Archive of Our Own ^beta

--_--

Sighing, Kongpob held his hand up to shield his eyes from the small ray of light that peeked through the leaves. He had imagined this whole time that he would be able to bury his time capsule under this very tree that had given him so much comfort over the years he had been studying here.

But alas, fate had a mind of its own. The school had made a decision to build the long awaited new wing on the very spot the tree was sitting on. So Kongpob was left with no other choice other than to look for a new location. Leaning his head back on the ever sturdy trunk of the tree, he sighed again. He really couldn’t think of anywhere else that brought him the same meaning of burying something that was so important to him.

Burying a time capsule was somewhat of the closing rites of being a head hazer. Every head hazer before him had done so too, each leaving a small part of themselves in the school as part of their legacy. It hadn’t been easy, the past year and just being in the presence of the tree had brought him so much comfort during his hard times.

Standing up and dusting off his pants, Kongpob made up his mind. He’d heard that there were plans to uproot the tree and replant it in other parts of the school. He’d have to come by another day to check with the construction staff. With luck, it might still be located on the Engineering campus.

~***~

“Phi, do you know where they would be replanting the tree?” Kongpob asked the gardening staff who was carefully digging around the roots in order not to damage it.

“Behind the old block three building it seems. They found a space there with decent soil that should sustain the tree with no problem. I’m glad they did, it would be such a pity for a tree of this size to be chopped down.” The gardener said, pointing a gloved hand in a general direction.

“Yeah I’d hate for it to be chopped down. Thank goodness they’ve found a good place for it.” Kongpob mumbled, stroking the trunk and admiring the vast branches and leaves above.

“Are you a student here Nong? Can I pass this to you? It was buried near those roots and it seems to be something that probably belonged to another student here. It’s got that same gear that you have on it.” The gardener said, handing Kongpob a small cylindrical container.

Kongpob took it over, staring at the gear that was etched onto it. A little ‘57’ reflected off the canister under the sunlight. This had to belong to the head hazer from an earlier year! Looks like he wasn’t the only one who spent a lot of time with the tree. With a polite wai, Kongpob made off to the library, hoping to trace the owner of the time capsule.

Counting backwards in his head as he ran his fingers past a row of yearbooks on the shelf, he pulled out the book that tallied with the year. Kongpob flipped through the pages till he finally landed on the Faculty of Engineering. Running through the pictures, he finally landed on the portrait of the person he had been looking for.

“Phi.. Arthit,” he mumbled to himself. He tried to pinpoint if he had ever seen the fair skinned senior on campus before but drew up blank. Now what was he going to do? He didn’t know any of the seniors in the year either. He could try the administrative office but he doubted they would release any personal information to him.

~***~

Kongpob laid in bed, staring at the canister that sat on his desk not too far away. Just as he had expected, his attempt to get any information out of the administrator was completely futile. He knew he could just ignore Arthit’s capsule but it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t what they stood for as an engineering student - much less the head hazer. If his time capsule had been moved, he’d want to know. Staring at it again, he ran through the various possibilities in his head. What would be the fastest and most efficient way to reach out to the other?

Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. Maybe.. Just maybe. Each head hazer had been instructed to write a letter for themselves to be placed in a time capsule and then buried in a location in the school. What if.. What if Arthit had done exactly as he did? Kongpob had taken the task quite literally, writing the letter entirely as though it was to be mailed out, address and all. So what if Arthit had done the same?

He hopped off his bed and reached for the container. Holding the canister in a polite wai, he apologised mentally for what he was about to do before he carefully twisted the container open, revealing the rolled up letter inside.

–_–

576 Tivanon Road, Nonthaburi

Nonthaburi, Thailand, 11000

Dear Future, Older, Less Awesome Me,

This is weird actually. Why am I writing this? The prof wouldn’t even check this and technically this isn’t even graded! Why am I sacrificing my sleep for this one? I mean, I get that this is a secret tradition and that the head hazer should do this time capsule thing. But the thing is, no one’s ever gonna know about it. Except for me and the grumpy cat sensei-san. She really wouldn’t even know if I did this or not.

Yeah, old man. This is your whiny younger self. I love sleep, and I hope that you still love yours, too. Because I would be very disappointed if you didn’t, and you'd also prove to me that you're less awesome than me.

Anyway.

I hope you did well in your interview. I was striving for that specific company because of how good its reputation is. I hope that you’re the manager of production now and earning at least six figures monthly, and living on your own. You should also have to have been treating mom and dad to vacations. Yearly. Letting them enjoy their retirement and all that stuff.

Another thing. Is Namtarn and Jay still together? Or are they broken up? I will be very disappointed in you if they were broken up and you did nothing to confess to her. Where’s your confidence, huh?! You should move fast before anyone else could snatch her from you!

Or if they’re still together, then that’s a shame. If that’s the case, move on! Don’t be the loser who’s still hung up with someone after a couple of years. That’s just, altogether, sad. Get on with your life! Ya hear me? Or read me? Whatever.

Aaaaaaah my brain isn't functioning! So, what else should I write about? Oh, yes! Yes.

Nomyen. You still should be loving nomyen. Heck, why don’t you just marry Nomyen-chan and live happily ever after with her?

Wait. No. Scratch that. I can’t find my correction tape and I don’t want to literally scratch that out. It will look messy. My scrawl is already messy enough. I’m stupid. Sorry. But you are me, so you’re also stupid. Just maybe less stupid than now. I hope you are that instead of the other option.

Please don’t be stupid like Bright. I mean, that guy’s smart like hell, but he chooses to act stupid, and do stupid things that almost, always, land us into trouble. Which is really stupid. You know what I mean? Why do I keep writing stupid?

Speaking of stupid, man, Jay is stupider than me. I hope you do still remember the shit that he pulled when I jokingly challenged him about the creek thing, back in high school. He was resistant at first but one look from Namtarn and he went ‘your wish is my command’. And he swam at the creek with his uniform on. Aunty Lisa sure was livid.

Although, maybe I am the stupider one. I mean, I should’ve noticed then that he was crushing on Namtarn just like I do. That thing at the creek was the glaring evidence of it.

If I did notice it, would I have confessed to Nam before him? Made my move earlier than him? Do you think Nam would’ve been my girlfriend now if I did that?

Aw, I just brought my mood down. That’s so stupid. This is so stupid. Why am I doing this again?

Bye future self. Stay awesome. I’ll just go and make myself pink milk. I need to cheer myself up.

Yours Truly,

Arthit Rojnapat,

Head Hazer, 57

PS. Hippo milk is pink! Read that in a story somewhere. But that will not deter me from drinking my pink milk!

–_–

Kongpob stared a little at the letter, blinking hard at it before he burst out into laughter. What on earth did he just read? Of all the things he had expected from a previous head hazer, this was most certainly not what he had been expecting.

P’Arthit was most certainly an interesting character.

It was wrong to invade upon someone else’s privacy but thankfully, he’d just been proven that it was worth the little invasion since Arthit’s address sat innocently at the top of the letter. Grinning, he picked up his pen and pulled out his foolscap pad, carefully copying the address from the slightly curled piece of paper.

~***~

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

576 Tivanon Road, Nonthaburi

Nonthaburi, Thailand, 11000

Dear Future, Older, Pretty-sure-still-awesome P’Arthit,

Sawadeekap Phi, this is Kongpob Sutthiluck - from 2 years into your future. Well technically, this is your now but let’s not be a stickler for details. Time travel is a messy business. I hope this letter actually reaches you, I only have one shot at this future thing, would hate to screw this up.

Before you go ripping this letter to shreds, I just wanted to let you know that the gardening staff found your time capsule buried by the tree - you know which one I’m talking about. I thought you should know that they’re moving it to another spot on campus since they’re building the new Engineering wing where it used to stand. Finally, I know, right? Our workshop areas are literally falling apart. Were they already like that during your time?

I’m glad they found your time capsule though, can’t imagine what kind of interesting things you’d have to say if you were to return in ten years time only to find a giant building instead of a giant tree. I imagine you’d have to bring a bulldozer in to get to your letter then.

By the way, Prof does check - kind of? Which I’m pretty sure you know by now since you’ve already buried it. I don’t know how she knows but she gave me that smile. You know that one she gives when she’s about to call someone out for not doing their homework? And she did it to me daily till I was actually done with my letter, then she stopped. Just like that. Call me crazy but I swear she knows when you haven’t done it.

Did you get the job you wanted Phi? Could you tell me about it? Are you a manager now? How is it like leading a team? I’m supposed to join my father’s company but I’m wondering if it would be best to get some experience somewhere else first. What do you think?

Where have you brought your parents on vacation so far? If you haven’t been to Singapore, I’d recommend it. Food there’s great and you never have to worry about walking around at night! it’s a really good safe place to bring your parents there.

Also, did you ever get your happy ending with P’Namtarn or Nomyen-chan? Going by how much you’ve been praising her, I’m pretty sure Nomyen-chan would love you right back. But.. have you done a full body check lately? I heard Nomyen-chan ain’t too loving on your blood sugar levels. Or your blood pressure or your heart. I think you get my point.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re stupid. Love takes courage and even more to stand aside for the one you love. I’m sure you could do the whole ‘your wish is my command thing’ if you wanted to but where’s the fun in that? Pretty sure the point of having a lover is to have a partner, not a puppy. I think even puppies have more sass than that.

By the way, is the P’Bright the same P’Bright I’m thinking of? As in the incredibly loud mouthed, amazing cock blocker and unimaginably sharp eyed when it comes to pinpointing cute Nongs as he so very much likes to call them P’Bright? That P’Bright? Because you’re right. He’s unbelievably smart and stupid at the same time. (Please don’t tell him I said that because I will hear no end from him during our next reunion.) He so happens to be my ex-ex-club president. Unfortunately.

Anyway, back to the main point of this letter. I’m so sorry for having opened your time capsule and reading your letter but I didn’t have much of a choice. The administration office wouldn’t give me your contact (yes I know they aren’t supposed to but well, this was an emergency!) They should be done moving the tree in about 2 weeks or so? Or at least that was what Khun Tong said. Would you like me to help you bury it again under it? I could do the whole ‘X’ marks the spot thing for you - free of charge of course.

P.S. Smart people are often messy. Just saying.

Yours Truly (and hopefully not creepily),

Kongpob Sutthiluck

Head Hazer, 59

P.P.S. Singapore has their own version of pink milk: Bandung. You should try it!

~***~

Kongpob read and reread his letter multiple times, before he finally felt safe enough to seal it into an envelope. He most certainly didn’t want to sound like a creep, or a stalker or anything of the likes of that. He knew it wasn’t right to reply to Arthit’s letter like that but he couldn't quite help it. The elder head hazer had piqued his interest. He was looking forward to posting his letter out and he wondered if Arthit would even reply or brush him off as a psycho.

Would Arthit even remember writing this letter?

–_–

"Mae! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed, accepting his mother's embrace anyway.

"And why? Can't I visit my own son?" his mother answered with a raised eyebrow. Then she narrowed her eyes on him, looking at her son in suspicion.

"Or are you hiding something? Perhaps a girlfriend?" she asked after a while as he watched her son put away the containers of food she brought him.

Arthit tripped on nothing and he had to grab the counter for support. He snapped his head towards his smirking mother, his ears burning.

"Mae!" he exclaimed, his voice breaking at the end.

"What?" his mother asked defensively. "It's a legitimate question. You're twenty-four. Perfectly ripe age for dating. Or better yet, marrying."

"Mae?!" he answered, his tone going high-pitched.

Achara observed her son's expression and had to sigh internally. Her dearest Oon was already an adult yet it seemed like he was still avoiding these kinds of talks. She was worried that he would grow old alone, with no one to take care of him.

"What is wrong with having a girlfriend, Oon?" she asked him.

Her son didn't respond, just kept his head down. He had his arms crossed over his chest though, in a clearly defensive posture.

She heaved a sigh of defeat. She wouldn't get anything anymore from Arthit when he was this reticent.

"Come on. Let's go around town? Take your poor mother out, will you?" she coaxed him with a smile.

Arthit peeked at her through his fringe, his pout morphing into a tentative smile.

"I'll go get ready then. Just go sit on the couch for now, mae."

"Okay dear."

Later on in the evening, as they were sharing a meal together with his father, who joined them earlier after his work, Arthit broached the subject himself.

"I know I am already at the marrying age, mae, and that my peers are already getting married. But please don't pressure me. I want to find someone whom I can love wholeheartedly, and who will love me like that too. I can't easily fall in love, mae, por. That's just not me. Please bear with this.

As for now, I would like to complete my studies first, then earn good money."

"And what good is it to earn money without anyone beside you to spoil?" jested his father.

"I have you guys to spoil so I'm good in that regard," he answered simply, with a grin.

"You don't need to do that, son. Just spend it for yourself. Why don't you buy those action figures that you always wanted, hmm?"

Achara slapped her husband's arm lightly.

"What?" Aroon asked in confusion. Arthit laughed at their antics.

"It's okay mae. I won't spend it all on my hobbies. I will buy in moderation, I promise," he told them.

Arthit tried to pay for their meal but his parents would take none of it. They reasoned that since he was still in school and paying for his Master’s by himself, they wouldn't take any of his money just yet.

"Spoil us when you don't have any other obligations aside from your daily living expenses," his father told him.

"I know you're self-sufficient now, but university isn't cheap. Finish your studies first, okay?"

"...fine." he grumbled. He knew when he was defeated so he let it be.

"Oh, by the way, a letter arrived at home addressed to you. Its return address is here in Bangkok, actually."

His mother rummaged through her handbag and produced a small white envelope. He took it and curiously flipped the thing around. He saw the neat handwriting at the back, a certain Kongpob Sutthiluck of Chatuchak, Bangkok. The name was vaguely familiar to him but he couldn't place it.

"Is he your friend? I don't remember him," his mom observed as they were waiting for their change.

"I don't know who he is, actually…" he mumbled, staring at the name with furrowed brows, as if the black ink would give him any more clue as to who had written to him.

"Well, open it later at your apartment. We need to go now, since it's already late. We still have an hour drive to Nonthaburi," his father prompted.

They said their goodbyes at the restaurant with promises for another visit in the future. Then he took a taxi back home, the letter tucked neatly in the inside pocket of his jacket.

–_–

He glared at the letter as if it had personally offended him. Well, he did think that it had personally offended him. How dare he say that to his dearest nomyen?!

He put both of his hands on top of the letter, ready to shred the paper, but then he stopped.

‘My time capsule?’ he thought. He re-read the letter again, getting confused as to what the hell this Kongpob was talking about.

“I didn’t write about Namtarn in my time capsule letter. Nor nomyen,” he wondered out loud.

He tilted his head to the side, brows furrowing in concentration, as he parsed through his memories for that certain event in time. He was pretty sure that he wrote about getting his Master’s degree, then applying for a position in the productions of Moog, Inc., his dream company since his third year.

He knew that he wrote about treating his parents into a vacation, spoil them really, but no way in hell did he talk about his love for pink milk and his crush on Namtarn. And he didn’t talk about Bright! Why the hell would he talk about Bright?!

He didn’t write about that stupid ass, nor the why he shouldn’t be following in his footsteps. He didn’t talk about his love life for goodness’ sake! What– how? Wait…

He scrambled from where he sat on his bed towards his closet. He rummaged through his clothes, messing up the neat arrangement that his mother had put a lot of effort into a while ago, until he found the big box of stuff from college.

He opened the box and parsed through the various papers and knick knacks he had collected, going through every white sheet one by one. He let out a small shout of triumph when he saw the vague outline of a letter.

He sat on the cold hard floor, his legs crossed as he began to read the letter he wrote by hand. He was right. He did talk about his aspirations, about getting his Master’s, the position in his chosen company…

“See?! I was right! I did write about these things and not about my love life! I didn’t mention anything about nomyen or Namtarn, nor Bright here! Kongpob, whoever you are, I swear, I will–” he froze when he realized something very, very important.

“What the fuck is this letter doing here?” he asked no one in particular, his tone going up in nervousness, his heart beginning to thump erratically.

Then a flash of a different, messily written, and which definitely mentioned all of the above, also feat. Jay, his best friend from high school. The neatly written words, in his very own engineering blocky script, now seemed to mock him.

“FUCK! Arthit, you stupid FUCK! Fuckity fuck, fuck, fuck. Stupid, dimwit, fucktard!”

And the string of curses continued through the night, which earned him a few knocks of irritation on his door.

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Dear Khun Sutthiluck,

Thank you for informing me about the time capsule. It was really nice of you. Please send the time capsule to this address. I would like to be the one to bury it again, thank you.

Also, please do not send any letters again to the previous address. We already moved. My old neighbor was the one who gave me your letter.

To answer your question, yes, our workshop building had been close to being dilapidated during our time. There was even that noticeable fresher concrete plaster on Room 101. It was like a hole was punched through it or something, and whoever patched it up, did a poor job.

If they didn’t find the time capsule in time, chances are, it would’ve been crushed by the bucket of the backhoe or it would’ve been dumped as a landfill material somewhere. Maybe I’d have forgotten about it in about eight more years. Who knows.

I am really grateful to you, Nong. Thank you for taking your time in writing to me about this.

Sincerely,

Arthit Rojnapat

Head Hazer, 57

PS. Singapore sounds great. I will have to keep that in mind. Thank you for the suggestion.

–_–

Arthit read, and then re-read his letter repeatedly, before he was satisfied with it. It was concise and painfully formal, not giving away anything about himself anymore.

He was wary of this Kongpob character, even though the name was still nagging at him. He couldn’t quite grasp the face that came with the name, nor why it was so familiar to him. Maybe Bright had talked about him before? He did mention that he knew Bright.

Sincerely. That word seemed to mock him. Why the hell did he use that as the complimentary close?

Anyway, was he guilty for writing something untrue? Maybe. But he reasoned to himself that he was merely protecting his parents from the presence of a potential stalker, since that address that he used was his permanent address– his parents’ address.

Was he guilty for saying another lie about that engineering room with the supposed plaster? Definitely, hell no. It was a nice way to test this person if he was telling the truth or if he was another weirdo stalker person.

Was he guilty for using Bright’s address as a possible stalking ground for a potential, unknown stalker? A resounding NO. The asshole still owed him for that one time he nearly got him arrested because of his stupidity. And this Kongpob person personally knew him, so what’s the harm, right?

With that being said, he folded the paper and slid it into a fresh envelope then sealed it. There was no going back. He jogged the stairs towards the lobby and dropped the letter into the mailbox.

Then he spied the telephone on the counter and an idea came to his mind. Maybe he should ask P’Dear about this so-called Kongpob Sutthiluck since he was the hazer in charge of that batch.

–_–

Kongpob stared blankly at his omelette, his brain drifting off to a certain letter he had mailed out a week prior. Clearly, he hadn’t thought things through. Did the senior even still live in the same address? Did he manage to get hold of the letter? Why didn’t he try reaching out to P’Bright? Did he want to reach out to P’Bright and open that can of worms?

Did Arthit find him creepy?

The many questions swimming around his brain made his head hurt and Kongpob let out a low groan, puzzling Aim who had been very confused by his best friend’s unlikely behaviour.

“What’s wrong Kong? It isn’t like you to be like this. Hazing is over and studies have never been a problem for you, that’s my issue”

“Nothing, I just..” Kongpob’s voice trailed off as he wondered if he should share what he had done with Aim. Maybe..

“Hey Aim, what would you do if you received a letter from a stranger?”

Aim thought for a while, as he chewed on his grilled skewer. “Chuck it?” And he was rewarded with a small thump from his friend whose head had just become intimately acquainted with the table.

Kongpob’s thoughts continued to drift back towards that letter throughout the day. He didn’t know why he was obsessing over it but for some reason, he was really hoping that Arthit would reply. As he trudged into the dorm, the caretaker called out to him from the desk.

“Nong Kongpob! You’re up in 206 right? There’s a letter for you.”

Kongpob’s heart thumped as he received the white envelope with his name over the centre of it in a slightly scrawly handwriting. He eagerly flipped it over to see ‘Arthit Rojnapat’ written in the corner with the return address. He frowned as he read the return address a few times over - it had changed. He was sure his first letter was addressed to Nonthaburi and yet this was now Khlong Toei. Was that why Arthit took so long to reply? Thanking the caretaker, Kongpob rushed up to his room, excited to read the letter.

