MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 30: Come Find Me
[Bohn]
Duen: Bohn, I’ll treat you to shaved ice.
“Huh? What’s this about?” I mumbled to myself after reading the message. Normally, that idiot never treats me to anything (except for the first day when I made him pay for medicine). Forget about treating, he’s super frugal, thinking twice before buying anything.
“What’s up, Bohn?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head, denying my close friend, who then turned back to focus on studying, assuming it wasn’t a big deal.
Bon Ss: Huh?
Duen: Are you preparing stuff for the camp at the same place this evening?
Bon Ss: At the gear plaza? Yeah, why?
Duen: Nothing.
Bon Ss: Is there something?
Duen: I won’t call you after class.
Bon Ss: Why. If you run away like you said, I’ll kill you, really, Duen.
Duen: I haven’t said anything yet, you crazy Bohn.
Bon Ss: You’re asking strange questions. Plus, you said you wouldn’t call.
“What’s wrong, Bohn, you look stressed.”
“Nothing.” I replied to Boss while still looking at my phone screen. Just as I was about to type back to the person in the chat, I paused because someone was calling. Rrrr
‘Duen’
Seeing who was calling, I answered immediately. We’re sitting at the back; the professor won’t hear us. Even if he did, I wouldn’t care right now. I’m not in the mood to worry about getting scolded by the professor.
“What do you mean?” I asked the person on the line, propping my chin while looking out the window, trying to lean against the wall to block the signal, secretly noticing Merk and the others looking at me with curiosity. Of course, I usually don’t answer calls during class.
(Why are you irritated, Bohn?)
“It’s you…”
(Because you said you wouldn’t call since you’re coming to my faculty!)
I don’t know if he’s in class because the voice was quite loud just now, but if he is, he must be getting scolded by his professor.
“…”
(You’re crazy, always assuming things.)
“Sorry, are you coming?” I’m smiling like an idiot…why didn’t you tell me from the start?
(Yeah, I’ll treat you to shaved ice.)
“Huh? Where?” Where can you even buy shaved ice these days? It’s hard to find. If it’s in the provinces, that’s another story. I’ve been to the provinces with my dad; they still use wooden ice shavers like they used to. When I was little, there was one near my house. My friends and I used to watch Aunt Mew at the alley entrance make it, hearing it made my teeth hurt…
(Don’t know yet, you’ll see, hee hee.) Did you not plan anything?
“You’re crazy, what’s the occasion for treating me?”
(I’ll tell you later, meet after class.)
“Okay.”
(You’ll definitely be surprised.) I could hear him chuckling too.
“Huh?”
(That’s it, I’m hanging up.)
Click
“What’s this about…”
“What is it?” Tang asked, looking at my phone screen, his fingers tapping away on the keyboard constantly. He’s been particularly hot lately, I don’t know why, always chatting with girls every day.
“Duen is talking weirdly.” After saying that, I thought of his handsome face, shaved ice in the heart of the capital = = ?
“How so?”
“He said he’ll come find me, and then he said he’d treat me to shaved ice.”
“That’s good then.” Merk added.
“It is good, but it’s just weird, really. At noon, when I brought him cake, he was still down, but just now he called, and his voice was so cheerful.”
“Maybe he was stressed about something during the day.”
“About the work, he was stressed, scared of getting a low score.” Scared of what, I don’t know. If you get a low score, you just improve it. Nong Tang said this teacher allows you to take the work back and revise it, which is great. For me, once I submit, that’s it, the grade is what it is.
“Then maybe now he got a good score.”
“Yeah, true…”
I bet he must have gotten a really good score for Duen to be this happy.
Thinking that, I immediately messaged him.
Bon Ss: Did you get a perfect score?
Duen: I’ll tell you when I come to find you. I’m in class now [sends a picture of himself smiling.]
He must have gotten a good score for real. He never sends pictures of himself making nice faces, usually just middle fingers, grumpy faces, annoyed faces, and sexy selfies, heh.
Bon Ss: I want you to smile in front of me [sends a picture of himself resting his chin and smiling.]
Duen: Wow!
Bon Ss: Heh heh, go back to studying.
“What’s with you, you were frowning a moment ago, now you’re grinning…bipolar?”
“When I’m happy, I have to smile.” I shrugged. Duen is coming to find me at my faculty. After that, we’ll pick up the kids from school, and then we’ll have dinner together. Crazy, this is a happy family for sure.
