[T/N] I apologize for grammar mistakes and incoherencies
Chapter 51: Sweet Treats
Knock, knock
The sound of knocking echoed on a Monday morning following the university's star and moon contest on the previous Saturday. Pai, who was buttoning his shirt cuffs, looked up at the door with curiosity. Who could be visiting him at this hour? There were only two likely candidates: Wan or Itt, as only they knew his room number.
“I am here!”
The sweet voice of the person who came to disturb him early in the morning greeted him as soon as he opened the door. The engineering moon was already in his student uniform, ready to head to the university. His straight hair was styled, revealing his slender, sharp face with the sides shaved short, showcasing the dusty-colored gown earring still in place. His playful yet mischievous eyes met Pai's, forcing him to look away. There was no denying that Itt had a dangerously good-looking face.
“When did I call you?”
He asked back teasingly. Although he had admitted to himself that he had feelings for the other person and was ready to start a relationship with the one standing before him, there was no way he could switch to speaking sweetly like Itt, calling Namtan. He maintained his usual level of speech, even if his feelings inside had changed.
“Well, if I am courting you, then I should be the one to pick you up for university.” Itt said with a deadpan face, winking at him twice.
“Get in here.”
Pai peeked out to check both left and right outside his room before deciding to give the command. He opened the door wider for the person in front to enter, then closed it once Itt was fully inside his room.
“Pai, your room is so tidy.” The other's voice cheerfully remarked as he scanned around.
“Can you stop talking like this and go back to how we used to talk?” Pai asked earnestly.
“Why? If we talk the old way, how will it be any more special than before?” Itt argued back.
“If it's special, then it's special. It doesn't matter how we talk.”
“Well then, if that's the case, we can talk any way we want, right? If there's no difference.” Itt wouldn't back down.
“Itt...” Pai's voice softened seeing that the person in front of him was starting to get upset.
“...” The other remained silent.
“Give me some time to adjust.”
“Pai…Do you know why I had to be '950' all this time for over a month?”
“...” This time, it was his turn to stay silent.
“Because I knew I had no right to say anything, I wanted to speak how I felt, but damn, I couldn't do it, so I created '950' to have a chance to speak sometimes.” The person in front of him said with frustration.
“...”
“Now that I have the right to speak, you tell me to go back to how it was…?”
“I...”
“Don't you feel sorry for me at all?”
Itt turned to meet his gaze with a questioning look. Oh damn, his resolve almost melted away entirely. Those eyes always had a powerful influence over him.
“I understand, but I'm not used to it. I mean, just going back to talking to each other like before shouldn't be a big deal, right?” Pai continued, letting out a long sigh.
“...” Itt remained silent.
“Let's meet halfway then.” Pai finally decided.
“What do you mean?” The other turned to ask.
“If it's just the two of us, you can say whatever you want, however you want, I won't stop you. But if there are others around, let's keep it like before.” He said.
“...” Itt didn't speak but looked at him with a reproachful gaze.
“Stop thinking I'm embarrassed about you, Itt. I've never been embarrassed. If I were, I wouldn't have liked you from the start.” Pai said earnestly, noticing that the person in front of him was starting to think too far.
“If you aren't embarrassed to talk to me, then why can't I speak nicely in front of others?” Itt stood up from where he was sitting on the bed, looking for an answer.
“I...”
“Yes?”
Pai reached out, pulling Itt's collar towards him until their heads were close enough that his lips were near Itt's ear. The other was slightly taken aback, not expecting this. Pai whispered softly into the ear adorned with a dusty lab coat, his voice no louder than a whisper.
“I'm shy.”
“Pai, you're so cute.”
The other's eyes changed from reproach to a bright sparkle upon hearing his answer. Itt reached out with both hands to cup the back of Pai's neck, moving his face closer to the point where he could feel his breath.
“Stop.”
Before the other's lips could meet his, Pai spoke sharply, pushing against Itt's chest to abruptly halt the situation. Itt allowed Pai to keep his hand on his chest, his eyes lingering over the face of the soon-to-be doctor.
“Pai, you stole a kiss from me. I haven't said a word to you about it.” Itt said with a smile.
“You are too forward.” Pai responded, consistently maintaining his usual demeanor.
“Has anyone ever told you how sweet your lips are, Doctor?” Itt said with a mischievous look.
“Damn it.” Pai cursed, realizing the person in front of him was starting to tease.
“Oh. I forgot that I'm the first one to have the chance to taste it. I can tell you, I'm really hooked on the flavor of this sweet treat, and I'll make sure no one else can take it from me.”
The other seized the moment when he was off guard, leaned in to whisper in his ear, before pressing his lips against the white gear-shaped earring on his earlobe with full affection.
“Damn.” Pai exclaimed, his face flushing.
“This is a deposit for this morning, Pai. You can continue getting dressed, Pai. I accept your proposal; our agreement is, in front of others, I'll go along with you, but when it's just the two of us...”
“You...”
“Pai, you have to go along with me.”
…
Pai rode to the university with Itt.
