Tag: West The Sun From Another Star

  • WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 8: Around the World

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 8: Around the World

       WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 8: Around the World

       Daotok

       I woke up early and sat waiting in front of my computer screen, eagerly anticipating 9 AM, clicking back and forth between the concert ticket website and a tutorial site on how to buy tickets to ensure I did everything correctly.

    “Are you serious about this?”

    “Yeah.”

    “I could just ask for some.”

    “No. I don’t want to take advantage of your other fans.”

    “So, you’re here to buy concert tickets for me.”

    “Exactly. I’ve prepared well. I won’t miss it.” I said confidently. I had practiced for days to make sure I knew exactly what to click next so I wouldn’t make any mistakes during the actual ticket sale.

    “Haven’t you been to a concert before? Never experienced it?”

    “Back then, I missed the ticket sale and had to wait for cancellations.”

    “Then you could just wait for leftover tickets?”

    “They’re usually not good seats. I’d only see you as small as a matchstick.”

    “But right now, I’m this close to you.”

    “How is this any different from the concert?” I said, not taking my eyes off the screen. After a while, the digital clock on the screen changed to exactly nine o’clock. I quickly selected the seating zone, but the website froze. “Arthit, the website is stuck.”

    “Let me see.” Arthit walked closer with a cup of coffee, looking at my computer screen with interest. “Try refreshing it.”

    “It’s not going anywhere.”

    “Our internet is the fastest, it’s so smooth.”

    “Yeah, there it goes.” I said excitedly as the page changed to let me choose further. I selected the standing area near the stage, and after choosing the quantity,

    I moved to the payment page. “Hurry up.”

    “You seem so excited.” Arthit teased, leaning down to kiss my cheek affectionately, but I wasn’t paying attention because I was focused on the task at hand.

    “Got it!” And there, I successfully managed to buy Arthit’s concert ticket. I jumped out of my chair and hugged him tightly. He seemed a little surprised since he was holding a coffee cup, which he quickly placed on the table before hugging me back.

    “Yay, congratulations!”

    Then I sat back down, tried to refresh the homepage to see how the other sections were doing, and found that some zones were already sold out.

    “Wow, sections B1 and C3 are already full.”

    “So fast.”

    “Let’s refresh again.”

    We kept watching the ticket sales for fans, realizing that all the tickets were sold out very quickly. Over forty thousand tickets for Miami, the first venue of the world tour, followed by Orlando, New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Brooklyn, and many more across America, then South America, Europe, and ending with Asia. The last country of this world tour was Thailand.

    I planned to watch his concert only for the first and last shows; otherwise, I would help out backstage because if I were to attend every performance, it would cost me a fortune since the tickets weren’t cheap.

    This afternoon, he had a rehearsal for the concert. I cleared my work to be ready to go on a world tour with him.

    Finally, the first day of the world tour arrived. We went to Miami together. I helped other staff move various items, even though Arthit said I didn’t need to, but since I didn’t know what else to do, I helped. I stood watching him rehearse to get accustomed to the stage along with other staff.

    Whether it’s in rehearsals, dress rehearsals, or actual performances, I’ve always been impressed by his performances. Arthit gives his all; he says his life depends on it because it’s his dream and his passion for this profession, so he never reduces his dedication or effort.

    He now has three albums with over twenty songs, and he sings all of them, taking about two hours in total.

    The venue for this performance is huge because it needs to accommodate tens of thousands of people. The stage is in the shape of an ‘X’ to allow him and other performers to move around freely. After the rehearsal ended perfectly, the staff seemed very satisfied, and even Uncle was there to oversee the event himself.

    “What do you think?” Uncle, standing next to me, asked.

    “It was fantastic.”

    “Yes, it was really well done. Today’s show should be perfect.” Uncle said confidently. I nodded in agreement, then went to find Arthit who was resting backstage, “You did great.”

    “Of course.” He shrugged, “Where will you be standing during the actual show?”    “I’ll be in the standing area, which might be unpredictable because I might get pushed around.”

    “Be careful, what if you get harassed?”

    “I doubt it.”

    “If you get harassed, I’ll throw the microphone at them.”

    “At the person harassing me?”

    “At you, what?” He furrowed his brows. We talked a bit more before it was time for me to go outside. I didn’t forget to give him some encouragement with a gentle peck on the lips before walking out.

    The atmosphere was very lively; fans were walking around everywhere. I saw many holding light signs, some wearing shirts related to his songs, with faces or bodies painted. Several seemed to recognize me, so they turned to look and talked loudly, but I pretended not to notice.

    I queued up to enter when it was time. The staff looked surprised when I handed over my ticket; he seemed like he was about to ask something but didn’t because of the long line behind me. I walked inside to the vast space I had just left, now with some fans already in.

    I tried to get as close to the stage as possible, but I was still several meters away because the area near the stage was already packed. Earlier, when there were no people, the air inside was quite cool, but as more people came in, it started to get hot and stuffy. Fortunately, I had brought a small fan with me.

    After a while, people started filing in, filling both the standing and seating areas.

    I had thought about how big forty thousand people would be, but I couldn’t really picture it until I saw it with my own eyes; it was truly overwhelming. I felt like it was a massive concert.

    Everyone here is a fan who paid for tickets and chose to spend their Saturday night meeting the artist they love. Of course, staying at home would be more comfortable than being in this crowded, hot, and stuffy place, but they chose to come here. I call it love.

    I truly appreciate everyone who came to see Arthit; they’re part of supporting his dreams. Arthit works very hard, and all this is what he truly deserves.

    The buzz of the crowd filled the area. Soon, the lights behind the stage began to light up in lines; because the stage was X-shaped, there were two large screens angled out from each other. Music started playing, and that triggered an eruption of screams.

    The person next to me was a teenage girl, who seemed to have come with about two friends. They screamed so loudly I was startled a bit. Not long after, a familiar deep voice echoed, making the screams even louder. A man appeared in a red and black jacket and jeans, his hair slightly styled.

    I cheered without realizing it due to the excitement; the lights made him look more charming and captivating than usual, several times over. Fans were singing along joyfully. I was nudged a little by someone from behind, but I didn’t mind, just trying to stand firm so as not to push the people in front.

    “That’s him, really him!” the girl next to me shouted with joy. I turned to see her crying, “I’m so happy, I’ve wanted to see him for so long! Finally!”    After performing about two songs, he started talking to the fans.    “Miami!” He called through the microphone, and the fans responded with screams. “I’ve performed here twice before, a few months ago. This is the first stop for the world tour. I’m really happy that everyone is here with me.”

    “On a Saturday night, you have many choices, but you chose to have fun with us tonight! I’ll give it my all, thank you so much!”

    And the third song started, the atmosphere growing more and more lively.    Of course, I enjoyed it too, even though I had seen him rehearse before; the surrounding atmosphere where everyone was having fun made me excited as well.

    The girl next to me was still crying, even singing through her sobs.

    He walked all over the stage to see the fans from as many angles as possible. Many dancers came on stage and started performing, with backup singers also there. Arthit didn’t dance per se, he just moved along with the other dancers, syncing his movements with the rhythm of the song, swaying gently, and this made him look incredibly cool.

    “Let me see you jump!” He shouted into the microphone, followed by a beat that encouraged everyone to jump together. As I was about to jump, someone from the front stepped back and stepped on my foot.

    “Sorry!” She turned to say with a startled look. I smiled to indicate it was okay, then swayed to the rhythm of the music instead, worried I might step on someone’s foot again.

    The stage setup was equally grand, with fire shooting up, platforms that lifted him onto a large steel structure. He took off his jacket after he started sweating, leaving only a black tank top underneath, which elicited quite a few screams.    The other performers made the show even more fun, with some sliding down from above on just a cloth, doing flips, or dancing impressively.

    Then he started playing the guitar himself, moving to the rhythm of the music with sweat all over his face, which made him look even cooler. I looked at the big screen where you could see him more clearly.

    As they were about to move to the next song, he asked everyone to make some space because he was coming down. Security was there too. When ready, he stepped off the stage, and fans immediately rushed towards him. I tried to stand on my toes to see; he touched everyone’s hand he could reach. Looking at the screen showing the live feed, everyone near him was thrilled, taking photos to remember the moment, some even crying.

    The show ended after over two hours; it was such a pity that the fun was over, but I felt completely satisfied with those two hours. From the perspective of one audience member, I didn’t feel like the ticket price was wasted at all; it was worth it.

    I waited to exit with everyone else, which took quite some time because of the crowd. Once outside, I headed straight back to the backstage area, finding Arthit sitting, panting with a cold towel over his eyes, his body and clothes drenched in sweat, his face flushed from exhaustion.

    “Arthit, I’m here.”

    “You’re here?” He asked without removing the cold towel, “How was it?”

    “It was so fun, the person next to me even cried.”

    “Yeah, that’s good.”

    “Arthit was amazing. There wasn’t a single boring moment.”

    “Yeah, I gave it my all. It was exhausting but fun as hell. Just thinking about performing like this around the world gets me excited.” He said softly, exhausted. I let him rest more, pulling up a chair to sit beside him, taking out my phone to check the feedback on social media.

    The hashtag #TwisterTourInMiami was trending number one; Twister was the name of his tour, also his latest album title, with millions of tweets about it. I clicked to check it out, smiling when I saw the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

     

    ‘He’s so awesome! This was my first time seeing his performance; he gave it his all. I didn’t feel like the money was wasted at all.’

       

       ‘His voice is amazing. I’m sure he wasn’t lip-syncing, and knew he had prepared well.’

       ‘Impressed by everything, the performers, Dylan, all the crew. They did an excellent job with the staging and the performance. I’m so proud of him for having a full stadium like this, so many people, no empty seats.’

       

       ‘I really like the part where he raps; it’s not in the original song. I was so surprised after realizing he could rap this well, composing and singing his own songs. Is there anything he can’t do?’

       

       ‘They should have had two shows in Miami. I want to go again; I’m thinking about following him to New York too. I really like him!’

       

       ‘I saw his boyfriend, Michael, in line at the stadium entrance. They’re such a cute couple. He must be watching his boyfriend perform with such pride.’

       

       ‘I saw Michael too! He was behind me, and I accidentally stepped on his foot, T-T, so embarrassing. I apologized, but he didn’t mind. I kept stealing glances at him; his eyes were shining when he looked at his boyfriend, and I felt shy about it~’

       

       Ah…so the woman who stepped on my foot was her…

        

       ‘I knew from the beginning that this guy was amazing. I’ve followed him since his first song on YouTube. Finally, he has his world tour. I was right to follow this person.’

       

       ‘I even got to shake his hand. He was down there for so long, smiling at everyone. He’s not pretentious at all, he even stopped for photos. It was so heartwarming. If he comes to Miami next time, I’m definitely going again! I love you, Dylan!’

      

    I put my phone down after skimming through the feedback, barely able to contain my smile out of happiness and pride for him. I don’t know how many times I’ve said I’m proud of him, but I genuinely feel that way. Seeing other staff members carrying things, I quickly got up to help.

    Across America, Europe, and Asia, more than thirty shows over six months led us to the final stop in Thailand. Of course, my friends and Arthit’s friends wouldn’t miss it. As soon as we arrived, there was no time to wander elsewhere except straight to the concert venue for preparations.

    I went out to wait for North and hugged everyone immediately after not seeing them for so long.

    “It feels like forever since we’ve met, how have you been?” North asked with a cheerful tone, with Arthit’s friends following behind.

    “I’m quite tired from the world tour. I’ve basically been another staff member.”    “We thought you might play guitar.” Cat chimed in.

    “No way, there are professionals better than me to play. Let’s go backstage.” I said, leading everyone to where Arthit was getting ready. When he saw everyone, Arthit immediately smiled.

    “It’s been ages since we’ve met.” He said, approaching his friends with a big grin; everyone else smiled too. “How have you been? It’s been two years since we last saw each other, right?”

    “Yeah. We’re about to graduate.” Cat’s boyfriend said. “I might have said this already, but congratulations, really.”

    “Thanks, so you and Hill are going to graduate too? That’s quick. Let me know, so I can come to your graduation.” Arthit said, chatting playfully for a while before we moved to the front where the crowd was still bustling. We went to sit and rest.    “But seeing the photos from your trip, it looks like you went to some pretty intense places, like fishing in Zimbabwe; those fish look terrifying.” Ter mentioned.

    “They’re not as scary as you think. It was fun. Aren’t you interested?”

    “Not scary? But North said there were crocodiles.”

    “Yeah, I watched a documentary about it. They said that the river has crocodiles.” North said.

    “Yeah, there really were. The most surprising was this one huge one that entered the water while we were boating along the river; it caused quite a splash.”    “Close range, huh. If it were me there, it would definitely have bitten my head off on the boat.” North nodded, scanning around, “I saw the concert photos Phii Arthit took, it was super grand. Now, with all these people, I’m getting excited.”

    “Here, we brought a light sign too.” Ter said, lifting up the light sign. Truthfully,

    I had noticed it from the beginning, “Made it with Phoon last night.”

    It was a not-too-large light sign that read “DYLAN.”

    “It looks good.” I complimented, “Thank you.”

    “Thank you for what?”

    “For making it for him, and also for coming today.” I said, “He really appreciates everyone for coming to his show.”

