Closure

closure : 01

Konti nalang mapapairap na talaga si Seulgi sa sobrang OA ni Wendy. But when she remembers what exactly got her friend so hysterical, she brushes the annoyance off quite quickly.

True enough, earning a spot in the 2021 Artist Appreciation Gala really is something to fuss about. As it should. Lalo na't mga kilalang artist lang ng bansa ang naiimbitahang pumunta rito.

Halos mahimatay nga sila ni Wendy kakasigaw nung na-receive niya yung invitation. Her exhibit was a huge hit, and since it was even visited by Irene and Jennie, it ended up getting a mass recognition from other celebrities, too.

It was in fact, the one out of all the bad things that happened lately that she genuinely feels thankful about.

"Saglit, nahihilo na ako."

Wendy had the nerve to complain.

"Mas nahilo naman ako kakatingin sayo. Ikot ka ng ikot," kamot niya sa kilay na agad tinilian at sinaway nung isa. She pouted. "OA naman nito."

"Matatanggal makeup mo! Isa!"

They've been arguing about her look for hours now. Seulgi wants to look good, ofcourse, and she trusts Wendy's style. Yung isa lang naman yung hindi makontento kaya natatagalan. Akala mo naman siya yung dadalo.

"Huwag ka ngang magreklamo diyan. Sasampalin kita," banta na ni Wendy kaya napatikom na talaga siya ng bibig.

So it took them a lot longer than expected to finish. Wendy drove her to the venue and promised to stay awake if ever she needed someone to come fetch her.

The event was packed. Seulgi gets stunned everytime she comes face to face with an artist that she knows.

This gala was a good opportunity to meet her fellow artists. Her colleagues. Regardless of what kind of art they practice.

That's why despite not knowing anybody personally, she didn't feel out of place at all.

This is where she belongs.

Amidst the crowd, in the middle of soft chats and murmurs, the easy hustling of the wind when someone passes by in a hurry to check the work of others, her eyes landed on someone awfully familiar.

The eye contact sent a sense of familiarity down her gut. But unlike before, this time, it was comfortable.

This time, it didn't hurt as much as it usually did before.

"Hey."

Her lips automatically formed a small smile.

"JB," she greeted. "Expected ko na talagang nandito ka ulit. Congrats."

"Yeah I'm thankful they invited me for the fourth time around. Ikaw, first time mo diba? Congratulations."

He grinned, looking absolutely dashing in his navy blue suit with his hair pushed back.

"Thank you! Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala," she chuckled and then looked past his shoulders. "Si...uhm... Irene? Di mo kasama?"

The gala allows plus ones so she kind of expected to see her here.

Ilang gabi kaya nilang prinactice ni Wendy ang sasabihin niya kung ganun nga. Afterall, never pa silang nag-usap nang matino ni Irene.

"No, she's in Thailand right now for a magazine shoot. Kaya wala akong date this year. Where's yours?"

She laughed sheepishly.

"Wala rin," she smiled. "Wala pa."

JB nodded, eyes shining mischievously.

"Pa," he repeated. "So there's someone?"

Namilog ang mga mata niya saka umiling.

"Hala hindi," natatawa niyang sagot. "Ang ibig kong sabihin, wala pa akong maaya sa ganito."

Tumango si JB, smiling apologetically too.

"Ah sorry."

"It's okay. Hindi rin naman ako nagmamadali," she cleared her throat. "How are you, by the way?"

Hindi nakalagpas sa tingin ni Seulgi ang paglawak ng ngiti ni JB.

"Happy," it was an answer that needed zero time to be pondered over. "You?"

Ah. The bitter taste it left on Seulgi's mouth.

"At peace," she blinked, trying to keep calm. "Still navigating through life. And the crazy thing is, I feel like my love for painting has drastically grown for the past year. Grabe. Feeling ko mamamatay ako kapag hindi na ako makapagpinta."

Natawa silang dalawa sa biro niya.

"That's great. It's great to see you so in love with your work," JB smiled softly. "I'm still proud of you."

"And I can't believe we attended the same AAG in the same year like what we used to dream about." Even though we didn't come as a couple like what we planned together before. "Tapos ikaw, pang-apat mo nang punta rito. Nakaka-proud ka."

"Thank you," he then joked. "I'm glad you caught up."

Seulgi rolled her eyes jokingly.

"Thanks."

Somebody from a far distance called for JB. Gusto ngang kaltukan ni Seulgi ang sarili kasi lumingon din siya na parang pangalan niya ang tinawag.

JB gestured an okay sign before looking back at her.

"Sorry, I have to go. That's a senior."

"Okay lang," iling niya nang nakangiti. "Go on."

JB nodded and smiled.

"See you around, then? Kung gusto mo ng kausap nasa photography section lang ako."

"Sige. Hahanapin nalang kita if ever."

"Alright. I'll go on ahead."

"Mmm. Nice seeing you again."

"Yeah. It's nice to see you too."

And then JB turned his back on her, and after a while, she turned away too.

It was something that she had to get used to. A sight she had to eventually be accustomed to. It's a long process but Seulgi even thinks that she's almost there.

Almost. Malapit na. Kaunting hintay nalang.

"Hala sorry!"

Her immediate response when she clumsily bumped into someone.

Curse her drinking habit of downing a glass of alcoholic beverage without checking if it's a hard liquor or not. E whiskey ata ang tinungga niya tapos naka-apat na shot na siya.

"Okay lang. Ikaw?"

"Huh?"

Seul squinted her eyes at the guy when she didn't understand his question.

"I mean, okay ka lang ba?"

"Oh," she giggled. "Oo okay lang. Thank you sa concern..."

She blinked her eyes and leaned her head forward to read his name on his ID. Parang nabato yung isa sa gulat kaya hindi na nakaangal.

"...Mr. Jimin."

The Jimin guy was quiet so she took that as the cue to leave.

And she did. She was fetched by Wendy after who was complaining about how she got out of that gala without scoring a number or two of any hot artists around. Kesyo ang goal naman talaga ng pagdalo ni Seulgi sa event na yun ay para maghanap ng lalaki. E kaso olats.

Or atleast, that's what they both thought.