NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 25 part 2
“What about you, Joe, didn’t you meet anyone in LA for a whole year?” Frank asked, “I thought you’d be partying more than you did back in Thailand.”
“Yeah, I was wilder there.” I admitted truthfully. Whether it was women, alcohol, cigarettes, or other things, I also studied and worked more while in LA. My dad even said if I kept it up, he could hand over the business to me soon. “You called to tell us about it, you really lived life to the fullest, top of your class, did well at work, and made the most of your youth.” James said, “But you still came back to die over the same old issue.”
“You’re good at twisting the knife, aren’t you?” I said with a sigh, “Has he broken up with his girlfriend yet?”
“Not yet, saw a picture of them having hot pot together yesterday.” James said, “They’ve been dating for over a year now.”
“Fuck.”
“And what about you? After meeting so many people there, wasn’t there anyone you clicked with?” Frank asked again.
“No.” I met many people, at school, at work, and when I went out, “I just couldn’t open my heart to anyone.”
“You don’t want to get serious with anyone, then.”
“Do I look like I want to be like this?”
“So, in short…you still can’t move on, right? Even after not seeing him for a year.” James repeated. I was silent for a moment before nodding slightly in affirmation, “At this rate, you might never forget him in your lifetime.”
“Sigh…” I exhaled to release the frustration building inside, “I don’t know, James, I like him, I really do, and the more I think about him now, the more I want to see him. Why is it like this?”
“Sigh, it’s exhausting just listening to you. If you want to see him, then go see him.”
I looked at the snack packet being handed to me in confusion. Eventually, I decided to return to the game shop. When the kid came to the shop and saw someone sitting at the table opposite, he left for a while and then came back with the snack packet.
On the packet was a note that read: ‘Please stay and keep me company like before. I’m scared of ghosts, TT’
Is this intentional teasing or what…
“Seriously, man, I think he knows and he’s teasing you.” Frank said, laughing as I smoked beside him, “Damn, who could move on from this? That’s cruel to your friend.”
“Yeah, exactly. No mercy for my friend at all, please have some sympathy, North, have some heart for your friend’s friend.”
“You guys are too good at teasing.” I said, feeling annoyed, while exhaling grey smoke, “Why do you do this?”
“Isn’t that just how the junior is? But when someone’s smitten, we’ll fall for anything they do.”
“…Damn it.”
And…my attempt to move on failed yet again.
I went back to living like before I went to LA, stopping my bad habits and having only the junior in my life as usual. But something new was added: university entrance exams. I wasn’t sure what course I wanted to study, so my mother suggested I try for the Faculty of Medicine, and when I got in, she was ecstatic. So, I decided to study there, too lazy to apply for another program anyway.
“You’ve held out well, Joe, liking the junior all the way through high school.” James said.
“Yeah, but once I get into university, I won’t go see him anymore.” I replied, thinking that with time, I might get used to it. Once in university, I probably wouldn’t go back to see the junior again.
No matter how many times I tried to let go, I always found myself back in the same place.
No matter what, the junior was the only one I ever wanted to get serious with. And I…almost stopped hoping for anything else.
So…I completely gave up on getting serious with anyone else.
When I started university, I met people like Hill, who was very capable, Tonfah, who was good-hearted, and Arthit, who was the biggest jerk. I still acted like I used to, partying without caring much about others, being quite the playboy, but I stopped initiating with others because I was bored. And I did what I had planned; I didn’t go back to see the junior.
And sometimes when I thought of the junior, the feeling was more of fondness than pain. I didn’t quite understand why that was.
(Joe, do you know about the junior?) The words from James on the phone made me raise my eyebrows in surprise. Both James and Frank were studying at the same university as me, James in the Faculty of Engineering, and Frank in Political Science.
“…”
“Why?”
(The junior got a scholarship to study in America.)
“Really?”
(Yeah, today’s his graduation day at his school.)
“And why are you telling me this? I’ve already said I won’t go see him.”
(Yeah, I know, but you’ve liked him for so long, are you really not going to see him? He’s going to be on the other side of the world, man. Isn’t it good to see him one last time, to congratulate him on graduating?)
…
And before I knew it, I found myself driving back to the same place I hadn’t been to for a year. I barely knew anything about what the kid had been up to. I didn’t know how he’d been doing since James closed the game shop, but from what I saw on Instagram, he was still posting pictures with his girlfriend, dating from the fourth year to the sixth year of high school.
It’s impressive that he could study abroad in America on a scholarship. So from now on, the distance between us would be even greater.