    “It’s like thanking your fans for supporting you.” North teased. Because we missed each other, we kept talking, and before we knew it, it was time for the show. North grabbed his partner’s arm to run forward to get a front spot. We hurried after them, “We have to get close to the stage’s edge. Why do I have to work so hard just to see Phii Arthit up close…normally, we’re practically stepping on each other’s faces already.”

    “You get to be close to an artist you like.” Cat said.

    “True. I have to admit, even though he has a shitty personality, he’s really talented. I can sing all his songs, damn it. Why is checking tickets taking so long?” North started complaining. Once we got our tickets checked, we rushed inside, and luckily, we got to the very front.

    “Wow, this is awesome, right at the front.” Ter said excitedly, scanning the surroundings, “It’s so wide, how many people are here?”

    “About thirty thousand, and the tickets sold out.” I answered, and Ter’s eyes lit up.

    “Thirty thousand, wow, that’s so cool.”

    People started coming in steadily, and since we got in early, we had to wait a bit longer before the show started. Once the place was packed, we at the very front began to get squeezed.

    “Who’s pushing? It’s hot.” North whispered in my ear, we were forced to stand close due to the crowd. North’s boyfriend moved to shield us from being pushed.

    “Thank you, phew, that’s a bit better.”

    After some time passed, we started hearing music, accompanied by the screams of fans filling the area, the sound echoing everywhere. Of course, the voice I heard most clearly was North’s.

    “Wooow! ‘Hell and Back’, are you kidding me? Starting with this song, huh?!” North was extremely excited, screaming along with other fans. Ter and Cat only made sounds periodically, unlike North, who was shouting at the top of his lungs.    Arthit appeared from below on a lift, singing the first verse, and the screams were deafening. The person beside me could sing every line just as Arthit had boasted.

    After two songs, he started talking to the fans.

    “Thailand!” He called, and the fans responded with resounding screams. “May I speak in Thai?”

    “Many of you might know I lived here for many years before moving to New York to make music. I have many memories here, and coming back really makes me miss it.”

    “I know, and I truly thank everyone for choosing to spend this evening having fun with us. I’ll give it my all for this final performance of my first world tour!”    After that, the drums started with an exhilarating beat. Despite having performed many times, he didn’t let his energy drop; he was still going all out, especially for this last show.

    The most evident proof of this was North, who might have been having more fun than anyone else, now with a hoarse voice.

    Once again, I was impressed with his show, feeling the same as before that these two hours were well worth it, even though I had seen it multiple times. When the show ended, we made our way out, with North looking exhausted from all the shouting and jumping, swaying to the rhythm until his boyfriend had to support his arm.

    “That was awesome, so intense, I’m tired, and I’m so hungry right now.” North complained in his hoarse voice. We walked backstage to find Arthit, who wasn’t looking much different from other shows, still sitting to rest, tired with a cool towel over his eyes.

    When he heard our footsteps, he removed the towel and turned to look at us.

    “Hey.”

    “It was fun.” Ter’s boyfriend said. “You did great.”

    “Yeah, I gave it my all. And what about you, North? Why do you look as tired as me?”

    “My throat is all sore now, from all the shouting and dancing like I was paid to do it. You were amazing, man. I never thought that bastard could turn out to be this phenomenal. I really respect you, man.”

    “You were one of my first fans, awesome.” He gave a thumbs up, “So, are you guys heading back right away?”

    “We’re leaving tomorrow.” North’s partner answered.

    “Then let’s celebrate a bit, my first world tour just ended, I’ll treat you.”    “Wow.” Cat’s partner said in awe, “Arthit, who’s always been a freeloader, is now offering to treat us.”

    “I won’t miss that. It’s not about the treat, but because it’s rare for you to be the one treating.” Ter’s partner chimed in.

    “What are you talking about? I usually treat you guys quite often.”

    “Bullshit, back then you even stole my change, you bastard, how desperate were you?” Said North’s partner.

    “You’re going on again, Jo, I’m Dylan, a world-class artist, why would I steal your change?”

    “You even stole my pens, I bought a dozen and they all disappeared.” Said Cat’s partner.

    “That was just borrowing, wasn’t it?” Arthit stretched out his words, “Come on, let’s not talk about the past. I’ll treat you guys today, be happy about it.”

    And then Arthit excused himself to change clothes.

    “Why are you looking at him weirdly, Fah?” North’s partner asked.

    “No, no, I just feel proud for some reason.” Cat’s partner said warmly, “I feel like I’m a father who raised a worthless kid from the age of eighteen, had to follow him to school, help with hoCatork, tutor for exams until now he can treat me to meals. Think about it.”

    “Damn, I thought you were going to say he grew up to be a world-class artist or something, proud that he can treat you to a meal?”

    “Jo, even though he was always taking money from you, don’t you feel anything?”

    “Well, now that you mention it, I am a bit proud, too. From someone who used to pocket my change back then to someone inviting me to dinner now.”

    And Arthit became the topic of conversation for a while. I laughed several times hearing about his past antics, and everyone took it in stride until Arthit walked in at the right moment, making everyone laugh.

    “What are you all laughing about?”

    “Nothing, nothing. Let’s go, I want to eat the meal you’re treating us to.” Said North’s partner.

    And then the eight of us went to celebrate together.

       WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

  • WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 7: Black cat

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 7: Black cat

       WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 7: Black cat

       Daotok

       “What time should you be coming back?”

    “Around nine, I guess.”

    “Okay.” I shrugged. “Nine o’clock, don’t come back earlier.”

    “Uh-huh. Looking forward to the surprise.”

    “Just one thing…don’t tease.”

    “I won’t tease you, do your best. I’m off now.”

    “Uh-huh.” I nodded. He smiled, gave my head a pat, and lightly kissed my forehead before opening the door to leave. As soon as the door was locked, I turned back into the room.

    It’s been over eight months since we moved to New York, living in the penthouse at the top of the music company’s building. On the same floor, on the other side, is my uncle’s penthouse. This place is very convenient for Arthit’s work, which is why we decided to move here.

    Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring Mr. Jeon with me because my grandmother said it was too risky to take him abroad, not to mention the airplane travel. She insisted it would be better for him to stay with her, and I couldn’t argue against it.    This penthouse is smaller than our old one but it has two floors. The first floor has a kitchen, living room, a work area for drawing and reading, a movie room, and a balcony that serves as a garden. The second floor is a mezzanine with a bathroom and bedroom, where the balcony offers a view and there’s a swimming pool.

    All around are clear windows offering a view of the bustling city of New York. I’ve gotten used to it. Eight months after graduating and getting married, only we moved out. Ter and Cat are still in school, while North still lives in the same place.    Today is special because it’s Arthit’s birthday. In previous years, I didn’t have a surprise, just a gift and a celebration. This year, I decided to have a surprise, though it might not be a complete surprise since Arthit already knew something was coming, but he didn’t know what it was.

    He knew because he remembered his own birthday and had asked days in advance where we would go to celebrate. But since I had already planned the surprise, I told him to go to work as usual and come back to our room to find his surprise. Knowing this, he seemed quite eager.

    I walked past my own figurine cabinet; there were five figures that stood out more than the others because they were figures of Arthit…yes. I’m not kidding, on my birthday, Arthit had custom-made full-body figures of himself, about sixteen centimeters tall, in five different outfits.

    Perhaps because he was jealous of the other figures that I took good care of, he decided to have his own figures made, even from Japan, with very detailed craftsmanship. Overall, they looked quite like him.

    But for his birthday, I certainly wouldn’t give him a figure of myself.

    I went into the storage room to retrieve a large box I had hidden there since last month for the surprise. Of course, it was well hidden, and besides, Arthit never goes into the storage room. The contents inside were tightly wrapped, and I hadn’t even opened it to look.

    I hadn’t touched it since ordering it, now carefully unpacking and examining what was in my hands.

    I let out a big sigh.

    Is this really going to be a good idea…

    I asked myself this multiple times before deciding to order it, rethinking until I was in turmoil. Part of me thought he’d be surprised for sure, but another part wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, and I didn’t know if he would like it.

    Nonetheless, I ordered it.

    A sex toy…

       Something that could change the flavor of our love-making, as we had never used one before, nor had I even thought about it. It wouldn’t hurt to try, and if he liked it, that would be great…

    I brought the box into the bedroom, taking out each item one by one. When I was browsing, I wasn’t sure what to order. So, it was just one vibrator, something like a string of beads, not too big, about the length of one hand, that’s all for the sex toy.

    The rest…

    A black choker with a bell pendant like a collar, black gloves, cat ears, cat socks, and importantly, a tail…a pointed plug with an attached cat tail. I knew how it was supposed to be worn, but holding the real thing made my stomach churn a little, biting my lip in embarrassment before putting everything back into the box, then standing up to arrange the room to make it more romantic.

    I planned to place decorative lights from the entrance all the way to the bedroom, light some scented candles here and there, and arrange flowers in rows. In the bedroom, only the lamp was turned on.

    Once everything was set up, all I had to do was wait for him to come back. I took a shower to prepare myself, entered the bedroom, took off my robe, took a deep breath before climbing onto the bed.

    I put on a cat’s cat ears headband, a choker, gloves, and socks neatly. I got up to look at myself in the mirror, naked but adorned with accessories. Of course, it looked very strange since I had never worn anything like this before.

    I looked away from the mirror, feeling too embarrassed. I checked the clock and saw it was already 8:40 PM, only twenty minutes until he returned, thinking it would be just in time.

    I sat back on the bed, took off my gloves for convenience, lay on my back with my legs apart, applied some lube to my fingers, and gently circled the rear hole. I slightly bit my lip as I pushed my finger inside. Soon, my body began to respond as I started to feel aroused.

    After preparing the back passage sufficiently, I dripped some lube onto the butt plug and slowly pushed it in. The initial feeling was cold, startling me a bit, and once fully inserted, it felt somewhat uncomfortable with a foreign object inside me.

    When I moved my legs, the plug inside also moved, pressing against my inner walls. I tried to get as accustomed to it as possible, my arousal growing as I felt the strange sensation, my breathing becoming heavier. Soon, the clock showed exactly 9:00 PM.

    “Ah! Ugh.” I still couldn’t get used to the sensation of something being inside me; it felt sticky and awkward. I tried moving it or adjusting it, but it still felt strange.

    The bedroom door slowly opened; he was incredibly punctual. I, sitting on the bed, turned to look at the person who had just entered.

    Arthit scanned the room before his eyes settled on me, his eyes wide, his face stunned as if he couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to do, feeling as if I was being stared through, my heart pounding, my body flushing with warmth.

    “…Cat?”

    I let out a small sound like a cat, raising both hands to rub my cheeks. Arthit slowly closed the door, leaving only the light from the decorative lights around the room and the lamp. He gently climbed onto the bed and kissed me.    I kissed him back. But only for a moment before pulling away, he smiled, pleased.

    “This is really a surprise.”

    “Do you like it?”

    “Yeah, you’re fucking teasing.” He pushed me slightly to tilt my body. I moaned because the plug inside moved as well, Arthit grabbed the tail and moved it around.

    “Uh…uh…”

    “How did you learn about stuff like this?”

    “I…saw it on…um, the internet.”

    His face turned bright red, his eyes scanning my body hungrily, his hands roaming all over, stopping at the choker around my neck.

    “What can you do as a cat?”

    I didn’t answer, just climbed onto him where he sat, tilted my head, and nuzzled into his neck, my lips pressing against his skin, kissing softly, sometimes biting gently. I took off the gloves because they felt cumbersome, then removed his shirt and started caressing him again.

    He tilted his head back slightly in cooperation. I left red marks on his collarbone, moving up to his ears and nibbling softly.

    He slid his hands down my back, reaching the tail and twisting it around. I stifled a groan in my throat, my body arching and rubbing against his hard stomach. I moved up to kiss him deeply, our hot tongues intertwining until the thing under his pants hardened and swelled fully.

    He picked me up and placed me in the middle of the bed.

    “What’s this?” He touched something on the bed, it was the vibrator. I had to hide my blushing face, “A vibrating egg?”

    “Uh-huh.”

    “You ordered something like this too?”

    “Well…just in case we wanted to change things up.” I answered softly, “In case you wanted to try it…with me.”

    “Hmm?” He raised his eyebrows, spread my legs apart, quickly pulled out the tail without warning, and inserted the vibrator instead, “I didn’t think you’d order something like this.”

    “Do you like it, Arthit?”

    “No.”

    “…” I fell silent due to his answer and his displeased expression. He pressed the remote without saying a word; the thing inside vibrated, not too strongly, “Ah!

    Uh…ohhh!”

    “When I’m not around, do you use it on yourself?”

    “No…no, uhmmm…never used it.”

    “Really?”

    His voice was low, filled with irritation. I didn’t quite understand, and the vibration inside my body made me feel weak, the tingling sensation spreading across my back until my legs felt weak.

    “Do you like it?”

    “It…it’s weird, uhmm.”

    “What do you like more, mine or this?”

    With that statement, I understood immediately.

    He was jealous…I didn’t think he would be jealous of something like this…

    “Ah! Then if you don’t like it, take it out…ughh.”

    “Hmm.” He positioned me to kneel, increasing the intensity of the vibrations even more. My hips and thighs felt numb, but I had to admit it was very arousing. I could barely catch my breath.

