ at least, you hoped he still thought so or else the big box of cookies in your hands meant for him and his family would have to be eaten to console yourself rather than celebrate his birth.

ㅤ you took a deep breath and tried to hype yourself up, a sorry attempt at steeling your nerves. “i am so awesome and cool and can do this—! actually, the “awesome” and “cool” part is true but the “do this” is still a bit tentative..—”

ㅤ the door suddenly opened, “ah, [name]!” yujin’s mom greeted warmly, not noticing how the teen had just jumped at her surprising appearance.

ㅤ “AH—! eommonim..! hehe, hello..” you had to fight the urge of hiding your face behind the box you had in your hands since it would be silly to act so shy in front of a woman you practically treated like a second mother.

ㅤ the woman chuckled slightly at the flustered look on your face before greeting you, “good morning, dear! i haven’t seen you in a while.. i hope you’ve been well. oh, are those cookies for yujinnie?” she smiled sweetly, already knowing the answer when this occurred annually since the day you learned to bake.

ㅤ you mirrored her chuckling with a tinge of nerves. “well, not just for him. i don’t think he can finish two dozens of cookies by himself.” you humored, though you did find the image of him scruffing down two full boxes worth of your baking a bit cute and funny.

ㅤ she let out a small laugh at that, swatting a light playful hand your way. “oh, you underestimate that boy when it comes to your baking! come in! some of his hyungs came just before you did. the others will come by later!” she invited, stepping aside as she pulled the door wider with her.

ㅤ you couldn’t hide your wincing as you admitted, “i just came to drop these off, actually..”

ㅤ mrs. han’s lips turned slightly downward, not expecting such a short visit. “really? that’s a shame.. yuri’s been missing you these days. she’s been wondering when you’ll come to visit this week.” she didn’t really mean to guilt trip you, only merely stating fact, but it worked anyway.

ㅤ and that’s how you found yourself inside the home of the guy who had devastated your mind and heart since three days ago. all because of a han yuri-induced guilt that took a hold of you and reeled you into the han household.

ㅤ you stood in the doorway to the living room as mrs. han took the cookies to the table, contemplating whether you should just watch gyuvin try to put yujin in a headlock with ricky cheering for the younger or actually announce your presence to the loud group. unfortunately, you couldn’t think further on it as a pair of bright eyes connected with yours and decided that it was their decision to make your fate.

ㅤ “[NAME]!” yuri shot up from her seat and zoomed towards you, six pairs of eyes following the han yuri blur before they landed on you.

ㅤ you kneeled to catch her before she could hurt herself but still find yourself winded as she crashed into you.

ㅤ meanwhile, yujin couldn’t believe his eyes and scrambled to push away gyuvin’s lanky arms that locked him in place. “hyung, get off—!” he grumbled to the older boy, who was honestly just as surprised to see you here of all places.

ㅤ the gyuvin complied and raised his arms in surrender as he locked eyes with ricky, and then gunwook, and then hao, and then hanbin—as if he was asking if he was seeing things right.

ㅤ none of them intervened when yujin composed himself and went over to the doorway, which you and yuri were by the foot of it.

ㅤ a tall shadow casted over you and the girl in your arms, making you look up to see the source. your lips broke into an awkward smile as you quickly but carefully stood up from your crouching with the small girl still in your arms.

ㅤ “haha, heeey…” you both just stood there, staring at one another before you tried to break the silence again. “uh, happy birthday.. dude..?” you nearly outwardly winced at your sorry attempt to be chill but decided to really double down on it by shifting yuri to one arm and using the free one to slightly hit his shoulder.

ㅤ if you couldn’t already tell, things are obviously going well for the nonchalant [name] team.

ㅤ though, it seemed that the old spectators couldn’t say the same thing as gyuvin couldn’t hold back his bursting laughter for any longer than ten seconds. hanbin shot him a look and backhanded his shoulder despite holding back his own laughter.

ㅤ “ow—!” despite the unnecessary hit he just took, he still couldn’t stop his amusement. “heeey, dude! it’s been a while since we’ve seen you!” gyuvin beamed from his place on the floor, beckoning you to properly step into the living room.

ㅤ you took that as your chance to go around yujin, leaving him by the doorway to process your greeting as you carried his sister away with you to sit on the couch.

ㅤ you sat next on the right end of the couch with hao in the middle of you and hanbin, ricky on one of the two armchairs that were placed parallel to one another, then gunwook and gyuvin sitting on floor cushions next to each other.

ㅤ “hey [naaame]!” hao reached an arm around you and squeezed you into a side hug. “it’s really been a while since we’ve last seen you. how have you been?”

ㅤ you held yuri closer to you as you leaned into the older’s embrace. “i’ve been pretty good, hehe.. spent time with friends and met some new ones.” you gave a small grin up at him, which he returned twice as wide.

ㅤ hanbin peeked around hao’s shoulder to look at you, eyes lightened with recognition. “oh yeah— you’re friends with boynextdoor now, right? especially kim woonhak!” he noticed yujin finally moving from the doorway to go back to his seat beside gyuvin.

ㅤ gunwook glanced at yujin before following up his observation of the new friendship, “yeah, you seem to have become really close in just a few days.” gyuvin nudged the younger boy’s shoulder with his own shaking one, the two sharing a look and turned their back on you to hide their amused grins but yujin (who now sat on the floor with them) saw their goofy faces as clear as day.

ㅤ you nodded, not really thinking much on the insinuation since you were literally just half a week into your new friendship. “yeah, he’s cool. a bit dorky but still cool.” you chuckled as the goofy boy came to mind while you played with yuri’s pigtails.

ㅤ yujin unconsciously frowned when he noticed your already growing fondness for your new friend. “he’s not that cool..” he grumbled, leading to his floor seatmates to try even harder to conceal their laughter.

ㅤ “hm? what was that, yujin?” ricky teased, having heard the mumbling since he sat near the birthday boy.

ㅤ “what was what?” yujin raised a brow at the blond before turning his attention back to you. “anyway.. you’re… here..” he grimaced at his intonation but couldn’t really stop what he’d said.

ㅤ you almost couldn’t stop the grimace on your face but luckily reeled it in. “uh.. i only came to drop off the cookies but eommonim insisted i stayed for a bit—”

ㅤ “cookies?!” yuri sat up straight from laying on you and clambered to get off your lap to head over to the dining table in the other room, where all the food was laid out.

ㅤ “cookies!” gyuvin cheered as he followed after the small girl with gunwook in tow.

ㅤ sensing an opportunity, hanbin nudged hao and shot a look to ricky to clear out of the the living room, giving some time and space for the two childhood friends to finally speak.

[ han yujin’s pov! ⁠☆ ]

ㅤ you both sat in silence, not really knowing what to say. that was until you decided to finally speak up.

ㅤ “..hey, i..” i missed you. the three intimate words almost got past your lips before you composed yourself. “..i didn’t think you’d drop by.” nice save, yujin.

ㅤ [name] gave a quick breathy laugh as they took a throw pillow into their arms. “me neither, honestly.. but it felt wrong not to come. you’re my best friend first and foremost, you know?” their words were thoughtful and considerate, as if trying their best not to say too much (which was really unlike them).

ㅤ but before you could ponder on their off character, the term ‘best friend’ struck you though, not having expected them to reaffirm your friendship.

ㅤ “..even after— really—?” you blinked up at your best friend since kindergarten and saw them bob their head to say ‘yes’ despite you not finishing your inquiries. “sorry.. you know, about—”

ㅤ [name] waved a hand in dismissal. “it’s uhm, fine. it’s fine.” they gave a wide grin but the years you’ve known them weren’t for nothing when you knew their real feelings.

