WHYARU, Chapter 10:
“See you tomorrow, Tor. Come early, okay? I’ll have the flyers and uniform ready for you,” Sis Fai said.
“Yes, Sis Fai.” Tutor gave her a wai, then turned and walked away. As he passed someone, he didn’t even think to acknowledge them. He just kept walking as if he didn’t see them, until Fighter, who’d been waiting, ran after him. Only then did Tutor glance back briefly before turning away again.
“Wow, not even a hello?” Fighter grumbled, glancing at the smaller figure. Seeing no response other than a blank expression, he let out a soft sigh. “Fine, don’t call out to me. But at least thank the guy who helped you hit your sales target, right?”
“I didn’t ask for it.”
“But I kept you from getting fired, Tor.”
“But I almost got fired because of you too,” Tutor raised his voice. He nearly lost his job because Fighter called the main office, causing a big fuss that Sis Fai had to step in to handle. Luckily, Sis Fai didn’t fire him—just gave him a lecture and assigned him to hand out flyers tomorrow as punishment.
“My fault, huh?”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“It’s just handing out flyers.”
“Just handing out flyers isn’t the issue. I have to wear a mascot costume too. Who knows what kind of outfit Sis Fai prepared?” He was worried because the photos in the staff room showed employees in mascot costumes that were anything but ordinary—some were downright suggestive and not at all suitable for a guy like him.
“I was just trying to help,” Fighter’s voice softened noticeably, his expression showing a hint of guilt, even if just a little.
“There are tons of ways to help, Phii Fai. I don’t get why you always try to solve problems with money.”
“Because money solves everything. Like today—if I hadn’t helped buy stuff, you think you’d have sold anything?”
“Of course I would’ve.”
“Sold what? I saw you trying to sell to three or four customers, and you didn’t close a single deal. Even if you did, it’d probably be just one or two pieces, not the big batch I got for you.”
“Even if that’s true, it’s still better. At least it would’ve been from my own effort… not because of someone else.”
“…”
“Not because of you.” After saying that, Tutor’s face showed clear exasperation. He felt bad about Fighter’s words again. It was Fighter’s fault—he was the one who took pride in selling everything out for him.
“Alright, alright,” Fighter’s tone softened further. “I get it— you don’t like people doing stuff like this for you.”
“…”
“I won’t do it again.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I promise. But can I ask you something? This stubborn pride of yours—try toning it down a bit. If it’s too high, you might end up with nothing to eat.”
“Maybe you should tone it down too.”
“Tone what down?”
“Your overconfidence. Dial it back a bit, or you’ll end up with no one to hang out with. Ouch!” Tutor got pushed on the head by his senior, nearly stumbling forward. Not only that, but Fighter followed it up with a smug, annoying grin. All Tutor could do was shoot him a glare of frustration and walk ahead of him.
“By the way, when you’re handing out flyers tomorrow, what mascot costume did Sis Fai tell you to wear?”
“Dunno yet.”
“Then I’ll come watch.”
“You free?”
“Free enough to see you in that mascot costume.” The teasing smile wasn’t as annoying as the look on that guy’s face, which made Tutor want to claw at him. What kind of person is this, always wanting to mess with others endlessly?
And yeah, he probably wanted to mess with Tutor a lot too.
Sorry, Sis Fai, but the one doing the messing around here is me, not you…
The next day
“Thanks for the ride, man,” Fighter said to Dew, unbuckling his seatbelt.
“No problem. But what’re you doing around here?”
“Errands.”
“What kind of errands require parking the car somewhere else?”
“It’s hard to find parking around here.”
“You sure?” Dew squinted suspiciously at his friend.
“Yeah.”
“Why do I feel like these ‘errands’ are you keeping an eye on someone who might be your nong code?”
“Not keeping an eye on anyone.”
“But you’re here every day.”
“I’m just trying to get my tutor to come back and teach me English.”
“Hope that’s true, cause I’m more worried it’s something else.”
“Enough. It’s definitely not what you’re thinking,” Fighter said, shaking his head at his friend with a resigned look. He got out of the car, not dwelling on his friend’s words. Fighter didn’t want to focus on what he was doing right now. All he knew was he wanted the kid to come back and tutor him in English. That’s it.
That’s all he was thinking about, honestly.
“Phii Fai.” A voice called out. Fighter, who was leaning against the wall playing on his phone, looked up at the person who had just walked out of the shop.
The sight made Fighter break into a smile, almost laughing, but the person in the costume was already glaring at him with obvious displeasure.
“Suits you perfectly,” Tutor in the cat mascot costume looked oddly fitting, in a way that was hard to describe. The bulky mascot head in his hands was so awkward that Fighter couldn’t resist pulling out his phone to snap a picture. “Doesn’t suit me at all. It’s ridiculous.”
“It suits you, come on. Let’s take a photo.”
“Who wants to take a photo?”
“Me, that’s who. Come on, quick!” Fighter said, walking over to sling an arm around the still-grumpy Tutor. “Come on, smile a bit. It’s for the picture!”
But, as expected, Tutor didn’t smile. He glanced at the camera occasionally, but his face stayed stubbornly sulky—irritatingly adorable.
“Not gonna smile?”
“Not funny, Phii Fai. I’m about to start work.”
“Just one smile for the photo.”
“Nope.”
“Harsh, dude.”
“…”
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop bugging you,” Fighter relented, letting Tutor get back to work. He walked off to sit in a corner nearby. Normally, Fighter didn’t hang around watching Tutor work. Since Tutor worked inside the shop, he didn’t bother him much. The one time he did, when some products got knocked over and scattered across the floor, he didn’t dare meddle again. Usually, he’d only tease Tutor when he was wiping windows or after work in the evening.
