WHYARU, Chapter 05:
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t believe me, do you, Tor?”
“Believe what?”
“What I told you—that we’re both getting sucked into a novel.”
“Wait, what?”
“You gotta believe me, Tor. You and I are being pulled into a
BL novel that Zon’s writing.”
“Zon!” Tutor called out his old schoolmate’s name, trying to snap him back to reality.
“I’m serious, you gotta believe me!” This time, not only was Zon shouting, but the smaller guy also grabbed Tutor’s shoulders and shook him hard. “Believe me, Tor, believe me!”
“Zon, hold on a sec, calm down.”
“Tor, believe me… damn it, Tor, you idiot!!!”
“!?” Tutor jolted awake when he heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes, squinting at the figure in front of him to see who was staring at him.
“How the hell do you fall asleep during class?” The familiar voice told him it was Day who had woken him up.
“Ugh.”
“You’re not usually like this.”
“I stayed up late last night,” Tutor said, rubbing his temples tiredly. He’d been up late calculating expenses, checking if they’d cover his dorm and living costs. No matter how much he tried to save, he’d probably have to dip into his meager savings anyway. “Has Saifah left already?”
Now fully alert, Tutor looked around the classroom, which should’ve been full of people but was now completely empty— not even Saifah, his friend, was there.
“Yeah, Phii Soda called him. Said he had to go teach guitar to someone who’s singing a duet with him for the football club’s project.”
“So, Zon really didn’t take that job, huh?”
“Guess not. Saifah said it was someone else.” Tutor nodded, understanding his friend’s personality well enough to know he wouldn’t take the job unless something challenged him. “By the way, you okay, Tor? You look exhausted.”
“I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, good to know you’re okay. Cause if you weren’t, I wouldn’t know how to help. I gotta go to basketball practice now. I’m already late, and the fourth-years will probably give me hell.”
“Then hurry up, Day. I’ll finish packing and head out too.”
“Cool, see you Monday then!” Tutor nodded, watching his friend leave the classroom before letting out a bored sigh. He never thought he’d have a moment where he’d accidentally fall asleep in class. Luckily, the professor for this subject wasn’t too strict, so no one paid him much attention.
After Tutor finished packing his notes into his bag, he leisurely walked down from the lecture building. He didn’t have to rush to work at Phii Kae’s shop or tutor anyone today. It was a bit boring, but it was also a rare moment to rest and clear his mind.
The sight of students doing evening activities wasn’t too crowded, but their chatter was loud enough to catch his attention. Whether it was cheerleaders, athletes, or volunteer club members laughing happily, Tutor never had this side of life. He’d never joined any activities—not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t.
“Eek!” A sudden yelp snapped Tutor out of his thoughts, and he turned to see what happened. The sight startled him, and he immediately rushed to help.
“Professor, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine, dear, I’m fine. But these documents…”
“I’ll help pick them up,” Tutor said, crouching down to gather the scattered papers blowing across the ground.
“Put them in this box, dear.”
“Got it.” Two overturned boxes were placed in front of him.
“Hey, you—the one walking over there! Yes, you! Are you free? Come help me put these documents in the box!” the professor called out to someone passing by.
At first, Tutor didn’t know who the professor was calling, the person in the workshop jacket. It wasn’t until he finished gathering the papers and looked up that he realized it was Phii Fai.
“Thank you both so much! Alright, I’ll take these back and sort them myself.”
“No worries, professor. We’ll carry them for you,” the guy in the jacket said calmly, causing Tutor, standing nearby, to glance at him in surprise. He hadn’t expected someone like Phii Fai to have this side.
A side that seemed genuinely kind to others.
“Great, then follow me, you two.” Both of them nodded and followed the professor. Along the way, Tutor had no intention of chatting with the guy walking beside him. But, of course, it was that senior who suddenly leaned in and whispered to him.
“I saw that.”
“What did you see?”