After Itt confessed his love to him the day before, (and it seemed like he indirectly confessed back), Itt had changed a lot. The original traits were still there: the teasing, the cunning, the love for annoying others, but there were also many sides he had never discovered before.
One thing he learned was that this King Kong was much sweeter in speech than he thought. Normally, he would just annoy him, but when the other started speaking sweetly to him, he couldn't help but feel tickled. Also, Itt was very touchy, always wanting to hug this or grab that, but it was good that he still respected his space. If he said no, it meant no. Many times, Itt acted like he didn't understand, but in truth, he was someone who listened when spoken to. He wasn't overly selfish to the point of making him uncomfortable.
He knew he had to adjust a lot.
He had never let anyone interfere with his life to this extent before. He didn't like unexpected visits. He didn't like being told not to do something and it was still being done. But all these were things he had to adjust to. He had to lower his personal space to open his heart and learn about this person in front of him. At least, it was another great opportunity in life. If it really didn't work out, they could deal with it then. At least he would have tried.
“Oh, Pai and Itt, well, you both came together, huh?
Wan's voice greeted them with a knowing smile. Wan knew everything about them and had been quite helpful in many ways. While one part of him was grateful, the mocking look Wan was giving now was really getting on his nerves.
“Yeah, I felt sorry for him, so I brought him along.” Itt replied to Wan, turning to wink at him.
“Asshole.”
He cursed out in relief; at least Itt was keeping to their agreement to act normal in front of others. And it seemed he was doing it quite seamlessly too.
“Who are you cursing at, Pai?” Wan asked as he sat down at the table where the other was already seated.
“Both of you.”
“Oh, as soon as you're doing well, you kick your friends to the curb, huh, Pai my dear friend.” Wan teased in a playful, annoying tone.
“Asshole, don't let me get my turn, Wan, I'll get back at you so hard.” He warned.
“What can you do to me, Pai, hahaha, teasing you is so fun, you always look so grumpy when you're in love.” Wan whispered mockingly.
“Just the other day, you were egging me on.” Pai argued back at Wan, while Itt got up to buy some food to eat while waiting for the first class.
“How's it going, you okay?” Wan asked more seriously once he saw the other had moved away.
“How should I answer that? Yeah, I'm okay, he's a good person.” He replied, unsure of what else to say.
“So, are you guys a couple yet?” Wan's voice couldn't hide his curiosity.
“Not yet.”
“Damn, what are you waiting for?” Wan complained, frustrated.
“He wants to take it slow, get to know each other first.” Pai avoided using the word 'courtship' knowing Wan would tease him until he graduated with a PhD.
“What more do you need to study? You've known each other for so long, right?”
“I don't know. Why don't you go ask him?”
“Yeah, I'll ask him when he comes.”
“Damn it. No need, I was just being sarcastic.”
“You, man, you should've just confronted him directly. That bastard-Itt is pretty cool, you know. How can you leave it like this? Someone else will snatch him up.”
“Whatever. If he wants to leave, then let him. If it's not meant to be, it'll end anyway.”
He replied curtly, but in his heart, he couldn't help but think about Wan's words. Itt had so many options, would he really choose him?
“You look as sad as a dog, man. I was just kidding.” Wan continued.
“I didn't say anything.”
“Since he first got close to you, I didn't think he'd end up liking you like this.”
“I didn't think of it either.”
“Really? You didn't suspect anything at all?”
“I didn't want to assume things.”
In truth, over time, many of Itt's behaviors didn't seem quite normal. They seemed to hint at something more, but he chose not to pay attention to it. He didn't want to go through the same pain again, and even now, he could hardly believe this was real.
“Pai, Wan.”
The call of their names made them turn from their whispered conversation about the third person who had gone to buy rice. Pai looked towards the voice; the one calling him was none other than Folk, the kid who had been appearing and disappearing frequently lately. Now that the university moon and star contest was over, he probably returned to his usual self.
“Have you seen Pure?”
Before they could answer, Folk continued asking about the last regular member of their lunch group. Indeed, where had Pure gone? They hadn't seen him much recently either.
Chapter 52: The Knight
“Nope, haven't seen him at all today.”
Pai responded as Folk settled himself onto the table. He tried to read Folk's expression; the other was attempting to keep a neutral face while asking the question, but Pai thought he detected something unusual. Though it was hard to pinpoint what emotion it was, he could tell something wasn't quite normal.
“Hey, Folk,”
Itt greeted as he returned with breakfast. Folk gave a slight nod but didn't reply. Their group was almost done with breakfast, missing only Pure.
“Hey, Itt, Folk was asking about Pure. He didn't show up for class, did he?”
Pai deliberately asked to observe reactions, and he thought he caught it - Folk turned to him with a brief look of surprise before turning back to await Itt's response with a composed face.
“Must've been a rough night. Heard he went to a pub. Warned him to take it easy on a Sunday night, but he wouldn't listen. Probably couldn't make it to class, might've brought someone home to screw.”
Itt answered without much thought, but it seemed his response caused Folk's brows to furrow unintentionally. Of course, Pai noticed all of this.
