Content Warning: This work is intended for mature (NC17) audiences. If you are younger, please kindly leave this site.
~~~
“What does Phîi Payu like to eat?”
“Are you trying to trick me into telling you?”
“Trick you, my ass! I’m going to order food, dammit!”
Before, Rain wasn't sure if Phîi Payu was teasing him, but now he was over a hundred percent sure he was being teased. Look, when he made this face, looked at him with sullen eyes, about to hit him with the menu, he just laughed delightedly. His sharp eyes sparkled, his mouth smiled until his white teeth gleamed. He had no idea that a smile like this made a certain child’s heart waver uncontrollably.
Every other time he saw him with a straight face, but now he was smiling at him, his heart couldn't help but flutter.
“Then what does Rain want to eat?”
The large person took the menu from his hand, grabbed the paper and pencil the restaurant staff had placed for taking orders.
At a late hour like this, they had to entrust their stomachs to a congee restaurant.
“At a congee place, it has to be stir-fried morning glory with chili, salted turnip with egg, and spicy salted egg salad. No, no, better make it spicy preserved egg salad.” Rain answered immediately. Every time he came to eat with people from the faculty, he never managed to order before anyone else. Now that someone asked, he confidently told the dishes for Payu to write down.
“And congee.”
“Yeah, get congee. It’s late.”
Payu continued writing, then called a staff member to take the order slip.
“Wait! Then I’m the only one ordering?” Rain just realized, making the large person laugh.
“Too late, Rain. Trying to trick me? You’re ten years too early.”
Yeah! Actually, I was trying to trick you into telling me what you like to eat, so I could wield a spatula and try to conquer your stomach with culinary charm. But really, how could he be so thoroughly seen through?
Rain was furious, but when Phîi Payu didn't make conversation, and he himself was no longer sulky, he suddenly realized he was sitting having a meal with the man he had just kissed, fresh and hot. His nervousness returned again. His cheeks felt hot, his body trembled slightly, he didn't dare turn to meet his eyes, suddenly becoming shy.
The atmosphere around him tickled his heart for some reason. So, this 2018 teenager did what everyone does... pulled out his phone to play with, to ease the awkwardness!
The young man quickly opened the LINE group that usually had long, drawn-out conversations, wasting time to scroll through. But why was it so quiet today? Not a single message. Moreover, when he checked his friends, no one had messaged him at all. So, to ease his embarrassment, he opened old messages and stumbled upon a clip of a snoring cat his Máa had sent him.
“Phîi Payu, Phîi Payu, look! So cute, right? It snores just like a person.” Rain reached out to poke him, laughing loudly because when someone poked the cat, it groaned just like when his Máa woke him up tap, tap. His mood improved visibly, while the large person leaned in to look at the same screen.
“Look, look! So damn cute. Aww! I want to poke its nose, Phîi. My Mâe likes cats. Whenever she sees something cute, she likes to send it to me. But she's allergic to cat hair, so she can't keep one.”
Thump!
Rain narrated with relish, shaking the arm of the person next to him. But instead, he was the one who froze, smile stuck, because when he looked up....
Phîi Payu wasn't looking at the cat, but was looking... at me!
“What are you looking at?”
“The feeling is mutual. I've been looking since the beginning.”
Damn it, Rain! And why did you have to turn and stare at the wall?!
When their eyes met, it wasn't just his cheeks that were hot; his whole body felt hot. Even his arms were starting to turn red. So, he quickly turned away, feeling that he really couldn't win against such sharp eyes.
“Seriously, being this slow, do you think you can successfully court me?”
“Phîi Payu!” It wasn't that Rain wanted to take back his words, but Phîi Payu spoke just as the restaurant staff served the stir-fried morning glory with chili along with one bowl of congee and one plate of rice, making that person glance at their faces, swap looks with the large person in a daze, and quickly walk back to the front of the shop.
“What are you saying here?” Rain said through gritted teeth.
“Sigh!” Instead of laughing at having teased him again, Payu sighed.
“That’s why I’m asking. Do you really think you can court me? Just this and Rain doesn't dare let others hear. It's not too late to back out now.”
“Don't talk like I'm not brave!” When the other party showed not a single bit of expectation in him, the young man retorted immediately, eyes sullen, face scowling, his shyness vanishing instantly.
“Oh! But I see that you're not brave.” Payu said simply, stabbing the stir-fried morning glory into his mouth, setting himself to start dinner, ignoring the other junior who was clenching his fists tightly.
“I am brave!”
