MYENGINEER, CHAPTER 19: Drunk on Smiles
[Duenhaw]
Bohn must have studied so hard that his brain melted; he said he would flirt with me, and he’s actually doing it…it’s been several days now, and he shows no sign of stopping. Damn, or maybe it’s because Thailand’s weather is too hot, and his already hollow brain couldn’t handle it, so it got destroyed. Yeah, that must be it, or he’s just crazy. I think it’s the latter.
Ring ring
Who’s calling so early in the morning? I think to myself before getting up from my chair to check my phone on the pillow. I was working just now, but I couldn’t concentrate much because all I could think about was that ‘Gralen’.
‘Ai-Hia Bohn’
Seriously, are you moving in with me or something, sir? Are you hard to kill or do you have some special sense that you know I’m cursing you? Should I answer?
Okay, I’ll answer, whatever.
“Hello.” I speak into the phone while walking back to continue my work. This subject is extremely hard; low credits but a workload higher than Mount Meru.
(You little shit, Duen.)
“Come on, what the hell do you want cursing me for?”
(Is this how you answer your husband’s call?)
“Your dad’s husband! If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” What did I expect, this bastard scared me.
(Try it) Are you threatening me!? Do you dare threaten Phii Duen? I’m not afraid, damn it, Phii Duen isn’t weak!
“What are you going to do?” I asked in an annoying voice while putting down the pen I was holding. Talking to you, I can only write ‘Fuck’. How is my work going to get done like this, huh?
(Try it, you’ll find out)
The silence isn’t because of anything, really. After meeting him, I asked my friends in the faculty if they knew Bohn from engineering, and they all answered unanimously, ‘he’s brutal’. They also said whenever there’s a fight, the opponent always goes back with an ambulance.
(Don’t you want to try, huh?)
“Shh, you idiot, what’s the call about?” I decided to change the subject so he wouldn’t know I was scared. Actually, I’m not weak or anything; my dad made me learn boxing when I was young. Not just a banana tree, huh…I can even kick banana shoots without them falling. This physique comes from swimming…I pity myself for a moment.
(Just nothing, yawn) Is your house an ATM or what? Or do you have a private ATM in your bedroom, huh?
“Why did you call then?” I frowned. I’m not annoyed, just irritated by him. He once said his family was very rich, so a call like this probably doesn’t faze him. (Just nothing, just wanted to say…)
“Huh?”
(Good morning)
I went silent the moment I heard that sentence. I don’t know why my heart was beating strangely hard; I need to go for a yearly check-up. If it’s a complication, it would be bad.
(You’re shy, huh?) From the sound of his voice, he must be making an annoying face, he looks cool and quiet with friends, but why does he become such a pest when he’s with me?
“No way.” I hung up and ran my hand through my hair in frustration. Damn, what are you saying, you bastard. I won’t work on this anymore, I was trying so hard to be productive…
“Daonuea, what are you watching?” When I walked downstairs, I sat down on the soft sofa.
“Conan.” Huh, isn’t it over yet? Conan has been around since I was as small as a tadpole.
“Oh, you’re here.” And Daonuea turned her attention back to the cartoon, muttering throughout the show, ‘This one must be the culprit,’ or something like that…which she says about every new character that appears.
“Kids, breakfast is ready.” Mom walked out of the kitchen, placing breakfast on the table. In the morning, mom doesn’t like making heavy food. It’s usually congee, rice porridge, or sometimes omelets with fried sausages like today.
“Looks delicious, Mommy.”
“Really? Then eat it all, my smart girl.”
“Okay!”
“And do you have any work today, Duenhaw?”
“We do, but it’s not urgent, I can do it anytime. Is there something you need?”
“The fresh food in the fridge is almost gone. Could you go buy some for me?”
My mom smiles kindly; she’s the kindest person, but she’s also a black belt in
Taekwondo. She says even though she’s a model, she needs to learn self-defense.
Mom once sent someone to the hospital too. There was this one time when dad tricked her by saying he was going to work, but he was actually drinking with some old guy at the street corner. My mom, furious, threw dad down to the ground…but the one who ended up in the hospital was the old guy because he had a heart attack from the shock of seeing Mom throw dad down.