“Heh.” Those guys made a face of annoyance at me before turning back to their studies. Meanwhile, I kept reading the message from the idiot over and over like a madman…I’m going crazy because of him.
“Tiger, when did you get the permit?”
James shouted to ask Tiger while we were still preparing for the camp. We’re almost done…I think these two work harder than the professors who are going with us. They’re always running around, sometimes I wonder if they even have time to study, because recently, I’ve heard their names announced so often it’s become familiar, oh, poor them.
“I got it today, Oat from management will bring it this evening.” Tiger answered while covering his mouth, then the two of them went off to talk about something else. Apart from being smart, responsible, Tiger’s friends are also kind.
“Speaking of management, is that famous guy still chasing after Nong Duen?”
“From what I’ve seen, he’s not really hanging around Duen.” I haven’t seen it myself, or is he just teasing? That’s good, I don’t want to have a rival. Just talking to Duen to get him to understand is hard enough.
“And not seeing it…”
Gasp
I stopped cutting the rope immediately before turning to look at the speaker, King. He spoke as if he didn’t care, but his words hit deep.
“Damn, King, you like making me stressed.”
He’s right though. I’m not with Duen all the time, especially now with so much work, we only see each other when he brings flowers. Mostly we communicate through LINE or calls. The other side might call when Duen is messaging me, or he might be messaging Duen when I call…
“Chill, I was just saying it.” King smiled slyly while winding the rope around the chair leg, talking casually, you’re clearly trying to make me stressed.
“You’re right, he’s got Duen’s number, has his Facebook, LINE, Twitter,
Instagram, he has everything.” After saying that, I really feel like smacking the idiot’s head. He’s already sneaking in without me realizing it, damn.
“Shit, this isn’t ordinary.”
“I don’t know if Frong is bad or Duen is just naive…” From what I’ve seen, he’s not bad, he seems friendly, funny with friends, with a gentlemanly look, he’s another type of popular guy that girls like.
“I think it’s the latter; this guy has a good nature. I’ve seen him run to help an old lady who was about to get hit by a car. I was so shocked at the time, how could he do that, thank god he was okay.” I’ve heard about that too, someone even posted it on Facebook, the person he helped gave him 80,000 baht as a reward, but he donated it all to the temple. No matter how you look at it, that’s not an act of showmanship.
“…Duen doesn’t like guys.”
I said quietly. Now, I’m starting to fear something. This competitor of mine is too good-natured…No, anyone who likes Duen would be better than me.
“You’re a guy.” Merk said while picking up the mango Tee had brought. What’s with Tee liking mangoes that taste like the heel of a shoe, sour, astringent, and bitter? I can’t explain it, but you can’t eat them. Tee thinks it’s strange, but the seller is even stranger for selling them. But…Merk eats it like it’s delicious. You guys have iron stomachs.
“I’m the exception.”
“Did he say that?”
“Heh, I just think so.”
“Oh, you’re delusional, I thought he said it himself.”
“Duen has to be my boyfriend, and mine alone.”
“You sound like a kid.”
“Shut up, you jerks…I’m only a kid when it comes to this.” Seeing me like this, my friends just laughed, and we returned to our usual state of cutting ropes in the factory-like setting. No, don’t say anything to make me worry, gang, have some pity. I’ve had to deal with Duen’s cluelessness for so long to get to this point, and it took ages for him to even feel something. Not long ago, I got punched by a knight, leaving me sore for days, and now that I’m better, there’s this rival thing to stress about?
I can’t handle it.
My heart can’t handle it…
“By the way…when is the camp?” I asked because, in the end, I’ll have to go. The other day, these guys dragged me to sign up, but what shocked me was that James had already signed me up, damn him.
“Probably during the break.” Tee answered, still eating his deadly mango. How can you eat that, both you and Merk.
“Where are we going?” King asked, reaching for Tee’s mango with curiosity, don’t do it, feel sorry for your stomach that has to take in this stuff, yeah, and pity your butt for having to deal with it coming out again in a degraded state…
“I don’t know either, they just said it’s in the North.” they only mentioned the North but didn’t specify which province. They’ll announce it today with the permission forms.
“Nice, I’m sick of buildings, I want to go live on Phu’s mountain for a bit.”
“I’ve never been to the North.”
“Really?”