ㅤ no, it’s not— you wanted to say exactly that but it came out so wrong when you really tried to voice them. “yeah, okay.. cool.” you choked out, unbelieving of what you had just said. what the hell are you saying, han yujin?

ㅤ silence was quick to fill the room again and came back as uncomfortable as a bed of spikes. you searched through your brain to continue the conversation before you could only conjure up a distasteful topic.

ㅤ “so… kim woonhak, huh?” you brought up with slightly gritted teeth.

ㅤ was it okay to say that you didn’t like how their eyes lit up at the mention of the drummer? “oh, him— yeah. met him during graduation, after uh— nevermind.” you remembered their encounter as clear as day but they didn’t need to know that. “uh.. i think i should go.. i have some errands to run anyway.”

ㅤ “oh. okay, i’ll walk you to the door.” wait, don’t listen to me. you both stood up from your seats and headed to the front door. “..see you around then..?” don’t go yet.

ㅤ [name] nodded with a taut smile, “yeah, see you ‘round, yujin.” yujin—?

ㅤ you—no longer their yujinnie—watched while they put on their shoes, gave you one last smile and then headed out the door.

ㅤ you couldn’t properly describe the crushing feeling in your chest as you watched your childhood friend walk further and further away from you but you already knew that it was going to stick with you until the end of the day and the days that followed after.

ㅤ what a happy birthday to you.

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notes. hahahahahah hey guys ☺️☺️☺️😢☺️☺️☺️☺️ honestly i donct know what to say other than sorry for taking MONTHS to update again since uni's been keeping me so busy and exhausted and fuck wakeone and yuehua 🤬🤬🤬 also i'm sorru for making this angsty like i genuinely did not intend it to go this way 😭😭 happy birthday yujinnie ily forever and ever

lmb tl. @kekaekeke @wnouzi @unhakverse @liznvis @starboy-library @reivolutionk @xyzizzy @behindyou1305 @skuuzae @woonbabie @kaixlix @ellezra @crazykimkeverose @unakbb @sol3chu @hkvi @s3ungh4nsgf @sakuyaswish @bloomingwish @beomtomie ᡣ𐭩

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notes. SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG AND I WAS OFFLINE FOR WEEKS 😭😭 i literally have no excuse other than i got lazy asf....... i'll try my best to push out the yj fic and woonhak fic i have in drafts since i already have more than half of either them finished!!!! also happy holidays and in case i'm not active then, happy new year!!!!

lmb tl. @kekaekeke @wnouzi @unhakverse @liznvis @starboy-library @reivolutionk @xyzizzy @behindyou1305 @skuuzae @woonbabie @kaixlix @ellezra @crazykimkeverose @unakbb @sol3chu @hkvi @s3ungh4nsgf @sakuyaswish @bloomingwish @beomtomie ᡣ𐭩

ㅤ minhi watched carefully from her place on the couch as her dad fixed up his comfortable yet decent outfit as he got ready to leave for a short staycation. her uncles had just arrived from seoul to manila the day before and wanted to spend some time with their old bud on the week of his birthday.

ㅤ dongmin was patting down his shirt and was trying to smoothen out the wrinkles when he noticed his daughter unsubtly staring, “오, 민히야,” he called, snapping her out of focus. “ayos lang ba?” he asked as if he wasn’t just wearing his usual dark jeans, graphic tee and light jacket combo that he usually wore whenever they went out on family trips.

ㅤ “mhm..! ayos, pa.” the girl answered simply with a small thumbs up.

ㅤ the man nodded his head in acknowledgement before looking around, searching for something. “‘di ba nakababa na mama mo kanina?” he asked, looking at his daughter with a slight tilt of his head.

ㅤ minhi was about to answer his inquiry but a woman entering the room already beat her to it. “‘asa kusina lang naman ako, ‘di mo na lang ako pinuntahan kesa tanungin pa si mini-me.” [name] huffed playfully as she leaned on the doorway of the living room that had a hall that led to the kitchen.

ㅤ her husband returned her energy with his own slightly exaggerated shrug in reply to her huffing. “ehhh, ‘di ko naman alam na nandun ka eh, 자기야.”

ㅤ “eh, ngayon alam mo na, dibuh?” the woman pouted her lips at him in a silly manner. she then pushed off from the doorway to shorten the distance between them. “alis ka na?” she asked as she brushed off any lint that stubbornly stayed on the shoulder of his jacket.

ㅤ dongmin hummed in confirmation before sighing exasperatedly as he recalled his friends’ pestering just a mere five minutes prior in his messages. “mhm, inip na inip na yung iba. message nang message sa group chat na akala mo may emergency..”

ㅤ his wife couldn’t help but snicker, always familiar with the group’s enthusiasm and impatience that it was impossible to forget despite the long periods of time they haven’t been able to hang out. “buti naman apaka sigla pa nila,” she mused, her humor strongly laced with great affection.

ㅤ “medyo sobra pa rin nga sigla nila eh..” the man heaved out a heavy breath for the nth time, shoulders sagging comically as if he was already drained just from the sheer energy that radiated from mere chat messages. “sige, alis na ako. uwi ako ng sabado.” he then stood up straight, giving minhi a bit of mental whiplash from him being a bit silly to being his usual no-silly-business attitude.

ㅤ “oh, ano? wala mang kiss?” [name] questioned with furrowed brows and a pout. she turned to her spectating daughter and mockingly sulked to her, back turned to the ‘guilty’ man. “angas nitong 아빠 mo oh, minmin..” she shook her head in mock disappointment, making the teen on the couch stifle a snicker at her mom’s antics.

ㅤ “haaay nako, ito na nga..” dongmin placed a hand on his wife’s waist and placed a hand on her cheek to turn her face to his. his daughter looked away from the sight as he bowed his head down to press his lips on his wife’s. “happy ka na?” he asked once he pulled away, his flat tone would have made anyone else think that he was so over the woman’s dramatics.

ㅤ and, good thing she knew better. “happy na happy, pati si sadness napangiti eh!” she cheesed up at him before lightly patting his cheek. “sige, ingat always at sabihin mo kay jaehyun na wag ipa-extend yang staycation niyo at may pamilya ka pang mahal na mahal.” she huffed as she pulled away from his embrace to fix his collar.

ㅤ “sige, sige,” the man simply replied before pressing on last kiss on her temple. “ba-bye na.” he bid the two farewell, turning to the girl on the couch to give her a little wave and smile goodbye.

ㅤ the woman smiled after him as he left, moving to sit next to her daughter on the couch.

ㅤ “bye-bye 아빠아아!” minhi waved back until her dad closed the door behind him, leaving her with her dear mother.

ㅤ now that it was only just the two of them, it finally gave the young girl a bit of courage and comfortable space to ask a question that’s been bothering her for a while—a long while, actually. about a six year long while, since she was twelve and a lot of her classmates were all about pulbo-and-liptint makeup and wished for romances as cheesy as the love their own parents had.

ㅤ “..ma, pa’no po pala kayo.. naging kayo ni 아빠?” she asked her mom, making the said woman look up from her phone and her game of candy crush.

ㅤ [name] beamed at the question, finding it cute and couldn’t help but tease the teen for it. “ay, aaaapaka laki na pala ng mini-mini-me ko, oh.. nagtatanong na ng mga kwentong pag-ibig, hay!” she pretended to have a fainting spell with her knuckles gently pressed against her forehead as she leaned further against the back rest of the couch.

ㅤ “luh, si ma naman, oh.” minhi narrowed her eyes at her mother but instead of judgement, they were full of amusement as a grin grew on her lips. “pero seryoso po, kasi ang happy sunshine niyo po tapos ang.. cold never bothered me anyway ni pa.. na para bang sun and moon atake niyo po.” she finally voiced her long-time wondering, wondering how such opposites could fall for one another that would result in a marriage as long and lasting as theirs.

