In a world where everyone wants to be aesthetic, she's used to being admired but never truly seen. Compliments come easy-"You're so pretty!" "You look amazing!"-but no one ever asks, "Are you okay?" For the longest time, she's felt like a painting in a gallery-gazed at, praised, but never really known.
Then there's him.
He's not the poetic type who spins metaphors about her beauty, nor the mysterious bad boy everyone secretly obsesses over. He's just... him. The kind of person who forgets his umbrella on rainy days, orders the same coffee every morning, and sometimes stumbles over his words when he's excited.
The first time they talked, he didn't stare too long. Didn't say she was breathtaking. Instead, he simply asked:
"Pagod ka na ba?"
And somehow, that meant more than any compliment ever did.
With him, she doesn't have to be perfect. She doesn't have to be put together, doesn't have to filter her words or curate every moment. She can be quiet, messy, lost in her thoughts-and still, he stays. He listens. He waits. He makes her feel like she doesn't have to be anyone else but herself.
Sometimes, love isn't about grand gestures or heart-fluttering moments. Sometimes, it's just someone who makes space for you, who stays even when the moment isn't aesthetic, even when you're not your best, even when you have nothing to say.
And for the first time, she doesn't feel like a painting in a gallery.
She feels like she's home.
How do you know when love strikes you? Yun ba yung mga pagkakataon na nararamdaman mo yung 'butterflies in your stomach'? That giddy and nakakakilig na feeling?
Or is it when you feel those sparks from your entwined hands down to your spine? Yung kunting skin to skin mo sa kanya, nakukuryente ka na agad? And with his every little touch you feel those hairs at the back of your neck come to life.
Or baka naman yung feeling na kayong dalawa lang ang na-stuck sa mundo? Yung feeling na nag-fade away lahat ng tao sa paligid niyo at kayong dalawa na lang ang natitira?
Baka naman yun yung certain ka na sa mga katagang, 'love at first sight'? Yung alam mo na nakatagpo mo na ang taong bubuo sa pagkatao mo. Yung tinatawag nilang apple to your pie or yung icing sa ibabaw ng cupcake mo, yung mga ganern.
Whatever it is, siguradong sigurado si Dae that what hit him that one trivial night was that thing they called love. And being the stubborn spoiled brat that he is, he'll do whatever it takes to get his love of his life to reciprocate to his undying love. He even made it possible to get married to his dearest.
Ang tanong, will he be able to make Knightly fall in love with him considering that he is gay and the object of his affection is straight?
And how can he make their marriage work when his love is unrequited?
Started: June 2020
Ended: May 2021