After dropping his bag, Kongpob sat at his study desk and ripped the envelope open, still taking care not to accidentally tear the letter within. It was a single page reply that had him a little disappointed by the time he had reached the bottom of the letter. Sighing, he rubbed at his temple. How was he going to reply to this now? Arthit’s reply clearly screamed that he wanted nothing to do with him. And here Kongpob was hoping he could foster a good Phi-Nong relationship. It wasn’t every day that you’d choose the same location as someone else to bury a time capsule. He was sure they had a certain amount of like-mindedness at the very least.

Also, Khlong Toei.. There was something familiar about this address that he was sure he recognised but he couldn’t quite pinpoint at the moment. With his hope a little diminished, he set the letter neatly aside at the corner of his table. He’d get back another day when he knew what to say.

~***~

“Are you going tonight?” Aim asked for the third time, because his best friend was once again in another headspace. It seemed to happen pretty often these few days which was very unlike Kongpob.

“Where?” Kongpob replied dully. He didn’t remember writing anything into his planner for this particular date.

“P’Bright’s bar.” Aim groused. “He wants us to bring the nongs over. Specifically Nong Rose. Why do I have to deliver our Nong to the den of a hyena?”

“On a weekday? Is it nearby?” Kongpob frowned. He was fine if it was a Friday night but it was Tuesday, what kind of values would they be advocating to the juniors if they of all people brought them out on a school night?

“Kind of? It’s at Khlong Toei. Probably about a half an hour’s journey if we’re riding.” Aim shrugged. He’d rather not get into Bright’s bad books. The senior may always look full of rubbish but damn, he had connections.

Kongpob perked up upon hearing the mention of the address. He had a gut feeling but he needed to ensure it was right before he took his next action. “Why don’t you tell P’Bright we could arrange for something maybe next weekend instead? I heard that the juniors have some project deadlines coming up this week. It wouldn’t be appropriate to take them out just yet.”

Aim nodded in relief at the postponement of the date. The seniors themselves were up to their necks in deadlines and he was barely struggling to stay afloat. “Okay I’ll drop him a call later after class. Also Kong.. I need help with our assignment.” He admitted sheepishly as Kongpob chuckled, fishing out his own workbook.

“Now what Aim?”

~***~

Stretching his aching muscles, Kongpob leaned back upon his study chair, staring a little blankly at his ceiling before allowing his brain cells to kick back into function. The little conversation he had with Aim earlier in the day had been running circles around his head and he had itched the whole day to confirm his suspicions. However, he was determined to complete all their mountain of assigned homework before he went digging for the truth. He was pretty sure he was going to need some time for this.

Kongpob slowly stood up and ran his fingers along the spines of his books and files before finally pulling out a little file he had kept aside specifically for club activities from his shelf. Carefully flipping each sleeve, he finally landed on the one that had a little black name card innocently sitting at the bottom.

“Gotcha P’Arthit.”

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Dear P’Arthit,

Or in this case, P’Bright if you happen to read this, I would like to implore you not to read any further. It is rude to invade someone else’s privacy and I’m very sure that Nong Rose would agree with me too, wouldn’t she?

Anyway, back to my point. First of all, please call me Kongpob. Khun Sutthiluck would be my father and I assure you he had nothing to do with the letter that was last sent to you. I’m glad that the letter has indeed reached you despite my blunder. I was unaware that you had moved. I imagine you must have been shocked to receive such a letter and I would like to apologise if I had caused any fright. I mean no harm and would simply like for you to have your time capsule properly reburied. Of course, with you being my senior and all, I was hoping to foster a proper Phi-Nong relationship along the way as well.

Good to know though, that we were not the only batch to have suffered through the horrendous environment of our workshops. We’d been pleading for them to have the equipment replaced at least - it would be disastrous for any of our Nongs to get hurt but they’d always been stingy about the budget so this new wing would really be an upgrade for us engineers.

Since I’m already writing this, would you happen to have any advice for an unfortunately overwhelmed nong aka me who is now struggling severely with final year projects and papers? I swear I can barely even understand what is going on anymore. Which terrifies me because I have never felt this way. I’d ask P’Dear but ever since the syllabus changed, he told me he doesn’t even recognise half the things we are going through these days. You were the first batch with the new syllabus it seems so I was hoping if you could provide a couple of pointers.

In any case, I would have loved to send you your time capsule back via mail but as it stands, there are new regulations to our campus. I take it you haven’t been back in a while since you didn’t know about it. There’d been an occurrence of flashers around the area just about half a year back and because of that, they’ve implemented a whole new system for security. Now either a student of a teacher has to sign any guests in or they won’t allow you entrance. I’m also guessing that in this case, unless you would rather approach Prof, I’m probably going to be your easiest access into the campus at this point. Also, I would love to show you the place they would be replanting the tree at. I’m sure it holds as many memories for you as it did for me.

I apologise once again and would love to assure you in any way I can that I am neither a creep nor a stalker. Do let me know when would be a good time for us to meet, (preferably maybe a month from now since Khun Tong says it’ll be a while before they can complete the whole uprooting the entire tree safely and replanting it in the new location. Apparently trees need to ‘settle’ in their new spot too! Imagine that. Speaking of settling, I do hope you are doing well now at both your job and with P’Namtarn or Nomyen-chan.

Sincerely looking forward to hearing back from you, I’m really glad you haven’t forgotten about the time capsule.

Yours truly,

Kongpob Sutthiluck

Head Hazer, 59

P.S. There’s a cafe near P’Bright’s place with really good nomyen.

~***~

Sealing the letter in an envelope, Kongpob placed it carefully in his bag. He smirked to himself. If this was how P’Arthit wanted to play, he’d gladly go along with it. But he wasn’t planning to lose.

It was game on.

–_–

He entered the noisy bar, schooling his face into a neutral one to stop himself from wrinkling his face in disdain. The place was swamped more than usual since it was the end of the weekday and it meant a night out for students and workers alike.

He didn’t want to come, of course, but his friend had been adamant, saying that he had something important to discuss with him. He had half a mind to tell him that they should have met somewhere else, somewhere more quiet, but he agreed to meet there anyway.

He should’ve just insisted on any other day instead because the other seemed to be very busy behind the bar, assisting people left and right, helping out his tired looking bartender. He looked for a clear path that might lead him to where his friend was, but found none. He had to squeeze through the bodies that littered the area and he was already dreading it.

He debated with himself for a few more minutes before he fortified himself and braved the sweaty bodies in between him and his goal. He weaved his way through, constantly muttering apologies and dodging the hands of drunk people trying to reach out for him. He could only heave a sigh of relief when he was finally at the counter.

He tried to get the attention of his friend but it was a few minutes later that he managed. Bright signalled him to wait, making his mood even darker than before. By the time he was entertained by his friend, he had already fended off several advances from girls and boys alike, and his mood was as dark as his soul. Which, in his opinion, was pretty dark.

“Head on upstairs, Knot is already there,” Bright said against his ear, tickling those sensitive appendages.

The shorter man grimaced in displeasure, glaring darkly at his friend, who was already busy serving drinks and flirting a bit with some of the girls that had ordered. He grumbled under his breath about a report he needed to do for his manager, and a paper to write for his professor, and that he didn’t have time for this shit.

However, he still followed the taller man’s order, and headed towards the back. He entered the door that was for staff only and trudged his way up the familiar narrow stairs to the second floor.

The quieter environment and lack of heat from a lot of crowded bodies of the private areas was a blessing. He managed to breathe easily, relaxing his stance as he resigned to staying at the bar for a while. He greeted his best friend, who was already relaxing on the couch, and parked himself on the opposite end of the seat. They made idle chitchat as they waited for their other friends to arrive.

A few minutes later, Prem and Tutah arrived, carrying buckets of beers. He immediately stretched his hand for one. Then he continued his talk with Knot about their respective works, ranting about certain people in their respective companies that needed to up their game.

“Both of you are too workaholic. It’s Friday! Time to relax! Yet here you both are, talking about work,” scolded Tutah.

“They aren’t like you, who spends all his time checking his appearance in the mirror and flirting with his boss,” snorted Prem, taking a sip from his bottle of beer. Arthit just raised his eyebrow at them.

“Pass me one, Prem. Please,” Knot requested, stretching out a hand. Prem uncapped one and handed it to him.

Knot murmured his thanks and then silence permeated the room. Arthit closed his eyes, removing his frames that sat on his perfect nose. He massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to dispel the slight headache that he got from all the numbers he had been computing all day long.

“What do you think Bright wants? He called us here because he wanted to say something, right?” Knot asked after a while.

“Could be anything, really. You know him.”

“If he tells us to steal something from somewhere again just because he holds a grudge against someone, I’m outta here,” Arthit grumbled.

All of them grimaced when they remembered that certain debacle, where Bright had managed to convince them to steal a certain guy’s car keys, in the hopes that the girl that their idiot friend had been hitting on wouldn’t go home with the other guy. That was one hell of a night for them.

“Enough with all that. I don’t wanna remember it anymore. What is up with you guys?” he asked them.

“I'm still fabulous,” Tutah replied automatically, flipping his imaginary long hair.

“If you’re fabulous, how come that your boss is still with his bitch of a girlfriend?” snorted Prem.

“Shut up, Prem. You’ve got no room to talk.”

“Hey, don’t even go there,” warned the tall guy.

“Is he still pining over that junior? What was his name? Wad?” Knot said with a teasing smirk. He knew very well who he was talking about, and the mischievous glint in his eyes proved this.

“Oh yes. That nong is already graduating and this asshole has yet to make his move,” it was Tutah’s turn to mock the other.

“Fuck off.”

“At least for our resident virgin here, he has a legitimate reason,” the chubby man declared, waving his hand towards Arthit.

“Hey, leave me out of your bickering!” he exclaimed, affronted.

“What they’re telling is true, Arthit. You’re still pining over Namtarn and it has been years. You need to start moving on, man,” Knot chided him. There was an underlying tone of sympathy in his words, and he hated that. He hated being pitied.

“I know that, jeez!” he told his best friend off. “I am not pining over her anymore, okay? I think I may have finally moved on…”

Of course that was a lie. The hurt that his unrequited love brought was still there, still lingering behind his mask. But it has dulled and he could say with confidence that the process of healing had started.

Knot observed him for quite a while and the ex-head hazer managed to muster up a small smile. The lines on his friend’s face eased up and he knew that he got through to him this time.

“I’m glad to hear that, Arthit. Really glad,” Tutah voiced out, the sincerity in his voice warming up his dark heart. Prem was grinning softly at him and his smile grew in size.

“Thanks guys. Thanks for always being there,” he told them gratefully.

“What are friends for?” Prem asked rhetorically.

“Hey, let’s toast to that, shall we?” Arthit proposed, lifting his bottle up in the air. The others clinked their bottles to his, shouting a loud, ‘Cheers!’

“What are you toasting to?” Bright asked, arriving just as they were gulping down their beers.

The newcomer settled down with a groan on the armchair and stretching his long limbs, groaning some more.

“Why were you behind the counter?” asked Knot instead of answering.

“Ugh. Pen was late so I had to help out Rome. I swear, I will fire his ass if he is late one more time with a flimsy excuse.”

“Uhh… He’s done that a couple times already. He should’ve been fired now,” observed Prem.

Bright whined in protest.

“He’s a really good kid, though. Really knows how to mix his drinks. And you know he has financial troubles…”

“I get you, Bright, but… what was his alibi this time?” asked Arthit.

“His girlfriend broke up with him.”

“...what?”

“Wait, he seriously used that excuse?” asked Prem incredulously.

“Yeah. And I think it’s true because I asked Rome about it.”

“I mean, he didn’t even try coming up with another excuse?” Prem clarified.

“Yeah…”

“Damn, he must’ve been in shock. How is he holding up the bar this evening?”

“Mechanically. He looks like a robot. Face devoid of expression. It was actually scaring some of the customers. I couldn’t even tell him off because I already feel bad for him.”

They fell silent after that, feeling at a loss of what they could advise their friend. They weren’t heartless human beings.

“Urgh, enough of that depressing stuff. What were you toasting to a while ago?” Bright asked.

“Arthit’s finally moving on,” Tutah blurted. Bright looked surprised at his friend, while said friend was busy glaring at the bespectacled man. Slowly, a smile full of mischief stretched the other’s lips.

“Sooo… You’re single and very ready to mingle, huh, Arthit?” he giggled.

“He was single to begin with, dimwit,” Prem told the other off.

Arthit looked warily at him, unconsciously burrowing himself further against the couch on his back, watching his every move.

“I may have just the thing for you–”

“No fucking thanks,” he cut the other off.

“Aw! Look, you’ve got to be in the pool again to completely forget about her! Come on, Arthit. You’re wasting that beautiful face of yours hiding behind books and papers!”

“No way! I don’t trust you. I don’t want to be pimped off! Who knows who you will partner me up with!”

“Aww, are you thinking of cougars, Arthit? Are you secretly a sugar baby?” Bright waggled his eyebrows. He ducked swiftly when the bottle opener came flying fast towards him.

Damn this small but terrible guy!

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Stop!”

“It’s not funny,” Arthit told him through gritted teeth.

“I have arranged a party for our nongs from our alma mater tomorrow. I am inviting y’all to attend.”

“Nope. Busy,” was Arthit’s short reply.

Prem, on the other hand, perked up at this. Tutah and Bright noticed his interest, of course.

“The current hazing group would be there, including your precious nong, Prem,” Bright teased.

“Wha– Wh-who said that I– Why would I care if he comes!” stuttered Prem defensively.

“I also can’t go Bright. You know that I have a date tomorrow,” Knot told his friend with a smile, taking a swig of his beer.

“I’m in. There are plenty of hot boys, right?” Tutah asked eagerly. Bright rolled his eyes.

“Of course, you witch.”

“Yes!”

“Oh! I almost forgot. You guys wait here. I just need to get your packages.” With that, the bar owner scrambled his way from the room, leaving them confused.

“Packages? Do we all have a package?” Prem wondered out loud.

“I know I do. What about you guys?” declared Knot. They all answered in dissent.

“Here it is! Knot, this arrived just in time. Are you going to ask tomorrow already?” Bright asked eagerly their burly friend.

Knot smiled gently as he received the smallish box, thanking the other gratefully.

“Not yet. But soon.”

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you’re finally doing it,” mumbled Arthit, very happy for his best friend and his– hopefully– future fiancee. “Best of luck, mate.”

“Thanks, man.”

“And you,” Bright said, pointing at Arthit. The latter looked at him, startled.

“What?”

“Since when are you chummy with my N’Kongpob?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

“U-uhm…”

“N’Kongpob… Wait, the Campus Moon? That N’Kongpob?” exclaimed Tutah, with Bright nodding his head. All pairs of eyes trained on him, brimming with curiosity.

“Well… Mind your own business! And how did you know that I talked to him?” Arthit asked, narrowing his eyes at the other.

“Because of this.”

Bright held up a long white envelope, with a familiar neat scrawl in black ink at the back. Arthit saw Tutah and Prem gearing up to grab the letter so he jumped up and grabbed it from the hands of his friend before they could get to it. If the younger man wrote about the time capsule, then the others must not know about it.

“This is a private letter. Don’t be nosy, all of you.” he scolded his friends. Tutah pouted for effect, settling back on his seat.

“You still haven’t answered my question, Arthit. How do you know N’Kongpob?” prodded Bright.

“I don’t know him!”

“Then why is he sending you letters?”

“I don’t know!”

“You do know. Why else would you grab the letter that fast?” challenged Prem.

“Because you assholes were planning to get it yourselves,” Arthit growled.

Prem looked unrepentant.

“Look. I really don’t know this N’Kongpob personally, okay? I’ve never met him before, much less got myself acquainted with him. He just sent a letter to my parents and I didn’t want to compromise their safety, in case this person wasn’t who he claims to be. So I set the return address here. Sorry, Bright.”

“Warn a guy next time, will you?'' grumbled Bright. “And that certainly is N’Kongpob.”

Arthit looked suspiciously at his courier. He immediately checked the letter and found that it was opened. He snapped his head back to his friend, who was beginning to retreat towards the doorway, his hands raised, and a sheepish smile on his face.

“Bright!”

“Ehe~ sorry Arthit! I was checking for a bomb or something!”

“Bomb? BOMB?! Try a different excuse asshat!”

“Well, I was curious! I’ve never seen you interact with him before!”

“Nosy!”

“Sorry! That really is N’Kongpob since he scolded me in the first paragraph. Man, even on paper he sure makes me regret my actions.”

“Did you read the rest?”

“No… I told you, he knows how to make me conscientious even without being present.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

“...Fine. I guess you’re off the hook right now.”

“Wow, thanks. I get to live another day!”

“You’re welcome asshole.”

–_–

His nosy friends bugged him for quite a while about the letter but he didn’t budge. What Dear had told him when he asked him about the younger lined up with Bright’s– Kongpob as the Campus Moon and he even had a picture of the handsome younger man from the older hazer– and now that he was more or less sure that the sender of the letter wasn’t someone with nefarious reasons, he could rest easy. Maybe he could give the younger some slack.

He settled on his desk, his hair still dripping from the shower, and began to read the letter while rubbing his hair dry with a towel. He barked out a laugh when he saw the first paragraph.

“Oh, N’Kongpob. You know your senior so well,” he mused out loud, clearly amused. “Wait…”

He grabbed the envelope to check for postage stamps. They were there, with all the markings that meant it had gone through the post office.

“Ah, shit. This means that he knows I gave him Bright’s address! Urgh… why do I have to deal with the sharpest tool in the shed?” he grumbled. He was definitely busted. He continued to read the letter to see if he had any more blunders that the other had discovered.

When he was finished, he stared at the letter, contemplating whatever the younger meant. Why would anyone want to go through the trouble of writing a goddamn letter instead of just doing what he requested and sending the time capsule via mail so that he would be rid of this responsibility?

And the flasher incident… The university was indeed stricter nowadays, he noticed, but he hadn’t paid attention to the why of it. Did the flasher incident happen last year when he was still focused on his job and nothing else? Maybe.

And… this junior of his seemed to be insistent on meeting him. He didn’t know why since he mostly kept to himself and he wasn’t that popular. He and this kid were definitely poles apart.

If he ever decided to agree to meet with the younger though, he needed to ask himself first: was he comfortable making new friends?

Of course, the immediate answer would be no. He was very much comfortable with the set that he got already. But… Bright’s once in a blue moon sage words from a while ago echoed in his mind.

“You haven’t completely moved on from her, I can tell. But Arthit, you deserve to live your life away from her; away from your constant chasing of something that will never be yours. Don’t glare at me like that. You are an awesome guy– you’re friends with me after all– I’m pretty sure there are a lot of women out there who would want to be with you, appreciate you for who you are. You just have to meet them.”

He had asked his friend how he would achieve that when he was as awkward in social situations as he was. The other answered with a simple: ‘Just go out and meet people’. The other even offered to be his wingman after that, which he kindly refused. He didn’t want that kind of trouble.

He glanced at the letter with a whole different set of glasses on, a whole different set of outlook, and asked, ‘what if…?’

Grabbing a pen and a fresh piece of paper, he tapped into his mind, slightly foggy from the alcohol he had imbibed. Then he began to write, his handwriting becoming poorer by the second as his thoughts flowed like a goddamn river right into the paper.

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Ooooiii N’Kongpob,

You are damn persistent, aren’t you? Well, be careful what you wish for.

First of all, just mail me my time capsule. Or bring it over to Bright's. Tell him that it’s something from Prof. Suda or something. He will not touch that box if he knew that the terror touched it. He’s that scared of her.

That time capsule needs to be burned because it is embarrassing as hell. Why’d you have to read it, huh? You nosy little shit. I NEED TO BURN THAT, N’KONGPOB.

Anyway, about the new syllabus. I’m sorry nong, but I don’t know what else to tell you aside from studying properly. I was also stumped during my time but I will try my best to give you some advice.

There is a book in the library, written by Barney– no, that’s not right. Like that American superhero, though… Barnes! Right, Barnes. It’s a book by Barnes, I think it’s called Time and Motion– something. I forgot the title. That helped us a lot of times.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask the professors for help, even if that’s Suda or Thorat.They don’t bite, even though they seem to be always constipated. We also have a program that helps students with their studies in our faculty, if you haven’t heard about it? They do it for a fee, I must admit, but the price is quite decent. Graduate students are mostly the ones that are teaching the students since the professors are busy, so you can rest easy.

