Chapter Text
The sun was already setting when his watch on his wrist tells it's already 5:30PM. Warm brown eyes glimpsed at his watch that was from a famous Swiss brand, and then looked at the school's football field.
Even though it's already the afternoon, the stadium is still always crowded.
Pokchat looked around the boys running, chasing the ball around, before spotting his dark-skinned friend, Disakorn, who was chasing the person in possession of the ball in front of him. This friend of his likes to smile a lot, showing off his white teeth in contrast to his skin color. But not on the field.
Disakorn is committed and serious about sports more than studying or anything. Pokchat cheers for his bestfriend at almost every kind of sport, until they were in highschool, when his friend decided to join their school's football club. And since then, Pokchat has always been sitting on the bleachers, watching his bestfriend play football.
Surely... Sitting there for the first few times, other people understood that he came to cheer for his friend. But when he can often... Everyone started talking that Pokchat came to cheer on his boyfriend. (the word แฟน /faen/ is gender neutral, but for the sake of this translation, i'll use boyfriend.)
And that boyfriend is Disakorn.
This rumor reached the ears of both Disakorn and Pokchat, but Disakorn is still committed to the football club, and Pokchat still came to cheer regularly.
Yes... He came to cheer...
Warm brown eyes are fixated on his bestfriend chasing the ball from the person who got it to grab it from him. But then... his eyes settled on the person in possession of the ball instead. A senior with light brown skin, slender eyes, and high cheekbones. Anyone passing by would know that he has Chinese ancestry. Pokchat remembers him well, because when he sat there on the bleachers waiting for his bestfriend, his eyes... follows this senior more than anyone else.
A small smile cracked on his pale face.
... He intends to come and cheer for Ai'Dis na, he wants to help Ai'Dis. But... he wants someone else to score the goal.
He was thinking that when the person who got the ball evaded his bestfriend's body, and then turned around to score a goal, he scored a goal in half a second. Sweaty hands were raised above their heads. The handsome face of a young man, who was clearly of Chinese descent, smiled. His cheekbones got a little higher, and his slender, hawk-like eyes squinted into a line.
... He's attractive...
...This person is... strong, powerful, energetic, and looking at him casually, he can be annoying. But he doesn't know when... that annoyance turned into interest.
Pokchat smiled to himself. Admiring and silently congratulating the person who scored. But when Disakorn turned around to look at the bleachers, his smile faded quickly. He averted his eyes to look at his bestfriend instead and raised his wrist to show his friend his watch, to tell him that it's time to go back.
"I have to go back," his bestfriend turned around to shout at the other players on the field, who were seniors from the football club.
"What the, why are you in a hurry to go back?" the voice groaned but loud enough for Pokchat to hear. The owner of the voice is not just anyone, he was the same person who just scored a goal.
...His voice is pleasing, if he's not groaning, it'll be much better...
"Ai'Pok will go now," He answered and smiled that shows his teeth. While the person they are talking about is still silently standing on the bleachers, calmly receiving their looks.
"Are your legs tied? He cannot walk without you?"
... He's foul-mouthed, an immediate mouth, but... nevermind...
"Ho, Hiya. That's my friend. His parents asked me to take care of him, how can I spoil it?"
"A friend or a wife? Tell the truth."
...I have a lot of friends already, But I never had a wife, I am telling the truth...
"Say it, who got Ai'Pok as his wife? Are you all okay? I'm not talking about this anymore. I'll head first."
...You see, Ai'Dis still confirms it...
Disakorn grinned and ran to the bleachers. The person who was waiting for him hands him his bag like clockwork.
"Let's go," The person who was sweating from playing football for an hour said to his bestfriend. But Pokchat chose to look at the field where the boys continued playing together, even though the other team had less players.
"Who was that?" Warm brown eyes gazed at the light-skinned, slender eyes person who scored a goal just now, and the person who teasingly said ‘friend or your wife? tell the truth.’
Disakorn turned back to follow his friend's eyes, before loudly saying.
"That's Hiya Jeng. You already met him a couple of times."
It's not the first time Pokchat sat and watched him on the field in the afternoon. Even though they haven't met properly, it can't also be said that he doesn't know him. Not when ‘Hiya Jeng’ is so loud like this.
Pokchat shrugged his shoulders and quietly said, "I can't remember."
The mouth said something, but the heart wanted to say something else (tulak ng bibig, kabig ng dibdib)... I already know his name is ‘Hiya Jeng’ but I want you to take me and introduce ‘Hiya Jeng’ to me officially.