“Yeah, brave then brave. You can eat now.” The disbelieving manner, plus him scooping morning glory for him, as if telling him to shut up and eat, made Rain bite his lip hard. His never-surrender nature surged up again. So, he reached out and grabbed Payu's arm, at the very moment the staff arrived to serve the spicy preserved egg salad and the salted turnip dish.
Rain immediately raised Payu's hand, then blurted out loudly, his voice echoing through the restaurant:
“Phîi! I'm courting this Phîi right now! Please cheer me on!”
Silence... complete!
This time, the whole restaurant looked over in unison, until the brave one (for three seconds) slowly lowered his hand, his face flushed so red its original color was lost, placed Payu's hand down, and bowed his head to look at the table in extreme embarrassment.
Clap... clap clap.... clap clap... clap
“I'll cheer for you, Nông.”
“Ooooh, a real man!”
“Hey! What should I do? I'm swooning.”
When applause from the customers at the next table rang out, Rain was so embarrassed he almost wanted to hide under the table. When cheers came from a table that looked like Âi-fujoshi, Rain wanted to cover his face, use Doraemon's time machine to throw everyone's memories into the trash.
“I'm sorry.”
Suddenly, the very cause of his current state spoke in an apologetic tone.
“I saw Rain was shy and it was unfamiliar, so I thought I'd make you angry instead so you'd talk to me. I didn't think Rain would be so reckless.”
Bullshit! If you really felt sorry for me, then why are you turning towards the wall to hold back your laughter!
Thwack!
The young man, who had never managed to physically harm Payu, punched him squarely in the shoulder. He didn't care anymore if this Âi-senior would return to his threatening expression, use an intimidating voice or not. He just wanted to vent his feelings one or two ways. But not only did the person beside him not stop laughing, this time he even let out a loud laugh.
Payu laughed uncontrollably, so amused he had to wipe tears from his eyes, turning to look at the young man's puffed-cheek face as he slammed his fist into his shoulder several times.
“Sorry, Rain is too cute. I couldn't help laughing.”
Rain should have been angry, but when the other praised him as cute, when he laughed with a wide smile, when he was in a good mood, unlike his previous nasty demeanor, the hand that was trying to punch his shoulder lowered to his side.
“I'm not cute at all.”
Damn it, Rain! You're turning to face the wall again!
Okay, he could admit it: he was embarrassed!
“Stop being angry. I already apologized.”
“I'm not over it. You mocked me.”
“Being fond of someone and mocking them aren't the same. Stop being angry, come on.”
After eating late-night congee without tasting it, Payu drove Rain back to the shop to get his car. The young man, who still hadn't gotten over his embarrassment, stomped up to his car, acting like he would close the door and disappear forever. But he wasn't fast enough because Payu came and held the car door first, then spoke in a chuckling voice that had been like this since they were at the congee shop.
At first I wasn't going to bring it up, but laughing this much? I hope you choke on air and die!
“I don't know. I'm going home.”
“Wait, wait. Let me talk first.”
Payu held the car door open, leaning down to meet his eyes. Maybe it was because of the earlier laughter that made his eyes sparkle. The one who had lost to those eyes from the start thus turned to look at the steering wheel. “What else?”
“If I finish work early, I'll LINE you.” Rain turned to look at him immediately, and then met those glittering eyes.
“I know Rain's studies are heavy. On days I finish early and go to the shop, I'll LINE you. Then you won't have to come wait and waste hours like this again.”
“Why?” He couldn't help asking. The large person then reached out and placed a hand on his head, tousling it.
He did want to shake his head to avoid it, but the gentle touch, tousling his head lightly, felt so good he could only sit still, looking hoping for an answer as to why the other had become so kind.
“To encourage the person who wants to court me.” The listener felt warm all over his heart. “So that means I have hope?” The large person smiled handsomely, but the answer was... punch-worthy! “Hoo. Not swayed in the slightest. But it's fun when you're around.” Having said that, he closed the car door for him. This time, it was the young man who quickly rolled down the window. “Phîi Payu!” Rain shouted indignantly.
Grab!
“Come on, come on. I told you to manage your time between studies and other things well. Later someone might say I'm not acting like a proper senior of the faculty. For now, you can go home and sleep.”
Rain brushed off the hand that was tousling his head again, still upset at having become the clown, his face still scowling, until...
“Understand, dim-wit?”
