WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 38: Your Touch
Arthit
“Do it again, please, one round isn’t enough to stop being upset.”
“…” His sweet face pouted before he leaned up to kiss my cheek again, causing me to break into a wide, uncontrollable smile. That gentle touch of his lips made my heart warm, before I used both hands to pull him into an embrace and lift him up. Dao let out a surprised, high-pitched sound, “Le…let go.” I looked up at the person I was holding in my arms.
“I meant another kiss.”
“One inch, you take a mile.”
“Of course, you kissed my cheek, what did you expect my reaction to be?” I said confidently, looking at his embarrassed frown.
If you call me greedy, then yes, I’m extremely greedy, especially with this person. “I can’t handle it.” He said softly before burying his face into my shoulder. The faint, familiar scent and the warmth from his body made my heart melt entirely. I tightened my arms around him, tilting my face to rest on his, savoring that warmth for as long as I was satisfied before releasing him.
“I understand.”
“Uh.”
Damn, can a person be this happy?
I gently placed the smaller person back on the sofa. Initially, I intended to sleep here too, but seeing him this cute, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself, so I decided to go back to my room to calm down.
I said goodbye to him, feeling quite regretful, picked up the gown I had tossed aside, draped it over my shoulder, and walked back to my room. I took a warm bath, feeling happy and humming a song, completely forgetting who Kim was. From being extremely annoyed at first, I had now calmed down as if nothing had happened.
Leaning back against the bathtub, relaxing, I couldn’t help but smile thinking about what had just happened. I used to criticize my friends, but now it all applies to me, damn it, I’m so smitten I can’t even see my own shadow.
While I was relaxing, I heard a LINE call notification. It was Direk’s video calling me, right when I was in the bath.
“What’s up?”
(Are you bathing?)
“Yes, was it by chance or did you time it? Want to see me naked but didn’t say?” (…) Direk was speechless, looking utterly exhausted before he took off his tie, looking like he was just getting off work.
“Why are you taking off your tie, damn? Don’t, Direk. We can’t have phone sex, it’s against morals.”
(I’m just taking off my tie!) Direk exclaimed in exasperation, which made me burst out laughing, (I came home tired from work, wanted to talk to my son for a bit, why do I have to deal with this, sigh).
“Ha ha, how was work?”
(It was good. How was your study?)
“Ugh, damn exhausting.” I said, feeling annoyed, “But now I have someone to cheer me up, heh, Direk doesn’t have that like I do.” I raised my eyebrows at the phone screen, feeling superior, while he looked at me with confusion.
(NongDao, right?)
“Right, oh, Direk, I wanted to tell you about this but never got around to it.”
(What’s wrong? Go ahead. I was wondering why you looked so happy, who smiles in the bath like that, you can’t stop smiling, huh.)
“Well, it’s like this.” and I told Direk everything about Dao, everything that happened. Direk sat down at his desk in his bedroom and propped up his phone, resting his chin on his hand while listening to my story, “How’s that? This kind of progress, not just anyone can do it like Arthit, right? It’s so cool.”
(Will you become his boyfriend after you win the competition?)
“Uh-huh.”
(That’s good. You’ll have extra motivation for the competition.) “Definitely.” I shrugged, “I’m not thinking about Direk’s billions, just about having a boyfriend. Billions are just crap, forget it.”
(Then I won’t share the ten percent with you.)
“Share it.” I responded immediately, “How can you not share? I’m the one who did all the work, can’t I get twenty percent?”
(You always ask me for money, and now you’re still negotiating?) Direk said with irritation. I hoisted myself out of the bathtub, careful not to get my phone wet, wrapped a towel around my lower half, and walked out. (Dry yourself before coming out, you’ll get the floor all wet.)
“It’ll dry soon.”
(Sigh, have you hired someone to clean your room yet? The condo offers that service, doesn’t it?)
“No, I’m lazy.”
(Just turn the camera around.)
“What, always wanting to see other people’s stuff?”
(I mean, turn the camera so I can see around your room, I don’t want to see your stuff, why would I want to see it, I’ve seen it since you were a kid) Direk sighed, (Who did you get so vain from when you were young, I wasn’t this vain.)
“Oh.” and I turned the camera for Direk to see.
(Well, your room isn’t that messy.)
“Just cleaned it. That day, I let the short guy sleep over, and he tripped over a pile of books, spraining his ankle. So, I tidied up a bit.”
