Absinthe

Chapter 44: Time Travel

Smoke continued to billow out of the engine, so I rushed to unlatch my seatbelt.

"Shouldn't we hurry out of this thing? It looks like it's about to explode!"

"Relax," Jiwoo said with a laugh. "That shit only happens in the movies."

Nevertheless, both of us got out of the pickup truck and went in front of it. The smoke showed no signs

of stopping anytime soon.

"Do you know how to fix cars?" I asked Jiwoo.

"Nope," he said. "I learned how to drive, but I never had a car to tinker with. You?"

"I learned how to drive in Korea where all car services are just a phone call away. Most insurance

companies promise to get to where your vehicle breaks down within 30 minutes."

Instead of reacting, Jiwoo used the crook of his arm to cover his nose and mouth and braved the

smoke to open the hood. As he did so, more smoke came out, and he ran back to me, coughing.

"Genius move," I joked. "Let me try my phone. I'm sure we can call Nico to ask someone from the hotel

to rescue us."

I opened the rear door of the pickup and retrieved the device from my bag.

"Shit," I said, loud enough for Jiwoo to hear me. "No signal."

"I figured," he remarked.

Once I was standing beside him again, I saw that most of the smoke had subsided. The engine was

burnt.

"Must have overheated," I said. "What do we do now?"

"We can walk?" Jiwoo suggested, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"We're halfway to the resort, which means we're also halfway to the root crop farm. And there are no

lights. I don't think walking's a good idea."

"Why? You scared of what lurks in the dark?" he asked, snickering. "I can hold your hand."

It then dawned on me: Was this one of Jiwoo's tricks to get me to spend time with him? I eyed him

sharply, and he stopped chuckling.

"What's wrong?"

"I swear to God, Jiwoo, if this is one of your moves to get me to do that HHWW thing, I'm going to kill

you."

"HHWW?" he asked innocently, but I had a feeling he was faking it.

"Holding Hands While Walking!" I said, annoyed.

"Are you seriously angry?" Jiwoo's grin could not get any wider. "Look, if I were to come up with a

scheme to seduce you, it's not going to be like this. I've never thought about subjecting you to the

discomforts of the mountains. You're too posh for that."

I frowned at his assumption. "You don't know anything about me."

"I agree," he said. "So why don't we make the most of this situation and get to know each other better?"

He took my hand and dragged me closer to the car.

"What's your game plan?" I asked. "Sitting all cramped up inside?"

Jiwoo flashed his most despicable smile ever. "Nope. Something much better than that." He grabbed

his duffel bag from the backseat and pulled me by the hand to the back of the pickup. Then, he

unlocked the door and placed his bag on it. He proceeded to take out some blankets, two small

inflatable pillows, and a thermos filled with God knows what.

"Someday you're gonna be a dead man," I told him.

"Not now?" he teased as he smoothed out the blankets on the floor of the pickup. "Let me guess—

you're afraid to be out here all by yourself." He chuckled again while removing his shoes and hopped

onto the back of the pickup. He opened the thermos, and a sliver of steam hissed out of it. "Coffee or

me?"

I threw him a look of annoyance and reluctantly removed my shoes to join him. He helped me lie down,

a pillow propped against the back of my head.

"No coffee," Jiwoo said, putting the thermos' cover back on. "That must mean you chose me instead."

He climbed on top of me and leveled his eyes with mine.

"Fuck you," I said, averting my gaze by turning sideways.

"Gladly."

I thought he was kidding, but he proceeded to breathe on the exposed part of my neck. It was kind of

working, to be honest, but there was no way I was having sex at the back of a pickup truck in the

middle of nowhere.

"You planned this all along, didn't you?" I asked in the most serious tone I could muster.

Jiwoo must have sensed how much I disliked the situation because he stopped fooling around and lied

down beside me. "I didn't. Why would I want you to experience any of this?"

I heaved out a sigh. "We really barely know each other."

The stars were absolutely gorgeous. I could see Orion's Belt glimmering just a few inches from the

bright moon, its full beauty unobscured by the clouds.

"I was born poor, like Faye," I started.

"Faye? Are you talking about the one I've met, or do you have another friend with that name?"

I turned sideways so I was looking at Jiwoo. His face was just as handsome in profile as it was when

viewed from the front. Damn it. "Promise me you won't speak of this to anyone," I said.

He turned to face me too, and my insides melted. He raised his hand and lifted his pinky. "I swear."

I hooked his little finger with mine to seal our deal of secrecy. "Faye's not her real name."

"Yeah?" he asked, curious.

"Her real name's Diwata."

Jiwoo burst out laughing. It was so infectious that I started laughing hard, too. I know I shouldn't be

making fun of my best friend's name, but Jiwoo's mirth was genuine, and it felt good to laugh.

"I think it's an indication of how poor our families were—well-off couples don't often use that kind of

name." I struggled to get the words out because I couldn't stop giggling. "She hated it so much! She

would come to school, hunt down our teachers, and beg them to change her name on the class register

so none of our friends would find out."

Jiwoo and I laughed some more before he finally asked, "How'd she come up with Faye, then?"

"Well diwata means fairy or fae, hence the name Faye."

"Ohhhh, I get it now."

I shifted so I could see the stars and the moon. "Her parents are nurses at a public hospital in Quezon.

That's where we grew up."

"How'd she get that rich?" Jiwoo was still lying on his side.

"She married Henry Gonzales."

"Intentionally?"

"No, it wasn't like that," I said hastily. "We met Henry when we were in college, and we had no idea he

was who he was."

