MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 12: For Some People
[Bohn]
“Ugh, I thought you got killed and hidden in the bathroom. You were gone for ages.”
Boss says as I return to the table, and I catch a glimpse of her looking upset too.
I know why she’s angry, but I’m not about to coax her.
“I was just chatting with Phii Diao for a bit.”
“I don’t think it was just a bit.” Tang says, still watching a woman passing by the table, oh, she’s cute, his type.
“Does your girlfriend not mind you looking like that, Tang?” Euan asks. She probably wants Tang to look at her like that too, I see her glaring at the woman Tang is eyeing.
“She doesn’t mind.”
“Why’s that? Does it mean if there were one more, she wouldn’t mind either?”
“I doubt it…My girlfriend doesn’t scold me because she knows I won’t cheat. I only look, I don’t want anything more than that.” Wow, Tang. If I didn’t know you were such a playboy, I’d think you were really in love with your girlfriend and would beg for your life like this.
The beautiful girl in conversation bites her lip hard enough to leave marks, but my friend just ignores it and casually sips his drink. I don’t care either because right now, my eyes are fixed on just one person.
…The idiot who brought a Yakult drink into the pub.
From this angle, I can see the other person’s face quite clearly. Even though the table Phii Diao set up earlier offers a better view, it isn’t bad here. I’m very surprised to see him in a pub, and he’s dressed up…
To be Frong, from my observations, he doesn’t have much fashion sense, but seeing him now, I might have to rethink that…Duen looks good, living up to his claims of being so handsome that even Korean models are envious.
Women are definitely checking him out, but he probably doesn’t even notice because he’s a bit dense. Now he’s turned to talk to his friends at the usual table. He doesn’t seem drunk even though he’s had six bottles. He drinks it straight, no mixers at all. And he’s drinking alone, you never cease to amaze me.
“Looking at what? Oh…ohh.”
“Boss, look at the table next to the counter.” Come on, Tang, not only do you look at yourself, but you also call others to look, huh? Boss looks bewildered at the speaker, but when he turns in the direction his dear friend pointed, he immediately smiles.
“Well, I thought Bohn’s friend was quiet because he was sleepy, but no.”
“Today, he looks different, don’t you think?”
“Hmm. Looks cool.”
“Yeah, women are totally checking him out.”
I turn my face away pretending not to care because I don’t want them to tease me. She’s still upset with me, by the way. She’s moved to the far end of the sofa, and I’m not going to grovel, let me tell you.
“Hey, hey, the kid took off his shirt, man.” I immediately turn to look at Duen. I’m so foolish, knowing full well that Boss was just teasing me to get me to look, but I still turned…and damn, Duen actually took off his leather jacket! Now he’s just in a black V-neck T-shirt, not too deep, not too shallow, with his collarbones slightly peeking out, his face flushed because he just stopped crying, his eyes still teary…
Crazy.
“Huh.” I give in, let them tease. I look back at him openly, before seeing him move his lips as if saying something, then his friends burst into laughter.
“I think he’s drunk.” Says the one sipping his drink, his eyes on the same spot as mine.
“Really? He doesn’t look drunk at all.”
“He’s drunk, trust me, he’s definitely drunk.” I consider what my best friend said. True, my gut tells me Duen is drunk, but his behavior is a bit confusing.
“How can you tell?”
“My dad’s the same way.” My dad is a fun-loving guy, every time I visit his place, it feels like I’m in a comedy café, but he’s also a multimillionaire businessman, “Drunk but not rowdy…trust me, the kid’s voice is slurring 100 percent.”
“I want to hear that. They say drunk people get all clingy.”
I’m not paying attention to them because I’m busy typing a message on my phone. If you ask who I’m messaging…who else could it be but the topic of our current conversation?
Bon Ss: Are you still drunk?
I sent the message and watched the other person’s reaction to see what they would do next. They picked up their phone looking a bit dazed, stared at the message for a while, then looked up to meet my eyes, indicating that they knew where I was sitting, probably because they saw me when I brought the cake to her.
The Brat: Uh
I raised my eyebrows, surprised that the response seemed polite, but then I thought about it…he must be drunk and didn’t want to type too much.
