NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 6 part 2
00:22 AM
I returned to the dorm, feeling quite exhausted. It was tiring, but manageable. If I did this every day, there’d be no way I could wake up for classes. I made the right decision to work only on some days.
“You came back late.” Ter remarked.
“The bar closes at midnight, and by the time I rode back, it was even later. The ride back was so spooky, I was scared someone might have hitched a ride without me knowing.” I said as I flopped onto the bed. Seriously, it was really creepy.
“You’ve got a bad mouth, you know that?”
“Yeah, but it’s true.”
“Hey, look at this, Phii Johan went out too.” Ter showed me his phone with a picture of Johan sitting with his chin on his hand, looking away with a sullen face, and next to him, Hill was playing on his phone. The background looked like some cozy lounge somewhere.
“Where?”
“Some place, but not where you work, trust me. If Phii Johan sees you working there, the place would go wild.”
“That’s good.” I said with a relieved sigh, “And did Phii Hill go with him?” “Yes, they went to hang out. There were three of them, including Phii Arthit, I heard Phii Johan dragged them along.”
“And you let him go? Why are you such a good boyfriend? Aren’t you worried someone might flirt with Phii Hill?” I asked.
“Nah, I trust him.” I nodded in understanding. If Ter’s Phii Hill isn’t trustworthy, then no one in this world is. Who could love Ter as much as Phii Hill does? “Plus, I want him to spend time with friends too, and to keep an eye on Phii Johan so he doesn’t bring back a girl.”
“Why would Phii Joe bring back a girl?” I tilted my head in confusion, and then got a light tap on the head from Ter, “Hey, why did you hit me?”
“The ship between Johan and you will sink. No way.”
Oh…speaking of Phii Johan, I haven’t replied to Phii Joe’s text yet, damn…
It’s probably fine, he must be out having fun, he probably won’t even think about being mad at me.
“But it’s strange that Phii Johan invited Phii Hill to a bar around midnight when work had finished long ago. Plus, Phii Hill said that when they were at the bar, Phii Johan looked pretty down.”
Seems like he really was down. Looking at the picture, this one was posted by Phii Arthit on his Instagram story, “So, there weren’t many people following them to the bar?” I raised an eyebrow and handed the phone back to Ter.
“There were a lot, Phii Hill said it was annoying, but the one in trouble must be Phii Joe.”
“Why?”
“Trains crashing into each other, I guess.”
“Ohhh.” I said in a long drawl, “And then what happened?”
“Dunno, but Phii Hill said it’s normal for Phii Joe, and they didn’t talk much, just waited for Phii Hill to drive back to the condo.” “They just got back?”
“Yep. Oh, and I checked out Phii Johan’s Instagram.” Ter said, scrolling through something on his phone, “Someone tagged him too, a person named Pang or something, the one Phii Tharn mentioned.” He spoke while handing the phone back to me for another look.
‘@Jao.pangg, about an hour ago’
It was a picture of Phii Pang with Johan at the same restaurant, probably at the same table too. Phii Johan was sitting in the same way, except he glanced at the camera that Phii Pang was using, but he didn’t smile at the camera. He made a sullen face as if he didn’t really want to be photographed, with a caption that read, ‘Guy like you 😉 miss you soooo bad, happened to meet.’
“I don’t like this at all, I feel jealous.”
“Jealous of Phii Joe?” I raised my eyebrows, feigning surprise at Ter’s words, “I’m definitely going to tell Hill.”
“No, no, it’s more like, I’m shipping you, my captain. Phii Joe should be with you, not like this. You don’t have to talk to Johan at all, let him feel it.”
“You…” Honestly, I hadn’t been talking to Phii Johan anyway. I haven’t replied since 4 PM.
“Shh, I told you I’d row the boat myself, you ballast.”
“So, is it my fault?”
“Oh, Phii Hill is calling.” Ter quickly answered the call and put it on speaker. But why did he do that? “Phii Hill, have you arrived?”
(Yes.)
“How was it? Was it fun?”
(Not really.)
“Oh, why’s that?” (The person who invited me just kept making a sullen face, like I was just there to switch places to play on the phone.)
“That’s true, I saw Phii Arthit’s photo where Johan looked totally bored with life.” Ter said into the phone. I whispered if he could turn off the speaker, but he refused, seemingly wanting me to listen in on their conversation, even though he usually uses headphones when talking to Hill.
“I don’t want to know what you talk about with your boyfriend.” I whispered quietly.
“Yeah, and I didn’t want you to know, but let’s ask about Joe first.” Ter whispered back.
“I don’t really want to know that either.” I whispered again, but it seemed Ter didn’t care anymore.
(So what are you doing now?) Hill asked. See, that’s how you should ask, what are you doing. Not just where are you like Joe, T^T.
“Just hanging out.”
(And what about North?) I widened my eyes immediately when the question about me came from the other end of the line.
“I’m here, why do you ask?”
(No reason, just curious about something.)
“What is it?”
(I’ll tell you later.)
“Oh…Okay. And what happened when Phii Johan’s trains collided?”
(Hmm? Why do you want to know?)