Whatever, it wouldn’t have changed anything anyway.
I walked into the school hosting the graduation ceremony. I didn’t bring flowers or a gift. I just wanted to see if he was doing well, that’s all, to see how happy he would be having graduated, secured a scholarship, and still being in a good relationship with his girlfriend.
I saw his friends standing by the booth for the sixth graders, but there was no sign of him. He should be with his friends, right? Where did he go?
♣♣♣
“North. I want you to understand. We’re all grown up now. We need to choose someone with a future. We can’t just date for fun like when we were kids, right?”
“…”
“You…understand me, don’t you? You’ve always understood me, haven’t you?”
“Uh-huh, I understand.” I said, clenching my jaw to keep the feelings that were welling up inside at bay, my hands gripping each other tightly. I was sitting on a stone bench by the building, and Jaja was standing in front of me, saying the very thing I didn’t want to hear.
Jaja was breaking up with me…
“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. You did everything for me, but…”
“You’ve chosen Temp, haven’t you?” I looked up at her, her face full of tears, her eyes and words full of guilt towards me.
“Uhmm. I’m sorry.” “It’s okay, I understand.” I forced a smile, “Then, could you tell Temp to promise me that he’ll take care of you in my place?”
“Uhmm…I understand.”
“Good luck.”
“Good luck then, goodbye.” She said, her voice trembling. I looked down, only seeing her feet as she walked away, since everyone was busy with the graduation ceremony, so there was no one else here.
I looked at the bouquet of flowers beside me, which I had brought to congratulate her on graduating, but she didn’t take them and decided to express what had been on her mind for a long time.
I had somewhat realized that her love for me had been fading ever since she met that guy, but I chose to overlook it and continued to take care of her as best as I could.
Why, though…
When my eyes started to feel hot, I quickly wiped away the tears.
I shouldn’t be sad on such a celebratory day. If I go back to meet with friends like this, it would definitely spoil the evening’s celebration.
My heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, and my hands, which were tightly clasped, began to loosen. I didn’t even have the strength to stand, why, had everything I did been in vain, was it all worthless, what else should I understand? I just didn’t understand anything anymore.
Damn…why is it like this?
Soft sobbing
…
Because I saw that my friend wasn’t with the group, I walked around looking for them for a while until I found them sitting there. Then her girlfriend seemed to be saying something to her before walking off, but just that was enough to guess what happened.
I looked at the scene in front of me; so many feelings were mixing inside me. I once said I absolutely love her smile, and I didn’t want it to disappear, so why did that girl…
Her smile, damn, it’s so precious to me.
Why doesn’t she take care of it at all?
I let out a frustrated sigh. I hate seeing her look like she’s about to cry, especially when she’s given everything for that woman. It seems she won’t leave this place easily, and with her nature of not wanting to worry others, she probably won’t go to meet her friends until she sorts out her feelings.
I feel like I need to do something.
I quickly dialed the last number on my phone, waiting for a moment until James picked up.
(What’s up, did you meet your junior?)
“James, he got dumped by his girlfriend.”
(Huh!? What?)
“He got dumped by his girlfriend, what should I do?”
(Oh, no, why did she do that? Why treat my friend like this?)
“What should I do? I don’t want him to cry.”
(Go comfort him.)
“Damn, where would he know me from?”
(Then buy him something, he might be happy with that, write him a little card too.)
“Where did you buy it?” (There should be some shops around there selling stuff. Mostly on the last day of the term, they like to set up stalls selling gifts, but it’s pretty late, so they might have all packed up by now.)
“Uh.” I hung up and rushed out to check the shops as James had suggested. Indeed, all the shops around there were closed, probably because it was so cold. I then spotted one shop just about to close its doors.
“Don’t close yet.” I called out. The shopkeeper turned around, looking bewildered.
“Oh, young man, are you buying something? Sorry, but I’ve sold out of everything.”
“Not even one item left?” I asked. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any shops open. Driving to another place to buy something wouldn’t make it in time.
“Well, there is one item left. Want to have a look?”
“Yes.” I answered immediately. The shopkeeper disappeared inside, then came back out holding a duck plush toy.
What in the world is this duck thing…
“Want it? I’ll bag it up for you.” She offered.
“Uh…okay.” I sighed slightly before accepting the bag with the toy. Why does the first gift I buy for my junior have to be this duck with a turned-up beak?
“Two hundred and fifty baht, and do you want a card? It’s on the house.”