With that said, I hope that you can succeed in your future. Best of luck nong. Don't worry too much about your studies or you will just drive yourself crazy.

You're still under probation. I don't really know you so I'm wary about you. I’m not too sure about the meeting… I would ask someone to chaperone us but then again I don’t want my nosy friends into my case.

What the hell am I talking about? What is this, the 1800’s? And I’m not a goddamn woman. Aaah! Don’t mind me. Sorry, I’m a little bit drunk. I hope you can understand my handwriting. You might wonder how am I an engineer with this atrocious penmanship, am I right?

Urgh, I’m ending this here before I even embarrass myself more. Bye Nong.

Yours Truly,

Arthit Rojnapat

Still your Phi, batch 57

PS. Good job at figuring out that the address belongs to Bright.

PPS. I am out of postage stamps. Wanna make Bright our mailman?

–_–

Arthit didn't know if what he was doing was the right thing. All he knew was that he thinks that he should start leaving his bitterness and self-pity behind for a brighter, stress-free (that was related to his nonexistent love life) future. He was taking Bright's inebriated advice, as his equally inebriated brain kept on insisting. He hoped that he wouldn't regret reaching out to someone, to a complete stranger, even if the reason for it was to find a new friend and not a lover, if only to practice how to approach and interact with strangers.

With a decisive huff, he folded the letter, his familiar scrawl disappearing as he slid the paper back into the stamped envelope. Sealing it, he laid it on the table, somewhere he could easily see. He will post it tomorrow morning and hope that this wouldn't flop just like his failed relationship– if he could even call it that.

~***~

“Oei Kong!” Aim came hustling to his side, grasping a couple of beer bottles. “What are you looking for? You’ve been doing that all night?”

Kongpob gratefully took a huge chug of the beer that had just been handed to him. Truth be told, he had hoped that a certain individual would be present at tonight’s gathering but it was nearing midnight and there was still no sign of the face he was looking for.

He had studiously dug up the yearbook once more to memorise Arthit’s face just in case he came to the bar but seemed like he was out of luck. He was pretty sure that Arthit would not have changed that drastically in 2 years for him to not be able to recognise him.

“N’Kongpob! N’Aim!” A familiar high pitched scream thundered through the bar, causing quite a few nongs to turn in shock. The pair groaned. P’Bright sure knew how to make an entrance, even if he owned the place.

“Dammit, did N’Rose bail? Why’s he pestering us so soon?” Aim hissed into Kongpob’s ear before drawing himself up to greet their senior with a wai. “P’Bright, Sawadee, thanks for inviting us.”

“Aw look at my favourite nongs, you’re both looking good,” Bright drawled, eyeing the pair in front of him. Kongpob was certainly worthy of the Campus Moon title, Arthit didn’t know what he was missing out on.

“N’Kongpob!!” An even high screech soon echoed from behind and Bright rolled his eyes. Why was his best friend so extra? Before he could even open his mouth to say another word, Tootah had draped himself over Kongpob. “Noooong why are you talking to this bore, come dance with me!”

“Sawadeekap Phi,” Kongpob greeted politely. He had seen Tootah’s picture alongside Arthit’s in the yearbook but it wasn’t right to assume familiarity with a senior. He raised his head slightly, trying to look beyond the clinging senior to see if a certain other individual had finally arrived. If Tootah was here, Arthit might be too right?

As though able to hear his inner thoughts, Bright smirked. “Are you looking for Ai’Arthit N’Kong? He’s not coming today, had to work overtime.”

Kongpob’s face fell ever so slightly before a signature smile returned to his face. “Yes P’Bright, I was hoping to meet him in person but it seems like we aren’t fated this time around.”

“Why are you writing to that grouch anyway?” Tootah piped up, remembering their conversation last night. “He refused to tell us.”

“Sorry Phi’s, it’s P’Arthit’s story to tell, not mine.” Kongpob smiled good naturedly. “Can’t go blabbing about my senior now can I? P’Arthit would probably not be too pleased.”

At his words the pair shivered, remembering the Head Hazer. Arthit had not been picked as the leader for nothing. His temper was a force to be reckoned with and if they had rubbed him the wrong way, it would most certainly be more than a bottle opener flying their way. They nodded unconsciously in agreement to Kongpob’s words, causing the younger to snigger slightly.

“But N’Kongpob, you are single right? If you’re just going to mess around with my friend I’m afraid I’m going to have to break your nose.” Bright asked, raising an eyebrow while Tootah suddenly switched sides, leaning on his best friend and nodding more vigorously than ever.

Kongpob raised his eyebrows curiously but still answered courteously that he was indeed single, while Tootah let out a small squeal and clapped his hands excitedly and Bright gave him an approving jerk of his head and handed him another beer to clink.

He didn’t quite get what that was about but his seniors were sure weird.

~***~

Kongpob raced up to his dorm room only to quickly put aside his bag and rip open the envelope that was now in his hands. This letter had arrived much faster than the previous, strangely.

He didn’t quite know why he was excited to read Arthit’s response but there was something eliciting a little nervousness and anticipation from him. It was like having a penpal he guessed, and the anxiousness of knowing how the other would respond or think was highly intriguing.

Especially since it came from a person he had never met before but felt like he already kind of knew.

Or not. The first few lines of the letter had him chortling immediately. The Khun Arthit of the previous letter was clearly gone and replaced by the same Arthit who had written the first letter that was placed in the time capsule.

So adorable.

Kongpob soon found himself happily grinning from ear to ear as he continued reading, grabbing a small post-it along the way to take down the name of the book, chuckling slightly at his senior’s blabbering about the author.

The next few paragraphs had him chuckling once again as he imagined his fair faced senior putting on a stern expression, trying to intimidate him. He wondered if they were different as Head Hazers, and what Arthit was like when he was in front of the juniors. The Arthit he was seeing through the letters didn’t particularly scream Head Hazer to him but yet Bright and Tootah were so quick to back off the minute he mentioned that Arthit would not be pleased. Arthit must have a reputation he knew not of.

But whatever Arthit was, drunk or not, Kongpob was glad that it seemed like now they could have a seemingly normal, not overly courteous conversation now.

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Dear PHI Arthit,

First of all, I must say I was a little disappointed to find out last week that you were unable to attend the gathering that P’Bright was hosting. A little help would have been appreciated since I was accosted by both P’Bright and P’Tootah, whom by the way I had just met for the first time. I guess you have really good friends because they seemed to really care. But I still don’t know why they asked me if I was single. Is that relevant when writing letters? Anyway, just in case they didn’t convey my answer to you - yes, I’m very much single. Been single all my life thus far without even remotely a crush on anyone.

Also, I really don’t think persistent is the right word for me. I’d like to say… Earnest. And oh I’m definitely wishing. I see you’re still using P’Bright’s address - thank you for your compliment, do I get a reward for being an A+ student? You sure must like him enough to want to meet him this often just to get my letter from him, or even to make him our mail man. As tempting as it does sound, there’s a certain amount of integrity breach risks when it comes to P’Bright and I’m not sure they have postal insurance against nosy friends.

I take it that he did read my last letter to you and would probably guess Prof Suda would not be sending you a parcel through me if anything. How safe do you think the time capsule that I quote ‘needs to be burnt’ would be in the hands of him? I’m all good for the suggestion if you have no qualms about him reading about P’Namtarn, Nomyen-Chan or just all your internal monologue in general. Does he know you talk to yourself that much Phi? I may have been able to fend him off the last letter but a parcel? Phi I’m good but not that good.

I looked up the book you mentioned and found the chapter about gear hobbing exceptionally fascinating. Expected right? I know. But to think that so much science and math goes into a tiny gear is very humbling, and also very much in line with what we’ve been instilling into the juniors during SOTUS. I wish I knew about this book sooner, it would certainly also have helped with the juniors during the hazing period. I did also find a couple of other chapters oddly familiar - guess I know where Prof Thorat has been pulling paper ideas from now. This has been a great help Phi, thanks so much for the advice!

I know that the profs would never turn us down if we approached them, but it doesn’t mean it makes them any less intimidating. The program does sound good though but I’m not sure I want to be asking my family for more money, school fee and dorm expenses are already a lot as it is. Are you part of the program Phi? Could I get a discount if you are?

Thanks for at least giving me a chance to be under probation, I wasn’t even sure there’d be a reply going by the last letter so this is pretty much a bonus. I’m not so sure about a chaperone though, the last time I ever heard that term being used was when I was watching an old English period drama. Are we planning to have a date Phi, is that why we would need a chaperone? If so, I’d gladly assent and go along with whatever the good sir deems fit.

In any case, have you thought of the date for our date yet? It would be under a large shady tree and I’d think it’ll be rather romantic. I’ll also go out on a limb right now and promise that Nomyen-chan would be there. She could pass off as a chaperone don’t you think?

Yours Faithfully,

Kongpob Sutthiluck

Willing Nong, Batch 59

P.S. Drunk you is quite delightful, despite the doctor’s penmanship.

P.P.S. Please find enclosed more stamps. I stand by my decision that P’Bright is probably not the best choice - there might be a multitude of lost mail and opened envelopes.

~***~

Penning down a final warning for the ever inquisitive Bright on the back of the envelope, Kongpob smirked as he sealed the letter into it. Had he come on too strong? Maybe, but if his senior could write him a letter while being drunk, he was warranted a few leaks of his own true personality.

Almost all too soon, he found himself eagerly awaiting a response again and begged the postal offices to work faster in his mind.

–_–

He stared at the damn letter with furrowed brows and mouth hanging open.

“Aish, this kid,” he growled.

He was terribly affronted. Confused too. He was seriously doubting if he did the right thing, writing back to him or not.

“And give me my goddamn time capsule already!” he exclaimed, screaming at the innocent piece of paper that was getting crumpled at the sides. “Why are you holding it hostage?!”

There was a knock on his wall and a muffled irritated voice followed it.

“Sorry!” he yelled. He followed it up with a grumble. “Bastard, you don’t even shut up whenever you have sex with your girlfriend. You’re even louder than your girl.”

He read the letter again, one more time, and got worked up again at the– the– boldness of his junior.

“Shameless bastard. Who would go on a da–da– Gaaaah! Who would go on a date with someone so audacious!”

He had half the mind to crumple the piece of paper but he decided against it, putting it down with forced calm, even straightening it out on the table. Then he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, counting to twenty in his mind. He opened his eyes, grabbed a pillow and screamed his heart out onto it.

His ears were red, though, betraying what he was really feeling.

–_–

Arthit became very busy with his work and his papers in school over the next four days. He only had time to take a breather on the weekend, and he decided that he would spend it lazing around in bed.

He woke up late, called for delivery and then started to clean his one bedroom apartment after he had his first meal of the day at one in the afternoon. It was an unhealthy habit of his, he knew, but eh, he was still young.

He moved to his bedroom and sorted out the papers and books that littered his desk, compiling them into neat piles. A loose sheet fluttered down to the floor so he bent down to retrieve it. He paused when he saw what it was.

It was the goddamn letter. The latest one that his pesky Nong sent him, which he had forgotten about because of his work.

A blush crept up his cheeks as he read the last paragraph again.

Was the nong seriously asking him out on a date? But they haven’t even met yet. They didn’t know anything about each other!

Except that the younger one was exceptionally handsome. He’d seen his picture, had seen him one time around campus, actually. He knew he had a great personality, as evidenced by the easy way he conversed with those juniors of his; easily approachable in contrast to his aloof and prickly attitude.

He sighed. He didn’t understand if the other was toying with him, jesting, or if he was serious at all. All he knew was that the other was single.

And was up with that? Why would he suddenly tell him about his relationship status? He didn’t ask for it. Tutah and Bright were the ones who asked.

Wait. Did he hint in his previous letter that he was looking for a date? He didn’t, right? Yeah… he was pretty sure that he didn’t. So what was that all about?

Urgh. So many questions.

“Kongpob… just what are you up to?” he murmured, staring at the name of his junior.

He folded the paper again, laying it down neatly on the table. He continued to tidy up his apartment, but with a distracted mind. Later on, after he was finished with his dinner, he grabbed a clean sheet of paper and sat on his desk.

He stopped, with the pen poised on top of the sheet, undecided if he really wanted to write something back to the younger. If he did, what should he write about?

He opened the last letter again, skimmed through it, and decided that yeah, he should write back. He ought to put the younger back in his place, if any.

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Nong,

I’m glad that the book has been of some help to you. I hope you do share about this too, to your classmates. It wouldn’t be nice if you didn’t, especially when you’re all struggling about this. I had several classmates like that once, and it is safe to say that they aren’t that popular with the rest of us.

I stand by my description of you as persistent. Or would rather have me describe you as pesky? That is rather apt, don’t you think? Pesky junior, you are. And just like the pesky junior that you are, why the hell are you asking for a reward? What are you, five? Jeez.

Bright, for all his general loudness and… Brightness, is a really good friend. I really don’t mind looking at his ugly mug once in a while. We still meet every week to catch up, so having him as our courier is an ideal thing for me.

But yeah. Your concerns of confidentiality breach are not unfounded. He did open your letter after all, last time. He said that he was checking for bombs. He’s an idiot. Good thing you added a little warning at the back of the envelope this time. It really did deter him from opening it. Congratulations, you’ve officially learned your way around him and I am impressed (don’t go asking for rewards now because I won’t be giving you any).

Also, I am not in school anymore, remember? I have already graduated and I don’t think that I could make the time to come and tutor you. My work is demanding as it is. I’m sorry, nong.

Now, to more dire matters.

Why, pray tell, are you holding my time capsule hostage? Come on, Nong. Just send it to me. Or better yet… How about you burn it for me? Yes. Let’s go with that. You have my authority to burn the time capsule for me.

Are we good? Yes, we are.

Also. Nong. You must've had a very wild imagination because I don’t remember asking for a date nor hinting to go on a date the last time I sent you a letter. Stop imagining things. Granted that I was tipsy, but I still remember what I wrote in that one. Going on a date is not a part of it so, why are you hinting at something like a romantic date with me? You don’t even know me. I know jackshit about you. So why, nong? I don’t get it.

On that note, I think it’s better for you to find someone else to date. I don’t think I would fit the criteria to be by your side. You were the campus moon, the most popular one to date, and I’m just a man who happened to be a head hazer once upon a time. Get it, N’Kongpob? I am a man. A very ordinary one at that. I bet you didn’t even know I existed before you stumbled upon my time capsule.

I hope that you find someone that would fit to be by your side though.

Sincerely,

Arthit

Your very male Phi

P.S. Thank you for the stamps. I greatly appreciate it.

PPS. Don’t expect any more drunken letters from me. Won’t happen again.

–_–

Arthit thought nothing of it when he dropped the letter off at the collection box at the lobby. He thought nothing of it when he went to work the next few days. He thought nothing of it for a while, until he wondered why he wasn’t getting any response yet.

He thought back to what he wrote, and…

“Fuuuuuuck. You basically told him off, you dimwit. Of course he wouldn’t be answering you! Urgh,” he groaned out loud, making the person sitting beside him at class look at him warily.

What he wrote had been very counterproductive to what he was trying to achieve, which was to meet new people and make new friends. Train himself out of his timidness. Get used to talking to strangers.

Immediately shutting down someone after a few correspondence? Not a good move. And he only has himself to blame.

What should he do now?

~***~

Kongpob eagerly ripped the letter open once again. This letter had taken a much longer time than the others to arrive. Almost as long as the first one - did Arthit not go by to Bright’s shop as quickly this time around? His heart fell a little, he’d hoped to at least be a little special by now, a special nong was not too much to ask right?

But by the time he had finished reading the letter, he’d felt as if they’d returned to that very first reply. Not quite, but almost. He’d thought he’d maybe cracked that tough exterior presented by him just by a little but nope. Taking a deep sigh he massaged his temple, thinking of the best way to reply, without spooking his senior anymore than he had.

Perhaps it really wasn’t the best idea to reveal that much of his personality to Arthit but somehow, he felt like it would be worth it.

For the very first time, he put the letter aside, determined to only get back to it when he was in the best state of mind.

~***~

“Aim.”

His best friend hummed a response without even looking up from the book he had unceremoniously thwacked Kongpob in the head with not just a week or so ago, furiously trying to absorb any part of the content into his head.

“Would you say I’m pesky?” Kongpob inquired.

“Wh- What on earth are you talking about Kong?” Aim growled out, finally lifting his head only to watch the head hazer of their batch fiddle with the corner of his notebook. Fiddle. Kongpob did not fiddle. He did but most certainly not Kongpob. Something was wrong.

“Kong. What made you ask that? You’ve been..” He scrambled for the most appropriate word. “Weird.” He ended lamely. “Some days you smile like an idiot, then there’s that incessant checking of your mail and now this? What’s going on?”

“It’s just, someone called me pesky. Am I?” Kongpob huffed, glaring at his best friend.

“Well, you can be a little when you want to have fun but you’re usually quite in control. Did you annoy someone by accident?”

“I may have,” Kongpob mumbled, leaning his head on his arms the other way, indicating that the conversation was over.

Aim rolled his eyes at his friend before burying his head deep in the heavily worded book that Kongpob had miraculously fished out of the depths of the library that had all the answers to Prof Thorat’s little universe of tests.

~***~

Kongpob had returned to his dorm earlier that day, unable to concentrate on studying in a group setting anymore at school. He took a deep breath and head logged into the depths of research for a paper that was due the following week. He knew he had plenty of time for that but he’d much preferred to get a head start on it. Hopefully, it could provide him with a little distraction before he accosted his senior with his words again, so to speak.

But alas, that was not to last. The words of his senior gnawed at the side of mind constantly and the minute Kongpob was done with reading a particularly long paper for his research, he whipped out a blank sheet of paper and set it nicely down beside the letter.

Tapping his pen lightly on the table, he mumbled, “what am I going to do with you P’Arthit?”

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Dear P’Arthit,

I’m a little disappointed that you’d think I would keep that little tidbit of a tip that you have given me to myself. Especially when I had to suffer a huge lump to the back of my head for days for it. Apparently, my best friend decided I was pulling his leg by digging out such an ancient book from the library and his next course of action was to smack me over the head with it in annoyance. That was until, of course, he realised I was dead serious that that was the answer to all our misery. He is mulling over it with a couple of other friends as I’m writing this. My head still stings a little too, if you could spare a little sympathy for your nong.

Persistent.. Pesky.. You sure like your P’s eh Phi? Then how about these two for a change? Patient and personable. Not to toot my own horn but I can assure you that you could ask anyone to describe me, I’m sure those two adjectives would come up somewhere. I do try to aim to please, especially an important senior like you.

And what’s wrong with a Nong wanting a reward for a job well done? :( To give praise when it is well deserved was something my father instilled in me as a child. He used to say that you could offer someone the riches of the world but it could never compare to words of heartfelt appreciation. Those were words he lived by as a boss and I endeavour to do the same.

You did mention it was a graduate program so I thought maybe, just maybe, you’d be part of it and make a little exception to help out a poor nong of yours. Afterall, just a little tip from you has already saved us from weeks of hell. I could imagine what just a little more time from you could do for my studies and in turn, my friends. But you are right Phi, your work is more important, I apologise for intruding on your time.

In my defence, I already had a tough enough time fending both P’Bright and P’Tootah the night you had left me to my own defences at P’Bright’s club. I’m not so sure your time capsule would remain safe and not ‘accidentally’ become part of P’Bright’s oh-so-large area of effect. I’m glad I’ve left both you and P’Bright enough of an impression for you to be impressed.

By the way Phi, if you must know, I would never dare hold your time capsule hostage. I have offered you the simplest option time and time again but it seems that P’Arthit is.. Afraid? Since the start of the letters, I have all but offered a single suggestion to you Phi, which was to meet me so that we could bury the time capsule once again and be well on our way.

Sure, I had hoped to spend some time learning about a senior who had spent a rather similar time in school like me and hoped to get some life lessons along the way. But might I remind you Phi, that you were the one who brought up the chaperon which of course, in turn made me think of a date. You could hardly blame your nong for this one now could you, since that was the point of a chaperon in the first place? I merely went along with what you had said.

