MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 2: The First Rose

   [Bohn]

   “Heh heh.”

A laugh came from the throat of a young man, the owner of sharp, charismatic eyes with a rugged, heart-stopping look – that man could only be me. Hello. Right now, I’m sitting at my usual table at what engineering students call the ‘Gear Plaza’.

The reason I’m here is…I’m waiting for Duen.

Right now, the plaza is as crowded as usual. I bet when that idiot walks in, he’ll become the center of attention because why? Think about it, how many people would dare to walk in carrying flowers to give to an engineering student at the faculty? If it were a girl, that’d be one thing, but here, both the giver and the receiver are guys.

“Your face looks terrible, Bohn.”

“Shut up, Boss.”

“Why so harsh, hubbie, Bohn is being mean to me.” Boss pretends to cling tightly to his ‘husband’, but in reality, Merk and Boss aren’t actually a couple. We’ve teased them so much that everyone in the faculty knows about this ‘marriage’. Initially, it was just among our group, but now the whole faculty knows about the quiet husband and the wild wife of Engineering.

“Go far away, get lost if you want to stay alive.” But to tell the truth, Boss was just playing by himself.

“Where’s Tang gone?”

“Chasing after a girl from the accounting faculty.”

Our group consists of seven people. Me, Boss, Merk, Tang, King, Bom, and Tee. The last three have different majors, so we don’t hang out as much. We only really meet during lunch or after classes.

Me, Boss, and Merk graduated from the same high school. We share similar interests, which is why we decided to come to this university together. You might wonder how we got close to the other three. I don’t remember exactly, but I think we met during freshman orientation when the seniors made us form groups of seven, and we just happened to be together. After that, our quirks clicked, and we’ve been a gang ever since.

“What time is it, Boss?”

“Eight.”

“When’s our calculus class?”

“Nine…hey, dude, I’m not your secretary. Can you stop asking questions you can answer yourself?” I shrugged off Bohn, ignoring him…It’s only eight o’clock? There’s still plenty of time to wait, but Duen should be here soon. He’s not foolish enough to go looking for the flower-selling kid, right?

Today, I planned to go for a walk in the park again, hoping to encounter something unusual, like yesterday. Duen is truly strange, like he’s from another world, or maybe he’s an alien who got kicked out of his spaceship on Earth.

“Bohn.”

“…”

“Bohn!!!”

“…Why are you shouting, Boss?” I covered my ears while looking at my best friend who was yelling at me. That sound was really damaging to my eardrums. If I go deaf, I’m blaming you.

“…”

“What’s wrong with you, Bohn?”

“What’s wrong? I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not fine. I’ve been calling you for ages, and you didn’t hear. Plus, you had this weird look on your face, smiling like someone who’s smoked too much weed.” The mischievous wifey from Engineering hubbie looked at me suspiciously.

“Just thinking a bit.”

“Thinking about what?” Why do you all have to speak in unison like this?

“It’s almost Buhn’s birthday. I was thinking about what to get him.” It’s really close to Buhn’s birthday, but…to be honest, his birthday wasn’t even on my mind, heh heh.

“Oh, and then go…buy a dildo, Hia Buhn might like it.”

“Keep it for yourself, you jerk.”

“You guyssss.”

Oh my. I don’t even need to turn around to know whose voice that is. If you’re going to shout that loudly, Tang, at least have some consideration for others…see, everyone in the plaza is looking now.

“Quiet down, Tang!”

“Why are you shouting back at him, Boss?” Yeah, kick him, Merk, I’ve been annoyed with Boss for a while now.

   “Sorry, but why do you have to resort to physical violence?”

“It’s been going on for a long time.”

“Enough. Go love each other somewhere else…I’ve got a story to tell, I guarantee you haven’t heard this one.” After Tang finished speaking, the word ‘interested’ immediately appeared on Boss’s face. Oh my, not often that you show interest, my dear friend Thanarit.

   “What is it?”

“Last night, I went to Phii Keng’s pub.”

“And then what?” Boss covered his ears with his hands, looking left and right as if the story was a national secret.

“I met May…”

“Oh! I thought it was some big deal; I see him every time I go there, more often than seeing the servers.” True, May is probably at the pub more than at his own home; he should just change his address or marry the owner so he doesn’t have to keep coming and going.

“Wait, Anon! Do you know who he was with…”

“You really try hard.”

“Who was it…”

“Frong.”

“Frong, the manager?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“And what’s so interesting about it, Tang?”

“Oh. You guys already knew?”

“Huh, we just learned from you.”

“Well, why aren’t you surprised? I was shocked.”

“What’s there to be shocked about?”

“The fact that a quiet, sophisticated guy like Frong is with May!”

“You’re right, Frong doesn’t seem like he’d go for someone so wild.”

“Or maybe he doesn’t. Do you know what friends are, Tang…” After that, I let them continue their playful conversation without joining in. Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced my friends to you yet. Let’s start then, or you’ll get more confused about who’s who.

Boss Thanarit, is playful, and everyone in our faculty loves him. His dad is a soldier, and his mom is a Thai language teacher. Not sure how they managed to raise such an eccentric kid, haha. Here, he’s known as the ‘naughty wife’ from his nickname with his partner.

Merk Setthakit, originally his name was spelled “imac.” but his dad thought it was funny, so they changed it to Setthakit. How to describe his personality…he’s quiet. At the faculty, they call him the “silent husband.” That’s it, done.

Tang Wararit, looks a bit Chinese, women like him, he’s smart, has a good memory, and is a notorious flirt, but bad at studying, dedicated to chasing girls.

