WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 37: One More Time   

Daotok

   (THE NIGHT BEFORE)

   I tossed and turned on the bed for almost half an hour because I couldn’t fall asleep. I spent a long time soaking in warm water, hoping it would help me relax a bit. Phii Cream, who was in the bathroom, tried to chat with me as usual. She said she heard some noise near the door when I came back, but she couldn’t go out to see what it was.

It was good that she didn’t see it; the more she asked, the more I thought about what happened, involuntarily biting my lip every time I remembered it.

When I say it was bad, I mean it. From now on, it’s definitely going to be worse.

My heart, which was already starting to flutter repeatedly, now felt even more so.    Because I’m someone who is generally indifferent to everything, my face and personality have become like that too. People say it’s quite rare for me to smile, but I think it’s even rarer for me to get embarrassed enough to lose composure.

And it’s happened because of him, over and over.

It seems like he enjoys it when it’s like this, looking happy every time he can make me blush. No matter how much I try to hide my expressions, I can’t stop my cheeks and ears from turning red.

I intended to punish him for the kiss by not talking to him, for as long as I’m not satisfied. The first reason is to punish him, the second is because I probably can’t face him or talk to him yet.

I didn’t know I was this easily embarrassed. No, it’s only with him. Is this what they call easily embarrassed? Lately, it’s become like this uncontrollably.    If my friends found out, they would tease me a lot, especially North who’s ready to mock me almost every second.

After taking a shower, I glanced at the bag of things we bought today, opened it to put everything away, including clothes, shoes, and hats. Seeing these items made me inadvertently smile; this guy just does what he wants, even when it comes to buying stuff for me.

After finishing all my tasks, I collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. At that moment, I thought I would easily fall asleep, but it didn’t happen. I curled up in the blanket even though the room wasn’t that cold.

I felt like the bed was too big…

This is what’s scary. In just a few days of sleeping with him, I’ve become accustomed to his touch.

I closed my eyes trying not to think about it, and it took almost half an hour before I decided to get up and use my phone to kill time.

I found that my senior, who had just left a few hours ago, had sent a flurry of messages. I smiled again. I saw all the notifications but didn’t actually read the messages.

☀︎: Have you showered yet?

   ☀︎: What are you doing? Working?

   ☀︎: Why aren’t you reading, is your internet down or something?

   ☀︎: I’m playing a game.

   ☀︎: I’m done playing, but you still haven’t read.

   ☀︎: Are you working or sleeping?

   ☀︎: What time is your class tomorrow? But I have rounds at work in the morning, so I can’t take you.

   ☀︎: Spend a little time to reply, it’s not a big deal.

   ☀︎: Are you mad about the kiss?

   ☀︎: Don’t be mad. I’ve been trying to hold back, you know.

   ☀︎: What’s this? Embarrassed? You’re definitely embarrassed.

   ☀︎: K, I saw you were embarrassed, so I won’t call yet. I’ll give you until tomorrow to be embarrassed!

   ☀︎: I’ll play one more game then sleep, you should sleep too.

   * : Goodnight

   Someone who can ask and answer themselves completely.

Uh…good night to you too.

I put my phone back in its place and lay down to sleep again. This time, it only took me a few minutes to fall asleep. Waking up in the morning, I went to class as usual. There were plenty of messages from the same chat, not any different from yesterday; reading through them, I could summarize that he had a morning ward round and was complaining about not getting enough sleep. Plus, he didn’t want to do the ward round. The rest of the messages were just complaints.

During the lunch break, KhunKim sent a message saying he was around here. If it’s convenient, could we meet? I remembered that Phii Arthit told me to finish KhunKim’s work quickly, so I arranged to meet him to discuss the work right away.

And if I met KhunKim without telling him, I would definitely get scolded. So, I sent him a message first. He told me to go to a certain coffee shop, and I went, not really understanding why. When I saw Phii Meen working there as a server, I understood immediately.

Because there were no other customers in the shop except me. So, I got to talk with Phii Meen for a while before KhunKim arrived. Phii Meen said she wanted to keep busy so she wouldn’t have time to think about Phii Donat.

Phii Arthit was watching KhunKim a bit. I guessed Phii Arthit had Phii Meen keep an eye on him, but I didn’t mind. Today, KhunKim seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. We ordered coffee and started discussing work.    Initially, it shouldn’t have taken that long, but KhunKim insisted on seeing the current drafts so we could work on improving them to meet his requirements. The work he ordered was three illustrations for his horror novel, including the cover.    He explained the story to me and briefed me on the images. I always carry pencils and paper with me, so I could sketch for him. As we talked about the work and I drew, KhunKim began to chat about various things unrelated to work.    He told me about his travels with enthusiasm and even invited me to go with him, before circling back to ask about me.

“Really, since the first time I met you. I think you’re very talented.” He said with conviction while I was bent over sketching, “You have a lot of charm, do you realize that?”

“Uh…no.”

“Sometimes you should smile more, you know. I’ve never seen you smile.”

“…”

“You’re not good at talking either, huh? Maybe that’s another charm of yours.

Do a lot of people hit on you?”

“No, KhunKim, can you help me check this background over here?” I answered before asking about work and handing him a piece of paper. He took it, looked at it for a while, then handed it back.

“I think changing it to a scene in front of a large door might be better, you know, for the scene I described.”

“…” I didn’t respond, just picked up another sheet of paper and started sketching.

“If you have some time, would you like to go look for inspiration together?”

“I don’t have much time; I’m also studying.”

“Oh, I see. How about on weekends then? There are some interesting places not far from here, you know? Come with me. Having someone like you, Yu-Seong, with me would make me feel much better.”

“I’ll have to decline, sorry.”

“Why? Or are you afraid Tae-Yang will get upset? You’re not even dating, right? Besides, you didn’t seem too happy at the restaurant either.”

“…”

“Uh, sorry for being so blunt, but watching him bother you, I feel…quite uncomfortable for you. Why don’t you just reject him outright?”

“I’m not uncomfortable.”

“If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know, or is he forcing you?” KhunKim furrowed his brows, looking concerned. I looked up at him, puzzled about what he wanted, pulling my hand back when he tried to touch it lightly. He seemed a bit taken aback when I pulled my hand away, giving me a slight smile. “Because I travel a lot for work, I’ve met many people, but I’ve never met anyone as interesting as you. You caught my attention from the very first time we met.”

“…”

“At first, I didn’t realize how long I’ve liked you. Maybe it was from the very first time we met, but after seeing you with him yesterday, I’ve thought about it.” KhunKim spoke earnestly, “Would you give me a chance? I’m sure I can take better care of you than he can.”

“No.” I replied immediately with my usual calm tone, “I’m sorry, KhunKim, but you shouldn’t think like that. I’m worried it might affect our work.”

“Why, Yuseong?” the other person’s voice got slightly louder. I let out a small sigh of boredom, “Because of him?”

“Yes.”

“But I won’t give up.”

“Give up.” I said with a calm but firm tone, my face devoid of any emotion, which made KhunKim look disappointed, “I’ve never seen you in that way and I never will, so let’s just work together as we used to.”

The other party was stunned for a moment before frowning and pursing his lips tightly.

“I really don’t understand why you would choose a man who seems so indecisive and insincere. Plus, he looks rough and vulgar.”

“Does this have anything to do with our work? Also, you’re speaking badly of him. I’d like you to apologize.” I said with a firm tone. He paused, his face paled before he sincerely apologized.

“I’m sorry. I was wrong. I won’t think like that again.” He sighed again, “Even if

I try to buy your affection, it would be pointless, right?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like him that much, Yuseong?”

“Yes.”

KhunKim let out a small laugh. I looked up at him, not understanding.

“I guess I realized it too late, even though I thought I met you before him.”    “No, even if you had realized it sooner, my answer would be the same.” I said in a flat voice, “It has to be him.”

“I’m so jealous of him.” KhunKim smiled, “We can still work together as before, right?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t feel uncomfortable around him, do you?”

“Definitely not.”

“Then it must be me thinking too much, I’m sorry, please don’t think badly of me. I was just worried about you.”

“No need to apologize, let’s forget about it. Let’s go back to talking about work like before.” I said to cut the conversation short, bringing our discussion back to just the work. KhunKim nodded slightly before following what I suggested.

…

(PRESENT)

   “Huh?”    “Yes?”

I quickly glanced at him without realizing it, and he burst out laughing loudly.

“Why do you look so shocked?”

“Just surprised.” I said softly, then turned my face away again, “Why did you suddenly say ‘yes’?”

“Hmm? I don’t know, why? Don’t you like it?”

“No.” I shook my head, “Just not used to it.”

“That’s right, I’m not used to it either. Come to think of it, I’ve never asked you if you wanted me to speak nicely to you.” He said, “But I thought you probably wouldn’t want me to force it.”

“Force what?”

“Speak more politely.”

“No need.” I replied, “Just be yourself.”

“I thought so.” He gently squeezed my shoulder, looking quite pleased, “But that

‘yes’ wasn’t so bad, you looked cute being all surprised by it.”

“…” I stayed silent, not responding until we walked out in front of the store. After a while, Phii Meen followed us out.

“Arthit, you forgot your car keys.”

“Oh, thanks.” He answered, taking the keys. Phii Meen turned to give me a sweet smile when she saw that the person next to me had his arm around my shoulder,

“And did you bring your motorcycle?” He asked me. I nodded slightly in response,

“And you, are you dazed?”

“I came by car.”

“Could you take my motorcycle back for me?” He said, tossing the car keys to Phii Meen, who caught them in confusion.

“Your big bike? You want me to drive it back?”

“Yeah.”

“And you?”

“Going back with my wife, isn’t that right, you’re coming back with me.” He said.

“Huh?” I looked at him immediately, equally confused. What does he mean by going back with me on Phatcharamon? “Why don’t you take your own motorcycle back?”

“I want to ride on the back and hug your waist.”

“No way, Pacharamon will get a flat tire.”

“I’m not that heavy.” He said stubbornly, while Phii Meen stood there holding back laughter. I looked back and forth between the two of them and let out a big sigh, “Where’s your motorcycle? I’ve never even seen it.”

“That one.” I pointed to the Pacharmon parked in front of the shop.

“Huh, you ride a Scoopy, nong? You really want to ride with him?” Phii Meen asked while laughing, “And you, Arthit, are like a buffalo. It won’t work.”    “It will work, okay, I’m ready to ride on the back, I’m excited. I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle like this before.” He said with a broad smile. I looked at the tall man in the gown, not feeling too comfortable. I couldn’t understand why he would want to ride on my motorcycle, especially since he initially said he would come to pick me up, and now I have to take him back somehow.

“I feel sorry for your motorcycle, Phii. Go back and ride your cool big bike, I beg you.”

“I’m just caring for a friend, worried that she’ll have to struggle to take the bus back. Please keep my big bike parked where it was.”

“Screw you, caring about me? That’s a clear excuse. And how would I know where ‘where it was’ is?”

“The very end, don’t scratch my bike anywhere.”

“Ugh, are you serious?” Phii Meen furrowed her brows, looking disgusted, “I feel sorry for Nong Dao, why do you have to deal with a crazy person like him ? he said you’d come to pick you up.”

“Come on, can we go back now?”

“Will you drive? I’m afraid the bike will fall.”

“No, I want to ride on the back.” He insisted firmly. I let out a resigned sigh, got on the Pacharamon, put the kickstand up, and turned the key to start the engine.

After a while, someone heavily got on the back, nearly causing the bike to fall; thankfully, he held it steady, “Take it easy, or the bike will fall.”

“You’re heavy, Phii.” I said with annoyance, hoping only that Pacharamon’s tires wouldn’t go flat. I sighed again, feeling down, in contrast to the person behind me who seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.

“Sorry, may I interrupt?” Phii Meen said. I turned to look at Phii Meen, who was covering her mouth, trying not to laugh, almost crying from laughter, “It’s just…you have to see the picture I’m seeing now, the brother is tiny but you, riding behind him, are like a bear or a buffalo. It’s really a pitiful sight, I can’t even watch.”

“You really get on my nerves, don’t mind her, let’s go, hurry up.”

“…You are heavy.”

“Ugh, I’m annoyed. Your face isn’t cute at all. Nong Dao you face is so annoying, I don’t even know how to describe how much I hate it.”

“Huh? Why? What do you mean by hating me?”

“You dare to ask again? You look like shit right now, dude, driving with a buffalo on the back.” Said Phii Meen, “Oh, little me, I’m just so small, and now

I’ve been pranked by that jerk Arthit again.”

“Do you want me to elbow you in the face, you idiot? Coming to annoy my wife, look at me instead.”

“You jerk.”

“Here, take a photo for us.” He said, handing his phone to Phii Meen. She took it, held it up in front of us, and he made me look at the camera. I looked at it with an expression of annoyance, contrasting with his happy smile.

“And put on the gown, you jerk. Oh, I want to gouge my own eyes out.” She sighed, handing the phone back, “I’m happy if my friend is happy.”

“Yeah, right, stop being a pain and support me for once. But just now, I thought I heard you call something, the name of the motorcycle?”

“Uh, Phatcharamon.”

“Go, Phatcharmon! Hurry up, I want to get back to the room.”

“Uh.” I slowly revved the engine to move the bike out. Honestly, I felt terrible. I had to tense my arms to keep the bike steady with such a heavy passenger. The sight of us must have looked as bad as Phii Meen described.

“Be careful not to fall.” I heard him shout from behind, but I had no focus to pay attention. I was concentrating hard on keeping the bike upright. Even though we were moving, it was still swaying.

I was startled when suddenly the person behind me tightly hugged my waist, resting his face on my shoulder.

I sighed again, helplessly. Never in my life had I found riding a motorcycle this difficult.

   “Here.” He spoke, and because his face was so close, I heard him clearly, “What did you talk about with Kim?”

“Work.”

“Why did you talk for so long?”

“He also talked about other things.”

“What did he talk about?”

“Can I answer later? I’m trying to focus on driving.”

“Haha, okay, okay, sure. Keep your hands steady, will you? You’re swerving like a reckless kid.”

“You are heavy.” I said with some annoyance, not only was he heavy, but he was complaining too, “Don’t hug my waist.”

“No way, I came here to ride with you because I wanted to know how it feels to be the one riding on the back and hugging someone.” He said cheerfully, resting his face on me again, “You smell nice.”

“Let’s just go.”

“Don’t chase me away, do you know how much this is opening up my experiences? I’ve never ridden like this before.”

“Sigh.”

“Does it feel bad when I hug you?”

“No.” I answered. I didn’t feel bad about him hugging me; I felt bad that he was riding on Pacharamon. If the tire burst, it would definitely be a big hassle, but there was no need to think about that now. Just this moment was troublesome enough.    “Hey, let me drive for fun.”

“No way.”

“You’re so stingy, I’ve let you drive my car before.”

“…”

“Just ride around, I’ll be your pillion!”

“Sigh.”

“Turn here.” He said, pointing in another direction, “There’s not much traffic, it’s a slight detour, but it’s like going for a ride.”

“Sigh.” I reluctantly turned where he indicated. At first, it was just supposed to be a work meeting with KhunKim, but why did the return trip turn into this?    In the end, we made it back to the condo. I got off Pachar looking exhausted, only now realizing how cold it felt once he let go of the hug. All the way, I was focused on driving and didn’t have time to pay attention to anything else.

   Now, there’s still a faint pleasant scent of him lingering.

   “Why do you look so tired?”

“…” I stayed silent, not responding, just walking into the condo with him following. Earlier, I checked both the front and back tires of Pacharamon, and found they weren’t flat, just the air was starting to get low.

“Being the one riding on the back feels good.”

“Why?”

“You didn’t even notice, I was messing with you a lot.”

“Sigh.”

“And why didn’t you reply to my messages all day?” He asked while we were in the elevator. I stayed silent because just thinking about the kiss from yesterday made me feel confused. I glanced at him slightly and saw him smirking, pleased with himself. I immediately looked away, and silence filled the elevator.    Before we reached my room, I reached out my hand, indicating for him to give back the things he was holding, but he didn’t return them and even raised an eyebrow at me.

“Stay with me.”

“No.” I answered immediately.

“I won’t do what I did yesterday.”

“Still no.”

“Why?”

“No. I don’t want to stay.”

He picked up my room key card and opened the door. I was pulled inside, confused, he closed the door, walked over to sit on the sofa, and pulled me down to sit. Before I could react, I was startled and let out a soft cry, realizing I was sitting on his lap on the sofa.

He lifted both of my arms around his neck. I tried to resist and stand up, but he held my waist firmly. With our bodies so close, my heart started beating fast again.

I turned my face away, but he grabbed my chin to make me look into his eyes.

When our eyes met, those deep black eyes looking at me with such intensity, it felt like I was being drawn in again.

“Mad about yesterday?” He tightened his embrace, pressing our bodies even closer, our faces closer because I was sitting on his lap, our eyes at the same level. He buried his face in my shoulder, moving up to my neck and ear, planting light kisses that made me tense up without realizing it. His hair tickled me a bit, but more than that, it was the touch and his warm breath that enveloped me.

“No…not really.”

“Then why won’t you let me stay?”

“…” I pressed my lips together, still avoiding his gaze, feeling my face and ears growing hot uncontrollably…Oh, damn it. What’s wrong with me? Why am I blushing?

   “Hmm?” His deep voice spoke near my ear as if he was teasing on purpose. I tried to push him away, but it didn’t work.

“You said you wouldn’t do it like yesterday.”

“I’m not doing it at all, and what’s wrong with you that you have to hide your face?”

“Then move back.”

“Why?”

“…” I frowned in dissatisfaction, he let out a soft, amused laugh.

“Okay, let’s talk face to face first.”

“Can’t we talk normally?”

“And this isn’t normal?”

“It…it’s like this.” I said with furrowed brows, trying to stand up again but failing, because sitting like this was quite embarrassing, it was too close.

“Why?”

“…” I didn’t respond but decided to lower my head, burying my face into his thick shoulder, sliding both hands to grip his gown tightly at the chest. I could feel my heart beating hard right now and hoped he wouldn’t hear it. He paused, looking surprised at my sudden action, “Uh, Phii.”

“…”

“Let me go for a moment.”

“Are you teasing me or what?”

“No, I’m just being cute.”

“Alright, you look this cute, but I’m not letting you go anywhere, we’ll talk like this.”

“…”

I let out a hidden sigh when he said that. Burying my face like this wasn’t just because I wanted to try being cute, but if we didn’t make eye contact, it would be better for my heart. He tightened his hug as if pleased with me being like this.

“Tell me what you talked about with Kim.”

“At first, we talked about work.”

“Hmm.”

“And then…uh, he said he liked me.”

“What?” He asked with a displeased tone that made me feel inexplicably uneasy, causing me to hold my breath without realizing it.

“KhunKim said he’s probably liked me for a long time.” I explained further, “Since last year, but he didn’t realize it.”

!!

He lifted me off his lap and pushed me down onto the sofa, then flipped over to straddle me. I opened my eyes wide in shock at this sudden change. When he leaned his face down, I quickly raised my hand to block him.

“Calm…calm down.” I said hoarsely, breathing heavily, “You said you wouldn’t do what you did yesterday, didn’t you?” Even though I was losing my composure, I still tried to negotiate with him.

He bit my wrist lightly. Though it didn’t hurt, it gave me a strange sensation in my heart before his deep voice spoke.

“And what did you say back?”

“I already rejected him.” I answered softly but firmly.

“Rejected how?”

“I told him I already like you, and it has to be you.”

My response made him smile broadly with satisfaction before he leaned down to kiss my cheek, then moved to nuzzle my neck, making me try to move away, but the sofa wasn’t wide enough for me to escape.

“Did he see this mark?”

“Huh?”

“The mark that says you’re mine.”

“Ugh.” I let out a small sound when I felt a sharp pain on my neck, reminding me of last night after the kiss when he left a red bruise.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep well because I kept thinking about that kiss. In the morning, I was distracted and forgot to cover the red mark. Oh…damn, everyone must have seen it by now.

“Just thinking about how he was staring at you in the coffee shop earlier made me so annoyed.”

He bent down to kiss my collarbone, then trailed down slightly below my shirt collar, leaving another red bruise.

I clenched my teeth against the pain, pushed him away with all my strength, and he let go willingly.

He frowned, not looking too pleased, before leaning down to gently kiss my forehead.

“Don’t make that face.”

I pulled up my collar to cover the red mark, not even sure why I was doing it, then moved to sit on the edge of the sofa, knees up. He stood up and took off his gown, leaving just a plain white T-shirt underneath.

“Give me your hand.”

“Why?”

“I’m not in a good mood.”

“Uh.” I extended my hand to him. His thick hand gently held mine before lifting it to his lips for a kiss. My heart skipped a beat seeing that. He then placed my hand on his lap but didn’t let go.

“And did he understand when you refused?”

“Hmm. Seems like he did.”

“It won’t affect your work, right?”

“Hmm.”

“Will he give up on you?”

“Hmm.” I nodded because after refusing and talking for a while, I told KhunKim to give up since it was impossible, and he agreed, “There’s nothing more.”

“Hah, I should’ve not let you go then.”

“Impossible, it’s work.”

“Yeah, I’m trying to understand.” He said, clearly annoyed, looking at our hands still clasped together. I couldn’t help but smile, “So, how was the work?”

“Just drawing illustrations for a novel, as usual.”

“Hah, just for that work, but he dragged it out so long.” He said with a grimace,

“But it’s good that you’re not mad about yesterday.”

“I…I’m not mad or anything.”

“So, you were just embarrassed, right?”

“Uh…yeah.”

“You’re cute.” He said, pinching my cheek playfully, “So, when you said you didn’t want to be with me, it was just because you were embarrassed, right?”    “Ugh…I, I don’t know what to do.” I frowned slightly, speaking just as my heart was beating too fast, making me feel lost. Seeing that, he slowly moved closer and pulled me into a loose embrace.

“You don’t need to do anything, I’ll handle it.”

“…” Hearing that, I instinctively raised my hand to lightly hit his arm.

“Oh, hitting me now?”

“Irritating.”

“Then hit me harder.”

“Really hit you?”

“Go ahead, how hard are you going to hit?”

“I’ll hit you with a chair, wait here.” I said, pretending to get up, but he held me back.

“How irritating am I that you want to hit me with a chair?” He laughed, and then we sat there chatting. No, it was more like he was telling me stories, which I was happy to listen to, unlike a few hours ago.

When we were at the coffee shop, KhunKim was also telling me about himself, which is why our work conversation took so long. But of course, I barely listened to what KhunKim was saying, just heard the gist of it – something about what he did during the year we didn’t see each other.

“And then…damn it, I don’t want to do rounds tomorrow, I’m exhausted as hell.”    “Uh-huh.”

“What’s that? Not going to comfort me?”

“Either way, you’ll have to do ward rounds.”

“I know, but I want some encouragement.”

“Want me to pat your head again?”

“No, I want a kiss.”

“Can’t do that.”

“Oh, come on.” He immediately looked disappointed, getting up from the sofa, “I’ll go back to my room with a heavy heart, like this. After a tiring day of studying, I have to watch you with another guy. Plus, that guy likes you, he couldn’t take his eyes off you, when it should have been me there. This dog has to go lick its wounds now.”

Hearing him talk with such a dejected expression, I couldn’t help but shake my head slightly.

“Bend down a bit.”

I straightened up, grabbed his shirt with both hands, and pulled him down, pressing my lips lightly on his cheek before slowly pulling back, my heart pounding as if it would burst.    He stared at me, stunned.

“Are you no longer upset?”

“Not yet! Do it again!”

“…”

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 36: Impatient

   Arthit

   He paused for a moment as if about to say something but didn’t, just pushed my head gently and then let go, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, frowning and letting out a soft sigh. After that, we didn’t talk until we reached the stationery store.    He followed me quietly. I secretly observed him, puzzled. Normally, he would at least say something.

   “I’ll wait here, a lot to buy?”

“Not a lot, it’ll be quick.”

“Hm.”

He sat down on a bench in front of the store. I went to the section with the items I wanted, picked them up and put them in the basket, paid, and then came out to find him waiting.

   “That was fast.” He looked up from his phone, took the bag from my hand, and we headed back to the car.

   The same car moved out of the stationery store’s parking lot and headed back to the condo quickly. He carried all the items we bought today to the elevator together, since he was holding some of my things, we had to put them in my room first.

   I opened my room door and as I was about to reach for the light switch, I told him…

   I was genuinely happy that he said he would try for us. At that moment, I was stunned, glad I didn’t die from the shock. That made me think if I should try to be more patient for him too, but then again, I’ve been trying to be patient all along. And I haven’t been very successful at it, so I guess I’ll have to make it a bit harder for him.

   He still doesn’t seem quite ready, but what can we do?

   He said next month, after my race, he would agree to be my boyfriend. I think that’s good because it gives the one waiting a goal. Even if I say I could wait a lifetime, like I mentioned before, with someone you love, you want to have a status, don’t you?

   I wish next month would come quickly. When will it be next month? I want to race already, I want to get the race over with.

   And I got his room keycard too.

   Damn.

   Who would be as important to him as I am? Who else would care for that short guy as much as I do?!

   “Do you have good news?”

“Finally, you ask!” I said cheerfully when Hill finally asked, because today I was really happy, because of what happened yesterday, making me smile from ear to ear since morning, even though the short guy didn’t respond to my chats.

“What’s the news?”

“Do you really want to know? You’re my true friend.”

“Then tell me already, if you want to talk about it that much, there’s no need to keep it to yourself.”

“I was waiting for you to want to know.”

“Okay, I want to know now, hurry up and tell.”

“Alright.” and then I told Hill roughly about what happened yesterday, skipping the kissing part. This kind of thing, you have to brag about it, how could you keep it to yourself? It’s a pity Direk isn’t free yet. And right now, the only one in the ward with me is Hill.

“Uh…hmm, congratulations.”

“Hill, you…sigh, you’re proud of me, right? Very proud of me?” I raised my eyebrows at him, feeling good about myself. Hill looked up from his book to meet my gaze, “Even when eating, you’re still reading?”

“I was reading while waiting for you, hurry up and eat, you’ve been playing with your phone.”

“Yeah, yeah, so are you proud of me?”

“Hm.” He nodded, “Why do you look so proud?”

“I told you, you’re my best friend. Besides you, no one else says they’re proud of me.” I said seriously, feigning a serious expression, “If anyone does anything to you, tell me, I’ll handle it myself.”

“Just messing around, hurry up and eat.”

“Okay.” I agreed and bent down to continue eating. The short guy hadn’t replied to my messages since last night, not even seen them, which made me sure he was shy and didn’t want to respond.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep well because it was unfamiliar, the warm body in my embrace was gone, making me think why the bed in his room felt so big. Even though I wanted to use the key card he gave me to open his door and go to him, I tried to resist. I thought he probably wasn’t ready to face me yet, because when we parted yesterday, his face was very red, even his ears were red, like they had been boiled in hot water.

   After I finished eating, we prepared for the afternoon ward round. While walking up the building, I kept teasing Hill without stopping, not knowing if the listener was actually listening, but I didn’t care. I’ve always been a one-way messenger.    “What do you think about the key card? Seriously, if you don’t trust someone a lot, even if you give them a key card, you wouldn’t, right? To trust someone, you need trust and heart.” while I was going on with my rant, my phone vibrated slightly. I picked it up to see that it was the short guy who sent me a Line message.

   I opened it eagerly, but the content inside made my smile fade.

   SS: I have a meeting with KhunKim this afternoon.

   ☀︎: What!?

   ☀︎: Why

   ☀︎: Why meet with him!

   SS: You said you wanted me to hurry, didn’t you?

