MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 6: Pictures

   [Duenhaw]

   Now I’m in the medical building, walking to my next class. I just rode over to ask that scoundrel at the traffic light what kind of flowers he wanted. Just asking, because the guy can’t decide; this one is beautiful, that one is good, another one is excellent, and he wants that one too, even if it’s not for me.

Oh, forgot to tell my good friends that I met a senior I know. Better go tell them on LINE…

Tingting, 23 missed calls

   Tang, 15 missed calls

   Phu, 14 missed calls

   Ram, 19 missed calls

   Before I could even open any app, I was startled by the flood of messages and missed calls from my close friends displayed on the screen. Phii Duen is dead for sure. When I regained my composure, I opened the group chat, oh my, 140 new messages. They must be cursing me out, I better go apologize.

Tingting, BeautifulFigureAndAlsoGorgeous: Have you met the senior you know, Duen?

   Phii Tang, Good Person Has Money But His Heart is Still Empty Angry Angry: Duen, answer, damn it!

   Ram: It’s been a while.

   Tingting, BeautifulFigureAndAlsoGorgeous: Is something wrong? I’ll call him first.

   Phii Phu Mischievous Dog-Mouthed But Ferocious: Yeah, call him.

   Tingting, BeautifulFigureAndAlsoGorgeous: He’s not picking up.

   Phii Tang, Good Person Has Money But His Heart is Still Empty Angry Angry: He didn’t pick up mine either.

   Ram: Class is over now. Me and Phu will go look for Duen at Gear Plaza.

   Reading this, I immediately started sweating. This is bad. If Ram comes looking for me like this, I’m going to get a thorough scolding. Goodbye, Phii Duen’s teenage life.

Phii TangGoodPersonHasMoneyButHisHeartisStillEmptyAngryAngry:

   Yeah, yeah, let us know when you find him.

   Phii PhuFizzyFoulMouthedButFierce: We haven’t found him yet. Don’t know where he went. He didn’t get dragged away by girls, did he? The girls in our faculty are wilder than thirteen wild boars, Duen.

   Ram: Should we report to the police?

   DuenhawCoolAndHandsomeButTrulyInLove: Calm down, everyone. Phii Duen just forgot to turn on his phone, sorry, Y_Y

   That’s it…they flooded the group chat until it was practically on fire, but I expected it would be like this. As I said, they’re worried sick about me.

Phii PhuFizzyFoulMouthedButFierce: Damn. Do you know how much you scared us?

   TangGoodPersonHasMoneyButHisHeartisStillEmptyAngryAngry: I was about to file a missing person report! Where have you been?

   TingtingBeautifulFigureAndAlsoGorgeous: When I see you, you’re dead, Duenhaw.

   Ram: It’s good you’re safe. Next time, tell us before you go anywhere, Duen.

   People are worried about you.

   DuenhawCoolAndHandsomeButTrulyInLove: Sorry. I’m about to get to the room. See you there/bow down.

   I was planning to make a pun like, ‘I didn’t go anywhere, I’m always in your heart,’ but now doesn’t seem like the right time. Not waiting for more text scolding, I opened the door to the room and met with Tang’s murderous glare. Each of them was holding a phone, probably cursing me out. I didn’t stand there to receive their glares for long. I quickly walked straight to them.

“Uh…”

Before I could even apologize, my two best friends started scolding me in unison, making everyone in the class jump. No one has ever seen them scold like this. Usually, we speak nicely to each other in our faculty.

“Why would you turn off your phone!” Their voices harmonized better than a choir. My friends can produce such melodious, beautiful, and harmonious sounds, with their low and high notes blending perfectly. They could be sopranos.

Huh…

“Uh…sorry, I forgot.” I went over to hug them, acting cute. Couldn’t help it, forget about being tough. Right now, I need to save my life. Tang isn’t so bad, but Ting, she’s hard to appease when she’s angry, and she’s scary too, especially in a situation like this, her anger multiplies by eight hundred thousand times.

“How could you forget! We were so worried about you, my heart skipped a beat when Phu said he couldn’t find you.”

“Don’t do this again, listen to our hearts, you’ll see how fast they’re beating. Don’t you know how important you are to us?”

“Sorry, sorry…” I murmured softly and tightened my embrace. They nodded in acknowledgment before loosening the hug. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tingting’s eyes well up with clear tears.

“Don’t do this again, I mean it, I couldn’t handle losing you.”

“Yeah, I’ll keep my phone on loud.”

“Okay, okay, let’s stop the drama, the teacher’s coming in. Go sit down.” Not long after that, the teacher came in, talking in some language I couldn’t understand. Maybe I’m dumb or the lesson is just hard, whatever. Even if I don’t understand, I still have Tang to tutor me. He’s good, really good at pulling me through, and he doesn’t care about the grades either.

“Duen, who did you go to meet?” The person I was talking about whispered to ask, see, even now he’s not interested in studying.

“Why do you need to know?” I whispered back.

“Come on, I’m curious too, why? He’s more than just an acquaintance, right?”

“Shut up, I’m not talking to you anymore.”

“Oh shit, talk to me first, I’m burning up with curiosity, gossip is my life.”

“Look at the board.” Thank you, Tingting, for helping Phii Duen.

“But…is he handsome?” I just thanked you a moment ago, didn’t I?

“He’s so-so. Nothing special, kind of rough around the edges, looks like he’s been through several assassination attempts, satisfied?” They looked stunned by my answer before turning to whisper to each other.

“What, I thought he’d be handsome.”

“No, I think he’s cute too, Duen must be the pursuer, trust me.”

“You have no sense in these things, Tang, I think he’ll have a husband soon,

Tingting bets on it!” Is this what they call gossip on fire? If you’re going to gossip, why not do it further away!

Ding!

Shit! I forgot to turn off my phone’s sound!!

“That medical student over there, please show some respect. I’m teaching right now.”

“Sorry, professor…” I raised my hand in apology. The first thing I did after she turned back to the board was to mute my phone, then I checked the person who got me scolded by the professor. My dad would skin me and throw me into the sea, watch…but I guess he can’t do that anymore. My dad, that is.

DirekFatherTheCoolestRichestMostStylishInThreeWorlds: This evening, you’re picking up Daonuea, right, my son?

   DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Yes, sir.

   DirekFatherTheCoolestRichestMostStylishInThreeWorlds: Good, look after my daughter well, don’t go too far from her.

   DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Trust me! She won’t get lost.

   DirekFatherTheCoolestRichestMostStylishInThreeWorlds: No, I’m not asking you to look after Daonuea.

   DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Huh?

   DirekFatherTheCoolestRichestMostStylishInThreeWorlds: I’m having

   Daonuea look after you. If you get lost again, it’ll be a disaster. You’re unique, a limited edition, it was hard to make you. Don’t stray from her, she can watch over you, don’t worry, my daughter is capable.

   DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: …

   And that’s how the father-son conversation ended. Are other dads like this, or is it just mine? Whatever, back to studying. But not even a minute later, my phone vibrated again, showing a notification of a new friend on LINE from a saved number. Who is this?

‘Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT’…I almost choked on air! You saved this name, aren’t you embarrassed for me, the phone owner? At least be embarrassed for yourself.

Duennhaw: You saved the name without any shame, you bastard, and what’s this…’I Love You, Nong Duen likes this’?

My name on LINE is Duennhaw, but the name in the group, I can’t change that myself. If I used that name, people would think I’m crazy.

Rrrr

Surprisingly, he replied quickly. I thought he’d take longer, must be pretty free, huh. No one to talk to, I see.

Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT: I just put the truth out there.

   I pouted, raised my camera to take a selfie showing my middle finger, then sent it to him. At this moment, no sticker could express my annoyance.

Duennhaw: Sends a picture of himself showing the middle finger

   Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT: What? Want something from me? Here, but you have to take it off yourself, sends picture

   Shit…I almost choked on my saliva. Do you know what Bohn sent? It was a picture of his belly, the most disgusting one!

“Ugh! Hey, Nong Duen, what are you looking at?” The sharp voice of the beautiful medical student (Shaya) rang out as her slender hand grabbed my phone. She and Tang zoomed in and out on the picture Bohn sent until my screen almost broke.