ㅤ “sun and moon?!” her mom parroted as if she was maja salvador. “pero ay nako, mali yang pag-iisip mo, nak. nung edad mo kami—o baka nga mas bata pa—yung tatay mong yan ang pinakamalambing na sikat ng araw na nakilala ko habang ako parang nyebe na nagpapalayo sa mga gustong lumapit.” she smiled wistfully, unable to help herself as she remembered her and her husband’s youth.

ㅤ the young girl, to put it simply, was confuddled. she could hardly believe what she had just learned, so much so that she needed to verbalize her confusion. “..parang ‘di naman po yan kapani-paniwala eh..” she pouted with narrowed eyes and knitted brows, her face scrunched up to express her puzzlement. “너? nyebe?? 아빠는? sikat ng araw?? parang baliktad ah!”

ㅤ [name] set her phone aside to wrap her arms around around her daughter, squeezing her in a tight hug. “ay, ba’t naman ako magsisinungaling.. totoo yan, nak! tanong mo pa man mga tito mo, mga kakilala ko pa yan nung mga bulilit pa lang kami at masasabi rin nila na hulog na hulog yang 아빠 mo sakin noon, kahit kung layo ako nang layo sa kaniya noon.” she defended her statement, revealing more of her and dongmin’s old dynamic while swaying the both of them in her embrace.

ㅤ the new information, instead of giving clarity, just gave her more questions that she couldn’t help but ask. “eeeedi…” minhi started, looking into her mom’s eyes when she finally asked, “kailan po ba nagkagusto sa’yo si pa, ma?”

ㅤ it was another sunny day in the philippines but despite the expected heat to come as said by the weather report given by the nightly news, that never stopped the usual bustle and noise of grade four - section camphor — though with the recent news and rumors, it only intensified it with the anticipation and excitement that was brought with them.

ㅤ [name] was just minding her business, finishing up any homework she had from the week before while class had yet to start, when her best friend since diapers bounded over to her side of the two-person desk with energy that shouldn’t even exist at 6:40 in the morning on a monday.

ㅤ “huy, repa! [name]!” jay lawrence, otherwise known as jl, greeted with a wide smile.

ㅤ with the disturbance from her school work, she returned his brightness with disgruntlement. “ano??” she questioned with a frown and a quirked brow.

ㅤ already accustomed to the other’s cold attitude, he barely paid it any mind as he continued as to why he decided to interrupt her, “rinig mo? may mga bagong lipat daw!”

ㅤ the girl huffed, “syempre naman, yun na lang yung pinag-uusapan ng iba eh..” it wasn’t even just their class that was enthused by the gossip but other sections of their grade as well so it would be very difficult to not have heard the hot topic, even just in passing. though despite her unbreaking nonchalance, she couldn’t help but be a bit curious anyway. “taga-saan daw sila ulit?”

ㅤ jl’s smile widened upon picking up on her subtle interest but it faltered as he tried to remember the right details to answer her. “ko- korea daw..? ayun narinig ko kay ma’am kanina, eh.” he shrugged, only providing minimal information as he only just listened for a bit in their advisor’s conversation before heading to his class.

ㅤ [name]’s curiosity only turned into confusion at the name of the unfamiliar country. “saan naman yun??” she asked, wanting more clarity, but was answered with yet another lift and fall of the boy’s shoulders.

ㅤ “ewan ko, baka malapit sa amerika—” he theorized but before they could converse more about the mysterious transferees’ home country, their homeroom teacher had entered the classroom at seven on the dot.

ㅤ “sige na, magsibalikan na kayo sa mga upuan niyo.” she waited for her students to settle down and once they did, she didn’t waste any more time to confirm the much anticipated news that had them so animated so early in the day.

ㅤ jl leaned back from his seat in front of his best friend and whispered to her as he tried to sneak a peek of the students waiting outside the room through the narrow gaps of the windows. “huy..! kita mo sila? taaangkad nila, oh—!” he was interrupted with a light hit to the back of his head, accompanied by a shush from the girl and a whispered reminder to listen to the woman at the front of the room.

ㅤ “sigurado naman mga alam niyo na pero may mga bagong lipat tayo galing sa south korea kaya alagaan niyo sila, ha?” their advisor gave them a firm look as if to say that she wasn’t just asking for their compliance but expected it, which earned her a not-very-chorus and very disharmonious ‘yes’ from the class but it was good enough for her. good enough to finally let the transfer students into the room as she called out to the students that waited patiently just outside the door, “okay, mga nak, come inside the room.” with that cue, the students unhid themselves from the wide wall next to the doorway and there entered two tall boys.

ㅤhan dongmin and kim donghyun stepped inside the classroom and were immediately greeted by multiple pairs of curious eyes. the latter returned the looks with a kind smile while the former almost hid himself behind his best friend despite being the taller one of the two.

ㅤ “please introduce yourself to the class: name, age, and fun fact — medyo bilisan at para makapagsimula na rin tayo ng klase.” the teacher prompted upon realizing that they were waiting for further instruction since they were obviously unfamiliar with the culture of the country foreign to them.

ㅤ both of them understood the first part of her direction but were confused by the last, though they could probably guess what she could have possibly meant with the impatient tone she had.

ㅤ the boy with dark brown curly hair introduced himself first, seeing as his friend was shy and hesitant. “hello, everyone! i am kim— uh, donghyun kim, but.. you can call me leehan! i am nine but turn ten in october. i love fish, thank you!” he beamed, smiling brightly that girls couldn’t help but awe and admire his graceful features.

ㅤ he then turned to look at the boy with short dark hair and gave him an encouraging look, hoping to give a bit of comfort despite the nervewrecking amount of eyes on them both. the shy boy took a small breath and took a step to stand beside leehan.

ㅤ “..안녕..” he started meekly as he kept his eyes trained on the cement floor, making eye contact with any of his new peers a minimum as he possibly could. “i am dongmin han.. can call me taesan. i turn ten next month and i love music, thank you.” he spoke curtly, not wanting to waste any more time as he wanted to take his seat as soon as possible.

ㅤ unable to help himself, jl leaned back to whisper to his friend as he doesn’t take his eyes off the two boys at the front. “huy.. ang cute nila, noh? lalo na yung si tae- taesan..? oo, siya! pero parang mas cute kayo pareho, ayiee—” his teasing was abruptly stopped when he got a light hit on his forearm.

ㅤ the boy pouted at her as he rubbed where he was hit but [name] couldn’t care less as she leaned back in her seat. “shh! ang laki na nga ng bunganga mo, baliw ka pa! kung ano-ano na lang talaga pinagsasabi ng lalaking ‘to, jusko..” she scolded in quiet voice, rolling her eyes at his playful ragging.

ㅤ the teacher smiled once the two boys had finished introducing themselves., “okaaay..! thank you for introducing yourselves uh, taesan at leehan. you can go sit na.” she pointed towards the empty seats next to two students near the back left of the room. “you can sit near each other doon in the back with jl and [name]— pataas nga kamay niyo para makilala kayo ng mga ‘to.”

ㅤ upon hearing their names, the aforementioned boy cheesed unsubtly at the girl behind him as he raised his hand. she could smell the strong stench of his mischief as she noticed a familiar gleam in his eyes whenever he got a ‘bright’ idea but she couldn’t really say anything on it as she raised her hand as well and the transfer students then spotted their newly assigned deskmates.

ㅤ dongmin took a second to look at their faces to familiarize himself with his classmate but also hoping that, in some way, he could possibly tell if either of them were at least nice.