Tee Phatharawinthorn, normally has a good personality if you overlook his taste in food, a bit hot-tempered, gets angry easily, but he’s a good guy.

Bom Darin, whenever I say his real name, people think he’s a girl. His looks match his name; Bom is a handsome guy, almost as pretty as a tomboy. He has the most normal personality in the group; well, no, I am the most normal, then Bom, then Merk, the rest aren’t normal at all…

King Kantithat, everyone calls him ‘Lord King’ because he’s academically excellent but not in a nerdy way, more like an artistic genius. He can top his classes without studying…suspicious, does he have a guardian spirit or something?

And me!!!

Bohn, the university’s ruggedly handsome guy, that’s all, I’m tired.

“Half an hour left, shall we wait in the classroom?”

Tang’s voice interrupted my thoughts, damn, why does time pass so quickly? It felt like it was just eight o’clock a moment ago. What should I do? Duen, that little shit, isn’t here yet. Should I wait for him?

   I’m afraid if he comes and doesn’t find me here, especially if he’s being his usual slow self.

   “You guys go ahead, I’ll follow later.” In the end, I decided to wait for you if you don’t show up, you’ll be in big trouble, Duen.

“Huh, really?”

“I’ve got diarrhea, I need to go to the bathroom first.” Normally, I’m good at lying, but I couldn’t think of an excuse fast enough just now.

“Should I go with you? How did you get diarrhea?” Don’t try to be nice now, Merk, just stay quiet like usual.

“It’s fine, I can go alone. It must have been from the new dish my mom made last night.” Sorry, Mom, I’ll give you a great massage when I get home, Bohn promises.

“Your mom is really trying hard.” My mom isn’t good at cooking, but with her strong spirit, she keeps trying to invent new recipes to improve her skills. She says, ‘I can’t make food with a fixed recipe; it’s not worthy of my skills.’

“I can wait for you to go to the bathroom.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I…stink, I’m embarrassed.” Trust me on this, I beg you.

“Oh, you jerk, we’re friends, what’s there to be embarrassed about? Okay, fine, up to you.” Thanks for being so straightforward…Boss.

   “That’s it. You guys go ahead.” After I begged them to go to class, Boss nodded and led the way. Of course, he was the only one who walked away.

“You are acting suspicious.” …Tang.

“Do you have something up your sleeve?” …Merk.

“Sigh, sometimes I wish you guys would pretend to be as dumb as Boss.” I sighed in resignation, causing my conversation partners to smile like victors, but that was all it took, these two are wickedly smart.

“I can pretend to believe what you say.” You could just say that, why do you have to pick your ear with your pinky and blow it out too, ew, don’t blow it towards me, you disgusting Tang.

   “…”

“See you in half an hour, go to the bathroom with peace of mind.” Wararit patted my shoulder gently before following the quiet husband. I’m really tired of people who see through everything.

When are you coming, you pale fool, Duen, or did you forget? No way, he managed to get into that faculty, which means his memory must be exceptional…But honestly, Duen is kind of an airhead, could he have really forgotten? It’s already half past eight. In another half hour, I have to go to class.

   8:38 AM, there’s still time, come quickly, you pale fool, Duen.

   8:43 AM, you’re taking too long.

   9:12 AM, if you come now, I’ll drag you to Alex to get your legs bitten!

   Ding!

Phii Boss Same Person Just Upgraded to Being Annoying: Where are you, Bohn?

   Bon Ss: At the gear plaza.

   Phii Boss, Same Person Just Upgraded to Being Annoying: What the hell are you doing there? You said you needed to go to the bathroom.

   Bon Ss: I’ve gone.

   Phii Boss, Same Person Just Upgraded to Being Annoying: Then hurry up and come up, the professor is already here. Even if you’re the teacher’s pet, being late isn’t excused.

   Bon Ss: Yeah, yeah.

   You bastard, Duen, if I see you, I’ll punch you for making the teacher’s pet, me, (going to) get scolded…While I was plotting ways to punish the young doctor, I suddenly heard a group of people talking.

   “He missed the class again.”

“Come on, don’t hold it against him.”

“It’s happened several times!”

“You know that a med student’s time is as precious as gold.”

“Yeah…he probably doesn’t have time to hang out with us doing nonsense, sigh.”

Right, his time is as precious as gold; he probably doesn’t have time to do something as pointless as bringing flowers to me.

In the end, I decided not to wait any longer for him, packed up my things, and went to class. It was just a verbal promise; it’s not surprising if Duen bailed.

Whatever. I’m not upset. Just feel a bit disappointed about being stood up.

“You should take notes here. I might include this in the final.”

The professor’s words made us all wilt. Honestly, his teaching doesn’t help me understand the millions of numbers on the board at all. I don’t know if it’s because he teaches too fast or I’m just dumb. Best to record it and listen later.

Rrrr

   “Shit. Who’s calling? Good thing I had it on vibrate.” Tang said quietly, looking down at his phone, the screen displaying ‘Bom’.

“What, Bom? I’m in class…ha, that’s Tang, the Electric Engineering guy…I don’t know, ask Tang, he’s close to the Tiger…yeah, okay, wait a sec…087-42x-xxxx, yeah yeah.”

“What’s up?”

“Bom called the wrong number, thought I was Electric Engineering Tang. He said someone came looking for Tiger and was waiting for him at Gear Plaza.”

Someone looking for Tiger and waiting at Gear Plaza? Wow, what a coincidence, I guess people in my faculty can’t think of any other meeting place besides Gear Plaza.

“Man or woman?”

“Man, he’s holding something, looks like flowers.”

“Wow, then he must be here to flirt. We need to find out who this is.”

