“Hey, Newwiee. Let’s go eat.”
It was Book Kasidet who called me. Book has been a close friend of mine since first grade. His nickname is ‘Feel’, but he especially liked me because I was the only one who didn’t call him that. Honestly, I didn’t want to call him with such a low-quality nickname, and it was annoying to hear the giggle next to Book, who said, ‘Oh, why are you calling the precious name my parents gave me like that!’
I woke up when I heard it was already lunchtime. However, the air conditioner was cooler than yesterday. Going out of the hallway would be hell. Oh, I’m too lazy to eat. It would have been nice if the cafeteria came out as soon as the door opened, but that was absurd.
As I sat in the back seat of the classroom, I took a step out the back door and looked at the guys who were threatening the other students for no reason. And I made eye contact with Tay Tawan, who was silently listening in the middle.
“…”
“…”
I was the one who avoided his gaze first. I put my hands forward and hesitated. Why did our eyes have to meet? In fact, the night before he send me a text message. He also offered to take me home yesterday. However I didn’t want to show him the way to my house, so I told him that I would go alone. Thankfully, I was able to go alone. But as soon as I got home, three messages came 10 minutes apart.
Tay: [Did you get home safely?] 5:28 PM
Tay: [Did you eat?] 5:38 pm
Tay: [Let’s call] 5:48 pm
Tay called to see if I was still there while I was sitting still without responding to the message he sent. Then he went on with the unimportant conversation.
I paused for a moment, thinking about what had happened the day before, but was startled awake by a voice calling my name.
“Hey, New Thitipoom.”
Tay waved his hand and called me. The five pairs of eyes that were looking at Tay Tawan all turned to me. Instead of responding, I raised my collar like a shriveled fish in the sun and stared at Tay.
“Let’s go eat.”
“…”
Book's gaze turned to me. I waved my hands. Tay put his hand in his pocket and came closer. No. Please don’t come to me. Much to my surprise, Tay already stood in front of me. He was much taller than me, so even if I tilted my head sharply, I had to look up.
“Eat with me.”
“I, Fri, friend… .”
My gaze was drawn back and forth to Book.
‘What do you want me to do?‘ Book mouthed.
“Friend?”
Tay's gaze then turned to Book. As soon as Book's eyes met mine, he forced a smile. Then, cleverly, he joined the group of the class leader who was just about to leave the classroom.
“Newwiee, hahaha. I’m going to eat with another friend. You two eat together.”
That traitor!
Book is originally that kind of guy. A traitor who will betray his country. He seemed to know that he would be in trouble, so he immediately ran away. I stomped my foot in front of Book, who made an apologetic face saying ‘I’m sorry’. Then he goes away, and I looked at Tay in front of me.
“Let’s go.” It was Tay who patted my shoulder with his bear-sized hand and walked ahead.
Munch. There is nothing else that can be said to describe how he eats other than that word. Tay Tawan was good at acting cute to the aunts who served food to him. The aunts were overjoyed. ‘Our Tay eats a lot~’, ‘If it’s not enough, come again. I’ll give you more.’ It followed with this kind of comment.
As a result, Tay's food tray was piled higher than the teachers’, and he held three bottles of angX served as dessert. That’s incredible. A hand capable of holding three angX on the plate.
(A/N: I’m guessing angX is a censored brand for a flavored drink. I had heard of it somewhere. I tried to look it up but found nothing T_T)
Tay lifted the edge of the plate and scooped it up. He didn’t even need chopsticks. His determination to eat everything with only one spoon stood out.
I quietly enjoyed my meal like a normal person in front of him. It was a pity that there was no one to talk to, but I hadn’t been bored since seeing Tay eat with such skill.
Tay, who had been eating with his nose stuck on the plate for a while, raised his head. “What are you looking at like that?”
I shook my head when he asked. Tay sighed and looked at his plate, then mine. After scratching the back of his nose, he handed me all the angX on his side.
“Why are you giving me this?”
“Drink. You are skinny and you look weak.”