When I turned to look, I saw his slender figure raise his right hand to cover both eyes, leaning his head back against the sofa for a moment before resting his chin on his hand, looking in another direction. Hmm, are you trying to charm someone…I noticed several girls at different tables looking at him and sending flirtatious glances his way, damn, he even smiled back. Of course…he’s definitely drunk. If he were sober, he wouldn’t do something like this.
Bon Ss: Come over here.
The Brat: Burp
The corners of my mouth twitched into a smile as I looked at the person who sent that silly message. He’s stopped playing with his phone now, probably really dizzy.
“Oh, what’s with that smile?”
“Yeah, he’s all eyes for him, isn’t he?”
“Burp” – I’ll borrow this word for a sec, Duen.
“Who are you talking to, Bohn?” Nang asked after sitting quietly for a long time. She had returned to her seat at some point, I didn’t know, but now she was looking at me with irritation.
“Hey?” I raised my eyebrows in question. When I locked the phone screen, it made her huff even more.
“Can I see it?” Nang said, extending her hand towards me…Does she want my phone? What for? But I gave it to her anyway. I didn’t want any trouble.
“Why do you have a password on his phone? Unlock it for me right now!”
“Nang.”
“Huh?”
“Do you know some-..” I said to her while my eyes were on the glass of liquor in my hand, gently swirling it, causing the liquid to form small whirlpools.
“…”
“Things that have passwords…”
“…”
“That means the owner doesn’t want anyone to see…”
“Asshole!”
I say this and then slam my glass down on the table with a loud clunk, change my posture to sit cross-legged, and loosely cross my arms. I see her startle out of the corner of my eye. She looks flustered, like she doesn’t know what to do, hah…
“Uh…um, Bohn, I’m sorry…”
“…”
“Bohn knows that you’re jealous of Bohn.”
“Why would you be jealous?” I ask with a faux innocent look, catching Boss who was making a face of annoyance. You’ll get your comeuppance from me, you idiot wife.
“Well, Bohn, you know that I am head over heels for you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I love you the most.” She coos, leaning her head on my shoulder and rubbing it back and forth.
“…”
“…”
“I never had anyone else, you know.” So what was that with Duen then? Why act like you’re my girlfriend if you’re just my bed partner? I don’t say anything though.
“…”
“I only love you, Bohn.”
“…”
“Bohn, I tried to make up with you, but you didn’t budge, I better go to the bathroom.” The speaker seems irritated because I’m not playing along. Well…all this scent, hugging, and flirting, and I still don’t play along, she should know how bored I am.
“I’m going too!/I’ll go with you/I’ll keep you company/I need to use the bathroom too.” And suddenly all the girls at the table head off to the bathroom together.
“Sigh.” I exhale in boredom before turning to look at Duen again. Right now, he’s getting his head massaged by a beautiful female friend.
“What’s up with you?”
“Bored.”
“Yeah, it’s really annoying, that’s for sure.”
“He says he loves only me but then goes flirting with Duen, geez.” I told them jokingly.
“Really? But you don’t feel anything anyway, huh?”
“Damn, he flirts with everyone but goes for the main wife, of all people.”
“You’ve got quite the mouth, Boss.” I said without thinking, making Boss laugh before he turned to act coy towards Merk, who seemed to find it irritating and waved him off.
“But damn, it’s really messed up.”
“I’m tired of her, I want it to end, to not get involved anymore but she won’t let go…if I bring Duen to sit at her table, what would she do?”
“Isn’t the kid drunk?”
“It doesn’t matter, I want to see how Nong Duen acts when he’s drunk.” Boss chuckled, showing his lack of intelligence.
“Go for it, I support you, I’m sick of her antics…when you bring the doctor kid, just ask if he’s seen her before, then we’ll see what happens next.”
“Damn, and then you can cut her off completely, this plan is solid.” Hearing that, I immediately walked over to Duen’s table. The sofa where Duen was sitting was empty because his friends had all moved to the opposite side. Huh? Isn’t that Phu, Tang’s code junior, and Ram, Tee’s code junior…oh, that’s why they look so familiar. Phu was about to ask me something, but the only pretty girl at the table raised her hand to stop him first. We locked eyes for a moment. Soon after, she gestured as if to say, ‘Please.’
“Duen.”
