WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 49: We Found Love
I stood watching Mr. Jeon sleeping comfortably in Cat’s condo. To be honest, I was still excited and nervous about moving, this being the first time I’d live seriously with someone else, not counting living at home.
“Even though we’ve been together for the last couple of months, moving in together like this would be slightly different. At least we could call this place our room.
Because he said he bought this apartment for us to live together. I was so happy, it felt like he was saying that without me, he wouldn’t have considered moving here either. Plus, many things in this room were adjusted to suit me, with his intentions clear. Whether it was the painting corner or the room for my cat, he even allowed me full use of the painting space.
He’s trying to do things for us…I suppose I can say that.
The first moment I opened the door and stepped in, I couldn’t help but hold my breath with excitement. This new room was completely different from our old one; this was a penthouse at the top of the condo, with everything you’d find in a home, spacious, and tailored to our needs.
He took me to his music studio, a medium-sized room filled with equipment, instruments, and soundproofing that worked really well.
The bathroom I had just used a few minutes ago was luxurious, as I mentioned, even wider than my bedroom at home. The bedroom was the same, with a kingsize bed and large clear windows that offered a view outside when the curtains were open, given its height.
The kitchen area, which I thought I wouldn’t use much, was fully equipped. The painting corner, which I always wanted to have in my own home if I ever owned one in the future, was located in the corner with views of the mountain peaks when the curtains were drawn.
“And what about the water and electricity bills?” I asked while looking at my own shelf, which seemed like a display case full of my figures and collectibles. He said he had someone set it all up before we moved in, so I was checking to see if any pieces were damaged.
“Why?”
“Or should I pay them? I haven’t contributed to the rent.”
“No need, living with me, the electricity bill will be high anyway.”
“How high could it get?”
“Come on, let me pay.”
“…Uh.”
“How are your things?” he asked after sitting on the floor beside me, borrowing one of the figures to look at, “Do you like this one?”
“Yeah.”
“Who do you like more, me or this?”
“Why compare yourself to a figurine?”
“I asked, so answer.”
“I like you more.”
“Huh, then go away.” He said, but his eyes were still on the figurine as if talking to it, placing it back where it was, “Do you think I should make a figurine of myself?”
“Why would you do that?”
“So you can collect it, order a handmade one from Japan, how about that?”
“If you want to do it, then do it.”
“Who would be so self-absorbed as to order a figurine of themselves for their boyfriend to keep like me?” He said, shaking his head slightly, “This lighter you bought from me is still in good condition.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s well-maintained.”
“I take good care of my things.”
“Meaning you’ll take good care of me, right?”
“…Uh.” I nodded slightly, he burst into laughter.
“Your face is like, ‘Yeah, whatever you want,’ that’s how it is.”
“No. But if you want to think that way, you can.”
“Let’s go with what makes me comfortable then.”
“Uh.”
“Hey, since we have a fully equipped kitchen now, you should cook for me to eat.”
“Why?”
“Every one of my friends’ wives, they all cook for their husbands. I want my wife to cook for me too. Isn’t that okay?” He furrowed his brows in a pleading manner. I looked at him with an expressionless gaze.
“Aren’t you tired of my omelet from San Francisco?”
“Hia, people can improve, you know. I want to eat food made by the person I love, and take it to the hospital to eat.”
“…”
“You, this husband of yours is trying to act cute for you, you know.”
“Sigh. I won’t promise, but I’ll try.”
“Good! Come on, can I get some dinner? Check the fridge, I’ve had everything bought and prepared, and on the top shelf, there’s Miss Meen’s stuff too.”
“…”
I didn’t reply, just walked over to the kitchen counter. He followed and sat at the chair opposite the counter, looking hopeful and expectant. I sighed unconsciously, looking at the stove with a feeling of emptiness.
My cooking skills are terribly bad. If anyone remembers the omelet where I poured oil after the eggs, I’ve asked Grandma Puanthong to teach me several times, but I couldn’t succeed. I’m confident I can do many things, but cooking definitely isn’t one of them.
“Please don’t expect too much, okay?” I said without looking back, feeling his eyes piercing my back until it stung.
“I’m not expecting it to be delicious, I just want to eat. You can just put raw rice in a bowl for me, I just want it to be made by you.”