Tiger, the subject of our conversation, is someone everyone agrees must have graduated with honors. He’s round, has a tanned complexion typical of kids from the south, likes to carry calculus books around, carries a bag heavier than a gas cylinder, wears glasses thicker than a limited edition Khmer dictionary, written by Yod Dok Sadao, and has a pretty good personality.

“You jerk.”

Wait a minute…I seem to have forgotten something important. I…haven’t told Duen my real name, and if I remember correctly, what Hia Ta calls me…

“Hey, you, Tiger.”

   “Tiger.”

   “Tiger.” Ding!

“Professor! I forgot where I left my car keys, may I go get them, please!” “Uh…yeah, go ahead.”

Everyone looked shocked when I suddenly rushed out of the classroom without waiting for the professor’s response because I knew he would allow it, but even if he didn’t, I would have gone anyway.

Could it be you?

Would you really skip class to come see me?

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, my destination being the gear plaza. I didn’t even know what I was doing; the person holding the flowers might not even be Duen. There was no reason for me to run myself ragged.

…I was probably just wanting to exercise.

After running for a while, my legs stopped at the gear plaza, my eyes scanning and stopping at someone’s back. Even though we just met yesterday, I remembered it well.

“Wow, this Tiger isn’t ordinary.”

“Wow, what’s your name, junior?”

“Uh, what’s that in your hand, flowers?”

“Ugh, he is holding a lab coat too.”

“A medical student is hitting on our friend.”

“Uh…”

“Duen!”

As soon as I shouted, the gear plaza seemed to fall into a vacuum; the teasing noises quieted down. The person whose name I called turned to look at me, smiled happily, and then ran towards me. Wait a minute…for real?

“Are you crazy or what!” I shouted as loud as I could while looking him over. His face was flushed from exhaustion, sweat soaking through his student shirt, indicating how long he had been running. He was tightly gripping flowers in his hand.

“You’re the crazy one! I drove around looking for the flower-selling kid from this morning, and finally found her at XXX, damn it! And when I wanted to bring the flowers to you, you just disappeared, I even got lost! I’ve been searching for this gear plaza for so long. Luckily, Phii Bom was kind enough to bring me here. Damn, you made me skip a class that’s super hard to understand. Do you know this subject is my major? I’m going to die trying to catch up…Hey, you scoundrel, are you even listening to me!” The slender figure was shouting loudly. Meanwhile, everyone in the plaza was silently listening to our conversation, or rather, eavesdropping.

He actually did it…he really bought flowers from that kid…and the shop was almost in another province from our university, but he drove there to buy them, Duen…

   “You…are so damn cute.”

“Oh, what’s this, Bohn? Who were you looking for, junior?” A friend standing nearby asked curiously, breaking the silence that had enveloped the gear plaza, with others around raising their eyebrows in confusion.

“Bohn?” Did Duen really think my name was Tiger?

   “Nothing much, he came to see me, but I was a bit surprised, him thinking I was

Tiger.”

“What? I thought my friend Tiger was about to end his single life.”

“I’ve thought about it, and it can’t be Tiger. I’ve had my doubts since you said

Tiger was handsome.”

Here’s my other close friend, Bom, the dear friend, I guess I owe him a snack. If it weren’t for him, that little rascal wouldn’t have made it to Gear Plaza, but…the way here isn’t that complicated.

“Exactly, I’m not the famous moon from the university.” Tiger pretended to be hurt, but it looked more like he was just playing along for laughs, and the friends played along, rushing over to pat his head and console him.

“Oh oh. Don’t cry, little Tiger. We have to accept it, medical students don’t like studying kids, it’s not their style.”

“Ha, so what type do they like, my dear friend?”

“They like…rough, raw types, like Bohn!”

“Ho ho ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi hi hi, ho yay!”

“Reeeeeeeeee!!!!”

“Who has kaffir limes to trade for lemons!!!!”

“Who has a daughter, no need to trade!!!”

“My friend’s so weird, he loves drama!!! Bohn has got himself a doctor’s wife yayyyy!!!”

“Reeeeeeeeee!!!!”

“Hey, you guys!! Keep it down!!” I shouted to quiet them down, making the whole plaza go silent, but not for long before I said something that caused another uproar.

“He’s just shy, man.”

“Reeeeeeee.”

“Well, Phii Bom said Nong Duen complimented how handsome you are, huh?” I teased the slender figure.

“I hate your laugh.” He pouted and hit my shoulder hard, ouch, you bastard.

“Why do you always resort to physical violence?”

“Because you’re annoying.”

“How am I annoying?…oh, I have class, let’s go.” I tugged at his shirt to make him follow after I remembered something important, and our friends around each waved goodbye, I had to get back to class. Otherwise, I’d fall out of orbit and wouldn’t catch up with the lessons.

“If you have class, go to class then. Why did you drag me here?”

“I felt like it.”

“Shh! …So, you’re Bohn? Not Tiger?”

“Yeah, you looked so stupid just now, haha.”

“Funny, why didn’t you tell me who you were beforehand? It was so embarrassing for me…I was already embarrassed just carrying flowers for a guy, but now I had to go around asking if anyone knew this guy, where he studied, blah blah…where am I supposed to put my face now, you fool!” My conversation partner shouted, finishing with a look like his life was over.

“Your face is all red, huh.”

“It’s red because I’m mad at you, you bastard, Bohn, what’s so funny?”

“Huh.”

“Still not done! I’m going to punch you now.” Duen looked at me seriously.

“You’re funny…and super stupid.”

“Huh. Why are you insulting me, you scoundrel!”

“Figure it out yourself.”

“You dare to insult me, I skipped class because of you, you ungrateful bastard.”

