MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 17: I Have a Jacket, I Have Gear, the Position of My Wife is Still Open
[Bohn]
“When he brought the flowers, Bohn had the sweetest smile.”
“When he calls, you get all cheerful, huh?” You bastard, Merk, I hate your laugh. Even if I like to laugh too.
I shrugged, ignoring them, and turned back to my work on the desk. This is a combined class subject called Composition, the only class where our group is complete, but it’s damn hard…really damn hard for just the second year. What will it be like in higher years? I once saw a senior during project submission time; I can say with one word, he wasn’t human, he looked like a walking corpse. I don’t know how else to describe it except with the phrase, ‘utterly wrecked,’ which sums it up best.
“So, is Duen really your boyfriend?” Tee asked with doubt; he probably didn’t want to believe it much, since I’ve never shown interest in guys since we’ve been together.
“No, Bohn has been flirting for a long time, but Duen’s not interested, huh.” Tang answered, sending me a teasing look. It wasn’t teasing; it was more like saying, ‘you’re such a loser.’
“Not that he’s not interested, he’s just clueless.” I argued before looking back at my work. These guys, they come together to work on reports, but when it’s time, they never do.
“See, you’ve admitted to flirting with him.”
“That’s right.” I had to admit it like a man, that I was really flirting, both flirting and sweet-talking. Like with the post earlier, I wanted him to pay attention, even though I knew he wasn’t really jealous, he was just being spiteful.
“Wow, the rogue is after a doctor.” King teased; it’s always like this…whenever the seven of us are together, chaos ensues every time.
“Still…Bohn hasn’t officially courted him yet.”
“Huh, you’ve flirted that much and still haven’t courted him?” You try being in my shoes, Bom, you’ll see how hard it is. Approaching Duen is hard enough, but making him realize I’m flirting is even harder.
Like…
“I’m still not sure about my own feelings.” I rested my chin in my hand, looking at the photo on my phone, the one Bom took. I like the atmosphere in the picture. It looks cute and warm; Duen’s clueless smile comes out naturally.
“Not sure about what?”
“I’ve only just met him recently.” I’ve only known him for less than Duen. Even if I feel something special, my mind argues that it’s too soon.
“And?”
“Don’t you think it’s too fast? From what I see…
Thud!
Before I could finish speaking, King sighed and slapped the table so loudly that I had to stop talking. Not just me, the other friends stopped talking too. He slowly looked up at me with a serious expression, which was different from his usual playful, always-joking self, but now he seemed like a different person.
“Bohn.”
“Huh?” I responded.
“Love is ours to define. You can’t go by what others do and say it has to be like this, don’t tell me you’ve seen others flirt for years and years and think that’s the standard.”
“…”
“…”
“You have to use your own heart and feelings.”
“…”
“I don’t know if you’re serious about him or if you’re just playing around, but I’ll tell you this: even if you flirt with him and ask him out now…it doesn’t mean he’ll say yes right away.”
“But it also doesn’t mean that if you ask Nong Duen to be your boyfriend in ten years, he’ll agree.”
“…”
“Do you get what I’m saying?”
“I’m telling you, the time when you meet isn’t as important as the time when you’re courting…”
There was a long pause before King’s words registered with me. I was stunned that my best friend was saying something so thoughtful, and another reason for my silence was that I was thinking about what he said.
“Cheers, Lord King King.”
“Can I borrow it to use sometimes? I’ll give credit that the line is by the divine
King…”
“…Damn sharp, it cut me deep to the core, you jerk!” Tang said, then feigned admiration for King.
“Huh huh. Of course, who am I? The divine King of engineering, huh? Was I cool just now, Tee? And did you record the sound as I told you?” I went from being impressed to sighing as soon as I heard that.
“Damn…I was just about to compliment you, sigh.” What Tee recorded just now…did you guys plan this?
“I liked the guy from before. Where did he go?” Merk pretended to look for someone, which earned a big outburst from King.
“It’s me!”
“Yeah, yeah, cut it out. Let’s get back to work.” I turned back to focus on my books as before.
“I’m serious, do whatever you need to do before someone snatches it away. I once saw Frong walk with Nong Duen to our faculty, smiling all the way, you could tell what he was thinking just by looking into his eyes.” “…”
“I’m saying this with good intentions; even someone like you is interested.