Strangely, even though he was scolded as a dim-wit just the same, Rain instead felt his face grow hot, nodding crookedly in easy agreement. “Alright, then you can go now. Drive safely.” Payu patted the car roof lightly, then took two steps back, letting the other person drive off, which made a certain event overlap with this one: the time his tire burst and someone came to change it.
Rain drove out of the parking space absently, raising a hand to clutch his chest.
Why does my heart still race even after being teased to hell and back? Or is it because in the end.... Phîi Payu is the Hia Big Bike I had a crush on?
“Phîi Payu, you bloody fucking cheat.”
Now Rain was starting to be unsure whether he was courting him or being courted by him. Why did his heart flutter more than when riding a rollercoaster?
“Daddy! Mommy!”
“My dear son! Daddy's back!”
“Sigh! The men of this house.”
On a beautifully clear holiday morning, a large taxi pulled into the area of Nai Warain's house. When the passenger stepped out of the car, the son of the house ran to hug his beloved Phô, just as the large man hugged his son's frame so tightly you could hear bones crack. Only the Máa sighed, then asked the driver to help unload the many suitcases from the car.
“Did you have fun, Mâe?”
“The best! Like being young again. Too bad Âi'Dee didn't come along.”
“Rain, dear Rain, don't call me Dee. It doesn't suit my big eyes. Besides... Rain has classes. How could he come with us?” The son replied, then quickly went to help his Máa carry the suitcases into the house, before being attacked by a killer gaze. “How was it while Mâe was away for several weeks?”
“Everything was fine. Nothing broken, ma'am! The housekeeper came twice a week. I guarantee the house is still spotless. And Rain started Mâe's Benz and the Camry every other day. I guarantee that besides taking the old one to the shop, I didn't touch Mâe and Bpǎa's things at all.” Rain reported, even raising his hands in a wai, telling her straight he didn't dare mess with this person.
In this house, his Mâe was the boss.
“Good. How much did you put on the card?”
“Didn't put a single cent on it. Rain only used the cash Mâe gave me before the trip.”
“Oh! Then what about the car repair cost?” The young man froze. He had completely forgotten what he had lied to his Máa about.
Before, he didn't want to mention the person who almost pinned him down, but just a few days ago he had just had his mouth sucked. The situation had changed. So, in the end, he decided.
“Actually, it didn't cost any money, Mâe. Rain didn't tell you, but Rain took the car to a shop owned by a senior I know. So he didn't charge me.”
He'd just tell the truth.
“There's such a thing?!” The person who had just returned, tired, cried out in surprise, while letting the Phô and son duo carry the things into the house, and she herself started walking around looking to see if the little rascal had brought friends to wreck the house while she was away. “That's it, Mâe.”
“How come? That's so inconsiderate. If he did the work, he should be paid. Even if he didn't change any parts.”
Actually, he did a complete overhaul. Rain thought, but didn't say.
“But he himself said he wouldn't charge.” He thought of something else instead. At the end of the sentence, Warain crossed his fingers.
His firm, confident manner made his Máa sigh. “If he really doesn't want it, then tell him on my behalf that I thank him. Really, Mâe would like to go thank him in person, but then Rain would be embarrassed in front of his friend, embarrassed in front of his senior again. How about this, I'll give him some gifts. This time Mâe bought a lot. Rain, come choose what to take to thank him.” Mâe pointed to a large suitcase. The son jumped to sit and open the bag eagerly.
Souvenirs filled the living room. “Choose for that Phîi, not for yourself to eat!” The Máa intercepted, because every time she went abroad, this kid who was stuck studying always asked for souvenirs. Then she went upstairs to change clothes. When she came down again, she found the little rascal had pulled everything out.
“This one, this one too, and also this one. This one probably isn't too sweet. Phîi Payu would probably like it.”
“Rain, Mâe said...”
“Yeah, give it to him, I'm not eating it myself. Rain is choosing all of this for Phîi Payu.”
The listener looked at the snacks, souvenirs, and chocolate filling her son's arms in surprise. Was she imagining it, or did Rain look more enthusiastic than usual? “Is this Phîi Payu a woman?”
“He's a man, Mâe! What kind of woman is named Payu? Plus, he can repair cars.”
The good-natured Máa didn't want to tell Rain that... Son, you look more excited than when picking things to give to a girl. It wouldn't be strange to think it was a woman.
Today, Phîi should finish early, get to the shop before around seven...
Today, Warain was especially attentive in class. His hand took notes, his ears listened to what the professor taught eagerly, making his close friend turn to look at him strangely. It wasn't that Âi Rain wasn't good at studying; for any subject related to creative thinking, his work was in the top tier of their year. But when it came to lecture-based elective subjects, he always nodded off like this.
