WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 3: Eight Thousand Miles

   “I’ve reached my room.”

(Okay, what time will you go to sleep?)

   “Around midnight, probably.”

(Then it’ll be afternoon here, call me to wake me up.)

   “Okay, goodnight.”

(Yeah, goodnight, give me a goodnight kiss.)

   I sent a kiss to the person on the other end of the video call. We talked a little more before Arthit hung up to go to sleep. He had been in New York for work for about three days now. The thing that somewhat alleviated the longing was seeing each other daily through video calls.

This period is when all fourth-year students are busy with their theses, including me. I had just returned from the faculty. When I got back to my room, I immediately called Arthit so he could go to sleep. Arthit said he wouldn’t sleep until I was safely back in my room, typical of someone who worries too much.    It’s been almost half a year since Uncle Direk seriously started the record label, with the main office in New York, making Arthit travel there often. Arthit said traveling to New York wasn’t a problem, the only issue was being away from me.    The newly established major record label is quite under the spotlight because it has many talented artists and producers. Starting wasn’t hard for someone with deep pockets and extensive connections like Uncle, what remains is the output. Arthit is one of the major shareholders of the company, both an artist and a producer.

Since he started making music, Arthit has always received good feedback. His songs started climbing the charts and became well-known. Both the main label and he himself have received a lot of media attention, which is the period when he’s building his fame widely.

Now he’s working on music with a very famous artist. Arthit said the work is going well; working with talented people allows him to learn a lot.

The view count for his latest song, released about a month ago, has already hit a hundred million. Arthit has done well as an artist; he has gained fame quickly, and as a producer for the label, the songs he helps with also turn out well.

One thing that has garnered attention is the fact that “he’s gay.” Since on Instagram, with nearly ten million followers, he constantly posts stories and pictures of me or us. There’s no hiding, it’s more about being open for the whole world to know. Most opinions from others tend to be positive; everyone supports our couple because the world has become more open-minded nowadays. There are only a few who are derogatory and homophobic.

Of course, we don’t pay attention to those harsh words. I hope one day their world will become more open. Even though their words can’t hurt us, they can hurt others because words are the most vicious weapon in the world.

I looked around the empty, wide penthouse, once thinking that such a spacious room would be very lonely if I lived alone. But now I realize that the loneliness isn’t because of the room’s size, but because he’s not here.

At least there’s Mr. Jeon. I played with him for a while, fed him, then went for a shower, continuing with my thesis in the quiet room. Before I knew it, I heard the alarm clock ringing; it was midnight. I had to call him.

It’s already one in the afternoon in New York, he hadn’t slept all night because he was working in the studio, stopping around five in the morning, but he wouldn’t go to bed until I got back to my room. I made a video call. It didn’t take long for him to answer with a groggy voice.

“It’s one in the afternoon.”

(Okay, I’m up) Arthit rubbed his eyes lightly. He was in the penthouse at the top of the record company building, set up to avoid long commutes. The room was dimly lit, his face showing reluctance to wake up.

“What are you doing this afternoon?”

(Recording.)

   “Oh.”

(Are you going to sleep yet?)

   “Probably in a little while.”

(Working on your thesis?)

   “Yeah.”

(What did the professor say?)

   “It’s okay, I can continue working on it.”

(Good, then you can sleep now, it’s late.)

   “I usually sleep later than this.”

(Don’t argue with me, when I’m not there, don’t be stubborn, okay?)

   “Understood, then give me another half hour.”

(Okay, I’m too lazy to get up anyway, can’t sleep well without you. Why didn’t you come with me?)

   “Where could I go?”

(Quit then.)

   “For what? I just have the thesis left to finish.”

(Yeah, I know, alright then, I’ll go.)

   “Don’t forget to eat.”

(I won’t forget, I’m starving. Who would forget to eat? Too bad, the restaurants in New York don’t like what you make.)

   “They’re better, right?”

(Yeah) he nodded, (But I want the taste that my wife makes; delicious food doesn’t suit me.)

   “Tolerate the good food for now, when you come back, I’ll make something not so good for you to eat.”

(Yeah, and what about you? Did you eat dinner?)

   “I ate, made something simple, that’s it.”

(Okay, then I’ll go, love you.)

   “Uh, love you too.”

(Take off your shirt and show me.)

   “No, go take a shower now.”

(You’re so stingy, wait until I get back then, fine, I’ll go.)

   “Hmm.”

And then the other side hung up. Although we’re far apart, his arousal never diminishes, last night he asked for phone sex, where we both masturbated while watching each other. It was quite embarrassing since I had never done it before, but after much coaxing, I always gave in, and eventually, I was carried away by the moment until it was over.

   I got up, feeling lazy, went to check if Mr. Jeon was asleep, then took a break outside on the balcony to enjoy the view before returning to work. I spent only half an hour as agreed with Arthit, and when the time was up, I prepared to go to bed.    Another night sleeping alone, just have to bear it for a few more days until he comes back.

   Returning from the faculty as usual, I stopped by the supermarket to buy fresh produce for tonight’s dinner. On the way, a motorcycle suddenly sped out from an alley. I caught a glimpse of something…before hearing a loud sound, and when I came to, I found myself lying in the middle of the road.

   The ground is so hot…

   Why am I seeing the sky while riding a bike?

   There were shouts all around. I tried to sit up, looked around, saw cars stopping and moving aside, and the other motorcycle that had come out of the alley had crashed as well.

   People came to help lift  Patcharamon, which had fallen on the road, and pushed it to the side of the road, also helping to gather my scattered items.

   “Are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?” a woman approached and asked. I shook my head lightly.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“You should go to the hospital to get your wounds checked, it’s close by.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Are you hurt? I’m sorry. I was in a hurry and didn’t check for traffic.” The other party, covered in dirt, came over, worried. The others who had helped were dispersing since they saw we were not seriously injured.

“I’m not hurt much. Be more careful next time, you’re at fault here.” I said with my usual calm expression and tone, though I was quite displeased in my heart that he did this, damn it, all the cabbage I bought was ruined, “Will you pay for the cabbage you ruined?”

“Huh? Oh, okay, I will pay for the car repairs and medical expenses.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Shall I take you to the hospital?”

“It’s okay, the car seems like it can still be driven.” I said. After observing, I noticed the front side light was cracked, the fender and side of the car were scratched, and one of the side mirrors was bent out of shape, unable to be turned back. I tried to turn it a couple of times, but it wouldn’t adjust properly.

“How much should I pay you?”

“Give me your number first, we’ll keep in touch.”

“Okay.”

The man gave me his number, and after we sorted things out, we parted ways. The first thing I did was try to call Arthit, but then I remembered he wasn’t here and didn’t want to disturb him while he was working, so I quickly hung up. I stopped by to drop off the motorbike at the shop since my injuries weren’t too severe. The shop said they’d contact me once it was fixed. I walked out and hailed a taxi to get back to the condo.

My condition now was pretty bad; my body was covered in dust, one trouser leg was torn at the knee with a scraped knee, and my elbow and upper arm were also injured.

“Hey Mr. Jeon, were you a good boy today?” I greeted Mr. Jeon who came out to meet me, petting him before going to get the first aid kit to treat my wounds, “I was thinking of making some fried cabbage with fish sauce, but this is really bad.” I grumbled to Mr. Jeon, deciding I’d have to boil some noodles for now.    I don’t fall off my bike often, only once before, and the cause was the same person. Last time, someone cut me off. This time, I was hit by a car speeding out of an alley.

   What would Arthit do if he found out?

   Would he be angry, complain, or get depressed like when I was assaulted before?

   The likelihood of Arthit rushing back from New York after finding out about my accident is very high, but if I don’t tell him, he might be even angrier when he returns. The wounds won’t heal in just a few days.

   Sigh, what a bad day.

   Not long after, the person I was thinking about video-called me. I reached for my phone, lifting it so the person on the other end could see my face.

   (Your work done yet? I’m about to go to sleep, are you in your room?)    “Uh, yeah, I am.” I answered, turning the camera around to show him I was in the room.

(Why do you look so pale?)

   “Arthit”

(Huh?)

   “I have something to tell you, don’t get mad.”

(What? Why would you say ‘don’t get mad’? Don’t tell me you have a lover, did you sneak someone into our room, Hey, that’s too much, how can you cheat just because your husband’s away for a few days, wife?) he pretended to protest. I looked at him calmly until he was the one who burst out laughing first,

(Ah, so what’s the matter?)

   I showed him the scraped elbow. Arthit’s eyes widened in shock.

(Hia, what happened! Are you okay? Who did this to you?)

   “My bike fell.”

(Fuck! Are you hurt anywhere else? Any other wounds? Does it hurt a lot?)    “My knee is scraped.” I said while lowering the phone screen to show the knee injury before looking back at the screen, “It doesn’t hurt, I’ve already treated it.”    (You did it yourself?)

   “Yes.”

(Can I trust you did it properly? Why not go to a clinic or hospital? I’ll send someone to take you.)

   “No need. I’ve taken care of it properly, the wound is very clean now.”

(Are you sure? Go check at the hospital again.)

   “Okay. If Arthit is that worried.” I replied. Arthit put the call on hold for a moment before calling back.

(And how did you fall?)

   “A motorcycle dashed out from an alley, he didn’t look for traffic.”    (Who?) his voice deepened with anger.

“I don’t know.” I shook my head, “I don’t know him, but he gave me his number.

I’ll contact him after the bike is fixed.”

(Give me his number.)

   “It’s fine.” I said, trying to calm him down, “He apologized, it wasn’t intentional. I wasn’t too happy about it, but there’s nothing we can do, it was an accident, no one wanted it to happen.”

(How can you know no one wanted it to happen? He might have waited for you to pass by before rushing out from the alley.)

   “Are you crazy? Who would do something like that?”

(How would I know? Give me his number.)

   “Why?”

(To investigate.)

   “No need.”

(Give it to me.)

   “Just to investigate, right? Don’t threaten or do anything to him.”

(Why are you protecting him?)

   “I’m not protecting him, but he didn’t mean it.”

(Okay, okay, I won’t do anything then, since you’re defending him like this.

Just to check if he really didn’t intend it, okay?)

   “Sigh, fine then, I’ll send it to you.”

(Good, now let me see the wound again) he said. So I had to move the camera to show him the injury once more, (I’ll come back to you.)

   “Here we go. No need.”

(Why? I’m worried about you like hell, especially when you’re on your motorbike. If you don’t get back to your room safely, I won’t be able to sleep. And what’s this, you’ve gone and fallen off your bike and got injured again, how can I stop worrying about you?)

   “Accidents happen all the time.”

(If I were there to pick you up and drop you off, this wouldn’t have happened) he said, his tone softening, his face full of concern, ruffling his own hair in frustration before letting out a big sigh, (I should have stayed with you, I really should have. I shouldn’t have come here at all. How can I be at ease?)

   “It’s okay, you have to work. I’m not hurt that badly anyway.”

(You’re lucky this time it’s not serious, but what about next time? You said accidents happen all the time, even if you’re not careless, others might be. Just because I’m not there for one day, you’ve already had an accident. How can I feel at ease like this?)

   “…” I didn’t respond immediately because I didn’t know what to say. Accidents, by definition, aren’t something anyone wants to happen. This time, I was lucky not to be seriously injured, even though I was riding carefully. But there are still those who are careless and cause trouble for others. “Then I’ll take the bus to the faculty instead.”

(Let me pick you up and drop you off. Hurry back.)

   “No, you should work. It’s important work. Plus, it’s not just about you. If you come back before others, it will cause trouble for everyone. I don’t want to be the one dragging your work down.”

(…)

   “Don’t make me feel bad for being the reason your work suffers.”

(Sigh, I can’t blame you because the real culprit is that bastard. Hey, why didn’t you take the car?)

   “I’ve told you many times there’s no parking. My faculty isn’t like the medical faculty. Even for motorcycles, there’s barely any space. You know how crowded it is at the university.”

(But if you take the bus, you’ll still have to walk, right?)

   “Yeah, that’s true.”

(I’ll arrange for someone to pick you up and drop you off, with security too.

I was going to do this from the start, but you said it was too much. See, if I

had ordered someone to follow you from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened.)

   “…Can’t argue with that.”

(Okay, this way I can be at ease.)

   “It doesn’t have to be that much… really.”

(Don’t be so particular. You say no to this, no to that. Do you want me to rush back or have someone else check on you? Choose.)

   “Is that all I get to choose from?”

(Yeah, what’s it gonna be?)

   “Then the latter.” I answered, reluctant to let him lose his job or work because of me.

(Do you want a bodyguard standing guard while you’re in class?)

   “No, no, not that much. Just someone to pick me up and drop me off is enough.”    (Okay, the person who’s supposed to take you to the hospital should be here now. They’re probably waiting downstairs. Should I have them come up or what?)

   “Let them wait downstairs. Alright, then I’m going.”

(Okay, I’ll wait.)

   “No, no, it must be around 4 AM there. You should sleep, Arthit.”

(No, I’ll wait.)

   “Alright, okay. I’ll call you later then.”

(Yeah.)

   I hung up, grabbed my wallet and phone, put them in my pocket, and then walked downstairs. I saw a shiny black car parked out front with three large men waiting. Of course, they were quite eye-catching to people around.

When I got there, one of them opened the door, gesturing for me to get in. I nodded and stepped inside.

One drove, another sat in the passenger seat, and the third sat in the back with me. There was no conversation in the car until we reached the hospital.

A hospital stretcher was waiting for me. I was helped onto it by two male nurses, feeling bewildered. I wanted to say I could walk myself, but it was too late.    I didn’t respond immediately because I couldn’t speak, accidents are things no one wants to happen, this time I was lucky not to be seriously injured. Even though I was riding carefully, there are still people who are careless and bring others down with them.

I was taken into the examination room, had my history taken, blood drawn, blood pressure measured, and X-rays done. Before I knew it, everything was done; I got medication for both oral and topical use. By the time I got back, it was quite late.    “What time should we pick you up tomorrow, sir?” one of the men in black asked as I got out of the car and was about to walk back into the condo.

“Oh, around nine-thirty, please.”

“Understood.”

They all bowed. I bowed back before turning to head back to my room. Even though the knee injury made walking a bit difficult, it was still manageable, and fortunately, the elbow injury wasn’t on my dominant side, otherwise, work would have been much harder.

When I got back to my room, I called Arthit immediately.

(How are you?) I found he was indeed waiting, just as he said. If I didn’t get back to my room safely, he wouldn’t sleep.

“Nothing serious. Just some scrapes, I’ve got the medication.”

(Okay. That’s good. I’ve instructed the housekeeper to clean up and prepare food for you. The injured need to eat a lot to heal quickly, and it has to be nutritious too. There’ll be a housekeeper in the morning to cook for you as well, until I get back.)

“Uh, okay, thank you.”

(And how are the three guys who escorted you? They didn’t do anything to annoy you, right?)

   “Not at all.” I shook my head, “They were very quiet. Didn’t say a word.”    (If you’re not okay with them, we can change them. These three are skilled, trustworthy.)

   “Uh-huh.”

(I should have had them look after you from the start, you shouldn’t have stopped me.)

   “At first, I really thought it was too much, but after this accident, I can’t argue anymore.”

(Yeah, think of it as making me feel at ease.)

   “Okay.”

We talked for a bit more before hanging up. I ate at the table until I was full, washed the dishes, then fed Mr. Jeon. After playing with him for a while, I sat down to watch TV, falling asleep on the sofa from exhaustion.

…

I woke up feeling hot and with a dry throat, turned off the TV, went to drink water from the fridge, and then went to bed. I saw Arthit’s shirt lying on the floor, bent down to pick it up, intending to put it in the laundry basket.

This is his favorite black T-shirt…

I brought it to my nose, inhaling his scent, remembering how we used to fall asleep in each other’s arms every night, but now the other side of the bed has been empty for days.

I decided to sleep with his shirt, lying down and reaching to turn off the light. The smell from this shirt was the most relaxing thing for me, the scent of the strong arms that always made me feel safe and warm.

And just as I was about to doze off again, I felt an ache in the middle of my body and started to feel an arousal in my lower abdomen.

Damn, why did I start thinking about something so lewd, but he’s not here…    My heart started beating faster, my breathing quickened, I exhaled hot air, my lower body began to twist with arousal. I lowered my hand to touch my erect member.

Oh…this is bad, I can’t get aroused just from the smell of his shirt.

“Ugh.” I bit my teeth and let out a soft moan as I started moving my hand, using my thumb to circle the tip, then gripping the sensitive part and starting to stroke rhythmically, “Hmm, ah, Arthit…”

Even though the air around was cool, my whole body was hot. I masturbated for nearly ten minutes but still felt it wasn’t enough. I tried using some lube on my rear, slowly pushing in a finger.

“Hmm, ugh.”

I moved my finger in and out before adding another, trying to imagine him there with me. It felt quite good, but I still felt it wasn’t enough.

I checked my phone to see it was past midnight, which meant it was past one in the afternoon in New York. Is he awake yet…

I decided to call. Not long after, he answered with a voice that was not as groggy as I expected.

(You’re still not asleep?)

   “Ah…Arthit.”

(…Why does your voice sound like that?)

   “Oh, Arthit, you’re awake?”

(Just woke up, about to take a shower, what’s up? But your voice is…)

   “What about it?”

(So seductive.)

“Uh…I, uh. I need some help with something.”

(…What?)

   “Turn on the camera.”

(Okay.)

   I reached to turn on the light, placed my phone against a pillow. I moved to sit in front of the camera, and when the other side turned on their camera, Arthit’s face was one of shock when he saw my state.

(Damn…damn, you) Arthit seemed stunned for a moment, he wasn’t wearing a shirt, indicating he was about to shower.

My current state was sitting facing the camera, pants off with my legs slightly spread, my erection visible and my back wet. I was circling my finger around my entrance, and the expression on the other side changed slightly as he licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair.

(Why suddenly…)

   “Uh…I got turned on by your scent, can you help me out?” I said in a low voice, the arousal wiping away all my shyness. Arthit walked back into his bedroom, placing his phone on a table before sitting on the bed.

His large erection was evident under the white towel he was wearing, which he then removed to reveal his arousal. I swallowed hard.

I want to taste…

(You…move closer to the camera.)

   “Uh.” I moved closer as he instructed, my hand starting to stroke my own erection up and down.

(I want to do it for you so bad.)

   “Uh, do it then.”

(Put your fingers in like that, two fingers, good, ah…let me see, spread your legs wider.)

“Ah! Ah…this, fingers aren’t enough, Arthit…put it in, please.”

(Yeah, I’m dying to put it in) his voice was hoarse with a slight rasp, seeing him masturbating only added to my arousal. I spread my legs wider and quickened the pace with my fingers, (Hmm…Dao, ah.)

   “Ugh, Arthit…ugh, faster, ugh.” I moaned louder, speeding up the rhythm with my hands both in front and behind, glancing at the phone screen where he also seemed to be very aroused. I imagined his hands caressing my body, his hot tongue licking all over, the low moans in his throat, and the rhythm of his breathing.    Soon, we both finished almost simultaneously. We were both breathing heavily. I reached for some tissues to clean up.

(Yesterday you were still shy, weren’t you? What’s this now, got aroused by the smell of my shirt?) he teased with a satisfied look on his face, then after cleaning up, he got up, grabbed his phone, and walked out of the bedroom.

“I…it just happened. Normally we do it every day, but you’re not here, being Arthit.”

(Yeah, I understand. Doing it alone and doing it with you are totally different, but hearing you moan and watching you help yourself is a bit better than nothing.)

   “Ah…yeah, that’s true.”

(And why aren’t you asleep yet?)

   “I fell asleep while watching TV earlier in the evening, just woke up and moved to the bedroom.”

(Oh, and the wound doesn’t hurt, right?)

   “Not much, and where are you going now?”

(Just going to continue recording, but I didn’t finish it properly yesterday.)

   “Hmm, keep up the good work, it must be exhausting.”

(Hah, why would I be exhausted? I felt quite energetic just now.)

“Really?”

(Yeah, so are you going to sleep now?)

   “I’m going to sleep now, I’m exhausted after that.”

(Alright, goodnight. Call if anything happens, don’t do it alone secretly.)

   “What if I call while you’re working?”

(I’ll just go to the bathroom then.)

   “Crazy. Focus on your work. I’m going to sleep.”

(Yeah, sweet dreams.)

   “Uh.”

I hung up the call. After that, the exhaustion from the whole day and from what we just did made it easy for me to fall asleep.

…

I was standing at the airport entrance with the three bodyguards who had been picking me up and dropping me off between the faculty and the condo for the past few days. Today was the day Arthit was coming back, so we were here to pick him up.

We didn’t wait long before he emerged from the airport, looking hurried. Upon seeing me, he rushed over and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back. Soon after, he loosened his embrace.

“Standing and waiting like this, isn’t your wound bothering you? I could have come back on my own.”

“I wanted to come and pick you up, plus my wound is doing well.”

“Okay, then let’s hurry back to the room.”

“Uh.”

The black car stopped in front of the condo. We went up to the room together, holding hands all the way out of longing. I couldn’t help but smile seeing the person I had been thinking about every day come back.

As soon as we entered the room, the tall figure pulled me into a hug and kissed me, the touch eager. We took off our clothes; it was sex without much preparation. Initially, I thought phone sex would help, but it didn’t. Instead, it made me want him even more.

We started at the doorway, moved to the console table by the sofa in front of the TV, then the dining table, and finally the balcony.

It was almost as if he intended to leave our mark all over the room.

Almost two hours passed. I lay exhausted on the bed, my body relaxed from the heat of the bath we just took together. The fatigue and the perfect warmth almost lulled me to sleep several times.

“Can we do it again tonight?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Not up for it?” He asked, sitting down on the bed, reaching out to gently stroke my cheek.

“Two hours…”

“Hah, I’ve been holding back for one week.”

“I’ve been too, but not as much as you Arthit.”

“The arousal is different.” He raised an eyebrow. I pouted in annoyance.

“I didn’t make your wound hurt, right?” He asked. I shook my head in response,

“Good, uh, before we flirt, get up and let’s talk for a bit.”

“Why? Do I have to get up?”

“Yeah, get up.” He said. So, I pushed myself up to sit on the bed. His hand gently stroked my head with affection, “I love you a lot.”

“Hmm.” I nodded, “I love you too.”

“I don’t like being away from you, not even for a day, I miss you and worry about you. When I found out you got hurt, I nearly went crazy, constantly thinking about what you’re doing, where you are, if you’re okay. But because of work, I have no choice. We can’t have Direk set up the company here, it has to be abroad because all our label’s artists are foreigners.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re about to graduate soon.”

“Yeah.”

“Will you move in with me after you graduate?”

“To New York?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, “Do you want to live in a condo, a penthouse, a house, or a mansion? You can choose anywhere. If you want to work in your field of study, I’ll find you a job there, but if you want to paint, you can paint anywhere, right?”    “…Oh.” I was silent for a moment. Just looking at his serious eyes and expression, my heart melted immediately.

“Live with me, I don’t want to be apart from you anymore.”

“Hmm.”

I decided to agree and nodded right away. His worried expression eased into a broad smile.

Because I had always decided that if it was him, I would go anywhere with him.

“Were you hesitant at first?” He asked, lightly ruffling my hair.

“No, just a bit surprised.”

“Uh, then let’s prepare for it. So, how do you want to live?”

“Any way is fine.”

“Okay, then how about a mansion? A mansion on the hill would be quiet and beautiful.”    “Okay.”

“…”

“?”

Suddenly, he went silent. I looked at him, confused.

“What nationality are you right now?”

“…Thai, why?”

“Would you be okay with becoming an American citizen?”

“Huh?”

“Marry me.”

“…”

This time, I was speechless for longer than before, my heart began to beat rapidly again, before he took out a small white box, opened it to reveal a simple ring inside. I stared at it until he asked:

“Your answer?”

“Yes! Yes…yes, khrap.” I answered, overwhelmed by indescribable emotions, tears welling up in my eyes.

He took my left hand and placed the ring on my ring finger; it fit perfectly.    “It fits perfectly, my sense is pretty good, huh…” Before he could finish, I hugged him tightly. He held me back and returned the embrace.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for saying yes too.”

“Ah…I love you so much.”

“Yeah, I love you too.”

After hugging until satisfied, I slowly released my arms, looking at the silver ring on my hand with a feeling of unfamiliarity because I had never worn a ring before.    At that moment, he handed me another ring, one that looked similar but was larger. I took it and put it on him.

“Does it suit me?” He lifted his hand, looking at it with some uncertainty.

“It suits you.”

“I was thinking of getting you a big diamond ring, but I was afraid you’d get mugged. Big and fancy is nice, but it can attract trouble.”

“This one. I like it.”

“Good, from now on, wear it so others know you’re taken.”

“Arthit you have to wear this all the time too.”

“Yeah. Even if you didn’t say so, I’d wear it. I love to show off, you know that.” He said in good spirits, let’s hurry up and register our marriage, you…    I leaned in to kiss his lips, straddling his lap. Arthit kissed me back. I straightened up and reached to undo my shirt buttons.

“You said you were tired.”

“It’s better to reward my lovely future husband.”

Upon hearing that, Arthit smirked with satisfaction before leaning closer, opening his mouth to lick my reddened, erect nipple with his hot tongue.

“You can’t stop me now.”

“Ah…ugh.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 2: Goblin Slayer

   Arthit

   The large moon floated in the sky, amidst the forest. The goblins began to emerge from the darkness, the strong wind carrying the scent of wildflowers. I, leaning against a tree, woke up to find that the person in my arms had vanished.

   “Dao!” I called out in surprise, scanning around, seeing only the surrounding trees, the campfire we had built was now extinguished.

   I quickly got up to follow the trail, my heart racing with fear of potential dangers around us. I saw long drag marks on the ground. I ran after them immediately.

   The small footprints made it clear who they belonged to.

   Those damn bastards…

   I followed the trail deep into the forest. Despite being exhausted, I kept running.

As I entered their territory, I reached for my sword, ready to fight.

   I held my breath in shock when I saw the bright red blood smeared all over the ground. I moved closer, focusing my gaze, and my heart sank.

   “Dao!!”

   The small body lay motionless on a pool of blood, the red liquid still flowing from his throat without stopping. I rushed to press on the large bite wound to stop the bleeding, but it was too late…

   Dao wasn’t breathing anymore…

   I looked at the person in front of me whose body was starting to cool down. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing; my heart, which had been beating so hard, now seemed to have stopped. I tried to convince myself repeatedly that this wasn’t real…it wasn’t real, only for reality to pull me back.

   I screamed like a madman, tears streaming uncontrollably because my heart was breaking into pieces. I reached out to hug the person I loved so dearly, my body now covered in blood.

   “Aaaah!!”

   !!!

   “Ah, Arthit! Arthit.” I heard a familiar voice calling my name. I opened my eyes wide, my heart pounding, looking around to find myself in the room, with Dao beside me, looking at me with confusion. I immediately lunged to hug the smaller person. Dao embraced me back, comforting my trembling, panting self, “Was it a nightmare?”

“Yeah…a damn nightmare. I dreamt we were hunters, going on an adventure together, camping in the woods. I woke up to see you had been taken and killed by goblins. My heart nearly stopped, you were lying there in a pool of blood, not breathing, and you were cold. Shit, Dao, I thought you were dead.”

I spoke rapidly while hugging him tighter, calming down when I realized Dao was safe, still warm, and breathing.

“It’s okay, it was just a dream.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t know I was dreaming at the time, sigh.” I let out a big sigh of relief, slowly releasing the hug, “I was running in the dream, but damn, I’m tired in real life too. I ran my feet off following your trail, I was so worried, damn those goblins, killing anyone, they had to kill my husband.”

“Why would you dream about goblins?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t done anything related to goblins recently.” I shook my head, thinking back on whether I had done anything with goblins, but I couldn’t remember, “And why would goblins kidnap and kill you? Do goblins kill people?”

“Goblins in games as monsters do kill people.”

“Right.” I nodded, “I’ll go take a shower first, I’m soaked in sweat, damn, I’m so tired.”

“Okay. I’ll go make some food.”

“Is it morning already?”

“Yes, it’s eight o’clock.”

“You can go back to sleep, you don’t have class today, right?”    “It’s fine, I’m already awake.” Dao shook his head.

“I made you wake up, huh?”

“Yeah, I woke up because you were mumbling something next to me, it seemed like a nightmare, so I got up to comfort you, then you started screaming, good thing we’re in the penthouse and not in a dorm.”

“Yeah.”

I got up to shower and change clothes, waiting to have breakfast together, and then Dao would continue with his thesis. Recently, Dao has been quite busy with his project because it’s the last thing he needs to do before graduating.

   As for me, I just released my latest song, which was a collaboration with another artist. After months of back-to-back work, I finally got some rest. I would like to go out and travel, but I definitely wouldn’t leave Dao alone unnecessarily.    The turmoil from the nightmare hadn’t subsided; since they were goblins that don’t exist in real life, I couldn’t seek revenge on them. But they dared to kill my wife in my dream. Who would just let that slide? The image of Dao lying dead in a pool of blood was still vivid in my mind.

