NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 32 part 1

   Chapter 32: Yours

   “…”

“Phii Joe.”

“Hmm?”

“Are you listening to me?”

“I am.” He said, lifting his hand to touch my chin, his eyes still fixed on me, a small smile at the corner of his lips when he saw me pout.

“What are you listening to, when all you do is stare at North?”

“Keep talking.”

“Well…It’s the end of the cold season there. They say if the sky is clear, there’s a chance to see the northern lights. It’s all about luck because the northern lights don’t appear every day.”

“Ah, okay.”

“And about the places to visit. They say Tromsø is one of the best spots for seeing the northern lights, but there are other cities where you can see them too. What do you think, Phii?” “It’s up to you North.” “See, it’s all up to me then. I have never been there.” I said, pouting at him again, “You’re making me research everything alone. What if we go and it’s not fun, what then?”

The trip to Norway to see the northern lights, as we had talked about doing during the semester break, which is now upon us. Phii Joe told me to choose where we want to go, stating that he had no issues with costs or the time we’d spend there. However, planning the trip all by myself is a bit daunting, especially since I’ve never traveled abroad.

“Going with you, how could it not be fun?”

“Phii, and don’t complain about me, okay?”

“I won’t complain.”

“Would you like to go hiking?” I asked when I remembered, having seen a review about hiking with beautiful views.

“Think you can handle it? If you can, then let’s go.”

“I think I can…maybe? The pictures I saw didn’t look too hard.” I said a bit hesitantly, then took out my phone to show the pictures to Phii Joe, “Here, it’s just a walking path.” He looked at my phone screen.

“Hmm. Looks good.”

“Then let’s go hiking. We should go early, the view will be beautiful, and there won’t be many people around.” I said excitedly, “The view is really beautiful, I want to go.”

“Then we’ll go soon.” He said, reaching over to affectionately ruffle my hair.

Then I started telling him about the interesting things I had read in the reviews, but Phii Joe…

“Phii…can you not stare at me like that?” I said, avoiding his gaze. No matter what, I couldn’t match his look, seriously. “Just looking at my boyfriend, is that not allowed?” “…It’s allowed, but don’t stare too much, please.”

“Why?”

“Why do you need to look so much? North’s face is the same every day.”

“Cute.”

“…”

“North is cute, especially when he’s talking about things he likes.”

“Uh…okay.” I ducked my head in embarrassment. I didn’t understand how he could still flirt so well even after we started dating; it felt like he was still courting me, which started to make me nervous.

“Aren’t you going to continue?”

“Well…I also saw that they drove around there. The view is gorgeous, especially when it snows. If it’s not snowing too heavily one day, can we rent a car and drive around?”

“Sure.”

“Can you drive for me?”

“Yes.”

“Yay!”

“Ah…there’s a gift for you; the hardworking one.” Phii Joe said. I tilted my head, looking at him with a bit of confusion.

“What is it?”

“It’s on the table in front of the sofa.”

I quickly got up to check the table in the living room, as I was just lounging in the bedroom and didn’t know what Phii Joe had bought. He had gone out early in the morning for errands and had only just returned.

My eyes widened with joy when I saw what was on the table.

“Do you like it?” “Yeah, I love it, thank you, thank you so much.” I said excitedly, picking up the large box.

A PS4, something I’ve wanted my whole life, wow, T^T.

   “But North’s grades didn’t meet the mark we agreed on.” I asked, suddenly remembering. I had agreed with Phii Joe that I needed a 3.5 GPA to get a PS4 as a reward, but this semester I only got a 3.27. So, I had given up on the idea of getting it.

“It’s okay. You did well.”

“But…”

“What was your GPA last semester?”

“2.7.” I answered.

“You improved a lot, so consider it a reward for your effort.”

“Oh, uh, thank you.”

“As long as you like it, that’s good.”

“Phii Joe, you are so kind.” I said with a smile, hugging the box.

“Can I ask for something in return for me going out in the sun to buy it.” Phii Joe said. I looked puzzled for a moment, then slightly bit my lip in embarrassment, put down the large box, and hugged him.

“Thank you, North loves Phii Joe the most.” I said, grinning widely, and stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Phii Joe gave a slight smile and glanced at me.

“Over ten thousand baht, I’d say it’s worth it.”

“…”

“Hmm.”

I pouted a little shyly upon hearing those words, what does he mean by it’s worth it…I snuggled into Phii Joe’s hug for a bit and then pulled away, “Can North open it?”

   While I was unwrapping the PS4 box, my eyes caught another box on the table.

   A camera?

   “Did you buy a new camera?” I turned to ask the person sitting next to me.

“Didn’t you say you wanted one?”

“Well…yes, but I was going to borrow Phoon’s camera.” I remembered mentioning how I wanted a camera to take lots of beautiful photos, but since I don’t own one, I planned to borrow Phoon’s. He even agreed to lend it to me. I didn’t expect Phii Joe to buy one first, especially one that looks quite expensive, “I feel bad accepting this.”

“It’s fine, you were going to use one anyway.”

“Thank you so much, on this trip I will be your photographer.” I said happily. Even though I might not take photos as beautifully as Ter or Phoon, I’ll try my best to capture the best memories for us.

♣♣♣

“Phii Joe.”

“Hmm?”

“I am excited.”

“I can see that.” He responded, reaching over to pat my head and looking at me with affection. Right now, we were at the airport, about to head to Norway.

Norway, huh…

The Northern Lights…

And snow…

Oh my gosh, so exciting, it’s my first time traveling abroad, my first time on a plane. I’m really excited, couldn’t sleep last night, woke up at three in the morning even though our flight isn’t until nearly ten, and I’m not even a bit sleepy, I’m super enthusiastic.

As I’ve said before, my heart has been in Norway since the final exams. “Ugh, Phii, North’s heart is about to burst.” I said excitedly as we waited to board, clutching the tickets tightly, “Can I sit by the window? I want to see the view.”

“Sure we can.”

“Yay!”

I sat by the window seat, super excited. I wonder what it’ll feel like when the plane takes off. According to the website, we’ll arrive in the evening, we’ve already booked accommodation, and we’ll start exploring tomorrow.

“Do you travel abroad often, Phii?”

“Often.”

“That’s great, do you get to travel a lot?”

“Quite a bit.”

“Which place do you think is the prettiest you’ve visited?”

“You.”

Phii Joe said, looking at me with a slight smile. Just those short words, the look, and the smile. That was enough to make my heart flutter again.

“You’re good at sweet-talking.” I said, turning my face away to hide my blushing cheeks and looking out the window. After a while, it was time for takeoff. I was slightly startled when the plane started to lift off; it was really a new feeling for someone like me on their first flight.

“Normally, on long flights, there’s nothing much to do, right?”

“Correct.”

“Ugh, it’s going to be so boring.” I muttered a bit, still excited by the view below, but as I looked down and realized how high we were, it started to give me the chills, “It’s so high, my legs are shaking.”

“Are you afraid of heights?” “Yes, I am afraid of heights.” I said, though not that scared, knowing we couldn’t fall from the plane made me feel more at ease.

“I am really sleepy.”

“Then sleep.”

“Can I lean on you?”

“Uhm.” With Phii Joe’s permission, I raised the armrest, placed a cloth to use as a pillow, and leaned my head onto Phii Joe’s lap. It smelled so good. No matter what, I really like Phii Joe’s scent; it’s a clean smell that makes me feel comfortable and helps me sleep. Phii Joe covered me with another blanket and reached over to hold me gently.

“Sweet dreams.” I said.

“Sweet dreams.”

♣♣♣

Norway!

Hello, Norway!

But why is it so cold here?

I looked around eagerly despite still shivering from the cold, the jacket helping a bit. This is the end of the winter season as I’ve mentioned before. Even though the website says it’s starting to warm up for locals here, for a Thai person like me used to the heat, it’s still very cold.

We were at the airport. Just seeing so many foreigners made me excited!

“Where to next, guide?” Phii Joe asked in a teasing tone because I boasted that I would be his guide around Norway.

“The bus.”

“The bus?”

“Yes, I checked the website. They said there would be a bus from the airport, ah…just a moment, please.” I quickly pulled out my phone to check. Upon reaching our destination, we went to the accommodation near the mountain we planned to hike tomorrow. We had already booked the place. I love this cool atmosphere, I’ve been clicking photos nonstop since we were on the bus.

“Shall we go for a walk?” I suggested once we had settled our things in the accommodation. It was still quite chilly now.

“Let’s go.”

We went out for a walk, and it was so beautiful that I couldn’t stop looking around; it was the kind of scenery I love, trees, flowers, grass, with paths leading to a lake, surrounded by mountains.

“Norway is really beautiful.” I said while still holding the camera to capture the view, “Thank you for bringing me here.”

“You’ve said thank you a hundred times already.”

“I really am thankful, let’s take a photo.” I turned the camera towards Phii Joe who was following me. Phii Joe looked at the camera and gave a small smile.

I’ve noticed since this morning.

Phii Joe dressed up for this trip, styling his hair too. He looks really good.

It’s rare to see him style his hair like that.

Forget about it.

North, oh…I’m completely smitten, lost to the point where I can’t find my way home anymore.

“What are you looking at?”

“…” I gave him a stern look when he caught me staring blankly at him. I replied with the same words he had once said to me, “I’m looking at my boyfriend.”

Phii Joe didn’t say anything. He just gave a slight smirk at what I said.

We walked around, the lake water was chilly, the flowers were so lush and green you’d think it was spring, but it’s almost spring anyway, the end of the cold season. If we come during spring, it would be even more beautiful. We returned to the cottage, a fully equipped standalone house with a double bed room, a kitchen with all the equipment and fresh ingredients ready. But for those who didn’t want to cook, you could buy food from the main house in the center.

“Pasta?” I asked while checking the fridge to see what we could make.

“You can make it now?”

“I’ve practiced.” I said with pride. Last time, Phii Joe said he wanted pasta but I couldn’t make it. So, I went and secretly practiced. “I tell you, it’s super delicious.”

“Let’s have it then.”

“Yes, sir.” and I started cooking while Phii Joe waited at the dining table.

“Now you’re a guide and a chef too.” He teased from behind.

“North will be everything for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Huh?” I raised my eyebrow, surprised by his words.

 

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 31 part 2

“Why didn’t you tell us if you wanted to go out?” I remained silent, not knowing how to respond, the plan to surprise was ruined, Ter, is there anything we do that the seniors don’t find out about?, T^T

“Why did you have to sneak out?” I heard Phii Hill ask Ter in a calm, yet spinechilling tone. Oh, but the person in front of me right now was just as intimidating. “Uh…”

“Can’t you tell us?” Phii Joe pressed.

“North…” Ter called out to me in a low voice, almost pleading for help. I pressed my lips together, glancing over at him, I can’t help you either, Ter, T^T

…

I looked at the scene in front of me with affection.

I couldn’t get angry.

Even knowing what they came to do, I couldn’t get angry, but I wanted them to know we were worried. Next time, there’s no need for surprises, really, you don’t even have to buy anything for us, Hill and I, just having you guys around is enough.

“Phii Joe, please don’t be mad at me.”

“…”

Here comes the pleading again.

“But I really can’t say why we came.”

“Fine, I don’t want to know then.” I said with a small sigh, since the junior doesn’t want me to know, then I won’t know.

“Sorry, did I make you feel bad?”

“Not at all.” I gently patted the head of the person in front of me, there’s no need to look so downcast.

“But really, there’s nothing bad, it’s not like it’s something bad.”

“Okay, okay.” I said to calm him down. He seemed anxious, almost like he was afraid I’d be angry. He really cares about my feelings, he pays attention to everything, which surprises me because he always seems so laid-back and not too concerned with others’ business.

“Want to head back?” I asked. He turned to look at Ter as if asking for his opinion. Ter shook his head, indicating no strong opinion either way.

“We can go back then.”

We ended up at Phii Joe’s café, the same one where I and Ter used to work parttime. We were only there for a short while when we got kicked out by the café owner, it seemed like our senior medical students had booked the place for a study session.

I had to study too, finals were coming up. I initially planned to study with the group, so I brought my books along.

Once finals were over, there would be a break, and we’d go to Norway as Phii Joe had mentioned. At first, I was worried my mom wouldn’t allow it, but after Phii Joe talked to her, she agreed easily, just telling us to take care of each other.

Right now, my mind was on seeing the northern lights. I was really looking forward to it.

The gift materials are in Phii Joe’s car, hoping he hasn’t noticed what they are yet.

“Here comes the househusband.” Phii Arthit teased as soon as we walked up to the upper floor of the café, reserved for customers with bookings, so it was just us.

Househusband, what?

“North.” I turned as Ter called me, “Phoon is coming.”

“Oh, to study with you?”

“Probably. What time do you think he’ll get here?”

“Has he left yet?”

“He just did.” Ter said. I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was just past five.

“I bet he’ll be here by ten.” I said. Phoon is like a lost cat, how can someone with a GPS in hand still get lost, and confuse left with right. If you’re meeting him somewhere, you have to account for him getting lost. Phoon himself factors in his own tendency to get lost, like if we plan to meet at nine, he’ll leave his dorm at six in the morning, “And what about Foam? Is he coming?”

“Foam said he’d study on his own.”

“That one’s special.”

“Hey, North, can I talk to you about something?” Ter whispered, then pulled me to a corner where we could sit. The doctors were still talking among themselves, “It’s about Phoon.”

“What about him?”

“With Phii Fah.”

“Huh? What about them?”

“I don’t know, I might be imagining it, but it seems like there’s something…you know, between them. At least, that’s what I’ve observed.”

“Yeah, honestly, I’ve noticed it once too.”

“Really? So I’m not imagining it?”

“Yeah, at the café under the faculty.” I said, recalling the time when Phoon hurriedly left and Phii Fah watched him go.

“We might both be imagining it.” I said, “Have you tried asking him?”

“I’m not brave enough to ask.”

“Why not?”

“It’s sad.”

“How so?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

“Phoon’s eyes look sad every time he looks at Phii Fah, it’s too much for my heart.” Ter said, letting out a big sigh, “Not just when looking at Phii Fah, Phoon seems to have something he keeps to himself.”

“Maybe there’s something he can’t tell anyone.” I suggested, “If Phoon doesn’t want to say, we shouldn’t force him to.”

“Yeah, I know, but sometimes you can’t help but worry.” “And why do you look so sad now?” I said, flicking Ter’s forehead lightly. Ter immediately made a face at me, “You can worry. You can be there for Phoon, but you shouldn’t let it consume you. Otherwise, you’ll end up feeling down too. Just be in a place where both you and Phoon feel comfortable, understand?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Just make sure Phoon knows you’re there for him, that’s enough.”

“If you’re sad too, how can Phoon be happy?”

“North…” Ter called my name softly before leaning his head on my shoulder, “Thanks.”

“Why thank me?”

“For everything, really. Having you around makes everything easier for me. Ever since you’ve been advising me about Phii Hill. It’s not just Phii Joe who feels better with you around, but I do too. Phoon, Foam, Dao, or even Nao, Kyu, Kett, you truly are everyone’s positive energy.”

“That’s embarrassing, you ass” I said, turning my face away to hide my blushing.

“Everyone should have their own North.”

“Oh, you’re really laying it on thick.” I said with a chuckle, playfully pushing Ter’s head, “Is this your life’s mission now, to praise me?”

“Got to thank the Dormitory Auntie too, for randomly assigning us to the same room. If I hadn’t met you, things would have been much worse for me.”

“Enough, Ter, I’m going to float away.”

“Are you embarrassed?” Ter teased, gently pinching my cheek, “North.”

“Huh?”

“Do you know, Daotok really likes you?”

“What?” “No, no, like a friend. He asks about you every time you’re not at the club. He says he feels happy when he’s with you. Dao doesn’t have any friends in his department, just us.”

“Really?” I asked, almost not believing it. No friends at all?

“Why? Is he too artsy for science students to understand?”

“You’re just saying that about Dao.” Ter said, lightly hitting my arm, “I don’t know, maybe he finds it hard to open up to others. You know, it took a while for him to even talk to us.”

“Yeah.” I remembered when I first met Daotok, he was normal enough to talk to, but it was clear he was hard to open up. It took a lot of coaxing from Ter to get him to hang out with us, “At first, it was just you and me, then suddenly he’s using ‘mung’ and ‘ku’ with me. Recently, he even called me an idiot, how bold has he gotten.”

“Dao said you’re the first person in his life to use ‘mung’ and ‘ku’ with him.”

“Hmm, should I be proud of that?”

Suddenly, Ter’s phone rang.

“It’s Phoon calling.” Ter said, answering the phone.

“He’s going to say, ‘Ter, I don’t know where I am.’ You believe that?” I teased.

(Ter, where am I? I don’t know.)

   There it is. Without missing a beat, the words from the other end of the line made both me and Ter burst out laughing.

“Lost again? I’ve already sent you my location.”

(Ter, I…which part of Chiang Mai am I, Ter?)

   “Phoon sounds so panicked.” I remarked.

(Is North with you? Help me.)

   “Just check your GPS to see where you are.” (Looking at it. Guys, I’m confused, what’s with all these lines? It doesn’t look like where I am at all, it’s cold and dark here, Ter, North.)

   “Why do you sound so pitiful?” I said, feeling a bit sorry for him, and why am I even feeling sorry for Phoon, “Did you take a motorcycle?”

(Yeah, I borrowed it from the roommate next door at the dorm.)

   “Phoon riding a bike is the most worrying, I’m telling you.” Ter said.

“Why?”

“He can’t even tell left from right, Phoon, do you know you’re not supposed to park on the road right now? Are you parked on the road?”

(Huh? I can’t park here? I thought no parking was just where there’s a white and red line.)

   What a mess…

“It’s dangerous, Phoon, find a proper place to park first.” I said, letting out a big sigh, “Do you even have a driver’s license?”

(I don’t.)

   Damn…

Why do you live so recklessly? It’s like nothing’s safe, how have you survived this long?

(It’s raining, Ter, North, it’s raining, and I don’t have a raincoat.)

   “Huh, it’s raining?” I asked in surprise. The sky was so clear at noon. I didn’t expect it would rain in the evening. I turned to look outside and saw that it had indeed started to rain; the sky had darkened so much.

(My camera isn’t waterproof.)

   “Phoon. Calm down.” I said, suddenly Phoon started shouting, which startled me. The medical students also turned to look because Phoon was loud, and we had the speakerphone on, “And why did you bring your camera?”

(Northhhh)

   “You sound like you’re lost again.” I chuckled. Phoon loves his camera because he’s into photography, but he only takes pictures of the sky. I don’t get that part.

“Is something wrong?” Phii Hill asked.

