THE GANGSTER'S DIARY

17th Entry

17th Entry

I couldn't help but to smile as I watch my youngest sib, Newton, sleeping peacefully in my lap. Iniisip ko kung bubuhatin ko ba ito papasok sa kwarto niya pero mukhang mas mahimbing ang tulog niya dito sa bubong kasama ko.

Tulad ng sinabi ni Krung-Krung, para sa isang bata, napakadami ng pinagdaanan nito. At a very young age, he was used by an organization for their selfish needs. Bata pa lang, hiniwalay na sa magulang at inabuso ang katalinuhan. I remember the first time dad brought him home.

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-Seoul, South Korea-

"MineKo, sino yang batang dala mo?"nakapamaywang na tanong ni mom kay dad pagkadating nito ng mansyon. Agad naman kaming napabaling dito ni Star.

"APPA!"matinis na sigaw ni Star sabay yakap kay Dad. Napailing na lang ako. Dammit! Mukhang nabingi pa ko sa sigaw ng kapatid ko!

Nanlalaki ang matang napabaling ito sa batang lalaking takot na takot na nagtatago sa likod ni dad, "Awwww, kyeopta! Annyeonghaseyo, cutie! Joneun Park YuiJin imnida!"pagpapakilala ni Star sa bata.

We all have our own Korean names since people here find it hard to pronounce our real names. Star's Park YuiJin which is pronounced as "Ye-Jin", mom's is Park CheonSa, Dad's Park JongSoo, and mine is Park ChanHyun. Mom, dad and especially me, are weirded out at first when people call us by our Korean names but we eventually got used to it.

"Star, ikaw na munang bahala sa kanya. I just have some important matters to talk with your eomma."bumaling ito sa batang nasa likod nito, "Newton, sina YuiJin noona at ChanHyun oppa na muna ang bahala sayo, arasseo?"

Nahihiyang tumango lang yung bata. Pagkabigay ni dad kay Star ng bata na tinawag niyang "Newton", agad na kinausap niya ng sarilinan si mom sa kwarto. Star tried to make "Newton" comfortable with her but to no avail. The kid look like he was lost in space.

Nang tila nagmamakaawang binalingan ako ng kapatid ko saka ako nagdesisyong lumapit sa sala kung nasaan sila. I asked Star to leave us alone first. Inis na sumunod naman ito saka dumiretso sa kwarto niya. I have learned that the best way to deal with these type of people is to give them a dose of their own medicine and wait until they get irked out by it.

Tumabi lang ako sa bata pero hindi ako nagsalita. I just focused on reading my book that I was trying hard to finish. Halos nakakadalawang oras nang napuno ng katahimikan sa pagitan namin nang bigla itong magsalita.

"Yah, ahjusshi..."tawag nito sa atensyon ko.

Kalmadong isinara ko yung libro ko matapos ipitan ito ng bookmark bago balingan yung bata, "Can you speak English? Or any other language at that?" I asked.

Tumango ito, "I can read, speak and write Filipino, English, Korean, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese and French fluently."sagot nito.

Malawak ang ngiting ginulo ko ang tuktok ng ulo nito, "Then, just call me Kuya Blake. Okay lang ba?"

Tumango ito, "Okay lang naman. Pero uhmmm, Kuya, may makakain ba kayo diyan? Kanina pa kasi ako kinukulit nung babae pero hindi man lang ako naisipang alukin ng pagkain. Ang sabi sakin ni ahjusshi, dadalhin niya daw ako dito para kumain."

Pinigilan kong mapahagalpak ng tawa dito, "Haha! Oo naman. We also have mint cookies that my mom baked. Tara sa kusina?"

Malawak ang ngiting tumango ito, "Ne! Kamsa, Kuya Blake!"at bumaba na nga sa couch. Patayo na din sana ako nang bigla nitong balingan yung libro na binabasa ko. Nakangiting bumaling ito sakin.

"Kuya Blake, yung stepmom niya ang suspect."simpleng sabi nito bago naunang pumunta sa kusina.

Yun ang oras na nasigurong kong kakaiba siya sa ibang bata. The book that I was reading was too advanced for someone like him and yet, he looks like he has already finished reading it.

All my hunches were confirmed when mom, who was finally calm that time, told us after dinner and after the kid finally was in his slumber, that we are going to officially adopt him. Ikinuwento din nila samin ang buong istorya ng buhay nito. Noon pa lang, tinanggap na namin agad siya bilang bahagi ng pamilya.
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His adoption papers were still in process due to some more papers that we needed to file. Pareho kasing Korean citizens ang tunay na magulang nito (na nalaman naming pinatay nga ng organisasyong kumuha kay Newton) kaya nahihirapan kaming i-process ang paga-ampon sa kanya. Good thing, Korean Social Welfare Department allowed us to take him with us here in the Philippines.

Napangiti ako habang nagsusulat at naririnig kong umuungol ito ng thin crust pizza. Haha! I can imagine Krung-Krung's fuming face if ever she heard him.

One thing is for sure, her feelings of love and compassion definitely reached him.

I wonder if my feelings could also reach her...

-Blake