'Hiya is very popular," Disakorn said and took a step, he lost all his right to the things he had hoped in his heart. Pokchat could only laugh gently on his throat meaninglessly again. He desperately wants to know that senior, but... he must someday. He has a lot of patience.
"I don't even know he's that popular."
"Where is your interest? Hiya Jeng is an excellent student too. He's so rich. He has a lot of girls in line."
...Hearing that hurts his heart already. He has a lot of girls, huh? Does he know that he has a male junior that is admiring him?...
"What's wrong with you, Pok? Why are you silent? Are you hungry?" Disakorn turned to ask him, and surely, the person being asked hid all of his feelings with a faint smile.
"No, but it'll be good to stop by to buy a milkshake."
"Yes, I'm inviting you to go. Let's go, let's go." And their voices faded as the two of them left the school grounds.
................................................................
Pokchat still stops by and waits for his bestfriend playing football everyday after school. But... being on the bleachers, doesn't mean he can talk with the slender eyed senior. Until finally, the 12th grade seniors graduated. Disakorn's "Hiya Jeng" graduated and left this school. While a junior like me moved up to the last year of my highschool life.
...Where did you go to college? What faculty are you in?...
... Unfortunately, there is no way to know. If... Don't ask...
"Hey, Dis. Have you talked to the previous seniors of the football club?"
Ever since the term opens for their 12th grade, Pokchat has been greatly curious until he couldn't stand it anymore that he sat beside his bestfriend and asked him.
"Senior? Oh, Hiya Jeng, Hiya Gan, Hiya Tay, right?
"Yes," Pokchat is not interested on the other people he mentioned, he only wants to know the life of a person named ‘Jeng.’
"We just played football together the other day,'' the person listening paused. He wants to ask why he wasn't invited to come too, but he realized that he was never friends with the Disakorn's football club even once. So it would be strange if he was invited to come.
"Really...?" The owner of warm brown eyes glanced to the side, contemplating what words to use so that his feelings won't be that obvious.
... Delightful...
... Impressive...
... Like... One male senior...
But he also looks at pretty girls, still like girls with sharp features, with pretty smiles. Completely in contrast to Disakorn's ‘Hiya Jeng.’ Slender, mono eyelid, hawk-like eyes, and the way he furrowed his eyebrows, he does not look approachable at all.
... But... He is already delighted, already impressed and already likes him...
... He can't stop...
"Today, those Hiyas are coming back na, they will come this afternoon."
"Really?" Pokchat turned to look at the person who talked immediately. Disakorn's smile widened before he bent down again and cut the eraser, and continued playing.
"Yes. Hiya Jeng said he'll show off his necktie a little. Before taking the exam, he stopped playing football for a month to read and study for the exam. But in reality, Hiya is really effing good. I will play football, read books, and pass the exam. Believe me."
... ‘He’ ... will come... to show off his necktie... will come here...
... Today, I will know where Ai'Dis's ‘Hiya Jeng’ went to college and what faculty he is in...
"What's wrong, Pok? Why are you in a trance? You are good at studying, have been reading it since 1st grade. Someone like you will pass the exam." Disakorn raised his head when he felt his friend went silent and met with Pokchat already in a trance.
"I'm... not thinking about that," the person who just found out about it cannot hold his happiness, he just knows that he will meet that someone again.
"Er, honestly, don't stress about it... What will you study again?"
"International relations."
"Yes, yes. I remember you saying you want to become an ambassador so you want to study this major. But where? in Thailand?" Pokchat looked at his beloved friend from childhood and smiled.
"In Thailand, indeed."
Disakorn replied with a smile broadly.
"Very good. Friends must never leave each other. Let's enter university together!" Pokchat just smiled but didn't say anything again. He doesn't want to tell his best friend that he doesn't intend to leave Disakorn to go study abroad, but he decided to study in the country because he wants to study at the same place as Disakorn's ‘Hiya Jeng.’
The person with warm brown eyes, and who has decided in his heart, looked at his hand and rubbed it slowly.
...I'm excited until my hands are cold...
...My dreams and hopes... will come true...
................................................................
Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy, the university logo on his necktie, and his white student shirt and slacks.
Pokchat, who sat at the back of the classroom with his bestfriend, Disakorn, stared at his senior who already graduated and was now quietly a freshman in an educational institution.
Warm brown eyes stared at his senior with light brown skin and slender mono-eyelid eyes standing next to his friends in front of the whiteboard.
"Hiya's name is Jeng. I'm a first year in Accountancy." His slender eyes scanned the girls sitting in front of the classroom, periodically.