   SS: Khun Kim said he happens to be free.

   ☀︎:. No

   ☀︎: You have to meet him when you’re with me!

   ☀︎: You can’t go alone with him!

   ☀︎: Absolutely not!

   SS: Aren’t you usually busy?

   ☀︎: Damn.

   I gritted my teeth when I thought the short guy might really go out with KhunKim. It’s fine if they just meet, but being alone together without me? No way! No! No! No! That bastard, I’ll skip out! I won’t stay in this damn ward.

“I’m skipping out this afternoon.”

“No, you can’t.”

“This is serious! I can’t let him be alone with Kim!”

“Who’s Kim?”

“I forgot to tell you, Kim is the client who hired the short guy, and he likes shorty too.”

“He really likes him?”

“Yes, really. Of course, I know by instinct, I met him when we went to eat at the mall yesterday.” I said with conviction. Hill still looked at me with an expressionless, unperturbed face.

“Don’t you trust your brother? Didn’t he say he wouldn’t open his heart to anyone? Don’t worry.”

“It’s different, like how you wouldn’t want anyone else looking at your wife.”    “Right, it’s different. I can be jealous over my boyfriend, but can you be jealous over your brother?”

“….” Hill’s words made me pause, squinting at him with a frown, letting out a heavy sigh, “Damn, I’ll pinch you.”

“He’s a client, be patient. Wait until the work is over.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“What’s he like, this Kim?”

“He’s not much, I’m better looking, even my heels look better than his.”

“And his personality?”

“Polite, easygoing. Like Fah, but the version that wants to steal my wife.”

“Really? So, between Fah and you, who would a normal person choose?”

“…Hill, why are you messing with me? Shouldn’t you be on my side?”

“Hm? No, I was just asking.” Hill gave a small, victorious smile. This damn guy must have deep grudges, he must remember and wait for the day to get back at me for messing with him before. But messing with him isn’t always successful, Fah and I, he has to choose me, where else would you find someone like me!

“Then I’ll skip the afternoon.”

“No way.”

“Damn, what should I do?” While I was pondering, an idea suddenly popped into my head. Earlier, while enjoying Instagram, I saw Meen’s IG story where she checked in at the coffee shop where she works as a server.

☀︎: Go to Coffee-Mate, behind the university.

   ☀︎: This place, right?

   *Sending location    SS: Why?

   ☀︎: Just go there.

   ☀︎: Go to this shop. Otherwise, I’ll skip the ward rounds and rush over there right now!

   SS:    

   And then I immediately called Meen.

(What do you want?)

   “Are you working at your coffee shop?”

(I am, but there are no customers right now so I’m free to answer your call.

What’s up?)

   “The short guy is going to your shop, meeting a client named Kim. Keep a close eye on him, don’t let him do anything to the short guy at all. If he looks too much, pour hot coffee on him.”

(Are you crazy, telling me to pour coffee on a customer? And who’s the short guy? Why are you calling out of the blue to tell me this?)

   “The short guy is Dao.”

(Oh, Nong Daotok, yeah, and why? Why should I keep an eye on my customer? But what customer?)

   “The one who commissions artwork.”

(And this customer likes Nong Daotok?)

   “Yeah.”

(Oh, you’re jealous, so you want me to keep an eye on them, huh?)

   “Yes.”

(Yes, you damn thing. I didn’t expect you to be so straightforward about it. This is, damn, really embarrassing. Alright, I’ll watch them and report back to you, right?)

   “Yeah, you know it.”

(Yeah, yeah, okay.)

   And then I hung up. At least having someone to watch over them is good. Before I could think further, it was time for the afternoon ward round. No matter how anxious I was, I couldn’t touch my phone, and by the time it was almost four, I was lucky the session ended early. I immediately called Miss Meen to ask how it was going, and she said the two were still at the shop.

I rushed to the shop right away, walked in, and tried to spot where they were sitting but didn’t see them until Meen nudged me first.

“Come here, you.”

Meen led me to a secluded table where the two wouldn’t notice, the short guy in his student uniform sitting across from Kim, talking with stacks of paper on their table.

“They’ve been talking since this afternoon until four, what are they talking about?” Meen whispered. I nodded in agreement while my eyes were still fixed on that small back.

“What the hell are they talking about? I want to know.” I said, frowning with curiosity.

“I messaged you, but you didn’t read it. I even eavesdropped.”

“You sneaky bastard, I was busy. I couldn’t even touch my phone.” I said, “So, what were they talking about?”

“I heard Kim invited him to go to Korea.”

“Huh!?”

“Shh, keep your voice down, or they’ll all turn around.” She said, putting her finger to her lips to signal me to be quiet, “The one you said was a client, I think he is strange. And from what I’ve observed, he’s looking at him with such sweet, gooey eyes.”

“Sweet and gooey!?”

“Yeah, but to be fair, he’s quite handsome. Seeing him makes me want a Korean husband.”

“Go for it then.” I said immediately, and Meen looked at me in surprise, “You take him as your husband, you get a husband, and I get to protect my wife. It’s a win-win.”

“Damn, I don’t want a new husband yet.”

“Close your eyes and your ears, forget about Donat in a snap, trust me.”    “You bastard. No way, everyone says I have a dog’s heart, my husband just died and you want me to get a new one.”

“Listen to me, it’s not about the time, it’s about what you want in your heart.

Donat has been dead for a long time, he’d want you to move on.”

“Damn, why are you pushing me to get a new husband?”    “You need to find a real husband now.” I said seriously.

“Why are you so insistent on this? No way.”

“One-night stands then.”

“Arthit,you are so gentlemanly, I’d choose him if I were NongDao. If you’re going to be that damn annoying.”

“You should take my side, aren’t you my friend?”

“Yes, I’m your friend, so what are we going to do? From what I see, that guy probably likes the younger one. Otherwise, he wouldn’t stare like that. And you,

Arthit, what do you have to compete with him?”

“You don’t understand how I’m above him, I’ve already won the heart of the short guy.”

“Have you really?”

“I even got his room key card, you know. Someone without feelings wouldn’t give you a key card.”

“Not strange at all, friends give them out, he sees you as a senior, doesn’t he?” “Damn, senior again? Don’t say that word where I can hear it.” I raised my middle finger at him. She laughed out loud, “Senior, my ass, I’ve done so much for him, senior and junior don’t kiss like that, damn it, I love him to death and you dare call me senior?”

“Poor you, but pitiful at the same time. Anyway, is the client named Kim?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s Kim’s full name?”

“I don’t know, can’t remember, Kim…Tae-Yang.”

“Tae-Yang?”

“Maybe.”

“Tae-Yang, meaning ‘sun’?”

“Damn, it’s not me, TaeYang is my name, that one…might be Tae Min.”    “Oh, you little brain.” Meen sighed subtly, “He’s good, you know, handsome, polite, and the fact that he’s here as a client means he has a job, while you’re still living off your father.”

“But my dad’s super rich, is his dad as rich as mine?”

“Damn, don’t compare your dad to his.”

“If he’s so great, then you take him. Don’t make me force you.”

“Damn, you can’t force me, can you?”

“Go flirt with him, get him drunk.”

“Bleh. I told you I’m not interested, stop trying to push me on him, see if he wants me first.”

“Have you tried yet, you nut, try flirting first. If it doesn’t work, then ask how much.”

“Do you understand that I’m not ready for a relationship?”

“The short one used to say that too, until he met me.”

“You’re so great that I want you in my life.”

“Hmph. No, I just forced myself on him.” I said quietly, constantly watching the two of them. It was probably time to leave, I couldn’t stand their…what was it, overly sweet gaze, like what Meen described.

“Where are you going?” Meen yanked my arm to make me sit down.

“I was just going to sit with the short one.”

“Isn’t it better to watch secretly like this? How else will you know what he’s like when you’re not around?”

“Yeah, that’s interesting, but…”

“Come on, bear with it a bit. If you go now, do you think someone as hot-headed as you can control your temper? You know how hot-headed you are, even needles would melt if they drew your blood.”

“But if I hold Dao’s hand, I’ll calm down.”

“Crazy. I don’t believe it. I remember when you went wild in the pub. No one could handle you, don’t cause a scene in my shop, please, I’ve only been working here for a few days, I don’t want to get fired.”

“Believe me, it’s true, I’m still amazed at myself.”

“Really? Alright, let’s wait and see, huh. Looks like it’s almost done.” Meen said. I turned to look and saw that the short guy was packing up. It seemed like Kim was trying to help him pack, but the short guy wouldn’t let him. “You’re weak, Kim, I’ve packed for him so many times. Can’t even pack for him, go die!”    I quickly got up from the table and walked over to them.

When he saw me, the short guy made a big surprised face. I reached out to help him pack while Kim looked confused.

After we finished packing, I put my arm around the short guy’s shoulder, then gave Kim a triumphant smile. The person in front of me slightly furrowed his brows.

The short guy said a brief goodbye to Kim before willingly walking away with me.

“Why did you talk to him for so long?” I asked, but didn’t get an answer, so I looked at the person next to me. I saw he was turning his face away, his small ears bright red. He raised his hand to cover his ear as if to hide it.

What’s this? Just because I came over, you’re already embarrassed?

   All that stiffness and coldness he had with Kim earlier was gone.

   Thinking about it, I couldn’t help but smile broadly, leaning in to press my lips hard against his cheek. He was startled and quickly turned to look at me, his cheeks flushing red.

   “Wha…what are you doing?”

“Just came to pick you up.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 35: Us

   Arthit

   When the warmth of the embrace was gone, I, still half-asleep, searched the bed with my arm to pull the smaller person back into a hug but found no one. I opened my eyes immediately and looked around the room, which was empty of any sign of the person I was looking for, including his belongings, making me feel inexplicably annoyed.

He took off with all his stuff, and took Cat too.

I got up from the bed, intending to go to the next room. As I opened the door, I found that the door opposite was also opening at the same time. I hadn’t seen him in a while, and now we met. He looked more put-together than the last time we met, his mental state must have improved a bit.

“Oh, it’s you, just woken up?”

“Yeah, where did you go?”

“Part-time work.” He replied, “And are you going outside looking like this?”

“No, come to the next room.”

“Huh? Oh, okay, see you, I’m leaving.”

“OK.” I replied, and then Meen walked out. I knocked on the door of the adjacent room, and the owner opened it shortly after. The short guy was also dressed and ready to go out, “Where are you dressed up to go?”

“Aren’t you taking me out?”

“Oh, yeah, you’re all ready?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Why should I?”

“And you even took all the food and stuff to escape from me. Even the cat, you took him.” my words made the person in front of me furrowed his brows immediately, “But you forgot something.”

“Forgot what?”

“Forgot me.”

“Oh, I left you in that room.”

“You use the word ‘left’ so casually.” I chuckled a bit, “I’ll go shower and get dressed first.”

“Hmm.”

Then I returned to my room after checking that the short guy was waiting for me in his room. He didn’t go anywhere else, so I quickly showered, dressed, and knocked on the next door again.

   It was almost eleven now, and I hadn’t eaten since waking up so late. So, I thought we’d go to the mall first, buy my stuff, and then head to the stationery store.

   “Let’s eat at the mall first.” I said after draping my arm over the small guy’s shoulders and pulling him closer. He pushed my arm away and moved a bit further, but once again, he couldn’t resist my strength. I know he tries to resist many times, he really does, but all that effort is in vain, so he’s become resigned to it like this.

“I can’t walk comfortably.”

“You’ll get used to it.”

We walked down to the parking floor. I chose the new car I was still excited about and drove to the mall to eat and buy the stuff I had planned. We arrived just after eleven when the mall had just opened.

“This is the first time we’ve gone on a date at the mall like this.”

“Date?”    “Yeah.”

“The stationery store, huh?”

“Let’s eat first, then shop, okay?”

“…Um.” He nodded slightly. I kept my arm around his shoulder as we walked into the mall.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Anything.”

“Steak?”

“Um.”

“Want to watch a movie?”

“No.” He shook his head, “I just watched one with North.”

“Watching at home and in the cinema isn’t the same.” I argued, “What movies are showing now? I haven’t kept up with cinema releases.” While I was speaking, someone from behind called out an unfamiliar name, and since the speaker was close, we both turned to look.

“Yu-seong, what a coincidence!”

Not only was the name he called out unfamiliar, but his face was too. The guy was slightly shorter than me, with Korean features, speaking Thai with a not-soclear accent, making it a bit hard to understand. The person who had just greeted us smiled broadly, looking happy.

“Is he talking to you?” I turned to ask the person whose shoulder I was holding. He nodded slightly, keeping a straight face, unlike the Korean who seemed overly excited.

Wait…Korean?

“Hello, Khun Kim.”

Ah, there’s the trouble…Is this really just a coincidence? Even if I told myself he’s just a client, remembering how North teased me about it made me feel slightly annoyed. And then there’s his overly happy demeanor upon meeting my short guy, why is he that happy? Haven’t you ever run into someone you know at a mall?

   “Why did he call you Yu-seong? Is your name Yu-seong?”

“I heard that ‘Yuseong’ in Korean translates to Daotok.”

“You’ve got quite a few names, huh?”

“Are you going to eat here? Perfect timing, can I sit at your table?”    “Ah…” The person next to me turned to me for my opinion. I didn’t respond because I had no opinion on it. Of course, in my heart, I wanted to chase him away, but I couldn’t do that. I had to calm myself and remember that he was a potential client for the short guy, “Sure.”

To avoid an awkward silence, the short guy agreed, and in the end, I had to sit at the same table with Kim.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.” Said the person sitting across from us after receiving the menu from the waiter. I didn’t bother to look at him, only focusing on the menu in the hands of the person next to me.

“Yes.”

“So, um, are you two dating?”

This time, I looked at him immediately.

“Uh…no.”

“Are you friends then?”

Hey, this bastard…keep asking, and I’ll smack you with the menu.

“We’re senior and junior.”

Ah…choke! Should there be a blood-spitting effect here or what? Shit, shit, siblings!! What the hell, siblings!!!

   The short guy’s answer made Kim smile slightly, which irritated me even more. Why smile? What are you smiling at, you bastard? Just you coming over and trying to chat up my future wife is already too much.

   “Yes, big brother, huh, what do you say, little brother?” I said, gently pushing the head of the person sitting next to me with annoyance. The short guy didn’t say anything, just glanced at me before returning to look at the menu.

I turned my gaze to Kim right away. He didn’t notice because he was still looking at the menu. I was already sensitive to North’s provocations, and now you come and do this. Normally, when you see someone you know with someone who looks like they might be their partner, do you go over and ask to join them? No, right? I’m starting to distrust you, you dog.

Once the waiter took our menus, we entered the conversation phase. I reached under the table to hold the small hand, which helped calm me down, and it worked.

After feeling my head heat up earlier, the fire seemed to die down unbelievably.

The person whose hand I was holding allowed me to keep it without pulling away as usual.

But my anger cooled down a bit when I heard Kim speak.

“And what’s your name, sir?”

“Ch…Ar, Arthit, I’m his…older brother, I guess.” I said, gritting my teeth in irritation, glancing at the person beside me, not in a good mood. I was surprised to see the short guy stifling a laugh when he saw me gritting my teeth to speak. Yeah, you think it’s fun to tease me, huh? Damn it, “And…what about you?”    “Kim Tae Min.” He extended one hand as if to shake. I shook his hand out of courtesy, calming down, Arthit, he’s! just! a! client!

“I’ve worked with Yu-seong once before. This time, I contacted Yu-seong again because I enjoyed working with him.”

Why is he so polite, this asshole? This is like Fah version 2.0, trying to steal my future wife!

   “Arthit, is it correct that we’re meeting to work together?”

“Yes.”

“Your name is Arthit, right? Can I then call you Tae-Yang? Tae-Yang means sun.” the man sitting across from me asked. I nodded, letting him call me by a Korean name to match Yu-seong, damn good thinking, “How are you doing? Are you well?”

“Yes, and Khun Kim?”

“I’m well. I work in Korea…” He started talking about himself, but I wasn’t listening at all, focusing my attention on the person next to me, my hand holding his under the table without letting go, while my other hand played with his hair, touching his cheek as we sat close.

“Uh, can I ask something?”

“Yes.”

“Are the two of you really senior and junior?”

“No.” I answered immediately, “Can’t you tell I’m courting him?”

I said it straightforwardly without turning to look. The short guy glanced at me slightly. I raised an eyebrow at him, he didn’t say anything, but Kim seemed a bit shocked.

   “Oh, is that so?” I glanced over, unable to hide my irritation through my eyes in time. The person being looked at paused for a moment before giving a dry smile,

“Oh, right, uh, the food’s here, let’s eat.”

I stayed silent, feeling a strange intuition, with his awkward behavior, not to mention that sweet, polite tone when talking to my future wife.

This isn’t right.

I’ve been wondering why North was always riling me up. Now, combined with my own intuition as a male, I’m more than seventy percent sure that he must like my short guy.

I observed the person next to me, who wasn’t paying any attention, just eating his meal quietly. When I put some vegetables from my plate onto his, he ate them without any complaints.

Once we finished eating, it was finally time to part ways. I put my arm around the short guy and led him out without allowing any further conversation, taking a deep breath and then exhaling to adjust my mood.

“Are you angry?”

“Angry about what?” I asked.

“Saying we’re a senior and a junior.”

“Why would I be angry? It’s the truth. Once I become your husband, I’ll proudly tell others I’m your husband as openly as I’d say we’re senior-junior.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm, what?”

“What do you mean?”

“That I’m your husband?”

“No.” He shook his head, “Use a softer word.”

“Alright, fine, I’m just annoyed that he likes you, that’s all.”

“Really?”

“You still don’t believe he likes you, huh? I didn’t believe it when North told me until I saw it for myself. I’d say there’s more than a seventy percent chance. No, make it ninety.”

“Really?”

“He was looking at you with such bright eyes, I felt like poking his eyes out.”

“Ah…hmm, whatever.”

“What?”

“Just leave him be, it’s a waste of time to care.” He said with his usual calm demeanor, “What are you going to buy?”    “Clothes, shoes, do you want anything?”    “No.” He shook his head.

“Alright, I’ll buy it for you.” I said, leading him to the clothing section, “I’ll show you what this older brother can give you.”

“…”

“And Arthit, you have to work with Kim, right?”

“Hm.”

“Let’s start with Arthit then.”

“Why?”

“So it can end quickly, come on. Besides, if you leave gaps, he’ll find some excuse to meet you again.”

“What about your work?”

“Oh, me and Direk aren’t in a hurry for anything, but Kim, he’s in a hurry, let’s get him out of our lives once and for all.” I said, annoyed, “I don’t care if he’s a client, I’ll make his face sink.”

“Good.”

“…”

“You need to control your emotions, be a good kid.”

“Ha, do you have any bones? Give them to me as a reward.” I said jokingly,

“Will you pet my head too?”

“Bend down then.”

“Are you crazy? In the middle of the mall? Even if I’m just a dog, when outside, let me be a tiger.”

“Okay.” He whispered as he followed me.

I could tell that this damn Kim liked the short guy, but I didn’t do or say anything harsh because I tried to keep my composure, reminding myself he’s just a client. Imagine if I punched him in the middle of the restaurant, the short guy would lose a good client, and it might harm his reputation too, potentially ruining his career.    You have to think carefully about what you do because it’s not just about me anymore.

   So, we’ll handle this quietly…

   Hia, even someone like me can think like this.

   I brought him to choose clothes with the money Direk had just transferred. I bought what I wanted for myself and also for him. Of course, he didn’t actually want them, but I forced all the items I thought were suitable on him.

   I forgot about Kim to keep him from ruining my good day, because just looking at Dao’s face made all my anger disappear.

   …

Daotok

   “Why are you taking so long to choose?” the person leaning against the pillar with his arms crossed asked in a bored tone. I lowered the shirt I was holding and looked back at him.

“I don’t want any.”

“Choose quickly, take one at least.”

“It’s expensive.”

“It’s supposed to be expensive for quality.”

“Why do you need to buy it for me?”

“I want to.”

“But I don’t want it.” I said honestly, hanging the shirt back where it was. After he forced me to choose at least three shirts because he wanted to buy them for me, but from my heart, I didn’t want any of them. I’m not like him, with a closet full of clothes; I’m not good at dressing up and don’t care much about fashion. All the clothes I have are chosen by my dad; otherwise, my wardrobe would just be black and white T-shirts.

“Normally, others would be thrilled to have someone pay for them.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, don’t you appreciate it?”

“No.” I shook my head slightly, “I just don’t like clothes.”

“Okay, then I’ll choose for you.” He cut me off, picking up a shirt and holding it against me, “What size do you usually wear?”

“L.”

“Just this size?”

“Bigger shirts are more comfortable.”

“Like this style?”

“Yeah, but that one’s a bit too big.”

“What color do you like?”

“…”

“Oh, not answering? I’ll help you choose then.”

“I’m thinking.”

I was silent because I was thinking about which colors I liked. Since my work involves using colors, I don’t have a fixed favorite color; you could say I like every color, right?

“Every color.”

“You like every color?”

“Hm.”

“Then you can get any color, so I’ll choose styles that I think suit you.” He said and then led me around, holding shirts up against me, thinking for a moment, and if he thought one was suitable, he’d put it in the basket right away. I ended up carrying the basket, following without a word of complaint, “I think this one’s good, try it on.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Lazy.”

“Come on, try it on.” He handed me a shirt, took the basket from my hand, and pushed me into the fitting room. I sighed heavily, took off the shirt I was wearing, and put on the new one. When I was done, I came out to show him.

“Hia, you look cute.” the tall guy waiting outside said with satisfaction, “Let’s get this one, now try another.”

“Why do you look so happy?” I remarked, noticing his cheerful demeanor. I thought he must be someone who enjoys clothes and shoes since his room is full of them. If that’s the case, he should be choosing for himself, why for me?    “It’s fun, I like seeing you in the clothes I pick out.”

“Hm.”

“What’s that ‘hm’ for?”

“If you like it, I’ll wear it.”

“You.” He stepped closer, loosely hugged me around the neck, and lightly kissed my head. I pushed him away immediately, and he chuckled a bit, “Your face is red again.”

“This…this is a mall.” I said quietly, my heart beating fast again. I felt like this was happening too often lately.

More often than I had anticipated, I found myself in this situation. As I’ve said, I couldn’t handle this kind of feeling, and the more it happened, the less accustomed I became to it. Losing composure isn’t really a good thing, huh?

“I know that we are in the mall. If it weren’t a mall, I’d have kissed you already.”    “No.”

“Meaning in the mall isn’t allowed?”

“Kissing isn’t allowed.”

“Sure it is, if you’d let me.”

“Sigh.” I sighed at him before heading into the fitting room to change into another shirt he had chosen. When I came out to show him again, he said he liked it and added it to the basket, which now probably held about six or seven shirts in total.

Of course, each one wasn’t cheap.

“Is it okay?”

“What?”

“I…um…”

“Just say it.”

“I don’t dislike you buying them for me, but…even if you didn’t buy them. I would…”

“Still like me?”

“…”

“I know, I just want you to wear the shirts I choose for you, and you said so yourself that if I liked it, you’d wear it.” He said with a good mood smile,

“Besides, don’t feel obliged, this is my dad’s money.”

“Shouldn’t that make me feel even more obliged?”

“Direk gave it to me, so it’s my money now.”

“Oh, hmm.”

“Then let’s go look at shoes.”

“…Hmm.”

Once we got all the shoes and clothes he wanted, there wasn’t much else to do at this mall. After that, we would go to the stationery store as he had planned.

I want to recount what happened this morning when I left his room. I went down to the condo’s management office to get a spare key card, but before I knew it, I had asked for two. At that moment, I was hesitant about whether one would be enough because there was a chance he might take my key card again.

And then, I thought if I gave him one, he wouldn’t need to take mine again, but that would mean he could enter my room anytime. I wasn’t worried about him stealing anything; I was more concerned about my own safety, but still, I was undecided about what to do.

I moved my things back to my room, including Mr. Jeon, and took his python back to where it belonged. Then I showered, got dressed, and waited for him in my room until he woke up and called me to go out together.

It might be a bit embarrassing to admit that I was ready nearly two hours before he woke up; it sounds like I was excited to go out with him. I’m not sure why I felt this way, especially since it wasn’t our first time going out together.

And the first thing that surprised me was meeting KhunKim, especially since we had just talked about him recently. KhunKim hadn’t changed much from what I remembered; he greeted us friendly, quite different from the person who brought me here. As soon as I realized it was KhunKim, I could sense the atmosphere around him change.

KhunKim probably didn’t notice until Phii Arthit glared at him with an unhappy expression. So I let my brother hold my hand, hoping it might calm him down, and it did. Luckily, he calmed down and didn’t do anything more than eat normally and tease me as he liked to do.

Another thing I noticed was KhunKim looking at me a lot, which was surprising; sometimes he’d look away and smile to himself, but I didn’t show any reaction, pretending not to notice.

As for the person sitting next to me, no matter how angry or displeased he got, he tried to control his emotions. He seemed like someone ready to explode and destroy everything in a moment, not caring about the consequences. I guessed he had always been like this, not tolerating anything that displeased him, hottempered, and not thinking ahead.

Since holding my hand seemed to calm him down, I was always ready to offer my hand for him to hold.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the mall’s parking lot. While I was waiting for him to put things in the car, my phone vibrated. I picked it up to see that it was a message from KhunKim. Before I could do anything, my phone was swiftly taken away.

“Is it Kim?” He asked in a slightly more composed tone than usual, glancing at my phone in his hand, tapping the screen with his finger, squinting slightly before handing it back to me. I took it back, confused, and opened the Line to see what KhunKim had sent.

K: You looked very cute today, Yu-seong. I’m so glad we met.    Phii Arthit opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat without saying anything, so I opened my door and sat down too. His demeanor had changed once again, though not as intensely as the first time, frowning to show his displeasure with that message.

Even though he didn’t say anything, I thought he must be cursing KhunKim in his mind.

Can’t he even compliment someone for being cute…

I looked at him, sitting there with an annoyed expression, and couldn’t help but smile when I thought how cute he was, like a child being protective over his belongings.

Ah…I see him as cute instead of scary, even though if it were anyone else sitting here, they’d probably feel very uncomfortable.

“Here.”

“What?”

I handed him my room keycard. He turned to look at me, puzzled.

“Your room keycard?”

“Yeah.”

“For me?”

“Yeah.”

At first, I thought he might be stunned for a moment, but no, he grabbed it immediately.

His face moved closer without warning, and before it got too close, I quickly raised my hand to cover my mouth, causing his lips to touch the back of my hand. He furrowed his brows as if displeased, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly, then he kissed the back of my hand and each of my knuckles, leaving me stunned and unable to react.

I quickly pulled my hand back, feeling embarrassed, and moved away a bit. He leaned back to his original position and gave a satisfied half-smile.

Meeting those eyes so close made my heart skip a beat, those eyes looking at me as if they wanted to devour me.

No…not cute anymore.

“You lose composure often, huh?”

“Because of who?” I said in the softest voice, turning to look away. The luxury car’s engine was started, and it moved out of the parking lot.

“Can Kim make you like this?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Hm.”

“I’m satisfied that only I can make you flustered.”

“…”

“You’ve opened your heart to me, right?”

“Hm.”

“Then don’t open it for anyone else.”

“No one can make me open my heart like you do.”

“Damn…can I have a kiss?” He asked seriously, making me turn to look at him, eyes wide in surprise as he seemed about to let go of the steering wheel.    “Drive first.” I said with a slight hint of panic in my voice. He grabbed the steering wheel again before bursting into laughter.