   And then I realized, the solution for revenge wasn’t hard at all.

   People can kill goblins…in games, right?

   Instead of looking up game information myself, which I’m too lazy for, it would be easier to call someone who’s an expert in this field.

   (What’s up, bro?)

   “North, are you free?”

(I’m free, what’s up?)

   “Do you know any goblin-killing games? Recommend one.”

(Kill goblins? Why do you want to kill them?)

   “They killed my husband.”

(Huh?) North’s voice came through the line. I could immediately picture his confused, stupid face; it was an audible image, (Say that again.)

   “They killed my husband in my dream, I’m pissed, I want to get back at them.” North was silent for a moment before bursting into loud laughter, laughing so hard for nearly a minute that he seemed on the verge of dying from it.

“Had enough?”

(Yeah, yeah, damn, my stomach hurts. I thought I was the dumb one, but you’ve surpassed me in every way, bro) North said in a weak voice, probably from laughing so much.

“Do you think I’m dumb?”

(Yeah, damn, who gets mad at goblins for killing their husband in a dream?)    “Imagine me running to find my husband only to see him lying in a pool of blood, damn, the image is still vivid to me. They nearly tore his throat out, isn’t that too much, North? What do you think? Do you think my husband deserves something like that? He’s never done anything to anyone.”

(He doesn’t deserve it, I mean, you shouldn’t take it so seriously, but I get you, man. I know you love my friend a lot. Even if the whole world calls you an idiot or a brainless fool. I’ll call you that too, you damn buffalo.)

   “Damn it.”

(Kidding, bro. There’s actually a new online game that’s just been released, it has a good system, nice graphics, and there are various types of goblins.

There are many monsters, and goblins are one of them.)

   “Yeah, that’s the one.”

(Actually, you could find a goblin-killing game to play on websites.)

   “No, I want something grand. Send me the link to that game.”

(Okay, okay, I’ll play with you.)

   “Are you that free? What about your thesis?”

(Damn, shut up, don’t ask me that. Let’s say I’ll relax by killing goblins with you. I’ll help you get revenge, okay?)

   “That’s good then, I’ll wipe them all out from the server, you damn bastard.”

So, I downloaded an online game to play with North to level up. It was as beautiful as advertised, but first, we had to create our characters.

“What class are you playing, North? Are we going to team up?”

(Let’s team up. It’ll be easier to grind together. I’m going to be an archer. I’m a carry, bro.)

   “I’ll go with a Thief, seems to fit my face.” I said. After skimming through the character classes, I found that the short-sword class looked cool, emphasizing speed and agility, though it was just the name; it probably wouldn’t involve stealing in the game, but if I could steal, that would be nice, “Fuck, there’s so much to customize here, it’s annoying.” I complained when I saw how many customization options there were for the character: hair color, skin color, height, shoulder width, neck length, and more.

(Details are important. I’ve finished creating mine, entering the game now.)    “You’re quick, huh? I like this Mohawk, damn, it’s so over the top, it’s sticking out from under the helmet.” I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw how long the character’s hair was, sticking out from under the helmet.

(Fuck. I chose the pineapple hairstyle.)

   “Alright, I’m done too. What did you name your character? Oh, forgot to name it, what should the character be called?”

(Chief Electrician.)

   “What?”

(Come on. I want to be a Chief Electrician, aiming high.)

   “Oh.” I exclaimed, remembering that North studies engineering, “What should I name mine? Help me think of something.”

(What? If you’re going to kill goblins, just name it Goblin Slayer.)

   “That name is already taken, damn it. Who beat me to killing goblins?”

(You’re thief, hmm, Heart-Stealing Thief.)

   “No way.”

(Heart Robber.)

   “It’s the same thing.”

(Wife’s Slap Dodger.)

   “Hah, someone like me, never dodged.”

(Heal the buffalo until it gets good.)

   “I’m not playing as a monk, so who’s the buffalo here, you?”

(My wife sent me to do laundry.)

   “We only send laundry.”

(The round-faced merchant.)

   “I’m not primarily a trader, and what’s with your ‘round face’?”

(Buys only trash.)

   “I’m a Thief.”

(You’re so fussy, I’ve thought of a hundred names and you still haven’t chosen one. I’ve been running around the city waiting for you) North complained, sounding exhausted.

“Let me see the names you’ve come up with for me first, damn it.”

(What name do you usually use in games? You can use an initial like in your previous games.)

   “No, I’m bored of that.”

“Arthit, what are you doing?” Dao’s voice sounded. I turned to look at him immediately.

“Playing a game with North, I’m going to get revenge on the goblins that killed you last night, want to play?”

The other person shook his head gently.

“Let’s play, huh. Also, if you have time, go buy some vegetables for me.”

“Sure, what do you need?”

“I’ve sent you the list on LINE.”

“When do you need them?”

“Tonight.”

“Cool.”

(Here’s your name, Sent to Buy Vegetables by My Wife.)

   “No, I want to use ‘Dao’s Husband’ as my character name, can I?” I jokingly asked Dao, who was standing beside me, raising his hand to lightly hit my shoulder.

“Absolutely not.”

“Help me name it, North is no help at all.”

“And why did you choose this hairstyle? Your helmet’s full of holes now.” Dao said after seeing my Mohawk that pierced through the helmet.

“See, I think it’s cool that it pierces through the helmet.”

(I don’t think it’s any better than what I thought, bro) North interjected.    “This shows my character well.” I typed in ‘Pierce the Helmet’ and luckily, no one had used it yet, so I could finally enter the game. Meanwhile, Dao went back to his work, “Where are you, North?”

(I’m by the fountain, in front of a woman in an orange dress.)

   “It’s all orange.”

(A light orange, with a long skirt, bro.)

   “Where? I’m following the orange dress.”

(NPCs don’t walk.)

   “So you’re with an NPC but didn’t say so, just said a woman in an orange dress.

Alright, you better add me.”

(Yeah, yeah.)

   “And where are the goblins?”

(Take it easy, bro, let’s take some quests first. Once we hit level ten, we can go find goblins in the forest. Goblins are all over level ten, you’ll just die if you go now) North explained. The game’s leveling system was straightforward; we had to fight monsters close to our level to gain experience, and once we had enough experience, we’d level up.

Going after monsters that are higher level than us is unwise because our attacks would barely affect them, and they’d hit us hard. If we die, we lose experience and might drop items from our inventory.

“Hey, how did you get to level five, you bastard?”

(I’ve been fighting monsters around here waiting for you, bro, go take some quests first.)

   Quests or missions help increase experience, allowing us to level up faster.

“No, I won’t do anything, I’m going to fight goblins.”

(Then you’re fucked, bro. What are you going to fight them with at level one?)

   “We have two people, we can gang up on them.”

(Goblins are monsters that attack on sight. If we go wandering around there, they’ll gang up on us.)

   “Don’t be scared, my knife is well-sharpened, see the knife in my hand? It’s shiny, razor-sharp.” I said, pressing the action for my character to zoom in on the knife. North’s character, holding a bow, turned to look at me quietly.

(Is that a fruit knife? It’s tiny, can it even kill a worm, I ask you.)

   “That’s how you start in the game, I should go buy a new knife.”

(Buy? With what money? You just started the game, bro, why are you so impatient?)

   “I’m pissed at the goblins!”

(I know! Wait, where are you running to?)

   “To find the goblins, they’re in the northern forest, come, North, follow me.”    (Damn it) North cursed in frustration, running after me. We teleported into the forest. At first, we encountered level one monsters. I walked past them without caring, moving further until we reached level five monsters, which then attacked me.

“Damn, North, why are they attacking me!”

(There are two types of monsters, those that attack first and those that don’t. Like these spiders, they attack first. You’re almost dead, stay strong, keep shooting!)

   “Why aren’t my attacks working!”

(You’re level one! Oh, it’s dead, watch out for the other one.)

   “Damn it, you’re laughing at me! My knife isn’t sharp enough, North, I can’t even kill a spider!” I complained, knowing full well that my attacks wouldn’t work, but when you’re impatient, what can you do? “Let’s go on.”

(Go on where? We’re about to die here, take the quest, take the quest!)

   “No. Where are the goblins!”

I led North to the northern forest, saw a wooden gate labeled ‘Goblin Den’, and ran in without hesitation. We encountered small green goblins standing in front of us. My anger surged, and I started spamming skills at them.

“Last night you killed my husband, was it you? Die, die, die!”

(Damn, you’re good at this, but you’re only dealing one damage per hit, I feel sorry for you.)

   “North, why are you just standing there, they’re ganging up on me now, damn, die, die, I’m the one who’s going to die, damn it, back to the city.” I sighed as my level one Thief lay dead on the ground, my hatred and anger towards goblins multiplying, “Not only did you kill my husband in my dream, now you’ve killed me in the game too.”

(Buffalo. I told you to level up first, meet me in the town by the fountain.)

   “Yeah, yeah.”

North and I kept playing, leveling up until we could take on goblins. I headed straight to their lair without hesitation, mercilessly killing and burning them, since monsters respawn continuously anyway.

(I’m so freaked out by the sound and sight of goblins now) North grumbled because he had been fighting goblins with me for nearly half an hour, leveling up almost to thirty despite only fighting level ten goblins, (Let’s go fight something else, bro, my XP bar isn’t moving anymore.)

   “No! Just a bit more, I really hate this sword-wielding one, he must have been the one who killed my wife last night.”

(How do you know?)

   “He’s carrying a sword, my wife got her throat cut last night.”

(Did you see it with your own eyes when Dao got his throat cut?)

   “No, by the time I got there, he was already dead.”

(Then how do you know who did it?)

   “My Hunter instincts tell me so, in my dream, I was Hunter.”

(Oh…whatever) North replied reluctantly, forced to keep fighting goblins with me out of boredom. After I was satisfied with killing goblins, I planned to log off to buy vegetables for my wife, (So, you’re making me fight these goblins, and as soon as you’re done, you’ll leave me, is that it?)

   “Exactly, see you.”

(Yeah, yeah, call me if you play again.)

   “Yeah.”

And then I hung up on North. After wiping out the goblin clan in the game, I felt much more at ease. Seeing Dao deeply focused on his work, I decided not to disturb him. I checked Line where Dao had listed the vegetables he wanted me to buy, grabbed the essentials, and headed out.

   The supermarket wasn’t too far, and the weather was nice today, not too hot. The condo offered bike rentals for health-conscious people or those looking to save on transport costs. Since I felt like biking, I decided to rent a housekeeper’s bike.

   Why a housekeeper’s bike?

   Because it’s perfect for going shopping for vegetables.

   “How sweet and lovely.” I murmured to myself while straddling the pink bicycle with a woven basket in front.

Damn, this is so out of my usual style, surely people will stare at me while I ride this. They might think I stole the bike.

I rang the bike’s bell a bit to get into the mood of going shopping, seeing my beloved black big bike parked not far away. I thought to myself, sorry, it’s not your turn yet. Ha, a big bike isn’t suitable for buying vegetables; it’s got to be a housewife’s bike!

I rode out of the condo onto the main road. Riding a bike here isn’t very safe since there’s no bike lane, but that’s fine. This is just for buying vegetables.    I pedaled leisurely, the breeze was gentle, and big clouds blocked the sun. Before long, I reached the supermarket.

I checked the list of vegetables and bought them one by one. Some I didn’t recognize, but if the sign said it was what I needed, I grabbed it. After buying the vegetables, I was ready to head back to the condo, but…

It started raining…

Damn it.

I could only curse to myself. This was the worst luck, there was no sign of rain earlier. I stood in front of the supermarket holding a bag of fresh vegetables with a sinking heart.

If I ride back now, I’m definitely going to get soaked. No wonder I suddenly felt like riding a bike, ha, the rain tricked me into riding the bike just to pour down on me like this…

I waited for a while, but there was no sign that the rain would stop. I let out a big sigh before deciding to ride back in this condition; the stuff I bought was just vegetables anyway, they would be washed.

Thinking like that, I rode my bike back through the rain.

The rain got heavier. I cursed it for the tenth time, pedaling with all my might, eyes forward, completely drenched. People looking from outside must think I’m crazy.

And now, stuck at a red light…

I had no choice but to stop at the red light, wiping the rain off my face. After a while, a big bike pulled up next to me. I looked over, and our eyes met. Even with the helmet on, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize this dear friend.

“Johan!” I called out loudly, lightly tapping his arm because his bike was bigger, making me look shorter on my bicycle.

Jo looked at me, silent. He didn’t respond, just pretended not to hear and turned his face away.

“Don’t act like you don’t know me.”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“And where are you going?”

“I said don’t talk to me.”

“Why didn’t you take the car out in this rain?”

“How was I supposed to know it would rain? It started raining after I’d been out for a while, and the weather forecast didn’t say anything.” Jo said with exasperation, glancing at me, “And what about you? Who would be out here cycling in the rain like this?”

“I just went shopping for my wife, and it started raining on the way back. I was too lazy to wait so I just biked out.”

“Why a housekeeper’s bike? Do you think you’re that cute?”

“Aren’t I cute?” I teased, Jo quickly looked away. I couldn’t help but laugh, “I think for shopping, it has to be a housekeeper’s bike, it can’t be anything else, not even a road bike.”

“Oh, I see.”

“And where are you heading?”

“To the office.”

“You’re as wet as a drowned puppy.”

“I have a change of clothes at the office.”

“Wow, prepared guy.”

“Yeah, it’s green now, be careful cycling.”

“Yeah, you too.”

And then the red big bike sped off, unlike me who had to slowly pedal the pink housekeeper’s bike with difficulty. If you ask who’s cooler between me and Jo right now, it’s definitely me, riding that pink housekeeper’s bike is undeniably cool.

After a while, I reached the condo, completely soaked. As I walked up to my room, I noticed the hallway was already wet, guessing that others in the condo must have also come back in the rain.

I knocked on the door, Dao opened it, his face surprised at my state. I quickly grabbed a dry towel.

“Why are you this wet? I thought you took the car.”

“I rode a bike.”

“Huh?”

“There are bikes for rent downstairs, I think a bike is definitely suitable for going shopping.”

“For heaven’s sake, you could have called me to pick you up.”

“Why would you pick me up? I can get back on my own.”

“And what if you catch a cold?”

“I won’t catch a cold.” I said proudly, raising an eyebrow at my own toughness.

Dao sighed heavily.

“So they say that crazy people don’t catch colds, huh?”    “That’s right.” I nodded.

“Take off your clothes.”

“Looking for something?” I asked with a mischievous gleam in my eye, only to get a light punch on the chest from Dao.

“They’re wet, take them off, go take a shower.”

“Okay, okay.” I agreed, setting the vegetable bag on a nearby table, stripping off all my wet clothes, and was about to walk into the bathroom, “Are you sure you won’t do it?” I asked with hope, turning back to him. Dao shook his head gently.

“Not now, go shower.”

“Yes, sir.”

It took a while for the rain to stop. I watched Dao work all day, and before I knew it, evening had come. Dao made dinner with the vegetables I had bought myself. While we were eating dinner together, my phone rang; it was one of my friends from a different faculty calling.

(Arthit, want to drink?)

   “Tonight?”

(Yeah, around nine.)

   “Who’s going, and which bar?” I asked, and he listed off a bunch of friends we often drank with, including some soccer friends, “Okay, I’ll ask my wife first.” (Hey, you never had to ask anyone before, now you’re asking your wife? Are you afraid of your wife, friend?) the voice at the other end teased playfully.    “It’s called respect. Who’s afraid of their wife? Right, Dao?” I looked up to ask the person sitting across from me. Dao looked up, confused, then nodded. I reached out to ruffle his hair playfully, “I’ll call you back after I talk with my wife.”

(Yeah, yeah, call me after you’re done talking.)

   “Yeah.” I hung up, “Friends invited me to drink.”

“Where, what time, with who?”

“Midway, at 9 PM.” I answered, then listed the friends’ names as I heard them earlier. Dao nodded in acknowledgment.

“Hmm, I’ll pick you up, so you won’t disturb others if you’re drunk on the way back.”

“Really, you’ll let me go?”

“Yeah.”

“Why would you let me go?”

“Why? Don’t you want to go?” Dao looked up while taking a bite of rice.    “I want to go. Haven’t drunk with these guys in a while, but are you really okay with it?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? Don’t other partners get jealous and not want their partner to go drinking?”

“…” Dao furrowed his brows in confusion, “I trust you Arthit.”

“Ugh, want to come with me?”

“No, go hang out with your friends. I need to keep working.”

“You can come for a little while, if you say you have work to do, we can use that as an excuse to leave early.”

“It’s fine, go drink with your friends.” He said, standing up and placing the empty plate in the sink, “Do you want me to be jealous like other partners?”    “Yeah, I mean, if I ask to go to a bar, you should be a little reluctant, it’s annoying, especially when you know how hot I am.” I grumbled, wondering if I really wanted to go drink with them. I did, since it had been a while, but I also wanted Dao to stop me if he was jealous or worried about others coming onto me. I would have complied and stayed in the room easily.

Dao walked over, making me turn my chair away from the table. I slowly moved the chair as he wanted, and Dao sat down straddling my lap, wrapping his arms around my neck while holding my waist with his slender arms, looking up at my face with a sweet expression.

His thin lips gently kissed mine. I pushed my tongue into the kiss, the slow rhythm making my heart flutter. After a while, Dao pulled away from the kiss and used his lips on my ear and neck. I tilted my head slightly to give him more access, then felt a sharp pain at the base of my neck.

“Showing ownership, huh?” Dao smiled. I smiled back, satisfied that he’d left his mark while I was about to leave, but I pulled him back by the waist first. I kissed him hungrily because I felt the light kiss earlier wasn’t enough.

Because the passionate kiss made us feel aroused, before things escalated further, I decided to stop, knowing I had to go out. I didn’t want to leave things hanging.    We broke the kiss, sweet eyes looking at each other, our wet lips touching once more.

“Be back before midnight, don’t let anyone get close, don’t drink too much, I’ll worry.” He said in a sweet, pleading tone, making my heart flutter.

“Uh, understood.”

Dao dropped me off at the bar at the appointed time. I walked into the bar, encountering an atmosphere I hadn’t experienced in a while. Upon seeing my friends, I immediately joined them at the table.

“Heard your wife didn’t let you come?” one of my friends teased.

He let me, but I have to be back before midnight.”

“Okay, okay. That’s good, understanding the situation when you have a partner, get a glass for Arthit.”

And then we started drinking and chatting happily. Some friends left the table to toast with others. I hardly left the table at all.

   If it were before, I wouldn’t miss the chance to toast with many people around our table, but now, I only thought about my wife. He must be working now.    Before leaving, we only kissed briefly. I want to kiss him again, the sweet taste still lingering in my mouth. If I hadn’t come out, we could have continued, thinking about it made me a bit frustrated, ha.

   Seeing that many friends weren’t at the table, I took the opportunity to go outside for a smoke to change the atmosphere. Every time I drink, I crave a cigarette, and saying I want to smoke gives me an excuse to kiss Dao.

   Dao doesn’t mind if I smoke occasionally, so it’s fine. I borrowed a cigarette and a lighter from a friend before heading out to the balcony.

   There were a few people smoking and talking outside. I didn’t pay attention; the alcohol was starting to make me dizzy. I didn’t want to drink too much because I had promised Dao, but they said if I didn’t get drunk, they wouldn’t let me leave, so I decided to drink quickly, get drunk, and go back to my wife. Now, I was just the right amount of tipsy.

   Everything is about my wife, I deserve the best husband award.

   Suddenly, someone walked up and stood next to me, a small guy by himself. I wanted to move away but didn’t get the chance; he spoke to me first.

“Hey, standing here alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I have a cigarette?”

“It’s my friend’s.” I answered. It’s not that I’m stingy, it’s just not mine. I don’t know if the owner would allow it, but the person next to me paused slightly.

“Okay. I’m Data, what about you?”

“Arthit.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

“Oh, so I should call you ‘Phii’.”

“Hmm.”

“Do you have a boyfriend yet?”

“I do.” My answer made the other person look a bit disappointed. I continued smoking, thinking he would leave after a while.

“Is your boyfriend here with you?”    I shook my head.

“Oh, why isn’t your boyfriend here? You’re so hot, everyone in the bar is looking at you. Isn’t he jealous at all?”    …Bastard.

I wanted to reply like that, but I could only say it in my mind.

“He’s working.”

“Oh, so where are you heading next? I came with friends, but my friends are going with others, that’s too bad.”

“I’m not going with my friends.”

“Well, my friends are going with others.”

“Then go with them, it’ll be fun with more people.” I said what I thought, even though I understood what the other was implying, something like wanting to join me.

“That won’t work, I’d be the third wheel. By the way, Arthit, have you graduated?”

I was completely fed up with being interrogated like this. I decided to go back into the bar, but my shirt was grabbed before I could.

“Where are you going…” the other person started with a pleading look, “Or are you not into guys?”

“No.” I shook my head, “As I said, I have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t mind.”

   …Excuse me, say that again? Whether you mind or not isn’t the point here, is it?

   “Don’t come closer, my partner is jealous.”

“He’s not even here.”

“Listen.” I said seriously, my mind slowed from the alcohol, trying to process what to say, “I, on behalf of myself, will say ‘I’ to make it clearer.”    The other person didn’t respond, just looked shocked.

“I love my husband so much, you know? He’s pretty calm, kind of cold, he’s not really jealous of me, I don’t know why, even though I’m this hot, you see, right? Everyone in the bar is looking at me. When my friend called to invite me out, I wanted my wife to say something like, ‘Don’t go, I’m jealous,’ but you know what? Nothing. Not a word came out, what am I supposed to think? I was kind of hurt.”

“…”

“But I can’t stay hurt because my husband is so cute, he says he worries about me, yeah, I understand, I get that he worries, but that’s different from being jealous, don’t you think?”

“…Huh, are you asking me?”

“Yeah.”

“Well…I think…”

“Yeah, I know he’s worried, but my wife said not to let anyone get close, that’s jealousy, right? Look at this mark on my neck, he did this before I left, this is evidence of jealousy. So, he’s jealous too, right? With a husband as handsome as me, who wouldn’t be jealous, right?”

“…”

“Wow, silent now? You were talking so much before, now you’ve gone quiet, what’s up with you?”

“Data….”

“My wife, he’s so cute, the cutest, I want to buy the whole world and put it in his hands, I want to give him everything, the word ‘cute’ was made for him alone. Even if he’s calm, like a robot.”

“Robot?”

“Yeah, my wife is an alien, you know. I don’t know from which planet Dao is from, but damn, he’s so cute.”

“An alien too?”

“Yeah, an alien. The reason the food isn’t tasty these days is because human taste buds and alien taste buds are different, right? Yeah, I’m sure that’s it. There’s no way a person can cook every day and not get better, Hia, but he’s getting better.

Who says my wife isn’t developing? If you say that again, I’ll slap you.”

“You’re talking to yourself.”

“It’s getting tasty, it’s getting better, I want to say I’m looking forward to eating his cooking every day, don’t stress about it, I love him, you know, love him to death. Right now, I’m missing him, I want to go back. I don’t know if when I’m not around, he sneaks back to his home planet, or if his current parents are just human parents who adopted him. If he sneaks back to his own planet, why don’t I know about it? I hold him every night, never let him out of my arms…or maybe it’s when I go to New York, should I put a camera in our room? What do you think?”

“…Fuck, what are you talking about?”

“Come on, so, are you going with friends or not?”

“Don’t mess with me!”

“Oh, come on.”

“Data, how did it go with that hot guy? What’s his name?”

“His name is Arthit, he’s a senior. He’s hot, but it seems like he’s not all there.

It’s a pity, but I think we should stay away.”

…

Daotok

   I got a call from Arthit around half past eight, and rushed out to pick him up. I initially thought he’d stay longer. When I got there, I saw Arthit sitting with his arms crossed on a sofa, and his friends at the table greeted me.

“He’s already drunk and ready to go, it’s like he was in a hurry to get drunk so he could go home quickly.” one of the friends said, “No one’s been bothering him, so you can be at ease. Maybe just when he went out for a smoke, but I saw he talked to someone for a bit before walking away, probably chased off by Arthit.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Arthit, your wife is here to pick you up, wake up.”

“My wife?”

“Yeah, the wife you were talking about, look, he’s come to take you home.”    “Wifeee!” Arthit yelled out long, rushing to hug my waist while still on the sofa, rubbing his face against my shirt, “Wife, I missed you so much.”

“Oh, you damn wife-lover.”

“Have you ever seen Arthit like this?”

“Damn, how could I have seen this? I can’t even believe this is the same Arthit.

He’s tamed like a dog, whining like one too.”

I gently removed Arthit’s hands, with help from friends. I slowly guided Arthit out of the bar with difficulty.

“I know you can stand. No need to lean on me.”

“Just a little.”

“Sigh.”

I parked the car in an open area a bit away from the bar because the spots near the bar were all full. I helped him to the passenger seat and then went to sit in the driver’s seat.

I drove to a 7-Eleven and stopped. Arthit woke up when the engine turned off.    “I’m stopping at 7-Eleven to get something for your hangover, wait here for a moment.”

“Ugh.”

I got out of the car to buy some hangover remedies for him. Soon after, I came out to see Arthit sitting on the ground next to the car, one arm around a brown dog.

“…”

I walked closer.

“Aren’t you lonely sleeping here all alone? Or don’t you have any friends, Hia? I see all the stray dogs around here have their packs, they’re in groups, don’t you belong to any pack? Why are you out here by yourself? Do you think you’re a lone wolf or something? That’s not how it works, man, having companions helps you find food.”

“…”

The dog didn’t respond…

“Are you worried about food? Are you male or female? Let me see, oh, you’re male, you should start thinking about your future, man. I used to be like you.” …What?

I, standing there listening, was just confused.

“I don’t mean as a dog, I mean being alone. Don’t worry, one day a dog suitable for you will come looking for you. Just by lying here in front of the convenience store like this, you have a chance to meet your soulmate.”

“…”

“Just by looking at you, I know you’re lonely, oh. It’s okay, one day it will be your day.”

Is this what a drunk person does to encourage a dog…

I let out a big sigh, about to approach, when I saw someone walking ahead of me.    “Excuse me, that’s my dog.”

“…”

A middle-aged man came out of the 7-Eleven, and the dog, who had been sitting quietly for a while, stood up and walked toward its owner as soon as it saw him.

Arthit turned around, looking confused.

“Uh…I’m sorry, he’s drunk, he didn’t mean any harm.” I quickly bowed my head to apologize to the dog’s owner.

“Oh, it’s fine. I saw, he was talking to my dog for a while. Thank you for giving my dog some company.”

“No problem.” Arthit said, smiling broadly. I sighed at the situation, glad I wasn’t too shy. “See you, little one.” He turned to say to the brown dog with a smile before I took him back to the car.

“You really can’t be left alone when you’re drunk, you’re such a mess.”    “I saw it lying there so I went to talk to it, I meant well, I was worried it was lonely.”

“Hmm.” I nodded, “Go to sleep, I’ll wake you when we get to the condo.”    “Hey.”

“Huh?”

“Which planet are you from, Dao?”

“…”

“I wonder who sent you here, making me love you this much.”

“No one sent me. I came on my own.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I came by myself.”

“Why did you come alone?”

“Because I knew you would be waiting here.”

“How did you know?”

“I’m good.”

“Yeah, true, you’re good, you’re the best!”

“Okay, okay, go to sleep, don’t fuss anymore.”

“Alright, alright.” Arthit calmed down willingly, after a while, he spoke in a soft voice as if talking in his sleep, “Dao.”

“Hmm?”

“Tomorrow, I want to eat hot shrimp congee.”

“Sure, I’ll make it for you tomorrow.”

I promised, and he smiled widely even with his eyes still closed.    “Shit, my wife is the cutest.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 1: Where is Jeon?

   Daotok

   Arthit said he was going out for a drive, looking for some good atmosphere to write songs. It seems like he left in the afternoon. As for me, I had classes all day.

After my classes ended, I stopped by a pet store to buy treats and a toy for  Mr. Jeon to play with. Today was special because it was the anniversary of when I first met Mr. Jeon.

I returned to the condo with a joyful heart, thinking about celebrating the anniversary with Mr. Jeon. I stopped in front of the door, fumbled for my key card, only to find the door was already ajar.

“Arthit, are you back?” I asked softly, entering to check but found no sign of him. I started to feel worried, fearing a thief might have been in, so I carefully searched the room. I didn’t see anyone inside; everything was still in place and undamaged.

…but Mr. Jeon was gone.

   “Mr. Jeon, Mr. Jeon.” I called out anxiously, looking everywhere but couldn’t find him, which made me even more restless.

I immediately called Arthit. He answered after a short while.

“Arthit, did you take Mr. Jeon with you?”

(No.)

   “Mr. Jeon is missing.”

(Huh? How could he be gone?)

   “When I came back, I found the door open, but everything else was normal. Did you lock the door when you left?”

(…Shit, did I lock it? I can’t remember.)

   “Then you probably didn’t lock it. I’m going to look for Mr. Jeon.”

