As I expected it to happen, there was an awkward silence nang pumasok na si kuya ng kwarto ko. Lee could not look at us straightly and every time he says something, nauutal talaga siya. Ako na lang ang nagi-initiate palagi for them to talk to each other about random stuff kasi halatang they are still adjusting with each other.
My plan is to keep Lee and I's relationship in secret from my brother. It's not Edward's reaction that I am afraid about, but since he's a loose canon, mom could find it out at natatakot ako na baka magalit o ma-disappoint ko siya. Mom is known to have a bad reputation in Cavite especially on her peers and employees. She thinks so highly of herself but I am not mad about it since she has earned it from her hardwork and perseverance. Kung ang mga tao na nakakakilala sa kanya sa office ay takot sa kanya, ano pa kaya ako na anak niya?
Edward's way on how to get away from our stubborn mom was commendable, though. He joined a band without her knowing about it. Huli na nang malaman ni mama ang lahat at wala na siyang magawa kung hindi ay hayaan na lang si Edward sa kanyang ginagawa. Mom somewhat disowned Edward as her son, but knowing that Edward is always five steps ahead from everyone, he reconciled with my mom after a couple of months. Hindi ko alam kung papaano nangyari iyon, and I'm pretty sure that kuya won't tell me about it either.
Nang pumunta si Lee ng bathroom para maligo, nagtanong na ako kay kuya about sa problema nila ng girlfriend niya. "To be honest with you, I would never thought that you and that girl would last for more than a month," I said.
He tapped by back before he gave me a snarky answer. "To be honest with you, I never asked for your opinion. Masayang kasama si Kelly. Iba siya sa mga naka-date ko dati. Iyong problema naman ata ay sa akin, eh. I told her something that offended her and that was the reason that we're not in good terms right now."
I pouted. "I see. Minsan kasi huwag mong idaan sa biro ang lahat. Malay mo, people would label you as an asshole instead of someone with good intentions, hindi ba?"
I saw him crooked his lips before he told me for the first time na may sense akong kausap. "Saan mo nakukuha ang pagiging makata mo, sa roommate mong si RapMon, ano?"
Binatukan ko na kaagad si kuya bago pa siya magsalita ulit. "Kakasabi ko lang na magdahan-dahan ka sa kakasalita mo tapos iyon ang sasabihin mo. Don't use Korean stereotypes on describing him, okay?"
He nodded, but right after a moment, he hummed "Mic drop, mic drop!" nonchalantly. Nang na-notice niyang tinitignan ko siya ng masama ay tumigil naman siya.
"I can't help it. That song is a bop. Mic drop, mic drop!" he said before he laughed out loud.
*****
Since walang dinala na kahit na ano si Kuya Edward maliban sa mga pagkain at inumin ay pinilit niya kaming dalawa ni Lee na samahan siyang bumili ng mga gamit pambahay at mga damit sa pinakamalapit na mall dito sa amin. Lee could not refuse to him since parang takot siya sa kanya while the other one does not even try to act or at least pretend to be a human being by grabbing Lee's shirt from his drawer without asking him.
Lee and I were surprised to see Edward wearing one half of our couple shirt.
The worst part is that I was wearing the other half of it.
"Ssibal!" dinig kong bulong ni Lee sa likod ko habang tinitignan siya naming naglalakad papalapit sa aming dalawa sa labas ng dormitory.
Pagpunta pa lang namin sa department store ng mall ay nagtitinginan na ang mga tao sa aming dalawa ni Kuya Edward. Iyong ibang mga babae, nagtataasan pa ng mga kilay nila habang tinititigan nila ang suot naming shirts. Si Lee naman ay nasa likod ko lang at walang kinikibo. Napansin ko ring namumula na siya.
"I think we need to buy you a new shirt here and you need to change real quick," pagbubulong niya sa akin bago siya tumalikod at naghanap ng mumurahing shirt sa discounted na part ng menswear section, then he handed me a plain white shirt. "Magbihis ka na bago pa siya makahalata sa nangyayari," wika niya.