“Yes.” I said, pulling out my wallet. The shopkeeper handed me some paper and a pen, but when I checked my wallet, I found no cash. “Do you take cards?”
“What kind of card? I don’t really deal with cards.”
“Uh…”
“You should start carrying cash, Joe. Not every shop takes cards.” Hill’s words echoed in my mind. At that moment, I never thought I’d be in a shop that doesn’t accept cards.
I sighed in annoyance, took off my left wristwatch, and handed it over. The other party took it, looking puzzled.
“I don’t have any cash on me. Can I trade with this?”
“Oh…wait, young man, I can’t accept something this valuable.” The shopkeeper shouted after me, but I didn’t care much. I walked back into the school, wrote a little on the card, and left the duck plushie and card for my junior.
♣♣♣
“You are North, right? Someone left this for you.” I looked up to the voice calling me. It was a schoolgirl from the same school, though I didn’t recognize her much. In her hand was a plush toy…a duck?
She handed it to me. I didn’t fully understand, but I accepted it.
“Thanks. Did someone ask you to give it to me?”
“I don’t know, it got passed along through several people, I guess. I’ve got to go.” She said, and then she walked away. I looked at the stuffed toy in my hand, puzzled.
A duck…?
Is it supposed to be a duck? Why does it look like a pig with those puffy cheeks? I couldn’t help but laugh at its funny face. There was a piece of paper attached to it, with the message, “Smile a bit :)”
I found myself smiling broadly when I read the note. The person who sent this duck must be really sweet, and it somewhat lifted the gloom in my heart. It felt like someone was waiting for my smile, if not for anything else, at least this silly duck’s owner.
I let out a big sigh, took some time to compose myself, and decided to throw away the bouquet I had bought; it wouldn’t be needed anymore. Then, holding the goofy duck, I went back to my friends.
“Hey, North, so what did she want to talk to you about?” “Oh, she broke up with me.” I replied nonchalantly, and my friends looked shocked. “What’s with the shock? It’s not that surprising. I kind of knew it was coming.”
“I am shocked at how chill you are.”
“Whatever, let it go. Look at this duck. Isn’t it cute?” I showed them the duck, and both Tae and Ball burst out laughing.
“It’s cute, but why does it have such a mischievous look? Did someone give it to you?”
“Yeah, someone did. They even wrote a card.” I said, showing them the note attached to the duck. “Cute, right?”
“Wow, I bet they like you. The handwriting is pretty amazing.” Teak said, “You’re quite popular, huh?”
“Nah.” I shook my head slightly. Then, I wanted to know who sent the duck, so I went looking for the person who had given it to me earlier. I kept asking around but only got the answer that it wasn’t someone from school and they had already left.
“Couldn’t find them in the end?”
“Yeah, it’s a pity. I really wanted to thank them.” I said with a bit of disappointment. It was already late in the evening, and everyone was starting to head home. We had plans to continue celebrating with our classmates, so we had to go.
I pulled out my phone and opened Instagram, looking at my profile filled with photos of me and Jaja. I decided to delete all those pictures and posted a single photo of the silly duck along with the card as the only picture on my Instagram.
I captioned it, ‘Smiling now : ) thank you #TheOwnerOfTheSillyDuck’
Whoever that person is, I was genuinely thankful to them. From then on, I cherished that silly duck and the card. I even liked the duck so much that I took a photo of it and set it as my LINE profile picture, and I couldn’t help but smile every time I saw it.
…
I glanced at my phone screen, at Instagram which I hadn’t checked in a while. From having over a hundred photos, now the owner of the IG had deleted them all, leaving just one picture – the one of the duck and the card I had left.
‘Smiling now : ) thank you #TheOwnerOfTheSillyDuck’
I thought I was over him, but I drove all the way back there. Initially, I just didn’t want him to cry, but now, encountering this, it made me realize…
That I…haven’t changed at all.
Not since the day I realized I fell for that smile…
I returned to the bar near the university around past ten at night, too lazy to call any friends to join me. I let myself drown in my feelings, the sharp taste and burn of alcohol going down my throat, not knowing how many glasses I had, along with a cigarette in my hand, touching my lips, inhaling the smoke and blowing it out. It took a while before I started to get drunk, but smoking made my mind cloud over faster.
He broke up with his girlfriend…
But now he’s going to be far away from me instead.
Why does our timing never align?
When I heard the incoming call sound from my phone, I stubbed out my cigarette and picked up the phone.
‘Incoming call: Hill’
I answered,
“Yeah.”
(Joe. You left your MacBook, do you need it? Should I bring it over?)
