Chapter Text
The hallway stretched longer than it should have. Phuwin's shoes clicked against the tiles in a rhythm that felt too loud. His mind had been spinning since he woke up. What if the other freshers were already friends? What if he said something stupid? What if they could tell he was terrified?
None of this showed on his face though.
By the time he reached the seminar hall, he'd arranged his expression into something blank. Neutral. The kind of face that doesn't invite questions. He found a seat at the furthest row, away from the clusters of people, and waited for the programme to begin.
That's when someone sat directly beside him.
"Hi, I'm Santa."
The voice was bright, unbothered by the silence that usually made people uncomfortable. Phuwin turned to look at him. The boy was smiling like it was the most natural thing in the world to approach a stranger and introduce himself. Confidence. That's what Phuwin noticed first. The kind of person who didn't seem to carry a single doubt in his bones.
"Phuwin," he replied, keeping his voice even.
"First day jitters?" Santa leaned back in his seat.
"Not really." A lie, but a small one.
Santa laughed. It was warm, like he found something genuinely amusing in Phuwin's deflection. "You've got that look. Like you're mentally preparing for battle. Law student?"
"How did you know?"
"You have that focused energy. Plus, you're sitting like you're planning your defence strategy." Santa's eyes were mischievous. "I'm in business. My boyfriend kept telling me I should've picked law because I argue too much anyway."
"Are you close with him?" Phuwin asked.
"Perth? Yeah, he's a senior here. Second year. Sometimes I think he regrets getting into a relationship with me because I show up at his events and embarrass him with my presence." Santa grinned. "But that's my job as the annoying boyfriend, right?"
Phuwin found himself almost smiling. Almost.
The programme started. Speeches about university life, about community, about growth. Phuwin listened but didn't absorb much. His mind was still in that moment before, when Santa had simply decided they should be friends. He wondered if that's what confident people did. Just decided things and made them happen.
Then came the mentor selection process.
The stage lit up and seniors began walking out, each one looking assured in a way that only comes from having survived two years at university. Phuwin watched them file in.
"You see this senior?" Santa nudged his arm. "He's my boyfriend. Handsome, isn't he?"
Phuwin looked. Santa was clearly proud.
The lottery began. One by one, freshers were called up to pick papers from a box. Each paper held the name of their assigned mentor. Santa went before Phuwin. When he opened his paper, his face lit up.
"Joong," he announced to the room.
Then it was Phuwin's turn. His name was called. He walked to the stage with his poker face intact.
“Naravit Lertrakosum.”
He didn't recognise the name, but when he looked toward the seniors, one of them stood up. The one with kind features. The one with the smile.
Pond approached him with the kind of ease that suggested he'd done this a thousand times before. He handed Phuwin a bouquet of flowers with a gesture so smooth it felt almost like a dance. Then he smiled. Wide. Genuine. Like welcoming a new student was the most genuinely pleasant thing he'd done all day.
"Welcome to the university, Phuwin," Pond said. His voice was soft, unhurried. "I'm Pond. I'll be your mentor, so if you need anything at all, you can count on me. I'll take care of you."
There was something in the way he said it that made Phuwin believe him. Just the simple recognition of someone worth noticing. Someone whose presence felt like it might make the overwhelming parts of university slightly less overwhelming.
"Okay," Phuwin said. "Thank you."
Pond's smile widened a fraction. Then he returned to his seat.
The rest of the programme passed in a blur. When it ended, Phuwin was collecting his things when Joong and Pond approached him and Santa together. Joong was laughing about something, that mostly suggested he was always the centre of his own joke.
"You two are lucky to get two of us as your mentors, you know," Joong announced, his tone dripping with shameless pride.
Santa raised an eyebrow. "How are we specially lucky?"
"I'm the most handsome man you'd find here," Joong said without a trace of irony. "And here Pond is after me. That's just unfair to the rest of the university."
Pond shook his head, but he was laughing. Santa laughed too. Phuwin managed a smile fbut was polite enough to count.
"Don't mind him," Pond said, his attention shifting to Phuwin. There was amusement in his eyes now. "He just likes to show off his face. Phuwin, right?"
"Yes," Phuwin replied.
"Tomorrow is club exploration day for freshers," Pond continued. "We have a debating club. Would you be interested in joining?"
Phuwin considered it for a moment. It wasn’t that he feared public speaking. As a law student, debating is his strongest point. But he'd never been in a debate club before. He wasn't sure if he was the type to argue about random topics instead of criminals. But something about the way Pond asked made it sound like it might be worth trying.