Haven’t you thought there might be others interested in him too?”
“Nong Duen is damn cool, he attracts both angels and demons.”
“What do you mean, Bom?” I looked at the speaker seriously.
“Nothing.”
“But it looks like he has something special, I’ve got to try this.” Tee made a sly face, slowly stroking his chin, while the rest turned to watch my reaction.
“Go ahead and try.”
“You’re not jealous at all-”
“Go ahead. If you’re not afraid to die…”
“Damn, Bohn is brutal.”
“Are you jealous? Am I dreaming! A husband jealous of his wife, oh, damn,
Merk!” Boss exclaimed, clutching his hand tight, probably really hurt because Merk pinched him hard a moment ago.
“You told me to pinch.”
“Damn! You unlucky husband.”
“Heh.”
“But it’s strange, isn’t it?”
“What’s strange?” I raise my eyebrows, looking at King, who has his chin propped up, looking my way. Our eyes meet, but I can’t guess what he’s thinking.
“I always thought you were hard to fall in love with.”
“I’m puzzled by myself too. I thought it would take years to like someone, but recently I realized I’m not as hard to fall for as I thought…I just hadn’t met the right person yet.”
“…”
“Stunned, huh?”
“Interesting, I want to try having a relationship myself…”
“Go for it, but I already feel sorry for whoever ends up being your partner.”
Curious, hard to read, smart, and quick to catch on to games…not fun at all. They should be dense, dumb, easy to see through, and annoying, then it would be fun to tease.
Ring ring
“Hello, Mom.”
(Bohn, do you have time to talk, son?)
“I’m free, what’s up?” I answer my mom’s call and walk away to talk somewhere else. Usually, Mom doesn’t call when I’m at university unless it’s very urgent.
(Today, I have to go check out some land in Krabi, can you pick up Ben for me?)
“Sure.” That’s good. I haven’t picked up that little troublemaker in a while. Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him at all. Mom says he’s gotten even more handsome, truly not falling far from the tree.
(Rumors say he’s not your son: Mom)
“…”
(Then I’ll be going, no one will be home today.)
“Oh, really?” It’s not unusual for others to be out, but Bihn, he’s almost always home, what made him decide not to sleep at home today?
(Your dad’s working out of town, and Bihn went to do a project at a friend’s house.) Ah, doing a project, huh? He might seem playful, but he’s very serious about studies. Never skips, never misses. I can’t even do that…or maybe I’m just lazy.
“This little troublemaker, will he survive?” I mutter, thinking about the living situation for my brother and myself. As I said, Mom can’t cook, it must be hereditary, there’s no one in the house who can cook except for Dad. I can cook, but whether it’s edible is another story.
(If anything comes up, you can call me, son. As for food…just buy something to eat.)
“Wow, mom, your words hurt my feelings.”
(I am gone, haha)
“Yes, bye.”
Time passes faster than a fart. I’ve finished my classes and am driving to pick up the little rascal from school. Mom told me his room and building. ‘P. 1/2’, the school where the rascal studies is quite famous, you could say it’s for rich kids. Actually, Aunt Pen, the rascal’s mom, wanted him in a regular school, but what can you do? Transferring mid-term, this was the only school that would accept him.
I walked along the path mom described until I came to the blue building she mentioned, with a playground beside it. I could hear the joyful sounds of children playing all the way here. You might think the hero of this story would smile gently and say, “Little one, come to your big brother.” like any typical protagonist…
No way.
I’ve said it before, if it’s not family, the other kids in the world are just Good…shit! But if it’s family, I feel connected and loving, like my good little brother. Even though we don’t share the same parents, I love him as much as I do Buen and Bihn. Those two probably feel the same because in our family, there are mostly women. We’re like precious gems in a sea of…women.
The woman standing at the door…must be Ben’s homeroom teacher, probably named Teacher Pang.
“Excuse me. I’m Ben’s guardian.”
“Oh, are you the son that Khun Pin called about?”
“Yes.”
“Ben is downstairs, playing with his friends on the playground. Shall I call him for you?”