“…”
Even dogs wouldn’t eat raw rice, right?
“Are you serious?” I asked again, scanning the various kitchen tools, trying to figure out what they were and how to use them. Grandma Puanthong’s face came to mind with her gentle teaching voice, but in the end, that day’s cooking ended with a tasteless soup that tasted like seawater, and the pork was as tough as eraser.
“Serious.”
“If you get diarrhea, don’t blame me.”
“I never get diarrhea, I declare it here, my butt muscles are very strong, I’ve eaten native food from many countries, I can eat anything, I’m not fussy about food. I can even eat Cat’s food, right, Mr. Jeon?” he said as he saw Mr. Jeon walking over, placing him on his lap, “You want to try Cat’s egg too, right, young master Siwat?”
“Please don’t.”
“So what are you going to cook for me tonight?”
“I don’t know either, my brain has gone blank.”
“Why don’t you ask North? He’s an expert in food matters.”
“Uh, North is good at cooking.” I said in agreement before taking out my phone and making a call. I didn’t forget to start a video call too. After a while, North picked up, his face filling the screen, “North, are you free?”
(Yeah, I’m free, what’s up? Have you moved into the new room yet?)
“We’ve moved in.”
(Let me see) North said excitedly. I rotated the camera around to show him,
(Wow, so damn nice, you’ve invested, bro. When I’m free, I’ll come over to play.)
“Uh.”
(Hey, Phii Arthit, did I hear that you gave two million to Phii Jo? Let’s be partners then. I’m touched, you bastard, that the idiot who once let piranhas bite him can now think like this. He’s grown up.)
North said with an extremely pleased expression, Arthit just shrugged without much concern. The name used earlier was Arthit’s real Thai name.
“Initially, I was going to buy a private jet, but then I thought it’d be better to invest with Jo, in case we get more money. The family leader, damn it, so handsome.”
(Yeah, you’ve complimented yourself enough.)
“Did you really invest that money with North’s boyfriend?” I asked again, and he nodded in response, “It’s good to think about the future.”
“I think more about you, thinking only about wanting to take care of you.” “Thanks.” I smiled.
(Do you want me to be a witness to your love again? Even though I’m not there, you still want me to be involved, huh? Sigh, kiss each other.)
“Hey, North said that, come here quickly.”
“Are you crazy?”
(So why did you call?)
“I want to cook.”
(Huh?) North raised his eyebrows high, making a face as if he couldn’t believe what I just said, (You?)
“Yeah. Me.”
(Have you ever cooked before?) I shook my head in response.
“My cooking skills are terrible. I have no idea what to do.”
(So, what are you thinking of making?)
“He wants to eat food made by me,” I said, “He mentioned that all boyfriends cook for each other, so he wants me to do it too.”
(You just indulge him, don’t you?) I nodded.
(It’s not hard, what do you want to make?)
“Massaman curry.”
(Uh, that’s considered suitable for beginners, bah! Damn it, start with something simpler, ask that bastard husband of yours what he wants to eat.) “What do you want to eat?” I turned to ask the person playing with Mr. Jeon.
“Anything.”
(Uh, then how about what I just suggested?)
“What was that?”
(Clear soup, light, not fattening.)
“Uh, sure. I can practice too.”
(Practice what?)
“I’ve made it before, but it wasn’t edible.”
(Yeah, put your phone down, damn, but how will I see if you put it down?
Phii Arthit, hold the phone for my friend to see.)
“Me?”
(Is your name Arthit or not?)
“Yeah, yeah, come here, what are we doing?” He put Mr. Jeon down, stood up, and took over holding the camera so North could see what I was doing.
(Have you cooked the rice?)
“Cook it. Otherwise, we won’t be full,” Arthit answered instead.
(Then wash the rice first, ghost dive, put the rice in the pot.)
“Uh,” I tried to reach the upper cabinet but couldn’t, so Arthit had to grab it for me.
(That’s tough, being short is a bit of a hassle, huh?)
“You’re really tall, North, you need a stepstool just to cook, right?”
(Hey, come on, how did you know?)
“Jo told me.”
(Really, did Phii Jo gossip about me?)
“What’s ‘gossip’?”
(Northern language for ‘gossip’.)
“Oh, right, so I should get you a step stool too then, otherwise, you won’t be able to reach anything when I’m not here.”