    He took off his pants, lifted my chin, and immediately thrust his erect member into my mouth. I opened my eyes wide in shock as he pushed it in quickly, almost making me choke, and tears started flowing without me realizing it.

    “Ugh! Ughh, ugh, ughh.”

    I opened my mouth wide to avoid my teeth touching him, his large member thrusting quickly, hitting the back of my throat, pulling back, and thrusting in again.

    “Do it better.”

    “Ughh! Ughhh.”

    “Lick it too.”

    “Ugh! Ugh, huh, ughhh.”

    I licked as he commanded; he stopped moving his hips. I licked all around the tip, sucking and using my tongue to press against the top. One hand stroked in rhythm with my mouth.

    “Faster.”

    “Ughhh.”

    The vibrator kept vibrating, my whole body trembling, starting to lose strength. I moved my hips involuntarily, feeling the arousal.

    I stuck my tongue out, flicking it all around, licking from the base to the tip, then looked up at him pleadingly.

    “Ah…Arthit, enough…please.”

    “Meaning?”

    “The vibrator, it feels strange.”

    “But it’s arousing, isn’t it?” He grabbed and kneaded my erection.

    “It’s moving a lot.”

    “Ugh!”

    “It’s…arousing, but it’s strange, ohhh…”

    “Then why did you buy it?”

    “I…just thought you might like it, ah! ahh!” I answered with a trembling voice due to the vibration from behind, “But…I want you more…oh, I mean it, really.”

    “Then make it good.”

    “Ah…uh.”

    I used my mouth to pleasure him further, licking, sucking, and stroking simultaneously until he released all over my face. He turned off the vibrator and immediately wiped me with a tissue.

    “Here, have some water.”

    He handed me a bottle of water. After I drank, I returned it, and he placed it back by the bed while he wasn’t looking. I took out the vibrator and moved closer to him right away.

    I positioned his still-hard member at my rear entrance, then pressed down hard, taking it all in one go, filling me with its warmth and hardness. Having held back for so long, I came immediately.

    “Already finished?”

    I nodded shyly, because it was him, and because I had been holding back for so long, I came the moment he entered.

    I slowly lifted my hips and then used my fingers to push inside, then lowered myself back down. I held onto his shoulders with both hands and began moving up and down, pushing him to lie on his back on the bed. With my hands on his strong stomach for leverage, I used my legs to control the rhythm and force to hit the right spots, speeding up and intensifying the thrusts as needed.

    “Ahhh! ohhh!” I moaned and bit my lip tightly to release the overwhelming pleasure that spread through my body, feeling hot all over, the temperature around me rising several degrees. I glanced at Arthit, who was cooperating by moving his hips to thrust upwards, his face full of satisfaction.

    “You’re making such a lewd face.” I teased softly, because he looked very aroused. It was like this every night, and it was a face I couldn’t look away from.    “Look at yourself first…uhmm.” He groaned deeply in his throat. So, I thrust my hips down harder.

    “Why me?…Ahhh! Ugh.”

    “You’re such a slut.”

    “Yes, and so what? Don’t you like it?” I asked with a hoarse voice, narrowing my eyes, which made him smile.

    “I like it.”

    “Suck it.”

    I reached out to hold his hand, starting to move my hips in circles teasingly. Arthit bit his lower lip from the arousal, and doing this made it feel like his member was touching every part inside me.

    “Uhmm, it feels so good.” I said, biting my lip. Suddenly, Arthit pushed me down and took over, thrusting eagerly without pause. The whole bedroom was filled with the sounds of our bodies colliding and my moans.

    I lay exhausted on his bare chest after sex that lasted almost three hours, trying to keep my heavy eyelids from closing.

    “Arthit.”

    “Hmm?”

    “So, you didn’t like my surprise today?”

    “I did like it, you’re so damn cute, but I don’t like sex toys that much. Not my style.” Arthit said. I shifted a little to get more comfortable on him, his hand reaching down to touch my hip. “The only thing that can make your rear hole and front part happy down there is mine, remember that.”

    “Uhmm, I understand now. I should have thought of that, with a jealous guy like you Arthit.”

    “What do you mean ‘not my style’?”

    “It was inside your ass, wasn’t it? Your ass is mine alone!” He protested. I sighed, glancing at the two sex toys now carelessly discarded on the floor, probably going to be thrown away for real. “But the cat outfit is fine, it’s great.”

    “And what about the tail? Why aren’t you jealous of the cat’s tail?”

    “That one is forgivable.”

    “Hmm, happy birthday.” I said, looking at the time which was now 5:55 PM,

    “Did you get any gifts?”

    “I got quite a lot from work, so I left them outside.”

    “Oh, but I don’t have a gift, couldn’t think of anything. The surprise was already overwhelming.”

    “Yeah, it’s okay. Having you with me every day is the best gift in life.”

    “Heh, you say nice things.”

    “From the heart.”

    “I know, you can sweet-talk every day.”

    “They call it not holding back.” the person next to me whispered, pressing his lips gently on my forehead again, “Wear another outfit sometime, I bet you’d look so cute.”

    “…Okay, as you wish.”

     

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

  • WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 6: West Summits

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 6: West Summits

       WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 6: West Summits

       Daotok

       The left shoulder bore some of the weight from the person next to me. He leaned his head on my shoulder to take a nap. I tried to keep as still as possible so as not to wake him. After working together for a long time, when the work was finished, Arthit immediately complained about wanting to go on a trip.

    We were at the airport waiting to board a flight to Russia to climb the highest peak in Europe, Mount Elbrus, located in the Caucasus Mountains. It’s a volcano that hasn’t erupted in over two thousand years, standing over 5,600 meters high and covered with snow all year round. With my considerable experience in mountain climbing and hiking, I felt more excited than scared about this.    Arthit did what he had promised. After we got married, he took me to many places around the world, both popular tourist spots crowded with visitors and places not many people go to. Mostly the latter. I discovered for myself that traveling teaches me a lot and provides new experiences.

    Not long after, it was time to board the plane. Arthit slept through most of the several-hour flight, and when we arrived in Moscow, he woke up after a wellrested nap, looking very lively and bright.

    The weather outside was quite cold for me; it wasn’t winter, but summer, with temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius. It wouldn’t be considered cold for the locals since winter temperatures can drop to minus thirty or even lower.    Arthit didn’t complain about the cold he dislikes; he just helped me with my luggage and we walked out. We stopped for a meal before heading to our accommodation. The plan was to take a domestic flight to another city the next day and meet two guides who would lead us up the mountain.

    Today, we walked around the city to admire the architecture, took some photos, and then returned to the hotel. On the second day, we flew to Mineralnye Vody, which took about two hours, and rested there until the third day to head towards the mountain area.

    The guides picked us up at our place. We drove to Terskol, the last stop before reaching the peak. The view changed from the city to the mountain, which had quite an unusual shape. The air got colder as we went along. After checking into our accommodation, we went to buy or rent climbing equipment. We hadn’t brought much because we had researched that it’s best to buy or rent here.    The gear for snow climbing was quite extensive. We bought what we thought was the best and then had dinner. The guides went over the travel plan again, and after that, we returned to our lodgings to prepare for tomorrow.

    “It looks like Cat went to Norway.” I said while scrolling through Instagram, seeing Cat post a photo with his partner, tagged at Norway. Arthit, who was lying down, leaned in with interest.    “Is the kid on vacation?”

    “Don’t call Cat ‘kid’, okay?”

    “I call Fah that.” He said, “That’s interesting, Norway, huh?”

    “Yeah.”

    “I’ll post a photo to one-up him, the one you took of me is better, it’s cool.” He said, showing me his phone with a photo I had just taken of him in Moscow. I nodded slightly in agreement before a notification appeared that he had posted something new on Instagram, “Everyone’s asking about the concert; even on posts not related to work, there are questions.”

    “It’s not surprising, Arthit you have fans all over the world. They want you to have a concert.”

    “And Direk hasn’t let me tell anyone yet…”

    “Uh-huh. It’s okay.” I said, because the agency already had plans for your world tour after fans worldwide had been demanding it for a long time. But the agency hadn’t announced it yet because they intended it to be a surprise. “Just be careful, Arthit, don’t get injured. Slipping on snow and hitting your head so you can’t sing would be terrible.”

    “Yeah. What should we do if that happens?”

    “Just write the songs, and let someone else sing them.”

    “Who?”

    “Someone who sings well, like me.”

    “Oh…you should vary your tone before you talk like that.” Arthit teased; it was just playful banter because he was known for singing quite poorly. Even just talking, his tone was monotonous, let alone singing.

    “It would be worse if you fell and got a brain injury.” I said. “But anyway, if it’s about the brain, Arthit couldn’t get much worse.”

    “Right, spit, this is your husband, you know? If you’re going to insult me like that, you might as well kiss me.”

    “I don’t think so.”

    “Yeah. If we conquer this mountain, should we go for Everest next?”

    “I am not sure about that?”

    “Why not?”

    “I think it’s a bit too dangerous.” I offered my opinion, “But if my climbing skills improve to a certain point, I might want to conquer Everest.”

    “But honestly, I don’t like snowy mountains.”

    “There are plenty of mountains without snow.”

    “Then why don’t we go there?”

    “Arthit you was the one who suggested coming here.”

    “Me?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Wasn’t it you?” He frowned in disbelief. I turned back to look at him with an annoyed expression.

    “That was you Arthit. you must have been tired from work and said it out loud. So I went to look up the information right then.” I said truthfully, “you  must have been so tired you  couldn’t remember.”

    “Are you okay?”

    “I’m fine.” I replied after hearing the concerned question from the person walking behind me.

    Snow fell all the way, making visibility poor, which was one of the difficulties I had anticipated when climbing here. I carefully lifted my feet and stepped down, moving cautiously on the snowy ground, slowing our journey due to the surrounding conditions.

    When we got back to the accommodation, I collapsed immediately, just like the day before, because the guide said to rest in the afternoon. So I woke up rather late, though not as late as Arthit. He didn’t seem as tired as I was yesterday; he’s never as tired as me, but he woke up late simply because he was lazy.

    Looking outside, the view from the bed was of snow-covered mountains. Seeing such a view right after waking up wasn’t bad at all. I didn’t forget to take photos to keep. When I went outside, I found the view was very beautiful. It wasn’t snowing as heavily as it was yesterday.

    I went to the bathroom outside the house, a small wooden structure. After using the bathroom and washing up, I went back inside to see that Arthit was awake, sitting and yawning with his eyes half-open, his hair as messy as a bird’s nest.    Suddenly, an image of him presenting for a famous watch brand popped into my head. He looked so different then compared to now.

    “You  need to get a haircut when we get back.”

    “Me?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Is it long again?” He grumbled while gently touching his hair. I walked over, picked up a comb from the bag, and combed his messy hair for him.

    “You look like a kingfisher.” I said after seeing the hair in the middle standing up, refusing to lie flat no matter how I combed it, “Once you put on your hat, no one will see it.” Then I picked up the hat that had fallen off while he was sleeping and put it back on him.

    “Do I need to maintain my image? Seriously, I’m a celebrity, the guide knows me.” He raised his eyebrows to ask. The guide indeed knew him as he claimed, and seemed very excited to find out that one of his clients this time was a famous artist.    “Yeah, because I remember the next day I woke up, you were packing and said you were going to Russia, and I was like, ‘What? are you going?’ ‘Yeah, yeah.’“    “Sigh, well, we’re here now.” I said, “Go back to sleep; we need to acclimate tomorrow.” I ended the conversation and got up to turn off the light in the room. Tomorrow morning we would have to start acclimatizing as the guide had instructed, because the human body can’t immediately handle high altitudes. The body might suffer from severe altitude sickness that could be fatal, so we need to gradually ascend over several days to get used to the height and the decreasing oxygen levels.

    This means we won’t be able to reach the top in one go. We’ll gradually climb up according to the altitude, stopping at various points along the way, and each point has its own designated rest area with different names.

    We walked up to a spot not too far from where we were staying, which is at an altitude of about 2,500 meters from the village. This place is at 3,800 meters; the air was still as cold as before. The path was beautiful and quite steep, but overall, it was still manageable because the natural scenery around made it feel refreshing, indescribably so. There was a river flowing through our path. When we reached one point, we got a full view of Mount Elbrus, which was slightly exciting due to its grandeur.

    Now, there was our guide and another group of tourists. We took just a few photos before heading back to our accommodation, which took about six hours in total, not considered too difficult. The next day, we had to move up to sleep at the “Huge Refuge” at an altitude of 3,600 meters. We hiked again in the afternoon with the goal of reaching an altitude of about 4,000 meters.

    At this point, there was snow. We equipped ourselves properly before starting to walk uphill. Walking on snow wasn’t too hard for me since I was somewhat used to it, and Arthit was no different. He seemed very eager and energetic, but when we reached our destination, we turned back.

    I was quite tired from walking on snow plus the biting cold; I almost collapsed into bed as soon as we got to the rest area, unlike Arthit who seemed like he could climb up and down three more times.

    “Don’t you exercise much?”

    “I exercise every day.” I replied softly, my eyelids too heavy to keep open, “Arthit you are the one who’s been working non-stop. Lately, you’ve hardly exercised at all, how are you still so strong?”

    “Don’t you know I do push-ups and write songs at the same time?”