But today was different. Tutor was right there in front of him, diligently handing out flyers and promoting the shop’s deals with full effort.
Seeing this, Fighter couldn’t help but wonder how exhausting it must be for someone struggling and working so hard to support their studies. Just watching made him feel tired—how much worse must it be for Tutor, who had to do it all himself?
In the end, a thought struck him.
But he wasn’t sure if it was too late…
…
Under the pitch-black sky with fewer people around, Tutor leaned against the wall, thinking back to a few hours earlier.
He’d just finished handing out flyers, and man, it was exhausting—so exhausting… but also kind of fun. Maybe because Tutor had never done anything like this before. He never knew what it was like to stand under the sun and wind, handing out flyers. But after trying it, he understood a bit of what flyer distributors went through—why they were so eager to hand them all out. Because once they were done, they could rest, go home. But if they didn’t finish, they’d have to keep going until every last one was gone.
“How’s it going? Tired?” The familiar voice made Tutor open his eyes to see Fighter sitting down beside him. He glanced at the younger one, who was practically slumping onto the floor.
“Exhausted, but it was kinda fun.”
“Must be hot as hell in there,” Fighter said, eyeing the cat costume Tutor still hadn’t taken off. The cat head lying beside him never failed to make Fighter chuckle.
“Super hot, but I can handle it. Why all the questions? Wanna try it on? I can take it off for you.”
“Nah, I don’t think it suits me. Looks good on you, though, little kitty.” That sly grin told Tutor one thing: Fighter was definitely enjoying seeing him like this.
“Having a blast, aren’t you, seeing me like this?”
“A little.”
“Your face doesn’t look like ‘a little.’”
“Maybe.” Fighter’s annoying smirk made Tutor let out a weary sigh. He could pick up on the older guy’s teasing tendencies, but he didn’t expect it to be this intense.
“So, when are you changing out of that?”
“In a bit.”
“It’s getting late, man. Hurry up and change so we can grab a taxi together.”
“You didn’t bring your car?”
“If I did, would you ride with me?”
“…”
“Nah, I parked it at your dorm instead.”
“…”
“Stop looking at me like that. Get up already so we can go.” Fighter’s scolding tone made Tutor too tired to argue. He got up, went back into the shop, washed his face, and then joined Fighter in the taxi.
“To the alley across from the university, XX, the one with the
7-Eleven,” Fighter said. When the driver nodded, he slid into the car.
Tutor followed, leaning back against the seat, feeling at ease. The cool air from the AC was so relaxing he could’ve fallen asleep right then. Whether it was their familiarity or sheer exhaustion, Tutor eventually leaned his head against Fighter’s shoulder, completely drained.
“Hmm?”
“Let me lean for a bit.”
“Gonna charge you for it.”
“Come on, Phii Fai. It’s just a little lean.”
“Just a little? You leaned your whole head on me like that.”
“…”
“Do you think I’m heavy, Tor?”
“Not heavy…” Tutor said, pursing his lips slightly before adjusting his head to rest more comfortably on his senior’s shoulder.
“Tor,” a soft call of his name came close to his ear. Tutor hummed in acknowledgment but didn’t say anything. “Will you come back to tutor me?”
“No.”
“Then what will it take for you to come back?”
“I already told you what you need to say.”
“…”
“If you can’t say it, I’m not coming back.” Tutor spoke to Fighter with his eyes still closed. He was certain Phii Fai would never plead with him properly, and it would just end the same way as always.
“Nong Tor.”
“…”
“I want you to come back and tutor me in English like before. I promise I’ll study seriously and won’t play on my phone while you’re teaching me anymore.”
Tutor frowned. He was quite surprised that Fighter would say something like this. Slowly, he shifted from resting his head on Fighter’s shoulder to turning his face toward him, placing his chin on the shoulder instead.
“Mm-hmm, and then what?”
“Come back, please…”
“…”
“Please.”
Thump, thump.
Besides the sudden, unexplainable pounding of his heart, the look in Fighter’s eyes was something Tutor had never experienced before. Maybe it was because the other’s face was so close, making his cheeks flush unusually.
“So, what’s it gonna be?”
“Mm.”
“Mm, what?”
“I’ll come back.”
“Back where?”
“Phii Fai, can you stop teasing me already?”
“Hey, who’s supposed to know what you’re going back to do?”
“Going back to tutor you, obviously…”
“Took you long enough to agree.”
“It was never hard for me. You’re the one making it difficult.” Tutor pouted slightly and turned his face away from the annoying smirk of the taller guy. His heart, which had been pounding earlier, was slowly calming down.
Tutor couldn’t figure out why his heart raced like that.
Maybe because Phii Fai never spoke nicely to him.
Or maybe because… whatever, it didn’t matter.
“Why’re you smiling so much?”
“Nothing.”
“So thrilled I agreed to this, huh?”
“Kinda.”
“Man, get your head off my shoulder already.”
“Not moving.”
“Being stubborn, huh?”
“Not stubborn.”
“Just annoying.” Fighter said, shifting the shoulder someone was leaning on.
“You already know how I am.”
“…”
“Good that you know.”
“But I want to know more.”
“Huh?” Tutor wasn’t sure what Fighter said, as he mumbled it like he was talking to himself more than to him. “Did you just say something?”
“I said if you’re gonna sleep, sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there. Traffic’s like this, so it’ll probably take a while.”
“Mmm…” Maybe it was the big hand of the taller guy gently ruffling his hair, but the urge to argue faded almost instantly.
He didn’t know if Phii Fai would actually study seriously like he promised once they got back.
“If you just promise to study seriously and stop playing on your phone, that’s enough.”
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