WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 5: Cigarette – Beer
Daotok
After the case of Phii Meen and Phii Donat ended so easily, I have to say I was very disappointed. I was all excited, thinking I’d be dealing with some international drug trafficking case, a family fortune murder, or some dirty behindthe-scenes organization event. Or even just some frame-up like in the series. I even told my papa that if I got involved in such a big case and had to risk my life, I wouldn’t let them trace it back to him under any circumstances. My dad and papa would have to be safe, along with Grandma Puangthong, and my last instruction was to use all my savings to take care of Mr. Jeon without any shortfall.
When I told my papa, my dad said he was used to it, this is how I always am. Uh-huh, that’s just how it is. I shouldn’t have expected so much from the start, sigh.
‘Dao, I’m sorry.’
“…”
‘I thought wrong? Sorry that I was killed, sorry that it’s not related to international drug trafficking, sorry that your case isn’t exciting!’
“Sigh.”
‘Don’t look at me like that!’
“Phii Donat.” I called out softly, slightly surprised that everything was resolved but he still hadn’t left, and even more surprising was how our spirits seemed to resonate well with each other. I mean, I could see him walking around the room without taking off my bracelet, and we could talk easily now.
‘What?’
“Quiet, please.”
‘…Okay.’
Phii Donat made a downcast face and went back to sitting silently on the bed. I didn’t want to talk to him anymore; I’ll talk when he feels better. I followed up on that case for a while until I found out that Phii Orlin turned herself in and confessed everything. Meen also took legal action to seek justice and compensation. After nearly a week passed, I didn’t follow up on how things turned out.
‘Dao’
“…”
‘I’m scared.’
“…”
‘I’m scared that I might disappear, after all, I’m already a ghost. How can a ghost and a person love each other?’
“Okay.”
‘Comfort me a little.’
“…”
‘Someone’s coming.’
“?”
‘Damn, damn, damn.’ Phii Donat seemed flustered before disappearing. I looked around, confused, trying to find him but he seemed intentionally not to appear.
After a while, there was a knock on my door.
I peeked through the peephole, and I was a bit surprised to see who was standing there.
Meen?
“What’s up?”
“Okay.”
“Is Donat still here?” That was the first thing Meen asked. Meen looked different from the last time I saw her a few days ago, from the rather haggard look she had in prison. Meen had put on a lot of makeup, her hair was styled in blonde curls, wearing a crop top and jeans, with a tattoo on her stomach, and her nails, which I assumed were fake, nearly poked my eyes when she raised her hand to fix her hair.
Wow.
So cool…
“Ah…” I was slightly taken aback, turned to look in the room, saw Phii Donat hiding behind the fridge, looking at Phii Meen as if he was about to cry, shaking his head slightly, signaling me not to tell. I furrowed my brows a bit but complied, “He’s not here anymore.”
“Huh?”
“…”
“He’s gone to heaven?”
“Not exactly, but he’s not here now.”
“Damn, I mean, I’m not scolding you, I’m scolding him.” Phii Meen said as she walked in, scanning the room with her eyes. I wasn’t sure if Phii Meen could see him because Phii Donat was already crying, “I just came back from making merit, the monk said you’re still here. Show yourself, damn it.”
‘…Hic.’
“Quick.”
‘I miss you.’
Phii Donat let out a sob before walking over to embrace Phii Meen, but she seemed unaware, probably because she didn’t have the ability to sense him, so she couldn’t see or feel.
‘I miss…you.’
“What the hell, I feel so uncomfortable, is he hugging me?” Phii Meen turned to ask me. I nodded slightly in response. Phii Meen reached out to hug back, but her hands only met the air, “Is this how it works?”
‘You…Meen, what the hell is that perfume, it’s so strong!’
“Did he say anything?”
“Uh…he said, your perfume smells awful.”
“Damn, is that the first thing you say to me? It’s not perfume, it’s your dad’s corpse juice.”
‘Cruel. Don’t you love me anymore?’
“He said you’re cruel. Don’t you love him anymore?”
“I love you, miss you like hell. I put Olin in jail, and almost slapped her in court.
She’s gonna get wrecked in there, my kids are all over the prison.” ‘You’ve only been out for a bit, and you already have connections in the prison?’
“Phii Donat asked if you’ve already become the prison boss just for a moment.” “When I got out, I even made plans to drink with the guards.” Meen said, laughing, “Donat, I went to make merit, and it’s frustrating, damn you, you died, and you’re not warm like before.”
‘…’
“Did he say anything?”
“He didn’t say anything, but he’s not hugging you anymore.” I said, because Meen’s words made Phii Donat release his embrace and go silent.