“Just curious, tell me.”
(It’s just the usual for Joe, he encounters them while walking around the university.)
“That often? And then what happens?” (Joe doesn’t really do anything, it’s very chaotic, he just says it’s over. Some of them, he might not even remember. Like today, he didn’t care much, he dragged me along to sit with him and still didn’t pay much attention to me.)
“Oh, that’s how it is, is this normal for Phii Joe?”
(Yes, it depends on his mood, today he must have had something on his mind. He gets like this when he’s not feeling well.)
“Ohh, does Phii Hill know who Pang is, the one talking to Phii Joe?”
(No.)
“You’re not worried at all?”
(I don’t bother remembering the names of Joe’s flings, it’s a waste of time. And why are you asking about this?)
“Just a bit. I was curious, gathering information.”
(You want to ship Joe with North, huh?)
“Uh, yeah, that’s right.”
(Okay. What time do you have classes tomorrow?)
“Half past nine.”
(I’ll pick you up.)
“Okay.”
(Then you can go to sleep now, it’s late.)
“Not sleepy at all.”
…It turns out I have to listen to this couple chatter away. Now, the conversation has veered off-topic. It seems Phii Hill is annoyed about talking about, well, whatever it is about Phii Joe, like he’d rather chat with Ter.
It stinks, man, the love is just filling up the room. I’m about to suffocate, what should I do, T^T
“Ter.” I whisper, which makes Ter jump as if he just remembered something. “I was going to ask about Phii Pang…but Phii Hill just keeps changing the subject.” Ter says into the phone.
(Oh, right, I should ask which ‘Pang’ first.)
“The one who took a photo with Phii Joe today, I saw Phii Joe tagged in Instagram.”
(Not just one person asked to take a photo with Joe, and I wasn’t even interested.) But, Phii Johan doesn’t care about Phii Hill, and Phii Hill doesn’t care about Phii Joe, so what’s the deal, friends?
“Did anyone ask to take a photo with you, Phii Hill too?”
(Some did, but I turned them down. I already have a partner.)
“Uhh…”
“Oh, crap!” I exclaim when Ter slaps my arm, embarrassed, and takes it out on someone else. Not only do I have to endure the stench of love, but now I’m getting hurt too, T^T
“Was anyone sitting with Phii Joe today, or did they just come to take photos?”
(Yeah, some did, but they left after a while.)
“Huh, why’s that?”
(Maybe Joe isn’t very engaging.)
“Oh, and what about Arthit?”
(You’re asking a lot, Ter, I’m starting to get jealous.)
“No, no, it’s not like that. I’m just asking, don’t get mad.” Ter says in a soft voice. Good grief, Phii Hill is quite the jealous type.
(Oh…Arthit was just normal, got some LINE messages maybe.)
“So, today, Phii Johan pretty much ignored everyone, just sat there looking bored, took photos with people but it seemed like he was just going through the motions…that right?”
(Yeah, something like that.)
After Phii Hill said that, Ter turned to me, raised his eyebrows, and immediately put his earphones back in.
“You see, I told you. I’m an outstanding crew member. No one could give you more than me.” Ter said with a big smug grin on his face. “Now, you don’t need to be mad at him anymore, Phii Johan didn’t flirt with anyone, and there’s nothing about taking photos. Plus, he wasn’t interested in the train collision either.”
“Oh, and when did I get mad?” Thought Ter, wondering if I’d even think about such things, before he got up to chat with Phii Hill on the balcony, all smiles, big and small. Oh, why do people in love look so radiant, T^T
Then it hit me again; I hadn’t replied to Phii Johan’s chat. So, I pulled out my phone to check. No messages from him, but it showed there were about three missed calls instead.
Is he not mad, or is he so mad that he doesn’t want to talk?
I decided to ask Phii Prang for some advice.
North♣: Hey, Phii Prang, are you still up?
MaPrang: Yep, what’s up?
North♣: Did Phii Joe deduct money from me today?
MaPrang:. No. I haven’t seen any indication of that.
MaPrang: Did you do something to him? Haha
North♣: No. I just didn’t reply to his chat.
MaPrang:. You didn’t reply? Really?
MaPrang: Don’t overthink it. It’s just a chat, it’s nothing.
North♣: But last time he deducted money because I didn’t reply to his chat, T^T
MaPrang: Oh, that’s true.
MaPrang: I once didn’t reply for a whole day, and he didn’t seem to mind.
MaPrang:. If it’s urgent, he’ll call.
MaPrang: But it’s strange, no matter how urgent, he only called once.
MaPrang: I once forgot a major event, and even then, he only called once instead of multiple times. He never did, he just said he was too lazy.
Wait, why did Phii Johan call me three times…Is there something really urgent?
As I was contemplating whether to call back, Ter dashed in with an excited look on his face and shoved his phone screen in front of me.
“Look, look, look.”
J.han, five minutes ago
Image description: A hand holding a cup, edited to black and white.
Caption: ‘anxious’
Johan: At your dorm
Johan: Come down
Johan: Didn’t I tell you not to go anywhere?
!!!
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