(Stay calm, I’ll rush back…)

   I hung up without waiting for him to finish, quickly leaving the room while grabbing essential items.

I ran downstairs to ask the security guard to check the CCTV cameras and found that Mr. Jeon indeed walked out.

In my mind, I imagined all sorts of bad scenarios: Mr. Jeon, not knowing this area, might encounter bad people who could harm him, perhaps even cook him, or he might get chased by the local dog. I, who have raised and cared for Mr. Jeon since he was tiny and skinny until now when he’s fat like a pork dumpling, couldn’t bear the thought.

Or, if we look on the bright side, someone kind might find him. Mr. Jeon’s collar has my name and phone number on it; I hope someone finds him and calls me back.

I took Phatcharamon to look for Mr. Jeon, checking around the condo first but found nothing, so we continued to search through the nearby alleys. There are a lot of cars around here, please don’t let Mr. Jeon get hit by one.

I stopped at a restaurant at the entrance of the alley to ask, but the answer was “not seen.” So we just had to keep looking. I rode Patcharamon at the slowest speed to be able to observe everything around us, passing by a pile of garbage where two or three stray dogs were rummaging. I stopped the bike and walked closer to see what they were digging for.

It couldn’t be Mr. Jeon’s corpse, right…

“!!” When I got close enough to see it was just regular food scraps, not Mr. Jeon’s corpse, but the stray dogs seemed to think I was invading their food territory. They bared their teeth and growled at me, so I quickly ran back to  Patcharamon and sped off.

“Don’t do this to me.” I said before speeding up the bike and turning into another alley where they didn’t follow.

It seems today isn’t a lucky day for me at all; Mr. Jeon is missing, and I was chased by stray dogs.

After slowing down the bike, I took a moment to catch my breath. Then I heard my phone ring, thinking it might be someone who found Mr. Jeon, but it was Arthit instead.

(How’s it going?)

   “I haven’t found him yet.”

(It looks like it’s going to rain, be careful.)

   “Okay.” Hearing that, I looked up at the sky, and seeing the dark clouds made me even more uneasy, “I’ll keep looking.”

(Alright.)

   Then I hung up, put my phone back in my pocket, and twisted the throttle to move  Patcharamon forward. The longer the search went, the more anxious I felt, worried to the point of nearly crying. Today was supposed to be a special day for me and Mr. Jeon.

If Mr. Jeon hadn’t walked out of the room…No, if Arthit hadn’t forgotten to close the door, none of this would have happened.

I know he didn’t mean to, but his carelessness caused Mr. Jeon to go missing. Even knowing Mr. Jeon was in the room, he still forgot to close the door. What if something else from the room goes missing too?

I heard thunder before the wind picked up strongly. I kept driving along the path, hoping to find Mr. Jeon before it started raining. Suddenly, my phone rang again. I stopped the bike, took out my phone, and saw it was from an unmemorized number.

“Yes.”

(Is this the owner of the black cat named Khajornasak? I saw this number on the cat’s collar.)

   “Yes, that’s me. Where did you find my cat? I’ll come get him now.” I replied, feeling an indescribable relief.

(Can you meet at the Little Dog Clinic? We’re about to take him there; it seems his leg got bitten by a dog.)

   “…Oh, is it serious?”

(There’s a bite wound on his back leg, but it’s not severe.)

   “Okay, thank you.”

I hung up the phone. Knowing Mr. Jeon was injured made me anxious, but at least the person who found him said the wound wasn’t too bad. I hurried to the Little Dog Clinic on my motorbike. Upon arriving, I walked inside and saw only two women sitting there, so I approached them.

   “Excuse me, are you the ones who found Cat and called me earlier?”

“Oh, yes, are you the owner? We’re waiting for the vet now.”

“Yes, thank you very much.” I sincerely thanked them again. Without them, who knows what would have happened to Mr. Jeon.

“No problem, the cat ran away from some dogs near our place. We saved him, saw he had an owner, so we decided to call. But since he was injured, we brought him here first.”

“Thank you, really.”

“No worries, we’ll head back now before it starts raining.”

“Okay.”

And then the kind-hearted duo left the clinic. I sat alone in the clinic, with no one else around except for someone at the counter. I got up to walk around, looking at various pet supplies. Not long after, Mr. Jeon was brought out, with a bandage on his left leg. He didn’t seem too badly off. I was relieved but also heartbroken.    I listened carefully to the vet’s instructions on how to care for Mr. Jeon, paid for the treatment, and also bought a cat carrier because I was worried about bringing him back on my motorbike. I carried the carrier as I rode back, but I couldn’t answer my phone because I was driving.

   I arrived at the condo just before the rain started, riding into the parking area where I saw Arthit leaning against a pillar, phone to his ear. He immediately put down his phone when he saw me.

   “Why didn’t you answer the call?”

“Riding a bike.” I answered before taking off my helmet, getting off the bike, and heading straight up to the condo.

“And how’s it going?”

“…”

“Why so quiet?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you mad? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to leave the door open.” Arthit’s voice came from behind me. I ignored him and kept walking until I got in the elevator and reached the room, just as it started raining outside, “You’re really going to ignore me like this?”

“…”

“What did I do wrong? I didn’t mean to at all.” He started to protest. I took off my shoes, placed the bag with Mr. Jeon on the floor, and gently picked Mr. Jeon up, “Is he hurt?”

“Yes, got bitten by a dog.”

“Which one? I’ll go bite it back.”

“I don’t know.” I replied without turning to look, “It’s your fault for being careless.”

“But I didn’t mean to.”

“Even if you didn’t mean to, it’s still your fault.”

“Okay, I admit it, it’s my fault, I’m sorry, don’t be mad at me, I was worried too when you called to say he was missing, I rushed back here.”

“…”

I placed Mr. Jeon on the bed before going to wash my hands to prepare dinner.

“Wow, even when you’re mad, you still cook, what an exemplary wife.”

“I won’t cook anymore.”

“Oh. Just one little comment, come on, cook something for me to eat, I’m starving.”

I didn’t respond, just turned to continue making the meal, while he kept trying to defuse my anger.

“Be quiet for a bit.”

“You’re really mad at me, huh? You know no one ever gets to be mad at me.”    “I know.” I put down the spatula and turned to grab the chopped vegetables while glancing at him, fully aware that someone like him wouldn’t care if anyone was angry and was confident he wouldn’t apologize anyway. “I can get over my anger on my own, so just stay quiet.”

“No way, me just leaving it be is like not caring about you, right?”

“Like you didn’t care about Mr. Jeon?”

“Hey, how does this relate to that?”

“Well, Arthit you didn’t care about Mr. Jeon, that’s why you forgot to close the door.”

“I just forgot, do you understand? I just forgot. People forget things sometimes, you’ve never forgotten anything since you were born?”

“Yes, but this is a big deal. What if someone came in to steal something, or if

Mr. Jeon got hurt because of your carelessness?”

“Sorry, I won’t do it again, I’ll make sure to remember it. I’ll write it down on paper, stick it by my bed, and recite it every night before sleep so I don’t forget.”    His words made me let out a big sigh; even in a serious moment like this, he still finds a way to be playful. I put down the spatula again and reached out to pull his ear hard enough that his head tilted with the force.

“Are you still going to be annoying?”

“I’m not annoying.”

“Then you’re being sarcastic.”

“Not sarcastic either, I mean it, really.”

“How is that not sarcastic?”

“It’s not sarcastic.”

“It sounds sarcastic, like you want to be punished, writing it on your headboard.”

“Oh, what is this?”

“What kind of person doesn’t know, making me angrier instead of apologizing, I told you to just stay quiet.”

“…But I…”

“No need to say anything, just sit and wait quietly.”

“Okay, okay.”

And he had to sit at the dining table as I instructed while I was trying to calm myself down and cook. I heard the sound of tapping on the table in rhythm. I looked over immediately.

“I told you to sit quietly and wait.” I said.

“But I haven’t said anything.”

“Knocking on the table isn’t quiet, hold your ears.”

“Why?”

“So your hands don’t bump into anything.”

“What?” He looked annoyed before lifting both hands to hold his ears as I instructed, resting his elbows on the table. It was quite a bizarre sight, like a little kid being told by his mom to sit still because he was too naughty. Finally, the food was ready. I served it.

“You can put your hands down, let’s eat.”

“Okay.”

And so we ate with him doing all the talking. I was still not in the mood to chat with him. After we finished eating, we washed the dishes as usual.

“How big is the wound?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen the wound yet.”

“But it doesn’t look like it would be big, it probably doesn’t hurt much.”    “How do you know? Don’t take yourself as the standard. Mr. Jeon isn’t as big as you Arthit.”

“How do you know it hurts then? You’re not him.”

“Are you being argumentative?”

“No, just expressing an opinion.”

“Today, you don’t have the right to express opinions.”

“What?” He grumbled. After finishing with the dishes, I went to take a shower.

“Hey, shower with me.”

“No.”

“Come on, man. Just thinking about you showering without me makes me uncomfortable.”

“Sit down.”

“Huh?”

“Kneel down.”

“Why?”

“Kneel.”

“Alright.” He reluctantly kneeled down, “For what?”

“Stay here and reflect on your actions until I finish my shower, don’t move.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. At least let me sit in the bathroom if you want me to watch you shower.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Why?”

“Because you will only be able to watch.”

“…”

The person kneeling down paused, furrowing his brows in thought. I wanted to teach him a lesson, so I came up with something.

   “Don’t move from here. Otherwise, I won’t get over my anger.”

“Yeah, I know, just go shower.” He replied, his expression clearly showing he wasn’t too happy about it. I grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom for a relaxing warm bath, which helped ease the day’s accumulated fatigue. It didn’t take long before I came back out.

“Are you tired?” I asked.

“I’m fine.” He shrugged.

“Then, how about sitting for another hour?”

“Hey, no way, enough already, do you know how pathetic I look right now, kneeling like this?”

“Raise your arms.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Raise your arms.” I repeated. He slowly raised both arms as I instructed. If just kneeling wasn’t tiring enough, he had to raise his arms too, “High up, make your arms stretch out.”

“Why do this?”

“To make you tired, that’s why.”

“Wow, fuck, this is getting worse by the minute.”

“Like a student being punished by a teacher.”

“Do students at your school get punished like this?”

“Yes, doesn’t your school do this?”

“No.”

“Then how do they punish?”

“If anyone misbehaves, they get shot by the teacher.”

“That’s too harsh.” I said, hanging up the towel neatly before going to check on Mr. Jeon. I found him sleeping soundly, so there was no need to worry, the wound really wasn’t much, “Mr. Jeon is the best.” I said softly, feeling affectionate towards Mr. Jeon who was sleeping like a log.

He’s just this size, yet so brave…

“And how long do I have to stay in this position? I’m getting sticky, I want to shower.”

“Until I’m no longer mad.”

“And are you still mad?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh.”

I got up to fetch my laptop to connect to the TV to watch a movie.

“Can I watch too?” He asked.

“Hmm, you can turn to face the TV.” I replied before he slowly turned to face the TV. We hadn’t been watching the movie for long when my phone rang, “What’s up?”

(Are you with Phii Arthit?) North’s voice came through the line.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

(He called but I didn’t answer, when I called back he didn’t pick up, is there anything wrong? Ask him.)

   “Okay.” I stood up, switching to the speakerphone so North could talk to him.

“What’s this?” He frowned, puzzled, glancing at the screen of my phone.

(What’s up, bro? Why are you calling?)

   “Mr. Jeon is missing, I thought you could help look for him.”

(Oh, did you find him yet?)

   “We found him.”

(Okay, good. Then why didn’t you answer the call? Were you playing games or something?)

   “I can’t move, how would I answer your call?”

(Huh?)

   “Damn, don’t ask so many questions.”

“North, do you want to see?”

“No.” He retorted immediately. I, thinking of something fun, turned on the camera and took a picture of him, sending it to North right away. Of course, he wasn’t too pleased, but he couldn’t do anything except make a displeased face at the camera. Laughter burst out from the other end of the line.

(Hahahaha, what the hell is this? Are you being punished? You’re done for, bro.)

   “Stop laughing.”

(Phii Jo, come look at this.)

   “Asshole, North, stop it.”

(Arthit, what the hell are you doing? This is pathetic) North’s partner’s voice came through the line along with laughter. Arthit let out a big sigh and looked up.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“A little.”

“Then are you over your anger?”

“No.”

“What? I’ve already complied this much.”

(And what did you do wrong to have to kneel down like this?) North asked.    “He forgot to close the door, which made Mr. Jeon go missing, and he got bitten by a dog too. Plus, today was our anniversary with Mr. Jeon.” I explained.

(Oh, I see, he deserves it, serves him right for being so stupid. Can’t even remember to close a door, what can you expect from someone like him?)    “Fuck, you’re recording me again, aren’t you?” He grumbled, sounding annoyed,

“Don’t post my picture.”

(I was just about to put it on my Instagram story.)

   “Fuck.”

(Send me two thousand. I’ll keep quiet.)

   “You’re such a cheap bastard.”

(Two thousand isn’t little, make it two thousand five hundred.)

   “Yeah, yeah, I’ll transfer it, just wait until I can move. Make it three thousand and help me make up with my wife.”

(Whoa, deal, bro, but he probably won’t be mad for long, are you really that mad at him, Phii Arthit?)

   “Hmm.” I answered softly.

(He just forgot to close the door, anyone can forget.)

   “Didn’t you say at first, North, that he deserved it?”

(He’s been kneeling for a long time now, hasn’t he? Has he been sitting there for long?)

   “For a while now.”

(Yeah, sitting there for a long time must be torture. He’s probably learned his lesson. Don’t be too mad, think of it as showing mercy to one dog.)    “Speaking of dogs, earlier when I was looking for Mr. Jeon, stray dogs chased and tried to bite us.”

“Really? Fuck, which alley’s thugs are they? I’ll go get even.” Arthit said immediately.

(I often get chased by dogs too, were you on a motorbike?)

   “Yes.”

(Well, I’m on foot and get chased by dogs all the time, damn, I can barely run fast enough, it’s exhausting. At least you were on a bike, that’s still good.) “Every time I compare myself to North, I feel like I’m always lucky. Thanks.”

(Yeah, no problem, but…why does that feel a bit hurtful to hear? Anyway, you should let him get up, or I won’t get my money.)

   “Alright, alright, Arthit can get up.” I said. Arthit slowly stood up and sat on the sofa next to me. He tried to move in for a hug, but I stood up and moved away,

“But I’m still not over being mad, don’t come close.”

…

Arthit

   I sat watching the cat with a heavy heart, but when I heard the game sounds, I turned my attention back to the game on my phone, moving the character around with boredom.

(Are you going to keep moping around for long? You can come out now.)

   “Yeah, I know.”

(Just because your wife is mad at you, you act like this. I’ll kick your ass if you don’t snap out of it.)

   “He’s harsh with me, isn’t he? You’ve never been in a situation where your husband is upset with you.”

(That’s how good people are.)

   Right now, Dao is working in the bedroom while I’ve been exiled to sit outside and watch the cat. Plus, I’ve been told not to enter the bedroom anymore, which means I’m sleeping on the sofa tonight.

I understand why Dao is angry because he loves this cat a lot. And today, I heard it’s the anniversary of when we met. If you ask who’s at fault for making the cat like this, the answer would surely be me.

Because I stupidly forgot to close the door, letting the cat escape and get bitten by a dog. Damn it, I hope I find out which dog bit the cat, I’ll bite it back. And which alley dog chased my wife, I’ll chase it back too, damn it.

(You’re not coming to play with me?)

   I agreed to play the game with North hoping it would cheer me up, but I couldn’t focus on playing at all. With my wife mad at me, who could possibly have the heart for anything else, damn it.

“You can play without me.”

(What the hell can I do without you? If I weren’t so good, our defenses would have been broken by now. The jungle ganged up on me like three times already.)

   “Yeah, you’re good, so you manage it. I’m farming.”

(Farming what, damn it? Is the mage blind or something? The mage has ganged up on me again, aren’t you coming to help, you bastard?)

   “You’re so annoying, damn dog-face, I asked you to help me make amends with my wife and you can’t do it.”

(I tried to help, you don’t have to kneel because of anyone, why don’t you show some gratitude?)

   “I have no problem kneeling, but the point is I haven’t hugged Dao today, damn it, I’m all withered.”

(What’s withered?)

   “My heart.”

(Oh, come on, he just told you he’d get over it soon, just stay quiet, bro, your mouth isn’t helping.)

   “I tried to make up earlier, but Dao said how to make him even angrier.”    (Sigh, I can imagine it, it’s pathetic, you’re sleeping outside the room tonight, right?)

   “Yeah, it’s so damn annoying, I can’t even get a hug, should I just break the door?”

(Not a good idea, do you want to make him even madder?)

“Yeah, I might just stay outside. Help me make up with him.”

(How am I supposed to help?)

   “I don’t know, think of something.”

(I’ll try asking Ter and Phoon, can you please come and hang out with me?)

   “Yeah, yeah, I’m going.”

And then I played games gloomily with North until late. After we finished, I went to sneak a look around the bedroom, finding that the lights were off inside. Not hearing any strange noises made me feel a bit relieved. I grabbed a small blanket and lay down on the sofa.

   Without Dao nearby, I couldn’t sleep well, waking up several times during the night. When I woke up, I went to press my ear against the bedroom door to listen, and when everything seemed normal, I went back to sleep.

   I woke up in the morning to see Dao standing at the kitchen counter, cooking. I walked over carefully to hug him from behind.

   “Are you still mad?”

“Hmm.”

“You’re not mad anymore?”

“Yes.”

“Yay, phew, one night felt like ten days, damn.” I said, hugging Dao a bit tighter, inhaling the sweet scent of shampoo from his hair.

“I’m going out today.”

“Huh? Where to? It’s our day off. We should be together, right?”

“Going out with friends.”

“Can I come too?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Today it’s just me .”

“Why exclude me ?”

“Just want to hang out with friends.”

“Oh, what, and where are you going?”

“Ratchaphruek Park.”

“It looks like it’s going to rain.”

“This way, the atmosphere will be nice.”

“Really? And how are you getting there?”

“North will pick me up.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Go shower, dinner will be ready soon.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I answered before giving a light kiss on the forehead of the person in front of me, releasing from the hug, walking in to grab some clothes and head into the bathroom. While doing so, I called North, “Are you going out together?”    (Dude.)

   “And why can’t I go with you?”

(Ha, I knew you’d complain. You guys are all the same, Phii Jo is looking all down.)

   “It’s a day off, shouldn’t we be together?”

(You’re saying the same thing. No, because I messaged Ter and Phoon last night to help cheer up Phipungto, you said yourself to help make amends. So, Ter and Phoon planned to take Dao out to lighten his mood, I’m helping you here.)

   “But he said he’s not angry anymore.”

(But we already agreed on this.)

   “Damn, and those guys aren’t going to curse me out for taking my wife away from them on a day off like this?”

(Probably not.)

“Hah, I’ll wait then. As soon as you guys leave, they’ll surely curse me out.”

(Come on, bro, the weather’s nice today.)

   “Nice, my foot, look at the sky first, it’s that dark.”

(I am going to bring an umbrella.)

   “The problem isn’t that driving in the rain is dangerous.”

(I’ll drive. I’m a good driver, you know, Phii Jo’s student.)

   “Sigh, when will you be back?”

(Don’t know, until he is in a good mood.)

   “He’s already in a good mood.”

(Don’t know, just know that today is our day. You guys are not allowed to follow, understand, Phii Jo?) North said that, and then I heard Jo grumbling in the background.

(Sigh, alright, alright.)

   I hung up on North, quickly took a shower, and then went out to eat with Dao.

“You’re not allowed to go anywhere today.”    “Why?” I asked.

“Stay with Mr. Jeon, he’s sick.”

“Why aren’t you staying with him?”

“It’s already agreed with everyone. Take care of Mr. Jeon for me, and no following us, understand?”

“What’s this?”

“Today’s my day, I need to make time for friends too.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it, be careful out there. Tell North to drive properly, call if anything happens, got it?”

“Hmm.”

After eating, Dao went to change clothes, ready to go out. I stood with my arms crossed, leaning against the wall, watching him tie his shoelaces.

“I’m worried, you know.”

“It’s fine, no worries.”

“Call me if anything comes up.”

“Got it.”

Dao stood up, not forgetting to give me a quick peck on the lips. I found myself smiling without realizing it, watching the small figure walk out of the room. I locked the door properly before going back inside.

I saw the cat limping towards me, coming to cuddle. I sat down on the floor to play with him.

“You, huh? You were fine in the room. Why did you have to wander out and get bitten by a dog? It’s not just you who’s unlucky, I am too. I got the cold shoulder all night because of you, damn it. How did you even get bitten? Couldn’t you outrun the dog? Oh, you probably couldn’t with how fat you are, cat the fatty, or are you a pig now, huh?”

I said, but the cat, the chubby one, still didn’t seem to feel any guilt, just kept cuddling.

“You can’t keep being a fat cat like this, I won’t allow you to be an unhealthy cat, period. When your wound heals, I’ll cut back on your food and treats. Dao is too soft when he sees you like this, giving you all those treats, but I won’t be soft.

You can’t die from obesity.”

“Ha. Since we’ve been together, we’ve never had any problems, and Dao got mad at me for the first time because of you. That’s right, I’m always second. If it weren’t for you, I’d always be number one.”

“Should I just grill you, huh? Stop cuddling up to me, you’re so annoying.” I said, reaching out to pinch the excess belly fat lying on the floor as he lay there,

“Or do I have to get fat like you for Dao to like me?”

While I was busy complaining to the cat, my phone rang. I wasn’t surprised that it was Jo calling; I had expected it. I was just wondering who would call first, and it turned out to be Jo.

“What’s up, my dear friend?”

(Arthit, you dumbass, making your wife mad and now you’re looking for trouble, right? Today’s my day off, I was planning to go for a drive with

North, and it’s raining too.)

   “Do you think I’m not worried? Why does forgetting to close the door have to turn into such a big deal?”

(You can’t even handle your wife, you need my wife to help, you’re hopeless.)

   “I’ve been trying my best to make amends, didn’t you see me kneeling yesterday?”

(Pathetic, ha, and so what? You ruined my plan to go for a drive with my wife, how are you going to take responsibility for that?)

   “Want me to come along for the drive?”

(Why? It would just be a waste of time.)

   “What should I do to take responsibility? I’m not with my wife either, and I don’t even know if your wife drives safely.”

(North drives well. It’ll be fine, but he said you’re not allowed to follow, why? Do I look like someone who always follows?)

   “He said he’s tired of being with you, can he have some personal time or what? You can follow all you want, fuck, do we breathe with the same nose or something, you buffalo?”

(I don’t want to be called that by someone like you, you want to follow too, damn, don’t you?)

   “Yeah, I want to go too, but I’m forbidden, so whatever, let him have some time with friends, what could happen? He’s grown up and can take care of himself.”

(Yeah, right, what could happen, right?)

   “Are you telling me or yourself?”

(Both.)

   “So I have to stay in an empty room, just with the cat, the problem child.”

(Yeah, I’ll go back to work then.)

   “Feel better after scolding me?”

(Yeah, don’t do it again, you bastard. Otherwise, we could have gone out together.)

   “Yeah, I know.”

And then Jo hung up. I noticed Hill had called once, but I didn’t answer because I was talking to Jo. I sighed and immediately called Hill back.

(Arthit) a cold voice came from the other end of the line.

“Yeah, it’s my fault, I didn’t mean to forget to close the door, I didn’t want my wife to be mad either, okay?”

(Hmm, you know these full-day holidays don’t come often, right?)

   “I know, you don’t have much free time like this.”

(Ter said he wants to go out with friends, I understand. I’m not saying anything, but if you hadn’t made him mad, I could have gone too.)

   “You’re not allowed to go either? Why?”

(Ter said if I go, you’ll come too, because Nong Dao is mad at you, so he doesn’t want us to go.)

   “Oh.”

(Don’t do it again next time, sigh, on a holiday yet we can’t be together because you forgot to close the door, damn it.)

   “Yeah, I know, I know.”

And then Hill hung up. I sighed in frustration; all this from just one careless mistake. There’s only Fah left, I guess, better call him before he calls to scold me.

“Tonfah.” I called out the name on the other end as soon as he answered.

(You knew I was about to call you, so you called first, huh?)

   “Ha, I just got calls from those two, you’re the only one left.”

(Yeah, I knew they’d scold you before I did.)

   “Sigh, yeah, I’m at fault for making my wife upset, and now your wives have to take him out to cheer him up.”

(Exactly, you ruined our holiday plans. Originally, we were going to go out together, but with this, there’s nothing we can do. Instead of going with them,

I got banned because of you.)

   “Yeah, I’m not going either, come on, let them have some time with their friends.”

(I understand about going out with friends. Just wanted to tell you to be careful, I can’t be around Phoon because you forgot to close the door, it’s pretty annoying.)

   “I’m already annoyed listening to all of you complain.”

(As the one at fault, you deserve to hear our complaints.)

   “Yeah, yeah, that’s enough, I’ve learned my lesson.”

(Alright then, I’ll hang up.)

   “Cool.”

And then Fah hung up. Trying to imagine what they said, if it were a day off where we should be spending time with our wives, but one person stupidly forgot to close the door, making his wife upset, and now the other wives have to take her out to cheer her up, I’d be annoyed enough to want to curse too.

   Sigh, well, on a rainy day like this, staying in the room playing with Cat isn’t so bad.

   It’s not bad at all, but when is my wife coming back?!

   “Meow…”

“What are you meowing about, Jeon, be quiet.”

…

Daotok

   “Are you feeling better?” Ter, sitting in the passenger seat, turned back to ask with a slight look of concern.

“Um, I’m getting better.”

“Why didn’t you call us when Mr. Jeon was missing? We could have helped look for him.”

“I couldn’t think straight at that moment.”

“Phii Arthit called me, but I didn’t answer.” North said.

“So who found him?” Cat, sitting in the back next to him, asked.

“I didn’t ask for a name. He said he didn’t want any reward, and when we got to the clinic, he left quickly because he was afraid of the rain.”

“It’s good that he was found by someone kind.” Ter said, “When North first said you were mad at Phii Arthit, I couldn’t imagine what you would be mad about, but when you said it was because the cat was lost, it all made sense.”

“So we decided it would be better to take you out to cheer him up.” Cat said with a slight smile.

“Thanks.” I replied, smiling without realizing it, thinking about how everyone meant well for me, “It’s nice to hang out with everyone once in a while.”

Looking outside, I saw the light rain, and the traffic wasn’t too bad, allowing us to reach our destination quickly. Once the car stopped in the parking lot, I opened the door and got out, opening my umbrella. Everyone brought their own umbrellas.

“It’s a pity it’s raining. Otherwise, we could have biked.” Said Ter.

“Can’t we bike in the rain?” North asked.

“Are you going to hold an umbrella with one hand and the bike handle with the other?”

“You could bike without holding the handlebars.”

“You’re such a bragger. Let’s just take a walk then.” Ter suggested. I nodded in agreement. We all walked into the garden.

The atmosphere of the botanical garden during the rain was quite nice. I like the rain because it makes me feel a strange sense of peace; the air was cool and damp, and there was a faint smell of earth.

“It feels refreshing when it rains.” Cat commented before taking out his camera to capture some photos. We were now at the orchid display area, “Ter, move out of the way a bit.”

“Oh, I thought you were going to take a picture of me.”

“Let me take some of the flowers first.”

“Oh, okay.” Ter nodded and moved aside, “Not many people around, huh?”

“It’s early, and it’s raining.” North said, “Hey, Phipungto.”

“Hmm?”

“How’s your thesis going?”

“I’m still looking for a topic. What about you, North?”

“Same.”

This is the beginning of our fourth year. Both North and I are at the point of starting our final projects. Meanwhile, Ter, studying veterinary medicine, has to go to the clinic. Cat is in his second year.

   “Both of you are almost done, so fast.” Cat said, “I’m only in my second year.”    “You’ll graduate with me.” Ter said, patting Cat’s shoulder lightly, since Ter’s program takes six years. Cat, having transferred majors and needing four years to finish, would graduate at the same time as Ter, “But it’s true, time flies. In the blink of an eye, we’ll all graduate.”

We chatted away as we walked along the small roads, stopping to look at various displays. The rain was still falling but not heavily. It took us about two hours to complete our walk around.

“How was it, Dao, did you like it?” Ter turned to ask.

“Why not ask me?” North interjected.

“We brought you here to have fun, why would I ask you?”

“Fine, so how was it for you?”

“I liked it.” I answered honestly because I’ve always liked this place, having walked around here many times when the weather wasn’t too hot, “What about everyone else?”

“We liked it, it’s quite refreshing.” Ter said.

“I think it’s good too, nice to stroll around.”

“I liked it, got a lot of nice pictures, I’ll send them once they’re edited.” Cat said,

“Shall we head back then?”

And so we returned, North dropped me off first. I watched the black car drive away from the condo area before heading up to my room, knocking on my door, and soon someone opened it.

“You’re back.”

“How was it? Did you have fun?” Arthit asked. I took off my muddy shoes and placed them aside before walking into the room.

