There are stories that surprise you, not just with their plots, but with the emotions they stir long after you close the book (or in this case, komiks). Tepai Pascual‘s Duty Ka Ba? is one of them.
I first met Doc El and Melba in 2022. Their story in Volume 1 had me hooked right away because I used to have a doctor crush (just a happy crush and totally one-sided hahaha). Their story was quite simple – the doctor-patient dynamic I’ve read about a thousand times before, yet theirs felt so real and deeply relatable that it’s almost as if they are two people I could easily bump into at the hospital, with all their flaws and warmth. So much so that I just had to get the next available volumes (2 and 2.5) where there’s the badass Nurse Badet and Doc Chris, along with Doc Max and his tragic love story. But of course, the Tomato couple (Doc El and Melba) will always be the OG DKNK couple in my heart and I miss them so much that I wish they’d make a cameo again in future volumes.
Anyway, this weekend, I finally sat down and finished the next parts of the series (because I saw on social media that another installment is coming out before the year ends), and wow – what a ride.
Nurse G and Doc Jason
If Doc El and Melba were the comforting start, Nurse G and Doc Jason brought the storm. Their relationship is raw, layered and so unapologetically real.
Volume 3 gave us the sweet beginnings of a fluffy shounen-ai, with its hopeful and toe-curling opening. We are also introduced to the hot EMT Adonis, a welcome relief in the middle of all the heaviness we’ll encounter in Volume 4, as it unravels the traumas they both carried – Nurse G’s painful childhood marked by rejection and abuse for being gay, and Doc Jason’s scars from a toxic, abusive relationship.
Their story isn’t easy to read, but it’s necessary. It speaks about the courage it takes to love again after being broken, and the strength required to heal wounds that never fully vanish.
The side characters that stayed with me
While the main characters are main charactering (iykyk LOL), some side characters are also hard to miss. Think about that superb green onion kimchi at the newest samgyup place that has become your new favorite just because of the side dishes.
EMT Adonis and Doc Bea – A part of me still wishes they’d end up together. They had the makings of a tender love story.
Doc Max – his arc broke me, and I still hope he finds his forever. Some characters leave a quiet ache and Doc Max is one of them.
Alex (Doc Jason’s ex) – Actions have consequences, yes. But I can’t help hoping for a redemption arc here. I’d love to understand his backstory, to see why he became the way he is. I want to believe that people aren’t born manipulative or angry – they’re shaped by something. And part of me wants to know if there’s healing possible for him, too.
But why did it hit home?
As an autoimmune warrior, I spent a lot of my adult years in and out of hospitals. Reading Duty Ka Ba? Komiks felt like revisiting that world: the sterile scent of antiseptic mixed with detergent, the endless beeping of machines in the ICU, and even the noise of the emergency room under harsh fluorescent lights.
But it wasn’t all that bleak, as there were also bits of human details that stayed with me. Like the comforting tone of a seemingly elderly nurse who everyone calls Mommie, the quiet patience of the cute kuyang phlebotomist who need to draw blood from my almost invisible veins for ABG, or the to-die-for smile of the devastatingly handsome doctor assigned to me because patients also need kilig moments even in the brink of death (LOL!). These things and more once made those hospital visits less terrifying.
And maybe that’s why these stories resonate so deeply with me. They don’t just show romance in uniforms. They show the humanity that exists in spaces we usually associate with pain and survival.
Can’t wait for the next book!
Finishing the series this weekend felt like drinking coffee with a bittersweet aftertaste – sometimes warm and comforting, sometimes sharp and bitter, but always leaving something behind.
I can’t wait for the next book, and I’m sooo excited to see where these characters go, what wounds they’ll heal, and whose stories we’ll get to know next.
Until then, I’ll be here, still missing Doc El and Melba, hoping for Doc Max’s happy ending, and holding on to the lessons of love, pain, and resilience that Duty Ka Ba Komiks has left in my heart.
🌸Mood Match
Bittersweet and grounding. Like coffee that starts sweet but ends with a lingering, sharp kick.
☕Emotional Aftertaste
A mix of heaviness and hope. The series doesn’t shy away from trauma and grief, but it leaves room for healing and the possibility of love despite it all.
📚Shelf/Heart Space
This one goes to my “aching but worth it” shelf. The kind of story you revisit when you need reminding that brokenness and beauty can exist in the same space.
See you on the next chapter!