“It’s okay, I’ll grow taller soon, I should be able to reach things by myself in a while.” I said, taking the rice bag, cutting a corner, and pouring rice into the rice cooker, “How much do I need?”
(Just guess, based on how much you guys will eat.)
“I can’t guess, it doesn’t look the same when it’s cooked.” I said honestly, stopping pouring to look at Arthit, “Enough?”
“A bit more.”
“Uh.”
I added more as instructed by the person beside me.
(Let me see.)
“Here.”
(That’s a lot.)
“Well, I’ll eat it all.”
“And then what?”
(Add water, wash the rice, it’s simple.)
“Uh, okay.” I nodded slightly, understanding, turning on the water until it overflowed the rice, then poured out the cloudy water. But the issue was, the rice was flowing out too, “North, almost all the rice has gone down the drain.”
(Damn, the drain will definitely get clogged.)
“Oh.”
(Doesn’t matter, we’ll deal with the clog later. You should have used your hand to block it. Or do you have a sieve?)
“A sieve?” I turned to look at Arthit to ask if we had one, he shook his head, “We don’t have one?”
“I don’t know.”
(Sigh, give me a sec) and North got up from the sofa, walked over, and brought a sieve to show us, (Like this.)
“We should have one,” I said before scanning the room, spotting the sieve hanging up, reaching to grab it, “What’s next?”
(Wash the rice again) North instructed, and cooking the rice turned out easier than expected, the hardest part was measuring the water, (One finger’s worth.) “Whose finger?”
(Any finger, damn, even Phii Arthit’s finger will do, it’s just to break the rice.)
“My finger?”
(Yeah, you dip your finger until it’s one knuckle deep.) “How is one knuckle?” He furrowed his brows to ask.
“Wash your hands first,” I said before he dipped his index finger into the pot. He went to wash his hands and then came back.
“How is one knuckle again?”
(Yeah, like this) North said, showing his index finger and pressing the thumb against the first joint, (Why are this husband and wife duo so confused?) “Just dip it, right?”
(Yeah.)
“And how do you check, one knuckle from the rice or one knuckle from the bottom of the pot?”
(From the rice, if you measure from the bottom of the pot, the rice would be up to the knuckle already, wouldn’t it?)
“Oh, yeah, add a bit more water,” he said. I reached to turn the tap on to adjust the water level as North instructed and then stopped.
“Okay.”
(Now wipe the outside too, wipe around the pot so there’s no water clinging to it.)
“Why do you need to wipe it?”
(What if the pot gets damaged?) North explained. I found a cloth to wipe around the pot as North suggested, but somehow, I ended up spilling rice all over the sink.
“North, the rice spilled again.”
(Sigh…go ahead, start over from pouring the rice, damn it. If you had ordered food now, you’d already be eating, damn it.)
Finally, the rice was cooked successfully. The next step was making clear soup, starting from lighting the gas stove, boiling water. North, who isn’t exactly patient, turned into a harsh cooking instructor, yelling in frustration, especially when I spilled something and we had to start all over again.
(You need to fix your clumsiness first, the kitchen’s going to break, damn it.) “Hey, it’s okay, the kitchen can be fixed.” Arthit consoled me, patting my shoulder gently. I, who was stirring the clear soup in the pot, nodded slightly, feeling exhausted. I wouldn’t be this tired even if I worked all night without sleep. (You’re too biased towards your wife, what if the kitchen explodes and we all die?)
“It’s fine, we’ll die together.”
(Sigh, I’m sighing so much I might die young, let me see the clear soup) North said, (Damn, why is it so red?)
“…”
(What did you spill, Phipungto? Confess.)
“…I picked up the wrong thing, I put in dry curry paste instead.”
(I told you to use just the soup cube!)
“Sorry.”
“Yeah, my wife has apologized, why are you still shouting?”
(Oh, I’m getting such a headache with this couple, it’s nerve-wracking. All the mistakes you’ve made, combined, it’s like you’ve made Arthit.)
“What should we do to fix it? I’m too lazy to start over.”
(How can we fix it? Want to eat jungle curry instead?)
“Sure.”
(Sigh.)
