One Steap Ahead

Kabanata 1

The sun begins to set
The sky barely lit
Caught between the fading light and darkness
_

He was thinking hard enough about what was happening in his life as he was walking towards a building with sloppy steps and heavy eyelids as it was only seven in the morning.

Looking back on what he was doing last Wednesday morning, in which he was giving people posters for cleanliness in the environment, was his only job as a thirteen-year-old boy who was assigned by his beloved elementary school teacher.

Sa kahabaan ng araw na iyon maraming namamangha sa magandang mukha, makinis na balat, at matangos na ilong ng isang Jaemin Na katulad na dito ang isang babaeng inaakala nitong nangaalok ng kung anuman kaya't pumunta siya sa kanyang ina ngunit ang hindi niya inaasahan ay ang sumusunod sa kanyang babae ang magbibigay ng malaking kabaguhan sa kanyang normal na buhay.

Back to present, walking down the hallway makes him nervous for a specific reason but he wouldn't admit to that reality kaya't naisipan niya ano ang nangyari sa napanood niyang health program na siyang nakapagaliw sa kanyang sarili.

Jaemin halts his steps as his mother opens the door. As he sees what the room awaits, he watches every move inside the thick wooden door. He then stops to look at what he thinks is the one who called him after the encounter last week.

"Good morning, Mr. Kim," Jaemin's mother softly but firmly said to the man who was currently welcoming them with a small bow with its simple greetings towards the both of them.

Mr. Kim briefly introduce some procedures na nadidinig naman ni Jaemin ngunit lumalabas lang din ang mga salita sa kabilang tenga dahil siya'y kinakabahan sa kanyang gagawing pinapagawa ng kanyang ina sa mga nakalipas na mga araw.

While counting on his head nervously, he was then tapped by the man, or what his mother called Mr. Kim, to get his attention.

"Jaemin," Mr. Kim says as he points towards the front of this open room that has weird clouds on its walls, or background image per se.

Awkwardly walking towards the front, he then reviews the lyrics briefly before he starts singing one of his most listened to songs in his entire life.

Siya'y isang hiwaga
Walang tamang hinala
Sa kanya umaasa
Pag nasa piling ko ako'y nagpapakatotoo, totoo

Fidgeting his fingers while singing was one of Jaemin's habit kapag kinakabahan na ito ngunit kahit kinakabahan ipinagpatuloy pa rin nito ang kanyang pagkanta

Walang iiwasan, walang iiwanan
Aking ipaglalaban, panalangin ko ako'y sayo
Kahit magbago pa man ng husto
Lahat naman ay tungkol sa iyo
Maliligaw na lang sa piling mo. (oh)
Napagtanto ang kulang ko sa iyo. (Sa iyo, oh)

Napaisip si Jaemin kung ano nga ba ang tinutukoy ng kanyang paboritong kanta. Tungkol ba ito sa pagmamahal na minsan ay hindi niya pa naranasan sa murang edad o tumutukoy ito sa pansariling pagmamahal sa isang tao. Pero kahit ano pa man iyon hindi pa niya pa iniisip ang sagot sa katanungan na ito.

Walang iiwasan, walang iiwanan
Aking ipaglalaban, panalangin ko ako'y sayo.
Mawala man ang lahat
Sa iyo magtatapat
Maliwanag kong ulat, ika'y akin

Closing his eyes, feeling the rhythm and each lyric of the song, as soon as Jaemin opened his two pair of dark brown eyes, he saw a boy who peek at the door who he thinks is around his age who looked at him dearly and fondly.

Jaemin thinks at the speed of light.

He found the answer to his own dear question.