NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 17 part 2
“Who told you to come out in the rain?” Phii Joe asked in a displeased tone, leaving me speechless for a moment before he turned to grab a towel and threw it over my head. “If you catch a cold, you could end up dead.” He said, still sounding very annoyed. I caught the towel in confusion and started to dry my hair with it before Phii Joe’s jacket was draped over me.
“Wear this.”
“Thank you.” I mumbled, bowing my head slightly before thanking him. This was actually the first time someone had given me a jacket in this cold weather.
Thank you for being kind to me…
“Where’s Phii Prang? Why did she let you get wet?” Phii Joe asked, deliberately ignoring Phii Arthit who seemed about to say something.
“Phii Prang dropped me off at the gym entrance, but I told her I could walk through the rain. It’s fine.” I explained. Phii Prang didn’t leave me in the rain at all. Initially, she wanted to drop me off closer, but I declined, “I can handle the rain, it’s no problem.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I never get a cold no matter how much I get rained on.”
“Don’t let me see you sick then.” Phii Johan said, still looking somewhat annoyed.
“Joe, my debt, when are you going to pay it back?” Phii Arthit brought up.
“What debt?”
“Fifteen thousand, for the photo.”
“You took it like you were using your heel to take the photo, and you have the nerve to ask for payment?” Phii Joe remarked.
“Come on, you told me to take it.”
“Yeah, yeah, annoying.” Phii Johan said before taking out his phone, pressing here and there for a moment before looking up to continue talking to Phii Arthit, “Are you happy now?”
“That’s it. Should’ve transferred it from the start.” “I was talking to Fah’s father, okay? As soon as I was done, I rushed here.” Phii Joe said, “Hill kept pushing me, it’s insane.”
“Yeah, just now Hill said you need to start practicing.” Phii Fah mentioned.
“I’m not going.”
“Come on.”
“I’m lazy.”
“Joe.” Phii Hill called out again, and Phii Joe immediately sighed.
“Damn it, you’re good at making me work, Tit, you go practice in my place.”
“Where would I do that? If you don’t practice, what will you compete with?” Phii Arthit said.
“Whatever, just go practice in my place for now.”
“Alright, where’s your shirt?”
“In the bag.”
“Okay.” Phii Arthit got up and walked over to the bag Phii Joe pointed at, took off his shirt, and changed into a basketball jersey amidst the gazes of everyone in the gym. There was a buzz of excitement, especially from the girls, almost all of them turning to look. Phii Arthit had the expected athletic build of a sportsman, with a darker skin tone to boot.
Phii Joe also has a good physique, like someone who seriously works out, even if I’ve never seen him shirtless.
I think the girls who came to watch basketball are probably more interested in watching the players than the game itself. They likely came to see Phii Hill and Phii Johan, but today Phii Arthit is practicing instead, and even though Phii Joe isn’t practicing, there are still plenty of eyes on him.
“Can you practice for him?” Phii Fah asked.
“Hmph, why not? It’s just selecting first-years, anyone can do it.”
“The basketball club has a lot of people.” “And your club? When did you get here anyway?” Phii Joe turned to ask Phii Fah.
“Just before the rain started. When you were asleep, my club had nothing today, so I came to hang out with you guys. I’ve got nothing to do.” Phii Fah said, “How did talking to dad go?”
“Oh, nothing much, but it seems two weeks is a bit too long. He’s worried about complications.” Phii Johan explained. I’m not sure if it’s just my imagination, but there seemed to be a noticeable difference in how Phii Fah talks compared to Phii Arthit. Phii Fah does seem genuinely kind-hearted.
“There are already problems. Earlier, Arthit said he’s going to America too, after midterms.”
“Going to America?”
“Yeah, just for a few days, I heard.” Phii Fah said, letting out a small sigh, “But it’s not likely to be just a few days. Me and Hill will definitely have our hands full with work.”
“Where are you going?”
“Miami.”
“Figures.” Phii Johan said, not looking too surprised. When Miami was mentioned, I thought about car races, having seen them in movies often.