Also, just so we’re clear - you’re right. I know jackshit about you Phi. Which is why I’ve been trying to know you, just a little better each time with every word I write. Is that something that’s just so hard to believe? Campus moon, popular one to date - I don’t know what any of this means to you but I can assure you it means absolutely nothing to me. I’m just a man who is looking towards a head hazer who existed once upon a time who is now making a difference to my life. I may not have known you before your time capsule, but I would like to know you now, is that too much to ask?

Is being male what truly bothers you Phi? You can say the word and I will stop, no questions asked.

Of course, we could go along with your suggestion of burning it. If you would rather not have a date we could always call it a funeral. You are hereby invited to the funeral of Arthit Rojnapat’s time capsule in which he will leave no words for his future self, leaving himself devoid of a good laugh and nostalgic memories of his young innocent self. As an ever polite host, I would like to request for the guest to set a date and time for the official ceremony so that we can send the beloved demised letter on its way to a better life.

Yours ever truly,

Kongpob Sutthiluck

Just a normal Nong

P.S. Sometimes it isn’t about who fits, it’s about who’s the one you want by your side.

~***~

Sighing, Kongpob put down the pen and buried his head in his hands. Writing this letter took a toll on him. It had not been like that in the past few letters. Had he gone too far by being too ‘him’ in the last letter? He had thought it would have been taken in good stride by the senior who had written the first letter but the senior who wrote the second letter had reappeared instead.

He didn’t want to come off as a whiny kid but at the same time, there were so many glaring issues staring up at him from each word etched into that sheet of paper. How was he to ignore those? Sure, he had flirted a little but he had only dared to do so based on the reactions of his other two seniors that he had met the other night. Also, Arthit’s last reply was vastly different from this one. Was it entirely the alcohol or was there another Arthit buried deep within?

Kongpob wanted to know, so badly. He’d never felt this excited, this intrigued and yet also this hurt and disappointed talking to anyone like this before. And yet, he still wanted to take that risk. Just one more, he told himself. He’d bare himself a little, just once more. And if he was told to back off, he would.

There was a little sting in his heart as he thought that but he shook it off quickly, gently sliding the letter into an envelope. There was no warning for Bright anywhere, but it was a risk he was willing to take. The man should have gotten the point by now right?

Or maybe it was just the diminishing hope that this might be the last letter he would send to a certain other senior.

–_–

He did a double take when he saw one of his friends sitting leisurely at the bar counter. Alarm bells went off inside his head at the sight of him nursing a bottle, occasionally chugging the contents before he went back to peeling the label off. He left the inventory behind, going behind the bar and parking himself right in front of his friend.

“It’s thursday,” he declared, nonchalantly grasping one of the clear glasses that was left on the strainer and started to wipe it dry with a hand towel.

He watched as his friend jerked at the sound of his voice. He looked so out of it that every snarky and joking commentary left his mind. He looked on in concern at the other, placing the glass he was cleaning down on the dark granite slab.

“What’s up?” he asked seriously.

Arthit looked like a deer caught in the headlights with how wide his eyes were looking at him. His nervousness only seemed to heighten when he began to look around obsessively as if he was looking for an exit. It was a dumb thing to do, he knew, because if he wanted to be alone and undisturbed, he shouldn’t have come to a bar whose owner was his friend. He told the other just as much. He immediately felt guilty when his friend hung his head low like a child who got scolded. Or a puppy.

‘But Arthit is not a puppy, Bright. He’s a kitten with wickedly sharp claws and could maim you anytime. It would do you well to always keep this in mind,’ he scolded himself.

“It’s thursday,” he repeated himself when he wasn’t forthcoming.

“I know. You already said that before,” the other grumbled.

“So? Are you going to tell me what your problem is anytime soon?” he hinted.

“Who said I’ve got a problem?” the other evaded, taking a large swig of his beer to probably avoid looking at him.

“I cannot stress this enough. It’s still Thursday, Arthit.”

The other man remained mum. Bright heaved a deep sigh. He should’ve expected this. This particular friend of his held his thoughts and troubles so close to his heart that pulling them out of him was like pulling teeth. Painful and stubbornly rooted. But he was more nosy and stubborn and he had the whole night. And the following nights after that.

“Spill,” he commanded the other, all traces of mirth gone from his voice.

Arthit looked at him warily so he crossed his arms against his chest, trying to look intimidating. He might not have been the most intimidating of their gang– he will leave that to their gentle giant with those bulging muscles of his– nor the most confrontational– that was Prem– nor even the most aloof of them all– that title was taken by the very man in front of him– but he wasn’t a hazer for nothing. He could be serious whenever he wanted to and on the rare occasions that he did, he was told that he could be quite scary. He was also nosy, the nosiest of them all in fact, and that's saying something with Tutah in the group.

He watched Arthit fiddle with the almost empty bottle again, a clear sign that the other was indeed troubled by something, and that he was debating whether he should spill his guts or not. He took a peek at him from time to time, so he waited patiently for the other to say something.

“I– uhm– Nothing! It’s nothing.”

“Uh-huh. And I am the king of Thailand.”

He was immune to the glare that the other shot him, even going so far as smiling at his friend widely, further incensing the other. He was on point too, since Arthit’s glare intensified.

“Why do you want to know so much, huh?”

“Because you’re here on a Thursday night. A weekday. You are a man of habit, and I know that you give yourself some strict rules especially now that you’re working and on top of that, studying for your Masters. There must be something big bugging you to have made you come here right after your class.”

Arthit remained silent after that, his glare already gone. He maintained his defensive stance, arms crossed against his chest, until he deflated, slumping his shoulders and bowing his head.

“Why am I like this, Bright?” he asked.

“You have to be more specific than that.”

“I– I fucked up, I guess…”

Bright waited the other out. His friend already started talking and he knew that he was about to spill his troubles.

“I think… I might’ve pushed someone away yet again.”

‘Huh. This is heavy stuff,’ Bright contemplated. He reached out for a couple bottles of beer, and then passed one to his friend. It was accepted with a grateful half-smile.

“How did you push them away?”

“Well I– I might’ve been a little bit too dismissive of them. Way too aloof. Way too frank. You know, right? I lack tact. I’m not worse than you but I still lack tact.”

“Insult me more, why don’t you,” Bright told him, deadpan.

“The truth hurts, am I right? But you gotta accept it, bro.”

“Whatever. Continue.”

“Right. Well, I lack filter. With my words. And I know that I have hurt people in the past because of it. So this instance, I used my words to push this person away, even before I realized what I was doing. And now, I think that I may have been successful in that regard…”

Bright observed his friend. He tried to wrack his brain if the latter mentioned a new person that he seemed to have been getting closer to lately and came up with nothing. Well, Arthit rarely mentioned things like this to them, so that was to be expected.

“...I know that I told you last time that I will try, you know, to meet with other people. Because I have been hung up on her for way too long, but… I can’t seem to do it right. Why can’t I do it right?”

Bright observed his friend for quite a while.

“Have I ever told you, Arthit, that you are not the easiest person to get along with?”

Arthit snapped his attention back to so-called-close friend, glaring at him something fierce.

“Insult me more, why don’t you?” he mimicked the other’s words from before. Bright chuckled in response.

“I’m serious about what I said, Arthit. You’re not the easiest person to get along with. That’s because you tend to push people away on the get-go. But once a person manages to get through to you, they learn that it is relatively easy to get along with you. They just need to be persistent. Just like me and Tutah,” Bright finished with a wide grin, even going as far as shoving a peace sign onto Arthit’s face.

Arthit grimaced as he flinched away from the twitching fingers of his friend. He couldn’t help but to feel grateful to him, though.

“Thanks, Bright,” he said with a smile. The other beamed brightly at him and then leaned uncomfortably close.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“For– the advice?”

“What? I didn’t say that it was free you know? I charge a high rate for this! My brain juices are expensive, just so you know.”

Arthit looked at him incredulously before he rearranged his expression into a fake smile.

“Oh, is that so? How much do you charge?”

“That would be… hmm, five thousand baht!” Bright said, shoving his open palm on Arthit’s face.

Arthit’s eyebrow twitched, and it was a hardship for him to maintain his smiling expression.

“How about I tell Tutah about that day you ruined his date by stealing his–”

“SHHHH! Arthit, don’t you dare! He will make my life a living hell if he finds out!”

–_–

Nearly a full week had come and gone without anything from the younger. Arthit’s hopes of ever hearing from his junior faded as the days passed. He contemplated whether he wanted to continue writing to the younger or not, and if he did, did he have any courage to send a letter to the other? He did have a few stamps anyway, having gone to the post office to acquire more aside from the ones that the younger had given him.

‘Well, he gave you extra stamps. Might as well use it in writing to him, right? You had been such a dick to him. The least you could do is to apologize,’ a voice inside his head scolded.

He was shaken out of his reverie when the cab driver told him that they had arrived. He paid his fare and alighted the vehicle, staring at the bright lights of the bar and dreading going in. He was just here not too long ago and he didn't want to enter again as much as possible.

But his friends would surely ask what his problem was and that was one thing that he didn't want, nor did he have any idea how to answer. Evasion could be very exhausting and he was already tired from all the overthinking he was doing. He needed to at least relax, even for just a few hours, in the midst of his friends. It was a better alternative than to stay at home and drive himself crazy mulling things over.

With a defeated sigh, he went on inside the establishment and through the throng of people already there. He trudged his way up the stairs, towards their usual hang out place and found his friends already there.

A round of greetings and a few bottles of beer later, they were joined by the owner of the bar himself. Just like the previous times, he came up complaining about his staff, which he always ended up not firing anyway.

Arthit watched his friends in silence, an absent smile playing on his lips. He was grateful for them, truly grateful, because everytime he was with them, he seemed to always forget about his woes.

Bright pulled him aside after a while, when the other three were busy. He made up an excuse of wanting help on one of the bar’s books and led him to his office. He was curious about his intentions, with a healthy dose of wariness, because he didn’t believe for a second that he needed help with the inventories and stuff.

…he should’ve expected that the other indeed needed help with the bar’s financials because he ended up with a ledger, him feeling bemused as he did the numbers. But he was right of course that there was another motivation for this impromptu one-on-one meeting.

A white envelope appeared in his line of sight, covering the messy scrawl of numbers and words on the lined page. His heart jolted in surprise and there was hope blooming somewhere in there at the sight of the letter.

He went to grab for it, eager and giddy, but it was snatched away immediately. He scowled at his friend, about to run off his mouth at the other. Bright beat him to the punch, his usual non-serious demeanor gone, replaced by the unusual serious one.

“Arthit? Let me tell you something about N’Kongpob. N’Kong, as you know, had once been the campus moon. Therefore, he’s really popular with his peers. His popularity didn’t end there, though. That’s because he is genuinely nice to other people. He had charisma, confidence, and it helps that he had brains that came along with his good looks.”

Arthit stared at his friend warily, having had a clue as to what the other was getting into.

“Another thing that I observed from him is that he’s decisive and stubborn. Once he decided on something, he would do it no matter what. It had been a very good trait that helped us a lot of times when we were in the same club. He works hard for the things he wants and he isn’t easily deterred by obstructions.”

“Your point?” he asked, getting impatient. Bright smirked at him.

“Well, I figured he might’ve been the one you were so afraid of losing. The one you mentioned before?” the latter said, tilting his head to the side, an innocent smile stretching his lips.

“H-he’s not! W-where’d you even get that idea, huh? Do you have any proof that it’s him?”

“I just used my observation skills and did some deductions of my own. It’s not that hard to come to that conclusion, Arthit, since you’re pretty much predictable.”

Arthit blushed at this. He was a creature of habit, it was really no surprise that Bright had managed to figure him out.

“My letter. Give me my letter,” Arthit demanded, raising his palms up, scowling at his friend something fierce.

Bright observed him for quite a while, before smiling a cheeky smile, dropping the envelope into his awaiting palm.

“Good luck, Arthit. He’s pretty stubborn once he sets his eyes on something,” Bright said, still wearing that infuriating cheeky smile. “And Arthit?”

“What?!” he snarled, eliciting a chuckle from the unbothered man.

“Just a word of advice. Don’t push him away. Even though I said he’s stubborn as fuck, he’s also very courteous. He knows when to back off. Better not waste this chance you got and regret it later.”

“Unlike you?”

“Yup. Unlike me and Tutah. We’re persistent to the point that some might call us pests. But you got awesome friends out of it, so it’s a win for you, right?”

“Who said? You’re both pests in my life.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

–_–

Guilt. So much guilt. That was at the forefront of all the emotions he was feeling after he read the letter.

“I hurt his feelings, right? I definitely hurt his feelings,” he muttered. He glanced down at the neat script again, reading the last few paragraphs.

Bright had been right. The tone of the letter had felt as if the younger was trying to pull away, and it was curious that there was a small part of him that kept panicking at that thought.

He didn’t want that to happen, to lose this fragile connection he had with the other. He wanted to talk to the younger more, discover more of the other’s personality. He wanted those things but… he didn’t know how to pen those down. That would be too shameless of him. And needy. He didn’t want the other to think of him as someone desperate for his attention. He just wanted… He didn’t know what he wanted.

Grabbing a fresh piece of paper and one of his technical pens, he started to write. He didn’t know what to write about so he went with whatever his gut told him to.

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Nong Kongpob,

Are you okay? Should your friend even be doing that? What if you incurred a concussion for that heavy blow? I do not condone such violence!

Or not.

Being friends with Bright and Tutah brings out the murderer in you, so there’s that. But seriously, you’re okay, right? You won’t want you to lose your days in these critical times of your college life. You should be doing your research for your thesis already at this time of year, if I remember correctly, right? Having days off might set you back so be careful.

I’m glad that you aren’t like that person I know. Like I said in my previous letter, I don’t know much about you. I do apologize if I have offended you with my words. I think I might have done that a lot with my previous letter, huh? I do tend to do that a lot. Offend someone without even meaning to. But…

Here goes nothing.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for offending you in my last letter. I don’t know what else to tell you aside from this. I am so not good at these things– these things that relate to feelings. And properly expressing them.

And about the time capsule. I changed my mind. I do want it after all. When you mentioned the funeral– and might I say that was such a morbid thing to mention. Why don’t we order a marble gravestone for it, too, huh?

I dunno. It felt as though something really died after you mentioned that. Or something will die. I don’t wanna let go of that something. The funeral is too poetic for my tastes anyway. Let’s just leave the time capsule alive and kicking for now, yes?

Going on a date with a man– doesn’t it bother you? I mean– I–

I think that came out wrong. Let me rephrase that. Going out with a man, aren’t you afraid of what others might think of you? Doesn’t their opinions matter? Being ostracized because of this, I don’t think I will ever want to leave my house if this happened to me.

And there you have it. Proof that I am a coward. I think you were right in your observation that I am afraid. I didn’t even notice that I was feeling like that until you pointed it out. I’m sorry. Truly I am.

I bet you have such high expectations of me. Well, sorry to disappoint you nong. This is me. The real one.

Distrusting. Not because of some trauma or shit that happened when I was young. Nothing of that. It’s just my nature.

I’m going out on a limb here, nong. Convince me to meet with you. Demanding, I know. But this is also me.

Best of Luck,

Arthit Rojnapat

A very repentant Phi

PS. Your description of yourself as patient and personable is yet to be determined. I am reserving that judgment for when we meet.

PPS. This letter was so hard to write that I might need to sweep my floor in the morning of crumpled papers and pieces of shredded letters.

~***~

“Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid.” Kongpob repeatedly muttered under his breath, as he wrote meticulously on the joint report they were currently working on as a group.

“Stupid? What’s stupid?” Oak asked, looking up from the book that they had each taken turns poring over. “This book is genius!”

Aim shook his head, knowing that Kongpob was up to weird things again. Their lead hazer had been talking strangely and always doing strange things at random moments these last few weeks.

“He’s not talking about that.” Aim answered simply.

The rest of the group looked between both him and Kongpob, only for him to shrug in response as their leader continued mumbling under his breath.

“Does anyone want to go for a drink?” Oak asked, stretching his entire aching body out as they finally completed their project.

A fair amount of hands shot up, with a mass exclamation of ‘me’ rang out from the group. Oak clapped his hands in glee. “Alright, let’s go to P’Bright’s bar. I think we can get a discount.”

“Kong?” Aim asked hesitantly, watching his best friend.

“P’Bright’s place? Okay.”

“Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat. See you guys at 8?”

The group agreed all round and each left for their dorm. Aim hung back, waiting for Kongpob to put the finishing touches to their report.

“Hey, is everything alright?”

Kongpob looked over to his friend and nodded silently, the worry still obvious on his face. “I’m fine Aim, I’ll go with you guys. I have.. Something to talk to P’Bright about.”

“P’Bright?”

“I’ll.. tell you everything soon Aim, just not now,” Kongpob assured his best friend, clapping him on the shoulder. “Thanks for worrying about me.” With that, the pair separated, each heading their own way to their dorm room.

Just as Kongpob had stepped into the lobby, the caretaker called out, handing him a small white envelope that he never thought he’d see again. He sprinted up to his room, once again dropping all his things to the side of his desk before sitting in his chair. Holding the envelope in both hands, he stared at it, breathing deeply before he gathered enough courage to rip it open.

His heart leapt for joy when he read the first few sentences of the letter - was that concern he detected? That’s a written first. It was progress, right? He eagerly moved further down the letter, his excitement soon faded to mixed emotions of both guilt, indignation, disappointment and strangely, hope.

He was warranted that right?

Glancing at the clock, he pulled out a pen and paper. It probably wasn’t the best to write a letter in a rush but at the same time, people were often the most real when they didn't overthink things right? He had a feeling that that was what Arthit needed from him right now - a true and sincere reply with no frills.

He might come to a different conclusion after what he had planned to do that night but to hell with it. Somehow it felt like it was now or never.

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Dear Phi Arthit,

Glad to know I’ve somewhat wormed my way into your heart enough to earn an inch of concern from you. That counts as a win right? From my continued observation (of myself), I am glad to report that I did not suffer any head trauma - or so it seems. A little extra tender loving care from a senior might just do the trick of alleviating the bruising pain though. Would you be up to the job Phi?

Now, as much as I would understand the need to murder when dealing with P’Bright, I’d very much like our first meeting to not be in the holding room of prison so I am going to have to implore you to maintain your beautiful track record of not being a murderer. We’ve been buried up to our necks with work lately so I’m hoping not to have to worry about both you and my research at the same time.

Thank you, Phi, for apologising. But believe me when I say that you have done nothing that warranted that. The tone of your previous letter may have been harsh, I won’t sugar coat it. But it also gave me an insight Phi, to you and I thank you for that. And on that note, I would like to apologise too, for probably pushing you further than I should have.

The truth is Phi, writing these letters to you? It is like a breath of fresh air for me. I wait, admittedly like a psychopath, each week for your response, hoping to get to know you, even if it is just by a little. So why don’t we take it slower from here on out? We are dealing with snail mail afterall, we could afford it right?

As for your time capsule, I’m glad to announce that it has recently avoided a certain death. Had I not received a reply within these two weeks, I was going to send it well on its way. I had kind of imagined more of a crematory ceremony coupled with a sprinkling of ashes into the wind - you know, for dramatics sake. But hey, if you would like it buried six feet under, I would be happy to oblige as well. A marble gravestone does sound pretty.

I’m glad that you’ve decided against its early death though, and I’m sure that it would be glad that you have spared its life. How ever this whole thing between us goes in the future, I’m sure that the time capsule would still serve its original purpose - to remind you of how much you’ve grown (and your adorable-ness in your early years).

Regarding the ‘date’, if that word is a cause of concern for you, we can call it an outing, a ceremony, heck even a ritual, I honestly could care less. And as for going out with a man? I would like to turn it around to ask P’Arthit instead.

Why do others’ opinions matter? Why do I have to be afraid of what they think? Even if I were to go out with a man, what wrong have I done against them? I’m not saying you’re a coward Phi, but if I were to love someone, I would love to show them to the world. Call me a romantic but I’d yell from the top of the mountains if I could.

Also Phi, you’re never alone. Clearly, since I was accosted by P’Bright and P’Tootah the minute they got the chance to. Would they allow you to feel alone because of your sexual preference? I’m willing to bet a million baht that there would be no way in hell they would allow that to happen and they would probably not be the only ones. And I will also go out on a limb here and say, whoever it is you choose to love, would be the happiest person possible simply because you chose to love them.

Because you are worth it Phi.