“I’m kidding, I’m not crazy enough to let go of the steering wheel just to kiss you.” He smiled, “But then again, you never know.”

“Sigh.”

“Stop being so touchy about kissing.”

“Hm.”

“Why won’t you let me kiss you?”

“Because we’re not dating.”

“We’re senior and junior.” He said, sounding annoyed, “Isn’t there something better than that? The word ‘senior’ hits me hard.”

“But we are real a-senior and a-junior, right?”

“If it were anyone else saying that, I’d have twisted their balls by now.”

“…”

“Upgrade my status a bit, we’re just talking, right?”

“Are we talking?”

“I talk, but you don’t talk to me much.” He sighed, “Siblings are fine, but I want you to be my boyfriend every hour. Plus, I’ll keep harassing you.”

“…”

I looked at him with an exhausted expression, letting out another sigh. How could he say something like that so casually?

“And what about your room keycard? Can I do whatever I want to you for twenty-four hours with it?”

“Even if I didn’t give it to you, you’d break down the door anyway.”

“Oh, so you gave me the keycard to save the door.”

“Yes.”

“Good, that was a smart decision because if you kept blocking me like before, I’d definitely come with an axe to chop down your door.”

“But you’re not allowed to do anything.”

“Can I be stopped?”

I sighed silently again. In a relationship like ours, if it were any other couple, they’d probably be at the stage where they like each other, are talking, but not yet dating, not doing anything beyond talking and going on dates. But with us, it’s different because he’s always so stubborn and impatient.

   Even when he does strange things, it doesn’t make me feel bad because I like him too, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready yet.

   And it seems threatening to deduct points isn’t effective at all. Deduct them, then; he wants to do it anyway, regardless.

   It might be because our personalities are too different; he’s too hot, and I’m too cold.

   I guess I’ll have to try adjusting a bit.

   “Hey.”

“What?”

“Why do you want to be my boyfriend?”

“Why do you ask such a strange question? With someone you love, don’t you want to have a status? I want to be with you all the time, but if we’re officially dating, there’d be more to it. You said you need time, I understand that, but I don’t know when your time will come. So, I want you to be my boyfriend every hour, just in case the previous hour you weren’t ready, but maybe this hour, you will be.”

“Next month.”

“Huh?”

“You are racing next month. I…will try to make myself ready.” I said after gathering my courage for a long time. Besides feeling embarrassed, there were many mixed feelings making it hard to speak, and as I expected, when I said it, the other party was quite shocked.

“You mean if I win, or just after the race?”

“Winning…would be nice.”

“Damn, deal. Absolutely deal, that’s how it should be, give me; the one waiting some motivation, and it gives me a lot more encouragement to race.” He said cheerfully, which made me secretly smile too, “But…”

“Hm?”

“You don’t have to force yourself, I can wait, really.” He said, “You don’t need to force yourself to be ready.”

“No.” I shook my head, “I’m not forcing myself. I just want to try.”

“For me?”

“No, for us.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 34: Heart

   Daotok

   Even though those beautiful eyes were still gazing sweetly at my lips, he sincerely apologized with a faint smile, his thick hand that was holding mine just gently caressing, the other hand stroking my cheek before moving his face closer again and lightly kissing my cheek.

   I was still stunned by everything that had just happened.

   My first kiss…

   Despite my heart beating hard, feeling a hot flush in my chest, and being completely powerless, I still couldn’t do anything. The sweetness lingered, his touch imprinted in my senses. I slowly pressed my lips together, reminding myself of that unexpected first kiss, yet it was so sweet and tender it almost melted.

   No matter how strange it felt,    I wasn’t upset.

   That it was him.

   “Are you angry?”

“…No.”

I answered in the softest voice possible, and he leaned his sharp face closer again. This time, I leaned back against the car door to keep as much distance from him as possible.

Once again, I couldn’t handle my own flustered state; my mind was all muddled. I couldn’t control the flush on my face, my breathing was quick and heavy as my heart beat too fast, both hands trembled slightly uncontrollably, along with the warmth spreading across my chest now.

“I’ve never seen you this flustered before.”

He smiled with satisfaction, licking his own lips, which made my heart beat even harder as I watched.

“Geez…don’t do that again.” I said with a trembling voice, unlike any time before, avoiding his gaze and looking away immediately, trying to pull my hand back, and he willingly let go of my hand.

“That’s hard, I won’t promise that.”

“Points deducted.”

“I’ll allow that deduction.”

“…Not good.”

“Me? Oh, I already knew that.” He said casually, which made me unwittingly frown, “You’re pouting, huh? First time I’ve seen a robot pout.”

“If you’re that unhappy, you can hit me.”

“…Not good.”

“So, how do I make it better then?”

“I’m not pouting.”

“Huh?”

“But I’m not happy.”

“Why? Was kissing me that bad?” He asked seriously, and silence took over as I had no answer, “Then, can I make it up to you?”    I shook my head.

“What do you mean? You won’t let me?”

“No, it…wasn’t bad.”

“Oh, then let me take responsibility. Be my boyfriend.”

“No.”

“Why not? We’ve already kissed, and phii-nong don’t kiss each other. Nobody does.” He said. I let out a big sigh, just as he said, phii-nong don’t kiss each other.

There’s none of that, but the point was, I didn’t do it willingly at all.

“No.”

“Okay.” He shrugged slightly before turning to start the car, “Maybe I was too selfish, but I want you to know that no matter what, I only want to do this with you.”

We stopped for dinner before heading back, and throughout the journey, he was the one who kept the conversation going, asking about this and that as usual. I answered some questions but not others because my mind was still replaying the kiss over and over, confusing me as well, probably because it was my first kiss.    He carried the stuff for me, and once back in the room, he arranged the drawing tools back in place for my use. I tried to calm my tumultuous feelings but couldn’t manage it no matter what. I looked at the one who caused this in me, and he looked back, puzzled, as if wondering why I was staring at him like that.

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I am not pleased.”

“About the kiss?”

“About making me feel disoriented.”

He burst out laughing before coming over to hug me tightly.

“You look so cute when you’re flustered.” He said, nuzzling his nose against my neck and then lightly biting my shoulder. I pushed him away with all my strength, and he let go willingly.

“When you’re mad, you look even more tempting, I don’t understand.”

“Get off.”

“I won’t.”

“Sigh, why do you have to do that? We’re not even dating.”

“I ask you to be my partner almost every hour, you’re the one who needs time.”

“Apologize again, and I’ll stop being upset.”

“I’ve apologized already.”

“Apologize for making me feel disoriented too.”    “Sorry.” He apologized again.

I nodded, as the feeling of displeasure slowly faded. I’m not one to hold grudges or be clingy. Most of the time, an apology is enough.

“Will you keep this, the drawing?” I asked as my feelings returned to normal, and he nodded quickly. I handed him the sheet of paper where I had sketched him playing football.

While he was playing on the field, what he had said wasn’t an exaggeration at all. From the sidelines, I knew how many people were watching him, the screams and chatter from his fans were loud, but the one being watched didn’t pay attention at all.

I often felt that he was so charming on the field, enjoying the football he loves, every move he made was full of charm. Whether running, scoring goals, or even when he pulled up his shirt to wipe his sweat, and the smiles he sometimes gave unintentionally, which made me pick up my phone to take photos and sketch to keep.

He, standing there under the bright lights, was the focus of everyone’s attention, both on and off the field, bringing smiles and laughter to his friends. Whenever he stepped onto the field, everyone showed a clear increase in enthusiasm, especially at the end of each game when teams were reshuffled, everyone wanted to be on his team.

“Do you want to shower first?” He asked. I nodded slightly, taking the change of clothes from him. Tonight, I would have to wear his clothes to sleep again, but only for tonight because, according to our agreement, tomorrow I’d be back in my room. Even though he lost my keycard, the condo management would be back tomorrow too.

I quickly showered and changed, checking my appearance before coming out. I sat down at the work desk while he disappeared into the bathroom.

Checking the time, it was only nine in the evening. I checked my phone and saw I had messages, so I opened them immediately.

Khun Kim?

K: Can we meet up?

   K: This week if you are free, right?

   SS: My work with you will start next week.

   SS: I’m currently tied up with other work.

   K: That’s too bad.

   K: Then I’ll wait.

   SS: Okay.

   I lost interest in my phone and put it down. As I mentioned, I worked with

KhunKim once about a year ago; he was interested in my work posted on Instagram and contacted me via email. I don’t often meet clients face-to-face because most of my illustration or design work involves sending briefs and drafts back and forth until the client is satisfied.

But KhunKim prefers meeting in person. Last time, he even flew to Chiang Mai to discuss work with me, bringing his books which were entirely in Korean. Of course, I couldn’t read them, but I tried to gather as much information as possible from his explanations.

KhunKim told me he’s half-Thai, half-Korean and writes novels for sale there. He shared a bit about himself when we talked, but I don’t remember much since it’s been a year. Regarding what North said about him having a high chance of flirting with me, I don’t understand where North got that from. Even though we’ve met several times, it was always work-related.

In reality, we already have each other’s LINE for easier communication, but he sends the work details via email first before messaging on LINE. When I first mentioned a client sent an email, that was KhunKim, and I told him I have other work this week, so it would have to be next week if he could wait.

He probably thought I had some free time, so he asked via LINE if we could meet up. I do have some free time, but I’d rather spend it entirely on painting for

Phii Arthit. Besides, I haven’t even talked about the acrylic painting work for Uncle Direk yet.

I was playing with Mr. Jeon for nearly twenty minutes until the room’s owner came out of the bathroom. After drying his hair in front of the mirror, he sat down close by. I quickly hugged Mr. Jeon because I was afraid he would try to put his mouth on Mr. Jeon’s head again, which made him laugh.

“Why, are you scared I’ll do it again?”

“Yes.”

“It’s just so annoying, don’t you ever feel like doing it to a cat?”

“No. Never.”

“You don’t have to take him away like that, just let me play with him a bit.” He said, reaching out. I hesitated before handing Mr. Jeon over to him.

“Don’t put your mouth on Mr. Jeon’s head again.”

“…” He didn’t respond, just looked at the still Mr. Jeon in his hands, stroking both of Mr. Jeon’s ears back, and brought him close to his mouth. When he opened his mouth wide, I quickly got up to snatch Mr. Jeon back in alarm. He burst out laughing loudly, lifting Mr. Jeon higher so I couldn’t reach, “I was just kidding.”

“You’ll get it back at you.”

“What will you do, put your mouth on my snake? Go ahead.” He said with a victorious raise of his eyebrow, which annoyed me. Speaking of snakes, how is his snake doing since he lost the key card and couldn’t go check, right?

“Is the snake okay? You haven’t gone to check.”

“It’s fine.” He answered while gently swinging Mr. Jeon. I, worried that Mr. Jeon might slip from his grasp, kept my hands ready to catch him, “The snake doesn’t need to eat that often, it can survive.”

“Okay, give Mr. Jeon back.”

“Why? I’m not teasing him.”

“You’re swinging him too hard.”

“Not hard, see, it’s fun, little buddy.”

“What’s that name?”

“Little buddy.”

“No, it’s Mr. Jeon.”

“You bastard, you’re squeezing my balls.”

“Ugh, bad character.” I furrowed my brows and playfully slapped his hand; he laughed even more, and Mr. Jeon didn’t show any sign of resistance at all. Sigh, why does Mr. Jeon still like him even now?

“Alright, alright, here you go.” He finally let Mr. Jeon return to my embrace. I gently placed Mr. Jeon on the floor to let him loose and play with his toys, “Hey, do you remember the drawing job my dad told you about? Direk just called to remind me.”

“Ah…yeah, I remember. He said Uncle could brief me and send it via my email.”

“Email for what?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“And what about KhunKim’s work?”

“I told KhunKim it would be around next week.”

“Will that be on time? You still have my painting job.”

“Even if it’s not, it has to be.” I said, “I’ve already scheduled with the client, and

I’ve promised Uncle.”

“If you can’t handle it, you can tell Direk.”    “No.” I insisted.

“Professional, huh?” He teased me. I handed him Mr. Jeon’s toy; he took it, puzzled, and when Mr. Jeon tried to play, he had to play along.

“Play with him for a bit. I’m going back to work.”

“I’m lazy, can’t you just let him play by himself?”

“Whatever, Mr. Jeon will find something to do on his own if you leave him.” I said before standing up. He left the toy for Mr. Jeon and followed me, while Mr. Jeon nudged the toy for a while before going to find a place to sleep. Meanwhile, I went back to continue my painting work. Even though I took the work outside, it didn’t progress; I just kept sketching him.

I noticed that the sketch I made was stuck on the wall above the work desk, right next to a landscape picture. I’ve noticed before that the wall above his desk has many things stuck to it, including Post-its with various notes and landscapes I guessed must be places he’s visited and photographed, some even being pictures of himself on trips.

“Is it nice? Should I stick up some of your pictures too? For motivation while studying or something?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want to.”

“I’ll take a picture for you, my photography skills are pretty good, want to see the ones I secretly took?”

“Secretly taken?”

“My Instagram is full of them, take a look.”

“Really?” I reached for his phone to check his Instagram and found that nearly ten of the latest pictures were all of me. The face wasn’t very clear, but if someone knew me and looked closely, they would recognize me. I couldn’t deny that he was good at photography and his photo editing was beautiful too. Whether it was the angle or the tone, every picture had the same caption: a red heart emoji.    “I didn’t take clear shots of your face, so others don’t know who it is, thought you might not be ready.” He shrugged, “Or if you want, I can take full-face shots.”    “Uh…no, it’s fine.”

“You’re flustered again.” He teased again, with a sly smile. I locked the screen and put the phone down immediately, refocusing on the work in front of me.

“Why did you post them?”

“Because I wanted to. Even if you told me to delete them, I wouldn’t, it’s my

Instagram.”

“Everyone can see it.”

“That’s why I posted it.”

“Oh…um.” I bit my lip softly, “It’s nice.”

“What?”

“I feel good about it.”

“Damn…you’re straightforward, like, I like it, I like it more and more, to the point I don’t know what to do.” He said seriously. I moved back a bit, fearing he might do something else, and he laughed again, “Hia, I won’t do anything. Just kissing you at night made you almost lose it.”

“Uh…um.” I answered quietly, “And why hearts?”

“Well, because you’re my heart.”

“…”

“So, you’re going to continue painting, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, and what about tomorrow? Are you going anywhere?”

“No.”

“Let’s go out.”

“I have work.”

“My work. It’s fine, tomorrow the condo management should be here early, we’ll get a spare keycard, and then you can change clothes and we can go out.”

“I have work.”

“Let’s go out.”

“I’m going to work.”

“We don’t have to go far.” He still wouldn’t take no for an answer, “How about the mall? Aren’t you going to draw for my dad? I’ll pay for the supplies.”

“…”

“See, you’re starting to get interested, huh?”

“It’s fine, but going to buy some paint and stuff would be good because I’m probably running low.”

“Okay, sounds good.” He gave a thumbs up, pleased, “We’ll eat at the mall and then you can help me buy some stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“…Hmm.” In the end, I agreed to go out with him tomorrow. He looked satisfied before getting up to find a book to read beside me. I worked while he read late into the night, occasionally getting bored and playing with my hand or cheek, stroking my head, or squeezing my chin before going back to reading.

By the time I was completely sleepy, I packed up my tools and prepared to sleep on the sofa.

“Are you so attached to the sofa? I’m going to throw it out.”

“…I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight.”

“I’ll get back pain if I sleep on the floor, you know.”

“Sleep in the bed then.”

“Meaning you sleep on the sofa? So come sleep in the bed with me. Plus, the sofa is narrow, how are we supposed to cuddle?”

“We don’t have to.”

“I should solve this by getting a bigger sofa since you like sleeping on the sofa so much.”

“…I’m not planning to sleep in your room forever.”

“I’ll get rid of your bed and sofa too, so you’ll have to sleep in my room.” He said as if he just thought of it. I unconsciously furrowed my brows, “Genius with a

200 IQ, how did I think of that?”

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

“There’s nothing too much here, the only thing that’s too much is my love!!”    “…Sigh.”

I shook my head, sighed softly, and went to sit on the sofa, lying down and covering myself with a small blanket, closing my eyes without any awareness. After a while, he turned off the lights in the room, and I easily drifted off to sleep due to exhaustion on that soft sofa.

   And once again, I woke up in bed. Last night, I went to bed late, so today I woke up late; it was already eleven. I slowly sat up on the bed, turned to look at the person still sleeping soundly beside me, and lightly tapped his nose, annoyed. Last night, I was supposed to sleep on the sofa, but he had dragged me to the bed.

  

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 33: Pretty Sweet

   Arthit

   “You want me to fall, don’t you?”

“No.”

“See, you’re flirting, you like me.”

“I’ve already told you that.”

“Oh, I want to take off my shirt and do the grown up stuff with you right here.” I said quietly, feeling frustrated. If we were in a room, I would definitely take off my shirt, and pants too, but unfortunately, we’re still at the temple.

Earlier, I was so taken aback that I couldn’t stop smiling, and my heart was beating like crazy. Oh, I might die. No, no, I can’t die here, I haven’t even become his husband yet!

“This is a temple.”

“Meaning it’s okay in a room?”

“No. That’s not what I meant.” He quickly retorted. I couldn’t help but smile at that action; he’s so damn cute, what the hell.

“You’re not human anymore.”

“What?”

“You’re too damn cute.”

“You’ve complimented me too much.”

“Is that bad?”

“I don’t know, I’m indifferent.”

“That’s not a compliment, you’re genuinely cute, I’ve never seen anything in the world I thought was cute until you.” I said honestly because before this, I never found anything cute. I didn’t even understand what ‘cute’ meant, “I thought you’d be bored of me by now.”

“No.” He said, stopping in his tracks, making me stop too, looking at him in confusion, “I’m not bored, I’ve told you before.”

“…”

And then he made this serious face…

   That’s all he said before walking on.

   “I thought you’d be bored of me.” I asked, feeling a bit hopeful, quickly catching up with just a few steps. He nodded in response.

“No, if you want to say something, just say it.”

“Damn, that’s a good sign.”

I couldn’t help but smile widely again. As everyone knows, I’m the type who says everything I feel, so telling someone I love them every half hour isn’t just talk. And this shorty saying he’s not bored, even though he initially said he wouldn’t get bored, in reality, he might have become bored, but what he said now was an incredibly good sign.

“Phipungto, come look at this.”

“North, you always interrupt.”

“What, are you guys being sweet?”

“Checking numbers?” the short one asked, walking over to where North and Jo were looking at the lottery stall.

“Yeah, come help choose.”

“I’m not good at this, North, just pick the numbers you like.”

“I’m torn between these three numbers, what do you think, Phii Jo?” North pointed and asked, and of course, Jo’s answer was…

“Buy them all.”

“Look, oh rich daddy.”

“North, just one number is enough.”

“You take it, take it, three sets, you won’t take some more? Are you that determined to get only one?”

“Yeah, it’s better this way, trust me, with my lifetime experience in playing the lottery, the more greedy you are, the less you win.”

“But you still hope to win, right? What’s this about?”

“Leave me alone, if you don’t get it, keep quiet.”

“Damn you.” I cursed. This kid is really annoying, “You don’t want it? I’ll buy it for you just in case.”

“What if you win?”

“I’ll quit, of course. No more studying medicine , better to switch to playing the lottery.”

“Welcome.” North said, giving me a thumbs-up with pride.

“Forget it, Arthit, you have better chances at a casino.”

“Yeah.” I said, thinking back to when I went to the casino with Jo. That time, we came back with a ton of money, so much that we almost got killed by the owners. We’re really good at gambling, it’s like boasting, but I’m genuinely good, “Why don’t I go make a career out of that?”

“Exactly, why torture yourself with this?”

“Oh, Johan, you’ve made me want to quit for the millionth time.”

“You quit, I quit, deal?”

“No way, bastard, I’ve fought so hard for this.” I said, feeling exhausted, and we both sighed when talking about this. It’s even more disheartening when we’re together, “You need to study for Hill.”

“Why study for Hill?” Jo asked. Now we were standing, talking while waiting for those two to choose their lottery numbers.

“So Hill can be proud of you.”

“Damn it, do I have to do that much for him? Saying it’s for North would give me more motivation.”

“The wife’s doctrine?”

“Oh, isn’t it you too?”

“I follow Daotok’s doctrine, where I am the prophet and have no disciples because I don’t accept disciples.”

“Why?”

“Jealous.”

“What’s there to be jealous about?”

“He’s treating you like a senior.”

I said through gritted teeth, hurting myself with my own words, damn it. Jo burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at, you’ve been a brother before too, right? Everyone needs time.”

“Time, but how long? Might be a senior for life, stuck right here.”

“Damn.”

“Oh, Arthit, it’s okay, at least you’ve got another ‘little junior’.”

“What kind of junior, what kind of ‘damn senior’, no, I want to be a husband.”

“You’re pushing it.”

“Just a bit more and I would have pushed it, the other day when he said I was cute, I took off my shirt, to the point where he thinks I’m always ready to strip.”    “Is that true?”

“True.” I said. We both burst out laughing.

“And you plan to keep calling him ‘mung’ forever?”

“I’d better not call anyone ‘mung’.”

“Hill’s wife and Fah, why?”

“My head would explode, those guys are polite to their wives to death, and who am I to call them ‘ai-this, ai-that’ to their wives?”

“And you don’t speak nicely to the one you like?”

“He’s not like me, I feel uncomfortable talking to him, he probably wouldn’t like it.” I said, reflecting on how talking to those two guys’ wives felt so awkward I wanted to rip off my shirt. Having to say ‘Phii’ and ‘Rao’, it’s a mess, but we don’t talk much anyway, there’s nothing to talk about, “Did you talk with North ‘you’ at first?”

“At first, I was a bit angry with North, he had some issues…you know.” Jo shrugged. I thought back to what had happened and understood, “He got used to it,

I guess, but when we became lovers, we adjusted. I’m not as crude as you.”

“Yeah, well, shorty is okay with who I am.”

“I told you, it’s rare to find someone who’s okay with who you are, I’m not even okay with it.”

“If you’re not okay, you can punch me.”

“Are you challenging someone?”

“One on one, no need for clothes.”

“Sigh. That’s just how you are. Who would want you if not for him?” Jo let out a big sigh.

“Taking forever to choose the lottery numbers.”

“That’s how it is.” Jo said resignedly, “It’s like when Chinese girls choose lipstick colors, they have to be meticulous.”

“When you drop North off alone, you must get lonely.”

“Not really, North would feel guilty and choose quickly. Seeing me with you, he’s enjoying himself a bit more.”

“I have a question.” I said, “Why, even though you have money, is North still playing the lottery?”

“You don’t understand.” Jo sighed slightly, “It’s like some kind of mission in his life. If he succeeds, it’s like completing it, get it?”

“Oh, I see.”

“That’s it, and North is the type who wants to do things on his own. He doesn’t like to rely on me much, even though we’ve talked about financial stuff, he relies on me very little. He prefers to fight his own battles, because that’s how North has always been.”

“Playing the lottery is fighting his own battle?”

“It’s a mission, but with studying, work, stuff like that, he hardly relies on me at all. At most, he’ll ask for a tutoring session.”

“Does that mean he doesn’t ask for money from you either?”    Jo shook his head in response.

“Well, that’s good in a way, so in his mind, instead of asking you for thirty million, he’d rather help you find another thirty million, something like that.” I said, “He’s aiming to win thirty million, right?”

“Depends on what you buy.” Jo answered, “Yeah, something like that, but you know, North’s happiness doesn’t give me anything. It’s fun to see him excitedly waiting for each draw though. When he doesn’t win, he doesn’t feel bad, he’s just kind of used to it now.”

“I’ve started to see things a bit differently since having the shorty around.”

“How so?”

“Of course, I don’t want to continue working under Direk. Don’t want to be a doctor either.”

“And what do you want to be?”

“I’m not telling.” I said, because right now, only the short guy knows my dream, and I still want it that way, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Yeah, we’ll see. And how is this related to your brother? I noticed your perspective has changed.”

“He’s the one who makes me want to pursue my own dreams. After I’d given up on them for so long.”

“Huh?” The listener raised his eyebrows in disbelief, “That’s hot.”

“Can’t you ignore my cool words?”

“Damn, why is it so hot?”

“Because of my own hotness.”

My words made the guy who was standing there, looking annoyed, turn to look at me immediately.

“What the hell?”

I forced out a laugh when I heard him curse out of frustration. After a while, Jo took a deep breath to try to cool his head down.

“You seem to handle the heat well.”

“I can handle everything.” I shrugged and smirked annoyingly, “Except cold weather. I don’t like it, and I can’t tolerate Dao saying he hates it. He once said it as a joke, hurt like hell that time, lucky he didn’t really hate me.”

“Really? That’s weird.”

“What’s weird about it? I love him.”

“It’s weird that he doesn’t hate you.”

“Damn you.” I cursed with a laugh, glancing at the blue-haired guy standing not too far away, not letting him out of sight. Because of the crowd, Jo and I had to step back to stand further away from them.

He was hesitating when North handed him two lottery tickets to choose from, then picked one. After paying, he walked over to us.

“Done already?”

He nodded in response.

“What numbers did you get?” Jo asked. North smiled broadly and showed him the lottery ticket, “Okay, should we head back then?”

“Wait, Phii Jo isn’t you going to work?”

“Yes.”    “At the bar?”

“Yes, why?”

“I was thinking of watching a movie with Phipungto, can I go?”

“Oh.” Jo looked thoughtful, then turned to me, “Can you look after him?”

“Look after North? No way.”

“No need to rely on someone like Phii Arthit, I can take care of myself.”    “He’s implying that he can take care of himself and doesn’t need you anymore.” I teased. Jo turned to me with a look of utmost boredom.

“When someone’s love for themselves doesn’t work out, they think about ruining other people’s love.” North said, raising his eyebrows, clearly wanting to say that his words were deeply affecting me. That bastard was such an asshole, followed by his hearty, satisfied laugh.

“So, will you watch it at the cinema?” Jo returned to the previous topic.    “Yeah, what should we do?” North seemed hesitant before turning to the short guy for his opinion, who just shook his head lightly.

“It’s up to you North.”

“You always say that, so can we watch it in the room? I barely watched Netflix this month, afraid it won’t be worth it.”

“Sure.” Jo agreed surprisingly easily. Normally, getting permission to enter his room was almost impossible, “You can stay and play in my room, but…”    “But don’t break anything or touch stuff.” I interjected, because this was a common warning from Jo whenever I was about to enter his room. They are just like that, protective of their belongings and their space.

“Then let’s go to my room.” North said.

“Why not watch a horror movie in our room?” the short guy suggested, “The atmosphere would be perfect.”

“It’s like 4D, too much maybe, with all the visuals, taste, smell, and sound, I might not handle it.”

“I think it’s good.” I agreed with the short guy, “North is a real joker.”

“Here comes that word again, do you think it can provoke me every time?”

“Then you’re easily provoked.”

“I’m not, I’ll go if I want to go.”

“You’re easily provoked, damn your wife.” I said, turning to look at Jo, who was smiling slightly in an endearing way. We walked back to the car with the two of them in front and us following as usual, “At first, I thought you wouldn’t let him come to your room, why did you agree so easily?”

“He’s not going anymore, is he?”

“I mean, at first when we talked about going.”

“Oh, I haven’t been spending much time with North lately.” Jo said with concern. “I know North understands, but I also want to spend a lot of time with him. But even on my day off, I have to attend meetings.”

“Just skip it.”

“I’ve already done that. So, I want North to spend some time with friends.”

“And what does he usually do if he’s not with friends?”

“Plays games, watches movies, watches cartoons in his room. I’m afraid North might get bored.”