She’s ruthless, that’s the ultimate power dad always talked about, the legendary power of a wife…
“Okay.”
“Then let me write down the list for you.”
“Mommy, Daonuea wants to go too.” My sister, the princess of fluffiness…
“Will you go? Hmmm, okay, I’ll give you extra money for snacks.”
“Yay/yay!” Both Daonuea and I shout with joy, hehe, we’ll go for ice cream. I haven’t gone out with my little sister, Dao, in a long time.
“Drive carefully, son, and Daonuea, hold on tight, don’t fall, okay? Oh, the weather forecast says there might be some drizzle today. If it rains, stop and wait it out.” My mom goes on and on. She’s always like this, not really wanting her kids to go out unless it’s necessary. Well…we’re all good-looking kids after all.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay!”
The place we’re going to shop for Mom is a big mall; they have everything there, fully equipped. The supermarket on the ground floor is huge, and the stuff there is cheap and good, especially now with the sales, we should stock up a lot. My sister and I have bottomless stomachs.
After parking the car, I take my sister’s hand and lead her into the mall. I’ve dressed better than before, forced by Mom, you could say she dressed me. Today, Daonuea and I are twinning in white t-shirts and cuffed pants. Looking at us, others might think we’re siblings or even father and daughter, haha.
“Duenhaw, I want to sit in the shopping cart.” She says when we reach the supermarket area, her small figure running to grab onto a big shopping cart with a smile. With that smile, what else can I do but lift her up to sit in the child seat.
“Fresh goods, fresh goods, oh, Duenhaw, fresh goods are right there.”
“Very good.” I gently pinched the soft cheek until the other party giggled, so cute, whose kid is this… Phii Duen’s handsome sister, hehe.
“Go, Sunny!” The kid pointed ahead as if directing me to push the cart. All kids do this when they watch a lot of cartoons. They call people by the names of characters; I used to call Tang “Tang Seng” too…oh, that’s not from a cartoon, sorry.
“Am I Sunny? But who is Sunny…Sunny Suwanmethanon?”
“No, Sunny is the ship of the Straw Hat crew.”
“Oh…right, One Piece.” Phii Duen likes One Piece too, especially Zoro, he’s so cool. I remember when I was in kindergarten, I always closed my left eye…but I had to stop because I fell down the stairs at school. The path of the swordsman is truly tragic.
“Yesss.”
“OK, I’ll be your ship, haha.” I jokingly pushed the cart quickly, making my conversation partner laugh. Soon, we arrived at the fresh produce section, mostly housewives here, not many househusbands. When Daonuea and I pushed the cart through, we immediately became the center of attention.
“Duenhaw, let me choose myself.” I nodded, lifting the small figure out of the cart. Once her little feet touched the ground, she headed straight to the fresh vegetable shelf, not forgetting to take the shopping list mom gave her. Am I just the ship and the servant here? Giggles.
“Ca…ca…carrot!” She can read the signs too, the smartest and fluffiest little princess of mine.
“Which ones are fresh, Daonuea?”
“Mom said to pick the fat ones, with bright orange color, and not to choose the ones with cracks.” Not just saying it, she showed me the fresh carrots that matched her description.
“Dao is so clever.” I bent down to pinch her small cheeks playfully.
“Hehe.”
“Is that Duen?”
Huh…I turned towards the voice mixed with light laughter, only to see someone I didn’t expect to meet here. No, I didn’t expect to see him again at all…the annoying guy with a smile on his face.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Coming to the supermarket, one comes to buy fresh stuff, right?”
“Annoying…” I was about to curse but then remembered I’m with Dao, and it seems like the other person knows I wouldn’t dare to be rude in front of my sister.
“What’s annoying?”
“Nothing.” I reply with a dismissive tone, secretly sticking my tongue out at him while Daonuea turns to look at the mascot bear for the powdered milk brand.
“Aren’t you going to ask why I’m here? Or do you want to be countered again, is that your little sister?”
“Yeah.”
