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22 | Newcomer

Van nodded. “My brother had his ways of checking her, nakiki-tsismis lang po ako.”

Sabay na naningkit ang mga mata namin ni Gunter dahil sa sinabi niya.

“Checking her?” Gunter asked.

Agad na nanlaki ang mga mata niya nang mapagtanto ang sinabi kanina. Basing on his late reaction, he finally realized how that sounded so wrong.

“Err... please don’t think ill of my brother. It wasn’t stalking! It’s just... how can I put this...” he unconsciously tapped his fingers on the table repeatedly while thinking of a better reason. He was obviously panicking but he didn’t want us to think that.

As I was observing him, I finally noticed his resemblance to his brother. Hindi nagkakalayo ang facial features nilang dalawa. They have the same thick eyebrows. Pointed nose. The shape of face. The only difference that I could point out were their hair—Sage’s was black raven while Van had some brown highlights which suited him perfectly—and their eyes. His elder brother always had these emotionless dull gray eyes, but that’s not always the case. There were some rare occasions when I had seen life in those eyes. Meanwhile, Van was easy to read. He was like an open book. Ang nag-iisang dahilan kung bakit nalaman kong kilala niya talaga ako kahit pa ilang beses niya itong itinanggi kanina. The emotions in his eyes the moment he saw me. That recognition. They weren’t lying.

Maya-maya lang rin ay muli siyang nagsalita. “Shy-type kasi ‘yon e’, hindi niya kayang kumustahin si Yuna nang diretso kaya... ayon...” alanganing paliwanag niya habang kinakamot pa ang batok. “Please don’t tell a word to him about what I said, he’s going to kill me.”

Sinulyapan ko si Gunter at base sa nakakunot pa ring noo niya ay gusto niya pa ring magpaliwanag si Van tungkol sa kung paano nakakuha ng impormasyon tungkol sa akin si Sage kaya naman pinili ko na lang na ibahin ang usapan.

“So, Van...” his face immediately lightened up after I called his name for the first time. “Magkaibigan tayo dati kaya kilala mo ako?”

Mabilis naman siyang tumango. “Oo—teka, hindi mo pa rin ba naaalala?”

I nodded.

“Pero hinarang mo ‘ko kanina dahil tinawag kitang Yuna, alam mong ‘yon ang totoong pangalan mo.” Naguguluhang wika niya.

“I just know about my name and the kidnapping incident, but I still don’t remember anything from the past.” I explained to him.

Saglit siyang natigilan. Base sa ekspresyong nasa mukha niya, naaawa siya sa akin. Gusto kong mainis sa paraan nang pagtitig niya pero bago ko pa man siya masigawan ay agad siyang nakabawi.

“Don’t worry, I can help you remember. Just stare at this...” huminto siya saka marahang hinawakan ang baba niya. “...handsome face, siguradong maalala mo ‘ko.”

“Ugh, no thanks. I’d rather be blind.”

He gaped at me for a moment. We both heard Gunter snickered beside me.

“Yuna, since when did you learn these kind of sarcastic remarks?” Hindi makapaniwalang tanong niya. “Noong mga bata tayo ay isa ka sa mga supportive sa akin. Tapos kung makahablot ka ng balikat ko kanina, grabe! Para kang gangster. You were a sweet little girl back then. I can’t believe you’ve changed a lot.”