Champorado

33

MIGO and Inggo's internship year goes the same as clerkship: exhausting. Draining. Heartbreaking and beautiful.

"Pwede, 'wag kayong maingay?" Inggo is grumpy, slamming the milk back into the fridge after pouring some on his coffee. "Gusto kong matulog, hindi 'yong nakakarinig ako ng kabastusan!"

Naka-ilang rounds kasi sila ni Migo kagabi.

May nakakahiya pang nangyari. She came embarrassingly fast when Migo knelt behind her, absolutely still, and let Jiya move back against him. "Fuck me, sweetheart."

Hindi niya alam kung alam ni Migo, pero 'yon 'yong dahilan kung bakit siya nag-blackout nang sandali.

Her cheeks flush, and then she remembers Inggo is watching her.

"Bahay ko 'to, lumayas ka kung ayaw mo kaming marinig," Jiya snaps, smacking his shoulder lightly. "Tabi, gagawa din ako ng kape."

"Manang, o!" sumbong ni Inggo, parang bata ampota. "Ang sama niya!"

Migo comes down the stairs with a cheerful grin. He squeezes Jiya's waist as he passes her, grabbing his own tumbler. "May naririnig akong bubuyog na nagrereklamo kanina."

Inggo grunts and leaves the kitchen. "Mga bwisit. Do'n na nga ako sa condo!"

Hindi sila pinapansin ni Inggo sa kotse. Naunang lumabas si Migo, kissing her, tapos he snorts at Inggo. "Tara na, de Paz!"

Jiya looks at him in amusement. "Kaya ka ba galit kasi tigang ka?"

"Oo."

She can't help her laugh. Hindi niya masabi 'to kanina sa harap ni Migo. "Nasa'n si Mau?"

"Galit sa 'kin. Nag-away kami. Puta. Miss ko na." Inggo grabs his bag. "Magso-sorry na nga ako kahit ayaw ko."

Jiya smiles. "Inggo de Paz, learning how to be a good boyfriend. Never thought I'd see the day."

"Shut up." Inggo kisses her cheek in thanks sa ride.

Jiya goes to work with a silly smile on her face, and Gelo notices as he slides on her desk her morning coffee. "Good morning?"

"Good morning," she agrees. "Thank you for this."

He sits down on the edge of the couch facing her, and says quietly, "I'm sorry I'm about to ruin it, but I think we're going to be yelled at by an author today."

Jiya blinks. "Why?"

"The wrong version of the manuscript was put up, the one with typos," Gelo explains softly, the tension in his shoulders visible. "They switched up preorders, so we already contacted our platform, but we have angry...readers leaving angry reviews."

She stares at him, anxiety creeping up in her bones. She backs up her seat a bit. "Uh, when did this happen?"

He keeps his voice calm. "Yesterday. I was called here to fix it with PR."

"And why didn't you call me?"

He shrugs. "I didn't see the need for you to come to work on a weekend. We just have to take it and apologize, and next time, let's make sure we send in the final version to our team. Okay?"

Jiya nods slowly, swallowing. "Okay."

He smiles at her. "Okay. Let's move on from this. What do you have for me today?"

They get yelled at after lunch, their author bursting through Gelo's doors. Jiya stands up from the chair in front of Gelo's desk when he stalks over, and Gelo stands confidently in front of her. Calm and collected.