    “Your co-workers must be annoyed, plus anyone would get tired.” I said. Arthit seemed to want to say something more, but I didn’t hear it; I had already fallen asleep. The next morning, we found out the weather wasn’t very good. We walked to the “Upper Pastukhov Rock” at an altitude of about 4,800 meters. Today, there was heavy snowfall and strong winds.

    “It’s up to you, but really, Arthit has never cared about his image anyway.” I answered.

    “Right, a handsome guy is always handsome. No need to worry about appearances.”

    “Hmm, let’s go wash our faces and brush our teeth outside.”

    “Why wash your face again, it’s so cold, let’s sleep some more.” He said groggily, pulling me back down to sleep with him. He then sat up, pushing himself out of bed, trying to get me to sit up too.

    “It’s really dirty.”

    “I need to pee, can I do it here?” He asked without opening his eyes. I helped him get up.

    “No way. If you pee in your pants, you’ll get wet and even colder.”

    “Yeah, then bring me the bottle.”

    “Sigh, the bathroom is outside, don’t burden me, or we’ll both fall.” I said, helping him outside to the bathroom. After a while, he came out after washing his face and brushing his teeth, looking more awake.

    “Hey, you’re up, where are we going next?”

    “We’ll practice using the equipment, like the ice axe or the fixed rope.”

    “I already know how to use them, so I’ll sleep some more.”

    “We need to practice for safety.”

    “Okay, okay.”

    In the afternoon, we had a session to practice using various climbing tools with our guide, including how to behave if we slipped into a crevasse. The guide took us to a real crevasse for practice, which initially made us nervous, but once we got used to it, it was fun. After the practice, we went to bed early, and at midnight, we would actually start climbing Mount Elbrus. The distance from here to the peak was nearly a thousand meters.

    I woke up groggily to the sound of the alarm clock, finding it was 5:45 PM, just fifteen minutes until our scheduled time. It was pitch black outside, with some noise from other climbers. I shook the person next to me to wake up; Arthit was curled up under the thick blanket, looking adorable due to the cold.

    “Arthit, it’s time.” I said softly, and as soon as I spoke, his eyes shot open, and he sprang up.

    “Let’s go!”

    He seemed very excited and eager. I was excited too. We got ourselves ready and walked out of our accommodation, finding our guide waiting nearby. At about midnight, with only the light from the accommodations illuminating the area, it was quite bright around.

    The guide checked our equipment and attire to make sure everything was correct. Then he told us we had to go up in a snowcat to Pastukhov Rocks and then continue on foot. The snowcat is a small, fully enclosed truck designed for easy travel over snow. Once we reached our point, we would get off and continue climbing.

    Initially, we used trekking poles to help us walk. Headlamps provided light in this snowy, dark environment. When we reached an altitude of about 5,000 meters, we could start to see the horizon.

    The light around us was beginning to fade, signaling that dawn was near. Soon, the sun would rise. Turning back, I saw the surroundings from this high vantage point, feeling like I was in heaven. It might sound exaggerated, but the view from here was truly beautiful, with other peaks lined up and covered in snow. This was the Caucasus range, with the sky changing colors behind, showing a clear contrast between blue and brick red.

    Even though it was exhausting, it was totally worth it to see such a beautiful view.

    I suddenly stopped walking, causing Arthit to stop as well. The guide turned to look at us and waited for us to enjoy the sunrise without saying anything. I took out my camera to take pictures, not forgetting to capture Arthit too.

    “Beautiful, huh?”

    “Beautiful, indeed, you.”

    “I meant the view.”

    “What view? Who are you complimenting?”

    “Sigh, let’s keep walking.”

    “Just kidding, yeah, it’s beautiful. You won’t get a view like this down there.”

    Arthit said, satisfied with the sight before him. “Let’s keep going.”

    “Uh-huh.”

    We continued on. Before long, the sunlight hit the snow below not blocked by the mountains, including some smaller peaks. I stopped again to take more photos of the scenery. After a while, the sunlight reached us as well, and we started to take a break along with other climbing teams who were also resting.

    The guide kept the conversation going cheerfully, probably to keep us from getting bored. Plus, he and another guide were fans of Arthit. They said Arthit looked much better in person than in the photos they saw online, even without makeup or just after waking up. His easy-going nature made him get along well with people, which made these two fans like their artist even more.

    I glanced out to see a range of mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. It was another moment where I felt myself to be so small compared to this vast world. The sky began to clear and brighten, with clouds drifting by. After resting until we felt refreshed, we continued our journey.

    We arrived at the “Saddle.” which is the midpoint between the two peaks, the West Summit and the East Summit. The peak we were aiming for was the West, which was higher than the Saddle. It resembled a horse’s saddle, curving down in the middle because it was between two mountains. We rested there for a bit before turning to climb further.

    From here, we used ice axes and fixed ropes because the incline and danger increased. I increased my caution and tried to focus on the task at hand. It was challenging to pass through, but I found it quite fun.

    I looked up and saw there was still more to climb.

    “How is it?”

    “It’s fun, how about you, Arthit?”

    “Yeah, it’s fun for me too.”

    We continued walking, getting closer to the summit with each step. The path was visibly narrowing, and beside the trail was a steep slope that would be disastrous if one were to slip and roll down. Finally, we reached the highest point of Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe.

    I smiled broadly because I was happy, my heart beating fast from both excitement and exhaustion. I looked around to see the scenery of the Caucasus range. We didn’t forget to take photos as a memento of conquering this peak. Realizing we had reached the top, I felt an indescribable sense of pride, forgetting the cold, the tiredness, and all the hardships we had endured.

    I turned to look at the person standing next to me.

    “Really happy.” He said with a smile, gently patting my head.

    “Aren’t you happy? This is the highest peak in Europe.”

    “I am happy, it’s fun.”

    “Yeah. I wonder what the view would be like from other mountain tops.”

    “If you want me to take you to climb other mountains, just say so.”

    “I want to.” I nodded quickly, “Take me again.”

    “Will do, definitely.”

    “Mmm.”

    Not long after, we started descending the same way we came up.    The joy after coming down was being able to walk around in comfortable weather, breathing freely, and bringing our bodies back to normal. I sat down to look through the photos on the camera that we had taken, feeling happy. It was another great adventure and experience in life, a memory between the two of us that we had been here, gone through hardships, and had fun together.

    Moreover, no matter how beautiful the view here is, it wouldn’t be as beautiful without him. That’s what I thought, which is why I love every place where he is with me.

    I put down the camera and looked back at the person who had just come out of the bathroom. We were back at our base accommodation at the foot of the mountain, preparing to return to Moscow.

    “My nose is peeling, it stings like hell.”

    “Let me see.” I stood up and looked up; he bent down a bit to make it easier for me to see, “It really is peeling.” I found that his nose was peeling off in flakes. I touched my own nose lightly to check if it was the same.

    “Mine isn’t peeling.”

    “What the heck, why isn’t your nose peeling too? That’s not fair.”

    “I don’t know.”

    “Then I’ll pick your nose for you. Give me your nose.”

    “Are you crazy? Hurry up and get dressed.”

    “Yeah, yeah.”

     

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

  • WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 5: Fisherman

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 5: Fisherman

       WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 5: Fisherman

       Daotok

       “Let’s go fishing.”

    One afternoon in New York, while we were playing games in our room, Arthit said this out of the blue. I agreed without much thought, which is why we’re here now.

    Zambia, Southern of Africa

       The plane landed in Livingstone, and a wave of heat hit us as we stepped out, the air around was quite dry. I put on my sunglasses before scanning the surroundings with interest; this was my first time visiting Africa.

    After getting married and moving to New York, we’ve traveled to many places as we had planned for a long time. Often, these trips were not pre-arranged; they were split-second decisions by Arthit, and my willingness to go along with it.    Like this time, our main goal here is the Tiger Goliath, a giant predatory fish found in southern Africa, growing up to 180 centimeters long, with a wide mouth full of large, sharp teeth. There have been reports of it attacking humans and crocodiles. Many say it’s like a giant piranha and is one of the challenges for anglers.

    From what I’ve researched, the locals here regularly eat this fish; it’s sold in fish markets, and the larger the fish, the pricier it is. This makes Arthit want to try catching and eating one.

    I found that there were many interesting things to do here besides fishing. We wouldn’t come to Zambia just to fish. I didn’t want to miss visiting Victoria Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world, spanning across Zambia and Zimbabwe.

    This waterfall leads into the rapids of the Zambezi River, which is where we’ll go boating to fish for the tiger fish.

    We took a car from the airport to the hotel we had booked, checked in, and stored our luggage in the room. Once settled, we went out to participate in activities arranged by the hotel because our actual fishing trip was scheduled for the next day. We arrived early to prepare and explore the area.

    Late afternoon, the only activity left to do was a walking safari with lions.

    “It seems like we’ll get very close to the lions.”

    “Oh.”

    “You don’t seem very interested.”

    “My heart is all into fishing now.”

    “I thought your heart was with me.”

    “…”

    “Sorry.”

    Arthit looked a bit stunned before bursting into loud laughter, making me sigh in relief.

    “Can I apologize again?”

    “No.”

    “My heart is all into fishing now, go on.”

    “No.”

    “You’ve improved a lot since we got married.”

    “At least Arthit seems in a better mood.”

    “Are you trying to cheer me up?”

    “Uh, or are you feeling worse?”

    “I’m not in a bad mood. Just a bit annoyed.”

    Arthit seemed slightly irritated because he didn’t seem too keen on walking with the lions here; it probably wasn’t very exciting for him, but I thought since the hotel offered the activity and we were free, there was no harm in taking a walk.

    Besides, I’d never had the chance to be close to real lions before.

    “But thinking that I get to do something you want to do makes it okay.”

    “Uh.”

    When we arrived, the staff brought two lions towards us. They were slightly taller than our waists, not yet fully grown. The staff offered to take photos for us, and after the photos, it was time for the walk.

    There were a few rules: no touching the head or feet, no patting, and no walking in front of them.

    “They said to hold their tail, they like it.”

    “Really?” I raised an eyebrow in surprise, wondering why they would like their tails held. One of the staff lifted a lion’s tail and gestured for me to hold it instead. I approached hesitantly; first, the tail was a bit heavy, and second, we were very close, with a clear view of the lion’s rear.    “Arthit isn’t holding one?”

    “I don’t like holding anyone’s tail.”

    “Then I’ll hold both.”

    With my other hand, I held the tail of another lion. Being this close to these wild beasts was quite thrilling. Even though there were staff members supervising, because they are wild hunters, no one knows what they might be thinking. They might not bite other tourists, but they might want to eat me.

    “Hah, you should feel good having someone to hold your tails like this.” Arthit teased. I felt a bit strange too, having to walk while holding the tails of two lions like this.

    “What are their names?” I turned to ask the staff walking behind us.

    “This one is Alim, and this one is Dalal.”

    “Alim, Dalal, giant cats.” I said softly, glancing at the two large lions slowly walking in front of us right now, “Doesn’t Arthit like them?”

    “I’m indifferent, but, yeah, they’re not bad, they’re truly kings of the jungle.”    “No, they’re just wild animals.” I said, “Like a cat but enlarged. If they could be affectionate, they’d be super cute.”

    “I don’t want to be licked by a cat this size, my face would definitely get wet.”

    “Exactly, but they’d more likely bite your head off, wouldn’t they, Alim?”    After walking for a while, I started to get used to it; both of them didn’t seem to pay much attention to us. Alim and Dalal just kept walking as if that was their only job, not to entertain the customers. Maybe they don’t get paid much.

    Lions often appear in documentaries, depicted as full-fledged predators with their hunting instincts, but seeing them so calm like this was quite surprising.

    After finishing our walk with the lions, we continued with a walk with cheetahs which are smaller and look more agile. With cheetahs, there was a leash to hold, unlike with the lions who didn’t have one, just a collar and a strap around their arms. The staff handed me the leash and instructed me to follow.

    Cheetahs, unlike lions, constantly showed interest in us. They would turn to look back often; we made eye contact so frequently that I almost fell in love with it.

    Or maybe this giant cat wants to play with us?

    But I had to restrain myself from petting its head or body because it was against the rules.

    When the walk was over, they took us to see white lions and other animals. By the time everything was done, it was almost evening. We went back to the hotel for dinner, and our day of sightseeing ended.

    We followed the guide to climb up to Victoria Falls. Without a guide, we wouldn’t be allowed to go up there; the path was somewhat difficult but definitely worth it for what was at the top. Because of the hot weather, Arthit wanted to swim there as well.

    The sound of the waterfall filled the area. I looked around with interest; it was truly one of the largest waterfalls in the world. It was clear that falling off the edge would not be a good idea. From this angle, we could see the cliff where all the water plummeted, with rainbows appearing intermittently due to the vast amount of water spray interacting with the sunlight.

    “A double rainbow.” Arthit said softly. I looked in the direction he pointed.

    “If you point at the rainbow, it will bite your finger.”

    “Why?”

    “I don’t know. When I was a kid, adults used to say that.”

    “Go ahead and bite then.” Arthit moved his finger close to my mouth, and out of mischief, I opened my mouth and gently bit it, “What would happen if you don’t bite?”

    “Your finger would fall off.”

    “Just for pointing at a rainbow? What kind of offense is that to lose a finger?” Arthit grumbled.

