SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 41: Friend

   Tonfah

   Before Phoon sent the message about wanting to go out, there was no reason to stop him since he wanted to hang out with friends, and it’s just the zoo they were going to. The only thing I was worried about was him getting lost, hoping he wouldn’t get too caught up in taking photos to forget about his friends.    But I told North and Ter to look after Phoon.

Time passed until lunchtime. I called Phoon who was out sightseeing, seeing that they were having fun walking around and taking photos. Now they were eating, and not long after, I hung up to go get something to eat too.

I came to the faculty’s cafeteria to eat because I was too lazy to walk far.

“Do you have more classes after this?” Jo asked. I nodded in response, “What’s the heavy subject?”    “Still not used to it?” I asked.

“I’m used to it, but I want to complain.”

“Uh, finals are coming up soon.”

“Can we not talk about that, Hill? I’m discouraged,” Arthit complained, letting out a big sigh, “Even the food isn’t good, damn it, nothing’s going my way.”

“I told you that place isn’t good,” Jo said.

“It’s less crowded, I’m too lazy to wait.”

“Then just eat and don’t complain.”

“But Phoon, why would he suggest going to Suan Sathorn?” Hill turned to ask me.

“He probably likes today’s light, so he wants to go take photos, and he must be free too.”    “Oh.”

“Uh, Jo, Hill.”

“What? / What?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“Have you guys ever talked about kids?”

“Huh?” My question made both of them look a bit surprised before

Hill answered, “Yeah, Ter said he wants to adopt.”

“North asked me,” Jo replied, “but I don’t like kids, so no.”    “Oh, okay,” I nodded to Jo, “Then, Hill, about adopting, did you talk about anything more than that?”

“No,” Hill shook his head slightly, “He wouldn’t answer when I asked.”

“Shy?” I raised my eyebrows in question, and the person I asked nodded instead of answering, “Ah, same here.”

“Why ask all of a sudden?”

“Last night, Phoon was drunk and started talking about kids, asking if I’d have time for them even though I work hard, and if I’d be a cute dad to them,” I explained, “The peak was when he said he’d run away with the kid if I scolded him.”

My words made everyone at the table burst out laughing together.

   “Phoon would run away with the kid from you?” Jo asked, still laughing, “Holy shit, that’s pitiful.”

“I feel sorry for you,” Arthit said, “Getting run off with the kids, the heart of a father, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Doesn’t he think about the heart of a father like me?” I said, laughing along with them.

“But have you guys talked about kids already? That’s fast,” Arthit commented.

“We haven’t talked about it seriously. Just casual talk,” I said, “But seriously, time flies, I’ll be twenty-four when I graduate with Phoon.” Because my degree is for six years, and Phoon took two gap years, so we’ll graduate at the same time.

“And have you thought about your future?” Hill turned to ask Arthit, who immediately looked confused.

“Why are you asking me? Uh, I don’t know, let’s graduate first.”    “Will you work as a doctor after you graduate?” I asked.    “I’ve studied for six years; let me put that to use,” Arthit’s answer made us all look at him in surprise, “Why, what’s so surprising? I am a doctor.”

“Just tell us which hospital you’ll be at, so I won’t drive by,” Jo said.

“One day, you’ll definitely have to come to me for treatment, Johan,

I’m telling you now.”

“Better if I die elsewhere. Don’t come to treat me, if the only doctor is you.”

“What’s so bad about me, huh?”

“You’re the one who always has Fah helping you with work, right?”

“Hill, you underestimate me too much.”

“Have I ever judged you wrongly?”

“Yeah.”

Before we could say more, I got a video call from Phoon. I quickly answered.

(Phii Fah)

   “Yes, how’s it going, are you having fun?”

(Look, oh, everyone’s here, North, Ter, come here), Phoon turned to wave at Ter and North who were behind him, it looked like they were feeding giraffes, (Just now, North threw a carrot at the giraffe’s head, Phii Jo.)

   “Why do that?” Jo raised his eyebrows in question.

(Phii, North was surprised, out of nowhere he just stuck his neck out, is he crazy?)

   “I told you to go have fun, not to go and mess around.”

(Serves him right, got scolded by Phii Jo), Phoon turned to tease North, who immediately made a grumpy face at Jo, (Hehe, have you eaten yet?)

   “You seem so cheerful, yes, I’ve eaten, I’ll be heading back to study soon.”

(Ah, hehe, just showing off how much fun I had.)

   (It was fun, weren’t you tired?), North said.

(You’re just bad at it, can’t help it.)

   “What’s that?”

(At the hill just now, we played rock-paper-scissors. Whoever

lost had to let the winner ride on Phoon’s back, and I carried North like a horse all the way.)

   “Oh, Jo, North must be tired,” I said.

“Uh, I never win at rock-paper-scissors anyway.”

(Phii Jo!)North suddenly appeared in full view on the camera, talking to Jo, so much so that nothing else was visible, startling me a bit, (Side with me! Phoon and Ter are ganging up on me, huh?)

   (Why are you so loud?), Phoon’s voice came before the person holding the phone pushed North away, (Let’s stop for now, we’re going to continue our adventure.)

   (Shh, Phii Fah, Phii Hill, pay up three million before I kill your partners and bury them in Suan Sathorn). I couldn’t help but laugh at North’s words, (I have the hostages with me. If this reaches the police, I’ll pinch Phoon’s arm until it bruises.)

   “Oh. It won’t reach the police, I’ll transfer the money,” I said, “Give me the account number.”

(Phii Fah, you serious? I was just joking.)

   “Really? But you always seem serious about money, was that a joke too?”

(That one was serious, but it’s different.)

   “How is it different?”

(Uh…we are going now! Phii Fah, don’t transfer money, or I’ll get scolded for sure.)

   “Eh,” I accidentally spoke out when North made a funny face and disappeared from the camera, leaving only Phoon’s image again, “Phii Fah you has to go to class now, it looks like it might rain, did you bring an umbrella, ah, no, I didn’t bring an umbrella.”    “Ter brought an umbrella,” Hill said.

“Oh, so we can share it, right?”

(Yes, I’ll share the umbrella with Ter, but Phii Jo, there’s not enough umbrella. I’ll have to ask for permission to let North wear a plastic bag on his head), Phoon’s words made Jo laugh a little,

(Just kidding, we’ll take the zoo’s shuttle if it rains.)

   “Okay. Take care of yourself and your friends.”

(Yes!)

   …

   Tonfah

   “Is this the first time you’ve seen him joking with Phii Jo?” Ter asked with a surprised look after I ended the video call.

“Probably, I feel like Phii Jo can be playful, and today I’m in an excellent mood, let’s go!”

“Yeah, I believe it, you’re in such high spirits, what did you do last night?”

“I didn’t do anything!” I replied to North sternly, “Come on, piggyback ride.”

“I’m not giving you a ride, it’s embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing for what? There’s no one around.” I said. I wasn’t sure why, but the zoo wasn’t as lively as I thought; there were hardly any people, just a few tourists since we arrived.

“Let’s do rock-paper-scissors again, you win once and want me to carry you around the whole zoo?”

“Yeah, let’s go again!” I said cheerfully, we played rock-paperscissors, three of us, starting by eliminating one with the least good hand to leave two, the one who lost out just walked. The loser had to carry the winner.

This time, Ter had to carry me!

“Hehe,” I, the winner, grinned broadly with joy.

“You win again, did you cheat?”

“What? Come on, Ter, give me a ride!”

“Phoon, you seem off, I’m starting not to trust you,” Ter said, looking at me with surprise, “Normally, the good guy would be North.

Now he’s been drained of all his energy.”

“Be quiet, sit down,” and Ter had to crouch down so I could ride on his back, “Is it heavy?”    “Heavy.”

“Really? Then run!”

“Shit, instead of feeling sorry for me because I’m heavy, you tell me to run.”

“Ter run, Ter run.”

“Sigh, I’m not running,” Ter said, and he didn’t run after all, just slowly walked with me on his back, “Feels like I’m looking after a seven or eight-year-old kid.”

“A demonic kid at that.”

“North, you’re bold,” I said, frowning a little, “Ter! Go catch him,

I’ll deal with him.”

“Sigh, can I catch him while carrying you?”

“Oh, come on,” I mumbled a bit, “Let me down, I want to take photos.”

“Yeah, yeah,” and Ter let me down. I took photos until I was satisfied and then we continued walking, “I want to ride on someone’s back too.”

“You want to as well?” North asked.

“Look, there’s another hill,” Ter said before we played rock-paperscissors again. This time, Ter got to ride on my back. I crouched down so Ter could climb on, gripping his arms tightly to make sure he wouldn’t fall, before starting to run until Ter started pounding on my back, “Damn, don’t run, Phoon, I’m going to fall!”

“You won’t fall.”

“Aaah, Phoon, I’m falling!”

And our silly back-riding game continued a few more times until we were all tired from taking turns carrying each other. I still didn’t understand why we were doing this, but due to exhaustion, we had to take the park’s tram and get off at intervals.

   “Damn, why do I have to be this tired just from coming to Suan

Sathorn?” North grumbled a bit.

“Come on, it’s a day off after all,” I said.

“Isn’t a day off supposed to be for resting?”

“Look, now we’re resting.”

“I’m already tired after resting, how can resting make you more tired?”

“Let’s get off here,” I said when the shuttle stopped near the Snow

Dome, “I want to go into the Snow Dome!”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go,” and Ter and North had to follow me into the Snow Dome. We paid the entrance fee, and the staff handed us winter coats and boots. As soon as we walked in, the cold hit us. Of course, there was no one else inside except us, and the ice was all frozen to the floor. There was no loose snow to throw around.

“Seems like not many people come here,” Ter said, “I thought we could throw some snow around.”

“Yeah, it’s just cold,” North added. I frowned in disappointment because the inside wasn’t that spacious either, “There’s only that,” North pointed to a high slope where we could slide down with inflatable rings.

“Let’s play, play, play,” I said excitedly.

“Alright, alright, today is your day, Typhoon.”

“Yay!”

“Really like babysitting, I’ll charge Phii Fah for this.”

“Babysitting what? Just inviting you to slide!”

“Watch out for slipping, Phoon!” North shouted. I grabbed the rail just in time before I slipped because almost everything was ice, “Damn, what if you slip and crack your head, you idiot. Watch where you’re going, will you?”

“No need to get so angry.”

“Ter, make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

“Go, Typhoon, or your dad will scold you again.”

“Is North my dad?”

“Yeah, your dad.”

“Why scold me?”

“No reason, just saying, call me dad.”

“Dad, give me some snacks,” I teased, shaking North’s shirt playfully, and he sighed immediately.

“Dad doesn’t have any snacks left, son.”

When we decided to go on the slide, the staff came to help because going down alone could be dangerous. They made us sit on an inner tube and pushed us off. North went first since I was still hesitant.

Once I saw that North slid down safely, I followed and sat on the tube.

After sliding down, it felt strange but fun until Ter bumped into me.

“Why did you bump into me?”

“I can’t steer or brake at all.”

“Did it hurt?” North asked. I slowly got up from the tube.

“It didn’t hurt, it’s rubber; what’s there to hurt? Let’s go again!”    After going into the snow dome and coming out, we felt a bit damp and sticky. Since there was no car, we had to walk. We kept walking until we saw the bird zone and immediately went inside.

Inside, it looked like a simulated forest, and you could hear birds but couldn’t see them.

“Where are the birds?” North asked while looking around.

“Just on the trees.”

“But I don’t see any, just geese.”

“Seeing those makes me want to eat foie gras,” Ter said, causing me and North to turn and look at him at once, “What?”

“Damn, what’s your heart made of, looking at a goose and saying you want to eat goose liver?” North frowned, “You guys, this fat one will eat your livers if you don’t run.”

“North, shut up!” Ter said, hitting North’s back, and then I heard the sound of birds again. I didn’t know what kind they were, but they were flying above, so I quickly raised my camera to take pictures.

“You guys, I think Jon is harder to find,” North said. I turned to look, and he was waving for me. I hurried over.

“Where?” I asked excitedly, leaning in to look and saw…“A chicken?”

“Yeah, it’s the bird zone, isn’t it?” Ter said, looking a bit disappointed.

“Well, I paid to come to Suan Sathorn just to see a chicken, how hard is that to find?” North said sarcastically. The oblivious rooster continued pecking at papaya. We walked around, looking at the birds until we were satisfied, then walked back out, “What’s next?”    “That’s right,” I pulled out the map I had grabbed at the entrance.    “You should give it to me, Phoon, you shouldn’t even look at the map,” Ter said.

“Oh.”

“Just look at your camera, Phoon,” North said, “We have to keep an eye on you all the time while walking around; if you get lost, me and

Ter will be in big trouble. If possible, I’d put you on a leash.”

“Oh, that’s cruel, dad’s so cruel.”

“What, I’ll whip you if you keep this up.”

“You always resort to force with your son,” I playfully pouted.

“Oh, North, you’re such a terrible dad, your son is about to cry.”

“Oh, oh, don’t cry.”

“Huhuhu.”

“Then you can have a piggyback ride.”

“Yay!” And North bent down for me to climb onto his back. I don’t know why I was in such a good mood, feeling very happy and warm too. The important thing was that I felt cared for, probably because these guys took me out and watched over me, “Run then!”    “Yeah, yeah.” And North started running, not going too far, then circled back to Ter and let me down, “Happy now, son?”    “Happy! But if there’s a dad, why isn’t there a mom?” I made a serious face, “If there’s a dad, there must be a mom.”    “Phoon, if you say it like that, you want me to be the mom?”

“Please, just for one day.”

“Uh…I don’t want to be the mom, can I just be the dad? North, you be the mom this time.”

“Dream then, I’m already the dad, but I don’t want a wife like you.” “I want a boyfriend like you, then!”

“Then we’ll have two dads,” I suggested.

“Yeah, yeah, that works.”

“Hehe, I’m hungry now.”

“We should treat them, right?” North said.

“You don’t have to treat, but let’s go eat.”

“Okay, then let’s go wait for the tram,” Ter suggested. After looking at the map for a while, he led us to wait for the tram to get off at the restaurant area. I ended up treating both of them to a meal since they went through the trouble of bringing me out, especially since it’s after that, we headed to the aquarium.

“The moon fish, no matter how many times you look at it, it’s strange,” North commented while staring at the moon fish through the clear water, “Doesn’t look like it should even exist on this planet.”    “They call it the moon of the sea, have you ever studied biology?”

“What’s biology?”

“Phoon, look at your ‘dad’ North. He doesn’t even know what biology is.”

“Being called that, I don’t know how to respond,” North grumbled slightly. I couldn’t help but laugh at that, “And what am I supposed to call it then, Phoon, son, like this?”

“Yes, dad!”

“Shit, why do I suddenly have a son?”

“Have you made someone pregnant without taking responsibility?” Ter said.

“Is this your son too?”

“Yeah, your son, behave well.”

“It’s like you can’t decide whether to call him ‘son’ or ‘you’,” I said, laughing again and lifting my camera to capture the moment.

“Why don’t you try calling Phii Fah ‘dad’?” Ter suggested. I immediately turned to look at him, thinking he was crazy! Remembering the conversation from last night about what pronouns to use.

“Are you, are you crazy?!”

“See, you’re blushing, getting all flustered, I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”

“Ter! You bastard.”

“You were just calling him ‘dad’ a moment ago.”

“Not anymore!”

And so we walked all around the aquarium until we were tired and didn’t want to walk anymore, so we waited for the shuttle to take us back to the entrance. It didn’t take long for the shuttle to arrive.    While I was staring absentmindedly out of the window as the zoo shuttle drove by, my mind was wandering. I glanced at Ter and North, who were also looking at the scenery, and I smiled without realizing it. I felt like something was swelling up inside my heart, and as the rain started to drizzle down, it made the surrounding atmosphere even cooler.

“Thank you,” I said.

“For what?” Ter asked.

“For going along with me to come here, I’ve wanted to come for a long time, it’s so close but I’ve never been,” I smiled, not looking at the two beside me because I was embarrassed, “Thank you for playing along with my silliness.”    “…What’s with you, suddenly?”

“I don’t know, thank you for approaching me that day, Ter, if you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known where to find friends like you, thank you for always being there. I used to not like myself at all. I didn’t like who I was, didn’t like what I was doing, didn’t like it to the point where I wanted to disappear, but you guys came into my life and said you liked me just the way I am.”

“When I cried, you were there holding my hand, when I was lost, you came looking for me, when things were bad, you made it better. Maybe I have bad luck because I used all my luck to meet good friends like you.”

“Phoon, Ter is crying,” North said, but I didn’t turn to look because I was also starting to tear up a bit.

“Hick. I’m not crying!” Ter sniffled.

“Ter, you’re such a crybaby.”

“Without you guys, there wouldn’t be me, really, damn, what’s wrong with me, getting all sentimental in a zoo,” I said, wiping my tears gently, “Forget it. I won’t talk anymore, or I won’t be able to stop crying.”

“Yeah. Don’t talk then, hic! you idiot!” Then Ter slapped my back hard, making me choke a bit, “You know I’m sensitive, why make me cry?”

“I didn’t mean to make you cry, I just felt like saying it, can’t I be sentimental?”

“You don’t need to say it, I already know! I feel thankful for you guys too, you know!”    “No, I’m more thankful.”

“No, I am.”

“Phoon, don’t argue with me.”

“Why are you arguing with me, Ter?”

“…You guys,” North seemed to try to mediate, looking somewhat helpless, “Why argue? What’s the matter with you two?”

“You have a heart colder than ice, North.”

“Now I’ve become the cold-hearted one,” North sighed slightly, “I’m just not affected by it, it’s just something we’re supposed to do for each other, isn’t it? No need for all this sentimentality, we’ll be together for a long time. Besides, if I cry, who’s going to comfort you guys?”

“Wow, that’s a very cool thing to say, but your attitude sucks a bit.” “Damn, Ter, what’s with you?”

“Just kidding,” Ter said with a dry smile, “Thanks, though.”

“Thanks for what?”

“For always being there, and for protecting us. Whether it was when

I got picked on or when Phoon was hurt, you were our hero.”    The time when Ter was picked on was probably back in our freshman year, when Ter had just started dating Phii Hill, and some senior girls started trouble. North was there, and instead of Ter getting angry, it was North who got furious. Ter had to hold North back from going to punch them. After that, he told Phii Hill, and once Phii Hill sorted it out, no one dared to bother Ter anymore.

Ter said that when he was picked on, North got more upset than when he was picked on himself.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, North is blushing.”

“Damn, I’m not!”

“Actually, you’re embarrassed, aren’t you? You always act tough with friends,” Ter teased. North frowned, his face starting to turn a slight shade of red.

“Yeah, I don’t like this sentimental stuff. Don’t do that.”

“See, pretending to be cool but you’re embarrassed, aren’t you? You really are our hero. No matter what happens, you’re always the positive energy for everyone. Let’s stay together for a long time, come on, say ‘I love you’ to make us feel good.”

I smiled broadly at the cute scene I was seeing now because, on the outside, North might seem rough, but inside, he’s very gentle.

“I won’t say it!”

With friends, when they get really embarrassed, this is what always happens.

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 40: A little child

   Tonfah

   I fell asleep hugging the drunk person until I drifted off too. The faint sweet scent mixed with a slight smell of alcohol made things feel a bit strange, but it was still Phoon’s scent. I woke up in the middle of the night to find the person I was hugging was gone.

“Phoon,” I called out softly, got out of bed, and went looking for him, thinking he might have gone to the bathroom. When I saw the small figure sitting in front of the fridge, I hurried over, “Are you okay?”

“Ouch, it hurts.”

“…” I didn’t respond, reaching out to pick up the person in front of me, placing him on a chair first, “Did you fall?”

“Hit my head.”

“What? Let me see,” I asked worriedly because we always leave a small light on in case Phoon wakes up in the middle of the night. With the dim light shining, I saw the red mark on his forehead, “Oh, that looks bad. Did you hit the fridge?”

“Uh, I will get back at it.”

“?”

“How dare it hurt the one who cleans it.” I couldn’t help but smile, feeling endeared by the person still not sober, before going to fetch first aid supplies, thinking a little massage might not hurt much. He must have hit the top of the fridge door, “Come on! You’re crazy!”    Wait…

   Arguing with the fridge now…

   “Unhappy, huh? Ha, just putting some chicken in. If you don’t like it, don’t be born as a fridge!”

“…Phoon.”

“You siding with it?”

“No, I am not taking sides. Come on, good boy, let me treat your wound quickly.”

“No, no, no, no.”

   He was a slow-acting drunk, wasn’t he? At first, I thought he’d be out for the count, but no. I had to carry him back to sit on the chair again and gently apply ointment and massage his forehead wound.

   “Phii Fah you is good at treating wounds, impressive, as expected from a medical student.”

“…Yes.”

“As expected of someone who studied to become a doctor!”

“…” I inadvertently furrowed my brows, unsure how to respond.

“You’ve studied hard, haven’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“…”

“I will take you to bed now.”

“Doctor.”    “?”

“Doctor Fah.”

“Yes?”

“Uh, don’t let me know.”

“Know what?”

“Don’t let me know that while studying, you were looking at others.”

“No, I didn’t, but why bring this up now?” I asked while carrying him back to bed, “Did you go to the fridge because you were thirsty?

Did you get water?”

“Don’t change the subject, there’s something fishy here.”

“…”

“Phii Fah you were looking at someone else, right!”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“I know, everyone likes you, the whole world does.”

“The whole world?” I asked back, smiling at the person who was sulking on the bed, his face flushed red up to his ears, eyes slightly narrowed, speaking sweetly and slowly.

He’s really cute when he’s drunk.

   “The whole world, even when Phii Fah goes to the convenience

store, the dogs follow you, I saw.”

“…” I never noticed, “Maybe they followed because I was buying food?”

“No, really, don’t argue, you are the type that everyone likes.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Phoon, there are always people looking at me, even taking secret photos! I don’t like it. Don’t like it at all, I’m going to poke their eyes out.”

“You don’t like it?” I asked, frowning. Saying he doesn’t like it when people look at me, does that mean he’s jealous? I never knew Phoon could be jealous or possessive, because he never shows it, but there’s never been a situation where he would be, I guess.

   “Don’t like it. They take ugly photos of you Phii Fah.”

“Huh? Because they take ugly photos?”

“They take ugly photos. They don’t need to take photos. I won’t let them.”

“So, the conclusion is they shouldn’t take photos because they take ugly ones?”

“No photos because they shouldn’t take photos. I will take photos of you Phii Fah alone.”

“Oh…”

“I remember! That person named Mona, she used to call and chat with you all the time, asking for tutoring. What was so hard to tutor about? It wasn’t even the start of the semester, what was she trying to learn? If she’s so eager for knowledge, why doesn’t she read by herself! And Phii Fah you were always on calls with her!”    “But that was a long time ago, even before you went away.”    “I don’t know, then there’s this person and that person, everywhere.”

“I am not involved with him at all.”

“I don’t know, why do you have to be so handsome too?”

“…”

“I knew you first, knew him when he was this small,” Phoon said with a frown, acting as if comparing our heights from when we were kids, “Knew you since we were little squirts.”

“…”

“When we went to kindergarten together wearing overalls, I knew you before anyone else. And now they dare to say they like you Phii

Fah? I have loved you since we learned to write ‘gaw gai’ together.”

“…” I didn’t say anything, just watched him whining in front of me, feeling so fond I wanted to hug him right then.

“And why did you grow up to be like this? Why so handsome, why so smart, why so kind, why do so many people like you? When we were kids, you didn’t have this many admirers.”

“…Uh, so what should I say to that?”

“You don’t have to answer, it’s just…I am just complaining.”

“…”

“Do you like kids?”

Changing the subject like this now…

   “Yes…I do, why?”

“I like them too! I Want a lot of kids, filling the house, running around all over the place, but you are a doctor, you might not have much time to play with them, and they’ll love me more.”

“…” I started to furrow my brows when the drunk person in front of me mentioned children.

Oh, so you want a lot of kids, huh?

   Then it’s going to be quite tiring.

   “…”

“I will be the most understanding dad, won’t let the kids get bullied, will take them to good schools, introduce them to good friends, and give them lots of warmth.”

“…”

“Why don’t you answer me?”

“Well…Phoon you didn’t ask anything, did he?”

“What should you name the child?”

“Uh…yes, what should we name them? Whatever you want, I guess.”

“But Phii Fah you have to work hard, right? Will you have time for the child and Phoon?”

“Of course, I will try to make time to be with you and the child.”

“Phii Fah you have to be a cute dad for the child.”

“Yes.”

“And are you hungry?”

“Huh? Well, it’s already two in the morning.”

“I will make something to eat.”

“Wait, we better just go to sleep,” I held him back when I saw he was about to get up for real. What’s with Phoon when he’s drunk? Talking about this and that, completely unrelated, saying whatever comes to mind, “It’s late, let’s rest.”

“Not sleeping. No. Not sleepy.”

“But you are drunk.”

“Not drunk, why does papa have to argue?”

“…papa?”

“You are arguing with me!”    “Phoon, don’t be stubborn.”

“You are scolding me, will you scold the child too like this?”

“…If they’re stubborn, I’ll have to scold them.”

“No, if you scold the child, I will take the child and run away.”    He would run away with the child?

   “He won’t let the child see your face anymore.”

“Mama, don’t be cruel to me.”

“…”

Asleep?

   Completely silent.

   I let out a small, unintentional sigh; he’s quite a handful when drunk. So, I adjusted his sleeping position to make him more comfortable, lay down beside him, gathered him into my arms, and covered us with a blanket, slowly closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep again.

   …

“Does your head hurt?” I asked the person sitting across from me eating breakfast, whose face didn’t look too good after waking up, probably because of how much he drank last night, and even waking up in the middle of the night to whine.

“Uh, yes, a little.”

“Take some medicine later.”

“Yes, what time are you going to class?”

“Ten. Are you going to see Ter?”

“Yes.”

Phoon nodded slightly. Today, I had classes as usual, even though it was a holiday. While getting ready to leave for class, something came to mind.

“Phoon, do you remember what happened last night?”

“!!!”

His face turned pale and then red, which means he remembers, doesn’t it?

“What’s the answer?”

“Uh…what do you mean, what happened last night?”

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that last night you asked about kids.”

“Kids!!”

“Asked about their names.”

“Ah, oh, really? Haha, I was just drunk, so I was just talking nonsense.”

“How far have you thought about having children, Phoon?” I asked, ignoring the fact that he claimed he was just drunk earlier.

“…Well, I just thought about wanting to adopt a child. That’s it.”    “Hmm, and have you thought about what you want the child to call us, like ‘papa’ and mama?”

“…”

“If I scold you, are you going to run away with the child too? That’s cruel.”

“Then how will papa live?”

!!!

…

Typhoon

   When I first woke up, I didn’t remember much. I just felt a slight headache and a sore spot on my forehead. I touched it and found it was swollen, so I tried to remember what happened last night because I tend to be quite clumsy when drunk, bumping into things, talking nonsense. I remembered waking up in the middle of the night because I was thirsty, then I hit my head on the fridge door and collapsed to the floor.

   Then…I argued with the fridge.

   So embarrassing!

   And in front of Phii Fah too, plus I went and picked a fight with him! Not only that, I even called him ‘papa’ and said I’d run away with our child!

   Phoon, oh my god! If I could go back in time, I’d knock myself out so I wouldn’t wake up. Why did I even wake up? I was already embarrassed enough with my tantrums at night!

   “Did Phoon really say that?”

“Should have recorded the sound, like how Phoon said you wanted to record me voice.”

!!!

“I don’t remember anything, Phii Fah, you should go to class. Don’t be late.”

“There’s still thirty minutes left.”

“No, no, you need to leave early.”

“Oh, were you saying that I should focus on studying?”

“Phii Fah!!”

“Yes, what do you say?”

“I will get sulky and run away with the kids!”    Damn…I said it!

I accidentally said it out of embarrassment and awkwardness. It seemed to please Phii Fah a lot; he laughed heartily, which made me furrow my brows in annoyance.

“Oh, oh. I won’t tease anymore. don’t run away with the kids; that would be too cruel,” Phii Fah said in his usual gentle tone, not the teasing one from before. Then he got up from his chair, walked over to where I was washing the dishes, hugged me from behind, and leaned in to give my cheek a gentle kiss.

“Hah! Why do you always tease like that?” I complained in a muffled voice while scrubbing the dishes harder, feeling my face heat up completely.

“Don’t be sulky.”

“Fine, I won’t sulk if you stop teasing.”

“I won’t promise that,” Phii Fah said before letting go of the hug,

“Oh, and about the kids.”