“It’s as you see.”

“Wow, those abs are gorgeous, and he’s handsome too. Who is he?”

“Is this the person you went to see?” I shrugged, took my phone back, and made a face like I didn’t know what they were talking about.

Duennhaw: Have I ever told you that you’re a huge pain in the ass? And why send such an ugly picture? Phii Duen can’t stand it! Sends a picture of himself making a disgusted face

   Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

   You say it’s ugly, but you took a long time to respond, Duen, where were you?

   Zooming in on my picture, huh?

   “Damn you, Bohn, you’ll see…” I, Bohn, muttered, doing everything without paying attention to my surroundings. I didn’t realize that all my actions were under the scrutiny of my two best friends since they grabbed my phone to look at the stranger’s picture.

Duennhaw: Hah, your body isn’t even a fraction of mine, sends a sticker of a rabbit smirking

   Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

   Where’s the proof? Send it.

   Duennhaw: Your dad, I’m not as shameless as you.

   Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

   You’re just embarrassed because your body can’t compare to mine, huh.

   Duennhaw: Hah! I’ll send it to you! Wait a sec!!

   Damn it, his hand moves faster than my thoughts, what should I do? I don’t even like taking selfies, there are hardly any pictures of me on my phone, where should I get one from?

   “Hey, do you have any pictures of me?” I turned to my helper because Ting loves photography. In her spare time, she goes out with her multi-hundredthousand-baht camera to take pictures at various locations. She often photographs us, and her photos have won so many awards I can’t even count them all, (most of the money she spends on lenses comes from those awards). I’ve heard that Ting is now a photographer at some company too, my friend is so talented.

“Huh? Yeah, I have some, do you want them?” Damn, she really does have them!

“Let me have one.”

“What kind do you want?” He asked while scrolling through the photos on his phone. Normally, he saves all the photos he takes on his computer, but if it’s photos of us, he keeps them on his phone.

“One that’s extra handsome.”

“Huh, wait for me, I have one…so hot it’ll make you whistle.”

“Huh…I don’t get it, but you do have a picture of me, right? Send it to me on LINE.”

“Okay.”

Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

   Where did you disappear to, you idiot? Oh…probably went to edit photos.

   Duennhaw: Idiot my ass, and why would I need to edit? My body is so good that Korean models would beg for mercy.

   Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

   Really? But from what I’ve seen with my own eyes and touched, I think it’s just average.

   Duennhaw: Fuck you, you’ll see me soon, wait for me, let me get a photo from my personal photographer.

   Phii

   BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT: You have a personal photographer? That’s not ordinary.

   Duennhaw: Heh, who am I? This is Phii Duen, for someone of my caliber, ordinary doesn’t exist.

   “I’ve sent it, hope you like it, heh heh.” Let’s see…uh, is that me?

“Why so quiet? I think this photo is super beautiful, I even set it as my wallpaper.”

“But I think it looks…”

“What? …Shit, Duen, you’re really something.” This thing is awesome, when he saw Tang couldn’t see clearly, he moved closer to let him take a better look. That’s great, you guys.

“See, I took this picture when I went to sleep over at Ram’s place last time. He had just woken up, so I secretly took the shot.”

“Really? He looks so good when he’s not posing. Send it to me, I want it.”

“Sure, I’ll send it to the group on LINE, I took it a while ago but forgot to show it.” Let them talk among themselves. Now I’m thinking whether to send it to Bohn or not. It’s a good-looking photo, it makes me feel like a model. Ram’s pajamas look so good they don’t even look like pajamas. Plus, the light from the window makes the photo even more appealing.

“Should I send it…?”

“Who are you going to show it to?”

“Yeah, but…do I really look good?” I’m not sure, the picture looks good, but my gut tells me otherwise.

“Absolutely.” If you guys are going to agree to this unanimously.

“Am I handsome?”

“Handsome.” Why does your voice sound so weird, Ting?

“Is my physique good?”

“Awesome.” Am I just imagining it, or do you sound high-pitched too, Tang?

“So, who has a better physique, me or the guy you showed us?”

“…You, obviously. Nothing can overshadow your hotness, my friend.” With confirmation from my two best friends, I didn’t hesitate; I went into the LINE app and sent the picture directly to Bohn’s personal chat.

Phii BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT: Where are you? I’ve been waiting for you for ages, you’ve made me go through several waters already.

Duennhaw: Wake up, finishing quickly means you’re not tough .

Phii BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

I haven’t even told you what water it was.

But…want to try it?

Duennhaw: No, I’m not in the mood.

Phii BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

You have a sharp tongue, Duen, don’t come crying to me later.

Duennhaw: Hah. Never.

Phii BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

So where’s your picture?

Duennhaw: Huh, move your blurry photo aside, Bohn, mine is a million times better.

Phii BohnHandsomeandRichSohandsomethatNongDuenScreamsthatHeLikesIT:

Prove it, don’t just talk, let’s see it.

Duennhaw: How’s this, handsome enough, sends picture

 

MY ENGINEER CHAPTERS HOME

MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 5: Can I Call You Senior?

   [Bohn]

   “What’s with you guys?” I turned to look at the three of them; their faces were the epitome of mischief.

“Nothing. Just noticed you’ve been staring at Nong Duen for a while.” Oh my, your voice is so high it could shatter mercury, reaching eight billion decibels, Boss.

   “I wasn’t staring.” Truth be told, I knew I was staring. I just thought his white skin matched well with my shop, it looked strangely appealing.

   “Oh. Not staring at all…” I really want to slap that smug mouth of yours, Merk. Normally, he’s not this annoying, but when he’s with his ‘wife’ and Tang joins in…this is the colorful dog pack in action.

“He looks so clean and tidy, my little sister might like him…can I flirt with him for her?”

“Go for it.”

“…”

“…This isn’t how it should be.”

“And how am I supposed to feel about this?”

“In principle, when you encounter a situation like this, you have to jump up and say…” Boss made a deep, suave voice like that of an ally character while gently stroking his chin.

“Who would do that!”

“Deaf!”

“Abhiramanee Miprasertsakul, that’s my wife!”

“Who the hell is Abhiramanee Miprasertsakul?”

“Surname, damn it!” Why are they saying it in unison?

   “Yeah, that’s right, so why should I act jealous?”

“Aren’t you his boyfriend?” Oh no, what part of your brain came up with that idea, Tang?

   “Crazy talk.”

“No?”

“I thought you were dating.”

“What made you think that?” If Duen were my type, I wouldn’t question it, but he’s not. He’s tall, handsome, who would want a boyfriend that’s almost as goodlooking as themselves, that’s insane.

   “You brought him to class, even though you never brought anyone before.”

“I didn’t see the need to bring anyone, and I brought this naive one for a reason.” Your reasoning doesn’t count, Boss.

“You’re flirting with Duen.”

“Just joking.” I do this quite often, just not with guys.

“You seem interested in him.”

“…”

“Well done, Merk. You’ve earned points from Bohn.”

“So what? Did you just meet him? Is it love at first sight?” Why are you shouting, Tang? From students not paying attention, now they’re all turning back with mischievous smiles and looks that say, ‘We’ve got you, Bohn.’

“No…”

“Not?”

“I’m not interested.” That was all I said before burying my face to escape the noise, we only met yesterday, just yesterday…it’s too soon to have feelings after just one day.

If I had to describe my feelings towards Duen, I don’t like him, don’t love him, and don’t hate him. I’m interested in his quirky personality; when he smiles, he looks bright and sincere, which is why I like watching him smile. Even if he doesn’t smile at me often, I still like it when he makes an annoyed face or hisses like a cat.

Duen is like an irritable cat, growling when you get close but still allowing you to touch him, he protests when you tell him to do something but ends up doing it anyway. His contradictory nature makes me want to tease him constantly, to do anything that provokes a reaction from him, whether it’s confusion, a smile, laughter, embarrassment, or even anger. Those feelings aren’t enough to call it

‘like.’