“…”

“Why are you quiet?”

That’s right…he skipped class for me. Should I say he’s crazy or just a man of his word?

   “Give me your phone.” I held out my hand commandingly.

“Why?”

“Just give it to me.”

“So bossy.” He handed over his phone as requested. I then added my contact to his phone before calling out, getting Duen’s number, and handed the phone back to him. I’m not Bohn for nothing, but after a moment, he seemed to realize something.

“Ah, it might have gone to voicemail.”

The medical student bent down to examine the flower in his hand, a large red rose, wrapped in clear plastic like you see everywhere, slightly crumpled, probably because he was holding it tightly.

“…”

“Quiet again? Take it. If you throw it away, I’ll cut your ear off and feed it to Alex.”

“…”

“Huh.”

“Why do you laugh like a psychopath?”

“No, I don’t.”

“You’re still arguing? I can hear you laughing, huh, what’s wrong with you?”

“I won’t throw it away…I’ll keep it well.”

“…”

“Do you have another class?”

I took the flower to hold it; actually, it’s still beautiful. It’s not wilted or rotten like Duen said, how gentle must one be to keep it in this condition?

“I have one more class at noon, I was planning to go to sleep in the library, I’m so tired today.”

“Want to come study with me?”

“Ha, are you crazy? Won’t the professor scold you?”

“No, my friend brought his girlfriend to class, and he didn’t get scolded.”

“You’re lying, you bastard. What class is this?”

“Come on. No scolding. You have another class at noon, right? I’ll be done just in time, then I can treat you to some cake to cheer you up.”

“…”

“You don’t want to?”

“Um…actually, that sounds good, I’m tired and want to sleep.”

“Sometimes, you don’t seem like a med student.” I said what I was thinking, and my conversation partner frowned slightly before his face broke into a wide smile.

“Are you saying I’m not as nerdy as those other guys?”

“No. You seem like an idiot.”

“Damn, Bohn!”

“Yeah, and you speak so crudely, I thought medical students would talk like,

‘Hello, Sommai,’ ‘Yes, Somtong,’ something like that.”

“Have you watched too many movies, you scoundrel…I have something to tell you.”

“What?”

“Bohn…”

“Hmm?”

“This name suits you perfectly, haha.”

“Huh, and what about you, Duenhaw?” I crossed my arms, grinning mockingly at the pale fool.

“Oh, fuck, don’t call me that!” He stopped laughing immediately, probably really didn’t like the name, huh?

“Why not?”

“I don’t like it, it’s weird.”

“It’s kind of cute.” Let me tease you a bit; the name Duenhaw isn’t cute to me, actually, it seems cool.

“Your dad’s cute!” Oh, now my dad’s involved.

   “Duenhaw.” I teased again. Predictably, the owner of the name frowned and bared his teeth at me.

“Are you asking for it? I told you not to call me that.” Doesn’t he know the more he reacts, the more I want to tease him, 100 times more?

   “Duenhaw, Duenhaw, Duenhaw, Duen…”

“Argh!! You little worm, you clam, you kindergarten Pikachu, you southern bandit, you greedy bastard, you left-eye cramp, you #@$%#^&&.” and a lot more insults that an ordinary person wouldn’t come up with. This guy never ceases to amaze me. Even though we just met yesterday, I feel closer to him than to some friends I’ve known for years.

I looked down at the red rose in my hand. No matter how you look at it, it’s just an ordinary rose you can buy anywhere. Nothing special about it, not luxurious, not expensive…but I felt it was more special than the others, probably because it was bought by this crazy guy.

   The crazy guy named Duenhaw…

  

MY ENGINEER CHAPTERS HOME

MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 1: The Battle of the Wits Between the Scoundrel Cockroach and the Tall Pale Fool

   [Duenhaw]

   “The wind is chilly.”

I lazily stretched and scanned around the university’s public park, where there weren’t many people. Mostly, it’s students exercising or the elderly. I’m not really one of those, but today, I wanted some quiet time, so I decided to come here.

“Wow, the air is incredible.” I said, then flopped down onto the green grass, letting my thoughts drift with the breeze carrying the scent of grass and earth. My eyelids slowly closed as sleepiness took over, and lying on the grass didn’t bother me at all.

Kraak

[Bohn]

   “Where are you going today?” asked my dear friend Tang after the professor had left the room.

“Um…I think I’ll go for a walk to clear my mind a bit. Wanna come with me?”

“Huh. You go ahead…I suspect you’ve been hanging out with King too much, you’ve picked up his habits.” Heh heh.

“Okay, then I’ll go.”

I decided to go to the university’s public park because it’s a quiet place with not many people around. Sometimes, there are old folks jogging there, which is kind of cute to see. It’s rare for me to have time to just walk and enjoy nature like this, given how heavy my studies are. Not to mention, I have to deal with annoying things like women. Let me just say upfront that I’m not conceited just because I’m good-looking. I’ve got a sharp nose, long narrow eyes, and a well-shaped mouth, plus a side-swept hairstyle that matches my black glasses, I tell you. I’m the bestlooking guy in the university.

“What’s that…?”

While I was lost in thought, my eyes caught sight of a slender figure sleeping on the grass by the big pond, as if not at all afraid of being greeted by some amphibian. Hey, the silver and gold here aren’t lizards; they could bite your arm off, man…But whatever, not my problem.

Snap

…Alex

   Just as I was about to walk away like nothing happened, the four-legged creature named Alex appeared as if it knew what I was thinking. It’s here; the rector keeps it, sort of. Well, not really ‘keeps’, more like named it and then left, but he sends money for the janitors to buy chicken for it to eat.