“…”

“I will be a good father to our kids. Don’t worry.”

Phii Fah’s words made me turn around quickly. How can he say something like that so effortlessly, without any sign of embarrassment!

Phii Fah leaned in, giving me a soft kiss on the lips before pulling away slowly. I was a bit stunned, caught off guard, as a sweet smile spread across his handsome face.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you to see Ter.”

“…Yes.”

I reached out to hold the hand that was waiting for mine, and we left the room together. While waiting for the elevator, my mind kept circling back to last night, as if it wanted to make me feel even more embarrassed.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing’s wrong!!” I accidentally shouted, our voices echoing in the elevator where we were alone, making the person holding my hand look puzzled, “Sorry, I was just thinking about something.”

“Is it about last night?”

“!!!” In shock, I inadvertently glared at him.

“You’re making those big eyes at me again.”

“Uh, sorry.”

“No need to apologize, can you tell me what you’re thinking?”

“I won’t drink alcohol again!”

“Why not? You’re cute when you’re drunk.”

“Cute? More like embarrassing, huh, Phii Fah, don’t tease me again, or I’ll run and bang my head against the pillar,” I said, frowning seriously. By pillar, I meant the one in the lobby of our condo.

“No need to threaten to bang your head on a pillar, you haven’t recovered from hitting the fridge last night.”

“…”

“Should we change the fridge? It’s picking fights with you.”

“Phii Fah!!”

“Yes, why call me so often?”

“Huh!”

“Okay, okay. I won’t tease anymore,” Phii Fah said, smiling affectionately. I kept a grumpy face because I was both embarrassed and annoyed by the teasing so early in the morning. We walked out to the parking lot, Phii Fah opened the car door for me to get in before he circled around to the driver’s seat, and then the luxury car moved out.    “What’s up with you, Phoon? You come in all red-faced, did Phii

Fah tease you again?” Ter asked immediately as I sat down on the coffee shop sofa. Today was another day off when the doctors had to go to class, so naturally, we had nothing to do and didn’t want to be alone in our rooms, so we decided to hang out at Phii Gibb’s coffee shop.

“What! Tease what!”

“You’re getting all worked up,” North teased. Today, it was just North, Ter, and me, three of us, since we didn’t have plans to go out anywhere. We were just waiting for the doctors, that’s all.

“…You guys.”

“You said there was nothing, but you’re talking so softly.”    “What happened last night, did you do anything strange while drunk?” As soon as I asked, both of them widened their eyes and looked at me, “You all seem nervous, like you’re hiding something.”

“No…nothing! There’s nothing, why are you asking!” Ter responded awkwardly.

“Damn, you’re not even keeping it together.”

“What’s with you, North?”

“Hey, why the hostility, not over your hangover yet?”

“I am over it!”

“Why are you over it?” North teased, making Ter’s face turn red as he threw a nearby stuffed toy at North, “Ouch! When embarrassed, he gets violent.”

“And why are you asking, Phoon?”

“Well, last night seemed normal, but after I took a shower, suddenly, all these memories came back,” I started to explain, “I remember everything, damn it, from when I started getting drunk to waking up and causing a ruckus in the middle of the night.” I recounted while rubbing my face, still embarrassed thinking about it, what did you say, Phoon, T^T.

   I don’t like it, I only want to take photos of you Phii Fah…

   Why did you have to grow up to be so handsome…

   Why do so many people like you…

   I have loved you for so long…

   I’m so grateful that I can still blame it on being drunk, because all those things are what I think but would never tell Phii Fah, TT.

   “What did you do?” Ter asked.

“I’m not telling!” I snapped back.

“Come on, tell us, so we can share your embarrassment.”

“No teasing, right?”

“Yeah, no teasing.”

“I don’t believe you, then you have to tell your story too.”    “Alright then. There’s nothing to it,” Ter said.

“Oh really, he loves Phii Hill the most in the world— ouch! Ter, you’re hurting me again!”

“Don’t slander me!”

“Slander what? The whole table was your witness, it went silent at that moment,” North said, which made me feel a bit embarrassed; I still remembered the scene when Ter, drunk, said that.

“Hey!”

“What do you think, Phoon, roughly?” North asked.

“Well, seriously thinking, it’s about kids. Have you guys ever talked about having kids?”

“We have, yeah/yeah,” Ter and North answered simultaneously.

“What did you say?”

“I asked,” North said, “but Phii Jo said he doesn’t like kids, so I thought it probably wouldn’t happen.”

“Oh, but I talked to Phii Hill about it; I’d rather adopt,” Ter said.    “Yeah, same here, I want to adopt,” I said, before picking up the glass of water in front of me, “Doesn’t it seem like we’re thinking too far ahead? I don’t know, really, I’m just a freshman, and Phii Fah is a senior about to be in his fourth year.”

“In another couple of years, you’ll be done. It doesn’t hurt to just talk about it,” North said, “So, what did Phii Fah say when you talked about this?”

“Well…he…”

“He?”

“He said he would be a good father.”

“Shit…Phii Fah~, that’s very Phii Fah of him, warm like a microwave,” North started teasing a bit, “That’s good then.”    “And last night, when I was drunk, I said I’d run away with the kid from Phii Fah,” my words made Ter and North burst out laughing.

“Why would you run away?”

“Because Phii Fah was scolding me for not wanting to sleep when I was drunk, so I said if he scolds me, I’d run away with the kid.”    “Poor Phii Fah, how should he feel about being run away from with his own child?” North said with a laugh.

“Damn, thinking about it makes me so embarrassed,” I said while rubbing my face, “How could I say that, and I even told Phii Fah to focus on his studies.”

“Shit,” Ter and North laughed even harder, “You told Phii Fah to study hard?”

“Yeah.”

“Is there anyone in this world who studies harder than Phii Fah?”

“Shouldn’t have gotten drunk, damn it.”

“Phoon, that’s what happens when you’re drunk,” Ter patted my shoulder lightly in a comforting manner, though he was still laughing,

“If you think you’re embarrassing when drunk, just look at North.”    “Yeah, I vomited all over Phii Jo the first time I got drunk, that’s pretty embarrassing.”

“Stop, don’t bring that up again,” North raised his hand to stop the conversation, “Don’t shift the focus from Phoon to me. And Phii Fah, being a doctor, won’t have much time, right?”

“No, no, Phii Fah said he’ll be a doctor at first to gain experience, then he’ll take over from his father.”    “Phii Fah’s father, who is the dean?”

“Uh, he also owns a private hospital.”

“Really?” North looked surprised as if he didn’t know, then he seemed to remember something, “Why didn’t I know that? Oh, oh, oh, I remember, the private hospital with many branches, right?”    “Yeah, so it’s quite pressuring for him. I’m worried, but I don’t know how to help, I can only try my best to take care of him,” I said, unconsciously shrugging my shoulders. It’s not just Phii Fah who feels the pressure; there are people around him like his uncle, aunt, or anyone involved in the hospital business.

“That’s how it is, the pressure is always there,” North said with a frown.

“Phii Jo is the same, right?”

“Uh, it’s inevitable, like a test you have to pass. It’s not easy to manage a renowned private hospital like that.”    “Uh, I understand,” I nodded slightly.

“You’re doing your best to support him, that’s good,” Ter said, “But the owner of a hospital with so many branches, damn, they must be rich, studying medicine to become a hospital owner, that’s quite fitting, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t it true that they’re together because of their looks and status? I’m starting to wonder,” North said, “Phii Hill is going to take over his father’s company, right? And Phii Hill’s father and Phii Jo’s are friends too.”

“Uh-huh,” Ter nodded, “But you’re only starting to suspect now? Shouldn’t you have realized this a long time ago?”

“I had my suspicions from the beginning. I mean, people who are similar are attracted to each other, like me and you guys, rain makes the earthworms come out.”

“I feel weird about that analogy somehow,” Ter said, frowning.

“But you guys are good.”

“Us?” I repeated the word.

“Yeah, being with you guys is like being in a field of fragrant flowers. Not that it’s a perfect world, but you guys are genuinely good people. Not like my engineering friends, damn, they’re like hell on earth.”

“Is it that bad?” Ter asked, sounding somewhat skeptical, “They seemed normal when we talked. They even looked kind.”

“Have they ever spoken rudely to you?”

“No.”

“Yeah. They say they can’t bring themselves to speak rudely to Ter, but look at how they talk to me,” North said, looking somewhat displeased.

“Alright, you guys,” I spoke up, remembering I had brought my camera in my bag. I didn’t intend to take photos, but it was more out of habit; I like carrying my camera around, though not to class, “The light is good today. It’s not too hot either.”

“Oh, huh,” North said, “And why?”

“I want this kind of light.”

“…This isn’t good,” Ter whispered to North, frowning with concern,

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Why?”

“You guys go for a walk,” I suggested.

“Shit, there it is,” Ter sighed, “When you say the light is beautiful and we have free time like this, it’s bound to lead to going out for a walk and taking photos.”

“There’s not much sun, can you handle it?” I asked because Ter is sensitive to sunlight; if his skin is exposed to the sun for too long, he gets rashes or something, but today there isn’t much sun, it’s quite cloudy, perfect for a walk!

“Uh, yeah, I can manage, but I’ve brought a long-sleeve shirt. It’ll be fine.”

“Great! Let’s go to the zoo then?”

“Why go to the zoo?” North raised an eyebrow.

“I want to take photos, come on, come on.”

“Ugh, can’t we just stay here, I’m too lazy for this,” North said.    “Come on, please, North, can’t we? I really want to go, want to go with you guys, please, take me out, if I go alone, I’ll definitely get lost and be eaten by a lion, don’t you care if something happens to me?”

“Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?”

“I won the drinking contest against you yesterday, the loser has to do what the winner says.”

“Did we agree to that?”

“Yeah, otherwise, why would we compete?”

“Alright, alright, I give in, let’s go.” In the end, North agreed to go. As for Ter, he was going anyway. So, the three of us decided to go to the zoo together, “I need to tell Phii Jo first.”    “Me too,” Ter said.

“Why are you telling Phii Jo like I am, are you hitting on my guy?

Isn’t that going too far, Ter, aren’t you satisfied with Phii Hill?”    “…I mean, I need to tell Phii Hill too, why are you making such a fuss?”

“Oh, then let’s go,” North said. Before we left, I took out my phone to message Phii Fah that I was going to the zoo with Ter and North, thinking I’d leave a message since he was probably in class and couldn’t reply.

Typhoon: Phii Fah

   Typhoon: I am going to the zoo with North and Ter.

   Typhoon: Going to take a lot of photos.

   Typhoon: I’ll be careful, don’t worry, hehe.

   Typhoon: I’ll bring back some photos for you.

   It wasn’t long before it showed he had read the message, and then Phii Fah called. I answered, confused, noticing that North and Ter also looked puzzled because they had incoming calls as well.    (Is it the Suan Sathorn Park?)

   “Oh, yes, can we go there?”

(Yes, please be careful.)

   “I already said I would be careful.”

(Can’t I just remind you?)

   “Yes, you can.”

(Okay, don’t overdo the walking, better take the car so you’re not in the sun, and watch out for valuable items too. Stay with

North and Ter so you don’t get lost, and if you do get lost or anything happens, call me immediately, got it?)

   “Yes!”

(Good, what time will you be back?)

   “I don’t know yet, what time does Phii Fah finish class?”

(Three in the afternoon.)

   “Then Phii Fah can pick up Phoon from Suan Sathorn after class, how does that sound?”    (Okay.)

   “Yes, study hard.”

(You told me that last night, didn’t you?)

   “See, you’re still teasing.”

(Hehe, just kidding. See you later.)

   “Yes, see you.”

Then I hung up the phone, turning to see that North and Ter had also just hung up almost at the same time.

“What did they say?” I asked.

“Just told me to be careful,” Ter replied, then turned to ask North,

“How about you?”

“Phii Jo asked what made me think of going to Suan Sathorn, it’s so hot today. Then he told me to take care of myself, something like that.”

“Okay, let’s go then!” I said happily before quickly getting up and walking out of the shop, turning around to see that North and Ter weren’t very enthusiastic, which made me complain, “Be a bit more lively, don’t just drag your feet.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go!” Ter raised both hands to show he was being lively before taking out his phone.

“What?”

“Haha, Phoon, Phii Fah told me to hold your hand when we walk.”

“Huh?”

“He’s worried you might get lost, told me to keep an eye on you, even hold your hand.”

“Yeah, Phii Fah told me the same thing,” North said, “Said to make sure Phoon doesn’t get lost.”

“Make sure I don’t get lost? What does Phii Fah think I am? Not a little kid,” I frowned.

“But you do need to be watched carefully, really, because if you suddenly get lost, it would be a disaster,” North said, “Don’t wander off far from us. I don’t want to have to look for you all over the zoo.”    “I know! I won’t get lost from you guys, I’m twenty-one, not seven or eight to get lost in a zoo.”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go, Typhoon, twenty-one,” Ter teased me a bit before we all walked to hail a cab to go to the zoo.

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 39: Ten and Million

   Since today we planned to celebrate together in the evening, but the doctors had classes, we decided to hang out in the morning first. Right now, there’s me, North, and Ter, who were dropped off by the doctors, playing at a cafe in the mall waiting for Daotok to join us to watch a movie. Foam said he’d only come in the evening because he didn’t want to be out in the sun.

   “It’s taking forever,” North started complaining.

“Dao drives so slowly,” Ter said, “I saw him once, driving 30mph.”

“Shit, when will he get here?”

“Drive safely, man.”

“Like you’re riding a bike.”

“And you’re really going to watch that movie?” I asked again for reassurance, as North had volunteered to choose the movie himself. Of course, someone as afraid of ghosts like North would choose a horror movie…I don’t quite understand why, but it seems he likes them because they scare him, given his vivid imagination compared to those who don’t watch them.

“Yeah, I’m serious.”

“You’ll scream your head off in the theater again,” Ter said, shaking his head lightly.

“What. Who’s screaming? Me? That’s a laugh, Ter, you’re the one who screams.”

“Oh, we’ll see.”

“Aren’t you scared?” I asked.

“I am scared.”

“Then why watch? You’re scared of ghosts but still watch horror movies, that’s weird.”

“Well, if you’re not scared, what’s the fun in watching? Horror movies are only fun if they scare you.”

“…Yeah, that’s true,” I nodded in agreement, furrowing my brows at him, “Did you tell Dao about watching a horror movie?”

“I told him, and Dao said he’s fine with it, he likes watching them,” Ter said.

“See, you’ve found someone with the same taste.”

“Dao gets along with you like a house on fire.”

“Has Dao ever not gone along with us?” Ter said, “Even though he doesn’t like celebrations. Just a little coaxing and he agrees to come.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” I nodded in agreement, because usually, he always refuses when we invite him out. This time, we tried coaxing him, and Dao agreed more easily than expected. If Dao had refused again, I wouldn’t have pushed further; he really doesn’t like celebrations or crowded places, especially if there are people he’s not close with.

And if we invite him like this, will Dao feel uncomfortable? Oh no, I was just thinking about getting him out of his room to meet us, forgetting that he might feel uncomfortable.

Not long after, Daotok arrived, sat down next to me in the shop.

“Have you booked the movie yet?” asked the new arrival.

“Ugh, another half hour.”

“Oh, it’s a horror movie, right?”

“Yeah,” I replied, “Ugh, Dao, tonight. It’s okay, right? There will be some doctors there, so you won’t feel uncomfortable, will you?”

“…Well.”

“If you feel uncomfortable, it’s okay, I’m sorry. We forgot to consider this. We won’t force you.”    “Does the cat want us to go?”

“Of course, he must want us to.”

“Hmm, then we’ll go. It’s fine, we’ve talked about it with all the fans before.”

“Okay,” I smiled at the person sitting next to me, before Ter ordered more snacks to kill time and forced Dao to eat some too.

“Dao, this is delicious, really, try it.”

“Ter says everything is delicious.”

“Hey, but this one is really good, try it.”

“…” The person next to me. I didn’t respond, then picked up a banana samosa, chewed it slowly, and started to frown, which made Ter look worried right away.

“Not tasty?”

“Well…it’s alright.”

“Have some more, a lot.”

“Is this fattening me up or what?” North spoke up, grabbing some from the plate to eat, “Not wanting to be fat alone, huh, need company to be fat too?”

“Shut up and break that samosa!”

“See, pretending to be tough.”

“Actually, with the new semester starting soon, I miss the beginning of the first year,” I mentioned, remembering, “It’s almost your anniversary with Phii Hill, isn’t it?”    “Hmm, yeah,” Ter nodded.

“Time flies, huh. I remember the first time I knew Phii Hill was flirting with you were like…shit.”

“Shit, because Phii Hill is friends with Phii Fah?”

“Yeah,” I nodded and let out a small laugh, “Back then it was like, shit, the world is so damn small. When I went to find you at the star moon pageant, I got lost with Foam and then Phii Fah was the one who picked me up. At that moment, I almost had a heart attack, especially when I found out he was friends with Phii Hill who was hitting on Ter.”

“I sensed something was off from that moment,” Ter said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, your face looked like you were about to cry.”

“Oh, come on,” I frowned slightly, feeling annoyed, “I thought I was pretty smooth.”    “You, Phoon?”

“Yeah.”

Then we chatted for a while until the movie started. We had seats right in the middle, sitting in order: me, North, Ter, Dao. At first, when the movie started, it wasn’t so bad, but as it went on, the movie’s atmosphere got scarier and more tense. I started to curl up bit by bit, pulling my legs up to hug them.

   “Uhmm…”    North?

What kind of noise is that?

“Don’t…don’t do that, don’t ‘uhmm’.”

“…”

“!!!” As soon as the ghost in the movie appeared, North was so startled that he pulled me into a tight hug, before the popcorn in his hand spilled all over me.

Sticky.

“!!! Why did you pinch me?” North whispered softly because I had just pinched his arm.

“It’s sticky, did you buy the popcorn just to pour it on me?” I whispered back.

“Sorry, I was startled.”

“…” I let the person who suggested watching the horror movie hug my arm, or rather, squeeze it, to the point where I think the blood flow was cut off, because I’m not really scared of ghosts. Just startled by some scenes. Turning to peek, I saw Dao also getting hugged by Ter.

What in the world is this…

   When the movie ended, the person next to me, who finally let go of my arm, felt indescribably relieved as we walked out of the theater.

   “Man, it wasn’t scary at all, you reviewer.”

“Really, North?” I teased back while showing him my arm full of red marks, “Did you bite my shirt too?”

“Heh,” North gave a sheepish smile while lightly scratching his head.

“Damn, my sleeve is full of your saliva.”

“Heh.”

“Still laughing your ‘heh’?”

“North is such a scaredy-cat,” Dao chimed in.

“Ter was hugging you too, wasn’t he? Why don’t you say anything about him?”

“He wasn’t hugging, just hiding. Ter is just normal, but North is super scared.”

“…Uh, so what? Everyone has something they’re afraid of!

Everyone is scared of ghosts!”

“I’m not scared.”

“I’m not really either,” I replied.

“Liar, how do you watch a horror movie without getting scared?”    “The director tries to make us scared,” Dao explained, “Just think that there’s a camera following the actors, and it’s not scary anymore.

Ghosts have to have makeup, and everything else has to be edited, props and all.”

“Ah, that’s it, how can it be fun then?” North mumbled unhappily,

“Your heart is numb to the ghosts now.”

After that, we went for lunch because the doctors had classes all day, making us stay here all day too. At noon, during the break, usually Phii Fah would call me, and today was no different. We talked for a while before hanging up, and I noticed Phii Hill and Phii Jo also called Ter and North.

   “Everyone looks so much livelier after talking with their partners.”

“Don’t you have anyone you interested in?” Ter asked teasingly, and Dao shook his head slightly.

“No.”

“It would be nice if someone took care of you,” I added.

“Oh. I already have someone to take care of.”    “Who!!” the three of us asked in unison.

“Should I tell you?”

“Just give us a hint!”

“He’s very important.”

“How important?”

“The whole world.”

“Wow, he’s as important as the whole world? Are you kidding?”

North started to tease. I exchanged an embarrassed look with Ter, while Daotok just smiled casually, not showing any embarrassment despite what he just said, “Why are you so romantic?”

“Romantic, huh?”

“Yeah, he would be embarrassed if he heard that.”

“But he doesn’t seem embarrassed.”

“Oh, why so cold?”

“Yeah, he’s pretty cold with me, but even so.”

“Wow, I want to see his face.”

“I have a picture.”

“!!! Show it! Show it! Let’s see!” we said loudly enough to startle Dao, who then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

Are you really going to show us? Why so easy? And why haven’t you mentioned him before, like Daotok? And he’s cold on top of that!

What kind of person could be as important as the whole world to Daotok!!

   “Here.”

“!!!”

“What…what is this?!”    “Uh, handsome, huh?”

“Shit! Why show me a picture of a cat?!” North exclaimed immediately because the picture Dao just showed us was of a black cat.

“This is him, my important person.”

“It’s not a person, it’s a cat! How can a cat be an important person?

You should say it’s an important cat.”

“It’s equally important!”

“Hey, you spoke loudly for the first time!” North looked surprised. I was also quite surprised because Dao’s sentence earlier was a bit louder than usual, I emphasize, just a bit. Normally, Dao speaks softly and slowly.

“Is Jon ca—, this person?” Ter asked.

“Uh, this is Jon…my whole world.”    This guy is a cat slave…

   Oh, that’s why they said he acts cold.

   “So, don’t tell me that all this time at work you’ve been…”

“Uh, I have to buy the best food for Jon.”

“Holy shit, working until you end up in the hospital just to buy food for a cat,” North whispered to me. I couldn’t help but laugh at Dao; it was kind of cute.

So, it’s like we can go hungry, but the cat must be full…

   “And why does it have to be Jon?”

“Actually, his name is Jachornsak, shortened to Jon.”

“What kind of cat has the name Jachornsak?” North whispered to me again, almost making me burst out laughing. Dao always likes to give fancy names to everything. Like the cat doll he gave me, it’s named Supaporn.

   Oh…buying cat dolls because he likes cats, huh?

   “Is the reason you like to call me ‘cat’ because you like cats?”    “Exactly. That’s why I love cats so much,” Daotok said happily, which explained why he called me “cat” instead of my name every time. That’s why.

But why do you look so cheerful?

I’ve never seen him smile this wide before…Because he was looking at Jon’s photo, huh? Wow, the power of cats is truly something.    “Oh, so when you said you were saving to move to a condo, it was for…” Ter asked, as if he just remembered.

“Yeah. I’m going to take Jon to live with me, the dorm doesn’t allow pets.”

“Oh,” we nodded in understanding. It explained why Daotok was so hardworking, why he had to work hard every day. It wasn’t just for the car payments, but for Jon’s upkeep too…

“So, where are we heading next?” I asked, checking the time and realizing it wasn’t time for the celebration yet.

“Why not karaoke?”

“Sounds good,” North quickly agreed, since he loved to sing.

“Fine by me,” I said.

“Let’s do it,” Dao said, before we headed to karaoke. Neither I nor

Dao sang; I didn’t sing because I’m not much of a singer and I’m shy. Dao just listened, while North practically monopolized the microphone, occasionally passing it to Ter.

“Damn, Jon!” North, walking beside me, exclaimed, looking over at Ter and Dao talking about cats. When it comes to cats, Daotok becomes a different person. I was still taken aback seeing Dao so cheerful, “I’ve never met such a true cat servant.”

“Same here, it seems like he’s dedicated his life to serving cats.”    “Yeah, working so hard, I thought he had debts, damn, it’s all for the cat.”

“He seems to have clear goals, though.”

“At first, I thought he was secretly dating someone, oh well, all that anticipation for nothing, talking like it’s a person, somehow I feel outdone by it.”

“It’s kind of cute, calling the cat ‘Mister.’ and me ‘cat’, it’s all so confusing.”

“Yeah,” North laughed, before we went outside because Phii Fah was coming to pick us up. We noticed the sky was overcast, “It’s going to rain, it was sunny this morning.”

“Definitely Jon’s power,” I teased, and North laughed again.

“Dao, what are you going to do, ride your motorcycle here?” Ter asked the person next to him.

“I’ll go ahead first.”

“Is that okay? What if it rains on the way?”

“It’s fine, see you at the restaurant.” Then Dao quickly went to the motorcycle parking area. Not long after, Phii Fah’s car arrived and parked, then he lowered the window and told all three of us to get in.    “Hill and Jo are already at the restaurant; it would be too much trouble for everyone to come together.”

“Oh,” North and Ter said in unison from the back seat, and the luxury car moved away from the mall area. I kept looking outside, hoping it wouldn’t rain. Let Dao reach the restaurant first, because riding a motorcycle in the rain is very dangerous.

We got to the restaurant before it started to rain, finding Dao already sitting there, along with Phii Hill and Phii Jo at the same table, plus Foam.

“Isn’t Phii Arthit coming?” I asked.

“He said he had some business. He asked me to tell you he’s happy you passed the exam.”

“Oh,” I nodded slightly before sitting at the table. Just then, it started raining outside, “Good that we came before it rained,” I said, turning to Dao, who nodded slightly in response.

We went to fetch various dishes and brought them back to the table.

Since I’ve known Ter, I’ve been eating at BBQ buffets a lot more often, celebrating every little thing with a BBQ. When we returned to the table, there was alcohol there too.

   “Did you order alcohol too?” I asked Phii Fah.

“North ordered it.”

“Heh, I wanted some. Haven’t had any for a while,” North said with a smile before pouring some into his glass and then asked Phii Jo, “Do you want some?”

“Sure,” Phii Jo nodded slightly.

“Phoon, Ter, Dao, Foam?”

“I’ll have some,” Foam said, handing his glass to North. I hesitated a bit since it had been a while since I drank, then turned to ask Phii Fah for advice.

“Go for it. It’s fine, I told you I’ll take care of it.”

“…Oh, North, please give me some.”

“Ter, want some?”

“No.”

“Ter, want some?”

“No.”

“Ter, want some?” North kept repeating the same question until Ter furrowed his brows at him.

“Hey, you, I said no.”

“Are you my friend?”

“Damn,” Ter swore, feeling cornered by the question, before he had to reluctantly hand his glass over to North.

“Dao, are you my friend?”

“Who is North’s friend?”

“Oh, so it’s Dao.”

“Joking. I rode a motorcycle here, how could I drink?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot. Then never mind,” North said before raising his glass. We raised our toast with him, “Cheers, Typhoon passed the exam, yeah!!”

Our celebration then turned into ordering more and more alcohol, and this place had so much that we started to wonder if it was actually a bar. But after looking closely, we understood; the shop next door was a bar, probably they had some arrangement.

   North was quite the drink mixer, very skilled at it, which might prove true the saying that engineers are good at getting drunk. Looking at how well North mixed drinks, and importantly, no one stopped him.

   After a while, Ter was the first to show signs of being drunk; his face started turning red all the way to his ears, his eyes began to glaze over.

   “Mix more!”

“Why are you shouting?”

“North! Bring the alcohol!!”

“Already drunk and still so fierce.”

“Hurry up!!”

“Yeah, yeah,” North had to quickly pour more alcohol for Ter. Normally, Ter is the kindest saint among us, but why does he get so aggressive when he’s drunk?

   “Am I too slow for you? Huh? Am I too slow?”

“Oh, oh, calm down. You’re a fake saint, aren’t you? Your true nature comes out when you’re drunk,” because of the slow pouring, Ter ended up pulling North’s ear.

“Shut up! Try me!”

“You’re the big shot now, huh? Oh, Phii Hill, stop him, please! My ear is going to come off!”

“Ter, come here,” Phii Hill pulled Ter close without being able to resist, and Ter was flailing around so much that he had to be held tightly.

“Uh, I love you Phii Hill the most.”

“…” And then the whole table went silent with Ter’s words before he fell asleep in Phii Hill’s embrace, his aggressive behavior having dissipated.

   Referring to himself as ‘I ’, why am I feeling embarrassed?

   “Next, Phoon.”

“I think the one pouring is starting to get drunk too.”

“I’m not drunk.”

When Ter gets drunk, he’s the noisy type. I wonder what type North and Foam are.

   Time passed by, and Foam started to slump over the table, drunk. It seems we’ll have to call his roommate to pick him up. Dao took care of calling them. I noticed North was also looking a bit dazed.

   “Why are you so good at holding your liquor, Phoon? I thought I had a pretty strong tolerance.”    “I’m starting to feel dizzy too.”

“Want to have a drinking contest?”

“Let’s do it.”

“…”

Phii Jo and Phii Fah raised their eyebrows slightly, looking at each other, seemingly waiting to see what the two of us, who were starting to get drunk, would do next.