“Bohnnnnnn.” He called my name? Normally he does, but he usually adds something like ‘that idiot Bohn’ or ‘that bastard Bohn,’ so being called like this felt strange. I decided to sit down next to him, his slender figure, scanning the table until my gaze landed on the glass of liquor in his hand. Still drinking, huh?
“All this…just yours?”
“Yessssss, Phii Duen is good, right?”
“Hey, enough. You’ll die from this.”
“Let go, let go, it’s the last bottle.” last bottle, what? Did you bet with your friends or something? That thought made me lift the glass as far as my arm could reach to keep it away from him.
“Bad habits…” My conversation partner frowned, and gave me a light punch on the chest. Cat…hey! I was so shocked I had to grab both his white hands because he grabbed someone’s glass, poured more liquor, and was about to drink it.
“Enough already, right?”
“Let go!”
“Warning!”
“…Why do you have to shout, what’s wrong with that?” Normally, I don’t like to deal with drunk people because they’re annoying, but strangely, when it’s Duen who’s drunk, he’s not annoying at all.
“Then don’t be stubborn.” I adjust my voice to a normal tone, staring at his flushed face due to the alcohol. Duen seems about to argue but then changes his mind.
“Fine, then what?”
“Come sit with me.” As soon as I said it, I pulled him up, but I might have used too much force because his drunk body almost fell. Seeing this, I quickly grab his slender waist, and he seems startled too, his eyes wide as he grabs my neck for support.
“Whoa, you nearly fell, didn’t you!” Duen complains, tapping my chest again, but let’s not call it a tap, more like a gentle pat…so light it doesn’t hurt.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry, but come to my table first.”
“Hmph. No, I’m not going, I’m not called first.”
“Why so quiet? Where’s your mouth gone, left it at home?”
“Fine mouth. You’ve always had a fine mouth…let’s just say, come with me, I want to know something, nongs, I am borrowing this idiot for a sec.” I turn to speak to his friends on the couch across from us. Actually, they’ve been about to get up several times. But they look confused, unsure if they should come over.
“Hey, Phii Bohn! Where are you taking my friend?”
“Oh. You’re Phu, Tang’s code junior, huh?” I say as if I just noticed, though I’ve seen him since he came over to Duen.
“Uh…yes, sir. But where are you taking Duen?”
“Duen, don’t be stubborn!” I scold Ram, pulling the slender body into my arms when he tries to push my chest, seemingly wanting to sit back down on the couch.
“Ugh, Bohn! No! He’s tough.”
“If you don’t stop, I’ll really carry you, Duenhaw.” I threaten…and that’s all it takes, he goes quiet.
“Come sit at my table, everyone, come on, get up.”
“Huh? Why, sir?”
“Come on. If you don’t come, I’ll have both you and Ram do pushups.”
“Hey!!” In the end, all five of Phu’s group came to my table willingly, unlike Duen who kept squirming all the way until I had to threaten to carry him; only then did he quiet down.
“Damn, Bohn! I told you to bring just Nong Duen, why did you bring the whole table?”
“Oh, these are my beloved juniors.”
I didn’t say anything. Just as I was about to take a sip of my drink, I had to stop again when a slender, soft hand of the person next to me grabbed it, as if not wanting me to drink.
“Bohn, let’s play a game, okay?”
“What?” I looked at the person who was acting dazed, extending his hand like a child asking for candy from a parent. He made a small, playful sound when I asked that way.
“A game, let’s play a game.” the speaker swayed his head and body slightly from side to side. Is he that eager to play a game?
“Where?” I pretended to look around and raised my eyebrows, even though I knew the answer.
“On the phone, bring it here.”
“Here.” I handed him my phone, then acted like I wasn’t interested, although I kept watching to see what he would do next.
Duen took it happily, then calmed down a bit before handing it back when he saw it needed a password. At first, I thought he would ask me to enter the password.
“I was going to—” I was about to say, “Are you going to ask for the password?” but I fell silent when he spoke up.
“I won’t play if it has a password; it means you don’t want others to mess with it.” He didn’t show any irritation or huffing like she did before; the situation was similar, someone asked for my phone too, but the responses were different. It was kind of funny; I just realized how biased I am.
“Ram wants to play the game too.”
“No need.” I raised my hand to stop him, unlocked my screen, and handed it to the person next to me, who looked puzzled as if he didn’t understand.
“?”
“Go ahead and play.”