I asked Bom in surprise. When he said he was from the countryside, we all thought he was from the North. Given his fair skin and cute face, but he’s actually from the South, I thought he’s this fair because ‘I’m lazy so I just stay home or go to school,’ okay, I understand now.
“My parents don’t have much time, and neither do I, so when we travel, we choose places close to home.”
“I’ve only been to Chiang Mai, Lampang, and Chiang Rai, just those three provinces over and over.” Merk said while still winding the rope. We’re not doing anything else here, James divided the work into groups so it would get done faster.
“I’m the same, just passed through other provinces, never stopped to visit.” I’ve only been to three or four provinces in the North myself. I’m not someone who likes to travel far from home; I’m not comfortable in unfamiliar places.
“I want to go to new provinces.” King turned to smile at us, his cute smile. Tee once said that when King is with Bom, they look like a gay couple somehow. After that, he got beaten up by his two best friends until he was unrecognizable…so scary.
“Why?”
“Well, I want to see new things I’ve never seen before, want to go to faraway, rural places, even better.” Besides being unusual, he’s quite the artist.
“Shit, you artist.”
“I’d like that too, to go somewhere with fresh air.” Tee added, wait, since when did our conversation turn to this topic?
“You guys stop dreaming and get back to work.”
After the booming voice of the great James. We bent our heads to work hard…or so it seemed. We actually grumbled and then went back to working at a snail’s pace. I really want to go somewhere with beautiful waterfalls, to see new nature, because it’s rare for me to go far from home, I really want to take Duen with me…
“Tiger, anyone can go, right?” I decided to ask Tiger, who was sitting in a nearby group.
“Yeah. No limit on numbers, it’s up to who wants to join.”
“No limit, my ass.” James shouted back, from another group close to Tiger’s.
“Why not? On the first day, there wasn’t a limit.” Tiger shouted back…can you guys just walk over to talk? I feel sorry for the electricians you’re shouting over.
“That’s because damn Bohn didn’t sign up on the first day.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“As soon as he signed up, nearly a hundred girls rushed in, so the organizers limited it to two hundred people.”
“That’s good, too many people would be chaotic.”
Well, you have to understand that I’m very handsome and hot, heh.
“You want the doctor to go too, huh?” Boss nudged my shoulder.
“Yeah, but he probably won’t have time.” He seems laid-back like he doesn’t have much to do, but Duen’s head is full of homework and assignments. During the break, he’ll probably go for extra classes or do something academic.
“Have you asked him yet?”
“Not yet.” It’s not that I don’t want to invite him, I’d love for him to come, but I don’t know if he’d want to go with me.
“Phu and Ram are going, Nong Duen might follow his friends.” Said Phu’s code senior. Tang, that guy is so biased, the other day I saw him giving money to Phu to buy snacks, but when we asked for some, he told us if we want to eat, we should buy it ourselves.
“Will Duen have the time?” It’s true, if his friends go, there’s a chance he might follow, but he doesn’t seem to want to go far from home like I do, like…soulmates.
“Then ask him.”
“I’ll ask when he comes.”
“Ohhhh, Bohn!”
Huh…
I turned to look at the shouting that might be calling my name, right? Whatever, it was definitely Duen’s voice. When I turned, I saw him indeed, the slender figure jumping and waving, holding a cake box in his hand. Can you do something that matches your handsome face, Duenhaw?
“Class done?” I asked when he reached the friends who were working. They all grinned teasingly. Lately, they’ve gotten bored of teasing with words, so they tease with looks instead. My friends are truly skilled.
“Yes, hehe.” The newcomer sat down cross-legged next to me, playing with whatever he could reach and laughing all the time. Uh…
“How many points did you get?” I asked, reaching out to take the cake box from him. He probably hadn’t eaten it yet since the box still weighed the same as when I bought it.
“You’ll be shocked when you see it!”
“How many?” I raised my eyebrows, unable to help but smile back when I saw him smiling.
“Look for yourself.” The future doctor said, handing me his work file to look at. Did I ever mention that Duen’s handwriting is truly enigmatic? Why do all doctors have such handwriting? Don’t pharmacists get confused when reading prescriptions? I bet there must be some who give the wrong medication to patients because of doctors’ handwriting.
“…”
“How is it!!” Duen acted cool, raising his eyebrows like a winner, damn…you’re happy with just this score? Didn’t you say twenty was the full mark?