Besides, he seems too naive for the world, he doesn’t seem to understand much of this stuff. I think it’s best to let him live a good life, yes, let him be…but if one day I truly start to like him, he’ll have to take responsibility for my feelings. “Wake him up too, we’re going somewhere else.” My friend said because class had ended, the professor had left half an hour ago (apparently, there was some urgent meeting). This little guy is still sleeping. I’ve noticed since we first met, Duen sleeps like he’s rehearsing for death, no snoring, no movement, like he’s not breathing.

“Should I reserve a quickie motel for you, huh?” You’re good at stirring trouble.

   “Hey, little guy.” I called softly to the sleeping one. It’s hard to believe that was enough to wake him up.

“Ugh…call me that again and I’ll slap you.”

“Huh.” Just woke up but already so sharp-tongued, better tease him…With that thought, I leaned in until my forehead touched his. Duen, who was initially dazed from waking up, instantly turned to shock.

“Ha…hey!” Bam!

“Ha, ha ha ha.” That was damn funny.

“You bastard! What are you doing?!” Ouch, he’s smaller than me, but why is his hand so heavy?

“That hurts, man.”

“That’s the point, to hurt!” What kind of doctor doesn’t have any ethics, how can you hurt people like that?

“You’re such a sadist.”

“Then you must be a masochist, knowing you’ll get hurt but still wanting to tease me, you crazy bastard!!”

“I’m really hurt, man…” I said with a pained voice while pretending to rub the arm that was hit.

“Serves you right, let’s see it.” Huh.

“How is it? Am I going to die?” I asked as if it were terminal cancer.

“Well…the spot I hit is critical, the nerves here are very delicate. Even a slight impact can cause the blood vessels around the area to burst, resulting in blood pooling under the skin. It’ll go numb for a while, but soon…very soon, you’ll die, die from your own stupidity! Are you crazy? You think you can die from just this?” Why does he have to make that disgusted face at me, confusing.

“I’m just being melodramatic, like a sick person would.”

“Hah, you’re terminally ill with foolishness, no doubt about it.” Duen has quite the mouth, but only with me, I guess. When he talks to Merk and the others, he’s polite, calling them ‘senior’ and referring to himself as ‘I’.

“Duen, I’m your senior, talk to me nicely.”

“So what if you’re my senior? I’m your junior, and you don’t even talk nicely to me.” Your reasoning doesn’t pass, this is what they call arguing out of spite. “It’s different.”

“How is it different?” He asked with a blank, naive face.

“Usually, seniors talk casually with juniors. But juniors should also speak politely to seniors.”

“You want me to speak nicely to you?”

“Would you?” Shit, would he really agree? I can’t even imagine him talking sweetly to me. What would it be like, ‘Phii Bohn, khrap,’ or ‘Please don’t tease me, Phii Bohn’?

“Hah, dream on. Wait…but if I switch from buying you flowers every day to speaking nicely, that might work.”

“No way. And from now on, you don’t have to go to the ends of the province looking for flowers like today, you can just buy them from a shop.” Thinking about it makes me laugh; he really did it, a man of his word to an astonishingly honest and naively heartbreaking degree.

   “That sounds good, I’m exhausted.”

“Alright, let’s go eat cake, my treat.”

“Really? I thought you were joking. What’s your plan? Or because you think I’m handsome, you want to sell me at the Myanmar border! No, not me, you won’t get me, I won’t be fooled.” Has anyone ever told him he doesn’t seem quite all there…

“What language are you speaking? I think you should get your brain checked.” What kind of doctor are you? Aside from your good looks, there’s nothing good about you, your personality is naive, you act like a confused nerd, yet you have a sharp tongue.

“People always say that. They say my IQ is too high, my imagination is superior, and my brain convolutions are above average, plus…”

“I’m calling you crazy, you pale fool, Duen…”

“I’m asking seriously, here.” I started the conversation after we had sat in the cake shop near the university for a while. The customers in the shop were all students from our university, and I could feel many eyes on me and Duen. From the moment we entered until now, after we had ordered, they still didn’t stop looking, but I didn’t care. I’m used to it. Duen didn’t seem bothered either; he must be used to it too, or maybe he’s too naive to notice he’s being watched?

“…”

“You won’t talk nicely to me, will you?” I’m serious here. Normally, no junior has ever dared to disrespect me, except for my little brother, Bihn.

“Umm…” Does he really have to think that hard?

   “The cake you ordered is here.” After the waiter brought our ordered menu to the table, Duen’s eyes sparkled.

“What?”

“Where were we? Oh, I don’t want it.” Come on, after all that thinking, I thought you’d say, ‘Okay, senior.’

“Why?”

“You said I’m the first junior to disrespect you, right?” My conversation partner said while scooping some strawberry into his mouth, then closing his eyes tightly to savor the sourness of the fruit he just ate. Are you talking to me or eating? Can you choose one?

“Yeah, so what?”

“Ah, delicious…Where were we again? Oh. You’re also the first senior, and probably the only one, that I disrespect too. Damn, it’s sour! It suits Phii Duen’s taste.”

“…”

“I don’t want you to be like anyone else, you bastard. People like you should be treated like bastards, more than the average person.” Duen turned to smile at me without noticing the whipped cream at the corner of his mouth. Do you know what you’re saying? You probably don’t…you’re too naive.

“Well, it’s up to you then.” I said, reaching out to wipe his mouth roughly, it’s annoying.

“Ouch, that hurts, can’t you be gentler?” He protested. I shrugged indifferently before turning to eat what I had ordered.

“It’s pretty good.” So sweet. I like sweet things, I didn’t used to it, but since most of Mom’s new recipes are sweets…and the taste tester is none other than my dad, Bohn, and Bihn. I’ve eaten so much that I got addicted. Later on, Dad told me to stop because he was worried we’d all get diabetes, so Mom finally agreed to stop.

“Bohn, Bohn.”

“I want to eat pavlova.”

“That’s the one with the white meringue on top, sprinkled with all kinds of berries?” He nodded rapidly while holding a spoon in his mouth. Seems like he likes sour things, starting from the berry mix drink.

“Alright.” If you want to eat something, go ahead, consider it payment for your hard work.

“Yay, one pavlova please, sir.”

“You like sour stuff, huh?”

“Yesss. Do you like sweet things?” Although Duen acts uninterested, he’s quite observant. My friend King has the same trait, but he observes in detail while Duen does so more superficially but still picks up on details, a true scientist’s nature.

“Yeah.”

“So you’re really treating me? I can pay for myself, you know.”

“No need. I happen to be very handsome and rich, the money I use to pay for your snack…it’s just loose change. My parents gave me so much, I can’t spend it all. It’s good that you help me use it, I was thinking about burning it. I don’t know what to do with it anymore. Sigh, it’s really tiring.” I pretended to be deep in thought. My parents aren’t that rich, I’m just saying this for laughs, haha.

“Damn…”

“Ah, don’t-” I was about to say, “Don’t curse me, you know I’m joking.” but I had to swallow my words when he suddenly jumped up.

“You’re fucking rich. If you can’t spend it all, give it to me, I’d be happy to take it. If I were as rich as you, I’d buy two hundred million chamomile banknotes, fold them to look like real money, and then scatter them from a helicopter. There would definitely be chaos with people fighting over them.”

Duen…so you really are naive, aren’t you? You believe me?! What I said is the epitome of an unbelievable lie, meant to be humorous! But you still…you can still believe it, you naive bastard.

“…”

“Quiet? Thinking about using my idea, huh? Hah. You might fool others, but not me. I’ve been tricked by chamomile banknotes about thirty-four million times.

Now I’m an expert, I can tell which one’s real or fake with just a glance…Ah!

There’s a thousand baht note under the table.” Suddenly, he spoke and immediately ducked under the table to grab the note.

“…”

“Today, Phii Duen’s luck is incredible.” The white hand unfolded the thousand baht note before slamming it down on the table with force.

Snap!

“Damn! Fake money, you fooled me! The person who made this must be a professional in the art of folding counterfeit bills. Only they could fool a genius like me.” I don’t think so…they’re not a pro. You’re just stupid.

“Your pavlova is here.”