“I'm not going to class today. Pai, can you take notes for me? I've got stuff to do.”
Folk finally stood up with a decisive air. Wan mildly protested, noting that Folk had just arrived at the table. Itt looked a bit puzzled but said nothing. The bright-faced dental student quickly gathered his things and strode off hurriedly, as if on urgent business. Pai watched him leave without a word.
'Interesting.'
…
“Where are you off tonight, Wan?”
Pai asked as he packed his bag after the afternoon class. Folk hadn't shown up for any lectures all day. Meanwhile, Itt had gone back to his engineering faculty.
“I've got to tutor tonight.”
Wan spoke while packing his bag, pulling out some sheets from his bag and arranging them in a chaotic order. When I peeked, I saw they were biology notes about the digestive system. It seemed he really was stuck with tutoring.
“Why are you suddenly going back to teaching? Since the semester started, I haven't seen you teach at all. I thought you only taught during the holidays.” Pai asked curiously. Wan had been tutoring high school students before the university semester started, but he hadn't seen him teach since then.
“I didn't want to teach either, man. Studying and teaching is damn exhausting. But my friend, who also tutors, got a scholarship to England, and he's bound by a one-year teaching contract at the school. If he can't find a replacement, they won't let him go. So, he begged me. Once I find someone to take over, I'll stop.” Wan explained at length.
“Alright, next time then. I was going to invite you to study at the library.” Pai said.
“Really? Your idea of leisure is just going to read books? No way, that's boring as hell.”
“Midterms are in just two weeks, you know.”
“That's still two weeks away, what's the rush? Don't set the bar too high for our faculty, you bookworms.” Wan complained with a laugh.
“Fine, I'll just go back to my dorm and read there.”
“You won't get back to your room that easily, Pai.” Wan said with a smile.
“Why not?” He turned to ask the person who was now sewing the corner of a sheet, puzzled.
“At noon, I saw your boyfriend checking movie times. If he doesn't invite you to the movies this evening, brace yourself; he's definitely got someone else.” Wan teased with a smirk.
“Damn, I told you he's not my boyfriend.”
“If he's not your boyfriend, why are you blushing, huh? Ha ha ha!”
“Shit. If he's not, then he's not.” He felt his face heating up just as Wan had said.
“Come on, I get it. Young chickens like you need some time to adjust.”
“...”
“Hurry up and eat it, if you dawdle, some dog might come and snatch it away, and then don't say I didn't warn you, hahaha!”
Wan leaned in to whisper to him, but those words made his face turn red uncontrollably. He cursed at Wan with several more words, but Wan just shrugged and laughed heartily. Once he finished packing up, he left the classroom, waving goodbye, to which Pai responded by giving him the middle finger.
“You being like this is actually fun, Pai. It's rare to see someone like you make a face like a real human for once.” Wan said, laughing as he walked away with the students who were leaving the classroom.
“Uh, hello.”
A voice called out not far from him. Pai, who hadn't yet left the lecture room, turned towards the voice. His eyes met with a female classmate who, if he remembered correctly, was also a cheerleader for the faculty, but honestly, he couldn't remember her name.
“Hello.” Pai replied with a smile, trying to be friendly to cover up the fact that he barely knew her.
“Pai, I'm Bo.” She said briefly.
“What's up, Bo? I'm Pai.” He responded, unsure of what else to say.
“Well, my friends and I were talking about how we don't understand chemistry at all. Ginger, who's in the same lab group as you, mentioned that you're really good at chemistry. So, we were wondering if you could help tutor us for the midterms?”
Bo gestured towards four other girls who were watching him from not too far away. Seeing them, he had to swallow hard; this was the group of female cheerleaders from his faculty, the beauties of the medical school, and among them was Namhom, a cheerleader and faculty star from another faculty.
“Uh, I'm not that great, Bo. I'm worried that if I teach, it might just waste your time and your friends'.”
Pai replied hesitantly. Actually, he wasn't keen on spending time with people he wasn't close to, especially the thought of tutoring in a group for hours made him uncomfortable.
“No, really, Pai, you're the best at this. Everyone knows. We don't need to score high, just not to fail.” She said, reaching out her fair hand to lightly grasp his forearm in a pleading manner.
“Uh, can I think about it first?”
Pai responded with a thoughtful expression. The request from the person in front of him wasn't too difficult to refuse, but it wasn't easy enough for him to want to do it either. He was now in a dilemma, thinking it over. ‘Wait, let me consult Wan tomorrow. If there's really no way out, we can use him as a last resort.’
“Sure, can I give you my phone number? If there's any progress, give us a call.” Bo replied with a sweet smile.
“Then please, Bo, save your number. I'll reply after.” Pai handed his phone to Bo, who entered her number and made a call to her own phone to complete the exchange.
“My LINE ID is also this number. Feel free to message me if there's anything.”
The woman in front of him spoke with a smile. Bo was very fair-skinned, with a round face, not the long, pointed face trending in Korea these days. But with her eyes and nose, she was considered quite beautiful. Bo was the type of girl whose face would blush slightly and avert her eyes when speaking, naturally shy, which added to her charm, especially when compared to her cute, bashful beauty.
