“Ah! Well, this is a two for one deal. If you want, you can get one that is matching.”
She sorts through the rest of the keychain collection in the tub, and pulls another one up. This time, it's a moon that’s three-quarters full.
“This one is the exact match for that crescent one. See,” she reaches forward, taking the crescent moon from me, and pieces the two keychains together. The two moons fit perfectly.
Would that be weird, to give Marlon a keychain that matches with mine?
I mean, weareonly friends. It can be a symbol of our newfound friendship, after years and years of loathing. It’s with those thoughts in mind that I nod, accepting the offer.
Ria appears suddenly beside me, just as I tap my card against the kiosk.
“What did you buy?” she asks. In her hand, she holds her own purchase - a handcrafted tote with an embroidery of BTS. I eye the tote bag, mentally noting down that I’ll need to get one of my own.
“Oh, just keychains,” I say.
As I push the paperbag holding the keychains into my tote, Ria swiftly grabs it first.
“Hey!” I exclaim.
She pulls out the two keychains.
“Matching ones?” she asks, sceptically.
I pry them from her hands, and without saying anything further, I saunter down the market pathway, quickening my pace. It does nothing, as Ria catches up to me in less than a heartbeat.
Damn her longer legs.
“Is this for Rafayel?” Ria questions, yet from her tone I know she knows. It isn’t for Rafayel. I hadn’t thought of buying Rafayel anything from here, when I should be.
“It can be,” I respond, a little lamely.
“But it’s not, is it?”
I don’t even dare to meet Ria’s eyes. I turn away, shrugging.
“Yeah, maybe, I mean it’s whatever.”
I turn away from Ria again, just as I hear her mutter a perplexed “huh?”.
I pretend to occupy myself with a stack of second hand classic novels at a nearby stall, but as Ria settles back beside me, all I feel is her knowing smirk.
Later on, when we reunite with our parents, we compare hauls. Mum’s bought herself two pairs of jeans, while Dad’s bought a new Green Lantern comic for his DC comic collection.
I show her the two matching keychains and she smiles widely, knowing already who they are for. She pinches my cheeks with that sparkle in her eyes.
“You both give me kilig,” she says, affectionately.
I swat her hand away, my cheeks red from the pinch, refusing to acknowledge that she’d called Marlon and Ikilig.
Kiligrefers to ‘romantic excitement’ and is often used as an expression by Filipinos about a couple or pairing that gives them butterflies. Similarly to when you root for a pairing from a tv show, or movie.
Mum and Dad arekilig.
Lara Jean and Peter arekilig.
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy arekilig.
But not Marlon and I. Never, in a million years.