ㅤ he looked to the one with a friendly grin on his face (which taesan assumed to be jl since it seemed more of a masculine nickname), his expression was an obvious tell already that he didn’t need to worry about any mean bone in him.

ㅤ his eyes then darted over to the girl behind the smiley boy and upon seeing her face, he held his breath. despite it being an unconscious action of his body, his childish mind was fully convinced that the pretty girl seated in the back had truly taken his breath away.

ㅤ always one to notice even the smallest things (and also the fact he was very much focused in on the shy newcomer), jl was quick to note the lingering gaze the tall boy had on his best friend and with just a slight look to his side, he made eye contact with leehan. he also seemed to notice the tiny bit of special attention his own friend gave to the girl seated in the back and the two shared a subtle look of understanding that was partnered with a similar kind of mischief.

ㅤ donghyun placed a hand on the taller boy’s shoulder and steered the both of them to their new seats. the other two best friends lowered their hands once they neared and jl was quick to greet them both, especially zeroing in on the more extroverted one of the duo.

ㅤ “welcome to section camphor, taesan, leehan! say, why don’t you sit with me, leehan? i was curious about why you love fish!” he patted the empty space beside him on the bench, making such obvious eyebrow raises that he thought were barely noticeable to anyone but leehan.

ㅤ “okay!” he easily accepted with a smile. he patted taesan’s shoulder and gently nudged him toward the only empty seat left. “자, 이제 앉아요, 수업이 곧 시작됩네.” he left his friend’s side to take a seat beside his new friend (he wasn’t making an assumption, he supposed that playing as wing men for their respective friends would be an easy indicator of friendship).

ㅤ to say that the tall boy couldn’t believe that his only friend in this class of strangers had just obviously plotted against him that he stood there for an extra minute before he finally moved to take his seat albeit very stiffly as he felt the weight of more than twenty pairs of eyes though, not forgetting to mentally curse at his supposed best friend and the boy next to him with swear words that ten-year-olds thought were swears but weren’t actually swears.

ㅤ “you don’t need to be so tense.. a lot of people are nice here.” a voice whispered to him, a voice so melodious that he almost thought he had heard a lullaby rather than quiet assurances.

ㅤ dongmin turned his head slightly to see the side profile of the pretty girl, who was facing forward and was attentive to their advisor upfront. she seemed so indifferent towards him just by her facial expression and body language but he felt a flurry of restless butterflies in his stomach when his ears had picked up her words that contrasted her nonchalance.

ㅤ “uhm.. thank you..?” his gratitude trailed off to a more inquisitive tone, hoping to prompt her into telling him her name.

ㅤ and his prompting worked as she replied, “[name]. [name] milagros.” she cast a short glance to him before she refocused forward again, making him mentally fist pump at his tiny success.

ㅤ the teacher called for the class’ attention and the first of seven classes finally started but taesan’s mind was still on the pretty girl beside him and her gently-spoken comfort, playing like it was his new favorite lp record on repeat alongside the rhythm of his smitten heart.

ㅤ “elem pa po kayo may gusto sa isa’t isa!?” minhi burst out in disbelief, barely able to digest the fact that her parents have known each other for so long. she always had the belief they had only fallen for each other in either their late teens or early adulthood as she frequently heard from her uncles that they got together during those stages of their lives.

ㅤ [name] couldn’t help but laugh at her daughter’s reaction. “wow, gulat na gulat ang ferson?!” she lightly pinched the girl’s cheek as her astonishment was just too adorable to ignore as she clarified to the girl, “oo, elementary pa siya nagkagusto sakin.. kaso lang, ‘di ko lang nalaman hangga’t nagsi-high school na kami.. ‘tong kinwento ko sa’yo, kwento lang rin sakin ng tito hannie mo.”

ㅤ her daughter couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow at the bonus information, “ba’t naman po high school niyo pa po nalaman? parang sobrang halata naman si 아빠 nung simula pa.” her lips tugged down to a frown, not really understanding how someone could miss something that seemed so obvious.

ㅤ the woman shrugged and gave an apologetic simper, not really having an answer that could possibly satisfy her curious girl. “sobrang focused kasi ako sa pag-aaral ko na ‘di ko gaanong natuos ng pansin, eh.”

ㅤ but the curious girl took her answer to ask another question, enjoying that she got to learn more about her parents. “ahh.. so study first po talaga kayo?” she reworded simply, mostly for herself to better process it.

ㅤ [name] couldn’t help but chuckle at her question before narrowing her eyes at her daughter in faux scrutiny. “saan sa isip mo nanggaling pagiging masipag mo sa pag-aaral, mini-me? yang 아빠 mo? aaapaka harot no’n nang naging komportable na sa klase, lalo na nung high school!” she huffed a laugh as she remembered how many times her husband had did and tried to skip out on going to school and how much more confident he got, especially in things that he excelled in.

ㅤ the teen grinned in amusement as she just realized a funny coincidence. “parang kahit anong stage po ng buhay, magkasalungat kayo ni pa.” it honestly was a pleasant surprise to hear that despite their differences in different ways and different ages, her parents still stuck to each other regardless.

ㅤ her mother thought on it for a moment before nodding in agreeance, sharing her own smile to show her mirth regarding the observation. “parang gano’n na nga rin.. kaso iba talaga siya pagdating sakin eh.” the stretch of her lips softened to something gentler, one that had an undeniable undertone of tender affection.

ㅤ the loving expression on the woman’s face made minhi feel so happy for her. though, it didn’t fail to make her even more curious about her parent’s love story as she asked more about them, “paano niyo naman po yan nasabi, ma?”

ㅤ dongmin breathed in deeply and let out a long and wistful sigh as he had his head propped on his fist, ignoring the loud chatter of the cafeteria and his friend group in favor of devoting all his thirty minutes of break time to just admire the beautiful girl that sat parallel to him on the table in front of his.

ㅤ he heard some shuffling to his right but didn’t pay it any mind since he knew woonhak sat there and was probably on the brink of rough housing with jaehyun. at least, that’s what he thought before he felt a weight on his shoulders and a voice that sounded much different than the younger boy’s spoke to his ear, in a very familiar tone of teasing that he had the misfortune of memorizing due to years of exposure.

ㅤ “alam ko namang ‘di mo talaga tinatago yung crush mo kay [name] pero grabe naman pagpapahalata mo, taesan..” jl snickered as he moved his hands from the taller boy’s shoulders and moved his face from beside the other’s to sit beside him on the bench. “pangalawang linggo na natin sa high school at top agenda mo pa rin yung pag-admire from afar.” he grinned mischievously but his lips quickly changed its shape to a startled ‘o’ as he moved out the way when the victim of his teasing swatted at him as if he were an annoying fly.

ㅤ taesan just moved out of pure instinct as his hand went to slap the overly playful boy. “시—!” he nearly cursed as the tease dodged his hand. “when did you get here??” he questioned with knotted brows, as if it wasn’t on himself for not being aware of his surroundings.

ㅤ “ngayon lang at aalis na rin!” jl patted his back and sprung up from his seat, waving to the others who were seated at the table before making his way over to where the smitten boy had been staring at since the beginning of break.

ㅤ dongmin could barely react with how fast the silly boy left his table, only being able to watch his back as he practically skipped away. “야— 잠깐만— wait lang—!” he patted his pocket and was assured when he felt a bump there. he turned his head and accidentally made eye contact with sungho, who stopped mid laugh when he saw a certain spark in dongmin’s eyes.