“Uh-huh.” Pai didn't know what else to say except to acknowledge with one word.
“Are you going anywhere tonight, Pai? I saw Wan had already left. We're thinking of getting some ice cream in front of the university. Would you like to join, Pai? Consider it an advance thank you for the tutoring.” Bo continued to invite while he glanced over at the group of leaders sitting in the corner, all of whom were now looking at him and Bo with interest.
“Uh...”
Pai hesitated. He didn't want to go but was trying to find a polite way to refuse. Sitting and eating ice cream casually with people he wasn't close with seemed like a suffocating idea.
“Sorry, but I can't lend him out today. Pai has an appointment with me already.” A voice interrupted. It was none other than Itt, dressed in a deep red university garage outfit, with a bag slung over one shoulder. He had a sharp face, thick eyebrows, a side-shaved hairstyle, and piercing eyes. Itt spoke with a smirk, but if you looked closely, his eyes weren't smiling at all.
The rough engineering guy grabbed his bag casually, quickly sweeping his belongings from the table into his bag. Pai could only offer a wry smile to Bo, who didn't prolong the conversation but slightly raised her mobile phone, indicating she'd wait for his call.
Luckily, a knight in shining armor came to the rescue, but it seemed the knight wasn't in the best of moods.
Chapter 53: The Scent of a Mermaid
“If you keep quiet like this for another minute, I'm going to put on some music and wear my headphones.” Pai said casually after they got into the car, where the driver hadn't uttered a single word yet. Moreover, he hadn't told him where they were heading. Judging by the route, it seemed they were going to a famous mall not far from the university, probably to drag him to watch a movie as Wan had suggested.
“Can't I be a bit sulky? Is even sulking wrong now?” The driver spoke with a tone that wasn't particularly angry, but certainly not as cheerful as usual.
“Can't you sulk over something worthwhile? It's clear there's nothing here, my face looks that uncomfortable, don't you see? If I really wanted to go, I would've agreed from the first sentence.” Pai explained at length, hoping to end the sulking.
“I don't like it.” The other replied curtly.
“Do you not want me to have friends or what?”
“Even a thumb-sucking kid could tell that girl doesn't just think of you as a friend.” Itt said, sounding like a bear eating honey.
“Look at my face too, who would be interested in this face? I'm not like you, always having someone entangled with you.” He retorted.
“What's that, why suddenly bring up Itt?” The other person started to protest.
“Listen to me, if you're going to keep giving me this sulky face, I'm going back, it ruins the mood. We came out together, we should be talking nicely.” He complained, feeling annoyed.
“Hmph...” The driver continued.
“Yeah, I know. Not stupid, even a thumb-sucker could tell.” He deliberately repeated.
“Want you to go and apologize, like, be cute or something.”
“Damn.”
Pai, who was opening a water bottle to drink, almost choked upon hearing what the person in front of him said. The other maintained a straight face but the corners of his mouth betrayed a small smile.
“Hey, like, you put your hand on my shoulder and say, 'I never look at anyone but Itt, I only have eyes for Itt, just him,' and then you nuzzle your head into my shoulder like this. Isn't that right?” Itt started speaking with a growing smile.
“If you want something like that, go get a dog. I'm a human, not a poodle. I'm not here to nuzzle your shoulder.” He said, reaching to turn on the radio, his face beginning to flush uncontrollably.
“Just a little nuzzle with the head on the shoulder is fine. Just keep that sweet tone for now.”
“Whatever.”
After his curse, Itt burst into a cheerful laugh, easing the atmosphere in the car, which coincided with him turning into a famous shopping mall.
“Where are we going?” He asked.
“We're on a date, Pai. This is our first date, you know.”
Itt spoke to him as if it were a very serious matter. Even though he knew Itt was dragging him into something, when he played it so seriously, his face turned red all the way to his ears, “You're cute when you're embarrassed, Pai. Don't make that face for anyone else, got it? I don't permit it.” Itt said sternly. Now, the car they were in was parked at the parking lot.
“When did you become my owner, huh, Itt?” He said, crossing his arms defiantly.
“It's the right of ownership because of that white earring on your ear.”
“I haven't heard that having an earring means you can order me around.” He argued, curious about what Itt would say next.
“I don't know. I don't care. The court won't hear this appeal.”
Itt shrugged, turned off the engine, and opened the door to step out. Pai could only mutter and shake his head but followed obediently.
In the end, they chose to watch a movie about mermaids.
When they picked the movie, they thought it would be a horror or a deep mystery, but it turned out to be an incredibly hard-to-understand indie film. It was roughly about two mermaid sisters trying to fit into human society, but their true nature was fiercely instinctual.
Fidget, fidget.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Pai pushed the head of the big guy sitting next to him away from his face. After feeling that he was sniffing too close, pretending to smell something on him.
“Aren't I just trying to see if you smell like a mermaid from the story?”
