The Beginning of
*Who's My Eternal*
*13 Years Later — Manila*
After they met as kids, Cindy, Elian, and Cherry spent every day together.
Cherry taught Cindy how to work at the fishing bay — cleaning fish, mending nets, handling the small boats.
Elian taught her how to read the tides and stay safe in the water.
Noa, Cindy's older brother, taught her how to defend herself.
Cindy changed. She wasn't the scared, quiet girl from New York anymore. She became strong, hardworking, and part of the bay.
Now, 13 years later, they're all grown up.
*Their lives now:*
still close friends. They all go to the same public university in Manila — PUP (Polytechnic University of the Philippines). They chose PUP because it's affordable. Kael lost his money in New York, and Lola Anna always said, "It's not the school that matters, it's what you do with your life."
But their feelings have changed. It's not just friendship anymore.
*Cherry Pink, 19 years old:*
She still wears a red ribbon in her hair like when she was a kid. She works at the fish market every morning before class to help pay for her dad's medicine. He's been bedridden for years — can't speak, hear, or walk. Cherry is loud, tough, and loyal. Two years ago, she realized she's in love with Elian. Not as her childhood _Best_. She's in love with him as a man. She remembers every little thing about him — how he takes his coffee, how he always carries band-aids, how he steps in front of her when cars splash water on the street.
*Elian Eldridge, 20 years old:*
He's taller and stronger now from years of helping Kael at the docks. He's studying Business Management. He's still the same serious, protective guy. But he's in love with Cindy. He fell for her slowly over the years — her stubbornness, how hard she works, how she never gave up. He doesn't notice that Cherry loves him. When Cherry does things for him, he just thinks, "That's Cherry. She's always like that." He doesn't see it as romance.
*Cindy Draven, 19 years old:*
She's not that little girl anymore. She's smart and determined. At 19, she used her dad's old fishing contacts to start a small seafood supply business. Now it helps pay for Noa and her school fees. She's studying Marketing. And she's also in love with Elian. She noticed it when he started looking at her differently — walking her home in the rain, remembering small things she said, protecting her without making a big deal about it.
*Noa Draven, 22 years old:*
Cindy's older brother. He graduated already but he's attending for private classes and works as security at a shipping company. He's protective of Cindy. And he sees everything. He sees how Cherry looks at Elian. He sees how Elian only looks at Cindy. He sees how Cindy looks back at Elian. He hasn't said anything yet, but he's worried someone's going to get hurt.
*What it looks like now:*
It's 7:30 AM at the PUP gate.
Cherry runs up to Elian with two cups of coffee. "Best! I got your kapeng barako. No sugar, just like you want it." She's smiling, excited to see him.
But Elian isn't looking at her. He's looking past her.
Cindy is walking toward them. When she sees Elian, she smiles. Not a polite smile. A real one.
Elian's whole expression changes. He goes soft. "Morning," he says to Cindy.
Cherry's smile drops. She hands Elian the coffee and her voice is quieter now. "Here. Drink it before it gets cold."
"Thanks, Best," Elian says, but he's barely paying attention. He turns to Cindy. "Can you walk with me? We need to talk about the contract for your business."
Cindy nods. "Okay."
They walk off together, talking.
Cherry stays behind, still holding her own coffee. The red ribbon in her hair feels too bright now.
Noa walks up and sees her face. "You alright?" he asks.
Cherry forces a laugh. "Yeah. Pretty girls don't cry, right?"
But the boy who used to tell her that just walked away with someone else.
13 years of friendship, everything is changing.
This is where the real story starts.
Got it — here's that basketball match scene, clear and straight to the point.
*PUP Gym, Inter-College Tournament — 4 PM*
After school, the whole gym was packed. Elian was playing in the basketball tournament. He's team captain. Jersey #11, sweat on his forehead, focused. 20 years old, tall, broad, confident. He looked good and he knew it. The crowd was screaming his name every time he got the ball.
In the bleachers, Cindy, Noa, and Cherry sat together.
Elian ran a fast break, stole the ball, and before he took the shot he looked up at the stands.