When I adjusted my pillow, I felt Jiwoo stir. He sat upright and coaxed me to put my head on his lap. I

knew it would be more comfortable, so I yielded.

"Henry was down-to-earth, simple, and nerdy. He didn't look like someone who comes from a long line

of absurd wealth, like Crazy Rich Asians level. And Unli-Liver is only his father's family's contribution to

their riches—his mother and her relatives are even more affluent. They were practically Chinese royalty

who fled to the Philippines and started business after business here."

"I wouldn't have guessed that," Jiwoo said. "Faye looks classy and elegant all the time. I can't picture

her any other way."

"Don't tell Faye I told you this, but it's been a struggle for her. Henry's family never acknowledged her.

To them, she's a gold-digging bitch who snagged their family's beloved heir. That's why she constantly

has to prove to them that she can make as much money as her husband does."

"She's achieved that, hasn't she?"

"She has," I answered, suddenly feeling sad for her. "Faye has always been the smartest one in our

group."

"Really? Not you?"

I snorted. "Academically, it's Derrick. I just never had the same interest in studies as he did. I was the

boy who often got lost in books and games."

"And Faye?"

"She's street-smart, as others would say, but she's smart about everything. I loaned her nearly all the

money I'd earned during my first few years of work, and she used it to grow a small business empire. novelbin

Of course, it's nothing compared to the Gonzales', but it has allowed the two of us to live comfortably."

I looked up and saw Jiwoo nodding. He then stroked my hair gently, which sent waves of heat from my

head to my toes.

"And what about you?" he asked, meeting my eyes. "Enough about Faye. Tell me about you."

"My mom and dad were teachers," I replied. "Private Catholic school teachers. That's the sole reason

why we could afford to study in that wretched place."

Jiwoo gave me a puzzled look.

"I studied in the region's most expensive school," I explained. "That's how I met Faye, Derrick, Cassie,

Robert, and Janus. But there was no way our family could have afforded it if my parents hadn't been

employed there. My dad's the eldest among eight, and my grandparents were farmers. Dad had to

support his siblings, too. Mom, on the other hand, was an orphan, the youngest of nine siblings. All the

uncles and aunts from my mother's side were too old to help us financially, and we barely knew them.

"But being teachers at the school, our tuition fees were waived. Mine was 100% covered, and my

younger brother 75%."

"You have a younger brother?" Jiwoo asked, wide-eyed.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the onslaught of memories. I was not fond of my family. Mom

still kept in touch, but that was because she was still in denial.

"Yeah," I replied after several moments. "You might have heard of him: Bryan Jerome Alvarez. He's

basically the leveled-up version of BJ."

Jiwoo laughed. "No, it doesn't ring a bell."

"He's an architect. He won an international contest a few years back, and he was all over the news for

being awarded the restoration project for the Himeji Castle in Japan, all 83 buildings of it!"

"You don't sound too happy about it," Jiwoo commented.

"I am," I said, opening my eyes. "I love Bryan, and I'm sure he loves me, too, in spite of my sexuality.

It's just that... I wish he loved me enough to not care about it at all."

We were both silent for a full quarter of an hour. I was content to just lie there under the stars, with

Jiwoo running his fingers through my hair.

"My family's hard-core Catholic, you know, which means I was an abomination. Or rather, I still am."

Jiwoo stopped abruptly, and I felt him getting tense.

"My dad stopped talking to me when I formally came out to the family," I continued. "Since then, mom

has been pretending that day never happened. She's still trying to set me up with some girls from

church."

I had to laugh. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. Just a few days ago, I'd cried my eyes off

thinking about all those things. But now, they were funny to me.

"Poor mom," I said. "She's never going to get a grandchild from me."

"And Bryan?" Jiwoo asked.

"He's somewhere in Italy now, working for some British architectural firm. His wife gave birth to my first

nephew two years ago."

"I mean..." Jiwoo started.

"I know what you mean. We're okay, but not okay enough for him to invite me to his wedding. Or make

me the godfather of his child."

I felt hands cupping my face. I knew Jiwoo was about to go into some sad and lonely soliloquy on how I

shouldn't care about those things and that I was loved and all that crap, but I stopped him before he

could even start.

"That's why I love Faye, Derrick, and Cassie," I said. "They're practically my family. And before you

take pity on my life, just know that I'm not sad about it. I'm happy with what I have now. Family is not

always whom you're related to by blood, after all."

Jiwoo was silent for a bit, and then he gently lifted my head off his lap. He positioned himself beside me

again, and we spent the next 30 minutes watching the stars.

Soon enough, he had his hand on mine, and he attempted to lock our fingers. But I refused to do

anything, so he chuckled before using his free hand to fold my fingers, one by one, until our hands

were clasped together.

"It's beautiful," I said, not taking my eyes off the heavenly bodies before us.

"You're beautiful," I heard Jiwoo whisper as he faced my direction. I felt his breath on my neck. "You

really are."

"I'm sorry, Jiwoo," I tried to say, but the words failed to come out.

"Someday, I'll prove to you that I can take care of you," he said. "That's all I want to do...to take care of

you."

The breeze suddenly became chilly, causing me to shiver.

"Someday," Jiwoo repeated, barely a murmur, and he planted a soft kiss on my cheek before lying on

his back.

It was my turn to face him. And I didn't know what made me do it, but I placed my head on his chest.

Jiwoo released my hand and repositioned his arm to hug me protectively, keeping me in place.

That feeling of warmth and safety was all I could remember before I allowed myself to be lulled by the

sweet serenade of insects and the calm of nature.