If anything, your letters have told me that you are protective of your family and friends. You work hard and take your learnings seriously, seeing as how you still remember a book from back when you were studying. You have a fun side that not many people see, unless maybe when you’re inebriated and it is highly attractive, believe it or not. And you’re sensitive because even through writing, you could detect my emotions.

I have gathered this much just from a few letters, what more the people who actually know and love you?

So rather than simply try to convince you to meet me Phi, I now know what I must do. Which is to grant you the space to feel comfortable with me first, before maybe bringing up that idea of a chaperon again. I am willing to take things at your pace, Phi. But I must remind you that my wonderful access to the school compounds too ends at the point that I graduate so maybe not too slowly okay?

As always,

Kongpob Sutthiluck

A hopeful Nong

P.S. I think I need to use the word persuasive now, and hopefully it would turn out to be my best trait.

P.P.S. I know it isn’t my place to say this, but I’m really proud of you - simply for putting all your thoughts into words.

P.P.P.S (Last one I promise) I chose to hand this over to P’Bright because it felt right this time around. This needed to come from someone you could trust.

~***~

Kongpob stuffed the envelope into his bag, his mood significantly better than how it had started out earlier in the day. He didn’t quite know how he was going to approach Bright without giving away too much. But it was a risk he was willing to take.

Stepping into the bar, the gang was warmly welcomed by their senior who promptly ushered them into the VIP area. “What are my lovely juniors doing here on a weekday night? I must buy the lottery this week. Two unexpected visits in a span of a few weeks? He drawled, turning to Kongpob as he said his last sentence.

“Two Phi?” Kongpob asked, taking the bait.

“Yes, two.” Bright grinned. “Now, what can I get all of you?”

Pretty soon, there were shots and beers all round the table and the general volume of the group increased drastically as giggling and chortles were now the common language. Kongpob, being the designated driver of the group, sipped on his Shirley Temple in silence as he listened to the banter going all around the table.

Finally reaching the limit of his patience, Kongpob made a move to the bar, sitting in front till Bright finally had the time to stop mixing drinks and stepped out from behind it.

“N’Kongpob, I didn’t think a goody two shoes like you would be here with the rest of them on a weekday. I’m going to presume you didn’t come here just to be the designated driver so spill.” He commented, taking a deep swig of his own beer.

“You’re right Phi,” Kongppob sighed, fiddling with his glass in hand. “I wanted- no. Just wondered-”

“Arthit, yes I know, carry on. What do you want to know, Nong? No wonder you aren’t getting anywhere with him with all that yammering and hesitance.” Bright rolled his eyes, waving his arms around dramatically.

“You know?” Kongpob’s eyes widened in shock. It didn’t seem like Arthit to share such things. Maybe he should trust Bright more than he gave him credit for.

“Yes.. and no.”

Kongpob side eyed his senior. He was usually good at reading people but Bright? Bright was a real mystery sometimes. He wasn’t sure just how much he was allowed to share. He had barely made any progress with Arthit as it was. The last thing he wanted to do was to ruin whatever they had between them right now.

“Look. What I do know, is my friend. I don’t know what it is between the two of you right now Nong, but if you want my advice - which is pretty darn precious and I’m giving it to you for free right now. Don’t give up on him Kongpob. Whatever it is you’re doing now, it’s working.”

“Are you sure Phi, because I-”

“Positive. Arthit was here, couple of weeks ago. Let’s just say between his overthinking brain and his extremely well built wall, there’s a space for you.” Bright grinned, patting the younger on the thigh. “He’s like a durian Kongpob, deadly on the outside but soft and mushy on the inside.”

Kongpob couldn’t help but chuckle at the description, it did seem a little like the prickly senior, always swinging between his hard and soft sides.

“Then which is the real him, Phi?”

“Now that, Nong, is for you to find out. Come on, let’s go save your friends or they won’t make it to class tomorrow. I will not have the profs blaming me for their hangovers.” Bright chirped, hopping off the bar stool and started walking towards the room.

“And for what it is worth Nong, I promised him you were one of the good ones.” He turned around right before the door to the room to face Kongpob, staring him dead in the eye. “Don't disappoint me you hear?”

The younger looked determinedly at his senior, nodding. That had been his plan all along afterall. If Arthit gave him the chance that was. The pair stepped into the room, picking up the juniors who were scattered around and hauling them out to the main area where they promptly began piling them into the car that they had parked out front.

Right before Kongpob hopped into the car himself, he went up to Bright who was busy shushing the fussing juniors through the open car window, holding the white envelope in hand.

“Phi.. could you?”

“You sly dog, you didn’t really need that talk, did you?” Bright grinned, snatching the envelope.

“Not really Phi, but you gave me the assurance I needed.”

“Good boy, now remember my words or you will pay dearly. Off with all of you, give me a ring when you’re all back in the dorm, I need to know you’re safe.” With that, the senior spun on his heels and returned to his bar, waving goodbye with the white envelope he had in his hand.

–_–

“Oh, Aaaaarthiiiiiit~”

Said person looked towards the entrance of the room, raising a questioning eyebrow. Bright, his grin as wide as the Cheshire’s, practically skipped his way towards his friends, stopping right in front of him.

“What?” Arthit asked warily.

"He he he he."

That wasn't a good laugh. That laugh almost always ended up with them getting into trouble. His other friends were also looking at their exchange with a certain degree of caution.

"Arthit. My good, good, friend," Bright continued, dropping his body right next to the ex-head hazer, crowding against him as he slung an arm around his shoulders, much to the irk of the shorter man.

"I have something for you~" the bar's owner sing-songed. He held up the white envelope, waggling his eyebrows at the grumpy cat beside him.

Arthit, seeing the letter, made a lunge towards it, but Bright was quicker. He stood up, immediately raising the white paper above his head, definitely way above Arthit's.

The latter growled in frustration, but he had a few tricks upon his sleeves against giant people. He kneed the other on the nuts, making the teasing man shriek in panic.

No worries, dear readers for Bright's nuts and his future children are safe for Arthit was only feinting.

Bright doubled over, protecting his "precious family jewels", and that had been his second mistake. The first one was taunting Arthit, who had little to no patience whatsoever and definitely cunning when he wanted to be.

Arthit easily grabbed the letter then, slapping the back of Bright's head in retaliation. He looked at the name of the sender, butterflies fluttering in his stomach when he read that it was from the younger and then schooling his features to prevent himself from smiling loonily. He then checked the letter for any possible breach in the integrity, huffing a satisfied sigh when he found none.

Staring haughtily at his taller friend, who was pouting at him for his feint, he said a simple thank you before pocketing the precious letter.

"Aww, aren't you gonna read that?" Bright asked, innocently smiling at him, even rocking back and forth on his toes.

Arthit sneered at him in reply, seating himself back on the couch. Knot passed him a bottle of beer, amusement evident on his face.

"Oh-hoo. What is this? Was that your penpal, Arthit?" he asked. It seemed like he was in the mood for teasing the other.

"Oh, shut it. It's just from a junior," he grumbled.

"Huh. Do you usually exchange letters with 'just a junior'?" Prem asked, the air quotes evident in his voice.

Arthit blushed slightly but he deigned to ignore the teasing remarks. The others kept prodding him with questions, making him overly embarrassed. He shot a withering glare to a cackling Bright, who was standing a safe distance from them.

When he couldn't take it anymore, he stood up abruptly and excused himself to go to the balcony. His friends, sensing that he had had enough, let him be, changing the topic to another, safer one.

Arthit let the cold air wash through him, to cool his heated face. He hopped on one of the barrels that littered the space, seating himself comfortably while leaning forward on the railing, resting his chin in his folded arms atop the railing.

He thought about the letter, it never having left his mind since he received it from Bright. Imagining what the younger might've written. He smiled, unbidden, when he imagined a puppy like Kongpob, complete with the wagging tail, as he was wont to do the past few days.

"Gaaah!" he exclaimed loudly when his curiosity got the better of him.

He whipped out the envelope, carefully lifting the lid, his bottom lip caught in between his lips. A smile lifted his lips, absent and real. He felt his cheeks heating again, the cool air not doing anything to cool them off. However, this time, it was a welcome reaction.

"Oooooh, is N'Kongpob flirting with our dear Arthit?" an annoying voice whispered on his left, wiping the smile on his face.

"Yes, yes. It seems like it. Kyaaaa! I'm so happy our dearest virgin's going to lose his V-card soon, Bright!"

Gritting his teeth, he counted from one to ten and when that didn't succeed in calming him down, he told himself, 'fuck it' and decided to murder the two this evening.

"YOU BETTER HIDE ASSHOLES, IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIVES!" he screamed.

He scrambled after the two fleeing figures, a small part of his brain wondering how they could move so fast, especially Tutah. An arm wrapped around his waist, stopping him from going further after his two mischievous friends. The body behind him was shaking a bit in laughter as he yelled bloody murder and profanities after the two.

"Knot, let me go! It's their time to die! DIE! Do you hear me?! Let me go!"

"Now, now. Calm yourself down, Arthit. It's not worth getting into jail for. Your life would be wasted for the likes of them," the large man coaxed.

"GAAAAAAAH! TUTAH! BRIGHT! GET BACK HERE ASSHOLES!"

Meanwhile, the two laughing men were already on the ground floor of the bar, laughing and huffing, and supporting one another.

"Is everything okay, P'?" asked Pen, one of the bartenders.

He looked at them in concern then to the direction of where they came from. There was a snort behind him so he looked back to see his workmate, Rome. He looked at him in confusion so Rome decided to explain.

"Don't worry about them. That's just how they are. These two always tease their friends. I wouldn't even be surprised if one of them ended up in a ditch somewhere," Rome said dismissively, ordering Pen to go back to work. He shot an amused glance at the two still grinning lunatics.

"Oh Romey, you know us so well," Bright praised the other gleefully, earning him an epic eye roll before the bartender went back to his post behind the bar.

"Bright, Bright, Bright," Tutah called urgently, his eyes trained on their new target.

“What?” the latter asked, looking at his friend and then following his line of sight. The Cheshire grin made a comeback.

“Let’s go,” he said, making the one beside him giggle.

They made their way across the bar, ignoring the calls for back-up of the bartenders. They stood before the table that was occupied by slightly rowdy students.

“Oh, sawasdee khap, P’Bright! And…” one of them noticed them standing there.

“Tutah. I’m your P’Tutah.”

“Sawasdee khap P’Tutah.” A whole round of greetings went around the table, their juniors politely even offering them a drink. They waved them off after returning their greeting, stating that they only just went there to say hi.

“Actually, what was that ruckus a while ago, P’?” asked one of them. “The whole bar heard some screaming. Is something wrong?”

“Oh, don’t worry N’Tew. It’s fine, it’s fine. Everything’s fine,” Bright dismissed. The other’s nodded in understanding, their concern washing away at their reassurance. Then the two of them turned their gleaming eyes on their target, making the younger wary of them.

“Hey, N’Kong~” Tutah sing-songed, giggling dementedly at the end. Every one of the juniors leaned away subtly from the two seniors.

Bright and Tutah leaned further into the personal space of the younger. Kongpob only smiled at them pleasantly, though.

“Hey nong,” Bright said in a low voice.

“You should’ve seen his face when he was reading your letter. His blush is definitely cute,” he continued, emphasizing the ‘cute’ word.

The two of them watched the younger’s expression turn blank, with his eyes blazing with some unknown emotion. If Tutah could be so bold, he'd say that that was jealousy burning.

They watched as something clicked in his brain, his expression turning into shock and then excitement. He stood up suddenly, surprising his friends around him.

“He– Is he here? Right now, P’?” the younger head hazer asked.

Bright and Tutah grinned at one another. Another one caught their bait.

“Oh yeah. Definitely. Wanna see?” asked Bright.

“Oh, but you have to be careful right now. He’s in one of his moods.”

Kongpob widened his eyes.

“Was he the one who was shouting about murdering you a while ago?” he asked.

Bright and Tutah exchanged another look, this one with uncertainty in their eyes. Suddenly, they weren’t so sure anymore about teasing the penpals, and then possibly revealing their friend’s temper to the younger.

“Uhh–”

“That was him, am I right? He definitely sounds like a head hazer to me.”

“Yeah. That was him. Surprised?” asked Tutah warily.

“About his temper?”

“Yeah.”

“Not really. He has the same tone in his writing sometimes.”

“Oooh, so wanna meet him?” Bright asked gleefully, rubbing his palms together. “He’s upstairs.”

“Really P’? Then…”

“Just go up the stairs.”

“Okay then.”

Their other juniors looked at their exchange with confusion, not really knowing what was going on. But since they were more inebriated than their head hazer, they soon lost interest. They watched as their friend walked away from them, leaving them there without any explanation. They all looked at their seniors for clarification, but the two were uselessly giggling together.

Bright raised his eyebrows when a few moments later, Kongpob came back to them, an unreadable look on his face. The younger was gone for only a short time, definitely not enough for him to meet their friend.

“Something wrong?” he asked. The younger shook his head, smiling slightly at them.

“Thank you for the opportunity, P’Bright, PTutah. But I decided that I’d see him when he becomes more comfortable with me. I don’t wanna ‘spook’ him by suddenly appearing in front of him.”

Tutah and Bright glanced at one another yet again. Tutah shook Bright’s shoulder wildly, grinning wide at his best friend.

“My, my. How chivalrous of you. I approve, I approve,” Bright said, clapping a hand on the other’s shoulder.

“It’s the right thing to do, P’. Just hearing his loud melodic voice is enough,” Kongpob said with a grin.

“Loud and melodic, huh? You’re insane, nong,” Bright deadpanned.

“C’mon Bright. Let’s leave the juniors alone. We still need to appease the pink milk monster.”

“What? Hell no, I’m not going back up there. I need to help out my minions.”

“You’re coming with me, asshole. You were the one who told me to come with and spy on Arthit!”

“I did not! You’re blaming your nosiness on me!”

The two continued to bicker as they left the juniors’ table. The juniors were all left dumbfounded at the events that had happened. One particular junior though, continued smiling widely until they decided to call it a night, his friends keeping a wide berth around him.

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Nong Kongpob,

Yah! Why did you write something like that! And you finally decided to make Bright our mailman? I am impressed by your gutsiness.

By the way, my two nosy friends took a peek at your letter while I was reading it and they read your– your– lines! THEY SAID YOU'RE FLIRTING WITH ME!

Can you believe it? You're flirting with me. But… your words did sound flirty. Tell me, nong. Are you flirting with me? Because I wouldn't know how to respond to that.

And everything that you wrote… I also don't know how to respond to that. The only thing that comes to mind is thank you, I guess? Well no, it’s definitely thank you. I am really flattered that you think of me that way.

I really don't know how to respond to the other parts so I will focus on the things that I know. Sending a time capsule off to its final resting place, instead of a simple cremation, how about we create a funeral pyre? Then let's send it off in the Chao Phraya river.

Actually, let's send it off first on its way without lighting it up. And then when it's well on its way in the river, I will light it up with a flaming arrow. Cool right? :D

Jokes aside, I really want to burn it now. That letter is embarrassing. That’s not even the letter that should’ve been inside the capsule. I have the real letter in my box of goodies here. It’s the dumbest thing that I have ever done.

Regarding dating a man… I know that my friends are not the types to judge people easily, even if it’s based on their preference of partners. Among us, the only straight one would probably Knot. He’s the gentle giant in our group. The problem lies with my family. I am a single child, Kongpob. My parents were probably expecting me to find a nice girl to marry, have kids with, and live a nice simple life.

All my life, I had only been ever attracted to one person and you know her. So the possibility of me being attracted to another man is baffling me. I never knew that there would be someone to make me feel like that, and resigned myself to forever live with my unrequited love to a childhood friend. But–

What the heck am I saying? I don’t know what I’m saying.

Thank you for confusing me,

Arthit Rojnapat

So Very Baffled

PS. So... I’m highly attractive huh? Coming from a once Campus moon, that’s saying something. You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Most Popular Moon.

PPS. (If I’m worth it, then she must’ve thought otherwise) Never mind this nong. Forget about this line.

PPPS. Thank you for all the encouraging words. It helps me a lot to believe in myself.

–_–

The letter was posted the following day. Arthit had a bounce in his steps. He couldn’t wait for the next letter to arrive even though he might not admit it out loud.

~***~

Regret. There was so much regret.

Why on earth did he have to play the gentleman and not go running towards the one person he had been yearning to meet all this time? Because he needed patience, he reminded himself over and over again. He had barely made progress with his senior and despite all the regret he was now feeling, he knew too well that he had made the right choice.

But it didn’t mean he wasn’t allowed to pine and wallow in self pity now. His friends had been pestering him to no end about where he had disappeared to for that short amount of time that night after Bright’s words and all he could do was grimace and shake his head.

He was going to have to blame Bright for putting that image of a blushing Arthit into his head. Oh what he would have given to see that in person. He would have teased him further, before stealing a kiss from those beautiful cheeks. Shaking his head, he mentally berated himself for his thoughts. He was getting ridiculous. Arthit had basically taken over his entire mind.

There were so many questions he would have loved to ask the elder in person. Why did he always run whenever he advanced? What would it take for him to feel anything more for him? When would they be able to go on their supposed date?

He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands, burying it in them. He was definitely behaving like a love sick puppy. He could barely deal with himself now, why would Arthit want to deal with him? But there was something about Arthit that drove him crazy. Clearly.

And it was beginning to show in his daily actions, their dorm caretaker now becoming all too familiar with his hopeful face whenever he stepped into the lobby. Only to watch the hope fade into disappointment with a shake of a head to indicate that a letter had not been received for him.

He needed to get a grip on himself, and his heart. Fast.

~***~

All that mental pep talk flew out the window the very minute the caretaker beamed and retrieved a letter from the drawer for him. Kongpob muttered his urgent thanks before sprinting up the stairs to his room, taking multiple steps at a time and nearly stumbling head first into the floor.

This letter had taken a much shorter time to arrive. That was a good sign right? He abandoned his usual spot at his desk, opting for a comfortable position on his bed. Which eventually proved to be a wise decision as he clutched onto a pillow tightly to his chest, a comfort item he had reached out for along the course of reading the letter.

Oh P’Arthit.

His lovely senior had no idea what he was doing to his heart. Kongpob felt as though he had gone for an epic roller coaster ride, being hurled around, up and about. Was he even allowed to hope? The words of his senior were clearly confused, and in turn, boggled his mind. Most people were easy to read but Arthit continued to keep him guessing despite everything. Maybe it was the fact that he only knew him through his words but that shroud of mystery was what added to the appeal of the other.

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Dear P’Arthit,

First of all, you really should be specific. What do you mean by ‘something like that’? I did write a whole letter to you. Was it the part about worming my way into your heart? Or going out with a man? Or that you’re worth it Phi?

What about you Phi? What did you think about my words? Did you think I was flirting because I’m going to be very disappointed if you ever thought otherwise. Have I not been obvious enough with my intentions?

Because I meant every word of it, in both this letter and the last. But it does seem I do need to up my ante if you’re still wondering.

I have to admit something, Phi - that very same night P’Bright and P’Tootah peeked at my letter to you, I was in the bar as well. I’m sad to say that despite my pleas to not have our first meeting in prison, I think the whole bar could hear you taking just that one step closer towards it. It’s a good thing P’Bright and P’Tootah were fast, since the last I saw them they remained pretty much unscathed, albeit the alarmingly heavy breathing.

I must ask for your forgiveness for not meeting you that day even though P’Bright had clearly pointed the way. I didn’t think it was right to accost you while you were screaming bloody murder. And as I had promised you, we were going to take things slower this time around. So I believe we should only meet when, and only when you feel that the time is right.

As much as I admire your enthusiasm Phi, I don’t think the elders would be too pleased with us emulating a viking funeral. How about we fold a paper boat using your letter and I’ll fill the bathtub for you to float it. Then you can throw a lighted matchstick at it to fulfil your pyromaniacal needs and we can call it a successful send off. That way both of us can avoid any trouble with the authorities. I’m pretty sure wedding vows only usually include ‘in sickness and in health’ and not ‘in the same jail cell’. Let’s take our togetherness somewhere else instead, shall we?

I honestly don’t see anything wrong with your letter but if you insist on swapping it out with the real deal, that is your choice. I do think it would be quite the interesting read for your future self so I’m going to advocate for it. A little ironic huh, since I totally just planned its funeral for you in an attempt to get into your good books. Certain sacrifices have to be made in life I guess.