“That annoying look you gave me just now.”
“You must be cross eyed.”
“Hey, Tor!”
Rrrrrrrrrrrrr
The professor’s phone rang, causing both him and Phii Fai, who was following, to stop walking.
“An urgent meeting? … Alright, ma’am … Yes, I’ll head over right away … Understood …” After a few more sentences, the professor hung up and turned to the two of them with an apologetic expression. “I have to attend a meeting with the vicedean. Could I trouble you both to take these documents to the building for me?”
“Sure, professor. Which building should we take them to?”
“They go to the library in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Building A. Head to the innermost part; there’s a document storage room there. But be careful, the library’s under renovation, so there might be some construction stuff in the way. The workers should be gone by now,” the professor said, rummaging through her bag to hand over a key.
“Got it,” Tutor reached out to take the key.
“Oh, and the door to the storage room—once you open it, make sure to prop it with something. It’s broken and won’t open from the inside.”
“Got it.”
“Thanks a lot, you two.”
“No problem, professor.”
6:05 p.m.
So damn quiet.
It was both silent and eerie. Tutor hadn’t expected the library wing of the Faculty of Social Sciences to feel this gloomy. Maybe it was because of the renovations—hardly any students were passing through.
“You good carrying two boxes?” Tutor stopped in front of the library and asked the guy beside him.
“What do you think?” The annoying guy was still annoying, as always.
“Probably fine, since I’m unlocking the door.” With that, the slimmer guy immediately stacked his box on top of the ones Fighter was holding. The guy in the shop shirt raised an eyebrow, slightly displeased, but stayed quiet and let Tutor do his thing. Once Tutor unlocked the library door and turned on a few lights, he came back to Fighter and took his box back.
“I could’ve kept holding it, you know.”
“No thanks. I don’t really want to bother someone like you.”
“What’s wrong with someone like me?”
“Someone like me, huh?” Tutor locked eyes with the person in front of him for a moment before shrugging, as if he had no intention of answering any more questions. “Whatever, let’s head inside.”
Seeing that Tutor wasn’t going to say anything more, Fighter chose not to press further. He followed the slimmer figure quietly, gazing at the steady back in front of him with a mix of feelings—too complex to explain. Among them was a sense of respect for the person who had started working to earn money even before finishing their studies, unlike him, who was still asking his father for money. Fighter couldn’t quite put it into words, but this feeling lingered in his thoughts every time he thought of Tutor.
Perhaps it was because no one around him was like Tutor. No one else had to struggle this much.
That’s probably why it felt… captivating, maybe.
Fighter followed Tutor until they reached the document room. The person leading the way placed a box of documents and their bag in front of the room before opening the door and flicking the light switch. However, despite several attempts, the light refused to turn on.
“Broken, huh?”
“Probably. I tried flipping it a few times already.”
“No big deal then. Let’s just put the stuff away quickly and head back.”
“I know, I know,” Tutor grumbled, grabbing a cardboard box from the floor to prop the door open. Fighter couldn’t recall why the smaller guy did that. He just stood there, watching as Tutor picked up the professor’s document box and walked inside, then followed suit.
Thud!
But as he stepped forward, Fighter accidentally kicked the box Tutor had used to prop the door.
“Why’d you put it there?” the taller man muttered, nudging the box aside with his foot just as the door began to close slowly.
“Phii Fai, the door!!!”
“What?”
“It’s gonna lock, and we won’t be able to get out!!!”
“What do you mean?”
“The professor told us!” Bang!
“Phii Fai…” The tone of voice calling his name didn’t even compare to the look Tutor shot him.
“Well, I didn’t remember the door was broken, okay?”
“Have you ever remembered anything?”
“Hey, Tor…”
“Enough, stop talking…” Tutor raised a hand to silence him and brushed past to head back to the door. Meanwhile, Fighter chose to take the document box he was holding to store it inside before returning to Tutor.