(…Shit, how can someone like you think like that? Love is getting too scary) Direk said, stunned. I turned the camera back to my face. I placed the camera on the side table and continued drying myself. (Can you cover up a bit? Damn, I feel like gouging my eyes out.)
“Why, you said you’ve seen it since I was a kid. Now, little Arthit has grown up, say hello to grandpa quickly.” I teased Direk. The person on the phone held his forehead.
(Hey! My migraines are getting worse, you bastard, put some pants on!!)
“I’ve got pants on.”
(Yeah, you probably don’t act like this around him, right?)
“More or less, but I don’t do this often, he’s too cute.”
(Yeah, you’re whipped, I’m still surprised he agreed to be with someone like you.)
I put my pants on and walked over to grab my phone, then sat on the sofa. “I was just joking, Direk always takes things too seriously. When we were kids, you could still play around.”
(And you’re not wearing a shirt?)
“I didn’t wash the one I was going to sleep in.”
(I hope you catch a cold. Oh, I forgot, crazy people don’t catch colds.)
“Hey Direk, I can even wiggle my pecs now, want to see?”
(I don’t want to see!) Direk said firmly, which secretly annoyed me. Not everyone can wiggle their pecs, you need to have strong enough muscles like I do,
(But about what you said, you talked to his dad, is that true?)
“It’s true.”
(Damn, I thought you were joking. The first time we talked, you said you wanted his son as your wife, that’s not possible, damn it. Maybe it’s my fault for not teaching you to take things slowly. Who would have thought someone like you could fall in love!)
“Why? If I want his son, I’ll say it straight. His dad seems to like me a lot, he’s a
Manchester United fan too.”
(Really? Damn, then he would fit right into our family.)
“Right? So, Direk, get ready for the dowry to propose.”
(I’m always ready. Anyone who can take my son, I’m ready. I can even give a billion.)
“That’s how you should be, Direk. Then, let’s wait for him to agree to be my boyfriend, and we’ll bring the dowry to his doorstep.”
(That would be too hasty. Let’s do this: if he agrees to be your boyfriend, take me to have dinner with his family. Oh, I’ve met countless people, but never my son’s boyfriend’s family. Just saying it makes me excited, what should I prepare?)
“I don’t know either.”
(I better order a new suit, it should be ready just in time.)
“You need to wear a suit for this?” I said, laughing at Direk’s exaggerated gestures.
(Just in case he’s not okay with you, at least he’ll be okay with your dad.)
“Hey, Direk.”
(What?)
“I forgot to mention something. Do you think I’m hot-headed?”
(Oh, you shouldn’t ask that. I’ve been cleaning up after you for so long.) “If I say that just holding Dao’s hand calms me down like nothing happened, would you believe it?”
(Hmph. I don’t believe it.)
“But it’s true, like, oh shit, it’s already happened. There was this customer who liked him, what does Direk think?”
(With someone as possessive as you, you probably beat that person up, huh?)
“He’s still safe and sound.”
(Really?) Direk raised his eyebrows in disbelief, (Come on, Arthit, I’ve raised you since you were as small as a seashell and now you’re as big as a foot, I’ve never seen you control yourself once, not even three guards could hold you back. I don’t know where you got that strength from.)
“I am not a seashell.”
(If you’ve calmed down because of him, it’s a good thing for me, so I can finally stop worrying. I was even concerned about how you’d react if someone messed with him, so it’s good news.)
“Hold on, Direk, someone’s at the door.” I said after hearing a knock, got up to open it, and found the guy standing there with my car keys in hand. We chatted briefly before he went back to his room. I returned to talking with Direk as before, we talked for a while before hanging up.
After hanging up from Direk, I lay on the bed playing with my phone and reading some sheets. Nearly an hour passed, and I realized I couldn’t concentrate at all; my mind was full of that cute face, the way he blushed, smiled, his sweet voice when talking or laughing.
You’re haunting me too much!
Damn, I really want to hug him!
I let out a small sigh and went to grab a can of beer from the fridge to drink. Going to his room at this hour probably wouldn’t be good. Controlling myself is the hardest thing for me, especially when I’m with him.
I didn’t feel like reading books or playing games, so what should I do?