And so, dinner was completed after nearly two hours of cooking. North tried teaching me until he was exhausted, saying he’d come next time to hold my hand through it. The clear soup that turned into jungle curry was served on the dinner table along with the soggy rice that turned into rice porridge.
“You don’t have to eat it.” I said, disheartened, looking at the food in front of me. I could have used those two hours to work on a project and edit lines, but instead, I spent that valuable time creating this bizarre dish.
“Hey, no, I’ve been standing here for hours, I have to eat it, are you eating?” “Eat it,” I nodded, and we started eating the jungle curry. I felt like my spirit had been drained out, the taste was so life-draining, “It’s not tasty at all.”
“Yeah, right. It’s not tasty,” he said while still chewing. I wasn’t upset by his words because he wouldn’t lie, it really wasn’t tasty. I thought the same.
“Should we order something to eat?”
“No, I’ll eat this, you made it.”
“But it’s not tasty.”
“Not tasty, but I’ll eat it.”
“Do you like things that aren’t tasty?”
“No, I like things you make, I told you plain rice would be fine too.” “Uh, you really aren’t fussy about food,” I said, scooping another spoonful of jungle curry with some boiled rice into my mouth. Uh…not tasty. Really not tasty, which was quite disappointing, but I’m not fussy about food either; if there’s something to eat, I’ll eat it, no matter how bad the taste is.
We ate until everything was gone. Time to clean up.
“I can wash the dishes alone.”
“It’s fine, I’ll help.”
“Uh.”
He helped me wash the dishes and all the utensils used today until everything was clean. Before we knew it, it was dark.
“Hey, make some food for tomorrow too, so I can take it to the hospital.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to eat at a restaurant?”
“No.”
“I doubt I’ll make it taste any better by tomorrow, it’ll probably be just as bad.”
“Yeah. It’s okay, I’ll eat your terrible food for the rest of my life.”
“I won’t make terrible food for the rest of my life, I hope.”
“Then I’ll be the one to taste-test and tell you if you’ve improved or not.” Tonight was the first night in the new room. I couldn’t sleep well because I wasn’t used to the room yet, but it seemed he wasn’t like that. I looked at the person beside me, sleeping soundly, feeling affectionate. Did he really want to eat the food I made, no matter how bad it tasted?
“Cute.”
I said to myself in a low voice in the silence.
After a while, I felt my throat was dry, so I slowly got up from the bed and walked to the fridge. The light from outside slightly illuminated the room. Seeing Mr. Jeon sleeping soundly at Cat’s House made me feel a bit more at ease; at least Mr. Jeon seemed to like this House a lot.
I opened the fridge to get some water, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a dark shadow, so I turned to look, only to find it was just the shadow from the curtain. That made me wonder if this room had any ghosts.
In my old room, there were plenty of ghosts. We lived together for quite a long time until we almost became friends. When I told them I was moving out, they were upset, worried that the new tenant wouldn’t be as kind to them as I was. I could only advise them to behave well so the new owner wouldn’t be troubled.
I took off my bracelet, and immediately felt an odd sensation, but there was no trace of any spiritual energy nearby. I walked around the room to check. No matter which part of the room I inspected, I found nothing, leaving only the bedroom to check.
I walked around the bedroom, and of course, found no strange presence, which made me feel relieved. Perhaps because it was new, it felt strange, but in the end, there was nothing.
It’s good that this room doesn’t have any ghosts. I’m fine with it because I’ve been disturbed by them for so long that I’m used to it, but Arthit would probably be quite annoyed by their disturbances.
I put the bracelet back on and walked back to sit on the bed. The person on the bed started to feel around for me, grabbing and hugging me as soon as his hand touched me.
His steady breathing indicated he was in deep sleep. It seemed he wouldn’t have any nightmares tonight. Not being able to sleep, I just stared blankly, looking at the night view of Chiang Mai, with some city lights still visible along with the soft yellow light from the moon above.
“Can’t sleep?”
“Did I wake you?”
“No, I just wanted to go to the bathroom.”
“Oh, do you want me to walk you there?”
“It’s okay.” He answered before getting out of bed, returning after a while to sit beside me, “Not used to the new room yet?”
“Uh, it’s just the first night.”
“Oh, what are you looking at? Is the view nice?”