“Thanks!” The counterfeit expert smiled as he took it, then began arranging the dessert on his plate. It does look good, but I’m not that into berries.

“What are you looking at? Want some? I won’t give it to you.” It’s my money we’re using, and you’re still being possessive.

“Heh.” I snorted before picking up my phone to play a game instead. I just downloaded a new game yesterday. Guess what kind of game someone as handsome as me would play. I’ll give you a hint: it’s super fun. What is it? A fighting game? No, a dress-up game?…Too girly. A soccer game? I don’t play those. A cooking game? What do you take me for? Enough, I’ll reveal it: ta-da-dadam, ta-da-dam-ta-tam-tam-tam.

It’s a farming game.

Don’t look down on it, it’s pretty cool, and it has bears…speaking of bears, here comes one. I furrowed my brows deeply, tapping rapidly on the screen, die, you stupid bear, don’t think you can eat my ducks.

“Uh.” I paused the game because I felt something looming in front of me. When I looked up from my phone, I saw a dessert-laden spoon right in front of my face, with Duen’s furrowed brow.

“What?”

The person asked, pouted, turned his face away but still held the spoon with pavlova in the air.

“I’m giving it to you, so you don’t think I’m mean.”

“What the hell. Are you drunk on strawberries?” Berries, sorry, I missed a line break.

“I’m not drunk on anything.”

“Then just eat it, I’m not saying anything.”

“But you were frowning. And you were tapping on the screen so hard it looked like you were angry at someone. If you want to eat, just say so nicely.”

I guess my intense bear-slaying expression made this naive one think I was mad at him. Was my face that tense? Heh heh.

“Eat it, or I’ll be accused of being stingy with food.” The slender figure pouted, his mouth close to my nose. Are you trying to force me, you little guy, Duen? While I was about to say I wasn’t angry, a clever thought suddenly popped into my mind…’Let’s pretend to be a bit hurt.’

“Didn’t you say you weren’t giving any?”

“Now I’m giving it to you.”

“But if you’re not willing, I won’t eat it.” I said with a tone of reproach, leaning back against the sofa and turning my face away, do you know how much effort I have to put into keeping a straight face and holding back laughter? What a crazy, unbelievably stupid guy.

“Hey…I’m willing.”

“You’re not willing…”

“I am willing! Eat it already!”

“…”

Gulp!

You pale fool! Do you know what he did? He shoved a spoon into my mouth! It hit my teeth too, shit, it hurts like hell.

“That’s it then.” The culprit acted like nothing happened and went back to eating his dessert until it was all gone, with the same spoon?! If I had AIDS, you’d die without even knowing.

“Damn you, Duen, that hurt when you shoved it in.”

“That’s your style.”

“That’s not called style.” That’s called being forcibly fed, give me a little more persuasion, and I would’ve eaten it!

“I don’t know, for me, it’s called style.” Oh, your highness, the great scholar, you make up your own terms.

“Ouch, am I bleeding?” No, I’m just exaggerating.

“Hah, being dramatic again.” His mouth curses, but he still gets up to check my injury, huh.

“Well, how is it? Am I dying?”

“You know, yet you still ask.” After that sentence, he left five finger marks on my shoulder. Always so aggressive…I better go back to eating my dessert, talking to you just leads to injuries.

“I’m going to class now, thanks for treating me.” The medical student named Duen waved goodbye, then got on his bike, ready to take off. That’s pretty cool, should I buy one to ride too?

“Yeah.”

“Then we’ll part ways here, bye.”

Vroooom

Better go back to my condo today; otherwise, Mom and Dad will scold me for letting dust gather on it. I quite enjoy a solitary life. I don’t like things that are too chaotic, so when I entered university, I asked my parents to buy me a condo. But then, I got homesick, so now I own a condo but hardly sleep there. My little brother, Bihn, wants it too; he’s asked me several times, very sweetly (and annoyingly). Part of me wants to give it to him, but another part of me hesitates whether it’s a good idea.

I had to stop driving halfway because I hit a jackpot of more than a hundred red lights, what bad luck.

Knock, knock.

“Huh? Hey!”

I jumped when I looked out to see who was knocking on the window, only to find the person I had just parted from. My life is too entangled with yours, Duen, it’s almost creepy.

“What’s up? Aren’t you going to class?” I rolled down the window, asking with both curiosity and surprise. I was genuinely surprised to see him here. And he’s not wearing a helmet, are you looking to die or what?

“I’m going.”

“Oh, right. Your faculty is on the other side of the university, is your faculty this way?”

“No, I followed you.”

“Huh?!”

“There’s nothing else. I just wanted to ask…”

“…?”

“What flower do you want tomorrow?”

“Huh? You drove all this way just to ask…that?!”

“Yes.” The other made a proud gesture like Phu, as if to say, ‘I drove after you from the cake shop just for this.’ Damn, what should I call you…

“Are you crazy?”

“Well, you didn’t tell me what flower or color you wanted. You just told me to buy from the shop, and there’s so much to choose from there, I couldn’t decide, so I followed you. I think roses are good…but I also want to buy something unusual.”

“…”

“So, what will it be? What flower do you want?” Duen asked while leaning his arm on the car roof. We locked eyes without looking away.

“…You idiot! Just bring any flower! Besides, you could have just called, why waste gas driving after me?”

“Yeah, you’re so smart…but hey. Your answer is too vague, it stresses me out!” Yes, he’s genuinely stressed…his face shows it, stressed about something like this.

“Ugh!…Fine! Roses will do!”

“That’s it, I’m going to class then, bye.” Whether to call it perfect timing or what, the moment the pale fool finished speaking, the red light turned green. I was stunned for a moment but jolted when the car behind me started honking. I had to drive off, not entirely with my mind on the road. Are there really people like this in the world…

 

MY ENGINEER CHAPTERS HOME

MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 4: Even if the Jacket is dusty, it’s warm when you hug it

   [Duenhaw]

   “So what are you going to do at the gear plaza?” The annoying guy with the smirk asked (ten minutes ago, he was an angel). If I remember the way correctly, we should be almost at the engineering faculty now.

“I’m taking flowers to my senior.” I answered, holding up the flowers for him to see.

“Flirting with him?”

“Flirting with who, him? Ugh.”

“And why are you taking them to him?”

“He wanted it.” Saying that makes me think of him again. I shouldn’t have slept in the park yesterday, I should have just gone home to sleep. I was too artsy, not only did I meet that bastard, but I almost got bitten by something.

“Why do you call him that? Isn’t he your senior?”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t act in a way that deserves respect.”

“If he’s not worthy of respect, would you still call him that? Ha ha.”

“No.”

“I see. With a face like that, you wouldn’t…”

“Normally, I respect you…oh, but I only talk like this to him.” “…”

“Ah, we’re here.” Wow, this management guy actually brought me to the rough guy’s faculty. That’s the casuarina tree in front of the Engineering building; Phii

Duen remembers! And that’s the dog beloved by the engineering students, Phii Duen remembers!!!

“You’re going to Gear Plaza, right? Wait…” Before the mischievous angel could finish speaking, his phone rang.

Rrrrr

“Who’s calling? Hello, Oat…I’m at the Engineering building…bringing back a lost kid…no no, ha! Right now?…Yeah, I’ll go.”

“Is something wrong?” I asked, tilting my head in curiosity. My conversation partner was silent for a moment before flashing a handsome smile, damn, his handsome aura is blinding, I need some sunglasses, Phii Duen’s eyes are about to go blind.

“There’s a small problem with the project, I have to go check it out. How about I give you directions instead?” Oh, kind sir, just bringing Phii Duen here is already a great favor, you bastard.

“Sure, no problem.”

“Don’t get lost after I explain, but if you do end up in management again, it’s fine, you’re always welcome, and I’m ready to walk you back.” What does that mean? Do you want some exercise or something, are you a health freak? Whatever, just tell me before he thinks I’m stupid.

“With my level, I definitely won’t get lost.”

“Okay, just go straight and then turn left. You’ll see signs there, just follow them. That’s it.”

“Why is this so easy to understand? That senior made it so confusing.” I muttered, thinking about the senior who gave directions earlier. Were you messing with me, senior?