“Bored of games?”

“Bored of me, maybe. Why are you teasing me at a time like this, I’m serious.” Jo furrowed his brows. I chuckled a bit, “That’s the problem I’m quite worried about, but I’ve asked before, and North didn’t say anything. I know North really isn’t bothered, but I worry on my own.”

“Another problem for the househusband, huh? And you can’t even cut back on work.”

“I’ve reduced it recently, but it’s been heavier lately.”

“You’ve been with him all this time, why worry so much?”

“Arthit, if you were in my shoes, you’d worry too.”

“Thankfully, I’m not you, working that hard would kill me before anything else.”

“You’re the one with all the free time.”

“Hah, not really, I don’t have much time, nor money, damn, what do I have to offer him?” I said thoughtfully, “But I try to find something.”

“Money?”

“Maybe you’re looking for trouble, what’s up, you’re just as annoying.” I grumbled quietly, and the other party burst out laughing, “Because it’s North, there’s no problem. Who can understand his craziness? Stop worrying about nonsense, it doesn’t suit you.”

“I guess I’ve been a bit stressed lately, I’ve been focusing more on my studies.”

Jo sighed, “Okay, now I feel better, thanks for listening.”

“When did I listen to you? Have you vented enough already?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Alright, glad you feel better.” I said, and we returned to the same car. I opened the car door, sat back in my original spot, and lay down with my head on his lap like before. He looked displeased, tried to push me off but didn’t succeed, so he reluctantly let me rest on his soft lap until the car pulled up under my condo.

“What time is your football practice tonight?” Jo asked from inside the car.

“Around five or six, what time do you get off work? Should I drop off North?”

“I’ll call you around five.”

“Okay.”

Letting Jo and North say goodbye took just a few seconds before North walked over to join us. The three of us took the elevator to the seventh floor. While walking down the long corridor, I heard some noise from one of the rooms we passed, making North jump and cling tightly to the short guy, which irritated me. I grabbed the back of North’s shirt and pulled him away.

“Ouch. That almost shocked the life outta me.”

“It’s just noise from the room, probably someone moved in.”

“Really, someone new moved in?”

“Yeah, probably. If there isn’t, this condo is doomed.” I said, because it had been a long time, and there should have been new residents by now, especially since the condo owner gave the short guy a discount to move in cheaply to improve the condo’s reputation, with the idea that this floor was livable without any ghosts, not knowing that the ones who could live here were not afraid of ghosts – me, the short guy, and Meen.

Speaking of which, I don’t know where she disappeared to.

“Ha. I don’t trust it, Phipungto, scan if there’s anything.”

“Nothing.”

“What’s that?” North pouted, looking annoyed before stopping in front of the room, “Do we really have to go into his room to watch the movie?”

“If you don’t want us to go in, I can go in alone.”

“It’s already bad, we came early, and the room owner opened it first.”    “Keycard, please.” The short guy turned to me, asking for the keycard with his hand outstretched. And I wanted to say that if he made his voice a little more pleading, I’d give him the whole world, like shoving the entire universe into his hand, damn, he’s so freaking cute.

“I’ll open it.” I said, trying to keep my cool. Someone like me shouldn’t lose composure over something like this. I pulled out my wallet to look for the short guy’s room keycard, but couldn’t find it, “Bad news, I think I lost the keycard.”    “…” The room owner immediately made a disgusted face at me.

“I think you should have it on you at all times, losing the keycard is one thing, but the person who loses it is good. If I were the condo manager, I’d punch you in the eye.” North said with a scowl. I shrugged indifferently and opened the door to my own room, with the short guy and the freeloader following.

“You guys choose a movie, I’ll use the bathroom for a sec.” I said and headed to the bathroom.

When I came back out, I saw the two of them sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa, probably choosing a movie to watch.

“Got it yet?” I asked, collapsing onto the sofa, pulling Dao’s arm to make him sit on my lap instead. North raised his eyebrows and smirked teasingly, “I’ll punch your mouth if you make fun of me, you bastard.”

“Between the little brother and the nephew, why does it have to be sitting on the lap, isn’t there a chair?”

The person sitting on my lap squirmed as if wanting to sit on the floor.

   Want to sit on the floor, huh? Oh, alright then.

   So, I moved to sit on the floor too, lifting the person slightly before settling down so he could still sit on my lap.

   “What’s this about?” He asked, not sounding too pleased.

“I saw you wanted to sit on the floor.”

“Not like this, though.”

“Did you choose a movie yet?” I held his slender waist tightly, resting my head on his shoulder, glancing at the laptop on the floor.

“We did, Phii, and I have to witness this love scene again.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, you’re on my team.”

“I’m on Kim’s team.”

“Which Kim?” I asked immediately, not understanding when suddenly an unfamiliar name popped up. What the hell is Kim, and who is this Kim? “What, explain it.” I said firmly to the person sitting on my lap, who let out a small sigh.

“No. Just a client.”

“Damn, that doesn’t sound good, talking like that.”

“See, your mind is only filled with crap.” North said, “Earlier when we went to pray, someone sent a message to Phipungto, named Kim…Kim what?”

“Kim Tae Min.”

“Yeah, that one. They’re a client wanting to set up a work meeting, but my gut feeling says they’re clearly trying to flirt.”

“North, you’re messing with me. Just someone wanting to discuss work?” I frowned, “And are they Korean?”

“Is there a Chinese person with a surname like Kim.”

“Oh, I asked a dumb question, have you worked with them before?”

“Hmm, once, about a year ago maybe, they wrote a novel and had me illustrate it.” He explained. I nodded in understanding.

“And how do they flirt with you, North, stop making things up.”

“Trust me, my Observation Haki Skills are never wrong. I can see the future three months in advance.” North said, with utmost confidence in himself.    “Really? Then why don’t you see what numbers the next lottery will draw?” I asked back, and he immediately looked annoyed.

“Now you go and ruin it.” He said with a pout, “But they like you, I swear, this

Kim. Last time I saw…”

“Saw what?”

“Let’s just say I saw.” North cut off the conversation easily when he couldn’t continue, “But you need to be careful. I really feel it. If you don’t believe me, let me touch you.”

Then he reached out to lightly touch my arm before pulling his hand back.

“See, I can feel it.”

“What are you playing at?” I asked, laughing at North’s incredibly juvenile act.

“Trust me, be cautious.”

“North, you’re imagining things.”

“Look, I thought I was just imagining it, but Ter kept saying this until Phii Hill started to get annoyed and went to handle it himself while Ter was still calmly eating his pork hot pot, completely oblivious.” North said with a serious expression, “Not to mention the guy who harassed Phoon almost got punched by me; I almost got kicked back when I was escorting my friend.”

“You’re quite the friend-shield, huh?”

“Let’s call it protecting friends, Phii, and I’ll protect Phipungto if you trust me to look after him and pay me monthly.”

“Helping your husband make a living, huh?” I teased slightly, “It’s fine, I can take care of mine. But should we get rid of Kim now? Where is she at the moment?”

“He was just here to talk about work.” He said wearily, “You two have already gone too far.”

“Prevention is better than cure, right, brother?”

“Yeah, better to burn him before he starts flirting with you, that would be bad.”    “Sigh, enough. Let’s watch the movie.” Said the person sitting on my lap as he reached to turn on the movie. The sound from the TV got our attention; the horror movie playing didn’t scare me or the short guy much, but the one who was most scared was definitely the one sitting next to us, hugging his knees under a blanket, visibly trembling. I thought he might need to go to the bathroom.

“Don’t wet yourself, if you need to go, use the bathroom.”

“It’s okay, Phii, I’m fine here.”

“What do you mean ‘okay’, I should be the one saying that.”

“We’re friends.”

“It’s a bit too friendly, show some civilization, will you?”

“Let Phipungto go to the bathroom.”

“No.”

“You’re confused, come on, come on.” He started to reach out from under the blanket and shook the arm of the person sitting on my lap hard, “Go pee.”

“Sigh, how old are you again?”

“Twenty-one.”

“Sigh, okay.” In the end, I had to take North to the bathroom, “Let go a bit.”

“I don’t want to let go.”

“Normally, I don’t try to stop anyone from doing anything, but this time, please, Phii.”

“Yeah, yeah, feel sorry for you.” then I let go of the person in my embrace, leaving just a faint scent and warmth behind. The person got up to accompany North to the bathroom. After a while, both came back, with the short guy looking like he wanted to sit somewhere else, “Come back to my lap.”

“No.”

“Quickly.”

“Are you forcing me?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“You’re so stubborn.”

“It’s not stubbornness, you’re the stubborn one.”

“If you sit somewhere else, I’ll just carry you back to my lap anyway, what do you say? The movie is getting good, hurry up.”

“Sigh.” He let out a big sigh before reluctantly sitting back on my lap. I didn’t care about his bored expression before holding him tight as before, “What are you looking at, North?”

“Damn, just relax, pretend I’m not here.”

“I wasn’t paying attention to you anyway.”

“…Yeah, whatever, shit, the scene in the movie is so dark.” And then we continued watching the horror movie until it ended. North was a mess, his hair all over the place. The short guy, on the other hand, remained calm as if nothing was happening, even during the jump scares when North screamed, he remained indifferent.

We chatted a bit until Jo called North to say he was coming to pick him up. I checked the time and saw it was earlier than we had agreed. I immediately knew how much Jo must have rushed his work to pick up North.

“Off you go, Phii, off you go, Phipungto.” North said from the other side of the door.

“Um.”

“Yeah.”

“Keep an eye on Khun Kim.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it, I’ll deal with him tomorrow.”

“Yeah, good, deal with the root cause, don’t just fix the symptoms, you won’t be able to convince him to give up in time.”

“Sigh, enough already.” the short guy warned again. North laughed before quickly running off, the sound of his footsteps indicating he was really sprinting.

“And what about Khun Kim?”

“Do you believe North?”

“Half and half, let’s say. Anyway, he won’t be able to flirt with you.”

“Hmm, me too.”

“Huh?”

“Just kidding.”

“Damn, what does ‘just kidding’ mean? Have I already won you over?”

“Not yet.”

“Alright, look, you’re dodging the question.” I said with irritation. He went to sit at the work table and picked up various tools, ready to continue painting. I sat down in the chair next to him, “So, what’s my score?”

“Don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know? You’re the one giving the scores.”

“Umm…it’s hard to say.” He pondered for a moment, “But it’s not low.”    “See, a man has hope.” I said proudly and stole a kiss on his soft cheek. He turned to look at me, not too pleased.

“I will deduct points.”

“Why?”

“Harassment without permission.”

“Then I’ll ask for a kiss.” I said, planting another kiss on his soft cheek. This time it wasn’t accidental; it was forced because the short guy knew what was coming but couldn’t push me away, “There, I’ve asked for permission.”

“Sigh.”

“Sigh a lot, you’ll have a short life.”

“Then I guess I’ll have a short life.”

“No way, if you die, who will I be with?” I protested slightly.

“Don’t know.”

“If you die, I’ll use your body for experiments, find a way to revive you so you can stay with me.”

“No matter what, I can’t escape it, huh?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, maybe it’s not that bad, I want to try a revival, please take care of it.”

“Yeah, you can trust me.”

He didn’t respond, just continued to paint on the drawing of my mother. I sat watching with nothing else to do, which means I really had nothing to do at that moment.

   “Hey, I’m going to play football with friends, do you want to come?”

“Are you Inviting me to play football?”

“Yeah.”

“No way.”

“Why? It’s fun.”

“I don’t like football.”

“Okay, then come watch me play.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like it.”

“Why don’t you like it?”

“I’ve gone to watch before.” He said, his hand holding the brush pausing slightly,

“and a football hit me in the face.”

“Damn…and then what happened?”

“My nose bled, lucky I hadn’t had a nose job; otherwise, the silicone would have gone straight into my eye.”

I burst out laughing loudly when I heard that.

“Come on, I’ll make sure the ball doesn’t come your way.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Still no, mosquitoes will bite me.”

“Mosquito repellent spray would be good.”

“It’s hot.”

“The weather’s cool there, the breeze is nice, the atmosphere is good, there’s light, you can paint comfortably.”

“Why do you want me to go?”

“Just want you to watch over me. Don’t you get jealous? When I play football, there are always people watching and asking for my number.”

“Hmm, congratulations.”

“Damn, come on, you should be like, ‘Oh, people are flirting with you? Then I better go watch over you,’ something like that.”

“No.”

“Be a little jealous.”

“No.”

“You’re so stubborn.”

“No, I’m not that kind of person.”

“Yeah.” I said, the short guy isn’t really stubborn. That’s true, like when his heart beats fast because of me, he admits it, he just said that for the sake of saying it. “Let’s just go.”

“…”

“Come on, I want you to come.”

“You want me to be jealous?”

“Yes.”

“Better not.”

“Why?”

“I’m not the jealous type.”

“Ugh, whatever.” I made an annoyed face immediately, “But seriously, you should be jealous of me because I look damn good when I play football.”

“…”

He didn’t say anything, just looked at me with an expressionless face, which made me laugh and playfully push his head, annoyed.

“Okay, let’s go, I’ll pack your stuff, you get up and leave.” I quickly concluded and started packing his drawing equipment back into the same bag. He looked slightly puzzled before letting out a resigned sigh, allowing me to continue packing for him.

After I had packed everything for him, I packed my own things. I took him to the football field where I had arranged to meet my friends, not really knowing why but genuinely wanting him there. I didn’t want to leave him alone in the room; I wanted him to sit next to me, even if he wasn’t going to watch or cheer for me.

   It felt comforting just to have him in my sight.

   “My friends are definitely going to tease me.” I said while driving. Although it was a holiday, in the evening around five o’clock, many people were still out for dinner, making the road near the university as congested as on a regular weekday at this time.

“On purpose?”

“No.” I said. I didn’t mean to bring him here for my friends to tease, the reason was just as I mentioned earlier, “Actually, I’m just protective of you. I don’t want anyone looking at you.”

“No one’s looking.”

“With hair like that, and you’re so cute it’s ridiculous.”

“No.” He replied immediately, his voice as calm as ever.

“What do you mean by ‘no’?”

“Not cute.”

“See, and humble too.” I teased, not really knowing why I was teasing him. The one being teased showed no reaction and didn’t respond, so I continued, “If not cute, then what?”

“I don’t know, just normal, I guess.”

“Just normal, fine, do people usually look at you when you go out?”

“No.”

“I think they do, but you just don’t notice.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, believe me.”

“…”

“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m protective and brought you here?”

“No.”

“Just ask already.”

“Hmm, I am asking.”

“Those people can only look at you, and besides, it would be nice to show off, right? Show off that my future wife is super cute, you bastard.”

“…” He didn’t respond, just let out a small sigh, holding the bag with the drawing supplies I had prepared, looking out through the car window.

We arrived at the small football field at the university; it was surrounded by a high steel fence to prevent the ball from flying out and hitting people or cars passing by. As soon as I took Dao’s hand and walked inside, everyone on the field started to turn and look.

Of course, all these people were my friends, from different faculties but part of the same football club, so we knew each other. There were also some who I didn’t recognize, probably friends of my friends who were invited.

“Hey, doc!” Tim was the first to approach, “Thought you weren’t coming.”

“I said I’d come, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, and who’s this? Your boyfriend?” He asked, looking at the person standing next to me.

“Not yet, I’m still courting him.” I answered honestly.

“Damn, cool. What’s his name?”

“Daotok.” I answered for him, letting go of his hand to put my arm around his shoulders instead. He gave a small smile and nodded slightly to Tim in greeting.    “My name’s Tim, I’m Arthit’s friend. Wow, my friend’s going to have a boyfriend, you bastard, take care of my friend, please.” Tim smiled broadly back,

“Everyone, Arthit’s here, let’s start the game again.” Tim shouted across the field, and everyone who had stopped running when I entered started moving again, ready for a new game.

“Hey, it’s fine. You guys go ahead and play, I’ll just sit and wait.”    “Is that so? But hey, just a moment more, and my team’s going to lose, you bastard.”

“So, what’s the plan, start over?” one of the friends shouted from the field.

“Let’s continue.” Tim said, jogging back onto the field.

“Arthit, you’re on my team, dude.”

“No way, hey, Arthit has to be on my team.”

“I’ll play alone.” I shouted back, “All of you, come at me.”

“Fuck, you’re bold now that you’ve brought your boyfriend, huh?”

“Whoever looks at my wife, I’ll poke their eyes out.” I smiled, as the whole field teased me before I led the person holding onto my shoulder to sit by the side of the field. I put down the two bags I was carrying, slid his equipment bag in front of him, “Is it okay for you to sit here?”    “Hm.” He nodded to confirm.

“I won’t let the ball come your way. I won’t let anyone bother you, okay?” I said seriously while gently stroking his cheek. He pursed his lips slightly and nodded again, “It might get a bit chaotic, the mosquito repellent is in the small pocket of the bag, spray some.”

“Hm.”

I watched him prepare his things, helping whenever I could, like arranging his stuff or handing him things. He took out a large board and placed a large sheet of paper on it.

“Hold this for me.”

“Hm.” I murmured softly, holding the corners of the paper to keep it steady,

“Then I’ll go now.”

“Hm.”

I changed my shoes and went to warm up by the side of the field. When they finished playing, they called me to join in, and we chose teams by drawing short or long sticks, then the game began.

Once I was on the field after a long time, I felt a bit excited, but soon I got used to it and started enjoying it. I was focused on what was in front of me, the positions of everyone, the ball, and my direction, analyzing everything thoroughly. When I, as a forward, scored, everyone cheered happily before going back to focus on the next ball.

During a break, I glanced at the person sitting on the sideline, and our eyes met. I gave a broad smile, and he returned a slight smile, which made me feel indescribably happy, as if something was welling up to fill my heart.

“You score a goal and then give your partner a sweet smile, huh? You two are so cute.” one of my teammates teased. I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Not my partner, I’m still courting.”

“With this much attention, they’re practically your partner, coming all the way here to watch.”

“I brought them here, I’m courting them, no one looks, you assholes.”    “Yeah, just by bringing them here, no one will look anymore. Hope they agree soon, buddy.”

“Thanks for the good words.”

“Damn, you’re such an asshole, is that a blessing or what?”

And it was just as he said. Just by bringing him along, no one dared to look at him, even though he was very cute.

When it came to halftime, I went to sit at the same table as him.

“Did you watch?”    He nodded.

“Was it fun?”

“You’re good at playing.”

“Me, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow, you’re complimenting me again, I’m happy.”

“People are looking.”

“Who? And why didn’t you finish your sentence?”

“They’re looking at you, a lot.”

“Oh.” I turned to look at the girls around the field; on the other side of the steel fence, there was a seating area where people were watching. I turned back, uninterested, “You’re jealous, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“Whatever, so how’s the painting going? Can I see it?”

“No.”

“Come on, you’re being jealous about a painting now? Let me see it. Normally, you’d let me look.”

“This one’s different.”

“Why? Fine, I won’t look then.” I gave up on asking to see the painting he was working on. Although I didn’t understand, I let it go for now, “Are you tired sitting here?”

“Not tired.”

“Hungry?”

“Not yet.”

“OK, then I’ll play a bit more.”

“Hm.”

And then I went back onto the field to play another round with the others, occasionally glancing at Dao who was painting by the sideline. I could see he was very focused on his drawing but tried not to look too long or too often so as not to lose focus on the game.

As I thought, having him within sight really made me feel at ease.

My team had won three times already and was about to win for the fourth time; we weren’t playing seriously, so we didn’t play for ninety minutes as per the rules. Plus, the field wasn’t very large. The first team to score three goals was the winner, then we’d take a break, recover, and play another round.

Today ended with my team winning all five games, the other team losing every one. When it came to drawing the sticks, they all wanted to be on my team because I was the star player. I walked over to the short guy and found that he had already packed everything up.

I changed my shoes and said goodbye to my friends for a bit. Since it was Saturday, they suggested going out for drinks, but I declined because I wanted to be with the short guy more. They were shocked because it was rare for someone like me to refuse alcohol.

Because of my sweat, I didn’t dare to put my arm around his shoulder much, just held his hand and walked back to the car.

“My friends all said you’re cute.” I said honestly since we had talked a bit on the field, and everyone said he was really cute, “At first, I didn’t feel anything, but the more time passed, the more I started to feel protective over you.”

“…”

“Can I be protective over you?”

“Is it too late to ask that?”

“I’m asking now. Even if I can’t, I’ll still be protective.”

“Hm.”

“Sigh, you, letting me do whatever I want until I’ve fallen for you, I don’t even know how far I’ve fallen, but you don’t know how many points I’ve scored.”

“I don’t know, it’s really hard to say.”

“Alright then, I’ll wait anyway.”

“Hm.”

Suddenly, he opened the bag that was on his lap, pulled out a rolled-up piece of paper, and unrolled it for me to see.

It was a sketch of me amidst a crowd at the football field, bathed in light. My face in the picture was covered in sweat but with a broad smile.

“Why did you draw me? I thought you were painting.” I said, utterly surprised, because I initially thought he was actually painting.

Oh…that’s why he wouldn’t show it to me when I asked to see it earlier.

   “…”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Huh?”

“Your smile is beautiful, I wanted to capture it.”

“Damn.”

I pulled him closer, pressing my lips gently against his soft ones. He pushed me away with all his might, but I didn’t yield, leaning in closer, one hand around the back of his head to keep him from escaping, softly nibbling on his lower lip as if asking for permission. The hand that was pushing me away began to weaken, his small mouth gradually allowing me to advance.

I explored his mouth with my tongue, savoring the sweetness that felt like I had been craving for so long, sweeter than I could resist. I gently squeezed his slender hand, comforting him while he tensed up, unsure of what to do. I kissed both his upper and lower lips, letting Dao get accustomed to my rhythm. I sucked on his tongue intermittently, the person being kissed trembling and showing signs of inexperience, which only made me more eager.

The smaller one began to breathe heavily, his warm, rapid breath beating against my chest as a sign he was running out of air. With great reluctance, I pulled away from his lips.

Still not satisfied…

I looked at his sweet face, flushed red all the way to his ears. I had never seen his usually calm face show such embarrassment, he was both adorable and teasingly tempting. I raised my hand to gently stroke his soft cheek.

“Sorry, but I meant it.”

“…”

“I meant it because, honestly, you’re really cute.”

Observation Haki; Comes from the manga “One Piece.” where “Haki” refers to the hidden power within a human’s body in the One Piece world.

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 32: Willing

   Daotok

   The familiar ringtone woke me up in the middle of the night. I found myself being hugged from behind by someone, his arm under my head as a substitute for a pillow, the other arm firmly around my waist. The warm breath on my neck, the body heat close to mine, and the faint pleasant scent were all lulling me back to sleep at any moment.

I tried to lift the arm around my waist but was unsuccessful.

My attempt to move his arm only made him hold me tighter and let out a displeased sound from his throat. At first, I thought he was awake, but then I figured he wasn’t because if he were, he wouldn’t stay so still, plus his breathing was steady. I was sure he was asleep.

Reaching for my phone that wasn’t far away, the screen lit up with an incoming call. When I picked it up, I saw it was North calling. It was now half past three in the morning. I groggily answered the call.

“He’s asleep, goodnight.”

I said that before hanging up, overcome by sleepiness, but North called again.

(Don’t hang up!)

   “Hmm, what’s up? Calling so late.”

(You, Daotok, why are you sleeping? Normally, you don’t sleep.)

   “I’m human too, and why call my name?”

(Late at night, wide awake. Who talks about ghosts at this hour? I won’t call you ‘Phipungto’) North grumbled quietly, as if he was trying not to make too much noise himself, (I swear, earlier when I was showering, I heard kids laughing, it was so damn creepy, I’ve never experienced anything like this before. Why are they haunting me when it’s you and Phii Arthit who ate the sweets? Shit.)

   That panicked tone made me chuckle a little, waking me up a bit from my drowsiness.

“What about your boyfriend?”

(Why are you asking about my boyfriend?)

   “Go stay with him, you won’t be scared then.”

(No way, Phii Jo is working, I’m losing my mind, should I go bother him?

No thanks.)

   “But you are scared, let him comfort you.”

(Who’s scared? Me and fear are on opposite sides) the voice on the line said firmly.

“Then I’ll hang up, good night.”

(Damn, no, don’t, don’t hang up. No, please, I’m scared, really scared, I’m about to cry, you bastard, I hate this, I didn’t eat the sweets, why are they haunting me?)

   “Are you really about to cry?”

(Yes, my eyes are welling up.)

   “A man’s tears come so easily, huh?” I teased because I knew North wasn’t serious, but the fear part was real, “I think there’s nothing, you probably imagined it. What are you doing now?”

(Covered under the blanket with the pillow, if Phii Jo sees this, he’ll be confused, what am I doing covering myself with a pillow? I’m scared, okay!)

   “Uncover the blanket and listen carefully, is there really laughter?”

(No way! Are you crazy?)

   “North. I told you there’s nothing in your room because your boyfriend’s luck is strong, ghosts are too scared to approach. Even if you look between his legs now, you’ll see there’s nothing, believe me.”

(Really?)

   “Hmm. I promise. I ate those snacks and nothing happened, your friend probably just pranked North.”

(Really? Are you saying I’m just hallucinating?)

   “Maybe you’re so scared that your mind is playing tricks on you. Have you been watching a lot of horror movies lately?”

(A lot, I guess, sigh, my nerves are shot, I’ve lifted the blanket now.)

   “Hmm.”

Then I heard some rustling for a while before silence fell on the other end.

(Nothing at all, you were right.)

   “See, I told you, stop being scared and go to sleep now.”

(What if it comes after I hang up?)

   “If it really comes, tell it to come find me instead.”

(Would that be good?)

   “It’s better than you bothering me until I can’t sleep. If it’s a ghost, I might sleep better.”

(I’m more annoying than a ghost then) North said, laughing loudly (Okay then. If you assure me there’s nothing, I feel a bit more at ease. Hey, are you free tomorrow?)

   “Should be free, why?”

(Do you want to do some merit-making together?)

   “you are inviting me to do merit?”

(Yeah, I feel like my luck’s been terrible lately, doing some merit might help.)

   “What about Ter and Cat?”

(They have a date with their partners, yeah, bring Phii Arthit along, come with Phii Jo because those two probably won’t join in for merit-making.)

   “Oh, alright.”

(Which temple has good lottery numbers? Yeah, there’s one not far, let’s go ask for thirty million.)

   “Hmm, okay, then I’ll go to sleep, see you tomorrow.”

(Okay, good night.)

   Before North hung up, I placed my phone back in its place and returned to silence once more. Now, my eyes adjusted to the darkness around me, the person beside me still holding me as before, and I thought it would be like this until morning. Even though I lay still, I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to turn to face him.    His sharp, handsome face looked even more captivating at this close distance, making me feel a bit nervous, but the nervousness was more because it was him. Normally, when he talks, smiles, or laughs, he seems lively and natural, but when he sleeps, he’s strangely enchanting. I don’t quite understand why one person can make me think so much about him.

If I asked him to say he loves me, he would probably smile broadly and say it without hesitation. He might even be glad to say it and ask why I wanted him to say it. Like, have you fallen in love already?

Just thinking about these scenarios made me chuckle a little.

“Crazy person.”

I whispered softly, reaching out to poke his nose and cheek. He really is like a crazy person, isn’t he? Quite mad but cute, as I’ve said before. And if I were to compliment him, I’d have to be careful because he’s always ready to take his clothes off at any moment.

“Good night.”

I wished him good night, the one who was already asleep, before slowly closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep again.