   Phii Hill excused himself to take Ter back home. By now, Foam had passed out, leaving just me and North.

   “Phii Jo, can you mix some for us?” North said, pushing everything in front of him towards Phii Jo.

“Is that a good idea?”

“Jo’s got a heavy hand,” Phii Fah remarked.

“It’s fine,” I answered, “Just make two glasses the same, that’s enough. This is a battle of honor, isn’t it, North?”

“Yes! Phii Fah, don’t stop us.”

“You’re both drunk already.”

“What should we do?” Phii Jo asked.

“Just go along with what the younger ones want.”

“Okay,” Phii Jo responded, before he started mixing drinks for us to compete. I wasn’t sure why we were doing this, but at this point, my mind wasn’t very clear anymore, whatever, everything goes.    I downed my glass in one go, and North did the same. When I was younger and more rebellious, I used to drink a lot, which made me somewhat resilient to alcohol.

“You still want more?” North asked, his voice slurred.

“Yeah, you?”

“Chill, just saying.”

“Why can you drink so much?”

“Back then, I used to drink with the old man next door every day.”

“You’ve been an alcoholic since you were a kid?”

“Told you, since I was three.”

“You’re full of crap.”

“One more glass then,” we clinked our glasses together. I let the bitter-sweet taste flow down my throat one more time, before the image in front of me started to blur, but I could still see that North had passed out.

“…”

“Yay! I won!” Overjoyed at winning, I stood up and raised both my hands, but because I was drunk, I fell back down, only to be caught by Phii Fah.

“Yes, you’ve won,” Phii Fah said. Unable to fight the heaviness of my eyelids, I closed my eyes, “Let’s go home, Jo.”    “Yeah,” Phii Jo responded.

“Uh, Dao.”

“…”

“Dao,” I called out softly.

“Phoon is calling you,” Phii Fah said.

“Oh, what’s up, cat?”

“Foam?”

“His friend came to pick him up.”

“Uh, Dao, get back safely, okay?”

“Uh, okay, see you, congrats on winning.”

“Obviously,” I gave a thumbs up without looking, before feeling myself being lifted, hearing the sound of a car door opening, Phii Fah placed me on the seat and fastened my seatbelt. I let myself drift off to sleep until I felt myself being laid down on a familiar, soft bed.

“Uh…” I groaned in my throat when I felt uncomfortable.

“I will wipe you down in a bit,” he said.

“No, don’t leave,” I waved my hand around before my hand was grasped.

“I’m just going to get a cloth, be right back.”

“No. Don’t leave me.”

“…”

“No matter how good someone else might be, don’t leave me,” I mumbled in a slurred voice, trying to push myself up, but Phii Fah pulled me into a hug first.

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know.”

“Are you overthinking because you’re drunk?”

“I am not the best person, but I truly love you Phii Fah, loves you a lot, has loved you for a long time. No matter who comes along, I never cared, if it’s not you, it can’t be anyone else. Even if you don’t choose me, for me, it’s still only you Phii Fah.” “I know, I promised I wouldn’t go anywhere.” “Really?” I asked to confirm.

“Yes, so why are you overthinking now?” Phii Fah asked in a deep voice, then gently stroked my head.

“I saw…on a page.”

“A page?”

“Someone said that I am not right for you Phii Fah at all.”

“…Oh.”

“I don’t care how others see it, but I am afraid that one day someone more suitable for you than me might come along.” I spoke out what had been swirling in my head almost all day, trying not to think about it but unable to suppress the fear. I didn’t really want to voice it out because it might make me seem overly insecure, but with the alcohol coursing through my body, I ended up saying everything.

“Others have no right to decide who I am suitable for. I, Fah, will choose for myself who I want by his side.”

“…”

“And if that person isn’t you, then it can’t be anyone else.”

“…”

“As my partner, don’t look or pay attention to anyone else. Just look at me and that’s enough.”

“Uh, I only look at you. Didn’t you know?”

“I knew already.”

“I love you, more than anything in ten universes and a million galaxies!”

“Thank you, love you too.”

“…”

“The most in ten universes, a million galaxies.”

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 38: Shining

   Tonfah

   After the short trip, celebrating Phoon’s birthday in Japan, which only lasted a few days, we returned to Thailand because we didn’t have much time. We had to continue studying. I think it must have been another good period for Phoon, not only did he get to see his mom but also travel with friends.

That day, after spending the whole day sightseeing and taking photos, riding the Ferris wheel, and ending with a celebratory meal at a restaurant, we returned to Thailand the next day. Phoon had been busy editing photos and the birthday video for several days, and he wouldn’t let me see it beforehand, saying he’d show it all once it was complete.

Looking at my watch, it’s now past ten at night, and today was another day with classes until late. I told Phoon to eat something first; believe me, it’s not a good feeling, not having time to even be together like this, especially when there are classes early tomorrow morning too.

I opened the door to the room slowly, set my bag down, and scanned the room for the person I missed all day. I saw Phoon slumped over the desk, asleep. I tiptoed over carefully so as not to wake him, opening the screen where he was editing the video. I couldn’t help but smile as I secretly saved everything he hadn’t closed before shutting down the computer. Then, I gently lifted him from the desk and laid him on the bed.

He must have been sitting in front of the computer all day until he was exhausted. I closed the bedroom curtains and turned on the bedside lamp before heading to the bathroom to shower and change. When I came out to check the kitchen counter, there were a couple of dishes wrapped in plastic, probably left by Phoon for me.

Because he’s just so sweet like this…

I unwrapped the plastic, heated up the food, served some rice, waited for the dishes to warm up, then had my dinner, and placed the dishes in the sink.

I peeked in to see if Phoon was sleeping soundly, and when I thought he was, I closed the bedroom door and went to make some coffee, preparing to study for the night.

In truth, my life before dating Phoon was quite ordinary and boring. Days were spent studying, nights reading, and then studying again the next day, with free time also dedicated to reading. It was just this cycle. But after having a boyfriend, some things changed, like bringing color to my otherwise mundane days.

I often study until late at night; it’s a habit I’ve had for a long time, even before getting into medical school, and now even more so. Usually, Phoon would sit and watch TV or listen to music on the sofa to keep me company while I studied until he fell asleep.

Actually, there’s something that’s been on my mind a lot lately, even before I took Phoon to Japan, because during the midterms, I didn’t perform well. I don’t know, can I call myself not good? I thought I had studied as hard as I could, but when it came to the actual exam, there were several questions I couldn’t answer.

That’s just how exams are. There’s no way you can answer everything given the difficulty and standards of the exams. The higher the year, the harder the subjects get, probably because I’ve never had so many unanswered questions before, which made me feel bad.    My scores were as expected; I knew from the exam that my marks would be around this level. Even though everyone said I did well, even the best among them, it still wasn’t good enough for myself.

It’s really hard to overcome this habit of putting too much pressure on myself, and when my parents said they thought I could do better, it only increased the pressure. They weren’t really pressuring me, but as I’ve said, it’s an expectation, thinking I should do better, believing I should be like this or that.

Sigh…thinking about it won’t change anything, better to focus on the present. I concentrated on the study sheet in front of me for over an hour until I had to rest my eyes from exhaustion, letting out a sigh as I felt tired.

I got up from the desk and walked to the storage shelf to look for old study sheets. While searching, I found an old cigarette pack.

Oh, I totally forgot about cigarettes. I haven’t smoked for months now, and I didn’t smoke often before, so I didn’t think about it much. When I picked up the pack, I saw there was a post-it note stuck on it with the message:

‘Don’t smoke often, I’m worried.’

   Typhoon

   I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the message on the post-it. Phoon must have found it while cleaning and thought I was still smoking, but he didn’t ask or say anything about it.

I peeled off the post-it and stuck it on the back of a notebook to keep before throwing away the cigarette pack. After finding the study sheets I needed, I went back to reading. Almost an hour later, I heard the bedroom door open slowly. I turned to see that the person who had been sleeping was now awake, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he walked towards me.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Yeah, what time is it?”

“Almost midnight.”

“Oh, I didn’t even know when you came back.”

“Today, I got back at ten in the evening, and I saw you slumped over the desk, asleep.”

“Oh, why didn’t you wake him up? I haven’t even showered yet; he’ll stink.”

“He seemed fine to me.”

“No, he should shower first,” Phoon said before going to grab his clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. He came out after about ten minutes in simple pajamas, “I’m up now.”    “How can you sleep after showering like that?”

“I’ll get sleepy soon. What time will you read until tonight?”

“Probably until about two in the morning.”

“Oh, then I will go back to editing the video. Phii Fah you didn’t peek, right?”    “No, I didn’t look.”

“Okay, don’t let me catch you cheating.”

“Yes, yes,” I couldn’t help but smile at the look on his face, “Give me some encouragement for studying, please.” My words made him slowly come closer, and he kissed my cheek.

“Susuna!”

“One more.”

“…” Phoon slightly frowned before leaning in and kissing my other cheek. When I said I wanted encouragement, I meant a kiss, but this was fine for now. I smiled contentedly, and Phoon walked away with a slightly red face, sitting back at the computer desk, putting on headphones to continue editing videos and photos.

…

Typhoon

   Having had a nap and a shower, I was now wide awake, focusing on video editing for a while. Then I remembered that tomorrow was the day the exam results would be announced, which made me anxious.

It’s five fifty-five now.

Just five more minutes!

I quickly opened the exam results website, but it was down, oh, damn it, it happens every year! I stood up in agitation, almost unable to sit still, trying to calm myself down when I noticed Phii Fah was seriously reading.

I refreshed the page while keeping an eye on the time, and as the seconds ticked by, I got more and more excited, feeling all tense!    My heart pounded intensely when I realized it was midnight, and while trying to load the website, my hands were shaking all over. I was so excited I could almost explode, but I had to stay quiet!

“Come on, load!” I whispered to myself. This ‘load’ meant the exam results, come on, load already! How long will this website take to load?

It’s loaded!

   I held my breath as the white website slowly loaded.

   I passed!!

   “Arghhhhh!!!” I accidentally shouted out loud, startling Phii Fah, who was reading and quickly turned to look at me.

“Phoon! What’s wrong?”

“Phii Fah, aaah!!!”

“Uh, what’s up?” Phii Fah quickly got up from his chair and came over to me.

“Uh, I, I, oh, argh, I passed, I passed, I got into the photography program, I passed!” I shouted with joy until it was almost incoherent. I looked at the website again for reassurance, and Phii Fah rushed to look at the screen too, showing signs of happiness as well.

“Congratulations~~” Not waiting for Phii Fah to finish, I jumped to hug him out of joy, unable to contain myself. Phii Fah looked a bit confused at being suddenly jumped on, but he quickly caught me.

   “I passed, oh, I, this…I!”

“That’s great, congratulations, I knew you could do it.”

“Thank you for believing in me, I did it! Yay!” Before Phii Fah gently set me down, I was nearly overwhelmed with joy. All the effort and studying for months wasn’t in vain; I finally got to study what I wanted! Phii Fah gently patted my head, looking at me with affection.

I grinned back at him immediately.

Now, I had to show off!

I quickly grabbed my phone to call everyone. The last person I chatted with on LINE was Ter. I called him right away. It wasn’t long before the call was answered.

“Ter!!”

(What!? Why are you so loud!)

   “Aren’t you asleep yet?”

(You bastard. Not just when calling out names, your voice cracks the whole sentence. Still watching Phii Hill read, and what?)

   “Me! Passed! Got in!”

(What?)

   “Passed, you asshole, got into Photo!”

(Holy shit, congrats, man, that’s great, let’s celebrate tomorrow.)

   “Yeah, we have to celebrate, can’t miss it now.”

(Yeah, yeah, so have you told anyone else yet?)

   “Not yet, you’re the first. I’ll call to brag to others now.”

(Heh. Nothing else, right?)

   “Nothing else. Just wanted to brag about passing.”

(Okay, good night then.)

   “Good night.”

I immediately scrolled through my chats to find Foam, calling him on LINE. He answered not long after. Of course, I called him with that cracking voice like I always do when I’m excited or upset, and he teased me about it. I told him about passing the exam, and he got really excited, congratulated me, and said we should celebrate together tomorrow, sounding just like Ter. We only talked for a bit before hanging up because he was actually sleeping and had to wake up to answer my call.

Then, it was North’s turn, I guess.

“Man, th-th-th!!”

(Why’s your voice cracking? What’s up?)

   “Aren’t you asleep yet?”

(-fuck, I’m playing games.)

   “I see. Didn’t know.”

(So, what’s up?)

   “Me! Passed! Got into! Pho! To! Now!”

(Really? Congrats, I knew you’d make it.)

   “Yeah, let’s celebrate tomorrow.”

(Okay, okay, we’ll plan it. I’m going to play some games now.)

   “Addicted to games. Not sleeping, huh?”

(Playing games while waiting for Phii Jo to finish studying.)

   “Oh, well, goodnight then.”

(Goodnight.)

   After hanging up with North, the last person to call was Daotok.

“Daotok!”

(…Your voice sounds excited, which means something must have happened.)

   “I passed the photo exam!” I didn’t shout as loudly as with the others because I didn’t want to yell at Daotok.

(Really? Wow, that’s great, congratulations. You’re a smart cat, no surprise there.)

   “Yeah, let’s celebrate tomorrow.”

(Celebrate?)

   “Yeah, are you coming? I’ve already made plans with everyone.”

(I probably won’t make it, sorry, I’ll give you a gift later.)

   “Why? Are you not free?”    (Well, yeah.)

   “Come on, Dao never comes to celebrations, come on, it’ll just be for a bit.”

(…)

   “Pleaaaase.”

(…Alright, then tell me the place. We’ll meet at the restaurant.)    “Okay! And why are you up so late? Don’t tell me you’re working again.”

(Then we won’t tell.)

   “So, you’re working, huh?”

(Yeah, yeah.)

   “Okay, okay, good luck. Sorry for bothering you, get some rest.”

(Yeah, sweet dreams, cat.)

   “Sweet dreams to you too.”

   And with that, the mission of calling everyone to brag, I mean, to share the good news about passing the exam, was complete. I turned back to smile broadly at Phii Fah, the joy still not fading.

   “I might even get honors, heh-heh.”

“Yes, you can do it.”

“I will do my best, as a student of yours, I won’t let my teacher down!” I said with a strong voice, making a respectful gesture, which made Phii Fah smile slightly at my antics.

“If you go to study, I will probably only be able to tutor you for free outside of school. But for photography and stuff like that, you should already be good at it.”

“Yes.” And with overwhelming joy, I hugged the person in front of me again. Phii Fah hugged me back.

Now I have done it, Fan.

   I’ll have to tell this good news to Mom, Aunt Nuan, and Aunt Prae too!

   …

Tonfah

   Today was supposed to be a day for the juniors to get together for a celebration; they had already booked a restaurant thinking everyone would be free on Saturday, but we ended up having make-up classes. So, I dropped Phoon off to hang out with his friends in the morning, thinking why not. We were supposed to go out for dinner together in the evening. Staying alone in the room in the morning would be quite boring.

   I dropped him off at the mall because Phoon said they might eat and watch a movie there, hoping they would stay at the mall and not go causing trouble anywhere else.

   It seems Phoon has noticed that I haven’t been feeling too great recently, so he’s been trying to stay close, being more affectionate.

Even though he’s usually quite clingy, it’s because Phoon knows I’ve been studying hard, and telling me not to stress out is something easier said than done. Normally, Phoon takes good care of me, from preparing meals, getting things ready, cleaning the room, doing everything he can.

   “Fah!”

“What?” I turned to ask a female friend who approached me during the break.

“Can you explain this part? No one in our group understands it.”    “Oh,” and then I explained the content to her, adjusting the professor’s words a bit to make it easier to understand.    “Oh, okay, thanks,” she said with a smile. I smiled back courteously, “Oh, Fah, is the person you post on Instagram really your boyfriend?”    “Yeah, why?”

“Nothing, he’s cute, is he your junior?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s really cute. We were just talking about how cute your boyfriend is, he’s so adorable.”

“Oh…thanks.”

“I want to meet him in person. What department is he in?”

“He’s about to enter the Photography program.”

“Oh, I’ll go check him out later, his Instagram is full of pictures of you.”

I didn’t say anything, just smiled, before she talked a bit more and then walked away.

“Jo,” I called out to the person sitting next to me.

“What?”

“Have people ever complimented North on being cute?”

“Sometimes, why?”

“Do you like it?”

“No.”

“Then it’s not weird, right?”

“I don’t know,” Jo said, “The point isn’t whether it’s weird or not, the point is I don’t like it.”

“Hmm,” I let out a small sigh. Even though I wasn’t too pleased with people complimenting Phoon like that, when I thought about it, isn’t it good that people think my boyfriend is cute? They’re just complimenting, it doesn’t mean anything more.

If just seeing a photo makes people say Phoon is cute, does that mean when Phoon enters the new faculty, there will be even more people?

   “Hill,” I called out.

“What?”

“When Phoon was studying vet science, did a lot of people like him?”

“…Why suddenly ask?” Hill raised an eyebrow, looking slightly puzzled, “Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Uh, Ter told me there were quite a few, both seniors and peers.”

“Quite a few?”

“Uh, that’s what I heard.”

“How many people?”

“Don’t know.”

“How did they flirt?”

“Don’t know.”

“And what did Phoon say?”

“He probably rejected them.”

“Probably? Why probably?”

“…”

“Were they just flirting, not chasing him aggressively, right?”

“No, they didn’t.”

“Well, that’s good,” I sighed in relief. Even though it’s in the past, if someone had done something bad to Phoon, I would definitely feel uneasy.

“When he enters Photo, there will probably be people liking him again,” Hill said.

“Yeah,” I shrugged slightly, not too concerned.

“People are looking at your boyfriend, do you like it?”

“I don’t like it, but what does it matter if they look?”

“…”

“Phoon only looks at me, that’s all.”

“Fuck, that’s really annoying,” Jo said, bursting into laughter, making me laugh too, “So, you’re saying Phoon loves you a lot?”

“No. Not saying that, but it’s true.” I teased them just for fun, and indeed, they got annoyed.

“A new level of bragging,” Arthit teased, “I thought Hill and Jo were annoying enough, but you, Fah, take the cake.”

“And what about you, Arthit? Don’t you have anything to brag about?” I countered.    “Huh? Me?”

“Yeah. Nothing?”

“How could there be?”

“Someone you’re talking to?”

“My dad still doesn’t talk to me these days.”

“Hasn’t he unblocked you on LINE yet?” Jo asked, laughing.    “Yeah, tell my dad to unblock me on LINE, you have his LINE, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, my friend’s situation is pitiful.”

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 37: His cat

   Tonfah

   I glanced at the person walking ahead with happiness, Phoon in the white winter jacket I once bought for him, black jeans, and black sneakers. He might not notice it much himself, but Phoon usually dresses in black almost every day, so seeing him in white was a bit different but fitting.

It seems like the person who just got a new camera is very excited, especially since it’s Phoon. So, I didn’t have any other gift ideas besides the camera; it’s the one thing that the little one loves to the point of obsession, no matter how many cameras or lenses he has, it wouldn’t be enough.

Just like how I’m obsessed with Typhoon’s smile right now, his large, bright eyes blending perfectly with the morning air. I’ve heard that when people are with something they love deeply, they have a charm. I only understood this when I saw Phoon with his camera. I never thought someone could love photography this much. Whether it’s lifting the camera to shoot, checking the photos, or even editing them, it’s all captivating.

We were at Osaka Castle, the first place the younger ones said we had to visit, and it was fortunate because it was spring, and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

It was all so beautiful. From the pink cherry blossoms lining the path to the child with a big smile on his face with the camera in hand.    The gentle breeze blew, and the sweet-faced owner turned towards me, the same camera stopping in front of my face. The photographer paused for a moment before pressing the shutter. After taking the photo, Phoon lowered the camera and looked at the screen.

“How is it?” I asked.

“Take a look,” Phoon said before quickly approaching me, handing me the camera to see the picture he had just taken. It was a full-body shot of me standing in the middle of the path with cherry trees on both sides, with a few people walking in the background and sides, but the focus was solely on me.

It’s well known that this photographer takes the most beautiful pictures.

“What do you think?”

“The model is clear as day.”

“Anyone standing here would look good with this kind of shot.”

“That’s not true,” Phoon shook his head slightly, “It’s also because of the model. Since you are tall, the full-body shot looks good like this.”

“Hmm,” I raised my eyebrows a bit. I’m not one to compliment myself much, but I’m not completely lacking in confidence either, “If you say so.”

“Uh, you don’t often compliment yourself, huh?” The person next to me said playfully.

“Phoon is the same,” I replied, and he gave a broad smile.

“One more photo, please.”

“What should I do?” I asked because when Phoon takes photos of me, I usually don’t know what to do. It’s not just when Phoon takes photos; I generally don’t like having my picture taken, so I don’t know much about these things.

“Hmm, just walk normally,” Phoon said.

“Okay,” I agreed, then Phoon circled around to the back.

“Turn around a bit, but don’t look at the camera.”

“Then what should I look at?”

“Look…you can look at North.”

“Johan would have something to say about that.”    “Phii Jo won’t know,” he said.

I didn’t respond, instead, I turned to the side, looking at the cherry blossom trees. As the wind blew, my hair fluttered with it. After a moment, thinking it was enough, I turned to look at Phoon. Since the wind was blowing, I had to push my hair back to keep it from covering my face, before Phoon took another three rapid shots.

   “Wow, that’s beautiful,” the photographer said excitedly, quickly showing me the photos, “Phii Fah could be a model, really.”    “I’d rather not,” I smiled.

“Phoon,” I turned along with Phoon when we heard the call; it was Ter and Hill approaching. Now, all of us were out sightseeing together, except for Arthit, who never likes going anywhere with others, especially not with this group; he’s definitely not going to join, preferring to go off alone for a long time. I just hoped he wouldn’t forget the time we were supposed to meet back for our return to Thailand.

“How’s it going? Did you find any beautiful spots?” Phoon asked Ter. These two really get along well when it comes to photography, both enjoying it, but Ter doesn’t take it as seriously.

“That spot wasn’t bad, especially with the cherry blossoms.”

“Oh, just from this direction,” Phoon said, showing Ter the photos. The one who just saw them looked slightly amazed, “What do you think?”

“Stunning,” Ter said, “You should check this out first,” before showing Phoon his own camera.

“Hey, did you secretly take a picture of me?”

“It turned out nice, right, Phii Fah?” Then Ter showed me some pictures, ones he took of me and Phoon from not too far away, when we were walking together, smiling at each other while Phoon was taking my photo, “Here’s another behind-the-scenes shot.”

“It’s beautiful,” I answered, “Can you send it to me?”

“Sure,” Ter smiled. I like the pictures Ter took of me and Phoon. I can’t really put it into words, but they look natural, and I especially like how Phoon smiles when I’m not looking, that smile when he’s not focusing on the camera.

If he’s going to smile this cutely while taking pictures,    I wouldn’t want him to take photos of anyone else.

“The cherry blossoms are damn beautiful,” I said to Ter as the two of us walked slightly ahead of Phii Hill and Phii Fah, heading to capture the scenery around Osaka Castle. The soft sunlight slightly changed the tone of the photos, but I like it when the sun is out; for me, the pictures turn out even prettier.

I wanted to secretly take many photos of Phii Fah, but that would be difficult since he would notice even the slightest attempt.

I took a lot of landscape photos, especially of the cherry blossoms in full bloom, with angles looking up to the sky, making them look even more beautiful.

Walking along, I saw a moat around the castle with ducks in it, which I thought were cute, so I couldn’t help but stop to take photos.    “You can’t take pictures of everything, Phoon. We haven’t even reached the castle yet,” Ter said.

“Yeah, we’ve been here for almost twenty minutes, right?”    “Yeah, if you keep going like this, we won’t have time to see much, probably won’t even go inside.”

“Hmm,” I pouted in frustration before turning back when I felt someone approaching, “How are they?” I asked North, who had just arrived. Earlier, while taking photos with Phii Fah, I saw him not too far away.

“Looks good, the cherry blossoms are in perfect bloom, we’re damn lucky.”

“Aren’t you taking any photos?” Ter asked.

“I’m not good at it, I’ll just take the ones from you guys.”

“As expected, here, I secretly took some of you and Phii Jo too,” Ter said, showing the pictures from his camera to North, who immediately raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

“When did you sneak the photo?”

“It was slick, I could be a paparazzo,” Ter said with pride, especially since he had just sneakily taken a photo of me and Phii Fah, and it turned out to be a beautiful shot.

“Doctoring isn’t your thing anymore, huh?” North said.    “Yeah, I quit. Next time you’re sick, you won’t be able to come to me.”

“Damn, Ter,” and North gave Ter a piece of his mind. I glanced back at the three doctors chatting behind us. The scene before me seemed like something out of a movie, and I couldn’t resist lifting the camera hanging around my neck to take a picture. Of course, they must have noticed.

Maybe because they’re used to being photographed secretly.    Phii Fah looked at me, raising an eyebrow slightly. I made a face before lowering the camera.

   “Pretend you didn’t see,” I said with a pout; how could someone notice they’re being photographed secretly like that?

“Oh, okay,” Phii Fah laughed, then nudged Phii Jo and Phii Hill to act like they didn’t know. The other two looked slightly surprised before agreeing to play along, turning back to their conversation as before.

“How did you manage to sneak that shot, Ter?” I asked after I had taken photos of the three of them, scrolling through the images I’d just captured. I must say, they really are attractive, all three of them, even more so when they stand together like this, drawing everyone’s gaze.

No wonder it’s not just us looking at them right now.

“You have to do it when Phii Fah or Phii Jo are with you guys. They won’t pay attention to anything else then,” Ter said, making me feel a bit embarrassed, “But trying to sneak a photo any other time, you won’t get away with it.”

“Yeah, that’s true, I’ve never succeeded in catching Phii Jo off guard in a photo. He always knows. I don’t know why he’s so perceptive.”

“Maybe because he gets photographed a lot,” I said, “I’ve seen on the university page, there are many candid shots of him, right? While

Phii Fah and Phii Hill act like they don’t see it, Phii Jo mocks the camera with a smile.”

Speaking of the university page reminded me, because I’m not much into social media, only using it to keep in touch with friends. But after dating Phii Fah, he became somewhat of a celebrity at the university, even being the runner-up for the month. People comment a lot about us, but I don’t read them because I’m lazy, yet I want to say that the candid photos of Phii Fah are terrible, the angles are bad, and they’re even blurry!

I’m not angry because someone photographed Phii Fah secretly.

But if I knew who it was, I’d teach them how to take proper photos!

“Why are you making a cat face?”

“Huh, what cat?”

“When you’re sulky, you make a cat face, Phoon,” Ter explained, continuing from what North had just asked. I immediately looked at them with a surprised expression, “Like when you frown and squint your eyes, making a pouty face.”    “You mean me?” I pointed at myself.

“Yes, you, I’m talking to you.”

“No way, that’s impossible,” I shook my head rapidly, narrowing my eyes at them.

“You look even more like a cat now.”

“Enough,” I said to stop the teasing about me looking like a cat, before noticing a bridge ahead which probably led into the castle area. It was really a vast castle, making me tired from all the walking, and when we reached the bridge, I couldn’t help but stop to take more pictures.

“You’re so excited,” North teased.

“Of course, it’s a new camera, you bastard, I’ve gone mad over it.

This camera cost two hundred thousand! Who would’ve thought Phii Fah would buy it as a birthday gift? It’s the most expensive and best gift I’ve ever gotten, look at this…” I noticed Phii Jo watching.    “Stop,” North raised his hand to stop me, “I’m getting a headache from hearing you brag about your camera.”

“Come on, I’m just excited.”

“Yeah, yeah, my bad. I won’t tease anymore, go ahead and take your photos.”

“North, be a model for me.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you. Phii Fah said it doesn’t matter who the model is,” I repeated what Phii Fah had told me earlier.

“What does he know? Do you think if it wasn’t him in that photo, it would have turned out that good?” North said with a slightly annoyed look but still agreed to stand by the bridge to be my model, “How should I pose?”

“Just act normal,” I said. Soon, North turned to smile at the camera. I searched for the right angle for a while before taking the shot, not realizing that the seniors had been standing behind me for who knows how long. North looked a bit embarrassed.

Come to think of it, Ter also often gets embarrassed around Phii Hill.

“I’m shy, or are the doctors just good at making me shy?

I think it’s the latter, because if it weren’t for Phii Fah, I wouldn’t get shy at all.