“No need, I’ll go get him myself, thank you very much.” I’ll surprise him instead.
I walked downstairs and saw the rascal playing with a group of girls, all looking cute. I didn’t call out yet because I saw him acting shy, looking at one of the cute little girls…puppy love, huh? Let me see your moves with the ladies to see how much you’ve inherited from this big brother.
“What should we play?” The little girl my brother seems to have a crush on, judging by his behavior, asked in her sweet voice. She seems quite confident, my brother likes them feisty, just like his brother.
“How about hide and seek?” a shy-looking girl suggested.
“We’re bored of that.” the twins answered together.
“Then what should we play…what do you want to play?” That little girl turned and asked Ben with a sweet smile, and my brother smiled shyly in return. This is the first time I’ve seen him do something like this.
“Up to you, Honey.”
Wow, who gives their children a nickname as Honey. That’s not ordinary.
He looks so shy, doesn’t he? Normally, around family, he’s a terror. The last time before he came here, Aunt Pen called to complain that he broke a vase he auctioned from a French museum because he used it to dig for worms to feed the birds. My mom laughed until she cried, trying to say that the kid was kind-hearted, helping animals find food. Besides, this troublemaker doesn’t like to stay still.
Cut to the present. Look at him now, he’s such a shy, cute young man.
“Then let’s-”
“Daonuea.”
Gasp
I freeze immediately upon hearing the familiar voice. No way, maybe I’m thinking too much about it and it’s messing with my ears. What would he be doing here? This is an elementary school…if we meet, it must be fate.
“Duenhaw!”
Oh, come on…
When I turn around, I see that the one calling is little Honey’s mom, and she’s quickly running towards Duen. The other person opens his arms to catch the little girl who rushes over before picking her up and spinning her around, creating a lot of laughter from the little girl. I feel like there’s a fluffy atmosphere around those two…in my heart.
“Will Phii Duenhaw take me home?” Daonuea, (I only just heard her name) tilts her head to ask Duen, clearly siblings, they’re like carbon copies of each other.
“Hmm, why? Does my little Daonuea want to stay and play with friends?” The slender figure tilts his head to ask, it’s like Ctrl+C, then Ctrl+V, clear as day.
“Yeah!”
“Sure.” Duen says, while leaning down to rub his nose against his sister’s. Since when did everything you do look cute to me? Are you playing with my feelings?
“Ben!”
Zing!
Oh, I think I heard the sound of a sting when the drunk doctor turned to look at the troublemaker. I know why. Given the situation, he must be very, very protective of his sister, and my little brother just happens to like a girl with such a brother.
Looks like I’ll have to play cupid for my brother then. Heh.
“Ben”
“?..Bohn!” At first, the person called looked confused, then his eyes widened as he shouted my name loudly, and he ran over to me.
“What’s up, you rascal?” I crouched down, ruffling his light brown hair.
“I missed you!” He smiled broader than before, hugging me tightly until I could barely breathe. See, now there’s no trace of the shy kid from before.
“Do you like Honey?” I asked quietly enough for just the two of us to hear.
“What…how do you know that?”
“Want me to help you with her?”
“Really!”
“Yeah, but you have to help me too.” I spoke more quietly when I saw the slender figure carrying the little girl in question walking towards us.
“Help with what?”
“Shh…I’ll tell you later.”
“Okey, dokey.” As soon as he finished speaking, Duen stood right in front of us. Now, my brother and I were sitting on the ground, while he and Daonuea were standing above us.
“Bohn?”
“Yeah.” I looked up at him, not forgetting to raise an eyebrow for added annoyance. Now, my little brother was looking at his Honey without hiding anything, and…as I’ve said, Duen is very protective of his sister, so seeing Ben look at her like that, he quickly moved Daonuea to the other side. Why hide? You can’t escape from my brother, because I’m Cupid, and I…am about to shoot my arrow, huh.
“Ben is your brother?”
“Yep.” I answered, lifting Ben to face the slender figure as well. The little doctor was stunned…damn, why do you make it so tempting to tease you?
“Why that face? Soon, our families will be one.”
“You bas-” I used my finger to shush his thin lips before he could swear, deliberately stepping closer until our noses touched.