“Phii Hill, Phoon is lost.” Ter said with a worried frown, “And it’s raining, he took the motorcycle.”

“Huh?” Phii Joe turned with a slight look of surprise upon hearing what Ter said, “Tell him to send his location, we’ll pick him up.”

“Phoon, send your location, we’re coming to get you.”

(Who’s coming?) Phoon’s voice asked, with the sound of heavy rain outside.

“Fah.” Phii Joe said, looking over at Phii Fah. This made me and Ter look at each other, as if the medical students knew something they weren’t going to tell us.

But Phii Fah shook his head in refusal, still focused on his book.

“I’ll go.” Phii Hill said, standing up. I saw Phii Hill exhale slightly, “Ter, do you want to come too?”

“Yes.” Ter stood up immediately, “North, can I borrow a jacket for Phoon?”

I nodded in response. Ter grabbed the jacket I had given him earlier in the day.

“Phoon, we’re coming to get you.”

(Are you coming with Phii Hill?)

   “Yeah, wait a moment.”

(…Okay) then Ter hung up and followed Phii Hill out.

“Fah.” Phii Joe called Phii Fah again, this time in a lower voice.

“What?”

“I’m the one who should be asking you.”

“I just don’t want to be ignored anymore.”

… Phoon followed Ter up, looking like a drenched kitten, covered by my jacket to protect him from the cold. They both came and sat with me in the same corner. I handed Phoon the towel I had just fetched, and he started wiping his wet hair.

“Just to study, you have to go through all this?” Phoon asked, his voice trembling.

“How did you get here?” I asked.

“I left my motorcycle at a parking place nearby, then got a ride with Phii Hill.” Ter explained, “You shouldn’t have ridden by yourself, we could have picked you up from the start.”

“I didn’t want to be a bother.”

We chatted for a bit, and then it was time to study. I had to go sit with Phii Joe for him to tutor me. Phoon and Ter, being from the same faculty, studied together.

“Ugh.” I slumped forward, resting my cheek on the table, feeling utterly drained. I can’t do this anymore, why is it so hard, “Phii…I can’t take it anymore.”

“Don’t want the PS4 anymore?”

“I do want it, but I’m about to give up.” I mumbled. Phii Joe reached out and ruffled my hair with a hint of annoyance. I scooted closer to him and leaned against his arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Just want to be a bit clingy.” I said. I like being clingy, I’ve been like this since I was a kid. I liked clinging to my mom, my aunt, so naturally, I cling to Phii Joe too, and he doesn’t mind. Plus, I’ve grown to like physical touch because of him.

“Tired and now you’re being cute with me?”

“Yeah, just taking a little break.”

“Smells like diabetes.” Phii Arthit remarked.

“Why? Is there a problem?” Phii Joe asked, “Some people just don’t have it.”

“Arguing again.” “Phii Hill.” Ter brought a question to Phii Hill about Joe’s study. It’s good when you study the same course, huh. They are so skilled, they can tutor everything. I continued reading and occasionally turned to ask Phii Joe questions when I didn’t understand something, and he explained it well.

“Why don’t you just finish your engineering degree if you can handle studying like this?” Phii Arthit, sitting across from us, asked.

“My wife is already studying it.”

Wife?

   I think I’m not used to this word yet, can I keep it for now? T^T

   “And then you’re stupid enough to study medicine, why?”

“Here comes that question again. I have to study, I’ve come this far.” Phii Joe said, clearly not that fond of studying medicine. He seemed to prefer his part-time work, the subjects are hard, and he doesn’t even like them. If it were me, I would have given up.

“You don’t have to study at all, your wife is already studying.” Phii Arthit’s words made me look up at him in confusion.

“Yeah, better to work and support your wife.”

“Exactly, once your wife graduates, you’ll be set.”

“I won’t have to work, North can do that.” Phii Joe said, chuckling, and Phii Arthit joined in.

“Make sure you support me too.” Phii Joe turned to tell me.

“Phii. If you’re waiting for North to work alone, what will we eat?” I playfully responded, “We might not even have a place to sleep.”

“Such a pitiful life for us.” Phii Joe said, then turned to me and gently patted my head, “I guess I better work then.”

“Study hard, it’s tough for those paying for your education.” Phii Arthit teased. I laughed at Phii Tit’s words. I feel like I’ve grown closer to Phii Arthit and Phii Fah because we meet often, and I play games with Phii Tit too, “I’m too lazy to study, I should just drop out.”

“Hold on a bit longer.” Phii Joe said, “Just four or five more years.”

“Sigh, I feel so much more motivated now, thanks to Joe.”

And so, the playful conversation among the medical students continued alongside their studying, mixing in some fun to keep the stress at bay. I finished my reading and went to hang out with Ter and Phoon as usual. It seems like the medical students’ curriculum is so heavy that they can barely keep up with the reading.

“Phoon, what’s this?” I asked, noticing a book in Phoon’s bag that was open, “Cramming for medicine?”

“North, don’t touch my stuff.” Phoon said, snatching the book back from me.

“Are you planning to reapply for medicine?”

“Yeah.” Phoon answered quietly before putting the book back in his bag.

“Phoon wants to be a doctor.” Ter said.

“Really, that’s awesome, Dr. Phoon.” I teased a bit, then got a hard slap on my arm from Phoon, “Ouch! Why did you hit me?”

“Phoon gets embarrassed when someone calls him Doctor Phoon, oh!” Ter got a light slap, but why was it so gentle with Ter? When it’s me, Phoon swings with full force.

“If you pass, you’d be our junior, right?”

“That’s probably how it’ll be, if I pass.”

“Awesome, good luck, kitty. You’ve got this.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

By the time we finished studying, it was almost 9 PM. I went back to shower and waited for Phii Joe so we could go to bed together. Not long after turning off the lights, overcome by sleepiness and exhaustion from studying, I drifted off easily. I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling like I had only slept for a moment, and found that Phii Joe wasn’t there. Initially, I thought he might have gone to the bathroom, but then I noticed light from outside seeping under my bedroom door, so I went out to check. There was Phii Joe, sitting at the desk.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” I asked sleepily as I sat down next to Phii Joe.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t sleep without my hug, huh?”

“…” I made a slightly sulky face upon hearing that. I guess I have to admit that if Phii Joe isn’t hugging me, I really do wake up like this. “Are you reading?”

“Working.”

“You have to work during exam time?” I was feeling very sleepy, my eyes only half open, I guessed they must be puffy by now.

“Urgent work, go back to sleep.”

“No.” I started to act a bit petulant, “I want to stay here.”

“Stubborn.” Phii Joe said before giving my cheek a gentle squeeze.

“I’m not stubborn.” I argued.

“How are you not stubborn? Sneaking out to have fun isn’t considered being stubborn?”

“…” I pouted before leaning closer to him, resting my face against his arm, Phii Joe glanced at me briefly.

“North, you are stuck on me now, you know that?”

“Stuck like glue.” I said, smiling broadly, “Don’t get tired of me, okay?”

“How could I get tired of you?”

“Yeah, because North loves Phii so much.” I said, still groggy from just waking up, so a bit dazed, “So much that even North is scared.” “Hmm, scared of what?” Phii Joe asked, stopping what he was doing to pull me onto his lap, a position he liked because it let us look into each other’s eyes.

“Scared. If you ever get bored, North can’t even imagine how he’d feel.”

“…”

“It’s North’s first time feeling like this. At first, when people warned me about you, North thought he’d be okay with whatever happened, so North loved you without any fear.”

“But now, you feel afraid.”

“I’ve never felt this way before.” I said before resting my face against his chest. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I’ve never over thought like this before because I feel like I love him so much I’d give up everything for him. But if one day it all falls apart, I don’t know if I’d be able to handle it like I thought I could.

Yes…because I never thought I could love someone this much.

It seems like all my thoughts and feelings go haywire when it comes to Phii Joe. I’m scared he might get angry, scared he might be worried, scared he might get hurt. Where is he now? What is he doing? Has he eaten? In this heat, would he be annoyed? Or is he out in the rain? I worry about everything, even though I’m not usually the type to overthink about others.

But I’ve never looked down on his love for me. I know Phii Joe loves me, and it wouldn’t be right if I just kept worrying that he might leave me. Sometimes, I think everything is just too perfect, so perfect that I secretly think I wouldn’t be able to go on if things changed.

Instead of understanding that everything can change,

I cling to the idea of keeping everything as it is.

Thinking back to the first time I realized I loved Phii Joe, I never tried to stop my feelings either. How could I not love him? How could I not love someone who loves me this much… “North…”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever thought about the future?”

“Uh…yes.”

“What did you think?”

“Just graduate, work as an engineer, save money, have a house, a car, a family.” I said, trying to visualize it, “But we can’t have kids, right? Would you want to adopt?”

“No, I’d rather just be with North, just the two of us.”

“Then we’ll save money, buy a house, buy a car, and live together.”

“I already have those.”

“Really?”

“Whether it’s a house, a car, or money, I can get as much for you as you want.”

“What about your dreams…”

“North, you are my dream…North, you have always been my dream.”

“You’ve never had a dream of what you wanted to be or do?”

“If I hadn’t met you , I probably would have just lived day by day as usual, with a life that meant nothing.”

“Phii…”

“Just having you with me is enough. In the future, no matter what happens, if you want to go somewhere, I’ll take you there. Whatever you want to do, I’ll support you by your side.”

“…”

“If it’s not you, I probably wouldn’t be able to love anyone else for the rest of my life.”

“…” “So…can you stay with me forever?” “Yes.” I promised, before hugging him tighter, “Forever.”

“Phii loves you, North.”

“North loves Phii too.”

The warm embrace made me realize that my fears were meaningless. No need to fear getting hurt. No need to brace myself. No need to be scared that anything would change.

   Just love as much as one can possibly love someone in a lifetime.

   And…

   If ‘forever’ truly exists, I want to spend it with this person.

  

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 31 part 1

   Chapter 31: Stay With Me

   “What are you doing?”

“What?”

“What are we doing here?”

“Come see.”

“Acting like a bunch of psychos.” I said, letting out a small sigh while glancing at the two people standing in front of a shop at the flea market, choosing goods. Damn, I’m getting so annoyed; I really don’t like this hot weather, but what I dislike more is that my junior sneaked out to hang out.

With Ter, just the two of them…

Actually, we had a study session planned. My junior had an event at the faculty as well. I dropped him off at the faculty early in the morning, but it seems like the teacher wasn’t there, so he snuck out to have fun without telling me, and he even dragged Ter along with him.

And they came here by themselves, huh.

Hill and I were worried like crazy; we rushed out to find them just in time.

Is this really the time to go for a stroll at a flea market? With this scorching sun?

At first, when I found out they snuck out to hang out together, I wasn’t that bothered. I was just worried and planned to pick them up, but when Arthit asked,

“Why do you think your partners might have a reason to sneak out without telling you guys?”

“Damn, Arthit you are such a troublemaker.”

“Why do you think they came out?” Hill asked.

“To buy stuff.” I replied. There aren’t many reasons to sneak out without telling us; maybe they came to buy something to surprise us, “Is your anniversary coming up?”

“No.” Hill shook his head slightly, “It’s not yours, right?”

“No.”

“So what did they come to buy?”

“Maybe he just wanted to buy something.” I said, “or maybe he just wanted to go out, just the two of them.”

“Just the two of them?” Hill echoed my words.

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, maybe Ter is tired of you.” I teased. Hill immediately turned to give me a displeased look, “Maybe Ter thinks I don’t want to be with Phii Hill anymore.”

“Ha, more likely North is the one who’s tired of you.” I shrugged, not really caring about what he said, then looked over at the two younger ones. I just noticed that Ter was wearing North’s jacket, definitely given to him by North because Ter can’t stand the sun for long.

“He took off his jacket for Ter.” Hill said.

“Yeah, I just saw.”

“He’s such a manly man.”

“No matter how manly, he’s my boyfriend now.”

“Very impressive.” Hill said, slightly annoyed, “But thank North for taking care of Ter.”

“It’s nothing, just a small thing.”

“I’m thanking North. Not you.”

“I’ll take it for him then.” I wanted to go fetch them and bring them back right now, but another part of me was curious about why they came here, and if, like Hill said, they wanted some time with friends, we shouldn’t interfere, though I was still worried, “Are we going to keep following them like this, Hill?”

“I’m worried.”

“Me too.”

“Let’s wait a bit longer before we take them back.”

“I’m hot, why do we have to be at this market?” I started complaining again. I really hate the heat, to be honest. I knew Ter can’t be out in the sun for long, yet they still brought him here. Does Ter not think to stop or argue at all? Does he just go wherever North takes him? They both deserve a scolding, why are they so mischievous?

“What time is it?”

“Three in the afternoon.” I answered.

“The junior definitely plans to be back before five.” “Oh.” because our study session ends around five, probably thinking they could pretend they were still at the event, like when they’re sick and still go out to get gear, “What if I message them on LINE? What do you think will happen?”

“Let’s try it.” Hill said, before I pulled out my phone to type a message to the junior.

Johan: Where are you?

   (Read)

   I saw the junior take out their phone, look at the screen, and then show a shocked expression as they hurriedly showed it to Ter, who also looked uneasy.

They must be discussing how to respond, right?

North♣: Studying, sir.

   North♣: Have you finished your break?

   Johan: Just finished.

   Johan: Can I call?

   (Read)

   They looked even more shocked than before.

“Are you messing with the junior?” Hill asked.

“Just asked if I could call.” I replied. Hill gave a small amused smile before shaking his head lightly.

North♣: I am studying, T^T

   Johan: Really?

   Johan: Send a picture.

   (Read)

   I saw the junior look even more worried, afraid that I would find out they were out having fun. It seems like they felt uncomfortable about lying too. How cute.

North♣: I was studying at first, TT

   Johan: Hmm

   Johan: Miss you.

   “What?” Hill asked, turning to look at me, “You look all embarrassed.”

North smiled shyly, his face turning redder than it already was from the sun.

“Just saying I miss you.” I said.

North♣: Miss you too.

   Hmm…did you really need to smile that adorably when typing “miss you” To send to me?

North♣: sends Tiger sticker

   North♣: I’m off now.

   Johan: Let me know when you’re done, I’ll come pick you up.

   North♣: Sure.

   Hill and I slowly followed the crowd, watching as the kids stopped at various shops but hadn’t bought anything yet, except Ter who got some snacks. I glanced at the person next to me who was secretly sighing.

“You want to go carry things for him, don’t you?” I teased.

“Yeah.”

“North is already carrying for him.” I commented, noticing North taking the bag from Ter’s hand. I don’t often see him like this. When he’s with me, he’s very clingy, but not because he wants anything, just being clingy for the sake of it.

He never throws tantrums when I don’t have much time for him, just tells me to take care and not overwork myself. He takes good care of me, from preparing breakfast, cleaning the room, the room is even cleaner than when we hire a housekeeper.

Suddenly, my phone rang with a call from Arthit. I answered it right away.

“What?”

(How’s it going, mister sugar daddy?)

   “Nothing’s going on. Just watching.” (Watching how? Following secretly?)

   “Yeah.”

(You guys are stalking Tiger now, huh?)

   “At first, I thought it wasn’t, but looking at it, it seems like it.” I said, laughing a bit, “I can’t tell the difference between stalking Tiger and what we’re doing.”

(Why do we have to follow our own partners secretly? Do I have friends who are psychopaths?)

   “Want to know what they’re doing?”

(And what did they end up doing?)

   “Probably buying stuff.”

(To surprise you guys?)

   “I don’t know, North might buy something for me, but Ter probably won’t buy anything for Hill.” I teased, and Hill, who was nearby, heard it too.

(Your wife doesn’t love you anymore, Hill?) Arthit chimed in teasingly.

“Dammit, if North doesn’t ask me to, I won’t even bother.”

(Are you guys arguing over whose partner will buy something? A battle of husbands’ honor?) the comment from the other end of the line made me laugh again, (If neither of your partners buys anything, I’ll be the one laughing.)

   “Why did you call, anyway?”

(Just checking in, lonely with just Fah for company.)

   “How far along are you with your studies?”

(The same, when are you coming back?)

   “Don’t know, maybe in a bit.”

(Okay) then Arthit hung up, and when I turned back, the juniors had disappeared.

“They’ve gone into the plant shop.” Hill noted. “Plants?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise, confirming with him. It looked like they were browsing around the cacti section, but seriously, the junior hardly noticed anything. Me and Hill had been following them for a while without them realizing.

“You really want a cactus, huh?” I walked into the shop too, careful not to be seen by the junior, and overheard North asking Ter.

“Yeah, I want to take care of one, I heard from Dao that they’re quite cute.”

Dao?

   Who’s that?

   “What’s so cute about a cactus?”

“It’s cute, but I wonder if Phii Hill would give one.” Ter asked. I looked over at Hill; he probably wouldn’t mind. It’s just one cactus.

“I think you’ll get it, Phii Hill is super nice.”

“Isn’t Phii Joe nice?”

“He is nice, but he likes to scold.”

Oh, we’re being talked about…

“Does he scold often?”

“Yeah, he likes to scold. If he finds out we sneaked out to hang out, we’re definitely getting scolded.” North said, “Does Phii Hill scold you?”

“Sometimes, when I do something wrong.”

“But it’s not that scary, right?”

“Not really scary, he’ll talk it out. Is Phii Joe scary?”

“Very, I feel like I shrink to half my size.”

The two juniors chatted for a while before Ter bought a cactus, then they moved on to another shop.

“Do you scold him often?” Hill asked, “He seems scared now.” “Sometimes I have to.” I said. I picked up the habit from my dad; because Gene often acts like a child, Dad had to scold her or she’d be unruly all the time. It’s the same with North.

“But North said he likes kind people.”

“He really does.”

“Yeah, Ter once said North likes kind people, so you’re not really his type.”

“Beast, I can be kind too.”

“Really? At first, you were all about bossing him around, weren’t you?” I fell silent, giving Hill a look of exasperation, unable to argue back. I get tired of arguing with Hill because I usually can’t win, “If it weren’t for North, who would put up with someone like you?”

“He doesn’t have to put up with me.” I said, thinking back to what North had once told me. He said he never had to endure me; he understood everything. If he understands, there’s no need to endure, “He said he understands.”

“Then who could understand as well as North does?”

“No, there isn’t.” I said, “Even if there is someone else, it wouldn’t be him. I wouldn’t want them.”

“Take good care of him.”

“I know.”

“When someone said they like kind-hearted people, I think of Fah. If you don’t like the junior, and they hang out with us often, he might like Fah.” Hill remarked as we continued to follow the junior.

“Kind-hearted to the extreme.”

“Meaning?”