   What? How do I know which one is Alex?

   That’s easy. Because it’s wearing a Hello Kitty collar, heh heh. But…what if Alex finds this crazy person sleeping on its usual spot? It probably wouldn’t end well.

   Consider it an act of charity; I’ll wake him up.

   So, thinking that, I approached the idiot who was about to be, here, murdered. He’s wearing the same university student uniform as me, huh, why don’t I recognize him? And what’s with that white skin, looking like a salad dressing, even from a distance you can see the glimmering aura. Must be because his parents feed him with a mix of glutathione and omelette. [1] Gluta is the Thai people skin whitening go to…

   Let me have a closer look at this face.

   Are you not moving at all? How still are you, really? So still that there are three or four butterflies resting on your face and arms, and you don’t even feel it. But let’s pretend to play along, this guy’s face is something special. Judging by his height from my estimate, he must be nearly 180 (which is pretty tall, but I’m taller). His skin is so white you can see faint veins, with a stubborn, sharp nose, and eyebrows that aren’t too thick but match his face perfectly.

   But being good-looking doesn’t excuse being an idiot, you know.

   I let out a wicked grin while photographing the idiot lying there, adjusting the camera angle to capture both him and the sign that read ‘Fucking Fierce’, ‘I’m going to wake you up, you naive little shit, but first, let me take some photos to mock your stupidity. Your white skin looks so pinchable, have you ever been in the sun, you pale paperboy?’

   Alright, I think it’s time to wake him up. Let’s wake him with a slap.

   “Ha…Hey!!”

“Shit!”

Poke

“Ouch!”

Thud!

Everything happened so fast that I couldn’t react; suddenly, the guy I thought was asleep opened his eyes, probably startled to wake up and see a handsome face in front of him, and he lunged forward, smashing into my nose hard. Before I could say anything, a heavy punch landed on the corner of my mouth, making it bleed.

Damn, that was a solid punch.

“You bastard! What the hell are you doing!” I shouted loudly while clutching my painful nose, the wound on the corner of my mouth hurt, but my nose hurt even more, damn it!!

“You’re the one doing something! Are you some kind of psycho? Help me-!” He shouted back just as loudly. He was about to scream for help, but I managed to grab him and cover his mouth just in time.

“Are you crazy or what!”

“Mmmph, mmm, argh, mmph!” (Translation: You’re the crazy one, let me go, you psycho!)

“Hey, why are you struggling so much?” I asked softly, not wanting to draw more attention. The slender body in my arms kept struggling to break free from my grip with no sign of calming down, much stronger than I expected.

“Ugh, let me go!” (Translation: Let me go!) Don’t struggle, dammit!

“Stop struggling and listen to me!!”

After my command, he went silent. I don’t know if it was from shock or fear, but whatever, he stopped struggling. He even stepped on my foot, which hurt like hell.

“Finally, you stop…Listen to me! I saw some idiot lying here, in this shitty place, so I came to wake you up out of kindness because I was worried you’d get bitten by the bugs. And instead of a thank you, I get a fist to the face.”

“…”

Seeing him calm down without any sign of fighting back, I slowly released my arms and hands. And the moment he was free, he immediately stepped back away from me.

“…Who would have known, waking up to someone somewhere trying to kiss themselves, wouldn’t you be startled, you bastard?”

“…” Yeah, right…

“See, anyone would be startled.”

“But you assaulted me. You have to take responsibility.” I said while stepping closer to him. His reaction was so funny that I wanted to tease him. The closer I got, the further he moved back until he was almost falling into the water.

“I’m not at fault! Hey, are you going to call your Pa?”

“I’m a true Thai. No Chinese descent here.”

“I don’t want to know.”

“Don’t change the subject. You have to take responsibility.”

“Back off, you jerk, or I’ll fall into the pond!” The person in front of me pushed against my chest to keep me at bay, but I didn’t stop advancing. The space between us was getting smaller and smaller.

“Huh.”

“Huh, stop it, or I’ll fall into the pond!”

The hand that was initially pushing against my chest now gripped my shirt tightly. He was smart to try to escape, but it was futile; we were in different leagues.

“Alright…alright, I’m wrong, I give up!” “If you had given up from the start, this would have been over. Why make it so complicated?” I grinned and stepped back.

“You bastard…what do you want? Let me tell you first, I won’t be your submissive like in those novels my neighbor’s kid loves to read.” Your armscrossed pose is the most annoying I’ve ever seen; can I push you into the pond?

“Have you read too many novels? I don’t want anything that silly.”

“Then what do you want?”

“Tell me your name first, and then I’ll tell you.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Fine…but if I tell you, I’ll consider it as you are asking for it, and then we’re done.” Another sly, cunning look.

“If I go-”

“This isn’t a request, I am going to.” I dragged the other guy to my car, not caring if he resisted. I knew if we stayed any longer, he’d start bargaining like he did before. Don’t mess with me, you pale fool.

“Hey, hey, where are you taking me?”

“…”

“I asked where you’re taking me!”

“Stop whining so much.” I started driving and suddenly slammed on the brakes, causing the person next to me to jerk forward, his forehead hitting the dashboard with a loud thud. That felt good, haha.

“You fucking idiot!” I shrugged off the curses, driving casually to our destination. If he has the energy to curse, let him.

“The hospital? And here I thought you were going to kill me…”

Actually, the wound wasn’t big enough to need a doctor, but I didn’t want it to get infected.

While the nurse was treating his wound, I secretly watched the slender figure with his long, thick eyelashes, surrounded by those beautiful narrow eyes. Both the nurse, the doctor, and the patients couldn’t help but look at him, which made me wonder why I’d never seen him before. At least, there should be some cute boy photos on social media pages.