“Hello.” Daonuea turns to wai the annoying guy, oh, Phii Duen’s little sister is the cutest. That’s why I don’t want her near that foreign devil.
“What’s the name of this beautiful girl?” He squats down to ask. He seems to love kids, and people who love kids usually have good personalities…like me!
“Daonuea.” Daonuea answers with a smile, her cheeks slightly red, probably shy from the guy smiling at her. Did I ever mention how charming his smile is?
Hey, no way, he might flirt with Dao!
“Hey, hey, don’t get too close to her.” I walk around to pull Daonuea back towards me protectively. The management guy looks a bit surprised but then gives a knowing, mischievous smile…
“Walk with me. I don’t have anyone to walk with.”
“Aren’t you here to buy things? Why do you need a walking buddy?” I say, before stepping forward to continue buying the items on Mom’s list, but the tall guy blocks my path and makes a sad face.
“Walking alone is lonely, and it’s cold in here…don’t you feel sorry for me?” This is a supermarket, not a detention center.
“Pfft, no, haha.”
“…” What…why do I feel a chill down my spine? He must be up to something, damn it.
“Little miss, will you let me walk with you? I’m so lonely walking by myself…” I knew it! He’s playing the sad face card with my sister. Did I mention we’re siblings who are easily pitied?
“Poor you, so pitiful.”
“Right? I’m so pitiful, aren’t I?” Not good, his acting skills are strong. Looks like Phii Duen, the handsome one, needs to intervene before…
“Dao-”
“Sure, me and Duen will keep you company.”
“Oh, that’s great, this is what it feels like to be surrounded by Dao and Duen, haha.”
“Hey, you-” Just as I was about to start cursing, he sent me a sly smile and looked away, then said something that made me shut up.
“Your sister’s here, are you really going to curse?”
“Damn…” I let out a huff instead of apologizing or saying something like, ‘Oh, I’d better not go,’ or ‘Just kidding,’ but no! He…
“Hahaha.”
Burp sound
“Phii Duen, could you grab that cabbage head for me?” Where? Oh…
“Ah…”
“This one, sir?” The bastard is smiling!! Crazy! Do you know what he did? He cut in front of me to grab the cabbage for Dao! Are you seriously trying to flirt with my sister, you lolicon!
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, haha.” Acting all funny and scratching the back of his head, don’t try to charm my little sister.
“But what’s your name, kha?”
“Me? Ask Duen.” I still don’t even know your name. Back then, your car was so loud it drowned out your voice, I didn’t hear even a single letter of your name. “What’s his name, Duenhaw?” Just as I was about to tell the truth, I thought of something fun and turned to give a mischievous smile to the other guy…damn. I shouldn’t have been around Bohn so much, I’ve picked up his habits.
“His name is Yim.”
I said, trying my best to look credible. The other guy was silent for a moment, as if he was about to say something, but Daonuea interrupted him. It was me who was head down.
“Wow, what a cool name, who would be named Gym?” Not Gym! It’s Yim, Daonuea, Yim as in smile!
“It’s not Gy-”
“Thank you.”
“Hey.” The engineering student gave a playful eyebrow raise before walking over to lift Daonuea into the shopping cart. We’ve finished shopping now, really, this guy finished shopping ages ago but stayed for some reason, definitely to flirt with my sister. My Daonuea has already been charmed!
Alright.
“Where to next, beautiful?” The annoying guy smiles and asks the little figure, one hand holding his own basket while the other pushes the cart where Dao is sitting. I can push it myself, you know, it’s my sister!
“We’re going to pay and then have ice cream with Duenhaw.”
“Really? Can I join you?” The speaker leans down to ask with a cheeky look. I’m sick of your face, don’t let him come, Daonuea, oh, do you understand the look your brother is giving you, my dear sister?
“Sure.”
“Oh, how nice, surrounded by you and Duen again. Haha.”
“Ugh, you’re crazy.”
“The total is 783 baht.” I hand over the money to the cashier, and soon she gives me the change along with the shopping bags. As I reach out to take them, the smiling guy grabs them first.
“I’ll carry them.”