“Fah is excessively kind-hearted.” I said truthfully, “But Fah is a good person, I won’t say anything bad about Fah.”

“Because Fah works for you?” “Yes. If I graduate, it’ll be thanks to Fah.”

“Even with someone as bad as you, Fah is still kind.” Hill said with a slight sigh, “But anything in excess isn’t good.”

“Yeah.” I nodded in agreement, as if Hill knew something about Fah from the start. I didn’t know how he found out. At first, I wasn’t paying much attention, but recently we’ve talked about it and agreed it’s best not to get involved.

Before noticing the juniors sitting down to rest near a bench. We walked around to sit on a bench facing the opposite direction.

“Man, I’m tired, we haven’t found it yet.” Ter started complaining.

“Exactly, isn’t this place too big?”

“And what if we find it? The seniors will find out anyway.”

“We’ll have to sleep somewhere else, so we have time to do something.”

North’s words made me and Hill look at each other, what did he mean by sleeping somewhere else? I absolutely wouldn’t allow that.

“Where? Phoon’s room? Phoon lives alone, right?” Ter suggested.

“That’s good, but how should we ask the doctors for permission?” North asked back.

“Just say we’re staying over with a friend, would they allow it?”

No!

Suddenly, Hill nudged me to look over. I followed his gaze.

Assholes…

Why the hell are they staring at our boyfriends?

“I’ve seen them looking for a while now.” Hill said with a displeased look. Hill is super possessive, and he was clearly irritated. I wasn’t any different; I was starting to get annoyed too.

I could hear the kids talking about other things, having a great time.

Can’t they stop smiling so widely that others notice? Before the kids got up from the bench to continue walking around, I noticed those guys were about to follow.

“Damn it. Next time, I’m locking him in the room.” I said irritably, why are they looking at someone else’s partner? “I’m going to get my boyfriend.”

“Calm down.”

“Are you telling me to calm down?” I turned to ask Hill. You’re just as hotheaded as I am. You’ve got no right to tell others to calm down.

“Stop glaring, Joe.”

“You too, Hill.”

I tried to hold back from punching those jerks talking about my boyfriend, and Hill was doing the same. It wouldn’t be good to cause a scene here.

“Who do you like?”

“I like the one in the white shirt, he’s cute, his cheeks look pinchable.” He must mean Ter, who’s wearing North’s white jacket. The word ‘pinchable’ really ticked Hill off.

“But I like the other one, his eyes squint when he smiles.”

Shit…

“I just want to go help him carry stuff, he looks so delicate.”

“Yeah, they both look so soft.”

“And they’re both fair-skinned. I wonder if they’re even whiter under their shirts.” That last comment snapped my patience.

“Watch your mouth.” My words made those two turn around with confused looks.

“What?” He asked back with a confrontational look, though his voice trembled slightly.

“Guys like you don’t even have the right to look at my wife.” “Huh? Wife?” The same guy asked back, looking tense, while the other one stepped in to stop the situation.

“Sorry. Didn’t know he had a partner.”

“Get lost.”

“Alright, alright.” before the two of them walked away from us, “Just a bunch of troublemakers.” I said, irritated. They were just all talk, and hadn’t even done anything yet.

“I’m going to find the junior.” Hill said, letting out a small sigh, not of relief but to control his anger.

“Yeah.” I agreed, let the two walk by themselves for a bit, otherwise, they’ll attract more attention.

“Don’t go and get all heated at your junior.”

“I wasn’t planning on getting heated at the junior at all.” I said.

“Your look is pretty scary right now, did you know that, Joe?”

“And what about you, do you realize how you look like you’re about to kill someone?”

♣♣♣

“How about a photo booth or something like that?” I proposed an idea. Ter and I were discussing what to do for the doctor, wanting to make a handmade gift. Not for any special occasion, just because he’s given me so much already.

“That could work, you already have a lot of photos.”

“Right.” I love taking pictures when we’re together for Instagram, we could use those, right? Thinking like this, I started missing Phii Joe. I felt so guilty for sneaking out with Ter and lying about being at an event. I’ve never lied to Phii Joe since we started dating, this was the first time, and I felt really bad about it, T^T

Ter also felt uncomfortable lying to Phii Hill. We were both in such a rush to buy things and get back quickly. “Will he still be studying?” I asked casually.

“Probably, why?”

“Nothing. Just worried, you know, if he gets some rest too. With this hot weather, Phii Joe definitely doesn’t like it, it’s good he’s in an air-conditioned room.” I said, thinking aloud, “Did he sneak some coffee again? I made him one cup this morning.”

“Huh?”

“Do you realize how much you’ve changed since you’ve been seriously dating Phii Joe?”

“Really? How so?”

“You think too much now, I mean about Phii Joe. You think about everything.” Ter said.

“I’m just worried. If he’s okay, then I’m fine.”

“My friend, you’ve got it bad.” Ter teased, “I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“And is that bad?” I asked back.

“No, it just shows how much you love him.”

“Have you ever been like this?”

“Me? Yeah, I have. I am now, I miss Phii Hill too. Let’s hurry up and buy what we need then go back.” Ter said, turning to look around. “They’re gone now.”

“What?” I asked, turning to look.

“Just now, while we were sitting on the bench, two guys were looking at you weirdly, I just happened to see.” Ter told me. My eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Good that they left, it was creepy as hell.”

“They were probably looking at you more. You’ll get people asking for your Line soon enough.”

“Don’t say that.” “Phii Hill will get jealous.” Phii Hill gets super jealous. He can be really scary when he gets possessive, and I’ve heard stories of people who got too close to Ter mysteriously disappearing.

Phii Joe is the same way.

“Yeah, just looking at Phii Hill, he doesn’t like it. But I don’t like it either when people look at Phii Hill.”

“I feel the same.” I said, I used to think I wasn’t that jealous, but when I was with my ex, no one ever really looked at her like this. But when I’m with Phii Joe, there are always people looking, trying to hit on him, “I feel possessive. He’s my boyfriend after all.” I said, letting out a small chuckle at my own words.

“Really possessive, huh?” Suddenly, someone’s voice spoke from the side.

Phii Joe…

   How did he get here…?

   “Uh…” I was so shocked I couldn’t do anything, and the shopping bag in my hand was taken away, it looked like Phii Hill was there too. Ter also seemed at a loss for what to do, “How did you guys get here?”

“Two naughty kids snuck out to have fun, huh?” Phii Joe said with a slight smirk. I felt like a child caught sneaking out by their mom, yeah, but that’s exactly what happened.

“Sorry.” I said immediately, my face falling. I didn’t look at Ter, but I guessed he was in the same state.

“…”

 

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 30 part 2

“Yeah, I was thinking the same.” Duennao agreed, “If Phii Joe and Phii Arthit were walking, I bet everyone would scream themselves hoarse for the medical faculty, and they’re already close to it.”

“And who’s the girl walking with Phii Fah? She has a beautiful smile.” Kyu asked, “Is she a star of the medical faculty?”

“Yep.” I nodded, “Her name is Phii Thanmild.”

“Why do you look so sour, North?” Duennao asked, after Phii Fah and Phii Hill had passed by. The screams had noticeably quieted down, turning into regular teasing and cheering.

“I don’t like it.” I said, letting out a small sigh.

“Is it because of Phii Thanmild?” Skater asked. I nodded in response, “Why?”

“She once came to pick on Ter, so I don’t really like her that much.” I started to explain, still feeling a bit annoyed when I recalled it. My friends listened with interest, “Phii Mild has a crush on Phii Hill, to the extent that she followed him here to study.”

“Wow, the power of love is strong.” Nao said, “So she went after Ter because of that? Seriously, picking on Ter, who’s so gentle and delicate.” “Exactly, that’s Ter for you.” Kyu said, “And how did she pick on him?”

“It wasn’t exactly picking on him. When I went to drop Ter off to see Phii Hill, it’s been a while.” I said, recalling the time. Back when I didn’t know Phii Joe yet, in the first semester, I would go with Ter as usual. We were waiting under the faculty building, and there was a group of girls already sitting there. They kept glancing our way. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but over time, their glances turned into sneers, and they started making snide remarks, “They were glaring hard and making jabs.”

“Jabs like what?”

“Something like, ‘You don’t seem to fit with Hill at all, Hill shouldn’t have chosen someone like you,’ stuff like that.” I recounted, starting to get frustrated remembering it.

“Such bitches.” Nao said, sounding annoyed, “And what did Ter do? Poor Ter.”

“Ter just stayed quiet. He’s not the type to retort anyway.”

“And you?” Nao asked.

“Oh, I got pretty heated.” I said. I was really angry at the time. They were looking at me, so I looked back, almost confrontationally, until they looked away. I was about to go ask, ‘What do you want with my friend?’ but Ter stopped me first, “It’s so annoying, damn it, just talking about it makes me mad. It’s like a drama, sometimes it’s just too much.”

“You’re really into it, North, getting all worked up telling the story.” Kyu teased, “Did you tell Phii Hill?”

“I did, and Phii Hill probably sorted it out. After that, she didn’t bother us much. Maybe she gave up.”

“And then she went for Phii Fah instead.”

“Huh?” I turned to look at Kyu, confused by what he said, “What do you mean?” “I don’t know, but I saw Phii Mild, whatever, looking happy walking with Phii Fah, looking at him often, smiling widely.”

“Yeah, whatever, just don’t mess with my friend.” I said, letting out a sigh, “If you mess with him again, I might end up scolding a girl this time. Now, just saying this gets me heated. What’s with her? Phii Hill doesn’t like her, so what if she’s pretty? Phii Hill chose Ter, so she should give up.”

“Damn.” Skater said, bursting into laughter, “You get invested so easily, you act like you’re Ter himself.”

“I get invested in other people’s affairs easily, but what I get invested in even more is money.” I said with a laugh, “But it’s true, my friend is way cuter.”

“Friends should support each other like this.” Nao said, chuckling as well, “My friend is the best. Who’s Thanmild or whatever? Ter is the most suitable for Phii Hill.”

“Exactly, it’s got to be like this, Nao.” I said, reaching out to high-five Nao, “What kind of name is Thanmild? Crazy, you can’t just mix ‘Than’ and ‘Mild’ like that.”

“Damn, bullying someone over their name.” Skater commented.

“The star of the medical faculty got bullied by me.” I said, unable to stop laughing at myself. I have this thing with names, ever since Daotok.

“But Phii Mild is really beautiful.” Kyu said.

“So what?” I said, putting some emotion into it.

“Yeah, so what?” Nao added.

“Calm down, guys, I was just saying she’s beautiful, no big deal.”

“I’m team Ter.” I said, raising an eyebrow at Kyu, then we continued chatting about the parade and other things. After the parade finished, there was the award ceremony for various sports. I saw Phii Arthit when he went up to receive his award, he didn’t look too thrilled about getting second place. Phii Arthit is really good at sports, but it’s a team game, so you have to accept it sometimes.

When it came to the show performances, they went on one after another. By the time it got to the middle faculties, it started to rain, but many faculties still insisted on continuing their shows.

“The medical faculty is the best.” Duennao remarked. After peeking over at the stand next to ours, I didn’t need to look to know it was awesome; the singing was loud and the cheerleaders were on point, “Phii Arthit is playing the drums.”

“Ha? Really?” I asked, surprised, and then leaned over to look.

He really was, Phii Arthit was drumming for the medical faculty. I just found out he plays the drums.

“That’s so cool, he can play drums too?” Skater said, “These medical guys are just good at everything, aren’t they? I’m serious, do they really pick each other for their talents?”

“Probably.” I said. I guessed they might be dating because they seemed to get along well, could communicate, and understood each other. It’s not about personality; people don’t have to have the same personality to be friends or partners.

When it was our faculty’s turn, the rain came down heavily. Even though there was a roof above, the rain still splashed in.

“Don’t sneeze on me, Nao.” I said.

“Why are you so hung up about this?”

“I’m still mad at you.” I turned to glare at him, “You made me catch a cold when I hadn’t been sick in a year.” I could hear the commotion from the neighboring stands because people were crowding to find shelter from the rain. Other faculties that had already finished their performances started to disperse. So once our faculty’s show was over, we could finally leave. Enduring the rain for nearly fifteen minutes, after the performance ended, the seniors asked us to return the cheering equipment.

“Don’t push, ouch, I’m about to fall flat.” Skater complained when people from below started to crowd up, “I’m going to fall off the stand!”

“It’s so humid.” I grumbled. The rain made everything sticky, and the crowd wasn’t helping.

“Nao.” I heard Tiger call out, as if he was pushing through the crowd to reach Nao, “Let’s go back, or you’ll catch a cold standing here.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nao agreed before making his way through the crowd to Tiger. I saw Tiger covering Nao with his own jacket, “Aren’t you going to wear it?”

“I’m fine with being wet. You wear it.”

“OK, thanks, then I’ll go, guys.” Nao said goodbye, waving at us slightly. We waved back, watching Nao leave first. I then subtly made my way through the crowd to Tiger.

“Tiger.”

“What?”

“Are you guys back together?”

“Such a busybody.”

“Come on, but you called me that day.”

“It’s not ‘getting back together’ because we weren’t fighting. Like I would ever be mad at Nao.” Tiger said, then followed Nao. I stood there, stunned by his words for a moment. I didn’t know why, but that simple statement really touched me.

“Tiger is hot, isn’t he? He looks so sexy when he’s wet from the rain.” I heard the girls around here saying, “I like sporty guys.”

“But can I ship Tiger and Nao? He even took off his shirt for him. Will there be a guy who would do something like that for me in this lifetime? I’m jealous, I want Tiger.” “Yeah, I watch Duennao’s live streams just to see Tiger.”

“I donated to pay for Tiger, I want to be his husband.”

Donating to Nao because you paid for Tiger, seems like something went a bit wrong, doesn’t it, girls?

“I’m leaving.” I walked towards Skater and Kyu, said goodbye before squeezing down below, planning to run over to Phii Joe at the medical faculty stand, but when I got down there, I saw Phii Joe, quite wet from the rain, standing near the front of our side stand.

“Phii.” I called out and ran towards him.

“Got wet in the rain?”

“No, but Phii…” He looked wetter than someone who just got splashed by rain like me. Before I could say anything more, Phii Joe’s jacket was draped over me, “Are you leaving already?”

“No, let’s take shelter from the rain first. I heard the engineering faculty has no place to take shelter, right?”

“Ah, yes.” Phii Joe looked over at our faculty’s area, which was packed, let out a small sigh, then led me to the medical faculty’s shelter.

“So, there really is no shelter from the rain?” Phii Fah asked, handing us some towels.

“Yeah, it’s cramped and crowded.” Phii Joe said, sounding annoyed. I glanced at the medical faculty’s stand, which was barely touched by the rain, thanks to its wider roof and fewer people, “What about Hill?”

“Go find Ter, I heard the veterinary faculty also doesn’t have a shelter.”

“Hmm, are you cold?” Phii Joe turned to ask me.

“Not really.”

Phii Joe looked at me, slightly displeased, then reached over to zip up the jacket for me, “Why is this jacket so thin?” “Thin? But it didn’t look thin this morning.” I said, it’s a faculty jacket after all. It didn’t seem thin to me, but Phii Joe didn’t reply. Sitting here, it’s all medical students, huh. Judging by the staff shirts, they must all be Phii Joe’s friends.

“Did you hear someone bought you snacks at noon?” A flat voice from in front of me sent a shiver down my spine, for some reason.

“Yes.” I nodded. At noon, my seniors didn’t let me go anywhere, so Phii Joe bought food and snacks for me, and for my other friends too. When it was time to go up to the stand, someone left snacks for me, but I refused and returned them, “But I returned them to him.”

“Really?”

I’m definitely angry…

Phii Joe knows because James definitely told him. I think I saw James lingering around the stands at noon.

“Actually, I only ate the snacks you gave me.”

“…”

“Don’t be mad at me.” I started to plead, having a habit of pleading when scolded, just like when I’m with my mom, “Please?”

“…”

Are you really angry or just making me plead for fun?

“Can you hold out your hand?” I asked, thinking of something, then extended both my hands towards him. Phii Joe reached out both hands to me, “North, you have been reading palms.”

“Huh?”

“What’s your zodiac sign?”

“Probably Taurus.”

“With a palm line like this and born under Taurus, it’s said you’ll have a loyal lover.” “…”

“Really, a lover will love only you. They won’t even eat snacks from others.”

“Can you make up like this?” Phii Joe asked before letting out a small chuckle.

“There, I’ve successfully coaxed you.” I said, smiling broadly, laughing at myself for playing this game.

“And how can I stay angry after this?” Phii Joe said before reaching over to gently pinch my cheek.

“Don’t be angry, I am a good kid.”

“Really?”

“Yes, didn’t I ever tell you…”

“I myself only have only you too, Phii.”

I said, simultaneously taking both of Phii Joe’s hands and touching them to my cheeks, before giving a broad smile to the person in front of me.

  

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 30 part 1

   Chapter 30: Never Be Alone

   I woke up groggily to the sound of the alarm clock; it was 6 AM. Normally, I wake up around this time to make breakfast, and today was no exception. Today is the Sports Day event, where my faculty has an early event. As a second-year, my activities include looking after the freshmen, managing various tasks for them, and it seems Phii Johan has free time since he doesn’t care much about such events.

I slowly moved out of the embrace from behind and got out of bed. Since he was asleep, he wasn’t holding me tightly. I got up to shower and then went into the kitchen. Yesterday, we went to the supermarket with Kett to stock up on fresh ingredients. I opened the fridge, scanning the contents while thinking about what to cook.

“Why aren’t you in bed?” The deep, slightly irritated voice came from behind. Phii Joe had just woken up, but as I’ve noted before, he always looks good regardless.

This happens all the time. If I get up from bed, about half an hour later, Phii Joe would wake up too. I think it’s a better alarm than any clock. If I’m still in bed, he won’t wake up no matter how many alarms go off.

“Making breakfast.” I said, turning back to the kitchen counter.

“Isn’t today a weekend?”

“I have to go to Sports Day.” I said as I prepared the food. Suddenly, Phii Joe hugged me from behind, leaning down to press his lips against my cheek.

“Can I have a morning kiss?”

I turned around, tilting my head up to meet his lips in a gentle kiss, holding it for a moment before pulling away.

“Good morning.” I said with a smile, and Phii Joe returned a slight smile as well.

“What are we having for breakfast?”

“Soymilk with Chinese doughnuts.” I said teasingly with a slight chuckle, then heard Phii Joe sigh.

“Ugh, do I have to eat that again?”

“Bored of it?”

“I’ve been eating it for breakfast for three years.” Phii Joe said with a tone of boredom, “But I’ll eat more if you made it. I could eat it for a lifetime.”