“No need.” (Where are you? Why is it so noisy?)
Bar
(Drunk?)
“Yeah.”
(Alone?)
“Yeah.”
(Hey, going to drink alone until you get drunk, is that okay?)
“No, I’m not okay at all, Hill.”
(Wait, I’ll come find you. Where are you?)
“Midnight.”
(Alright, I’m coming. Should I call Fah and Arthit too?)
“Up to you.”
(Okay.)
Then Hill hung up. It’s good that Hill is coming; I’m in no condition to drive. Shortly after, Hill arrived and sat across from me, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at me with confusion.
“What happened? Why would you drink to this extent?”
“I don’t know, Hill. I don’t understand myself.” I said before taking another sip from my drink, then lit a cigarette and put it in my mouth. “I just don’t get it, Hill.”
“You’re completely wasted.”
“Sigh, why, Hill, why the hell…”
“I don’t know either, just calm down, Joe.”
“I hate feeling like this, I really don’t like this feeling, damn it.” I started to ramble, swearing out of frustration, and the person across from me looked concerned. If it were James or Frank, they might understand my state, but for Hill and the other two, I’ve never told them about ‘him’. “Yeah, Fah’s got some business to attend to, so he can’t come out, but he said to call if you need help. As for Arthit, he’s racing and will come after he’s done, so he asked me to order some drinks for him.”
“Ha. Even if I didn’t say anything, the table’s already full.” I said.
“Are you going to drink all this by yourself, and smoke too?”
“Want one?” I asked before offering the cigarette pack to Hill. Hill took one, smoked it, but didn’t touch the alcohol.
“You look terrible, Joe. I’ve never seen you like this.” Hill remarked.
“Hmm. Not surprising, I haven’t been like this in a long time either.” I said, exhaling another puff of grey smoke, “Hill.”
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever wanted someone to be in your life, but it just couldn’t happen?”
“…”
“Without any conditions, you’d give them everything just to see them smile.”
“…”
“But why, why can’t I have this person by my side?”
“Joe…damn.” Hill was silent, listening to me ramble for a while before letting out a sigh, “If I said I am in the same boat as you, would you believe me?”
“Really? For someone who doesn’t care about anyone like you?”
“It’s less believable for someone like you if you wanted to tell. Go ahead, tell me.” Hill said, and in my drunken state, I spilled everything about the girl to Hill. He listened intently, “Hard to believe someone as carefree as you could have something like this. Is this why you said you’d never get serious with anyone?”
“Probably. If it’s not him…I don’t want anyone.”
“Hmm…I understand.” Hill nodded slightly. Hill was quite good at keeping his feelings to himself, in other words, he was patient, and the pained look in his eyes I saw wasn’t lying. “Tell me yours then, your story.” I said, sliding the glass of alcohol towards him. Hill hesitated for a moment before letting out another sigh, grabbed the glass of pure liquor, drank several glasses, and began telling me his story.
“His name is Ter, right?” I asked, leaning back on the sofa and closing my eyes, my head throbbing, “Easter, as in East, huh? That’s fitting, and North means North too.”
“Yeah, exactly, and he’s going to study in America?” Hill asked, his eyes slightly squinting from the intoxication. Hill could hold his liquor pretty well, “That’s too bad, especially since he’s now single.”
“Actually, I could’ve bought the scholarship to America and removed his name from it, but since he wants to go…If things keep going like this, I’ll probably be flying back and forth to America often to see him. Hopefully, he won’t find a boyfriend or girlfriend there.”
“And what about you? Got dumped, huh?” I asked.
“Yeah, probably, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did feel that way. I kind of hate myself too.”
“Ha, nothing ever goes as planned, does it, Hill?” I said, clinking my glass with the one across from me again. “We’re both a mess, totally screwed.”
“Sigh, so what are you going to do next, Joe?”
“Don’t know. Maybe just let it go like this. I can’t follow him to America, my dad would kill me if I dropped out of university now.” I said before taking another drink. “Or should I just buy out his scholarship?”
“Are you crazy? Would you ruin his dream?”
“Just saying. Who would actually do that?” I said. “Come to think of it, you’ve waited a long time, yet you’ve never been able to let him go. How do you manage that?” “There’s nothing to it, Joe. I just can’t let go. I end up back where I started, just like you.”
“Hmm.” I responded, before we ordered more drinks and continued drinking for a while. The bad feelings didn’t go away, but it was still better than nothing, and I believed I would continue to feel this way.