“Aren’t you going to tell me your real name?” I asked, tilting my chin after the nurse finished dressing his wound.

“Your face is so annoying, I’m not telling you.” Oh, my face isn’t annoying at all.

“If you don’t tell me…then I’ll call you ‘Pale Fool’.”

“Your business. No matter what you do, you won’t know my name, you-”

“Oh, Duen, what are you doing here?”

It seemed luck was on my side when someone called out the name of the guy in front of me. No need to worry about getting the wrong person; not only did he call out his name, but he also walked over and clapped a hand on the pale fool’s shoulder…lucky me.

“Hmph, Duen.”

“Shut up, you bastard…Hello, Doctor.” Duen gave me a slightly annoyed look before turning to greet the newcomer with a wai, his movements looking funny, making me smile. Everything seemed to be going my way today, probably because of the merit I made yesterday.

“Oh, what are you up to? Are you starting to skip classes in your freshman year?”

“Oh, you are a freshman too…”

“Zip it…I brought my friend to get his wound treated.” Duen turned to me with a sneer before answering the doctor’s question. The doctor, who I guessed recognized me because I knew him, even though we’ve never spoken, raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

‘Dr. Thara’, a fifth-year medical student, the heartthrob doctor-in-training beloved by patients in the hospital, has a profile so perfect that he’s the target of many, but all end up disappointed because Dr. Thara cares only about his work and studies…or so I’ve heard others say.

“Hello, Phii.”

“Hello…did you have a fight with this guy Duen? Isn’t he in his second year now?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“That’s not good. He’s your senior. You should show some respect.”

“He doesn’t mind…You do not mind, right?” This is what people call asking for an opinion, but it’s more like a threat, isn’t it? Just look at his eyes.

“Yeah, I don’t mind.” I replied nonchalantly. The other person seemed pleased to hear that, unaware of how punchable he looked.

“Wait, Duen, I saw that.” When scolded by the senior medical student, the other pouted like a child caught doing something wrong. They seem pretty close, huh.

“It’s fine, senior. I don’t mind.” I waved it off.

“See Phii Thara…he confirmed it himself.”

“Heh heh.”

“But are you going up to the ward, senior?”

“Ugh, I’m so tired, I got yelled at by a patient’s family this morning.”

“Poor you, how about I treat you to some ice cream to cheer you up?”

“I’ll make you treat me, but not today. I’ll add it to your tab, you little rascal.”

“Sure, sure. Where are you headed next?” The latter turned to ask me, to which I nodded in response, giving him a look that said, “You can’t escape me, you rookie.” and I saw his face change before he approached me.

“Then I’ll go first. Here, do you want your gown back?”

“Leave it for now, too lazy to carry it.”

“What’s that…”

“Then we’ll part ways, I’ve got to go too, see you later.” The oldest person in our conversation checked his watch before waving goodbye to us.

“You reckless face, where are you going now?”

“To take my medicine.” I didn’t answer his question, instead, I held up the medicine I had just picked up for him to see. Of course, he was the one who paid for the treatment, huh.

“Then take it.”

“It’s post-meal medication, so…I have to go eat something first.”

“Damn it, I shouldn’t have slept in the park…”

“It’s your karma, you tall cockroach.”

“Yeah, my karma, my fate.”

Since it wasn’t too cool outside yet, I decided to take Duen to “Hia Ta’s” place. The owner is a friend of my older brother. The atmosphere there is excellent because it’s by the river, the food is delicious, the ambiance is good, and the owner is quite a looker. Seventy percent of the customers are women, and every day they come dressed to outshine each other, more glamorous than the Met Gala.

“Two plates of plain rice, chicken in galangal soup, fried chicken, and ginger stir-fry. You don’t want anything else, right…but even if you did, I wouldn’t order it for you, huh.”

“You bastard, such a dictator.” I shrugged off Duen’s curses and returned the menu to the server. In truth, I didn’t intend to do much with him; I just wanted to tease him. After we eat, I’ll let him go…probably.

“Kyaaaah! Look at that!”

Suddenly, screams and shouts filled the restaurant. What’s going on…Oh, I see why they’re screaming. It’s because the handsome owner was walking over to our table with a smile.

“Hey, Tiger.” Look, he was talking to the girl but his eyes were on the person she brought with her. Oh, I forgot to mention, he’s bi.

   “Who’s your new friend Bohn? Wow, every time that ‘May’ comes to flirt, you never play along. I thought my little Tiger didn’t have taste for men…but it turns out you already have someone in mind.” ‘May’, the one Hia Ta is talking about, is a sophomore in the Faculty of Fine Arts. He’s been chasing me since my freshman year. He’s actually quite cute, but I like girls, plus he’s all over the place.

“I still prefer the front (women), Hia. This is Duen, my junior from university.” “Hello, senior.” Duen greeted Hia Ta with a wai and gave him a smile. Go ahead and smile, you’re exactly Hia’s type, tough and lean, looking like you’ve got some fight in you.

   “Duen, you are studying at the same university as Tiger, are you a freshman?” “Yes, sir.”

“What faculty are you in? Why haven’t I seen you at the engineering faculty?” “I’m in the medical faculty, sir.” That’s why I’ve never seen him before.

   “Oh, and how did you get to know this guy, engineering with medicine, huh, ha ha.” At the university I study, the health sciences faculties don’t study on the same campus as other faculties, making it very hard for us to meet (unless we make an effort to go find each other).

“-”

“I found him crying next to a trash can, felt sorry for him, so I picked him up.” He was about to say something earlier, but I bet it wouldn’t have been much different from what I said.