“Then…I’ll make it for you for a lifetime, don’t get tired of it, okay?” I responded with an embarrassed smile.

“Even if it’s sweet.”

“You’re complaining about it being sweet again. Without sugar syrup, it wouldn’t taste good.” I objected.

“Did you sneak in sugar syrup?”

“Yes, I always do. Without it, it wouldn’t be tasty.”

“Don’t you understand the concept of ‘not sweet’?”

“It’s not sweet then.”

“You argue well.” Phii Joe said before pinching my cheek in annoyance, then kissed my cheek again and let go. He probably went to shower while I was cooking, “Make me some coffee too.” “No can do, today’s a no-coffee day, you don’t have classes or work, take a break from coffee, please.” I said. After my words, Phii Joe didn’t respond. I didn’t turn around to look, but I bet he was making a sulky face, because I’m just worried, he’s too addicted to coffee.

I placed the finished meal on the table.

“Are you staying at the university today, or will you be in the room?” I asked, because Phii Joe didn’t have to go to the university today, it seemed like his day off.

“I’ll stay at the university.”

“Will you be at the medical school’s stand?”

“Yes.”

“Will you be working late? I feel lazy.” I grumbled while making a sulky face, “Did you get on the stand as a freshman?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“And what did you do as a freshman?”

“Nothing really.”

“Okay.”

I think Phii Joe isn’t really suited for university life, because he already has a job, and he’s good at it. It seems like he’s only studying out of necessity for his image. He doesn’t care much about studies or activities, just studying to get the degree, but being a doctor is hard work, so he can’t really take it easy.

“Uh, Phii.” I said, remembering something, “About the job thing.”

“I thought we’ve already talked this through.”

“Yes, but I wants to say, can you not hire a housekeeper anymore? Hire me instead, like for cleaning the room and stuff. I’ll take the same salary as the housekeeper.” I proposed what Nao had suggested. It counts as work, doesn’t it? And since Phii Joe doesn’t want me to do part-time work outside, there’s no need for me to leave the house.

Phii Joe was silent for a moment before agreeing.

“You still want to work, right?” He asked, reaching out to gently pat my head.

“Yes, it feels strange doing nothing at all.”

“Hmm.” Before he took out his wallet and placed some bills on the table in front of me.

“Yes, what’s this?”

“It’s for making breakfast.”

I glanced at the money on the table.

Five thousand…?

“Isn’t that too much?” I asked, feeling hesitant. Just for making breakfast, five thousand seemed excessive, but my words seemed to slightly displease him.

“Take it.”

“Okay.” I picked up the five thousand baht and put it in my wallet, because from his demeanor, Phii Joe would definitely be annoyed if I didn’t accept it. Why does he always seem displeased when I say I feel hesitant? Maybe like Nao said, sometimes the giver really wants to give, and being too hesitant might be considered impolite.

“North, you could ask for something sometimes, Joe wants to give anyway.”

   That’s something Phii Hill once told me, but I’m not really fond of asking for things from others. I’ve been working and saving for a long time, but if you ask if I’ve ever asked for anything at home, it usually comes with conditions, like I have to do something in return for the reward, because I feel like I’ve earned it by effort, not gotten it for free.

“Phii Joe.” I called out, moving from my chair to sit next to him instead.

“Hmm?” “I wants to ask for something.”

“Say.”

“If North gets a GPA of 3.5 this semester, I want a PS4.”

“Sure, but 3.5, really?” Phii Joe asked back, “What was your GPA last semester?”

“2.7.”

“Then a 3 should be enough.”

“Wow, but, a PS4? Is just a 3 good enough?”

“I could just buy it for you, you know.”

“No, we should trade for it. I doesn’t want to just ask for it.” I said, “So, if I get a 3, can I ask for a game from a stream, one that just came out, North wants to play.”

Phii Johan raised his hand to his chin, looking at me with a somewhat puzzled expression.

“You’re so frugal.”

“It’s not being frugal, the game costs over seven hundred baht.”

“You could buy it with the money I just gave you.” Phii Joe said, “And what about the tens of thousands I gave you before, what did you do with that? Why haven’t you used it?”

“Oh, I saved it.” I said truthfully. I always send part of the money I earn back home, saving it for emergencies.

“Is that why you complain about not having money?”

“Huh? Does I complain?” I do complain, but I remember not complaining to Phii Joe. The reason I don’t have much money is because I’m not working.

“Ter told me.”

“Such a tattletale.” I muttered softly, making a slight pout. Why does Ter snitch like that? Or is it revenge for all the times I tattled on him to Phii Hill? He can be quite vindictive. “Why don’t you ever tell me anything?”

“…North is just being considerate.” I answered honestly, then inadvertently avoided the serious gaze of the person in front of me.

“Normally, I have to work, right? If I’m just sitting idle, there’s no way I’d get anything. It’s a habit from childhood. If have no money, I work more. Not doing anything makes me feel like I’m not useful at all.” Because my dad passed away when I was young, I felt like I had to take care of my mom. I’ve been working since I was very young, and when my little brother Night came along, I had to take care of him too. I feel like the eldest brother.

I felt like I needed to be strong for everyone at home.

“So you need to work all the time?” Phii Joe asked.

“Yes.” I nodded in response, “But because I’m studying too, sometimes I can’t go to work. Those times were really tough. No work, no money.” I said with a chuckle directed at him. It really was tough back then. I didn’t dare tell the family because I felt too reluctant. Phii Joe let out a small sigh at my words, then reached out to gently pat my head.

“From now on…”

“…”

“You can rely on me sometimes, okay?”

His words, the warm gaze, and the firm hand stroking my head felt like a surge of strength was flowing through me. I suddenly hugged him without even understanding my own actions.

Why do I, who thought I was always strong, feel like this is the place where I can show my vulnerability?

“North; you aren’t alone anymore, understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

I’ve been sitting on the engineering faculty stands all day. The Sports Day at my university is divided into two parts. The daytime, known as Sports Day, involves track and field events. We’ve been cheering all day under the hot sun. The nighttime, called Spirit Night, is for performances by each faculty’s stands and cheerleaders.

Phii Joe was with Phii Hill and Phii Fah at the medical faculty stands, right next to the engineering ones. The medical faculty’s stand was incredibly elaborate, clearly a lot of money was spent on it. Our engineering stand was also quite nice, though not as grandiose.

Today’s weather during the day was pretty hot, and Phii Joe isn’t fond of the heat. I was a bit worried, especially since he didn’t have coffee today, which I guessed would make him both sleepy and irritable, having to sit and be bored at the stands in this heat.

During the daytime sports events, there wasn’t much to do besides cheering. Nao was in the relay race, being the first leg, and Tiger was the last. They seemed to be on normal speaking terms, so I guess they’ve made up.

Now it’s evening, and there’s going to be a parade of each faculty. I’m quite excited; I’ve heard that the parades are so spectacular they’re almost unbelievable. The medical faculty is particularly watched because not only is their stand elaborate, but their parade is expected to be as well.

But oddly, as the parade was being prepared, the weather wasn’t cooperative. It’s said that this happens every year, similar to many past Spirit Night events where the parade was held despite the rain. Since preparation for the event takes months, stopping for rain would be a pity, including for the stands and cheerleaders.

“Are they here? Which faculty is first?” Skater asked excitedly as he leaned forward to look. The parade began to enter through the main gate, and the announcer introduced the first faculty as the Faculty of Medicine. “Did your boyfriend get to walk?” Nao turned to ask me. I shook my head in response, “I thought he would.”

Screams erupted from the stands next to us as people started standing up to get a better view, blocking my sight. The engineering stand started getting noisy too. Everyone seemed to be in a frenzy.

I could barely hear over the screaming and the shrieking, it was so loud I wanted to cover my ears. As the parade passed by our stand, I finally got to see it. It was Phii Hill in his student uniform with slightly styled hair, leading the parade with the Faculty of Medicine’s banner.

“Hey, did Phii Hill get a haircut or something? It’s not the style he had before.” Skater asked, shouting to be heard over the screams.

“I guess so, Phii Hill looks insanely handsome with this haircut.” I said, reflecting my thoughts.

“Yeah, he’s handsome, really handsome, I’ll admit.” Duennao said, “When he leads the parade like this, his aura is just through the roof.” I nodded in agreement, Phii Hill is genuinely handsome, otherwise, he wouldn’t be the faculty’s representative. I’ve been praising Phii Hill to the point of exhaustion ever since he started courting Ter.

“Wait a minute.” I said, “More than anything, I hate that he doesn’t look at any other camera except Ter’s.” I spoke up when I noticed Ter with a camera capturing the parade, and Phii Hill wasn’t looking at any other camera but Ter’s, because Ter is the club’s photographer, and he often gets to photograph events like this because Phii Hill requested him. Phii Hill is the club’s president, after all.

“Is he looking at the camera or the photographer? Seriously, he’s smiling so sweetly.” Kett teased, “Try smiling like that at someone else’s camera, there’d be people fainting all over the place.” “I’m embarrassed for Ter.” I said, “He’s not smiling at the camera but at the photographer, damn, it’s so embarrassing.” I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed remembering when Phii Hill was courting Ter in public. It made me really shy back then.

“It’s a shame Phii Joe isn’t walking. Otherwise, there’d be someone else following him around with a camera.” Kyu teased. I immediately turned to look at him, then the screams continued as Phii Fah walked by, holding a banner with a female senior. I couldn’t quite see what was on the banner.

“Phii Fah is also handsome, damn.” Skater remarked, “Are they choosing partners based on looks now? Seriously?”

 

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 29 part 2

“North, do you think I’m just imagining things?”

“Imagining what?”

“You look radiant.” Skater’s words made me raise my eyebrows and look at him with surprise. Right now, we were sitting under the school building because the teacher let us out early, and we didn’t know where else to go.

“What’s with the glow?”

“Maybe because he’s happier. After dating Phii Joe.” Kyu remarked.

“You guys are imagining it.” I said.

“Really? So, how’s dating going? Is your love life happy?” Skater asked.

“It’s good, really good.” I replied, inadvertently smiling after being together for a while. Everything has been great for me. When he’s not stressed about work, he becomes more playful, talks more, loves to tease and prank.

The important thing is…he’s never gentle with me, not even once. It’s almost like we have sex every day. I’m not sure if my body is getting used to it, because many times, after he’s been too intense, I wake up with a sore hip and a slight fever.

People used to say that Phii Johan was a flirt, even my mom said so. She mentioned that you could tell he was a flirt just by looking at him, but the way he looks at me is different, even my mom couldn’t explain it, but she trusts Phii Joe. I wonder if they’ve talked about something without me knowing.

As for part-time work, Phii Joe won’t let me do it, he says he’s worried. I don’t want him to worry, but I also don’t want to just depend on Phii Joe. The money I’m using now is from my savings, and it’s dwindling every day. Maybe I’ll find a chance to discuss work with him again.

“Yeah, there’s a basketball match tonight between the medical faculty and the engineering faculty.” Kyu said, “Who are you cheering for, North?”

“Huh. If I say I’m cheering for the medical faculty, would that look like I’m a traitor?” I asked jokingly.

“Traitor, just leave our faculty then.” Duennao teased.

“Do I have to leave the faculty for that? I’m not cheering for anyone, just there to show support.”

“Are Phii Hill and Phii Joe playing for the medical team?” Skater asked, “With that lineup, will they win? I’ve seen clips from their freshman year during the inter-faculty games, they played really well.”

“Our seniors are a bit scared.” Nao said, “I heard from the basketball club seniors that they’ve planned well to defend against Phii Hill and Phii Joe.”

“And what about your football team?” Kett asked Nao. The last time I watched, they nearly lost, but the medical faculty team was strong, or rather, Phii Arthit was really good.

“Almost died, Phii Arthit isn’t even human, that beast! At first, we thought after thirty minutes, he’d start tiring since we planned to go after him heavily, focusing on just him, but even an hour in, he was hardly tired, and they kept substituting him in and out.” Nao said, looking frustrated, “But you know, it’s a team sport.”

“Do you lose like this when it’s one-on-one too?” Kett asked.

“If it’s Tiger, it’s probably a close match. But how do you even play football?” Nao asked back.

“One person shoots, the other is the goalie.” I said, “But Tiger is good at playing, or else he wouldn’t be captain since the first year.”

“Yeah, he’s skilled, really skilled.” Kyu said. Kyu also plays football, “Has he been this good for a long time, Nao?”

“He’s good, so good it’s annoying. Since middle school, I guess.”

“You’ve been with him since middle school?” I raised my eyebrows in question.

“No, just saw him play. In high school, we got to know each other because we were in the same football club. He’s good enough to go national, maybe.” Duennao said, then picked up some snacks to eat, “But he said he doesn’t really want to pursue football that much. Ha, if the national team ever contacted me, I’d be all over it.”

At first, I thought Tiger and Nao had some issue or something, because that day Tiger was drunk and called me. But from what I see, there doesn’t seem to be anything, or maybe there is but they don’t show it to outsiders like me, and…

“Speaking of, when do doctors like them find time to practice sports? Both Phii Hill, Phii Joe, Phii Arthit, they’re all good at sports. Does Phii Fah play too?” Skater asked.

“Phii Fah is good at tennis, from what I saw in last year’s clips.” Kyu said, “But I heard from the pub that there’s trouble in the medical tennis club, and Phii Fah might quit.”

“Really?” I raised my eyebrows in question.

“It’s just rumors. I don’t know if he’ll really quit.”

“What’s the issue?”

“It’s probably the girls who manage the club having some dispute over Phii Fah. Otherwise, why would he want to leave?” Kyu offered his opinion. “Being handsome is tough.” Skater said with resignation, “But having a handsome boyfriend is tough too, right?” He then turned to tease me.

“Exactly, it’s tough, tough. Wherever you go, people stare. This is what happens when your boyfriend is too good-looking, isn’t it, North?” Kyu continued to tease.

“You guys like to tease me, don’t you ever get tired?”

“Nope, your face is funny.”

“Alright, whatever makes you guys feel better.” I said, resigned.

“Back to the topic, why are doctors good at sports? What’s up with that, North? Do they work out? They look like they’re in good shape.” Skater asked again.

“I’m working out too.” I said, nodding in agreement, “Phii Joe goes to the gym, runs in the morning too.” Whenever he has free time, he usually works out or goes for a run in the morning. How else would he keep such a good physique? And he makes me run too, my legs are sore all the time now.

“Phii Hill works out too, Ter told me.” I added.

“Does he have a six-pack?” Kett asked.

“Why do you have to blush answering that, North?” Duennao started teasing, “Ah, just tell Kett you see it every day.” Nao’s words made me slap his arm. Why tease so hard, Nao?

   “So, the answer is?”

“Yeah, he does.” I answered quietly.

“When do doctors find time to work out?” Kett asked.

“Well, everyone has to make time, right? Plus, working out is good for the brain, improves memory, so it helps with studying too, and it’s good for health. Otherwise, they’d just die from stress.” Kyu explained. I nodded in agreement.

After nearly half an hour of chatting and hanging out, I asked Duennao to drop me off at the gym where the basketball game was happening. Duennao wanted to watch too since he had no other plans. Meanwhile, Kyu and Skater went to watch a movie they had tickets for.

“Lots of people, man.” Nao remarked, scanning the crowd with his eyes. It was indeed very crowded, even for the university’s largest gym, making me wonder if I’d get a seat.

“Where should we sit?” I asked.

“Why don’t you go find your boyfriend first? There might be some empty spots around the court.”

“Okay.” I said, navigating through the noisy crowd. Normally, basketball games wouldn’t attract this much attention, but with Phii Hill and Phii Joe playing, it’s different. Look at all the cameras around. I recognized some of the photographers from various faculties; they’re definitely here to capture the match atmosphere for their pages.

Duennao and I made our way to the medical faculty’s side, spotting Phii Joe and Phii Hill in their medical faculty basketball uniforms talking with other team members and their coach, probably going over game strategies. I noticed Ter sitting nearby, so I walked over to him.

“Can I sit with you? Is there space?” I asked Ter.

“Sure.” Ter said, moving his bag to make room, “This is the athletes’ seating area. We’ll just have to squeeze a bit.”

“Have you been here long?”

“It’s been a while, just got out of class.” Ter said. After we separated rooms, I still see Ter often because he’s with Phii Hill, so whenever I visit Phii Joe at the faculty, I run into Ter too, “What about Kett and Kyu?”

“They went on a date. The couple wanted some alone time to be sweet together.”

“Oh, so they’re really dating?” Ter asked. “No, I was kidding.” I said, shaking my head slightly, “They just got a discount for two movie tickets, so they went together.”

“Oh, I see. Haven’t seen Nao much.” Ter said, turning to smile at Nao.

“Exactly, now that I’ve moved out from North’s room, I can’t go out as much.” Nao said, “But it’s for the best, moving out from North.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Feel sorry for good people like Ter, having to live with someone like you. Now Ter’s free from all the trouble.”

“Why? Ter loves being with me to death.” I turned to ask Ter.

“Uh, finally free from all the woes.” Ter’s words made Nao burst out laughing. Well, you two get along well, don’t you, “So, have you been behaving well with Phii Joe?”

“You ask like I’m a child.” I said.

“Do you dry your hair before sleeping? Don’t go to bed with wet hair.”

“North, you don’t dry your hair?” Nao made a face at me.

“I do dry it. When you’re not there to do it for me, I have to do it myself.” I said with resignation. I’m lazy when it comes to drying my hair. Normally, Ter would do it for me, “But it feels empty.”

“How so?” Nao asked.

“Normally, I clean the room, right? But when Phii Joe hires a housekeeper, I find myself free. I’m not used to it; it feels like something’s missing from my life.”

Because my mom made me do chores since I was young. If it was messy, I had to clean up quickly, or else I’d get scolded. So I developed a habit of being tidy. When I lived with Ter, I was always the first to clean, but now with Phii Joe, I hardly have to do anything, not even pay for rent, utilities.

“You don’t like being comfortable?” “Well, I like it, but I’m not used to it.” I said, “Hey Ter, can you ask Phii Hill for some work?” I asked, because Phii Hill seems easier to talk to than Phii Joe, so I told Ter to ask for some part-time work. If Phii Hill agrees, I might get a chance to work again.

“I asked. Phii Hill said no.”

“Come on, why?”

“He says he’s worried.” I said, looking annoyed when I got the answer from Ter.

“He won’t let you work, right?” Nao asked. I nodded in response, “Well, he can support you guys anyway.”

“It’s not like that, Nao.”

“I get it. You don’t want to be a burden, right?” Duennao said, “Then why don’t you just work for him instead?”

“How so?”