But the small frame didn't think to tell his friend that he wasn't paying attention in class; he was just concentrating on waiting for this evening!
Rain didn't know since when he had stopped wanting to run away from Phîi Payu, stopped wanting to mess up his handsome face. On the contrary, even though he was teased until steam came out of his ears every time, when it was time to go home, he often had things that made his heart flutter and pound, feeling inexplicably good.
If there was anything not okay, it was that the other party wasn't swayed by him in the slightest!
So now he was even more determined to conquer the heart of the sharp-tongued man.
This time, he had gifts to give too.
“I'm going home.”
“Hey, Âi Rain, have you done the work due tomorrow?”
“I'll grind it out tonight.”
“Don't forget, man!”
As soon as class ended, Rain packed his things and rushed to the front of the classroom, making Sai-fah quickly call out to him. Seeing his friend unusually alert, he was afraid he'd forget. The other just waved dismissively and ran off.
Meanwhile, the one warning him didn't have time to bother with his friend's business more than that, because he had work due tomorrow too.
***
“Hello, Phîi On. Hello, Phîi Pong. Phîi Nui. Hello.”
After showing his face at the office a few times, Rain was starting to get familiar with the people here, so he raised his hands in a wai to everyone. Thus, everyone was fond of him, and even let him go sit and wait in the glass-walled room with a long sofa, overlooking the workshop outside... a prime location to see immediately when the shop owner's son arrived.
The young man plopped down comfortably, placing a large bag of snacks beside him. Then he looked down at his watch; it was only six-thirty.
“Might as well work while I wait.”
Seeing he still had time, Rain pulled out his equipment, piled it all over the table, pulled out his unfinished work, and prepared to focus on working.
Click!
“You're early.” Before the small frame could even start, the person he was waiting for stepped in wearing slacks and a light-colored shirt—which, let him tell you, looked damn good on his large, tall frame, enviably so.
“You're the one who's early.”
“No traffic. So, what are you doing?”
“Homework.” Rain answered confidently. Let me mess with you a little too.
Payu was stunned for a moment, then laughed. “Yeah, I know it's homework. When is it due?”
“So you are interested in me?” The small frame tried to interpret it in his own favor with all his might. But when the other shook his head without thinking to encourage him, and even laughed loudly, he couldn't help but make a scowling face. “Acting like this, what's there to court?”
“You didn't tell me to court you. I could just give up, you know.”
“If you were going to give up, you wouldn't have bothered coming here.” The small frame retorted indignantly, asking himself if he should just give up on that fucking dignity or whatever and surrender. But when Phîi Payu moved to sit beside him, looked down at his unfinished work, and opened his mouth to praise...
“The skill is passable.”
His heart just came right back!
This was probably what made him unable to stop coming to find him. Sometimes he couldn't help feeling that Phîi Payu liked to dangle bait and then pull it away.
“Phîi Payu, Phîi Payu, my Mâe sent some snacks for you. She just got back from Europe.” When the skilled senior looked at the work that wasn't getting anywhere, he started to feel embarrassed, so he quickly pulled it back to put away, and grabbed the bag of snacks to shove into his hand instead. “Oh, Rain's mommy, is it?”
“How did you know?!” The cute pronoun used only at home made him turn to look into his green eyes. “Goldfish memory, aren't we?”
As soon as goldfish memory was mentioned, the image came... a certain someone who had called to bother him in the morning, and sleep-talked into the phone thinking it was his mommy. “So what? I call her mommy, nothing wrong with that.” Rain argued petulantly. “It's not wrong. It's cute.”
“Aren't you going to ask why I brought these for you?”
“Getting embarrassed and changing the subject, huh?”
Damn! As the old saying goes, if you know, don't mention it!
Warain felt his face grow hot ever since the word 'cute', but was it necessary to also be so perceptive that he was changing the subject? “Then why did you bring them?” But, as always, when he saw he was speechless, Phîi Payu circled back to the original topic. The listener thus quickly seized the conversation topic that was safe from embarrassment immediately. “I told Mâe about you fixing my car. She asked me to thank you. She said she felt bad.”
“Why feel bad? I got my payment.” Rain turned to meet his eyes, and found a malicious smile. “Just be nice.” The small frame said hurriedly. “That's true. But I also made a profit.” Payu reached out to grab the back of his neck, while lowering his gaze, and damn it that he actually knew what he was looking at because Rain immediately moved both hands to cover his crotch.
