“Oh, by any chance, you are not alone?” he casually asked, totally ignoring the fact that he didn’t ask for permission before crashing into my space. “Shouldn’t you have asked that bago ka umupo sa tapat ko?” sarkastiko kong baling sa kanya. He just ruined my mood, to be honest. Inayos ng lalaki ang suot nitong salamin bago siya nagsalita, “My bad. Am I disturbing you?” 「Ano’ng klaseng tanong ‘yan?!」Sigaw ko sa aking isipan. Sasagot na sana ako nang magsalita siyang muli, “Do I know you?” Mabilis namang nagbago ang mood ko at tinitigan ko siyang maigi. “I could ask the same to you,” pabalang kong tugon. He chuckled and adjusted his glasses. “Correct me if I’m wrong but you are Izumi Aki, right?” he guessed though his face told me that he was certain that he got the right person. Tumalim naman ang tingin ko sa lalaki bago ako ngumisi. “If it isn’t Shimada Kazunari.” The man sitting across chuckled in total amusement. “Still angsty, as alwa
AKI “COME inside, Aki.” Nakangiting bungad sa akin ni Kicchan when I arrived at his house. Isang ngiti lang din ang naging sagot ko sa kanyang sinabi bago ako tahimik na sumunod sa kanya sa loob. Nadatnan namin si baby Yuuki na naglalaro sa loob ng baby fence nito. Nakakalat ang sari-saring stuffed toys at mga kotseng laruan pero iyong tinawag niyang Ah-ko (Tako-san) na stuffed toy ang mahigpit niyang yakap-yakap. “Ah-ki!” Ngiting hanggang taingang sambit ni Yuuki sa akin nang makita niya ako. Natuwa naman ako dahil alam na niyang bigkasin ang pangalan ko kaya kinawayan ko siya. “Yuuki-chan~!” tawag ko sa kanya at lalo siyang nangiti. “I’ve taught him to call you Aki-san but he won’t say the ‘-san’ every time. Sorry for that, Aki,” pagpapaumanhin ni Kicchan sa akin bago siya dumiretso sa kusina nila. “It’s fine. ‘Ah-ki’ is much better. I like it,” nagba-blush kong turan at pinuntahan ko si baby Yuuki. Binuksan ko ang maliit na gate ng kanyang baby
Pagkatapos ng madamdamin naming usapan ay minabuti na lamang ni Kicchan na ipagluto ako ng makakain. The three of us ate together and had a few more talks. Naisipan ko na lang ibaling ang atensiyon ko kay baby Yuuki hanggang sa hindi ko na namalayang malapit nang sumapit ang gabi. “Thanks for the food, Kicchan. Kailangan ko nang umuwi,” I said. Kicchan smiled. “No worries. Be careful on your way home. Hindi ka ba susunduin ni Hanamichi-kun?” “Ah, well… He will be coming home late today. Work…” I muttered. “Oh, I see.” Just when he was about to bid goodbye to me, we heard the gate of their house creak open. “Ryuichi, welcome home,” he greeted. “Papa~!” Yuuki-chan happily squealed. “I’m home,” Ryuichi replied and went on to give his mate and his son a tender kiss on their foreheads. He then turned his head at me. “You’re here. Pauwi ka na ba?” I gulped at nauutal na sinagot si Ryuichi. “Y-yes.” Hanggang ngayon ay naiilang pa rin ako kapag ganito
AKI EVERYTHING has been peaceful without Jirou in the picture. My pregnancy has been going well and our twins were getting more lively as my due date was coming near. Both Chihiro and I are looking forward to meeting them. And so are their future grandparents. “Aki-san, may naiisip ka na bang ipangalan sa mga anak natin?” Chihiro suddenly opened up. Napatitig naman ako sa kanya. “Why so sudden?” I asked na medyo natatawa. Kinamot ni Chihiro ang kanyang batok bago siya sumagot, “W-wala lang, Aki-san. Parang gusto ko na silang bigyan ng pangalan ngayon pa lang,” he reasoned out. Last month, I already had an ultrasound check-up and we found out that we were expecting a girl and a boy. That made Chihiro so excited and frantic, at the same time. Halos hindi na ito makatulog sa gabi kakabantay sa akin dahil kabuwanan ko na. He would follow me wherever I go. He would even watch out for my diet and the things that might cause strain on my body. Ever since t
TRIGGER WARNING: Sensitive content ahead. Read at your own risk. CHIHIRO ISANG taon na ang lumipas mula noong maipanganak sina Akira at Misaki. Mabilis din nabawi ni Aki-san ang kanyang lakas at masaya naming pinapalaki ang mga anak namin ngayon. At bukod doon, nagawa na naming bumukod ng tirahan. Maliit lang ang bahay pero sakto lang bilang simula ng aming munting pamilya. Pamins-minsan ay nagpupunta si Ma-chan dito kapag nasa trabaho ako upang alalayan si Aki-san sa pagbabantay ng mga bata. Makukulit na sila at doble pa iyon. Tungkol naman sa pagiging mates namin… magpahanggang ngayon ay hindi pa namin pinag-uusapan ang tungkol sa bagay na iyon. Ilang beses kong binalak itanong kay Aki-san ang tungkol dito pero natatakot ako sa maaari niyang isagot. Ramdam ko naman na may puwang na ako sa kanyang puso pero hindi ko pa rin maiwasang hindi mag-alala lalo pa at may mga bata kaming kasama. Hangga’t nananatili kaming ordinaryong partners, hindi ako mapapanatag.