“Then we’ll go, walk carefully, don’t get lost.” The management guy waved goodbye. You really are handsome, I like this playful handsomeness…give me your face right now, you annoying brat with a smiling face.

“Do you want a ride? I have a motorcycle.” I asked the management guy because I had parked Supachai (CBR) nearby, and it wouldn’t waste much gas to give him a quick lift.

“No need, I’ll have trouble finding my way back later, haha.” I’m starting to dislike your face.

“Then go.” The guy I chased off laughed and ran back the way he came, seems like he has urgent business. I felt a bit guilty for making him walk all this way, at least I should tell him my name.

“Hey, wait! My name is Duen!”

“Oh. My name is %#%^$&^!”

Vrooooom!

Huh? What the hell kind of name is that? The sound of that muscular senior’s bike just drowned out the management guy’s voice completely.

Whatever, better continue looking for the gear plaza, huh. This time I won’t be foolish again…no way. I stood there smiling like a psychopath for a moment before coughing awkwardly from embarrassment. Damn, I forgot I wasn’t alone. And here comes the important question…how did that management guy describe the way? I only remember something about going and looking at signs, and what else…

Ask someone else.

I continued walking, deep in thought with my hand on my chin, who should I ask? I’ve already asked the nerdy but rough-looking ones, and the quiet but annoying ones. Hmm…

Bam!

“Ouch, shit…”

Don’t ask what happened, Phii Duen slipped, why is today so unlucky! Damn. As I was trying to get up, I was startled and fell again when…

   “Hey, guys, that med student over there slipped at the gear plaza.”

“And? Are you interested in having a chief mechanic as your boyfriend, Doctor?”

“Still single, engineering girl here, you can flirt. I don’t ask for much, just one round of liquor and you can take me.”

“Wow, love at first stumble, at the gear plaza.”

Huh? What the hell?

Whatever. Right now, I’m the most embarrassed I’ve ever been, damn it, I knew I shouldn’t have come. Before, when I saw my friends getting hit on by these engineering kids, it was nothing. They looked cute because of their playful talk, but now I’m embarrassed as hell!!

“Hey, you guys. He’s embarrassed to death! Uh…are you okay?” The sky must have seen how pitiful I looked and sent a little angel. The hand extended in front of me felt like a blessing from Jesus Christ…but I’m Buddhist.

   “I…I’m okay.” I stammered before extending my hand to accept help from him. He pulled me up to stand, my angel bent down to pick up the gown and handed it back to me with a smile…the aura of goodness hit my eyes so hard it almost blinded me. But how could he pull me up when he’s smaller than me, and is he a guy or a tomboy…he’s definitely a guy.

“What year are you in?”

“Uh, first year.”

“Oh, then you’re my junior. I’m Bom, don’t mind those guys. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, please. My name is Duen, I have something I’d like to ask you.” Alright, I’ll ask this guy. He looks small but seems kind.

“Go ahead.”

“Where is Gear Plaza?”

“…” Why is he silent? Did I say something wrong, or is there something on my face? But after checking, there’s nothing, not even a pimple, no rash, so why is he looking at me like that?

   “Ha, ha ha, ha ha ha!!!”

Phii Bom, you little shit! You’re laughing so loudly! People had stopped paying attention to me, but now they’re looking back because of Phii Bom’s powerful laughter. He’s so small but why does his laugh sound so good?

   “Sorry, ha ha ha.” He still hasn’t stopped laughing; I’ll wave with my heel if you don’t stop soon.

“Uh, yes.” I wouldn’t dare to really wave, though. Everyone in this faculty is tough, believe me, even though he looks small, he might be fierce, judging by how easily he pulled me up.

“Ha ha, you want to know where Gear Plaza is, right?”

“Yes, senior.”

“This is Gear Plaza.”

I’ve embarrassed myself again…so mortifying!

“And what brings you here?” If Phii Bom weren’t so cute, you’d be dead by now.

“I’m here to meet someone I know.”

“Who, have you found them? Do you want me to help look?”

“Chaddeo, Phii Bom, my handsome angel.”

“That would be great.”

“What’s his name?”

Phii Bom’s question made me remember something important…I don’t know the scoundrel’s name.

“I’m not sure, but I think his name is…Tiger, he’s in his second year.”

“Tiger? I know him, wait, I’ll help.” He said that before picking up his phone to call someone, but it seemed like Phii Bom called the wrong person. However, he soon called someone else named Tang, just like the first call.

“Yeah, okay…Tiger will come look for you, he’s nearby.”

“Uh…actually, I’m not totally sure if his name is Tiger, but I’m sure he’s in his second year.”

“Oh, what does he look like?” The rough one?.. I know what he looks like but saying it would sound like I’m complimenting him, ugh.

“What?”

“…Rough, rude, bad-mannered, dog-mouthed, and his looks are just so-so.”

“Haha, that sounds like Tiger, but he’s a good student.”

“Huh, him?”

“Yeah, it’s funny to think about, I told him everyone has their own kind of beauty, but he’s still stubborn, even wants to get glutathione injections. If you see him, help me tell him his honey-colored skin looks good as it is.” Wait a minute…

“Phii Bom, actually, the guy I’m talking about is…quite pale.”

“Eh? And his face…”

“Handsome…very handsome.”

“Tiger’s here!”

Someone shouted before three newcomers appeared, one chubby with honeycolored skin and two skinny ones. Where’s Tiger? Don’t tell me…

   “Are you looking for me, your senior?” What the hell, you were skinny yesterday. What did you eat? No, wait. Even if I’m an idiot, I know for sure this isn’t the same person.

   “Guys, in this situation…are you flirting?”

“That’s right, friend! Woohoo!”

“Wow, what’s your name?”

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

“Ugh, and I’m holding a lab coat too.”

“A med student is flirting with my friend!” Your dad must be dead! Did your mom feed you shrieking birds and loudspeakers for food or what? Your voice is so loud! I stood there, stiff, watching the scene unfold, students around the area stood up to tease, some even throwing flower petals.

“Uh…”

“Duen!” That voice!

That bastard!

Damn! I’m so glad I found you, TT[]TT

Before I could say anything, he interrupted…

“Are you crazy or what?”

He’s scolding me? …Even though I skipped class to come find him!

“You’re the crazy one! I’ve been driving around looking for a kid selling flowers since morning, just found one at XXX, you bastard! And when I was about to give you the flowers, you disappeared, and I got lost! I’ve been walking around looking for this Gear Plaza for ages, thank goodness Phii Bom was kind enough to show me the way, you bastard. You made me skip the class that I find super hard to understand. Do you know this is my major? I’ll definitely fail when I go back…hey, bastard. Are you even listening to me?!” I’m not angry, just a bit annoyed. He looked stunned, like he was really shocked, but soon, the person in front of me smiled at me. Not a mocking smile, but the most handsome smile I’ve ever seen.

“You…you’re so damn cute.”

Now it was me standing there dumbfounded.

Present

   [Bohn]

   “I won’t get scolded.”

“I’ll stake my leg hair on it.”

“Damn you, Bohn! Be good, okay?”

“Trust me, may I come in, professor?” I opened the door to enter the classroom, the professor glanced at the slender figure beside me but said nothing. I told you, he won’t scold. Professor Pakorn is kind to a fault.

“Oh, didn’t you go out to get your car keys? Where did you find this medical student?” I shrugged, not answering the professor’s question, and walked to my seat, not forgetting to drag Duen to sit beside me.

“Where have you been?” He asked me but kept looking at the person beside me. What am I to you, Boss?

“Just went to get my car keys.” I answered with a straight face.

“I ate rice, not grass.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep? Go sleep.” I didn’t pay attention to my best friend’s question, instead, I turned to speak to the only medical student in the class.

“I could sleep, but everyone’s staring at me.”

“So what?”

“You shameless…I can sleep.” The slender figure of Bohn mumbled before dropping his head onto his arms, covering his face with the lab coat. Can you believe even with the coat covering him, I could still hear him, Bohn, huh?

Ding!

Phii Boss Same Person Just Upgraded to Being Annoying: Tell me, what’s the story?