“Did you get a lot of photos?” Phii Fah asked. I nodded in response before stepping closer to show him the photos on the camera. It’s become a habit to show Phii Fah my photos first whenever I take any. “I like the one with the duck,” I said, pointing to the duck by the canal we just passed, then scrolling through until I reached the photo of the three doctors walking and chatting. This made Phii Fah raise an eyebrow slightly, “Why?”

“Nothing. Just that we don’t usually have photos together.”    “Let me see,” Phii Jo walked over. I handed him the camera, “Hill, look at this.”

“What?” Phii Hill asked, turning around.

“Our photo.”

“Come to think of it, we never go out together,” Phii Hill said to Phii Jo after seeing the photo.

“Yeah. Normally, these are candid shots, ah, but this one’s candid too. Didn’t even notice,” Phii Fah teased me a bit, which made me inadvertently frown at him.

“If Phii Arthit was here, it would be complete,” I said, “Why didn’t he come with us?”

“He’s not one for going out with a lot of people,” Phii Fah explained, “Especially when traveling, he prefers going alone.”

“Oh,” I nodded in understanding. Seems like he really values his freedom, huh, Phii Arthit. After spending some time taking photos at the bridge, I was suddenly holding hands with Phii Fah because I was too busy taking photos to notice everyone else had moved ahead.

Let’s sneak a photo of Ter and Phii Hill. That’s revenge for them taking candid shots of everyone else.

“We need to hurry a bit, because according to our plan, we’ve got several more places to go, right?” Phii Fah asked with a smile. I nodded in response, one hand still holding his, making me feel both shy and warm at the same time.

I remembered last time, when we held hands like this while sightseeing.

Going out with more people does make me tense, especially because of Ter and North; I still remember being teased about…about the morning kiss.

I picked up the camera with my free hand to take a photo of our joined hands, then slowly moved the camera up to capture the person next to me, up close, and seeing that Phii Fah wasn’t looking at the camera made me think…    Switch to video mode instead.

   “Phii Fah,” I called out, and the owner of the name slowly turned around just as a gentle breeze blew by.

“What is it?”

“I want to record a video.”

“What kind of video?”

“It’s a birthday memory of me in Osaka with you Phii Fah.”

“Oh,” before a beautiful smile gradually spread across his handsome face. I believe if that shot just now was edited into slow motion, it would definitely be amazing. “Are you going to edit it?”

“Yes.”

Phii Fah raised the hand that was holding mine, touching his lips to the back of my hand and glancing at the camera. At such close range, it made me freeze as if my heart had stopped for a moment, and when I came to my senses, my heart started beating strongly.

   “Don’t cut this part out, okay?”

“…Okay,” I said in a faint voice. The other seemed satisfied before lowering his hand. I stopped recording the video for now. If I included the shot where Phii Fah kissed my hand in the video…

It would look very sweet.

There’s no way I would cut that part out during editing because it’s our memory, after all.

Before we headed up to Osaka Castle, looked at the view from the top of the castle, we didn’t stay long before descending and planning to go elsewhere.

“Takoyaki!” Ter turned to see a takoyaki stall and spoke with interest. Of course, he was the first to rush over, followed immediately by Phii Hill.

“What are they doing?” North asked me.

“Probably eating, they must have walked by and smelled it,” I said, unable to suppress a chuckle.

“But it looks good, the original from Japan is like this.”

“Original again,” I hadn’t finished speaking when North followed Ter.

“Aren’t you going to buy any?”

“I am not hungry,” I turned to respond to Phii Fah.

“You can try some, eat a lot, come on, didn’t your mom say to eat more because you’re too skinny?” Phii Fah’s words forced me into the takoyaki shop, even though I thought I’d been eating a lot lately. But my mom still says I’m too thin.

After buying some, I poked one with a stick, blew on it, thinking it was cool enough, and tried it. It was delicious, but then I felt a sharp pain in my mouth.

“What’s wrong? Does your mouth hurt?”

“…” I didn’t respond, inadvertently frowning at him; the pain was from where my mouth had cracked that morning. I wanted to be sulky but decided to let it go. Better not to mention it. “Try it, Phii Fah, it’s really tasty.”

“Feed me one.”

I poked another piece of takoyaki and blew on it to cool it down before feeding it to Phii Fah. After we finished eating, we prepared to move on to another place.

“Hey,” Ter nudged me and showed me a photo on the camera, one where I was about to feed takoyaki to Phii Fah.

“Sneak photo again.”

“Is it nice? Phii Fah looks so handsome even with his mouth open to eat takoyaki.”

“Phii Hill will take it down later.”

“Phii Hill won’t mind.”

“Really?” I asked incredulously, thinking Ter shouldn’t be sulking if he gets scolded by Phii Hill. Then we continued walking to a nearby place where they sold goods. While we were buying ice cream, I noticed Phii Jo buying beer.

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Phii Fah drink.

“Do you usually drink?”

“Beer?”

“Yes. Like, alcoholic drinks?”

“Not really. I don’t like them much.”

“Oh,” I nodded, thinking it wasn’t that surprising.

“What about you Phoon?”

“Huh, me? No, not anymore.”

“Didn’t you tell me that you used to drink a lot before?”

“Oh, that was a long time ago, back when I was rebellious,” I said, thinking back to those days when I was a naughty kid who often ran away from home, fought with Fan, and behaved badly while drinking with friends, “But now I don’t touch it at all.”

“That’s good, but if you feel like drinking, let Phii Fah know.”

“Will you drink with me?”

“No, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“I can take care of myself, you know. When drinking.”

“I’m still worried,” Phii Fah said in a calm tone as if it were just a casual statement, but for me, it felt quite special. I couldn’t help but smile secretly when I heard that.

Initially, we had planned to go to the aquarium, but we thought it would be more beautiful at night because they have a light show. During the day, we decided to walk around and look at various things, then visit a temple to pray and make merit instead.

In the evening, we arrived at the pier where there’s the aquarium and a giant Ferris wheel. The first thing that caught my eye was the

Ferris wheel. From the information I gathered, it’s open until late. So, we headed to the aquarium first.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked when I noticed Phii Fah kept looking at me.

“Nothing, just that you look so excited.”

“I am excited.”

“That’s good.”

The two of us held hands as we walked further in. The front of the aquarium indeed had the light display as I had read about, with a plaza full of blue lights giving the feeling that we were underwater or at the icy poles with the cold air and strong winds.

   Before we could look around more, the highlight was penguins walking along the path with a guard. Of course, I didn’t miss the chance to take a photo right there.

   “Looks familiar, ah, but I can’t remember what kind of penguin it is.”

“Emperor,” Phii Fah answered. I nodded slightly before turning my attention back to the little one in front, not forgetting to record a video. Today, I’ve got plenty of footage to edit for my birthday video in Osaka.

Walking inside, I found that it was decorated with the same color lighting as outside, in a blue tone, dark blue. The ceiling was full of bright blue lights, making it feel like we were under the deep sea. Even with the blue lights, the darkness inside made it hard to clearly see the person beside me.

While Phii Fah was scanning the surroundings, I took the opportunity to capture him, who was absorbed in the beautiful ambiance around us.

Looking through the lens, I realized that no matter what lighting, he always looked captivating.

“Can I borrow your camera for a moment?”

“Sure, are you going to take photos?”

“Yes, it’s so beautiful, I want to capture it.” Hearing that, I took off the camera and handed it to him. Without the camera in my hands, I started looking around, but when I saw Phii Fah holding the camera and taking photos, I paused.

I’ve noticed many times before, whenever Phii Fah holds a camera, he looks really good.

I wanted to take a photo of that moment, but I didn’t have my camera with me.

Wait…

“Phii Fah, are you taking photos of me?”

“Yes.”

“But didn’t you say you were going to take photos around here?”    “When did I say that? I just said it was so beautiful I wanted to capture it.”

“Then take the photos.”

“I am taking them.”

“…”

I froze when I understood what he meant. Saying it was so beautiful he wanted to capture it and then only taking photos of me meant he was talking about me, right? Realizing that, I protested to cover my embarrassment.

“Is this revenge?”

“Not at all, you don’t usually like taking photos of yourself, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, Phii Fah will take the photos instead. It would be such a pity if we didn’t capture this beauty.”

Phii Fah’s words left me speechless for a moment, then he handed the camera back to me. I took the camera and quickly looked at the photos, finding both moments when I was distracted, staring around, and when I turned to complain to the camera.

“Don’t delete them, okay?”

“Ugh.”

I pouted playfully; Phii Fah had taken really beautiful photos. Not because I was in them, but because of the angles and everything else in the shots, overall, they were very good.

We walked into the underwater tunnel, and somehow, we had gotten separated from the others. I didn’t know when, maybe from the entrance.

“Phii Fah, do you see the others?”

“We got separated at the entrance.”

“Oh, I didn’t even realize.”

“When you were looking at the penguins.”

“Oh, that’s bad, what should we do?”

“We can call them later when we’re back. It’ll be hard to find them now.”

“Okay.”

We continued through the underwater tunnel to the Japanese forest zone, which was like an ecosystem simulation. I took lots of cute animal photos, then we moved to the marine animal tanks. I didn’t know how long I spent in there, but by the time I realized it, I had seen everything. It seemed like it took quite a while, but Phii Fah didn’t complain, waiting patiently until I had taken enough photos.

“Was it fun?” Phii Fah asked after we left the aquarium. Outside, it was now completely dark. I checked the time; it was almost ten at night.

“Yes, the decorations were very beautiful.”

“Shall we go on the Ferris wheel?”

“Yes!” I said excitedly once more when I realized we were about to get on the Ferris wheel. I told you it was the first thing that caught my eye. After waiting in line for just a short while, we got into the gondola. I sat down, and Phii Fah sat opposite me. With the darkness, the view around us looked incredibly beautiful.

I gazed at the view outside as we gradually ascended, the lights below illuminating Osaka Bay, bridges visible in the distance. Since the Ferris wheel was so high, it felt like we could see the whole city of Osaka.

“Thank you for bringing me here.”

“Thank you again.”

“Really, thank you. Today was so much fun. I never thought I’d get to hang out with you and everyone, and get so many memorable photos and videos,” I said, turning to meet the eyes of the person sitting opposite me, only to find he was already looking at me.

With the dim light from below, I wasn’t so afraid of the darkness I was experiencing. Especially with Phii Fah here, there was nothing to be scared of. I reached out and held his hand, looking into those beautiful eyes with a heart beating strongly, filled with love for this person and gratitude beyond words.

“Have you ever thought about it, Phii Fah?”

“What?”

“About having a boyfriend, what it would be like.”

“Never,” he said softly, with a warm smile on his handsome face. “Why not?”

“Before, when I was alone, it was okay. I didn’t pay attention to anyone.”

“Really? Even though so many people like you, Phii Fah.”

“Well, I don’t like any of them.”

“But you like me, that’s strange.”

“Why?”

“…”

“Honestly, there are so many better people than me.”

“But there’s only one you, Phoon.”

“Then let me ask back, there are plenty of people better than me, why don’t you like them?”

“It’s been you from the start.”

“Phoon you is the type of person I like. If you showed me his true self, I would probably fall in love with you easily, maybe even from several years ago.”

“My true self…” I repeated his words, nodding to show I understood well, because I had asked Phii Fah once when we first started dating. I had never truly shown my real self to Phii Fah before that, “Who would dare?”    “Why not?”

“If I showed that I liked you and you rejected me, that would be bad.”

“But I didn’t reject you, did I?”

“Right, but because there was the letter, I got the courage. Back then, I was so scared that you wouldn’t be okay with me being the person from the letter,” I said truthfully.

“That’s good then. No matter what, as long as I got to know the real you, that’s enough.”

“What if I ran away back then, at the bridge?” I asked, referring to when Phii Fah asked me out.

“I told you, we would go back to where you feel comfortable, no matter how long it takes.”    “No matter how long? One year?”

“Yes.”

“Two years?”

“Yes.”

“Five years?”

“Yes.”

“Then, ten years?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, aren’t you exaggerating?”

“No, because back then, I decided that no matter what, it had to be you. As long as we could still talk like that, no matter how many years it took, while I finished his studies, worked as a doctor in the hospital,

I would come back to write letters to talk with you like before.”    “…Wow,” because those earnest eyes made me realize.

I was stunned because it made me understand that Phii Fah wasn’t lying at all.

“Phii Fah you could rush me, you know. You had the right not to be okay with the situation back then. Why didn’t you demand anything?” I said in a soft voice, feeling like something was stuck in my throat.

“But I am okay with it, why demand anything?”

“…” I pressed my lips together, feeling my heart swell with emotion. I let silence envelop us for a while because I didn’t know what to say to break this silence, until I remembered I hadn’t recorded a video. I started recording the night view of Osaka from over a hundred meters high, the colorful lights making me gaze in awe for a long time.

“Do you like the view from here?”

“Yeah, I love it, I want to come again.”

“When we come to visit your mom, we’ll come again.”

“Really, you promised,” I said, emphasizing it, and the other laughed a little.

“I already take you everywhere,” said the person opposite me, “In fact, I want to bring you out more often too, but Phii Fah doesn’t really have the time.”

“It’s okay.”

“…”

“I’m sorry for not having much time, even though I promised to take good care of you,” what Phii Fah said likely referred to the recent times when he was busy with studies and exams. He’s been studying hard, so it’s not surprising he doesn’t have much time. In fact, Phii Fah seemed somewhat worried about not having enough time for me.

   I shook my head immediately.

   “It’s really okay.”

“…”

“Besides, having a boyfriend who’s going to be a doctor isn’t bad.”    I said with a broad smile, and the other reached out to pinch my cheek lightly, with a playful grin.

“Besides, you have been taking good care of me too.”

“Really?”

“Wow, honestly, despite studying hard, Phii Fah you still do so much for me, and I’m very grateful,” I said. Actually, you take care of me too well. No matter where we go or what we do, I hardly have to do anything myself. Even during exam times when he was tired, he still tried to come see me, “Phoon should be the one taking care of you. I haven’t done much for you.”

“Being a good kid is enough.”

“I am a good kid. Never been rebellious.”

“Then who was it that brought coffee while I was studying, late at night, told to wait in the room but didn’t listen, and still came alone by car?”

“That’s right. Who knows,” I pretended, because when Phii Fah was studying outside. Initially, Phii Fah told me to wait in the room because he would study until the morning, so I wouldn’t have to go through trouble if I came to wait, but I stubbornly took coffee to him and ended up staying to keep watch.

I remember it was late that night, yet I still stubbornly went by car to find Phii Fah. Of course, I got scolded a lot for it. After that, Phii Fah didn’t let me stay in the room alone anymore because he didn’t trust me not to sneak out again.

Come to think of it, I’m quite clingy to Phii Fah like a leech.

“Must be a cat, then, number one in stubbornness.”

“Not stubborn.”

“Cats are stubborn.”

“Not a cat. Not stubborn either.”

“Cat.”

“Yes?”

“You just said you’re not a cat, why do you answer when I call you a cat?”

“Oh,” I frowned slightly, it’s just that I’m used to being called like that by them, “Fine, I’m a cat, but not stubborn.”

“Still stubborn.”

“Is that stubborn?”

“Hmm.”

“Phii Fah you always says I am stubborn, is I really that stubborn?”

“Not really. Just with this matter.”

“…Oh.”

“Feeling upset?”

“No. Just asking, if I’m too stubborn to the point where it’s bad, then I’ll adjust.”

“It’s fine, you being yourself is good enough.”

“Alright,” I smiled broadly at him, I wasn’t actually upset, I meant what I said.

“No matter how stubborn, you’re still my cat,” Phii Fah said while gently ruffling my hair.

“Hehe, this cat is very loyal, even dogs can’t compete.”

“Really?”

“Really, if I were a cat, and cats really have nine lives, I would give all nine lives to you, Phii Fah.”

“Hmm? All of them?”

“All of them, give everything, even stuff it into your hands,” I said with a slight chuckle.

“Okay, then Phii Fah will gladly accept them all.”

“…“

I love these moments when we talk like this. It might seem insignificant, but it’s sweet to me.

   Before I knew it, it was time to get off the Ferris wheel. Phii Fah called the others to meet up around here.

   “Where are we going next?” Phii Fah asked.

“To celebrate your birthday. I’ve looked at some places,” I answered while we were walking around Osaka Bay. Seeing our two shadows stretching ahead, I thought of something, and immediately took out my phone to take a picture.

I posted a photo of our two shadows walking together on Instagram.

With the caption:

‘You Have All My 9 Lives’

  SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME 

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 36: Typhoon’s Day

   Tonfah

   “You did it on purpose.”

“What?” I asked Jo while we were in the supermarket. Hill and Ter were selecting other items. Meanwhile, Jo and I were keeping an eye on North and Phoon choosing fish.

“You’re not slick.”

“Really? That’s too bad.”

“It’s fun seeing Phoon get embarrassed.”

“He’s cute when he’s embarrassed.”

“Yeah, so how was yesterday?”

“It was good. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about anymore.”

“Good.” Jo said this, though his face didn’t show any emotion, indicating he was somewhat irritated. I guessed it was because he had to wake up early.

“Why do you have to make such a scary face?”

“You’re sleepy, aren’t you?”

“I am sleepy, but I was sleeping, and you made Phoon get out of bed.” I said, turning to look at him, “Who came up with the idea to cook?”

“Ter.”

“Oh, but Hill…” I said only that and looked past Jo to where Hill was talking with Ter on the other side, “just sleeping would have been enough.”

“He’s not human, that bastard.”

“And has Arthit woken up yet?”

“Don’t know, if he hasn’t, he might as well be dead.”

Because after we finished the exams, we rushed straight to Japan. At first, we didn’t think they would come along, but it seemed North and Ter wanted to join, so they had to come. The state of medical students who had just finished their exams wasn’t exactly great.

“I never thought I’d do so much for someone,” I said, and the person next to me turned to look at me with a slightly surprised expression.

“What do you mean?”

“Normally, when I do something for others, I do it only to the extent I want to. But for Phoon, I never thought I’d do something like this. I brought him to Japan even though I hadn’t slept more than eight hours last week, yet I still managed to drive, and I didn’t even think about complaining.”

“Yeah, that’s really strange.”

I turned to look at Phoon, who seemed to be getting teased by North. His face and ears were red, sneaking glances at me. Once I looked back, he averted his gaze, then lightly hit North several times.

   “He hit him again,” I said, glancing at the person next to me.

“North said when Phoon is embarrassed, he uses force.”

“Yeah, I get hit a lot too,” I said. There have been many times when Phoon, in his embarrassment, would hit my arm or chest, but it doesn’t hurt; it’s like a cat’s strength. He’d turn red and threaten to hit, but who would be scared of that?

I don’t know if it’s because of his fair skin that he turns red easily; sometimes just touching him makes him blush.

   Speaking of last night, around midnight, I woke up with Phoon still in my arms, his unique scent filling the air. I’ve told Phoon that I like it, but he probably doesn’t know that it’s made me lose control several times.

   I wonder if Phoon has noticed the marks on his neck that have increased since last night; if he hasn’t noticed yet, that’s good. Otherwise, he might sulk again.

   “Phii Fah,” Phoon called me with a sweet voice. I turned towards the sound immediately.

Phoon has been calling me like this for a long time, but after we started dating, I really enjoy hearing him call my name.

“Yes?”

“Shall we make tonkatsu?”

“What about the fish?”

“I don’t want to anymore, I think I can’t cut the fish.”    “Okay,” I smiled back before we went to choose ingredients for tonkatsu instead. It didn’t take long to buy everything, and we returned to the hotel. Somehow, everyone had agreed to use my room for cooking, which I didn’t mind because I knew that the others’ rooms were definitely off-limits. They’re the type that doesn’t like anyone messing with their personal space.

We sat waiting on the sofa because we weren’t allowed to help.

Actually, I wanted to help, but Phoon wouldn’t let me, so I had to sit with Hill and Jo.

“Is today Phoon’s birthday?” Hill asked as soon as I sat down on the sofa.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t have a gift, but if you want me to buy something, just tell me.”

“It’s probably fine.”

“Birthdays are always a problem,” Jo grumbled, “Let’s ask North later.”

“Did you buy anything?” Hill turned to ask. I nodded in response,

“Any surprise?”

“I’m not good at that kind of thing,” I replied, “I’ll just give the usual gift.”

“What did you buy?” Jo asked.

“A camera, I saw Phoon wanted one. Phoon didn’t tell me, but I noticed he was looking up information on them quite a bit, so I decided to buy it as a birthday gift.”    “What kind of camera?” Jo asked.

“I don’t know, I showed a picture to the store clerk.”

“How much?”

“Over two hundred thousand.”

“Hmm. Not surprising, you’re that into him,” Jo said, raising his eyebrows at Hill, “We’ve been talking about watching you. At first, you teased us quite a bit.”

“How are things going now, Tonfah?” Hill asked.

“It’s no different from you guys. If Phoon says sun is rising in the west, I’d believe it,” I said, chuckling slightly.

“What does science matter anymore? Just believing your wife is enough,” Jo said, laughing as well.

“It’s good, you look more like a human now,” Hill said.

“Like a human? Wasn’t I one before?”

“You look like a normal person. At first, we were worried that your kindness would backfire and hurt you and Phoon, but seeing you now, it seems fine. Do you still keep in touch with the students you tutored?” Hill asked. I shook my head in response. Before, Hill and Jo used to complain about my kindness, especially towards the younger students with darker skin, but now I don’t tutor anyone anymore. “Who else am I supposed to tutor? I don’t even have time to sleep.

If I have time, I’d rather spend it with Phoon.”

“I’m really proud of you, Tonfah,” Johan said, but before anyone could say more, there was a knock at the door. I went to open it and found Arthit, who had just woken up, still yawning.

“Hey, are you guys cooking up a storm?”

“Yeah, come in,” I had messaged Arthit to come to my room if he woke up since we were planning to cook breakfast ourselves. Arthit followed me into the room and sat on the sofa, looking sleepy.

“So, where’s the food?”

“It’s not done yet.”

“Your wives made it?” Arthit raised his eyebrows, trying to blink away his sleepiness. I nodded in response, “Oh, and what were you guys doing?”

“Just chatting,” Johan answered, “Oh, this morning, Fah gave Phoon a morning kiss in front of us.” Hearing this, Arthit immediately looked surprised.

“Huh? Really, Tonfah, you did that?” Before I could answer, Arthit continued, “So, you’ve become another one of those wife-addicts, huh? I’m really fed up, all of you are blind with love.”    “Well, you don’t have one,” Johan said.

“That’s good,” Hill spoke up, “Arthit is better off without one, I feel sorry for him.”

“Tch,” Arthit grumbled softly in annoyance.

Before we could talk any further, the food was brought out. Mine and Phoon’s was tonkatsu, just as Phoon had asked when we went shopping. Ter and North had made different dishes for Johan and Hill.

   “Hey, where’s mine?” Arthit asked, noticing there was no food for him.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were coming,” North answered, “I’ll go get you some more.”

“Arthit, go get it yourself,” Johan commanded.

“Yeah,” Arthit said before getting up to leave. Meanwhile, we started our breakfast. Phoon seemed eager, watching as I took my first bite. Truth be told, I think Phoon is actually quite good at cooking; if he keeps practicing, he’ll only get better.

“How is it?” Phoon asked excitedly.

“It’s delicious.”

“Really?”

“Really,” I said with a smile, genuinely delicious for someone cooking for the first time, it’s pretty good. Phoon gave a broad, adorable smile. I couldn’t help but gently ruffle his hair. After that, we continued eating together.

…

Typhoon

   I took care of washing the dishes after everyone had finished their meal, with North and Ter helping as usual. At first, Phii Fah said he would help, but of course, we didn’t let him; we would do it ourselves.

“Today is your birthday, Phoon,” North suddenly remembered,

“Why don’t you look excited at all?”

“I don’t know why I should be excited. On your birthday, you didn’t seem excited either.”

“True, you’re twenty-one now, right?”

“Yeah, but I feel like I’m still a kid.”

“Well, today we have to go out, take lots of pictures as a memory, like a birthday trip for you,” Ter said, “Do you have a trip plan yet?”    “Not yet,” I shook my head, “Can you guys help me look? I’m scared I’ll plan something that’s not good.”

“You try first, we’ll wash the dishes,” North said. I nodded, wiped my wet hands, and took out my phone to check, but first, I saw a notification pop up. It was a chat from Daotok. I quickly opened it.

SS: Happy Birthday, cat

   SS: Sent an image

   It was a picture of me in watercolor. Of course, Daotok must have drawn it himself; there was his signature at the bottom right with the date.

“Guys, look at this,” I said excitedly, quickly showing it off to North and Ter.

“Wow, it’s beautiful,” North was stunned when he saw the picture I showed.

“So cute, he drew it for you,” Ter said.

“Yeah, it’s cute,” before I quickly typed back a big thank you and saved the picture immediately, “Whoever has Daotok as a boyfriend must be insanely lucky.”

“Why’s that?” North asked, “His spirit is strong; he can see ghosts, you know.”

“It’s just a minor thing. No one would take offense,” I said.

“Minor my ass, you freak, he saw ghosts!”

“You’re just too scared, North. Besides, didn’t Dao say it was just a slight touch?” I raised an eyebrow, looking at North who was wideeyed with panic, “Right, Ter?”

“How can someone who only works all day have a girlfriend?” Ter pondered, making me think too, “If Dao is going to get a girlfriend, she better be a good person. I’m not worried about Phoon since he’s with Phii Fah, just Foam and Daotok left.”    “Yeah, how’s Foam doing?” North asked.

“What do you think? He got tricked by a girl again,” Ter replied, which made North burst out laughing while also feeling sorry for Foam.

“Oh, poor Foam.”

“I wish there was someone to look after Dao too,” I added, “but it seems like he’s not that interested.”

“Yeah,” North nodded in agreement, “Can we pay off the motorcycle first, like the ‘Ghost Rider’ said?” North imitated Daotok.

Me and Ter couldn’t help but laugh because it was spot on; Dao often gives this kind of response when we ask if he’s thinking about finding someone.

“After paying off the motorcycle, it’ll be time to save for rent,” Ter teased, “We haven’t even paid the electric bill yet, girlfriend? What about the water bill? Tomorrow’s the work deadline too.”

“Life is a struggle, I really like it, what’s the big deal?” North said. I smiled along, then remembered we still had to plan our sightseeing.

“Should we get back to planning today’s trip?”

“Come on, I’ll help search; I’m a first-class guide.”    The three of us worked together to look up information about sightseeing for a while, completely forgetting that the doctors were waiting. Once we had a rough idea, we moved to the living room area, only to find the three doctors had fallen asleep on the sofa, except for Phii Arthit who must have gone back to his room.

   I couldn’t help but smile at the sight in front of me. I genuinely felt grateful to Khun Phii Fah for bringing me to Japan despite being so tired, especially after not sleeping much during the exam week. Then, I quickly pulled out my phone to take a picture.

   It wasn’t just me; North and Ter took pictures too. The three of us tried to suppress our laughter to not wake them up.

   So cute.

Really, really cute. Look, Phii Fah was sitting on the big sofa, arms crossed, leaning back and dozing off, with Phii Jo next to him in the same pose. Meanwhile, Phii Hill was on the single sofa.    But before we could take the picture, they opened their eyes and woke up, making the three of us barely able to put our phones away in time.

   “What are you guys doing?” Phii Fah asked.

“Uh…nothing,” I said, stammering. North nudged me with his elbow, as if to say I wasn’t slick at all, before Phii Jo and Phii Hill stood up.

“Let’s go, see you in an hour.”

“Okay,” Phii Fah replied. Phii Jo dragged North out of the room, and Ter was led out by Phii Hill, “Phoon.”

“Ye…yes?”

“Come here,” Phii Fah said, standing up to gently take my wrist, leading me into the bedroom. I followed in a daze, “Close your eyes.”

“Huh?”

“Close your eyes for a moment.” I slowly closed my eyes as he said, even though I didn’t quite understand. Then I felt something heavy being hung around my neck, “It’s a bit heavy, isn’t it?”

I reached up to feel it and immediately knew it was a camera, so I opened my eyes in excitement.

   This camera is!!!

   “This…this is…”

“Happy birthday to my wonderful person, now twenty-one. I wish every day from now on to be a good day for you Typhoon. No matter what you hope for, may it be fulfilled. I will always support you.”

“…”

“And here’s your gift. Thank you for being the best thing in my life.”

“…hic.” For some reason, tears suddenly welled up, and I couldn’t help but start sobbing. I tried to hold back by pressing my lips together, but it was no use because so many emotions were flooding out from inside.

It’s not just about the gifts.

   Yesterday with my mom was great, and other things too.

