Dreaming in C Minor

Chapter Three: That One Look

Sa totoo lang, kung may nagsabi kay Helliara na isang araw, mapapaisip siya sa isang ngiti mula sa isang TikToker, tatawanan lang niya. Girl, hindi ako easily impressed. Pero ayun nga, college has its own way of catching you off guard—lalo na pag pagod ka na, haggard, at naglalakad lang para sa konting peace… tapos bigla kang tinamaan.

It was a Wednesday. A very average, medyo-hulas, medyo-antok, definitely gutom kind of Wednesday. Kakatapos lang ng Financial Accounting, at hindi biro yung brain damage. Her notes looked like a diary entry ng taong nagka-existential crisis halfway through a lecture on liabilities.

So when Karylle texted, “Lounge tayo. I need kwek-kwek and silence,” she was like, Same, sis. Same.

Pagdating niya sa student lounge, ang una niyang naisip:

Bakit parang buong university nandito?

As in, siksikan. May group na nag-ccram ng report habang naglalasing ng milk tea. May tropang nagvivideoke (with matching mic, di mo alam kung inaaral nila ‘yun or passion project). At may isa pang grupo na… naglalatag ng banig? Okay. Sure. College is wild.

Helliara was still scanning the chaos when her eyes landed on one particular table. It wasn’t the noise or the energy that made her stop.

It was a face.

Kiven.

As in Kiven Aldrich. t****k icon. Certified FYP dominator. The guy na may “I-woke-up-like-this” look pero obviously curated. Tousled black hair. Gold loop earrings. Eyebrow slit. Smile na parang sinadyang hindi perfect—pero perfect.

She blinked.

Teka lang. Siya ba talaga ‘to?

And when she squinted a little—yes. The universe confirmed it.

He was just sitting there casually, one hand holding his phone, the other lazily twirling a metal straw in his iced coffee. Around him were people—some familiar, some not. Pero si Kiven lang talaga ang nakita ni Helliara.

Bakit nandito siya?

She wasn’t even a fangirl, okay? But she knew the guy. Everyone in campus did. He wasn’t just viral—he was everywhere. With captions like “Sino ‘to? Bakit parang mahal ko na?” or “POV: crush mo yung taong hindi mo kayang i-chat.”

And then it happened.

He looked up.

Diretso.

At sa isang sandaling parang sinadya ng soundtrack ng buhay ni Helliara, nagkatinginan sila.

Three seconds. Maybe four. Parang slow-mo scene sa teen series. Tapos he gave her that little smile.

Not flirty. Not smug. But that faint, casual, "Yeah, I caught you looking" smile. Yung tipong hindi mo alam kung kinikilig ka o napahiya ka.

Helliara blinked.

Wait. What?

She instinctively looked away. Tinapik ang bag niya. Tumingin sa sahig. Kunwaring may tinapakan. Gusto niya mag-invisible sa sobrang hiya.

Okay lang ‘to. Chill lang. Di naman ibig sabihin nun may ibig sabihin yun… right?

Karylle suddenly appeared beside her, holding a fishball cup like a prized trophy. “Bes, bakit parang nakita mo yung ex mo?"

Helliara was still catching her breath. “Wala. As in. Wala akong ex, gaga"

Karylle raised an eyebrow. “Girl. You look like you saw a ghost. Or worse… a hot guy na hindi mo ma-reach.”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she tilted her head discreetly toward the corner.

Karylle followed her gaze. “Ay. Si Kiven pala ‘yan.”

“You know him?”

“Duh. Lahat ng tao dito may at least one t****k of his saved. Yung ‘Hi crush, pansinin mo na ‘ko’ video? Classic.”

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned. “I think he just smiled at me.”

Karylle choked on her fishball. “WHAT?”

“Not like that! Parang polite smile lang. Or like, napatingin siya tapos na-catch niya akong nakatingin.”

“Girl, the man smiled. At ikaw ang kaharap niya. That’s SOMETHING.”

“No. Hindi ‘yun something. Baka may nakita lang siya sa likod ko. Or baka tumingin lang siya anywhere at natapat lang ako. Or maybe may mumo sa buhok ko and he was just—”

“Bes, calm down. This isn’t a court hearing.”

But the overthinking? Unstoppable.

Kiven. Smiled. At her. And yes, she knew he was bisexual. Everyone knew. He was open about it—heartfelt captions, casual mentions in interviews, even in his TikToks. That, plus his air of mystery and perfectly painted nails? Unfair combination.

Still, Helliara didn’t want to misread anything.

Kiven was… Kiven. He smiled at everyone. That’s probably part of his brand. He was too good at this—at being charming, magnetic, effortlessly soft boy-ish with that edge.

And her? She was just… a freshman. An accountancy major na nagpa-panic pag tinawag ng prof kahit di pa recit. A girl who didn’t even wear her glasses that day kasi feeling niya mas okay siyang magmukhang blurred kaysa oily.

So she did what she always did when things got too weird.

She brushed it off.

"Let’s go,” she told Karylle, forcing a small laugh. “Baka late pa tayo sa org fair.”

As they walked away, she didn’t dare look back.

But the memory of that one, maybe totally-meaningless smile?

It followed her.

Later that night, habang nagsusulat siya ng notes para sa quiz next week, nakatulala siya sa page 3. Still thinking about it.

Still asking the same question:

Bakit parang hindi ako maka-move on… sa ngiti?