"Sure," he said. "I'll visit the club tomorrow."
"I'll join Phuwin too then," Santa added immediately, always the social butterfly.
Joong nodded approvingly. "Very nice. We'll see you both tomorrow."
Pond looked at both of them, and then his gaze settled back on Phuwin. "And here's my number. Text me whenever you need anything. Don't hesitate."
Phuwin simply nodded, taking the contact information. He wasn't the type to initiate conversations or ask for favours. But he filed the number away, filed away the easy kindness, filed away the smile.
Pond watched him with something gentle in his expression, like he understood exactly how much courage it took to survive your first day without saying much of anything at all.
Then they parted ways, and Phuwin walked out of the seminar hall with the bouquet of flowers still in his hands and no idea that his life had just shifted into something new.
–––
The morning sun filtered through the university corridor as Phuwin and Santa made their way toward the debating club.
When they reached the club room, two seniors were stationed outside a table covered with registration forms. One of them looked up, recognition flickering across his face.
"Oh, aren't you two the mentees of Pond and Joong?" the taller one asked.
"Yes. You know us?"
"Yeah, we saw you two yesterday at the mentor selection. I'm Earth, third year."
"I'm Aou, second year," the other one added, gesturing for them to approach.
Phuwin and Santa both pressed their palms together in a wai, heads bowing slightly in respect.
"Sawadee khub phi," they said in unison.
Earth smiled at them and handed over two forms. "Take these and sit inside. Pond and Joong will be here soon."
Inside the club room, freshers were already scattered across the space. The room had a casual energy, not the intimidating atmosphere Phuwin had expected. Santa immediately took a seat and patted the chair beside him, which Phuwin accepted without comment.
Minutes ticked by. Phuwin filled out his form silently while Santa gossiped quietly about the other freshers. Then the seniors arrived.
Pond came in first, followed by Joong and a handful of others. When Pond's eyes scanned the room, they landed briefly on Phuwin. A small smile crossed his face, the kind that didn't demand anything in return. Phuwin nodded back, a gesture so subtle it was barely perceptible.
The session began with introductions. Each senior stood up and said their name, their year, and something interesting about themselves. When Pond stood, his voice was measured, careful. He spoke about loving debates because they forced him to see the world from multiple angles. He spoke about patience and precision. He simply existed in the space and somehow made everyone listen harder.
"Today," Joong announced, hopping onto the table with dramatic flair, "we're performing a mock debate for you. Nothing serious, nothing that requires actual research. Just pure entertainment."
"If any of you want to join," Pond added, his tone gentle, "there are open spots. We'd love to have you."
Santa immediately elbowed Phuwin. "Come on. It'll be fun."
Phuwin shook his head. The thought of standing in front of all these people, speaking when he barely knew what he was doing, made his chest feel tight. "No."
"Come on," Santa pressed. "Don't be boring."
"I'll watch," Phuwin said firmly.
Santa shrugged, unbothered, and volunteered himself instead. Within minutes, the debate sides were formed. Supporting team were Santa, Aou and Fourth, a fresher who'd jumped at the chance. On the opposing side, Pond joined forces with Joong and another junior named Yotha.
The debate topic was simple and absurd. "Is a burrito a sandwich?"
Pond opened the debate from the opposing side. He stood with his posture relaxed. He had this way of moving his hands that illustrated his points without being grandiose about it, a gentle persuasion rather than a demand for belief.
"The definition of a sandwich requires two pieces of bread," he said, his voice even and thoughtful. "A burrito uses a single flour tortilla, which fundamentally changes the structural integrity of what we're calling a sandwich."
Santa's response was immediate and loud. He stood up with a laugh, not mocking but genuinely amused. "But phi, if we're being technical, a tortilla is bread. You're just being specific about which bread counts, which is bias."
The room erupted in small laughs. Santa continued with flourish, his confidence filling the space like sound. He didn't seem afraid of being wrong. He seemed to enjoy the game of it, the back and forth. His body language was open, his laughter quick, his movement theatrical. When Joong made a joke about burritos being "the rebels of the sandwich family," Santa laughed so hard he had to hold onto the table.
But Phuwin somehow found himself watching Pond more than Santa.