“It was fun.”

“Did you eat anything?”

“Not yet, I wanted to eat back in the room.”

“Oh, I’ve already prepared dinner.”

“Really?” I turned to ask, almost in disbelief, “Arthit made dinner?”

“Yeah, I figured you’d be back around this time, so I made dinner waiting.”

“Oh, okay.” I nodded, put my backpack down, and sat at the dining table where several dishes were laid out. Arthit sat across from me, “You made a lot.”

“Yeah, surprised?”

“Hmm.” I nodded again, taking a bite of food, immediately grimacing, “It’s sour.”

“Right, try this one, it’ll balance out the sourness.” He slid another dish over, and

I grimaced again because it was so salty it stung my tongue, “This menu is called ‘Sea of Salt’.”

“Yeah, it’s like boiling seawater instead of using plain water.”

“I think the food I make is worse than yours. Are you up for frying some eggs?”

“Sure, but honestly, I can eat what you cook.”

“No way, I tasted it, almost got indigestion. Let’s just say for the sake of health, you fry the eggs.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, I changed Jeon’s bandage already.”

“Thanks.”

I got up to fry the eggs and then went to shower and change clothes. It seemed like the rain was getting heavier outside. I walked over to Arthit, who was lying on the bed playing with his phone; he had the curtains open, giving a view of the rain outside. I took out my phone to take a picture of the raindrops on the clear glass because I thought it looked beautiful.

“Did you sleep last night?”

I shook my head instead of answering.

“Me neither.”

Last night, when I made Arthit sleep outside, honestly, I couldn’t sleep well either. I was worried about him all night, wondering if he was uncomfortable, sneaking out to check on him from time to time. Even though I was angry, I was also worried.

“I kept waking up throughout the night.”

“Uh, then I’ll make it up to you.”

“Hmm?” He looked up from his phone screen with confusion, his eyes widening when he saw me slowly taking off my robe. Arthit sat up on the bed. I gave him a slight smile at the corner of my mouth.

The white robe fell to the floor, my bare skin touching the cool air outside. I slowly walked closer, sat on the bed, straddled him, and leaned down to give him a gentle kiss on the lips.

Arthit kissed back, his warm hands caressing my body, starting from my waist, to my back, gently squeezing my hips, the other hand moving up to knead my chest.    I took off his shirt. We kissed passionately, our tongues intertwining. Even though the surrounding atmosphere was cool, his body was so warm.

He took off his pants, revealing his hard erection. I reluctantly broke the kiss, sliding down to take him in my hands, opening my mouth wide, taking the tip in, and using my tongue to tease around it.

I gently sucked on the tip hole, hearing the person in front of me hiss from the sensation. I licked from the tip to the base until it was soaked with my saliva, using one hand to stroke in rhythm. My heart started pounding, making me breathe heavily, my face all flushed. I looked up at him while still licking his vital part.    “Your face is so fucking sexy.”

“Hmm.”

I took his large member into my mouth, pressing it deep into my throat.

“Ugh, ugh, hmm.”

I moved my head up and down rhythmically while stroking myself because I was too aroused to hold back. My mind went blank with the scent of him, and I swallowed every bit of the lubrication that flowed out.

“Move up here.” He said while my member was out.

I pulled my mouth away and did as he said. He lay flat on the bed, and I straddled him facing the opposite direction. I used my mouth on him again before feeling the warm mouth enveloping me.

“Ah…hmm, ah, Arthit, ah. Suck harder, please, ugh!” He sucked on my tip, making my whole body shiver. I moved my hips unconsciously, quickening the pace of sucking his member.

He used his hand to stroke me and his mouth on my rear, his hot tongue darting inside and licking around before changing to his slim finger pushing in.    “Ugh!” I moaned out loud when his finger thrust in hard, moving it until my body rocked. Despite this, I continued to use my mouth to please him. Not long after, I released all over his chest, and he filled my mouth as well.

I swallowed his love juice completely, then slowly got up, taking a sip of water from Arthit. We kissed again before he let me take control. I positioned his large member at my rear entrance, slowly lowering my hips, feeling him enter me gradually.

Our bodies pressed against each other painfully, but not more than the pleasure it brought. Soon, his full length was inside me, my hands resting on his firm abdomen. I couldn’t think of anything else at that moment, his face slightly flushed with arousal, and I was no different.

   I moved my hips in slow, circular motions to let him feel inside me, Arthit flashed a satisfied grin. I began to move up and down slowly, the arousal overwhelming me.

   “Ah…hmm, ugh.” I bit my lip, moaning low, but when I hit the right spot, I couldn’t help but cry out and thrust against it repeatedly.

The person in front of me hissed softly, holding my hips to support me before thrusting up against my downward movement, making the penetration even deeper.

“Ah! Ohh…”

“You’ve gotten better.”

“…Do you like it?”

“I love it, you’re so hot.”

“Ah…Mmm…”

I got up and turned around, sitting down on him again. With my back turned, the angle changed, giving a different kind of pleasure. I moved my hips up and down quickly due to the intense sensation, but suddenly, the person below pushed me forward.

He pulled out, positioning me on all fours, and thrust back in hard. The sound of our bodies colliding filled the room, the force of his thrusts making my whole body sway uncontrollably. I bent down, resting my forehead on the bed, gripping the sheets tightly to manage the pleasure.

“Ah! Ahh! Too, too hard, ohh…”

“Who started this?”

“Ooh! Ahh…”

“Want to change positions?” He whispered, pulling out and lifting me off the bed, his hands under my legs to raise me. I clung to his neck in shock, “I’ve told you many times not to be scared, I won’t drop you.”

“I know, ohh!” He entered me quickly in this position where he was holding me, allowing him to go deeper, and with my weight, his thrusts were even more powerful. He walked slowly to the clear window, pressing my back against it,

“No…don’t, someone might, see, ahh!”

“With rain like this, no one can see…mmm…”

My back was against the cold glass. I was breathing heavily as if I were drowning, my half-open eyes could only see the thick curtain of rain outside, blocking any view.

The repeated thrusts made me writhe in his strong embrace; no matter how many times, it felt so good I wanted more, but my desire could never match his.    Because of its size and length, I felt a fullness throughout my abdomen, sensing how deeply he was penetrating. I was addicted to this feeling, unable to pull away.

“Deeper…deeper, ah…ahhh! So big, ah, Arthit, ugh, ohh, it feels so good.”    “Squeeze a little, please, I’m about to come, mmm…Dao, it feels so good.”

We kissed again, our tongues intertwining, my lips full of the taste of his lips. The desire for each other was conveyed through our gaze. I felt a deep ache in my core from the urge to release. Soon, I reached my climax, releasing white fluid all over Arthit’s stomach.

I breathed heavily for a moment, feeling drained, and Arthit took me to the bathroom without withdrawing his member. We sat together in the bathtub, filling it with warm water.

“Can I rest for a bit?” I asked softly, while Arthit still hadn’t pulled out, “Come on, we have the whole night ahead.”

“You want to do it all night?”

“Hmm, to make up for last night, ah!” I couldn’t help but cry out when Arthit finally pulled out. I slowly moved to sit on the other side of the tub, extending my legs over his, and because I was close to him, I had to spread my legs. Seeing his still-erect member made my heart itch with desire, “Still hard, huh?”

“I see you naked, and you’re still hard too.”

“Hmm, it’s not going down yet.” I said, frowning. We’ve been together for many months, having sex every night has made us quite comfortable with each other,

“Aren’t you getting bored?”

“Of what?”

“We do it every day.”    “Do I look bored to you?”

I shook my head vigorously.

“And are you bored of me?”    I shook my head again.

“Just seeing you a little bit naked makes me hard.”

“I’m not bored either.”

“I know. Just seeing you tease me every night, I’m completely enchanted.”    “Ugh, that’s good then.” I said, leaning back against the tub’s edge, slowly relaxing in the hot water, “I feel stuffed.”

“Huh?”

“Aren’t you too big? I feel stuffed.” my words made him laugh.

“How many times have you complained about this?”

“It really is stuffed, you know.”

“But you’re enjoying it.”

“…Oh.”

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Show me how you pleasure yourself.”

“Why…why?”

“I want to see.”

“Why do you want to see something so weird?”

“It’s not weird, I just want to see.”

“You’re crazy.” I said, burying my face in the water, glancing at the other person in the bath with me. My wet hair and the droplets on my tanned skin, his handsome face grinning in a way that was annoyingly attractive.

“Did you do it often before?”

“Are you asking for trouble?”

“Why would you be embarrassed in front of me?”

“Isn’t it embarrassing?”

“Just answer.”

“Not often.” I replied in a low voice, wondering why he was so curious about this. We soaked in the warm water for a while, then dried off and returned to the bedroom. Arthit made me sit on the bed and spread my legs, “Why do you want to see?”

“Just want to see, I think it would be cute.”

“Sigh.”

I sighed before slowly reaching to touch myself. Seeing the other person’s naked body made it easy to get aroused. I started feeling a dull ache and emptiness in my lower abdomen, my member slowly hardening.

I slightly lowered my head, feeling an odd kind of embarrassment. My hand roamed around the head, and the sensation of pleasure slowly crept up. I began to grip and gently stroke up and down.

“Mmm.” I bit my lower lip due to the pleasure, noticing the eyes watching me seemed even more excited, “Ah…ah, Arthit, how far do you want to see?”    “I don’t know.” He said softly, stretching his legs out comfortably, starting to stroke himself, “Ah, just seeing this makes me want to put it in.”

“Won’t…won’t you put it in?” I teased, watching him pleasure himself too, using the lubrication that had seeped out to rub my rear. I moaned softly. I had never done this to myself from behind before; because I always do it with Arthit, my hole must have been craving it, “Ah! Ugh.”

“Hey…why use your finger in your hole? Do you usually do that?”

“No…hmm, ah, Arthit…ah, come…come inside me, ugh.” and then Arthit pushed me down onto the bed, positioning his member and immediately entering my rear.

Since we hadn’t prepared much, the friction made it quite painful for me.

“You looked so cute just now.”

“When I was doing that?”

“Yeah, do you want me?”

“Hmm…I want you, ugh, ah, ah!”

“You said to do it all night.”

“Hmm, ah! ugh, ah, ah!”

He thrust deep to the hilt, pulled out, and then thrust back in quickly, the vigorous rhythm making the whole bed shake. I dug my nails into his back to release the pleasure, running my hands over his broad shoulders and tattoos with affection.

   His handsome face filled with desire, the man above me moaned low in his throat, biting his lip slightly, his black hair falling over his face. I reached up to brush the hair away, pulling his face closer for a passionate kiss.

   “Tonight…I’ll be with you all night.”

“Ah, of course, I’ll make you forget time.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Epilogue Chapter 52: Lucky Me 🙂

   Daotok

   Several days have passed since Arthit left the university; he spends most of his time holed up in the studio working on music. I brought in a sandwich I just made and a glass of juice, placing them on the table without saying anything so as not to disturb his concentration. Just as I was about to turn and walk out, he called me back.

“Could you listen to this for a bit?”

“Huh? Are you done?”

“Yeah, it’s okay for me now, give it a listen.” He handed me the headphones. I put them on, and a fairly familiar tune started playing. It was familiar because I had listened to it with him many times; he had gradually tweaked it until he was satisfied. There were some beats that were different from before, and I thought they were better.

“Hmm. I like it.”

“Really? Because I thought I couldn’t tweak it further, this is the best for me now.”

“Then it’s okay.”

“Yeah, so I’ll upload it then.”

“Hmm.”

“And what kind of sandwich is this?”

“Ham.”

“Thanks.”

“Hmm. I’ll go back to reading now.”

“Yeah, I’ll finish recording the song and then go out for a bit.”

“Okay.”

I walked out of the studio and returned to my desk, my gaze once again fixed on the textbook content. It’s exam season, so my schedule has been put on hold. Everyone is stressed about the finals; I’ve seen Arthit stressed out too before this.    I felt relieved seeing him happy with the path he chose. As I’ve said, I don’t mind listening to his daily complaints, but I am quite worried. Uncle Direk feels the same; when we talked, he mentioned he never agreed with Arthit’s decision to apply for medical school.

When we tried to stop him, he wouldn’t listen, stubbornly sticking to his choice, so we had to let it go. Uncle believes that Arthit’s mother would have wanted him to follow his dreams more than anything else. That’s why Uncle never supported Arthit’s path because he knew how much Arthit was forcing himself.

Uncle supports everything his son desires, whether it’s every musical instrument, the studio setup, or even potentially starting a record label. I’m glad Arthit has such an understanding father. As I’ve said, he’s lucky to know what he likes and has the strength to pursue his dream path.

Not everyone can choose like he does. Although people say to follow your heart, in reality, it’s not easy; everyone has their reasons. But when you have the chance, the talent, and everything is ready, I wouldn’t want him to miss this opportunity.    When he studies and when he makes music are completely different; he spends all day and night in the studio, hardly sleeping because he loves making music. And I prefer seeing him full of dedication and focus rather than stressed out. It seems like when it comes to music, he never gets tired or gives up.

After a while, my phone buzzed with a notification from YouTube about a new video from a channel I follow—it was his new audio track. I immediately clicked to watch it, only to find that others had beaten me to it. Comments and views were increasing rapidly, and the reception for his new work was excellent.

I smiled with pride; more and more people knew about his work, and the more they shared, the more visibility he got. His first song is almost at thirty million views now. Regarding the record label, it seems Uncle Direk is seriously considering starting one for Arthit because he’s worried that if Arthit joins another label, he might be taken advantage of or not well taken care of.

It’s not surprising for a father who would do anything for his son.

I turned to see someone approaching; Arthit sat down in the chair next to me, raising his hand to rest his chin, looking at me.

“How far have you read?”

“Almost done.”

“Oh, good. Just wanted to say I’m hungry.”

“The sandwich from earlier, then?”

“Who could be full with just that? I want spaghetti, make some spaghetti for me to eat.”

“Okay, wait a bit.”

“Yeah.”

I turned my attention back to the book in front of me, but before I could even start reading, my phone rang with a video call from my mom. I answered immediately.

“Hello.”

The screen showed my mom smiling, with what looked like an office in the background. Even though we don’t see each other often, we talk regularly. My mom’s new partner doesn’t mind but isn’t too keen on me contacting my dad because of jealousy, but he’s fine with me talking to my mom.

(What are you doing? Am I bothering you?)

   “I’m reading.”

(Oh, really? Then we can talk later.)

   “I’ve been reading about the Pacific Ocean, but there’s nothing new.”

“Hmm.”

I was quite excited about going to San Francisco with him. Although I’ve been there once before, what’s important is that it’s happening at this time, during a significant family moment, and he chose to bring me along.

He told me that his New Year’s plan hasn’t changed for years. Even though it’s a long holiday, he, as a travel enthusiast, never goes anywhere except home to spend time with family, staying together at the end of the year and welcoming the New Year together.

Uncle is also happy for me to join them. I am thrilled that both he and Uncle said so, which means to them, I am part of the family, sharing in a space and time of memories that no one else can touch. Now, I am part of it.

…

   Arthit

   I drove to the airport; finally, it was time to travel back home to San Fran.    This year, many things have changed, and some of these changes have been turning points in my life. Whether it’s about my mom, meeting Dao, or deciding to resign, this year will be different from all others because Dao has become part of our family.

   The end of the year at home in San Francisco is a time I cherish; the last memories with my mom still with us. It’s understood that no one can interfere or take this time away from me, but one thing that Direk and I agree on is wanting to have Dao with us here, during such an important time, we want to be together.    Once we arrived at the airport, we checked in, grabbed something to eat, and waited for boarding time. I idly scrolled through Instagram and found that those guys had also gone abroad to celebrate Dao’s birthday.

   “Do you want to go somewhere else?”

“Huh?”

“In case you’re bored, you’ve been to San Francisco before, plus I want to celebrate Dao’s birthday at home.”

“It’s not boring, we can go somewhere else next year.” Dao said with a smile. I nodded in understanding.

“Next year is just a few days away, where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know yet, haven’t thought about it.”

“Are you interested in quitting like me, so we can travel together?”

“No way. It’s just for a short while, you can bear it. Besides, I’m not that short on time.” His words made me look disappointed, but I didn’t say anything because Dao loves what he’s studying, so there’s no reason for him to quit like me. As for me, I just want to do what I feel like.

I lifted my camera to snap a photo while he was drinking coffee. Dao didn’t mind because he’s used to me secretly taking his photos.

I felt a little disappointed that I couldn’t take Dao to see the Christmas atmosphere since he was tied up with exams, making us miss it. But, we can wait for the next few years; it’s never too late.

It was time to board the plane. We booked first-class seats for comfort. After several hours on the flight, we arrived in San Francisco in the evening. The weather was cold, with light rain, making me feel down immediately; winters in San Francisco rarely see snow, mostly it’s rain.

I said I hate cold weather, but that doesn’t mean I can’t handle it; if I had a choice, I’d choose a warmer place to be.

I saw Direk leaning against a black car parked in front of the airport; we walked over to him right away. Direk had been waiting here for several days. We had to wait for Dao to finish his exams.

“Did you wait long?” I asked while getting into the passenger seat.

“Not long, and how were your finals, Dao?”

“They were good.”

“Direk, you shouldn’t ask; he’s already an honor student, isn’t he, my wife?”    “Not that much.” Dao said, and finally, the black car turned into the familiar driveway. We got out of the car and walked into the house.

“Mom, I’m home.” I said, it’s the phrase I always say when I return home.    I took off my shoes before walking further inside, put my luggage in the bedroom, then went out to find Direk in the living room. I glanced at the painting of my mother that Dao had colored, which had been framed and hung on the wall near the living room.

“Do you think it looks okay hanging like this?” Direk asked because he had arrived first and hung the picture.

“It’s good, but it’s a bit crooked, isn’t it?”

“It’s not crooked; your eyes are just tilted.”

“No, Dao, come look, do you think Direk hung this picture crooked?” I waved Dao over to look at the picture frame hanging on the wall. Dao got up from the sofa and walked towards me.

“It’s not crooked.”

“See, it’s your eyesight that’s crooked.”

“That’s not true, my eyesight can’t be crooked, is the house crooked or what?”    “Damn, you just don’t like to accept the truth.” Direk said with boredom, walking back to sit on the sofa.

“I’m going to see Mom.”

“Now?”

“Yeah, I want to see her soon.”

“Go then.” Direk said without much thought, standing up from the sofa immediately. I looked at Dao to indicate that we should go together. All three of us left the house to head to the cemetery, even though it was still drizzling.

The car stopped in the cemetery parking lot, where I saw several people visiting graves. I got out of the car, opened the umbrella, then opened the door for Dao, leading him to my mother’s grave with Direk following with an umbrella.    “Mom, I brought someone to introduce to you.” I said, my gaze lowered, looking at the name, Emma Castillo, engraved on the gravestone.

The atmosphere around was quite chilly, with the wind blowing and the light rain falling as the sun was setting. I felt an indescribable emptiness in my heart, always like this when standing here. The sadness and longing overwhelmed me more than usual, but more than that, there was warmth when I thought of Mom’s face.    I wondered what expression and tone Mom would have if she heard what I was about to say next.

Even though Dao said Mom wasn’t here anymore, I still wanted to tell her.    “Last time I brought someone, but there’s a little update to the story.” I started, speaking in a normal tone, not too soft because I didn’t want the sound of the rain to drown it out, “My boyfriend’s name is Daotok, Mom you would be as surprised as Direk for sure. If you knew I had a boyfriend, I can just imagine your face.”    I smiled as I pictured Mom’s expression.

“I never thought I’d fall in love either, because I’ve never moved on from your situation. I know you wouldn’t like to see me in pain all the time. If you were still here, you would probably scold me to death for being so sad, not to mention my stubbornness about studying medicine.”

“Mom you always said to do what I love, it’s not easy but today I’ve done it. I quit from a place where I was just enduring because I thought you would want me to be happy, and now I am happy, so Mom you don’t need to worry. I have Direk who supports me in everything. I have Dao who’s always by my side.”    “I’m back to making music too, the music I make is fucking awesome, you know, it’s got millions of listeners, soon I’ll be world-famous for sure. Mom, you will have a world-famous son. You know, Direk’s going to start a record label just for me, my mom’s boyfriend is so damn grand.”

“But…it’s a pity you’re not here. If you were here, you would definitely cry and say you are so proud of me. I know it.” My voice started to soften without realizing it, I felt something tight in my chest, and my eyes were welling up. I quickly wiped them away, “I miss you so much, I fucking miss you, Mom.”

Dao reached out to hold my hand. I gripped his small hand tightly, and Direk came to stand beside me, gently touching my shoulder.

“I wish you were here, I want you to see that I’ve done it. I’m not the same person who was just sad and stuck in the past with you Mom. I dare to step out and chase my dreams now, I want you to praise me, say how amazing I am and tell me she’s proud of me.”

“…Fuck, I’m crying now. Not because I’m sad, but because I miss you so much.” I wiped my tears again, but they kept flowing, so I handed the umbrella to Dao and turned to wipe my tears and nose on Direk’s sleeve.

“…Fuck, my shirt.” Direk muttered quietly, but after I stopped crying, I felt a bit better.

“Will you continue talking, Direk?”

“I’ve said it all. From the first day I got here.”

“Oh, why didn’t you wait?”

“Why do I have to wait?”

“What did you say to Mom? I want to know.”

“I’ll tell you later, are you okay now? So we can go back, the rain is getting heavier.”

“Yeah.”

“May I talk to your mom for a moment?” Dao spoke up. I immediately looked at him, snatching the umbrella back from him.

“Go ahead.”

“Hello. My name is Daotok, as he just introduced me. I’ve visited once before a few months ago. Your son, he’s quite stubborn, tough, and rough, but he’s sincere and honest, and I love him for that.”

“No matter what happens from now on, I’ll be by his side, so you don’t have to worry, Mom.” After finishing, Dao turned to me, who was standing with the umbrella beside him, “That’s it.”

“Tell me you love me in front of my Mom a lot, okay?”

“Enough.”

“Why do you talk to you when you yourself said she’s not here anymore?”

“Then why do you talk?”

“Just want to tell her.”

“I feel the same.”

When we got back home, we had dinner cooked by Dao. Of course, Direk was quite picky, but out of politeness, he couldn’t show it. I asked Dao to go to his room or head up to the music practice room because I wanted to be alone with Direk.

   The two of us sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace; the fire was lit for warmth, and the atmosphere in the house was quite quiet. I was the one who started the conversation.    “Direk.”

“What?”

“What did you tell Mom?”

“Just told her about you, that you’ve moved on and can do what you love now.”    “That’s all?”

“Why, what else do you want me to say?”

“What do you think about me choosing this path?”

“Why ask again? I’ve already told you I’m glad you finally chose to do what you like. I’ve never had an issue with your studies, I told you not to go for it during the entrance exam, but you didn’t listen. How about that? Do you think your Mom would want you to do that? You’re not completely stupid.”

“Would Mom be proud of me, Direk? I want to know, but she’s not here to ask.”    “If I were to answer for her, having been Emma’s husband for over a decade, I believe Emma would definitely be proud of you, just like I am.”

“Are you proud of me, Direk?”

“What, didn’t I ever tell you?”

“Never.” I shook my head, “You might have, but I don’t remember.”    “There’s not a day I’m not proud of you.” Direk said, gently touching my shoulder, “From the day you were born until now, as your father, I just want you to be happy. Having you is what makes me want to keep living, you know?”    “Fuck, Direk. I’m going to cry, you bastard.” I said, trying to hold back the tears that were ready to flow again, “I’m so fucking emotional right now.”

“I’m just speaking the truth. If you weren’t here, what would all this mean to me? Why would I work and earn money if it wasn’t for you? You’re everything in my life.”

“Direk…fuck, oh. I’m going to cry.”

“Fuck, can’t I say something heartfelt for once? Like I said, all I hope for is your happiness, so I’m really glad you decided to quit, because it means you’re not clinging to the promises from when you were a kid. You’re not drowning in things that make you miserable anymore.”

“…”

“Whatever you want, I’ll get it for you. If you like making music, I’ll build you a studio. If you want to be a singer, I’ll start a record label for you, Arthit. There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Fuck…this is a father’s love, Hia, Direk, my tears won’t stop, why does it suddenly feel so touching?”

“I don’t understand why you would put yourself through so much pain when you have me here, who loves you this much. Sometimes I wonder if I’m talking to my son or to a buffalo. I think Emma and I aren’t that stupid, why does our son turn out to be so damn foolish?”

“Oh, my tears have turned back around.” I said while wiping my tears vigorously, turning to look at Direk, “Have I ever told you;Direk that I love you ?”

“I don’t know, you better not.”

“I love Direk, you know.”

“I told you not to, it gives me goosebumps.”

“Or should I say it in a cute way like other kids, ‘Dad, I love you so much’?”    “You buffalo, so cute, so cute I feel like kicking you.” Direk rubbed his face hard. I couldn’t help but laugh at his gesture.

“And you aren’t serious about studies?”

“Nope.” He said, picking up a glass of wine to drink, “Do you want some wine?”    “Yeah, pour me some.” And Direk poured wine into a glass for me. I took it and raised it to drink.

“You doing music is good, not to mention my record label business. You’re good at making music, right? In the future, if you become famous, it’ll attract more people, draw in more artists or producers to the label, making our label bigger and bigger. I’ve got plenty of connections, don’t worry.”

“Awesome, Direk, let’s toast to success.”

After sitting and chatting, crying once, and drinking wine together, I went to find Dao in his room but didn’t find him there, so I went up to the music practice room upstairs. There I saw Dao playing the drums, looking somewhat awkward, which made me smile involuntarily. I stood watching until he noticed me.

“Wrong beat.”

“Yeah, can’t get the beat from the video right.” Dao said softly. I went over to have a look.

“Come on, let me teach you.”

“Okay.”

The last day of the year came around quickly. We made dinner ourselves in the evening and then sat waiting on the sofa in front of the fireplace. I sat in Mom’s rocking chair, glancing over at Direk and Dao who were talking. The warmth of the fire helped to dispel the cold.

I got up and sat next to Dao, pulling the smaller person onto my lap, hugging his waist and resting my chin on his shoulder. Dao tried to get up, embarrassed in front of Direk, but I wouldn’t let him.

“It’s okay, no need to be shy.”

“No need to be embarrassed with me. It’s fine.” Direk said, which made Dao stop fidgeting, turning his attention to the movie playing on the TV, “What movie is this?”

“A love story.”

“Do you watch love stories?”

“Well, I’m in love, aren’t I?” I said; this was a movie I chose myself, connecting my computer to the TV to play for all of us to watch together, “Direk, tell us again how you met Mom.”

“The movie is playing though.”

“Then let’s pause it.” I said, reaching for the remote to pause the movie.    “I met her when I came here to study. My dad, Dilok, had had enough of me and sent me here for high school, probably hoping I’d improve my behavior. I was on the football team, and Emma was the cheerleader captain. That day, Emma was locked in the storage room by her friends, and I happened to pass by and helped her out. After that, Emma kind of liked me.”

“No matter how many times I hear this story, I start to wonder if it’s really true.

Mom liked you Direk first, huh?”

“True, I was handsome, I was super hot back then, but I didn’t know shit. Back then, my team lost a football match, and I thought it was my fault, so I was really down. Emma bought snacks to cheer me up, oh. I thought an angel had descended.

We got closer and closer, then started dating, got married, and had you.”    “And what about the person who pranked?” Dao asked.

“I heard Emma got back at all of them; she put cockroaches in lockers, frogs in shoes, secretly during cheer practice, until no one dared to prank Emma again.”    “Kind of like you, who got targeted because you were too good and it made people jealous.” I said. Dao nodded in understanding, “It’s similar to what you told me before about setting fire to people who wanted to wrestle you, damn, you were really good, I must say.”

“Oh yeah, she’s just like Emma, indeed.”

“Don’t give me that look, Direk, or I’ll poke your eyes out. He’s not at all like that, he’s my wife.”

“When did I ever look at you like that, you bastard?”

And then we just sat watching movies until it was almost time for the New Year countdown. Dao took out his phone to check the time down to the second and began the countdown.

3

2

1…

“Happy New Year, you, and Direk too, thanks for the past year, let’s spend another year together.”

“Yeah, may it be a good year for you.” Direk smiled, “and for Dao too.”

“Thank you, may it be a good year for you as well, Uncle.”

“Me too…”

“…”

“I don’t need to wish you well.”

“Why?”

“Because I will make every year of you a good one myself.”

The words from the person in my embrace made me smile broadly; I couldn’t help but lean in to give a cheeky kiss on his cheek. As soon as I kissed, Dao stiffened because Direk was still there with us.

“Same here, from now on, I’ll make every day of yours a good day.”

“Uh.”

“I love you.”

“Hmm.”

“Say it back.”

“…I love you too.”

“Kiss me back.”

“…”

“Quickly.” I urged. Dao hesitated for a moment, glancing at Direk, who was sitting there with a smile watching us. Direk seemed to give his approval, so Dao turned back and kissed me. I raised an eyebrow at Direk like I was the winner.

“Are you jealous?”