I looked at the sender to see Boss staring at me with the utmost seriousness, but he wasn’t the only one; Merk and Thang were looking at me the same way.

Bon Ss: Nothing much.

   Thangty: Don’t be shy, you were gone for an hour, came back with someone, not to mention the flowers in your hand.

   Megha: If I had to guess, this must be the same person Bom was talking about.

   Bom Boom: What? Did Bohn bring a med student to class?

   When Bom arrived, no one needed me anymore. They all swarmed around the witness like they were about to achieve enlightenment, but no matter how much they asked, Darin, who doesn’t like to get involved in others’ business, didn’t answer a word.

“Duen.”

“…”

“Duen.”

“…”

“Duenhaw.”

Sigh

“I told you not to call me that!” I don’t mind the shouting, but why do you have to slap my shoulder too? Whatever, I’m used to it, and it’s not even that hard.

“You won’t wake up for anything.”

Phii Boss Same Person Just Upgraded to Being Annoying: Tell us, what’s the story?

   I turned to look at the sender before seeing Boss staring at me with the most serious look, but it wasn’t just him, Merk and Tang were looking at me the same way.

Bon Ss: There’s nothing much.

   Thangty: Don’t be stubborn, you leave for an hour and come back dragging someone with you, not to mention the flowers in your hand.

   Megha: If I had to guess, he’s probably the same person Bom was talking about.

   Bom Boom: What, did Bohn really bring a medical student to class?

   Once Bom arrived, no one needed me anymore. They all crowded around to ask the witness until they were about to reach enlightenment. Whenever this happens, Bom doesn’t like to get involved in other people’s business, so no matter how much they interrogate, Darin won’t answer a single word.

“Duen.”

“Duen.”

“…”

“Duenhaw.”

Poke

“I told you not to call me that!” I don’t mind the shouting, but why do you have to slap my shoulder too? Whatever, I’m used to it, and it’s not even that hard.

“You won’t wake up for anything.”

“What do you want from me, Bohn? First, you wanted me to sleep, now you want me to wake up?”

“No. Just wanted to tell you…” I moved closer to him, sliding my lips near his white ear, making the slender figure jump back in surprise, almost falling off the chair if I hadn’t caught him.

“…what?”

“Give me the gown.”

“Why, your dad’s dead, what do you need it for?” He pushed my face back so hard, just let go already.

“I’m cold.”

“I’m cold.”

“I want it, and you have to give it to me.”

“Ugh!”

“Will you give it or not?”

“You bastard!…Take it, but don’t wake me up again!” If you’re going to throw it like that, why not just slap me? Luckily, it’s a thin shirt. Do you think I’m heartless? That’s crazy.

   “Ah, let’s trade.”

I took off my jacket to cover the other person’s tousled head. This room is cold, and just a lab coat isn’t enough to keep him warm. Honestly, I’m not a good person or anything; I just don’t like wearing a jacket when I sweat because it leaves marks, and also, I appreciate that he tried to keep his promise even if he looked a mess.

“You already have a jacket. Why do you need my lab coat?”

“I feel like it.”

“Bohn, you scoundrel, your jacket is so dusty. Don’t you ever wash it?”

“Even if my jacket is dusty, it’ll keep you warm.”

And of course, in engineering, after saying something like that, what you get back is…

“Wow, that’s epic!!”

“Wow, that’s my friend!”

“Shit, lend me some of that charm!”

“Bohn, you bastard! All the good-looking guys are flirting with each other.

Where am I supposed to find a partner?”

“Uh…what the hell, save those lines for the girls.”

“Huh.” Your face is so red, you pale fool, but I don’t think it’s because of my flirting; he’s probably embarrassed by the teasing from our classmates.

“Oh, students, this is my class, please quiet down.”

“…”

“Oh, you, the medical student.”

“Y…yes.” The person next to me answered hesitantly, probably scared of getting scolded.

“There’s one rule here.”

“…?”

“Take the jacket, Bohn gave you, but give him your heart in exchange, huh.”

“Reeeeeeeee.”

“Don’t forget to give him your heart, okay?”

“My professor, oh my professor!!”

“Your humor is off to the left, Bohn.”

“Heh heh.”

“Shut your mouth, you bastard, Bohn! I want to sleep!”

“Your eyes are about to pop out, Bohn.”

“Staring so much, why don’t you just eat him up?”

 

MY ENGINEER CHAPTERS HOME

MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 3: The Smiling Annoying Brat

   [Duenhaw] Ring!

“Umm…”

I groggily got up to turn off the alarm clock, damn, is it morning already? Why do I still feel so sleepy, like I’ve only slept for two minutes? It must be because of that crazy guy from yesterday…that rainbow bastard. I planned to sleep to my heart’s content once I got home, but last night I ended up dreaming about yesterday’s events. That annoying voice was echoing in my head, sounding like he was right next to my ear, clear as if it happened just a second ago.

“One month?”

   “…”

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

   I’m sure he must be insane. What guy wants flowers from another guy? If it were from a friend, I wouldn’t mind, but we just met yesterday. And we didn’t even know each other before…or does he want me to feel embarrassed?

“I don’t understand at all!!” Knock, knock, knock.

“What’s wrong, Duen, you’re being so loud.” The sound of knocking accompanied by my mother’s voice made me jump; I forgot I was at home.

“Nothing, Mom, I just had a little nightmare.”

“Then I’ll warm up some milk for you. Get up, shower, and dress properly, then wake up Daonuea too, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Daonuea is my little seven-year-old sister. Our family consists of four people:

Dad, Mom, me, and my sister. My parents raised me with a lot of freedom. Whatever I did, they didn’t scold me. It’s not that they didn’t love me, but they wanted me to learn for myself what should and shouldn’t be done. Raising kids this way, there’s a high chance they’ll turn mischievous, but luckily, I was a good kid.

In just twenty minutes, I was standing in front of the mirror looking handsome. Wow, I’m not half bad, especially in this student outfit with a borrowed gown. I envy my parents for having such a son.

“Lazy bones, wake up early.” I gently shook the little one, and before she even opened her eyes, she sat up on the bed, her sleepy demeanor making me…fall in love, oh, Daonuea, you’re so cute!

“Morning kiss, your big brother, please, Daonuea.”

Kiss-kiss

“Aw, that feels nice. Come on, let your big brother give you a kiss.”

Kiss-kiss

“Let’s get you to shower and get changed.” I carried the little one into the bathroom to help her with her business, but I didn’t do it for her, just took her there. It didn’t take long before the little sister came out of the bathroom…damn, even in her school uniform, she’s the cutest.

“Will you pick me up from school today?” Daonuea asked as I carried her downstairs because now, Dad and Mom were waiting at the dining table.

“Hmm…should I go? Do you want me to pick you up?”

“Yeah, I want that, and I want to go for a fun drive too.”

“Sure, little one.” I bent down to nuzzle her cheek playfully, and Daonuea laughed before jumping off me when…

“Sniff, smells so good, what’s for dinner, Mommy?” When she saw the food…game over. Do we really have a weakness for food?

“It’s seafood porridge, with shrimp, does my little Dao like that?”

“Yes, yes, I like it a lot.” Crazy, how can a kid be this cute, and what’s with this fluffy aura? Or maybe she’s not human but an angel?

   “Nhaw…Stop acting so lovey-dovey.” Dad is the only one in the world who calls me nao, with the reason being, ‘Happiness’.

   “She’s just cute.”

“She’s cute, sure…but I’ve seen enough. She’s my daughter.”

“Oh, come on, Dad, Daonuea is my little sister.”

“She’s just a little sister, but I raised  with my own hands. We’re on different levels, you little shit.”

“…”

“Come on, both of you can look at her. Daonuea, go sit with your brother Duen quickly.” Mom intervened while bringing a hot bowl of seafood porridge, damn, whose mom cooks so deliciously, oh, haven’t eaten yet, sorry.

Kiss

“Okay.” I sat her down on the chair and started eating the food in front of me.

“How’s it going at university, Nhaw?”

“Well, dad, I’m just studying as usual. There are a lot of exams, and they’re hard too, I am so bored.”