“Picked up your father, you bastard.”

“Don’t bring my father into this, or I’ll slap you.”

“Oh, I’m so scared.”

“You’ll be in for it, Duen.”

After that, we kept arguing, with a bit of shoving here and there, just typical guy stuff. It wasn’t anything serious. I just pushed him, and he retaliated by swinging his arm to hit my shoulder hard, ouch, damn.

“Are you guys close?”

“Who, me and him? No way. Who would want to get close to him? We just met today.” The medical student answered, making the questioner surprised, then looked back and forth between Duen and me.

“Why?”

“Oh, nothing. Usually, except for his little brother Bihn, I’ve never seen him let any junior play with him like this…Duen is the first.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the juniors in our faculty respect him so much…or rather, they’re scared of him, ha ha.”

“With a face like yours, would there be someone who respects you?” The little guy stood up, holding his right hand on the table while using his left to squeeze and turn my chin, examining it with a disbelieving look.

“Why? What’s wrong with my face?” I caught his white wrist, looking up at him challengingly.

“Well, nothing. Just that your face doesn’t exactly inspire respect.” “Watch your mouth, Duen, or I’ll add interest until you can’t even scream.”

“I’m so scared. Come at me then.” Such a pain in the ass.

   The three of us chatted a bit more before the restaurant owner asked the staff to bring our food and excused himself to attend to other customers. Once the food was laid out on the table, no one spoke because we were all busy eating. During the meal, I glanced up occasionally at the other guy, noticing how neatly he ate. When he’s quiet, he actually looks like he could be a doctor. Oh, speaking of doctors, I remembered something.

“Are you close with Phii Thara?”

“Hah?”

“I don’t want to know anymore.”

“You catch on quick.” I immediately knew what he was going to say. Just by opening his mouth, I could see his chicken tongue; he would definitely try to exchange the knowledge for something.

“Don’t you like ginger?” After observing for a while, I noticed something odd; Duen ate everything on the table except the ginger stir-fry chicken. He didn’t even touch the plate.

“I’m allergic to ginger.”

“Really?”

“So, what do you want from me?” The slender figure asked, looking at me with bored eyes, which only turned my mischievous switch on.

“What should I take?”

“Don’t play games, you scoundrel.”

“Seriously, what’s a ‘scoundrel’?”

“I don’t know, but since you called me ‘Pale Fool,’ I wanted to call you something that sounds similar.”

“Oh…want our names to sound alike?” I flashed my usual charming smile. Normally, this would make the other person flustered, but this guy just grimaced in disgust. Oh, you’ll see, you bastard.

“Ugh, I hate self-absorbed people.”

“Hey, you were the one who said you wanted them to sound similar.”

“Yeah, I said that, but I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Do you know what I mean?” Instead of feeling creeped out by flirting with this tough guy, I felt it was fun, especially when teasing Duen. It was funny because he always pouted and made a hissing sound like an annoyed cat.

“Every time I talk to you, I get annoyed.” He pressed his tongue against his cheek, showing he was extremely bored. “Huh, cover it up then, if you really like it, just say so.”

“You-”

“Check out, please.” Seeing that the slender figure was about to start complaining, I preemptively called for the waiter to get the bill, then turned to raise my eyebrows at the would-be doctor in front of me like a victor. Believe it or not, from the moment the bill was paid until now, as we walked back to the car, he remained silent, probably too tired to argue anymore.

“So, what do you want?”

“Handsome big brother, can you buy me some flowers, please?”

Before the medical student could finish speaking, a small voice interrupted. When I turned towards the source of the sound, I saw a little girl dressed in old clothes, holding a bunch of colorful roses which looked quite heavy. It was hard not to feel sorry for her.

“Please help me, I haven’t sold well today.”

“Oh, don’t cry, little one.” Duen went to crouch in front of the girl when he saw she was about to cry.

“Huh…you…”

“I’m not buying, Duen, get in the car.”

I never buy from these kids. It’s not that I dislike them; on the contrary, I feel sorry that they have to work at night like this, it’s dangerous. Especially when the sellers are children, I’d rather not buy…if we buy, the people using children to sell will make more money. If they profit from this, do you think they’ll stop?

   “Huh…huh, I haven’t sold even one flower today.”

“Hurry up.” I walked to the driver’s side door, making eye contact with the medical student, signaling him to get in the car quickly.

“You bastard…don’t cry, little one, I’ll buy some, okay, brave girl?” The gentle smile he gave to the child made it impossible for me to look away.

“Really, huh?”

“Really.”

“Duen, there are so many mosquitoes, I want to go home.” I mean it, man. I’ve scratched so much my skin feels like it’s going to peel off. Can’t you see that this kid is a little scammer? She’s crying without a single tear.

“You’ve been quiet. So, how much for these flowers?”

“Twenty baht per flower, huh. If you buy…huh, two flowers, I’ll give you one for free, Phii.”

“Hmm, and if…I buy them all, what will you give as a bonus?” I smiled, looking at the girl squatting in front of me, talking to her.

“Eh. If you buy them all, I have nothing left to give. What should we do?”

“Is that so? That’s too bad…but I have an idea. If I buy them all, can I get a kiss on the cheek as a bonus?” The medical student smiled at her response, pointing at his cheek with his finger. So, what you’re saying is you want to flirt with the kid?

   “No way.”

“Eh, why not?”

“Mom said I can only kiss family members and my boyfriend.”

“Then become my girlfriend.” I really want to kick you, you little doctor, haha.

   “No way, I don’t love you, Phii.”