“Yeah, I’m going to bed, it’s all too lovey-dovey here.”

I carried the little one, who had fallen asleep watching the movie, upstairs to bed. It was past one in the morning on January 1st. I watched the person next to me, eyes fluttering as they slept, their breathing steady as if in a good dream. I found myself smiling without realizing it.

   I thought back to the day we first met up until now; it still feels like I fell in love with you just yesterday. The only thing that has changed is that my love for you grows every day.

   I consider myself incredibly lucky. Lucky to have Direk. Lucky to have met friends who understand and support me. Lucky to have Dao by my side.

   Everyone who is there for me whenever I turn around, having them here is worth more than anything else.

   I don’t know where my life will lead from here, but just having everyone here is enough to keep me from getting lost again.

   I couldn’t help but plant a kiss on the soft cheek, waking him up in a daze.

   “Sorry for waking you up.”

“Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

“I will soon, just lost in thought.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking how lucky I am to have met you, to have met those guys, I mean Fah, Hill, Jo. Those guys are the best friends I’ve ever had; we’re always at each other’s throats, but they never leave, always helping and supporting me in every way.”

“…”

“And meeting you, that’s probably the luckiest thing ever, aside from Direk being my dad, you fit perfectly with me in every way. Having you by my side makes me feel like I can do anything in this world. No matter how tough things get, I’ll get through them as long as you’re holding my hand.”

“I feel the same.” Dao said softly, lowering his head, “I feel like I can do anything, go anywhere, as long as I have you with me. I’m the lucky one.”

“I am the lucky one.”

“Then we’re both lucky. I’m lucky to have Arthit, Arthit is lucky to have me.

We’re lucky to have each other.”

“Yeah.” I leaned down to kiss the forehead of the person in my embrace gently,

“I’ll make you the luckiest person in the world.”

“I already am, from the very first day Arthit walked into my life.”

“I am too. From the first day you were born as my soulmate.”

“I was that from a past life, from when we were together in a past life.”

“We were together in a past life?”

“I don’t know, but if we were, then we were.”

“Whatever, then I’ve been lucky since many lifetimes ago. Since the Stone Age when you walked past my cave and I hit you on the head and dragged you into my cave.”

“That’s cruel. No need for violence, we could’ve just talked.”

“Back then, I had little patience. You came walking by, looking so cute near my cave, I hit you with a stone and made you my wife.”

“Oh, cheating.”

“How’s that cheating? Being my wife was good, I made you a dress from the hide of a saber-toothed tiger, no one in the village had clothes as nice as yours, you lived well, ate well, didn’t have to hunt because I provided it all.”

“You’ve been taking care of me since the Stone Age, huh?”

“Exactly, how good am I?”

“You’re good, very good, the best.”

“Do you want to hear about you and me during the Egyptian era?”

“I’d love to, tell me.”

“Alright, let’s go to sleep while I tell you a long story tonight.”

“Haha, sure.”

“Back then, I was a pharaoh, so you were a slave building the pyramids for me.”

“Why am I the slave? I want to be a pharaoh too.”

“Then you’re the pharaoh. At sixteen, you became a pharaoh, but because you were young, you were envied, and someone pushed your head against a pillar until you died.”

“Oh. I was only sixteen when I got killed?”

“Yeah, because back then there was a lot of jealousy. Anyone with a bit of power was targeted, it’s normal. After you died, you were made into a mummy.”

“And what were you Arthit? The sun god?”

“I was the grave robber.”

“Why don’t you make yourself sound cool?”

“What’s not cool about Jo? Because I was poor, I wanted the treasures in the tombs since they used to bury treasures with the dead, right? So, I dug up your grave and fell in love with you while you were lying there as a mummy.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, because you’re cute.”

“But I was a mummy.”

“Can’t a mummy be cute?”

“Oh, okay. And then what? Did you steal my treasures?”

“Yes, I stole the treasures along with you. Sold them, got rich, then used the money to hire a shaman to bring your spirit back to life.”

“…”

“But when you were resurrected, it turned out it wasn’t you.”

“Then who was it?”

“A zombie.”

“…”

“You were the first zombie in the world that had never been recorded. Although you could revive your body, your soul didn’t come back with it. So, I decided to have a shaman perform some rituals to go to the afterlife. I met Anubis and fought him, I managed to defeat Anubis, and finally, we met.”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

“Right? But we couldn’t go back to the old world because your body had become a zombie. Now, Zombie Daotok is biting the townspeople. In the end, the Egyptian era ended because of the zombie plague.”

“Because Arthit wanted to bring me back to life.”

“Well, the ritual went wrong, blame the shaman, and importantly, the shaman was named North.”

“Huh?”

“He’s been foolish since back then, messing up the chants, scamming villagers for money.”

“Oh, North. That’s not good, what happened next?”

“We fell in love in the world of the dead. I became the god of death after defeating Anubis, and you became my wife, ending the Egyptian era.”

“And how could I love you Arthit?”

“I went to great lengths to reach you in the afterlife, wouldn’t you love me a little?”

“Oh, okay, love, love.”

“Come on, hey. Not wholehearted love? I’m sulking, sulking on behalf of my past self when I was Jo, robbing tombs, meaning all your declarations of love back then were lies, just to trick me into fighting Anubis?”

“From what I’ve heard, I think I didn’t trick Arthit at all.”

“I don’t know, sigh, it’s heartbreaking, we fought through so much, but he doesn’t appreciate it, truly pitiful.”

“Oh, come on. That’s not it, aren’t you holding onto the past too much?”    “Then make it up to me, kiss my cheek now.” I said, Dao sighed slightly before leaning in to give me a big kiss on the cheek, “Want to hear about the Greek times next?”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Dao listened to my bedtime story until he drifted off to sleep. Now, I had to go to bed too, tightening my embrace around the smaller one, planting another kiss on his smooth forehead.

“Good night, the one I love the most, you know?”

“Hmm.”

Happy Ending 🙂

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 51: Idiot Couple

   Daotok

   In the quiet atmosphere of the house, the air was quite cold as it was fully winter, even though Thailand is generally a hot country. At least, the temperature at night made you feel the chill on your skin.

I came down from the upstairs room because the person who was supposed to be sleeping with me had been gone for quite some time. I saw lights on outside, the voices sounded familiar. I immediately knew it must be Dad and Grandpa, probably sitting and drinking.

I could guess why.

Papa usually comes out to drink here with Dad when he’s worried about something.

I was sure Dad was worried about me…since our conversation in the evening.    In the evening, when we went to watch Dad and Arthit play football together, we sat and talked casually about various things concerning us both, until we ended up discussing Arthit…

Papa wasn’t suspicious or anything; he probably trusted the person I chose, but for Dad, he couldn’t help but worry. Because every time something bad happened to me in the past, it was always Papa who suffered more.

Hearing Arthit’s voice made me feel relieved; he had disappeared from the bed, and I thought he went to the bathroom, but he didn’t come back for a long time, so I came down to check because I was worried, only to find out he was just enjoying drinks with Dad and Grandpa.

I paused my steps slightly as I got closer and heard the conversation among the three of them.

“If you make my son sad, I’ll kill you, understand? Gavin, you have to deal with him if he makes Daotok sad.”

“Understood. I’ll deal with him, kiddo. I won’t spare you if you make my son even slightly sad.”

“Yeah. If I make Dao sad, I’ll let you kill me.”

“Promised?”

“I swear on my life.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely, my whole life, I’ve already given it to Dao.”

I couldn’t help but smile when I heard that. Aunt and Dad looked stunned before breaking into wide smiles. At that moment, I decided to step out, and everyone turned to look at me simultaneously.

   We talked a little before Dad took Papa to rest since he was starting to get drunk, leaving me and Arthit alone outside the house.

   “I thought you’d disappeared for a while, turns out you were just drinking with

Papa and Dad.”

“Came down for some water, saw my in-laws drinking, so I joined in.” He said,

“Want some?”

“Yeah.”

“How much?”

“You’ll see me drunk soon enough.”

“Drunk? It would take a whole crate to get me drunk.”

“Are you that tough?”

“Kind of.” I smiled, watching him pour liquor into an empty glass, add water, and slide it towards me. We clink our glasses and take a sip, letting the bitter taste flow down our throats. “What were you talking about?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“I only heard the part where you promised Aunt and Dad.”

“Oh, before that, it was just general stuff. Aren’t you cold?”

“Just cool, why?”

“I’m cold, thank goodness for the alcohol, it makes me feel much warmer.”

“Oh, you prefer hot weather, right?”

“Right. Yeah, you’re good for accepting Dad’s new partner like this. You get along with everything without any problems, imagine if it were me, I couldn’t do it.”

“You mean if uncle had a new partner?”

“Yeah. If one day Direk brings a new partner home, I’d definitely kill them. No one should dare to come into my family’s space without my permission, replacing my mom? That’s too arrogant, Direk, just thinking about it makes me furious, damn it.”

“Hmm. Just because I can accept it doesn’t mean everyone can accept it like I do.” I said understandingly. Arthit is very protective and loves his family a lot; I know how sensitive he is about these things, “But Uncle won’t have a new lover anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Uncle loves your mom too much.”

“Did you secretly read Direk’s feelings or something?”

“No. Just observing is enough to know.”

“Yeah. That’s right, Direk knows how crazy it would get if he brought someone new. Plus, he loves me the most, doesn’t he, Direk? Who could be as important as me?”

“Your flirting skills have advanced to the point of flirting with your dad’s love, huh?” I teased a little, “And what about me?”

“Hm?”

“Have I been allowed into the family space yet?”

“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t even ask. Direk loves you like another son, I’m damn in love with you, what more do you want?”

“Ha ha, okay, ouch!” I yelped as he suddenly slapped my arm, then he held up his hand with a dead mosquito and some blood on it, “Ah, so many mosquitoes these days, let’s go inside…what are you doing?”

I asked when I saw him squashing the mosquito corpse on the table.

“I hate it, it dared to bite my wife.”

“…It’s dead now, calm down.”

“Damn, I’m still not satisfied. I should have tortured it first instead of just killing it.” He said through gritted teeth, clearly angry, “Should I eat it?”

“No, don’t.” I quickly stopped him as he was about to put the dead mosquito into his mouth, swatting his hand away, causing the mosquito to fly off. I stood up, took his face in both my hands, forcing him to look up at me since I was standing and he was sitting, creating a height difference. I furrowed my brows and stared into his sharp eyes, “Don’t eat mosquitoes, understand?”

“Understood, why so serious?”

“Sigh, crazy people do crazy things.”

“I’m the crazy one?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, huh, oh…what’s this?” I pressed harder on both his cheeks, making his speech garbled, and he immediately looked annoyed. I burst out laughing at his funny face, “Let go.”

“Yeah, funny.” I released my hands.

“You’re the only one who has the right to do this.” He said, pulling my waist closer. I lightly wrapped my arms around his neck; he leaned down to press his face against my stomach. I pushed him away, “Why push?”

“What if someone sees?”

“No one will see, they’ve all gone to bed.”

“You never know, what if Dad gets up to use the bathroom?”

“Then let’s go back to the room, mosquitoes are starting to bite.”

“Yeah.”

We helped clean up the things on the table, made sure he washed his hands, which were dirty from swatting the mosquito, before heading back to the room.    “I want to smoke.” Arthit said immediately after sitting on the bed. I didn’t respond because I understood what he meant; I moved closer, straddling his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck again, and leaned in for a gentle kiss before our tongues started to intertwine.

Want to smoke…

   For him, it meant he wanted to kiss.

Because he used to be a heavy smoker until we started dating and I asked him to cut down because I was worried. So, when he felt like smoking, he would kiss me instead, to the point where this phrase now meant he wanted to kiss.    We left Dad’s house early the next morning and got back to our place by evening. I had to leave Mr. Jeon at home because we had planned to go back to San Francisco together at the end of the year.

At first, I was a bit worried about whether it was right to take me to be part of his family’s important moments like that, but he insisted it was definitely a good thing because he considered me part of his family already.

But before we could reach the New Year holidays, we had to get through the end-of-term exams first.

Even though winter had come around, I didn’t feel cold at all, at most just a slight chill on the skin. Arthit, who hates the cold, said that this was one of the reasons he likes Thailand because even in winter, it’s not cold.

Today was a day off from my faculty to give students time to prepare for exams. I woke up early as usual to cook breakfast and make hot coffee. Once everything was ready, I went to wake up the lazy one who was still burrowed under the blanket.

“No, not getting up, too lazy.”

“You have to.”

He opened his eyes, glaring at me.

“Why does a person have to wake up early anyway?”

“Arthit has to go to the ward, right?”

“Forget it, you come to sleep here, I’ll call the professor, I’m going to quit.”    “You really complain a lot.” I said. He’s said he would quit for the millionth time because the heavy coursework combined with it not being something he enjoys wears him down more and more. But despite that, he remains stubborn about continuing because of a promise he made when he was young.

I once talked to Uncle Direk about his studies. We agreed that he doesn’t need to do this; his mother probably wouldn’t want him to endure something he doesn’t like either.    “Here.”

“What?”

“I talked to Uncle.” I decided to say, my serious tone and expression made him sit up in bed. I sat down next to him, “Studying is definitely a good thing, but doing what you love is just as important.”

“…What’s this all of a sudden, so serious?”

“I don’t want to interfere with what you decide, but can I speak from my own perspective?”

“Hmm.”

“Arthit…Right now, your music is very popular, you know that, right? Many record labels have been contacting you, and if you keep studying, you might miss out on these opportunities. If it’s what you like, that’s okay. I won’t say anything, but you have never been happy about waking up to go to school. There isn’t a single day when you don’t complain to me about being tired. It’s not that I’m tired of listening, but I’m worried because it’s deteriorating day by day.”

“…”

“Arthit you are talented, I know. If you put your mind to it, the results are always good, even with something as challenging as medical school. But living with something you don’t like isn’t good. Your identity will be slowly consumed, and before you know it, you might lose your way completely. Fortunately, you know what you like, what makes you happy, and have the capability to go forward in that direction.”

“…”

“What keeps you here is the promise you made to your mother. I understand because your mother is very important to Arthit, but if she were still here, would she want you to do this?”    He shook his head.

“She would probably want me to do what I want more.”

“Right?”

“…But I’ve been studying for four years already, damn it.”

“But if you wait until you graduate, that’s another two years.”

“…”

“I’m not saying it’s bad. Not at all, university opens up opportunities for people. Like Arthit, you met friends. I’m the same. I’ve met everyone here, met excellent professors, new people, new things. Everyone has dreams, many choose to study to fulfill those dreams, but your dream isn’t here, is it?”

“Damn, you’re making me feel all soft-hearted now.”

“I just want you to listen to me, because even Direk thinks the same.”

“Yeah, Direk has been against it since I decided to apply to medical school, and look how stubborn I’ve been, sigh.”

“And how’s studying medicine going?”

“Don’t call it medicine, call it ‘dog’, damn it. It’s hard, and there’s so much, damn it. Forget about ‘A’, I want to bow at the professors’ feet when I pass ‘F’.”

“Do you feel like you have any identity there?”

“What identity would there be? The department dog, George, is probably better than me.”

“Stand in the right place, and you’ll have your own identity. In the music industry, people are watching your identity right now. There are millions of listeners, record labels wanting to sign you, and even Uncle Direk wants you to follow what he loves. Your mom would feel the same way. Of course, I feel the same.”

“Wow, I’m really down, seriously. I’ve thought about quitting a lot too, always asking myself what I’m doing here. Yeah, okay, I can do it. If I try hard, I can get good grades too, but I don’t want to try at all. I’m tired because I don’t like it; I get discouraged by the slightest thing. I have no energy for it, but with music, it’s completely different.”

“Hmm.” I nodded gently, “I’m glad you listened to me. Think about it. No matter which path you choose, I’ll always support you. I can listen to you complain about anything.”

“Thanks.”

…

Arthit

   After breakfast, I sat lost in thought on the balcony. It was already half past seven, considered late if I were to go to the ward, but today I wasn’t in the mood to do anything.

   Ever since I started making music, I’ve felt happiness because I’m doing what I love, following my dreams. For the past four years, I’ve never felt this before; it was so discouraging that I wanted to give up many times, but I ignored those thoughts and kept pushing forward.

   This isn’t my place. I know that well.

   If I tried a little harder, things might get better, but the point is, I don’t want to try anymore. I don’t know what I’d get good grades for, trading them for so much fatigue and pressure. It’s not like others who have clear goals.

   No matter what, if I graduate, I won’t become a doctor; it’s not what I want. I can’t see myself on this path; I’m only studying because of a promise I made to my mom when I was a child. I thought I could do it, even though my own mother, if she were still here, wouldn’t want me to force myself like this.

   If I take a step further, not towards the study desk but the music desk, I’m happy with what I’m doing. The word ‘tired’ never crosses my mind. I enjoy experimenting, enjoy the sound of music, enjoy singing, and always feel proud of myself every time I complete a song.

   It must be as Dao said, stand in the right place, and you’ll have your identity.

   Because of what Dao said, it made me reconsider myself.

   Because of this faculty, I’ve met talented people like Hill, kind people like Fah, and rich people like Jo’s dad, met skilled doctors, encountered lazy dogs like George, learned new things, and have so many memories.

   And what if I switch to studying something else?

   No, no, I don’t like studying anything. I’ll make music.

   Sigh, thinking too much, this isn’t like me at all.

   I glanced at my phone, not sure how many calls I had missed. This time it was Jo. I let out a big sigh before answering.

“I’m not going today.” I immediately said, thinking he was calling to get me to go to the ward.

(That’s not what I was asking.)

   “Then why call?”

(Just come over.)

   “Want to meet up? No, how about tonight?”

(Damn, come to my room, I’m too lazy to go out.)

   “Wouldn’t a hotel be better? Doing it in the room, isn’t that too disrespectful to

North? He’s my junior, I want to keep some respect for him.”

(Respecting him by taking his boyfriend out to a hotel, huh?)

   “Yes, enough. I’m not in the mood for this, what do you want, I’m not in a good mood right now.”

(You’re the one playing, I’m too lazy to talk on the phone. So, are you coming, or should I come to you?)

   “I’ll come in a bit.”

(Okay.)

   And then the call ended, making me wonder what was going on, why he needed me to come to the room…Wait, does that mean he’s not going to the ward today either?

“Dao.”

“Hmm?” Dao, who was reading, looked up at the sound of his name.

“Let’s go to North’s room.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but his boyfriend called.”

“Okay.” Dao immediately closed his book, put it in his bag, gathered a few things, and changed his clothes. We drove to Jo’s condo, and when we arrived, North was the one who opened the door, with a face that wasn’t as cheerful as usual, making me feel uneasy.

What’s going on?

“Phipungto, I’ve already said it, Phii Jo is really stressed.” North said as he shook Dao’s arm.

“I just said it out loud too.”

“Really? And what did Phii Arthit say?”

“I mean, aren’t I here?” I said, turning to North, who looked at me. “What’s going on with you guys, and where’s Jo?”

“In the study.”

“Alright, then I’ll go see him first.”

“Hmm.” Dao responded. I left the two of them outside and walked into Johan’s study. He was leaning back in his chair with his feet up on the desk. When he heard the door, he glanced over at us.

“What’s up?” I asked as I sat down on the nearby sofa, leaning back in a familiar way.

“North came to talk to me this morning, said he consulted with your wife.”

“Consulted with my wife?”

“Yeah, about studying.”

“Dao just told me this morning too.” I raised an eyebrow, immediately understanding what those two had discussed, and by coincidence, it was on the same day.

“Oh, that’s the same then. Fah called me to say you didn’t show up for your ward duty and asked me to call you. When he called, you didn’t answer.” Jo said, “So I thought you were skipping today and wanted to talk about it.”

“About quitting, right?”

“Yeah, you know, I work, and the reason I studied medicine is because my dad told me to. But last time I asked him if he really wanted me to study, he said he didn’t want it that much. He just thought having a doctor for a son would be cool, but if I can’t handle it, I can quit and just work, he doesn’t mind.”

“Oh, well, if your parents are okay with it and don’t force you, then there’s no reason to keep studying, especially since you don’t want to be here.”

“It’s not that I can’t handle it, I can study, but it’s just not right for me.” the guy sitting on the desk rubbed his head back and forth, “When I heard my dad say that,

I was half-convinced already, and after hearing North today, I really want to quit.”

“What did he say?”

“Something like, don’t force yourself to do what you don’t like, and he’s right. A lot of people from our faculty have quit. If it’s not for you, just step back.”    “Yeah, Dao said something similar to me, and now I’m thinking about it too. It’s a turning point; you need to think a lot about it, but thinking a lot isn’t my style, damn it.”

“And why are you still studying then?”

“I promised my mom when I was little, but now when I think about it, my mom probably wouldn’t want me to force myself. She’d want me to be happy, and now, my music is doing great, you know? So many record labels have contacted me, wanting to sign me. Next year, at the Billboard Music Awards, there should be

Dylan Castillo, right?”

“That’s good then, so why don’t you drop out now? You won’t even have to take exams, damn it, Me too I think I’ve had enough, I can’t take it anymore.”

“Then we will leave Hill and Fah to work together.”

“I think they’ll be happier. They won’t have to work for us, let them be free from us for once.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I nodded in agreement, “But Dao, he’s working while studying. In the end, when he graduates, he wants to open a gallery. It has nothing to do with his studies.”

“Isn’t it that your wife likes studying?”

“Hey, how do you know?”

“My wife told me.”

“Yeah, Dao likes studying, but we don’t.”

“Then drop out.”

“Open your laptop, I want to print the withdrawal form now.”

“Damn it. I’m not waiting to graduate, I’m dropping out now, I can’t take it anymore.”

“Open the laptop, hurry up, I’m in a rush.”

“Okay, okay.”

And then the two of us printed our withdrawal forms together, took them home for signatures, and then submitted them to the faculty in the afternoon. We talked to our professors for a long time; they weren’t too keen on us dropping out since we were in our fourth year, but we talked until they understood. We left the faculty office, looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

“Damn it. I never thought this day would come, the day we both drop out together.” Jo said cheerfully.

“Yeah, it’s that simple, it’s good. We shouldn’t have forced ourselves for so long; it didn’t feel like us at all.” I replied, “Sigh, the professor signed Dobby’s withdrawal form, Dobby is free.”

“What did your dad say?”

“He seemed happy, man. Direk has wanted me to do what I love for a long time, and what about your family?”

“Gene didn’t say anything, just respect my decision.” Said the person beside me.

I shrugged. I walked out to where someone was waiting below the building, seeing

Hill and Fah there too. “Are you guys done?”

“Yeah, why didn’t you come today?” Fah asked immediately. I gave him a victorious half-smile.

“We’ve quit.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, me and Jo just handed in our resignation.”

“Oh, so you’ve made up your mind, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good then, I hope you both do well with the path you’ve chosen.” Fah said. I sat down next to Dao, turning to look at him.

“Phii, why do you look so down, you’ll miss us, won’t you?”

“No, me and Hill will finally have some peace, right, Hill?”

“Yeah, finally free from freeloaders, always having to tutor for exams, take notes during lectures, teach everything, do the work for them, some days even having to call to check on them. I’ve always wondered how you guys could stand it for so long.”

“Can you guys at least pretend to be sad? Don’t look like you’ve been liberated.”    “But that’s how I really feel.” Hill said. I shrugged indifferently; their reactions were not far from what I expected. They weren’t that lonely; we’d probably see each other often anyway, “And are you guys studying tonight?” Hill turned to ask North.

“Oh, yeah, we’ll meet at the usual coffee shop.”    “Say ‘khrap’ to me sometimes.” I said.

“Ew.”

“Blergh.”

…

In the evening, we met at the coffee shop. Actually, I was supposed to study, but I don’t have to anymore. I felt the freedom for the first time in almost five years of enduring and overcoming so much. Whatever had been haunting me every day was gone.

   I am free!

   I don’t have to study. Don’t have to go to the ward. Don’t have to get scolded by the doctors anymore!!

   “You look so refreshed.” Dao remarked as we were about to leave the room. I reached out to hug the person beside me.

“Of course, who could be more refreshed than me in this world?” I ran my hand through my hair, “I don’t have to wake up early, don’t have to study late into the night, that Dr. Arthit is dead, only Dylan the musician remains, what do you think about this?”

“As I said, I support you in all his decisions. Seeing you this happy makes me glad.”

“If you hadn’t spoken up, I probably wouldn’t have decided on anything.”

“Hmm. I’ve seen you suffer for so long.”

“I really didn’t choose wrong by following your religion. This religion has truly led me to enlightenment, freeing a sinner like me to the path of heaven. Oh, your head is glowing now; is this the light of sanctity? My eyes are burning.” “…Madman.”

“Oh, hey. Are you running away just because of that? Just kidding, your head isn’t glowing. I just wanted to say that your forehead is so sweaty it’s reflecting light.”

Hearing that, Dao stopped in his tracks and turned to look at me with disgust.

“What kind of person makes excuses that make things worse?”

“Arthit, get lost.”

“Why are you chasing me away?”

“You’re annoying.”

“Have I done anything to bother you? No, right? I’m just in my own space, right?”

“Your father’s space, huh?” Hill snapped, looking at me with clear annoyance after I started doing push-ups in the coffee shop. This is the top floor, which is usually a private room in Jo’s coffee shop where we normally read. But today, why, oh right! Because today I don’t need to read! “Why don’t you do your pushups in your room or at the gym or something? It’s so annoying to see something moving up and down like that.”

“Why?” I asked back, doing push-ups even faster. Hill sighed heavily, “Is it really that annoying, Hill? I think it’s quite fun, look, I can do push-ups so fast.”

“Your problem.”

“I can do one-handed push-ups too, Hill, look.”

“No.”

“Whatever, I can do high push-ups too.”

“I’m going to read. Sigh, Fah, can you stop him?”

“Can’t stop him. I suggest you turn your back to him like I do.” Fah said. After getting annoyed by my push-ups, he moved his chair to another spot, turning his back to me.

“I turned around and he followed me here, what’s your deal with me, Arthit?”

“I don’t know, I just feel like messing with you today.”

“…” Hill didn’t reply, just sighed quietly, continuing to endure my provocation. I glanced over at the wives sitting on the other side of the room, deeply engrossed in their reading.

“Jo.” I called out. Jo, who was tutoring North, turned to look at me, “Want to do a push-up contest?”

“I’ll do it one-handed.”

“Jo, don’t go along with his craziness. I already have a headache.”

“Oh, Hill has a headache, huh? Come on then. No need for one hand, just come.”

Jo got up from the table and walked over here immediately, “I was thinking what

Arthit was up to, coming to do push-ups next to Hill.”

“Hill shouldn’t have warned him.” Fah said with an exasperated tone, Hill nodded in annoyance, “What time is it anyway? You guys are not going to read anymore, so you come here to do push-ups while we’re trying to study? Have you been holding this in for a while or what?”

“To show you guys.” I said after getting back into a sitting position to wait for Jo, “How good it is not to have to read books, see how I can use the time to do push-ups.”

“Sigh, just doing push-ups, isn’t that normal?” Hill remarked, “If it were me, I’d put something on your back.”

“Yeah, what would be good, hey, Dao.” I called out, both of them looked up from their books, “North too. Come here.”

“What, Phii?”

Both of them got up from the table and walked over to me and Jo.

“We’re going to do a push-up contest. Can you guys sit on our backs for a bit?” “We need to study.” Dao frowned, to be honest, I usually like Dao to sit on my back when I do push-ups, it’s not too heavy.

“Yeah, consider it a break, and help count too.”

“Are you serious, Phii Jo?” North asked, Jo chuckled a bit and nodded, North sighed, “Okay. Just one round, but isn’t this cheating, Hia? Because you’re lighter than me.”

“No. I’ve gained weight.”

“How much do you weigh?”

“Sixty.”

“I weigh sixty-three, go get something to hold.” North commanded.

“Make my wife hold three kilos? Are you crazy? You might as well cut off your own arms.”

“Oh, not letting her hold but asking me to cut off my arm, how touching.”    “Never mind. Just add three kilos then.” Jo said, raising his eyebrows.

“Who would agree to that? Just get a thick book, hey, Fah, do you have one?”    “I’ll look for one.” Fah responded, standing up to fetch a book, returning with a stack in his hands, “This should do.”

“Okay, you don’t have to hold it, just lay it down. Just make sure it doesn’t fall.”

“Hmm.”

And then, the two of us got into position to do push-ups with someone sitting on our backs, competing to see how many we could do while the person on our back counted.

“We need to read.” Dao said, frowning. Actually, I like having Dao sit on my back while I do push-ups; it’s not too light, which is good.    “Yeah, consider it a break then, and help count too.”

“Phii Jo, are you serious?” North asked. Jo let out a small laugh and nodded.

North sighed, “Okay. Just one round then, Hia, isn’t this cheating? Because

Phipungto weighs less than me.”

“No. I’ve gained weight.”

“How much do you weigh?”

“Sixty.”

“I weigh sixty-three, go get something to hold.” North commanded again.    “Make my wife hold three kilos? Are you crazy? You might as well cut off your own arms.”