“How’s it going, can you open it?” The question came because the younger one had tried several times to open the alreadyclosed door.
“No…”
Silence fell between them again. Tutor looked at the older person with a slightly displeased expression.
“Because of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. You’re at fault. You saw me put the box to prop the door open. If you didn’t remember, you could’ve at least thought for a second why I’d bother doing that.”
“What are you complaining about…”
“How can I not complain when we’re stuck in here because of you?”
“You’ve got a phone, just call someone.”
“My bag’s outside.”
“Here’s mine.” The speaker pulled out a phone and held it up for the other to see. Tutor shook his head and looked at the taller one with an exasperated expression.
“Then hurry up and call before everyone goes home.”
“…”
“What?” Suddenly, the owner of the only phone gave him a strange look. The expression on the older one’s face made him sense something was off. “Phii Fai…”
“…”
“Don’t tell me the battery’s dead.”
“Yep.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“You’re so good at complaining, my ears are numb.”
“Look at you! Why didn’t you charge the damn battery?”
“And how was I supposed to know we’d get stuck in here together?”
“You should’ve been more prepared.”
“You’re calling me unprepared? Why don’t you ask yourself why you left your bag outside like that?”
“It was heavy, so I left it out there. And you—why didn’t you charge your battery?”
“It’s just a bag, why couldn’t you bring it in?”
“…” Tutor went quiet, pursing his lips slightly, feeling a bit annoyed.
“…” Fighter was no different. He looked at the younger one, who was still pouting with frustration, until Tutor lowered his head under that scolding gaze, and only then did he soften. “Whatever.”
He wasn’t sure if it was pity or something else, but he really didn’t like seeing Tutor make that face.
“I’ll see if there’s anything I can use to pick the lock.” Fighter took off his faculty garage jacket, placed it on a nearby crate, and went to look for something to unlock the door. Eventually, he found a paperclip. He grabbed it, bent it, and tried picking the lock like he’d seen in some movie or drama.
But, well, this wasn’t a movie or drama. It wasn’t as easy as it looked.
Creak.
“Did it work?” The voice from the person leaning against the door turned to him with hopeful eyes. Fighter didn’t reply. He just nudged the door lightly, trying again in case it would open.
In the end, he could only shake his head at the person sitting there.
“Ugh,” a long sigh echoed again. “I think you should stop,
“Phii. Waiting for someone to find us might be better.”
“…”
“Come sit.”
“Yeah, got it.” Fighter nodded slightly. He went to grab his jacket, then sat down next to the smaller figure. He pulled out the phone from his pocket and tried turning it on again, even though he wasn’t the type to let his battery die completely. But today, the class was so boring that he ended up playing games until it drained.
“Whatever, Phii,” the voice next to him spoke while looking at his face. “The battery’s dead. No matter how much you try, it won’t turn on.”
“…”
“I think waiting for someone to help is the better option.”
“Mm.” Fighter nodded, stuffed the phone back into his jacket, and slowly closed his eyes.
Tutor wasn’t wrong. If anyone was to blame for this mess, it was probably him.
8:24 PM.
Thud.
Suddenly, Tutor’s left shoulder felt heavy. When he turned to look, he saw the other person in the room had rested their head on his shoulder.
“Phii Fai,” Tutor called out to the person leaning on him, feeling a bit confused. But the owner of the name stayed silent, only letting out warm breaths. “Are you messing with me?”
“…” The person being questioned remained quiet, making the smaller one frown and try to push Fighter’s head off his shoulder. Of course, it didn’t work. The more he pushed, the more Fighter leaned in closer.
“Asshole Phii Fai”
“…”
“Didn’t hear me, huh?” Tutor said, glancing over again. He looked down once more, letting out a frustrated sigh, “Phii…”
In the end, he could only let Fighter rest his heavy head on his shoulder, completely giving in.
If I knew you were messing with me, I’d kill you on the spot.
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