King Kong, the giant, replied with a straight face, making him annoyed. The two mermaid characters in the story transformed into humans but couldn't mask their unique, pleasant scent, so they tried not to get too close to humans. He reached out again to push Itt's head away, annoyed. Luckily, the movie was so indie that no one was watching; the entire cinema had just the two of them. So, he didn't need to mind his manners much.
“Smell good, huh?” He turned to engage in playful banter, admitting that the movie in front wasn't entertaining at all.
“Well, the mermaids in the story have a pleasant scent and magic that makes men fall in love, so I was wondering if you might be a disguised mermaid.”
Not only did he speak, but the person next to him also leaned in, sniffing around his collar. At this distance, Pai could smell a faint perfume from Itt, and he had to admit, it was quite charming.
“You're not mad at me, are you? If you're mad, just watch the movie, why bother with me?” Pai playfully retorted.
“Well, because when I'm mad, Pai, you don't come to appease me. So, I had to change my plan suddenly.”
“Itt, did I ever tell you that before and after the campus pageant, you seem like a different person?
Yes, before, you were always stirring trouble, being rude, picking fights, but after that day when you knelt before him, it was like you transformed into someone else, speaking sweetly, indulgent, and well... quite jealous.
“I have always been like this. I just didn't let you know.”
Itt spoke without looking at him, still bent on proving his half-fish, half-human theory, his nose almost touching his neck.
“Alright, enough. You're about to devour me here.”
He pushed the restless head away, but as his fingers touched the freshly shaved side of Itt's head, it felt like some energy was transferred, making his heart beat out of rhythm.
“Really, can I actually eat you, Pai?”
The other person spoke while squinting cunningly. Moreover, he raised his left hand to grasp the right hand of the man which was still lingering on the other's head, until he hastily shook off the hand almost too late.
“Naughty.”
Fortunately, the mermaid in the movie started singing to lure humans again. The scene in the film dimmed down just enough to help, concealing the expression on his face that was beginning to darken.
“Calm down, Pai, I have been waiting for so long.”
Itt turned to look at him seriously, this time the other seemed intent on speaking, making him stop to listen intently. Itt's hand gently moved to hold his, polite yet filled with warmth that he couldn't refuse.
“Uh.” He didn't know what else to say except to softly acknowledge in his throat.
“Too much, way too much, don't mind me, I have wanted to have the right to talk to you like this for a long time. Wanted to talk to you nicely without using arguments as a front, wanted the right to hug without pretending to be... drunk.” The other swallowed something down before uttering the last word.
“You weren't really drunk that night either.” The night when he picked up Itt from the pub and was taken advantage of to cuddle all night.
“Are you angry with me?” Itt's eyes were fixed on him, eagerly awaiting the answer.
“If I was angry, I would've kicked you off the bed that night.” He replied curtly.
“Does that mean you knew?” Itt's eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Sort of.” He tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible.
“How did you know?”
“What kind of person, even drunk, would lean in for, uh, a kiss, so realistically?”
“Then why didn't you say anything?”
“Use your brain, why ask about everything? Damn, I am trying to watch a movie.”
Pai turned his face back to the screen. By now, the elder mermaid was still singing, and his heart was beating just as incessantly.
“Aren't you afraid someone might gossip about you, about us going out together like this?” Pai whispered, his voice no louder than a murmur. He asked this to the person sitting beside him with a restrained heart.
“I have to ask you that, aren't you scared?”
“I've never cared about anyone from the start.”
“No, actually, Pai, you are very gentle. You just don't often show that side to others.” Itt said, his voice soft.
“...” He fell silent.
“Not scared, life is this short. Tomorrow, I might get hit by a car and die. If I don't follow my heart today, then when should I?” Itt lightly squeezed his hand, only then realizing he had been holding it throughout their conversation.
“Can't you avoid saying things like that?”
“If you don't like it, I won't say it.”
“You can't get hit by a car and die yet.” He started.
“I'll be very careful then.”
“Because you still have 29 days left on your promise with me.”
“The promise not to disappear.” Itt replied.
“Yeah, from now on, your life won't be peaceful anymore.” Pai said in a mock-threatening tone.
“If not having you means a peaceful life, then I don't want a peaceful life anymore.”
Chapter 54: Wasabi
They decided to eat Japanese food after the movie.
Pai tried to keep the calmest face possible as they walked through the restaurant area. When they arrived, he and Itt went straight to buy tickets and enter the cinema, so they didn't encounter many people. But as they came out to eat, at this time, he discovered a truth: Itt was incredibly eye-catching.
He himself didn't know if today the other person looked especially good with the new hairstyle, or if it was him who was paying more attention to the gazes of those around than usual. But he could feel that whenever he walked past women, those eyes would often dart towards Itt and would keep following him until some almost turned their backs.
He tried to act as normal as possible.
Because besides Itt not noticing the stares from others, he kept chattering away, not stopping, saying he'd carry the bag for him, cracking jokes to make him laugh, dropping sweet nothings to make him blush. The quieter he got, the more the other played around, to the point where he couldn't quite handle it, having to walk with such a charming human.
“I'll have the assorted sashimi set and one cold green tea, please.”