It was the way Pond debated that caught his attention. He had this ability to disagree without making it personal, to poke holes in an argument without seeming aggressive. When Aou made a counterpoint, Pond didn't dismiss it. Instead, he acknowledged it, considered it, and then offered a refined argument that took the new information into account. He debated not like someone desperate to win.
And when he spoke, his words had texture. He didn't just state facts. He painted scenarios. "Consider the practical aspect," he said at one point. "When you eat a burrito, the tortilla acts as a container. A sandwich's bread is structural. These are different functions." Simple words. But the way he arranged them made them matter.
Fourth tried hard but stumbled occasionally. Joong carried the humour. But it was Pond who anchored everything, who made the nonsensical debate feel momentarily important.
When the debate ended twenty minutes later with no official winner, Pond and Santa shook hands, both grinning. Santa immediately launched into recounting the funniest moments. But Phuwin noticed how Pond's eyes found the crowd occasionally, assessing, reading. Like he was trying to understand if anyone else was feeling brave enough to try.
"Alright," Joong announced, clapping his hands together. "Time for something less serious. Everyone grab a partner. We're doing rapid-fire word association games."
The room shifted into activity. Pairs formed quickly. Phuwin stayed in his seat, content to observe. But Pond spotted him sitting alone. Instead of nudging Phuwin himself, he sent Earth.
"Come on, freshy," Earth said, extending a hand. "You're with me."
Phuwin didn't have the courage to refuse. He took Earth's hand and was pulled into a small circle where other pairs were already laughing and shouting words at each other. The game was simple. One person said a word, the other had to respond with the first word that came to mind. No thinking. Just instinct.
When Phuwin's turn came, he froze slightly at being put on the spot. But Earth was patient, not mocking.
"Come on, just say whatever comes to mind. There's no wrong answer."
The game loosened something in Phuwin. He found himself actually participating, actually laughing when Fourth said "hospital" and he responded with "sparkle," which made no sense but somehow cracked everyone up.
That's when Pond appeared beside them, a soft drink in his hand. He watched a round, and when Phuwin hesitated on a word, Pond simply smiled and said, "Don't think. Let it come."
Something about the permission made it easier. Phuwin answered “Pond” without pause. The answer came so quickly that Phuwin didn't realize what he'd said until the laughter around him made him look up.
His ears warmed. That made Pond stop for a second, amused by the word choice and broke into a genuine smile.
After the word association game came charades. Someone pushed a list of words toward the group and volunteers started acting out increasingly ridiculous scenarios. Santa volunteered immediately and acted out "a flamingo in an existential crisis" with such commitment that the entire room was in tears.
"Phuwin," Pond said, appearing before him again. Not commanding, just offering. "You want to try?"
Every part of Phuwin wanted to say no. But he looked at Pond's face, at the gentle encouragement there, and found himself nodding.
He drew his word. "A penguin learning to cook."
It was absurd. He was stiff at first, unsure how to move his body in front of people. But Aou started shouting encouraging guesses and suddenly it became less about performing and more about playing. He waddled. He pretended to burn himself on an invisible stove. Someone guessed "a baby learning to walk" and he shook his head, and the room laughed.
When someone finally got it right, Santa was the one cheering the loudest.
After charades, as the energy was still high, Phuwin found himself sitting on the side again. But this time Pond sat down beside him, not too close but close enough.
"You did well up there," Pond said. His voice was always quiet, like he was speaking to Phuwin specifically even in a crowded room.
"I tripped thrice," Phuwin replied.
"You were funny," Pond laughed. "The intention of the game is being funny.”
Phuwin didn't know what to say to that. He'd just been awkward.
"Will you join the club?" Pond asked.
Phuwin considered it. He looked around at Santa, who was mid-laughter with Fourth and Aou. He looked at Pond, waiting patiently for an answer.
"Maybe," Phuwin said.
Pond smiled, and it was the same gentle smile from yesterday, but now Phuwin understood it a little better. It was a kind of recognition. Like he was willing to wait while Phuwin figured it out for himself.
"Just let me know," Pond said.
Later, when Phuwin walked out of the club with the day still warm on his skin, he thought about the way Pond debated. Like precision and kindness weren't opposites. Like you could cut through an argument without cutting through a person. Like gentleness was its own kind of strength.
It would take him a while to understand why he kept replaying moments from that session. Why Pond's voice stuck with him when he was trying to fall asleep that night. Why he found himself thinking about joining the club, because the thought of hearing Pond debate again didn't feel entirely terrible.
Not yet. Not love. Just the slow, dangerous business of attention.
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