I woke up to the sunlight streaming through the window, checking the time to find it was already nine o’clock. Not too early or too late, there was a message from Phii Arthit telling me to eat the soy milk and Chinese doughnuts he left on the table and not to forget to take my medicine; he would be back around the afternoon. I replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

I got out of bed and went to take a shower, then walked over to pour the soy milk from the table into a glass and ate the Chinese doughnuts with it. I checked my phone and emails for any new work, finding there was new work coming in.

Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to agree and start working immediately, but with Phii Arthit’s painting work, I had to reply that I would be available next week. If the client agrees, I’ll take the job; if not, that’s fine too.

Hmm, come to think of it, Phii Arthit’s father, Uncle Direk, once said he wanted acrylic paintings on canvas. Maybe I should contact him back?

While I was thinking, Mr. Jeon walked in, rubbing against my leg in an attempt to be cuddled, but I couldn’t lift him up right then as I was eating. Looking at his food bowl, I saw there was just a little left; he hadn’t forgotten to feed Mr. Jeon today either.

He also changed the bandage on my ankle, I can’t deny that he really takes good care of me. These small, consistent acts are what would break down even the thickest walls one day. My walls had already been broken down by him since the day I decided to open up to him, so I’m even happier now that he’s by my side.

Saying that he would like me more tomorrow was not an exaggeration at all.

Because today, I already like you more than yesterday.

After eating the Chinese doughnut with soy milk, I cleared the cups and threw away the trash, then returned to my spot at the desk to continue painting.    Until around one in the afternoon, I heard the door open. The room’s owner looked at me before walking over to place a lunch box on the table. He leaned one hand on the table’s edge, the other on the back of my chair, watching the painting I was working on.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

I turned to say, and he leaned down to kiss my forehead without asking for permission. I was momentarily stunned, but he did it as if it were the most normal thing.

“Yeah, I just went to see Khram. Can I talk about him?” He said while heading towards the wardrobe, taking off his lab coat.

“You can, why did you go?”

“To warn him not to mess with my man again.”

“Oh, hmm.”

“Aren’t you going to ask for details, like, what he said?”    “I don’t want to know.” I answered honestly.

“It’s good that you don’t care.” He said, “Otherwise, I’d be annoyed.” He took off the shirt he wore under the lab coat and changed into a new one. When he started to take off his pants, I turned my attention back to my work.

“…”

“Hey, you can look, I’m wearing boxers.”

“Why say that I can look? Normally, you should say not to look.”

“Hey, you can look, I want you to look, I like you looking.”

“I feel like you’re a bit of a pervert.” I said, making him laugh out loud before he sat down in the chair next to me.

“Take a break and come eat first.”

“Hmm.”

I put down the brush, tidied up the tools a bit to make space for the food box. I started eating the food with the person next to me watching.

“Hmm, North invited me to do some merit-making.”

“Hmm?” He raised his eyebrows, “Invited you?”

“Yeah, and to invite you too, Phii.”

“Oh, back to calling me ‘Phii’ now?”

“Hmm, just for now.”

“What do you mean by ‘just for now’?” He asked. I didn’t reply because I was chewing, so he changed the question, “Is Jo going?”    I nodded.

“The lottery is about to be drawn, North is definitely going to ask for lottery numbers again.”

“How do you know?”

“Jo complains about it often.” He said, annoyed, “And do you want to go?”

“It might be good to go. It’s been a while since I did merit-making.”

“Okay, but I probably won’t go in to pay respects.” He said. I nodded to show I understood. After finishing the food in the box, he took the empty container to throw it away, “What time are we going?”

“Not sure, North might call.”

“I’ll ask him.” He picked up his phone, made the call, talked to North for a while, then hung up and turned to me, “We’ll go now, have you showered?”

“Hmm, I’ll change clothes, can I go back to my room?”

“Sure.”

…

Arthit

   I carried the cat, the black cat I call ‘John’, to play in the next room. No matter how good its real name is, I will call it John. I waited for the shorty to change in the bathroom to get ready for merit-making, or more accurately, to take North to ask for lottery numbers. And with today’s hot sun, Jo, who doesn’t get along with hot weather, has to endure it to escort his ‘wife’ to ask for numbers even though he’s loaded.

Luckily, I prefer hot weather over cold, like that time I went to Boston with Jo and it was freezing, I planned to go to Brazil next, the cold was so intense it made my balls shrink, we went without any plan, no idea where we were going or how much money we had, ended up getting my hand bitten by piranhas needing several stitches, but that was a good experience, and you guys should stop teasing me about it, bastards.

Because I got bitten by piranhas, I had Fah write my work for me, and if you ask why I could play the drums with an injured hand, I was faking it. I was too lazy to write, don’t tell Fah, but he probably already knows. Even so, he still agreed to do the work because he couldn’t bear to see me pretending to be in pain.

It’s good to take the short one out into the sun sometimes; his skin is as pale as if paint had spilled on him. I’m joking, not that bad, but he’s really white, like he’s been bleached, so white it’s blinding.

“Why are you acting like this?” I asked the kitten trying to climb up on me, lifting it with both hands and looking into one yellow eye, “You like me a lot, huh? Go tell your master to like me too. Oh, but he already said he likes me, so go tell your master to give in to me already.”

“Meow.”

“I don’t need your love.” I said after it waved its paw in the air, “I’m jealous, your master loves you more than me. In this case, I need to eliminate the competition.”

With a mix of affection and mischief, I put its little head in my mouth, just as I was about to bite down, I heard the bathroom door open. The person who came out looked shocked to see me trying to eat Cat’s head and rushed over to take it back immediately.

“What are you doing?”

“Biting its head.”

“Are you crazy? Why would you bite Mr. Jeon’s head?”

“I’m jealous, why? Can’t I just bite its head?” I asked, “Greedy.”

“Greedy for what? And who bites a cat’s head?” He said, gently stroking the kitten’s head, holding it close to comfort it. Why comfort it, it didn’t even look scared, “It’s dirty.”

“Are you worried about me?” I raised my eyebrows to ask, he didn’t answer, just brushed off some cat hair from around my shirt collar.

“Full of cat’s fur.”

“…”

I sat still, letting him brush off the cat’s fur, feeling a sudden warmth inside, and I couldn’t help but smile broadly at the action. The short one kept looking for more fur on my shirt and picking it off.

“Thank you.” I said, feeling an indescribable happiness, wanting to pull him into a hug right then but seeing he was focused, I refrained, “I like it.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re good to me.”

“Same.”

“What’s the same?”

“You’re good to me.”

“Because I love you.” I said. He took his hand away, then looked up into my eyes and nodded slightly, as if acknowledging it. He didn’t reply, “Do you like me more than yesterday?”

“Hmm.” He nodded again. I couldn’t help but smile widely, my heart swelling a bit more, “Don’t take it off.”

“Take off what? What kind of person do you think I am?”

“Someone who’s always ready to take off his shirt.”

“…Damn.” I sighed slightly. Even if I said that, but…”Yeah, true, I’m always ready to take it off when I’m with you, I can take it off now if you want.”

“Sigh.” This time, it was him who sighed, standing up with Joon in his arms. Ah, I’ve never gotten a hug back from him, damn Cat, I’ll pinch its balls, heh, someone like me jealous of a cat? No way, one day I’ll be number one and kick you out of your position, Cat John.

While I put Joon back in my room since everything was already prepared for him, my phone in my pocket vibrates with incoming messages.    J.Han: Arrived.

   J.Han: Hurry up and come down.

   J.Han: I’m downstairs.

   ☀︎: Not yet.

   ☀︎: Wait another half hour, okay?    J.Han: Doing what?

   ☀︎: Idiot.

   J.Han: Alright, then I’ll wait.

   ☀︎: See, getting impatient.

   ☀︎: Is there air conditioning downstairs?

   J.Han: And what’s the problem? Can’t you hurry up and come down?

   ☀︎: Joking

   ☀︎: You’re so harsh with me.

   ☀︎: I’ll go down soon.

   “Okay, let’s go.” I said, putting my phone back in my pants pocket, only then noticing he was wearing a large light blue t-shirt with jeans, and I thought it suited him well. Yeah. I’m just smitten with him, damn, my eyes have turned into a pink filter now.

“You’re staring too much.”

“Why, you look cute.”

“…”

“Embarrassed?”

“No.”

“Not even a little? I’ve never complimented anyone on being cute.” I said as we were in the elevator. I kept staring at the short one standing beside me. When you want to look, you look, no need to sneak glances.

“Fine, I’ll blush a little.”

“Great.”

We walked down to the ground floor to find the other couple already waiting.

When we arrived, they stood up and immediately headed towards the parking lot.

“Whose car are we taking?” I asked.

“Do you want to drive?” Jo asked back. I shook my head in response; for some reason, I was too lazy to drive today. Better let Jo, who has traded his racing skills for driving his wife around, take the wheel.

We stopped in front of a familiar, sleek black car. I opened the back door and got in, with the short one sitting next to me.

“We’re going to the temple to ask for lottery numbers, right?” I confirmed, Jo nodded, looking slightly bored, while North chuckled.

“I said I could go by myself.”

“It’s fine, I can drop you off, wait outside with Arthit.”

“Aren’t we all going in?”

“Do you want to go in?” Jo, from the driver’s seat, started the car and turned to ask.

“The view is beautiful, the breeze is cool, at the back of the temple.”    “Then let’s go wait there.” Said the driver, shifting gears, and the black car moved away from the parking lot on the ground floor.

“Got it, can I sleep?”

“Yeah, do whatever.”

“Then I need to pee, can I pee?”

“Go for it, then get me a new car.”

“It can be washed.”

“Damn it, the person who peed on your tire hasn’t even driven yet.” After Jo’s words, I didn’t reply, just leaned back to lie on the backseat, resting my head on the soft lap of the person next to me, without asking for permission. The other seemed a little surprised before returning to normal.

I looked up at him from the lower angle, reached out to hold his hand, and pressed a gentle kiss on it.

“Ah, I see.” North, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look and tease. I raised an eyebrow at him. The person whose hand I just kissed tried to pull it back, but I didn’t let go. He let out a big sigh, “Oh, it’s sweet, it’s gentle.”    “Idiot.” I said.

“What are you doing, get out of my car.”

“Oh, North has a bodyguard today.” I teased cheerfully, feeling even better because of the sweet scent from the person whose lap I was resting on, smelling so good I wanted to bury my face in his stomach…

And of course, I did it. His stomach was so damn soft. If it weren’t for being in Jo’s car, I would have pulled off this annoying shirt already.

He jumped in shock but didn’t make a sound, tried to push me away but to no avail, so he gave up and stayed as still as possible, probably not wanting North to look back and tease again.

Feeling encouraged, I buried my face deeper, inhaling the pleasant scent until I was satisfied, then pulled back, looking up to see the shorty looking out the window. Though I couldn’t see much of his face, his small ears were entirely red.

I couldn’t resist pinching his cheek mischievously.

“There you go.”

“Huh?”

“Do you play the lottery like North?”

“No.”

“Then what are you going to ask for?”

“To get rid of all the bad things from my life.”

“Don’t, what if I disappear?” I said seriously. If this temple is really sacred and his wish comes true, and suddenly I disappear, it would be a disaster, “Ask for something else. Why are you laughing?” I asked, turning to the couple who burst into loud laughter.

“Oh, Phii, what would Phipungto ask for, to have only good things come into his life? He’d still get a new boyfriend anyway.” North said, still laughing.    “Exactly, why? Isn’t having me enough? You want another husband?” I furrowed my brows, displeased. He looked down at me, sighed, and then asked.

“So what should I ask for?”    “Ask to be with me for a long time.”

“Damn.” Jo muttered under his breath.

“Put up with it, my partner is this sweet.”

“I think you’re the only one who thinks that.”

“No way, right, babe?” I turned to ask the person leaning on my lap, who just shook his head slightly, looking tired, “Why do you make that face like you’re so annoyed by me? This means I’m not cute anymore, I’m hurt, I’d even be a dog or a cat for you, I’d bark and wag my tail, and you still wouldn’t love me.”    “Stop being sarcastic, it’s annoying, I’m annoyed, how does he put up with you?”

“I’m just joking with you.”

“But I’m really annoyed.”

“Damn.” I muttered softly, “You’re still young, Jo. Look at my shorty first, he’s already resigned to being annoyed by me.” I said.

“If my friend is happy, I’m okay with it.”

“Can’t it be more than just friends?”

“Sigh.” North let out a big sigh, “Think carefully if you really want someone like this as a boyfriend, Phipungto, are you interested in my friend? My friend might not be as handsome or rich as him, but he’s definitely a better person.”    “Hey, North, you traitor.” I kicked his seat, and North immediately turned to complain.

“Why kick, what the hell, you scared me, Phipungto, hit him instead, he’s hurting me.”

“Don’t do that to North.” the shorty said quietly, lightly tapping my forehead, so light it felt like he just placed his hand there.

“Ouch, that hurt like hell, I’m in pain just watching.” North said sarcastically, “When someone opens up their heart, but I demand justice, I’ve been your friend for three years, how can that bastard who just came have more rights than me?”

“Oh, then let’s deduct points.”

“Damn. No way.” Now it was my turn to protest.

“Oh, deducting behavior points?” North asked, “Then deduct a lot, minus twenty.”

“Minus twenty, what the hell, North, I only have three, you bastard.” I said, annoyed, “Don’t deduct, or I’ll wrestle you.”

“You’re so damn cheeky, you still threaten him with only three points.” Jo chimed in.

“Actually, it’s just one.”

“Damn pitiful.”

“Damn, why one?”

“Because it was deducted.”

“Deducted from where? It wasn’t, it’s three, three.” I started to insist, “Okay, three.”

“If you want three, then fine.”

“What do you mean?” I quickly asked, but he remained silent, “Damn, don’t go silent on me, what does it mean? Did I get more? When and why didn’t you tell me? How much do I have now?”

“We’re here, Arthit, stop complaining.”

“How can I not complain? It’s a big deal.”

The shorty opened the car door and moved his legs out, so I had to get up unwillingly, ending up walking alongside Jo while the shorty and the bastard North walked ahead.

“So damn annoyed.” I couldn’t help but complain.

“What about your points?”

“Yeah, I’m still stuck in the senior zone.”

“Oh, and what’s the full score?”

“I don’t know.”

“A million percent.”

“Damn, I guess I’ll be courting him for life then.”

“Can you handle that?”

“I can handle it well, no problem.” I shrugged casually, looking ahead at the two of them chatting about something I didn’t know. Today there were quite a lot of people because it was a holiday and the weather was rather hot, which was fine for me, but not so much for the person next to me.

“It’s damn hot.” Here we go, he’s starting to complain, “Where’s the cool breeze you mentioned?”

“We have to go inside first, then there will be a viewpoint.”

“Oh, okay.”

“You’ve never been here before?”

“I’ve been once, more like I was dragged here, my mom brought me to make merit, and I just dropped her off. I didn’t go inside. I’m not really into temples, why do you come?”

“To take a walk, nothing else to do.”

“What kind of asshole comes to a temple just to walk around?” Jo grumbled, looking somewhat annoyed. We walked up the hill to find the large Buddha statue at the very front, “We will wait down here.” Jo said. North nodded slightly before the two of them went up to pay respects. We waited at the bottom.    “Do you date your mom often, yeah, no need to ask, it’s frequent.” I said, referring to Jo’s beautiful mother.

“Don’t call it dating, call it being a servant instead, carrying things, driving, and paying for stuff too. Tomorrow, she wants to go see the new clothing collection again, it’s good I have North with me, otherwise, my life would be in shambles.”

“Ha, having a wife is nice.”

“But you don’t have one.”

“Damn.” I grumbled in disappointment, “Can I swear in a temple?”

“Probably not anymore.”

“Yeah, that’s right. He said he’s opened up to me, but he still won’t agree to be my boyfriend. I ask every day, Hill said it takes time, and I understand. I’m not getting anything, but I’m impatient.”

“Wait a minute.” Jo interjected, “Hill said that?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Does Hill know?”

“Of course. Otherwise, how could he give me advice? He even said he’s proud of me. Now, Hill, my best friend, has become my buddy for life.”

“Wait a sec, you bastard, proud of you?” Jo looked surprised, “And why did he scold me when I was flirting with North? Wait, there must be something wrong here. No way, you bastard, are you lying to me?”

“I’m not lying, you bastard, I’m telling the truth.”

“Shit, why? Hill, you bastard, why praise Arthit but scold me? Does he think you’re better than me, why?”

“Well, I am better than you.” I said proudly while Jo furrowed his brows as if he couldn’t understand, “He said I’m not like you because I’ve never fooled around with anyone or played around like you.”

“But you went to the bathhouse.”

“I didn’t go, it was just a joke, do you understand?”

“And what about dealing at the bar?”

“It was just temporary, I used to be a tiger, now I’m a dog.”

“What? You’re not any better than me, Hill is biased against me because he’s afraid I’ll make him my wife.” and Jo came to his own conclusion.

“He’s paranoid as hell, poor bastard.”

“Really, he said he’s paranoid?” Jo chuckled a little, “I was just messing around.”

“You mess around all the time, sometimes I can’t tell if you’re serious or joking.

Seeing your face makes his hair stand on end, I think.”

“Oh. He’s just mean to me, damn it.” Jo sighed softly, “But his face when he gets teased is really funny, Hill is so serious.”

“Just say what you really think.”

“Damn it.”

“But saying you want him to be your wife is true, right?” I said.

“…”

“Yeah, I understand why you like to tease Hill, your face when you get goosebumps is really funny.” I said, laughing, “Are you done praying?” I turned to ask the person who had just walked down, went to get his shoes for him, and sat down.

“…”

“Come on, put on your shoes, are you going barefoot into the temple?”

“I’ll wear them, but why do you have to help me?”

“Don’t ask so many questions, hurry up.”

“…”

He didn’t respond, just made a slightly troubled face, slipped his feet into the sneakers, and I retied the laces because they were loose.

“With this knot, they’ll come undone soon.”

“Oh, hmm.”

I then tied the other shoe, and after I was done, I stood up, looking over at the couple waiting.

“I’m so proud of you, Phii.” North said, pretending to be on the verge of tears.

“Why? Doesn’t Jo ever tie them for you?”

“He does, but I prefer wearing Phii Jo’s flip-flops, so he doesn’t have to tie them often.” North said, “If you don’t want to bother him, you can wear flip-flops too.”    “Oh, I see.”

“It’s just tying shoes, what’s the big deal?” Jo muttered.

“I won’t let you bow your head lower than me!”

“Sigh, stubborn.” Jo said before giving North a gentle push on the head. I stopped paying attention to the couple and turned to the person standing next to me.

“Is it too tight?”

“It’s just right, but next time, you don’t have to do it.”

“Why? Are you going to wear flip-flops like North?”

“I don’t really like flip-flops, they hurt my feet.”

“You need to buy good ones, then they’ll be comfortable to walk in, but you can wear sneakers, I’ll always tie them for you, don’t act like North, understand?”

“…Thank you.”

“Yeah, and what’s the conclusion about the score?”

“Just now, I added…hmm, let’s say three more points.”

“And how much is the total now?”

“I won’t tell.”

“Come on, that’s cheating.” I grumbled, but since it seemed like the shorty wouldn’t reveal it, I had to let it go for now. We then walked into the temple area. While North and Dao went to pray and do their things, Jo and I went to wait at the viewpoint.

“It looks more pitiful than romantic, standing here watching the view with you.” Jo said, gazing out at the city view below. Though the sun was quite strong, the breeze helped cool us down.

“We’re not here to watch the view, we’re here to wait for our wives.”

“Say it confidently, be a boyfriend first.”

“Your mouth works well, doesn’t it?”

He didn’t reply, just shrugged slightly.

“Yeah, I’ve got a car race next month too.”

“Serious racing?” He asked, because if it were just any race, there would be no need to tell him, “With who?”

“The son of the company that Direk bets with.”

“How much?”

“Thousands.”

“That’s something.”

“Hmm.”

“Why? Feeling pressured?”

“No. Just want a sparring partner. I haven’t raced in a while.”

“Want me as a sparring partner? Want to lose again?”

“Johan, you haven’t raced in longer than I have, you must be all rusted up.” I teased because since he started flirting with North, no, even before that, he hardly touched racing anymore.

“I can knock off the rust, I’ve got some time now, I can be your sparring partner.” He said, “Which track are you racing at?”

“Their field.”

“Ha, watch your car too.”

“I know, if you’re free, come watch too.”

“Sure. If I’m free, North also said he wanted to see.”

“One sec, who’s calling?” I said after feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out to see it was a friend calling; they were inviting me to play football tonight, “Tim’s inviting us to play football tonight, are you going?”

“Not free, got work.”

“Hmm.”

“Are you going?”

“I think I’ll go. Haven’t played football in a while.” I said before seeing the two of them walk out, scanning around before their gaze settled on us and then they approached, “How was it?” I asked.

“It was good, North took a long time asking for blessings.”

“Come on, let’s go buy lottery tickets.”    “There’s that too?” I asked.

“There’s a lottery stall right out front, bro, your eyesight isn’t good.” North said before pulling Jo along to rush out, “Hurry up, buy while the merit is still warm.” “Huh? Does merit have a temperature?”

“Yeah, you don’t follow Buddhism, how would you know?”

“Yeah, your business.” I said before following them with the person beside me.

“What did you ask for in your blessing?”

“Not telling.”

“Why not?”

“If I tell, it won’t come true.”

“You should have asked to be with me for a long time.”

“If I don’t ask, will you not stay?”

“Crazy. I’ll stay even if you don’t ask, I said I’d stay with you for life.”

“Hmm. That’s why I didn’t ask for anything from you.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nothing.”

“Why?”

“If I were to ask, it would have to be for something I don’t have yet.”

“Yeah, right. I’ve given you everything, only you haven’t accepted it yet.”    “I might not be able to accept everything just yet.”

“…”

“But everything you’ve given, I’ve never unwillingly accepted.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 31: Tomorrow

   Daotok

   I looked at myself in the oversized black shirt that reached down to my knees in the bathroom mirror. After taking a shower, I felt refreshed, especially after concentrating on work for so long. While rolling up my sleeves, I heard a knock on the bathroom door followed by the voice of the room’s owner.

“Are you okay? Does your foot hurt?”

“I’m fine.” I replied. My ankle still hurt as before, and it got a bit worse from standing in the shower for too long, but it was bearable. I chose to shower under the showerhead because I was too lazy to soak in the tub, and fortunately, the bathroom floor wasn’t slippery, so there was no issue.

I slowly stepped out to find the room owner waiting, one hand holding a phone to his ear, speaking in English to someone. I furrowed my brows in surprise when I noticed that the phone was mine.

“Oh, I’m talking to your dad, Ah, yes. You’re right, we are the winner of…H,

Hey!”

Before he could finish speaking, I snatched the phone back.

“Dad, what are you doing? Why are you talking with him?”

I quickly asked the person on the phone, puzzled. It was one thing for him to answer the call, but Dad was enjoying the conversation so much. They seemed to be having a good time talking.

(Oh, I like this guy. He said he loves you, and I think…Wow, he’s a big fan of

Manchester United, just like me.)

   “Why are you talking to Dad?”

I turned to ask Phii Arthit instead since I didn’t get a clear answer from Dad, asking why talking to him resulted in Dad just saying they were fans of the same football team, and Dad seemed very pleased, his voice full of cheer.

“My Dad called, so you answered?”

“Yes.”

“And you said you love me ?”

“Emm…yes, I said I love you so much. And I want you to be my wife. I mean it.”    “Wait, a minute.” I held up my hand for a timeout, “You told Dad you want me to be…uh, your wife?”

“Uh-huh, your Dad is okay with it.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” He said with a slight raise of his eyebrows.

“You’re so crazy…” I whispered before letting out a big sigh, walking away to talk to Dad.

“Michael, are you done with your shower?”

“Uh…Dad. I had some reason to be with him, he answered the phone because I was in the shower.”

“It’s okay. No need to explain to me . You know I isn’t upset or anything, I like him, he’s like…the most straightforward guy I’ve ever met.”

“I see, because he supports the same football team?”

“Oh, that’s part of it, coincidentally good, he even invites me to play football with him if I’m free, I haven’t played football with the young guys in a long time.”    “Dad…sigh”

“Why the sigh, haven’t you accepted his love yet?”

“No, uh, Dad, what did he say?”

“He asked for you to be his wife.”

“And?”

“I am okay with it!”

“No…no.”

“How can I not be okay with someone showing this much sincerity?”

“Sigh. I don’t want to talk anymore, where’s papa?”

“He’s asleep, worked hard today.”

“Are you tired too?”

“A little. What about you? Tired from studying?”

“I didn’t go to school today, sprained my ankle, but it’ll get better soon.”    “Get better soon, don’t overwork, you know? Dylan probably told you since he studies medicine. Even if he says he doesn’t want to work as a doctor after graduation, it’s kind of like you .”

“What did you talk about?”

“Enough to get to know each other, he talks a lot, just right for someone who doesn’t talk much like us.”

“Dad you are on his team, right?”

“Yes.”

“Everyone is on his team. Even Mr. Jeon.”

“Wow, great, I will hang up now. Oh yes, he wants you to open your hearts to him, you know, I support that.” Dad said with a cheerful yet serious tone because deep down, he still hopes I find someone after all this time, “He’s not like Khram, I can feel it from the conversation, oh, almost twenty minutes, he really loves you.”

“How can you know from a phone conversation?”

“I just know.”

“How?”

“…Just a feeling, um, forget it, Good night, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your sweetheart, the one sleeping next to you is.)”

“Ah. You’re right, and I thinks your sweetheart is waiting for you too.)”

And then Dad hung up, confused. I turned to see Phii Arthit standing with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, watching me. I didn’t even realize when I had walked out to the balcony to talk on the phone.

   “Your dad is right.” He smiled sweetly, “I’m waiting for you.”

“…Did you hear everything?”

“All of it.”

“Sigh” I sighed before walking back into the room, sitting down on the sofa, and he sat down next to me.

“Why is your face so red?”

“I don’t know.” I turned my face away deliberately, why after taking a shower do I have to deal with something so bizarre, talking to Dad wasn’t enough, now he’s declaring his love and asking me to be his wife, and to top it off, Dad is okay with it.

“Cute?”

“…”

“But your dad is easy to talk to.”

“Hmm, Dad’s like that.” I said, letting out a big sigh to adjust my chaotic feelings, before turning to look at him again, “Was it like this the first time you talked to Dad?”

“Of course, I slowly talked to him so he could catch on.”

“…” I didn’t reply. I was just wondering what ‘catching on’ meant.

“I really mean it.” He emphasized, “But I’m not rushing you. Just stating my own desires.”

“Oh…hmm.”

“I invited him to play football together too.”

“Dad mentioned that.”

“Does your dad play sports?”

“Hmm, football.”

“Not bad.” He said, “Perfect for being a father-in-law, but it’s a pity I didn’t meet your papa, right? You call him ‘Papa’, right?”    “Hmm.” I nodded.

“Your Papa was already asleep. Otherwise, I might have told him everything too, a bit more and I would’ve told your grandma as well.”

“Just Dad is fine, Papa would be shocked.”

“What kind of person is your Papa?”

“Just…a normal person.” I said, “But Dad…kind of like you a bit.” I mentioned my thoughts, and the other nodded in agreement.

“At least we support the same football team, I was still thinking what to do if we supported different teams.” He said, “Good that he’s English.”

“…”

“You look like you’re thinking about something.”

“No. Just thinking about that.” I paused for a moment, “You’re really straightforward. What would you do if Dad wasn’t okay with it?”

“Oh. Who cares?”

“…What do you care about then?”

“Only you.”

“Flirting again.”