“Hug me again. Even if you’ve been with someone who embalmed your father
like this.”
‘I doesn’t want to hug you anymore.’
“He said he doesn’t want to hug anymore.” I said. Meen laughed but also wiped her tears.
“Kidding, hug me, I want to hug you.” Phii Donat hugged Meen again, this time it seemed tighter than before, “I love you, damn, I love you so much, do you remember when you were a nerd and chased after me?”
‘Yeah, I remember, dear.’
“He said he remembers, dear.”
“So funny, you have no shame, I was the queen of the third floor, you were such a dork to chase after me, and I was stupid enough to agree to date you, when those bastards ganged up on you, I was the one who went to beat them up for you.”
‘Don’t bring that up, it’s embarrassing.’
“He said don’t bring that up, it’s embarrassing.” Meen started crying and laughing through her tears. I wanted to leave and let them be together, but I had to stay to communicate with them.
“Uh…may I interrupt for a moment?” I spoke up when I remembered something, both of them turned to look at me at the same time, “Just a moment.” I took out my phone and called Grandma Puangthong, stepping out to the balcony to talk.
(What’s up, grandson?)
“Grandma Puangthong.”
(Hmm?)
“Is there a way for someone without sensitivity to talk to ghosts?”
(Why talk to them? It goes against nature.)
“…Grandma Puangthong. I’ve already talked to them several times, we’re almost close friends.”
(Oh, huh, is this how you talk to them? I don’t know, try searching, there’s…something, I’ll Google something.)
“…Can you really search for it? Does it work?”
(I don’t know, just try it.)
“Yes.” I talked with Grandma a bit more before hanging up. In the end, I had to search Google anyway. There were plenty of methods to see ghosts. I tried discussing this with Phii Meen. It was evening now, and one of the methods seemed to work; Phii Meen saw Phii Donat and cried even harder than before. I packed up my work stuff and left the room, leaving those two alone together, and decided to work at the coffee shop instead.
After nearly three hours, I returned to the room to find Phii Meen still talking to Phii Donat as before. When I opened the door, both turned to look at me immediately.
“Sorry, got carried away, I’ll be back soon.”
‘Are you leaving already?’
“Don’t be so clingy, I’ll move back in a couple of days.”
‘Uh-huh.’
“Why are you acting so sad?” Phii Meen scolded a bit, still holding an umbrella in her hand. The internet said that opening an umbrella inside can help see ghosts, and it seemed to work. After a brief goodbye, Phii Meen left the room, leaving only Phii Donat looking downcast.
‘Dao.’
“Yes?”
‘I’m scared.’
“?”
‘I’m scared I’ll disappear.’
“Oh.”
‘Initially, I thought I was still here because I had concerns, but now those concerns are gone. When will I disappear?’
“You won’t disappear.” I answered in my usual soft tone, putting my bag down and placing my things on the table, “Phii Donat,you aren’t here just because of concerns; it’s also because of your lifespan.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you didn’t commit suicide, so you don’t have to repeat anything like Phii Praow and Phii Eng. But since you were killed like Phii Cream, Phii Cream also hasn’t gone anywhere because her lifespan hasn’t ended either.”
“Oh…really? But…would it be good if I’m around?”
“Why?”
‘A human and a ghost, Dao, Meen seems so happy, she even wants to move back in with me, but would that be good? I don’t have a physical form, I should let Meen find a real person who can take care of her, right?’ Phii Donat looked highly troubled. I guessed this was why Phii Donat didn’t dare to meet Meen at first.
“I don’t know.” I replied, turning back to my things, “Is Meen the type who needs someone to take care of her?”
‘No, being together, she can take care of me.’
“Doesn’t Phii Meen still want to take care of you?”
‘…’
“Phii Meen has made her decision.”
‘Hmm, thank you, Dao, I feel much more at ease.’
“Okay.” I nodded slightly.
From the people around me that I’ve encountered, whether it’s Meen or other friends, it has made me view love a bit more positively. Honestly, it’s like this; there’s both good and bad. If you find good love, it’s good, but we never know if the love we encounter is good or not. By the time we realize, we can’t go back.
‘Michael you misses him.’
“Don’t.” I interjected immediately when Emma appeared standing beside me.
Phii Donat seemed surprised to hear me speak.
‘Who are you talking to, Nong Dao?’
‘Michael you are hurting.’
“Not anymore.”
“Dao, who are you talking to, another ghost? Why can’t I see anyone?”
‘Why is Donat talking so much?’ Emma said, but Phii Donat couldn’t see her.
Of course, Phii Donat is a ghost, but Emma is a friend in my mind, ‘I feel bad.’
“Why?”