"Hiya Jeng, do you have a lover?" One of Pokchat's girl friends bravely asked. Of course, the person who was asked smiled mischievously.
"Not yet... Are you interested?"
Crazy. The front of the classroom went crazy.
"Mr. Jett, don't tease the teacher's daughter ja. Otherwise, I'll take back the mic." Their university professor gave them the stage to talk about how they passed the faculty's exam quickly. He just shrugged his shoulders and passed the mic to his friends. But... Pokchat is not looking at the mic at all. His eyes were still directed at the first year of Accountancy.
‘... Not yet... Are you interested?...’
Don't just say that in front of the classroom. At the back of the classroom, like Pokchat would be defeated by that sentence. Despite thinking of him just being delightful, just impressive, just like... but his heart… is beating so fast.
His eyes looked down at his hands that were rubbing together slowly. His lips pressed together nicely. Contemplating his feelings in his brave heart. It's exceedingly difficult to differentiate the ‘Admiration’ of a junior to a senior and the ‘Love Crush’ of a man to another person. He still can't find the answer to this question at this time, but... What he is sure of is that they have to go to the same school together.
Pokchat looked up again to look at the person in his heart for a long time. But he paused when his eyes collided with the person from the faculty of commerce, and the accountancy student looked at him first.
Their eyes met together... Pokchat didn't imagine it by himself, the other person looked at him first. But when he looked back, Jett looked away.
................................................................
Since that day, the life of a 12th-grade student and a first-year student is no longer connected. Jett didn't come back to visit the school again, while Pokchat studied hard to try and pass the entrance exam of his university.
His dream is to study in the Faculty of Political Science, majoring in International Relations. And for his heart… must study at the same university as Jett.
Determination and Effort. Those two must come together, some people succeed with whatever they try, and some don't. But for people like Pokchat, success is already right in front of him.
Today, the university had its first date… the first meeting of seniors and juniors of the faculty. Roads inside the university are closed for traffic so that each faculty can set up their booths. And each booth has seniors from every year to take care of the freshies of this year.
Pokchat woke up early that morning. But he still didn't participate in the activities of the Faculty of Political Science, because his bestfriend, Disakorn, dragged him towards the booth of the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy first.
"Accompany me first, then I'll come and accompany you to the Political Science booth after."
That was the plea of Disakorn, who was a lonely person who was the only one who took the entrance exam for the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy. They don't know anyone who also took the entrance exam.
Pokchat wants to change his beloved friend's habit, so he can face the wide world alone. But the faculty that Disakorn entered, there was someone they knew.
… I don't know if he came or not, but… if he came… I can meet him…
"Ai'Dis," a loud voice coming from the booth of the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy. Pokchat was not the one who was called, but he was startled because he remembered the voice first, even before the owner of the voice came out and stood in front of the booth.
The young man was tall, slender eyes, high cheekbones and someone who likes to frown. The man was their senior in highschool, and today… Pokchat had followed him to become his junior in university.
"I can't believe it, you really passed the exam to my faculty, huh? Was this year's exam easy?" As soon as he appeared, his foul mouth started immediately. And then slender eyes glanced at Pokchat who was standing behind Disakorn.
"And him… are you also in this faculty?"
Pokchat cannot answer, because Disakorn answered him first.
"No, hiya. Ai'Pok is in Political Science, but he came to accompany me…" This time his eyebrows are really furrowed, it looked closer than before.
"Are you applying for kindergarten? That you must have a friend come too? Your friend must go to the faculty where he passed the exam, and for you, you come here."
"Ho, Hiya. I passed this faculty alone, like…" Disakorn is a lonely person begging for sympathy, but his tall height is not favorable enough to gain sympathy.
"Come to our booth!" Jett's voice hardened, his face too. Pokchat nodded to encourage his lonely friend to enter their faculty's booth.
"You better go there, Dis. I'll go to my faculty's booth too."
"Then… I'll send you there," It's his penalty for dragging Pokchat with him. And before his seniors could drag him away from his friend, Disakorn wants to atone for his sins.
"Ai'Dis, come here in the booth!" But his senior is standing there with his arms folded across his chest, his face clearly showing disagreement.
"You go to your booth already, call me when you're done." Pokchat pushed his beloved friend in the back, Disakorn gave up and went inside the booth of the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy. And in front of the entrance was only Jett and Pokchat.
In the past, they were senior-junior in highschool.
Now, they are senior-junior in a higher educational institution together.
His heart swelled, but Jett had to ruin it with his foul mouth.