   Everything has been wonderful.

   “Hic…Th-thank you, thank you,” I let the tears flow, and Phii Fah gently hugged me to comfort me. After a moment, I stopped crying.

Because these weren’t tears of sadness like they had been for many years.

They were tears of happiness that I hope would last forever.

“Thank you, really thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Phii Fah smiled warmly at me and gently wiped away my tears, our faces just centimeters apart. I was captivated and fell in love with those eyes all over again.

I slowly moved my face closer, softly pressing my lips against his.

Phii Fah seemed slightly surprised before kissing me back.

His strong hand reached around my waist, lifting me so he wouldn’t have to bend down. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and when Phii Fah lifted me, I leaned down to kiss him. Our lips touched, turning into the familiar taste of a kiss.

   Sweet, fragrant, and tender, just like every time.

   Phii Fah placed me on the table. I was slightly startled, opening my eyes in surprise as he kissed me deeply. Soon, his warm tongue invaded, exploring everywhere, my eyes tightly shut as his warm breath tickled my ear. One of Phii Fah’s hands pushed the back of my head closer as if feeling we were not close enough.

   It felt like all the energy was being sucked out of me, my heart beating faster and faster, almost like it was going to explode, the emptiness in my stomach rising. I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving, but the intense rhythm of the kiss didn’t stop, showing no signs of slowing down. He kissed harder until it hurt.

   More than ten minutes passed.

   “…More.”

Phii Fah slowly withdrew from the kiss as if he didn’t want to let go. I gradually opened my eyes to meet those beautiful eyes again.    I was slightly startled when Phii Fah suddenly pressed his thumb against my lips. Even though it wasn’t hard, I was surprised by the pain.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rough.”

“…Uh, did my lip split?”

“Yes, sorry about that.”

“…” I felt numb both inside and out, still feeling like Phii Fah was kissing me. I tried to calm my heart, “Is it…very split?”    “Just a little,” Phii Fah smiled.

“I…I’ll go change,” I quickly said with a shaky voice, still embarrassed from what just happened. Phii Fah seemed to understand and gave a satisfied smile. I walked past him, picked up a shirt, set the camera down on the table, and went straight to the bathroom.    Looking in the mirror, I saw my face was very red, so red I thought I might be sick. My lips were also red and swollen, with a slight cut on my lower lip that was bleeding a little.

   Ah…why was it so intense?

   I took off my shirt to shower, and seeing the red marks on my shoulder reminded me of the evening when Phii Fah left those marks.

That’s when I was about to turn towards the shower.    Wait…

   These marks…

   Where did they come from?!

   There were red bruises on the back, just below the shoulder, and there were quite a few of them.

   Phii Fah!

   This is insane! Don’t tell me it was while I was asleep!

   After the shower, I quickly got dressed and went out to confront the suspect, no, the accused.

“Phii Fah,” I called out. Phii Fah, who was playing with his phone, looked up at me with a smile as if nothing had happened, “I found more marks.”    “What kind of marks?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”

“You won’t see them once you put on a shirt.”

“That’s not the point at all,” I said with a pout, and then Phii Fah stopped smiling, which made me feel uneasy.

“Go change your shirt,” said the person sitting on the bed in a low voice. I paused for a moment.

“But this shirt is fine, isn’t it?” I said, looking down at my own shirt, a black one I had just bought, but it didn’t show much, just a regular tshirt.

Phii Fah didn’t respond, instead, he walked closer, pulled me up a bit, and bent down to kiss my neck where the shirt didn’t cover. I felt a sharp pain immediately, making me frown and tense up.

   “You can’t wear this shirt anymore,” he said with a sly smile, while I wanted to protest but was too embarrassed to say anything, so I had to go find another shirt to change into. In the end, I wore another regular t-shirt along with a long-sleeve shirt that Phii Fah had bought for me back when we were still writing letters to each other.

The first gift Phii Fah ever gave me.

“I’ve never seen you wear it before, I thought you forgot about it,” Phii Fah commented as I walked back into the bedroom.

“I wear it on special occasions, like today, for my birthday,” I said before Phii Fah went to shower and get dressed. While waiting, I took the opportunity to test my new camera thoroughly. It was a camera many photographers dream of, with its high price, KhunPha had to match the cost. From the moment I saw it, I fell in love with it, both for its external design and its capabilities.

   I tried out various angles in the room with the camera, thinking that today, this would be the one to capture the day’s photos. I needed to get used to it quickly.

   Soon, Phii Fah came out of the bathroom, fully dressed. Normally, Phii Fah wears shirts or t-shirts with jeans and Tiger sneakers; even with just that, he looks very good. I’ve never seen Phii Fah style his hair, guessing it’s not his style, but today he was wearing a jacket too.

   “Secretly taking photos again, huh?” the person I was secretly photographing turned around and asked after I took the opportunity to snap a picture when Phii Fah turned to grab something.

“Just a little, it’s a new camera,” I smiled broadly.

“Can’t help it, having a photographer for a boyfriend.”

“Yeah, it’s really unavoidable.”

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 35: Beautiful Eye

   Tonfah

   “You really said that?”

“…I, I see.”

I looked at the person next to me, who tried to turn away to hide his blushing face, but it was probably not very effective because his ears were red too. I couldn’t help but smile affectionately.

   Why are you so good at being shy?

   I looked in the mirror and saw Hill and Ter sitting in the back seat.

In reality, after dropping off the younger ones here, we didn’t go anywhere else. We just took our stuff to the hotel and rested because we had just finished our mid-term exams. The accumulated fatigue and stress made me feel very exhausted. Actually, Phoon had told me to rest first, but if I didn’t hurry, there would be no time left. Waiting until the semester ends would be impossible.

   Normally, after finishing exams like this, I would sleep like the dead, but this time, I couldn’t sleep.

   Maybe because there’s no cat to cuddle.

   It has become a habit to sleep while hugging Phoon. Without him, no matter how tired I am, I can’t sleep, even though I usually fall asleep easily, especially on stressful days. No matter how heavy the burden, just coming back to hug Phoon tightly and smell the faint, personal scent, it feels like all the exhaustion goes away.

   “How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m good, really good. When I get back, I will tell you all about it in detail,” Phoon turned to say with a happy smile. I already thought it must be good, but seeing Phoon smile like this made me think it was well worth bringing him along.

“Okay, I’ll wait to hear it,” I said, reaching out to gently stroke his head. Phoon smiled sweetly back at me. I don’t know if other people’s cats like their heads stroked, but my cat loves it.

Because every time I feel affectionate, I like to stroke his head, but if he’s grumpy, he’ll pinch my cheek instead, or if he’s even grumpier…well, forget it.

I withdrew my hand, then started the car and drove off.

“Hey, Phoon, tomorrow’s your birthday, what do you want to do?” Ter asked.

“Uh…I don’t know, what should we do?”

“We’re in Japan, want to celebrate?”

“You always want to celebrate even when we’re in Thailand.”

“Tomorrow morning we need to go buy you a birthday present.”

“Actually, you don’t have to, it’s too much trouble for you.”

“That’s how it is, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s how it is. We’re here to travel, and you want to go buy me a present too. It won’t be as fun that way.”

“Alright, we’ll do it later then.”

“No matter what, you want to make sure he’s comfortable, right?”

“Absolutely.”

Tomorrow is Phoon’s birthday. I’m not good at surprises at all, so I don’t think there will be any surprises. Tomorrow, I’ll probably take him out for some fun and then treat him to a celebratory meal. As for the gift, I’ve already prepared it.

We stopped for dinner before heading back to the hotel. We didn’t stop anywhere else because the younger ones told us to go rest. We booked four rooms at the hotel: mine with Phoon, then Ter with Hill, Jo with North, and Arthit, who just went straight to sleep when he arrived. I don’t know if he’s had dinner yet, so I bought an extra set to take back.

I dropped off dinner for Arthit before going back to my room. This time, I didn’t sleep as soundly as before because this hotel is close to my mother’s house and it’s the best option. I didn’t want to stay somewhere far away.

I walked in to see Phoon sitting on the bed, looking through his bag. I took the opportunity to hug him from behind and steal a kiss on his cheek. The little one seemed slightly startled; I saw his ears slowly turn red before he turned to look at me.

“Tell me about today for me, please.”

“Sure.”

I slowly let go of the hug, sat in the middle of the bed, and Phoon sat opposite me. Then, he started telling me everything in detail, starting from when he entered the house.

“And North had a big argument with Daiki; he’s twenty years old, going at it with an eight-year-old, I don’t know why.” I smiled because Phoon made a big frown, “But having North and Ter there was good. I didn’t feel too uncomfortable.”

“Ter and North came along for that reason. They didn’t want Phoon to feel uncomfortable,” I said, “They really care about Phoon.”

“I know, so I really appreciate them.”

“It’s great to have friends like that,” I said. I genuinely felt thankful for Phoon’s friends who are good to him, including his mother, because Phoon is such a good person; he deserves all this, “Phoon is really kind, isn’t he?”

“Is that so?” Phoon asked back, not quite believing what I said.

“Really, you are very kind. There aren’t many people who would be happy when their parents remarry and also love their step-siblings like this.”

“Oh…really?” Phoon was silent for a moment, “It’s because of you and Fan.”

“Huh? Why is that?” I asked.

“Because I am like this, it’s because you and Fan taught me to be like this when he was young. I only hung out with you and Fan, because you are kind, Fan is also kind, so I…became kind like you said, I guess.”

“Oh…” I nodded in understanding, “Did you ask your mom about the gift?” I asked, and Phoon paused.

“Uh…I forgot.”

“…”

“I forgot, I was too busy talking about myself, what should we do?” Phoon started to look a bit flustered.

“It’s okay, we can ask later. We’ll be in touch anyway,” I said.

“…Okay.”

“Actually, I didn’t just talk to your mom,” I told the truth because I had actually talked with his mom for quite a while. Not just what I had told Phoon before. There just wasn’t time to go into details. The person in front of me seemed to get more interested immediately.

“So, what else did you talk about?”

“I think…your mom and Phoon are very similar.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, because you didn’t talk much, so I can’t say a lot, but I think that part of why you is so kind is because of your mom, since she seems kind and gentle too,” I said what I thought, and the other person listened intently, “Plus, they look very similar, especially the eyes.”    “Uh…I didn’t know that.” Phoon said, making a thoughtful face.

“Yes, your mom’s eyes are really beautiful.”

Phoon paused for a moment before slowly looking up at me, his face showing confusion for just a second, then his sweet face started to turn red.

“So I told her thank you for giving you such beautiful eyes.”

“Thank you for giving such a beautiful and bright smile too.”

“Thank you for being gentle and strong, which makes you the same way. Thank you for enduring the hardship, thank you for deciding to keep this child more than twenty years ago.”

“…”

“And that’s why there’s Typhoon for me to love like this every day.”

…

Typhoon

   “…” I stayed silent, not daring to look up at him because those words, which sounded like compliments, made my heart beat even faster than it already was, not to mention the words from earlier.

Having me for Phii Fah to love…

   Ah…this is dangerous again.

   “…Is that all?”

“About that, and then it’s the promise that I made.”

“Oh…” The promise that Phii Fah made must refer to what he told my mother about taking care of and protecting me. Thinking about it still makes me blush. The fact that Phii Fah said that to my mother is very significant to me, “Thank you for making that promise.”

“Then come here for a hug.”

“It’s your reward, you have worked hard.” I didn’t say anything before moving closer, being embraced by him, with my face resting against his chest while he leaned back against the head of the bed. He gently pressed the tip of his nose against my shoulder, making me feel a slight tickle, “You smell nice.”

“…I can’t smell anything,” I said truthfully; I’ve never been able to smell myself since I was born, “What does it smell like?”

“It’s the scent of you. I don’t know. There’s no perfume that smells like this.”

“There might be.”

“If there is, tell me, and I will buy it all out,” Phii Fah said softly,

“and I’ll also order them to stop production.”

“…That might be going too far,” I said my words stuttering, then I felt his large hand reach out to hold mine. I then held his hand with my other hand. Phii Fah’s hands were so soft, and his fingers were beautiful too, “Can you write with both hands?”

“Yes, why?”

“I want to be able to write with both hands too.”    “It’s not necessary,” I said.

“Then why do you have to practice writing with his right hand?

Really, being left-handed isn’t that much of a hassle.”

“Hmm, when I write a lot and your hand gets tired, I can switch hands. Besides, it’s annoying because writing on the left side at a lecture desk is difficult,” I explained.

“Oh, right, that’s true. I hate lecture desks the most, it’s not fair at all. Not everyone in the world is right-handed, why make only one type of lecture desk?” I grumbled, because it’s true, it always makes things hard for me when I have to study in rooms with those desks.

“Once you start studying photography, you probably won’t encounter them much, maybe they won’t focus much on taking lecture notes,” he said.

“Do you know what they study in photography?”

“I don’t know, but I have friends who study photography. Should I ask them for you?”

“Please do, I want to know.”

“What will I get in return?”

“…Phii Fah, have you picked up Phii Jo’s business habits?”    I asked, remembering that North once told me that whenever you ask Phii Jo for something, there’s always something in return. Lately, Phii Fah has started doing the same.

“Not to that extent. Just want a little profit,” Phii Fah said with a sly tone. I frowned even though the other couldn’t see, this one is the master of teasing. I tried to calm myself down for a moment before straightening up and turning to face him.    No matter how many times…I never get used to it.

   Because I was sitting on my knees, I was at the same eye level as Phii Fah. He gave a slight smile, as if waiting to see what I would do next.

   “Ugh…I will look it up myself,” I said, embarrassed to the point of not being able to bear it anymore, intending to turn away but Phii Fah held me back. “Ah!” He easily made me sit on his lap, and before I knew it, our faces were only an inch apart.

“Mmm~” Then his thick lips gently pressed down, and his warm tongue slowly invaded with a gentle yet persistent touch, a kiss that was both tender and emphasizing the sensation as he often does. It wasn’t forceful but made my heart flutter in an indescribable way. I slowly closed my eyes, accepting those sweet sensations.

Every time our tongues touched, it sent a gentle warmth spreading across my chest. Our hands were clasped together, our warm breaths mingling, along with hearts that always beat strongly in moments like these.

Phii Fah let go of one of his hands and moved it up to press against the back of my neck, pulling us closer. The heat from his body made me feel even warmer.

It was both gentle and warm, almost melting me.

“Umm…” I heard a somewhat embarrassing sound when our tongues intertwined. My breathing quickened because my heart was racing too, but I could still catch my breath since the kiss wasn’t too intense, until he increased the passion of the kiss.

“Ugh…” He pressed my neck closer, his tongue exploring my mouth, alternating between nibbling my upper and lower lips. His other hand let go and started to wander again, the warmth from his hand beginning at the small of my back under my shirt, caressing all over my back. With that touch, I felt a hollow feeling in my stomach.

It wasn’t long before I started to struggle for breath, and as if he sensed it, Phii Fah slowly pulled away from the kiss, releasing both his hands. I slowly opened my eyes to see his beautiful eyes looking back at me.

   No matter how many times I look,

   It feels like there’s a galaxy in those eyes,    Drawing my gaze irresistibly.

   He leaned down to kiss my shoulder and neck. I felt a slight sting, indicating he had left another red mark on me. Fortunately, all the marks Phii Fah leaves are hidden under my clothes. Only sometimes does he forget himself and leave a mark in a visible spot, in which case I have to find something to cover it.

   “I’ll ask my friend for you,” Phii Fah said with a satisfied smile.

“You…cheater, I said I’d look for the information myself.”    “I’ll go take a shower and rest now, tomorrow I’ll take you out for a full day of fun,” Phii Fah stated. I nodded in response because Phii Fah looked tired, and I was also worried and wanted him to rest.

Before he let go of the embrace and went to shower.

Left alone on the bed, I pressed my lips together, still feeling the gentle touch from earlier. Every time after we kissed. I liked when he was gentle with me, and that feeling would linger for a long time. While waiting, I picked up my phone, remembering I hadn’t mentioned that I actually took some photos of my mother. It was a pity I didn’t bring my camera to her house, so I only used my phone camera to take the pictures.

There were pictures of my mother sitting on the balcony, both candid shots where she was looking out into the garden and ones where she smiled at the camera. I decided to post the picture where she was smiling on Instagram.

With the caption:

“The most beautiful smile in the world, :)”

   And then Phii Fah’s words echoed in my mind:

“Thank you for giving him such a beautiful and bright smile.”    Will I smile as brightly as my mom? But if Phii Fah says so, it makes me happy. There’s a picture too, I’ll post them gradually. Now, Phoon’s Instagram isn’t just filled with sky pictures anymore.

I decided to change my Instagram bio from ‘Sky Collector’ to

“Happiness Collector.”

   Because from now on, my Instagram will have pictures of me, Phii

Fah, old pictures of Fan, pictures of Mom with Daiki, pictures of Aunt Prae with Fai, pictures of friends, photos capturing all the happy memories I have. I want to keep them in that memory space.

   But I still love looking at the sky the same way, it’s just that from now on, my happiness isn’t just from looking at the sky. I’m happy to see myself smiling. So, I started posting some pictures of myself, which I’ve never done before.    Fan…

   Right now, I…am the happiest.

   I looked at the picture of Daiki and North, which was amusing, especially since I secretly took it when they were fighting. If I post it on Instagram, what would North say? He’d definitely complain, saying the picture looks funny, and it really does.

   This picture also caught Ter in the frame, who was trying to pick up the toys scattered around because those two were arguing, looking quite annoyed.

   It would have been nice if Daotok and Foam were there too.    Then Phii Fah finished showering. I was still damp, wearing a tshirt and long pants that matched, indicating he was ready for bed even though it was past ten o’clock.    I went to grab the hair dryer.

“I will dry your hair for you.”

“Uh, okay,” Phii Fah said before sitting down on the bed. I turned on the dryer and started drying his hair, his naturally black hair. Phii

Fah hardly ever does anything with his hair, I’ve never seen him style it, I guess he doesn’t care much about it.

Oh, but I’ve seen Phii Fah style his hair once, in the picture from the university’s Star Moon contest.

“Phii Fah,” I called out his name after I finished blow-drying his hair, reaching over to put the hairdryer back in the drawer of the bedside table.

“Yes?”

“Tell me about the Star Moon contest for Phoon, please.”

“Why do you want to know about that?”

“I just want to know, please tell me.”

“Hmm…at first, the seniors picked me for it. I wasn’t very keen on going, but the seniors pleaded for help, so I had to go. Initially, I thought I wouldn’t make it through.”

“…you wouldn’t make it?” I raised my eyebrows in confusion. What made him think he wouldn’t make it?

   “Back then, there were Hill, Johan, and Arthit too.”

“Wow, all of them?”

“Yes, but Johan and Arthit didn’t want to join. Those two don’t participate in any activities; they’re not even in the senior junior code club.”

“…” That sounds like Phii Jo and Phii Arthit alright.

“I didn’t really want to do it, but I had to help the faculty. In the end, it was between me and Hill for the moon title, and we got the same number of votes.”

“Oh…”

“At first, they said we should have another round to decide, but I refused. I thought Hill was more suitable for the role, so I let Hill have it. He was complaining big time about why he had to do it, saying he was lazy.”

“…” So, there’s such a thing too…

“But Hill is very responsible, so he had to take on the role, and he did it well too.”

“Was you the runner-up then?”

“Yes.”

“What does the runner-up have to do?”

“I hardly do anything, these kinds of promotions, they call for the faculty moon.”

“Oh…can I be the moon too?” I asked playfully, thinking about myself when I first joined the faculty, “Actually, when I was at the faculty, some seniors asked me, but I declined, and so did Ter.”    “Do you want to be the moon?” Phii Fah raised his eyebrows to ask.

“Just asking, that’s all.”

“You can’t be.”

“…”

“Because I won’t let you be,” Phii Fah said, poking my furrowed brows with his finger, revealing a smile.

“I’m jealous, you know that?”    Jealous…really?

   “Uh…I see,” I didn’t know what else to say. In truth, I’ve never seen

Phii Fah jealous or possessive, so I never thought he’d be possessive over me.

“Your face is red again,” Phii Fah teased me a bit. Feeling the heat on my face, I tried to calm myself down, “You can go shower now, so we can go to sleep.”

“Phii Fahyou can go to sleep first, it’s only just past ten,” I said.

“Go shower, let’s get ready for bed together.”

I like the word ‘together,’ like sleeping together, eating together, things like that, it sounds like something we should do together.

   “If you aren’t here, I can’t sleep.”

“…Uh, okay,” I nodded in understanding, then hurried to grab some clothes and headed to the bathroom. Honestly, can this be called being clingy? I know I’m weak to this, but really, I’m completely weak when it comes to Phii Fah, damn it, Typhoon.

   I took a while to shower before coming out of the bathroom, hanging the towel on the drying rack. I saw Phii Fah playing with his phone, but as soon as he saw me come out, he put his phone down and pulled me into a hug like he often does.

   Before I could say anything, Phii Fah made me lie down and straddled me. I was a bit surprised before his thick lips kissed me again, but only for a moment before he pulled back, moving to hug me from behind instead.

   It was a goodnight kiss…

   “Goodnight,” Phii Fah said softly.

“Goodnight,” I replied.

“I love you Phoon, you know.”

“I love you Phii Fah too.”

Just the simple words of goodnight and love every night, they might seem ordinary, but I love this unchanging simplicity.    I want this kind of simplicity to stay with me forever.    His large hand still held mine, and the embrace from the other person always made me feel comfortable and safe. Before long, his warm breath was by my neck, and after just a moment, I could tell that Phii Fah had fallen asleep.

At first, I was surprised at how quickly Phii Fah could fall asleep, but I remembered that he had told me he was naturally a good sleeper. “If you aren’t here, I can’t sleep.”

   …So, does that mean even someone who falls asleep easily like Phii

Fah can’t sleep without me?

   Thinking about this made me smile unintentionally; I was happy about that because, without Phii Fah’s embrace, I couldn’t sleep either.

   Looking at my phone, it was about half past nine. Maybe in another half hour, I could sleep, to wake up early for more fun tomorrow.    Lying there, thinking about various things, I easily drifted off to sleep

   …

   I woke up around half-past five. This is my usual wake-up time. Every morning when I wake up, I find Phii Fah still holding me just like when we went to sleep. When I wake up like this, I usually just lie there waiting until it’s time to get up because if I get up, Phii Fah wakes up too. I once observed that if I get out of bed, after a while, the arm that was around me starts searching for me, and if it doesn’t find me, Phii Fah wakes up immediately.

   Feeling a bit stiff, I turned to the other side, secretly watching the person sleeping soundly. I’ve always watched Phii Fah sleep ever since we’ve been together, and I’ve never gotten bored of it.

   I don’t know how much time passed. I heard a knock at the door, which forced me to carefully remove the arm that was around me. It seemed like Phii Fah was still asleep. I tiptoed to the door to avoid making noise, peeking through the peephole to see North and Ter. When I opened the door, I saw Phii Hill and Phii Jo leaning against the balcony waiting as well.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Let’s cook.”

“Huh?”

“Cook, that’s what,” Ter repeated.

“I know, but why do you suddenly want to cook?”

“I don’t know either,” North said, shaking his head slightly,

“There’s a supermarket that’s open, let’s go buy some ingredients.”

“And where will we cook?”

“Can we use your room?” Ter asked. I immediately furrowed my brows.

“Why does it have to be my room?”

“Because Phii Fah is kind.”

“…Really?”

“Ter’s room won’t work because Phii Hill doesn’t like loud noises, and my room is out because Phii Jo doesn’t like others entering his room. Of course, Phii Arthit’s room is not an option, so it has to be yours,” North whispered. I sighed without realizing it, guessing it was because these two wanted to go shopping. The seniors had no choice but to join in, I suppose.

“Alright, are we going to buy them now?” I asked, and both nodded in agreement.

“Should we tell Phii Fah?” Ter asked.

“Yeah, he looks tired. I don’t really want to wake him up,” I said, “But let’s try asking him first. It’ll be troublesome if we go without telling him. Come in first,” I turned to tell Phii Hill and Phii Jo, and the four of us walked in to sit on the sofa in the room. The two doctors had just woken up, but they still looked good as always. Meanwhile, I was about to go back to the bedroom.

Suddenly, someone hugged me from behind, making North and Ter look surprised. On the other hand, Phii Hill and Phii Jo didn’t look surprised at all. Before I could react, Phii Fah reached out with one hand to tilt my chin towards him and kissed me gently.

!!!

“Why aren’t you in bed?” Phii Fah, still groggy, asked. He probably hadn’t noticed the people waiting. Out of habit, he kissed me as a way of saying good morning, like he does every day.

“Morning,” I said.

“Uh…yes.”

I was flustered, feeling both embarrassed and shy, turning to look at the people waiting. North and Ter were avoiding eye contact with me.

Meanwhile, Phii Jo and Phii Hill looked surprised.

“Wow,” Phii Jo started to tease, and Phii Fah looked up, a little surprised to see who was waiting but not really shocked.

He should be shocked! He just…uh, kissed!

   “Why are you here?” Phii Fah asked.

“We wanted to invite you to go shopping,” Phii Hill answered,

“Want to join?”

“Do you want to go?” Phii Fah turned to ask me instead. I nodded in response, “Let’s go, wait a sec.” Before Phii Fah took my hand back into the room to change clothes, showing no sign of being affected by what had just happened.

   “Uh…Phii Fah, uh, just now…”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“Everyone saw…”

“The morning kiss, you mean?” Phii Fah asked with a smile. I wanted to protest but couldn’t, “It’s okay, don’t think too much about it.”

“How can I not, it’s embarrassing.”

“Are you sulking?”

“Yes, I’m sulking, a lot,” I pretended to be upset, before Phii Fah scooped me up and placed me on the bed in a straddling position over him. I lightly hit him because I was startled.

“What are you doing?”

“Making up.”

“Who makes up like this?”

“I do,” Phii Fah smiled, “Who made you get out of bed?”

“It was North and Ter knocking on the door.”

“Yes.”

“…Yes?” I gave a puzzled look to the person in front of me, feeling both embarrassed and confused. I had explained it, so why just say

‘yes’?

“Because I already know.”

“I had to get out of bed because they knocked on the door, so you can’t tease you by doing that!”

“I wasn’t teasing at all, I really didn’t see them.”    “Really?” I asked again, and Phii Fah smiled.

“Really, I never tease you.”

“Number one teaser, that’s you Phii Fah,” I said, frowning at him, which earned me a gentle pinch on the nose.

“Then let’s say that one didn’t count. We’ll have to do it properly.”

“Properly?”

“Yes, a real morning kiss.”

“Uh, I don’t think so.”

“A morning kiss, please.”

“…”

“Please.”

See! I told you I’m weak to this.

   I tried to gather the little courage I had because when it comes to kissing or anything like that, I’m rarely the one to initiate. When Phii Fah asks me to do something like this, I usually get too embarrassed to act. With both arms on his shoulders, I slowly leaned in closer.

Every second our faces moved closer at a slow pace before I closed my eyes, and our lips touched.

   After just a brief moment, I pulled back out of shyness, and Phii Fah smiled in satisfaction.

   “Good morning again.”

“Ah…Good morning.”

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 34: Water Lily

   “Already capable, huh?”

“…”

“Are you worried?”

“Yes.”

“Do you trust Phii Fah?”    I nodded in response.

“Then trust Phii Fah, you are already good.”

“If possible, I’d like you to take the exam for me.”

“No need, you do better than me.”

“…How could that be?”

“Be confident, we’ve done so much preparation. When you did the practice exams, you did very well,” he said, gently stroking my head as he often does. We were now in front of the school where I had to take my entrance exam. I was in my school uniform, and this morning before leaving the room, Phii Fah complimented me saying I looked cute because he had never seen me in a high school uniform before.    My exam is at the end of February, coinciding with everyone’s midterm exams for the second semester, including the doctors. After dropping me off for the exam, Phii Fah would have to go back to study with his friends.

Since the second semester started, I, who had already dropped out, had only one thing to do: study for the entrance exam for the photography faculty. So there wasn’t much else going on, and today was the day to determine my efforts; one could even call it a lifedeciding day without exaggerating much.

Almost all the students passing by, especially the female students, kept looking our way, probably because it wasn’t just the beautiful car but also its owner, who was standing there talking to me.    “You haven’t forgotten anything, right? Like your ID card?”

“Yes, I brought it.”

“Then I’ll wait here until you go into the exam room.”

“Are you going to walk me there?”