“I’m telling the truth.” He said with his usual expression and demeanor, “I don’t care about anything in the world except myself. Now, there’s you.”

“Hmm…okay, I understand.”

“Are you going to continue working?”

“Take a break, I was thinking of watching a movie.”

“Yeah, good, you like horror movies, right?” He asked before getting up to grab the laptop and place it on the coffee table in front of us, connecting it to the TV screen, and opening Netflix to scroll through the movies.

“Do you like watching them?”

“I’m fine with anything.”

“It’s okay if you don’t like them. We can watch something else.”

“Yeah, I can watch. I just want to watch it with you, so you choose the movie you want to see.”

“…Hmm.” I nodded slightly before feeling my heart flutter again, at this rate, should I tell Dad to open up even more?

Just this much, and I’m already struggling to handle my heart beating so hard because of him.

   I caught myself staring at him from behind until he turned around, and I realized.

   “Aren’t you going to get up and watch?”

“Getting up.”

I got up from the sofa, sat down on the floor next to him to scroll through movies.

“Is this one good?”

“Why ask, if you want to watch it, just press play.”

“We’re going to watch it together, right?”

Hearing me say that, he smirked. I looked at him, not understanding.

“What?”

“Nothing. I just like the word ‘together’.”

I didn’t respond, just selected the movie I intended to watch, but then realized it was a series.

“Choosing a series means you want to watch it with me for a long time, huh?”

“No. I just didn’t notice it was a series.” I said honestly before returning to my spot on the sofa. He got up and sat next to me.

“Witches?”

“Hmm, it has good reviews.”

“Oh.” He answered briefly before getting up from the sofa, “I’ll take a quick shower, you start watching.”

“Hmm.”

He went into the bathroom for a while, then came out wearing only long pants. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced over, turning to look without realizing it, admiring his well-defined muscles, tanned skin, and tattoos on his chest and shoulders.

“Why are you staring so hard?”

“Am I staring?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay, I know my body’s worth looking at.”

“…”

I didn’t respond, but thought to myself that he was probably right, because if I had to say it, he really was very attractive, both in physique and appearance.

“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

“Your hair is wet.”

“Hmm.”

He went to rummage through the closet for a t-shirt, draping it over his shoulder, grabbed a small towel to roughly dry his wet hair, then went to fetch a hairdryer. I stopped paying attention to him and turned back to the witch series playing in front of me, but he came and sat on the floor in front of me, holding out the hairdryer.

“Blow-dry it for me.”

“Why not do it yourself?”

“Too lazy.”

“…”

I turned on the hairdryer, letting out hot air, gently running my fingers through his soft black hair while drying it.

“You.”

“Hmm?”

“Dao.”

“Huh?”

“Daotok.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Just wanted to call you.”

“…”

“I like your name.”

“Oh?”

“And Michael too, is that your name as well?”

“Yes.”

“Why Michael? Like Michael Jackson?”

“Michael Jordan.”

“Got it.” He said, “Why are you drying it so gently?”

“Do you like it rough?”

“Yeah.”

“…” I didn’t say anything, just turned up the hairdryer to a higher setting. Soon his hair was dry, so he got up to sit on the sofa and put on the shirt he had draped over his shoulder earlier, “Why do you like my name?”

“Why?”

“No one likes it, it sounds like a girl’s name.”

“It does, but I like you, so I like your name too.” He said, “Because others don’t like you, they can’t appreciate your name the way I do.”    “Appreciate?” I furrowed my brows in question.

“Your dad and mom named you, your Dad told me.”

“Oh…hmm. Do you really intend to say you like me every half hour?”

“I could, you can set an alarm for every half hour if you want.” He smirked.

“It’s okay.”

“I’ll say it when I feel like it, so how’s the movie going?”

I briefly summarized the plot of what I had watched so far, since he was only in the shower for a short time and the series hadn’t progressed much.

“Is the heroine a writer?” He asked. I nodded in response, “Have you ever thought about writing a book?”

“I’ve thought about it, but I like drawing more.”

“Oh, can I have a hug?”

“Hmm.”

“Damn, does this mean you’ve fallen for me?”

“…If I say no, it’s not like you’d listen anyway.” I said softly before he pulled me into a hug.

“Correct.” He said, tightening his embrace. I sat stiffly in his warm embrace.

“Here.”    “Huh?”

“Arthit.”    “What?”

“Try calling me.”

“Imitating, and no more ‘Phii’ then?”    “Don’t want to call you ‘Phii’ anymore.”

“Want to upgrade to being a boyfriend?”

“No. Just don’t feel the respect.”

“…Got it.” He said before laughing out loud, “Okay, Daotok, not calling me is fine, it would hurt my feelings too much.”

“I won’t call you that anyway.”

“Damn, sigh. What would happen if I didn’t meet you?”

“Don’t start a conversation. Watch the movie.”

“Oh. Okay then.”

…

Arthit

   I rested my chin on his slender shoulder, lowering my face to kiss and sniff the sweet scent at the base of his neck from the person in front of me. The person in my embrace didn’t speak or show any reaction because he was focused on watching the movie, though he was slightly tense.

I didn’t look up but could imagine what was happening in the movie just from the sounds, holding his waist loosely with one hand while holding his soft hand with the other.    “Annoyed?”

“A little.”

“Got it.”

“But it would be nice if you could stop snuggling me.”

“Stop being so tense then.”

“Stop snuggling then.”

“Dogs like to snuggle with their owners like this.”

“…Hmm.”

“Tomorrow I have a morning ward round.” I said, remembering because Hill had just sent a Line message to remind me, “I won’t be with you in the morning, by the afternoon I’ll be back, don’t cry because you miss me.”

“No.”

“Damn. It’s not good, don’t cry for me.”

“It’s not that, I mean, I don’t miss…I can’t.”

“…” I was silent for a moment before I pressed my lips to his cheek, sinking into the soft flesh. He let out a soft groan in his throat, displeased by the too-forceful kiss, holding it there longer than necessary before pulling away, “Say it.”

“Is it true, or are you just teasing?”

I said before leaning in close again.

   “No, don’t, enough.” He pushed my face away with his hand, looking slightly annoyed.

“Okay, okay. I won’t.” I said, and he slowly lowered his hand, though his expression still showed distrust, “I just wanted to kiss your cheek again.”

“Not anymore.”

“And you said it for real?”

“About missing you?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, but not that much.”

“That’s good enough, missing me a little bit each day.” I said with a satisfied smile, taking the chance when he was distracted to kiss his cheek once more. This time, he sighed instead of reacting, but it didn’t affect me, “One day you’ll miss me so much you won’t be able to stand it.”

“No way.”

“Why not?”

“It would be too much trouble.”

“Not at all. If you miss me, I’ll come to you.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“What if we’re on opposite sides of the world and you can’t come?”

“Then I can’t go, because if I could, I would have gone already.”

“…”

“If it gets to the point where I can’t come to you, I want you to know that I miss you a lot too.”

“Oh…um, you flirt well.” He said before slowly leaning back against my chest, looking more relaxed, “Let’s rest for a bit.”

“Rest what?”

“My heart is about to explode.”

“Haha, you’re pretty straightforward too.”

“Hmm.”

“You like me a lot, and tomorrow…”

“Hmm, and I’ll probably like you even more tomorrow.”

“…Damn.”

It’s not just your heart that’s about to explode, mine feels the same.

After that, we hardly spoke anymore; he watched the movie while I did the same, just holding him, until the person in my arms fell asleep as the movie was nearing its end.

I carefully lifted him up and placed him on the bed, went to get some ointment to apply to his ankle and rewrap it. Once done, I sat beside him, the one sleeping, brushing the hair from his face, then gently kissed his forehead.

“Good night, I love you, you’ll like me even more tomorrow.”

I spent almost the whole night reading as I usually do, because I had napped in the evening, which allowed me to read late into the night. I slept during the early morning and woke up to go to the ward in the morning. Today, I didn’t go jogging because I was too lazy to wake up; I stopped by to buy some soy milk and Chinese doughnuts for the one still sleeping.

Before leaving the room, I changed the bandage and reapplied the ointment on his ankle, left the bag of soy milk on the table with a note not to forget to eat and take the medicine, that I would be back in the afternoon.

Doing these things for him felt good too.

I arrived at the hospital right on time. Currently, I get to work in the ward with Hill, which I consider a blessing because although being with Jo is chill, it’s not worth anything, it’s just a complete mess.

“Is the professor here yet?” I asked immediately upon approaching Hill, who had arrived before me.

“Not yet, you came early.”

“Of course.”

“Be a bit more human since you like my wife’s friend.”

“…” I turned to look at him, stunned. Even though I had guessed that Hill probably knew, facing it like this caught me off guard, “Who told you?”

“Sigh, why would you hide it from me? I don’t understand.”

“Wait.” I held up my hand to stop him, “Go ahead, I’m ready for the impact.” I said after I had braced myself for a scolding. No matter what language you use to curse me or make me cry like a dog with tears streaming down to my feet, go ahead! Curse me! I’m ready! But I definitely won’t stop messing with your wife’s friend!

“Idiot.”

“…Oh. You’re not going to cuss me?”

“Why should I?”

“Oh. Even when Jo was hitting on North, you nearly killed him with cussing.”

“How are you and Jo the same?” Hill said, leaning back in his chair casually,

“You’ve never said out loud that you like or love anyone, which means you really like them, right? And he’s opened up to you too, which means you must have tried your best.”

“…Oh, Hill, my dear friend, I knew you were the only one who would understand me, you’re my best friend for life.”

“I’m not dying with you.”

“Oh well, okay, aren’t you going to ask how it’s going?”

“If you want to tell me, go ahead.”

“He said he likes me more now. He doesn’t call me ‘Hia’ anymore either, you don’t have that.” I said with a teasing smile, making Hill look disgusted.

“Why, doesn’t he respect you anymore?”

“Damn, how did you know?”

“Does anyone respect you, really?”

“No one, even George, the dog at the faculty, won’t play with me.”

“Sad, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s sad, but at least I have you who loves me.” I shook my head lightly, letting out a relieved sigh. Even if that George, the annoying dog, runs away at the sight of me, forget about it, he doesn’t have Dao telling him he likes him every day like I do, “He said I’m like a dog too, like a Doberman.”

“Would you even be a dog?”

“Yeah. Not being one would be the end of me, doc. If he says I’m a dog, I’m ready to howl.”

“How can you be so infatuated with someone?”

“I wonder why he won’t be my boyfriend. He said he likes me, didn’t he?”

“You should be patient.”

“Patience is the hardest thing. Who can do that? He smells nice, that crazy guy, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true, but you’re not his boyfriend yet, so it doesn’t help.” Hill said,

“Arthit.”

“What?”

“Nothing, I just…well. I didn’t think it would be you, so I’m a bit surprised. If I say I’m proud of you, would that sound too exaggerated? It’s even more than I am of Jo, honestly.”

“Wow…you’re proud of me? Wow, Hill, be my dad instead of Direk, why are you so warm and gentle, I’m so touched.” I said, feeling genuinely impressed. Why is Hill so nice like this? Just from these words, I’m so moved I’ve forgotten about

Direk. Ah, no, who is Direk anyway? Why did I suddenly say his name? Whatever, because Hill, the kind one, is also rich, right?

“I don’t want a kid like you.”

“Oh, Dad, I haven’t even called Direk ‘Dad’ yet.” I said, feigning a serious expression, “But I don’t know who Direk is anyway, you’re my real dad.”

“…”

“Give me some money to fix my car.”

“Sigh, go far away, you.” Hill said with a look of disgust, like he often does with Jo.

“Why do you get goosebumps so easily?”

“Just look at how Jo likes to mess with me. How can I not be wary?”

“You’re special to death, he doesn’t play with anyone like he does with you.” I said my thoughts because Jo loves to tease Hill, sometimes it’s hard to tell if he’s teasing or if he actually wants Hill to be his wife.

“Let him play with you then.” Hill said with disdain.

“Oh, I think you’ve been husband and wife since the first semester.”

“Who’s the husband?”

“Whoever falls asleep first is the wife.”

“I’ll keep my eyes open all night, you bastard.” Hill said, making me chuckle a bit.

“Yeah. Do we have anything to do in the afternoon?”

“No, we are free, why, in a rush to get back to your boy?”

“No, I’m going to visit someone who’s sick.”

“Who?”

“Khram.”

“Your boy’s ex whom you beat up?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re going to visit someone you put in the hospital?”

“Hey. That’s what you do, you visit people when they’re in the hospital, right?”

“…But you’re the one who put him in the hospital.”

After finishing the morning ward rounds and a small lecture, I headed straight to another patient building to visit Khram as planned. If you ask why I had to come, it was necessary, you know, when someone you know is sick, you should visit them to check on their condition, right?

   I stopped in front of his room, quickly opened the door to find the bastard in a not-so-good state, wearing a hospital gown and lying in bed. As soon as he heard the door open and saw me walk in, he immediately sat up.

   “Are you here to beat me up again?”

“Damn right.”

“Why are you wearing a gown?”

“I’m a doctor.”

“Oh, and you’re here to treat me? No, you’re here to inject me with something to kill me, right?”

“You’re too paranoid.” I sat down on the chair beside the bed and picked up some grapes from the basket to eat. When I found they weren’t tasty, I tossed them into the trash.

“Hey, you’re throwing away my grapes again.”

“They taste like dog food, and how are you doing?”

“Feeling good, huh, still coming to mock me, you’ve got some guts, almost beat me to death, you bastard.” He grumbled, letting out a sigh, “But your dad is nice, paying for the expenses, compensating for getting beaten up. Can you call that nice when it’s his son who made me like this? I want to take off my shirt to show how bruised I am, you bastard.”

“I’m not mocking, I’m visiting.”

“Oh, thank you, so glad.” He said sarcastically with a bored look.

“When are you getting out of the hospital?”

“Another two weeks. I was supposed to get out quickly, but now I have to stay in the hospital. Why is the one who beat me wearing a gown, what kind of doctor is that?”

“Idiot, what do you think doctors are like? I’ll beat you again in a minute.” I said with annoyance.

“You cheated on the exam.”

“Cheated my ass, I study well, not stupid like you.”

“Oh, and this is the right way to scold?”

“Damn. No, I said I came to mock, but not about beating you, I came to mock you about your ex.”

“Why, Dao, why?”

“He’s mine now.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Khram looked utterly surprised, moving in shock and wincing in pain from his wound, clutching his stomach before looking up to ask, “You’re dating?”

“Not dating, but I love him.”

“What? You said at first you didn’t like him.”

“At first, I didn’t like him, can’t I like him later, you buffalo?” I scolded, annoyed, “He said he likes me too.”

“Really?” He asked, looking surprised again, “Shit, really? Are you joking?”

“Joking, my ass, we’ll probably be dating soon.” I shrugged, “Depends on him.”

“Damn, shit, you’re not lying, are you?”

“Not lying.”

“Damn, where did you guys fall for each other?”

“Idiot.”

“Damn, damn, so you really love Dao, right?”

“Yeah, I won’t make him hurt like you did, you bastard, do you know how bad what you did was? At first, I just thought you were an asshole, but now I want to kill you.”

“Calm down, Phii.” Khram cautioned. I looked at him with some displeasure but tried to control my emotions and not think about the past when he hurt the short one.

“I’m not going to do anything. Just annoyed, the past is the past, and you are the past. The present and future are mine, remember that.”

“Good.”

“…”

“I mean, Dao is one of the few people in my life who were genuinely good to me. When I realized this, I wanted to pray that Dao wouldn’t get hurt because of what I did, that he could move on and find someone who truly loves him. So, please take care of Dao for me.”

“I can take care of my own future wife, no need to ask.” I responded because I had already decided that no matter what happens, no one or anything would hurt him again.

“…”

“I just came to say this. I’m going back to my room to hug him. Also, I want to warn you not to meddle in my future wife’s life again.”    “Got it, I understand. I’ll wish you both well then.”

“Shut up, exes shouldn’t bark loudly, you bastard.”

“…Oh, sorry.”

 

      WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 30: Something To Tell

   Daotok

   “…Damn, why didn’t I record that?” North looked stunned in a way I’d never seen before, fidgeting before pulling out his phone, “Say that again, I’ll sell it to Phii Arthit.”

“No need.”

“Damn, you can’t just let such a line go blurry, I want him to hear it. Just complimenting him as cute would make him take off his shirt for you, hearing this sentence, he wouldn’t rush to propose at your place?”

“I’ll tell him myself…when the timing is right.” I said honestly because that sentence just now came from the heart. I felt that before this, I was indifferent to everything, my heart hadn’t beaten this strongly in a long time, it was truly him who made me realize I’m just an ordinary person with feelings too.

“Say what?”

“This is the right moment, I think.” North said after we both looked towards the door, the room owner in a T-shirt with a gown draped over his shoulder, looking exhausted, probably from a hard day of studying, “Just say it.”

“Say what? What were you guys talking about?” He asked while closing the door firmly, shooing North to move elsewhere before sitting in a chair close to me instead. North chose to sit on the bed.

“Wait. I’ll say it when the time’s right.” I said according to how I felt. Saying it now wouldn’t be right. He nodded and shrugged. Normally he might press, but today he seemed too tired. He glanced at the medicine on the table as if to check if I had taken it all, “I have.” I answered him.

“You didn’t flush them down the toilet?”

“Not like that.”

“And do you feel better?”

“Uh-huh. If I stay still, I don’t feel any pain.”

“Good.” He said, gently ruffling my hair. North, watching, widened his eyes and bit his lip tight. Honestly, North’s face looked quite funny right now, “What’s with that grumpy face?”

“Come on, I’m being a good-love’s witness without making any noise. What’s with the gentle side of this bastard? I really want to know.”

“Asshole, and what’s this?” He asked, referring to the bag of cursed snacks by North’s side.

“Cursed snacks.” I answered, “North brought them over.”

“Cursed?”

“North’s friend stole them from the child spirit at his house and stuffed them in

North’s bag. North was scared of being haunted, so he brought them here.”    “Oh, so you got them here so Dao can be haunted instead.” He raised his eyebrows before turning to curse, “You’re an asshole, North.”

“Hey, Phii, listen to me, my friend said that the child ghost at his house is really fond of sweets. I’m scared, but the ghost isn’t afraid of the sweets, and they’re delicious, fair enough.”

“Fair enough?” He repeated the word before grabbing the snack, tearing open the bag, standing up to walk over to North, and using his other hand to pinch his mouth open, stuffing the snack inside. North protested and tried to resist.    “Ugh, you bastard, ee, ee, urgh.” North cursed with a mouthful and ultimately had no choice but to swallow the piece of snack, his face immediately turning sour,

“I’ve eaten cursed snacks now…”

“Serves you right, you asshole, got haunted instead of others.”

“See, I was just worried about him, Arthit.”

“He’s my fiancée, why?”

“Shameless, you don’t need to go for the ghost, would you open your heart to someone who stuffs snacks in your friend’s mouth, someone who uses violence like this?” North complained, grimacing in displeasure. I couldn’t help but smile a little at the act.

“It’s nothing, North. Just snacks.” I said before unwrapping another pack and offering it to the room’s owner, “It’s tasty.”

Instead of taking it, he leaned in and grabbed it with his mouth instead.

“Yeah, tasty.” He said while chewing, “Feed me another one.”

“I’m not going to feed you. Just offering.”

“Even a dog wouldn’t know if you’re feeding or offering.” North said, the one being criticized immediately looked over, “Why the hard stare, scared now, are you ?”

“Uh, seems like it.”

“Ah, there you go.”

“Me?”

“Doberman.” I said.

Because honestly, sometimes I secretly think he’s like a big dog, a Doberman is a big dog that likes to exercise and can be quite aggressive if not properly trained, so I think he’s similar.

   “Doberman? Why?” He furrowed his brows in question.

“You’re better than me being a Golden.” North said.

“Damn, but you really are like a Golden, that’s for sure, but why Doberman, isn’t it a guard dog?”

“Phipungto, you  mean I’m loyal, huh?”    He turned to ask.

“You mean I’m loyal?”

“Are you?”

“It’s obvious, don’t you think this dog wants some love from you?”

“It already got some…”

“Good, very good.” He said with a broad smile. I turned to see North sitting there, looking grumpy.

“It’s quite fitting for us to be together, why not just become lovers?”

“Isn’t that what your friend said too?”

“You said there was no rush.”

“Oh, I see. No rush, being with you like this is good.” He said before looking towards the bed, “Aren’t you going back, North?”

“Phii Jo isn’t done  with rounds yet, and how is it being with Phii Hill?”

“It’s more meaningful than being with Jo.”

“Phii Jo says the same when he’s with Phii Fah.” North said, making the person next to me burst into laughter.

“We shouldn’t be doing rounds together except when going out.”

“And you’re not going out these days?”

“Where am I supposed to get the time, you bastard? Don’t let it end, I’ll travel around the world, you bastard.” He said, “Are you interested in traveling around the world, climbing mountains, sailing, stuff like that?”

“Don’t take my friend to get bitten by piranhas.”

“Why not, it’s an experience.” He said, raising one hand to point at the scar between his index and middle finger, “How many people in the world do you think have been bitten by piranhas?”

“How many people in the world drag their bodies from Thailand to get bitten by piranhas in Brazil, skipping school too, you scoundrel?”    “Are you going to catch piranhas?” I asked.

“Yeah, are you interested?”

“Why did you fall?”

“I wanted to fall, saw the villagers falling so I went to join them.”

“Oh, was it fun?”

“It was good. If I go again, I’ll definitely go for a boat ride to see the anaconda.”

“Uh. Look first.”

“Why look? Better to book the ticket right away.”

“Wait a minute, Phii, calm down.” North cautioned.

“Joking, but if he really takes you , can you handle it?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?” North furrowed his brows and asked.

“I’m quite capable, you know.”

“Good, I like people who can go anywhere with me.” He said, patting my shoulder lightly. We talked. Well, it’s more like he and North were joking around and playing games together while I worked. After a while, North excused himself to leave and asked us to walk him back because he was scared to go alone.

“How was it when you got here?”

“I ran so fast my feet nearly fell off, Phii, it was so haunting, I banged on the door like crazy when I got here.”

“Completely scary.”

“Scary or not, at least I managed to get here.” North grumbled a bit before hopping on his motorcycle, saying a quick goodbye, and riding off.

“What are your plans for tomorrow, it’s Saturday?”

“Looking for a job.”

“Oh, yeah, I was thinking about reading a book too.”

“Can I go back to my room?”

“Sure, but I’ll stay with you.”

“…I just need to get some paper to color in your mom’s drawing.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. Last time you said you’d let Arthit have what face?”

“Okay.” He said before we took the elevator back to the seventh floor, walked into the room, sat at the desk, and turned on Ter’s computer. “What you said about getting a little bit, is that true?”

“Umm.”

“I’m glad.”

“Here.”

“Hmm?”

“You really won’t change, huh?”

“Yeah. You don’t have to give me your heart until you’re sure. Just keep an open mind, being like this, I’m okay with it.” He said, which made me feel unexpectedly relieved, like there was no need to rush anything. “If you want to be lovers, just admit what you want to do with me, more than this.”

“…”

“Haha, you look stunned, but I’m not lying, it’s not strange to want to do things with someone you love, right?”

“Ugh…”

“Or do you not like this kind of thing?”

“No…it’s not that.”

“But I can’t help thinking about it, with you.”

“…Pervert.”

“Yeah, I admit it.”

“Let’s change the subject.”

“Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“Don’t you read?” I asked, because actually, this desk is quite long, he could sit and read here too.

“I’m tired from being in the ward all day, I’ll read tomorrow. Or another day.” He said, looking a bit down, “Tomorrow is Saturday, I would like to take you out but my feet hurt.”

“Hmm.”

“Next time then. If I have time.”

“If you graduate, will you work as a doctor?”

“Definitely not.”

“Why not?”

“I promised I’d be a doctor, but once I graduate, that doesn’t mean I can handle the work. I’d probably end up fighting with patients until they die. Just being in the ward now is a total pain, sometimes you meet really annoying patients, you know?

I want to curse them out loud, but I can only say ‘sir’.”

“You’re doing well.” I turned to say. I knew that studying medicine wasn’t easy and the job ahead would bring a lot of responsibility; doctors are just ordinary people too. No matter how crude he might be, he couldn’t act like that at work. “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re doing great.”

“Like praising a dog.”

“Well, I’ve acknowledged it.”

“Yeah. Not even giving me a head pat.”    You have to endure and differentiate.

   He said that. So, I slowly raised my hand to gently pat his head.

   “You did very well today.”

He was silent for a moment before a wide smile broke out on his face.

“Yeah, thanks, that made me feel less tired.”

…

Arthit

   He slowly lowered his hand, returning his attention to his computer screen. I sat watching his profile from the side without saying anything.

That gentle touch lingered strangely; in my entire life, no one has been allowed to do that except my mother, and even Direk wouldn’t do it, not that I would let him if he tried. Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps.

And the feeling from before seemed to come back.

“Could you do it again?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you pat my head again?” I asked, and he slowly raised his hand to pat my head once more before withdrawing it.

…really similar.

   Warm and comforting, like before when my mother was still here, waiting for me to come home.

   “You’re going to be too miraculous, are you my mother reincarnated or something?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know, it feels…similar, strange.”

“Oh, like when mom strokes your head?”

“Yeah, you know it well.”

“Hmm…maybe because it’s the same kind of love, isn’t it?” He said with a soft voice, slightly pursing its lips, and the pale cheeks turned a bit pink as if embarrassed to say such words. That made me smile again before pinching its cheek playfully.

“Yeah, but it’s a different kind of love, I definitely don’t want you to be my

mom.”

“Hmm.”

At first, when I said  to stroke my head, that was just playful sarcasm; I didn’t think he would actually do it. So I was a bit shocked. If it were anyone else, I would have punched them for real. When he first stroked my head, it felt oddly strange but not bad, even good, and those words just made all the exhaustion from the day fade away unbelievably. That’s why I said he was going to be too miraculous.

“What are you doing?”

“Just chilling.” He said. I looked at the screen to see him scrolling through movies.

“Not working?”

“Taking a break, and I want some paper and colors too.”

“Oh, from my mom’s stuff?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, wait a sec, where are they?”

“In the desk drawer.”

“Got it.” I agreed before heading to his  room to grab the paper and colors, seeing my own light yellow snake that the shorty named…uh, uh, what the fuck, what was it again, forgot, whatever, I just went back to my room with the paper, handed it over, and then came back again.

Cleaned its cage and changed the water bowl as usual, then left it as it was. No one can say I’m not a good snake owner, you asshole.

Returning to my room, I saw a short one mixing watercolors, so I went to take a shower while waiting. When I finished my shower, he was just starting to paint.

“How’s it going?”

“Hmm. It’s alright.”

“What drawing is this?”

“A gondola.”

“Let me see.” I sat back down in the same chair and started looking at the drawing by his mother, a sketch of a gondola in Venice. “Oh, I miss it, do you want to go there?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

“When?”

“How about right now, I’ll book the tickets.”

“No way.”

“When we’re free then, you promised to go with me.”

“Did I promise?” He turned to ask, slightly tilting his head.

“Yeah.”

“Oh.” He said, turning back around, looking totally resigned. That’s how it is then, because no matter how he tries to refuse, I’ll force him to go anyway.    I haven’t been to Italy in years because I’m the type who prefers to travel to places I’ve never been before, doing things I’ve never done. With so little time, revisiting isn’t appealing, but seeing this drawing by his mother makes me miss it and want to go back.

And I want the short one to come with me.

Ever since you came into my life, everything in me has been a mess, damn it.