Pai handed the menu back to the waiter, having ordered dinner. Itt looked down at the menu before choosing a dish. It seemed to be a Japanese-style chicken rice bowl.
The food they ordered was served about 15 minutes after they entered the restaurant. The staff in the restaurant moved away to stand at one corner. This Japanese restaurant was known for its privacy; staff wouldn't approach the table to disturb unless called by pressing a button for assistance.
“Do you really like me?” Pai asked in a flat tone while mixing wasabi with soy sauce.
“What's that?” The other asked, as if afraid he heard wrong.
“Do you really like me?” He repeated.
“Why are you asking like this? Wasn't my explanation of feelings at the photography club that day enough?” Those eyes looked back with a question.
“I know, but I don't understand.” He started.
“...”
“Itt… You're good-looking. You shouldn't really like, uh, someone like me.”
“Pai, you are underestimating my love right now.” The voice in front sounded hurt.
“Itt, I speak before I think, okay? I think we need to talk about this. It's another thing we need to get past.” Pai replied calmly, trying to control the situation from deteriorating.
“Mhm, how do you want me to answer? I've said everything already.”
“What do you like about me?” He continued, popping a piece of sashimi into his mouth, as if it were a common topic to discuss over dinner.
“Why are you asking? Have you fallen in love with me or something?” The other person smiled and replied teasingly, not seeming to be angry at all.
“You're handsome, Itt. Do you realize that?” Pai continued.
“I really want to record you complimenting me and keep it on my phone to listen to.”
“Itt!” Pai said with a firm voice, his face starting to blush uncontrollably.
“So what, Pai? Whether I am handsome or not doesn't affect our relationship at all.” Itt replied simply.
“It does matter.”
“How so?”
“Well, you know I, uh, don't look good. Standing next to you, it often puts pressure on me.” He fell silent for a moment before expressing his feelings.
“Pai!” The person in front of him said, sounding puzzled.
“You're important, that's why I'm being straightforward.” He continued sincerely.
“Am I making you feel pressured?”
“Not exactly, Itt, but if you want me to keep standing here, there needs to be a reason for me to stay. I need an answer, for my own questions. You understand, right?” Pai went on with a well-thought-out sentence.
“I feel comfortable just being with you, Pai.” Itt said with a smile.
“Me?” This time, it was his turn to ask, frowning in disbelief at how he could make someone else feel comfortable.
“Pai, you are the only person in my life that I can honestly share dreams with.”
“...” Pai was silent, listening as if to record every word.
“If it weren't for you, I would probably be at some archery range by now, not wearing this university shirt.” the handsome King Kong, grabbed the university workshop shirt he was wearing and showed it to him as he spoke.
“No, you're talented on your own.”
Pai answered sincerely, Itt already has potential within himself. Otherwise, it would be impossible to prepare for and pass an exam in just 3 weeks. He just acted as a catalyst.
“There are only a few people in life with whom one can feel comfortable and can be completely themselves.”
Itt said this while resting his chin on his hand, looking at him with eyes sweet enough to make his face heat up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't avoid that gaze.
“Uh-huh.”
“I just want to be that person. Who knows if I will ever meet someone like you again in this life, because so far, I have only met one such person.”
“No more questions. Let's continue eating.” Pai said, his face as red as a tomato, trying to change the subject.
“That person is sitting right in front of me.”
Pai was so embarrassed that his temperature went through the roof. He managed to pick up some chicken from the plate of the talkative person with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth to make him stop talking. He was already struggling to breathe.
“Falling in love with me so much that you have to feed me, huh?” The person in front of him spoke again as soon as he finished chewing the large piece of chicken, his gaze teasing and somewhat playful.
“Itt!”
Pai's face heated up once more, regretting starting this topic. Now, he felt like he wanted to bite his tongue off and die. He shouldn't have given him the opening.
“Embarrassed, are you?”
“Very embarrassed.”
“How about this, Pai. Shall we do a test first?”
“...”
“I will let you practice confessing love to me early on. So when we're dating, you won't be embarrassed, okay? I will have you practice saying 'I love you' to me every day.”
“Itt, you're really annoying.”
He avoided eye contact and bent over his plate of sashimi, his hands moving like they were on fire, until his unfortunate hand poked into a big chunk of wasabi and he stuffed it into his mouth, making his tears flow. Itt burst into loud laughter but quickly handed him a cold green tea as consolation.
“Do I have to tell you why I like you?” Pai asked after managing to keep a straight face. He had asked the other many times before. He didn't want to take advantage of the situation.
“Can you ask that?” Itt replied with a smile.
“Of course, I'm asking you. So you can ask me too.”
“Does that mean you admit you like me too?” Itt said with sparkling eyes.
“Well...”
“...”
“Well...”
“...”
Itt kept silent, sitting with a pleasant expression, waiting for the next sentence from him.
“Well, I've never denied it.”
“Better keep it for now.” Itt decided.
“... That's odd, usually, you'd push for something sweet from me.”
“It's only the first day, Pai.”
“And then?”
“There are still 29 days left. I have to make you love me even more.”