“Yes.” And Phii Fah really walked me to the exam building. It wasn’t strange because there were many people sending off or waiting for those taking exams, but Phii Fah probably couldn’t stay long since he had his own exams to study for, which I understood well. Though honestly, even if Phii Fah wanted to wait for me, I wouldn’t agree to it. It would be too hot and boring.

“Can I see your exam room slip?” I opened my bag and handed him the slip, “You have all your exams in this building, you won’t get lost, right? The front number is the floor number, the back number is the room number.”

“I won’t get lost. If I do, I can just ask someone around here.”

“Okay.” Then Phii Fah handed the exam room slip back to me. There was no need to try to notice it; I could feel that we, no, Phii Fah was the center of attention for many people. Even sitting close by, I could feel it.

Phii Fah stayed until there was an announcement for everyone to go upstairs and wait in front of their exam rooms.

“I will leave now. I’ll be here at four o’clock sharp to wait for you.”

“Yes.”

And then the other person walked away. I entered the building, took off my shoes to hold them like the other students, feeling a bit embarrassed since I’m much older than the younger students and had to take an exam like this. It’s been a while since I’ve been in a school building, and the school where I’m taking the exam isn’t far from the university. I chose this exam venue in this province instead of going back to my old school, which would have been much more difficult.    I placed my bag in front of the exam room, took out my pencils, eraser, and ID card, ready to go in for the exam. After waiting for a short while, the announcement came to enter the exam room. The first subject exam went well. I didn’t do everything perfectly, but I was confident with most of it, and I finished with enough time to review everything once more.

I’ve taken this kind of exam three times before, the first time in my sixth year of high school, the second when I was preparing to take a gap year before medical school in my first year, and now this third time. This is the only time I’ve managed to finish the exam in time; the previous two times I had to rush through the last questions because I really didn’t have enough time. Maybe it’s because I’ve practiced a lot with old exam papers and timed myself.

The first day of exams was over. When I came down from the building, I saw Phii Fah waiting as promised.

“How did it go?”

“Good, it went well. I didn’t expect to do so well, and I finished on time too,” I started telling him excitedly about today’s exam, as I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly. Then we went to have lunch.

“Do you have to go for more tutoring?” I asked.

“Yes, do you want to rest or come along?”

“Hmm…yeah, I’ll come along,” I said, because North and Ter were also there, it would be better to go and watch them study rather than staying in the room with nothing to do.

“How did you do, you took the first exam, right?”

“It was good, I managed.”

“My student will definitely pass. All that teaching didn’t go to waste, did any of what I taught come out in the exam?” North asked.

“No.”

“None at all?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t taken the other exams yet.”

“Damn,” North immediately looked disappointed at me, “But you’ll pass anyway, just chill.”

“How was it when you took your exams?” I asked while sitting down next to Ter. We were now at the same café as before. The seniors were sitting at one table, while we were at the Japanese-style table.

“Well…it was shit.”

“I didn’t.”

“It uses the O-NET exam, I applied in the last round.”

“Oh, so you didn’t do well on the O-NET?”

“You could say it was terrible, so bad that my teachers thought I was bringing down the school’s average, but I still got into engineering somehow. Maybe I’m just too handsome,” North’s words made Ter let out a big sigh, even though he was still looking at the study sheet in his hand, “Why the sigh, Ter? My handsomeness is troubling you, huh. It’s okay, I understand, I’m annoyed by it sometimes too.”    “…North, what’s with you today, complimenting yourself all day.

Hasn’t anyone praised you lately?” Ter furrowed his brows to ask.    “Yeah. I don’t know either,” North said, picking up my green tea cup before I could stop him, and he had already drunk half of it. I looked at my green tea cup in confusion, why did the water disappear so quickly?

“So, how’s it going with your mom?” Ter asked, because it had been nearly two months since I got her information.

“Yeah. No updates, it’s been ages.”

“I said I’d contact her after the exam.”

“Oh,” North and Ter nodded, because I had to take the entrance exam during this period. If I contacted my mom now, no matter what the outcome, it would affect my emotions significantly. If my mom was okay with meeting me, my mind wouldn’t be focused, or if she wasn’t, it would make me very sad. So, I discussed with Phii Fah that I would contact her after the exam.

“That’s good, it’s just a few more days until your exam is over, right?”

“Yes, just a few more days.”

“How will you contact her?”

“Maybe…have someone look for her.”

“Huh? How?”

“Like, I can’t just go there directly, right? So, I’ll send someone first. She doesn’t have a personal phone, just a home number. There are no other contact methods like social media, LINE, email, or anything.”    “Yeah, that’s true, but going there directly, how will you do it?”    “I heard that during the day, on non-holidays, her husband is at work, and Daiki is at school. Maybe I’ll approach her during that time.”

“Approach her, huh, but isn’t it scary to just show up out of nowhere?”

“I will go in a friendly way.”

“Will you go straight to the house? What will the neighbors think?”

“Disguise as a salesman.”

“Yeah, that could work,” North said, nodding in agreement, “But who are we sending?”

“Don’t know, but it seems like Phii Fah will handle it.”    “Uh, good, you should write a letter to attach with it, stating the purpose that you want to meet,” Ter suggested. I nodded in agreement.

“I’ve already written it.”

“You need to end it with ‘with love from your son’ too.”

“…Will that be good?”

“Trust me.”

“…Uh.”

…

To: Ms. Yuri Nakamura

   Hello, first of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Theerapat Chawankawi, nickname Typhoon, age 20. It’s very difficult for me to say this. According to the information and evidence I’ve received, you are my mother. I don’t know if you’ll be okay with what’s happening now, but I truly want to say that I’m glad to finally know who my real mother is.

   I only found out a few years ago that I was not the biological child of the mother who raised me. When my older sister passed away, my parents had already divorced.

   I’ve always been a child who wanted to know who my real mother was, but I didn’t know where to look. I only knew about the gifts sent every year on my birthday, with ‘To Ren’ written on the box. I hope that was from you.

   If that’s true, I’m glad that you still think of me. I truly am. I’ve never been angry that you weren’t with me, no matter the reason. I’ve never been angry, really. I’ve always hoped that you were somewhere in this world and living happily.

   I must apologize for taking the liberty to look into your information. I know you have a new family now. I hope they treat you well.

   I used to be sad that I didn’t even have a name given by my mother, but if that name was really mine, I don’t know if I could be the ‘Ren’ you had hoped for. I’m not someone to be proud of, sometimes even disappointing, but I have many stories I want to share. At the very least, could you tell me what kind of ‘Ren’ my mother had imagined, and if I could be that person?

   All I want to say in this letter is that I’m doing well. I’ve found someone who loves me. I have friends. I have people around me who genuinely care for me. I have dreams and life goals I want to achieve. If there’s ever a time when my mother wonders if I’m okay, I am doing well, please don’t worry.

   If my mother doesn’t want to meet me, that’s okay too. I just wanted to let her know this much.

   I hope that every day from now on, my mother has nothing but smiles.

   I hope Daiki is a good kid and grows up strong.

   Yours truly,

   Theerapat Chaowankavee, Typhoon (Ren)

  

At first, I wondered if my mom could read Thai since she hasn’t been in Thailand for so long, but Phii Fah said he would translate it into Japanese.

“Have you finished writing?”

“Yeah…I have, with a few tears from Phoon.”

“It’s okay.”

“Do you think my mom will read my letter?”

“She will read it. The one who sends gifts every year does so because she misses you, right? Don’t overthink it,” Phii Fah said before gently stroking my head to comfort me.

I don’t know if it’s good or not, but I also sent a gift for my mother, a small handmade good luck charm from me. I don’t know if it will bring luck, but it’s filled with my prayers.

   I wanted to send something with it, but I wasn’t sure if it was okay, if my mother would be okay with it, so I didn’t send it yet.

   After I sent the gift and the letter, nearly a month passed without any response, but the letter and gift did reach my mother.

   “…Did he say he would contact you back?”

“Yes, Phoon should give your mother some time.”

“…He probably doesn’t want to see Phoon.”

“Don’t think negatively like that,” before Phii Fah pulled me into a hug. During the one month when there was no response from her, I was completely disheartened, and Phii Fah could only comfort me.

Deep down, I had somewhat prepared myself for it.

Until three days later…

“There’s a letter sent back.”

“!!” I was shocked and immediately ran to Phii Fah. When I saw something in Phii Fah’s hand, my heart started beating faster.    “Your mother just sent it back,” Phii Fah handed it to me. I quickly took it and opened it. It was a letter with a small gift, but what I was interested in was the letter. I opened it immediately; it was written with a pencil on paper, the handwriting clearly showing the writer was not adept at Thai. It was just a short message, guessing that my mother isn’t very good at writing Thai, and there were spelling mistakes, but I could understand the meaning.

It must be because my mother doesn’t have a mobile phone and doesn’t know how to use the internet, so she didn’t know how to find the right words, but she still tried to write.

…Ren

   Mom thi-n-ks about you

   Will wait to see you    Mom…

   “…” Tears slowly started to fall. I wiped them away before handing the small piece of paper to Phii Fah. He took it and gave a faint smile.

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” I burst into a wide smile, feeling overjoyed and touched, not crying but just letting a few tears fall. Then I turned my attention to the gift that came with it, finding it to be some sweets in a box along with a card written in Japanese, “What does this say?”    “…Uh, it probably means she made them herself, enjoy them.”    I looked at the sweets in the box. I thought they must be manju, and there were quite a lot of them. I quickly picked one up to eat and found it quite delicious, so I let Phii Fah try one too. Phii Fah tasted one and said it was good, but since he doesn’t really like sweets, he only ate one.

   I’m not that into sweets either, but I can eat them if offered, and because of the joy that they were made by my mother, I ended up eating half of them alone. I’ll share the rest with the others later.

   “I am going to meet my mother soon. I’m so excited.”

“Let’s go together once Phii Fah clears his schedule.”

“Sure, but where is Mom’s house? Does Phii Fah know?”

“Osaka.”

“And do we need to make an appointment before going? Did she say anything else?”

“She said we can come to the house anytime because her husband knows. Just let them know beforehand which day we’ll come so they can prepare. You can contact them through the home phone.”    “…Wow,” I said, feeling dumbfounded. So, her new husband knows Mom had a child before, and he’s okay with it, even allowing us to visit their home. That’s amazing, so kind. “How many days will we go?”

“We can’t stay long. I have to study, so we’ll visit your mom for a day and maybe have a day or two to explore.”

“Oh, thank you so much. Not only are you helping my mom, but you’re also taking me to see her.”

“Sure,” Phii Fah smiled in acknowledgment of the thanks and gently patted my head.    “You are so kind.”

“Me?”

“Yes, but I guess many people have complimented you before.”    “Not really, with others, it’s just normal,” Phii Fah said, “but for you, I would do anything.” Those words made me smile shyly.

Because Phii Fah wasn’t lying.

   Phii Fah would do anything for me, just like how I would do anything for him.

   I’m not sure if what Daotok said about it being true love is true, but if it is, that’s great…if not, it doesn’t matter because having each other right now is the best thing ever, better than wondering if it’s true love.

Because it’s Phii Fah, because it’s me, here together. Nothing could be better than this.

   Three days have passed, and my friend still hasn’t stopped smiling.

   “Give me some of that.”

“Yeah, give me some,” I said. We’re at the airport now, getting ready to go to Japan. After I told everyone about this, they got really excited and happy, saying they wanted to come too because they had some free time and wanted to visit my mom and go sightseeing together. “And have you finished eating the manju?”

“Ter ate them all the day you brought them, even snatched them from me. I was so mad.”

“You were just too slow, speed is the devil’s trait.”

“It’s the trait of a glutton, you mean.”

“North!”

“What? You weren’t satisfied with stealing mine, you even took from the little ghost, too. It’s just a tiny thing, and you still go after it.” North said, Ter immediately made a displeased face looking at North.

Honestly, it wasn’t that surprising; Ter has always been a big eater.

“It was delicious, and I was hungry.”

“You’re hungry all day. Seriously, did you die of malnutrition in your past life or something? How can you be this famished?” I couldn’t help but laugh at North’s words.

“Yeah, right, it’s like you’ve been starving since your past life.” “Even your cat thinks I’m a glutton,” Ter immediately pouted. “Joking, come on,” I said, reaching out to playfully twist Ter’s cheek as if comforting a child.

“Give me a KitKat to make up for it.”

“Can you stop thinking about food for just one minute?” North said, making an annoyed face immediately. “I know why the little ghost is so thin, it’s because you’re always snatching its food, right Ter?

Confess.”

“It wasn’t me! Dao left some, and I ate it because I felt bad for wasting it.”

“You were staring at it while it ate, so it thought you were hungry and left some for you.”

“That’s not true! I was just looking, not staring!”

“I’ve found the culprit behind the little ghost’s hospital visits.”

“I told you it wasn’t me, I’m not guilty.”

“Enough, you guys,” I interjected. They weren’t really fighting, just teasing each other, but it was still quite headache-inducing.

“And, did you invite Dao?” Ter asked.

“I invited him, but Dao said he wasn’t free.”

“Always, so I pretend to be upset,” North said.

“Why be upset? He’s working,” I said. Initially, I invited Foam and

Dao, but both declined. Foam said his family wouldn’t allow it, and Dao said he was busy with work.

“What’s so hard about it? Working to buy new equipment, then using the new equipment to work,” North started complaining. Lately, he’s been constantly complaining about Dao working non-stop without taking a break. At first, he seemed brighter because he was practicing meditation, but over time, he ended up like overcooked dumplings again. “I’m getting annoyed just thinking about it. I’ll sneak in and break his computer.”    “It’s good that you’re concerned.”

“Come on. If I weren’t concerned, why would I complain? And he doesn’t even listen to me, that bastard Dao.”

“Why get so angry about it?”

“He went to the hospital last time. Next time he goes in, I’ll put chili in his IV.”

“That’s harsh, really harsh,” I said, laughing. North really does care, that’s why he gets so mad, but I don’t know why he’s still so likable.    If I had another two or three months, I might go study Japanese, but I don’t have that much time, so I didn’t enroll. I’m not sure how I’ll talk to Mom. When she was in Thailand for more than two years, she might have been able to speak some Thai, but it’s been a while now.

   “Can your mom speak Thai?” North asked.

“I don’t know, maybe she can, at least she used to. Otherwise, how would she talk to Dad?”

“Your dad might speak Japanese.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” I said. I’m also not sure if Dad can speak Japanese.

“And where are you meeting your mom?”

“Right at her house.”

“Really? Her new husband doesn’t mind?”

“…It seems Mom told me that her new husband knows, and it’s fine.”

“Wow, that makes it easy then,” Ter said, “You’ll get to meet the stepdad too.”

“Hmm,” I said with a smile, in truth, we had already made plans to meet Mom in Japan around the afternoon. She mentioned that she would prepare snacks for everyone. Of course, I didn’t talk to Mom directly; I had someone else relay the message. I was planning to meet her directly.

“Smiling again, Phoon, you haven’t stopped smiling. Don’t your cheeks hurt?”

“When I’m happy, what’s the problem?” I stopped smiling and turned to North.

“Look away, it’s creepy, your eyes are all dreamy, looking at nothing, and then you smile again.” Now, besides us, there were also our seniors, which included Phii Fah, Phii Hill, Phii Jo, and Phii Arthit.

Phii Arthit said he was just coming along but would go sightseeing by himself before meeting back with us.

“I’ve never been to Japan,” North said. I raised my eyebrows and looked at him.

“Really? I thought you had been.”

“No, Phii Jo only took me to Europe, kind of skipped a step. Now with the cherry blossom season in Japan, it’s supposed to be beautiful,” North said while looking at his phone, which had information about Japan displayed. “I’m excited for my first trip to

Japan, so I’ve prepared.”

“How so?”

“I studied the language.”

“Really?” I looked at him in almost disbelief at what I’d just heard.

“Yeah.”

“How did you study?”

“Watched anime with Thai subtitles, binged twenty-four episodes in a row.”

“Spit.”

“Let’s go,” Phii Fah spoke up. I immediately stood up; I was so caught up talking with them that I forgot to check the time. Then, the seven of us boarded the plane together, and with our seniors along, don’t expect economy class seats. It was definitely first class. I sat in my seat, which was a pair, with Phii Fah next to me. To my left were North and Phii Jo, then Phii Arthit, and beside Phii Fah were Ter and Phii Hill. Around me, there didn’t seem to be anyone else; it felt like it was just us.

“Where are you planning to go, Arthit?” Phii Jo asked.

“I don’t know. Where are you guys going?”

“Where are we going?”

“Osaka.”

“Oh, Osaka…what’s there to do?”

“You still don’t have a plan?” Phii Jo asked, Phii Arthit shook his head gently.

“I want to ski.”

“There might be some snow for you.”

“Yeah, bummer. So, what are you guys doing in Osaka?”    “Arthit, what do you know about why we’re here?” Phii Fah turned to ask, the person questioned shook his head.

“I thought you were taking your wives on a trip. Isn’t that it?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s right.”

“Should I transfer to another place? There doesn’t seem to be much to do in Japan anymore.”

“No,” Phii Fah interjected before Phii Arthit could finish speaking,

“I won’t allow any more solo trips.”

“Oh.”

“Jo, don’t let Arthit out of your sight,” Phii Fah said, Phii Jo immediately furrowed his brows looking over.

“Are you ordering me around?”

“Yes.”

“You have the right to…”

“The right of someone who works for you guys.”

“Yeah, sure, Tonfah, Arthit, behave yourself,” Phii Jo said. I don’t know why I burst out laughing; it seems like Phii Arthit often sneaks away on trips, so everyone has to keep a close eye on him.    “Okay, I won’t sneak off then; I’ll stick with you guys like a little wife,” Phii Arthit said, “North.”

“What, bro?”

“This trip is our honeymoon with Jo, you go wherever, just don’t be in the way.”

“Let me come along, bro, I can help carry stuff. I won’t be a nuisance.”

“Fine, since you’re begging so much.”

“Sigh,” I heard Phii Jo let out a small sigh; he looked tired too, dealing with both North and Phii Arthit.

The journey to Japan took several hours until we arrived at Kansai Airport. At first, we discussed how to get to Osaka. We ended up deciding on the train because North wanted to ride it.

“You want to ride, fine, but the train is so cramped it’s killing me,” Phii Arthit cursed at North.

“I’ve never ridden one before, I want to try.”

“And why do I have to ride with you? Why do I have to cater to your whims?”

“Arthit, just shut up already,” Phii Jo said, making Phii Arthit pretend to zip his lips, gesturing towards North and himself, probably implying, why do I have to shut up while North doesn’t?

Of course, with Phii Fah, we became the center of attention, and with four doctors together, it was even more noticeable. I’m not sure how it feels to be the focus of everyone’s attention, but it seems like they didn’t mind.

When we arrived in Osaka by train, we had to discuss our next steps. We ended up deciding to rent cars; North and Ter said they were just visiting, they brought gifts, and would drop me off at the house entrance then go elsewhere. So we got two cars: one for Phii Fah and me, with Phii Hill and Ter in the back, and the other for Phii Jo, North, and Phii Arthit.

I gazed at the changing scenery along the way, and thinking about meeting Mom made my heart beat faster, with both excitement and worry, holding the gifts tightly in my hands.

“Are you excited?”

“Yes, very much so,” I looked at the time; it was around three in the afternoon. I wasn’t sure if Daiki’s school or Saito’s work was over yet. Saito is Mom’s new husband. “I’m worried it might not go well, coming like this.”

“It will be fine, for sure.”

“Yes.”

Before the car stopped in front of one house, Phii Fah checked the map on his phone again, seemingly confident it was the right house. I looked at the house with a heart beating out of rhythm; it wasn’t particularly large. I slowly got out of the car to find the area was quite peaceful, and the weather was pleasantly warm.

“Is this the one?” Phii Hill asked after getting out of the car, Phii Fah nodded in response. Having three cars parked like this, was it going to be a problem?

“There’s someone there,” Phii Jo said, making me turn my attention back to the house. I just saw a woman in a cream-colored t-shirt and skirt come out, looking at us with a surprised expression.

Mom…

   It really was Mom, just like in the pictures.

   “…Mom,” I called out to her, and she quickly opened the gate and walked towards us.

“Ren!” Then she rushed over and hugged someone.

…But it wasn’t me.

???

Why did she hug North?!

“Uh…Arigatou.”

North said in a stuttering, shy voice, and hugged her back.

   And why are you thanking her?!

   Mom let go of the hug and held North’s face, speaking rapidly in Japanese with an expression of joy and excitement. North was completely bewildered, not knowing what to do, while the rest of us burst into laughter.

   Oh, come to think of it, Mom has never seen me before.

   “Ah, sorry, but…I’m not Ren,” North finally said, making Mom stop touching him.

“What…what did you say?” Mom asked in a Thai accent that wasn’t clear. North pointed at me.

“That one over there.”

“Oh, Gomennasai, I’m sorry, really sorry,” Mom bowed awkwardly to North before turning to look at me, slowly walking closer, then looking up at me, “Ren…right?”

“Yes.”

Mom slowly moved closer and gently hugged me. The moment I smelled her faint perfume and felt the warmth of her embrace, I started crying and hugged her back. Mom also cried, and we held each other tightly for several minutes.

   After we let go of each other, Mom gently wiped away my tears, touching my cheeks, shoulders, and arms as if examining how much I’ve grown, with tears still flowing from her eyes.

   “You’ve grown so much,” she said, gently stroking my head with a soft gaze, a faint smile tinged with sadness and longing that words couldn’t describe.

“I’ve come to see you,” I managed to say between sobs, which only made Mom cry more. We spent some time outside the house before Mom suddenly remembered something.

“Come inside first,” she said in Japanese, but it seemed she could speak Thai too. The doctors said they would wait elsewhere because they didn’t want to intrude, wanting us to have as much time together as possible, but North and Ter said they wanted to stay.

“Take care of yourself,” Phii Fah advised.

“Yes.”

“Call me if anything happens.”

“Yes.” We talked a little more, then we walked into the house.    “Phoon, I knew you could confuse anyone. Without asking, she just hugged me first,” North whispered to me, which made me laugh.

“Yeah,” I said, still finding it amusing.

“Irasshaimase,” North said as we entered the house.

“That’s not right, is it?” Ter asked, his brows furrowed, and Mom, hearing this, turned to look with a slightly puzzled expression.    The inside of the house was larger than I expected, and before I could look around much, Mom led us to the living room where there was a large floor table with cushions arranged around it.

“I’ll get some tea for you,” Mom smiled, then slowly backed away and stepped out.

“Damn, your mom is like a Japanese housewife,” North said excitedly, looking around because Mom had been told that friends were coming too, so she had set up seating.

Mom was smaller than I had imagined, about the height of my shoulder, a very petite woman, and she seemed very gentle and kind.    “Irasshaimase,” North replied as Mom placed steaming cups of tea in front of us.

“What are you ‘Irasshaimase’-ing about?”

“Irasshaimase means ‘welcome’, when we go to a restaurant,” Mom replied to North in a sweet voice. I couldn’t help but laugh at him, hoping this would make him stop playing around.

“Irasshaimase.”

Damn, shameless, still messing around!

   I was right not to invite him, wasn’t I?

   “We brought some gifts,” Ter said, handing a bag of gifts to Mom. She smiled and slightly bowed before accepting it, and Ter, who seemed unsure of what to do, bowed back.

“I have one too,” North said, offering his gift, and Mom did the same to him as she did with Ter. I took a sip from the tea in front of me.

“How is it?” Mom asked. I smiled and took another sip with difficulty; it was extremely bitter, bitter to the back of my throat.

“It’s delicious.”

“How is it?” Mom turned to ask North, who smiled broadly and blinked rapidly.

“Is it original?”

“?”

“I mean, is it authentic?”

“Oh…” Mom looked at me as if she didn’t understand. I didn’t know how to answer either, so I responded to North instead.

“Yeah, authentic, we’re in Japan, so it’s Japanese tea, probably

Chinese tea.”

I watched North try to drink it all, and when he finished, he set the cup down and gently wiped his tears. Did it make you cry because it’s so bitter?

   “How do you feel?” Ter asked quietly.

“Encountered the authentic one, I can’t even speak Thai clearly now,” North said with a muffled voice, but we all finished our cups regardless. “Don’t they have something for tea beginners, so we can practice before facing the real thing?”

“Don’t be fussy,” Ter said, frowning. “Oh, right, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Ter, you can call me Ter.”

“My name is North.”

“Are you friends, same age?” Mom asked.

“Yes.”

“What are you studying?”

“I’m studying wisakam.”

“Wisakam? What is that?”

“Uh, like, engineering designing, managing projects, stuff like that.”    “Oh, and you?” she turned to ask Ter.

“I’m studying veterinary medicine, a doctor for animals.”

“Oh, impressive, and you, Ren?”

“I’m waiting for my exam results, I want to study photography.” “Oh…” Mom nodded in understanding, and before we could talk more, we heard a child’s shout from the front door, followed by running footsteps.

Daiki!

   Daiki looked surprised to see the three of us sitting there. The mother and son spoke in Japanese, which I didn’t understand, before Mom brought Daiki to sit beside us. He looked at me, slightly bowed his head, and said something, seemingly introducing himself.    “He said his name is Daiki, nice to meet you. This child has wanted a big brother for a long time,” Mom said. I looked at the chubby kid who was staring at me with sparkling eyes.

“Really? I’ve always wanted a little brother too,” I replied, and Mom seemed to translate for Daiki, who then smiled broadly and rushed to hug me tightly before letting go. Mom then introduced North and Ter to Daiki.

“What did he say?” North asked.

“Daiki said this big brother looks like a goldfish.”

“…”

“Ahhhhh, ahhhhh,” Daiki cried out as North pulled on his cheeks until they were all stretched out.

“North, don’t tease him,” I tried to stop him, but it seemed too late; they were already play-fighting. North, you’re twenty years old, my friend, what do you gain from fighting with an eight-year-old? Mom just laughed, watching them with affection.

Daiki said something in Japanese, trying to pull North’s ears and cheeks in retaliation, but North wasn’t having any of it either.    “What did you say, Mom, what did he say?”

“He said if you’re a goldfish, you should go live in water.”    “This kid,” both me and Ter just watched helplessly, the scene in front of us somehow looking absurd, “He’s grown up to be a fool, still can’t understand Thai.”    Well, he’s Japanese…

   The pointless war ended with both of them panting, before Daiki turned this way.

   “Daiki wants to invite you to play with his toys, he says he has something cool to show off.”

“Oh, come on, let’s go,” Ter stood up, “You stay with Mom, we’ll play with the little brother.” I nodded in response.

As Ter was led out by Daiki, Daiki stuck his tongue out at North.    “I told you this kid is a troublemaker,” North said before standing up and following Ter, leaving only me and Mom in the living room. Silence enveloped us. They must have wanted to give me time with Mom.

I knew why they insisted on coming into the house from the start; they were worried I might feel awkward. Once they saw I was okay, they found an excuse to leave us alone, just the two of us. I have to thank those two for that. Otherwise, I would have been much more nervous and wouldn’t have known what to do.

“…I…I’m sorry.”

“…”

“For not…being with you.”

“It’s okay.”

“Ugh…I…I’m really sorry.” And then Mom started crying again, her sobs growing until her whole body shook. I could do nothing but comfort her, “Ugh, I love you.”

“…”

“I love you…I have missed you so much, it…it might seem unbelievable.”

“I believe…I believe you. I’ve…missed you too, I’ve always wanted to see you.”

“Ugh…uh, uhh,” we hugged and comforted each other in the quiet room, filling the void of over twenty years of missed warmth and love. I couldn’t help but cry again; the scent of Mom, the warmth of her embrace that I had never experienced before, it was more than longing, more than anything in this world, it was an embrace that nothing could replace.

It felt like the emptiness in my heart, the part meant for Mom, was being filled.

After a while, Mom took my hand and led me to the back of the house to sit on the veranda, facing a small garden with a pond. Mom went away for about five minutes before coming back with snacks.

The atmosphere here wasn’t bad at all, it was beautiful, with a gentle breeze that made the hanging mobiles sway, creating a melodious sound.

“I want to hear about your life.”

“Yes?”

“Everything…that you’ve been through, that I wasn’t there for.”

“Oh…can you tell me about your story first?”

“From the time I went there?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm…it started when Grandma passed away. Grandpa died when I was still a child, so it was just me and Grandma. After I finished school, Grandma passed away, and before she died, she said she wanted to go back to Thailand, so I took…uh, your Grandma’s ashes, to Thailand for the first time with just a little bit of money.”

“…”

“To…Phuket.”

“Oh…so Grandma was from Phuket.”