ㅤ “‘di ko talaga alam kung ba’t ‘di pa gumi-give up yang si taesan mo, te.” jl mused when he got close enough to his best friend’s table, taking a seat close to her despite the spacious bench. “hindi ba nung elem pa yan may crush sa’yo? t.l. na t.l. talaga siya para sa’yo, ako na mismo nabobothered na ‘di pa kayo nag-o-on..” he dramatically sighed as he discreetly reached an arm over her shoulder to get a slice of apple she had packed.

ㅤ ignoring his sticky hands, the girl shrugged as she answered his question instead of acknowledging the latter part of his joshing, “malay ko rin ba kung bakit pa ako gusto niyang si dongmin. ako na nga tong umiiwas, eh.” she moved her little metal container of apple slices and purple grapes closer to him so he didn’t need to reach around her any longer.

ㅤ the boy mock squealed as he held his face in his hands and shimmied as if he were fangirling, mouth still stuffed with apple. “ayieee! ‘di tinanggi na taesan niya nga siyaaaa— aray naman!” he sulkingly chewed his food as he rubbed his forearm, having not dodged a hit that was because of his teasing for a second time.

ㅤ [name] clicked her tongue as she took a grape from her tin. “yan ka nanaman kasi eh.. inaasar nang asar mo ko kay dongmin, baka ikaw talaga may crush sa kaniya?” she raised an eyebrow at him questioningly as she popped the round fruit in her mouth.

ㅤ “huy! ‘di kaya! ‘di ko yan type, noh..” her friend rolled his eyes with a scowl on his lips, faking repulsion at the thought. “pero in fairness, ‘di siya nagcutting ngayon. or at all nang nagsimula na school.” he raised his brows suggestively as he took another slice for himself.

ㅤ the girl hummed in agreement with a nod. “oo nga eh. pero baka naman dahil kasi unang buwan natin ngayon, in high school pa.” she theorized, not really reading much into dongmin’s recent actions and behavior since she didn’t really think it concerned her.

ㅤ jl bobbed his head in consideration, “baka, baka.. ooooor…. baka kasi ‘di niya lang kaya umabsent at ‘di ka makita ng matagal—! hoy—?!” he yelped as he moved out of the way to avoid the same hand that had smacked him less than five minutes prior.

ㅤ “baka gusto mo pa ng mas malala sa hampas. kung ano-ano na lang talaga lumalabas sa bunganga mo, kahit kailan talaga!” she huffed as she swatted his hand that went to dig for another slice of apple and got the lid to seal the tin off from his hands.

ㅤ “seryoso nga! tignan mo nga siya dun, oh!” the boy jutted out his lips and pointed them towards the boy in question, who was late to notice that he had been spotted and got caught by the pair while turning his head away to pretend that he was talking to woonhak. “lagkit ng tingin ng lalakeng yun.. baka talaga ikaw na motibasyon niya para mag-aral ng mabuti..” he nudged his friend’s shoulder as he smirked at her teasingly.

ㅤ exasperated, [name] simply rolled her eyes at the his relentless teasing. “hay, tigilan mo na at baka mabaliw ka pa jan sa paggawa mo ng mga kwento, jay lawrence gaspar. balik na tayo sa room.” she didn’t wait for him as she stood up from her seat and picked up her small tin of leftover fruit before leaving the cafeteria to head back to their classroom with her best friend easily catching up with a few short strides.

ㅤ though it was a bit far away from where the cafeteria was, the two managed to get back to their class a bit quickly than they expected despite the amount of students that were headed to where they had been to spend their breaks and had blocked their way multiple times.

ㅤ entering the room, jl’s observant eyes immediately zeroed in on something that was placed at the center of his best friend’s desk. he sped up to be the first of them to inspect it. it was a fairly big piece of inipit that was covered with a clear plastic wrapping with a red ribbon on top to decorate. it was very obvious that it was bought from a reputable bakery just from the overall appearance alone.

ㅤ “huy, inipit! ‘di mo pa yan dinala sa canteen kanina? akin na lang—!” the boy was about to untie the ribbon when he noticed a note stuck to the bottom of the square delicacy. “ay, ‘wag na pala.. may feelings ‘to, eeh..” he sighed dejectedly as he passed the dessert to its rightful owner.

ㅤ “huh?” [name] tilted her head in curiosity as she turned the packaged treat to see what stopped her friend from devouring it. her eyes scanned the clumsily written message, letting the sides of her lips be tugged upwards just a tiny bit when she noticed jl turn away in her peripheral vision.

ㅤ back at the cafeteria, sungho held onto the ledge of the table as he heaved heavy breaths. leehan offered him his water bottle and the exhausted boy graciously took it, thanking the younger boy after he took big gulps of the cold water.

ㅤ the oldest of the group slumped on the bench as he sat down. he narrowed his eyes at the source of his tiredness and pointing a finger at him. “넌… 나- 나한테.. 빚졌어… 하아..” he barely huffed out as he took the remaining minutes of break they had left together to rest his weary head in his arms.

ㅤ “응, 고마워 박빠른.” dongmin thanked the older boy sincerely, genuinely thankful that he was able to do a fast delivery before the girl of his dreams got back to their classroom. despite having to beg and bargain for an embarrassing while just to make it happen, nothing wasn't worth it for [name] in his mind.

ㅤ back to the classroom, the two best friends munched on halves of the sweet inipit while the note was tucked deep in the breast pocket of [name]’s blouse uniform.

ㅤ the words the girl couldn’t help but keep close to her heart were, ‘i remembered that you mentioned liking this a lot back in 4th grade so i went looking for it when i got back from summer in korea. i tasted it too and i understand why you like it so much. sana magustuhan mo.’ signed with his initials right below it.

ㅤ [name] chuckled as she remembered another sweet memory, not hesitating to retell it to her daughter. ”alam mo, nak? sa ilang beses ako sinubukan ligawin ng 아빠 mo nung high school, simula nung first year kami hanggang sa pagkagraduate namin, iisang beses niya lang ako niligawan ng tradisyonal.”

ㅤ “ba’t niyo naman po naspecial mention pa yan?” minhi tilted her head in curiosity and her wondering didn’t last long as her mother was quick to entertain her.

ㅤ the woman scrunched her face at the girl lovingly, smiling as she answered with unhidden affection, “kasi doon na ako umoo sa kaniya.”

ㅤ on a cool january weekend in 1992, three friends lounged around in the living room of the han household, scrunched features and gears grinding as they tried to form a fool-proof plan for han dongmin to successfully get him together with none other than [name] milagros.

ㅤ “와…” the sweet admirer couldn’t help but sigh, looking at the pile of korean and filipino teen magazines plus a list of awfully silly ideas he and his friends had written down on his yellow pad paper. “nagawa ko na ata lahat na pwede ko gawin to 구애해 her.. and none of them got me a yes..!” he leaned back in on the back of the couch and slapped his hands on his face, dragging them down his face as a more visual display of his sorrow.

ㅤ woonhak reached over and patted the poor boy’s shoulder as an attempt to console him. “well.. the last time you tried, which was just last week, you tried to 고백..” keyword: attempted. he only made the already miserable boy cringe and hide his face in his hands. “good thing we stopped you or maybe she would have stopped you from trying to woo her..”

ㅤ taesan groaned before taking a hand off his face to push off the uncomforting hand the younger boy left on his shoulder. “i don’t know what else to do.. i don’t even know much about dating except for the magazines na inuwi 내 여동생 galing korea!” he gestured to the said pieces of teen gossip that mostly consisted of celebrity news and barely anything that could help him win over a girl’s heart.