After all the heated topics were settled, they continued eating their Japanese food in front of each other. Itt kept chatting about this and that, telling stories about university life (when he wasn't with him), about friends in his faculty, about sports practice. Meanwhile, he tried to find stories to tell the others as well, but he couldn't think of any; his life seemed filled with uninteresting tales.
“I will pay for this.”
As soon as the receipt arrived, the engineering man hurriedly grabbed the cash to pay without giving anyone a chance to protest; the waiter had already gone to get the change. He couldn't even object in time.
“No way, Itt, everyone should pay for their own man. I ordered way more expensive stuff than you. How can you let me take advantage of you like this?”
Pai argued. He had ordered a large set of sashimi thinking they would split the bill as usual when they eat out together. He didn't expect that today Itt would suddenly want to treat him out of the blue.
“Next time, you can treat me back then.” Itt said simply.
“No, if you're going to do it like this, you should've told me beforehand, Itt. I'm not comfortable with this. I know my dish was much more expensive than yours. Don't make me feel awkward, man.”
Pai knew well that Itt wasn't some rich young master with money to burn. A thousand-baht sashimi dish for Itt could mean several meals, while the chicken over rice Itt had was just over a hundred baht per plate.
“Pai, this is our first date.” Itt said, looking at him with a serious expression.
“...” Pai was speechless seeing the seriousness in the person in front of him.
“Please, let me feel at ease that I can take care of you, Pai.”
“Oh, why are you overthinking like this?”
“Well, if you can overthink, so can I.”
Seeing the look in the other's eyes, he couldn't argue further. At the start of their conversation in this restaurant, he was the one pouring out his discomfort to make the person in front of him understand. Now, it was his turn to try and understand the other's wishes.
“Our first date, I want to feel like a good future man, so I should be the one treating.” Itt started to speak with a smile again, seeing that he had agreed to be treated.
“Wait. What did you say?”
“I said, I am the man, and on the first date, men usually pay.”
“Itt!”
“Yes?”
“I am a man.”
“I didn't say you weren't a man.”
“Then let's divide it. If you use this logic, we must divide it for real, Itt.”
“The court won't reopen the case. We've already made our decision.” The big man said cheerfully.
“Itt!”
“Yes, Pai?”
“You are an asshole.” He cursed when he saw the man’s face; not only was he unrepentant, but he was also smiling cheerfully.
“I am a real man.” Itt continued without stopping.
“...”
“I would like you to experience my masculinity.”
“Stop being vulgar right now.” Pai said, his face flushed red like a ripe tomato.
“When we're free, I think we should have a 'field study' on the bed, so we can explore each other's masculinity more deeply.” Itt said, licking his lips and giving a suggestive look.
“Itt!”
Chapter 55: B1 and B2
“Pai, is that Folk's car?”
Itt's voice called out as they left the mall and were heading back to the dormitory. He glanced in the direction of the nod and saw a very familiar car. No need to say, he recognized it as the car of that dental student, the moon of their group.
“Yeah, it is. Follow it for a bit. I was going to give him the sheet at the dorm anyway. There's a quiz tomorrow, and he won't have the sheet to study from. I was going to call him, but we ran into him just in time.”
Itt nodded in acknowledgment before following the car in front through the congested traffic. Their cars were not right next to each other, but they knew Folk's tower well.
“Pai, the midterms are in two weeks.”
Itt spoke while still keeping his eyes on his friend's car and his hands were still on the steering wheel as he started to chat with him.
“Uh, I know.” He replied bluntly, unsure of what the other wanted, so he didn't know how to respond further.
“Can we study together?”
“Sure, I was actually going to invite you. I've already told Wan. Just need to talk about Folk and Pure.” He answered simply.
“Oh.”
“What 'oh'?”
“Itt meant, like, just the two of us studying together.”
“Doesn't matter how many people, studying is studying.”
“But I want to spend more time with you, Pai.”
“Isn't this our time together?” He countered.
“Yeah, but I want more.” The other person didn't give up.
“Itt.”
“Yes?”
“Look, I like studying alone. When I study with others, I can't concentrate well. I mean, we can study or tutor together once in a while, but doing it all the time, I just can't handle it. My faculty takes exams seriously.”
He explained at length; Itt was important, but so was his education. He knew himself well; he couldn't concentrate with others around, especially, well, with Itt. So, studying together once in a while was okay, but if it was too often or every day, he'd surely fail his exams.
“Oh.” The other responded with a less cheerful voice, but seemed to understand.
“...”
“Well, just let me know when you want to join, but not too often, okay? I'll try to adjust, just give me some time.” Pai finally said.
“Thank you, Pai.” Itt turned and smiled at him. They would need to try much harder to adapt to each other.
“Oh, why did he turn the other way?”
Itt's question sounded advisory, as Pai turned to look at the car they were following and saw that Folk had turned in another direction, instead of turning into the alley leading to the dormitory where they lived. Pai squinted suspiciously but didn't think much of it.