"Kuya, diyan ka lang muna. Magbabayad lang ako," I told Edward while covering up my shirt's design with the shirt that Lee grabbed from the rack. Edward just nodded but he whispered something which I couldn't hear.
When I came back, Kuya Edward just stared at me with a baffling look on his face. "Bakit ka nagpalit ng shirt? Bagay naman sa'yo 'yong suot mo kanina?"
Umiwas na lang ako ng tingin sa kanya at nag-alibi na mas gusto ko kasing suotin ang bago kong nailing t-shirt. Lumapit naman siya sa akin sabay abot ng mga damit na napamili niya. "I didn't know that you are an exhibitionist now, Greyson. Tignan mo ang mga utong mo, nakabakat na sa shirt mo. Yuck!"
Namutla ako nang nakita ko ang sarili ko sa salamin. Nakita ko rin si Lee na nagpipigil ng pagtawa sa likod ko.
Sunod kaming bumili ng mattress at mga unan ni kuya. For once, we were cordial with each other nang ako ang pinapili niya nga dapat bilhin because I have a good taste in aesthetic daw. It just baffled me that he considered choosing something because of the aesthetic factor kasi hindi gan'ong tao si Kuya Edward.
Pagkatapos naming bumili ng mga gamit ni Kuya Ed ay pumunta muna kaming tatlo sa isang coffee shop to eat. "Go order whatever you want. I'll pay for everything," Edward told us before he gave us his wallet. Sumama na si Lee sa akin sa pag-order dahil natatakot talaga siya kay kuya.
"Mabuti pa si kuya mo, hindi kuripot. Order everything daw, eh," he uttered before the two of us chuckled.
"At least may silver lining ang pagsama natin sa kanya rito. As an adult, he's a handful, ano?" I asked him in which he nodded as a response. "Sa tingin mo, nahalata kaya niya 'yong about sa shirt na suot ninyo?"
I shook my head. "I don't think so. He would probably tease us kung alam na niya. He's that kind of a person kasi; wala siyang filter," I answered.
"That makes sense. By the way, ang cute mo kanina nang namumutla ka. Kung wala lang iyang kuya mo, yayakapin na sana kita."
I smiled when I heard him saying that. Who would have thought that a guy like Lee could be this romantic?
*****
"So, Mr. Lee, can you tell me something about yourself?" asked Edward while he was munching his croissant.
I rolled my eyes before I responded. "Is this a job interview, kuya?"
He glared at me for a second bago siya nagsalita ulit. "Am I asking you, Greyson? Lee na ba ang last name mo?"
Hindi kaagad ako nakapagsalita at tinignan ko lang si Lee na nanlalaki ang mga mata dahil sa gulat.
"Again, Mr. Lee, can you tell me something about yourself?"
Lee smiled awkwardly before he answered him. "People call me Lee, but you can call me Woo if you want. Third year Political Science student po ako and I am from South Korea."
"Wow, Political Science student ka pala. Impressive," as what Ed answered. "Okay naman ba ang kapatid ko as a roommate?"
Ngumiti si Lee nang matagal bago siya sumagot sa kanya. "Greyson can be stubborn sometimes, pero nakasanayan ko na rin naman ang ugali niya. You should be proud of your brother; he's very intelligent and a good conversationist as well."
"Naku, I'm always proud naman sa kapatid ko lalong lalo na ngayon na nakabuwangwang ang utong niya sa buong mundo," said Edward sarcastically before he bursted out from laughing. Napansin ko rin na nagpipigil si Lee sa pagtawa.
From that very moment, hindi na awkward sina Lee at kuya sa isa't isa. Habang silang dalawa ay nag-uusap even with the most random topic that I could ever think of, at least they are interacting now.
