CHIHIRO ABALA ako sa pagliligpit ng mga damit nang biglang tumunog ang cellphone ko. Nakapatong iyon sa mesa at matamlay ko iyong inabot at sinilip kung sino ang kasalukuyang tumatawag. “Unknown number… Prank call na naman siguro ‘to,” medyo inis kong kausap sa sarili habang hawak ang cellphone sa kaliwa kong kamay at ang kanang kamay ko naman ay may bitbit na T-shirt. Hindi ko sinagot ang unang tawag. Ilang sandali pa ay nag-ring ulit ang cellphone ko. “Na naman?!” reklamo ko nang parehong hindi ko kilalang numero ang tumatawag. “Sagutin mo, Hirocchi. Malay mo importante iyan,” biglang singit ni Ma-chan nang mapadaan ito sa sala. Napansin niya siguro na hindi ko sinagot ang tawag. “Pero, Ma-chan…” nag-aalangan kong saad. “Sige na,” nakangiti niyang sulsol kaya napabuntong-hininga na lamang ako sa pagkatalo. “Sige po. Sasagutin ko na kapag tumawag ulit,” sabi ko na lang. At hindi ako binigo. Tumawag ulit ang parehong numero sa ikatlong pagkakataon.

“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

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

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.

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