I haven’t seen any advertisements saying that drinking angX is good for your health. However, angX had good taste, so I only accepted one. Tay took turns looking at the other two and me.
“You drink the rest. I don’t drink that much.”
Tay just looked at me and nodded once. Then, he opened the bottle with his large hand and placed it in his mouth. When I saw Tay drinking angX like a deer drinking from a bottle, I couldn’t help but laugh and frown.
Then I had another encounter with this interesting fact that the tip of Tay's ear was red again. However, I didn’t make any reaction to this fact. Does he actually have red ears? It was probably not originally red because I only noticed that his ears were turning red after a certain moment. I looked at him with my eyes wide open like a flounder, but I pretended not to know and focused on my meal.
He finished his meal and went to the concession stand. Naturally, I followed him and stood quietly behind him. He was like Moses crossing the Red Sea. When the students saw Tay, they did not split in half; instead, Tay pushed the students in front of him and split them in half.
Despite the fact that he had just finished eating, he went to buy a lot of snacks. There were three bread and two drinks. Tay was carrying all of the snacks in his arms.
I looked at him because I didn’t know why he bought so much food, and he scratched his nose as if embarrassed.
“You eat it.”
“I just ate.”
“Are you full with just that?”
“I’m full…”
Tay made a strange expression. I’ll also have the same expression as him. We’re not in sync. One, two, three, there was no response from him.
“You eat it.”
I handed over the bread and drinks to Tay. He let out a deep sigh and handed me a drink. It was an apple-flavored pack drink.
“Let’s go out and drink.”
Then we went to the empty stairs, where no one was around. I didn’t really like this place. There was a warehouse next to it where the waste tissue was thrown away because students were frequently caught smoking in it. Of course, one of them was Tay.
However, I couldn’t say I didn’t like it. He sat me down on the stairs and then he sat next to me. He was so big that the school uniform that wrapped around his thigh felt like it was going to burst anytime. His ankles were also visible. Contrary to my expectation that it would have a rough shape, his ankle bone was round like a real ripe peach and was dyed a deep pink color.
I put a straw in the drink pack and sucked it next to Tay. He turned around and stared at my face. I remained polite and said nothing to him, who gave me angX and bought me a drink. Originally, I would have asked what are you looking at. It wasn’t because I was scared of Tay.
Tay's tenacious gaze did not last long. I closed my eyes for a long time and then opened them again. Drinking didn’t make the summer heat go away. I fanned my hands because it was hot. In fact, it was difficult to tell which was hotter, the weather or Tay's gaze, but it was definitely the weather. Even though it was a staircase beneath a leafy tree, it was still a perfect steaming.
Tay, on the other hand, was preoccupied with whether or not I was feeling hot. One of his legs was draped on the steps, and the other leg stretched all the way down. Then he rested his elbows on his thighs and gave me a soft look. I sucked the drink pack while pretending not to notice his gaze. Because the floor was already empty, all that could be heard was the wind blowing.
“Stop staring.” In the end, I couldn’t stand Tay's gaze, so I looked straight ahead and said that, without even making eye contact with him.
Tay asked me. “Is it hot?”
“… Do you not feel hot?”
It’s almost June. It felt like I was in a steamer because of the humidity. The sound of cicada could be heard. Tay raised his upper body, straightened his shoulders, and tilted his head.
“I don’t get hot easily.”
Yeah, I can see that.
He raised his hand as he spoke. I immediately shrugged. My legs were lifted together as I shrugged, which was a little pathetic. Anyone who looked at it could tell I was scared. Tay paused for a moment, his brow furrowed. But he put his hand close to me without hesitation. He moved his large hands slowly. I shrugged as I watched, trying to figure out what his actions meant.
Tay was fanning me.
The wind tickled my skin. However, there was no way the heat could subside just by moving his hands a few times.
I was taken aback when I saw Tay doing this. I sucked on the straw and stared at him blankly. He asked with his eyes. It was a face that asked as to whether the heat had subsided.
“I want to go to class.”
“Why class? You’ll just be sitting absentmindedly in class.”