ㅤ jaehyun looked at the korean magazines for a minute before drawing his eyes over to the filipino covers. his eyes stopped at one particular front page that displayed a love team that was formed just the year before, chardawn. thinking back to the duo’s film from the previous year (which he had the misfortune of watching in theaters), he suddenly got a thought that he couldn’t believe none of them had thought of first when they first pitched ideas.

ㅤ the oldest of the three sat up but still acted coyly, “..you know.. kung ikaw tradisyonal 한국식, then she’s traditional filipino style. which means—” he was then cut off by the very energetic youngest, who perked up the moment it clicked to him what the other was trying to say.

ㅤ “you need to romance her — filipino style!” the spirited boy continued with a wide grin as his eyes met with jaehyun’s, the two sharing an enthusiastic look of understanding when they realized they got the same idea.

ㅤ the boy unincluded in the duo’s moment scoffed at them when they turned to him with stupid smiles. “makapag-talk kayo, ‘kala mo naman you already have a plan.” he arched a challenging brow at his friends.

ㅤ woonhak, of course, took the challenge as he very confidently proclaimed, “of course we already have a plan! 우리? 저어엉말 로맨틱해요!” as if he was already so sure of the exact steps just from his three-second eye contact with the oldest boy in the room.

ㅤ “sus.. romantics daw..” dongmin clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms. when the two went quiet after his snide comment, he realized he didn’t have much other choice as he himself was drawing blanks on what to do. he internally sighed before finally letting himself ask, “..oh, ano? what’s your plan..?”

ㅤ jaehyun scooted closer to the hesitant boy to rest a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “그냥 우리 믿어, 태사니! just wait and see, mag-o-on kayo in no time!” he and woonhak grinned before he reached to rip the list of bad ideas off the pad of yellow paper to jot down their plan.

ㅤ a month passed and it was finally the day dongmin had been anticipating. it was the ninth of february, just four days and the weekend before valentine’s but most importantly, it was the birthday of the girl who had him standing out in the cold with his band—boynextdoor, a band he and his friends had formed when he was in eighth grade.

ㅤ taesan took a slow and deep breath in through his nose and out his mouth, trying his best to calm his nerves. he looked back to woonhak, who sat behind a drum set they worked hard to get out of jaehyun’s garage and into the street with just one wagon and sungho’s strength, and gave him a firm nod.

ㅤ taking that as his cue, the youngest of the group clicked his sticks to set the beat for the song.

ㅤ [name] sat at her desk, pen tapping on the wooden surface as she had her head propped on her fist while trying to finish up the last of her homework, an unfortunate ending for her sweet sixteen. she puffed out her cheeks in frustration as she had been stuck on a certain math problem for nearly twenty minutes when she heard the sound of drums and guitars outside.

ㅤ she didn’t pay it any mind at first, figuring that it might just be her neighbor blasting the music channel on the radio again, until her ears picked up upon hearing a voice that she couldn’t mistake for anyone else.

ㅤ the girl placed down her pen and slowly went towards her covered window. the panes were open but her curtains sealed away her view of whoever was performing the cure’s—

ㅤ “..just like heaven..?” she wondered as she heard the lyrics more clearly the closer she was to the window. her fingers brushed against the two pieces of cloth that obstructed her view before settling between the middle part. letting the first verse pass and hearing the start of the second, the curious girl couldn’t help herself when she finally got a firmer hold on her curtain and parted it, allowing herself to see the band performing outside her home.

ㅤ there front and center was han dongmin, guitar in hand and projecting his voice as much as he could just so it could reach her window and around him was the band he prided himself to be apart of. she saw his eyes widened the moment he saw the curtains part and showed herself, as if he didn’t expect her to check out the commotion they were making.

ㅤ boynextdoor performed their best that night, knowing just how much this special serenade meant to their dear member (even despite the noise complaints they would inevitably get for being this loud on a school night).

ㅤ but, taesan didn’t even bother to stop the growing grin on his lips once the gorgeous girl entered his sight, feeling more energized and warmer just from seeing her astonished face, not even the cold of the night could bother him at that point.

ㅤ “you’re just like a dream,” he sang as he stared deeply into her eyes, as if trying to communicate that he meant it with his whole heart just how unreal she and what she makes him feel can be.

ㅤ once dongmin sang the final line, “you, just like heaven,” and despite needing to take heaving breaths to calm his wildly beating heart, he held his breath as he waited for a reaction from the gorgeous girl above.

ㅤ what none of them expected was her leaving her window and their sights, making them wonder if she was so cold to not say anything and just go straight to bed right after they had done such a heartfelt display just for her, on a school night nonetheless.

ㅤ it had been a few minutes since the girl had gone but the poor suitor lost more and more hope by the second, shoulders slouching as he looked back to his friends with a dejected face. “..do you guys think ayaw niya talaga—”

ㅤ “dongmin!” the melodic voice he had thought about every day since he was ten called out to him and the boy immediately whipped his head back around, not caring if he almost risked getting whiplashed.

ㅤ there he saw the girl of his dreams speedwalking towards him with her tired parents leaning against their doorframe, her mother sending him a look of apology he didn’t understand what for while her father gave him the same look with a mix of exhaustion and impatience as he was obviously disturbed of his sleep.

ㅤ once [name] finally reached him, she had such a guilty look on her face that it made him want to blurt out that he forgave her despite not having heard her apology yet. “sorry natagalan.. ha.. kinailangan ko pa kasi gisingin sila tatay para mabukas yung pinto.. tinatago kasi ni tay yung susi pagkagabi na..” she explained the best she could.

ㅤ “no, no! it’s okay, ‘wag ka mag-alala—” taesan assured but his words got caught in his throat when she clasped her hands around his, freezing in his place as every single one of his neurons just felt her.

ㅤ she rubbed her palms on the back of his hands as an attempt to warm them up. “ang lamig ng kamay mo, oh.. ga’nong katagal ba kayo rito sa labas??” she looked up to see him fixated on their hands so she looked to the boys behind him.

ㅤ sungho was in the middle of zipping up his guitar case when she had asked. “aboouut maybee.. an hour just trying to set up..?” he answered as he hiked up the strap of the case on his shoulder.

ㅤ “but, wala lang ‘yon kasi para sa’yo ‘tong lahat, eh.” sanghyeok added on with a wiggle of his eyebrows while he was helping woonhak with getting the drum set onto the wagon they had for it.

ㅤdonghyun stood beside jaehyun, who was packing up his keyboard for him, when he clarified with an easy smile, “though, this is all dongmin’s plan.”

ㅤ “kami ni jaehyun hyung nag-isip at tumulong sa plano!” woonhak butted in, even though he had his hands full with heavy and very fragile equipment.

ㅤ the girl gave every one of them an appreciative smile, touched by the amount of effort they gave for a quick performance just for her. “thank you sa inyong lahat. lalo na kela woonhak,” she couldn’t help but tease the youngest but was nevertheless grateful. “pero mas lalo na sa’yo, dongmin. thank you for doing ‘just like heaven’, i’ve loved that song since you gave me a tape of it. pasensya’t pinahintay pa kita ng matagal..” she frowned as she separated his hands to hold each of them in hers respectively, drawing circles on the back of his hands with her thumbs.

ㅤ dongmin snapped out of his staring and smiled at her apology, finding it cute how remorseful she seemed for such a small thing. “iilang minuto lang naman and as you said, you needed to wake your parents.” he twisted his hands so they covered hers instead, internally relishing the feeling of their connected hands. “i remembered you said ‘just like heaven’ was your favorite cure song.. so that’s why i decided to serenade you with it..! at.. kahit gaano mang katagal, lagi kitang hihintayin.”