“Oh, not letting her hold but asking me to cut off my arm, how touching.”    “Never mind. Just add three kilos then.” Jo said, raising his eyebrows.

“Who would agree to that? Just get a thick book, hey, Fah, do you have one?”    “I’ll look for one.” Fah responded, standing up to fetch a book, returning with a stack in his hands, “This should do.”

“Okay, you don’t have to hold it, just lay it down. Just make sure it doesn’t fall.”

“Hmm.”

Then, both of us got into position to do push-ups with people sitting on our backs. We started pushing up against each other while people behind us counted how many times.

“Forty-five, forty-six, forty-seven.” the numbers kept counting, along with sighs from those who were reading not far away. I looked up, laughing at the thoroughly annoyed expressions of Hill and Fah. They had stopped reading because they couldn’t take it anymore, sitting with their chins in their hands, watching me and Jo compete in push-ups.

“Sigh. You really shouldn’t let two crazy people be together.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 50: All My Life

   Arthit

   As time goes on, it seems like Dao is getting more accustomed to the new room. Personally, I’ve never had any issues with moving, but beyond that, I’ve grown accustomed to having someone else become a true part of my daily life. Waking up to breakfast made for two, the food tasting better and better each day, packing lunch, and then heading off to our studies separately. In the evening, we come back to eat, shower, and go to bed together.

Of course, that includes the matter at hand. Dao’s body is gradually adjusting until it seems like it doesn’t hurt anymore after several rounds of sex. The only thing he’s not used to is the physical exhaustion. So I have to try to reduce the frequency and duration, or else Dao won’t be able to wake up for school.    You don’t need to be told to know how crazy I am about him. Just seeing him in something slightly revealing or just touching him gets me aroused, and my excitement for him never seems to wane; in fact, it only grows.

My new song was written after the first one received a fantastic response, with view counts now in the millions and still climbing. For the second song, I added live instruments. I play the drums, and Dao plays the guitar. It’s not completely finished yet.

The painting corner I set up for Dao has changed slightly since we moved in; the walls are now decorated with the paintings we did together. Of course, I’m not a great artist, but I wanted to contribute, which Dao seems to like, saying they’re pretty.

We’ve lived together for almost a month now, and I can confidently say it’s become a habit to see the small person walking around the room, organizing things, cleaning, cooking, hanging laundry, sitting and painting in his corner, sometimes working at the desk or changing his workspace to the balcony or sofa.

Watching movies or working on music together.

Living together has allowed me to notice some of Dao’s personal habits, like when he can’t think of work, he likes to soak in the bath for a long time, or he’ll stare out at the view, play guitar on the balcony, or sometimes sit still for hours without doing anything. Even his odd habit of sitting in the wardrobe; one day I came back home, puzzled because I couldn’t find my boyfriend anywhere. I thought maybe he was hidden by ghosts, but he was actually working on his laptop inside the wardrobe.

Dao said he likes being in there because it feels like he can concentrate better. It’s like entering another world where nothing disturbs him. He leaves the door slightly ajar for air and uses a small fan inside, which is something very Daotok, something only he would do. Of course, I couldn’t handle it; I’d feel

claustrophobic, probably because he’s small, and the wardrobe is big enough not to feel cramped. He told me it’s normal for him, so I didn’t think much of it.    I remembered the imaginary friend of Dao who had the same name as my mother. Dao said that Emma had disappeared at some point, and he felt a bit sad about it, but it might have been for the best because Emma was created by Dao out of loneliness. Even though he wasn’t lonely, he had always been alone, leading to the creation of another persona to talk to, comfort him when he was sad, or be a counselor when he was troubled.

Of course, I could be all those things for Dao, so Emma gradually faded away. It seemed there was no longer a need for an imaginary presence by his side because now he had me.

Dao doesn’t like messy rooms. As for me, I’m quite the mess-maker, but Dao never complains; he just quietly tidies up after me. He’s started to get used to my annoying habits like leaving my shirt hanging on the chair, scattering things around, and not neatly taking off my shoes; the cute part is that Dao is the one who always cleans up. If you ask if I’ll change my habits, no, because Dao said he’s willing to do it.

Today is another day I have to go to the ward. I woke up early as usual, finding the person beside me still in deep sleep. Normally, Dao would wake up before me to cook, but today he woke up late because he was up late reading last night, so there’s no packed lunch, only breakfast.

“I’m going.”

“Uh.”

I bent down to kiss the forehead of the person who came to see me off at the door, then walked to my car to drive to the hospital. During lunch break, I had to find a place to eat since I didn’t bring lunch.

I went with Jo, who’s in the same ward, to my usual restaurant. When I say ‘usual’, it doesn’t mean it’s delicious; it’s not good, which is why I come here often, you don’t have to wait long because there aren’t many customers. Jo immediately looked annoyed when he realized we were going to this place again.    “Has it gotten any better?” I asked, almost not believing my own taste buds, having eaten there from freshman to senior year, and today it suddenly tasted better. The person sitting across from me shook his head in disgust.

“No.”

“Try mine.” I pushed my plate forward, Jo tasted it and still shook his head, “But

I think it’s better today.”

“Are you so used to eating bad food that you’ve lost your taste?”

“Are you saying the food my wife cooks isn’t good?”

“You said it yourself that it wasn’t good.”

“Yeah, true.” I nodded; it’s not good, I was just stating the truth, and Dao thought the same, “Damn, has my tongue turned into a crocodile’s, used to eating bad food?”

“It’s good then, you think everything tastes good.”

“Wow, the food from this restaurant is delicious, it’s amazing, I really have to thank my wife.” I felt grateful; from now on, whatever it is, it’ll probably taste good to me.

“Annoying.”

“What? When you were flirting with my wife, I was annoyed with you too.”

“Ha, what about the one who used to have such a sharp tongue before?”    “Well, people learn, don’t they? Back then, I wasn’t enlightened yet.” I said, shrugging as I continued to scoop rice from my plate. No matter what, it’s not as good as the rice my wife makes.

While I was thinking about this, a chat notification popped up. I opened the chat to find Dao had sent a picture of his bank account, showing a deposit of about two hundred thousand, explaining that Direk had transferred it. I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“What?”

“What?”

“My dad transferred two hundred thousand to Dao.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know, let me call and ask.” I immediately called Direk, and after a moment, he picked up, “Direk, why did you transfer money to my wife?”

(Oh, it’s your salary, isn’t it?)

   “Huh?”

(Your money that I give you every month.)

   “And why not transfer it to me?”

(You’re a spendthrift, better let Mrs. Dao handle it and manage your expenses.)

   “Direk, you’re joking, right?”

(Yes, from now on, if you want to buy anything, ask your wife.)

   “Direk, are you crazy, what’s this stinginess about now?”

(Not being stingy. Just wanted to tease you.)

   “What’s this about, Direk?” I protested, not agreeing at all. Why would Direk do this? Asking my wife for money isn’t cool. Before I could say anything more, Direk hung up. I scratched my head in frustration.

“What did your dad say?”

“My salary, he let Dao handle the expenses.”

“Because you’re so extravagant.”

“Yeah, damn it.” I cursed, and Jo burst into laughter.

“That’s good.”

“What the hell is good about it? From now on, if I want anything, I’ll have to ask Dao to buy it. Where am I supposed to get money to pay Dao? It’s a disaster.” I complained, “You guys used to say our hearts aren’t ours anymore, well, my money isn’t mine either, damn it.”

“You still have money that you left with me.”

“Yeah, how much is it now?”

“I can’t remember the exact amount, but it’s several million.” Jo replied, “Do you want some of it? I’ll transfer a million to you for now.”

“That’s good, transfer it then, sigh.”

I couldn’t help but sigh. There’s nothing wrong with letting Dao keep my money, but it doesn’t feel right, you know? From now on, I’ll just give my salary to Dao.

I’ll make do with the profits from the investments with Jo.

…

“Are you really going to let me keep this money?” Dao asked as we were having dinner in the room.

“Yeah.”

“Two hundred thousand, you mean you usually get two hundred thousand a month?”

“Yes.”

“And you complain about not having enough money, meaning it’s not enough?”

“Yeah. Who would have enough?”

“You should ask why it’s not enough. I only spend a few thousand a month.”

“Good for you, being frugal. It’s good that you’re saving it.”

“Then just tell me what you want to buy. I’ll transfer the money for you.”    “Okay.” I agreed because I actually intended not to touch that money. After dinner, I helped Dao wash the dishes, and we showered together for about half an hour. The other half hour was what we did together every night, once in the bathroom and then on the bed. Tonight, I was satisfied after holding back to just twice a night for several days, because tomorrow was a holiday, and we planned to stay over at Dao’s house.

“Look at the camera.” I said cheerfully while holding the camera pointed at the person in front of me who was frying rice. Dao stopped stirring with the spatula and looked at me, puzzled.

“Filming what?”

“Video.”

“Hm?”

“A memory video, something like that, to keep for watching later.”

“Oh.”

“What did you do this morning?”

“Stir-fried vegetables.”

“Did you taste it? Is it good?”

“It’s okay, want to try?”

“Yeah, feed me.” I said. Dao scooped some stir-fried vegetables from the pan for me to taste. After trying it, I found it quite tasty, “It’s good!”

“Really?”

“Your cooking skills have improved again.” I complimented, reaching out to pat the little one’s head. Of course, it was all being recorded on video.

“Isn’t it because you’re used to eating bad food?”

“Why think that?”

“Arthit told me.”

“Oh, well, but so what? As long as I eat it and it’s good, that’s enough, right?”    “Hmm.” Dao nodded before turning to scoop the stir-fried vegetables into a bowl, ladling out some cooked rice onto a plate, and serving it on the table. I, acting as the cameraman, didn’t miss any of the actions. Even the way he moved, I thought was so cute, so cute that I wanted to edit this clip, add subtitles, and upload it to show off the cuteness that only I could capture.

I put the camera down because I had to eat.

“And what did your family say?”

“They said they want to meet.”

“Damn, what a tough guy, like, they want to meet, come on.” I teased.

“It’s not a challenge, they just want to meet my boyfriend.”

“Yeah, I get it, and what do I have to do when I go to your place? Do I need to behave properly or something? That’s hard if that’s the case, I don’t have much manners.”

“Hmm. It’s not much, everyone is nice, and Dad likes you Arthit.”

“And the clothes?”

“Just casual.”

“Can I go out wearing just boxers?”

“Yeah, but Dad might want to punch because he’s jealous, having to see another guy walking around shirtless in the house.”

“Really? So if they actually fight, what would you do?”

“Sit and watch.”

“You’re not worried about me at all?”

“What’s there to worry about?”

“What, your dad is a big example.”

“Where am I small?”

“You’re  only this big.” I said jokingly, and Dao looked up at me with disgust. After packing my things to stay over at Dao’s house, we left the room and set off. I intended to drive, wanting to have Dao as a passenger, to be the one to take him home, and to enjoy the scenery together.

“If you get tired, we can switch.” Dao said while starting the engine. I glanced at the cat sitting comfortably on Dao’s lap, feeling jealous for the millionth time. I get jealous of everything that gets to be with Dao, even to the point of being jealous of a figure, wanting to make a figure of myself for Dao to collect, who knows why.

“It’s okay, just chill, let’s go, you.”

Then the car moved out from the parking lot under the condo.

“Yeah, how did your dad and your dad fall in love?” I asked a question I had asked before but had forgotten.

“Dad was Dad’s love at first sight, they met at a coffee shop.”

“Oh, but for us, it wasn’t love at first sight, huh? It took me so long to like you…oh, it was a long time. If you hadn’t moved next door, how would it have been?”

“We would have met some other way.”

“Why?”

Dao turned to look at me.

“Oh. Didn’t I tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“About when I read your fortune.”

“You said my love graph was going up, but there was something else you didn’t mention.”

“Oh…that we’re soulmates.”

The response from the person beside me made me take my eyes off the road and look at him abruptly.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn, I’m embarrassed now.” I said honestly. Now I was starting to feel embarrassed. Damn, soulmates, that’s awesome.

“Embarrassed?”

“Yeah, then it means no matter what happens, you’ll stay with me like this, right?”

“Yeah.”

“From the fortune?”

“No, from the heart.”

“Wow, can I let go of the steering wheel and kiss you right now?”

“Are you crazy? Watch the road!”

“The road isn’t as interesting as you are right now.”

“Drive properly.” the person beside me warned seriously. I couldn’t help but laugh. I was just joking, if I did something strange and the car went off the road, what would happen if Dao got hurt?

The scenery by the roadside kept changing, accompanied by the music playing in the car. We chatted playfully until we reached our destination. I drove into the parking area next to the house, unable to help but glance around at the house with curiosity.

This was the house where Dao had been living for a while.

After a while, a man slightly taller than Dao came out with a warm smile. I was sure this was his uncle because I had seen him in pictures before; he came up and hugged Dao immediately. All I could do was stand and watch from behind.    Damn, Arthit. Even if you’re jealous, you can’t be jealous of his dad, you bastard.

While trying to keep my mind from thinking about crap, I noticed another tall man walking out, this one was Gavin, Dao’s dad. I had met him once before, so it wasn’t hard to recognize him.

Dao’s papa walked towards me and extended her hand. I shook his hand and introduced myself in English. I was a bit confused before responding in Thai.

“I can speak Thai, you know.”

“Oh, right, you’re half-Thai, I forgot.”

Then Gavin came over to greet me again, and the four of us then walked into the house.

“Your dad doesn’t look like you at all, huh?” I whispered to the person beside me.

“How so?”

“He doesn’t seem as cold as you, he’s quite cheerful.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s how Dad is.”

“And you look like your mom?”

“I look like Uncle Akar next door.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, Uncle Akar is just as quiet as I am.”

“Really?”

“Joking.”

The other’s words made me squint at him; I almost believed it, damn it. Let’s forget about this for now. I took off my shoes and walked into the house; this house was medium-sized, neither too small nor too big, with two floors. It seemed just right for the number of family members, including a grandmother.    Once inside, I saw a woman watching TV. I greeted her with a small wai according to my limited manners. She returned the wai and called Dao over.    “Hey, my grandson. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, come sit beside me, my grandson, and you, young man, come too.” I went to sit next to her as instructed, only to be stared at until I was completely confused, “Wow, you’re really handsome, both the grandson and the grandson’s partner. You’ve found a son-in-law or grandson-in-law that’s just to my liking.”    I smiled at the compliment.

“What’s your name again?”

“Arthit.”

“Oh, um, nice name. I heard you’re half, right?”

“Thai-American, ma’am.”

And then the grandmother kept asking me questions without stopping, telling stories about Dao when he was young. Dao told me to stay with her for a while as he was going to help his aunt prepare dinner.

“He was a quiet child, like this since he was young. He didn’t have many friends in kindergarten; the teacher wrote in his report that he wasn’t very cheerful, not sociable, and they always wanted to talk to the parents because they were worried there might be issues at home.”

“Even now, he doesn’t talk much. Before, when I asked him something, he’d just respond with ‘Uh, hm,’ and it was hard to have a conversation with him…khrap.” I almost forgot to add ‘khrap’ at the end of my sentence, which made the grandmother laugh.

“You don’t have to be so formal. Just speak like you normally do.”

“Really? I don’t speak very politely, I hardly use honorifics, are you okay with that…ma’am?”

“Yes, yes, I don’t mind. Just don’t speak English to me like Gavin does; I can’t understand it.” The grandmother lowered her voice, “At first, when Pai introduced him, I was stressed. Not that I didn’t like him, but I was like what was this tall foreigner saying? Was he bad-mouthing me behind my back? Nowadays, it’s so hard to have a conversation with him, all I get is ‘Hey, hey, come on, come on.’“    I couldn’t help but laugh at her words.

“And what about you, young man? How did you come to like my grandson? I used to tell Pai that no one would fall for him, he’s not very social, he has more ghost friends than human friends, I think.”

“I don’t really know either. After spending some time with him, I started to like

Dao for being Dao. Hard to explain.”

“That’s good, good. Love each other for a long time, just look after each other. Dao is my only grandson, and I’m old now, only able to worry. If someone is with him, I feel more at ease.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take the best care of Dao.” My words made the grandmother give me a warm smile.    “Give me your hand.”    I held out my hand.

“You have a strong fate line. Not afraid of anything, you like challenges, and there are many who support and encourage you, whatever you do, you’ll succeed.” the old woman said in her raspy voice, her finger tracing the lines on my palm. She smiled even wider, “Your fate matches well with Dao’s, a pair that will complement each other perfectly.”

“Can you see into the next life? Like, will I be with Dao in the next life?”    “Leave the next life to the next life. Many couples have tried to force their fates together, only to cause problems. Think of it this way, if you’re meant to be, you’ll find each other no matter what. If you love each other enough, one day you’ll meet again.”

I nodded, understanding the message she was trying to convey.

I chatted casually with grandma, getting along well. It’s not for any particular reason; I can talk to anyone if they communicate sensibly. I’ve never felt any tension at all.

“And does Dao have friends at university? I heard he does.”

“He does.” I answered, “Maybe three. Since there aren’t many at his faculty, just the partners of my friends.”

“Oh, good, does Dao get along well with them?”

“He does. They seem to be very close, and they’re good people too, even if some might be a bit annoying. Are you worried about his friends?”    “Yeah, I am. I don’t know, Dao seems to attract bad people.”    …attract bad people.

   Does that include me too…damn it.

   “Since he was little, he had to change schools frequently, got bullied or falsely accused, and from a kid who didn’t talk much, he became even quieter. But if you approach him sincerely, you’ll see he’s one of the kindest kids.”

“True, that’s right.”

“Right? But because he doesn’t want to deal with people, he gets misunderstood. He stays quiet and doesn’t retaliate, making it seem like he’s giving up, but in reality, he’s really brave and fights back.”

“True.” I agreed. After chatting for a while, Dao called us for dinner, which was a meal he helped his dad make. I ate normally and thought everything was delicious, but others commented that the taste was strange.

“Pai, does this bowl taste strange or what?” Gavin asked, making a slight grimace.

“Oh, this bowl was made by Dao.”

“Dean, don’t you think it tastes a bit off?” Gavin turned to ask me. I shook my head slightly and shrugged, continuing to eat from that bowl.

“No, I eat like this every day.”

…

Dao took me upstairs to his room. When he opened the door, I automatically scanned the room with my eyes. It wasn’t much different from what I had imagined; everything was neatly arranged, with lots of novels and drawing supplies.

“It’s a bit cramped, will you be able to sleep?”

“Fine, I’ve slept in smaller spaces.” I said, setting down my bag. I had no problem with the room, walking around to check out various items, “What’s this?”    “Krabi.”

“Huh?”

“Used for learning Krabi-Krabong.”

“Really? Why didn’t I get to learn that?”

“I guess it depends on the school.”

“Come on, why didn’t my school teach this subject? That’s so unfair, damn it. So what do you do with it?”

“I don’t remember, there are some dance moves involved.”

“Dance? Then forget it, I really hate dancing.” I said, feeling annoyed, thinking back to high school when there was a dancing class. Oh man, just kill me, shoot me dead right there, but please, no dancing.

“You had to dance too?”

“Yeah. When I was in high school in Thailand.”

“What school did you go to?”

“I can’t remember the name, something like ‘Magic Arts’ or something.”

“You didn’t go to an international school then?”

“Hmph. No. At first, Direk wanted to send me to an international school, but I refused. I wanted to experience real Thai student life.”

“Oh.”

“What’s this, a yearbook?”

“Let me see.” He walked over to look. I pulled out a big blue book from the shelf, with the class name and school name written on the front, “Yeah, from high school.”

“Let me see, which class were you in?” I asked with interest, sitting down on the floor as he sat beside me.

“Grade 9.”

“Grade 6 to Grade 9.” I opened to Grade 9, scanning the group photo but didn’t see him, “Where are you then?”

“I didn’t get my picture taken.”

“Oh, why not?”

“Just wasn’t into it.”

“Come on, you don’t even have a solo picture, huh?”

“Yeah.” He nodded and turned the page, revealing a photo of someone different from the others in the room. Everyone else’s background was the same, but Dao’s was a school ID photo with only his name, surname, and student ID number, no phone number or motto like others had.

“Yeah, you’re not into this, huh? Why?”

“Just not into it.”

“Because of a friend?”

“Yeah.”

“What happened? Your grandma just mentioned she’s worried about your friends.”

“Never told you?”

“No, come on, tell me quickly.”

“Well…I’m usually alone, right? Then suddenly this guy comes along, starts getting close. At first, it was just polite conversation, but as we got closer, I later found out he was using me to gather information to spread around.”

“What did he say?”

Dao smiled and shook his head gently.

“I don’t know, probably thought he could find out my secrets by getting close, but there was nothing to find out. There was a rumor once that I had a rich sponsor because I could afford expensive drawing tools. In reality, that money was from my job, and the person spreading the rumor about the sponsor was the friend who got close to me.”

“What the hell?” I frowned, not understanding the mindset of that person. What was that about? “But for me, it was Meen who started rumors that I was a mafia kid, back when I was beating up others everywhere.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t care much because Direk was almost like a mafia himself.” I said, “But you shouldn’t care about such rumors.”

“Yeah, I don’t really care what others say about me, but what disappointed me was that I cared for him because I thought he was my friend.”

“Your luck really does attract bad people, huh? Look at Khram, all those damn guards, all sorts of people.”

“Including you Arthit.”

“Hey, wait, now you’re calling me ‘damn’ too?” I burst out laughing, and Dao chuckled slightly.

“Just kidding.”

“Don’t call me ‘ai’ then, just call me husband, okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

Before we could talk more, there was a knock at the door. Dao went to open it and found it was Gavin, inviting us to play football. I quickly agreed, and he handed me a sports outfit to change into.

Once I was changed, I went downstairs to find that Dao’s Papa was already there in regular clothes, indicating he wouldn’t be playing. The four of us left the house. I followed without much thought, and soon we arrived at a football field surrounded by an iron fence where about six guys were already playing.

“Normally, Gavin likes to play football with the people from the village.” Dao’s Papa explained. I nodded in understanding, chatted with Dao a bit, then we went onto the field, reorganized the teams, and I ended up on a different team from Gavin.

“Let’s see the skills of the medical school football team captain.” Gavin said. I just gave a mocking smile in response. The game started with the sound of a whistle. Since the team members hadn’t played together before, there were some missteps at first, but soon I managed to control the game’s flow, leading our team to a narrow lead by the end of the first half.

“You’re pretty good. You’re in better form than I expected.” Gavin said, coming over to pat my shoulder.

“You’re not bad either, but you still have a lot to catch up to me.”

“Haha, oh please. I really like this guy, but I can’t lose in front of Pai.”

“In front of Dao, I can’t lose either.”

I walked over to sit beside Dao during the break, took a towel to wipe the sweat off while leaning against him. Dao moved away a bit, but I grabbed his waist.

“Where are you going?”

“You’re all sweaty.”

“Sure, I just played football.” I said, glancing over at Gavin who was sweettalking Dao’s Papa, and I couldn’t help but try to get some attention from Dao,

“Wipe some sweat for me, will you?”

“You wiped most of it yourself, didn’t you?”

“Not all of it, look here.” I pointed to the side of my face where sweat was still beading, hearing some teasing from the other team members, “Do you usually come to watch Gavin play like this?”

“Sometimes, yeah. So, what did you think? Was he any good?”

“He’s alright.” I replied. Before we had much rest, the other players called us back for the second half. This time, it seemed like Gavin was taking it more seriously, shifting the momentum of the game towards his side.

“Getting serious, huh, Gavin?” one of my team members asked in English, and the person smiled in response. The tense game had been going on for a while now. I had to get serious too, especially since facing someone skilled made it more fun. In the end, it was a draw, and although I wanted to keep playing, my team seemed exhausted.

“You played well.” Gavin walked over to me, offering a fist bump.

“You too.” I bumped his fist with mine before walking back to where the other two were waiting, and we all headed home. The surroundings had grown dim without us noticing, and streetlights came on instead. Once we got back to the house, I quickly took a shower, changed into a T-shirt and white shorts, ready to hit the bed.

“What are you doing?” I asked when I saw Dao on his phone on the bed.

“Editing photos.”

“What photos?”

“Of you and Dad, the one where you guys fist-bumped, looks cool.” Dao turned his phone to show me; it was a picture of me and Gavin fist-bumping on the field with the sky as the backdrop just as the sun was setting. Damn, it looked like a movie poster. “Dad likes this picture too.”

“Yeah, it’s nice.” I complimented, ruffling his hair.

“Yeah, I’ll send it to you.”

“Okay, send it then.”

“I’ll go take a shower first.”

“Alright.”

Then Dao went to the bathroom, leaving me lying on the bed alone. I had already talked with the grandma, played soccer with Gavin, so the only one I hadn’t really talked to much was Dao’s Papa.

   Soon, Dao came back into the room in his pajamas, sat on the bed, and leaned over to hug me. I hugged him back.

   “Trying to be cute with me?”

“No, I just haven’t hugged you today.”

“Oh.”

We stayed like that, hugging for a while, then leaned in for a deep kiss. Soon, I started to feel aroused, got up to take care of myself in the bathroom since we had agreed not to do anything in the house. Damn it, the first time at my boyfriend’s house, and I was going to jerk off in his bathroom. What was wrong with me? Was I going to jerk off everywhere I went, damn it?

After taking care of myself, I felt relieved and went back to the bedroom. There wasn’t much else to do; we just spent time together until late before going to sleep.    In the middle of the night, I woke up with a dry throat, got out of bed half-asleep, and went downstairs to the kitchen. I opened the fridge, took out some water to drink, and then noticed two figures’ shadows by the back of the house. I sneaked over to peek and found that it was Dao’s Papa and Gavin, drinking together, and it seemed like they were talking about me and Dao.

So I decided to show myself.

“Can I join you?” I asked. The papa looked slightly startled before smiling and inviting me to sit, pouring some liquor and sliding a glass towards me.

“Can’t sleep?”

“No, I’m just thirsty, and you…uh…”

“You can call me ‘Papa’ like Dao does. And for Gavin, just call him by his name normally.”

“Oh…okay.”

“Haha, you don’t have to be so polite.”

“Oh, okay.”

Did it show that much that I’m not usually polite, that it looked unnatural?

   “Then let’s speak English, so Gavin won’t be confused.”    “Okay.” I agreed immediately.

“I heard you two moved in together?”

“Yeah, we did.”

“Are you sure it’s okay? That penthouse is yours.”

“Let’s say it’s ours.”

“Okay. I don’t doubt your love for Daotok.” He said while lifting his glass to drink, “I’m just a little worried. He’s my only son, and he’s had a lot of bad experiences. I just hope he finds someone who truly loves him from the heart, and that’s you.”

“Yeah.” I nodded, downing my drink in one go.

“I want to thank you. I’ve never seen Dao this happy before.”

“No need to thank me. If Dao is happy, I’m happy too.”

“The Dao you’re talking about is Michael, right?” Gavin interjected.

“Yes. I told him his Thai name, hoping he’d remember it.”

“Thai names are hard.” Gavin said, pouring liquor into his glass and also into my empty one, “Michael is a cute kid, a mini Phai. I call him ‘bamboo shoot’ because he’s like a young bamboo.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that, what the heck, my boyfriend turned into a bamboo shoot.

“That’s funny, you.”

And so, the three of us became drinking companions. I never thought there would come a day when I’d be sitting and drinking with Dao’s father and his boyfriend like this, until his father got so drunk he couldn’t hold himself up, and Gavin had to help support him.

“He’s always forgetting his limits once he starts drinking.”

“Hey, Dylan.” the drunk man’s voice rang out, pointing at me with the hand holding his glass.

“What?”

“If you make my son unhappy, I’ll kill you, understand? Gavin, you’ll take care of him if he hurts Dao.”

“Understood. I’ll take care of him.” Gavin promised before looking up at me,

“Kid, if you make my son even a little bit unhappy, I won’t keep you around.” “Hmm. If I make Dao unhappy, I’ll let you kill me.”

“You promise?”

“I promise with my life.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 49: We Found Love

   I stood watching Mr. Jeon sleeping comfortably in Cat’s condo. To be honest, I was still excited and nervous about moving, this being the first time I’d live seriously with someone else, not counting living at home.

“Even though we’ve been together for the last couple of months, moving in together like this would be slightly different. At least we could call this place our room.

Because he said he bought this apartment for us to live together. I was so happy, it felt like he was saying that without me, he wouldn’t have considered moving here either. Plus, many things in this room were adjusted to suit me, with his intentions clear. Whether it was the painting corner or the room for my cat, he even allowed me full use of the painting space.

He’s trying to do things for us…I suppose I can say that.

The first moment I opened the door and stepped in, I couldn’t help but hold my breath with excitement. This new room was completely different from our old one; this was a penthouse at the top of the condo, with everything you’d find in a home, spacious, and tailored to our needs.

He took me to his music studio, a medium-sized room filled with equipment, instruments, and soundproofing that worked really well.

The bathroom I had just used a few minutes ago was luxurious, as I mentioned, even wider than my bedroom at home. The bedroom was the same, with a kingsize bed and large clear windows that offered a view outside when the curtains were open, given its height.