“…kun?” “…hiro?” “Gumising ka, Chihiro-kun.” Pagmulat ko ng aking mga mata ay nag-aalalang mukha ng mga kasama ko ang sumalubong sa ‘kin. Bakas sa mga ekspresiyon nito na may nangyaring hindi kaaya-aya. “Ano po’ng nangyari, Souma-san?” nanghihina kong tanong. Nang lingunin ko ang paligid, nasa staff room kami. “Nawalan ka ng malay, Chihiro-kun,” si Teruma-san ang sumagot sa akin. Kahit ramdam ko pa rin ang pagkahilo ay pinilit kong tumayo. Hindi ako naging matagumpay dahil nawala rin kaagad ang balanse ko at muntik akong matumba sa sahig pero mabilis akong nasalo ni Souma-san. “Magpahinga ka muna, Chihiro-kun,” aniya Souma-san habang inalalayan akong umupo. “Ano’ng nangyari sa ‘yo, Chihiro?” kabadong tanong ni Touya at halos mangiyak-ngiyak itong nakatitig sa ‘kin. “Kasalanan ko ba?” Umiling ako. “Hindi,” mabilis kong tanggi. “Iyong customer…” Nang maalala ko ang nangyari kanina ay napasuka na lang akong bigla at nagulat sila. “
AKIBRUISES all over his body, his face covered in blood, and his clothes all worn out — I was stunned when a wounded Chihiro came home that night.Not only he was unconscious, what shocked me too was the fact that the person who brought him was Arisawa Jirou.“Who the fuck did this to him?!” Galit kong tanong sa ‘king sarili habang mahigpit na nakakuyom ang mga kamay ko.Earlier, I had the scariest day of my life happening right in front of me. I always knew the dangers that Omegas might face but I never imagined it to happen to Chihiro. Nagdalawang-isip akong papasukin si Jirou sa bahay but he seemed like he had a tough fight just to send Chihiro home. In order not to scare the kids, I immediately contacted Chihiro’s parents and asked them to look for the twins until Chihiro’s heat was over and after I took care of everything else. Normally, Chihiro should be hurried to the hospital but because he was in heat, bringing him there would on
“Have a seat,” Jirou formally offered and I simply replied with a nod. When Jirou told me that he wanted to help me out, I didn’t expect him to invite me over to his place. Sure, we had a history but he never invited me over. Going here was really awkward but the two of us had already moved on and I told Kicchan about my plans in case Chihiro started to worry about me again. And also, my curiosity got fixated on the young fellow sitting across me. Jirou left for a while to get something from his room and this guy was already sitting here before I even arrived. Our eyes met. I kept still and didn’t avoid eye contact but the other guy felt intimidation towards me. Did Jirou even tell him about our past? “What’s your name?” I casually asked the fidgety guy and he was startled. “Chisato… desu,” he shyly answered and averted his eyes from me. 「Chisato, huh? I’ve never seen him in the neighborhood. Can’t even remember if he went to my clinic before,」I thought