I burst out laughing and got a murderous glare from Duen. Even passersby were smiling at the conversation they overheard. If it were you, wouldn’t you laugh? He was clearly trying to flirt with the kid, damn, that backfired, hahaha.

“Okay, I understand. But you really won’t kiss me? Even friends kiss each other.”

“Really? Can you kiss that super handsome Phii over there too?”

Me?

   Duen and me? …Well, it’s not like I haven’t. In my life, four guys have kissed my cheek: my dad, my brothers Bihn and Buhn, and my best friend Boss (of course, I didn’t willingly let the last one kiss me)

   “Yes.” I agreed, and with the urge to tease and being bitten by mosquitoes to the point of almost getting dengue fever, plus this transaction didn’t seem like it would end easily. I walked over and knelt behind the squatting person, moving my lips close to his white cheek and…

Kiss

“You, you-!”

“Shh, don’t be rude, or the kid will remember.” After saying that, I put my finger to his lips to silence him, and with me now sitting behind him, my longer arms and legs making it look like I was hugging him.

“Um…then I’ll kiss you, Phii Duen.”

“Uh…shit, don’t sit so close.” Duen answered the girl before turning to glare at me, his white hand pushing against my chest which was now pressed against his back, but I feigned confusion and grabbed his slender waist to keep from being pushed away, so we would fall together. But…how come his waist is so slim?

   “Um, how many flowers do you have? One, two…”

“Let go of me.” The slender figure took advantage of the girl counting the flowers in her hand to turn his face towards me, threatening in a whisper so quiet it was almost a murmur. He must have been genuinely afraid the kid would hear, what a role model.

“Why… Phii Duen?” I teased playfully, and the result of my teasing was a hard punch to my shoulder from him. Damn, that punch was strong, you bastard, I’ll knock you down if you do that again.

“There are other people around, you jerk. Shit, I already don’t have any girls flirting with me, if you do this, my rating will be gone.”

“No one flirts with you? Or maybe they do, but you’re just too oblivious, especially when you’re being an idiot.”

“You want to fight me, you jerk?”

“Me, hey…”

As he turned to talk, our noses almost touched by coincidence, even if just for a moment, it made me jump back quickly. No more teasing or messing with him.

“What’s wrong with you? Or did I step on an ant’s nest!” He quickly got up, looked at his feet, and brushed himself off, but when he saw nothing, he scratched his head in confusion.

“You…”

“?”

“Are you an idiot or something, Duen…” This came from my heart, he really seemed slow. Look at how he was in the restaurant, even when Hia Ta was clearly showing interest in him, he didn’t notice at all. And in reality, who follows a stranger around like this? Many of his traits make me question how someone like him has survived in society up to now.

Slow, naive, dazed, kind-hearted, easy to deceive, too trusting, he’s the epitome of the last link in the food chain.

“Twenty-one flowers!”

“Oh, you’ve finished counting, have you, little one?”

“Yes.”

“How much is it?” Wow, such double standards, this idiot. When talking to me, he sounds bored and makes a sour face, but with the little girl, his voice is so bright.

“Twenty-one times twenty…five hundred baht.” Amazing quick math…it’s four hundred and twenty, you fool!

   “No.”

“Correct.” Duen replied, handing over a purple banknote. She looked happy as she handed over all the flowers…Do you realize you’ve been taken advantage of, or is your kindness blinding you?

   Kiss-kiss

“Don’t tell my mom, okay?”

“Sure, hurry home.” The slender figure reached out to pat the girl’s head affectionately, a gentle smile appearing on the handsome face of the future doctor. “Okay, thank you.” After selling all her flowers (with some trickery), she walked away happily, oh my.

“Alright, let’s go, you bastard, the mosquitoes are about to carry me away.”

“I told you a long time ago, but you wouldn’t listen.” I, Bohn, walked over to sit in the driver’s seat, and soon after, the other party came to sit in his usual spot, the once empty lap now replaced with a bouquet of colorful roses.

   Although everything he did might seem foolish, it was out of pure-heartedness. Duen genuinely felt sorry for that kid, unlike those who tried to flirt with me. Some tried to show their kindness by buying all the flowers, but their actions left me unimpressed, seeming insincere…unlike the person in front of me.

   “What are you looking at, you heartless bastard?”

“What, how am I heartless?”

“You were the first one who said you wouldn’t buy anything and were going to run back to the car.”

“If I had bought them, she’d have to come out and sell flowers at night again.

Don’t you think that’s dangerous for a kid that small?”

“…I know, but if you don’t buy, where will she get money from? It’s…pitiful.” The white hand gripped the roses tightly, looking out of the car window at another kid doing the same job as the little girl from before. I think Duen has a case of being overly sympathetic, kind-hearted, and eager to help others, all sorts of conditions for being easily taken advantage of.

He seems foolish, but…it’s not all bad.

I smiled, reaching out to ruffle his dark hair roughly. Are there still people like you left in this world?

“You scoundrel! Don’t mess up my hair! It’s all out of place now!” Do I care? I shrugged before starting the car. My conversation partner protested even more because he hadn’t buckled up, and when I drove off, he hit his head on the dashboard again, huh, serves him right.

“Duen.”

“What!”

“I’ve figured out what I want.”

“Go on, you can keep this up all day.”

“Huh, smart mouth.”

“So, what do you want?”

“I don’t want an object.”

“?”

“One month.”

“?”

“For the whole month, you have to buy flowers from the kids selling them on the street and bring them to me.”

“Ah?!”

“Any kind of flower, but I guess it’ll just be roses.”

“…”

“Oh…and you have to bring them to me every morning, personally, at the Gear Plaza.”

 

MY ENGINEER CHAPTERS HOME