I picked up my guitar and sat on the floor, playing to kill time. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, and I quickly grabbed a notebook and pen to write it down. I’m not sure how long I spent writing the song, but when I realized, the once blank paper was now full of scribbles, lyrics, and some chord progressions. I picked it up and looked at it in surprise.
I couldn’t help but smile broadly; shit, how did I compose this song? I didn’t even intend to, but it just came to me, and it’s a love song too, damn, it’s so sweet, I think.
No, I have to show this off, and who else would I show it to but the person I wrote this song for!
I rushed out to knock on the door of the next room without checking the time, which was well past midnight. The short guy came out to open the door, looking confused when he saw me with a guitar, and he wasn’t even wearing a shirt. “You have to take a look at this!” I spoke English without realizing it because my head was full of English lyrics for songwriting over the last few hours. This made him look even more confused before he let me into the room. I sat down on the floor, and he sat down too, his round eyes watching me intently as if waiting to see what I would do next. I thought it was incredibly cute, and it made my heart itch with excitement.
I started strumming the guitar and played the song I had written without any explanation until it was finished. It wasn’t perfect yet since it was only the first draft, there was still a lot to do, but I wanted to show off.
“…Did you write this yourself?”
“Yeah, I just came up with it a while ago.”
“Wow, that’s impressive. The song is really good.”
“Really? You’re not just saying that, right?” He shook his head, giving a slight smile.
“Why would I flatter? The song is genuinely nice.” “But it’s not complete yet.” I said proudly.
“Can I take a look?”
“Sure.”
He took my notebook to look at it.
“At first, I was just playing guitar to kill time, but when I started thinking about you, suddenly, the song just came to me.”
“…So this song is…”
“Written for you.”
“Oh, thank you, I’m so happy.” He said with a sweet smile, his eyes clearly showing his joy, which made me pause for a moment. I wanted to grab him and kiss him right there but held back, “You’ve taken one step towards your dream.” “Exactly. No need to wait until I finish my studies. If I take my time, I will do it bit by bit in my free time.” I said, suddenly thinking, “Then I deserve a kiss on the cheek as a reward!”
“That doesn’t make sense.” He said softly, “What do we do next then?” “We have to…what’s it called, arrange it? Just guitar isn’t enough. I’ll record it first, then go to the studio later. Can you play the keyboard? Help me out with that?”
“Are you going to sing it yourself?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think your voice is pretty good.”
“Oh, if you’re going to compliment me like that, then kiss my cheek.”
“It’s not related at all.”
“Forget about the singing for now, I’ll sing roughly first, let’s get through the beat.” I said excitedly before realizing something, “Then I’ll go to the studio instead, I won’t be able to sleep like this anyway, do you want to come?” He shook his head slightly.
“I have to study; there’s a quiz tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay, then. If it weren’t for the quiz, I would drag you along.” I told him, and he nodded slightly. I quickly stood up, and he followed suit, “Then I’ll go.”
“Yeah, drive safely.”
I leaned in to steal a kiss on his cheek, which slightly surprised him, before I rushed out of the room without giving him a chance to say anything. I changed my clothes and headed straight to the recording studio. It was a studio Direk had set up in case I ever wanted to make music again, a medium-sized room in Direk’s house. I hardly ever used it, leaving all the equipment dormant, but Direk probably had someone clean and maintain it regularly.
Whose dad is so thoughtful? He always anticipates things in advance.
I called Direk beforehand so he could come down to open the house for me. Direk, in a white T-shirt and long pants, with a sleepy demeanor, indicated he was comfortably asleep. Normally, the butler would open the door, but since everyone was asleep now, it fell to Direk. Actually, he could have had the butler open it for me, but in the end, he came down to do it himself.
“Why are you coming here so late? Don’t show me anything else, I almost can’t sleep, you bastard.”
“See, you didn’t say you were hooked.”
“It’s more like I’m stuck.”
“Direk, you will be stunned, I want you to see this.” I said excitedly again, quickly handing him the notebook. Direk took it, looking confused, rubbing his eyes gently and scanning the notebook in his hand.
“What is this?”
“It’s a song. I’m back to making music.”
“How could that be? Just a few hours ago, you were showing me something weird. Don’t tell me that was your inspiration. No way, I don’t want to see that every time you write a song.”
“Why are you so hung up on that? I had nothing to do. I didn’t want to read or play games, so I just picked up the guitar and started playing. Then, out of nowhere, I got an idea and wrote a song. Even if it’s not perfect, it’s a start, right?