“Shh, don’t curse, there are kids here.”
“Hey…damn!”
“Heh heh.”
“Is Bohn your brother Ben?” I think…I’m starting to see other kids as cute, but they have to look like Duen.
“Yes.”
“And you know Duenhaw too?”
“…Know him? We know each other well.” I glance at Duenhaw, seeing him stick out his tongue and look away while still holding his sister.
“And Daonuea, are you Duenhaw’s little sister?” My conversation partner nods with a smile. At the same time, I can feel my little brother’s heart beating fast, probably because his left chest is pressed against my right chest. Oh, this softie, haha.
“Bohn! Don’t call me that!” Duen says loudly, startling the kids, and I catch his sister flinching since she’s the closest.
“Don’t yell, you’re scaring her.”
“Oh…sorry, Daonuea.” The slender figure bends down to give a kiss on his sister’s head, his slender hand stroking her cheek to soothe her. I wish I were a kid…
“Aren’t the kids going to play? Let them go play.” I set the troublemaker down on the ground. The medical student hesitates for a moment but then lets Daonuea go from his embrace.
“Daonuea, don’t run too fast, be careful not to fall!” He shouts after the kids who run off to play on the playground equipment.
“You’re very protective of your sister.”
“That’s my business.” He finishes speaking and turns his face away.
“Ben is cute, isn’t he?” I look over at my brother who’s playing…no, he’s just watching Daonuea play. He doesn’t move at all. He even has this dreamy look on his face, oh brother.
“Really!” Duen crosses his arms, sticking out his lower lip in disgust. He really doesn’t like my brother’s face, I guess. Oh…speaking of which, Mom told me that yesterday, a kind big brother introduced his girlfriend to him, but Ben ended up kissing his sister. I think Duen must be that kind big brother.
“He has a good personality.” I try to point out the good qualities of my brother to Duen. My brother really is a good kid, he once gave his snack money to a homeless person until he had no money left for food.
“Where’s the good in that? Your brother stole my sister’s first kiss!” I knew it. “He’ll grow up to be handsome.” Sure, I have plenty of excuses. Ben will definitely grow up to be handsome. Cut off my toenails if he doesn’t grow up to be as handsome as his brother.
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
“His family is rich too.” Ben’s father is a foreigner, the owner of a house design company. Although not very famous, it generates enough income for the family to live well into old age without want.
“My family is rich too.”
“He could be a good husband, huh.”
“You’re just biased towards your own brother.” Duen huffed, his mouth twitching in annoyance. I looked at him scrutinizingly, and King’s words came to mind.
“I’ll tell you, meeting isn’t as important as when you’re courting.”
“Do whatever you need to do before someone else snatches it away…”
I think I’m sure about my feelings now…you’re in trouble, Duen.
I smiled, reaching out to gently hold his chin, turning his face to meet my eyes. He looked quite surprised by my action, but I didn’t care about his shocked gaze, leaning in closer.
“I’m not biased towards my brother; every son from my family can be a good husband.”
“You’re full of crap…let go, get offf.” His white hand tried to push me away. If I’m not mistaken…his cheeks are a little red. Don’t be so cute, Duen, or you might end up with a husband without realizing it.
“I have an engineering faculty jacket na khrap.” I whispered close to his ear, pulling on his soft cheek to stretch it. So soft, what cream do you use? This calls for squeezing the other side to make them even, huh.
“Ow! That hurts, stop pulling!”
“I have gear.”
“Yeah, I know. You’re in engineering, how could you not have gear? And how did this suddenly become about you? A moment ago, it was about little Ben!” The slender figure tried to back away to create some distance, but I followed him relentlessly, looking quite comical like a live-action version of Tom and Jerry.
“The position of my wife is still open.” I smiled what I thought was my most handsome smile, secretly hoping it would make his heart beat as wildly as mine.
“Huh, and why are you telling me that?”
Damn you, Duen. You’ve ruined the mood; the good atmosphere from before just vanished.
“I knew it, you’re too clueless to understand.”
“Hey, why are you cursing me! If there’s something, just say it, don’t beat around the bush! And what are you hugging for, aren’t you embarrassed? This is an elementary school-”
“I’m going to flirt with you.”
“…”
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