WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 34: Heart
Daotok
Even though those beautiful eyes were still gazing sweetly at my lips, he sincerely apologized with a faint smile, his thick hand that was holding mine just gently caressing, the other hand stroking my cheek before moving his face closer again and lightly kissing my cheek.
I was still stunned by everything that had just happened.
My first kiss…
Despite my heart beating hard, feeling a hot flush in my chest, and being completely powerless, I still couldn’t do anything. The sweetness lingered, his touch imprinted in my senses. I slowly pressed my lips together, reminding myself of that unexpected first kiss, yet it was so sweet and tender it almost melted.
No matter how strange it felt, I wasn’t upset.
That it was him.
“Are you angry?”
“…No.”
I answered in the softest voice possible, and he leaned his sharp face closer again. This time, I leaned back against the car door to keep as much distance from him as possible.
Once again, I couldn’t handle my own flustered state; my mind was all muddled. I couldn’t control the flush on my face, my breathing was quick and heavy as my heart beat too fast, both hands trembled slightly uncontrollably, along with the warmth spreading across my chest now.
“I’ve never seen you this flustered before.”
He smiled with satisfaction, licking his own lips, which made my heart beat even harder as I watched.
“Geez…don’t do that again.” I said with a trembling voice, unlike any time before, avoiding his gaze and looking away immediately, trying to pull my hand back, and he willingly let go of my hand.
“That’s hard, I won’t promise that.”
“Points deducted.”
“I’ll allow that deduction.”
“…Not good.”
“Me? Oh, I already knew that.” He said casually, which made me unwittingly frown, “You’re pouting, huh? First time I’ve seen a robot pout.”
“If you’re that unhappy, you can hit me.”
“…Not good.”
“So, how do I make it better then?”
“I’m not pouting.”
“Huh?”
“But I’m not happy.”
“Why? Was kissing me that bad?” He asked seriously, and silence took over as I had no answer, “Then, can I make it up to you?” I shook my head.
“What do you mean? You won’t let me?”
“No, it…wasn’t bad.”
“Oh, then let me take responsibility. Be my boyfriend.”
“No.”
“Why not? We’ve already kissed, and phii-nong don’t kiss each other. Nobody does.” He said. I let out a big sigh, just as he said, phii-nong don’t kiss each other.
There’s none of that, but the point was, I didn’t do it willingly at all.
“No.”
“Okay.” He shrugged slightly before turning to start the car, “Maybe I was too selfish, but I want you to know that no matter what, I only want to do this with you.”
We stopped for dinner before heading back, and throughout the journey, he was the one who kept the conversation going, asking about this and that as usual. I answered some questions but not others because my mind was still replaying the kiss over and over, confusing me as well, probably because it was my first kiss. He carried the stuff for me, and once back in the room, he arranged the drawing tools back in place for my use. I tried to calm my tumultuous feelings but couldn’t manage it no matter what. I looked at the one who caused this in me, and he looked back, puzzled, as if wondering why I was staring at him like that.
“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I am not pleased.”
“About the kiss?”
“About making me feel disoriented.”
He burst out laughing before coming over to hug me tightly.
“You look so cute when you’re flustered.” He said, nuzzling his nose against my neck and then lightly biting my shoulder. I pushed him away with all my strength, and he let go willingly.
“When you’re mad, you look even more tempting, I don’t understand.”
“Get off.”
“I won’t.”
“Sigh, why do you have to do that? We’re not even dating.”
“I ask you to be my partner almost every hour, you’re the one who needs time.”
“Apologize again, and I’ll stop being upset.”
“I’ve apologized already.”
“Apologize for making me feel disoriented too.” “Sorry.” He apologized again.
I nodded, as the feeling of displeasure slowly faded. I’m not one to hold grudges or be clingy. Most of the time, an apology is enough.
“Will you keep this, the drawing?” I asked as my feelings returned to normal, and he nodded quickly. I handed him the sheet of paper where I had sketched him playing football.
While he was playing on the field, what he had said wasn’t an exaggeration at all. From the sidelines, I knew how many people were watching him, the screams and chatter from his fans were loud, but the one being watched didn’t pay attention at all.
I often felt that he was so charming on the field, enjoying the football he loves, every move he made was full of charm. Whether running, scoring goals, or even when he pulled up his shirt to wipe his sweat, and the smiles he sometimes gave unintentionally, which made me pick up my phone to take photos and sketch to keep.
He, standing there under the bright lights, was the focus of everyone’s attention, both on and off the field, bringing smiles and laughter to his friends. Whenever he stepped onto the field, everyone showed a clear increase in enthusiasm, especially at the end of each game when teams were reshuffled, everyone wanted to be on his team.