It wasn’t that I’m ignoring Tay, but it was unavoidable given the group we played with is different in the first place. I’ve never befriended Tay. Then, I suddenly felt unfair. Why does he make me sit in this hot sun? Even when he isn’t getting hot easily!
My body ached even more as my stomach boiled. I ran my hand down my neck and placed it on my forehead. Tay looked at me for a moment before standing up. The shadow fell as soon as he stood in front of me.
“Follow me.”
He then grabbed my wrist and took a step forward. I ascended the stairs, turned the corner, and returned to the canteen. There were a lot more people than when we first came.
There were four sofas in the corner of the canteen, each with its own table. Students ate and drank there frequently. It’s always been a popular gathering place. It was still crowded and there was nowhere to sit.
“Hey, Tawan.”
On the innermost sofa, there were Tay's friends. They are close friends of his. But they were just bullies number 2, 3, or 4 to me. And bully number 1 was holding my wrist.
They pretended to be friendly, waved their hands, and called Tay. He pulled me in front of them.
“Move. Let him sit.”
It was only then that I realized why Tay had brought me here. This was the seat with the best view of the air conditioner. He pulled the guy from the farthest corner and put me in his place.
I leaned over as if tossed into a soft chair. The air conditioner was blowing from the front. Oh, that’s cool. But what is this cold feeling? As I raised my head, I met the original seat owner who was staring at me coldly, and I immediately lowered my gaze.
“I’ll buy you some ice cream.”
Tay walked to the canteen again, this time holding out a few thousand bhat bills at the stand. After accepting a freezie bar, he returned to my seat. The frezzie bar popped out when it was hit from the bottom of the table. It had a chocolate flavor to it. It was chocolate-flavored. Tay handed me the frezzie bar.
“What’s your problem, Tay?”
The guy who was staring at me spoke to Tay with a sad smile. I felt awkward and uncomfortable as I fiddle with the frezzie bar. He eventually ripped the frezzie bar wrapping off and sucked it out with his mouth. Tay looked at the guy speaking to him from the side, then staring at my face again.
He was staring at my lips, to be precise. I put my lips together to stop sucking the frezzie bar. When I kneaded the frezzie bar with my hand, Tay's gaze turned to my hand this time. He didn’t even blink. I got a little scared and handed over a small bite. Tay shook his head. My ears, neck, and face were all red. It was better under the scorching sun.
Tay covered my eyes with his palm. He muttered without even minding the people around him.
“You eat it.”
“…”
“I’ll buy it for you every day.”
~
It was self-study after the afternoon class at 5 pm. We would have dinner at 6 pm, so we had about an hour to spare. As I turned the mechanical pencil and looked through the problem, I slowly turned my head without thinking. Tay's place and its surroundings were all empty. He disappeared after 1 pm. Originally, he was a guy who skipped classes, so the teacher didn’t even find him. I don’t know where he’s going.
Someone poked me in the back from behind as I looked at Tay's seat. I was surprised and shivered. When I turned my head to check, Book was holding a mechanical pencil. Usually, when Book had something to say, he would poke me with the eraser part of the mechanical pencil, but this time he poked me with the sharp edge. As I turned my head with an annoyed face, a notebook came over.
[Tteokbokki, go, go]
I replied with ‘okay’. I heard the sound of the notebook moving busily behind and sideways. It was not only me but the other kids were also exchanging notes.
After a short while, the bell rang, signaling that it was time for dinner. Book yelled as if he were a roaring lion.
“Who wants to go eat tteokbokki?!”
“Book is at it again.”
Some people got up and followed Book while giggling. I followed Book as well while rummaging through my pockets for cash. I was about to open the back door when it abruptly opened from the other side.
I made eye contact with Tay, who was entering the classroom with his hand stuck in his pocket. The stench of cigarettes wrapped over me.
“Let’s go home.” He said to me, tilting his head.
Book looked at me as if he was planning to run away again. I clenched my hand, which was clutching the money. I was forced to be taken during lunchtime, but I won’t go this time. I said it clearly with determination.