‘Dao, who are you talking to, I’m scared now.’ Phii Donat started to fuss.
‘He just contacted you, didn’t he?’ Emma said.
“Whatever. I’ve blocked him.”
‘Uh, don’t go back.’
“Uh.”
‘Promise.’
“Promise.” I made a promise with Emma, while Phii Donat looked confused nearby.
‘What kind of promise? Who are you talking to, Dao?’
…
Arthit
I glanced at Meen, who was dancing not far away, feeling that she was really going all out tonight. Just look at her shirt, the way she’s dancing is so seductive, everyone around here is getting hard, it’s a mess of lust. And do I look? Why not, with that waist, I’m jealous of you, Donat.
After a while, she, having danced until she was tired, came back to the table, poured some liquor into her glass, and drank.
“Meen.”
“What? You’re calling out with such a hoarse voice, do you want me?”
“Take it easy, damn it, what if I get dizzy?”
“Fine, then I’ll have a doctor for a husband.”
“And what would I have for a wife? Someone like this?”
“Damn, I’m out.” She looked at me with a bored expression, leaning back on the sofa.
“How did talking with Donat go?”
“It was fine. I’ll move into the room opposite, I’ve talked to the owner.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yeah, I’ve thought it through.” The person on the small sofa next to me sighed, just the two of us drinking, we looked like a husband and wife. She said she didn’t want to invite too many people, it would be too chaotic, she invited the kid next door, but he didn’t come, “Nong Dao said Donat’s still here because his lifespan hasn’t ended, so I’ll stay with him until it does.”
“What if his lifespan ends next month?”
“Then he’ll stay, damn it.” She laughed a little, “Anyway, I’m not sad, I’ve thought it through. Even though I’ll miss him, I feel like I really have him, you know, we can talk, even touch each other.”
“You can touch?”
“Yeah. Like how a ghost touches you, have you ever been haunted?”
“Yeah.” I nodded slightly and lifted my glass to my lips again.
“And you did the ghostly hanky panky with him?”
“Donat talked about it?”
“Yeah.” Meen covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, “I’m shocked, Arthit, what is this, but honestly, I think that female ghost isn’t nice. If it were me, I would have pounced.”
“Damn.” I burst out laughing, “Just like that, huh? You look hungry, did you manage to jerk him off?”
“Yeah, but not every time, I guess I need to do a lot more merit for him, maybe because we’re connected.”
“If you can touch him, that’s easy, welcome to the ‘Ghost Gropping People’ show.”
“No, isn’t this ‘Ghosts Catching People’?”
“Yeah, but can humans and ghosts do it? This world, man.” I shook my head gently, trying to imagine it. Anything could happen if it were me; my life is full of strange things, so it wouldn’t be too surprising to meet ghost catchers, “If your lifespan isn’t up yet, you’re still around, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Nothing.” I dismissed it before we could talk further, suddenly a guy walked up to Meen.
“Meen, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah, I was in prison.”
“…” He was taken aback by Meen’s harsh words, “Sorry about Donat.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Meen, do we still have a chance?”
“No, yours is too small.”
“…” His face began to pale, looking unsure of what to do. I couldn’t hold back my laughter, damn Meen, sometimes you’re too direct, “Laughing at what?” He turned to curse at me out of embarrassment.
“Laughing at you.” I replied.
“Looking for trouble?”
“And if I say yes?” I raised my eyebrows defiantly.
“Don’t mess with my friend, get lost, go away.”
“…Meen.”
“Get lost, bastard. Or my friends will kick your ass, Arthit is fierce, man.” “Ask me, huh?” I asked back while still laughing. That guy walked away helplessly, “Meen, you’re damn cruel, humiliating him by saying he’s small.
That’s got to be the most insulting thing to a man’s pride.”
“Why? It’s true that it’s small.”
“How did you see it?”
“He’s a friend of my friend. We went drinking, and he got drunk and said he liked me, I rejected him, and he tried to force himself on me.”
“Damn, really? And then what?”
“Nothing much, I hit him hard enough to make his head split. He still came back looking for another chance, how shameless can you be? Small and still talks a lot, damn bastard.”
“Damn.” I burst out laughing again, “Why, what’s wrong with being small?
People discriminate by gender, by race, and now size too? It’s hard to live.” “You saying this means you’re small, I can tell.” Meen teased, giving me a mocking look. I immediately furrowed my brows; this was something I couldn’t admit.
“Try me then, you’ll be surprised, just saying.”
“Oh my.” Meen’s eyes widened, “I want to see that, Phii.”
“Meen, I’m getting hard.”
“Cool down, friend, you get hard too easily, like something’s missing.”
“Wow, I barely had time to drink.”
