Gorya and LIta
I will sit beside you,
When you are tired
I will walk with you,
When you are alone
I will cry with you,
When you are in pain
Milk always felt grateful to work alongside Love. Not only is Love a good person, but she is also incredibly professional. Milk often felt inspired and motivated to give her best in everything she does. At the moment, though, Milk struggled to feel any sense of gratitude. She was fighting her feelings, desperately trying not to just hold Love's face and kiss her. Working with someone you have feelings for can be a different kind of torture, especially when you have to engage in what’s supposed to be fan service. Milk thought to herself that if this situation lasted much longer, it could end up being her funeral.
They were in another live stream selling, well, who knows what because Milk felt like her brain had short-circuited. She couldn't even remember what she was supposed to be doing; her priority was to ensure she didn’t impulsively kiss Love. Love, as usual, would glance at her from time to time with her big, boba-like eyes. All Milk wanted was to hold Love and press her lips against hers. The rest of the live show unfolded with the usual teasing and little games.
After the live stream ended, Milk quickly excused herself to the washroom in an attempt to calm herself down. As she checked her phone, a message from P’Johm reminded them about the GMMTV outing. Milk was surprised to find Love standing outside the washroom as soon as she opened the door. Love was pouting and frowning, and Milk thought, “This is a good day to die! Killed by cuteness!” Milk composed herself and asked, “N’Love, what happened?” Love whined, “P’Miwww,” stretching out her words, fully aware that Milk could never resist her. “You went away suddenly without telling me, and I was worried.” Milk sighed, realizing her defeat; she could never win against Love. “I’m sorry—I just needed to use the washroom, so I left immediately. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Love seemed satisfied with this response, smiled, and took Milk's hand, leading them back to the green room to change. After changing and thanking everyone for their hard work, Milk and Love were ready to leave when P’Johm approached them just before they could exit. “I hope you both are aware of this year's outing. I think you should prepare something together this time. It can be anything you want,” he said. Both Milk and Love nodded in understanding. P’Johm smiled at them. “Great! I will provide further information about teams and everything else when it comes. For now, you both should hang out and get some rest. You did an amazing job today—congratulations! Now, go and take a break; you must be extremely tired.” Milk and Love both smiled brightly at him. He had always taken such good care of them. “Thank you, P’Johm. You should get some rest too,” Love replied with her usual bright smile, and Milk nodded in agreement.
Once they said their goodbyes, Milk was supposed to drop Love off at home. They both headed toward Milk’s car. As soon as they hit the road, Love turned to Milk and asked, “Phi, what should we do? Do you want to do something?” Milk hummed, thinking hard before replying, “I haven’t thought of anything yet, but I don’t want to sing or dance, per se. How about you? Do you have any ideas?” Love leaned back in her seat. “Not yet, Phi.” There was a moment of silence. Milk thought Love had dozed off, so she glanced over to check, but Love was busy thinking. This only intensified Milk's urge to kiss the pout on Love's lips, which appeared whenever she was deep in thought. Milk resisted and forced herself to focus more on driving than necessary. Suddenly, Love broke the silence, exclaiming, “How about we do a skit?” Milk laughed softly at Love’s enthusiasm and replied with equal excitement, “Yas, we definitely can! What a great idea, Nong. I knew I could always count on you for good ideas.” Love beamed at Milk's praise.
They eventually decided to perform a SOTUS skit. While preparing for it, Milk noticed Love struggling with her tie and quickly offered to help. Tu, who witnessed the moment, couldn’t help but feel giddy and captured it with her phone, exclaiming, “Wah! P’Milk is so cool!” Milk just laughed at Tu’s comment.
Unlike previous years, Milk and Namtan chose to sit with Love, Film, and their group. It was a fun evening; everyone enjoyed each other's company. With how goofy both Milk and Namtan were, the laughter was constant. After a while, Love, Prim, Tu, and View decided to head back to their room, feeling too tired for such a loud and chaotic event. Later, Tu excused herself from the group, wanting to take a walk outside. Usually, she would have asked others to join her, but tonight, she wanted to be alone. Juggling university and work had been challenging, and she rarely had any free time for herself, so she seized the opportunity to stroll outside for a bit.
Milk had consumed some alcohol, but she wasn’t entirely drunk. She started to develop a headache, and the loud environment wasn’t helping at all. So, she excused herself from Namtan and Ciize, who wanted to join her. She dismissed them, saying she was just going for a walk and would return to her room afterward; they should enjoy themselves. After some persuasion, they were convinced and let her go.
Milk wandered around until she found an empty bench. The cool night air helped her shake off the effects of the alcohol, and her headache seemed to vanish. She sat down and took in the calm night atmosphere. Not surprisingly, her thoughts drifted to Love. She kept replaying the moment when she picked Love and walked across the room at the end of the skit.
As she walked around, Tu noticed Milk sitting alone on a bench. She hesitated to approach her, unsure if she should discuss certain topics that Milk had kept secret. However, she decided to approach Milk slowly so as not to startle her.
When Milk turned her head and saw Tu walking toward her, she smiled and greeted her. “Hello N’Tu, what are you doing out here? I thought you and the others went back to your room.” Tu returned Milk’s friendly smile and replied, “Hello P’Milk. Yas, others are in their room, but I just came out for some fresh air. What are you doing here, Phi? I thought you were still inside partying.”
“Oh! I was there, but I started to get a headache, so I came out for a walk. Feel free to sit here, or you can continue your walk.”