    We continued to follow the guide, the surrounding natural scenery was quite beautiful. We stopped at the Devil’s Pool, where we could swim; it was one of the more thrilling tourist spots.

    We were right at the edge of one of the world’s largest waterfalls, which made it even more exciting to think about. The guide didn’t provide life jackets; he explained what to do and what not to do, pointing out areas to be careful of because they were deep and only for those who were good swimmers. After listening, Arthit immediately took off his shoes.

    He jumped…

    I held my breath.

    Amid the fairly strong current, just a few meters from the cliff, he soon surfaced and swam to sit on a rock ledge.

    “Get down here, the water’s nice and cool.”

    “Okay.”

    I took off my shoes and jumped in too. The water was deep enough that my feet didn’t touch the bottom. I swam up to the surface and found that the current wasn’t so strong that we couldn’t handle it. I swam towards Arthit. Before long, the guide also joined us, sitting nearby to keep an eye on us.

    “Has anyone ever jumped in before?” Arthit asked, turning to the guide.

    “As far as I know, no.”

    “What would happen if I jumped down there?”

    “Absolutely not, you’re under my care. I don’t want to lose my job yet.” the guide said with a smile, then he turned over to lie on his stomach on the rock, glancing down below. We did the same.

    Once we got to this point, it felt quite thrilling; it was really a cliff, surrounded by more cliffs. Arthit seemed in good spirits being here. I felt the same. After swimming to our satisfaction, we returned the same way we came. In the afternoon, we prepared to buy various things for fishing tomorrow.

    We met a local guide named Jack and his two crew members. Jack insisted that without a safety team, he wouldn’t be able to take us. We didn’t have any issues with that. We started from Livingstone to the town of Lukulu and launched the boat into the Zambezi River.

    Arthit offered to drive. We led in the first vehicle with the other two crew members following, Jack sitting in the back seat to navigate. The car moved along the rough road; as we passed, the vehicle stirred up dust on both sides of the road, where there were fields and forests teeming with wildlife like elephants, deer, and baboons. It wasn’t a lush forest, but rather a dry, hot savanna.

    We drove on until the sun began to set.

    “Can’t help it. We need to set up camp.” Jack said from the back. “Driving at night in Africa isn’t safe.”

    “Okay.” Arthit replied immediately. Soon, we stopped by the roadside at a spot suitable for camping. As it got dark, safety vanished; it was time for predators to hunt, and the air grew cooler. I helped the team start a fire while others set up the tents.

    Arthit and I had camped before, but not in an African forest.

    Jack said we would arrange night watches to keep the camp safe and the fire lit.

    After deciding the watch shifts by drawing short and long sticks, we retired to our tents.

    In the pitch black with no light nearby, only the dim glow of the campfire illuminated our surroundings. The sounds of insects and birds filled the air from all directions. We didn’t know what lurked in the darkness; perhaps there were dangerous animals waiting to strike. I could think of dozens of potential dangers lurking here.

    “Are you tired?” Arthit whispered, holding me as we lay facing each other in a tent just big enough for us two. The ground was hard, covered with a cloth, but it didn’t make it any softer. Luckily, I didn’t mind.

    “No, Arthit was the one driving.” I shook my head.

    “It was fun.”

    “Hmm, do you think there are wolves around here?”

    “There are. We saw one on the way here.”

    “Oh. I didn’t see it.”

    “Too bad, huh?”

    “A little, I wanted to see it in person, up close.”

    “See it up close? That would be disastrous, you could sleep, the shift change is in three hours.”

    “Hmm.”

    I slowly closed my eyes amidst the ambiance of the South African forest at night. Not long after, one of the team members woke me; he just gently shook the tent. I woke up; it was my shift, but Arthit said he would keep watch too, so when it was Arthit’s shift, I would go out with him.

       There were chairs set up outside by the campfire. I shone my flashlight into the darkness. I didn’t see anything nearby, just heard the cacophony of insects and birds. I could only hope it would stay this peaceful.

       I added some wood to the fire to keep it from going out, sat back down in the chair, and glanced at the person next to me who was yawning.

       It was indeed a novel atmosphere.

       He looked back at me.

       “What?”

    “Nothing. Just thought the atmosphere was new, kind of like when camping in the forest, but a different feeling.”

    “Exactly.” He nodded, “Jack said we’re close to lion territory.”

    “No worries. I’ve held their tail before.”

    “Ha, you always like to pull others’ tails.”

    “That’s right. I’m that kind of person.”

    “What sound is that?” Arthit became more alert and cautious, quickly scanning the area. I followed his gaze instantly, “Lions.”

    “Hmm.”

    We heard the roar of a lion echoing loudly, and suddenly, we felt our hairs stand on end, realizing it was not far from the camp.

    “Better go into the tent.” Arthit whispered. I nodded. I went into the tent while Arthit opened the adjacent tent, waking the person inside to alert them of the danger, then quickly returned to our tent amidst the silence and dim light. We sat in the tent with the lion roaring outside.

    “From what I remember, lions usually don’t attack prey they don’t know. They attack prey they are familiar with because there’s no need for unnecessary risk; unfamiliar prey might be dangerous. Plus, we have fire and weapons, so there shouldn’t be much to worry about.”

    “If we tell this story, people will just say we should have stayed home, you bastard.” Arthit whispered.

    “It’s exciting, though.”

    “Yeah, I’m genuinely glad you get it.”

    “How many times have I gone with you now?”

    “Yeah, go to sleep. I’ll keep watch for you. Just a minute…” It seemed like the other tent was trying to communicate with us. Arthit slowly opened the tent to talk, and after a while, he came back in.

    “What did they say?”

    “Just to keep the fire from going out, same watch schedule.”

    “Okay.”

    “Then you go to sleep. I’ll take your watch for you.”

    “No, no. I’ll watch myself.”

    “Come on, let me do my husbandly duties.”

    “…Okay, wake me up immediately if anything happens.”

    “I won’t let you sleep through it, I suppose.”

    “You never know, what if a lion shows up, and Arthit leaves me to sleep alone?”    “I’ll take care of it.”

    “I’m going to sleep now.”

    “Yeah, sweet dreams.”

    “Sweet dreams.”

    I tried to close my eyes. Before long, I was asleep, and I woke up early in the morning to the sound of someone doing something.

    “Are we packing up already?” I asked groggily, seeing Arthit packing things from the tent.

    “Yeah, go wash your face and then come help pack.”

    “Okay.”

    I went outside to meet the fresh morning air, the sky clear without clouds, the soft light of Arthit’s morning touching the distant river that was drawing me in. After staring at the scene for just a moment, I had to quickly wash my face and help others pack up to continue our journey.

    When we started moving again, we talked about the lion’s roar from last night, noting that it was a common occurrence when camping here. Some had encountered them wandering around the camp or worse, being attacked.

    Fortunately, we kept the fire going all night to prevent it from going out.    It took a long time to reach the boat launch point. We hadn’t reached Luukulu yet; you can’t drive to Lukulu, so we had to launch the boats at Mongu, with the help of the locals. Two medium-sized motorboats were launched into the Zambezi River.

    We helped load our things onto the boats; the first one had me, Arthit, and the guide, while the second carried the other two team members. Once everything was ready, we set off. I sat in the middle, Arthit at the front, and the guide at the back.

    Around us was a jungle, the current wasn’t too strong. We paddled upstream.    I looked down into the water, wondering what might be in the river. The water was clearer than I expected, but one thing I was sure of was the presence of crocodiles. I saw one surface, there must have been many more below. If you weren’t careful and fell out of the boat, chances of survival would be slim.

    After a while, we saw some hippos by the riverbank as we passed.

    “Arthit, look, hippos running.” I said, pointing them out to him. We saw the chubby hippos running away quickly, though their legs were quite short.

    “Damn, with such short legs, how do they run so fast?”

    “They’re so cute, waddling around.”

    “But they’re aggressive, these hippos.”

    “Yeah, but they’re really cute.” I took out my camera to capture the moment, “They look cute like this, but they can kill crocodiles, you can’t judge just by looks.”

    I watched the hippo until it disappeared, after which there wasn’t much to see except for the forest.

    All we could do was sit cautiously in the boat, looking at the surrounding scenery. We chatted a bit, it took a long time before we saw a village. As we approached the village area, we encountered more boats, Arthit waved greetings, and they waved back friendly.

    “If you want to stop here, you can, there’s a market too.”

    “Let’s stop.” Arthit replied, and we stopped at the village. I looked around with interest. They came over to ask questions, Jack translated that they were asking what we were doing here. We answered that we were here to fish for tigerfish, and they replied that there were fish to catch around here, but only small ones.    We became the center of attention in the village the moment we walked in. The children approached us with curiosity. I smiled at them. In the market, you could find local products. We bought some small fish to use as bait before heading out again. We got into the boat and headed towards the headwaters of the river.

    “It’s a big one.” Arthit muttered. I looked in the direction he was staring and saw a large crocodile sunbathing. Since we were navigating close to the bank, we saw it at close range; as soon as it spotted us, it quickly slid into the water, startling us quite a bit. Its large size caused the water to splash loudly.

    The crocodile floated on the surface, its menacing eyes staring at us as if it were hungry. We kept rowing further away from it, and it didn’t follow us.

    “It’s not following us, right?” I whispered to Arthit.

    “Why would it follow us?”

    “When it saw us, it immediately went into the water. I thought it might want to attack.”

    I had never fished before, so I was a bit nervous. Besides us, the guide and his team also joined in the fishing. This type of fishing was different; it wasn’t just about casting the line and waiting. We had to make the bait move because the fish would chase fast-moving bait.

       This place seemed more lively than other places we had passed through, with the scent of many dangerous creatures around. Where we were was at the head of the river, where we had anchored the boat.

       I held the fishing rod and pulled the line quickly like I saw others doing, but after a while, there was no sign of any fish biting. While I was getting frustrated, I heard Arthit shout out.

       “It’s strong, damn!” He complained while pulling a fish that had taken the bait. Others cheered excitedly. They said that tiger goliath fish have a lot of strength, the bigger they are, the stronger they are, which made us all very excited. After a while, Arthit managed to pull up the fish.

    “Got it!” He exclaimed happily. We looked at it in awe; it was the fish we aimed to catch, just like in the pictures, about the length from my fingertips to my elbow, with a shiny body. Arthit used pliers to remove its sharp, long teeth from the hook, thinking how painful it would be to get bitten by it. It struggled vigorously.

    “You caught a really big one!” one of the crew members complimented.

    “I’ve seen bigger ones in pictures.” Arthit replied.

    “Those are very rare. Otherwise, the internet would be full of those pictures.

    What are you going to do with it?”

    “Eat it.” He answered, lowering the fish into a bucket. “Do you know how to cook it?”

    “I saw the villagers just remove the scales and grill it, but the locals should be able to help us prepare it.” the guide answered. The person nodded before turning back to his fishing rod.

    “How’s it going?” Arthit asked me. I shook my head in response. “Don’t be too serious, we’re here to have fun fishing.”

    “It’s not that fun if you can’t catch anything.” I muttered softly, thinking to myself that I wanted to catch some big ones.

    “Watch out for the line cutting your hand.”

    “Yeah, I know.”

    “It might just be startled by the sudden appearance of a boat.”

    “Oh…I once watched a crocodile movie where it attacked a motorboat like ours, flipping it over.” I said, remembering a movie I had seen.

    “Can it really do that? How does it flip a boat?”

    “Well, boats do have some weight, but there have been news reports of crocodiles flipping boats.”

    “Oh. What would we do if our boat flipped? Definitely, fighting a crocodile in the water isn’t easy.”

    “True. I’ve heard that you need to aim for its eyes.”

    “The eyes are a weak point for creatures, except for me, my eyes can shoot lasers.”

    “Really?”

    “Laser beams, man, pew pew.”

    “With such a special ability, it’s not very useful, though.”

    “It’s useful, I used it last night to scare the lion away.”

    “Oh, thanks for that.”

    “No problem. It’s nothing.” Arthit waved it off.

    We arrived at the area where we were going to fish. We needed to ask the village chief for permission to set up camp and fish because it was their territory. Once we got permission, it was time to start fishing.

    “Have you ever brought tourists here to fish?” Arthit turned to ask the guide while preparing the fishing gear.

    “A few times, but not many. You two are the only ones who have come in such a small group.”

    I turned my attention back to fishing. This time, a fish took the bait. When Arthit saw I had something, he came over to help, but I didn’t let him, still wrestling with this strong fish.

       I tensed my entire body to prevent myself from being pulled into the river by this fish. Arthit came to help hold me, and not long after, we managed to pull it up.

       …Why is it so small? I thought it was strong, I expected it to be bigger.

       “It’s okay, you’re doing fine.”

    “Uh-hum.” I carefully used pliers to remove its mouth from the hook.

    “Need help with that?”

    “Don’t talk if you’ve been bitten by piranhas.” I teased.

    “This will be a lifelong sin for me, huh?” He complained, looking annoyed. As soon as I pressed the pliers down on its mouth between its teeth, I could feel the resistance. I put it in a box and then turned to fish for another one.