ㅤ not having expected such sweet and careful thoughtfulness, she felt her heart skip a beat and tried her best to quickly regain her composure. “hindi— i- i meant na.. i’m sorry na pinaghintay kita ng ilang taon..” she trailed off as she looked sheepishly to the side before she continued, “..para ibigay ko sa’yo oo ko..”

ㅤ the boy couldn’t believe what he had just heard that he had to take a second to gape at her before coming back to his senses. “you mean— ..are you serious..?” he scanned her face like he was trying to find a tell that she was lying or might be joking but he only saw nothing but sincerity.

ㅤ to really confirm, [name] lifted her gaze to meet his and gave him a small nod. a small gesture that gave him the largest amount of elation he has ever felt in his life that he let out a sound of disbelief before pulling her into a tight embrace, ignoring the loud cheering of his friends behind them.

ㅤ “thank you,” dongmin whispered in her ear as if she had just given him the greatest gift he could ever ask for before burrowing his nose in the crook of her neck, savoring the moment as much as he could.

ㅤ “와.. buti naman umoo na kayo noon, ma! grabe ba naman yung set up..” minhi let out a disbelieving breath, unable to comprehend how it took her father nearly four years of courting her mother to get her sweet yes to finally being with him. “pero bakit nyo nga po ba nilalayuan si 아빠 noon kahit kung tiyagang-tiyaga sya para ligawan ka?” she asked with a deep frown of confusion.

ㅤ the woman pursed her lips before sighing defeatedly as she recalled her reasoning, “kasi mas importante sakin na makapagtapos muna ng pag-aaral. ayoko sa mga kahit ano mang makakahadlang o makaka-distract sa’kin noon eh, kasama rin dun yung 아빠 mo.” though, her remorse changed into something much tender; a look of genuine love. “pero nang binigay ko na yung oo ko, ‘di na’ko nagsisi kahit kailan sa pagpili sa kaniya araw-araw simula noon, tulad ng pagpili niya sa’kin sa bawat araw simula pa nung bata pa kami.”

ㅤ the teen felt her heart swell the more and more she learnt about her parents and their romance. though, the moment was disturbed when her mother’s 8am alarm rang, indicating that it was supposed to be the time she woke up.

ㅤ the girl noticed that her mother didn’t use a default ringtone and instead had an actual song set instead, a song that she’s been familiar with since she was a conscious baby. “ay ma, gusto ko rin pala tanungin,” she quickly started when she noticed her mother about to swipe to stop the alarm. “ba’t niyo po pareho pinapatugtog yan? parang walang araw na ‘di ko yan naririnig na napapaisip na ako na baka pati pagkalabas ko sa tiyan niyo, pinatugtog niyo rin yan.” she joked, recalling every early morning when she’d hear her father have his playlist on speaker.

ㅤ [name] guffawed at the joke, eyes crinkling as she had a hand cover her mouth. “apaka harot mong bata talaga!” she playfully swatted at her daughter before calming down. “kanta kasi namin ‘to, minmin," she clarified, though she was sure that much was obvious so she gave more context, “hindi ko pa ata ‘to nakukwento sa’yo pero dating sorbetero ‘yang 아빠 mo nung college kami. inaral pa recipe ng 할아버지 mo para makabenta at makakita ng pangdate namin.”

ㅤ having been caught off guard by her daughter’s joke, the lively song continued to play on her phone — ”mamang sorbetero, tayo’y sumayaw.” — as she delved into more stories of her and dongmin.

ㅤ dongmin huffed as he finally finished setting up his ice cream cart, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a small towel he brought. it was his first day setting up shop after about half a month preparing everything he needed to have his quaint stand all ready. he was fortunate to not have any class today with his lovely girlfriend so he was able to start early, getting situated outside a public elementary school since he knew children wouldn’t be able to resist getting themselves a cold treat to fight against the unbearable philippine heat.

ㅤ [name] was in his tricycle behind him, sitting in the open sidecar as she fiddled with their shared cassette player (having bought it together with a combination of their allowances) as she tried to pick a good tape to play. she looked through the pouch of cassettes that she brought from home, puffing out her cheeks in frustration as she couldn’t seem to find something that would be perfect for her boyfriend’s opening day.

ㅤ the girl groaned loudly, making the boy look back at her to see what was wrong. “wala akong mahanap dito na maganda para sa big day mo, mahaaaal..!” she set the pouch down beside her and pouted (very cutely in taesan’s opinion).

ㅤ he chuckled at her dilemma and reached over to ruffle her hair, earning himself a startled yelp and super threatening glare. “자기야, you don’t need to worry too much about it. ayos lang naman kung walang music, your voice is music to me anyway.” he smiled, especially when her glare changed into a scrunched expression.

ㅤ [name] cringed at the boy’s cheesiness, ignoring how her cheeks became warmer from it. “yuck.. ang corny mo talaga kahit kailan.” she put a hand up to his face as if to try stop any of his advancements.

ㅤ he simply grinned at her faux disgust and gave her palm a small peck before turning back to his cart. he reached down to fetch something from one of its compartments and upon standing straight, he had a little bell in his hands that he started to ring and alert anyone near of his humble ice cream cart.

ㅤ “mamang sorbetero, anong ngalan mo?” dongmin heard behind him, making him tilt his head in curiosity since he was unfamiliar with the melody.

ㅤ looking over his shoulder, he saw his sweet girlfriend holding up the cassette player as a song about an ice cream man played. “nahanap ko na yung tamang kanta!” she beamed adorably, making the boy resist the urge to just shower her in kisses.

ㅤ a month had passed since his first day and taesan had quickly gotten used to his routine of being a working student, managing a fair balance between his academics and his ice cream selling (though a huge thanks to his favorite girl since she made sure he never overworked himself in either).

ㅤ he was grateful it wasn’t too hot the day he was working since the previous day, he nearly got overrun by the amount of activities assigned by his professors and was lucky enough to able to finish them all without much worries. since [name] had a similar day to his’ and he always went to set up early in the morning, he let her have a day in and went alone, having their cassette player play their song to fill in the space she usually occupied.

ㅤ but what was unfortunate about a not hot day was that it meant that there wouldn’t be many customers that would be attracted. though he didn’t need to worry much about how soon he’ll get a customer as with every shop, there’ll likely be a regular.

ㅤ “hi po, mang dong!” a little girl with pigtails ran up to the cart, her height making it difficult for her to see over the top of the cart. thankfully, dongmin was tall enough for both of them as he leaned on the cart to look at her.

ㅤ “good morning, bom!” he greeted with a warm smile before he made a comical look of suspicion. “hindi ba masyadong maaga para mag-ice cream ka, hmm??”

ㅤ the girl giggled at his silly face and shook her head, “hindi naman po! nagpaalam po ako kay mama bago pumunta rito po!” she earnestly said as she gripped on the edge of the cart and stood on her tippy toes.

ㅤ taesan exaggerated a hum of understanding and nodded his head as he did. “ah, gano’n ba? buti naman nagpaalam ka at ‘di ko na kailangan magdalawang isip kung bebentahan ba kita o hindi..” he teased as he went to make her cone.

ㅤ bom gasped, mouth gaping wide in shock. “hala naman po!” she exclaimed as she let go of the cart to put a hand over her open mouth. she then realized a distinct lack of another person and peaked from beside the cart to confirm if her observation was right. “mang dong, asan po si ate ganda? ‘di niyo po kasama!” she pouted as she played with the five peso coin in her hands.

ㅤ the boy smiled bittersweetly as he scooped up the ice cream. “ay, si ate ganda natutulog pa sa bahay pero ‘wag ka mag-alala. siguro pagkauwian mo na, nandito na siya ulit!” he assured while finishing up the triple scoop ice cream.