“Like, cleaning the house. You don’t need to hire a maid anymore, just hire you instead.” Nao’s suggestion caught my attention right away. That’s actually a good idea, I could ask for a salary the same as what the maids get.

After a while, Phii Joe came to sit next to me, and Phii Hill sat next to Ter.

“I think I made the right call coming here, love has completely blinded you guys.” Nao said, pretending to look like he wanted to cry. I wanted to tell him to go find Tiger instead, but I couldn’t say it.

“How’s it going?” I turned to ask Phii Joe.

“Tired, can we go back, Hill?”

“No, we play first.”

I glanced over at the engineering faculty’s side across the court, filled with familiar faces from both seniors and peers. As always, it was packed.

“Are you going to play soon?” I asked.

“In a bit.” “Who are you cheering for, North?” Phii Hill asked me, “Joe here is taking this very seriously.” I looked at the person next to me who just said he was tired.

“I said I can lose to anyone, but not to that bastard.”

“That guy?”

“Yeah.”

I looked a bit puzzled hearing what they were talking about, and Phii Joe seemed somewhat irritable. Observing the engineering team closely, I could guess why. Is Earth playing basketball too? Earth is a second-year senior in our faculty who talks to me sometimes, and Phii Joe doesn’t seem to like him much. So, I haven’t really interacted with Earth anymore.

Actually, Earth might not be after anything, but Phii Joe doesn’t like him, so I don’t really talk to him.

“Is he hitting on you?” Phii Hill asked.

“Not yet, but he’s annoying.” Phii Joe said, looking at Earth with a displeased expression, while Earth had been looking this way from the start.

“He likes your junior, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

How do they know? Just by looking?

“How’s the fever?” Phii Joe asked.

“It’s gone now. I’m normal.” The other reached out to touch my forehead lightly before pulling back. If he’s worried about me, he should be gentle with me on the bed…

“If that’s the case, we can have more fun tonight.” Phii Johan leaned in close to whisper softly to me, making me immediately lean back a little, looking at him with a pout when I realized I was being teased again. Damn it, I really hate this sly smile of his.

“Uh…no, I can’t.” “Are you sure? You say that every day.” His deep voice whispered back, clearly pleased with my embarrassment.

“See, you like to tease.” I said, making a pouty face at him, turning away in embarrassment, because being too close made me move back a bit. Phii Joe really enjoys teasing me until I’m embarrassed, does he find it that amusing?

“Look this way.”

“Huh?”

“I want to kiss you.”

“Uh…no!”

“Look at me.”

“Phii! Are you crazy? There are so many people around.”

“Who cares?” Because the noise in the gym was loud, only I could hear Phii Joe’s soft whisper. I moved until I bumped into Ter, who seemed slightly startled, before Phii Joe pulled me back to him.

“Stop teasing, please.”

“No, just a little tease.” He said before leaning in closer. Normally, even when we’re alone, I’d feel a bit embarrassed, but being in such a crowded place made me really shy.

“No.”

Before the referee signaled for both teams to enter the court:

“Good luck.”

“What if I win, can I ask for something?”

“Huh?” I furrowed my brows in question, needing further explanation.

“Can I?”

“Oh, sure. But what is it?” Phii Joe didn’t answer my question. He stood up from his seat and walked down to the court. As both teams lined up to enter, the screams were deafening, forcing me to cover my ears because the gymnasium echoed with the noise.

The medical faculty’s basketball uniforms are pretty nice, with the faculty’s color and “Medicine” written on the back, along with each player’s number.

“Phii Joe’s basketball shoes are beastly.” Nao remarked, “Phii Hill’s are nice too. Since when did you start checking out other people’s shoes?”

“Probably got it from Tiger.” I said.

“Doesn’t he buy you shoes or clothes sometimes?”

“Nope, I refuse, but some things I do want.”

“You don’t accept them? He might actually want to give you stuff.” Nao said, “You don’t have to be too considerate, you’re dating, right? It’s okay to accept some things.”

“Would that be right?” I asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, I mean some things, when he genuinely wants to give.”

“Hmm, I’ll think about it.” I said, hearing the whistle signaling the start of the game. I immediately turned my attention to the court. At first, it wasn’t too exciting, but after a while, it was clear that Phii Joe and Phii Hill were indeed skilled players, each scoring a basket.

I just noticed that Earth was marking Phii Joe. Phii Joe gave him a displeased look before giving a mocking smile, stepped back one pace, and then shot from half court.

The whistle blew, followed by screams echoing throughout the gym. People sitting close by were screaming loudly for Phii Joe. Is everyone on this side just fans of the medical faculty? “You, you’re so skilled, how did you shoot from half the court?” Nao said excitedly, “It’s like you were annoyed by being marked by Phii Earth, so you just shot it. And quick, too, you barely took a stance.”

“Impressive, I just found out he’s this good at basketball.” I said, stunned. The game went on with both teams scoring intermittently, but the medical faculty was leading by a lot. Phii Hill and Phii Joe were doing most of the scoring, making them the primary targets of the other team, so they were closely marked by one or two players each, making it tougher to play.

Ten minutes passed, and the first quarter ended with the referee’s whistle, then came a break where they gathered around the coach to talk. After that, they went back on the court, and the cheering, shouting, and screaming were even louder. The match between the medical and engineering faculties was probably the most intense.

Phii Earth, who was still closely marking Phii Joe, started looking my way more often. I looked back, not fully understanding, but then looked away. The second quarter ended with the score getting closer, and Phii Joe began to show signs of fatigue.

When he’s like this, he looks so sexy…

Phii Joe wiped the sweat off his face with the hem of his shirt, revealing his beautifully defined abs, which prompted even louder screams from the crowd before he casually let his shirt fall back down.

“Scream, Dr. Joe, I want him, I want him, show us those six-packs again!”

“Dr. Hill, show us some too, I want to see!”

“You guys, when he’s all sweaty, he’s so damn sexy, I’m about to faint.”

“I love it when Dr. Joe brushes his hair back, so sexy, the epitome of hot, I surrender, I’ll offer myself as his wife.” “But they both have boyfriends, right? Both Phii Hill and Phii Joe, what a pity.” “I’ll be a fictional wife, I surrender. Really, I’ll do anything, please step on me.”

“Watch out, their partners are sitting right there.”

“Oh, crap, I guess I was speaking a bit too loudly.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the comments I heard. It happens a lot when the girls scream for Phii Joe, and then turn to see me sitting there. They get embarrassed. It seems like everyone in the university knows we’re dating. There are some who aren’t thrilled and grumble about it, but as I’ve said, I don’t really care.

“What good deeds did you do to deserve such boyfriends? I want one like that too.”

Teased again. Me and Ter could only turn and give each other shy smiles.

“I’ll take Phii Tit or Phii Fah, just one for me, can you share some of that good fortune?”

“How happy must you be with such a handsome boyfriend? Waking up to see him, going to sleep seeing him. When he says he loves you, it must feel heavenly.”

“Yeah, can I pay to just look at a doctor for an hour? If I were rich, I’d hire him to sit and smile at me, I’d go crazy just from his smile.”

“Which doctor?”

“Any of them, as if I can choose, but they’re all handsome, can I just take them all?”

I didn’t pay attention to the chatter from the upper stands when Phii Joe approached me with a neutral expression. Just looking at him, I could tell he was in a bad mood.

Uh-oh, what’s wrong?

“What’s the matter?” I asked concernedly.

“Why do you have to look at other people?” “Huh?” I furrowed my brows, looking puzzled at him. Phii Joe only said that before throwing a towel over my head. I pulled it off and looked back at him, “Were you looking?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to.”

“Just look at me.”

“Understand?”

“Yes.”

I nodded slightly to indicate I understood, then bowed my head to hide my blushing face. Phii Joe is very possessive, which I’ve never felt uncomfortable about; rather, I found it endearing.

The person in front of me walked away as it was time for the game to continue. Just watching, you could tell Phii Earth was no match for Phii Joe, barely able to keep up with him. The medical faculty kept scoring until they ultimately won.

“Did they win big?” Duennao asked.

“Seems like it.” I replied, “It’s sports day soon, are you lazy to go to the stands?”

“Come on, did your boyfriend get to walk in the parade?”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head, turning to look at the court where both teams were lined up, listening to the referee.

“But somehow I don’t want him to walk.” I muttered to myself, and no one heard it.

Then, Phii Joe and I went back to our room. He seemed very pleased with the win. I glanced over and saw Phii Earth looking quite displeased. I started to wonder if there was something between them.

“Phii Joe.” I called out to him after we got back to the room.

“Hm?” “Are you going to be in the parade for the Sports Day event?” “Why do you ask?” He said, pulling me to sit on his lap, a position he often likes. I’m not too fond of this because it usually leads to more than just sitting, “No. Just curious.”

“What if I said yes?”

“Really?” I asked, my face falling a bit, “Where in the parade? Holding a banner?”

“Yes.”

“For the faculty?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“With a girl?”

“Probably.” I immediately made a pouty face at him and lowered my head to hide my expression.

“Really?”

“What’s the matter?”

“…” I leaned my forehead against his shoulder, my hands gripping his shoulders, “I don’t know.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t like it.”

“What’s wrong, my dear?”

“…”

His strong hands gently pulled me back to lift my chin, wanting us to make eye contact, but I avoided his gaze.

“Look at me.”

“You’re a cheater, I told you not to tease me.”

“I’m not just teasing, when I say I want to kiss, I really want to kiss.” before his lips pressed down on mine, kissing me intensely, his hot tongue intertwining with mine. I responded to the rhythm of the kiss, my heart starting to beat rapidly amidst the embarrassing sounds of our kissing. It went on for a while without stopping, then his large hands, growing restless, began to roam under my shirt, slowly unbuttoning it.

“No…no, you pervert.”

“Then can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“It’s just, today everyone was looking at you, everyone likes you, and you were even going to walk in the parade with someone else.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Yeah…jealous, very jealous.” My words brought a satisfied smile to his face, “I really don’t like it when others look at you.”

“Forget about the others, as long as you only looks at me, that’s enough.”

“Because I; Phii Joe only looks at my North too.”

I bit my lip tightly, feeling something tug at my heart because of those words. If he wasn’t only looking at me, he probably wouldn’t have noticed me looking at someone else, because it was just a fleeting glance and not intentional.

   And why should I care, anyway? Since Phii Joe’s eyes are only on me, and my eyes are only on him…

   “Okay.” I agreed, silently thanking him in my heart, even though he’s told me not to say thank you so often. Everything he does is on purpose for me, “Then, can you not walk in the parade with someone else?”

“Hmm?” He seemed to be waiting for me to do something, recalling the condition he mentioned earlier about asking for something. So, I leaned in to kiss him first.

“Mmm.” I pulled away from the kiss when I felt like I was running out of breath. I could tell my face must be bright red, my lips feeling a bit numb, “So, you won’t walk in the parade, right?” “Of course not.” “Yes, thank you.”

“Now, I want my reward for winning.” He said with a slight smile that made my heart skip a beat. I couldn’t trust that smile.

“Uh…what’s that?”

“Nothing much.”

“Just…”

“My North might not go to class tomorrow, that’s all.”

😉

 

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 29 part 1

   Chapter 29: Looking at You

   I glanced at the person in my arms who was still unwilling to wake up even though it was quite late. Their warm, steady breathing, the slight red mark I had left last night on the fair skin near the neck, barely visible above the shirt because I intended it to be subtle.

My little junior was resting on my arm, turned towards me, moving closer. He’s also very clingy, always wanting to be hugged. So, I tightened my embrace and gently kissed his forehead.

If anyone could see the look in my eyes right now,

they would know how deeply I’m in love with him.

We’ve been dating for a while now, and everything is perfect. Seeing him move around the room, making breakfast in the morning, going to classes together, and returning home together, calling this our room. We kiss every time we’re about to separate and every time we reunite, it’s a sign of how much we miss each other.

He’s the only one I want to see smiling often. I love his laugh, the way his eyes look when he smiles, he truly brings me so much happiness with his personality, thoughts, and even his playful words. Even though he can be a bit mischievous,

it’s all part of who he is.

The person who has made me fall in love over and over again for years.

I’ve always believed that the most captivating thing is one’s attitude.

He isn’t an optimist, but he looks at the world as it is. I love that he always waits to hear from me first, no matter what he might have heard from others, he’ll ask and tell me straightforwardly what happened, just as he explains everything to me directly, no matter the topic.

Regarding my past, I admit it’s not something good. He says he doesn’t think much of it; as long as I’m only with him now, that’s enough. And I can see he really doesn’t dwell on it. He’s never asked to check my phone, not even once. I think he probably doesn’t think about it at all. But even if he did ask, there’s nothing to see, just my phone’s background set to his picture.

And his easygoing and simple nature is what makes everyone want to be around him; that’s why he’s my peace of mind. What I also like is that he chooses my peace of mind above all else. He told me, (that he had blocked his ex on LINE from the moment he realized he was starting to like me. If he knows it makes me uncomfortable when someone approaches him, he won’t engage with that person again, and he makes it clear to everyone that he’s taken.)

“It’s okay, I choose your peace of mind over everything, Phii Joe.”

That was his response after I asked if he felt restricted by my being overly protective.

And I like it when he gets jealous of me, like that time at the bar with James, but if it happens too often, it wouldn’t be that great. I used to be quite the flirt, never turning away beautiful people who approached me, which often got me scolded by Hill for my inability to say no to women. But now, I don’t pay attention to anyone else. I choose to reject everyone to keep one person.

The matter of introducing him to my family is the same, it shows how serious he is about us. Since we started dating, he’s become more clingy, more attentive, and tends to think of me first in many situations I’ve noticed, and with all that cuteness, I really can’t go anywhere.

I reached out to gently stroke his hair, moving down to the red marks that indicate what happened last night. Last night was another time I realized that with him, I can never get enough. I’m not sure if I couldn’t control myself or if that was me controlling myself the most. If he hadn’t passed out first, it might not have ended there.

And it seems like I still want more and more, but I’ll have to wait a bit longer, for his body to get more used to it.

“Uh…” He made a soft noise in his throat, slowly waking up with a groggy look. When he saw me watching, he quickly averted his gaze and tried to turn away, but I hugged him first.

“What’s wrong?”

“…Uh, I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Why?” I teased in a low voice after leaning my face close to his. His face started to turn red a bit before he buried his face into my chest.

“Mean person.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re mean.”

“Am I mean?”

“Yeah.”

“But last night, the one who asked me to…” I fell silent when suddenly his small hand reached out to cover my mouth, stopping me from continuing.

“Uh…stop, no teasing.”

“…”

I didn’t respond, just took his hand, gently kissing his fingers and the back of his hand, glancing at him as I often do. I don’t know what kind of look I have when I look at him, probably one of someone very much in love, and I feel like I can’t look away at all.

He, on the other hand, can’t handle my gaze and always looks away first.

The other person bit their lip slightly, as they often do when trying to hide their embarrassment, and quickly pulled their hand back.

“Phii Joe…”

And there’s something else I love,

when he calls my name.

“Yes?” I answered, giving a slight smile, then leaned in close, pressing my lips softly against his. He responded to the touch, but the kiss was just a brief touch of lips before I pulled away.

“Have you been awake for long?”

“Hmm, for a while now.”

“What time is it? I have class.” He said, suddenly looking alarmed as if he just remembered, “I’m going to miss the attendance check, this is bad.”

“Can you make it in time?” I asked, my question making him pout immediately.

“See, you’re mean. I told you I have class.”

“Is that so? I didn’t seem to remember that.” I said, not too concerned, sitting up on the bed following him. It looks like he’s sore again. It happens every time we have sex. Even though his body is getting used to it, it probably doesn’t hurt as much as before, but last night I might have been a bit too rough.

I pulled him into a hug and started kissing his cheek, moving down to his neck to take in his faint scent. He was slightly startled by my actions. I find his embarrassed reactions when I touch him so endearing, and I find it even more so when, despite being very embarrassed, he still tries to kiss or peck me back.

“Good morning.” He said softly, with a bit of a shy demeanor, leaning in to kiss my cheek, then revealing a sweet smile. How can someone be so adorable in every way…

I dropped him off at the engineering faculty before driving back to the medical school. I was a bit worried because he seemed to have a slight fever. Even though it wasn’t severe and he insisted he was fine, with North, you can never really trust that he’s ‘fine.’ And I’m aware that sometimes I might get a bit too intense. Next time, I’ll try to control myself better.

I walked into the classroom, just in time it seemed, as the professor was also entering.

“Not late today?” Fah turned to ask as soon as I sat down next to him.

“Not late, my little junior has class.”

“If your junior doesn’t have class, you won’t leave the room, right?” Arthit, who had his head slumped on the table, looked up to tease me. I shrugged, not paying much attention.

I didn’t intend to become a doctor in the first place. Even if I graduate, I won’t work as one because I’m better suited to the family business, which pays better too. So I didn’t care much about studying, but because it’s this faculty, if I didn’t put in any effort at all, I wouldn’t make it. And the coursework has been getting tougher, to the point where I had to ask for some time off from the family business, otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t graduate.

The teacher lectured for about an hour before excusing himself for some business, leaving us with work to do.

“There’s a match today. Did you bring your jersey?” Hill asked me after we gathered as a group.

“I brought it.”

“Is it basketball?” Fah asked. I nodded in response, “Against which faculty?” “Engineering.” I answered. It’s during the sports day period where each faculty takes turns to compete. Today there’s a basketball match between the medical faculty and the engineering faculty, “How can we possibly win?”

“Why can’t we?”

“Ask Arthit.” I said, and Arthit immediately looked annoyed because just the other day, our medical faculty football team had lost to engineering.

“Ha, it’s ridiculous.” Arthit sighed, “I was exhausted, bastard. I was already panting, but the other side looked so relaxed.”

“Poor thing.” I said, genuinely feeling sorry for him. No matter how good Arthit is, since it’s a team sport, being good alone makes it tough.

“Why, I didn’t go watch.” Fah asked.

“Their bench has a hundred players. When they get tired, they just substitute in fresh players. Then look at the med school bench.” Arthit said, clearly not in the best mood, “They focus on numbers, damn it.”

Because engineering is the largest faculty, there are a lot of skilled players. And as Arthit mentioned, they can keep substituting players, which was most evident during the football match when Arthit played, prolonging the game to their advantage.

“Is basketball the same, like last year?” Arthit asked.

“Yeah, I heard. The seniors were complaining.” Hill said.

“Let’s throw in the towel, Joe.” I immediately turned to look at Arthit when I heard that, then burst out laughing.

“Use money to solve the problem?” I asked while still laughing, “Interested, Hill?”