“I’m not going home now. I’m going to eat tteokbokki.”
Tay's expression was strange. He laughed as he pursed his lips. He then pouted, unable to keep his lips closed.
“Are you a kid? What's with the tteokbokki. Let’s go home. I’ll buy you something delicious.”
I shook my head.
“I’m doing night self-study, so I can’t go home anyway.”
Only then did Tay's expression harden. He asked back as if he couldn’t believe it. “Night self-study?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you leaving at 10?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.” Tay sighed in an unusual tone. He released his strength from his broad shoulders as if shocked by something. Then he stumbled away. He waved as he walked past me.
“Enjoy your meal.”
My eyes widened in disbelief. It was because I didn’t think that Tay would let me go so easily. I cast a sidelong glance at Tay's expression, but I couldn’t figure out what it meant in the end. I couldn’t even think of anything to say.
“Hey, New, come quickly! We’ll leave without you if you don’t come.“
I approached Book, who had called me and took several glances at the classroom, but Tay never returned after going inside.
It wasn’t until an hour or so that I realized what Tay's behavior meant. The night self-study’s reserve bell rang. I sneaked back to my seat. As I was getting ready to study, the previously closed door to the classroom opened. Tay, whom I had thought had left, suddenly appeared. Then he took the pink peach emoticon arm pillow from his seat and approached me.
“Change seats with me.” Tay said to my deskmate. He was still nicer than asking his friend to move away from his seat at the snack bar. But, since it’s Tay, does it matter if he was kind or not? My deskmate packed his bag without saying anything.
I stared at Tay who was sitting next to me in astonishment. He smelled more strongly of cigarettes than when I first met him at dinner time. How many cigarettes did he smoke? He smelled like someone who had been sitting in a smoking room.
He frowned for a moment at the strong smell of cigarettes and turned his head to the other side.
“I’m also going to do night self-study.” He whispered.
There was a sound of candy rolling from his mouth. My gaze slowly turned to him. He had at least three pieces of candy in his mouth. It also looked like he was brushing his teeth with it. It smelled like mint toothpaste, but it couldn’t hide the cigarette smell. And the sound was incredibly loud. It’s possible that everyone in the class has heard of it. Tay settled down by putting the pink peach emoticon arm pillow on his desk. It was also impossible to imagine him doing night self-study.
I glanced at him before scribbling something in my notebook and showing it to Tay.
[Until 10 o’clock]
Tay took my notebook and the mechanical pencil. He wrote letters while burying his chin in his pillow. It was so messed up that it was difficult to see.
[I know]
[It’s going to be boring] I wrote back.
[Then you should play with me]
I tapped the paper with the sharp edge of the pencil because I had nothing else to say. Tay thought I was going to study, so he buried his face in his pillow. Then he woke up, took the notebook from my side, and tore the paper where we were conversing.
It was a quiet classroom, so the sound was like thunder. Tay folded and unfolded the paper. He probably wanted to fold it into an origami, but it didn’t seem to work well. He folded the paper three times into a square and tucked it into his pocket after tormenting it and failing.
He swallowed a bitter smile as he acted as if it were some precious treasure.
I thought the worst self-study was when I first started freshman year, but the worst self-study was today. It was all because of Tay. He buried his head on and off the peach arm pillow several times while smiling softly and turning his head sideways. I couldn’t focus, so I pulled the chair back out loud, touched my cell phone, and listened to the song so loudly that the sound rang from my earphones.
“Damn.”
And the desk was full of candy wrappers. When I was first offered one, I declined it, but Tay ate six of them in one sitting. Tay Tawan, who used to roll candy in his mouth while listening to music with his earphones plugged in, buried his face in the pillow and turned his head toward me this time.
It was so distracting that I was annoyed, but I couldn’t bring it out of my mouth. I eventually put my chin in one hand, turned away from Tay, and focused on the question. Choose the wrong one. Everything looked wrong, and I couldn’t figure out what to choose.
Tay, who had been distracted and doing strange things by himself, became quiet. I pretended not to notice Tay's gaze, and then I wrote in the corner of the notebook.