“Poor thing, doesn’t it bother your other friends?”
“Bother what? They all have wives.”
“Find one for yourself, a wife, seriously. Right now, there are only people eyeing you, go for it seriously.”
“No.”
“Come on, why?”
“Not interested.”
“Not interested in love?”
“Yeah, I’m more interested in buying drinks.” I said, which made her laugh before we clink our glasses and continued drinking. We chatted casually until it was time to go home, and we parted ways. Meen, who wasn’t too drunk, drove me back because I was completely wasted again tonight.
I walked back to my room, rummaged for my keycard, and opened the door. Luckily, today the keycard didn’t get lost because if it did, I’d have to go down and ask that management guy again, we almost came to blows.
I took off my shirt and flopped onto the bed. After a while, feeling nauseous, I got up to vomit in the bathroom, my mind on the drinking session I had just had with Meen.
Damn Meen is so lucky, even though Donat is already dead.
I came out, grabbed my phone, and made a call. It was past two in the morning; others might get drunk and call their ex, but when I’m drunk, I call Direk. After waiting a bit, Direk answered with a groggy, slightly annoyed voice.
(Someone was about to sleep, you bastard.)
“Direk.”
(What do you want?)
“Direk.”
(You call me every time you get drunk, you treat me like I’m your ex-wife.)
“First, you were my dad, then a friend, now you’re my ex-wife?”
(Funny, you bastard, what else do you want?)
“Nothing, just missed you.”
(You…okay?)
“Okay, okay, just a bit messy from being drunk, my mind’s all over the place now.” I said, forcing out a laugh, hearing Direk sigh deeply before speaking with concern.
(I’ll come see you tomorrow.)
“Come see what? Don’t you have work? Your company’s about to go bankrupt, isn’t it?”
(With that mouth of yours, you shouldn’t have been my strongest sperm.)
“Direk, I told you not to say that, it’s so damn embarrassing.”
(Why, little sperm?)
“Damn, so damn annoying, bastard. Which kid gets called ‘little sperm’ by their dad like me?” I held my head. Nothing’s more annoying than being called ‘little sperm’ by your dad, and the issue is Direk remembers to call me ‘little sperm’ too, damn, even my dad is like this.
(Well, it’s the truth, isn’t it?) Direk said, barely holding back his laughter,
(What happened?)
“What?”
(What happened?)
“Remember Donat who was killed? He’s no longer worried, but he’s still here because his lifespan hasn’t ended.” I said with a hoarse voice, sitting at the edge of the bed, holding my head, in a dimly lit room with only the moonlight shining through, it seemed like it was going to rain.
(Yeah, I understand.)
“Direk.”
(Don’t say it.)
“I know I shouldn’t say it, but it’s impossible, damn, sorry, I’m drunk.”
(Forget it, just go to sleep.)
“Will you really come tomorrow?”
(Yeah, let’s eat together.)
“Aren’t you working?”
“I’ll come to your company then.”
(Okay, come around 11:30, do you want to go to church?)
“No, no.”
(Alright, I’ll go back to sleep, I’ve got a meeting tomorrow.)
“K.” I hung up on Direk, tossed my phone onto the bed, and sighed. The alcohol and the matter of Donat had me all stirred up. I tried to shut down all those feelings, then went out to the balcony without a shirt, just in jeans, and lit up a cigarette.
It seemed like it was going to rain pretty hard. I stood inside the balcony where the rain couldn’t reach, looking up at the moon, the gray smoke from my cigarette drifting by.
Damn.
Ugh.
It hurts like hell.
I’m missing her so much.
I shouldn’t have called Direk and talked about this, will Direk be able to sleep now?
Before I glanced sideways to see the person from the next room, already standing on the balcony, leaning against it in the rain, completely soaked, and still drinking a can of beer.
He turned to look at me.
We made eye contact for just a moment before looking away because there was nothing interesting.
“Give me one.” He spoke amidst the pounding rain.
“What?”
“A cigarette.”
“No.”
“I will trade for beer.”
“I just drank.”
“But it looks like you want more.”
“Yeah, give me one can then.” I agreed easily because a can of beer now wouldn’t be bad either. I walked over to hand him a cigarette. He took it and gave me a beer in exchange, putting the cigarette in his mouth. I offered him my lighter, he lit the cigarette and returned the lighter.
He didn’t look like someone who smoked or drank beer, but you can’t judge by appearances, he was completely wet from standing in the rain where it was pouring down. My eyes caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his arm.
“This cigarette, this smell…”
“Imported.”
“I want to trade more.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
That’s all we said before he smoked until the cigarette was finished. I drank the can of beer until it was empty, then we went back to our rooms.
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