ㅤ the elementary schooler hummed as if deliberating whether or not she should believe him before her trust in him won, quite quickly actually. “ah.. okay! pagdating niya po, pasabi na miss ko po siya!” she slid her coin on top of the cart as her other hand reached for her cone. “thank you po, mang dong!” she gave him a fast but big wave before hurrying to get into her school as if she was about to be late (she wasn’t, she always arrived very early).

ㅤ “welcome, enjoy!” he waved after the girl, smiling fondly as he thought about telling his pretty girl about his interaction with their favorite customer when she comes by later. but for now, he just enjoyed the voice of celeste legaspi to pass the time until he saw her again.

ㅤ [name] huffed at an amused breath at the few anecdotes she had just shared. then, her grin mellowed yet her smile still remained in her eyes. “pero ‘di lang naman pangdate yung mga kinita niya sa pagbenta ng sorbetes, start lang yun ng pag-iipon niya para sa kinabukasan namin pareho—kahit kung kakapraso lang kinikita niya, dedikado siya sa pag-ipon bago magtrabaho para may simula na kami sa inaasahan niyang maginhawang kinabukasan namin.”

ㅤ the sun was nearly gone as the moon was rising to replace it in the sky when dongmin was cycling him and his dear girlfriend along with his sorbetes cart on his sidecar home after a long day of selling ice cream. the girl sat behind him on the bike with her arms around his waist and her cheek resting on his back, mind bothered in contrast to the peaceful night. while lost in thought, she unconsciously sighed and alerted the boy that was heading them home. he let out a hum, silently asking what was on her mind.

ㅤ “alam mo, dongmin,” [name] started, voice quiet but the cold night was quieter so the boy was still able to hear her (though he would always tune into her and listen to every word she spoke no matter how loud the environment). “hindi mo naman kailangan mag-ipon para sa’ting pareho. pwede na para sa sarili mo muna pera mo. that’s your hard earned work, mahal. second year pa lang naman tayo kaya.. focus ka kaya muna sa sarili mo; sa future mo.” she spilt all of her worries in a single breath, relieved to feel the weight on her shoulders lift even just a tiny bit.

ㅤ it was quiet after and she was afraid she might have said something wrong so she didn’t expect him suddenly slow down the tricycle and pull to the side of the road. he gently took her hands off his waist but held them after he got off the seat of the bike.

ㅤ taesan stared deep into the girl’s sullen eyes, taking a moment to appreciate the reflection of the street lights in her already shiny eyes. he took a hand off of hers and lifted it to carefully touch her cheek, caressing it in his palm. “..what if sa future ko.. kasama ka talaga?” his voice bled with genuity that it hardly made any room for doubt to enter.

ㅤ “..ha?” [name] just barely managed to breath out as she leaned into his warm hand, practically melting against it as she was showered in the adoration that poured down on her just from his gaze.

ㅤ the lovesick boy rubbed his thumb on the apple of her cheek and as he explained himself, “don’t get me wrong, i do have my dreams and alam mo naman yun pero.. ‘di ko talaga nakikita sarili ko na wala sa tabi mo kahit kailan. never since you’ve said yes to me, 자기.”

ㅤ the couple stayed on the side of the empty road, savoring the delicate time they had for a moment and let themselves feel a bit more warm as their love wrapped around them in a tight embrace and made the cool of the night all the more bearable.

ㅤ “grabe naman, alam kong romantiko si pa sa kwento mong nagharana siya pero next level pala siya nang magcollege kayo, ma!” minhi scoffed out a laugh out of shock, still trying to imagine the scene in her mind due to it sounding like something out of a movie. “‘di ko lang gaanong napansin ganyang side niya kasi parang pagdalaga ko, nakita ko lang na parang nonchalant siya tapos.. ayun na lang talaga nakilala ko sa kaniya..” she shrugged, frowning as it dawned on her just how little she knew about her parents, her father moreso.

ㅤ the woman simpered in understanding, brushing her daughter’s hair gently to console her. “buti naman nakatulong ako baguhin paningin mo sa 아빠 mo, mini-mini-me. naiintindihan ko naman kung ba’t mo yan naisip pero minsan, ganyan talaga mga lalaki eh—kunwari maangas.” she raised her eyebrows to emphasize her point, knowing that knowing those types of boys and/or men are more frequent than not, no matter the age or generation.

ㅤ though the young girl understood her statement a bit differently, more familiar of different variation of it. “yung over sa pagiging cool na naging cold na?” she tilted her head as she asked.

ㅤ [name] scrunched her face and shook her head, patting her daughter’s hair before letting it drop to her side. “kahit kailan hindi nanlalamig yang tatay mo, lalong lalo na para sa’yo, minmin.” she took the girl’s hands in hers and gave them a squeeze.

ㅤ the teen still felt an unnecessary amount of guilt as she returned the gesture. “eh.. yung ano nga, ma..” she started, not really sure of the right words nor how to word her sentence right. “sorry pero ayun nga po yung nakita ko lang kay 아빠 bago mo kinwento lahat ng iyon eh..” she shifted in her seat to lean her side against her mother’s, laying her head on her shoulder.

ㅤ the woman carefully rested her own head atop the girl’s, wrapping an arm around her little girl’s shoulders and rubbed her forearm. “..alam ko na bago itong.. story time natin, mahirap paniwalaan na ganyan pala 아빠 mo, sa halip na alam mo ngayong.. na- non- nonchalant..?” she lifted her head for a moment to give the girl a quizzical look before waving her hand and resuming her previous position. “basta, ibang parte ng 아빠 mo nakikita mo sa kung ano nakita’t nakikita ko sa kaniya.. pero maniwala ka lang ‘pag sinabi ko na sa ilalim ng lamig na nakikita mo sa ibabaw, si dongmin ay may tamis ‘di niya sinadyang itago.” she fully pulled away to look her daughter in the eye before giving her an overly dramatic smooch on the temple, making the young teen burst into a fit of giggles as she tried to escape the kiss attacks.

ㅤ a week later and it had already been a day since her father got back from his staycation with his buddies. minhi rubbed her eyes to get rid of any lingering fatigue as she stumbled out of her room and headed to the stairs to head down. the closer she got to the stairway, she could hear her mother’s laughter mixing with a tune that she was very much well-acquainted with.

ㅤ reaching the bottom of the staircase, she made her way to the living room and just from the open doorway, she saw her parents dancing around as their cassette player played their song.

ㅤ “mamang sorbetero, tayo’y sumayaw,” [name] laughed as she did her best to lead the dance despite barely being able to keep herself together. “kalembang mong hawak muling ikaway!” dongmin, who was the actual one leading in their improper waltz, simply looked fondly down at the silly woman in his arms as she took big gulps to try regain her breath. “batang munting sayo’y naghihintay!”

ㅤ as the woman was reattaining her composure, she spotted a figure behind her husband’s tall build. “oh, nak! tara rito!” she waved her daughter over. “dongmiloves ko, sayawin mo naman ‘tong anak natin oh!” she patted his arms before pulling away from him to instead push him towards the girl that neared them.

ㅤ taesan raised a brow at his wife inquisitively before turning to his daughter. he offered his hand to her and jokingly shrugged, “hindi ata ako papakainin ng mama mo kung hindi.”

ㅤ minhi snickered at the man’s words and took his hand as her mother mocked a gasp at his made-up claim. all three of them swayed to the nostalgic song in an unserious manner, her father making her do ridiculous spins while her mother clapped along to the rhythm.

ㅤ “bigyang ligaya ngayong tag-araw!”

fics expected to be posted this month:

☆ mamang sorbetero. filo!han taesan x f!reader

☆ sniffles season. college!choi yeonjun x gn!reader

☆ love me back! chpt 3