*****
"Greyson," wika ni kuya kinagabihan bago kami matulog. "Pwedeng humingi ng pabor sa iyo?"
Kinamot ko na lang ang ulo ko kasi alam ko na ang gusto niyang mangyari. "Papatulugin mo ako sa sahig, ano?"
Isang mapag-asar na ngiti galing sa kanya ang natanggap ko. "At least aesthetic ang higaan mo. Ayaw mo n'on?"
Hinagis ko sa ulo niya ang unan ko. "Tuso ka talaga. Sa tingin mo may magagawa pa ba ako? Alis diyan!"
Nagdali-dali naman siyang tumayo at itinulak ako sa mattres na nasa gitna ng higaan namin ni Lee. "I love you," he said mordantly.
"I love you, too," dinig naman naming sagot ng natutulog na si Lee. Because of the moonlight, I saw Ed's baffled expression because of what he had heard. He also whispered something bago siya humiga.
Napa-buntong hininga na lamang ako habang nakahiga rito sa lintek na mattres na ito.
Kalagitnaan ng gabi ay nagising ako nang may napansin akong may tumatapik sa braso ko . It was Lee.
"Dito ka na matulog sa tabi ko," he whispered.
I shook my head. "Ayoko nga. Baka mahuli niya tayo."
"Pakinggan mo nga iyang kuya mo. Ang himbing ng pagtulog niya, o. At isa pa, maaga akong magigising to ensure na hindi niya tayo mahuhuli."
Napangiti ako sa sinabi niya dahil kanina pa sumasakit ang likod ko rito. Agad akong tumayo at pumunta sa gilid ni Lee para humiga. "Salamat," wika ko sa kanya.
We covered up ourselves gamit ang kanyang kumot para hindi kami makita ni kuya. We were just staring at each other's faces for a couple of minutes hanggang sa hindi ko na natiis at hinalikan ko na siya.
The taste of his lips was intoxicating. I also love how warm they are. I could not help but to bite the lower part of it out of excitement that I could taste his blood already. He moaned for a second, but we still continued to kiss.
"God, I really love this guy," I said to myself as the two of us collided.
*****
"Good morning, lover boy," dinig kong sabi ni Kuya Edward sa hindi kalayuan. Parang umalis ang diwa ko sa sarili kong katawan nang makita ko siyang nakaupo sa kabilang higaan habang kami naman ni Lee ay nakahiga pa rin dito.
Mabilis kaming umupo ni Lee at nagbihis ng pang-itaas. "Kuya, I can explain," natatakot kong sagot kay Kuya Edward. Si Lee naman ay nakayuko lang sa gilid ko. Halatang galit siya sa sarili niya dahil sa sitwasyon naming dalawa.
"You don't have to explain, Greyson. Kahapon ko pa alam ang lahat. Nothing Makes Sense When We're Apart? That's some cheesy shit to have as a couple shirt," he said before he laughed. "Dapat Ako ang Icing sa Ibabaw ng Cupcake ni Greyson/ Siya ang Icing sa Ibabaw ng Cupcake Ko para mas unique," he added before he laughed even harder.
"Kidding aside, tanggap ko naman kayong dalawa. Grey, you are my brother. I can replace my friends or my my girlfriend at any time, but I could not replace you as my brother. Kahit na ano ang gawin mo, tatanggapin ko iyan," wika niya bago siya nag-wink sa amin ni Lee.
"And you, Mr. Woo, please take care of my brother kapag umalis na ako rito. Don't hurt his feelings; ako lang ang may karapatan na gawin iyan sa kanya, okay?" Lee just nodded as he smiled at him.
"And one more thing . . . do you guys even use petroleum jelly? Dinig na dinig ko kagabi ang ungol ng isa sa inyong dalawa."
Tinadyakan ko na lamang si Kuya Edward bago kami tumawa sa sinabi niya. "That would be taken as a consideration," pagbibiro ni Lee na siya naman ikinatawa pa ni Kuya Edward.