“Come here.” Phii Joe said, pulling me towards him, and then lifted me onto his lap as usual, but…
This is in the gym…
And there were so many people around…
But the other party didn’t seem to care much. Phii Fah furrowed his brows, looking at the other person’s actions with a bit of disbelief. Now, I found myself being hugged from behind again.
Like…
I was already embarrassed normally. With so many eyes on me, it made me feel even more embarrassed by who knows how much. I tried to squirm away but to no avail, as always. Phii Johan hugged me even tighter, seemingly annoyed when he saw me struggling.
Oh man, everyone’s watching! T^T
“Joe, everyone’s watching.” Phii Fah said.
“Let them.”
It wasn’t exactly sitting on his lap; it was more like sitting between his legs, and then being hugged so my back was pressed against his chest, with his chin resting on my shoulder like he did last time when he was complaining about being tired.
Phii Arthit, who was on the field, turned to look with a disgusted expression and nudged Phii Hill to look as well.
“Hill doesn’t mind, he has Nong Ter to hug.” Phii Fah said, looking disappointed, “It’s the single folks like us who suffer.”
!!!
I couldn’t help but flinch when suddenly the person behind me leaned in close, pressing his nose and mouth against my cheek, breathing softly as if to take in my scent, staying like that for a moment before pulling back.
“Phii, what are you doing?” I tried to protest as quietly as possible because I was embarrassed by others. I didn’t even dare to turn around to see how others were looking at us, immediately lowering my head in embarrassment. No way. No, not like this in front of so many people!!
Come on, there are so many people watching, why doesn’t he care about others’ eyes?
“Don’t squirm.”
“Damn you!”
“What?”
“…”
Hy!!!!
“Sometimes you go too far.” Phii Fah said, shaking his head slightly. “The kid might have a heart attack one day.”
Phii Fah!!
“Yeah, I agree.”
In the end, I couldn’t escape, feeling extremely embarrassed under the gaze of everyone in the gym…I wondered if I was being secretly photographed like last time, but the person holding me seemed completely unbothered.
I reached for my backpack, took out a water bottle because my throat was very dry, drank through the straw, and then handed it to the person behind me.
“Water?”
“Hmm.” and I ended up holding the water for Phii Johan like that before putting the bottle back in my bag.
“You guys are so sweet.” Phii Fah said with the utmost annoyance. “This is what a tiger without claws looks like.”
A tiger without claws…?
I’m so embarrassed
T^T
“Will you take the kid to Boston too?” Phii Fah asked. I raised my eyebrows, slightly surprised by his words.
“No.” Phii Joe replied. “Or do you want to go?”
“Huh. Me?” I asked, taken aback. “I have classes.”
“Hmm. You wouldn’t be able to keep up with the work anyway.” Phii Johan said in a flat tone. I certainly couldn’t go; I’m not as capable as him to catch up with nearly two weeks of work. I’d probably die trying.
“Will you go right after the midterms?” I asked. “Yes.”
“Then you’ll have to study and prepare for work at the same time.”
“Hmm.”
“Wow.” I said, almost in disbelief. It’s really too much, isn’t it? Medical exams are already life-threatening enough, aren’t they?
“…”
“I asked a friend. He said that in Boston right now, it’s freezing, below zero by several degrees, and there’s snow too. Make sure to take a lot of warm clothes.”
“Hmm.”
“Phii.”
“Huh?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had work yesterday. I shouldn’t have invited you to watch a movie. You had to rush back to work without sleeping because I insisted on watching a movie.”
“Forget it.”
“…”
“No matter where you want to go.”
“…”
“I’ll take you.”
The song “Dear no one” by Tori Kelly:
But sometimes, I just want somebody to hold
Someone to give me their jacket when it’s cold
Got that young love even when we’re old
Yeah, sometimes, I want someone to grab my hand
Pick me up, pull me close, be my man
I will love you till the end
But sometimes, I just want someone to hug me
Someone who will offer me their jacket when I’m cold
Having love like we’re still young, even though we’ve grown up
Sometimes, I just want someone to hold my hand
To lift me up, pull me close, and be my man
And I will love you for life
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