    In the end, Arthit caught the largest fish. We brought all the fish we caught into the village to ask the villagers to teach us how to prepare them, beyond what we would eat. We gave them all the fish as a thank you for teaching us how to cook.    I looked at the grilled fish in my hand, pondering. It was the first time I would eat a fish I didn’t know and had caught myself. Judging by its appearance, it didn’t look very appetizing, but I ate it without much thought and found the taste rather ordinary.

    “It’s tasty.” Arthit said, chewing with satisfaction, “What do you think?”

    “For me, it’s just okay, eatable.”

    “Really? It might be a matter of taste.”

    “Yeah, must be.”

    After eating the fish, we headed back. I felt the return journey was a bit quicker than the trip there. We walked back until we reached the hotel. We only had a few days to rest here, but we still had plenty of vacation days since our work wasn’t that fixed.

    “Where should we go next?”

    “Hmm? Do you mean in this country or somewhere else?”

    “Let’s go to Morocco.”

    “Okay.”

     

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

  • WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 4: With my Body, Heart, and Soul

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 4: With my Body, Heart, and Soul

       WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 4: With my Body, Heart, and Soul

       Daotok

       I moved a tall chair against the wall covered with patterns we had painted together. Arthit was also moving other items next to where others were, helping out.

    “Is this enough?”

    “Hmm.” I nodded, stepping back to look at the overall picture, thinking this angle should work.

    Today is the day we are doing our pre-wedding shoot. Since I wanted photos that reflect our daily life, we decided to shoot at home. Therefore, I asked Cat to be our photographer and requested…

    It’s been almost a year since Arthit proposed to me. We’ve been planning our wedding continuously while I finished my studies. We completed the marriage registration about a month ago, and now I’ve been a graduated for two weeks.    I dyed my hair back to black a while ago after having it gray for a period. Many might be used to seeing my blue hair, but once my black roots grew out, I dyed it gray again, and now it’s back to black for the pre-wedding photos and the actual wedding because I think black suits best.

    Soon, everyone arrived on time with all the equipment ready.

    “This outfit looks beautiful.”

    “Thanks.”

    I wore a white shirt and black pants, while Arthit wore a black shirt and black pants. We agreed that shooting in the room with casual clothes would look like our everyday life.

    “What about this hairstyle, should we set it?” Ter asked.

    “We probably won’t, how about you, Arthit?”

    “I won’t either, or should we style it a bit?”

    “It’s up to you.”

    “No, just leave it like this, it’s handsome enough. Let’s start taking photos.”    And then our pre-wedding photoshoot began, starting at the painting corner we just set up. North and Ter helped with the lighting equipment.

    “Just sit comfortably.” Cat said in a relaxed tone. I looked at the person beside me, and he looked at me at the same moment. We locked eyes and both smiled inadvertently, the shutter sound clicked. I looked down, feeling a bit shy, then looked up to smile at the camera.

    The first photo, we looked at each other and smiled.

    In the second photo, I slightly bowed my head while he kept looking at me. In the third, we smiled broadly, and in the fourth, our smiles were even wider. “Putting them together in one frame would be nice.” Said Cat. I nodded in agreement; the background of the first set was the wall where we painted together.    Normally, I would sit here drawing with him watching from the side. We took photos in that setting too.

    Next was by the window. We changed the curtains to white for a better look, sitting on the windowsill, looking at each other and then at the camera. Then we moved down to sit on the floor surrounded by the flowers we arranged together.

    Ter handed me a bouquet to hold.

    Cat would help us with the poses throughout. We had Arthit kneeling, bending down to kiss my forehead, surrounded by flowers and fluttering white curtains, all the elements making the photo even more beautiful.

    Next, we changed the pose to have Arthit sitting with his back against the wall, with me sitting between his legs, leaning against his chest, slightly raising my face so our noses touched. Then we moved to a couple more poses before shifting to the kitchen counter.

    I pretended to be cooking, turning my back to the camera but facing him. Arthit stood leaning against the counter, facing the camera but looking at me. We smiled at each other before the sound of the shutter clicked.

    “Want to take a break?” Cat asked. I nodded in response, slumping down onto the sofa.

    “How does it look?” Cat sat beside me, asking.

    “Okay, what about you, Cat?”

    “It’s fun getting to shoot a pre-wedding for friends like this.” He said with a smile, “What else do you usually do together when you’re in the room? So we can shoot more.”

    “We work, he watches over me, I watch over him when he works…watch TV, play games, read books together, stuff like that.” I listed what came to mind. “Then can we move to Phii Arthit’s studio? We could use musical instruments as props.”

    “Sure, there’s a piano too, a piano would be perfect.”

    “Then let’s have Phii Arthit play the piano, with Dao standing beside, watching.

    How’s that?”

    “Sounds good.” I nodded.

    We went to the studio as Cat suggested. There were various musical instruments, and I thought the piano would be the best. Arthit sat down as if he was playing the piano, and I stood watching beside him. Arthit unexpectedly kissed my hand, then we sat down to play together.

    Finally, Cat told us to close all the curtains and light scented candles around, wrapping us with string lights in the pitch-black room, where only the soft yellow light from the candles and small bulbs were visible. The atmosphere was quite romantic for me.

    “You can kiss now.” Cat said. Arthit immediately grabbed my waist and kissed me. Our lips met for a while, and after hearing the shutter click a few times, I tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t let go, pushing his hot tongue into my mouth.    I felt embarrassed because we weren’t alone, there were some teasing comments from those around us, and eventually, he pulled away.

    “Didn’t they say we could kiss?”

    “Just a peck would have been enough.” I answered softly so others wouldn’t hear, hiding my blushing face. This time, Cat had us sit on the floor, still wrapped in lights, changing poses slightly. Once done, we took off the lights and went to look at the pictures.

    “The lighting is beautiful.” I said, looking at the photos where our faces weren’t very clear because it was quite dim, but the soft yellow light made the tone of the picture very beautiful, especially the ones where we kissed; they were really good. “Let’s look at all the photos first and decide if they’re okay or if we need to take more. Actually, we could go outside to change locations.”

    “Uh, let’s look first.” I stood with Arthit looking at the photos on the camera, realizing that we had taken quite a few photos. “Are they okay?”

    “They’re okay, the photos turned out great. I never thought I could have such good photos.”

    “Just not making weird poses is good enough.” I said, “Let’s go shoot outside next.”

    “Okay.”

    We packed our equipment into the cars and headed outside. Two luxury cars drove together to find a shooting location. We stopped at beautiful spots outside, took photos with Arthit’s car, and the last photo had the sunset as the background, the sky turning brick red, with the sun’s rays shining on us as we stood embracing each other.    …

    Arthit

       I sat looking at the wedding favors and invitations in my hand, flipping them over with curiosity. Both were designed entirely by Dao. The wedding invitation had a watercolor painting of both of us. When you pulled out the inner sheet, my figure on the outer sheet would slide over to connect with Dao because the inner and outer sheets were connected at one point.

    The inner sheet had a drawing of the sun and Daotok together, with the details written in Dao’s beautiful handwriting. For the wedding favors, we spent a long time deciding what to give. Dao wanted something practical that everyone could use, so we chose something simple but high-quality, like fountain pens, which were quite expensive.

    We decided to have a traditional Thai wedding, with ceremonies like the procession with the dowry, the water-pouring blessing, making it a large event because my side had many guests – relatives, Direk’s guests, and my friends from various times in my life: high school friends, football friends, racing friends, drinking buddies, gaming friends, university friends, colleagues from the record label, and acquaintances from different generations.

    On Dao’s side, there were only friends like North, Ter, and Phoon, and his relatives.

    The groomsmen on my side were Hill, Fah, and Jo, while for Dao, they were those three friends.

    The wedding was held at a luxurious hotel, where Dao designed the layout, the decor, the menu with gourmet food, and there was also a live band. We had one day for the engagement and another for the wedding. Unfortunately, Dao’s side asked for a very low dowry, stating they needed nothing more than my love and care for Dao, which Direk absolutely refused to accept.

    I wanted Dao to redesign the wedding rings, but he said the ones I chose were perfect. So, we didn’t change or add anything.

    We’ve been preparing for the wedding since I proposed, and once Dao graduated, everything started moving quickly. Within a few months, all preparations were complete.

    I knew that not much would change between us after marriage since we were already living together like this. Marriage is just a way to honor and respect each other, to officially be life partners. Dao agreed to change his citizenship to American like mine so we could move together.

    I placed the wedding invitations and wedding favors on the table. After hearing the familiar voice calling me to eat.

    I woke up early because today was an important day for us, the engagement ceremony. We separated to get ready in our hotel rooms. I looked at myself in a dark gray suit. I don’t wear suits often because they’re uncomfortable, but today I couldn’t avoid it.

    My hair was slightly styled. I didn’t bother with makeup since I thought I was handsome enough as it is. Soon after, I heard the door, turned to see Jo and the others entering, three of them in suits similar in color to mine.

    “Ready?” Fah asked. I nodded in response, “We’ll start the procession soon.”    “Okay, but I’m so sleepy now, it’s damn early.” I grumbled a bit, “You guys are carrying the trays, right?”

    “Yeah.” Jo nodded, “But I won’t be the one to cheer.”

    “You have to cheer.” I teased, meaning I wanted Jo to be the one to cheer during the procession of the dowry, but he wouldn’t.

    “You’ve hired a band, haven’t you? They’ll cheer for you.”

    “I want you to do it.”

    “No way.”

    Direk arranged for these three to carry the trays instead of relatives. Jo carried the tray with cash, Fah carried the tray with gold, and Hill carried the tray with diamonds and a check. All together, the dowry for today amounted to about two hundred million.

    “I heard that when passing through the money gate and the gold gate, the gatekeepers can request anything from your side, my wife said she wants to see you breakdance.” Jo said. I turned to look at him immediately.

    “Fuck, since when can I breakdance?”

    “You can call a friend to do it.” Hill said, “I’ve seen others do it at other weddings.”

    “And who can breakdance?”

    “Terk might be able to, I’ve seen him post a clip.” Jo answered.

    “Yeah, then why make it so complicated? Just give them an envelope.” I complained. The money and gold gates, not so bad, but if we get to North’s gate, I don’t feel good about it, you’re definitely going to mess with me.

    Before we could talk any further, someone came to call for the dowry procession. Direk, in a black suit, was waiting with many envelopes in hand, someone handed me a bouquet of flowers, and Jo and the others picked up their trays. The procession was quite long because there were so many people.

    It started with the sound of cymbals and drums, and the procession began to move down the hotel corridor. We could see a crowd waiting at the end of the hallway. The first gate was North’s, standing with Dao’s relatives.

    The procession stopped in front of the door. North, in a white suit, took the floating microphone with a smile, using it so that all the guests could hear.    “As the first gate, and being a close friend of Dao for a long time, I want to test the attention you’ve paid to my friend. First question, what was the first movie we watched together?” North then handed the microphone to me. I took it, puzzled, my brain trying to recall the answer but coming up blank.

    Damn, North, what kind of question is that? I can’t remember, man.

    I whispered back:

    “I can’t.”

    North held back his laughter, whispering:

    “I don’t know either, just answer something, come on.”

    “Alright, I thought you had asked Dao about this.”

    “Yeah, I asked, but I forgot, quickly, answer.”

    “Uh…a horror movie about a witch, but I can’t remember the name.” I answered with what my brain could muster. North smiled immediately.

    “Next question, what does Dao like?”

    “The cat.”

    “What part of Dao do you think is the most charming?”

    “Uh…every part, but especially his lips.” My answer was met with loud teasing from others in the procession.

    “The first place you traveled together?”

    “San Francisco.”

    “Okay, this shows you really care for my dear friend. So, before you can pass, I’d like at least twenty envelopes.” After North finished speaking, everyone in the procession waited to see if Direk was generous enough. I turned to see Direk counting out thirty envelopes into North’s hands without a second thought.

    And we passed through the first gate, the second gate was Ter’s.

    “I want to test your physical strength to see if you can protect and take care of my friend. Do twenty push-ups.”

    I handed the flowers to Direk to hold for me, then got down to the floor and started doing push-ups, completing twenty with ease and speed.

    “Okay, you pass, but…initially, I wanted to ask for just four or five items, but since the first gate got so much, the second gate doesn’t want to be outdone. I’ll ask for…fifteen envelopes.”

    Then Direk counted out twenty envelopes. We arrived at the third gate, which was Phoon’s.

    “I want to see you dance. If it’s to my liking, I’ll let you pass.” Phoon’s words made me freeze, amidst the cheering from the crowd around.

    “I can’t dance.” I turned to say.

    “Just a little bit is fine.”

    “Can we change it to thirty envelopes?” I started to negotiate, dancing was something I was absolutely not good at, but my serious expression and negotiation meant nothing.

    “Just dance. It’ll be quick.”

    “Can I call for help?”

    “Oh…sure.”

    “North!”

    “Huh, huh, what’s up, Phii?” North ran over from the crowd at the back, looking at me with confusion.

    “Dance for me.”

    “Come on, what dance?”

    “Just dance whatever.”

    “Ugh.”

    The drumbeat quickened for North to dance. The short guy in front started moving his arms and legs. After just a glance, I felt itchy all over. Fuck, my brother, Jo, what did your wife make you do? The dance moves were so annoying, damn it. Laughter filled the air with delight. Soon, the dance, which was incredibly kickable, ended.

