MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 37: Thanks
Krisda Duennhaw, and Bon Ss
Got a Jacket, Got a Gear, Should I Get a Wife?
Bon Ss
You have one already 🙂
[Duenhaw]
“And…why did you guys come to eat at my faculty?”
Phu asked after I came back from buying food. Bohn is crazy, he thinks I’m some delicate, slender girl who can’t walk by myself or something, with all this coddling. Okay, I understand wanting to please your boyfriend, but…I get embarrassed too, you fool.
The cafeteria here is huge, bigger than Phii Duen’s faculty cafeteria, and there’s a lot of food, you feel super envious. What’s this, am I not a doctor’s son just because I study medicine!
“To bring our Duen to his husband.”
“Shut up.” I’ve been annoyed with him since Bohn called me that. Damn Tang, although Ting was the one talking to Bohn, it was Tang who grabbed me and dragged me here.
“Or isn’t that true?” He raised his eyebrows, questioning me.
“Boyfriend…not husband.”
“So, you’re really dating him, huh?” Ram asked, holding a fork and spoon, ready to eat the food in front of him.
“Uh-huh.” I don’t know if others keep secrets or not, but I don’t like having secrets from friends, and as I’ve said before, I don’t like living a secretive life. If I lie to them, I’d have to keep hiding it, and I have no reason to hide this.
“Oh…the quiet one is talking in long sentences now.”
Phii King said happily, during the meal he had his chin in his hand, watching Ram all the time. He really put in a lot of effort; I respect that.
“Are you mad?” I asked worriedly. Would they accept it if their friend has a boyfriend who’s a guy? Even if I don’t care about others’ opinions, I care about those close to me, especially if they are close friends or family.
“Why would I be mad?”
“Because I…”
“If I were dating Phu, would you guys be mad?” I thought about what the other side said; if they were really dating…
“Veera!! Don’t tell me…you have a crush on me?”
“Sigh.” We all sighed loudly when Pin said that. You can think like that, you bastard. Look at his smug face.
“So, what if I was dating him, what would you guys say?”
“Nothing really.”
“I wouldn’t care.”
“What about you?” Ram pointed at me after getting responses from even Tang. Now, the whole table pretended not to pay attention to our conversation, but trust me, they heard every sentence.
“Nothing…”
“Do you find it repulsive?”
“I’m your friend. Even if you’re something others might find repulsive…I would never find you repulsive, ever.”
“Same here, so why worry about it? Suppose I didn’t like Phii Bohn…would you break up?” My conversation partner looked at my lover, who looked back at him. Are you two going to fight? Oh, they’re already fighting.
Follow.
“…No.”
If I were to break up with someone, it would come from my feelings and my partner’s, something decided between just the two of us. Others can give their opinions…but they have no right to dictate because I wouldn’t care, and I never would.
“Give me a kiss, huh.”
The person in question grinned and leaned in, aiming to pinch my cheek. What do you think I did? …I had to raise my hand threateningly.
“Try it, I’ll knock you down.” I said that, but I’ve never knocked anyone down before.
“Tough, huh?”
“Wow, Phii Bohn, don’t be scared of him, he couldn’t even knock over a banana tree.”
“Shut up, Phu!” I turned to curse at my close friend, damn you. If you hadn’t told Bohn, he wouldn’t have known, and instead of feeling guilty, you’re just floating around. Phii Duen will slap you soon.
“It’s true though.”
“It’s not true, be quiet and eat your food!” Ugh.
“Bohn, I just saw something weird while I was walking earlier.” Earlier, I walked past a food stall with some strange food. Strange in the sense that…I never thought something like this could exist on earth. I want to try this weird food, but I’m scared it might be like Phii Tee’s mango.
“Weird food…oh, that thing.” Sht, he knows it too, that means this menu must be very popular, huh…but there aren’t that many people in line, or…!!! …the food is limited, I have to try this limited edition stuff at least once in my life!
“Have you tried it?”
“No, but Tee has.”
“Did you call me?” Phii Tee looked up from his plate of rice to ask us. I mean…he’s good-looking, why does he like to eat weird stuff, bro? Do you know what’s in your plate?
It’s stir-fried onion roots with oyster sauce.
Like, can you actually eat that? Phii Tee is weird enough, but the seller is even weirder, how can you sell that? There’s no vendor’s ethics at all. Just imagine…it’s just regular onion roots stir-fried with oyster sauce. Nothing else. No pork. No shrimp. No chicken. Nothing that looks like it’s meant to be eaten. I really don’t understand Phii Tee’s taste.
“Yeah. Did you try that…the weird thing at our cafeteria?” As soon as the young engineering student, Bohn, finished speaking, everyone at the table turned to look with wide eyes, even Ram widened his eyes. What does ‘that thing’ taste like?
“…”
“Oh, that thing, I’ve tried it.” Phii Tee nodded with a very normal expression. After Phii Tee finished his sentence, Phu even exclaimed softly, “Oh my, you don’t pity your own stomach at all.” “What does it taste like?” I asked, interested.
“It’s tangy, salty, and sweet. I don’t know, it feels weird in your mouth.”
“Bohn, I want to try it.” I said while shaking the other’s arm. It’s not that expensive, but I’m interested in the name of the menu item and its popularity within the faculty; is it good or not?
“No way, I think it’s not that good for your health.” Bohn pouted before making a gesture.
“But I want to try.”
“How many times do I have to tell you I’m worried about you?” He lightly tapped my head with the back of his hand. It didn’t hurt, but I exaggerated my reaction until Bohn actually slapped my head for real, how cruel.
“Okay, I know, but once in a while, trying something unusual is nice.”
“Up to you. If you get a stomachache, I won’t help.” Yay! In the end, you have to give in to me, heh-heh.
I went to line up to buy ‘that thing’. Even though there weren’t many people, ‘that thing’ was also in short supply, which you could call popular, right? The seller is really good; they know how much they can sell in a day. Great…I was the last one, super lucky! I walked back to the table with ‘that thing’ cheerfully; everyone at the tables I passed by looked wide-eyed and surprised. Why?
“Damn, Duen, what is that, pudding?” Tang asked.
“Uh-huh.” I nodded. ‘That thing’ is pudding, it doesn’t look strange, but the name and the ingredients used are truly unusual.
“I was just craving something sweet.” Tang said, looking like he was about to go buy some too. I was about to say it was sold out, but Phu grabbed Senior’s arm first.
“Tang…don’t eat it.”
“Why?” It wasn’t Tang who asked but Ting, sounding surprised. I listened to them intently, thinking in my mind it’s a 50:50 chance…I think it probably won’t taste good.
“It’s not ordinary pudding…” Phu answered while looking at ‘that thing’ in my hand, his body trembling with fear. Damn, is it that bad? Even Tee can eat it!
“Huh?”
“It’s made from natural materials…”
“That’s good then.”
“Listen to me…I’ll tell you the name of the dish, and you decide if you want to eat it.”
“Say it.”
“Fermented fish paste toilet-crab som tam with tamarind pudding and miang kham.”
“…”
“Tang…you don’t have to buy it, you can eat it with me.” I tried to find a helper because at first, I thought they just named it to sound interesting, but looking at everyone’s reactions, I think it might actually be made from those things.
“…You can eat this kind of stuff by yourself.”
“Once you buy it, you have to finish it.” Ugh! I’m your boyfriend, Bohn…
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