As for dating a man, honestly, I’ve got about as much experience as you. But unlike you Phi, what I do worry about is if I am able to take care of my partner and if I would be able to provide the other person the love they deserve. When it comes to family, I have faith. Faith that they would trust in the person I chose, and that my happiness would outweigh the needs to fulfil societal norms. Surely your parents would be happier seeing you with someone who you could spend the rest of your life with rather than for you to remain single as you have so confidently mentioned? After all, it is better to have someone who loves you than to live lonely or with a facade for the rest of your life don’t you think?

Since you brought up the matter, I’m going to throw caution to the wind and ask you this. Are you attracted to me Phi? Is that what’s baffling you? And I would not be ashamed to say that if you feel anything, even just a little something for me, it would make me very happy.

Also out of curiosity, I know exactly where I’ve seen a photo of you Phi, but what about you? Where have you been secretly stalking me from? Don’t take it wrongly - I love that lil’ ol’ me has enough of your interest to at least find out what I look like. Do I live up to your expectations? I truly hope so otherwise the Most Popular Moon title would have been totally in vain if I can’t even appeal to the one person I really want to.

Learn to believe more in yourself Phi. Because confidence is a lot more attractive than you can imagine. And maybe hopefully you would be able to truly be yourself, with me and preferably without the alcohol. Just imagine what you would be able to do to me if you could just believe in yourself? I’m dangerously smitten as it is.

Yours only,

Kongpob Sutthiluck

Nothing But Earnest

P.S. How many more letters do you think it will take to make P’Bright feel single? He’s quite the expensive mailman sadly. I’m not sure my allowance could take that many more beers.

P.P.S I’m going to say this again. You are worth it. Every word, letter, envelope and stamp (and beer). Just because some people can’t see it, it doesn’t mean I can’t.

~***~

Kongpob stared at the sealed envelope in his file, unsure if he really should send the letter as he had written it. The last time he had taken a leap like this, Arthit had backed away, distancing himself so rapidly it was alarming. But Bright had assured him what he was doing was working. What on earth was the right amount of space to give? Was there even a right amount of advancement?

Argh, everything was just all in a mess now. Kongpob lifted his head only to spot his best friend staring at him again with a concerned look.

“Kong, seriously. What has gotten into you?” Aim deadpanned, annoyed that there was obviously something going on with the other but refused to talk about it.

“Sorry Aim. It’s just..” Kongpob struggled for the right words. “If there was someone you had an interest in, and you couldn’t meet them in person, would you.. Would you still try flirting with them?”

“Oh my god so that’s what’s been on your mind these last few weeks!” Aim gasped, pointing an accusing finger at his best friend who was now looking at him sheepishly.

He glared at him a couple seconds more before sighing in defeat. “Kong, as much as I would love to offer you sound advice, you do realise I’m literally the worst person to be posing this question to right?”

He glanced a little further ahead at another table where a group of girls were giggling and sighed again.

“Seriously Aim? You still haven’t talked to her yet?”

Aim shook his head sadly and landed his forehead with a ‘thunk’ on the textbook that rested on the table. “I just don’t know how to.”

“Just, at least talk to her Aim. Anything. You have no idea how lucky you are to be able to talk to her face to face. I don’t even get that chance.”

“Who is it exactly, Kong? You are always spending your time with us outside of class. I don’t see how you could manage to fall in love with someone else out of our usual group?”

“That.. is the thing I can’t share now, Aim. Everything is just so rocky. I don’t want to undo any of the good I’ve done. Which is why I asked you that question.” Kongpb groaned.

“Well, if it’s of any use to you, I would try, if I had your guts. Because trust me, it really sucks for me right now. I could really use some of your courage man.”

“Then just go Aim. Go!” Kongpob encouraged, shoving his friend out of his seat. When Aim continued to stand by their table unmovingly, he gave him a hard push, sending the poor guy stumbling near where the girls sat.

Aim hissed a soft ‘Kong!’ before turning back to face the girls as he realised they were all staring at him now. Kongpob watched on proudly as his friend awkwardly made his way to one of the girls and began talking to her and quietly wished him the best of luck from where he sat.

“Guess it’s time for both of us to take a chance,” he mumbled to himself before he made the resolute decision to post his letter, come what may.

–_–

He rushed to the bar after a message from Bright had been relayed to him, that he had another letter. He waited almost impatiently for his friend to give him what he wanted and then he would be off on his merry way to his apartment.

The other though, seemed to be purposely ignoring him. He kept on serving one customer after the other even though his bartenders weren’t as busy. In fact, the other two were looking at him strangely, as if they were seeing him in a new light.

Finally, he went to the bar and stared down at his friend. Bright only smiled his shit-eating grin at him, before making him wait again. This time, he made a beeline for the back room, and came back with a white envelope in his hands.

He kept it out of reach, making him growl in frustration and warning.

“Before I give this to you, I just want to let you know that I’m proud of you, Arthit. I’m a proud papa! Finally, my virgin son’s got a faen already!” he exclaimed, wiping a fake tear.

Arthit blushed furiously, growling low in his throat in a menacing way. Bright hastily handed him his letter, laughing like a hyena at the face of the little monster.

Arthit snatched the letter, muttering a small thank you, before bidding his goodbye and then hightailing it out of there. Bright could only sigh as he followed the other with his eyes, a wide smile stretching his lips. He felt so good seeing his friend like this. He had very high hopes that his friend would finally move on from that Namtarn witch with his junior.

–_–

He sat excitedly on his desk, carefully opening the letter with his letter opener. He pulled out the folded piece of paper and then began to read it. After several seconds of reading, he slammed the letter on the desk and then hid his face on his palms. He was blushing furiously.

“He’s flirting. He’s definitely flirting. Oh my god, ohmygod, ohmygod…” he fanned himself with his hands, raising his head to face the ceiling, and blowing out the air from his lungs. The blush still hasn't left his face although it receded a bit.

He eyed the letter as if it was a snake, ready to strike at him. Gingerly, he brought it up again and continued reading, only to stop once again after a while, to cry out in indignation.

“Motherfuckers! Wait ‘til I get my hands on you, Bright! Tutah!” he yelled, forgetting about his thin walls. Again. Of course, he received the same thumping on his wall. Again. Which he ignored in favor of continuing to read his letter.

Okay, it was official, the younger wanted him to permanently let his blood flow upwards to his face. Dear lord, where was the younger getting his words?

He stood up from his desk chair and began pacing his bedroom. He couldn’t continue reading the letter because he needed to calm down. Especially his heart. The thing should calm the fuck down, jeez.

He approached his desk and took a peek at the letter sitting innocently at the table. He blushed yet again and his cheeks were starting to hurt with how wide he was smiling. He moved away from the desk yet again, and began jumping up and down in the hopes that it would calm his racing heart down. He should’ve known better that it would only wind him up.

He crashed on his bed, grabbing one pillow and then screamed into it (squealed). He flailed around, grinning like a lunatic before he sat upright and leaned against the headboard. He squeezed the pillow, biting at the case in an effort to control his grin.

Butterflies were fluttering around in his stomach, in a good way. This was the first time he had felt this giddy. Not even Namtarn had managed to elicit these feelings in him. The most damning of all was that he hasn’t even met the younger in person yet!

He grabbed the letter again, laid it gingerly on top of his thigh, and continued to read. His smile wasn’t wiped out of his face for the entire night.

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Kongpob,

The flirty lines, nong, the flirty lines! They read the flirty lines and they won’t stop teasing me. If I did end up in jail for murder, I am blaming it all on you. I’m really impressed by your shamelessness, managing to write something so flirty! I can’t deal, nong… I caaaaaan’t.

Your earnestness is doing things to me, holy shit! Look at how shaky my handwriting is, look! That’s how I’m so affected by you. Jeez. I feel like a simpering dolt! You’ve reduced me into this creature, nong. Take responsibility.

Your flirting is… Okay, I get it now, nong. You’re flirting with me. I haven’t thought otherwise. I was just unsure. What a pair we make, am I right? We haven’t even met and yet here we are. Are we courting? Is it considered courting if it’s in writing? It is, right?

I’m also pleasantly surprised that you hadn’t ran for the hills after knowing that I had a mean streak in me. Don’t worry, I don’t really plan to have a red in my ledger, especially if that red belonged to Bright and Tutah. They aren’t worth it and they’re not that special enough.

You’re very sweet, nong. Thank you for your kind words. And fine, I will award you the “patient” title, even though I am still dubious about this decision of mine. What’s with this “in sickness and in health” thing, huh? Down boy down. You're moving too fast. We still haven't met in person. I am very pleased though, to know that you have a very good self-control especially with what you said about the bar incident.

Why am I the only one with bad traits?! First a murderer and now a pyromaniac? You flatter me so much. Woooow. I'm so impressed. -_-

Good for you that you’re certain about what your family might think. It’s nice that they are such good people for you to say those things earnestly. Not that I’m saying that my family isn’t good because of what I wrote in the past letter. They’re loving and I know that they would accept me for who I am.

What I’m worried about is disappointing them.

They wouldn’t tell me if they’re disappointed with my choices, even if they might be. I could still tell if they are, and that affects me. It’s what happened when I chose engineering, after all, instead of what they wanted me to take, which was medicine. Yes, I was supposed to be a doctor, not an engineer.

I just thought that doctors don’t get much rest, what can I say? At least I have my weekends free, unlike them who had to be always on call.

Also, I have friends in high places, so to speak. I won’t leak my sources out to you. That’s for me to know and for you to never find out. And I was never your stalker. That will never happen, keep dreaming. I just have good sleuthing skills, and I needed to know who my potential stalker was before.

You really are shameless, pup.

Your owner (since you mentioned you’re mine only),

Arthit Rojnapat

A Flustered Senior

PS. You let my heart rest, nong, please? If this continued, my heart would probably burst.

PPS. Well, nong. It’s up to you to decide whether I am attracted to you or not. You do have a nice smile, I must admit.

PPPS Would you like to see me in a doctor’s coat some time, nong? Maybe I can check you out for any illnesses? ;P Okay this is where my confidence ends. I must go now and hide in between my sheets.

–_–

Sealing the letter in the envelope before he could tear it all up, he stood up from his chair. He was blushing furiously, and had been blushing since he started writing his response. Was that why he was feeling a tad bit lightheaded? He didn’t know.

He went to his dresser to look at his reddened face, and began to talk to his reflection.

“What’s happening to you, Arthit? Don’t you feel shy anymore? Those were very bold things to say, don’t you think? Argh! This is all that puppy’s fault! So much for confidence– you’ve overdone it! Jeeeeeeeez.”

He ducked his head, no longer able to look at his reflection. He felt shy, now that he used up all of his confidence in that letter. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a little something. Reminded of all those racy paperbacks Tutah had lent him, his blush returned in full force.

The idea that popped into his head was planted there, taking root and never leaving his mind. Still, he hesitated, thinking if doing what he wanted to do would be too forward of him.

‘It would be,’ he thought. ‘But what I wrote there was already too forward. What’s one more thing, right? And I would bet all of my fortune that my pup would definitely love this.’

Before he could continue to second guess himself, he grabbed the innocent blue bottle and made his way back to his desk. Grabbing the letter, he opened it again, careful to not damage the flap. He retrieved the letter and opened it. Then, with trembling hands, he held the opened bottle a bit away from the paper and directed the nozzle towards the white sheet. Spraying a generous amount, his room was filled with the masculine fragrance.

He brought the letter closer to his face, taking a waft of it and then hummed in satisfaction. The scent was strong and he hoped it wouldn’t fade fast. Well, his perfume did last for quite a while, and that was why he kept on buying the same brand.

Folding back the paper, he slid it back in its envelope and sealed it again with the help of white glue. Grabbing his wallet and keys, he went down to the lobby and posted the letter on his way out to buy dinner. He needed sustenance after exhausting himself from his overactive reaction to the letter he received from the younger.

There was an absent smile on his face as he gazed at the moon shining above him.

“Moon, huh?”

~***~

When the caretaker handed Kongpob a white envelope, he hadn’t thought too much about it, merely carefully putting it away in his bag. If there was an extra bounce in his step on his way to school, no one commented about it.

Throughout his lessons, his fingers itched to rip open the letter that sat innocently waiting but Kongpob knew he would not concentrate on his lectures so he forced himself to be patient. It was just a matter of time, he told himself each time his brain drifted towards it.

The butterflies flapped around endlessly in his belly, as he barely made it through the last of their assignments. The rest of the group had already left, being unable to take anymore of their piles of homework. Being in their final year was taking a toll on everyone. Kongpob had not been lying to Arthit when he said he needed all the help he could get. All of them did.

As he wrote the last full stop on his paper, he grinned lopsidedly to himself before opening his bag, an unknown musky scent floated towards his nose when he opened it. Strange. He hadn’t noticed this earlier. Then he realised he hadn’t opened his bag since this morning, having kept all his notes in a file that he held on hand most of the time.

Pulling out the letter, his eyes widened in shock when he realised the source of the smell. No. It couldn’t be, could it? He lifted the item to his nose, sniffing lightly and before he knew it, he was inhaling deeply, the smell doing unknown things to him. He groaned lightly before holding the envelope to his chest. It was what he thought it was, wasn’t it?

Arthit had blessed him with a little more of himself.

Kongpob grinned like a dofus, carefully opening the envelope only for the sheet of paper inside to waft an even stronger smell. He closed his eyes, letting the scent take over his senses. P’Arthit smelled wonderful. Masculine yet comforting, not too strong and just the right amount of spice. It was very much like the head hazer, Kongpob mused to himself.

Completely forgetting that his best friend was still seated across from him, Kongpob began reading the letter, unable to take the suspense anymore. And what a mistake that proved to be. Because soon enough, Aim’s voice came drifting, knocking him out of his own little daydream.

“Kong, you do realise you’re looking like a psycho right now right?” Aim emphasised, looking around the canteen as though he was making sure he was the only one who saw their head hazer in that state.

Kongpob had the most pristine reputation and this look right now? It would have totally overturned any good he had done over the years. The face he had on right now only said one thing - lovesick fool.

And Aim had known him for years. Kongpob was always good at keeping his emotions in check. Not even the most troublesome of juniors had managed to put a scowl on his face during the earlier months of hazing. And right now? Absolutely ridiculous.

“Do I need to send you to the sick bay?” He added on, when Kongpob began chuckling to himself.

“Oh Aim. You have no idea what I need right now.”

“Yes, I do. A doctor. Fast.” Aim rolled his eyes.

“Just you wait my friend, you won’t be in a much better state than me soon.” Kongpob smirked confidently, raising an eyebrow at Aim when May and her girlfriends walked past the pair of them giggling.

“Kong!!”

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

88/333 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongton Wattana District,

Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Dear Owner (your words, not mine),

You’re doing well yourself in this flirting game if I could say so myself. I made the horrendous mistake of opening and reading your response in front of my best friend whom I think now believes he needs to send me to the mental hospital. You now have your fair share of responsibility to take as well. You are a bigger tease than you give yourself credit for.

As for mine, I ain’t running. Please feel free to come and demand me to assume responsibility. The sooner the better Phi. I guess being persuasive does come along with a certain amount of shamelessness. How else would I get your attention? Is it working though? Since my owner has so generously given me a nickname, I’m going to be shameless one more time and say that it probably is.

Well, if it pleases the good sir, we could call this a courtship. It certainly sounds nicer than flirting. Just to be clear Phi, I am doing this in all seriousness. It isn’t all just fun and play. Now that we have gotten that out of the way, when should I appoint P’Bright officially as our matchmaker? He most certainly seems eager to take up the role.

Phi, in case you had forgotten, you were mean since the first letter. You called me Khun. Khun! Did you know how disappointed I was then? You were all curt and.. Formal. I much prefer the you right now Phi, so much more. Besides, you clearly haven’t forgotten our head hazer training - your projection remains superb. Shall we re-enact a scene of Romeo and Juliet the next time you’re on the second floor and myself on the first? Without the dying of course.

Thank you for the stamp of approval on my patience Phi. But as I had said earlier, I take my courting very seriously. In sickness and health is just one of the basic requirements is it not? A promise, one that I fully intend to keep by the way along with the other about waiting for you to feel comfortable. But you’re right, I have yet to see ‘The Sun’ in all his glory. I’m still waiting for the day he decides I am worthy enough to stand under his light.

Might I also remind you that you have called me shameless and persistent, so I think we’re on par with the bad traits. Except mine doesn’t get me sent to jail Phi, we really do have to work on that. Going by your melodious voice that night at the bar, I’m pretty sure a jail visit would have been imminent had P’Bright and P’Tootah not been fast enough. But what can I say, it just adds to your appeal when you’re being adorable like that.

For what it’s worth Phi, I don’t think your parents are disappointed with you, or will they ever be. Just because you decided to follow a different path from them doesn’t make you any less of a good son, which I’m sure you are. Every parent just wants what’s best for their children don’t they? Besides, aren’t doctors engineers of the human body? We build and fix inanimate objects and they build and fix humans. We’re pretty similar if you ask me, of course as you said, with better working hours.

Now Phi, you’ve just made me more than curious, but pray tell exactly when did you feel the need to know what I looked like? Wasn’t it enough just to find out who I was? Or did the rumours of the Campus Moon pique your interest? I’m glad my smile is helping my case, I’ll reserve one just for you, since it pleases you so.

I’ll hand you my heart Phi, so that yours can take a break. But please don’t give it to anyone else and take care of it well, will you?

Ever yours,

Kong-pup Sutthiluck

A Good Boy (Tail a-wagging)

P.S. Now that I know what you smell like, I wonder what you taste like?

P.P.S I’m holding you up to that doctor’s appointment, I fear you may have malfunctioned my heart. Gotta have it up and running before I hand it over to you now don’t I?

~***~

Taking the envelope, Kongpob carefully drew a small paw print along the seal of it. Pup. If the nickname had come from anyone else he might have been a little insulted but it was Arthit who had called him that and it made his heart soar.

Making his way to bed, he patted his pillow into place and curled himself in bed, fingers playing with a certain scented letter that was stowed away securely under said pillow.

Now all he had to do was add his finishing touches tomorrow.

~***~

Kongpob made a beeline for a particular shop in the mall, praying it was still where he had last remembered it was. He didn’t frequent the place as often these days so who knew what kind of changes a few months might bring. Thankfully, the shop stood in its original spot and Kongpob stepped inside, greeted welcomingly by both the shop owner and the many trinkets within.

“Ah, Nong! What are you looking for? A gift, or something for yourself?” The shopkeeper bubbled happily from behind his counter, leaning over it.

Kongpob’s eyes ran over the many rows and shelves, before he turned to wai the elder man politely.

“Sawadeekrap Khun. I’m looking for a dog tag. Do you happen to have those?” He asked quickly, crossing his fingers or he’d have to make another trip halfway across town to the other mall.

“A dog tag? Which kind are you looking for Nong? These? Or these?” The man responded, pulling out a couple of trays from behind him to place on the counter.

The metal tags sat neatly in a row and to Kongpob’s joy, he saw what he had intended to purchase from the get go.

“That one Khun, the golden one. Do you still do the engraving service?”

“Of course Nong, I can get it done for you in a couple of minutes. Here, why don’t you write down your dog’s name and your address. That’s what the other owners usually put on it.” The man advised, pulling out a small sheet of paper and pen for him.

An address huh. A cheeky thought soon came to his mind and Kongpob grinned maniacally before remembering where he was and schooled his face back its respectful expression.

“Khun, is it alright to just put on the name for now and to have the address engraved another day? It’s meant to be a gift. Sort of.” It still counted as a present right?

“Oh of course, that’s no problem at all.”

Kongpob neatly scrawled ‘Kong-pup’ onto the sheet of paper and handed it over to the owner who took one look at it and chuckled.

“Kong-pup huh? Your friend sure has an interesting taste for dog names. This is one I’ve never heard of.” He mused, fitting the bone shaped dog tag to the machine, prepping it for the engraving.

“Oh he’s interesting alright Khun, very interesting.” Kongpob hummed in agreement as he waited patiently for the elder to be done. Eyeing a small row of cards, he picked up one with a small cartoon puppy on the front.

“Khun, I’ll get this too,” he waved the card before picking up the pen to write on it.

Won’t my owner put a return address for me?