"You can go back to your faculty's booth now!" His heart swelled and quickly deflated. Warm brown eyes looked at the person who spoke quickly before looking around, there's a lot of booths and also a lot of people roaming around.
"Do you know where the booth of the Faculty of Political Science krub?" Even though his heart is still deflated as before, but… he wants to talk to him a little. He met Jett's eyes, asking for an answer.
Their eyes stared at each other. Slender black eyes make you drown in them, while warm brown eyes fade into blankness. That made the senior even more annoyed.
…Blank?... Blank my ass! I am standing in front of him, and he's looking at me with no emotions at all. Does he think that people like Ai'Jeng (me) are easy men?!!...
"Where's the booth of the Political Science Faculty krub?"
He asked loudly again, pulling Jeng out of his frustrated reverie when the other person noticed that he was not interested in answering. The young man from the faculty of commerce and accountancy crossed his arms in front of his chest and answered abruptly.
"How should I know?" Then the tall man that's of Chinese descent disappeared into their booth, while the person who was abandoned in front of the booth could only sigh softly.
… Our first conversation and I was hammered down like that. How inconsiderate of him…
Pokchat looked around his surroundings, he found the golden lion emblem of the Faculty of Political Science mounted on one of the tents not far away, no matter how near-sighted you are, you can still spot the lion emblem.
… ‘Where's the booth of the political science faculty?’... The one who asked already knows where it is, I only asked because I have wanted to strike up a conversation with him for a long time now…
"Aren't you standing in front of our booth for a long time now?" A deep voice came from his back again. Pokchat turned to look, he did not expect the person he saw walking away entering the booth just now to come back and stand in front of him again.
"I… I still don't know where the booth for the faculty of political science is." Pokchat answered with a straight face. He looked to the left, then to the right, and surely… he didn't see a lion emblem of the faculty of political science.
"Right there. With a photo of a tiger-shaped lion." This time Jett answered him, and he pointed at the booth which had ‘a photo of a tiger or lion.’
"Where? I don't see it at all," Pokchat is not lying because the emblem of the faculty of political science is not a tiger-shaped lion, but it's a golden lion (a Thai mythical golden lion, the attached image is an example). That emblem is from a different faculty.
"Are you blind or what?!"
"My eyesight is normal,"
Jett's face looked like he wanted to slice him into two pieces, but Pokchat's face was calm like he didn't have any emotions.
"Then come here! I'll take you there!" The tall senior immediately walked to lead the way. Pokchat didn't expect the other party to be kind to him. So… he just started following the other person, Jett's kindness lasted really short.
Even though he had long legs because he was taller than the average Thai man. But Pokchat is taking his steps slower, so he is left behind by the person who said he would ‘take him there.’ Until Jett has to stop walking and come back to get him.
"Hey! Are you walking on ancient sites?! Walk a little faster, won't you?!" with a bad mouth like this, no matter whether in high school or university, he's doing it flawlessly. But… Pokchat is someone who always has a straight face, he would always show the same indifferent face.
"Just… I want to know what faculty, that faculty… that has a lot of girls."
"That's literature."
"They have a lot of pretty girls there." Pokchat looked at their booth like a man. Even though he admits that he was impressed with a senior like Jett until he decided to follow him to come study at his university. But he can't deny that he still likes looking at beautiful women.
… Sharp features and beautiful smiles, that's my type…
He was lost in his thoughts for a long time when he glanced back at his senior who was already shaking his head as if he couldn't understand him.
…So why do I like… a man…like this?...
"Does Ai'Dis don't mind?" Jett's question made Pokchat so weary of his own heart that he turned around and looked at him, filled with doubt.
"What about Dis?"
"I have to know you, huh? Whatever business you have with him has nothing to do with me!" And the person who said that started walking again, but this time his pace was faster. And in a moment, he stopped in front of the Faculty of Political Science, which has a golden lion emblem. But… he had to stand and wait for the person who walked so slowly that it took more than a minute for Pokchat to stop next to him.
"Are snails your staple food? You're so damn slow! Here! Your faculty!" He's immediately cursed and pointing at his faculty all at once. If this continues, he will be called the kind-hearted foul-mouth by the neighborhood.
Pokchat raised his head to look at the emblem of their faculty, and he cracked a smile.
"Is this what you called a tiger-shaped lion earlier?" He pointed at the emblem and asked the person who took him there.
"Yes,"
"That's called Singha," The freshy from the political science faculty answered.
(but in Thai pronunciation, it's only Sing, ‘ha’ is silent.)
