It reminds us of the first time we felt butterflies in our stomachs during a school flag ceremony. It reminds us of writing love letters using a gel pen and G-tech on a piece of yellow pad paper. It reminds us that love, in its purest form, was simple—it was sharing a Hallo-hallo after class or walking each other home under a scorching 3 PM sun.
They teach us that love is messy, loud, and usually happens while you are wearing a tacky school ID with a terrible yearbook photo. They teach us that "First love never dies" —it just becomes a Netflix script.
From the dusty corridors of Tandang Sora National High School to the airconditioned halls of exclusive private schools in Kdrama-inspired Filipino series, the high school romance arc is the backbone of Pinoy pop culture. It is where we first learned to feel kilig , to cry over selos , and to root for the underdog.
Because it reminds us of the what ifs .