Just in case I get lost ;)

~***~

“My my, back so soon my good nong?” Bright teased, as soon as Kongpob had stepped into the bar. “”I need to start charging you for my services.”

Kongpob smiled sheepishly, taking a swig of his beer. In his eagerness, he had soon found himself enroute to his senior’s bar once again before he could even comprehend his own actions. Maybe Aim was right, he did need a doctor.

Or a certain non-doctor it seemed.

“Oh I wish I had a camera N’Kongpob, you really should see the look on your face right now.”

“P’Bright..” Kongpob whined uncharacteristically, earning a bark of laughter from his senior.

“Look at the pair of you, each turning up at my bar and doing things I never thought you’d do.” Bright said gleefully.

“Pair? P’Arthit? Is he?” Kongpob looked around enthusiastically.

“Sorry to burst your bubble Nong, he isn’t here today. I gave you a chance that day but you chose to walk away.”

Kongpob slumped over the bar. Right. He blew his own chance. It was the right thing to do but why was it so difficult to get over it?

“All in good time little one. You’re getting close.” The senior promised, winking. “I’ve never seen Arthit like that. You have quite the effect on him I must say.”

Kongpob looked up from where he was, only to see Bright’s eyes twinkling mischievously. That never meant anything good.

“But seriously N’Kongpob, I’d expected you to go for someone cute or even hot. Why our head hazer? That’s a mighty peculiar taste you have right there.”

The younger of the two shrugged, “I don’t know Phi, but he really is very adorable. So I guess you’re right in a way.”

Bright made some gagging noises, holding his throat dramatically. “Oh god, spare me the drama and just hand me the letter already. I can’t believe you just called the pink milk monster adorable. Just wait till the rest hear about this.” He wiggled his fingers cheekily in front of Kongpob who slipped the envelope into his hands.

“Is that.. A paw?” Bright looked at him confusedly, to which Kongpob merely nodded. “And why is this letter bulging at one side?”

The senior squished the bloated side of the envelope gently and tried shaking it, but the bubble wrapped gift gave nothing away, much to his disappointment.

He gasped in mock horror. “Have you guys progressed to gifting this quickly? You two are advancing way too fast!” Only for Kongpob to shrug and smile enigmatically, giving away nothing.

‘Oh this mysterious Nong of ours. All the best, Arthit.’ He thought to himself as he shook his head and tucked the letter safely away in his breast pocket.

–_–

It felt like deja vu. He was standing here again, and on a weekday too. He hitched his sling bag further to his shoulder and made his way towards the bar counter where his friend was preparing to open his bar. Bright looked up at him in surprise when he reached.

“Oh, what are you doing here in the afternoon?” he asked the other.

“Got let out early. There’s a celebration of some sort in the company and they gave the rest of the day off to us.”

“Ooooh. Do you want a beer, though? You don’t have class later, right?”

“Soda please. I don’t but I want to go to the university anyway to do some research. I wanna put a dent in my schoolwork before it gets busy in the company again.”

“Man, why did you even get back to school? Do you love torturing yourself that much?”

Arthit snorted at this, taking the offered bottle of soda.

“You’re the only one who thinks school is torture.”

“Not true. I have testimonies from other people in our batch. And you also thought that at one point, you know.”

“When? When did I say that?”

“When we had Prof. Suda.”

Arthit had no come back to that. Because it was true. He nearly bawled his eyes out during that time.

“Anyway,” he said, diverting the topic away from that embarrassing moment. “You said you have a letter for me?”

“Oh yeah. Here. From your dearest junior. He came here yesterday, which is a surprise since he is such a straight-laced student. What are you doing to him, Arthit?! You’re such a bad influence.”

“He didn’t get drunk, did he?”

“Nope. He wouldn’t let himself be irresponsible like that. He only went here to have a bottle and drop that letter off. Hey, you should pay me for my services.”

“Aish, such a stingy brat. How about you pay for all the food that you nicked from me back in college?”

“Now who’s the stingy ass right now?”

–_–

Arthit opened the letter carefully. He was quite curious as to why it was a little bit bulky than the usual flat ones they exchange.

He took the bubble-wrapped something and the customary folded letter out, laying the letter on the desk in favor of the new stuff. He unwrapped that something and then something metallic came stumbling out.

He stared at the golden bone shaped tag with wide eyes, his confusion jacking up through the roof. He caressed the cool metal, expecting it to be smooth under his touch. He was surprised again to find that it was a bit rough at some places so he took it closer to his desk lamp to examine it.

The rough patch was an engraved something.

Kong-pup

He gaped at the lettering. Then he barked out a laugh as it dawned to him what this meant.

“Aish, this kid. Alright, puppy. Let’s see what you wrote,” he smiled fondly.

He unfolded the letter, and yeeep. He should’ve braced himself. He had forgotten how flirty the younger one could be.

He chuckled at the other’s misfortune. It was a dumb move to read their letters to one another in front of other people, based on his very own experience. He felt a certain degree of sympathy for the other– just slight.

He continued to read, the wide smile never leaving his face, and his blush seemingly permanent. He positively looked like a lunatic.

When he finished reading the letter, he grabbed the tag and stared at it. He rubbed his thumb on the name etched on it, contemplating his next move. Then he grabbed a fresh piece of paper and began to write his response.

He had also made his decision and took another leap of faith.

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

22 Vibhavadi Rangsit-Rangsit Alley, Khwaeng Chom Phon,

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Dear Kongpup (Oddly suits you),

It is unfortunate that your friend seemed to have pegged you as a lunatic. Well, you should’ve learned from my experience that reading our letters in front of our friends is not a good idea. Look at me, I got teased mercilessly. Now you, on the other hand, got judged. But don’t you worry your pretty little tush, I will visit you regularly at the hospital. I will still send you letters, okay?

Bet you’d like that, huh?

Another thing that you’d surely like is you taking responsibility over me. My, my. Can you handle me though? I’m told I’m quite a handful. If I let you take over, would you take care of me, good? I can imagine you wagging your tail all the way from here. It’s okay, as long as your attention is on me and nothing else.

God, nong. You don’t know what you’re doing to me. Or should I say, pup? Anyway, I’ve always been known to tease other people, or to use flirting to tease other people. I don’t flirt nong, not seriously anyway. That’s not me. That’s Bright and Tutah. But you know what? You make me do things that I don’t usually do, so now I’m wondering if you’re the pup or I am. Because you definitely make me run through hoops, something that I am even glad to do. Especially if the command comes from you.

Don’t let this get to your head! It is embarrassing enough writing about it.

And nong. I think I am warranted being aloof and formal in my first responses since I clearly didn’t know you. Have you ever heard of stranger-danger nong? I’ve been taught it by my parents. Have you not? You extroverts are weird.

Being a doctor is a whole new level of study, nong. Unlike in engineering where everything is known and there are definitive fixes in every problem. The human body still has a lot of mysteries that leave scientists and doctors baffled. Engineering is more straightforward, the maths directing the problem solver into a solution in a linear matter. And yeah. The work hours. I love my sleep, thank you very much.

Thank you for your encouraging words. I’ve decided now that for once, I’d be honest to myself. Bright is right. My friends are right. You’re right. I should move on from the unrequited love that had been hurting me all this time. My parents, I think I will cross that bridge when the time comes. Let’s give this a try first, whatever this is, before moving to that next step.

Be a good boy, Pup, okay?

Arthit Rojnapat

The now owner of one Kongpup's heart

PS. I don’t like Romeo and Juliet nong. I don’t like tragedies. My lovelife is tragic enough as it is. And I am on the fifth floor, sadly. I have a balcony but it faces another building. If you want to purchase the room on the other side, though… be my guest.

PPS. I have seen you once around campus, surrounded by people. I think you are a very warm person, nong. Loved by both your peers and your juniors. I lied in a previous letter. I am a graduate student but I really don’t participate in the tutoring program because my job is very demanding.

PPPS. Do you really want to meet me that much? How about we meet then, on saturday at one in the library. University library. On the engineering floor. I can tutor you or something. You can even call it a date. But don’t expect me to be as talkative as in our letters. You may find out that I’m a different person from what I am projecting in writing. Meeting in person is a completely different matter after all, and requires a whole new level of confidence. Bear with me?

–_–

Saturday came, and everything was a disaster. Arthit cursed his luck, grumbling about it under his breath as he climbed the stairs up the building in a rush. He reached the floor, finally and he could feel sweat drenching his undershirt. It was a good thing he hadn't worn his button up yet, the one that he would need to use at work later.

He checked the time and a new wave of curses left his lips again. He needed to be on site by one. It was already twelve-fifteen. He reached the counter in the library, grabbed the pen there and began to scrawl on a small piece of paper.

Sighing out loud, he stared at the message with regret. He hardened his resolve and looked up to find the library assistant manning the counter, only to find a girl looking at him with terror. He blinked his eyes at her, confused as to why she was looking at him like that.

“S-sawasdee Kha, P’A-Arthit,” she stuttered, wai-ing him almost immediately. He was almost taken aback, thinking about how she knew him. Then it dawned on him, the batch he had hazed should still be third years.

“Nong, at ease. Are you in batch 60?”

“Yes, P’.”

“Oh, okay then. Hazing’s over nong, and you’re already a third year. Oh! This would be easier too! Listen nong, I have a favor to ask. Is that okay?” he asked, almost pleading. He wasn’t aware of it but his pout made an appearance.

The library assistant was stunned. She was seeing their head hazer, the tyrant, heartless man from before, in a new light. She thought he was stunning, with his smooth voice and that cute pout on pink lips. His eyeglasses that didn’t hide his brown doe-eyes enhanced his beauty more. That was right, he was beautiful.

“Kha… Anything for you, P’Arthit,” she said breathily, smiling at the older man dreamily.

Arthit looked at the younger woman weirdly. He didn’t know what was happening to her. Was she really that upset seeing him again? He smiled ruefully. He guessed that his reputation as the scariest, most tyrannical head hazer wouldn’t be erased anytime soon.

“Can you give this note to someone? You should know him. He’s the current head hazer, Kongpob Sutthiluck?”

“Oh yeah. P’Kong. Right, I can do that, P’,” she answered enthusiastically.

“Thank you. You’re a lifesaver, nong. Oh shit, it’s this late already? Bye nong. I really need to go now. He will be arriving here at one, so please be on the lookout for him, yeah?”

“Yes, P’. I will.”

With that he scrammed. On his way out, he bumped into someone and their books and papers got scattered everywhere.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Khun…”

“Nong Arthit. Should you be running around like that? You’re already a graduate student and yet you still act like an unruly first year,” chided the person he bumped into.

His eyes widened when he saw Professor Suda, the terror herself. He helped her pick up her things, apologizing to his professor profusely. He saw her demeanor soften at his frazzled state and he thanked his lucky stars for this.

“Are you in a hurry?”

“Yes, Prof. Again, I’m so sorry for this…”

“It’s saturday though, got a hot date?”

He couldn’t believe his ears. His terror of a professor was teasing him. Teasing! The middle-aged woman let out an undignified snort, rolling her eyes at the disbelief clear on her once student.

“I’m also human nong, despite what you students loved to call me, which is a heartless demoness from hell.”

Arthit squeaked at this. He didn’t know she knew about it!

“Although, my favorite title was dragoness. I am quite fond of those winged creatures. So? Where are you going in a hurry?”

“Oh! Uhm, I’ve got a work emergency and I need to be on site by one o’clock, prof.”

“MOOG, right?”

“Yes, prof.”

“Well, hang in there. It’s a good company. Definitely a good stepping stone and you can get loads of experience there.”

“Thanks prof.”

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer. Next time, just look at where you're going, alright? Also, take the left exit right here. The gate there is open at this moment. It’s also near the main road.”

“Thanks prof! I’ll be going now. Again, I’m sorry about everything.”

“It’s no trouble, nong.”

As he was about to run, he heard something that made his heart beat fast.

“Oh, P’Kong! I have a note for you from our head hazer. P’Arthit?”

“Yeah?”

He snapped his head towards the sound of a smooth baritone voice, a voice that surely sent shivers down his spine. There he was, on the counter, his broad back facing him. He took a step closer towards the figure but then a hand shot out to hold him back.

“Aren’t you getting late N’Arthit? It’s twelve twenty-five already.”

He glanced at the big clock in the library and his eyes widened. He gave a wai to his professor and bid his goodbye again. Next time, he promised.

Next time, definitely.

~***~

Kongpob’s eyes popped right open at precisely 5.59am before his alarm even had the chance to ring. Saturday. He never knew Saturdays could be this exciting. Most of the time all he did was run his errands and then proceeded to study or work on his projects for the rest of the day. But today, today was special.

He spent the next hour preening and cleaning - making sure he was well-shaven, not a strand of hair out of place and even spent an hour (or two) the night before picking out an outfit.

He had to be perfect. Perfect for his owner.

His heart bloomed at the thought of spending the upcoming afternoon with Arthit and he began to hum a little tune. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he read the last letter he had received. His ever elusive senior had asked him out. Well, it was a study session, or as he’d like to think about it, a study date. He’d really struck the lottery with this one. Who’d have known that Arthit was still a student at their school?

He had the day all planned out, and going by the timeframe he had in mind, he should reach the library no later than 12.30 in the afternoon. He had to be a good boy and wait for his owner to arrive right?

~***~

“Oh, P’Kong! I have a note for you from our head hazer. P’Arthit?”

“Yeah?” A note? Kongpob’s stomach lurched. No, it couldn’t be.

“Here!” His junior handed him a little white piece of paper, with the familiar untidy scrawl.

Stepping aside so that he wasn’t obstructing anyone’s way, he opened the note, reading it with a heavy heart.

“When did he leave this, Nong?” Kongpob asked after he had read it.

“P’Arthit? He was just here not 5 minutes ago.”

“Thanks Nong!” He called out as he started running.

5 minutes, he could catch up right? He sprinted towards the main exit of the library, racing down the stairs, not noticing a certain fair skinned running towards the left exit.

Panting, Kongpob ran about the main lobby but there was not a single person in sight. How? It had taken him another ten minutes tops. Why was the heavens doing this to him? All he wanted to do was offer his senior a ride. Even if he could no longer spend the afternoon with him, a little bit of time was not too much to ask right?

Maybe he really shouldn’t have brought up Romeo and Juliet. Now he really did feel a little jinxed.

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

22 Vibhavadi Rangsit-Rangsit Alley, Khwaeng Chom Phon,

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Dear One and Only Owner of My Heart,

I was hoping that last letter would have had to be my last one to you. But it does seem that the fates enjoy torturing us so. Or should I say me. The thought that you were just five minutes away from me is really killing me now. How did you even slip away that quickly? If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you were running away from me.

But since you had already asked me to take responsibility for you, I’ll rest my heart and accept your apologies for now. Putting my sulkiness aside, I do hope you have managed to fix the problem at work, whatever it may have been. It must suck to be a working adult on top of student worries. I don’t know how you do it Phi, and you have my utmost respect for it. It doesn’t seem you need me taking care of you but I will strive to be the good-est boy possible.

I’m going to hold you to your promise about visiting me regularly, but I’m hoping it won’t be at the hospital. As it seems, we don’t stay too far away from each other. How about a little visit to my house instead when the time comes? Also, NO FLIRTING with others Phi! Be it serious or not. You already have me eating out of your palm, that should be enough for you right? I may not look like it but I am a highly jealous pup, and I will bite. Grr.

My head’s already full of you as it is. You’ve been the one running hoops in my head. So you can’t tell me not to let it get to my head. It’s your turn to take responsibility too.

Tell me Phi, did you or did you not approach P’Dear the minute you received my letter? If P’Dear had already told you about me, I technically can’t be a stranger now can I? You introverts can be so distrusting sometimes. But nevertheless, I have you now (I hope), and I intend to keep it that way.

On another note, since you’ve been secretly watching me on campus, do I not deserve my glimpse of you Phi? When are the days you have classes? What major are you taking right now? I’d love to purchase the room opposite yours Phi, but alas, my lease on my current room isn’t up yet. Imagine being able to see you the first thing when I wake up and to watch you before I sleep. It sure does sound like a dream right now. Do you think they’d hold the room for me?

Now no thanks to you, I have an image of a certain someone dressed in a white coat. Although I must say, I much prefer the red of our workshop shirt on you. Based on my imagination, with the facilitation of P’Tootah’s words, I imagine you to be much cuter blushing the same shade as it. But putting your distracting face aside, you’re right Phi, being a doctor is much more complicated. However, it doesn’t mean we are worth any less as engineers.

The next step Phi, is fully up to you. Whatever it is you choose, no matter how many steps away you would like to take away from that unrequited love of yours - I will be here waiting, always. No expectations, no pressure.

Missing you already,

Kongpup Sutthiluck

Ever a pining good boy

P.S. Don’t go hungry, take care of yourself. I hope the snacks reaches you

P.P.S How about we have our first date under the shade of a very large tree soon? I can’t wait to show you its new spot.

~***~

Slipping the letter into a new blank envelope, Kongpob flicked his eyes towards the clock on his wall. If he headed out now, he should still make it in time to go by the shop before it closes. Grabbing his bike keys from the table, he whisked himself out of the dorm, riding as quickly and carefully as he could.

Going in circles around the supermarket, he tapped his chin as he stood in front of the rows of snacks. He eyed them carefully, recognising a couple of brands that he had seen Aim and Oak munching on. Reaching out to a packet of seaweed, he wondered to himself if Arthit enjoyed food that was spicy.

Soon enough, he had a basketful of various snacks, a sight he would never have seen had he been shopping for himself. Shaking his head, he sniggered to himself. What was Arthit turning him into? He had never felt happier spending time in a mart. Loading up the plastic bags on his bike, he rode off again, heading towards his favourite food stall around the area.

“Aw Nong, you’re here again?” The friendly aunty at the stall keeper called out. Kongpob nodded respectfully offering a wai. “Your usual?”

Kongpob nodded, “please make it two!”

“For a friend Nong?”

“Yup,” he smiled happily, indicating he would be back to collect his food as he headed towards the drink stall. Writing in his order for two iced coffees and a pink milk, he placed it in front of the owner, humming happily as he waited.

Now with his bike handles fully loaded up, the drinks and food on his left, snacks on the right, Kongpob followed the roads till he finally reached his destination. He slid himself off and stood around, observing the area for a while. It was a smaller neighbourhood compared to his but cosy. Looking up at the windows, he wondered to himself which belonged to his dear senior before throwing a look at the building opposite his. Maybe he really should consider switching dorms when he took his masters.

Stepping in front of the caretaker’s desk, Kongpob politely greeted the elderly man.

“Sawadeekrap Khun.”

“Are you here to see a friend Nong?” The man asked, eyeing the many bags that Kongpob was holding.

“Yes, it’s for P’Arthit who lives on the 5th floor.” Kongpob smiled.

“Ow Nong, didn’t he tell you he was going to be out today? He went out this morning and hasn’t been back since.”

“Yes Khun, he did tell me. But I wanted to just stop by to pass him some things. Would you be able to..” Kongpob said sheepishly. “Here’s a drink for you too, Khun, for helping me.”

“He’s a lucky boy then, to have such a caring friend like you.” The old uncle said as he took over the items, placing them carefully on the side table. “I hope you can continue to be his friend,” he added on, winking, “so that an old man like me can continue getting free drinks on the job.”

Kongpob chuckled as he gave his thanks again, the elder assuring him that Arthit would get his snacks safely delivered to him along with the letter he had written sitting safely tucked within one of the many bags.

–_–

“Nong?”

He was about to enter the car of the elevator when the one at the front desk called out to him. He glanced at the elderly man who was smiling at him kindly and beckoning him to come closer. Curious, he returned back to the lobby, even though all he wanted to do was to get back to his apartment and sleep.

“Your friend came and left these for you,” he said.

There was rustling of plastic bags as the old man bent over behind the desk. He retrieved two bags and he set it down atop the granite counter, one bag substantially bigger than the other. Way bigger than the other. He stared at them in shock.

“Uh– who…?”

“Wait, nong. I have it in my log. Let me just look it up for you… Ah here! It’s from N’Kongpob Suthiluck. He’s your friend, isn’t it?”

Arthit was dumbstruck. Kongpob was just here, in his home. He blushed hard as he stared at the food items currently inside the bags, a smile stretching his lips.

“Thanks P’Punn,” he said, taking the bags with him.

“It’s no trouble. Your friend is pretty considerate, isn’t he?”