“Three points? Is your professor that harsh?” I asked, puzzled, looking down at the score in front of me again to make sure I wasn’t seeing it wrong.
But it…really was three.
“Wait…you idiot, this is from the morning quiz.” He said, flipping to another page.
“Huh? You got three?”
“Yeah, out of three.”
What kind of quiz has a full score of three? At this rate, you won’t die before getting ten points. I thought my faculty was tough, but compared to the medical faculty, I have to admit defeat.
“And which one is the one you submitted?” The other side kept flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for, then smiled as if he’d found his treasure and handed me the paper.
“This one, hee hee.”
“Let me see…”
“How am I, am I good or what?” Duen kept asking, shaking my arm like a child. Meanwhile, Bom and the others turned to smile at the cute behavior of the big idiot, heh, he’s my kid.
19.5 points
What was the professor trying to say with the remaining 0.5 points?
“Come on, time for your reward.”
“Hey! What are you doing, trying to kiss me?” Duen pulled his face back as far as he could, but I used one hand to pull him closer by the back of his neck. Right now, our pose must look hilarious.
“I already said if it’s not full marks, I’ll kiss to comfort you.”
“Crazy. No way!”
“Don’t hold back, I know you want it.”
“Fuck you.”
We kept this up for several minutes. Eventually, we let go and both burst out laughing when we realized how ridiculous we were being. Every time we get like this, we turn into Tom and Jerry.
“Damn…you have no regard for us single people.”
“That’s right.”
“Bohn, you’re such a jerk.”
I shrugged and raised my eyebrows at those who were teasing before turning to look at the medical student who opened the cake box. Has he read the Post-it note yet?
“Haven’t you eaten the cake?”
“Nooo.” My conversation partner dragged out the word, picking up a strawberry to eat. He looks really happy. I had the shop make it special, it cost quite a bit too…expensive because of all the strawberries.
“Why haven’t you eaten?”
“Wasn’t hungry then, but now I am, want to eat together?” If I knew you’d be this cute after getting a good score, I would have bribed every teacher in your faculty.
“You’ll let me eat?” I pretended to raise my eyebrows in question, the innocent one nodded rapidly before eating another strawberry.
“You bought it.”
“But, I gave it to you.”
“Okay, then I won’t let you eat it. Hehehe.” I supported one hand on the floor, using the other to gently wipe the cream from the corner of Duen’s mouth. After that, I…wiped it on his shirt.
“Hey, you can’t do that.”
“Hehe.”
“Won’t you share with us?” Boss made a whining sound like he really wanted the cake in the box, like a dog, doesn’t Merk buy him any?
“Stop teasing me, and I’ll let you eat.” Duen smiled while picking up another strawberry to eat, almost taunting the others to get hungry, instead of looking cunning, he looked funny, making everyone laugh.
“Oh, that’s impossible, too hard.”
“Then you get none.” The slender figure shrugged before closing the cake box and turning away in a huff. Damn, sometimes you can be really cute, you idiot.
“Duen, ah…”
“Just kidding, ha ha ha.” Duen couldn’t keep up the act for long before he burst into laughter and placed the cake box in the middle of the group. I’m not really jealous because there’s no way Duen could eat it all by himself…I think.
“So how are we going to eat this?”
“With your hands.”
“Should we borrow spoons from the cafeteria lady?”
“Too lazy to wash them afterwards.”
“Then don’t return them.”
“Bom, you’re so bad!”
“I’ll go buy plastic spoons from the co-op.” Seeing that my friends couldn’t agree, Duen suggested, even raising his hand, soft and fluffy…
“Yay!” Bom and the others cheered. Upon hearing that, the only medical student in the group got up to go buy the spoons. Since he arrived, we’ve all stopped working, and there’s this subtle energy communicating to us, ‘Don’t mess around too much, someone might get hurt’…yes, James.
“Do you need money?” I asked while pulling out some cash from my pocket, about to hand it to him, but he grabbed my arm first.
“Are you crazy?” He looked at me with annoyance.
“Heh. Not crazy, but if you want me to be, I will be…crazy for Duen alone.”
“You flirt!”
“Heh heh.”
The slender figure protested and then dashed off to the co-op. Duen gets cuter every day. When I first met him, I thought he’d be quiet, not talkative like Ram, but after getting to know him, everyone has to agree…
…he’s cute.
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