“It’s fine.” I try to take the bags back, but he won’t let go, dodging like his father is a gibbon from the jungle in South Kapuahua…there’s no such place, I just made that up.
“I’m trying to be helpful.” He makes a sad face, covering his mouth with his hand, pretending to sniffle as if he’s crying.
“I didn’t ask.”
“I’ll carry them anyway.” Seeing that the sad face act doesn’t work on Phii Duen, he switches to annoying mode, raising his eyebrows and walking over to Dao who’s waiting on the other side.
“Ai Yim fool!” Damn, he’s stuck with the name ‘Yim=Smile’, smile, smile, smile, smile, smile, smile, smile, smile, smile, just smile, damn!
On the way to the ice cream shop, the management guy keeps smiling throughout the walk, smiling as he walks, joking and laughing with Dao as if they were the only two people in the world.
Annoying!
“What would you like?” The female employee asks us after we’ve walked over and sat at the table, with Yim, I mean the smiling fool, sitting opposite us alone.
Dao and I sit on the other side, with me on the inside.
“I’ll have…this one. And for Duenhaw, this one.”
“Does your Phii Duen like this one?” Suddenly, the guy sitting across from us asks. Hey, the employee is waiting.
“Huh. I don’t know, but Duenhaw likes sour things.”
“Oh…really?”
“Problem?” I asked seriously, my conversation partner smiled as an answer before turning to order his own ice cream. Hey, are you messing with me? Just wait, Phii Duen will give you a piece of my mind.
“That’s Praewa over there.” While I was about to start a fight with this business student, suddenly my little sister spoke up, pointing to the corner table of the shop where Praewa was sitting with her dad. Praewa must have seen Daonuea because she was waving her hand gently.
“Daonuea, I’ll go see Wa for a bit, okay?”
“Okay.” Once she got my permission, she smiled and ran off. Alright, time to clear things up with Yim..no, Smile now.
“Hey.”
“Huh?”
“Are you flirting with Dao?”
“…”
“Your silence means you are! You lolicon!” What the hell? Even with that kid, I could understand because he’s young, but this guy is grown up. If we fought, he’d definitely win, looks like Phii Duen needs to work on those six-packs.
“Hahaha.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Sorry, haha.” Your mouth apologizes, but you’re still laughing so hard you’re shaking! I don’t see any remorse on your face, you crazy bastard!
“Stop laughing!”
“Okay, hahaha.”
“Hey, you!”
“Ahem, haha.” The guy in front of me was holding his stomach with both hands, laughing at the table like he’d lost his mind, what’s so funny?
“Stop, stop, haha…I’m not flirting with her.”
“Liar.”
“There’s such a big age gap. No way.” The speaker leaned back comfortably against the sofa, looking at me with a smile. You really smile all day, don’t you? “Really?”
“Don’t let me catch you flirting with my sister, or I’ll knock you down, just watch.”
“Hey, hey.”
“Huh?”
“You can’t remember, or just want to tease?”
“I wanted to tease, so…it’s not that I can’t remember, but when you said your name, the car noise was loud, so I didn’t hear it.” I answer honestly, lying wouldn’t get me money, and it would be a sin too.
“Oh.”
“Tell me your name then, calling you ‘Yim’ might stick.” Actually, it’s starting to stick already…
“It’s okay.”
“?”
“Just call me that.” You smile too much. Not passing, the girls only look at your smile and not my gums, I’m in a bad mood.
“Never mind.”
“Only three people know the name Yim…so when you call, I’ll know who it is.”
“Oh, I see.” If he wants to be called that, that’s his business. I’ve gotten used to calling him Gym too.
“Call me ‘Phii’ too.”
“Huh?” My eyebrows raise in confusion. Call him ‘Phii’…can I? And will ‘Phii’ give me 15,000 baht for snacks, okay, are you too young to understand, sorry…
“I’m in my second year.”
“Phii Yim.” Even if he’s annoying, he still deserves some respect. Phii Duen can call him that. When I address him like that, he smiles again…the interval between your smiles is 0.000000000001 seconds.
“Nong Duen.” He smiles again, Phii Yim, I’m going to get drunk on your smile.