The kitchen area, which I thought I wouldn’t use much, was fully equipped. The painting corner, which I always wanted to have in my own home if I ever owned one in the future, was located in the corner with views of the mountain peaks when the curtains were drawn.

“And what about the water and electricity bills?” I asked while looking at my own shelf, which seemed like a display case full of my figures and collectibles. He said he had someone set it all up before we moved in, so I was checking to see if any pieces were damaged.

“Why?”

“Or should I pay them? I haven’t contributed to the rent.”

“No need, living with me, the electricity bill will be high anyway.”

“How high could it get?”

“Come on, let me pay.”

“…Uh.”

“How are your things?” he asked after sitting on the floor beside me, borrowing one of the figures to look at, “Do you like this one?”

“Yeah.”

“Who do you like more, me or this?”

“Why compare yourself to a figurine?”

“I asked, so answer.”

“I like you more.”

“Huh, then go away.” He said, but his eyes were still on the figurine as if talking to it, placing it back where it was, “Do you think I should make a figurine of myself?”

“Why would you do that?”

“So you can collect it, order a handmade one from Japan, how about that?”

“If you want to do it, then do it.”

“Who would be so self-absorbed as to order a figurine of themselves for their boyfriend to keep like me?” He said, shaking his head slightly, “This lighter you bought from me is still in good condition.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s well-maintained.”

“I take good care of my things.”

“Meaning you’ll take good care of me, right?”

“…Uh.” I nodded slightly, he burst into laughter.

“Your face is like, ‘Yeah, whatever you want,’ that’s how it is.”

“No. But if you want to think that way, you can.”

“Let’s go with what makes me comfortable then.”

“Uh.”

“Hey, since we have a fully equipped kitchen now, you should cook for me to eat.”

“Why?”

“Every one of my friends’ wives, they all cook for their husbands. I want my wife to cook for me too. Isn’t that okay?” He furrowed his brows in a pleading manner. I looked at him with an expressionless gaze.

“Aren’t you tired of my omelet from San Francisco?”

“Hia, people can improve, you know. I want to eat food made by the person I love, and take it to the hospital to eat.”

“…”

“You, this husband of yours is trying to act cute for you, you know.”

“Sigh. I won’t promise, but I’ll try.”

“Good! Come on, can I get some dinner? Check the fridge, I’ve had everything bought and prepared, and on the top shelf, there’s Miss Meen’s stuff too.”

“…”

I didn’t reply, just walked over to the kitchen counter. He followed and sat at the chair opposite the counter, looking hopeful and expectant. I sighed unconsciously, looking at the stove with a feeling of emptiness.

My cooking skills are terribly bad. If anyone remembers the omelet where I poured oil after the eggs, I’ve asked Grandma Puanthong to teach me several times, but I couldn’t succeed. I’m confident I can do many things, but cooking definitely isn’t one of them.

“Please don’t expect too much, okay?” I said without looking back, feeling his eyes piercing my back until it stung.

“I’m not expecting it to be delicious, I just want to eat. You can just put raw rice in a bowl for me, I just want it to be made by you.”

“…”

Even dogs wouldn’t eat raw rice, right?

   “Are you serious?” I asked again, scanning the various kitchen tools, trying to figure out what they were and how to use them. Grandma Puanthong’s face came to mind with her gentle teaching voice, but in the end, that day’s cooking ended with a tasteless soup that tasted like seawater, and the pork was as tough as eraser.

“Serious.”

“If you get diarrhea, don’t blame me.”

“I never get diarrhea, I declare it here, my butt muscles are very strong, I’ve eaten native food from many countries, I can eat anything, I’m not fussy about food. I can even eat Cat’s food, right, Mr. Jeon?” he said as he saw Mr. Jeon walking over, placing him on his lap, “You want to try Cat’s egg too, right, young master Siwat?”

“Please don’t.”

“So what are you going to cook for me tonight?”

“I don’t know either, my brain has gone blank.”

“Why don’t you ask North? He’s an expert in food matters.”

“Uh, North is good at cooking.” I said in agreement before taking out my phone and making a call. I didn’t forget to start a video call too. After a while, North picked up, his face filling the screen, “North, are you free?”

(Yeah, I’m free, what’s up? Have you moved into the new room yet?)

   “We’ve moved in.”

(Let me see) North said excitedly. I rotated the camera around to show him,

(Wow, so damn nice, you’ve invested, bro. When I’m free, I’ll come over to play.)

   “Uh.”

(Hey, Phii Arthit, did I hear that you gave two million to Phii Jo? Let’s be partners then. I’m touched, you bastard, that the idiot who once let piranhas bite him can now think like this. He’s grown up.)

   North said with an extremely pleased expression, Arthit just shrugged without much concern. The name used earlier was Arthit’s real Thai name.

“Initially, I was going to buy a private jet, but then I thought it’d be better to invest with Jo, in case we get more money. The family leader, damn it, so handsome.”

(Yeah, you’ve complimented yourself enough.)

   “Did you really invest that money with North’s boyfriend?” I asked again, and he nodded in response, “It’s good to think about the future.”

“I think more about you, thinking only about wanting to take care of you.” “Thanks.” I smiled.

(Do you want me to be a witness to your love again? Even though I’m not there, you still want me to be involved, huh? Sigh, kiss each other.)

   “Hey, North said that, come here quickly.”

“Are you crazy?”

(So why did you call?)

   “I want to cook.”

(Huh?) North raised his eyebrows high, making a face as if he couldn’t believe what I just said, (You?)

   “Yeah. Me.”

(Have you ever cooked before?)    I shook my head in response.

“My cooking skills are terrible. I have no idea what to do.”

(So, what are you thinking of making?)

   “He wants to eat food made by me,” I said, “He mentioned that all boyfriends cook for each other, so he wants me to do it too.”

(You just indulge him, don’t you?)    I nodded.

(It’s not hard, what do you want to make?)

   “Massaman curry.”

(Uh, that’s considered suitable for beginners, bah! Damn it, start with something simpler, ask that bastard husband of yours what he wants to eat.)    “What do you want to eat?” I turned to ask the person playing with Mr. Jeon.

“Anything.”

(Uh, then how about what I just suggested?)

   “What was that?”

(Clear soup, light, not fattening.)

   “Uh, sure. I can practice too.”

(Practice what?)

   “I’ve made it before, but it wasn’t edible.”

(Yeah, put your phone down, damn, but how will I see if you put it down?

Phii Arthit, hold the phone for my friend to see.)

   “Me?”

(Is your name Arthit or not?)

   “Yeah, yeah, come here, what are we doing?” He put Mr. Jeon down, stood up, and took over holding the camera so North could see what I was doing.

(Have you cooked the rice?)

   “Cook it. Otherwise, we won’t be full,” Arthit answered instead.

(Then wash the rice first, ghost dive, put the rice in the pot.)

   “Uh,” I tried to reach the upper cabinet but couldn’t, so Arthit had to grab it for me.

(That’s tough, being short is a bit of a hassle, huh?)

   “You’re really tall, North, you need a stepstool just to cook, right?”

(Hey, come on, how did you know?)

   “Jo told me.”

(Really, did Phii Jo gossip about me?)

   “What’s ‘gossip’?”

(Northern language for ‘gossip’.)

   “Oh, right, so I should get you a step stool too then, otherwise, you won’t be able to reach anything when I’m not here.”

“It’s okay, I’ll grow taller soon, I should be able to reach things by myself in a while.” I said, taking the rice bag, cutting a corner, and pouring rice into the rice cooker, “How much do I need?”

(Just guess, based on how much you guys will eat.)

   “I can’t guess, it doesn’t look the same when it’s cooked.” I said honestly, stopping pouring to look at Arthit, “Enough?”

“A bit more.”

“Uh.”

I added more as instructed by the person beside me.

(Let me see.)

   “Here.”

(That’s a lot.)

   “Well, I’ll eat it all.”

“And then what?”

(Add water, wash the rice, it’s simple.)

   “Uh, okay.” I nodded slightly, understanding, turning on the water until it overflowed the rice, then poured out the cloudy water. But the issue was, the rice was flowing out too, “North, almost all the rice has gone down the drain.”

(Damn, the drain will definitely get clogged.)

   “Oh.”

(Doesn’t matter, we’ll deal with the clog later. You should have used your hand to block it. Or do you have a sieve?)

   “A sieve?” I turned to look at Arthit to ask if we had one, he shook his head, “We don’t have one?”

“I don’t know.”

(Sigh, give me a sec) and North got up from the sofa, walked over, and brought a sieve to show us, (Like this.)

   “We should have one,” I said before scanning the room, spotting the sieve hanging up, reaching to grab it, “What’s next?”

(Wash the rice again) North instructed, and cooking the rice turned out easier than expected, the hardest part was measuring the water, (One finger’s worth.)    “Whose finger?”

(Any finger, damn, even Phii Arthit’s finger will do, it’s just to break the rice.)

   “My finger?”

(Yeah, you dip your finger until it’s one knuckle deep.)    “How is one knuckle?” He furrowed his brows to ask.

“Wash your hands first,” I said before he dipped his index finger into the pot. He went to wash his hands and then came back.

“How is one knuckle again?”

(Yeah, like this) North said, showing his index finger and pressing the thumb against the first joint, (Why are this husband and wife duo so confused?)    “Just dip it, right?”

(Yeah.)

   “And how do you check, one knuckle from the rice or one knuckle from the bottom of the pot?”

(From the rice, if you measure from the bottom of the pot, the rice would be up to the knuckle already, wouldn’t it?)

   “Oh, yeah, add a bit more water,” he said. I reached to turn the tap on to adjust the water level as North instructed and then stopped.

“Okay.”

(Now wipe the outside too, wipe around the pot so there’s no water clinging to it.)

   “Why do you need to wipe it?”

(What if the pot gets damaged?) North explained. I found a cloth to wipe around the pot as North suggested, but somehow, I ended up spilling rice all over the sink.

“North, the rice spilled again.”

(Sigh…go ahead, start over from pouring the rice, damn it. If you had ordered food now, you’d already be eating, damn it.)

   Finally, the rice was cooked successfully. The next step was making clear soup, starting from lighting the gas stove, boiling water. North, who isn’t exactly patient, turned into a harsh cooking instructor, yelling in frustration, especially when I spilled something and we had to start all over again.

(You need to fix your clumsiness first, the kitchen’s going to break, damn it.)    “Hey, it’s okay, the kitchen can be fixed.” Arthit consoled me, patting my shoulder gently. I, who was stirring the clear soup in the pot, nodded slightly, feeling exhausted. I wouldn’t be this tired even if I worked all night without sleep.    (You’re too biased towards your wife, what if the kitchen explodes and we all die?)

   “It’s fine, we’ll die together.”

(Sigh, I’m sighing so much I might die young, let me see the clear soup) North said, (Damn, why is it so red?)

   “…”

(What did you spill, Phipungto? Confess.)

   “…I picked up the wrong thing, I put in dry curry paste instead.”

(I told you to use just the soup cube!)

   “Sorry.”

“Yeah, my wife has apologized, why are you still shouting?”

(Oh, I’m getting such a headache with this couple, it’s nerve-wracking. All the mistakes you’ve made, combined, it’s like you’ve made Arthit.)

   “What should we do to fix it? I’m too lazy to start over.”

(How can we fix it? Want to eat jungle curry instead?)

   “Sure.”

(Sigh.)

   And so, dinner was completed after nearly two hours of cooking. North tried teaching me until he was exhausted, saying he’d come next time to hold my hand through it. The clear soup that turned into jungle curry was served on the dinner table along with the soggy rice that turned into rice porridge.

“You don’t have to eat it.” I said, disheartened, looking at the food in front of me. I could have used those two hours to work on a project and edit lines, but instead, I spent that valuable time creating this bizarre dish.

“Hey, no, I’ve been standing here for hours, I have to eat it, are you eating?”    “Eat it,” I nodded, and we started eating the jungle curry. I felt like my spirit had been drained out, the taste was so life-draining, “It’s not tasty at all.”

“Yeah, right. It’s not tasty,” he said while still chewing. I wasn’t upset by his words because he wouldn’t lie, it really wasn’t tasty. I thought the same.

“Should we order something to eat?”

“No, I’ll eat this, you made it.”

“But it’s not tasty.”

“Not tasty, but I’ll eat it.”

“Do you like things that aren’t tasty?”

“No, I like things you make, I told you plain rice would be fine too.”    “Uh, you really aren’t fussy about food,” I said, scooping another spoonful of jungle curry with some boiled rice into my mouth. Uh…not tasty. Really not tasty, which was quite disappointing, but I’m not fussy about food either; if there’s something to eat, I’ll eat it, no matter how bad the taste is.

We ate until everything was gone. Time to clean up.

“I can wash the dishes alone.”

“It’s fine, I’ll help.”

“Uh.”

He helped me wash the dishes and all the utensils used today until everything was clean. Before we knew it, it was dark.

“Hey, make some food for tomorrow too, so I can take it to the hospital.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to eat at a restaurant?”

“No.”

“I doubt I’ll make it taste any better by tomorrow, it’ll probably be just as bad.”

“Yeah. It’s okay, I’ll eat your terrible food for the rest of my life.”

“I won’t make terrible food for the rest of my life, I hope.”

“Then I’ll be the one to taste-test and tell you if you’ve improved or not.”    Tonight was the first night in the new room. I couldn’t sleep well because I wasn’t used to the room yet, but it seemed he wasn’t like that. I looked at the person beside me, sleeping soundly, feeling affectionate. Did he really want to eat the food I made, no matter how bad it tasted?

   “Cute.”

I said to myself in a low voice in the silence.

After a while, I felt my throat was dry, so I slowly got up from the bed and walked to the fridge. The light from outside slightly illuminated the room. Seeing Mr. Jeon sleeping soundly at Cat’s House made me feel a bit more at ease; at least Mr. Jeon seemed to like this House a lot.

I opened the fridge to get some water, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a dark shadow, so I turned to look, only to find it was just the shadow from the curtain. That made me wonder if this room had any ghosts.

In my old room, there were plenty of ghosts. We lived together for quite a long time until we almost became friends. When I told them I was moving out, they were upset, worried that the new tenant wouldn’t be as kind to them as I was. I could only advise them to behave well so the new owner wouldn’t be troubled.

I took off my bracelet, and immediately felt an odd sensation, but there was no trace of any spiritual energy nearby. I walked around the room to check. No matter which part of the room I inspected, I found nothing, leaving only the bedroom to check.

I walked around the bedroom, and of course, found no strange presence, which made me feel relieved. Perhaps because it was new, it felt strange, but in the end, there was nothing.

It’s good that this room doesn’t have any ghosts. I’m fine with it because I’ve been disturbed by them for so long that I’m used to it, but Arthit would probably be quite annoyed by their disturbances.

I put the bracelet back on and walked back to sit on the bed. The person on the bed started to feel around for me, grabbing and hugging me as soon as his hand touched me.

His steady breathing indicated he was in deep sleep. It seemed he wouldn’t have any nightmares tonight. Not being able to sleep, I just stared blankly, looking at the night view of Chiang Mai, with some city lights still visible along with the soft yellow light from the moon above.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Did I wake you?”

“No, I just wanted to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh, do you want me to walk you there?”

“It’s okay.” He answered before getting out of bed, returning after a while to sit beside me, “Not used to the new room yet?”

“Uh, it’s just the first night.”

“Oh, what are you looking at? Is the view nice?”

“It’s beautiful,” I nodded, then got up to stand in front of the large clear window. He followed, standing up too, “I’ve only seen this in movies. I never thought I’d see a view like this from inside a room one day.”

“Do you like it?”

“Uh, I like it.”

“That’s good then, anything you want, I’ll give you everything, as long as you tell me.”

“Is it a promotion or something?”

“A lifetime promotion.”

“Uh…what if I say I want the moon?”

“I’ll ask what you’d use it for first.”

“Ha ha, that’s right, I’ve got the sun, haven’t I?”

“Ah, out of nowhere, you’re sweet-talking me,” he smiled before leaning in to kiss my lips gently and then pulling back, “You once said your ultimate dream is to open a gallery, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Should I buy you one, the gallery?”

“Huh? It’s okay, don’t you want to be a musician?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s make our dreams come true together, shall we?”    “Wow, that’s well said,” he gently stroked my head.

“Here.”

“Hmm?”

“If you weren’t making music, what would you want to do?”

“I don’t know, honestly, as I said, if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have continued making music. I’d probably have finished medical school and gone fishing.”

“Fishing?”

“Yeah, I want to be a fisherman, I want to go out on a boat. I feel like a man should go to sea, you know? Even now, I think after graduation, I might go out with some fishermen, just once or twice would be nice.”

“Oh…that sounds fun too.”

“Is that so? Are you going?”

“I can go.”

“Great, I want to try fighting a bear.”

“…”

“If I win, it would be super cool. Not with a gun or anything, just hand-to-hand with a grizzly. You can hold the gun nearby. If I’m about to die, then shoot to save me.”

“Uh…I’ll be the support then.”

“Yeah, just don’t aim wrong and shoot me.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never shot a gun.”

“Really? I’ll teach you later.”

“Uh.”

“I feel like life is super fun now. I’ve never tied myself to anyone except Direk because I needed money. I’ve always gone where I wanted, done what I wanted. Since meeting you, I can’t escape anywhere, and from feeling fun about life, now it feels even more meaningful.”

“Is that okay? Being stuck with me?”

“Are you asking again? More than okay, you make me think of a song lyric that says, “Your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea.”

“Are you a sailor?”

“Do you think I’m like one?”

“You are similar, but you don’t need to stay anywhere because I’ll go with you.”

I smiled, because the lyrics say he can’t be without me, no port is his home,

“Because I am you home, right?”

“Right.” He smiled sweetly, raising his hand to stroke my head again, “Cute.”

“I don’t think so, you are much cuter.”

“My face is far from cute, damn it.”

“I mean your personality.”

“Uh, my character is what you call cute then.” He nodded, “And are you sleepy yet?”

“It’s getting late. If you’re sleepy, you can go to sleep first.”

“I won’t be able to sleep without you anyway, so what should we do? Should I sing for you?”

“Uh, that would be nice.”

“Okay,” he said before walking over to grab his guitar and sitting down on the floor in front of the large clear window. I sat down too.

“I’m about to listen to live music from a future world-class musician,” I teased a bit after sitting down next to him.

“Oh, you’re so flattering. You’re just in love with me, what can I say,” he chuckled slightly, “But no matter what the future holds, I’ll still sit here and sing for you like this.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he strummed once, “Come on, request a song.”

“I don’t know, I can’t think of one. Do you have any songs you want to sing for me?”

“I have a million songs I want to sing for you.”

“Really? Then start with the first song now.”

“Right now, I can only think of this one,” he said before looking down at the chords, starting to strum a familiar tune. My smile grew even broader, “It’s a song that people generally know and use to send to the ones they love, and tonight, I want to sing this song for you.”

“Uh.”

“This one is for you.”

I nodded my head gently to the rhythm of the guitar. I listened intently to the song he was singing with heart, feeling an inexplicable warmth spread through my heart as I thought about the meaning of the song. My heart beat faster when his eyes locked onto mine, as if he intended to convey the song’s meaning directly to me.

When your legs don’t work like they used to before

   And I can’t sweep you off of your feet

   Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

   Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

   

   And, darling, I will be loving you ‘til we’re 70

   And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23

   And, I’m thinking ‘bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways

   Maybe just the touch of a hand

   Well, me, I fall in love with you every single day

   And, I just wanna tell you, I am

   

   So, baby, now

   Take me into your loving arms

   Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

   Place your head on my beating heart

   I’m thinking out loud

   That maybe we found love right where we are

2. The song ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran

  

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 47: Carry vs Tank

   Daotok

   He took me to shower and change after I insisted we wouldn’t continue, at least not immediately. At first, I thought my body had recovered, so I didn’t think much of it, but after we finished, my body was completely exhausted. The pain in my hips and back had multiplied.

It wouldn’t be right to say I was forcing myself, because I wanted to do it too…even though my body wasn’t cooperating.”

He applied medicine to the back passage, which helped alleviate some of the pain. Even though I didn’t touch it to check, I was sure it must be swollen because it hurt a lot.

He sat on the bed while I lay with my head on his lap, the familiar scent making me feel relaxed in a way I couldn’t describe. Just a little while and I felt exhausted to the point of almost falling asleep several times, even though I had just woken up in the afternoon. This level of tiredness and drowsiness was all because of him.

I held his thick hands, playing with them, feeling interested. Just being with him, I felt a happiness that I couldn’t express in words. I now understood what a safe love feels like.

Suddenly, I thought about a love that had failed before, with Khram; I hadn’t even given him a kiss. It wasn’t that I didn’t love him, but because I loved him, it was painful. With my nature of never doing things halfway, even with love, what he gave back was betrayal. That’s why with Khram, I couldn’t give everything to him because I knew in the end, I would be the one hurt.

But with Arthit, it’s completely different. I feel like I can trust this person with my heart, no matter what happens, my heart will be safe, and he will never make me sad.

“You’re quite extravagant.” I suddenly remarked.

“What?”

“Your palm lines.” I said, pressing my index finger on his palm and tracing down the spaces where there were no lines, “You can’t save money.”

“How can you tell?”

“Right here.”

“Can you really tell from this?”

“Grandma taught me, but I don’t remember it well.”

“If I get surgery to change my palm lines, will I be better at saving money?”

“I doubt it, it’s more about personality.”

“And you?” Arthit asked, taking my hand to look at it too, “What does this mean?”

“I’m good at saving money.”

“Did you say that yourself?”

“No. Look, I have this line here.” I explained, according to palmistry, pointing it out, “Arthit you don’t have it, but I do.”

“Oh. So you’re better at saving money than me, then.”

“Right. According to the palm lines.”

“‘Why do people save money anyway?” He asked, “If you earn it, you should spend it.”

“And what if there’s an emergency? If you have no savings?”

“Then you’re not rich enough. Look at my best friend, Johan, he’s so rich that his savings are just money he hasn’t spent yet.”

“Soon, when you become a world-famous artist, you’ll be rich.”

“You’re just flattering me.” He smiled, “Do you want an award or something?”    “Uh.” He leaned in for a gentle kiss, lingering for a moment before pulling away.

I smiled back, starting to feel my eyelids getting heavy.

“If you’re tired, rest.”

“Uh, don’t do anything strange, okay?”

“Strange? Whatever I do with you, for me, it’s not strange at all.”

“…”

I didn’t respond, just slowly closed my eyes, falling asleep easily due to exhaustion and pain throughout my body.

I gradually woke up because I felt something moving behind me; the surroundings were pitch black. Then I realized a warm hand was touching the tip of my erection. I jolted awake, and it seemed the person behind me realized I was awake.

He nibbled on my earlobe gently, his warm, heavy breath caressing my cheeks. “…What are you doing?” I asked in a low voice, feeling his erection rubbing against my butt.

“I want…again.”

“Uh…vulgar, uh.” He reached out to grasp my sensitive part, touching it all over slowly, pressing and massaging the tip. My erection started to harden.

“I won’t put it in, you’re still in pain, I know.”

“Uh.”

I started to feel my stomach churn, my breath catching, my heart beating faster as his hot hand began to stroke me, the pleasure spreading throughout my lower back. My heart pounded even harder when his deep voice whispered in my ear, his other hand slowly taking out his sizable erection, rubbing it against my thighs, the heat making me almost melt.

“Uh…ah, uh, not so fast, uh!” I said when his hand stroking me was too quick. I, who had just woken up, couldn’t keep up with the pace.

“Uh…uh.” He turned my face to kiss me, our tongues entwining, the kiss growing more passionate, his tongue sweeping everywhere, biting my upper and lower lips.

Sucking on my tongue until my mind was about to wander again.

Even though we had just done it in the afternoon, and I was asleep at that, for heaven’s sake.

He used my thighs instead of penetrating because I was still in pain, starting to move his hips faster without warning. Of course, even if he wasn’t inside, I was still getting aroused, especially with him still using his hand on my front.    We exchanged kisses passionately. Soon, I released, covering his hand with my love fluid, only a little coming out because I had climaxed so many times in the last few hours.

Our breaths merged. I could feel the friction between his erection and my thighs intensifying, our lower bodies making loud noises as they collided. His breathing became rapid with arousal, his thick hands roaming all over my body, squeezing my hips and chest, his fingers pressing and teasing my nipples, feeling good and arousing, making me inadvertently arch my chest.

I felt the large, hard, and hot erection moving between my thighs, so close to my back entrance that I couldn’t help but think:

I want him inside me so badly…

But I didn’t say anything because I knew my body wasn’t ready yet.

After nearly ten minutes, he released, spilling all over the inside of my thighs. We pulled away from the kiss. My lips and tongue felt numb, and I licked my wet lips slightly, looking at the sharp face just inches away, his eyes still full of desire as if to say no matter how much, it wouldn’t be enough.

“Why is it like this?”

“At first, it was just cuddling, but then it turned into arousal.”

“Oh.”

“Your expression says you want me to go in.”

“…Uh, but…I’m not ready yet.”

“Hurry up and heal, I’m dying to go inside you.”

I looked deep into those eyes with affection, leaning in for another kiss, my heart trembling.

Not just him.

It’s me too…equally addicted.

The sound of chatter in the room woke me up. I squinted against the bright sunlight seeping through the curtains, immediately furrowing my brows in surprise when I saw Ter sitting against the headboard next to me.

“Ter?”

“Awake now?”

I slowly pulled my arm back from where it had been around Ter’s waist, puzzled about what had happened.

“Why…”

After a while, Cat walked in carrying Mr. Jeon, followed by North.

“The doctors were called to the faculty, so Phii Arthit asked us to stay with you.” North answered, clarifying my confusion. I nodded slightly, taking Mr. Jeon into my arms, “I heard you can’t even get up yet.”

“Don’t tease Dao.” Ter responded immediately.”

“Did I tease you or something? I was just asking. When you came into the room, you even said, “Wow, Phii Arthit doesn’t go easy on our friend at all.’“

“No, I was just shocked, worried about Dao too.”

“And have they been here long?” I interjected to ask.

“Not long, maybe fifteen minutes.” Cat answered.

“Oh.”

“We’ve given food to Mr. Jeon, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, what time is it now?”

“Half past ten.”

“Oh.”

“Are you hungry?” Ter asked.

“Not too much, have you all eaten?”

“We’ve eaten, how’s you doing?”

“Me? Still a bit painful, but I’m okay.” I answered honestly without feeling embarrassed, but it was Ter and Cat who looked embarrassed instead. North was laughing.

“See, I told you he wouldn’t be embarrassed.”    “What’s up?” I asked.

“Well, when Phii Arthit called me, he told us to come look after you a bit. He said you probably couldn’t get up, still in a lot of pain. I didn’t ask for the cause, thought it was obvious, huh? Just got out of the hospital and he’s not merciful to my friend at all, you bastard, your neck is all red.”

“Why aren’t you embarrassed but I am instead, damn it.” Ter raised his hand to cover his mouth, looked away, and burst into laughter.

“Cat, take care of Mr. Jeon for a bit.” I said, handing Mr. Jeon over to Cat to hold. I intended to go to the bathroom but when I moved, the pain shot through me, making me pause.

“What are you going to do?” North asked.

“Go to the bathroom.”

“Yeah, come, I’ll take you.”

“It’s fine.”

“‘Check your condition first, give me your arm.” North said, pulling one of my arms around his neck to help me up, “Can you walk like this?”

“I can, sorry for being heavy.”

“You’re not as heavy as Ter.”

“I’m not heavy.” Ter argued immediately.

“Who said you’re not, Phii Hill?” North asked while supporting me into the bathroom.

“Him.”

“Ha, actually, Phii Hill thinks you’re heavy too, he just doesn’t say it, thinking to himself, “Is this my wife or a pig, what the fuck, did you eat an elephant or something?”

“You’ve got a foul mouth.” Ter said, “Is it okay if you two go alone, do you need help?”

“I’ve got it.” North shouted while gently placing me to sit on the toilet. I looked up at North, who had his back turned, “You need to pee?”

“Working on it.”

“Push down, it’ll come out. It won’t be messy.”

“Uh, North.”

“What?”

“I feel weird, somehow, needing everyone to take care of me.”

“It’s no big deal. We’re free, and today, Arthit has nothing to do anyway.”

“Done.”

“Uh.” and North helped me back to sit on the bed as before.

“Hey, Dao. We listened to Phii Arthit’s song, shared it too. The picture of Dao in the video is so cute, and the song is amazing.” Cat said. I smiled broadly, happy, “Is this song written for you ?”

“Yeah.”

“Impressive.”

“He praises himself like that too.”

“Yeah, there’s no space left for others to praise him.”

“Have you listened yet?”

“How could I miss it? He even made me share it. But it’s really impressive, I admit it, he has a talent for this, we’ve known each other for years, and I’ve only just seen this talent now.” North said proudly, “The views are almost at a hundred thousand, right?”

“A hundred thousand.” Ter said, “Just checked.”

“Probably a hundred of those views are from me.” Cat said, “I like it, I really do.”