I asked about Ter from Hill, and he asked about North from me. Both of us were drunk to the point where we could barely keep our composure. I looked at the picture of the person on Hill’s phone.
“Cute.”
“Yeah, your friend is cute too.” Hill said, handing the phone back to me, equally drunk. “His name’s North, right?”
“Yeah, Hill.”
“Huh?”
“If it’s tomorrow, can you pretend you’ve forgotten about today? Everything, including what I told you.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to think about it either.”
“Hmm.”
Arthit looked at the two friends in a drunken state, puzzled. Hill had called to say that Johan was drinking alone and seemed quite down. After finishing his race at the track, he rushed over.
What’s with this drunken mess…
And with the table full of liquor like this, are you two drinking it all?
“Huff. Come out, both of you look like dogs.”
(Are you both wasted? I specifically asked Hill to look after Joe, why did you end up getting drunk with him too?)
“I don’t know, but for sure, both Joe and Hill are knocked out. Can you imagine how much they’ve had?”
(Oh…I guess the bar will be out of liquor today. I’ll head out, wait there. Don’t you start drinking too.)
“Got it.”
Arthit hung up with a sigh. Instead of enjoying a drink after winning a car race, he had to go pick up these two.
And who are Ter and North that these two were babbling about?
Tonfa rushed to the bar in his car after receiving the call from Arthit, entering the place worriedly looking for his two friends who were completely out of it. Johan was a tough drinker, needing cigarettes to get drunk, and Hill wasn’t much different. Tonfah guessed that the liquor covering the table now was just the tip of the iceberg; the staff must have cleared the table several times already.
“Should we take them home? Did you pay the bill yet?” Tonfah asked, seeing the high prices.
“I’ve already paid. Let’s go back. You take Hill.” Arthit said. He had already settled the bill before Tonfah arrived, shocked at the nearly forty thousand baht bill. Damn, these guys really drank.
Arthit helped Johan up from the table, while Fah supported Hill. The four of them parted ways to go home. The next day, Johan woke up on his sofa, unable to remember anything about Ter, but Hill remembered North. Both were then forced by Tonfah to get checked for any health issues that might arise from excessive drinking.
As for Arthit…he had already forgotten the names Ter and North.
♣♣♣
I decided to decline the scholarship to America in the end. Initially, I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m not an academic type, and I had to put in a lot of effort to win that scholarship, but in the end, I didn’t go because I was worried about my mom. I could go after finishing my bachelor’s degree.
At first, I got into engineering in the first round of exams. I heard Jaja say she chose Temp because he got into medical school, saying she chose someone with a brighter future. I understood that ‘future’ meant job security, and being a doctor fit that bill.
I gave up my spot in the engineering program in the first round to go for the scholarship to America, but even after securing it, I hesitated again. What about my mom? How worried would she be? Maybe now wasn’t the time to leave. So, I relinquished the scholarship and reapplied to the engineering faculty in the final round.
When I got in during the last round, it was literally the last minute; the semester was about to start. This meant I couldn’t find a dorm in time; Tae and Ball already had their accommodations sorted. I had to find whatever dorm was available at the time and ended up living alone.
Fortunately, the dormitory randomly assigned roommates. There were many who came from the provinces alone and couldn’t afford the rent, needing someone to share the cost with. That’s how I ended up rooming with Ter, who was from out of town, alone. He didn’t know anything about this place, and to be honest, neither did I. I am from around here but never actually lived here.
Before the start of our first year, Ter told me about a senior doctor who was pursuing him. When I listened, I tried my best to give advice and support. Ter and that doctor had a really complicated story. I knew Ter wasn’t telling me everything, but I didn’t press because it was up to him how much he wanted me to know. As I began to understand things better, I saw that the doctor was actually a good person and really loved Ter. I started rooting for them. And on the day I saw Ter and the doctor publicly declare they were dating, it stirred up my feelings again.
“Why are you standing out here in the cold, you’ll catch a chill.” I said when I noticed Ter standing absentmindedly on the balcony for a long time. He was slightly startled. “What’s with the sudden cold? Because we’re near the mountains?”
“Probably. Why don’t you know, you’re a local.” Ter asked.
“My home isn’t near the mountains.” I replied. “Ter, can you close the window? I’m cold.” Ter closed the window and came back inside.
“What are you doing?” Ter asked.
“Cleaning the room.” I answered.
“It’s already clean.”
“It can be cleaner.”