“Yes, I didn’t have money, so I went to work, washing dishes at a restaurant. Later on, they let me serve food too, that’s when I met…your father.”

“I don’t know…how it was. I was very young back then, too young to understand anything, alone in a foreign country, so when someone showed care, I was overjoyed. I never thought he would deceive me, I gave him everything, my body, my heart, until I got pregnant.”

“He told me to get an abortion, he threw money at me…two thousand baht, I think it was at the time, he said he was already married, he couldn’t take responsibility, and he even pointed at me and cursed, saying that the child in my womb might not even be his, he said…what was it, I was a woman…a woman…”

“Never mind, keep going,” it seemed like Mom couldn’t remember those words, but it was for the best; they were probably not good words. So I told her to move on.

“At that time, I…didn’t know what to do, angry, heartbroken, and unsure, but I didn’t want to have an abortion, so I kept that money to buy food. I couldn’t afford prenatal care, so I delivered the baby alone in my room, with help from the neighbor next door.”

“At first, I wanted to raise the child by myself, but then I looked at myself and felt…pitiful. I didn’t have enough milk because my health wasn’t good, and I didn’t have money to buy milk for the baby; I felt sorry for the child. Back then, the only thing I could think of was pity for my child.”

“During the pregnancy, your father never came to see me. I could contact him sporadically, until one day I thought he should take responsibility or at least help us. I carried the baby…hugged you tight, crying, went to him, begged him to help us because the baby was going to starve.”

“…” Mom seemed about to cry but tried to hold it back several times, and I felt like crying too. Why did Mom have to go through so much hardship, and she was only eighteen or nineteen back then, right?

“He didn’t accept it. We argued in front of his house; he tried to send me away until his wife showed up. She…was holding a child too, I think her name was Torfan.”

“We argued for a while, with people from around there gathering to watch. We had to stop, and his wife suggested a DNA test, saying we would talk again if it matched.”

“Your father didn’t want to do the test, but his wife forced him to. They did the test, and it matched. After some discussion, it ended with him telling Mom to leave the child there and not to interfere with the child or them anymore, otherwise, they wouldn’t help at all.”    “He looked very displeased, but since the child didn’t know anything, his wife must have felt sorry, so I chose to let the child stay with them.”    “…Why?”

“At least you would have enough to eat every meal, and sleep in a warm bed.” I bit my lip hard, feeling a tightness in my chest from those words; Mom didn’t want to leave me…she really didn’t want to.    “Me last request was to name the child Ren if possible, he agreed, but it seems he didn’t do it because the name was what I intended for my first child.”

“Why Ren?” I asked curiously.

“Ren…means lotus. My name means lily, and they are similar. For me, the lotus…”

“…isn’t beautiful when it’s arranged in a bouquet or put in a vase, but I think it’s beautiful just as it is in its own place. It doesn’t need extra decoration to be beautiful, because it’s inherently beautiful.”    “I wanted my child to be like a lotus, beautiful as they are, in their own way and in their own place. Without anyone telling them how they should be or where they should be.”

“They don’t need to try to be as beautiful as roses in a vase, because the lotus is most beautiful when it’s on the water.”

“Oh…I understand now. Being oneself and in one’s own space is the best…right?”

“Uh, that’s right,” Mom smiled, “Let me continue…After that, I secretly watched over you for several months, until I was sure you’d be safe there, then I decided to go back to Japan. Because if I stayed in Thailand, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from seeing you.”    “I worked and saved some money to start anew in Japan, but because I missed you, I…sent birthday gifts every year, oh, isn’t your birthday tomorrow?”

“Oh…yes, it is, I forgot.”

“You’ll be twenty-one soon, right?”

“Yes.”

“And after that…were they good to you?” Mom asked with a worried and concerned look. I bit my lip tightly before letting out a sigh, probably because when I was still a baby, Fan’s mother might have cared for me somewhat, but as time passed, raising someone else’s child with her husband wasn’t as easy as one might think.

“It’s okay, it’s all in the past now,” I answered.

“…Tell me about your life.”

“Aren’t you going to ask about Dad?”

“No,” Mom shook her head gently, “Forget about him, tell me about your life instead.”

And so I started telling my story from childhood, about how I was as a kid, how I won poetry contests, awards for Thai calligraphy in primary school, how I was the class representative for reading at the stage, how I often topped my class, recounting all the significant events from each age to Mom. These were proud moments I wanted to share with someone, but no one listened except Fan. These were small, trivial things a child wanted to boast about how well they did, but no one cared.

   Mom listened to my stories with interest, her face showing happiness and pride throughout. This is what I meant by wanting to tell Mom so many things because, throughout my childhood, aside from Phii Fah and Fan, no one ever praised my efforts.

   “So clever, you were the class leader too.”

“Yes, but there were some kids at the back of the class who didn’t like to listen to me.”

“…And what did you do then?”

“I told the teacher, and when they got scolded, they would pick on me, but I always fought back.”    “You’re strong, did you get hurt?”

“…Sometimes, it’s just a boy’s injury. When they saw I wasn’t afraid of the back-row kids, whenever they bullied others in the class, the classmates would come to me for help. I could always help the class.”

“You were quite dependable as a kid, huh?”

“And then, when I was in grade five…” I told my story in great detail and with enthusiasm, it took a while to get to the present day.    “So, the person standing next to you when you arrived, is that your partner?”

“Yes.”

“And the others?”

“The one wearing the blue shirt is Ter’s partner. The one in the gray shirt is North’s partner.”

“And the other one?”

“That one is just a friend of theirs.”

“Oh, how lovely, everyone came to see you off,” Mom smiled, “It will soon be dinner time, invite them to eat with us, or you could stay here if you want.”

“It’s okay, I don’t want to impose.”

“Impose what? No such thing.”

“Really, meeting like this with you is like a dream. This is enough for me,” I said sincerely, not wanting to impose any further.

“Or is it because you’re not happy that I remarried…”

“No, not at all, it’s good actually, you get to start a new life, and there’s someone to look after you.”

“…Son,” Mom bit her lip as if she wanted to say something, “But I…have always felt guilty for not doing anything for you. Now, I am ready to make amends; you can move in with me if you want.”    “No…it’s okay,” I said softly, furrowing my brows, feeling very touched by what Mom said, “This is enough, thank you for letting me come see you.”

“…Why do you talk like we won’t meet again?”

“I didn’t mean it like that at all, but…how should I put it, I want you to have a new life. I just want you to know that I’m doing well. Don’t worry or be anxious. I just wanted to see that you are well too. I want you to continue on the new path you’ve chosen. As for me, I’ll walk the path I’ve chosen. We’re not on the same path, but we still have each other, right?”

“Uh…I understand, but I’m still your Mom…right?”

“Yes. No matter what. I want you to be my Mom,” I said with a broad smile, feeling my heart swell with warmth, “And I’ll still be your Ren.”

“…Uh, I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.” I held the small hand of the person sitting next to me, and Mom held my hand back, her hand so soft and warm.

“We’ll see each other again, right?” Mom asked.

“Yes, if there’s a chance, I’ll come visit.”

“Uh, don’t forget to visit me, okay, son?”

“Oh…right, Mom.”

“Hmm?”

“If it’s not too much trouble…can you write letters to me, maybe once in a while?”    “Oh…of course.”

“Thank you.” We exchanged addresses for sending letters, and then we walked back inside the house, finding the three of them playing in the living room. I joined them until Phii Fah messaged asking where we would have dinner since it was getting late.

And while I was about to ask Ter and North, I heard someone walking in, and it turned out to be Saito, Mom’s husband. When he came back, Mom went to help him with his bag and take off his suit jacket.

   Mom introduced us to Saito, who seemed like a very kind man, and he even invited us to stay for dinner. However, I had to decline, thinking it would be better for their family to have dinner together.

   Seeing this made me feel even more at ease.

   Mom really does have a good new family now.

   It’s a very warm family indeed.

   I messaged Phii Fah that we would go out to eat together, and after a short wait, the doctors came to pick us up. It was time for us to head back.

   “Damn, this kid, even in front of your dad, he’s still messing with me,” North complained heatedly because Daiki had grabbed his pants to prevent him from leaving.    “He just doesn’t want you to go.”

“Shit, he’s just pulling on my pants, damn it, stop it, my pants are going to tear!”

Daiki looked up and said something to me, so Mom translated:    “Daiki said you haven’t beaten him in the game yet. Next time, he’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself, so come back soon.” I couldn’t help but smile at what Mom translated from Daiki’s words, and I sat down to gently pat the chubby kid’s head.

“Prepare to lose next time,” I said, and Mom had to translate again, making Daiki smile broadly. I couldn’t resist pinching his chubby cheeks out of affection.

“I’ll be going now. I’ll send a letter.”

“I will wait, happy early birthday, son. Take care of yourself; you’re too thin. Don’t forget to eat a lot, your skin is too pale, exercise some, don’t stress yourself too much. No matter what, I believe you can do it. If anything, talk to me. As for what you asked about being the person I expected…”

“…”

“You’ve always been my son. No matter what, I love you and am proud of you.”

“I love you too, Mom.” I hugged Mom one last time as a farewell, then I noticed Daiki was crying. This was after North tried to pry his hand off his pants.

“Do you want my pants that badly?”

“He doesn’t want you to go. He doesn’t want your pants,” Ter said.

“Snot’s all over my pants now!”

Mom went to pull Daiki away from North.

“This kid acts like this when he likes someone; he must really like you North,” Mom said with a smile, turning to speak a few sentences to Daiki before looking back at me, “He said that Ter and Ren are kind brothers. As for North, he’s very mean, but he still wants to play with all three of you again.”

“What’s mean about that? He messed with me first,” North turned to say to Ter, who could only shake his head slightly in disgust.    “Fighting with an eight-year-old, I’m going crazy.”    “We’ll definitely come back, so stop crying, here, take this,” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small plastic toy I got from a gacha machine near the train station. I wasn’t sure if Daiki would like it, but it seemed he did; he stopped crying and looked excited.    “Daiki said this one is rare; the boys at school are competing to collect these.”

“Oh, that’s good, then we’ll be going now. Take care of your health, both Mom and Saito, I’ll try to visit often,” I said with a smile to Mom and Saito standing beside her. As I was about to leave, the chubby kid hugged me. I looked down at him making a pouty face, holding on tight as if he didn’t want me to go. I could only hug the stubborn kid back, and after a while, Mom had to pull him away again.

“Have a safe trip,” Mom said, looking at all of us.

“Yes.”

I walked back to sit inside the car, then saw Mom come over to say something to Phii Fah, but I was inside the car and couldn’t hear, nor did I dare to eavesdrop. I’d ask later. Then Phii Fah opened the driver’s side door and got in.

   “What did Mom say?”

“Oh, she just said thank you and asked me to take care of you.”

“Oh, and…what did Phii Fah reply?”

“I promised that…”

“…”

“I would protect and take care of her son with my life.”

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 33: Shooting Star

   “So, you actually did it, right?” I asked the person in front of me, in a disheveled student uniform. Tiger had just come to our faculty with copies of Uncle Rati’s fake evidence to show us. I asked for them because I wanted to see what fake evidence he had used.

“Meaning? The eye thing?”

“Uh.”

“Really did it.”

“He’s in the hospital now, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“He can’t see with that eye anymore?”

“Are you asking this because you feel guilty?” Tiger sat down on the sofa opposite me, Jo spoke up, “No need to feel bad, Phii, it’s my job.”    “Uh,” I nodded in understanding. After that incident, it made me think a bit, “If I had stopped it that day, what would have happened?”    “I would have gone home to get scolded by my dad for disobeying orders, and he would have sent someone else to do it anyway,” Tiger explained. I nodded again. I realized that even if I had stopped it, it wouldn’t have changed anything.

The fault of using fake evidence to deceive the mafia doesn’t go away just because I tried to stop it.

The reason I didn’t stop it back then was because of this; stopping it would have been futile, my opinion doesn’t matter. Besides, as Tiger said, even if Tiger didn’t do it, someone else would have been sent.    “But honestly. Even if you had stopped me, I probably would have done it anyway. I’m asking out of curiosity. Just wanted to know what you would have done.”

“Why?”

“I can’t disobey my dad’s orders.”

“Ha, you’re such a good boy,” Jo teased.

“As usual,” Tiger said before standing up from the sofa, ready to leave.

“Hey, Phii,” I turned to Jo as if I just remembered something.

“What?”

“I heard he was sending people to deal with North?”

“Hmm”

“You should have told me earlier, the wound on North’s face, was that what he was doing too?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, that bastard,” Tiger immediately showed signs of irritation,

“Bullying North affects many people, he doesn’t think before he acts.” Tiger cursed in frustration before walking out of the room. We were now in a private room at a coffee shop near the faculty.

“What does that mean?” I turned to ask Jo.

“Because North is friends with a kid named Duennao, I guess.” “Winter?” I raised an eyebrow, recalling that name from that day.    “The kid that Tiger has had a crush on for years, but that’s all there is to it,” Jo shrugged indifferently. Knowing this much, I didn’t feel the need to ask further, looking at the document envelope in my hand and opening it. The forged evidence that Uncle Rati had given them was no small matter. Whether it was cars or land, if these documents were fake as Tiger claimed, they had every right to be angry. It wasn’t just about disrespect; it was also about defrauding their money.    For example, if you have one car, you can use it as collateral to borrow one million baht. But Uncle Rati used fake documents to claim he had four cars when he only had one, so he got four million. One million was legitimate because he had one car, but the other three million were essentially borrowed without any collateral.

And when it comes to seizing assets because the debt can’t be paid, there’s no car to seize, and those three million could just vanish.    “Let me see,” Jo said. I handed him the documents. He glanced at them briefly before putting them down, “Serves him right, Tiger’s father hates being deceived.”    “Can we call them mafia?” I asked.

“Loaning tens to twenty million. It’s not a small-time deal. Only the mafia would lend that much,” Jo said, “I totally forgot to think about it.”

“About what?”

“Even if you tried to stop it, it would be pointless. His wrongdoings wouldn’t disappear because you intervened.”

“Hmm, I know,” I sighed, Jo’s words echoing my earlier thoughts.    “If you stopped him and that bastard didn’t do it, what would he tell his father when he got home? Oh, I didn’t follow orders because some guy asked me not to? That would be ridiculous, and worse, the situation could escalate if his father got upset.”    “Hmm, I understand, but…then why ask me?”

“He was testing you.”

“Hmm?”

“He wanted to see how you’ll handle it, seeing that you’re new. He probably wants to know what you’ll do in situations like this.”

“And how did it go?”

“I think he’s pleased with you, if you work with him next time, it might be easier.”

“Oh, uh…but I’m not doing it anymore.”    “Why?” Jo furrowed his brows at me.

“I don’t really like this kind of work, I’ll probably sell the shares to you,” I said according to my thoughts. This was my first time in business or dealing with stocks. Of course, Jo had been guiding me all along, but once I tried it, I realized it wasn’t something I enjoyed much.

“Is that smart? You’ve been doing well. You’ve made quite a profit in just a few months.”

“Uh, yeah. So, do you want the shares? You can be chairman instead of me.”

“Enough,” Jo said, “I’ve got my hands full already, ask Hill.”    “Hmm?” Hill looked up from his sheet and turned his attention to us, “What?”

“Fah wants to sell the company shares, are you interested in being chairman instead?”

“What company?”

“Real estate,” I replied.

“Oh,” Hill was silent for a while, his face showing his usual indifference. In truth, Hill’s father and Jo’s father know each other because they do business together. Hill’s family has a rather large company, and Hill is set to inherit it. As I’ve mentioned before, he doesn’t really want to study medicine; he was forced by his grandfather, who had an unfulfilled dream of becoming a doctor, so he imposed that dream on Hill.

“Might be good, let me see first.”

There were only the three of us in the room now.

I sighed, thinking of Arthit who is currently in California, feeling an indescribable concern. During New Year, we agreed not to contact Arthit until he contacts us himself or, if there’s no sign from him after the tenth, then we would reach out. So, I’ve been trying to handle all the work and legal matters for him.

“Oh, right, the thing you asked for,” Jo said, pulling some documents out of his pocket and handing them to me. I took them immediately, “About Phoon’s biological mother that you asked me to look into.”

After the incident with Uncle Rati, I had asked Jo to help find information on Phoon’s real mother.

“Thanks,” I said, my eyes still glued to the details in the document.

Name: Nakamura, Yuri (Original surname: Yoshida)    Original surname?

   So, Phoon’s mother remarried then…

   “Wow, Japanese.”

“Is the cat half-Japanese?”

“Not quite, his mother is half-Japanese too.”

“So, that makes him twenty-five percent Japanese,” North said, looking at the information about my mother with interest.

…

Typhoon

   The day before, Phii Fah came back to the room looking a bit worried, seeming to hesitate for a while before handing me the documents about my mother. The first time I saw her picture, I cried. All kinds of emotions mixed together until I wasn’t sure what they were, but certainly, they weren’t negative.

The document included a photo, her name, both her maiden and married surnames, her birth year, and various details about her life. It mentioned the schools she attended, the awards she received in school, and it said that after my mother finished high school, my grandmother passed away. At eighteen, she came to Thailand, stayed for just over two years before returning to start anew in Japan, working in various jobs until she remarried and had children.    “The information is very detailed,” Ter said. We were now at

Daotok’s room because it was a holiday. We gathered here because Ter said that around New Year’s, Daotok had disappeared, completely out of touch, and the last he heard, Dao was going to the New Year count down alone with a mountain of work. After New Year’s, they decided to visit out of concern, fearing he might really be swamped by work.

But contrary to expectations, Dao looked more cheerful than the last time we met.    “By the way, Dao.”

“What?”

“You look more cheerful,” I commented. Daotok, who was looking at the document in North’s hand, turned to me with a smile.

“I went on a meditation retreat.”

“…Seriously?” North furrowed his brows and turned to ask the person next to him. Right now, the three of them were intensely focused on the documents about my mother, so they all leaned in to look together.

“Uh.”

“Was it around New Year?” Ter asked.

“Yes.”

“Are you into spirituality or something? I just found out,” North said.

“Not really,” Daotok shook his head slightly, “I not really into that, but last year, I was working too much, to the point where…how should I say it, I was scattered, couldn’t focus on anything, everything was a mess, it made me unable to concentrate on work, so I went to practice meditation.”

“Did it help?” I asked.

“It was good, at least it felt like a break, gave me the energy to get back to work.”

“You’re crazy, no matter how hard I work, I’ve never thought of going to meditate,” North said before turning his attention back to the document in his hand, “Uh, came to Thailand at eighteen, why?”    “Because your grandmother is Thai,” Daotok said, “Here. Your grandfather was Japanese, but he passed away when your mom was still a child.”

“Oh, so it’s like coming back to her mother’s homeland, because her dad died young so she probably had nowhere else to go,” North remarked, “But wait, Phoon, how old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“Your mom is now thirty-nine.”

“Uh, she had me when she was nineteen,” I said. After coming to Thailand at eighteen, she met my father and then had me. It’s hard to say, but nineteen isn’t exactly the age to be ready for a child, “I’m afraid I might not be the child she was ready to have.”

“Stop overthinking, or I’ll hit you.”

“Why are you being harsh on me again?”

“Ready or not, she loves you. If she didn’t love you, she would have aborted you, and she still sends you gifts every year. Besides, doesn’t your name and hers have similar meanings?” I couldn’t help but laugh at North’s hot-headed demeanor; while saying this, he didn’t even look up at me.

“Hm?”

“Yuri means lily, Ren means lotus.”

“Oh,” I nodded, I hadn’t thought about it until now. Ren is the name written on the gift box that was sent to me, which we’re now more than ninety percent sure was sent by my mother, and it seems to be the name she gave me before I became known as Typhoon.

“Ren-kun,” North teased.

“You’re crazy with the ‘kun’,” I retorted.

“Speaking of which, your mom was a good student. Look at this.”    “North, are you still on the first page?” I asked because my mother’s educational record was on the first page. Had he really been looking at that for so long?

“Yeah, North, why are you looking so intently? There are several pages of documents.”

“Hey, it’s my friend’s mom’s story, I want to know,” North said,

“She was even the class president. She’s no ordinary woman.”    “Sigh,” I exhaled for some reason, scanning Daotok’s room. It wasn’t my first time here, but every time I come, I’m still amazed by how grandly the room is decorated. Every poster of Ter is hand-drawn by Dao, and there are plenty of Dao’s work tools. There’s a large desk for drawing, with paints arranged in layers.

“By the way, what do you do on a meditation retreat?” I asked,

“How many days did you go?”

“Three days, nothing much, just observing the eight precepts, chanting, stuff like that.”

“Did you go alone?”

“Yeah.”

“You should invite North next time.”

“Wow…damn, what are you thinking, asking seriously,” North said, sounding annoyed, “And Phoon, are you okay with your mom having a new family?”

“I’m okay with it. She got a new start in life, which is good, and there’s someone to take care of her. Flip to the next page, her son is really cute.”

“You’re so noble,” North said, flipping the page as I suggested,

“Who’s this kid next to the soy sauce bottle?”

“That’s Daiki, he’s eight. I thought he looked like the kid on the ‘Healthy Child’ soy sauce bottle. I don’t know what my mom fed him to make him look so chubby.”    “Hmm,” I nodded slightly.

“You have to be careful. If you cause trouble for her new family, you’ll feel guilty forever, Phoon,” North said. I nodded again in agreement. If things went too far beyond me just meeting my mother, it would be terrible. More importantly, I don’t want to hurt my mother’s new family.

Just contacting her secretly should be fine. If my mother isn’t okay with meeting me, I’ll accept that, and I must ensure that her new family doesn’t find out.

“Maybe your mom has already told her new family that she had a child,” North said, “That would be good, then Daiki could really be your younger brother.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“It’s good that you finally know who your mother is,” Daotok said with a sweet smile, “It’s like a New Year’s gift.”

“Yeah, it’s really a great gift.”    “By the way,” Dao spoke up.

“What?” I asked.

“Tell us about your father, we seem to be out of the loop,” Daotok said, “Can you tell us?”

“Oh, I can tell you,” I said, because Dao wouldn’t go telling anyone anyway. I started from when North was punched by my father and punched back, then recounted the events in the warehouse that Phii Fah had told me about. When I first heard this story, I was shocked, shocked that Phii Fah was the shareholder of the company, that my father had embezzled three million from the company, and that he had used fake evidence to deceive the mafia.

In truth, I couldn’t help but worry. I recently asked Phii Fah how my father was doing, and Phii Fah had to ask someone else, probably the mafia. He said my father’s condition had improved a lot. All I could do was ask about his condition, hoping he would recover soon and start a better new life.

At least, what I know, not counting his philandering and having many other affairs, he has had three wives and three children. He chose to abandon my mother because of his infidelity, then left Fan’s mother for the same reason, and Aunt Prae ran away because he cheated on her. At least with these three women who loved him, he never thought to cherish them; instead, he hurt them.

If possible, I’d like him not to deceive anyone else, to work and pay off his debts completely, so he doesn’t find himself in danger. Being in debt to the mafia for twenty million is not a good thing; it’s not safe, everyone knows that. With mafia debts, if you can pay it back, it’s fine, but going so far as to deceive them…When Phii Fah told me that my father used fake evidence to borrow money from the mafia, I was genuinely scared, afraid they would kill him. But it didn’t go that far; they just made him lose sight in one eye. It sounds cruel, but in reality, it’s how the mafia deals with things, it’s their world, a dangerous and ruthless one that ordinary people like us shouldn’t get involved with in the first place.

Because of what he did, he had to face this. I can’t say I feel nothing about it. I pity him. I want to be angry at those who did this to my father, but as it’s been said, it’s their way and their duty. If my father hadn’t deceived them from the start, nothing would have happened because they were just living in their own world, and we were the ones who reached into it.

North said it’s like messing with a curse; it’s in its own place. We walked into its territory ourselves, so when it harms us, it’s not really at fault.

I don’t hate or resent how things turned out. I just feel sorry and worried, but I can’t visit him. If I did, I’d likely be sent back. I thought about sending flowers to visit him in the hospital, but he would probably see it as me having ill intentions, because my father never viewed me positively.

All I can do is hope he chooses the right path. That’s all I can really do. I’ve been praying for him to have a peaceful life all along, and I’ll continue to do so because it’s the only thing I can do for him as his son, even though I’ve never received even a shred of love.

“The only thing your boyfriend did was with the shares, right? And he didn’t even withdraw them, did he?” Daotok asked. I nodded in response, “Then that’s pretty kind of him, really…uh, your dad isn’t really trustworthy, is he? With all the money fraud and using fake evidence to deceive them. If he still holds shares with them, however you look at it, your boyfriend has a high risk of incurring significant losses. As I’ve heard, if there’s a risk of loss, they usually pull out their shares first.”

“You know this well,” North said.

“My dad works at the company, really, everything he gets is the result of his own actions.”

“…Yeah, I thought Phii Fah would pull out the shares too,” North remarked.

“Do you hate Phii Tonfah?” Daotok asked.

“No, why?”

“Good, if you hated him, I’d feel sorry for him, he did all this to protect you, had only a few months to buy up the shares, it mustn’t have been easy.”

“…”

“And the one who got hurt has nothing to do with your boyfriend, how could he dare to deceive someone that scary? He’s a mafia, and there’s your boyfriend, North.”

“Huh?” North raised an eyebrow slightly, “Yeah, that’s true, but…how to say, Phii Jo is someone you can’t stop, I’m still scared when he’s angry.”

“Phii Jo was just angry that someone hurt you,” Ter said, “Not only did he hit you, but he also sent people to teach you and Phoon a lesson. That’s really cruel, sending people to teach your own child a lesson, that’s insane.”

“I know, so I never said anything. If it were me, I’d be angry if someone did something to my boyfriend.”

“Have you ever been scared of the doctors?” Daotok asked, seemingly addressing all of us, and surprisingly, we all shook our heads together, “Why is that?”

“It’s…I don’t know, hard to explain, but it just feels like there’s no place safer in the world than here. They make us believe that no matter what happens, they will never hurt us,” I said, making Daotok smile broadly.

“I already knew that, just asking,” Daotok said, “I can feel it every time everyone talks about their boyfriends, the atmosphere around becomes so warm, but since I don’t meet your boyfriends often, I don’t get to sense it much. I’ve only felt it when Phii Hill was with Ter. At that time, my heart felt all fluffy.”

“You can sense it that much?” North raised his eyebrow in question.

“Oh. Didn’t I ever tell you?”

“Tell what?” I furrowed my brows to ask, Ter also looked over with interest. Daotok made a slightly embarrassed face, as if he had accidentally said something he shouldn’t have.

“Oh. I’ll go get the laundry first.”

“Dao, you can’t change the subject like that,” I said.

“Uh…”

“How do you sense it?” Ter asked again, Dao looked even more startled.

“I just said it. Anyone can sense it, right? From the look in their eyes or something like that.”

“Ghost under the bed, are you going to say it or not?”

“Why do you think I’m lying?”

“Because you look suspicious. At first, I thought you had a sixth sense to see ghosts.”    “I don’t see them often.”

“…”

“…”

“Shit,” North said in shock, moving away from Daotok. Ter and I were also stunned, “Really? You, bastard, did you see a ghost?”    “Uh. I see one right now,” Dao said, staring at North, until North hit him on the head.    “I’m not a ghost!”

“…Ouch.”

“You deserved it, playing around at a time like this?”

“North, you shouldn’t be scared of me.”

“Get out, you see ghosts, I don’t want to play anymore.” After hitting Dao on the head, North quickly backed away, and Daotok immediately scowled at North.    “I’ll have Mary haunt North tonight.”

“Fuck off, which Mary? Bastard. No way, don’t do anything to me.” North grabbed my arm tightly. As I’ve mentioned before, North is the one most afraid of ghosts, scared to the point of hyperventilating, and apart from that, this three-foot chest guy has never been afraid of anything else.

“So, what’s the conclusion?” Ter asked to steer the conversation back to the topic. I’m not that scared of ghosts. As for Ter, he’s average, scared at a normal level.

“It’s not really a secret. Just didn’t see the need to say anything.”    “Uh-huh,” I nodded, listening intently, letting North continue to cling to my arm, his hand sweating again, for God’s sake.    “I don’t see them all the time. Just sometimes, if they want to be seen, and then…how should I put it, we’re in sync. Mostly, I feel them more.”

“Feel ghosts?” Ter asked.

“No, no, feel emotions. Like when we first met. I could feel that

Phoon was sad, it was a sadness that almost made me cry.”

“Oh…”

“And then I could feel…the longing of another person, all around

Phoon.”

“…Fan?”