“You’re good at just one thing.” I shrugged, not paying much attention, “And you got beaten by that kid?” I turned to ask Arthit because that kid, Tiger, also plays football and has been the captain since his first year.

“Damn, just saying his name makes my blood boil.” Arthit said irritably, “It felt like getting stepped on the face.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah, our faculty is packed with people, but it’s a miracle to even get enough people to join the team.”

“But you can still switch according to the rules, right? It’s not like it happens often.” Hill remarked.

“True, but our faculty is…you understand, right?” Arthit paused for a moment, as it’s quite an intense course, so not many care about extracurriculars or sports. It’s not surprising, really, only a few of us are juggling both activities and studies.

“Ah, but don’t count me in, I don’t want to deal with both.” I added, because I didn’t want the hassle of both.

“Yeah, I’ve quit the tennis club.” Fah announced. I turned to look at him with a slightly surprised expression, remembering he had mentioned some issues within the club.

“You quit?” I asked.

“Hmm, it might be the best way out.”

“Why?” Arthit inquired.

“The girls were arguing over you, Fah.” I said, recalling from when Fah had come to me for a bit of advice. Even though Fah still looked somewhat confused, I figured it was about this, “You’re just too nice to everyone.”

“Wow, those words coming out of Joe’s mouth.” Arthit teased, “Can a family man say anything now?”

“Absolutely, I can say whatever I want now.” I said, raising an eyebrow at them. “In the past, Hill almost had to take migraine medication.” Fah said, “He was complaining about you every day, Joe.”

“Hmm? Complaining means you were missing me, Hill?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Hill said with a sigh. I liked it when the usually quiet Hill slipped up, “And what does that look mean?”

“Can’t I look at you?” I playfully looked at Hill with the same gaze I used to give to girls when I was still a flirt, giving a slight, habitual smile.

“Hill?”

“What?” Hill looked up from his sheet and back at me, his eyes sharp with a hint of displeasure.

“…”

“…”

“I get why people ship Hill with Johan now, you beast.” Arthit said, holding his temples and laughing, “Joe, you’re such a flirt, just a look in your eyes tells it all.”

“You’re ridiculous.” Hill said, shaking his head in disgust, “Go do something else.”

“Do what?” I asked.

“Anything you want to do, just do your work.” He said, sliding some papers towards me.

“If I say I want to look at you like this?”

“…”

“That’s ridiculous, and you just teased Hill again.” Fah laughed out loud, “I’m about to board the Hill and Johan ship.”

“Don’t, Fah, I don’t like it.” I said, turning to him.

“You don’t like shipping Hill with Johan?”

“I don’t like my name being tacked on at the end.” I said, chuckling a bit. Honestly, I didn’t like this random shipping either, it was just to tease Hill.

“Spreading to Hill now.” Arthit said, also laughing.

“Sigh.” Hill let out a small sigh, clearly annoyed with me, but he must be used to it by now. “When you’re in such a good mood, you’re annoying, Joe. Why don’t you go do some work?”

“I’ve been teasing you since our freshman year. Don’t you ever give in?”

“…”

“I could take care of you for life, you know.”

“Joe…sigh.” Hill sighed heavily. I laughed at his reaction. Nothing is more fun than teasing Hill. “Why would anyone stay with someone like you?”

“Because our friend is so smitten, where would he go?” Arthit teased, “If he doesn’t have class, he won’t leave the room, so smitten with you, huh?”

“If you point at a bird and say it’s a bird, I’d believe you. If you point at a dog and say it’s a crocodile, I’d believe that too.”

“Enough, you beast.” Arthit said, drawing out the word, “I’ll pile up money for you.”

“True.” I agreed, “Hey, Hill.”

“Yeah?”

“Is Ter the same?”

“What do you mean?”

“He won’t take anything I try to buy for him, he won’t tell me what he wants, he wants to save up to buy things himself, and he’s always fussing about wanting to work.”

“He’s like that, is North the same?” Hill asked back.

“Are we entering the ‘househusbands’ counseling session’?” Arthit teased.

“Why is it like that?” I turned to ask Hill. “Probably out of consideration.”

“Why be considerate? I want to give, but he won’t take it.”

“I don’t know.” Hill said with a slight shake of his head, “Ter is like that too. Don’t know why he’s so considerate.”

“So what do you do?”

“They’re just being considerate of you guys.” Fah chimed in, “They don’t want to trouble or burden you. They’re not dating you for your money.”

“It really goes against the sugar daddy vibe like Joe here.” Arthit said.

“Yeah, I want to give everything, if he wants something, I’ll find it for him, but the only thing he ever asks for is a Seven-Eleven stamp.” I said, feeling a bit frustrated. It’s almost the only thing he asks for from me, I remember when we go shopping, he always asks for the stamp. It’s cute, but doesn’t he want anything else?

“Adorable.” Fah commented.

“Shut up.”

“You’re quite possessive.”

“Yeah.”

“How’s it going living together?” Fah asked, “What’s Nong North like? Do you ever get mad or sulk at each other? He seems so laid back.”

“What kind of person is he?” I repeated the question, pausing to think, “I think he’s someone without much substance.”

“That’s what this bastard thinks of him too.”

“Really, he’s easygoing, laughs easily, tells his own jokes, and laughs at them. Even at five baht or ten baht jokes, I’d laugh, out of fondness.” I said, reminiscing about the times we spent together. When he’d tell a joke and I didn’t laugh, he’d say, ‘Oh, you’re not laughing?’ but then he’d laugh by himself for a bit.

“Has he ever gotten angry at you?” “Never, I think it would be hard. I’d have to do something like being with someone else.” I said honestly. He’s never been angry with me, and I haven’t done anything to make him angry either. But if I were to make him angry, I’d have to do something really wrong, which I wouldn’t do.

“And he doesn’t get angry at others? Has he never been mad?” Fah asked, surprised.

“He gets angry, I’ve seen it.” I said, “Probably when playing games, he gets really heated.” He gets easily frustrated over games, often seen getting upset while playing. But when I approach him, he cheers up.

“And with people he’s not close to?”

“Sometimes, he’s just a normal person. And why do you care so much about my partner, Fah?”

“Such a jealous type, you used to tease Hill about Ter to make him angry. How is it now?” Arthit teased again. I raised an eyebrow at that before the conversation at the table drifted to other topics.

“Write this for me, Fah.” Arthit said, passing some documents to Fah.

“Write it yourself.”

“My hand hurts.” Arthit said, raising his left hand which had been bitten by piranhas in Brazil. I still find it funny every time I see it, especially since he used a medical certificate from the incident as an excuse to skip classes. Even if he didn’t skip all classes, he still had to make up for it or miss a lot of days anyway.

“Use your other hand then.”

“I’m not ambidextrous like you.”

“Sigh.” Fah sighed slightly before taking the paper from Arthit to write for him, “Hey Joe, what about the sports day money scam?”

“I don’t know, ask Hill. Weren’t you the one handling it?” I turned to ask. “The person who scammed the sports day money is exactly who you thought, Joe.”

“I figured.” I said, not too surprised. Scamming the sports day money isn’t hard to pinpoint; it’s much harder to find the culprits within the company.

“But you didn’t pursue it, so the faculty handled it by expelling him and they’ll get the money back. But since he already spent it all, the faculty will cover the remaining amount, and beyond that, it’s up to the law.” Hill explained while still bent over his work, writing.

“You really won’t pursue it?” Fah asked.

“Nah, too lazy to go to court.”

“Joe.” I turned towards the voice calling my name, seeing it was a female friend from our faculty named Bai Toey.

“What’s up?”

“I want Joe to join the sports day parade, are you free?”

“Get Hill and Fah to do it.”

“Hill and Fah are already in as the faculty leader and vice-leader, they have to walk anyway. But we need more people, so I was hoping Joe could join too. Are you free? You’d walk with me.”

“I’m not free.” I replied straightforwardly.

“He just wants to linger around the engineering faculty.” Arthit teased.

“Really? Your boyfriend is in the engineering faculty, right?” Bai Toey said, her expression visibly darkening before she glanced at the bracelet on my wrist, “This one is serious, isn’t he? You keep posting about him in your stories.”

“Hmm.”

“Oh…what about Arthit, are you free?”

“Not free, I have to go as an athlete representative to receive an award.”

“For second place.” I teased, earning a scolding from Arthit. “So, no one’s free? What a pity.”

“Sorry about that.” I said out of courtesy.

“It’s okay.” Bai Toey said with a faint smile before walking away. I turned back, not too concerned, but since Fah was sitting across from me, he noticed.

“She’s crying.”

“Is she?” I asked, glancing over slightly to see Bai Toey crying on a friend’s shoulder outside, “Because I mentioned my boyfriend is in the engineering faculty, and I am in a serious relationship with him.”

“Well, you told the truth.”

“Toey has liked you since the first year.” Fah said, “Because you gave her hope.”

“Me? When was that?” I asked, trying to remember, but then decided it was better not to try too hard. I probably wouldn’t remember anyway, especially since I barely remember names of people outside my close circle.

“Probably during the first-year lab, Toey broke something in the lab, and you paid for the damage, it was like ten thousand baht.”

“Really?” I raised my eyebrow in question.

“Who wouldn’t like that, you’re such a spender.” Arthit said, “Why did you pay at that time? It wasn’t because you were good-hearted, was it?”

“Oh, if I really paid, then I…yeah.” I said, letting out a chuckle. No need to say it out loud to understand the implication. Why would I pay if I didn’t expect anything in return?

“And it didn’t work out?”

“Arthit.” Fah said in a low, cautionary tone.

“You mean you didn’t end up dating?”

“Probably not.” I said, shaking my head slightly, “Must have talked and found out it wouldn’t work, I don’t like people who make things worse when you talk to them, it’s a headache, like Hill’s Thanmild.” “She’s not mine.” Hill retorted immediately.

“Now it’s Fa’s.” I said. Thanmild is a second-year medical student who has liked Hill since high school and followed him here to study. She’s the type that gives you a headache just by being around, dunno how Hill puts up with her.

“Not mine.”

“Are you sure, Fah?” I raised an eyebrow, “I see you with her often.”

“She just comes to consult.”

“Oh, is that so?”

♣♣♣

 

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 28 part 2

“Who is that? He’s so handsome.”

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“Huh? Really? And that black Audi is his?”

I nodded in response, “Which means he must be very rich. He’s good, North. He’s really good, heh, and so handsome. Plus, he looks great, has a good body, and he’s rich too. I’m so jealous.”

I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what to say, just gave a shy smile back. Honestly, I like it when people compliment Phii Joe; it somehow makes me feel shy too.

Then, Cartoon bombarded me with questions about Phii Joe. She even wanted to take a picture of him, but I wouldn’t let her. What would she do with a picture?

“North…”

“Yes?” I turned towards Phii Johan’s call, it seemed he had finished his business call. He walked over to me, and Cartoon looked all excited and flushed seeing Phii Joe up close.

“Uh, hello, are you North’s boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“I’m North’s neighborly sister, my name is Cartoon.”

“Oh…yes.” Phii Joe gave a small smile but didn’t seem too interested in her. “Excuse us.” before he reached out to put his arm around my shoulder, leading me back into the house. I gave a small smile to Cartoon as a goodbye gesture.

Once inside, I found my mom setting up the dining table. We waited a bit until everything was ready, then we started eating dinner. I really missed Mom’s cooking. While we ate, we chatted about various things until Mom remembered something.

“Oh right, Young North, you’re such a show-off when it comes to his boyfriend.”

“Mom, please don’t.” I protested loudly. Since I started dating Phii Joe, I’ve been bragging about him to Mom all the time, it’s been like this for a while now. But the one thing I didn’t want to happen was for Mom to tell Phii Johan about it.

“Really?” Phii Joe asked with interest, “What did he say?”

“He said his boyfriend is very handsome.”

“Is that so?” The person next to me turned to ask me, revealing a slight smile. I quickly looked down and continued eating.

“It’s not just that…”

“Mom!” I started to whine a bit, making a pouty face, but it didn’t have any effect.

“He called to tell me, he’s so kind, he’s so attentive, he doesn’t know what to do, he loves him so much, you know…”

“Mom…” I called out in a hushed tone, this is why I didn’t really want them to meet. But it seems like Phii Joe enjoyed hearing mom’s stories, he was very interested.

“Do you know, mom, he’s the first person that made me want to better himself, I will study hard now too, and when we’re not together, I feel something weird, I don’t like it, I miss him so much, I’ve never felt like this with anyone else, have you ever felt like this with dad?” “Mom…I won’t tell you anything anymore.” I said, pretending to be sulky, covering my face with my hands, feeling the heat reaching my ears now.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Phii…”

“Here, North, why don’t you tell him these things?”

“Mom…” Who would dare tell Phii Joe these things? Because of the habit of talking about everything with mom. When I was dating Jo, I talked like this with mom too, but she never told Jo these things.

“Go ahead, say you’ve even thought about marriage.”

“Mom…”

“Hmm?” Phii Joe raised an eyebrow slightly, “Marry me?” before giving a satisfied half-smile. Who let him smile like that!

“…”

“North gets embarrassed, doesn’t he?” Mom teased lightly, “Or is it just with him? Your ears are all red now, dear.”

“I don’t want to talk anymore.” I said quietly.

“North, he is quite the one to show off his boyfriend, I’ll tell you, especially with Joe.” Mom said, turning to Phii Joe, “He bragged about everything, seems to be very proud of you, huh?”

“…” I continued eating my rice, trying to ignore them. They can tease all they want. I feel like I’m about to explode!

After dinner, mom said she’d clear the dishes herself and told us to go rest. My bedroom is upstairs. I opened the door to my room, feeling embarrassed. I never thought Phii Joe would actually agree to sleep in my room.

“It’s a bit cramped.” I mentioned.

“Not that cramped.” “Just me here.” I mumbled. Phii Joe walked in and scanned the room with his eyes, a typical boy’s room with posters, comic books, a guitar, a study desk, and a bed that wasn’t particularly large, “Do you want to take a shower?”

“Shower together?”

“N…no.” I immediately declined. He gave a small smile at my shy demeanor, and then we went to take our showers separately since there were bathrooms both upstairs and downstairs. When I came back to the room, he had already finished his shower and was sitting on the bed.

“Ah!” I exclaimed in surprise as I was suddenly pulled into a hug from behind. Phii Johan tightened his embrace and nuzzled his nose against my neck.

I caught the faint scent of soap from him as I leaned back against his chest.

“Phii Joe, are you okay with my home?”

“It’s okay.”

“That’s good, Mom and Aunt seem to really like you.” I said with joy, snuggling closer to him, “They might end up loving you more than me. What if I am left behind?”

“And you, North?”

“Huh?”

“Do you love me?”

“Uh…why are you asking that out of the blue?” I asked, stammering a bit, surprised by the sudden question.

“Answer.”

“I love you.”

“Hmm.”

“Just you; North loving me is enough.”

“…” I fell silent and let my heart continue to beat strongly. I’ve grown quite accustomed to and fond of Phii Joe’s hugs and physical affection, because it warms my heart a lot, but even so, it still makes me shy.

“I heard you’re a show-off.”

“…”

“When we’re not together, do you miss me a lot? Have you ever felt like this with anyone else?”

“Phii!”

“He’s the first one who made me want to change for the better.”

“…” I buried my face into the blanket to hide my flushed face. Why does he have to tease me and then whisper in my ear, stop it already, T^T.

“It’s the same for me.”

“Ha?”

“North, you are the first and only person who made me want to better myself.”

“…Ah, uh, yes.” I buried my face even deeper into the blanket, my words barely audible before Phii Joe pulled me closer, pressing his lips hard against my cheek, lingering there until I didn’t know what to do, “Ah…what’s this?”

“You let Gene kiss your cheek.”

“…I always let you kiss my cheek too.”

Phii Joe didn’t reply, just smiled with satisfaction and kissed my cheek again, holding it there for a moment before letting go. I turned to kiss his cheek in return, and we continued talking about today’s visit to my house along with other things.

Suddenly, my phone rang, and I saw it was Tiger calling.

“Speakerphone.” Phii Joe said in a calm voice, which made me jump a little. It seemed like he didn’t like it much when we were together and someone interrupted.

“What’s up, Tiger?” I answered, putting the call on speaker as instructed. (Duennao…)

   I was startled by the noise of music and commotion coming from the other end, I barely had time to lower the volume. It sounded like he was outside, probably at a bar, I guessed.

(Duennao…)

   “Are you drunk?”

(No.)

   “Oh, what’s going on then?”

(Duennao…)

   “If you keep just calling for Nao, how am I supposed to understand anything?”

(Duen…Nao…)

   “I can’t take it anymore, my friend.” I said, letting out a sigh. There must be something wrong for Tiger to be this drunk, “Calm down, man.”

(I don’t want to be like this at all.)

   “What’s wrong with you?” Phii Joe asked in a low, deep voice that gave me goosebumps. I don’t know why.

(Oh, you’re there too?)

   “Yeah.”

(That’s good, you’re together.)

   “Tiger, what’s going on?” I asked again.

(I don’t know, just leave me alone.)

   “Come on, but you called.”

(Yeah, Phii.)

“What?”

(That bastard North owes me money, Phii.)

   “…” (He swindled me out of hundreds of thousands, North, he threatened me really well about Duennao.)

   “This is ridiculous, Tiger, what would I threaten you with? You’re just drunk and talking nonsense.” I said with frustration. What is he on about, owing him hundreds of thousands?

(I don’t know, Field, get me more drinks.)

   (Annoying, and who did you call?) Garfield’s voice, a friend of Tiger, probably out drinking with him.

(Drunk and just talking shit, bastard.)

   There you go, sounds just like me.

(Is this North?) Garfield’s voice got closer to the phone, he must have successfully taken the phone from Tiger.

(Sorry about that, Tiger’s a bit drunk.)

   “Is it about Nao?” I asked.

(Must be it, it’s all messed up. Don’t know what happened.)

   “Okay, take good care of him when you bring him back.”

(Yeah, sorry for the disturbance) and then he hung up. What was that about? When it comes to Duennao, Tiger gets so delicate.

“Are you going to fleece him?” The deep voice from behind startled me again, before Phii Joe made me turn around to face him and sat me on his lap.

This isn’t good at all…

“Tiger is just drunk.”

“But you do fleece him, right?”

“Well…yes.” I admitted with a slight pout. It’s not really fleecing, just asking him to treat me to some drinks or something.

“I’m curious, how scary are you to threaten him to get hundreds of thousands?”

“…” “Come on, show me how you do it.”

“Are…are you crazy?” I said, turning my gaze away, looking at him with an expression that clearly showed he was deliberately trying to embarrass me.

“Quick, I want to see.”