    “You pass, this is the last gate. So, I won’t ask for much. But it’s up to the groom’s side to decide how much to give.”

    “Fifty envelopes, give them all.” Direk said.

    And another cheer rose up once we passed all the gates. It was time for me to go get Dao from the room.

    After the dowry was arranged neatly, I stood at the door with the bouquet in hand, opened the door, and saw Dao in a matching suit sitting inside, giving me his usual sweet smile. I stepped in, kneeling in front of Dao.

    Dao smiled wider, taking the flowers. I leaned in to kiss his forehead softly before standing up, took Dao’s hand to walk out of the room, and we sat down next to the table full of dowry trays. Behind us were our elders, my grandparents, Direk, Dao’s Papa, Dao’s Daddy, and Dao’s grandmother.

    We sat in front of many people watching us, with multiple cameras recording the moment. After a while, the emcee announced it was time to exchange rings.    I glanced at the person beside me, my heart full of happiness. Dao looked just as happy, his sweet face beaming with joy.

    I gently took his hand, slowly putting the ring on his ring finger. After putting on the ring, Dao bowed, leaning down to place his head in my lap. I stroked his head affectionately, and then it was Dao’s turn to put the ring on me. I extended my left hand, and Dao carefully slipped the silver ring onto my finger.

    And now…do I have to bow to Dao too?

    As I was about to bow, Direk nudged me with his foot. I saw Dao trying to hold back his laughter, and the guests burst into laughter, indicating that I didn’t need to bow like that. Oh, well, I respect my husband, how can I let him bow to me alone?

    Isn’t that unfair to him?

    I raised my hands to bow and slowly knelt down. Dao, unsure what to do, just leaned in to hug me, preventing me from bowing further. The excitement grew louder, the sound of shutters clicking was intense, and Dao patted my back gently.

    “Thank you.” He whispered sweetly.

    I thought that was enough and pulled back. Then it was time to give garlands to our elders; no microphone was needed here. We started from the right with my grandfather first.

    “Arthit…finally, my grandson is getting married properly. I couldn’t imagine the day you’d get married, but here it is. You’ve found someone you love who loves you back. All I want to bless you with is for this love to last long. No matter what you face, be considerate, respect each other, and take care of one another.”    Next was my grandmother.

    “The only grandchild of mine, this old grandma, is very happy that you’re getting married. I congratulate both of you. You two are very suitable for each other. May you love each other for a long time, my child.”    Then it was Direk.

    “Arthit, on such an important day like this, I’m very happy, do you know? I just want you to be happy in life. If you love someone, I only ask that person to love you back just as much, and Nong Dao is that person. Both of you are well-suited for each other. In the future, there might be many hardships. I just ask that you never abandon each other. As long as my only son is happy and well, I have no more worries.”

    I bowed to Direk with the garland in hand, then moved to Dao’s grandma, followed by his Papa and Daddy. Once this part of the ceremony was over, it was time for the water blessing ritual.

    We sat side by side, extending our hands forward for the blessing with water, receiving many well-wishes from the elders. It took quite some time to finish, after which we took photos with the guests, marking the end of the event.

    We all returned to the hotel room we had booked, exhausted. Jo and the others helped carry the wedding envelopes.

    “No ceremony for the groom to take the bride home?” North asked.

    “No. There’s no bridal chamber around here, and going back to the house would be too much trouble, so we skipped it.”

    “But I liked the part where you bowed to your wife.” Jo teased, and others laughed along.

    “Yeah, truly admirable.”

    “Of course. Whatever anyone says, I respect my wife.” I said proudly. It’s my wedding, I can do whatever I want, “But about your dance moves, where did you learn them?”

    “How was my step?”

    “Itchy as hell.”

    “Heh, that was the point.” North raised an eyebrow, pleased with himself, “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have passed Phoon’s gate.”

    “Yeah, your dance steps were useful after all. What do you say, Jo?”

    “Pretty cute.”

    “Whatever your wife does, it’s good.”

    “The guy who bowed to his wife at the engagement shouldn’t tease me, I’m trying so hard not to laugh, you bastard.” Jo teased, “Model husband.”

    “Will you bow at your wedding, Jo?”

    “No, no, no, no.” North interjected immediately, “Please don’t, I beg you.”

    “And when are you guys getting married?”

    “In Thailand, you still can’t get married. You might have to wait for the law to change or find a way to change nationality.” Hill said, petting his wife sitting on the sofa while he leaned against it.

    “I proposed to North before you, but you got married before me, damn it.” Jo complained with a frustrated look.

    “And you, Fah?” I turned to ask Fah.

    “Same as Hill.”

    “Oh.”

    “…”

    We chatted a bit more before they left the room. Now it was just the two of us. I moved closer, pushed Dao down onto the bed, and kissed him immediately.

    “Wait, let’s shower first.”

    “Okay, let’s do it in the bathroom.”

    “…”

    The shower sex took nearly half an hour. Dao fell asleep while we were soaking in warm water together. I carried the smaller person out, dried us off, dressed us, and even blow-dried his hair. After everything was done, I led him to the bed, pulled him into a hug, and gently kissed his forehead.

    “I’m so happy today, thank you…I love you so much.”

       Arthit

       I scrolled through the photos from our engagement ceremony that the photographer sent. Cat was one of the photographers but couldn’t shoot the whole time because he had to hold the money and gold gates as well. It was a pity I had to wait inside, so I didn’t see the procession, but at least there were photos to look at.

    North said that each envelope Uncle gave contained a thousand baht, so North, Ter, and Cat all got a lot of money. Of course, they had to share it with my relatives who helped hold the gates.

    I saved all those photos on my device before posting them on social media to share the good memories. Arthit’s Instagram was full of pictures from the event, with many likes and comments. There were also journalists at the event because Arthit is quite famous, and those photos were featured in many news articles.    In a few days, it will be the wedding. For the after-party, we invited many artist friends to add color and fun to the event, and Arthit will also perform.    “Shall we practice?” Arthit asked as he walked in. I looked away from the computer screen to look at him.

    “Uh.”

    We agreed to play music during the after-party, with me on the guitar and Arthit on the drums, to add a little color to the event. We’d play about three of Arthit’s songs. Although it wasn’t a lot to play, it was my first time playing guitar in front of a large crowd, which made me a bit nervous.

    “What if I make a mistake during the performance?” I asked.

    “It’s fine. Who’s going to say anything about it?”

    “I might feel a bit embarrassed though.”

    “Don’t think too much about it, it’s our wedding, just relax.” Arthit said. I nodded in understanding, and we continued to practice.

    Finally, our wedding day arrived. Since it was an evening event, we got ready in the afternoon, checking around to ensure everything was in place. The ceremony was held in the large hall of the hotel, adorned with many fresh flowers. The guest tables were neatly arranged, covered with clean white cloths, with areas designated for food and desserts.

       I had designed what I wanted and where to arrange things, but when it was set up, it turned out even more beautiful than I had imagined.

       At the entrance to the event, our pre-wedding photos were displayed in wellframed pictures. I stood looking at myself in the photos for a while; our smiles and gazes brought a warm feeling to my heart.

       I’ve been very happy since the day he proposed. There might not be much change since we already live together as we did before, but now we’ll be legally married, which is a way to honor and respect each other.

       Whenever I look at the ring on my ring finger, I can’t help but smile.

       On the day our marriage registration was completed, I couldn’t help but cry with joy. I never thought that one day I would marry someone and move in together.    Soon, we were called to get ready. I changed into my outfit in the dressing room, wearing a white tuxedo with a black trim on the chest, a black bow tie, and black trousers. My hair was slightly styled to look neat; this suit was tailored specifically for the wedding. It didn’t feel as strange as when I first tried it on, but I was still not quite used to it.

       The sound of the door opening made me turn to see North and the others walking in, with North holding some snacks and chewing.

       “Dao, these macarons are delicious.”

    “Hmm, the chef is famous, enjoy it to the fullest.”

    “Don’t tell him to eat to the fullest. He’ll eat until there’s nothing left by the end of the event.” North said, shaking his head slightly.

    “It’s fine, there’s plenty of food and desserts prepared.”

    Just like at the engagement, everyone was wearing outfits in the same color as mine.

    “The event starts in another twenty minutes, guests are coming, you need to go out and greet them.” Said North. I nodded in understanding.

    “Yeah, North, you’ll be singing at the after-party too, right?” Cat asked, furrowing his brows.

    “I have to thank Phii Arthit for recognizing my talent, giving me a chance to shine. I’ve been practicing a lot too, ask Phii Jo, I’ve been singing the same few songs over and over these past few days.” North said confidently, “But I’m actually quite nervous. I’ve sung in front of a lot of people before, but that was just karaoke at a party.”

    “You’ll sing just like when you’re in the room with me. When we’re together, you sing all day and night, to the point where I can’t even listen to the original versions of some songs anymore, it’s not familiar, I have to listen to your version of North’s voice.” Ter complained with a pout.

    “Ha, you’ve been completely brainwashed by me, Ter.”

    “By the way, Dao, North went to help the lighting crew at the stage.” Said Cat. I turned to look at North, who was standing with his arms crossed, looking proud.

    “Really? And the technician couldn’t do it?”

    “No, they were waiting for another technician who could fix it, and I was nearby so I heard it and offered to help so we wouldn’t waste time waiting. And I actually fixed it, damn, I feel like a genius.”

    “Deserving of studying electrical engineering.” I praised.

    “Of course, if I couldn’t do it, I’d lose all my face as Phii Jo’s student, hahaha, spread the word about this, Phoon, let everyone know how good I am.”

    “You’re such a show-off.” Cat shook his head gently, “It’s time to go outside, I guess.”

    “Okay.” I answered, and we all headed outside. I saw Arthit coming out from the dressing room as well. Arthit was in a black tuxedo, with a black bow tie, and black pants; black suits him well, and in this outfit, he looked even better. I was lightly styled to look elegant, similar to my hair.

    I wore white, while Arthit wore black. Even though they are opposite colors, they matched well.

    Arthit’s other friends were also dressed in black.

    “This suit really suits you.” Arthit complimented as soon as I got close.

    “Uh, same for you Arthit.”

    “I thought I wouldn’t look good in this kind of suit, with my usual style and all.”    “It looks good…just that the bow tie is a bit crooked.” I said, reaching out to straighten his bow tie, hearing the shutter sound from behind; it was Cat taking another sneaky shot.

    “I couldn’t help but capture that moment, hah, that shot just now.” Cat smiled.    We stood at the entrance to greet the guests. There were people sitting at a table to receive the envelopes from guests and hand out wedding favors. Arthit and I bowed to the guests as they arrived, which allowed me to meet everyone. Many were Arthit’s friends whom I didn’t know, many were Uncle’s guests, and only a few were my relatives since I don’t know many people, and the relatives invited were those we were close to.

    After a while, I saw Phii Meen in a long white dress walking towards us with a beaming smile. I immediately smiled back.

    “Wow. You both look great, congratulations. As Nong Dao’s mother and someone who has witnessed your relationship from the beginning, I’m genuinely happy. Finally, someone like Arthit has settled down.” Phii Meen said cheerfully.

    “Yeah, put a lot in the envelope.”

    “Oh, my, congratulations for real. Since you moved rooms, we haven’t seen each other much. I’ll go to the party now, but I must catch the bouquet later.”    “Okay.” I smiled.

    “When are you getting a new husband?” Arthit asked, frowning.

    “Why? Whoever moves on, moves on. I haven’t, I still love only one person, what’s wrong with that?”

    “Nothing, and why do you want to catch the bouquet?”

    “For marriage in the next life.”

    “Why are you in such a hurry to catch it?”

    “I just want to catch it, why do you care?”

    “I don’t care, you just love to tease me.”

    “Hah.” then Phii Meen turned to smile at me, “I’m going in now, my child.”    Before Phii Meen entered with her female friends, we greeted guests for quite some time until it was time to enter the event.

    We walked towards the dressing room first, waiting for the ceremony to start.

    The sound of the emcee came on, starting with introductions, with two emcees, a man and a woman.

    “We have the honor of being the emcees for the wedding celebration of Sivarach Akkharakijwattakul and Saranyapat Kittivanit. Please welcome our bridegroom couple tonight.”

    “Let’s give them a big round of applause.”

    The sound of applause filled the hall. I felt nervous, gripping Arthit’s hand tightly. The team waiting for us clapped and cheered in celebration.

    We walked through the door to find many guests standing and waiting for us, leaving a path down the middle for us to walk. Almost everyone held up their phones to take pictures, with many journalists’ cameras pointed our way, creating a truly festive atmosphere.

    The six groomsmen followed us in a procession, holding flowers. We walked through the crowd along the aisle, occasionally looking at the cameras hoping to capture beautiful moments.

    My heart was beating fast with joy as I looked at the person beside me, filled with happiness.

    My groom…

    We smiled at each other, and at that moment, numerous cameras captured the scene.

    Flower petals were scattered along our path. Before long, we reached the stage, with many guests gathered in front of it, while others took their seats at tables.    Once on the stage, we could see the overall view of the event; our wedding was indeed a grand affair with so many guests.

    The female emcee handed me a microphone, my hand cold as I took it. The male emcee beside her handed one to Arthit as well.

    “Before we say anything else, may I ask if you’re nervous?” the female emcee asked with a wide smile. I brought the microphone close to my lips before responding.