“Hmm, probably. I haven’t seen her, but I can feel it. It’s warmth, longing, concern, and sadness, all the same.”

“…Really?” I bit my lip hard hearing that, “And now?”

“She’s not here anymore.”

“Oh…” I let out a small sigh, feeling relieved. Fan must really be gone now. I don’t have to worry or be concerned about my matters anymore, “And why didn’t Dao tell us?”

“I felt she didn’t want me to.”

“Oh.”

“But now you have nothing but happiness. I can feel it.”    “Are you messing with us?” North furrowed his brows, “You need evidence. Otherwise, I won’t believe it.”

“Not believing is fine,” Daotok said with a smile, “But when it comes to fortune-telling, you believe everything.”

“Yeah, that’s right, it’s not strange if Dao has some kind of sense. When it comes to fortune-telling, you believe with all your heart, don’t you?” Ter said, turning to look at North. North let go of my arm and immediately made a sour face.

“You’re accurate, that’s why,” North said, sounding annoyed, “Fine,

I’ll believe it. And here…are there any ghosts?”

“Probably not.”

“Oh, okay, good. It’s like having a ghost scanner. When you have time, check my room for any, I’m scared there might be something.”

“But my senses are very weak.”

“Come on, safety first.”

“It should be fine, remember when North gave me Phii Jo’s birthdate to read, and I said their fortunes complement each other?” Daotok said. North nodded in acknowledgment. So, he even looked at Phii Jo’s fortune…

“That’s right, so the ghost thing isn’t a problem. No one can do anything anyway.”

“Oh, okay, good. Have you guys ever had your fortunes read?”    “Ter has, his and Phii Hill’s fortunes complement each other. Do you want to see yours?”

“Huh? Oh. No, better not, I’m afraid they might not match, and I’ll just worry for nothing.”

“Oh, okay,” Daotok nodded and didn’t ask further. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by what Daotok said, probably because it’s Daotok; even if he could shoot lasers from his eyes, it wouldn’t be strange.    We asked Dao a little more about Fan. Daotok said that when I decided to tell everyone everything, and everyone was comforting me not to cry, Fan was there too, and she was also crying while hugging me. Dao mentioned he doesn’t see Fan every time he sees me because sometimes she’s not around. He doesn’t know where she goes, but I think she might go to find our parents. And the reason Fan didn’t want Dao to tell me about her, Dao thinks it’s because she didn’t want me to keep thinking about her, which is true. If I had known at that time that Fan was still around, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

“Uh, Dao.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you remember when we had a gathering and video called each other, and you asked who the woman behind Phii Arthit was?” I asked when I suddenly remembered Dao teasing me like that. We had a big discussion about whether Dao was just joking or if it was true, but now it might actually be true.

“When was that?”

“Come on, during the gathering, when we video called, you pointed out the woman behind the person sitting opposite us.”

“…Don’t remember.”

“Damn, you’ve got selective memory, my friend.”

“Uh, but I was probably just teasing.”

“Why?”

“If I really saw something, I wouldn’t tell anyone, afraid everyone would be scared.”

“Uh, well, I’m not scared at all, you bastard,” North let out a big sigh, “I feel so uncomfortable, I’m not talking to you, Arthit, for one day.”

“…Don’t,” Daotok said softly, looking like he was about to cry.

“Hey, I was joking!”

“Oh, North, did you make Dao cry? You bastard, you’re really evil,” Ter scolded, leaving North at a complete loss.

“I’m sorry, I was just playing!”

“Ha!”

“Damn, you scared me, here! Asking for trouble with your dad?” North smacked Dao’s head again in frustration. At first, Dao looked like he was about to cry for real, and North’s face immediately paled.

North is really weak against tears, seeing this.

“You didn’t have to curse.”

“I was startled too, making you cry makes me look like a jerk, aren’t I a big enough jerk already?” North grabbed Dao’s cheeks hard, stretching them back and forth, and Dao frowned and made a sulky face.

“Ow, it hurts.”

“It’s supposed to hurt, you little ghost under the bed, trying to trick me.”

“Ouch, ouch, ouch, help!” Dao called for help and tried to block North’s hands, but he couldn’t match North’s strength. All I and Ter could do was sit and laugh at the scene in front of us.

While laughing at Dao’s attempt to get his cheeks back from North, it made me realize how good it feels when we’re all together like this.

It’s really good to have everyone like this, isn’t it?

After playing around in Dao’s room for a while, it was time to leave. North went back first, followed by Ter, leaving only me, and Phii Fah texted that he would arrive in about five minutes.

“Didn’t forget anything, right?” Daotok asked.

“Hmm. I don’t think so, I hardly brought anything with me.”

“If you manage to contact your mom, let me know, okay?”

“Okay.”

Not long after, Phii Fah texted to say he was waiting downstairs.

   “I’ll walk you down.”

“It’s okay, don’t trouble yourself.”

“It’s no trouble,” Daotok said before walking downstairs with me. When Ter and North left, Dao also walked them down. To be honest, I think Daotok is really sweet, taking great care of us.

I walked over to Phii Fah, who was leaning against his car. He immediately gave me a sweet smile.

“Hello,” Phii Fah greeted the person who followed me kindly, and Daotok smiled back.

“Hello.”

“See you,” I said as I got into the car, waving goodbye to the other person. Dao waved back. Not long after the luxurious car moved away, my phone notification sound went off.

From Daotok…

   What’s up? We just parted ways a moment ago.

   SS: There is no need to look at the stars or sense anything.

   Typhoon: What?

   SS: Just by looking into each other’s eyes, you can tell.

   SS: Between Phoon and Phii Tonfah    SS: It’s true love.

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME

   SOUTHBESIDETHESKY, Chapter 32: Achluophobia

   Tonfah

   I glanced at the face of the person who had just fallen asleep; his breathing was even. I reached out to gently stroke the white cheek, red around the eyes indicating he had cried a lot. Before this, about half an hour ago, Phoon was in my arms, crying while recounting his story to me.

Initially, Phoon seemed reluctant to talk much, which was expected; it’s not something Phoon would want to discuss. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have remained a secret until now.

But I talked to Phoon until I understood that his attempts to protect him no longer meant anything. Phoon told me everything from the beginning, his voice breaking with sobs, about the possibility that he might not be a legitimate child, which I had somewhat anticipated, but honestly, I didn’t want it to be true.

And something I didn’t know was about uncle Rati’s new partner, named Prae, and her daughter.

Looking at the small figure sleeping soundly, I felt an indescribable pain. Everything Phoon had told me was swirling around in my head, from childhood when Phoon was strictly disciplined by his uncle and aunt. I used to think it was because they cared, but in reality, it was just neglect.

I reached out to turn on the bedside lamp and turned off the main light in the room. Nowadays, Phoon can sleep with the lights off as long as I’m close by. His fear of the dark is quite severe; as soon as it’s completely dark, his whole body starts to go numb, his pulse and heart rate increase, and he can’t control himself. Since the last time the power went out, I realized I shouldn’t leave Phoon alone at night. The reason Phoon fears the dark and confined spaces so much is because of him.

I let out a quiet sigh to calm my anger. Knowing all this, I’m not sure if I can talk to him calmly tomorrow.

The only reason this situation is so complicated is because he’s Phoon’s father…If it weren’t for that reason, there’s no way we would try to be this calm.

Suddenly, my phone rang, and I saw it was Jo calling. I checked the time; it was about 9 PM. I slowly moved off the bed, but as soon as I removed my embrace, it seemed to wake Phoon up.

“Mmm.”

“Sorry, did I wake you?” I asked softly, and the small figure shook his head in response.    “No, is something wrong?”

“It’s just Jo calling, I’ll be right back.”

“…Okay.” Phoon, still groggy, answered. I gently stroked his head before walking out to the balcony to take the call.

“What’s up?” I asked into the phone as soon as I answered.

(I am not waiting until tomorrow afternoon now.)

   “Why?”

(They said he is sending someone to teach North and Phoon a lesson.)

   “…Is that true?”

(Yeah, he really ordered someone.)

   “Uh, where do we meet tomorrow?”

(Tomorrow, go out with North.)

   “Why?”

(North is worried Phoon might be angry about him punching your dad.)

   “Oh, Phoon won’t be angry, that’s fine, Phoon with North will keep his mind off things.”

(Then meet at the mall, at 1:00 PM, bring Phoon along.)    “Okay.” And then the other party hung up. Listening to it, it seems like no one can stop Jo now. He said he’s going to send people to hurt North and Phoon…

Hurt?

   His own child, really?

   With that man…we probably can’t talk it out anymore, can we?    So, I didn’t try to stop or question Jo. By now, Jo must have already instructed someone to take action, which means tomorrow, we won’t be sitting down for a meeting like I had planned.

   “…Phii Fah,” Phoon called my name softly while sliding open the balcony door, his face showing concern as he looked at me, “Are you okay?”

“What do you mean by ‘okay’?”

“I mean…about my dad.”

“Okay in what sense?” I asked back.

“Phii Fah,” Phoon called my name again, furrowing his brows with a troubled look. In truth, I had told Phoon everything, about all the preparations I had made. Phoon didn’t say anything against me; he’s very kind, one of the kindest people, but he doesn’t see the world through rose-colored glasses, he sees it as it is. So, Phoon understands why things are like this, “Tomorrow…what’s going to happen? It will be just talking, right?”

“It won’t just be talking anymore.”

“…”

“Because he hurt North and you understand me and Jo, right?” I gently stroked the other’s cheek and hair. I had said before that the hardest thing was Phoon’s feelings because he’s his father. I asked again, but I knew Phoon understood well; he nodded slightly.

“Can’t it be, Phii Fah?”

“Huh?”

“I understand that this is what he deserves because it’s the result of his actions. In truth, North is the last person in the world he should have hurt.”

“No,” I said, “Phoon, you’re the same. The last person in the world he should have touched.” My words made the person in front of me look up at me, then slowly come to hug me gently. I reached out to embrace the small figure.

“…Thank you.”

“Hm?”

“To protect…”

“Yes. It’s okay, and about what I said earlier?”

“Well…can’t it be, Phii Fah? If something violent happens…” Phoon spoke, leaving the sentence unfinished, but I understood immediately,

“Can’t it be, Phii Fah?”

“Yes, I understand,” I agreed, “but…”

“But?”

“I won’t stop it.”

“…”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes, I understand,” Phoon nodded slightly. He must have asked that because he didn’t want me to be the one to hurt his father, but if it was someone else, Phoon understood. It was a consequence of his own actions.

“Tomorrow, go out with North.”

“Hm? Me and North?”

“Yes, go to the mall.”

“Ah…okay,” said Phoon. I guess Phoon wasn’t too comfortable with what Jo and I will do, but there was nothing to be done about it now. If it had just been me, it wouldn’t have been so severe, at most we would have followed our plan, but once Jo got angry…it wouldn’t end easily.

   It’s his own doing, isn’t it…

   …

I dropped Phoon off at the mall as arranged, where North and Phoon were going to watch a movie together before Jo and I dealt with this matter. I drove following Jo to a place I wasn’t very familiar with, a large area full of warehouses. As soon as we got out of the car, men in suits came out to greet us, bowing as we passed before we stopped at the door of an inner warehouse where someone opened it for us.    Nothing was too surprising. Inside the dimly lit medium-sized warehouse, with light coming only from above, was surrounded by bodyguards. In the middle, a man was bound, kneeling with his hands tied behind his back. Even though he was unconscious and had his head down, you could tell he had been beaten badly without even looking closely.

“Surprised?” Jo asked as he sat down in a chair in front of the man.

One of the bodyguards gestured for me to sit in the chair next to him.    “Not much, I expected it,” I said honestly. I wasn’t surprised or shocked to see Uncle Rati in that state; he must have been beaten until he passed out, but probably not for long, maybe just two hours.

Looking at the wounds, they weren’t minor; his temple and eyebrows were cut by something sharp, his face was bruised all over, and although not visible under the cloth, judging by the state of his clothes, he must have had more than a few wounds. His nose and mouth were bleeding enough to choke him.

I glanced at the person next to me, who lit a cigarette and exhaled gray smoke.

“You’re smoking again?” I asked, remembering he was supposed to quit when North asked.

“North gave me a smoking quota,” Jo said. You could tell he was trying to calm himself down, “Seems like we have a little problem.”    “What?” I asked.

“Well…the people that bastard borrowed money from.”

“Hmm?” I raised my eyebrows slightly at Jo. I already knew about him borrowing money; after all, I was behind it, “They’re not happy, huh?”

“Uh, not surprising,” Jo said. I nodded in understanding, “But there’s a slight problem.”

“Who?”

“You’ll find out soon,” before Jo stood up from his chair, pressing his cigarette against the forehead of the man kneeling, using it like an ashtray. The man screamed loudly in pain, his eyes wide with shock.

“What?”

“Aaahh! You…who are you?!!” The man on his knees shouted after screaming in pain from the cigarette burn, his face pale with fear. Asking who Jo was suggested that Jo had just arrived too. Then he turned to see me. “Khun…Tonfah? Tonfah, help me, these guys kidnapped me…” That face twisted and cried for help, but strangely, it didn’t make me feel any pity.

“What do you want! Are you their leader!! Do you know who I am, huh?!!” He tried to threaten back, but Jo just sneered and looked at him with disdain before lifting his foot and kicking the man’s face hard.    “Ahhh!!”

“Watch your words.”

I had warned that if Jo was angry, no one would dare to stop him.

   Heavy breathing came from the person in front of me.

   “F…Fah,” Uncle Rati looked at me as if seeking help again,

“What…what is this?”

Before I could say anything, the warehouse door opened, and someone new walked in. He was wearing a black jacket, hands in his pockets, looking rather displeased.

   This guy…if I’m not mistaken…

   Tiger…

   “Why schedule today, don’t you know I have business?” the newcomer said immediately, scanning the room without surprise, walking closer and stopping his gaze on the man sitting there. “Wow, you’ve messed up my debtor pretty badly.”    Ah…so this is the guy Jo was talking about.

“Get to the point,” Jo said.

“I have two reasons to be here,” Tiger said with a bored expression, “One, this bastard is my debtor. I can’t let you do whatever you want with him. Two, it’s about the company.”

“Annoying,” Jo grumbled, looking at me with slight disapproval. “I told you he’s trouble.”

Uncle Rati, who seemed not to know Tiger, looked between the three of us before forcing a smile.

   “Uh, you’re the son of the person I borrowed money from, right? You have to protect me! If something happens to me, who will pay you back?! Go on, deal with them, and I’ll give you the money, more, aaaaah!!” Tiger kicked the back of the head of the man sitting on the ground, then stepped on his head when he fell, pressing down hard until the man screamed loudly.

“Aaah, let…let go, let go, please, uh, I beg you, eeeek!” Before he let go, I heard that he wasn’t very good at his job behind the scenes, which must be true.

“You talk too much,” Tiger remarked.

“Watch your words, this isn’t your place,” I warned when I saw the man in front of me about to speak again, his lip already split, having been dealt with by both Jo and Tiger. Why does he still think he has the right to say anything? Uncle Rati’s face turned pale, and more tears flowed, perhaps because he saw that even I, an acquaintance, wasn’t going to help him.

   “Sniff, sniff, what, what is this all about?!” His voice trembled with fear, looking at me with shaking eyes while trying to speak loudly to mask his cowardice. I sat back, observing him, my hands clasped and elbows resting on my knees.

“Where should we start?” I said, looking towards Jo. He turned to grab some documents from a nearby bodyguard and handed them to me. “Let’s start with this.” I tossed the documents to the floor, letting the man kneeling there look at them in confusion.

“What…what, what is this?!” The first document I showed him was evidence of him embezzling money from the company he worked for, and of course, the person recently appointed as the new chairman was me.

It took just over a month, with Jo’s connections helping, to buy up the company’s shares, and now I am officially the chairman.    “You embezzled three million baht from our company. As the chairman, I’m firing you and taking legal action. After this goes to court, you won’t end up well,” I said in a calm tone. Hearing this, Uncle Rati looked even more shocked.

“Huh, Ch…Chairman?? Tonfah? How…how did you become the chairman?” His split lip bled as he spoke, so much blood that several teeth must have come loose. “So…so the call yesterday…”

“Yes,” I smirked.

“Because of this, you had me brought here then?!”    “No, because of the person you hurt yesterday, don’t you understand?”    “…Ty…Typhoon?!”

“You might not know…that he’s my lover,” I said. It seemed that Uncle Rati couldn’t handle this level of shock very well. “Including the other person you hurt.”

“You’re quite bold, daring to touch someone else’s important person,” I said with a chilling calm, his face full of fear and tears still flowing, probably understanding now that he shouldn’t have meddled with anyone, “Are you going to teach me a lesson, then?”    “No…no. Not that. Not what I meant…hey, hey!! stop, what, what are you going to do, stop it!!” He protested when Jo looked at the bodyguards, two of whom approached to untie the ropes. Despite his resistance, it was futile; they pulled his hands forward, and Jo stepped on them, crushing them hard.

“Aaah, aaah!! ugh!! uh!!!” He kept looking at his hands being crushed, screaming at the top of his lungs, unable to pull them away. I lowered my eyes slightly before letting out a sigh, hearing the sound of bones moving under the pressure. Even though I wasn’t very surprised, this was the first time I’d been here, and the person being tormented was someone I knew.

“You won’t be able to use your right hand for a while, in exchange for punching my boyfriend and planning to send someone to teach them a lesson,” Jo said with a tone of indifference amidst the loud screams of pain, releasing his foot to see the hand trembling and slightly twisted. I guessed that the bones in that hand were definitely broken; at least he wouldn’t be able to use his right hand for several months, “Make him shut up.”

“Ah!” One of the bodyguards slapped the man who wouldn’t stop screaming, sending him flying to the side. Without any chance to recover, he was bound again.

“I feel a bit bad for you,” Jo turned to me, “You shouldn’t have seen this.”

“It’s fine,” I said honestly.

“Okay with this, huh? At least he’s your father-in-law.”

“No, do whatever you want.”

“I thought you’d try to stop me a bit.”

“I won’t do anything, and I won’t stop you either,” I said, recalling what I had discussed with Phoon last night, that no matter how violent things got, as long as it wasn’t because of me, it was okay.

“Oh.”

“If he dies, who will pay back the debt?” Tiger, who had been silent for a while, spoke up, having been seen playing on his phone earlier, likely chatting with someone, looking quite relaxed in such a situation, which was believable.

“So, you’re here to protect him?”

“Phii Jo, Phii Fah…I have to work, Dad sent me.”

“Have you Mister Tiger become tame for your dad?” Jo’s mocking words didn’t seem to affect the listener much.

“I’ll pay back three million,” the soft voice of the man who had just been forced back into a kneeling position rose, accompanied by heavy breathing and sobbing, “…uh, we’ll fight this in court, won’t we? You should let me go then, huh? You have to protect me. Otherwise, you’ll never get back your twenty million.” He looked towards Tiger. Of course, the person being spoken to didn’t look pleased, but he just shrugged helplessly.

“It’s true. I’ll have to ask you guys to stop. If he dies, the money he borrowed to start the company will be wasted. Then I won’t get either the principal or the interest,” Tiger said, trying to remain calm. I nodded in understanding because Uncle Rati had borrowed money from this kid’s father’s company to start his own.

“Exactly! I was about to become the chairman of a big company! Being fired, so what? Being sued, so what? You guys will definitely get it back from me!”

“You’ll never build your company if I withdraw my shares. You’ll just be a bankrupt man with debts over twenty million, facing a lawsuit for embezzling at least five million from the original company. No one will do business with you anymore. Not even a job will be available for you,” I said with the calmest and coldest voice possible, causing the arrogant man’s face to pale again.

“Withdraw shares? Withdraw shares, huh, are you crazy?! You have shares in my company…” Then he fell silent as if he had just realized something, “Or…or you…”

“Yes,” I smirked, “Behind all the shares you thought were supporting you, all of them are mine. You, who thought you had so much power, all of that is mine.”

“…”

“Aren’t you surprised at all why your partners were so supportive of you building a new company and suggested you borrow twenty million? Didn’t you wonder at all why the loan company would lend money to someone like you without any collateral?” My explanation left the man in front of me stunned, his face shocked to the point of nearly fainting.

The story began with gradually buying up the shares of the company where Uncle Rati worked until I became the chairman. Initially, I didn’t plan to fire him, just some small things like if he wanted to do anything, we could control him because he held a high position in the company. No matter what, he wouldn’t willingly give up that position. By chance, we found out he had embezzled nearly three million from the company, leading me to wonder what he was doing with that money.

It turned out he wanted to save money to build his own company, which made things even easier. Jo sent some people to help with this investment, and all the partnership money was mine, even though my name wasn’t on it. I held more than half of the shares in the new company Uncle Rati wanted to build.

Building a company requires a lot of money. Of course, Uncle Rati didn’t have enough. We told him if he wanted to be the chairman, he needed to own more than half of the shares. That’s why he decided to borrow money. Naturally, someone like him without any collateral wouldn’t get loans for millions anywhere, except with a guarantor like Jo, and borrowing from where Jo had arranged.

I told you if he behaved well, it would be good for him. We would continue to invest as shareholders in the company, and he would get everything he wanted, including us profiting from that investment, meaning the business would run smoothly. But if he did something bad, we would just pull out our shares. The result of pulling out the shares would be his company going bankrupt. As the chairman, he would be responsible for everything that happens, all the assets we had his mortgage would be gone, and he would be left with nothing but almost thirty million in debt. Not to mention his reputation or social standing. He wouldn’t even be able to work as a regular company employee because of the fraud case hanging over him.    Moreover, the creditors are not that kind-hearted, especially since he borrowed from quite ruthless underground lenders. If he doesn’t pay back quickly, one can easily guess what could happen; he might be forced to find the money somehow, in the worst case, perhaps by selling himself or his organs.

I told you, it’s all because of his own actions…

“You! you!. It’s you all!. You tricked me into borrowing money, made me use my house, land, car, everything as collateral!. You’re evil!. You tricked me!! uh.”

“We only advised, if you had stayed apart from Phoon, things wouldn’t have ended like this.”

“Typhoon, huh?! Ha!! that kid again, huh?! bastard!!” Before he could finish speaking, Jo ordered the bodyguards to silence him immediately. I took a deep breath to suppress the anger rising within me; if I let him finish talking about Phoon, I would find it hard to bear.

“You promised Phoon you wouldn’t do anything, right?”    “Uh,” I nodded slightly.

“Did you hear that?” Jo asked, Uncle Rati, who could only open one eye, slowly looked up, “Thanks to Khun Phoon. Lucky that Phoon asked for this. Do you know what? If you weren’t Phoon’s father, I wouldn’t let you out of here breathing anymore.” Jo’s words had an effect; he clenched his teeth to suppress his fear and resentment, feeling his dignity trampled upon, having to rely on Phoon for protection.

“Uh, sorry. I’m sorry, please…let me go, I give up, I give up everything, uh.” He bowed his head to the ground, apologizing, realizing he had nothing left, what we were witnessing now was just the end of an arrogant man intoxicated with power, “Sorry, uh. I’m sorry, don’t do anything to me.”

“The person you should apologize to isn’t us,” I said, looking at him with pity, “It should be the one you’ve been hurting for years.”    “Uh, uh,” he sobbed, but it was meaningless now, “I’m Phoon’s father. I’m his father, don’t do anything to me…uh.”

“So that’s what a father is?” I gritted my teeth to suppress my anger. Why is this man so despicable? He only calls himself a father when he needs to save his own skin.    “Pathetic,” Jo swore in frustration.

“Huh…I’ll do anything…please, don’t do anything else to me, sniff, don’t withdraw the shares, please. I have nothing left, sniff, sob. I can’t pay back twenty million.”

“…”

“Sniff, you…” He turned to look at Tiger with tears streaming down his face, “Please, help me. If I don’t continue with the company, you won’t get your money back either.”

“…Sigh, that’s true,” Tiger sighed and then turned to speak to me, “If you withdraw the shares, he won’t be able to make money, my company will suffer a huge loss. Even if we sell him or his organs, it would take forever to get the money back, my father would kill me.

Plus, I can’t threaten his son, right?”    “Yeah,” Jo answered.

“Are you satisfied yet?” I asked Jo, who shrugged slightly. “Then let’s make a deal.”

“…Sniff, sob, go on, say it.”

“All of this is a lesson for messing with our boyfriends,” I said, eyeing all his injuries. After being beaten like this, he’ll be in the hospital for a long time, and his right hand, which was stepped on, might never function the same. “I won’t withdraw the shares if you agree to stop bothering Phoon.”

“Uh…sniff, sob, okay, okay. I won’t bother him anymore.”

“Divorce Prae, and stop interfering with her and her daughter too.”

“…Mmm, okay. Agreed.”

“Apologize to Phoon for everything that’s happened. I know you can never be a good father, so the only opportunity you have now is to apologize and disappear from Phoon’s life. After that, I’ll take care of him myself.”

“Mmm, sob, I…understand, and…then, can you let me go now, sniff?” I looked at Jo for an answer.

“Yeah, I’m okay now, he’s been taught enough,” Jo said. It should be satisfying enough, having beaten him almost to death. “Only because he’s Phoon’s father. Otherwise, this wouldn’t be the end.”

“Th…thank you, thank you…sniff”

“Yeah. We’re done here, right?” Tiger spoke up.

“Uh, the shares won’t be withdrawn,” I answered.

“Okay, so that means the first reason I came here is settled, but I have another reason.”    “What?” Jo asked.

“Well, it’s about the creditor and debtor issue,” Tiger reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper, unfolding it to look at it before placing it in front of Uncle Rati. As soon as he saw the paper, his crying intensified.    “Sorry, I…I can explain, please.”

“You were quite bold to use fake evidence to deceive us,” said the man with a cold smile, Jo raised an eyebrow slightly.

“He used fake evidence?”

“Uh, most of the evidence used for the collateral is real, but this one is fake. Do you know how angry Dad was? If we didn’t teach you a lesson, you wouldn’t learn what happens when you deceive us,” Tiger said, slightly raising his eyebrows, “That was an order.”    “Uh, uh, sorry. I’m sorry, please…don’t do anything to me, I beg you.”

“Really asking for trouble,” Jo muttered with a hint of pity. I sighed before standing up; this was no longer my concern. Using fake evidence with underground creditors known for their ruthlessness, it’s no wonder he provoked such anger. It’s no different from insulting them.

“Hey, is he Phoon’s father?” Tiger turned to ask Jo.

“Uh.”

“Is Phoon close with Nao?”

“Probably not.”

“Oo…kay,” before Tiger let out a playful smile. I secretly felt a chill run down my spine, seeing him borrowing a knife from the bodyguard beside me. Once the knife was in his hand, the person facing the blade’s edge cried even harder, panicking, “Phoon can save you from these two, but he can’t save you from me.”

“No…no, uh, you…you, what, what are you going to do?”    “Leaving one eye to see is enough. Don’t worry, I won’t gouge it out; I find it too disgusting.”    “Please…please, I beg you, please.”

“Will you stop me? Seeing he’s your wife’s father,” Tiger said, glancing at me. Beside him, there was someone sending a desperate look, pleading for help with all his might.

“Fah…Fah, please help your me, I beg you…I’ve already done wrong, please…I’ve realized my mistake…please, please, I beg you, sniff, sob.”

“If you don’t stop him, this bastard will definitely be blind,” Jo said in a calm voice. Even without saying it, I knew Tiger wasn’t just bluffing; because Tiger didn’t know Uncle Rati like we did, to him, he was just another debtor. Plus, Tiger had said it was an order earlier, and going against that order would bring significant trouble. I looked at the person begging with an indifferent gaze. I understood well that in this situation, stopping it would be meaningless. He was dealing with the mafia, fully aware of how dangerous it was, and what could I do to help? Would his wrongs be forgiven just because I intervened? No way. The question Tiger asked was rhetorical. I felt it was a question that didn’t actually require an answer, just asked for the sake of asking.

“Do you know Phoon is afraid of the dark?”

“…Sniff”

“Because of you.”

“…Sniff, sob”

“You should try it too, maybe you’ll understand how scary the darkness can be.”

With those final words, I turned my back and walked out of the warehouse. The horrifying scream echoed from behind, but I paid no attention, walking out to my car and immediately calling someone.    (Yes?), the cheerful voice from the other end made me smile involuntarily.

“What’s my little one doing? Have you eaten?”

(Just finished watching a movie with North, haven’t eaten anything yet.)

   “Then I’ll come pick you up. Tell North that Jo is coming too,” I said as I saw Jo following me out.

(Okay, I will wait.)

   “Yes.”

SOUTHBESIDETHESKY CHAPTERS HOME