“I don’t really fleece money from him, just asks him to buy water or something sometimes.” I said truthfully. I’ve never outright asked for money from Tiger.

“And why don’t you ever ask me?”

“…”

I fell silent because I felt the situation was getting tricky after seeing the smile at the corner of his mouth.

“What did you say before? That you could get anything you want from me, right?”

“Well…um, I’m considerate of you, you know, oh!” His hand pressed the back of my neck down, and his lips met mine instantly. Phii Joe seemed not too fond of my being considerate, then his hot tongue darted in, pressing against my lips firmly. I responded to the touch, my breathing starting to get faster, before Phii Joe pulled back from the kiss.

“What did you say just now?”

“No…no.” I averted my gaze, feeling my heart start to beat faster again.

“Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Hmm. That’s good.”

“But next time, I won’t ask.”

“Hmm?”

“I will just steal, when you’re asleep, I’ll steal your wallet, I’ll even take your room keys, the TV, the fridge, the sofa, all your expensive stuff, I will take it all. And when you wake up, I will have vanished without a trace.” I said with a playful smile, and the person in front of me responded with an indulgent smile.

“Will you disappear too?”

“Yes. You definitely won’t find me.”

“Then take it all, but North, don’t disappear.”

Cheater…

   Why are you so good at sweet-talking…

   I immediately pouted when I heard his words, my face suddenly feeling hot, I knew it must be turning red. I lowered my head to hide it. Phii Joe seemed quite pleased with my reaction.

   “Why are you so good at getting embarrassed?”

“It’s because of you. Don’t tease.”

“Then why are you so good at being cute?”

!!

“Uh…stop it.” I protested a bit before Phii Joe made me sit up and kissed me gently on the lips. When he pulled back, I rested my forehead on his shoulder as if needing a moment to catch my breath.

“Oh, right, do you want to hear me play the guitar?” I asked, remembering. I had always thought if there was a chance, I’d like to play the guitar for Phii Joe once, especially a song I would sing for him.

“Will you play?”

“Yes, but I’m not very good at it.”

“Hmm, I want to listen.” Phii Joe said. I gave a wide smile before getting up to fetch the guitar leaning against the wall, “Since when have you been playing?”

“Since high school, actually, but it’s been a while since I’ve played.” I said, strumming the guitar strings to check if they were out of tune, “There’s one song I’d like you to hear, by the way.” “What song?”

“‘Fix You,’ but, um, I can’t play it.”

“That’s okay, you have been wanting me to listen to that for a long time.”

“What do you mean?” I looked puzzled by his words, but Phii Joe didn’t seem too keen on explaining further, “If that’s the case…consider that I have played it for you, even if I’m not actually singing it.”

“Hmm, play another song then.”

“Oh, let’s go with an easy one then, just a moment, let me find one.” I said, pulling out my phone to search for a song that was both pretty and easy to play, “Come to think of it, we never had a proper courtship moment, so North will sing a song to court you.”

“Hmm?” Phii Johan raised an eyebrow, surprised by my words, then let out a small laugh, making me laugh along, even though I was embarrassed by what I said.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Let’s hear it then, I’m eager to listen to your courtship song.”

“I’ll make you blush, just watch.” I said, chuckling again at my own words. Being together for a while now, I’ve started to feel more confident joking around like this with him.

I found a song I thought was easy to play and fitting, though I haven’t played for a long time, I was worried I might mess up the chords, so I checked the lyrics and chords on my phone several times.

“Found a song?”

“Yep.”

“Which one?”

“‘Everything Has Changed,’” I said. I already liked this song, and when you look at its meaning, it fits, feeling like everything has changed since meeting him. I started to play somewhat awkwardly because I was out of practice, but after a while, it got better.

While I was playing, I looked up from the guitar to see Phii Johan holding his phone, recording me. I gave a small laugh to the camera.

“…Please don’t record.” I said, but he didn’t stop filming.

I played on with a slightly annoyed look until I finished the song.

“Posted on Instagram, have you?” After we started dating, Phii Joe has been posting on his Instagram stories more often, mostly about me. The news of us dating had spread throughout the university. But since I’m not one to care much about comments, I let them talk.

As for the people who added me or sent messages, I didn’t pay them any mind either. Whenever I went out, I often got strange looks, but I didn’t care about that either.

“Yeah, posted it.”

I checked to see what he posted, and found a story video of me playing the guitar just now, with the caption, “Someone said they’d play guitar to woo me: )”

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw that, it was really cute.

Phii Joe’s Instagram used to be all black and white from the very first post, but recently it’s turned to color, and mostly it’s pictures of me. If not my pictures, it’s photos related to us, like hand-holding, gifts we’ve given each other, or places we’ve been together.

I really like this kind of thing…

The latest picture was of me playing the guitar, with the caption from a line in the song:

‘Making Up For Lost Time…’

   “Can I post some photos too?” I asked.

“Sure. No need to ask.” “Can I hold your hand for a moment?” I smiled. Phii Joe extended one hand towards me, not quite understanding. I took a photo of us holding hands, with the guitar resting on my lap visible as well.

I posted the photo on my own Instagram, adding a caption from another part of the song:

‘All my walls stood tall, painted blue

   I’ll take them down, and open up the door for you.’

  

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 28 part 1

   Chapter 28: Painted Blue

   I felt a bit excited about bringing Phii Johan to my house. By the time we arrived, it was almost evening. My house is nothing special, not big or spacious. Within the same compound, there are two houses: the front one where I live with my mom, and the back one where my aunt lives, separated because they live as a family with Uncle. They have an older son in middle school named Knight, and the youngest son, Non, who was just born.

Initially, I thought we’d stop by to see Phii Joe’s grandparents first since we were staying at my place, but it seemed like his grandparents weren’t home. Mother Gene had come to see Phii Joe this morning, bringing gifts for my mom. Before leaving, she gave me a big kiss on the cheek, saying if I was going to meet Grandpa and Grandma, it would be better to meet Joes’Dad too at the same time.

So, it turns out next time I’ll meet Grandpa, Grandma, and Dad all at once.

Just thinking about it made me feel like I couldn’t breathe properly.

But above all else, I’m curious about how Mom will react when she meets Phii Joe. I haven’t even sent Mom a picture of him, thinking it’s better for them to meet in person.

The luxury car pulled up in front of the house. I got out and rang the doorbell, and after a moment, my mom came out looking like she had just finished showering, still with a towel draped over her shoulders.

“Oh, North, back home?” Mom called out, looking quite surprised.

“Isn’t that what you told me to do, to come back on Saturday?”

“Oh, did I say that?” I couldn’t help but think, why is Mom so forgetful? Before she walked over to open the gate, “Whose car is that? Why is there such a fancy car parked in front of our house?”

“It’s Phii Joe’s car. Mom, you said to bring my partner home. How could you forget?”

“…”

My mom’s eyes widened as she looked at the black car parked in front of us. Then the luxury car drove in and parked inside. Our house has space for two cars, one for my uncle, and the other spot was empty.

“Wow, how many millions is this car worth?” Mom walked up to me and asked. I shook my head slightly, indicating I didn’t know, “When Uncle takes his car out, he’ll have to be careful. If it gets scratched, what will we do?” Uncle is my aunt’s partner.

His car…? Then my mom froze when she saw Phii Johan stepping out of the car, she covered her mouth with her hand before a soft exclamation escaped.

“Wow, holy…”

“Mom…” I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at her words. That’s just how my mom is, very youthful, you can tell from the end of the alley who my mother is.

“Fucking-Handsome-st, North, hold me or I might fall.”

“Take it easy.” I said, catching her arm, pretending to hold her up. But when Phii Joe turned around, she immediately composed herself and draped her towel over my shoulder instead.

Wait a minute, Mom…this towel is wet.

“Hello.” Phii Joe greeted with a wai. My mom responded with a stiff wai, why is she so stiff? He should be the one nervous about her, “Mom asked me to bring this.” and he handed her a beautiful blue paper bag. I didn’t know what was inside either, but from Gene, it’s bound to be something special.

“Thank you, really, you didn’t have to go through the trouble.” She smiled sweetly, taking the bag. Then we all walked into the house and sat down in the living room on the sofa.

“North, come help me a bit.” Mom called out. I walked into the kitchen to assist her, “What snacks should we get? Does he have any favorites?”

“He doesn’t like sweets, but I do, let’s go with that.”

“I am not even letting you have any.”

“Oh, come on.” I pouted, looking annoyed.

“North.”

“Yes?”

“Why is your boyfriend so handsome? Is he really your boyfriend, not just some playboy?” My mom was still visibly excited since meeting Phii Johan for the first time, “Mom’s heart is really fluttering.” She said, placing her hand over her heart, her face slightly red.

“He’s not a playboy.”

“Really? He’s so handsome, is he an actor or something? How did you get him to chase after you? Did you play hard to get?”

“No, he came after me.”

“Hmm.” Mom dragged out the sound as if she didn’t quite believe me, “That guy dresses so well, my dear. I feel like sweeping the floor again, worried his feet will get dirty.” Oh, when I’m at home, I’m the one who sweeps the floor all the time, T^T.

   “I hate when you say ‘that guy’.” I grumbled quietly.

“He’s really handsome, you know. At first, I almost couldn’t believe it. When North bragged about him, but like…oh, Mom’s heart might give out, I thought, ‘Is this really my future son-in-law?’, he’s just too handsome.”

“Mom, you are overpraising him more than me now.” I chuckled again, before bringing water and snacks to the living room table. I sat down next to Phii Joe on the sofa, and Mom followed, sitting on the sofa opposite us.

“Your name is Johan, right? Can I just call you Joe?”

“Yes.”

“You’re in your second year, so you’re one year senior to North, right? Is he naughty?”

“He’s pretty naughty, very much so.”

“North, don’t be naughty with him, okay?”

“Ha? Me, naughty?” I protested slightly when suddenly I got scolded by my mom. I’m not naughty, I’m a good kid, easy to teach, almost to death. I looked towards Phii Joe, who just shrugged, indicating he didn’t really care. “Young North has been stubborn and mischievous since he was a child. You need to scold him firmly. If you don’t, he won’t stop.”

“Sure.” Phii Johan gave a slight smile. There was no need for her to tell him to scold me; I was already scolded enough as it was. T^T, “Was he stubborn even as a kid?”

“Mm-hmm, very stubborn.” my mom put down her glass of water, ready to roast me thoroughly, “Before, he got picked on a lot by others, came home with bruised knees sometimes, or bumps on his head, so I solved the problem by sending North to learn boxing.”

“Boxing?” Phii Joe raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise at my mom’s words, “He learned boxing?”

“Since middle school.” I explained. When other parents have issues with their child being bullied, they might handle it differently, but my mom solved it by sending me to learn boxing.

“Wow, so my little North was quite the tough guy.” Mom said, letting out a laugh, “Just like his father.”

“That’s right, Mom, the blood of the father runs strong. We walked the path of the tough guys before.” I said jokingly, “It was an all-boys school, fighting for supremacy at Suzuran.”

Mom told me that when she first met dad, it was during high school. He was studying at a nearby technical school, which has since closed down. I once asked what she liked about dad, and she said even she couldn’t find the words to explain it herself, and then they started dating. After high school, neither of them went to college because they didn’t have the money; my grandmother couldn’t afford to send them. Both my mom and aunt only finished grade six, then worked for about two years before I was born. My mom is only thirty-eight now.

   When people ask why her son is so grown but she still looks young, my mom would answer, “Oh, I got married early.” and that’s my mom for you. I still find it funny, and there are still people who don’t know and try to flirt with her.

   “By the way, about North liking to fight?”

“I didn’t like it. They came looking for trouble.” I said, “Mostly.”

“Everyone who had issues with North ended up leaving the school. I wonder if the teachers thought it was too much.”

“Probably.” I said without much thought. I’ve wondered about it too; many who picked fights with me ended up transferring, especially those who really bullied me, they didn’t last long.

Or maybe

I turned to look at the person next to me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Phii Joe asked, raising an eyebrow, but the slight smile on his lips confirmed my suspicions. I used to complain about these things at the game shop all the time.

Why do I feel a little scared of him now…

“At first, I thought sending him to boxing would change him into something fiercer, but no, North remained…North, just the same.” Mom said, letting out a sigh, “Still stubborn, mischievous, playful to a headache-inducing degree, and just not serious.”

“How do you eat and make such a mess?” The person next to me said, reaching out to wipe crumbs from the corner of my mouth. I unintentionally made a face at him, catching a glimpse of my mom watching us, looking a bit embarrassed.

“It’ll be evening before you know it. I’ll go prepare dinner first, do you want anything special?” She turned to ask Phii Joe. Wait, shouldn’t she be asking me? I haven’t had mom’s cooking in so long, T^T.

   “I’m hurt.” I said, pretending to sulk. “Even if you sulk, I won’t coax you.” Mom teased.

“Oh, I’m crying now.”

“Kidding, kidding.” Mom squeezed my cheeks with affection, “What do you want to eat? I’ll make it.”

“Anything is fine.”

“Annoying.” Mom said with a sigh before letting go, “That’s why I didn’t want to ask North. And what about you, do you want anything special?” She asked Phii Joe again, who shook his head slightly to say it was fine, and then my mom disappeared into the kitchen.

“Should I help with something?” I offered to help.

“Please do.”

“What can I do?”

“Just sit still.”

“…Okay.” I said, returning to the same sofa.

“Your mom is so cute, isn’t she?” Phii Johan commented.

“Of course, she’s my mom.” I said proudly, then heard the sound of the back door opening. I turned to see my aunt walking while carrying the baby. I rushed over to my little cousin immediately.

“Let me hold him.” I asked, and my aunt handed the baby to me. I looked down at the infant wrapped snugly in a blanket, “He’s wrapped up like a little burrito.”

“See, and this…”

“Hello.” Phii Joe greeted her with a smile, my aunt looked stunned since she laid her eyes on Phii Joe, her face starting to go red, she pulled me aside a bit.

“Who is that?”

“My boyfriend, the one I said I’d bring home.” I replied while playing with the baby, making faces at the tiny burrito, his little hands so small, chubby cheeks that looked like they needed a nibble, and his arms all wrinkly. “Really!”

“Shh, you scared the child.” I said, soothing the baby in my arms, “There, there, don’t cry.”

“The one you said is the grandson of our landlord, right?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, he’s so handsome, North.”

“Aunt, calm down.”

“North, I think he’s not ordinary. He’s very handsome, my heart skipped a beat just now, I almost wanted to divorce my husband.” my aunt said excitedly, truly like my mom.

“I’ll definitely tell Uncle.”

“He’s not home, went drinking with friends, ha, I have a husband, but he doesn’t love me right.”

“He’s just gone out for drinks with friends, what’s wrong with that?” I said, “You don’t have to look at my boyfriend like that, he’ll get embarrassed.”

“Acting all possessive, tell me honestly, how did you manage this? When your mom told me North said his boyfriend is handsome, I almost didn’t believe it, but then I saw him, wow, holy cow.”

“Ya’s awake now, isn’t he, Non?” I said, bending down to nuzzle my cousin’s cheek, “Don’t want to stay with Auntie Nuch anymore? Better to stay with me, Phii North.” I said, before sitting back on the sofa with the baby.

“Your nephew?”

“Yeah, would you like to hold him?”

“No.” Phii Joe said, turning his attention back to the TV. I figured Phii Joe probably isn’t much of a kid person. “Phii Joe’s not interested in you.” I talked to the baby, feeling like I turned 500% cuter when talking to kids. Then I brought Non closer to Phii Joe, “Phii Joe, hold him, please, hold him.”

“…” He looked at me but still wouldn’t play along, until little Non reached out to touch the air.

“He wants to play with you.”

“Phii North.”

“Oh, Knight.” I turned towards the voice, then handed Non back to my aunt, “What brings you here?”

“Phii North, I missed you so much.” and then Knight ran in from behind and hugged my neck because I was sitting on the sofa. This is usually how lively our house is, and now with a new baby too, relatives come to visit constantly, “Who’s that?”

“My boyfriend.”

“Wow…he’s insanely handsome.” The words slipped out from the mouth of the middle schooler, Knight, without thinking. He quickly covered his mouth in embarrassment after realizing he had spoken too loudly. Phii Joe gave a small smile at his reaction, “Phii North, do you think he heard what I just said?”

“He heard it, or else why would he smile?”

“Damn, now I’m embarrassed.”

“Come sit properly, Knight.” I said, and Knight walked around the sofa to sit next to me, giving a respectful wai to Phii Joe.

“Is he really your boyfriend, Phii North?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Oh my, I was going to show off to Phii North.” Knight said, rummaging through his pocket for something, then pulled out his phone to show me a picture, “I am courting this one, I’ll show him off later.” “Who’s this?” I took Knight’s phone. The picture was super blurry, but if I’m not mistaken, he’s wearing boys’ school trousers, “A guy?”

“Mhm.”

“What’s his name?”

“Oscar.”

“Do you have a clearer picture?”

“I do.”

“Then why not show me that?”

“Too cute. I don’t want you to see him.” I turned to look at Knight with a slightly disgusted expression at the term ‘too cute, don’t want you to see’ and showing a blurry picture; it felt oddly familiar, just like that engineering junior who was annoying.

“Well, okay. How’s the courting going?”

“By secretly looking at him.”

“Secretly looking isn’t courting, Knight.”

“That’s all I can do.”

“Night…” I called out to him with a hint of pity, then gently patted my little brother’s head, “Have some courage, soon you’ll be like my friends. If you can’t get a boyfriend now, it’ll be hard even until university.”

“How should I ask him out?”

“I don’t know.” I shook my head slightly, “Have you talked to her at all?”

“Yeah.”

“What did you talk about?”

“About Oscar, and where the bathroom is.”

“Asking for directions, huh? When did you start talking?”

“First year of high school, when he was new and didn’t know his way around the school.” “Night…” I patted my brother’s head affectionately, why am I surrounded by such cases, it’s so disheartening, T^T, “Fight for him, Phii.”

“I want to give him a gift. What do you think I should give, Phii North?”

“I don’t know, how about flowers?”

“But he’s a boy, who gives flowers to a boy?”

“Just give him a Gundam model then.” I said with resignation, “I’ve got some old Gundam models in my room, I can give you one.”

“Wow, what’s that? I’m giving a gift, and it has to be yours?” Night said, looking quite forlorn, because my uncle is quite strict, so Night doesn’t often get permission to buy things. So I often give him my stuff. After chatting for a while, it seemed like Night really wanted to talk to Phii Joe but was too shy, just kept looking at him, clearly embarrassed.

Then Phii Joe excused himself to go outside for a phone call.