Ter sighed at my response because sitting idle just made him think about the doctor. So, he got up to clean the room even though it was already clean. It seemed like Ter’s doctor had disappeared, and Ter had been looking gloomy for a couple of days.
“Aren’t you going to work at the pub?” I asked. I knew that before the semester started, Ter had been working at a pub, where he met the doctor.
“I’ve already taken the photos. He said the job’s done, so I don’t need to come anymore.” Ter said, looking like he was zoning out again. His mind must have been full of various thoughts.
“You don’t look okay.” I said.
“Yeah, I’m really not okay.”
“No sign of the medical student?” I teased. For some reason, teasing Ter was just too fun; even a little tease would make him flustered. “Right, he’s vanished, it’s been two days now.”
And then Ter and I talked for a while before he excused himself to take a shower. As I was lounging in the room, I heard a knock at the door.
“Coming.” I shouted, then got up to open the door, facing someone I didn’t recognize. I looked up, puzzled, and he looked back at me, seemingly surprised that I was the one opening the door.
“…”
“Uh…who are you looking for?”
It had been two days since Hill disappeared. Normally, his disappearance wouldn’t be an issue, but what was worrying was the situation at home. He wasn’t at the condo, his car was gone too, and he wasn’t answering calls.
Hill…do you know how worried Nong Ter is about you? He’s been calling me morning, noon, and night.
And then, out of the blue, the number that had been unreachable for almost two days called back. I raised an eyebrow in surprise when I saw that, quickly answering the call without even having the chance to speak first.
(Joe, I want to see Ter.)
“Seriously, that’s the first thing you say to me after calling?”
(Go pick up him and bring him to me, I can’t drive right now.)
“Fine. Aren’t you going to explain anything? You’ve got everyone worried.”
(Thanks, but can you help out?)
“And if I say no?”
(Just go, and you’ll find something good.)
“What’s that?”
(Trust me, just go pick up Ter.)
“Okay, okay.” Why do I always get roped into this kind of stuff? I drove to the dorm where Ter was staying, guided by the location Hill sent, walked up to the room number he indicated, and stood there, somewhat annoyed, before knocking on the door.
“Coming.” I heard from inside, then the door opened.
!!
North…?
Why did I end up here…
“…”
“Um…Are you looking for someone?”
“Is Ter here?” I asked.
“Oh, yes, he’s taking a shower. I’ll go tell him.” The junior said before turning to go back inside. “You can come in if you want.”
“No, just tell Ter to hurry up.” I said, then stepped back to wait by the door.
Why did you end up here? Weren’t you supposed to study abroad in America? Being here means you’re studying here, right? And sharing a room with Ter, no less.
What the hell am I feeling…
“Phii Johan.” I heard Ter call out, “Why are you smiling?”
“Nothing.” I replied, straightening up from the wall, “Just saw something good.”
…
“You’ve made up your mind for sure, right? You’re done getting involved with others?” Hill asked, reiterating a question he had asked me many times before, while things between Hill and Ter were going well. I decided to stop messing around and start pursuing North seriously, especially since he was no longer with his girlfriend. And he was right here, not on the other side of the world as I had once thought.
“Finally, I have my chance.” “…”
“The chance I’ve been waiting for three years.”
“But are you sure? Why not go for it now?” Hill asked.
“You know how I get when I’m stressed with work. I don’t want to stress him out with my work issues. Plus, I don’t have much free time.” I said honestly, because my workload had been increasing, so I decided not to approach her just yet.
“Hill, look after him for me, okay?”
“Got it. But about the money, you don’t have to, I can support Ter.” Hill said, picking up the black card I had just given him.
“I feel bad that as his almost-boyfriend, I have to let someone else take care of him.”
“Yeah, it’s up to you. When will your work be finished?”
“After coming back from Boston.” I said, the plan being to keep working until the big project in Boston was done. After that, work would lighten up, “Take care of him, Hill, buy him whatever he wants.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
“And send me some pictures of him.”
“Got it.”
One night, while I was working at my condo, out of nowhere, I got a call from Hill.
(Joe. Are you free?)
“Not really.”
(Your junior’s got into some trouble at a bar.)
“Ha!” (He went out drinking, got drunk maybe, and then got into a fight with…uh, from what his friend told Ter, probably the new boyfriend of his exgirlfriend.)
“…”
(It sounds like it was a big fight. Besides the bar demanding compensation for the damages, there’s a chance it might escalate to the university level, which could lead to suspension or even expulsion. But if you’re not free, I’ll go myself.)
“I’ll go.”
“Which bar is he at?”
Leave a Reply