“It’s beautiful,” I nodded, then got up to stand in front of the large clear window. He followed, standing up too, “I’ve only seen this in movies. I never thought I’d see a view like this from inside a room one day.”
“Do you like it?”
“Uh, I like it.”
“That’s good then, anything you want, I’ll give you everything, as long as you tell me.”
“Is it a promotion or something?”
“A lifetime promotion.”
“Uh…what if I say I want the moon?”
“I’ll ask what you’d use it for first.”
“Ha ha, that’s right, I’ve got the sun, haven’t I?”
“Ah, out of nowhere, you’re sweet-talking me,” he smiled before leaning in to kiss my lips gently and then pulling back, “You once said your ultimate dream is to open a gallery, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Should I buy you one, the gallery?”
“Huh? It’s okay, don’t you want to be a musician?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let’s make our dreams come true together, shall we?” “Wow, that’s well said,” he gently stroked my head.
“Here.”
“Hmm?”
“If you weren’t making music, what would you want to do?”
“I don’t know, honestly, as I said, if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have continued making music. I’d probably have finished medical school and gone fishing.”
“Fishing?”
“Yeah, I want to be a fisherman, I want to go out on a boat. I feel like a man should go to sea, you know? Even now, I think after graduation, I might go out with some fishermen, just once or twice would be nice.”
“Oh…that sounds fun too.”
“Is that so? Are you going?”
“I can go.”
“Great, I want to try fighting a bear.”
“…”
“If I win, it would be super cool. Not with a gun or anything, just hand-to-hand with a grizzly. You can hold the gun nearby. If I’m about to die, then shoot to save me.”
“Uh…I’ll be the support then.”
“Yeah, just don’t aim wrong and shoot me.”
“I don’t know. I’ve never shot a gun.”
“Really? I’ll teach you later.”
“Uh.”
“I feel like life is super fun now. I’ve never tied myself to anyone except Direk because I needed money. I’ve always gone where I wanted, done what I wanted. Since meeting you, I can’t escape anywhere, and from feeling fun about life, now it feels even more meaningful.”
“Is that okay? Being stuck with me?”
“Are you asking again? More than okay, you make me think of a song lyric that says, “Your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea.”
“Are you a sailor?”
“Do you think I’m like one?”
“You are similar, but you don’t need to stay anywhere because I’ll go with you.”
I smiled, because the lyrics say he can’t be without me, no port is his home,
“Because I am you home, right?”
“Right.” He smiled sweetly, raising his hand to stroke my head again, “Cute.”
“I don’t think so, you are much cuter.”
“My face is far from cute, damn it.”
“I mean your personality.”
“Uh, my character is what you call cute then.” He nodded, “And are you sleepy yet?”
“It’s getting late. If you’re sleepy, you can go to sleep first.”
“I won’t be able to sleep without you anyway, so what should we do? Should I sing for you?”
“Uh, that would be nice.”
“Okay,” he said before walking over to grab his guitar and sitting down on the floor in front of the large clear window. I sat down too.
“I’m about to listen to live music from a future world-class musician,” I teased a bit after sitting down next to him.
“Oh, you’re so flattering. You’re just in love with me, what can I say,” he chuckled slightly, “But no matter what the future holds, I’ll still sit here and sing for you like this.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he strummed once, “Come on, request a song.”
“I don’t know, I can’t think of one. Do you have any songs you want to sing for me?”
“I have a million songs I want to sing for you.”
“Really? Then start with the first song now.”
“Right now, I can only think of this one,” he said before looking down at the chords, starting to strum a familiar tune. My smile grew even broader, “It’s a song that people generally know and use to send to the ones they love, and tonight, I want to sing this song for you.”
“Uh.”
“This one is for you.”
I nodded my head gently to the rhythm of the guitar. I listened intently to the song he was singing with heart, feeling an inexplicable warmth spread through my heart as I thought about the meaning of the song. My heart beat faster when his eyes locked onto mine, as if he intended to convey the song’s meaning directly to me.
When your legs don’t work like they used to before
And I can’t sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?
And, darling, I will be loving you ‘til we’re 70
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23
And, I’m thinking ‘bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Well, me, I fall in love with you every single day
And, I just wanna tell you, I am
So, baby, now
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Place your head on my beating heart
I’m thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are
- The song ‘Thinking Out Loud’ by Ed Sheeran
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