“Heh, I told you to study Dust Surveying, it’s easy.”

“Is there really a Dust Surveying faculty, dad? …I tried searching on Google but couldn’t find it.” I asked while reaching out to wipe Daonuea’s cheeks, how did she manage to get food up to her eye corners?

   “Are you stupid or what…how could there be such a faculty? What I meant was for you to sit idly at home, doing nothing.”

“Oh.”

“Oh what, I’ll slap you down.” And he actually slapped me, sir. True to his words…but sometimes, he’s right.

“Dad.”

“When will you act like other boys?”

“How?”

“Go out at night, drink, chase girls, smoke, do drugs.” The other party replied with a straight face, only to get hit by Mom. Serves him right!

What kind of father wants his son to act like that…except mine. At first, I thought he was joking, but hearing him say it from middle school until university, I realized…Dad was serious (except for the drugs part, of course).

   “Wait a minute.” Mom said in a reprimanding tone, raising her hand to hit Dad again, this time it seemed harder than before…serves him right (again).

“Ouch, that hurts, Fon, look at this, what kind of crazy kid doesn’t drink, doesn’t go out at night, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t do drugs. You’re too good! You’ll be an idiot soon…actually, you might already be one.”

“Not at all, I am normal.”

“No. You’re not normal…listen to me, my naive boy. If you keep acting like this, girls will break up with you saying, ‘You’re too good,’ or ‘I’m not suitable for someone as good as you,’ which is old-fashioned and extremely outdated, it’s not cool, Daddy Direk! You should get dumped with, ‘You’re a jerk,’ or-”

“Direk, I will be the one to break up with you if you keep using that line.” Good timing.

“…Fon.”

“Heh heh.”

“…I don’t know, that’s why today I invited your friend to go drinking.” What’s with him, isn’t it good that his son behaves well? On top of that, he wants others to call his son a jerk because ‘it’s not cool for Direk’…great.

“Come on. Duen is a good kid. I don’t want to stress out Mom and Dad.”

“You’re too good, you won’t have any girls chasing after you.”

“Why don’t women like guys who seem to have a future?” I asked innocently.

“Uh…well, they do like that.”

“Then why did Dad say no girls would come after me?”

“Huh, you little one, let me tell you something good…besides the future, women like bad boys. Trust me, I’ve proven it. Back in the day, your mom was head over heels for me like a cow stuck in the mud.”

“What does ‘stuck in the mud’ mean? But never mind, it sounds ancient but so cool…damn, Dad, who are you?”

“Thanks for the compliment on what I already know.” Dad stroked his chin and nodded smugly.

“Quiet down before you both get a lecture from me.” When the authoritative voice boomed, both Dad and I quickly clung to Mom’s arms, acting cute. See, men are like front-legged elephants…we’re in big trouble if we make our wives (and mom) angry…

“But it might be true, Dad. I haven’t seen anyone come after me, and I am quite excellent.”

“Maybe there are, but you’re too oblivious to notice.” Dad’s words sounded just like the crazy person I hate, so annoying…“But what I said, do it for real. Call your friends and tell them you’re going out for drinks tonight, I’ll pay.”

“That’s so cool.”

“Call me daddy, huh.”

“Daddy!”

After breakfast, I headed to the garage to ride my beloved vehicle into battle, a CBR150R in black and red, named…Supachai! Dad bought it for me when I got into university. Honestly, I initially asked for a Fino, but Dad gave me this one instead. At first, I was so disappointed because the Fino looked much cooler…but I’ve come to terms with it now, haha.

Alright, where should I start looking for flowers? I have class at eight, so let’s start here.

Ding!

Cupcake Dad: Don’t forget to bring the lab coat for me.

   I looked down to read the new message from my cousin, Thara. Not really my brother, we’re cousins. The other day, this good older brother forgot his lab coat at my little sister’s room (sounds pretty bad). Today, I have to return it. Actually, I tried to give it back yesterday, but he didn’t take it, oh how annoying. I understand he has several lab coats and can take it back anytime, but it’s like we’re always free at the same time…

It’s so damn hot…really hot, extremely hot.

Right now, I’m riding around looking for the flower-selling kid. When I stop to ask the vendors, they all say the same thing, ‘He sells at night. Not many sell in the morning, or the flowers will wilt.’ What should I do? I have about an hour left…still have some time.

“Kids, come out, come see Phii Duen quick, moo moo.”

Eh…moo moo. That doesn’t sound like a call for kids.

I tried to ride slowly, hoping to spot a kid to jump off and buy from, you might wonder why I don’t just buy from a flower shop. Well, that jerk told me to buy from the kids selling on the street, and Phii Duen is a man of his word (even if I don’t want to).

I started riding further away from the university route, it’s hot, why do I have to do this? Don’t let me find you, you bastard, Dad would have a fit. Damn, he told me yesterday he had class at nine, which means I have to deliver the flowers before eight because I have class too. Why does this have to be so complicated, let’s extend it a bit more.

7:34 AM. Oh, no! Normally, I get to class half an hour early, what should I do?

   Should I buy from a flower shop? But he specifically said it to the kids! Alright!

   Since I’ve come this far, let’s go.

   7:48 AM. Where is everyone? Come out, see Phii Duen, I want to buy flowers!! Crazy shit. I probably won’t make it in time to give the gown to my senior, so…I’ll keep it for myself then, I won’t get to wear it until year four anyway, might as well practice now, heh heh.

   7:56 AM. Crazy, I’m going to be late for class because of you, you rough bastard.

   Rrrrrr

The vibration from my pants pocket made me stop by the roadside to check who was calling, and I saw it was my close friend’s name on the screen.

“Hello, Tang.”

(Duen, where are you? The professor’s here already.) Right on time, what should I do…

“Ask for leave for me, tell them I’m sick.” Finally,

(Hey, are you okay?)

   “Yeah, I’m okay. That’s it.”

Click

“…There it is!” The moment I saw my target, I parked the bike and ran to buy the flowers from the kid. At that moment, it felt like heaven’s light shone on him, here, take this hundred, keep the change.

Got it, yay!

   “Hah, so exhausting, and where is this Gear Plaza anyway?” After racing against time for a while, I’m now in front of the rough guy’s faculty building. There are quite a few people, but no matter where I look, I can’t find him, crazy! He’s the one who made the appointment, and I came on time…right?

9:34 AM

“Damn it…” I just realized I had ridden quite far, so the ride back to the university took longer. It’s no surprise he didn’t wait for me…and why am I standing here like an idiot?

But whatever, since I’m here, I might as well give it a try.

People passing by started looking at me. Of course, I was wearing my perfectly pressed student uniform, complete with a tie, and carrying my brother’s lab coat!

Oh, I’ve never felt so out of place before.

Don’t look, I’m under pressure!

Ah, better call Ram and Phu. Both are my close friends. Our group has five people, with two studying engineering. I can’t remember how we got close, but before I knew it, we were best friends.

Ram Veera, is a man of few words but hits hard. His looks are just average…not that handsome, I lie. He’s actually very handsome; his mother is foreign, giving him blue eyes. His personality…how should I put it, like a second dad, maybe?

Phu Pinchan, how do you explain him…what do they call it…oh yeah, his face is Chinese, very similar to Chinese. For his other traits, you’ll find out as we go along.

Tang Phakee…can I skip this one? I’m tired. He’s got a cute, pinchable face, like an adorable young girl. His personality…he’s quiet around others but talks non-stop with us. I think he’s quite intriguing, mysterious in a cool way, and he loves playing surgery games, that’s pretty cool.

Tingting Pornapa, the only beautiful girl in our group. She’s a refined beauty, typical of a future doctor…that’s what others see. In reality, Tingting is nothing like that at all!!! Her personality is hard to describe. You have to meet her yourself…

Alright. Where was I? Oh, contacting Ram and Phu. I chose to go into our group chat on LINE because it was at the top, (too lazy to scroll).

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Phu, Ram. Where are you guys?

Phii Phu, Mischievous, Dog-Mouthed But Ferocious: Wow, strange question, who am I, Phii Phu, the good guy, the future of the nation, right, Nong Duen? I’m in class, of course.