“When people found out that this song was made for his boyfriend, they went crazy opening Instagram, like, “Wow, the singer is super handsome, and his boyfriend is super cute,’“ Ter said while scrolling through the YouTube comments, “There are so many English comments, probably because Phii Arthit uses the name

Dylan, so they think it’s made by a foreigner.”    “Yeah.” I nodded.

“Does he use his mother’s last name?” North asked. I nodded again in response, “The name sounds super cool, but damn, he’s annoying. From the outside, he looks cool, just don’t get to know him personally.”    “Why?” Cat asked.

“He’s an asshole, that’s why. Hey, you haven’t eaten anything yet, should we order something to eat?”

“I bought some.” Ter said, walking over to pick up a bag with boxed meals and place it down, “I bought extra.”

“For Dao?”

“For if I get hungry, but you can have it.”    “Won’t you get hungry?” I asked.

“It’s okay, it’ll be noon soon, we’ll order more then.”

“Okay, thanks.” I said, taking the boxed meal to eat on the bed.

“When are you moving to the new condo?”

“Hmm? Oh, I don’t know, but it seems like he wants to move soon.”    “Moving is good, it’s a good idea. When I want to visit, I have to think twice because that haunted room is a mess.” North said, looking annoyed, “Honestly, I don’t feel good here at all, I get chills down my spine, can’t explain it.”    “You exaggerate too much.” Cat said.

“Easy for someone who isn’t scared to say.”

“What should we do then? Just sitting around would be boring.”

“Play some games?”

“‘No way, I’m not playing with you.” Ter said immediately, not waiting for

North to finish his sentence, “You always insult me.”

“You suck.”

“I just don’t play often, teach me properly, and I’ll get better.”

“Fine, fine. I won’t insult you, I’ll carry the team myself.” North shrugged, taking out his phone, “Even if a ghost dives under the tank, I can carry, let’s go into the game. Is Phoon playing?”

“I’ll play, I’ve been secretly practicing, you’ll be amazed.”

“Come on then, I want to be amazed.”

And then the four of us entered the game, it was a mobile MOBA game that I often played with North and his friends. I don’t play as often with Ter and Cat. As everyone knows, my preferred roles are tank and support, North usually plays carry, and from what I’ve seen, Arthit is excellent at playing assassin or jungling.    “I’ll jungle.” North declared, picking a jungle character, but it turned out to be the same one someone else had already chosen since the game requires five players, the fifth being a random player matched by the game, “Hey, you idiot, I can play carry, daring to steal my jungle? You better play well, or I’ll insult you.”    “You’ve already called him an idiot, what should I play?” Ter asked, “What are you playing, Phoon?”

“I’ve been practicing mage.”

“Then I’ll play fighter.”

“Give me a tough tank, I want to stand there and shoot for a year.”

“Okay.”

And we started the game, it went on with all the usual chaos of people playing.    “Wow, Phoon, you’ve really got me amazed, holy shit, you’ve got skill with every spell, I really want to play with you in person.”

“Oh, I made a mistake, give me a chance, can’t you?”

“Damn, Ter, why aren’t you in your lane? Do something useful instead of just standing there, I told you before, learn to be useful.”

“You said you wouldn’t insult me.”

“I said, I said.”

“Hey, he’s gone, now he’s running around.’“

“Damn, this jungle is trash, stealing my jungle like that, it’s died three times already. Seriously, is he a mole for the other team or what? And Phoon, you’re giving away kills too, are you being paid off or something, how much did you get to answer me right now?”

“Not me. He’s just playing dirty, here he comes again, damn, he’s doing it again.”

“Let’s defend together.” I said.

“Defend for me. Don’t bother defending Phoon, he’s useless, let him die alone. That’s right, this damn magic creep, who’s worse than a creep, please.” North’s words made the other two laugh.

“I have skills too, bro.”

“Why are your attacks so strong, North?”

“It’s my own skill, I hit hard no matter what I use, and why are your attacks so weak, Ter? What are you holding, a spear or a toothpick?” North complained, “Oh, what kind of item are you building, oh wow, you won’t get better unless you get hit, I’ve told you so many times not to build that armor.”

“Alright.”

And then we started the game, it went on with the usual chaos of gamers.    “Wow, Phoon, I’m genuinely impressed, damn, you’ve got skills with every move, I really want to play with you.”

“Oh, come on, I made a mistake, give me a chance, can’t you?”

“Damn, Ter, why aren’t you in your lane, do something useful instead of just standing there, I told you to be useful.”

“You said no more scolding.”

“I said what I said.”

“Hey, he’s gone, keep running.”

“Damn, this jungle is trash, stealing my jungle like that, it’s died three times already. Seriously, is he a mole for the other team or what? And Phoon, you’re giving away kills too, are you being paid off or something, how much did you get to answer me right now?”

“Not me. He’s just playing dirty, here he comes again, damn, he’s doing it again.”

“Let’s defend together.” I said.

“Defend for me. Don’t bother defending Phoon, he’s useless, let him die alone. That’s right, this damn magic creep, who’s worse than a creep, please.” North’s words made the other two laugh.

“I have skills too, bro.”

“‘Why are your shots so strong, North?”

“It’s my character’s innate skill, I can deal heavy damage with anyone, and why are your hits so weak, Ter? Are you holding a spear or a toothpick?” North complained, “Wow, what items did you buy? Oh my, you never learn, I’ve told you so many times not to buy that armor.”

“When did I buy it? What should I do then? Should I sell it?”

“No need, leave it, sell it when you have enough money, idiot, even when you’re poor you want to sell items, Phoon, can you stand back, you throw your spells then run up to slap them, are you crazy? Shoot from a distance, damn it.”    “Okay, okay, damn, I pressed by mistake, I’m playing with pros.”

“The only good thing is the ghost dive under the tank, no matter who picks the tank, they’re solid.”

“It’s my innate skill.”

“Good thing you’re the tank, when I let Ter tank, damn, is it a tank or jelly? So soft, one poke and you’re dead, and you’re an idiot when pushing.”

“He’s insulting me again, Phoon, he’s insulting me again.”

“He insults me too, Ter, be careful of the bottom jungle.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m retreating, there are too many, got like eight feet here.”

“Phipungto dive, get ready to push.”

“Okay.”

“My friend is the god of tanks. He absorbs so much damage, is he a person or a sanitary pad?”

“Why compare to a sanitary pad?” Ter laughed out loud, and finally, the game ended in victory, North had the highest score with the most kills and damage dealt.    North is just your typical gaming addict, a keyboard warrior too, typing to taunt the opposing team, scolding teammates for playing badly, very aggressive, and he gets mad easily, but you have to admit his skills because he’s genuinely good.

North can play any position well, but he’s best at carry.

“The jungle is beyond saving, sigh, Hia, ghost dive, your husband is online.”    “Huh? Really?” I said when I saw his ID online, so I invited him to join the game, North typed to ask him in the game chat.

Nrth.the god: Why are you playing, weren’t you supposed to be at the faculty?

   Dy.cas: Waiting for the professor, and my wife didn’t reply to my messages, so I thought he might be playing games with you guys.

   Nrth.the god: Oh, and what about Phii Jo?”

   Dy.cas: Here I am, checking out some girl’s boobs.

   Nrth.the, god: Tell Phii Jo to share with North too.

   Nrth.the god: Just kidding, don’t actually tell him, lol.

   Dy.cas: Damn, lol.

   Nrth.the god: Let’s get into the game.

   Dy.cas: Yeah, my wife, answer my chat too.

   Dtk: ok

   “You call him wife so openly.” North teased, “He’s been waiting for this moment for a long time, I think.”

After a while, we entered the game. We played as a team of five, with him taking his usual assassin role, replacing the not-so-great jungler from before. The game went smoothly without issues, but I noticed he was in my lane very often, to the point where Ter complained.

“Why doesn’t Phii Arthit come to my lane? The jungle on that side comes, but the jungle on my side doesn’t come at all.”

“Sticking with his wife even in the game, damn. No way, Ter’s about to die from being ganged up on, and still not helping his friend, damn. Someone type and tell him, go help Ter’s lane.”    Dtk: Go help Ter’s lane.

   I typed.

Dy.cas: I don’t mess with my friend’s wife.

   “Damn buffalo.” North immediately cursed, laughing, “Damn, letting the offlane die like that, huh?”

“Isn’t he going to help me, really? Damn, look at this, he’s taking me down at the turret. No respect for the turret at all.” Ter started whining softly. I couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh.

“This is what happens if you’re not the one I love, Ter.”

“Yeah.”

“Your husband’s crazy, damn ghost. Look at him, damn, my head hurts just as much as last time, thought playing would be relaxing.”

“Uh.” was all I could manage to reply, focusing on the game. He was really biased, that’s for sure, this would make the other lane suffer.

Dtk: Go to the top lane.

   Dy.cas: When did I ever promise not to chase you away?

   Dtk: …

   “Sigh, my head hurts, turns out I have an idiot for an older brother, go help Ter then.”

“And what about you North?”

“I can solo.”

“Okay.”

And so I moved to the top lane with Ter. After a while, he came to help improve Ter’s lane. Then we engaged in a big fight, and I, as the tank, protected my teammates as expected, winning the fight but sacrificing the tank, which was worth it.

“Why is Phii Arthit chasing down their mage? Followed him right to their tower, what kind of grudge is that?”

“Their mage killed Dao earlier.” Ter said, and North burst out laughing again.    “Damn, protecting even in the game, and I’ll say this, protecting others but not yourself, as a thin assassin, you go protect the tank, the tank will die in your place, ghost dive.”

“Sigh, we told him to retreat but he didn’t.” I said, feeling exasperated. Normally, he plays well without any issues, but today he’s playing very strangely, since when does an assassin tank damage a tank with such little health?    Even though there was some complaining, in the end, he managed to lead the team to victory with his own bizarre strategies.

“I’m the carry, let me die, don’t help, just farm, and when you come out of the jungle, you only guard the tank, I don’t get it, I bet the other team is just as confused as we are.”

“But Phii Arthit is good, why did you say you’ve known him for years and never seen him show any skills? At least he’s good at games.”

“Yeah, I forgot, I’m surrounded by skilled players.”    “Like us?” Ter asked.

“You dare to ask. I mean my engineering friends, they turned pro, that’s probably the ghost dive you said would change my life path.” North said, suddenly realizing it, looking excited, “From engineering to definitely becoming a world-class pro player.”

“Really, congratulations.”

“What’s the name of your team?” Ter asked.

“Engineering playing chickens.”

“You made that up, didn’t you?”

“Yep.’“

“I feel sorry for the teammates.”

“No one agrees, even Nao still complains about it to this day, but no one can come up with a better team name either. Now, every team we face is pissed at our team, damn engineering chicken fighters.”

“If it were me, would I be pissed too? You went around calling others chickens.”

“They are chickens, even when I want to lose, I still don’t lose, sigh.”

“You’re so self-absorbed.”

“Obviously.” North shrugged. Then I heard my phone beeping, so I searched for it for a while. Arthit was calling. I answered immediately.

(Why didn’t you reply to my chat?)

   “We were playing the game together just now.”

(Before that.)

   “I just woke up.”

(Oh, and how are you feeling?)

   “Better now.”

(Good, I showered and applied medicine for you before I left.)

   “Uh, and what are you doing now?”

(Waiting for the teacher, I should be free soon, probably can go back. Do you miss me?)

   “Oh, and earlier, with the game…”

(Why? Are you ignoring my “miss you” too?)

   “Well, Arthit’s assassin is just a small character, where’s the jungle to take on a tank?”

(Come on, you’re my wife, how can I let my wife die?)

   “You can die, you’re a tank, the carry can’t die, why didn’t you help North?”

(Let the carry die, it’s pointless.)

   “If North dies, the team loses damage, it’s a big disadvantage, North as the carry is more important.”

(Don’t tell me who’s more important, you’re the most important to me.)

   “…”

(I didn’t even type to insult that bastard who killed you, so that’s good enough.)

   “Sigh.”

 

WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

   WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 46: Make Me

   Arthit

   I entered the room with a large bag of food in my hand. We ordered food to eat in the room for convenience. Dao, who was looking at the laptop screen, looked up at me with a cheerful expression, making me smile happily too.

“The view count is going up so fast.”

“How many now?”

“Almost ten thousand.”

“No way.” I asked, barely believing my ears, rushing to check the song clip myself, which had been uploaded about half an hour ago. Of course, we made all our friends share it, which must be why the views were rising so quickly. Also, because I already have a lot of followers.

This song was the first one I intentionally made after being away from music for a long time, a song meant to tell my story to convey my feelings for the one I love. I’m confident it turned out well; to say it without bias, this song is fucking good, like, holy shit, I’m a genius songwriter, probably world-class.

I unpacked the hamburger we just ordered, handing it to Dao.

“Eat it on the bed?”

“Yeah, be careful not to make a mess.”

“Uh.”

And Dao ate his hamburger slowly, his small bites making me feel affectionate, unlike me, who would take almost half a burger in one bite. We ordered because it was more convenient than going out to eat, plus I was too lazy to go buy it myself. And if you ask why it’s more convenient…huh, because last night was so intense that Dao could barely stand up.

What surprised me was the small guy’s responsiveness. He was willing to do anything without any resistance at all, his delicate body was explored by me in every nook and cranny, leaving marks of possession with care.

I’ve been away from sex for a long time, even before meeting Dao. I can’t remember if I mentioned it, but I was too busy to go out with anyone, coming back from studies too tired. Just watching porn in my room was enough. When I started liking Dao, it got even worse. Honestly, I’m quite a lustful guy, and not only do I accept it, I’m quite proud of it too.

In the past, sex for me was just a release of emotions, but last night was entirely different. It was about possession, wanting to show love and ownership, even though many times I felt like being gentle, the desire for him was too overwhelming.

I reached out to wipe the ketchup from the corner of his mouth, brushing his hair aside that fell into his face. Last night, after Dao passed out, honestly, I wasn’t satisfied yet, but to continue while he was unconscious would be too cruel. I satisfied myself with his scent and touch, our mixed smells making me feel content. Then I helped him shower, cleaned him up, dressed him, and laid him on the sofa while changing the bed sheets before moving him to the bed to rest.    It was the first time I hadn’t used a condom. Every time before, I was cautious, but last night, I didn’t even think about it. I was worried it might cause stomach pain after finishing inside, but thankfully, there were no issues. While showering him, I carefully examined what I had done, the red marks all over his body telling the story of our passionate and intense sex.

I was very happy that last night, Dao also seemed to enjoy it. Plus, he tried his best, and just now, using his mouth, which was so small it barely fit, was so adorable I could hardly control myself, wanting to pin him down for another ten rounds.

And yes, what I said about not getting hard from watching porn before was true.

It had never happened like this before; it was completely different when with Dao. Just a whiff of his scent or a slight touch, and what was usually flaccid in my pants would get hard.

Well, I’m a one-love, one-heart kind of guy.

“Is it good?” I asked while my song was playing on repeat. Dao seemed to like this song so much he kept replaying it. Of course, I was almost sick of hearing it while making it, but if Dao likes it, that’s fine. I don’t mind.

“It’s good, the bread is soft too.”

“Yeah, if you like it, that’s good.” I said.

“Comments keep coming in, even in English. They must think it’s made by foreigners,’ Dao remarked. I raised my eyebrows, glancing at the screen; the

English comments praised the song as being super cool.”

“Let it be then.”

“And when will you make the next song?”

“I’m working on it, slowly.”

“I want to see you making it.”

“Yeah? Want to watch?”

“Uh.”

“Wait until you can walk first.”

Dao made a slightly annoyed face, not only was his back hurting so much he could barely stand, but his voice was also getting hoarse, probably because he had moaned too much. “Will I be like this every time?”

“No, your body will get used to it.” I said. From what I’ve asked others, at first, their partners had a bit of trouble, but over time, the body adjusts, they can last longer, and when they wake up, it’s not that painful anymore.

“Oh.”

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Want to move in together?”

“Move in?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Just feel like I want to live with you. One condo room is suitable for one person, right? Since we’re at it, let’s move to a penthouse instead. I’ve actually found one and bought it too.”

“…” The other seemed stunned, not saying anything, blinking repeatedly,

“You’ve already bought it?”

“Yeah, we can move our stuff right away.”

“You didn’t consult me at all?”

“Don’t you want to live with me?” I said, my voice softening, feigning sadness until Dao reached out to pinch my cheek in annoyance.

“I do want to, but it’s too sudden, plus I’ve got a one-year contract for this place.”

“Just losing the security deposit isn’t a big deal, I can cover it.”

“Are you rich now?”

“Yeah, I got the prize money from the win.” I said, the hundred million that Direk had promised was already transferred. Plus, another two hundred million for being kidnapped, meaning Direk dealt with that side until they paid up a lot, sharing two hundred million with me. “What should I do with it? Should I buy a private jet?”

“Huh? Do you want one?”

“Yeah, I’m tired of cars.”

“It’s up to you, it’s your money after all.”

“Okay, do you want anything?”    Dao shook his head.

“If you want something, just tell me, and are we moving in together then?”

“Can I refuse?”

“No.”

“Uh, okay.”

I patted his head, happy. I had been planning to move in with Dao for a while, and once decided, I had Direk find us a place. Now we have a penthouse in the city. I sold that yellow snake because snakes and cats wouldn’t get along, and I chose the penthouse for its space, so we could have a music room there without having to go to Direk’s house.

After eating, I took out the trash, stopped by to talk to the condo management about moving out of both rooms. Lately, it seems the plan to lower the rent to lure Dao into the haunted room of the condo has worked; some people have moved into this floor. Dao had made a deal with the ghosts not to cause any trouble in exchange for regular offerings from the condo owner.

Honestly, I still don’t agree with making offerings to those scoundrels; it’s like giving in to thugs. If you don’t give them money, they’ll cause havoc; they’re incredibly selfish.

I came back into the room and started packing while Dao watched from the bed.

“The view count is almost at twenty thousand, that’s fast.”

“Might hit a hundred thousand by tomorrow.”

“It’s possible.”

“I’m definitely a world-class artist.” I said, proud of myself. See, when it’s something I like, I do it well, right? Now, if we talk about studying medicine, fuck.

“And how’s your butt feeling?”

“It’s…feeling better now.”

“Uh.” I nodded, Dao’s condition after waking up was a bit better than I expected. At first, I was worried he might feel sick, but he didn’t seem to have a fever, and there were no other symptoms apart from the butt pain, which was slowly getting better. “Looks like I was pretty gentle then.”

“…Do you really think you were gentle?”

“Wasn’t I?” I asked, puzzled, because even though I lost some control last night, I thought I was as gentle as could be.

“…” Dao didn’t respond, just furrowed his brows and let out a big sigh. I tidied up a bit, then sat back down on the bed, leaning in to kiss those thin lips, slipping my tongue in slightly as if asking for permission. The other opened his mouth in response, our tongues intertwined, flicking around. I grabbed his delicate wrist, leaning my body over him, ending up straddling him.

Dao held my hand tightly, kissed me back awkwardly since he wasn’t very skilled, which I found quite cute. We kissed for almost ten minutes before I reluctantly pulled away. His sweet face was flushed, he was breathing a bit heavily, his lips swollen. I gently wiped the corner of his mouth, smiling without realizing it.

“Do you like kissing?” His voice was hoarse from lying down.

“I like kissing you.”

“Uh, me too…can we do it again?”

“Shit!” I couldn’t help but curse softly. How could I resist when he’s this cute and asking for more? Who could hold back? I leaned down again, this time kissing him intensely, my tongue probing, savoring the sweetness of his mouth eagerly, biting his upper and lower lips hard.

Dao’s warm breath quickened as if he was getting aroused. I saw him close his eyes tightly, trying to kiss me back. I, too, was starting to feel aroused, lifting him to straddle my lap, leaning up for another kiss while my hands roamed over his smooth skin.

“Uh.” the person in front of me moaned slightly when my hand touched his sensitive nipple, quickly removing his shirt, revealing the white skin with red marks I had left all over him last night, glancing down to see his erection. I smiled.    “…” Dao looked away shyly, his face turning red, his hands still clutching my shoulders. His naked body made me even more desirous.

“You’re already hard.” I teased softly, whispering in his ear. Even though I was teasing, I was hard too, starting to feel a throbbing pain throughout under my pants.

I reached out to touch his sensitive part, Dao clenched his lips, tensing up. I

pressed my thumb on the tip, clear fluid already seeping out. I pressed and rubbed it around.

I leaned my face close to his chest, opened my mouth, and sucked on the erect nipple, the small person moaned sweetly in his throat, which was even more arousing and made me feel more daring. I pressed my tongue, sucking hard until there was sound, flicking my tongue rapidly until the small one arched his chest in response.

“Uh…uh.”

I glanced up at the person trying to stifle his own sounds and our eyes met, his sweet, dripping eyes seemed to say he wanted more, his face and ears bright red, his hands gripping my shoulders tightly, his warm breath coming and going.

That kind of expression, damn, it’s so fucking tempting.

My heart started beating stronger. My hardness pressed against his crack; I could feel the person in front of me tense his legs in response.

“Ah!” Dao exclaimed in surprise when suddenly I flipped over to lie on the bed, reclining with Dao straddling me, naked. He seemed embarrassed and wouldn’t meet my eyes, “What…what are you going to do?”

“Does it still hurt?”

“…Ah, uh, it’s better now.”    “Then can we do it again?”

“Uh.”

“Don’t force yourself.”

“I won’t force it.” Dao said softly, looking at me with a pleading expression that made my heart skip a beat, along with words that made my whole body tremble.

“Make me yours…”

I smirked with satisfaction.

“You’re always mine.” I said, pulling down my pants, my hard cock springing free. Dao looked at it, unsure what to do, “Turn around.”

“Ah, uh.” The small person slowly turned around to straddle me. I gripped his hips, pulling him closer. Dao let out a small surprised sound before moaning louder when I used my hand to hold his cock and my mouth against his back entrance.

“Uh…uh.”

His small body immediately trembled when my tongue licked his back entrance until it was wet with my saliva, flicking my tongue quickly, kissing and sucking until there was noise, using my hand to stroke the front simultaneously. Before long, I felt the touch of his small lips on my sensitive part.

Dao bent down, taking the tip of me into his mouth, then going lower. From last time, I knew my size was too much for Dao to take entirely in his mouth, but he tried his best. I started feeling more pleasure as his small tongue licked all over from the base, sucking hard at the tip, moving his head up and down in rhythm with his hand.”

Sweet moans came from his throat intermittently, making me feel a tickling sensation in my heart because Dao couldn’t moan fully since he had his mouth busy with me. His slender waist moved in rhythm with my hand’s movements. I slipped my tongue into the soft passage.

“Ah! Uh, uh, no…uh!”

“Do you like it?”

“Uh…”

I inserted my index finger into that beautiful passage, causing his whole body to tremble, speeding up the pace on the front.

“Ah! Ah, uh!”

Until white, cloudy fluid shot into my hand. I used that fluid as lubricant again, adding another finger, the force of my fingers moving in and out made his slender body sway with each movement.

“Mmm…uh.”

I gently lifted the other off, Dao sat up on the bed. I sat back down as well.    “Wanna taste?” I smiled and asked, remembering after I had made him do it once before, Dao said he wanted to taste more. The person in front of me nodded slightly before leaning down, mouth wide open, taking mine deep down his throat. I hissed from the pleasure, the softness and warmth of his tongue and mouth, and that cute face when he looked up, his cheeks flushed, clear liquid in his eyes, making me feel so aroused I could hardly control myself; it was incredibly seductive.

“Mmm.” I let out a low moan when Dao sucked on the tip, his tongue flicking rapidly, sending shivers everywhere. When he took it halfway, it hit his throat, and as the arousal built, I couldn’t hold back, using my hand to push his head to take it deeper, and Dao didn’t resist, only letting out some moans in his throat.    I closed my eyes, exhaling warm breath to relieve the churning in my stomach, all my sensations now focused on the center of my body.

“Uh…uh! Uh.” Dao almost choked several times but held back out of affection, making me not want to prolong it. After just a few minutes, I released into that small mouth, finishing completely. Dao widened his eyes in surprise before swallowing it down. At first, I didn’t want to finish in his mouth, but he said he wanted to taste it himself, “Is it still sweet?”

“Sweet.”

That teasing word made me want to tease him even more.

“‘How far will you drive me crazy, are you trying to kill me with love?”

“Yeah, love me until you die.”

“You’re truly wicked.”

“Only to my boyfriend.”

Dao said. I handed him water to rinse his mouth, and he drank it before setting the bottle back down. I pulled his body closer, making him straddle me, holding his waist so his back entrance was aligned with my shaft. Dao seemed a bit unsure of what to do before he wrapped his arms around my neck.

I pushed his hips down to thrust my cock inside him all the way, biting my own lip to cope with the pleasure of Dao squeezing me so tightly it hurt.

It was both soft and hot inside, damn, it felt incredibly good.

“Ah!! uh, it hurts, hurts, uh.” His small body trembled, Dao winced in pain, tears streaming down. I immediately kissed away his tears, trying to soothe him.

“It’s okay.”

“It…it’s too big, uh…”

“Isn’t it good?”

“Uh…no, not good.”

“Why?”

“It hurts, uh.”

“It’ll be better soon.”

“Uh.”

“I’m going to move now.”

“Wait, not yet…kiss me.” And we kissed passionately again to help him relax. I stroked him all over, massaging his hips, inner thighs, then used both hands to guide his hips up. I could feel the tight channel slowly sliding up before slamming down hard.

“Uh! ah!!”

I controlled the rhythm, using my hands to lift his hips up and down, starting slowly until Dao’s body began to adjust, then speeding up. I hissed again because of the intense pleasure that spread through my tool and stomach, feeling so good that I inadvertently thrust my hips to meet the up-and-down rhythm without realizing it.

“Ahh, uh! Uh!” His sweet voice indicated how much pleasure my little one was feeling, the more I listened, the more it aroused me, that seductive face, beads of sweat mixed with clear fluid on those beautiful eyes, making me almost go mad with desire.

“Try moving yourself.” I whispered hoarsely, loosening my grip to let Dao control the pace himself. Dao slowly rocked his hips up and down, gradually speeding up. In this position, it went in the deepest, hitting the most sensitive spot, making the small one cry out loudly.

I lay back, to be honest, this angle was perfect; I could see Dao on top of me, his hands pressing on my stomach to support himself, his sweet eyes brimming with desire, his breath quick and heavy, moving his hips up and down, taking me in, lifting his hips and slamming down with moans he couldn’t control.

“Uh, ah…ah, uh, mmm.”

“How does it feel?”

“Good…uh, so good, ah…ah, and you, Arthit?”

“Mmm, same…mmm, Dao, move harder.”

“Mmm…uh, ah, ah, ah.” I reached out to stroke the erection in front of me, making Dao moan louder. Soon, white, cloudy fluid spread all over my stomach, and I didn’t mind at all, sitting up.

“Ah! What are you doing?”

“Just changing it a bit.” I said, turning Dao around, spreading his legs, sliding my arms under his knees at the bend. I used both arms to lift Dao up before letting him down, thrusting hard into his back passage, this position not just using hip strength but body weight too.

Because it was like I was using both arms to lift Dao from the knee bend.

“Ah!! Uh! Ahh!” My arms supported the weight of the person in front of me, Dao’s hands flailing for something to hold onto. I moved up and down as I wanted, aiming for the sensitive spot I knew well before letting go with one hand to turn Dao’s face towards me for another kiss.

“Uh…uh.” This time, Dao pulled away from the kiss first, as if he couldn’t breathe, “It…it’s too deep.”

I leaned down to kiss his neck and shoulder, leaving more red marks to claim him, our breathing quickening in unison, our bodies hot.

I lifted my hips to thrust against the downward movement, making it go even deeper, Dao moaned in a lost voice. I guessed he must have felt a significant cramp in his stomach.

I flipped our positions so that Dao was under me, giving him a brief moment to catch his breath before thrusting into him again. This time, I moved my hips rapidly because the pleasure was too much to hold back, my patience completely shattered.

The person beneath me writhed. I had only moved for a moment when Dao released his white, cloudy fluid again.

“Ah! uh, ah! ah!” I thrust my hips even harder, making the small body tremble with the force.

Even if Dao had finished, I still…

More than this…I wanted more.

   “You’re all mine…only mine.” I whispered into his ear, Dao wrapped his arms around my neck.

And we continued having sex in this position for nearly fifteen more minutes.

“Ah! uh, ah! ahhh.”

“Ah…fuck.” I swore uncontrollably due to the overwhelming pleasure, “I love you, I love you so much.”

“I…ah, I love you too…ah! ahhh.”

“Ah…I’m cumming.”

“C…cum inside me.”

“Uh…”

My body twitched slightly before I released, shooting warm fluid inside Dao, who also came again. I slowly withdrew my still-hard cock, looking at the person panting, his chest heaving, reaching out to wipe away his tears.

“We need another shower.” I said.

“Uh.”

“Can we do it again in the bathroom?”

“…I can’t do it anymore.”

“But I can, we can go all night.”

“!!”

 

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