“I love you, you know.”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, without any regard for the atmosphere, I blurted it out, leaving the person I confessed my love to slightly stunned. I couldn’t help but find this expression and demeanor endearing.

“I love you. That’s why I said it.”

“Isn’t it just liking?”

“No, I think it’s love.”

“Oh, um.”

“Won’t you get tired if I say it every half hour or every time I feel it?”

“Is that love or painkillers?”

“Painkillers aren’t taken every half hour for sure, so, will you get tired?”

“If I say I’m tired?”

“Then it’s your problem, endure it until you get used to it.”

“Oh. I won’t get tired.”

“That’s good, and don’t think I’m just saying it, when I say it, I really mean it.” I said because what I said certainly wasn’t just words; it meant exactly what I just said, that I would say it every time I feel that love for you.

“I know.”

“Yeah, you know everything, can you read my mind or something?”

“No.” He answered without looking at me, pressing the tip of the brush onto the white paper to check the color and repeating the motion.

“Why not read it, so we would know each other completely?”

He turned to look at me with a smile.

“Can’t you prove it?”

“I can.” I answered without thinking. I wasn’t trying to prove anything, because what I do is already clear as day. Come to think of it, this kid is quite something, managing to tease me like Jo, “Aren’t you going to take a shower?”

“Waiting until I finish coloring this picture.”

“It’ll be late by then.”

“Hmm.”

“Tell me something about your family.”

“I’ve told you already.”

“Give me more details, any photos? You’ve seen my photos from my mom’s drawings.” I said, because all of my mom’s sketches were of places we had visited together, “Let’s exchange photos.”

“I’m not free.”

“Then give me your phone.”

“Hmm.”

“Damn, letting me see your phone isn’t something you do every day.”    “…” He didn’t respond to my teasing, not sure why I was teasing, but he had already picked up his phone from the table. Since I had secretly scanned my fingerprint into it before, I easily unlocked it. I went to the photos and scrolled to find an album named ‘Family.’

“Is this your dad and papa?”

“Hmm.”

“Sweet.” I teased again upon seeing the photo of his dad with his dad’s partner. His dad seemed like a very nice person. And his dad’s partner was just as I had seen before, “What does your dad do for work?”    “My dad is a legal consultant for business.”

“And your other dad?”

“Software company.”

“Your family is pretty rich, huh? And what about when you said you had that money problem when Khram stole your money?”

“Back then, we didn’t have much money, things weren’t settled yet.”

“Oh, who else is in your house?”

“Grandma.”

“What does she do?”

“She takes care of cats.”

“Oh, I feel like I’m interviewing you for a news piece, aren’t you going to ask anything back?”

“You can just tell me what you want me to know.”

“I want you to know everything about me.”

“Then tell me.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, really.” I said when I tried to think of what to say; mostly, you already know everything, right? “You know my dad’s profession by now, don’t you?”

“Company owner.”

“Did I tell you that?”

“Not sure, but I guessed.”

“Yeah, correct, that’s why Direk is so rich.”

“As rich as North’s boyfriend’s dad?”

“Direk is almost as rich as Jo’s father, but overall, Jo has both his father and grandfather. For me, only Direk is rich, oh, and my grandfather too. But not me.”

“Where’s your grandfather?”

“He’s in Switzerland, retired, living with grandma. He doesn’t work anymore, just leaves the inheritance for me, his only grandson. I’m waiting to inherit.” I said in jest. If Grandpa Dilok heard this, he’d definitely hit me with his cane, he’s still strong as hell despite his age.

“Oh, then tell me about your high school life.”

“Middle school in San Francisco was normal; I was a bit of a troublemaker, didn’t get better as I grew up either, but when I came to high school in Thailand, that was the peak, I had trouble almost all the time. I don’t understand why Thai schools are so wild, or maybe it’s just me being a troublemaker.”

“Oh, probably the latter.”

“Yeah. It was fun though, I was fluent in Thai from the first year, really cool. In high school, I had the nickname Arthit the Horse, I can show you if you can’t picture it.”

“…”

“And how was your high school time?”

“It was normal.”

“Oh, there’s the story about Khram too.”

“Yes.”

“Can I ask about it?”

“About Khram?”

“Yeah, have you moved on from him yet? You should have by now because if not, I’ll ride my bike to the hospital and beat him up again right now.”

“I have.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So, you’re ready to be mine then.”

“…” He was silent, not answering, his eyes focused on painting. So, I didn’t dare touch him, afraid I’d mess up his painting.

“Do you get hit on a lot?”

“No.”

“Bullshit, North said his friends like you a lot, almost to death.” I said, and those assholes better stop trying to hit on my future wife. Otherwise, I’ll deal with them one by one.

“If they’re not allowed to hit on me, they don’t. So, no one does.”

“Oh, but I get to hit on you.”

“Can’t stop you, can I?”

“Even if I wasn’t this brash, you wouldn’t have escaped, huh? Ah, I won’t ask about Khram.”

“Why not?”

“Uh, do I have to ask? But I don’t want to know.”

“Usually, you’d want to know about exes, I mean.”

“I don’t want to know, even though I love to gossip about people, but I don’t care about your past love life. No matter what you’ve been through, I don’t care.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I should ask you if you can accept me instead.”

“Why?”

“I used to be a gigolo.”

“…”

“I had to sell my dignity for survival when Direk wouldn’t give me money.”    “Oh…it’s okay, but…if you’re that hard up for money, you can talk to me about it.” it said with its usual calm voice, but the worried look on its face made me burst out laughing.

“Just kidding, you idiot, I’ve never been.”

“Oh, um.”

“Why do you look so worried?”

“It’s…pitiful.” He said, frowning.

“I’m joking, damn it, what would the rich do with me, mow the lawn in front of their house or something? But if it’s Johan, I’m interested, his wallet is thick enough to make me willing to sacrifice myself.” I said jokingly, “Yeah, but I’m not as rich as those guys. I mean, my dad is rich, but not me, I’m rich to the extent that my dad shows mercy.”

“Hmm. It’s okay.”

“Can you support me? I’m too lazy to work.”

“…Are you flirting to get me to support you?”

“Yes.”

“Then go ahead and leave.”

“Oh, you’re just kicking me out, the dog you just petted, I’m even willing to bark, please support me, seriously, as the owner, you should support your dog, right?” I said playfully, laughing.

“Can you eat dog food?”

“Yes, just give me one bag of Pedigree Sunday and that’s enough.”

“Then I guess that’s acceptable.”

“Excellent.”

“Then bark a bit.”

“Are you crazy? I was just joking!”

“I know. I was joking too, but if you really want to bark, it’s fine.”

“You’re quite the tease.” I said, “Hey, next month I have an important car race, can you come cheer for me?”

“Car race?”

“Yeah, at the big track.”

“Oh. If you’re free.”

“It’s really important, like betting billions. If you come to cheer me on, I might win.”

“Oh…it probably depends more on skill.”

“I  have skill, but I lack morale.”

“Hmm. Let’s see.” He said, “Who are you racing against?”

“The son of that company, probably not Johan, it’s Jon, and he’s not even funny, damn it.” I sighed, imagining Jo stepping onto the track, both of us would be laughing dryly, it’s a mess.

“If North’s boyfriend doesn’t win, will he lose?”

“Half and half, that bastard is hard to beat, the only one who gives me a headache every time I race against him.”

“Hmm, interesting.”

“Me?”

“Car racing.”

“Oh. No way, even when you’re focused on painting, you can still divide your attention.” I said, disappointed, watching him carefully paint. It’s good in its own way, but too bad he’s not easily distracted, “I’m sleepy.”

“Then sleep.”

“No, I want to watch you paint.”

“Why?”

“In case you make a mistake with the colors, I can warn you.” I said, and suddenly Jeon came and sat on my lap, “Oh, Mr. Jeon.”

“Mr. Jeon.” He called out his name, putting down the brush immediately, reaching out to pick him up, but Mr. Jeon had already settled on my lap,

“Oh…feeling left out now.”

“Meow.” not Mr. Jeon’s voice but mine. The one sitting next to me looked up.    “What’s up, could be a dog, could bea cat, Mr. Jeon doesn’t care about you, but I do.”

“…Hmm.” He turned back to his work, leaving me to sit still so as not to wake Mr. Jeon, secretly touching his balls too, but Mr. Jeon didn’t react at all, Cat is so easygoing. Anyone can play with your balls like that, huh?

“Why do you like cats?”

“We already raised one at home.”

“Oh, yeah, speaking of home, your fortune-telling ability comes from your grandmother, right? Like North said if I remember correctly.”

“Right.”

“Can you take a break from painting and read my fortune for a bit?”

“Hmm…okay.” He put the brush down again, “What’s your birth date?”

“Tenth of July.”

“What time?”

“Afternoon, I think.”

“Oh, um.” He took a pencil to write something on a blank sheet of paper for a while, then asked for more information before giving the fortune reading, “It’s good, you have a very strong fate, everything you do turns out well, lots of people love and support you.”

“Lots of people love? Including you?”

“No.”

“Not yet?”

I asked, but since it didn’t answer, I continued with another question, “How about love?”

“…Good.”

“What does ‘good’ mean?”

“The love graph is on the rise.” He said quietly after putting down the pen and reaching for the brush again. I noticed his ears seemed to turn redder. I thought there must be more to this fortune reading.

“No other results?”

“Hmm, but I won’t say.”

“What, that’s cheating.”

“Yes.”

“Oh well, then I’ll take a nap, I’m exhausted.”

“Hmm.”

Before I collapsed face down on the table, Mr. Jeon jumped off my lap, probably because he couldn’t sleep comfortably anymore.

“Why not go sleep on the sofa or the bed?”

“I’ve already said I want to stay with you, how many times do I have to say it?” I said without looking up, slowly closing my eyes due to the exhaustion from a day in the chaotic ward, “Or do you want me to say it clearly?”

“…It would be good if you said it.”

“Yeah, I want to stay with you, I want to hold your hand but your hands are busy, so frustrating.”

“…” He didn’t respond until I gradually fell asleep, still slumped over the table next to him.

I woke up to an unfamiliar phone ringtone. The person who was sitting next to me was nowhere to be seen, but I heard sounds from the bathroom, which meant he must be taking a shower. Checking the time, it was past 9 PM, and the painting was about half done.

   The phone making the noise belonged to the short one. I took the liberty of picking it up and saw that the caller had been saved as “Dad”. I figured it must be either his dad or his other dad. Since I was already holding it, I answered the call.    “Michael, what are you doing now?”

   “Who is Michael?” I asked, since the caller was asking what Michael was doing, I needed to know who Michael was first.

“Who are you?”

   “Dylan.”

“How do you get this phone?”

   “Ah…I’ll ask you again, who is Michael?”

“My son, Did he drop the phone?”

   “No. Are you Gavin? I’m in the next room of your son’s room.”

“I met you once, right?”

   “Yep.”

“And why do you have my son’s phone?”

   “He is in my room, and he is taking a bath now. Gavin, I have something to tell you.”

“What?”

   “I love your son.”

“What!? wait, wait, You love my son?”

   “Yes.”

“Okay, why tell me?”

   “Because I want something.”

“What?”

   “I want your son to be my wife.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 29: I Know That

   Daotok

   He insisted on sleeping on the floor next to the sofa with the reason that he wanted to be close to me, even though there was a king-size bed in the room.

He went to fetch a lamp and a book, placing them on the table.

“You’re going to read?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

I answered before lying down on the sofa at the same time he leaned back against it, pulling the table closer, opening the book and turning on the small, soft yellow lamp to shine on the pages. Now, I was lying on the sofa with him sitting, leaning back against it, reading.

“Are you going to sleep? So I can turn off the light.”

“Hmm.”

And with that, he got up to turn off the room lights, leaving only the dim glow from the lamp on the table in front. I turned onto my side, back to the light, and closed my eyes.

Even though I wasn’t sleepy, there was nothing to do but lie there and let my mind wander.

“Are you asleep yet?” He asked, breaking the silence that had lasted almost ten minutes in the room.

“Not yet.”

“Talk to me for a bit, I’m bored.”

“You won’t be able to concentrate on reading then.”

“We can talk, I want to talk.”

“Oh…uh-huh.” I stayed quiet, thinking of something to talk about so he wouldn’t get too bored. My arm was tired, so I turned to the other side, looking at the person reading from the side, “Why are you called Arthit?”

“Born on sunday.”

“You must have an English name, right? When you were abroad.”

“Dylan.”

“Oh, nice name.”

“Wow, are you complimenting me?” He turned, resting his arm on the sofa, our eyes met for a moment before I instinctively looked away.

“Complimenting the name.”

“Why did you look away?”

“…”

“It’s cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Damn, really?” He said with a tone that sounded more excited, but I kept looking elsewhere, “Come on, look at me.”

“No.”

“You…damn, why does the thought of wanting to wrestle with you keep popping up?”

“If you think about it, it’s one hit.”

“Dare to hit me?”

“Uh-huh, as punishment.”

“Why punish for just thinking?”

“Just thinking about it is bad enough.”

“Can’t help it, your future husband is like this.” His words made me turn to look at him immediately, his cheerful expression making me feel slightly annoyed,

“Let’s not talk about this, change the subject.”

“Who brought it up first?”

“Maybe you just think you’re talking more.”

‘Tell him he’s not just imagining it,’ Emma’s voice rang out. I saw her sitting across from Phii Arthit, her chin resting on her hand as she watched us.    “I won’t tell him.”

“Ha?”

“…Oh.”

“Won’t tell what?”

‘Tell him,’ Emma insisted. I sighed without realizing it. I didn’t know if it was necessary to share this, “It’s necessary. I’m part of your life, Michael.”    “Oh…it’s just…”

“What?”

“Do you remember…when I said I talked to an imaginary friend?” Suddenly, I brought this up, causing me to frown in confusion slightly, “Her name is Emma.”

“If it weren’t you, I’d think you were mocking my mom’s name.”

“No, it’s really Emma. From the start.”

“Oh, and then what?”

He seemed more interested in this topic now; his left hand, which had been writing, stopped, and he turned his attention to me.

“I still have an imaginary friend that hasn’t gone away.”

“Oh, I see, some kids do, but not me, not Meen.”

“Oh, and she’s here now, Emma is watching you.” I said. He raised his eyebrows before looking in the direction I was looking. When he turned, Emma smiled brightly at him.

“I don’t see anything.”

“She’s smiling at you.”

“Oh, I see, can I talk to her?”

‘Yes, definitely. I want to talk too.’

   “Emma says you can.”

“Am I looking in the right direction?” He asked, pointing towards Emma. The person pointed at nodded, though the one pointing couldn’t see. I confirmed before he asked, “How much do you think your friend likes me?”

‘A little now, keep going, I’m cheering for you.’

   “What did she say?”

“…” I stayed silent because I didn’t want to answer much.

‘Why are you quiet, Michael? Tell him you like him a little now.’

   “What did your friend say?” He turned to ask, both of them making me feel more exhausted.

“A little.”

“You like me a little now?”

“Uh-huh, Emma said so.”

“Emma is your subconscious, right?”

“Oh…uh-huh. Yes.”

“Wow, that’s great.” He smiled broadly before turning back to look at Emma, who smiled brightly, seemingly excited about what he would say next.

‘Why are you so excited?’ I asked Emma in my mind.

‘Not many people talk to us.’

   “In your friend’s eyes, what do you think I’m like?”

‘You look very good, with beautiful eyes that I want to draw and keep, you could say you’re very handsome. Even if your looks aren’t what made Michael open up, your character, though you speak roughly and are somewhat harsh, is actually very cute.’

   “What did she say?”

“…It’s long, forget it.” I cut him off. Telling him everything Emma said might be a bit too much…

“Damn cheater, avoiding the answer because you’re embarrassed?”    “Hmm.” I turned over, facing away from both of them.

“Then I’ll ask you instead. What do you see in me?”

“…”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll kiss you.”

“Threatening again.”

“Just answer, you can’t lie either.”

“Why do you think I can’t lie?”

“You’re not a liar, I know that.”

“Well…you’re crude, rough, but…cute.” I said the last word so softly it was almost inaudible, burying my face in the sofa and the blanket.

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve never been called cute in my life.”

“Really?”

“Usually, I get ‘handsome,’ ‘cool,’ that kind of thing.”

“Hmm, good to hear.”

“Why is it good to hear?”

“Because I’m the first one to see your cute side.”

“Agreed.”

“…?”

I was startled when he suddenly got up and sat on the still-vacant end of the sofa, making me sit up in surprise, and I was even more shocked when he seemed like he was about to take off his shirt, lifting his tank top to reveal a bit of his lower abdomen.

“Wha…what are you doing?”

“I’m ready to be yours tonight.”

“Wa…wait, stop, don’t undress.”

“Why, are you going to do it with clothes on? Sure, but with you, I’d rather take them off, or do you want to take them off for me?” He lowered his hand.    “No. Just complimenting, why do you have to take off clothes?” I immediately admonished. The person in front of me lowered his hand and let his shirt fall back into place, furrowing his brows and giving me an annoyed look.

“Oh. So, you’re ready to be my wife?”

“What?”

“Aren’t I cute?”

“Well…yes, but, uh, what is this?” I was starting to get a headache. I couldn’t understand how all these situations were connected, he smiled and burst out laughing while I was still looking confused.

“What do you expect from complimenting me?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh, really? Expecting me to be embarrassed?”

“No.”

“Damn, but I am embarrassed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, when you say it.”

“Oh, uh-huh.”

“Can I get a hug?”

“Why?”

“Don’t know, just want a hug.”

“Oh. If I say no?”

“Then no.”

I, sitting on the sofa, was quickly pulled into a hug, he spun me around so my back was against his chest, and then he leaned back against the sofa, his large hands reaching for the blanket to cover us.

“The atmosphere is right. Want to watch a movie?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What kind of movie do you like?”

“Horror movie.”

“Sure, but it’s troublesome; we’d have to get the laptop, connect it to the TV, let’s do it another day.” He said, “But not tomorrow or the day after.”

“Oh, I figured.”

“What did you figure?”

“You wouldn’t force me to stay with you for just a couple of days.”

“Move in with me then?”

“No.”

“You should think about it carefully. We could split the rent, and you wouldn’t have to deal with ghosts.”

“I like living alone.”

“I told you I’d let you live alone.”

“No.” I said, letting out a sigh. Here, living alone means I like my own room and having some personal space more than anything.

“Okay, okay, rooms next to each other is fine, I can just force you to stay with me often.”

“…”

“Comfortable?”

“…Comfortable.”

“This year it’s colder than last year, so having me to hug you is the best.”

“It’ll get hot soon.”

“Then turn up the AC.”

“…”

I didn’t respond, just let him hold me like that. No one had ever hugged me like this before, so it felt a bit strange. It took about three minutes to get used to being hugged from behind without panicking.

“Hand me the book.”

“Oh.” I complied, reaching for his book that was stacked on the table and handing it to him. He took it and placed it in front of me, “What?”

“I’m going to read like this.”

“Oh…uh-huh.”

“Can you sleep like this?”

“If I say no?”

“Then no.”

“Uh-huh.”

And then he started to focus on the book in front of him, turning it into a situation where I was reading along with him, which, of course, I didn’t understand. Even though I could translate English, I didn’t understand the content.    The book was full of content I didn’t understand, the embrace from strong arms, the warmth from his body, all of it made me feel safe and comfortable in an indescribable way.

“Are you sleepy?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Sweet dreams. You don’t have to dream about me because I’ll be holding you all night.”

“…”

I slowly stretched my legs and shifted slightly for comfort, my eyes drooping as I easily drifted off to sleep in his embrace.

…

I opened my eyes to the dim light. It seemed like the person holding me had fallen asleep with the book still open. I took the book and placed it on the table, then tried to free myself from the loose embrace of his arms.

Once out of his arms, I got up from the sofa to head to the bathroom. Due to my grogginess and unfamiliarity with the room’s layout, my left foot hit something.

!!!

“What’s that!” The room’s owner woke up after hearing the noise, looking startled to see me on the floor, quickly getting up to check on me.

“…Uh-huh.”

“Are you okay?”

“My ankle hurts.”

“Damn.”

He swore in frustration before picking me up and placing me on the bed, turning on the lights in the room and sitting down next to the bed to check my ankle immediately.

“Damn, is it sprained?”

“Maybe a little.”

He gently examined it.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“Not too much.”

“I don’t think it’s too serious, but don’t walk. If you walk, it’ll get worse.”

“Oh, okay.”

He got up from the floor, walked to get some ointment, and started applying it.

“I’ll buy you some medicine to take tomorrow, it’ll heal faster.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“You’re not going to class.”

“I have to.”

“I’ll get you an excuse note later.”

“It’s just unnecessary trouble.”

“I’ll go get the excuse note myself.”

“It’s fine.”

“Don’t be stubborn! Listen to the doctor.”

“…”

“What’s the point of being stubborn? Just stay still for a couple of days, or do you want to never walk again because I’ll chain you up? Choose.”

“I’ll stay still for a couple of days.”

“Good.”

He gently massaged the ointment into my ankle. It felt a bit strange to have someone else applying ointment for me.

“Your pants are in the way, pull them up.”

“Oh.”

Because his pants were so long that they covered my ankle, making it inconvenient to apply the ointment. I pulled up my pants as he instructed, and he slowly looked up to watch.    “Your leg is pretty nice.”

“Oh…really?”

“It’s worth putting over a shoulder.” [1] If you know you know

“What does that mean…”

“Not telling.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Not going to ask?”

“If you don’t tell, then you don’t tell.”

“Cool.” He shrugged, not too bothered. After applying the ointment, he wrapped my ankle and then got up to put away the ointment tube, “Why did you get up?”

“I needed to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh, come, I’ll carry you in.”

“No.”

“Then what will you do?”

“I can walk.”

“I told you not to be stubborn.” He said, somewhat annoyed, before picking me up and carrying me into the bathroom, gently setting me down in front of the toilet.

“Don’t look.”

“Why be shy? I’m just helping you stand.”

I didn’t respond, just furrowed my brows at him in displeasure. He chuckled a little before turning his back.

“If you look, I’ll be mad.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, hurry up or your foot will hurt more. Good thing the bathroom floor isn’t slippery.”

“Hmm.”

I quickly took care of my business.

“Done?”

“Hmm.”

And then he turned back to lift me up again, placing me gently on the bed.    “Stay on the bed then, I’ll continue reading.” He said. I looked at the clock and saw it was past four in the morning, “Sleep, I won’t come to the bed.”

“Will you go running?”

“Me? Sure, you watch the room then, what do you want for breakfast? I’ll bring something back.” He asked, “Soy milk, it’s close by.”

“Hmm.”

“Okay, if you’re in pain or anything, call me.”

“Hmm.”

And then he walked back to sit on the sofa, lying down to continue reading as he had mentioned. I thought around five-thirty, almost six, he would go out jogging like last time, and with sleepiness taking over, I drifted off again with a warm feeling at my ankle from the ointment he had applied.

I woke up to the morning sunlight coming through the window. I looked around the room but couldn’t see the room’s owner anywhere. Checking the time, it was past eight, so I guessed he must have gone to his ward early in the morning.    I noticed the ankle bandage had been changed to a new one, with the smell of fresh ointment indicating he had reapplied it and changed the bandage before leaving.

I checked my phone as I do every morning and found messages from Phii Arthit sent around seven-thirty.

☀︎: The soy milk place wasn’t open.

   ☀︎: There’s rice in the fridge, warm it up, and take your medicine too.

   ☀︎: Yellow one, take 1, white one, take 2, after you eat.

   ☀︎:. I’ll bring lunch.

   ☀︎: Don’t walk around too much, just sit or lie down.

   ☀︎: Reply when you wake up.

   SS: Understood.

   I replied with just that and left the chat; he hadn’t read it yet, probably because he was busy. I put my phone down and slowly lowered my feet from the bed, putting weight on them to stand up, finding that it wasn’t so painful that I couldn’t stand.

However, when I tried to walk just a few steps, a sharp pain shot up, so I leaned against the wall to rest before heading to the bathroom. I just washed my face, brushed my teeth, and came out, warmed some rice in the microwave, ate, and took my medicine as he instructed.

I saw Mr. Jeon playing in the corner of the room, and noticed there was a tray with leftover food next to his bed, indicating that he had been given breakfast. Though I wanted to play with him, my ankle wasn’t cooperating, and calling him over would be difficult. Plus, it would disturb his nap. So, I could only watch.    Today, I have class with North. If North knew I tripped and sprained my ankle, I’d definitely get scolded.

I looked around to see what I had tripped on last night, but there was nothing at the spot where I fell.

I stopped caring and turned my attention back to my computer screen. Since I had some free time, I’d end up working. I kept working until I heard the door open, and it was the owner of the room coming in, wearing a white gown.

“How are you?”

“A bit better.”

“Good. You didn’t walk much, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Oh, lunch, eat your lunch and don’t forget to take your medicine.” He said before placing the food bag on the table and quickly turned to leave, closing and locking the door. I was left confused, not having had the chance to ask anything; he really just dropped off the food. He didn’t have more time than that.

I opened the bag to find it was just regular takeout food. I ate about half of it before I was full, then took all my medicine and continued working.

Staying in the room all day was never a problem for me; I even enjoyed it because I could work, or if there was no work, I could watch movies or play games.

I continued working until I heard a knock at the door, so I had to go open it, finding North standing there with his hair styled up as if he’d just ridden a motorcycle, holding a bag of something in his hand.

“Hey, you, Phii Arthit said you sprained your ankle?”

“Uh-huh.”

Then North walked into the room, placing the bag, which seemed to contain snacks, on the table next to my computer.

“First things first, I want to say I didn’t want to come to this spooky place at all, but Arthit said I was being a coward. Honestly, I’m not a coward, that’s why I came.”

“Oh, I see.”

“I came to visit you, brought some snacks too, eat up.” North said, pulling out many small bags of snacks from his bag.

“Aren’t you going to eat, North?”

“Nah, all for you.”

“…” I remained silent without responding, looking at him with suspicion. It’s impossible for North to share snacks without eating any himself like this, “Tell me straight.”

“What?”

“Is there something in these snacks?”

“No way, why? Do I look suspicious? I’m just being kind, bringing snacks for the sick, you sprained your ankle, right? Eat this, and it’ll flip back, heal.”

“Heal the pain?”

“Heal you out of this world, spit, why make such a big deal? Here, I’ll leave it here, you eat it.”

“You’re not good at lying, huh?” I said before picking up one bag, opening it, and trying a piece. Of course, it was just regular snacks, but what wasn’t regular was North’s behavior right now.

“Okay, honestly, it’s cursed snacks.”

“What?”

“Sigh, damn.” North sighed in annoyance and flopped onto the bed, “Can I sleep here? Is this the bed where you two hug each other?”    “No.” I answered truthfully.

“He doesn’t hug you? Wow, unbelievable, for that clingy senior.”

“So how is it cursed?” I asked while finishing off one bag, sitting on the desk chair and swiveling to face North, who was lying on the bed, taking off his shirt jacket in irritation, now just in a t-shirt. I remember North complaining that his boyfriend told him to wear it, and it was very hot.

“Hot as hell, huh, what did you ask again?”

“How it’s cursed.”

“Did you eat it?”

“Yes.”

“Yes!” He said with a delighted expression, “I’m safe tonight.”

“…”

“Here’s the thing…you know. No, you don’t know, forget it. One of my friends, named Tee, he’s got fleas too. That dog-faced guy, he secretly put this bag of snacks in my bag, and by the time I noticed, it was too late to return it. I messaged him asking why he put snacks in my bag, if it was some new way of pranking, and he said yes.”

“Yes, how?”

“The snacks he stole from the child spirit at his house.”