That’s why I came to the studio.”
“Wow, the moment you write a song, you rush to the studio, you really go from thought to action, huh? My abandoned studio will finally get some use.” Direk said, handing back the notebook. “The lyrics are pretty good, does the person you wrote the song for know yet?”
“He knows, he was the first to know.”
“And what did he say?”
“He said he was happy and thanked me.”
“I bet he likes you even more now.” “Really?” I asked, feeling pleased.
“Who wouldn’t like someone writing a song for them? You’ve done something special.” Direk complimented before giving my shoulder a light pat. He walked into the house with me following, unlocking the studio door, “Ah. I had someone check the equipment about a month ago, there shouldn’t be any problems. Give it a try.”
“Hmm. At first, I didn’t understand why you needed to build a music studio, but now it’s perfect.”
“I just did it. I told you your music is good, just in case one day you wanted to come back to it. Besides, I have plenty of money, so using some to make this room for you isn’t much better than having an empty space. The house is pretty big too.” “Wow, you found a way to praise yourself.” I teased.
“Do you have any ward rounds tomorrow?”
“I do, but it’s early.”
“Don’t get so absorbed that you forget the time. Whenever you start doing what you love, you get lost in it and won’t move. Set an alarm, it would be good.”
“You know me too well.”
“I’ve been with you the longest in your life.” Direk said, yawning, “Want to start now? I’ll go make something to eat.”
“Damn, come on, is the chairman going to cook for me?”
“Such grand talk, I’ll make sandwiches then, I’ll be right back.”
“Alright.” I replied cheerfully before walking into my studio, sitting in front of the dual-screen computer set up by Ter, looking at all the equipment lined up before starting to turn everything on, recalling how to make music and slowly getting to work.
…
Daotok
I received a message from Uncle Direk with a picture of Phii Arthit focusing on making music in the studio, and I couldn’t help but smile. About half an hour ago, he showed up unannounced and started playing guitar for me.
It was a melody I hadn’t heard before, and I was sure I’d never listened to it. Before he revealed that it was a song he composed himself, and for me. I was stunned for a moment upon hearing that, then happiness filled my heart completely. I was indescribably happy that he wrote a song for me.
I looked at the song he had sketched in the notebook and found it to be a really good love song. The catchy tune along with his singing voice easily swept me away. If it weren’t for the quiz tomorrow, I would have followed him to the studio because I wanted to see the process of making music.
I exchanged LINE contacts with Uncle Direk when we talked via email. Uncle Direk said not to tell Phii Arthit that we were talking, and we didn’t talk much anyway, so I forgot about it. It was only when Uncle sent the picture that I remembered.
His deep voice was still ringing in my ears. Even though he said the song wasn’t complete yet, I thought it was already very good.
I was so happy I couldn’t express my feelings; I never thought anyone would write a song for me like this. Moreover, I was happy because he had once said it was his dream, and now he had taken another step towards that dream, which made me feel joyful for him.
I stared at his picture for a while before setting my phone down. In the photo, he looked so focused and lively, he seemed excited and happy with what he was doing, even though it was just a few still images, but I found the person in the photo very captivating.
I never thought I could like someone this much before.
Just seeing his picture made me happy.
Although I couldn’t shake his image from my mind, I still tried to force myself to study, eventually falling asleep from exhaustion. The next time I became aware, I found myself lying on the bed in the darkness, making it hard to see. I could see the silhouette of someone above me, then felt a sharp pain in my chest. I felt heat and wetness, a familiar hand gently caressing my stomach before moving up to touch my nipple.
“Uh.” I inadvertently let out a sound from my throat as my chest was touched, feeling a strange sensation since I’d never experienced this before, which then turned into a tingling pleasure making me arch my chest towards it, “Uh, stop.”
“Do you really want me to stop?” He asked softly with a hoarse, seductive voice. Hearing that made my heart race immediately. Although I wanted to push him away, I had no strength because of the intense heat from his touch. He moved to lick my nipple, licking and sucking hard until I felt a shiver all over, the sensation spreading across my chest and stomach.
The other hand was touching me back and forth, and it felt embarrassingly good. My breathing started to quicken slightly, and I mustered all my strength to push him away. He didn’t budge but willingly moved back. I pulled my shirt down and stood up to look at him.