But before he could even ask what he was looking at, the large person listed off amusingly: “Got dragged into the bathroom by a certain kid. Got to force a rude kid to speak politely. Not to mention got to grab....”
“If you say it, I'll get angry!” Rain shouted, cutting him off, his face flushed red, because that G-string stuffed under the cabinet came from someone grabbing him to measure his size. That made Payu say with a straight face: “...grab his hand.”
Âi Rain was utterly flabbergasted. “What a perverted kid.”
“You're the perverted one!” He tried to argue. “Grabbing his hand, you mean?”
In the end, Payu burst out laughing when he saw the cornered person gritting his teeth, his face having lost its original color, until he really wanted to know if he did more than in the bathroom that day, what face the young man would make... but some things had to be taken slowly.
As the saying goes, "Slowly, you get two beautiful swords."
“So, when exactly is this work due?”
“Why?” The kid asked bluntly, making Payu laugh. “If you have time, I can take you out for a meal. But if not, then go home and get to work.” Rain looked up with a hesitant expression, so he offered a bit more.
“This time it's not congee. It's still early. I was thinking of taking you to a delicious place featured in a magazine last week. What do you think? Interested?” Rain's heart was more than halfway there. He knew full well he had work due tomorrow, but opportunities like this weren't easy to come by. Even though the other had treated him to congee, it was just that one time. “What if I'm not interested?” Don't say I'm playing hard to get; I just want to make myself seem valuable. Payu shrugged. “Then it's fine. I can go alone.”
“Hey, hey, hey! I'll go! I'll go! I'm free!” As the shop owner's son really walked out of the room, Rain gathered his things into his arms, calling out, afraid to miss the opportunity. Is the food delicious? I'll find out when I try it. But getting to go with this hard-hearted person, I don't know when it will happen again.
One month—over a week has already passed! If I don't hurry now, I won't make it!
Rain ran after Payu, while the mechanics in the shop turned to ask each other: “Did anyone just see Khun Payu smiling like a madman?”
Looks like a certain young man has fallen into Hunter Payu's trap again.
“Done!”
By the time the short hand of the clock pointed to the number five, Nai Warain raised both hands to the sky with joy that he had finished his work on time. And he finished chillly, because it was only five a.m.; the submission deadline wasn't until eight-thirty. A wide smile adorned his face. He admitted he had never pulled an all-nighter like this before.
He knew himself to be a sleepyhead. If possible, he wanted to sleep fully, so he had made a resolution since getting into this faculty that he would manage his time well, not rush work at the last minute. But now, not even properly past his first year, it seemed his determination was crumbling stubbornly. But anyway, it was done, dammit.
“Then, a quick nap.”
It was only 5 AM; he still had hours to sleep.
Thinking that, Rain walked, swaying, to his bed, and collapsed onto it, exhausted. But his lips curled into a sweet smile as he thought of the previous evening.
The food was delicious. Phîi Payu was in a good mood. Even though I was teased... I was happy.
The young man thought this as his last thought before falling asleep, still without showering. And worse than that... he didn't set an alarm!
“Oww! It just keeps ringing!”
Inside the bedroom, where only the sound of the air conditioner working could be heard, the phone's blaring ringtone completely shattered the silence. The person on the bed groped for it lazily, too sleepy to think straight. That made the person with the skill to answer without even opening his eyes use the next skill... hang up on it, dammit!
“Sleepy. I'm going to sleep.”
Rain returned to slumber easily. But...
The phone rang again. This time, he didn't just hang up, but turned the damn thing off.
Ah! Peace at last.
Riiiiiiiiing!
Incoming call.
Bang bang bang! Bang bang bang!
“What now?!” The sleepyhead got up, still groggy-eyed, because this time the sound came from outside his room. The person knocking didn't think to wait for the son's permission, opening the door and coming right in, holding a phone.
“Rain, you have work to submit today, right?”
“Hey! What time is it, Mâe?!!!”
Mentioning work made Rain's eyes snap open, his sleepiness vanishing completely. “It's eight-fifteen.”
“Damn it!” Upon knowing the time, the person on the bed jumped down to grab the finished work, then ran clatter clatter down to the lower floor without having showered or brushed his teeth. Luckily, he was still in the same student uniform. His ears faintly heard his Máa talking to someone:
“Sai-fah, Rain is just leaving the house now. Thanks for calling to wake him up.”
Fucking hell!
When he looked at the clock on the car dashboard, Rain realized his life was doomed!
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