Ram: At the faculty building, why?

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: I’m lost in front of the engineering building.

Phii Phu, Mischievous, Dog-Mouthed But Ferocious: Ha! What are you doing at my faculty?

TingtingBeautifulPersonCuteandAlsoBeautiful: What are you doing there? I told you not to go anywhere without us, especially when you’re being so clueless.

You’ll get dragged away like last time, angry bear sticker.

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Well, Phii Duen came for some business.

Phii TangGoodPersonHasMoneyButHisHeartisStillEmptyAngryAngry: You said you were sick, you lying snail! I was worried, thought you were really sick, but you skipped class to meet a girl, huh? Dad will be mad.

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: No, it’s not that.

Ram: Do you need a ride?

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: It’s okay. You go to class.

Phii PhuFizzyFoulMouthedButFierce: What’s your business?

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: I’m here to meet someone I know.

TingtingBeautifulPersonCuteandAlsoBeautiful: You know someone outside our group, Duen? Who is she…you didn’t tell us you were into rough girls. Who is it that can make Nong Duen skip class like that?

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: It’s about an ear…

Phii TangGoodPersonHasMoneyButHisHeartisStillEmptyAngryAngry: Huh, calling me out for having a girlfriend, watch yourself, Duen. These days, a wife doesn’t have to be small and cute. Even someone tall and handsome like you can get played.

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: You jerk.

Ram: Where did you arrange to meet him? Do you know where it is?

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Gear Plaza, come on. You guys worry too much, I’m grown up now. Take care of yourselves.

Phii PhuFizzyFoulMouthedButFierce: Heh, maybe not worried enough. If it’s the Gear Plaza, you should be fine. It’s close to the entrance, just a short walk.

Don’t get lost, doctor.

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Yeah, yeah, no way I’ll get lost at this level. Who am I? Phii Duen, Direk’s son.

Ram: Don’t be careless, Duen, be cautious. If you see people fighting, don’t get close.

Phii TangGoodPersonHasMoneyButHisHeartisStillEmptyAngryAngry: If someone offers you candy, don’t follow them. Tell them you’re with your dad.

TingtingBeautifulPersonCuteandAlsoBeautiful: But if he’s hot, drag him here. You can bring him to me, I’m short on goods these days.

Phii PhuFizzyFoulMouthedButFierce: Ask someone around there where Gear Plaza is. If you don’t understand, have them walk you there, got it?

DuenhawHandsome Cool And Silly But Truly in Love: Yeah, you guys, when will I ever grow up if you keep doing this?

Ram: This is for the best. Every time you’re left alone, it becomes an issue.

They worry about me too much. If they knew I went to the park alone yesterday and ran into a big problem like that scoundrel, they’d definitely call me an idiot. Back then, they weren’t this protective; in high school, I once followed an old man because he gave me candy, thankfully Ram found me first.

The police said that the old man was an illegal worker planning to sell children.

Just thinking about it gives me the creeps, I was so stupid.

As I walked into the building, a thought crossed my mind. I used to hear this faculty’s slogan but never paid much attention to it. I thought it might not be that serious, but now I know. You guys fit the slogan perfectly, “Conquering evil, nurturing the good, protecting children and women, and crushing celibacy”…only the rough-looking ones, Phii Duen is scared.

You need to believe in yourself, Duen! Who are you? You’re Direk’s son, the coolest and slickest dad! And you’re also the junior of the good Daonuea!

Phii Duen fights to the death!

Phu told me to ask for directions from someone around here, but who should I ask? Someone who doesn’t look rough or aggressive? I’ll go with that one, he seems like he has Phu’s good traits, every button done up, holding about eight books in his hand, skinny and lanky, this guy won’t punch me for sure!

“Uh…excuse me, sir.”

“Huh?!” Shit! Even SOTUS can turn everyone into rough characters, even this type, engineering is awesome.

   “Oh, uh…sorry, how do I get to the gear plaza?”

“Don’t, man, I’m in a hurry, pretty boy, but I’ll tell you…go straight, turn left, when you see the plant pot, turn left again, when you see the TV, go right, then turn back and keep walking, you’ll find it, got it? If not, I’ll take you.” Shit, rough but kind-hearted, Phii Duen forgives you. But the directions are confusing as hell. What should I do? Should I have him take me there? Phu said if I didn’t understand, he should take me. I should do what my friend suggested, but with my strong spirit, I replied…

   “It’s okay, I’ll find it, thank you very much.”

I bowed to the other guy and ran off following the directions. What did the lanky guy say…go straight, turn left, when you reach the plant pot, turn right…then what? Oh, walk forward, you’ll see a TV. There’s no TV, but whatever, Dad once said when you’re lost, throw away the compass and let your instincts and heart guide you…

“Faculty of Management.”

“Eh?..” Where’s the gear plaza? Is this the gear plaza? Why does the sign say Faculty of Management?

Is Phii Duen lost? How could that be?

What should I do now, should I ask someone else…I should, right? Earlier, I chose someone with a friendly smile but a rough personality that contradicted their appearance. This time, should I choose someone beautiful? But would they think I’m flirting? I’m embarrassed.

“Excuse me, can I help you with something?”

Talking to Phii Duen?

When I turned towards the voice, I saw a tall man with a good-looking face, his demeanor friendly to everything in this world.

“Uh, yes.”

“Who are you looking for, or where are you heading?” Damn, his smile brightens up the world, can I buy that smile? My sister would absolutely love this kind of gentle smile, he’s like a shoujo manga hero.

“The thing is…I…”

“Yes?” Don’t smile like that, I’m melting.

   “I…if I say it, I’ll definitely get called stupid.”

“Ha ha, go ahead and say it. I won’t scold you.” He’s like an angel, the atmosphere around him reminds me of Phii Thara, but this guy in front of me seems a bit different. He looks playful mixed with a hint of nobility.

No.

“I…I’m looking for Gear Plaza, don’t ask why I’m not going to the Engineering building. I was there initially, but when I asked someone, they told me to walk straight, turn left at the bushes, then right, walk forward, then back or something…I didn’t understand, so I used my instincts to walk around and ended up here.”

Damn, so embarrassing. He’s definitely going to call me an idiot, ugh, you bastard, you have to take responsibility for this.

“Ah…ha ha.”

“You said you wouldn’t scold me.”

“I’m not scolding, just laughing, ha ha ha.” Are you serious? Laughing like that feels like you’re calling me an idiot and stupid, even worse than being stabbed and then salted.

   “Same thing.”

“Ha ha.”

“I’ll punch you if you keep laughing.” Oops, forgot myself, thought he was that bastard.

   “So cute.”

“Who? Oh, that girl? But I’d say she’s more sexy than cute, like that one.” I spoke my thoughts while pointing at a woman sitting on the stairs. At first, I was confused about who he was complimenting, but when I looked back, I saw there was a beautiful girl with a curvy figure behind me. Well, it’s normal, guys look at girls.

“…What kind of person, so naive.” My conversation partner said quietly, almost inaudible, and why did he smile at me?

“Do you know where the gear plaza is?” If he doesn’t know, I’ll have to ask someone else…I added that in my mind because his good aura made me reluctant to use harsh words like I would with that scoundrel.

“I know, I’ll take you there.” He said before leading the way, indicating for me to follow which I did obediently, (?) I’m saved!!!

“Carrying a lab coat, are you studying medicine?”

“Yes, achoo!” Why did I have to sneeze now? My sneeze sounds horrible, like someone with a cold, a tiny sound, ugh! Phii Duen can’t stand it, thank goodness I covered my nose with the lab coat in time. Otherwise, my hand would be covered in saliva, wait, this is my brother’s shirt!

   “Haha.” Are you laughing at me?

“Studying management?” I asked back, so he wouldn’t think I was impolite.

“Being in the management building, I doubt I’m studying agriculture.” I tried to make conversation, bastard! The angel from before is gone, now there’s just an annoying guy with a smirk.

“I study medicine and I’m here in the management building, haha.”

“…” You’ve gone silent, Phii Duen wins!

  

MY ENGINEER CHAPTERS HOME

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.”

 

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