“He's probably going to get something to eat. Let's follow him there; we can give it to him at the rice shop.” Pai replied simply. Itt nodded again and continued to drive, following as traffic allowed.
“Oh, what now, Pai?” Itt asked when he saw that Folk's car didn't head to a restaurant as they initially thought but instead circled into a dormitory parking lot, which certainly wasn't Folk's dorm.
“Let's circle in for a moment, just to drop off the sheet to him. No need to park, we'll just loop out.” Pai decided. Following that, Itt signaled to turn into the dorm following Folk's car.
But due to the heavy traffic, they were stuck at the turn for nearly five minutes before they could enter the dorm, exchange for a parking card, and by then, Folk's car was already parked in another corner of the lot. Itt looked for a parking spot with the intention of walking over to the other car's owner. They found a spot not too far from the dorm's entrance.
“Pure...”
Itt muttered softly as he parked the car and looked up at the entrance. Pai followed Itt's gaze and saw their close friend, Pure. Truth be told, Itt should have realized from the start that this was where Pure lived, but he hadn't thought Folk would come here to meet Pure at this time. The driver turned to his companion for an opinion.
“Pure...”
The same words came from Pai, but with a quite different tone. Itt spoke with curiosity, but Pai murmured as if understanding the whole situation.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I don't know. We're here together, aren't we?”
“I think we should go and find out”
“Shh”
Pai made a signal for Itt to stop talking, before pointing towards their two friends who are now standing, talking at the building entrance. Of course, they didn't know beforehand that this whole scene would be in their sight.
Pai focused on that image thoughtfully. The not too close, not too far image showed Folk in private clothes, wearing a t-shirt and capri pants, looking like he just came out of the dorm while Pure was in a student uniform with the belt unbuckled and the shirt out of the pants. This meant Folk must have gone back to the dorm and then come out again to meet Pure. Folk's current condition suggested he came from the dorm; someone like Folk wouldn't wear capri pants out for errands.
Pure, who had just come down from the dorm, seemed to be negotiating something with Folk. They were too far for Pai and Itt to discern their expressions clearly, but close enough to see Pure reaching up to grab Folk's elbow. In truth, if both turned this way a bit, they would probably recognize Itt's car, but the current situation seemed like they weren't paying much attention to the outside world.
The next scene showed Folk shaking off Pure's hand quite forcefully, turning as if to walk away. Pure reached out to grab Folk's arm, pulling him back, or maybe Folk turned back to talk again, but now Pure's hand was firmly holding Folk's hand.
“They're holding hands, huh.
Folk tried to shake off Pure's hand again but this time unsuccessfully. Pure leaned in as if to whisper something in Folk's ear before letting go of Folk's arm himself.
‘interesting'
Itt mused to himself as if he had found the last piece of a puzzle he was curious about, and then suddenly, the entire situation seemed to flip in an instant. Pure turned around and walked back to the dorm, with Folk following behind in a manner that didn't show any resistance, or one could say quite willingly.
“What the heck?” Itt muttered, seeming not to understand.
“Just looking at it, you can tell, right?” Pai said.
“Kind of can tell, but I don't understand how it could be like this.” Itt turned to look at him as if seeking an opinion.
“Hold on, are we thinking the same thing, B1?” The other asked, seemingly needing reassurance.
“B1, you idiot, don't be dense.” He scolded playfully.
“Oh, can't even take a hint.” Itt complained softly.
“Alright, what do you think?” Pai asked.
“...”
“Come on, you think the same, B2?” He finally spoke up when he saw Itt making a sour face.
“Pai, you are so cute.” Itt said with a smile.
“Can we get to the point?”
“It seems like Folk and Pure have some kind of relationship.” Itt spoke hesitantly, as if avoiding certain words.
“Seems like it, yeah. Folk swatted Pure's hand that hard, and he didn't even look angry. Normally, someone like Pure wouldn't be that calm.”
“Right.”
Itt agreed. Pure was known to be hot-headed and always ready to get into a fight. No matter how close they were, getting his arm swatted that hard should have provoked some reaction.
“So, Pai, you think those two have something going on?” Itt asked curiously.
“Seems like it. From what we've seen.”
“Really? Why aren't you surprised?”
“I've been suspecting Folk was into some drama for a while now.” He said calmly.
“Why?”
“He hasn't been coming to class much, disappearing. When you see him, he seems out of it.” Pai explained based on his assumptions.
“Hmm. That's true.” Itt said, starting to think along with what was said.
“Actually, I've been wondering if Folk is having some kind of love trouble, but I didn't think the other party would be this close.” He said.
“Oh, why do you think it's about love? It could be something else.” The other countered.
“Hey, do you remember when we went to the camp in Rangsit?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Folk said he was a writer.”
“Ah.”
“He said he had stopped writing.”
“I remember.”
“Actually, he was lying, because he's still writing now.”
“Oh?”
“I searched his email and found he's posting his novels online for free, so I went and read them.”
“Ah, what happened next?” Itt asked with interest.
“Right now, Folk's novel is in the middle of some heavy drama.”
“Oh, why?”
“The protagonist of the story got played and dumped by a playboy!”