Cherry saw him look. Her face lit up. She jumped up and waved both hands. "Best! Best, over here!"
Elian saw her. Then his eyes moved past her.
Cindy was waving too. Smaller, just one hand, a little shy.
Elian grinned and waved back. Right at Cindy. Then he shot — clean three-pointer. Swish.
The crowd went wild.
Cherry's hands dropped to her sides. Slow. She sat back down and let out a quiet sigh. No one heard it over the noise. Almost no one.
Noa saw. He didn't say anything. He just opened his bag, pulled out a bottle of chocolate juice — Cherry's favorite — and handed it to her.
"Here," Noa said.
Cherry took it. "Thanks." She didn't open it. She just held it.
Noa looked at her. He felt bad for her. More than bad. He'd liked Cherry for years. Since she was 16 and punched a guy for calling Elian "mayabang." But Cherry only had eyes for _Best_.
On the court, the game kept going.
Elian was on fire. Every time he scored, he did the same thing. Point to the stands. Right at Cindy.
First quarter: Point at Cindy.
Second quarter: Layup, point at Cindy.
Third quarter: Steal, dunk, point at Cindy.
Not once did he look at Cherry. Not once did he point her way.
Cherry drank the chocolate juice. It tasted bitter.
Cindy noticed. Halfway through the fourth quarter, she leaned over to Cherry. "He's playing really well today, huh?"
Cherry forced a smile. "Yeah. He always does."
Noa watched Elian point to Cindy again after a free throw. Then he watched Cherry pretend not to care.
He clenched his jaw.
Elian won the game for PUP. 89-74. MVP. Girls rushed the court when the buzzer went off.
Elian pushed through them. He walked straight to the bleachers. Straight to Cindy.
"Did you see that last shot?" he asked her, breathless, happy.
Cindy laughed. "I saw all of them. You kept pointing at me. People are gonna talk."
"Let them," Elian said, not caring.
Cherry stood up. She handed Noa the empty juice bottle. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Tell Best… good game."
"Cherry," Noa started.
But she was already walking away, red ribbon disappearing into the crowd.
Elian didn't notice. He was too busy asking Cindy if she wanted to get food with the team.
Noa watched Cherry leave. Then he looked at Elian. Then at his sister.
A few minutes later, Cherry came back. She'd bought a cold bottle of water from the canteen. For Elian. She wiped the sweat off the plastic with her sleeve before holding it out to him.
At the same time, Noa and Elian were walking out of the locker room area. Elian's hair was damp, jersey stuck to his back. And Cindy was already there, holding out her own bottle of water to him.
Elian stopped. He looked at Cherry's hand. Then at Cindy's.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then Elian laughed and took Cindy's bottle. He cracked it open. "I'm sure Cindy's water tastes better," he said, nudging Cherry's arm with his elbow. "Give Noa yours."
He didn't mean it to be cruel. His tone was light. Teasing. Like how _Best_ always teased her as kids.
But Cherry heard it different.
Her fingers tightened around the bottle. The cold stung.
She nodded. Kept her face blank. "You should get changed," she said to Elian. "We'll wait here."
Then she turned and walked away.
Noa watched her go. Watched her stop at the trash can by the gym exit. Watched her drop the unopened water inside. It hit the bottom with a hollow thud.
Elian didn't notice. He was already drinking Cindy's water, telling her about the last play. "Did you see when I faked left? Man, their defense—"
"And you pointed at me again," Cindy cut in, smiling. "Third time today."
Elian rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, well… wanted to make sure you were watching."
Noa stood there between them, Cherry's rejected water bottle still echoing in his head. He looked at Elian, who was grinning at his sister. He looked at the trash can where Cherry disappeared.
"Hey," Noa said, voice flat. "You done?"
Elian blinked. "What?"
"Nothing," Noa said. But his jaw was tight. "Just… get changed. Like Cherry said."
Elian nodded, clueless. "Right. Be back." He jogged off toward the locker room, still talking to Cindy.
Noa follow them quietly