“Phii North, is your boyfriend an actor or a model or something? Why is he so cool, and tall too? I want to be that tall, how can I look that good?”

“He’s not, but you will probably grow tall, Uncle is tall too.”

“His name is Phii Johan, right? Even his name is cool; what does he study?”

“He’s in his second year of medical school.”

“Wow, then he’s super smart too, why is Phii North so lucky?”

“Exactly.” I said before petting Night’s head affectionately once more. Everyone in the house really seemed excited to meet Phii Johan. It wasn’t like this when I brought friends over before.

“Here, Night, a snack allowance from me.” I handed some money to Night. His eyes widened with joy, and he quickly gave a respectful wai to thank me before taking the money from my hand.

I’ve been giving Night snack money since before because I do part-time work. If Night behaves well or gets good grades, I would buy him things or give him some money. Since I hadn’t been home in a while, I thought this would be a good opportunity.

“Thank you so much, Phii North; you are the best!”

“Night, it’s time to go back.” Aunt Nuch called out.

“What? I want to play with Phii North some more.” Night said, coming in for another hug.

“You’re still attached to cousin North. You need to go back; you haven’t done your homework yet, have you? And the baby needs to sleep too.” Aunt said. I suddenly remembered something and stood up to fetch something from my bag.

“Aunt, here, I got this as a gift for the new baby.” I said, handing her a box containing gold. She looked puzzled as she received it, but her eyes went wide when she opened it.

“Wow, gold like this? North, you’re amazing, thank you so much, my nephew is really something, at this age, buying something like this, come here for a kiss.” Aunt said happily before leaning in to kiss my cheek. I gave her an embarrassed smile. “You’re really something, Night, take your cousin as an example.”

The gold for the baby was from Phii Joe’s money, so by praising me, they were indirectly praising him, T^T.

   Before I went to see Aunt and Night off back home:

“Is your boyfriend staying the night here too?” my aunt asked.

“Yes, he’s staying.”

“That’s good, take good care of him, he’s not easy to find. I’m even jealous.”

“Ha ha, yes.” I replied with an embarrassed smile, watching as my aunt led Night back into their house. I returned to my own home, seeing my mom busy with preparing dinner, which seemed almost ready. I went outside to sit at the marble table in front of the house next to Phii Joe, who seemed to be in a serious conversation, probably about work. I sat down beside him quietly, looking at him with concern, wondering if something was wrong.

“North.” I heard a whisper calling my name, turned around to see where it came from, and found it was Cartoon, my neighbor Mrs. Kaew’s daughter, whom mom had told me about. I saw Cartoon leaning over the wall, waving at me, so I walked over.

“Yes?”

 

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME

NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 27 part 2

“You’re all talk, North.” Ter remarked before picking up his cards, “Are you going to be the dealer, Dao?”

“Sure.”

“Wait, what’s going on here?” Phoon asked, looking confused and slightly annoyed at us, “At first, North was going to check his fortune, wasn’t he? How did it turn into playing poker?”

“Open your cards, Cat.” Daotok said.

“Damn it…Officer, please stop these guys.” Phoon said, “Why do we have to play this?”

“Open your cards, Cat.” I repeated what Daotok said. “What’s all this?”

“Open your cards, Cat.” Ter repeated.

“Oh, fine!” Phoon exclaimed, out of patience, and picked up his cards to reveal them, “Poker nine, you animal!”

“Oh, fine!” Phoon said, out of patience, picking up a card to look at, “Pocket nines, bastard!”

“Wow, what’s that?” I placed my cards down with a sigh. Our card game only lasted a few rounds because Daotok’s luck was too good. What kind of dealer is this? But we weren’t betting money since none of us had any, and why was my luck only good for the first hand? When I went back for another fortune reading, Daotok said that my luck was very good now, especially financially.

“Really? Then I must buy a lottery ticket.” I said.

“Lottery again, North? You’ve only won once since you started buying, and you used it to buy drinks for your friends.” Ter remarked.

“People need faith, Ter. I’ve got my eyes wide open, dreaming of getting rich quick, you know? Think about it, Ter. I buy a lottery ticket for just a few hundred, and if I win, it’s millions. That’s the life, bastard. No need to work till your back breaks, it’s a real investment for profit.”

“I heard your boyfriend is rich, isn’t he?” Ter asked.

“But I’m not rich, am I? While Phii Joe is asking for thousands from the ATM, I’m still wondering why the machine doesn’t give out twenties.”

“Let’s see.” Phoon suggested. Daotok nodded, shuffled the cards, and laid them out again. Phoon picked the cards as instructed.

“Cat…”

“Huh?”

“Do some good deeds.” “Wow, Dao is telling you to do good deeds.” I said, laughing. Phoon looked really shaken, “Why, Dao? Am I going to have terrible luck?”

“No, just kidding.”

“Dao, you scared me.” Phoon said, “My heart just dropped.”

“For the cat, there will be something about love…”

“All students!!”

We all turned sharply towards the voice, finding that the club advisor had come in. Today we were assigned to draw objects that the teacher had prepared, aiming to create the most dimensional drawings. I felt quite uncomfortable with drawing. When I first joined the club, Ter and Phoon were just as bad as me, but over time their skills improved, leaving me alone here…

Plus, the teacher was quite strict, which is why there are so few people in the club even though it’s specifically for drawing.

“Wow, Dao, are you trying to outdo me with your watercolors?” I peeked over at Daotok’s painting while I was trying to cover up my own mistakes with charcoal. Daotok was using watercolors, “You’re mean, you know that.”

“Is it wrong to use colors?” Dao said, making a face at me, “The teacher said it was okay.”

“And here I am, still struggling with shading.” I said in despair, before lifting my drawing board to look at my work, “Art and I just aren’t meant to be. It’s not my path.”

“North, let’s see.” Phoon said, leaning in to have a look, “What’s this? Why do your leaves look so pitiful?”

“Shut up, or I’ll hit you with a dried fish.”

“Hit a cat with a fish?” Ter asked, bursting into laughter. After I finished my own work, I went to sit next to Daotok to watch the way of the artist. No matter how many times I watch it, I’m still amazed. How can he paint so beautifully? Ter and Phoon are also good at drawing.

   Damn, it really feels like a complex thing in my life, T^T.

   “Dao?”

“Ha?”

“Why do you have to be named Star when you’re a guy?” [1] Dao means Star

“Oh. It comes from my parents praying to a falling star for a child. They wanted to name me Daotok regardless of whether I was a boy or a girl.”

“Really? Why pray to a falling star? If they prayed to something else, would you have a different name?”

“Why do you have an issue with my name?” Dao asked while still focused on his watercolor painting, “I don’t have any problem with my name though.”

“Are you calling me annoying?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s right, you’ve got some guts now.” I said, which made Daotok chuckle a bit, “And why does it have to be a falling star? Could it have been something else? A falling star is like a meteorite fragment, right?”

“Do you want me to be named Meteorite then? That’s not it, North.”

“Change the language then, what’s it in English, Meteor?”

“…”

“Mete-or?”

“…”

“…”

“Hey, why does it have to be Daotok? I don’t get it. If someone calls a name Dao, it sounds like they’re calling a girl.”

“Why does it feel like I’m being bullied?” “Yeah. Don’t bully the one who’s doing your work for you, North. You’re so bad, bastard. You don’t attend club activities, and you don’t do the work, so Dao has to draw two pictures every time. You really don’t have any sense.”

“Wow, what’s that?”

“Don’t take it to heart, Dao. North is just like that.” Ter said.

“Exactly.” Phoon chimed in.

“I think the one being bullied right now is me.”

“And why is your name North?” Daotok turned to ask me, his brush moving back and forth in his hand.

“My mom said North means ‘above’ or ‘north,’ so why not just name me ‘North’ and be done with it? I was confused too.” I said, having asked my mom about my name before, but she just wanted it to mean ‘north.’

“And what about Ter and Phoon?”

“Oh, it comes from the Easter festival, my mom went abroad on Easter and liked it, and my younger sibling is named Christmas, also a festival theme.” Ter explained, having told me this story before when I asked.

“Your sister, Christie, she’s really cute.” I said, “If I were Phii Hill…”

“North, you’re such a villain.” Ter said, throwing a piece of paper at me.

“Come on, what’s that?”

“And what about Typhoon?” Dao looked up to ask.

“It’s to match with my sister’s name.”

“You have a sister, Phoon?” I raised an eyebrow in surprise, “That’s great, I wish I had a sibling. What’s her name?”

“Thofan.”

“How do they match?”

“Phoon and Fan, they sound similar.” And then we talked and worked at the same time. After a while, it was time to end the art club meeting, and my work score was embarrassingly low. Daotok left early, leaving just the three of us. Ter also needed to wait for Phii Hill, so I decided to go with him.

“Phoon, what are you going to do?”

“Yeah, what should I do?”

“Want to grab something to eat together? There’s food at the cafe under the medical building. You’re free now, Phoon.” Ter suggested. Phoon hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

We sat down to eat and chat. I had texted Phii Joe to let him know I’d be waiting with friends. We chatted for a while, then the medical seniors entered the cafe, all of them together. Phii Hill sat next to Ter, and Phii Joe sat next to me.

“Oh, Phoon you are leaving?” I commented when I saw Phoon getting up.

“Yeah, I’m off, see you.”

“Okay, see you.” Ter and I said, a bit confused, as Phoon stood up and walked away. Was it just my imagination, or did he seem to be in a hurry? He was quite calm before, and then suddenly he dashed off.

When I turned back to our table, I thought I saw Phii Fah looking after the person who had just left, but he quickly looked away again.

Before we could continue our conversation, there was a buzz from the people in the cafe. I turned to see what everyone was looking at, and there was a woman standing in front of the cafe, visible through the clear glass.

Beautiful…

Really beautiful, stunningly so. No wonder everyone was so excited. She had long hair down to her waist, probably in her late twenties, wearing a pantsuit and high heels, giving off an aura of a celebrity or an idol, or maybe she was a celebrity I just didn’t recognize. “Gene…” I heard Phii Johan call out like that, then he got up from the table and walked out of the cafe.

gene?

Someone Phii Joe knows?

“Is she an acquaintance?” I asked the others. Phii Hill was about to answer when another scream erupted in the cafe. I quickly turned to look.

A cheek kiss…?

That woman had kissed Phii Joe’s cheek, and he didn’t seem to react much to it. I was stunned by what I saw, mixed with confusion, before both of them walked into the cafe.

“Come here.” Phii Joe called out to me, and I noticed the woman walking over to another table. As the two of them entered the shop, it seemed like everyone was watching, they made an impressive pair standing together.

I got up and followed Phii Joe, still not understanding anything, and sat down next to him. I raised my hands in a respectful greeting, and she returned the gesture. Phii Johan sat there, resting his chin on his hand with a bored look, but I was the one feeling uncomfortable.

What…what is this?

Why are they staring like that?

I inadvertently looked away because of all the eyes on us. She then propped her chin on her hand, looking at me and giving a slight smile, which was very beautiful.

Why do I feel like I’m about to be swallowed whole? It’s like when Phii Joe looks at me, the gaze is very similar.

“What are you looking at?” Phii Joe said, sounding a bit annoyed, but the smile of the person opposite us didn’t fade. She just shifted her gaze from me to Phii Joe.

“Can’t I look a bit?” “No.”

“Just a little, he’s getting shy.”

“Gene.” The person next to me said, his voice lowered slightly but still sending shivers down my spine. She then broke into a broader smile, noticing Phii Joe’s displeased demeanor.

“Hmm?”

“…”

“Wow, that’s scary. I’ve never seen you like this before, Joe.” She said, lowering her hand from her chin. “Oh, I won’t tease anymore. I just wanted to see how cute he is, since he’s managed to make you fall head over heels.”

Mom…?

   Is this Phii Joe’s mother…?

   She’s as beautiful as Phii Prang described, even more so than I had imagined.

   So, the guess that she was in her late twenties must be wrong then.

   “You’re so cute.” She said, reaching out to pinch my cheek, but before she could, Phii Joe’s hand intervened. “What’s this? Can’t I even touch?”

“No.”

“Yep. You are quite protective of what’s yours, having waited for three years now.”

My mom’s teasing words made me give a dry smile out of embarrassment.

“And so, why have you come?” Phii Joe asked.

“Just driving by this area, wanted to see my son in his medical student uniform, thought it would be better to stop by.” She said in a cheerful manner, she really seems like a lively mom, but why wouldn’t he want me to meet her?

“You’ve seen him now.” “You look so handsome with this hairstyle, can I take a photo?” She said, pulling out her phone to take a picture of Phii Joe, “Really handsome, this style suits you perfectly.”

“It’s normal, handsomer than your boyfriend, even.”

Topping being called handsome by saying you’re handsomer than your mom’s boyfriend, that’s the ultimate level of confidence!

Phii Joe’s words made his mom burst out laughing immediately.

“Fine, fine, I won’t argue, even handsomer than your dad when he was young. Let me introduce myself, I’m Johan’s mom, my nickname is the same as what Joe calls me. I’ve been called this since he was little because I asked him to call me that way, I like it. It gives a friendly vibe.” She introduced herself cheerfully, “And what about this, are you two dating?”

“Yes.” I replied with a broad smile.

“Oh my, how delightful, let me tell you, the story starts when my grandma told me that Joe was coming home drunk almost every day, and wouldn’t tell anyone what was going on. He had never been this drunk before. When I visited that day, I found Joe drunk again, and no matter how much I asked, he wouldn’t tell, until he fell asleep and started talking in his sleep.”

“Talking in his sleep?” I repeated her words, looking at Phii Joe who didn’t react at all, but I was the one feeling embarrassed, why, T^T.

“Yes, your name is North, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s it, I started investigating until I found out it was someone who lived nearby, but Joe got really mad at me when I tried to approach you.”

“Approach me?”

“Yes, for some reason, he got angry.”

“And why would you go?” Phii Johan asked with a hint of annoyance. “Come on, why not? I was even thinking of proposing to North’s family, my dear. With a dowry of a hundred or two hundred million, twenty bars of gold, we’d take the engagement gifts right from grandma’s house and send them to North family. Or I could start by getting to know your mom first, asking for her son for my son. I promise to take good care of him.”

“…”

I couldn’t help but chuckle a little at her words. Why is Phii Joe’s mom so charming?

   “Hey. He complains that the soymilk is too sweet, but he drinks it every day.”

“Really?” I said, turning to look at the person beside me, not expecting he’d eat it all.

“When grandma found out Joe was complaining it was sweet, she stopped forcing him to eat it. But then he had been visiting to buy it every day on his own, whether he wanted the soymilk or just to sneak a peek at the cute seller.”

“…”

I broke into a wide smile and instinctively raised my hand to cover my mouth slightly from the embarrassment. I didn’t dare look at Phii Joe, so he did come to sneak looks at me every day?

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” Phii Joe’s mom continued to tease.

“He is cute. If he wasn’t, why would I go every day?”

!!

I placed my arm on the table and slid my hand to cover my face a bit, almost unable to hold back my smile. My face felt hot, and my heart started beating faster. How could he say something like that so casually?

“Sometimes you’re too straightforward, I’m embarrassed for him.” Mom said, covering her face with her hand, “And about work, he works for you, dear.” “Me?” He works for me? At first, Phii Joe told me it was because of me that he started taking an interest in the family business, and I was really happy about that.

“I heard him say…”

“Joe wants to be someone you can rely on.”

“…”

“After that, he started working harder and decided to inherit the family business. I was wondering why he accepted the offer when he’s still only in his second year, but then it clicked, because you’re here, Joe has become even more serious about work.”

Because of me…Phii Joe decided to take over the family business? That’s why his work has been so intense…

   “But when there’s someone new, he suddenly wants to spend more time with them. He’s always been all in with work, but after finishing the project in Boston, he said he wanted to put some work aside for now.”

“Well, I have someone to take care of now.”

“…” I lowered my head and bit my lip tightly, feeling my heart swell with joy upon hearing the words from the person beside me. I was so happy that he said he wanted to spend time with me. I’ve never had a problem with him not having time for me; I’ve always said I understood, but it does feel better knowing I’m someone he wants to make time for.

“That’s good then. I don’t want you to overwork, you’re still studying too. You can work more after you graduate, but once you start working, you might not have as much time. Will you understand that, North?” Mom asked, turning to look at me. “He might even work harder than before.”

“I understand.” I said, “But if he overworks, I’ll worry, you know.”

“Can I hug you? Why are you so adorable? And you’re someone my son loves so much.” Mom said, standing up from her chair and walking over to sit beside me. “Gene, no.” Phii Joe said, pulling me closer, “That’s why I said I didn’t want you to meet.”

“What’s wrong? I’m just happy, why is he so cute? I can see why Joe likes him, just one little hug.”

“No.”

“Aww.” Mom said with a sigh, sitting back down, “But I want to thank you, thank you for everything. If there’s time, I’d like to treat you to something nice to eat, but I’m sorry, I have to rush off now.” She said, glancing at her wristwatch.

“That’s okay.” I replied.

Then Mom asked me some general questions like what I was studying, if my studies were going well, before she had to leave in a hurry. We walked her to her car.

“Bring him home sometime, I’ll talk to your dad about it.”

“Will Dad have time?” Phii Joe asked.

“He’ll have to find the time one of these days, we’ll meet soon, and Joe, take good care of him, you’re so protective.” Mom teased again, then rummaged through her bag for something, “Ah, here, for snacks.”

“No need, I can pay for him.”

“Really? Oh, I forgot, my little Joe probably has more money than me. Then, can I at least give him a kiss?”

“No.”

“A hug then?”

“Gene, I made things clear.”

“So fierce.” Phii Joe’s mom said, making a pouting face at Phii Joe. I think they’re a really cute mother-son pair, “Mom’s starting to get scared now, what if someone messes with the kid, won’t they die? Oh, but there’s already one person.”

“Ha? What?” I looked at her with a puzzled expression. “The person who messed with you, dear, be careful, this one is very protective. If he gets really protective, someone might actually die.”

“Ha, what do you mean?”

“It’s nothing, so I will go now, Joe, you should come home too, you can come back with him.”

“Alright.” Phii Joe said, before my mom got in the fancy car and it drove off.

“Your mom is so cute.” I remarked as we walked back to the original coffee shop. It seemed like my mom was quite touchy-feely like Phii Joe, always wanting to hug or kiss, maybe that’s why he didn’t want them to meet.

“Is she?”

“And what did mom mean by what she said earlier?”

“Hmm, what?”

“About someone messing with me.”

“Oh. Just that.” Phii Joe said with an air of not caring much. He had this attitude that told me asking wouldn’t get me any further answers.

 

   NORTH HOW MUCH IS YOUR LOVE CHAPTERS HOME