“Do you want to shower first?” He asked. I nodded slightly, taking the change of clothes from him. Tonight, I would have to wear his clothes to sleep again, but only for tonight because, according to our agreement, tomorrow I’d be back in my room. Even though he lost my keycard, the condo management would be back tomorrow too.
I quickly showered and changed, checking my appearance before coming out. I sat down at the work desk while he disappeared into the bathroom.
Checking the time, it was only nine in the evening. I checked my phone and saw I had messages, so I opened them immediately.
Khun Kim?
K: Can we meet up?
K: This week if you are free, right?
SS: My work with you will start next week.
SS: I’m currently tied up with other work.
K: That’s too bad.
K: Then I’ll wait.
SS: Okay.
I lost interest in my phone and put it down. As I mentioned, I worked with
KhunKim once about a year ago; he was interested in my work posted on Instagram and contacted me via email. I don’t often meet clients face-to-face because most of my illustration or design work involves sending briefs and drafts back and forth until the client is satisfied.
But KhunKim prefers meeting in person. Last time, he even flew to Chiang Mai to discuss work with me, bringing his books which were entirely in Korean. Of course, I couldn’t read them, but I tried to gather as much information as possible from his explanations.
KhunKim told me he’s half-Thai, half-Korean and writes novels for sale there. He shared a bit about himself when we talked, but I don’t remember much since it’s been a year. Regarding what North said about him having a high chance of flirting with me, I don’t understand where North got that from. Even though we’ve met several times, it was always work-related.
In reality, we already have each other’s LINE for easier communication, but he sends the work details via email first before messaging on LINE. When I first mentioned a client sent an email, that was KhunKim, and I told him I have other work this week, so it would have to be next week if he could wait.
He probably thought I had some free time, so he asked via LINE if we could meet up. I do have some free time, but I’d rather spend it entirely on painting for
Phii Arthit. Besides, I haven’t even talked about the acrylic painting work for Uncle Direk yet.
I was playing with Mr. Jeon for nearly twenty minutes until the room’s owner came out of the bathroom. After drying his hair in front of the mirror, he sat down close by. I quickly hugged Mr. Jeon because I was afraid he would try to put his mouth on Mr. Jeon’s head again, which made him laugh.
“Why, are you scared I’ll do it again?”
“Yes.”
“It’s just so annoying, don’t you ever feel like doing it to a cat?”
“No. Never.”
“You don’t have to take him away like that, just let me play with him a bit.” He said, reaching out. I hesitated before handing Mr. Jeon over to him.
“Don’t put your mouth on Mr. Jeon’s head again.”
“…” He didn’t respond, just looked at the still Mr. Jeon in his hands, stroking both of Mr. Jeon’s ears back, and brought him close to his mouth. When he opened his mouth wide, I quickly got up to snatch Mr. Jeon back in alarm. He burst out laughing loudly, lifting Mr. Jeon higher so I couldn’t reach, “I was just kidding.”
“You’ll get it back at you.”
“What will you do, put your mouth on my snake? Go ahead.” He said with a victorious raise of his eyebrow, which annoyed me. Speaking of snakes, how is his snake doing since he lost the key card and couldn’t go check, right?
“Is the snake okay? You haven’t gone to check.”
“It’s fine.” He answered while gently swinging Mr. Jeon. I, worried that Mr. Jeon might slip from his grasp, kept my hands ready to catch him, “The snake doesn’t need to eat that often, it can survive.”
“Okay, give Mr. Jeon back.”
“Why? I’m not teasing him.”
“You’re swinging him too hard.”
“Not hard, see, it’s fun, little buddy.”
“What’s that name?”
“Little buddy.”
“No, it’s Mr. Jeon.”
“You bastard, you’re squeezing my balls.”
“Ugh, bad character.” I furrowed my brows and playfully slapped his hand; he laughed even more, and Mr. Jeon didn’t show any sign of resistance at all. Sigh, why does Mr. Jeon still like him even now?
“Alright, alright, here you go.” He finally let Mr. Jeon return to my embrace. I gently placed Mr. Jeon on the floor to let him loose and play with his toys, “Hey, do you remember the drawing job my dad told you about? Direk just called to remind me.”
“Ah…yeah, I remember. He said Uncle could brief me and send it via my email.”
“Email for what?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
“And what about KhunKim’s work?”
“I told KhunKim it would be around next week.”
“Will that be on time? You still have my painting job.”
“Even if it’s not, it has to be.” I said, “I’ve already scheduled with the client, and
I’ve promised Uncle.”
“If you can’t handle it, you can tell Direk.” “No.” I insisted.
“Professional, huh?” He teased me. I handed him Mr. Jeon’s toy; he took it, puzzled, and when Mr. Jeon tried to play, he had to play along.