“Bad manners!” I said, grabbing a pillow to hit him hard. He didn’t even try to dodge or defend himself. He was sitting on his knees, hands on his thighs, arms spread out, head bowed for me to hit him with the pillow. After I was satisfied with hitting him, I stopped, panting, “Apologize now.”
“Sorry, I was out of my mind! I knew I might not be able to control myself, but in the end, I still wanted to sleep and cuddle with you.”
“Still…”
“I couldn’t help myself. Next time, don’t sleep with your shirt riding up, you know how crazy I can be.”
“Don’t blame me, get out.”
“No, let me sleep and cuddle, please.”
“You’re still asking?”
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“Are you crazy?” I said, frowning in displeasure, my heart still pounding, the sensation of his touch lingering, making my face flush uncontrollably, “I didn’t give you the room key card for this.”
“Don’t take it back.” He pleaded, furrowing his brows, “Hit me then, hit me with that soft pillow!”
“If I hit you with a chair, don’t scream.” I threatened. He looked down, like a big dog being scolded by its owner.
“Hit me if it’ll make you less angry.” He said with a serious tone and look that softened my heart.
“Don’t do it again.”
“No! Because you smell so good!”
“…”
“Ouch!” He cried out when I pulled his ear hard, tilting his head with the force.
“Don’t do it again.”
“No, ouch.”
“Don’t do it again…until we’re officially dating, okay?”
“…”
“I’m trying to make myself ready, you know.”
“Does that include boyfriend-only privileges?”
“…Yeah, that’s right, so don’t do this again.” I said, gritting my teeth, not really wanting to say it. I understand what kind of person he is, even though I’ve never been interested in sex before, but I’ve been trying to prepare myself. So, don’t rush things.
“I understand, why are you so cute like this?”
“Good that you understand.” I sighed before letting go of his ear, which was slightly red on the right side. Since he had so many piercings, I had to be extra careful when pulling him. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was past five in the morning, “Just got here?”
“Yeah, I just finished the song. Well, not really finished, but I was too sleepy, so
I came back to sleep first, and I really felt like hugging, so I came here.” And then decided to molest me while I was sleeping, huh?
I wanted to be angry but couldn’t really be, sigh, damn…
It’s not that I hate it or don’t like it. It’s just not the right time. If I hadn’t prepared myself, my heart might have given out.
“If the song is ready, I’ll let you listen to it first because it’s a song I wrote for you.”
“Hmm, I’ll wait to hear it.”
I said with a smile, and he just stared at me with those beautiful eyes. I was puzzled by what he was looking at.
“But you’re really sweet, you know? Can’t I do it one more time?”
“No!”
I sent him to sleep on the sofa, and from now on, if he’s going to stay in my room, he’s not allowed on the bed at all; that’s our agreement. At first, he was pretty upset about it, but no matter what, I didn’t budge, and he had to give in. In the morning, half-asleep, I felt light kisses on my forehead and cheek with words like, “I didn’t get on the bed.” before hearing the door open and close.
I woke up around eight-thirty to find only myself and Mr. Jeon in the room. When I went to take a shower, I encountered Phii Cream who suddenly appeared from behind the wall.
“Wow, what did you guys do last night? The ghosts are all embarrassed.”
“…”
“Those two come to gossip, huh. Wow, it’s really something. Last night, when he came to use the bathroom, I peeked. He’s really handsome, the guy next door, but I didn’t watch while he was doing his business, or you would be jealous. I made myself disappear when he came in. Sigh, he’s handsome no matter how many times I look, even when he’s all sleepy and dazed. And his physique is great, tanned skin, muscles, and tattoos too.”
“…”
“Wow, I’m so jealous of you that someone cool like this is chasing after him. And it looks like he’s even more in love with you than anything.”
“…”
I didn’t turn to look at Phii Cream. At first, I didn’t think much of her words, but my face turned red anyway.
“Your face is red too, are you embarrassed?”
“…” I didn’t respond, quickly walking out of the bathroom. Only now did I feel uncomfortable with having a ghost in the room. I got dressed in my student uniform before standing in front of the bathroom door, “Phii Cream.”
“What?”
“No more peeking, no more listening, nothing. Tell the other two as well.
Otherwise, I’ll bring Grandma to chase all of you out for real.”
“…Oh, I understand. You don’t have to look so serious, it’s more cute than scary. Plus, your cheeks are red.”
“…”
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