Tu chose to sit beside Milk and, concerned, asked, “Are you okay now, Phi? How’s your headache? Do you need any medicine?” Milk appreciated Tu's concern; she had always been attentive and kind-hearted. “Thank you for asking, Nong. No need to worry; I’m better now. I think the headache was due to the alcohol mixed with loud music, but it’s all okay now.”
Satisfied with Milk’s reply, Tu leaned back on the bench, her mind searching for the right words to address the topic on her mind. Sensing Tu's tension, Milk asked, “Are you okay, Nong? If you want to talk about it, I’m here. I may not know how much I can help you, but I’ll do my best to comfort you.”
Here goes, P’Milk, Tu thought, always so kind and caring. She decided to be open about what she wanted to discuss.
“I’m sorry, Phi. Honestly, I don’t know why I’m apologizing, but I felt the need to say it. I understand how hard it must be for you to be close to Love yet feel so far from her. It must be torture not being able to express your feelings to someone you cherish. It’s got to be difficult to see her every day and pretend that everything is fine when deep down it’s not.”
Tu could see various emotions flickering across Milk’s face, especially fear. Quickly, she assured her, “Phi, don’t worry. Nobody knows. I’ve never talked about this with anyone, and rest assured that I never will. Your secret is safe with me. It’s your feelings, and I would never interfere. If you’re worried about being obvious, let me tell you—you’re not. For a while, I thought I might be imagining things, but I’ve noticed the tenderness and love in your eyes whenever you look at Love, along with a deep sense of yearning and sorrow.”
Milk sighed heavily, turning away from Tu to gaze at the flowers a few feet from the bench, letting her thoughts settle. Finally, she spoke, “I guess I can’t help it sometimes. There are moments we share when I wish she would look at me the same way I look at her.”
Tu could hear the desperation and hopelessness in Milk's voice. “Love is lucky to have you in her life, always by her side, loving and caring for her,” she said, expressing her thoughts aloud.
Milk smiled—a smile filled with wonder and affection. “I think I’m the lucky one here. I’m so grateful for everything. I am allowed to love her, take care of her, and be a part of her journey. She is always so sincere and hardworking in everything she does; she inspires me daily to do my best. I want to keep doing my best for her so that I can walk beside her for a long time.”
Tu was awed by what Milk said. She had suspected that Milk had feelings for Love, but she never realized the depth of them. “P’Milk, you deserve all the good things in the world. I’m so glad I met you and have the chance to be close to you. You can always count on your Nong whenever you need help or want to talk about anything,” she added sincerely.
Milk was filled with gratitude; she felt blessed to have such kind-hearted and genuine people around her. “Thank you, Nong. I’m glad that I have you. You know you can always seek me out whenever you need,” Milk expressed.
“So what’s the plan now?” Tu asked.
“Nothing much. I just want to hold her, take care of her, and be there for her in every way possible. I want to keep doing this until the day I’m no longer allowed. I need her in my life, no matter how. I’m happy to have her as my friend and companion,” Milk replied.
Milk and Tu sat quietly for a while until they both decided it was getting too late to stay out, so they returned to their respective rooms. As they entered the building, they heard Love call out to Tu and come rushing toward her. Love was surprised to see Milk with Tu; she had been looking for Tu because it was getting late and Tu had forgotten her phone in their shared room. She definitely didn’t expect to see Milk.
“P’Milk, what are you doing here? I thought you were still partying. Did something happen?” Love interrogated.
“Don’t worry, Nong, nothing happened. I just went out for a walk because I had a slight headache and happened to meet N’Tu outside,” Milk answered, trying to ease her concerns.
Love immediately reacted when she heard about Milk’s headache. She took Milk’s hands and looked at her with concern. “P’Milk, are you okay now? Do you need meds? Should we visit a doctor? Is it hurting too much?”
Milk blushed at the sudden closeness. Usually, during their work, she was hyper-aware of Love, which gave her time to brace herself when Love got too close. But this time it all felt sudden, and she didn’t know how to handle it. “Uh, I… I am okay now. I was just umm… going to my room to rest,” Milk stammered.
Tu almost wanted to laugh out loud at how flustered Milk was around Love, but she took pity on her and decided to help. “Love, come on. Let P’Milk go. She needs rest. We have to get up early to go back home too. Phi should get as much sleep as possible; otherwise, her headache might come back again,” Tu said as she tried to pull Love away.
Love, ever concerned for Milk, was reluctant to leave just yet. “P’Milk, let me take you to your room,” Love said, using her most endearing tone and flashing her big, expressive eyes, knowing how defenseless Milk was when she did this.
Milk malfunctioned again, unsure of how to respond. Tu came to her rescue once more. She understood that Milk had a lot on her mind after their conversation and needed some time alone. Being around Love at that moment would only complicate things. “Love, if you let P’Milk go now, she’ll reach her room sooner. Come on, let Phi rest,” Tu urged again, but Love, being a human leech, was not ready to let go of Milk.
Milk hugged Love tightly. “I am better now, N’Love. You should go and rest too. I will change and go to sleep immediately; you don’t have to worry anymore. I promise I will call you if I need anything,” Milk assured her.
Love snuggled deeper into Milk’s embrace, finding her forever safe and comforting zone, and hummed in approval. Milk mouthed ‘Thank You’ to Tu for trying to help her. Tu replied with a thumbs up. Soon, Love let go and bade them good night as Tu made sure to drag her back to their room before Love changed her mind.
Back in her room, as Milk was preparing for bed, she couldn’t help but reflect on how blessed she was to have such caring and kind people around her, always ready to help and be there for her.