“Play with him for a bit. I’m going back to work.”
“I’m lazy, can’t you just let him play by himself?”
“Whatever, Mr. Jeon will find something to do on his own if you leave him.” I said before standing up. He left the toy for Mr. Jeon and followed me, while Mr. Jeon nudged the toy for a while before going to find a place to sleep. Meanwhile, I went back to continue my painting work. Even though I took the work outside, it didn’t progress; I just kept sketching him.
I noticed that the sketch I made was stuck on the wall above the work desk, right next to a landscape picture. I’ve noticed before that the wall above his desk has many things stuck to it, including Post-its with various notes and landscapes I guessed must be places he’s visited and photographed, some even being pictures of himself on trips.
“Is it nice? Should I stick up some of your pictures too? For motivation while studying or something?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to.”
“I’ll take a picture for you, my photography skills are pretty good, want to see the ones I secretly took?”
“Secretly taken?”
“My Instagram is full of them, take a look.”
“Really?” I reached for his phone to check his Instagram and found that nearly ten of the latest pictures were all of me. The face wasn’t very clear, but if someone knew me and looked closely, they would recognize me. I couldn’t deny that he was good at photography and his photo editing was beautiful too. Whether it was the angle or the tone, every picture had the same caption: a red heart emoji. “I didn’t take clear shots of your face, so others don’t know who it is, thought you might not be ready.” He shrugged, “Or if you want, I can take full-face shots.” “Uh…no, it’s fine.”
“You’re flustered again.” He teased again, with a sly smile. I locked the screen and put the phone down immediately, refocusing on the work in front of me.
“Why did you post them?”
“Because I wanted to. Even if you told me to delete them, I wouldn’t, it’s my
Instagram.”
“Everyone can see it.”
“That’s why I posted it.”
“Oh…um.” I bit my lip softly, “It’s nice.”
“What?”
“I feel good about it.”
“Damn…you’re straightforward, like, I like it, I like it more and more, to the point I don’t know what to do.” He said seriously. I moved back a bit, fearing he might do something else, and he laughed again, “Hia, I won’t do anything. Just kissing you at night made you almost lose it.”
“Uh…um.” I answered quietly, “And why hearts?”
“Well, because you’re my heart.”
“…”
“So, you’re going to continue painting, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, and what about tomorrow? Are you going anywhere?”
“No.”
“Let’s go out.”
“I have work.”
“My work. It’s fine, tomorrow the condo management should be here early, we’ll get a spare keycard, and then you can change clothes and we can go out.”
“I have work.”
“Let’s go out.”
“I’m going to work.”
“We don’t have to go far.” He still wouldn’t take no for an answer, “How about the mall? Aren’t you going to draw for my dad? I’ll pay for the supplies.”
“…”
“See, you’re starting to get interested, huh?”
“It’s fine, but going to buy some paint and stuff would be good because I’m probably running low.”
“Okay, sounds good.” He gave a thumbs up, pleased, “We’ll eat at the mall and then you can help me buy some stuff.”
“What stuff?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“…Hmm.” In the end, I agreed to go out with him tomorrow. He looked satisfied before getting up to find a book to read beside me. I worked while he read late into the night, occasionally getting bored and playing with my hand or cheek, stroking my head, or squeezing my chin before going back to reading.
By the time I was completely sleepy, I packed up my tools and prepared to sleep on the sofa.
“Are you so attached to the sofa? I’m going to throw it out.”
“…I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight.”
“I’ll get back pain if I sleep on the floor, you know.”
“Sleep in the bed then.”
“Meaning you sleep on the sofa? So come sleep in the bed with me. Plus, the sofa is narrow, how are we supposed to cuddle?”
“We don’t have to.”
“I should solve this by getting a bigger sofa since you like sleeping on the sofa so much.”
“…I’m not planning to sleep in your room forever.”
“I’ll get rid of your bed and sofa too, so you’ll have to sleep in my room.” He said as if he just thought of it. I unconsciously furrowed my brows, “Genius with a
200 IQ, how did I think of that?”
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“There’s nothing too much here, the only thing that’s too much is my love!!” “…Sigh.”
I shook my head, sighed softly, and went to sit on the sofa, lying down and covering myself with a small blanket, closing my eyes without any awareness. After a while, he turned off the lights in the room, and I easily drifted off to sleep due to exhaustion on that soft sofa.
And once again, I woke up in bed. Last night, I went to bed late, so today I woke up late; it was already eleven. I slowly sat up on the bed, turned to look at the person still sleeping soundly beside me, and lightly tapped his nose, annoyed. Last night, I was supposed to sleep on the sofa, but he had dragged me to the bed.
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