“But it has a password. No, no, Phii Duen is a good person.” The slender figure shook his head slightly, his beautiful eyebrows knitting together until I couldn’t help but use my finger to smooth them out.
“Phii Bohn is so damn dictatorial, he threatened me and Ram that if we didn’t follow, he’d have us fixed.” He said, tattling. Alright, just you wait. I pointed at my juniors in a scolding manner before pulling the drunk one to sit beside me. The lady and her friends still hadn’t come back. I bet they didn’t just go to the bathroom; they must have gone to talk about something.
“Bohn, are you threatening my code junior?” Here’s another one, acting tough in front of his junior.
“What’s wrong?” I don’t bother answering my best friend’s question, instead, I turn to ask the person next to me when I see him cross his arms and frown.
“You, why did you drag me over here?” The slender figure speaks with a slurred voice, clearly showing irritation…like a cat, this is one annoying black cat.
“Come on, I need your help with something.” …Help me get her out of my life. I pour liquor into my glass. Just as I’m about to drink, I raise my eyebrows when the medical student sitting next to me holds my arm.
“I; Duen, want to drink…” He pouts like a little kid, his face flushed from the alcohol, quite tempting to tease.
“Alright.”
“Yay!” The person I’m talking to cheers, and from the corner of my eye, I see Duen reaching for a new glass from Boss, who promptly fills it with ice and liquor.
Duen would have drunk the beautiful colored water in the glass if I hadn’t…
“…”
“You’ll have to step over Bohn’s dead body first.”
“…Bohn, you bastard are such a possessive one.” He huffs, tightly crossing his arms, intentionally slamming his back against the backrest hard. His actions make me chuckle slightly, and when I look at our good friends, I see them smiling and teasing, probably because of the pronouns we’re using.
Bohn and Duen…
Given the situation, it’s probably because he’s drunk that he refers to himself like that. It’s not that no one has ever done it, but it feels different coming from Duen…I want to hear more.
“Bored…nothing to do.” The slender figure slurs, resting his head on his own shoulder, making everyone at the table laugh. That’s the cat for you.
“There’s nothing to do now.”
“But I don’t want anyone messing with you.”
“Yes…but, for some people…they’re allowed as a special case.”
“Who? Duen, huh, definitely I; Duen.” He grins widely, that face…it’s so cheeky. I raise my hand to ruffle his messy dark hair out of sheer annoyance.
“Huh, okay, go play.”
“I won’t swear.”
“Uh.” I responded with a grunt, my conversation partner smiled broadly again before diving into my farming game. I watched every action so intently that I didn’t even notice the many pairs of eyes watching us.
“You can go ahead and stare at my friend like that.” I knew who spoke without turning to look; how could I not recognize the annoying voice of my close friend’s code junior…Phu.
“They’ve already stared to their heart’s content.” Your junior has quite the mouth, did you pass on your attitude when you were mentoring him or what?
Before, Phu wasn’t this sharp-tongued.
“Hah.” Merk looked at me teasingly but said nothing.
Let’s talk about Duen’s friends instead. Phu is as you see. As for the other three, I can’t explain what they’re thinking, but for sure, two out of the three don’t like this.
“Are you the one who sent the six-pack photo to Duen?”
“Oh, yes.” I replied without fear. She didn’t seem threatening anyway, more like a mother-in-law pressuring her son-in-law. It seems she’s very protective of Duen.
If I must say it correctly, everyone seems to be protective of: Duen.
“What’s that, you sent a picture to flirt with my friend?” Phu asked, pretending to be mad but he was just teasing…because he was sending me a mocking look, just as annoying as his senior.
“Oh, Phu, you don’t know anything anymore.” Boss interjected, taking on the role of the know-it-all.
“…”
“Bohn did more than just flirt; he flirts and sweet-talks. He even took him into a room.”
“Hey!”
“Did you really do that?!” Ram turned to ask, his gaze quite serious. If I weren’t his senior, he might have punched me by now. His female friend seemed to have the same inclination. She looked like she wanted to lunge and bite my head off…brutal, are your friends this protective of you?
“…Let him finish.” Thank you, Merk, thank you for saving my life.
“What was that, Phii Boss?”
“He took him into a room…a classroom, hahaha.”
“Phii Boss, man.”
“You guys didn’t let me finish, hahahaha.”
“Bohn?”