[Aren’t you going to study?]
Then, I made eye contact with Tay. I smiled awkwardly. Tay, who made eye contact with me, shook his head and then quietly returned to his original position. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s obvious you don’t study…
Tay took the mechanical pencil in my hand. His palm touched the back of my hand as if holding it, so I pulled out my hand in an instant. He wrote a letter with a ‘└’ mark under my handwriting that was asking if he wasn’t studying.
[└Let’s go home together today]
I felt like I had to do it like that, so I kept the same format.
[└ I have a friend who goes with me]
In fact, there was none. My friends were all going in different directions. I was the only one who lived in the area behind the school.
[└There weren't]
Tay responded. My brows furrowed. How does he know this?
[└How do you know?]
I pushed the notebook to him. Tay rested one arm on the desk and wrote leisurely with the other.
[└I’ve seen you a few times]
[└You were always alone]
[└Hahaha]
The ‘Hahaha’ sounded strangely like snickering, but maybe it wasn’t, so I didn’t think about it for too long and pulled the question book. Even though I was alone, I hate going with him even more. Then, all of a sudden I had a thought. When I first met people, I would usually ask them, ‘Where do you live?’, ‘I live in 00’ or ‘I live in 00 apartment,’ but why didn’t I want to tell Tay where I lived? I thought about it for a while, but eventually shook my head and decided to focus on the question. If I had to think about all of those things, my mind would become overly complicated.
“Oh, shit…”
The bell rang at 8:20 p.m., signaling the end of the first period of night self-study. Simultaneously, Tay jumped up and yelled curse words. The peach emoticon arm pillow was leaning in my direction. The students were tired and the classroom was quiet at this point, but Tay's voice rang out loudly.
He ruffled his hair and sat down again with an annoyed expression on his face. His posture was that of a gangster working for an unusual company. He stretched his legs out toward the passage, his arms resting on the desk of the guy who was still studying in the back seat. While sitting at an angle, he looked at me up and down.
“Give me a shoulder massage.”
“… Me?”
He asked things that even my dad wouldn’t make me do. When I asked the question out of sheer absurdity, he nodded half-heartedly.
“No.”
“Do it for me. I studied too.”
What do you mean studied?
I grumbled to myself about Tay and looked over at the desk where he was sitting. Tay took my notebook and wrote my name several times in it, and then the paper was placed calmly.
“Or should I massage your shoulder?”
“Oh, no… Ah!”
Tay turned me around. Even if I struggled cause I hate it, I couldn’t beat it. I had to make eye contact with the person next to me after being forced to turn around. He nodded once and bowed his head as if sympathizing with me.
“No… no, ugh…!”
Tay's hand was unmistakably rough. Rather than a massage, it seemed that he want to crush all of my shoulder bones. The muscles are already torn. I twisted my body, but Tay remained motionless. At that moment, I understood the feeling of the dolls in the claw machine in an instant. I’d rather die as well.
“Ugh, ah, ah, ah, please…”
Tay, who had been pressing relentlessly on my shoulder, stopped. I crossed my arms across my chest and clasped my shoulders like the leads in a ridiculous romance comedy. Then he abruptly turned my body.
To be honest, I was tearing up…
“Ah, you, it hurts so much… really…”
That’s what I said to Tay as if pleading for sympathy. He scanned my lips and once glanced at me and then at my desk.
Tears seemed to fall when I blinked. I barely got through it by biting my lower lip. Tay's adam apple trembled. Then he licked his lips and stood up.
“Ah… I can’t study.”
He then walked out of the classroom. You’ve never studied before! He belatedly left in the last minutes.
“Hey, did you do anything wrong to Tay?” The guy from the next desk spoke to me.
“I don’t know!”
I shouldn’t have taken out my anger on him. I couldn’t be mad at Tay. I hope he understands. Then I heard a mumble next to me: “Why are you angry with me…” But I screamed and broke down onto the desk. Studying is a waste of time. I thought I was going to die from embarrassment. My shoulder pain was still severe and intense.
-
Double update ;)