    “Very nervous.”

    “And you, Khun Arthit?”

    “I’m also very nervous.”

    “Sir, I would like to ask about the day you proposed, what made Khun Arthit decide to propose to Khun Dao?” the male emcee asked Arthit. I looked at him, eagerly waiting for his answer.

    “Because of love, deciding to propose to Dao wasn’t hard at all. I just thought I wanted to be with him, so once I decided, I went to pick out a ring. After that, I came back to propose to him. It was that simple; I had decided from the beginning that it had to be him.” Arthit’s answer elicited cheers and teasing from the guests.    “And how about you, Khun Dao? At the moment you decided to say yes, what were you thinking?”

    “Oh…it’s similar. It wasn’t hard to say yes because I had promised myself I would always be with him, no matter when or where, when he proposed. I was just stunned and then agreed without much thought, that’s all.”

    “Yes, that’s very sweet, both of you. And Khun Arthit, what about Khun Dao impresses you?”

    “I’m impressed by everything about him, his character, his personality, the way he speaks, how he takes care of me, and pays attention to me. Dao is the only one who can calm down someone as hot-headed as me. He’s always there when I turn around. At first, it wasn’t an instant impression, but I started to admire him more and more as we got to know each other, and eventually, I fell in love with him.”

    “Wow, that’s very impressive. And what about Khun Dao? What about Khun

    Arthit impresses you?”

    “He’s cheerful, he’s lively, and being with him is fun. He’s easy-going, but when it comes to me, he becomes serious. He always loves and takes care of me. He hasn’t changed since the day he confessed his love. No matter what happens, he thinks of me first. He’s warm and cute in his own way, that’s what I admire about him.”

    “Yes, may I ask, where and when did you first meet?”

    “We first met because we were renting adjacent rooms.” I answered, “I had the chance to help him. At that time, we knew each other a little, and that was probably the beginning of his affection for me.”

    “Is that true?”

    “Yes.” Arthit nodded, “Because of that incident, he helped me a lot. I got to know him better and started to take interest, then I began to like him.”

    “And how did Khun Arthit court Khun Dao after that?”

    “Oh…he was persistent.” I said, laughing as I remembered the past, “At first, I wasn’t interested in love and rejected him, but he said I didn’t have to like him back, he just wanted to be by my side. After that, I started to open my heart because of his sincerity and seriousness.”

    “That’s very romantic.” the female emcee smiled shyly, “What was the first place you went to together?”

    “San Francisco.” I answered, “Not exactly for tourism, because I went to help him with some errands there, right from when we first got to know each other.”    “Ah, I see, and do either of you have anything to say to each other now? Please go ahead.”

    “Yes.” I started speaking first, looking towards Arthit. Our eyes met, “As I often tell you , thank you. I’ve said thank you hundreds of times because I truly feel that way, feeling like no amount of thanks is enough. I never imagined myself being loved and cared for by someone. I never thought about myself getting married. Arthit is the one who fills everything, making each day more meaningful.”

    “I used to be afraid of love because of past disappointments, but with you Arthit, I thought it would be okay. you would never make me hurt. you keep every promise you made. I want to say thank you, really thank you.”

    I bit my lip to hold back the tears that had started to well up at some point. Arthit gently wiped my tears away.

    “I also want to thank Dao for coming into my life. Dao you have always pushed and supported me in everything. I am who I am today because of Dao. Thank you for being by my side, thank you for being my happiness every day. I will love and take care of you like this forever.”

    The applause was overwhelming after our speeches.

    “Do you two have anything more to say?” asked the emcee, inviting us to continue.

    “Yes, I would like to thank everyone for attending our event today.” I began addressing the guests, “We are both very happy that everyone took the time to come to our wedding, thank you so much. I’d like to thank the Kittiwarnich family, my small family. Thank you, grandma, for raising and teaching me well, thank you, Papa, for always caring and being attentive, thank you, mother, for looking after me, and thank you, Gavin, for always being by my side.”

    “And thank you to the Akkharakijwattakul family for the warm welcome and for taking good care of me. Thank you to everyone involved in making this day possible.”

    “Khun Arthit, please.”

    “I want to thank my father and my family for raising and nurturing me well. Without my father, I wouldn’t be here today. Thank you to Dao’s family for their warm welcome, for believing in me, for giving me Dao to love, and for allowing us to marry.”

    “Thank you to all the guests who came today, thank you to all my friends for taking the time to be here. This is a day where I am very happy.”

    “Please, a round of applause for our grooms.” the female emcee’s voice rang out, followed by another round of thunderous applause, “Next, we invite the fathers of both grooms to come up and give their blessings.”

    Then, Uncle Direk in his black suit walked up to the stage amidst applause from the guests.

    “Hello, honorable guests. I am Direk Akkharakijwattakul, the father of Arthit. I might speak a bit long because this is a day I’m extremely happy about.”    “Arthit is my only son. From the day he was born into this world, I promised myself to love and take care of him the best I could. After my wife passed away, it was just the two of us. I told myself I would do everything to ensure he never felt like he was missing anything.”

    “Perhaps because I indulged him in everything, Arthit became quite self-willed and a bit mischievous, but I ask only one thing: don’t cause trouble for others. My sole desire is for him to be happy every day, doing what he wants to do.”

    “Dao is the one who made Arthit brave enough to follow his dreams, leading him to become the famous artist he is today. Dao supports him from behind in every success. I am very happy that they both love each other and have decided to stay together. They might differ in some ways, but it’s a perfect match: one is hot, the other cool; one is self-willed, the other indulgent, like pieces that fit together perfectly.”

    “I wish for them to love each other like this forever. No matter what obstacles come their way, may they overcome them. I want to thank  Dao for coming into Arthit’s life, for taking care of him and being attentive. Thank you to Dao’s family as well, thank you.”

    We clapped for Uncle’s words, and when he turned to us, we bowed in thanks.

    Then it was my aunt’s turn to speak.

    “Hello. I am Thasakon Kittivanit, Nong Dao’s father. First of all, I want to thank all the distinguished guests for attending my son’s wedding today, just like Direk. I might speak a bit longer than planned.”

    “Nong Dao is also my only son. Dao is quite quiet, not one to talk much or socialize with others, he likes drawing and reading, almost like he lives in his own world, making it very hard for him to open up to someone.”

    “But Arthit broke through that wall and stepped in. I knew that anyone Dao would open up to would be extraordinary, and that turned out to be true when I got to know him. Arthit is an exceptional person, he’s both talented and capable, cheerful, articulate, and gets along with everyone, so our family adores him.”

    “With his sincerity, our family agreed quite easily to let our only son marry him. After they started dating, Dao seemed much happier, from someone who rarely smiled to someone who smiles often, from someone who spoke little to someone much more talkative.”

    “I was very worried about Dao, but knowing he has someone to look after him like this, I can relax. I know he will never make my son unhappy. I want to wish them both a long-lasting love and much happiness in their married life.”    After my Papa finished speaking, applause rang out again. We didn’t forget to bow in thanks, and then she stepped down from the stage.

    “Yes, and now it’s time for our bridegroom couple to cut the cake, symbolizing the start of a smooth life together.”

    “Yes, please come forward.”

    Then Arthit took my hand and led me to the cake. Together, we held the knife, slowly cutting into the large white cake.

    After cutting the cake, the emcee invited all the single people to stand in front of the stage to catch the bouquet. I turned my back and threw the bouquet behind me. After throwing it, I quickly turned to see who caught it. I saw Phii Meen spreading her arms to block others, and in the end, she was the one who caught it.    “Squeal! Got it!” Phii Meen’s voice rang out with joy, and everyone applauded in celebration. Then it was time for the after-party. The emcee told us to go rest and get ready.

    We walked back to the dressing room. This time, we used the same room.

    “We’re about to party, I’m so excited.” I said as I took off my tuxedo.

    “There’s a surprise too.”

    “Hmm?”

    “It’s a surprise for you. I’ve never surprised you before. So, there’s a little surprise.”

    “Oh, I’m a little excited now.”

    “Just wait and see.”

    We changed into casual, comfortable clothes and went outside to find that all the lights had been dimmed significantly, replaced by colorful moving lights, and the music had changed from the initial soft tunes to something more upbeat.    The first performer was Arthit himself. He stood in the center of the stage with male dancers in black hoodies. As he started singing, the dancers moved to the beat. I stood beside, cheering him on.

    He’s so cool…

    The way he held the microphone, every slight movement was charming. People in the event were swaying to the fun rhythm of the song. After a while, Arthit walked towards me, took my hand, and led me to the middle of the stage, singing while hugging me. When he finished the verse, he turned and kissed my cheek, eliciting loud cheers and teasing from everyone.

    Then other artists took the stage to sing, some from Arthit’s label, others famous artists. Most were international artists, but of course, many Thai people would recognize them. Arthit joined in for every song.

    I went down to stand with friends at the front of the stage.

    “How’s it going?” I nudged Ter, who was swaying to the beat.

    “It’s so fun, amazing, Dao. You got so many artists of this caliber to come. It’s like a concert of top artists, it’s the best.”

    “Exactly.” Cat added, “Such a surprise. Isn’t Dao going to sing too?”

    “I can’t sing, I’ll just stand here and support.”

    “Phii Arthit was so cool, especially with the first song he sang with dancers, the performance was great.” Ter complimented. I nodded and smiled in acknowledgment. Soon, the song ended, and it was our turn, mine and Arthit’s, to perform. I played as we had practiced, and it seemed everyone enjoyed it. After we got off the stage, we went around to ask for feedback.

    “How was it?”

    “It was great, Dao was really good. We didn’t know Dao could play the guitar so well, from what we overheard, everyone was surprised. They said they didn’t expect both grooms to be so musically talented, you match each other perfectly.” Ter said. I nodded in understanding.

    Then it was North’s turn to sing. North has a naturally beautiful voice, so there was no issue. Although he seemed a bit stiff at first, he did well.

    Then came the final performance, Arthit’s voice announced:

    “I have a little surprise before the event ends, please welcome Jill Winston!” As Arthit finished speaking, everyone in the venue cheered excitedly. The stage lights focused on a man walking out from behind the stage. I stared in astonishment, momentarily forgetting to breathe.

    North, standing next to me, shook my arm vigorously.

    “You, you, fuck, Jill! Jill Winston, damn, isn’t he super famous? Fuck, this is so worth it, him being at this event!”

    I looked at the person on stage without responding.

    “Jill is a special guest for this event. I brought him to surprise Dao because Dao really likes this artist. Dao, come up here.” Arthit called through the microphone. I slowly walked onto the stage. Jill was the solo artist I admired the most; he was one of my inspirations to learn guitar.

    I’ve always wanted to go to one of his concerts, he’s incredibly famous, known as one of the top artists in the world.

    Jill greeted me with a smile. I greeted him back, being close to my favorite artist made me quite awkward. I wanted to express my admiration and say I’ve been a fan for many years, but I was too shy to speak.

    “Thank you.” I turned to thank Arthit, giving him a kiss on the cheek as a thank you, which made the guests scream even louder.

    Soon, Jill began to sing. I stepped back off the stage and watched his performance closely. I heard people around me saying how amazing it was to have Jill here, that this was the best wedding they had ever attended. Hearing this, I couldn’t help but smile.

    After singing three songs, Jill thanked us for the invitation and gave us his blessings, and the after-party ended with fun and memorable moments.

    The guests gradually left. It was time for us to rest. I felt more exhausted than I did at the engagement. Arthit had been supporting me back to the room since who knows when.

    “Do you want me to help you shower?”

    “Uh, please.”

    And then Arthit took care of bathing and dressing me. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was ready to fall asleep, but I couldn’t help but notice Arthit bringing in a large bag into the bedroom.

    “What’s that?”

    “Envelopes, we need to count them first.”

    “Oh…uh, let’s see.”

    Arthit sat leaning against the bed. I moved closer, lying down with my head on his shoulder.

    “Damn, Jo, three million in cash, I’m not kidding, he’s truly Jo.”

    “He’s amazing.”

    “Fah and Hill each gave a hundred thousand. That’s pretty good. Oh, they put it in their and their wives’ names.”

    “That’s still quite a lot, a hundred thousand is already a lot.” I said, and then Arthit continued to open more envelopes. Some had a lot, some had less, all mixed together. “Arthit.”

    “Hmm?”

    I moved my face closer, gently kissing his cheek.

    “Happy wedding day.”

    Arthit turned to meet my lips, his hot tongue exploring my mouth, our tongues intertwining for a long time, stirring up emotions. He slowly broke the kiss.

    “Happy wedding day.”

    Arthit stood up, made me lie on my back, and straddled me. He leaned down, nuzzling into my neck. I tilted my head slightly to give him better access.

    “Will anything change, Arthit?”

    “Nothing will change, I’ve never changed and won’t change. I’ve told you that before, right?”

    “Uh. I’m the same.”

    “Hmm, I know, I love you a lot.”

    “Uh, I love you too, my dear husband.”

     

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR CHAPTERS HOME

  • WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 3: Eight Thousand Miles

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 3: Eight Thousand Miles

       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

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 2: Goblin Slayer

       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?

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 1: Where is Jeon?

       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 :)

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Epilogue Chapter 52: Lucky Me 🙂

       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

    WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 51: Idiot Couple

       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