"It has no difference at all! Singha, tiger, lion, it's all the same!" The senior from the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy argued.
"It's not the same," Pokchat argued with a calm voice.
"Then you call someone to ask!" Jett challenged, but the other person shook his head.
"There's no need to bother other people. We can just look it up on the internet. For an easy topic like this, you should help yourself and find it out by yourself. It's better than running to ask other people." The first-year junior of the Faculty of Political Science said slowly with a calm face before raising the corner of his mouth to a smile.
"...Well anyway, thank you for bringing me here na krub," The tall and slender figure of Pokchat turned around to enter his faculty's booth, leaving the person who brought him there to stand, stunned for a moment before knowing that he was just insulted.
Jett was left there with his mouth open, but to go and drag out the person who just insulted him was too late now. So the senior from the faculty of commerce and accountancy could only stand there and grit his teeth in anger for a few minutes before he hastily went back.
................................................................
Warm brown eyes looked outside of their booth from the inside with a smile. He smiled like… if Disakorn came to see him like that, he'd probably have goosebumps til the day after. That instance when he sees him like that, he'll say he looks like he's planning something evil in his mind. Pokchat is not a person who has evil thoughts, who only has evil thoughts… He admits that sometimes things can get complicated, like… what happened just now.
"Nong… What's your name? I'll write you your name tag," A loud voice near him woke Pokchat out of his reverie and back to the present. He turned around towards the voice and gave a smile to his senior who had light skin and smiled prettily at him.
"Pok krub."
"What major are you in?"
"International Relations krub." The faculty senior's bright brown eyes sparkled with joy, and his beautiful smile widened even further.
"We have the same major, my name is Zo na." The senior introduced himself and he doodled on the paper in his hand, and then he gave it to him.
"Ah… You hang this around your neck, and wait for the seniors to take you around the faculty."
"Thank you, P'Zo. What year are you in now?"
"I'm currently a 3rd year student. So, see you around!" That senior tapped Pokchat's shoulder before walking towards the person sitting behind him. He asked for his name and the major they were in. However, Pokchat did not pay attention to the person sitting behind him because the person sitting next to him started a conversation with him.
"What's the name?" Pokchat turned to look at him, the person asking was a young man who did not look like a young man at all. He asked him but his eyes were looking at ‘P'Zo,’ and not blinking. Pokchat smiled at the eyes of his classmate who he didn't know the name of.
"Are you asking for my name or that senior's name?" He asked, making the eyes that were following ‘P'Zo’ looked back at him, he bit his lips a little and looked sideways at him a little.
"I am asking you, but can you tell me that senior's name first?"
"His name is P'Zo, he's from IR." (IR = International Relations)
"Wowww… I wanna be the husband of an ambassador.." he mumbled to himself before he looked back at Pokchat. His eyes sparkled, the senior just now was handsome, and this classmate was good-looking.
"And what is your name?"
"Pok,"
"I'm… Tizzy na, from the social science major. Don't ask what my name was before, just knowing that my name is Tizzy is enough now." he winked at Pokchat before striking up a conversation with other people.
Loud noises can be heard from inside the booth of the Faculty of Political Science, voices of freshies greeting each other, and the loud shouts of the seniors around. He can catch some of the shouts, and some he can't, but it made him excited.
"Shit, Joke! If you just came here to stand there calmly, then you should have come at all! Idiot! Go and wait in front of the booth and take the juniors on a tour to see the faculty!"
"Don't curse at my junior like that, my friend Wave, since I knew that he would come, he didn't sleep at all last night."
"Then next time don't bring him here! Eyy! Ai'Golf, you take the little Golden Lion on tour sign and give it to Ai'Joke and lead the juniors!"
"Oho, my friend Wave. Have some respect for a handsome authority. Let's give the little Golden Lion sign to someone more suitable, no?"
"You shut up! Where are you who said you're going to be the Head for the First Event?! What kind of a shitty head are you, go call the seniors to come and help! Eyy! Tell the 3rd years to go help Ai'Zo write the names of the first years, and all of you take the juniors to see the faculty. Go out of the booth and get the juniors in a line and go,"
Pokchat looked at his faculty seniors who were shouting, and he smiled faintly. Even though it's quite noisy, it's warm and fun. He turned around to his newly found friends sitting beside him, making friends from the same major and a lot of people from the other majors. The initial period of them knowing the faculty and the university was impressive.
Impressive… Glad… Happiness
He smiled to himself, he agreed to these three words to describe everything that has happened today.
Faculty seniors, newly found friends, and… the university senior whose name is ‘Jett’.
– tbc –