“Ah, yes P’. That’s just the way he is.” Arthit didn’t really know if this was the case but he had a feeling that it was.

“I won’t keep you any longer. You look really tired, nong. Go, go. Take your rest already.”

“Thanks P’. Your shift’s gonna end soon, right?”

“Yes, nong.”

“Uh, here, uhm…” Arthit began to rummage through the big bag of food to give to the elderly man.

“Oh no, no. There’s no need for that N’Arthit. N’Kongpob already gave me a cup of coffee a while ago. Just what I needed.”

“Aw. Are you sure P’?”

“Yes, N’Arthit. I’m sure.”

“Then…”

“Go. Shoo. Take your dinner already then rest.”

“Bye, then, P’Punn. Take care on your way home.”

“Yes, yes. Have a good night.”

“You too, P’.”

–_–

Arthit munched on the seaweed snack as he opened the letter that was inside the big bag. There were a lot of other snacks inside the bag: chips, packs of cookies, a variety of the spicy dried seaweed, squid flavored snacks, and many more. He was a little bit bemused by the sheer amount of the snacks he received from the younger.

He loved it though. He loved the thoughtfulness of the younger that he found himself smiling like a loon all over again.

He proceeded to read the letter and his giddiness seemed to triple. He kept on chuckling as he hugged one of his pillows close to his chest, the feeling of butterflies fluttering in his stomach intensifying as he read on.

Then he reached the end.

He bit his lip in contemplation. What should he do? He tried to find it in himself the leery feeling that he still remembered vividly, the feeling or wariness that had kept him from the younger. He found none. That meant he was trusting the younger to a certain degree, and dare he say, he trusted in him like how he trusted his friends?

He didn't know why but he just did, even though he has yet to meet the younger man personally. And that offer was on the table. Should he take it…? Or should he not? Wasn't it too early, still?

Hmmm…

–_–

Arthit Rojnapat

22 Vibhavadi Rangsit-Rangsit Alley, Khwaeng Chom Phon,

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Dearest Kongpuppy who shouldn't be biting,

I got the food. What a gift. Thank you. I didn’t have to cook dinner because of this, and you just saved me a lot of time for resting. The factory emergency took the whole afternoon and well into the early evening. It would’ve continued well into the night had my partner not found the misaligned gears in the machinery we just put in this week. It would’ve been pretty disastrous since we are handling large components. Anyway, enough of that. I’m so not in the mood to write about that.

There are a lot of snacks. And so many varieties too! Is your wallet still okay, nong? You shouldn’t have splurged for this many food stuff that I wouldn’t be able to finish anyway. I really, really couldn't possibly eat all of this. Maybe I could share it with my friends? Also with P’Punn from the front desk.

You know, I’m also quite annoyed by our situation a while ago. I really felt like the universe was conspiring against us meeting. But I was also a little bit relieved and then disappointed. Relieved because my meeting with you got delayed. Disappointed because our meeting was delayed. I don’t make sense, do I?

Let’s just put it like this. I am excited to meet you, get to know you, because you’re quite the fascinating person. And you definitely make me feel the tinglies in silly places. But I’m also quite nervous, and that’s what’s making me hesitate.

Another thing. I can't believe that you just passed me by! I saw you at the library, when that nong called out to you. I was still there when you arrived. I was about to approach you, tell you about my work emergency but Prof. Suda reminded me that I was going to be late if I lingered any longer. I bumped into her when I was leaving the library and she's actually a cool person. She said she likes dragons. She was also the one who told me about the other exit in the library and that should answer your question on how I slipped by you in just a short amount of time. Sorry if I couldn't come to you at that time. I really wanted to.

So… I’ve been running hoops in your head? No wonder why I am tired everyday. See? You make me run through hoops! You make me feel things I haven't before.

Just because I asked P'Deer about you, doesn't mean you're not a stranger anymore. For all I know you are posing as Kongpob the campus moon? But I know better now. I know you are who you claim to be. And that brings us to your assumption. Who told you I am yours already? I don't know, nong…

Between you and nomyen-chan… Kidding. I guess you've earned it, so I'd say it. I am yours for the taking so whenever you're ready, come and get it. ;D

Meet me first and then let's talk about my schedule. I don't want to ruin the surprise by you sneakily going out of your way just to have a glimpse of me. Most of my classes are in the evenings anyway. You should spend those extra hours doing your thesis and resting. It's only gonna get worse from now on until it gets better. Just a few more months, nong. Just a few more.

Stop it with the blushing comments! It's not my fault that I have fair skin. Gaaaaah! Also, why does it feel like you're already imagining the times that we've moved in together instead of being neighbors in your comment about first person to see-last person to see? You are advancing too much, nong. Meet me first!

There, I've said it twice. Meet me. Let's do it. The date. How about next saturday? In the afternoon, maybe three so that the sun wouldn't be beating down on us too much. Let's pray fervently to Buddha that nothing happened again, alright? Bring me pink milk and in exchange, I’ll bring myself. I’m enough of a present already, right, nong?

Don't bite nong. Seriously… don't bite.

Arthit Rojnapat

A tired man who keeps running in my pup's head

PS. I swear, if you bite, I will go to the store and buy a collar and leash for you.

PPS. Huh. You already have a tag. Maybe I should get a collar and a leash for you. ;P

–_–

Snickering gleefully, he slid the letter onto an envelope, foregoing sticking stamps on it and just writing his address. He'll drop it off at the nearby apartment complex tomorrow. He thought back to what he wrote, nervous giddiness overcoming his very being when he remembered how bold he had been.

Did he come on too strong? He thought not. How about being overly excited? Maybe, but he wasn't that overeager. He thought. Was this moving on too fast? Maybe, but he thought that he needed to at least take his steps forward to not repeat what happened with Namtarn. Grab his opportunity before it disappears. He promised to live by that belief, after all.

Sighing in satisfaction, he slipped into dreamland, dreaming about a certain tall and handsome nong of his, smiling beautifully at him. An unconscious smile graced his sleeping face along with an incomprehensible mumble. Just as much as he was running through his juniors mind most of the time, this particular Moon kept on plaguing his dreams, making them all the more sweeter with his presence. The Moon, who decided to walk among them plebeian men, and who let Arthit call him his puppy.

~***~

To Kongpob’s pleasant surprise, their caretaker didn’t just wave a white envelope out for him this time around. He stepped forward to the counter, curiosity eating at him and started grinning like a fool once more when the caretaker pulled out a pink milk with a note attached along with the envelope he had been expecting.

He had been here. His sun was here.

Giving him thanks and making a small mental note to buy some snacks for their caretaker the next time he went to the mart, he bounded up the stairs by two, carefully holding his drink so that it wouldn’t spill. It was too precious.

Reading the small note the minute he had reached his room, Kongpob giggled. It was too much like his senior to say something like that

‘Just to make sure you still remember who your owner is, pup.'

As if he could ever forget, he mused to himself as he happily sipped on the drink. Usually he had a preference for iced coffee due to its slightly bitter aftertaste but right now, the pink milk on his tongue was spreading a much sweeter note all the way to his heart.

He propped himself on his bed, gingerly opening the envelope that had no stamp on it. Somehow just that thought made him a little giddy. Maybe the days of seeing Arthit often were not too far away now.

So many emotions rushed through his mind as he read the letter. Tenderness for his senior who had worked so hard because of his work, amusement at the elder’s little joke about their prof, petulance at Arthit’s reluctance to tell him his schedule and of course, love.

So much love. He had called him his.

Kongpob’s heart pounded wildly in his chest as he clutched it tightly for dear life. They had come such a long way since the start of their very first letter. He’d never thought he’d fall in love with someone this way, but he was glad he did.

~***~

Kongpob Sutthiluck

83281 Phahon Yothin 21 Alley

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Arthit Rojnapat

22 Vibhavadi Rangsit-Rangsit Alley, Khwaeng Chom Phon,

Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Dear Tired P’Arthit (and my lovely owner),

I’m glad you got the food and hopefully enjoyed it. It was the only thing I could do in view of everything, I hope I at least managed to put a smile on your face after a long and hard day. Afterall, isn’t that what a good pup does? Be a good boy and wait for his owner to return so that he can recharge his energy for him. I didn’t know what kind of snacks you liked so I got you one of everything, just to be safe. Don’t worry your pretty head over my wallet, but if you’d like to reward me, I won’t say no that’s for sure.

I do get what you mean Phi, but in my case, the eagerness to meet you outweighs the trepidation. I can’t wait to see you, know more about you. I think it’s pretty much safe to say that you’ve turned me into a lovesick fool. Tell me, would you physically harm me if I gave you a hug when we met because that’s what I really want to do right now. Pounce on you like a golden retriever would.

Why didn’t you call out to me Phi! I would have loved to give you a ride to work. I had my bike with me that day and. I’m a safe rider, I promise! Even if we couldn’t spend time together the way we wanted to, it would have still been nice to spend some time with you with the wind in our face and your arms around my waist. I’m going to blame the dragoness for this, a little pouting at her is in order.

Well, it isn’t my fault that you’re so adorable that you run circles around my head. But feel free to take a break Phi, anytime you want. Preferably in my arms of course. I can lend you my embrace and shoulders - free of charge.

In my defence, would a fake Kongpob have dared to give you an address you could trace so easily? I had nothing to hide, not from you ever. Also, that’s mean Phi. :( You said you were my owner. That has a certain implication that you’re mine too. And now that you’ve actually said it, you can't take it back. I won’t allow it! Am I really allowed to come and claim you Phi? Because you can’t take that back either.

Aw Phi, I've always been a good boy. Just a little peep at your schedule can’t hurt right? Besides, it might give me new motivation to try harder to be your junior once more. I am spending all my time on just you and my studies, can’t you spare me a little pity?

The blushing comment was courtesy of P’Tootah, I merely.. Reiterated it at the appropriate moment of course. I really do mean it though, that staying in the dorm opposite yours would be a dream. Or next to yours, or in yours. I’m not too picky on this.

But you’re right Phi. We should meet - we must meet (before I die of being love sick). Next Saturday sounds wonderful, shall we meet at the side entrance near our workshop? It would be less of a walk to where the tree is now located.

Also, you are definitely enough of a present, the only one I eagerly await to unwrap.

Impatiently waiting (this is your fault),

Kongpup Sutthiluck

Seriously a good boy

P.S. I haven’t bitten anyone.. Yet. I’m not sure I would be able to keep away from biting my lovely senior though, maybe I really do need that collar and leash.

P.P.S Nomyen chan will be a willing chaperon, please ensure my large present would be well and ready for me.

~***~

“Kong, what are you doing?” Aim asked as he finally returned to where he had left Kongpob in the book shop. To his utmost surprise, his best friend was flipping one of those teenage magazines. He thought only the girls read those.

“Looking for date ideas,” Kongpob hummed nonchalantly. He’d never been on a date before, but since his partner was a senior, Arthit would have been on dates before right? So he’d probably come with a certain amount of expectation.

He’d talked about the big game but in truth, Kongpob had never dated anyone, not even once. He had absolutely no clue what people did on dates. All he had wanted to do was meet and spend time with his P’Arthit. It honestly didn’t matter to him what they did. But he wanted to make it memorable for the elder. He wanted to make sure that Arthit wanted to keep meeting him.

“Date?” Aim asked, shocked. “You? Have a date?” Unable to take Kongpob’s casualness anymore, he walked in front of his best friend, tugging the magazine he held in his hands down. “Since when do you have a date Kong?” He practically screeched.

“Since a few days ago.” Kongpob said, grinning away.

“Who with?”

“Someone you don’t know, yet. I hope to introduce him to you soon.”

“Him?” Aim’s voice flew up by a notch. “You’re dating a him?”

“We aren’t dating yet, but I’m hoping” Kongpob said, the silly expression once again surfacing on his face. “Do you have a problem with it?”

“No, it’s not that. I just never knew you were gay.” Aim shrugged, turning his attention to the magazines as well. “Do you think these would really help? I plan on asking May on a date as well.”

“Your guess is as good as mine, Aim,” Kongpob sighed. “I never thought I would be interested in a guy either, but here we are. And I’m happy.”

“Good for you” Aim said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Now which one do you think has good advice?”

“I don’t know but look, this one has a few places for food recommendations.”

“Ooohhhh…”

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the pair buried head deep in magazines as they discussed at length what they could do with their respective partners, unaware of the group of girls who were giggling at them from afar.

–_–

“Tutah! I got nothing to wear!” yelled the man currently emptying the contents of his wardrobe to his bed. “Aaargh!”

The other man rolled his eyes at his dramatic friend.

That morning, he was abruptly woken up by a pounding at his door, which also earned him a complaint from his very own neighbor. He opened it to a frazzled Arthit, who instantly yanked at his arm and was about to kidnap him from his cozy apartment. If not for his considerable weight, the latter would have succeeded.

“Then go meet him in your birthday suit. I bet he would love that,” he suggested, smirking when the fair man emerged from his closet with a red face.

“Do you want me to get jailed for public indecency?!” Arthit screeched. There was a loud thump on his wall and with how frazzled his nerves were, he snapped at his sourpuss neighbor.

“Shut it, asswipe! Do you hear me complaining when you scream because your girlfriend makes you feel good?! Dickwad!”

“Okay, that’s it! You, Arthit Rojnapat, have no chill. Definitely zero. Now you fold all of the clothes you threw on the bed and then sit your ass down,” Tutah commanded firmly, a no-nonsense look on his face.

He glared at his friend when he saw that he was about to say something. He watched with hawk-eyes as the other complied to his demand with a pout. He moved to help the other and to look for appropriate clothing for him as well.

He eyed the white turtleneck and the black short-sleeved polo shirt critically before setting them aside. He continued to fold clothes and again, chose two different garments, this time, a blue washed jeans and black fitted slacks. He set them aside yet again.

He directed the other to put the displaced clothing back on the closet, the other grumbling at him incomprehensibly. When he was done, he went back to sit on the bed obediently, fiddling with his thumbs in nervousness.

“What’s the occasion again?” asked Tutah, his eyes riveted on the clothes on the bed.

“We, uh. We’re supposed to meet later today…”

“Is it a date?” he asked off-handedly.

He glanced at his friend and found him with his head bowed, rubbing his nape. He couldn’t see his face at this angle but he could tell that his friend was blushing due to the red tips of his ears. He smiled fondly at him.

He may love to tease Arthit but at times like this, he was endeared. The latter was quite innocent and he was glad that he was going out with someone as innocent as him for his first date ever. Or well, he thought his junior was kinda innocent. At least he was sure that their nong Kongpob was earnest.

“I will take your silence as a yes,” he told the other giddily. He ignored the small squeak from the other.

“Is it an indoor date? Like a semi fancy date in a restaurant? Or is an outdoor one like going to parks kinda thing?” he asked again. He needed more info to dress the other up appropriately.

“O-outdoor,” was Arthit’s soft answer.

Nodding decisively, he gave the short sleeved black button down to the other along with the jeans for him to wear.

“Is this okay? Will this be appropriate?” his friend asked him. He saw him eyeing the shirt dubiously, making him roll his eyes.

“Of course! You’d look good in that. And of course, I would doll you up, fix your clothing, etcetera, etcetera, to make you look even better. I would make N’Kongpob salivate just from seeing you,” he purred, already imagining what his friend would look like and squealing internally at his masterpiece.

Arthit couldn’t help but look at him warily. He began asking himself why he asked Tutah to help him. He hoped he didn’t regret it later.

–_–

“OUCH! Why do you need to pluck them?!”

“So that they’d be properly shaped.”

“I don’t need them to be properly shaped?!”

“Oh no, you do, honey. You do.”

“What the fuck is wrong with their shape?!”

“There is wayward hair, Arthit!”

“That’s how the creator made me! Leave it!”

“No!”

“Leave i–OOW!”

–_–

“What the fuck, Tutah?! Are you trying to make me blind?! Stop poking my eye!”

“Shut it you whiny brat! I will really poke your eye if you don’t stop moving around!”

“What’s that you’re trying to put again on my eye?! What the– Tutah! What’s that contraption?! Move that deathtrap away from my eye, you bastard!”

“How will this even kill you?! You’re impossible!”

“You’re the one who’s impossible!”

“Whiny bitch!”

“Sadist!”

“Do you want me to poke you in the eye?!”

“No sir. I’m good sir. Please continue. I’ll behave sir.”

“Good. Was that so hard?”

–_–

Arthit looked at himself in the mirror in disbelief. When Tutah whipped out the large black pouch that he always touted around, he felt dread. He almost ran out of the door but he stayed for the sake of meeting up with Kongpob and looking presentable doing it. He expected to look gaudy but he was surprisingly not. He looked… hot. The other even fixed up his hair, brushing it up in an artistically messy look with a hair wax of some sort, and he looked positively charming.

“Here, dab some of this on your lips,” his friend said, shoving a little round thing on his hand.

“Okay, I draw the line on lipstick. That’s not gonna happen.”

“That’s not lipstick. That’s a lip moisturizer. It will moisturize your lips so that when he kisses you, it’s not dry and rough.”

“People kiss on first dates?!”

Tutah stared at his friend. Right. He hasn’t had his first date yet.

“Well– only if you both want to. But always ask for his consent first, okay? Consent is sexy and better than assuming and initiating things.”

“I-I–”

“Don’t think too much about it, Arthit. You’ll only worry yourself more.”

“Tutah–”

“I said, don’t think too much about it. Okay? Don’t think about anything. Just enjoy each other’s presence, okay?”

“I– okay.”

Arthit took a deep breath and exhaled it in a huff.

“Okay. I can do this.”

“Good. I’ll wait ‘til you get on a cab, alright?”

“Alright. And Tutah?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks a lot. Really appreciate this.”

Tutah glanced up at his friend and smiled softly at him. Really, he may joke about him being a proud parent when it came to things like this but at that moment, he really did feel like tearing up like a proud parent.

It was nice to see their friend move on, really move on from his past love.

~***~

Kongpob awoke, bright and early as per usual as he strode over to peel open his curtains.

Raising a hand to shield his eyes from the bright rays of the sun, he smiled.

“Good morning, P’Arthit,” he whispered, before he set about preparing for what he had planned for the rest of the day. There were many things he needed to prepare before he could meet his owner.

Soon, it was almost time to meet and Kongpob studied his things, making a mental list to ensure that he had everything. Finally pleased with his preparations, he hummed as he headed out, basket in hand.

His mother had been more than entertained last weekend when he had suddenly made a trip home, popping the random request of borrowing their picnic basket. She had given him a little wiggle of the eyebrows (Kongpob now knew where he had gotten it from) before spouting a whole list of foods that he could obtain and prepare. Which ended up to be great advice for Kongpob because as he found out, he couldn’t cook to save his life. Which basically explained the charred omelette that now sat with the store bought sandwiches in the basket.

After offering suggestions, his mother then proceeded to grill him on who the person was that could make her precious baby return home just for a little wicker basket. Kongpob flushed furiously as he recounted the story between Arthit and him, albeit with bated breath. Although he had faith that his mother was not like those traditionalists, there was still a chance. A chance that she might have disapproved.

But his worries were ill founded as the only reaction he had gotten out of the elderly lady was a loud squeal and a demand for him to bring his cutie back home as soon as possible. The fact that Arthit was older and a good influence on her son pleased her so. Kongpob wondered if he should tell Arthit that his mother already knew about him but was afraid that his senior might go into a panic knowing that Kongpob’s mother knew.

With the sun hiding behind a large billow of clouds, the heavens finally seemed to be taking pity on Kongpob as the weather proved perfect for a picnic. Kongpob originally had a full course date planned out, burying the time capsule, a movie and even a dinner. But after a lot of afterthought, he thought it might be best for them to actually spend some time getting to know each other instead.

Besides, a picnic under the tree that tied them together was kind of poetic too.

Kongpob soon reached the campus, parking his bike in his usual spot. It felt a little weird to be in school for a date no less but he put his hesitance aside, striding confidently, basket in hand. He was early, as always, and he hummed while he walked towards their meeting point, eyes ever looking for a certain fair skinned senior.

His heart pounded against his chest as the time ticked towards 3pm, his hands now suddenly clammy. He checked his list in his head over and over again, trying to assure himself that he had everything he needed when a familiar face came into sight. A full blown beam crept up to his face and he dashed forward, stopping right in front of the other.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

--_--