“So he gave them to me ?”

“You’re not afraid of ghosts, right? Help me out here, I don’t want the little ones chasing me for their snacks.”

“Why would he prank you North?”

“Right, I’m quite delicate. I just poured some oil on his shirt and lit it on fire, what’s there to be so angry about?”

“Oh…oh, right. He shouldn’t be so mad as to give cursed snacks.”

“I just got him back, see, my shirt is all black now, we had to light each other up in the whole department that day, it was chaos, but it went out with just a few pats.”

“Oh, I can imagine, what a cute prank.”

“Yeah, don’t let bastards live together.” North said casually, “Ha, that flea-ridden Tee, he can’t do anything to me. Just a child spirit, ha, even the ghost of a toilet can do shit to me, hey, you know, I’ll call to mock Tee first.”

And then North really called to mock him. If I were Tee, I’d be pretty annoyed at North. After North hung up, I called out to him.

“North.”

“Huh? What?”

“When you opened your heart to his partner, how was it?”

“Why ask…oh, oh, oh, damn, this story needs elaboration.” North said excitedly, moving to sit beside me instead, pulling a chair over, “What’s going on with you and Arthit?”

“I’ve opened my heart to him.”

“Damn, what made you so dizzy?”

“…He’s sincere.”

“Yeah, I know, he’s foolish, he can’t deceive anyone, just like me.”

“You’re insulting yourself.”

“Yeah, whatever, so what, go on, tell me.”

And then I gave a brief rundown of what had happened since I decided to open up to him. In fact, it all happened just yesterday evening.

   “And how was his reaction? Did my brother die from the shock?”

“He…looked strange.” I said, furrowing my brows, trying to find the right words, while North laughed cheerfully, “When I complimented him by saying he was cute, he said he was ready to be mine, and then he was going to take off his shirt.”    “Damn, what a vulgar face.” North laughed, holding his head, “Why so eager? Just because of a compliment? Can’t you just compliment him a little without him stripping? Crazy, so easy to please, what else happened?”

“Hmm…and then I sprained my ankle. Oh, North, he complimented my legs, saying they’re beautiful and that he’d like them over his shoulders. What does that mean?”

“Over his shoulders?” North furrowed his brows, pondering, “Oh, oh, damn, what a mess. It’s like that moment when you need to put your legs over his shoulders, try imagining it.”

“That moment? …Oh, oh, that’s bad, why is he like that?” Once I understood the implication, I let out a big sigh, but I wasn’t surprised at his kind of humor.

“He’s so damn eager, he’s got the heart for it.” North said with a pleased laugh,

“Oh, I heard he came to see you at noon.”

“How did you know?”

“Ter told me, Phii Arthit was doing rounds with Phii Hill these days. Phii Hill said today there was hardly time to breathe, but Phii Arthit made a quick trip to deliver food to you and then dashed back, like a speed demon.”

“Riding a motorcycle?”

“Maybe twisting ears or something, why so fast, I can’t even think.” North said. I couldn’t help but smile at his confused look, “Did you eat and take your medicine?”

“Yeah, and how was class today?”

“We had a pair project, just right. I’ll send you the details later, let Arthit take notes.” North said since we had one class together today, “I’ve told the professor you’re excused, don’t forget to submit the excuse note later.”

“Hmm, got it.”

“Your  leg’s been bad for several days now.”

“I can walk, it should be fine in a few days.”

“Yeah, but why are you staying in his room?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No, he called this morning, said to come keep you company after class, told me you sprained your ankle in his room and gave me a brief rundown on you two.”

“Oh. He just took my key card.”

“Forced you to stay with him?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, my senior, he forces what he can’t have, and you still opened your heart to this damn devil, for God’s sake.”

“Would you not do the same?”

“Not if it was Phii Arthit.” North said, “Do you think we’re alike?”

“Alike. He’s just more vulgar.”

“Like siblings crawling after each other. No way, I don’t want to be with someone like me.” North waved his hand dismissively, “What about the snake?”

“It’s in my room now.”    “Oh, switched rooms?”

“Yes.”

“Uh-huh…he’s got guts, but what did you trip on?”

“I don’t know, it was dark at the time, and I forgot to look. When I checked in the morning, it was gone.” I said, pointing to where I fell last night, and North looked over.

“He probably threw it away.”

“Oh, really?”

“And you’re wearing his shirt and pants? They’re so loose.”

“Uh-huh. I didn’t have a change of clothes.”

“Want my shirt? I’ll take it off for you.”

“North, you’re always quick to strip too.” I teased.

“Kidding, then should I climb up to get you a shirt? And bring some other stuff of yours too.”

“No need, it’s dangerous, this is the seventh floor.”

“I’m good at climbing, I used to have a job that involved a lot of climbing.”    “Jo?”

“Coconut seller.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re good at cracking jokes, but they’re not funny.”

“I was laughing inside, loudly too.”

“Okay, got it.” North nodded, “So what are you doing?”

“Working.”

“Then I’ll just disturb you.”

“Right.”

“Out of kindness, you don’t have to keep it.” North pretended to complain, “Can you sense anything from these snacks, or is the little brother just messing with me?”

“I don’t know. It’s fine, I’ll keep them for us.”

“You’re too kind, willing to be deceived for me, true friend, die with me, man.”

“No.”

“You’ll die with Phii Arthit, huh?” North squinted, teasing me. I kept a straight face until he looked bored, “Have you ever been embarrassed by teasing? Have you ever felt embarrassed in your life? Did you come with emotions attached?! Do you have a heart at all?”

“It’s colored.”

“Huh?”

“He’s the one who made me realize I have a heart too.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 28: Crazy You

   Daotok

   I was working with one of my hands being held warmly. After my words seemed to give him permission to do whatever he wanted, he looked as excited as a child who got candy after being praised by a teacher.

“You’re giving me hope here.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re giving me courage, and now, it feels like I can do anything.”

“No, you can’t.”

“You let me kiss you just now.”

“Is that called letting?” I countered, before when he suddenly leaned in to kiss my cheek without warning, I was genuinely surprised, and by the time I composed myself, he had already withdrawn his lips. Complaining would only make me more frustrated.

“See what happens when you play with fire?”

“…” I didn’t respond while my other hand was still sketching on the tablet. It wouldn’t be long before today’s work was done.

I still couldn’t believe I had to stay over at his place. I didn’t feel safe at all. I planned to wait for him to fall asleep before sneaking out to a nearby hotel.

“Almost done, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Quick, huh? Must have gotten a lot of encouragement from me.”

“Then it’ll take even longer to finish, it feels like something’s holding me back.”

“You’ve got a sharp tongue.”

“Kidding.”

“So, you felt encouraged by me?”

“Oh…this is encouragement?”

“Yes, but I’m also taking some bonus.” He said, looking at our clasped hands. He started pulling my hand closer and kissed the back of it, moving to the fingertips, then gently biting my knuckle. I watched these actions without understanding.

“Why bite?”

“It’s itchy.”

“Like a newborn puppy or something?”

“Why does it have to be a puppy?”

“Puppies get itchy teeth and like to bite everything.”

“Who told you that?”

“Grandma.”

“Oh, yeah, but I do have itchy teeth.”

“It hurts.”

“Hurts?”

“I mean from last time when you bit my neck.”

“I told you I wouldn’t do that anymore.”

“Hmm.”

“Until you’re okay with it, that is, but you’ve opened up to me already.” He said, laughing in a good mood, still messing with my cheek and hand. Even though it was annoying, I didn’t complain for the same reason as before; complaining would just be a waste of energy. I’ve resigned myself to the situation.

Besides…it doesn’t feel bad.

It doesn’t feel disgusting or give me goosebumps. It’s just a bit annoying.    I didn’t respond further, focusing on the work in front of me until I lost track of time, and I had gotten so used to his touch that I didn’t mind the hand that still hadn’t let go, until the work was done and sent to the client.

I only realized that the person next to me had been quiet for a while. I turned to look and found him dozing off, with one arm supporting his head and the other hand holding mine.

It’s like he came to watch me work…no, that’s exactly what he did, he sat here watching me work until he fell asleep.

‘You first smile’

   A familiar sweet voice that I hadn’t heard in a while rang out. I turned to see a little girl in a white dress holding a teddy bear, Emma standing beside me with her usual wide, cheerful smile.

During my time abroad, I didn’t take Emma with me, so we hadn’t seen each other for a while.

As Emma said…I found myself smiling at him without realizing it.

‘He looks so tired, doesn’t he?’

   ‘Yeah, must have been studying hard. Plus, he woke up early.’

   I thought to myself before slowly pulling my hand away. I didn’t think it would wake him up. His beautiful eyes opened slowly, looking displeased at being woken up so suddenly; he furrowed his brows at me.

“Is your work done?”

“Uh-huh, go back to sleep.”

“No, I was just napping, I’ll read some more.”

“Oh.”

“You should go take a shower, I’ll lend you a shirt.”

“…It’s fine, I can sleep in my old clothes.”

“What’s wrong with just borrowing my shirt?”

“It won’t fit.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He replied before letting go of my hand and getting up to go to the wardrobe. The hand he had just released felt cold immediately. The room owner brought me a T-shirt and long pants. I looked at them and immediately knew I’d have to roll up the pants several times.

“I’ll wash them and return them later.”

“No worries, I’ll keep them to sniff.”

“…”

“What? I like your smell.” He said, laughing when he saw my surprised expression, “It’s normal, even North does it. If I had to choose between sniffing your shirt or hugging you, which would you prefer?”

“Neither.”

“You’re so stingy.”

“Uh-huh.” I responded before heading to the bathroom, closing the door hurriedly. I don’t know why, but I felt I needed to close it quickly. I heard laughter from the other side.

“Afraid I’ll come in and see you showering or what?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I won’t do it, even if I want to see.”

“…”

“Actually, I’ve installed a camera inside, you take off your shirt and I can see it on my phone.”

His words made me pause because I was indeed about to take off my shirt.

“Will…you really?”

“Just kidding, why? were you about to take off your shirt just now?”

“Hmm.”

“Hahaha. Okay, I won’t tease you, I feel sorry for you.”

“You didn’t install a camera, right?”

“Why would I install a camera in my own bathroom? To watch myself shower?

Go shower, you’re too suspicious of me.”

“But it’s you.”

“So what if it’s me?”

“Whatever.”

I cut him off before really taking off my clothes, getting into the bathtub, turning on the warm water, and waiting for the tub to fill up. I leaned back, scooping water to splash on my face to relax, and after a while, Emma walked through the door, sitting down on the floor, holding onto the edge of the tub.

‘Michael.’

   “Hmm.”

I answered softly, certain that no one else could hear.

‘I’m glad that you opened your heart to someone.’

   “Why?”

‘Even though he’s rough and seems harsh, his love is like that of a very innocent child.’

   “Really?”

‘Hmm,’ Emma responded, dipping her finger into the water and swirling it around, ‘He’s never had love, he’s sincere and doesn’t lie. There’s nothing hidden, he’s natural, he’s everything you like.’

   “But I only opened up a bit. Just thinking that it might be safe with this person.”

‘That’s right, it should be safe, huh?’

   “Yes.”

It should be safe…

With everything he’s done for me…as I was about to leave his house, I suddenly thought:

‘If it’s this person…then it should be okay.’

   I feel like it would be safe. If I placed my heart in his hands, he wouldn’t break it again because he makes me feel that way…so I want to try opening my heart to him.

‘Michael, you might not like him that much yet, but I think that no matter how long it takes, he’ll stay.’

   “If he really stays, then…”

‘Doesn’t you want it to be him, the one who will stay until the day you dares to give your whole heart?’

   “But I don’t know how long it will take, it seems like I am selfish to make him wait without a goal.”

‘Michael, you warned him about this when he confessed…and he said he would stay, didn’t he?’

   Emma’s words made me remember the first day he confessed his love. I both rejected and warned him that it might be a waste of time, but it was him who insisted he wanted to stay. I don’t know how serious his words were, but I want to try trusting him once.

“If one day he gets tired of waiting because we never like him back…”

‘He said you don’t have to like him, he just wants to be with you. If one day he really leaves, it means he’s like everyone else who just lies, but we’re confident he’s not like that.’

   “Well, you never know, people can change.”

‘Michael is hoping…that he won’t change.’

   “Yeah…probably.”

‘Believe me, he doesn’t lie; he might be the most honest being on this earth.’

Emma’s words made me inadvertently smile, ‘Why not read his heart then?’

   “No.”

‘Why?’

   “It seems dishonest, using that ability. Besides…if he doesn’t lie, he should prove it himself, why should we be the ones to prove it?”

‘Michael you talk a lot more now.’

   “Really?”

‘Hmm. You talk more when you’re with him, you even ask questions back. It’s different from before.’

   “And is that good?”

‘It’s good, of course, you’re a bit stronger now. Good love will make a person grow,’ Emma said, her eyes on the teddy bear floating in the warm water of the tub. ‘Do you remember the first day you created me?’

   “Hmm.”

‘Back then, Michael had no one, so you created me. I was the only one you could talk to about everything. I hope he can become that person instead of me.

Then I can retire.’

   “You don’t want to talk to me anymore?”

‘Not at all, but having someone you can truly trust and rely on is better, isn’t it?’

   “Hmm.”

‘But if you’re lonely, you can still call me to talk anytime.’

   “Understood.”

‘And…you like it when he’s jealous, right?’

   “Hmm, it feels good…in a way.”

‘Ha ha, that’s strange, even though he can be scary.’

   “When someone gives you attention, you’re bound to feel good…I think.”

‘But you are starting to get used to his touch, aren’t you ?’

   “A little, like if he holds my hand for a long time and then suddenly lets go, it feels…empty, I can’t quite describe it.”

‘He’s slowly infiltrating, and before you know it, you are already used to it.’

   “Like a worm burrowing into our life.”

‘…Yeah, I guess so.’

   After talking with Emma for a while, I let myself relax in the hot water with the short-haired, brown-haired girl humming a tune from where she sat. Emma’s face has never changed since I can remember, she’s just grown taller. Her face resembles that of an American girl from a movie I liked when I was young, wearing a white dress and holding a teddy bear. I created her based on my own likes.

‘Michael’

   “What?”

‘Do you want me to talk to him?’

   “…”

‘You’ve accidentally told him about us, haven’t you? Deep down, you’re happy that he treated it like it was normal.’

   “He just didn’t say anything.”

I said, and my smiling expression didn’t change at all. Emma is an imaginary friend that sometimes I think of as real because I’ve never once changed her character or appearance to suit my whims. Emma remains Emma, a part of my subconscious that can’t lie or deceive me.

If he showed any sign of thinking it’s strange or not accepting it, Michael would never open his heart to him.

“…”

‘What’s important is that someone who truly accepts our real self without wanting to change it, sees our true self as the best.’

   “Which is rare.”

‘But you’ve found him.’

   “…Oh, uh. I think I …”

‘Are you embarrassed?’

   “Yes. I think it’s too much. If everything he says is true…”

‘You’re saying this again, whether it’s true or not, you’ve already talked. And what’s too much?’

   “His sincerity, his feelings…it’s too much.” I said softly, my eyes gazing absentmindedly at the light yellow wall, sinking further into the warm water until only my eyes were visible. I wasn’t sure if my flushed face was due to the hot water or embarrassment.

But my heart was beating fast again…

‘Not used to it?’

   “Yes.” I answered in my mind before sinking my head completely into the hot water, staying there until I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, then I surfaced.

‘You like doing this when you can’t think of anything, huh?’

   “Hmm.”

‘Did you think of anything new?’

   “Not at all.”

I answered, soaking in the bath for a while longer before getting out, drying off, and getting dressed. I had to fold the sleeves several times and roll up the pants to make them fit properly. Imagine a shirt and pants that are way too big, with sleeves and pant legs folded several times; it probably doesn’t look great, and I definitely don’t like it much.

I pulled the drawstring of my pants as tight as I could to keep them from falling, checked myself in the mirror to make sure everything was okay, and then left the bathroom.

As soon as I stepped out, I saw the owner of the room lying on the sofa. He heard the door open and sat up, turning to look at me.

“Wow.” He said, looking somewhat astonished by something. I didn’t care and immediately asked something else.

“Where should I put the towel?”

“Hang it anywhere.”

“Hmm.” I walked to hang the towel on the balcony.

“And you’re going to sleep now?” He asked. It was almost nine at night, so I nodded in response. Since I’d finished my work, there was nothing left to do. He got up from the sofa and approached me. I instinctively backed away until I hit the wall. Seeing this, he smiled, “You’re so suspicious of me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What I want to do.” He said before leaning down and pressing his nose against my neck, making me tense up without realizing it. I tried to push him away but failed; he moved up to nuzzle around my ear, making me feel ticklish all over.

“Get off.”

“When you’re wet, you’re damn sexy.”

He whispered in a hoarse voice, and suddenly my heart started beating faster. His warm breath and soft lips pressed against my neck and shoulder, kissing and nibbling gently.

“No…no.” I tried to push him away with all my strength, but the person in front of me only snuggled closer, making my face flush with heat. Those kisses indicated how skilled he was before he started sucking and biting, causing pain.    “No, get off, you said you wouldn’t do this anymore.” I said firmly and pushed him away with all my might.

And he finally backed off willingly, looking somewhat displeased.

“You make me lose my mind.”

“What?”

“Why did you put on my shirt like that?” He furrowed his brows, pulling my collar into place. I looked down. When I checked in the mirror, I thought the collar was fine, but because the shirt was too large, the neckline was too wide. “Do something so I don’t see it, damn, it’s so white.”

“…”

“Dry your hair too, quick.”

“Understood.” I said before quickly adjusting my collar to cover myself properly, breathing a little heavily because my heart was beating so fast. Saying I wasn’t scared at all wouldn’t be possible, but it seemed like he was trying to control himself too.

“Damn…can I endure this for three nights?” He muttered to himself, gently rubbing his face and running his hand through his hair.

“You can let me go back, you know.”

“No way.”

“You promised not to do anything.”

“I know, but who told you to be so white. Not good. It’s not about being white, I’m crazy about you, understand?”

“…”

“I’m almost going crazy for you.”

“I understand.”

“Then answer.”

“Just…uh, I can’t speak. I didn’t think it would be that much.” I said honestly, feeling my heart flutter inside. Whether it was his actions or his words, they all made me feel shaky, though I didn’t show it.

It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that normally, no matter how I feel, I always show a calm demeanor; it’s become part of me. No matter how chaotic it is inside, I stay calm on the outside, and it’s been a long time since my heart was this turbulent.

   “It’s like that, damn, aren’t you overdoing it? Just finished showering, just showing a bit of shoulder and chest, and my hair’s wet, I’m just…you’re even better than a porn star, I’m telling you.”

“…” I was taken aback because I didn’t expect him to compare like that. I can say I’m just an ordinary guy who isn’t sexy or appealing in any way, but he seemed to be struggling so much that he was upset at himself for reacting this way, “Uh…”    “What, I’m trying to keep my composure here!” He exclaimed loudly.

“…”

“Calm down.” I said, “Take deep breaths.”

“Why does the one who made me lose my mind have to help me regain it? How come you’re more composed than me when I’m the one messing with you?”

“Try thinking about your dad’s face. Did you enjoy the meal with Direk today?”    “…” He fell silent upon hearing what I said, looking stunned for almost half a minute before he spoke, “Uh, it was…okay, what’s this about?”

…

“It’s to change what you’re thinking about, so you stop thinking about what just happened.”

“While you’re standing there in my clothes, and you want me to think about

Direk? Oh, shit, now I’ve got a headache.”

“Did it help?”

“A little, let me call Direk for a moment.”

“Okay, try it. Let him help you regain your composure.”

“Yeah, okay, wait here.”

“Hmm.”

…

Arthit

   “Direk.”

(What now?)

   “What should I do?”

(Huh? What’s with you?)

   “It’s like…I got aroused, you know, because the short guy just took a shower. With my imagination going wild, I was picturing things, and then he walks out, all damp, wearing my shirt that’s way too big, you can see his chest and shoulders a bit, he’s so white, not that the whiteness matters, it’s just him. I went crazy, like something snapped and I lost my mind. He smells so good, so soft, I wanted to…I wanted it so bad.”

(You got aroused, that’s what you’re saying.)

   “Yeah, that’s it, damn, I was aroused, really bad.”

(Did you do anything to him?)

   “Use his neck. Suck on his neck too, so damn fragrant, is it pheromones? I’m dizzy, damn it.”

(He has parents, Arthit.)

   “I know, damn it. Who grows out of mold, anyway?”

(You like him. It’s not strange, especially when you’re infatuated with him.)    “Really? But I’ve never felt like this before.”

(You like him, that’s why he’s different from others. You’re head over heels without even realizing it, you fool.)

   “And survive for three nights, will we make it?”

(Hey?)

   “Hmm.”

(Just keep your composure, Arthit. If you can do that, he’ll definitely like you.)

   “Damn, but he said he’s opened his heart.”

(Yeah, he’s made the effort to open up, and you go drooling over him, you bastard.)

   “A little more and it would be drool hanging from a kite.”

(Oh, damn, I can’t take it, don’t say things like that to him, you bastard.)

   “Just kidding, I wouldn’t say that to him.”

(Really?)

   “Really, at most just general vulgarity. I’m not that kind of person. I don’t talk dirty in bed.”

(Good, feeling better now?)

   “Yeah, feeling better, Direk, you’re a lifesaver, thanks a lot.”

(Sigh, why, why do I have to have a son like you?) Direk let out a big sigh, (He’s cute, so take good care of him. He’s just tiny, don’t be too rough or he’ll get bruised all over.)

   “Yeah, he’s really small. I’m not that big either, but my shirt is so loose on him.”

(You’re not big, my ass, your muscles are as big as my head.)

   “Head of what?”

(Shoulder, that’s what.)

   “Ke, he told me to think about your face while I was trying to stay composed.”

(Shit) Direk burst out laughing loudly, (Really?)

   “Really. I was thinking, uh…what does my dad’s face look like?”    (Damn, want to put my picture on your bedpost, you bastard, such a pervert.)

   “Kidding. But thinking about you did help, it was him who told me to calm down, it’s just so damn confusing.” I said, laughing along now that everything was back to normal, the one who was affected is more composed than me, the one who caused it, damn, “Direk.”

(What?)

   “Direk.”

(What’s with you?)

   “Direk.”

(What the hell are you calling for?)

   “I like him, I really do.”

(Then go tell him, why are you telling me?)

   “I’ve told him morning, noon, and night, I think. I like him, I like him a lot, I like him so much I don’t know what to do about it, damn.”

(Can’t you just keep it in your pants?)

   “Keep what in my pants, if I keep it in, I can’t even hug him.”

(Yeah, you’re right about that.)

   “I’m hanging up now, going back to him.”

(Is everything back to normal?)

   “Yes, all good, tonight will definitely pass smoothly.”

And then I hung up from Direk after acting crazy for a while. I don’t know what it was, but just seeing him walk out of the bathroom made me feel exactly as I described to Direk. I lost my mind for a moment until he helped me regain it and pushed me away. Truth is, that push wasn’t strong enough to really move me, but I backed off willingly.

After that, I was irritated and didn’t even understand myself. I was irritated because I had to feel this way about this short guy. I knew he still couldn’t handle all my feelings, but damn, I couldn’t control myself.

But it really is that much, you know, just seeing him makes me almost crazy, like I’m so damn in love I don’t even know if he’ll accept it.

I opened the door and found that little guy seemingly searching for something in the wardrobe.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for a small blanket.”

“Up top.”

“Oh.”

I reached up to grab the blanket from the top shelf, but before I could pull it out, I found myself close to him, so instead, I hugged him from behind. He stiffened and seemed unsure of what to do.

“Sorry.”

“…”

“I don’t understand it myself, I just told you a moment ago. Didn’t mean to.”

“Oh…it’s okay.”

“Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“I don’t know what’s happening to me.” I lowered my head to rest on his small, fragile shoulder, “But I like you.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I really do, I like you so much I don’t know what to do anymore.”

…

Daotok

   The embrace from behind didn’t make me feel too uncomfortable. Right now, I feel like he doesn’t dare to hold me tightly, laying his face gently on my shoulder. I could sense his voice sounding almost like a plea.

What I thought a few minutes ago about it being too much must be true. His feelings for me are overwhelming, so much so that I, who have just started, can’t keep up.

He’s said he likes me countless times. It’s not that he doesn’t value those words, but he truly means it, like he likes me so much he doesn’t know where to put it, so it spills out in words.

“Uh-huh, I understand.”

“Understand what?”

“When you said you like me …”

“Oh, hmm.” and he hugged me a bit tighter, “How much do you like me?”

“Not as much as you like me, for sure.”

“I’m not expecting that.”

“Oh…”    No.

Because if one day I start liking him, it won’t be any less than how much he likes me.

“I don’t like you…that much yet, but I’ve…opened up a lot. So, can you not scare me again?”

“I’ll try.” He said in a softer voice than usual, “What’s my score now?”

“Minus one, for scaring me.”

“No, I’ve realized my mistake, let’s call it even at zero.”

“Oh…you want zero?”

“…”

“I saw that you realized your mistake, so I’ll give you two…minus one leaves one, but if you want zero, that’s okay.”

“One, give me one.”

“Okay.” I secretly smiled, thinking he wouldn’t know that I’m slowly opening up and gradually liking him more and more. I’m aware of it. Just look at everything he does. It’s just that I haven’t liked him that much yet because it’s just the beginning. “Sigh, you must have put something in that omelet in San Francisco, are you into witchcraft or something?” He asked playfully, then released me from the hug and reached for a blanket.

“Yes, witchcraft.”

“What kind?”

“Archery buffalo curse.”

“Trying to kill me, huh?”

“Yes.”

“And here I thought I got one point.” He said with a good-natured laugh, no longer seeming as troubled as before. While he was out talking on the phone, I dried my hair and used a safety pin to keep my shirt from being too loose. Luckily, I found one in the closet; it must have fallen from one of the shirts in there, “Come on, be my boyfriend already, you do like me.”

“Just a little.” I said, taking the blanket and hugging it as I walked to the sofa with him following behind, “Aren’t you going to shower?”

“I’ll shower if you stand guard.”

“No.”

“Oh, I’ll shower first then.”

“Uh-huh.”

And then he went into the bathroom with a towel and a change of clothes. I sat down on the sofa and plugged my phone into the charger on the table. The thought of sneaking out when he’s asleep was still there, but thinking about it, would he even sleep? He just took a nap, and he probably stays up late like me.

“Why take the blanket if you’re going to sleep on the sofa?” He walked out of the bathroom and remarked immediately. He was in a black tank top and long pants, the black tank top looking good on him, especially with the tattoo peeking out from his shoulder, along with his muscular arms that showed he worked out a lot. I averted my eyes before he teased me for staring.

“Uh-huh.”

“Go sleep in the bed, it’s better.”

“No.”

“Hey.”

“No.”

“Want me to carry you?”

“Want me to deduct points?” I threatened. I didn’t want to do this, but I wouldn’t let him take advantage or be pushy anymore.

“Damn, you’re negotiating.”

“Yes.”

“Think I’m scared or something?”

“…Aren’t you scared?”

“No, minus is minus, the score is secondary, the main thing is I want to be with you.” He said with a relaxed tone. I let out a small sigh, that’s right…this is Phii Arthit after all, “So, you’ll sleep on the sofa?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, I’ll spare you tonight, considering I did something wrong to you.” He said before laying out a blanket on the floor next to the sofa.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to be close, that’s why.”

“Oh…why not go sleep in the nice bed?”

“Will you go to bed?”

“No.”

“Then I’ll stay here.”

“…”

 

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