Content Warning: This work is intended for mature (NC17) audiences. If you are younger, please kindly leave this site.
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At this moment, Sǐndhu felt as if a mountain had been lifted from his chest.
Even though Nông Plêrng had said before that he could accept what he was, that he liked what he did, the young man had never been confident that it was truly the case. He was so afraid to take action, no matter how much respect he had for the other party. But when his own romantic partner invited him to have sex every day, how could he not feel stirred? Every time Nông Plêrng didn't come to his room, he had to relieve himself, calming down as much as possible so that when they were close, he wouldn't lose his composure.
He didn't want to break up with Nông Plêrng.
This was a feeling that was growing increasingly intense.
The tall figure might have told himself all along that this feeling was just fondness, just liking, just thinking he was cute. But the fact that the other party had run after him until his face was flushed red, drenched in sweat, and caught him at the library that day had stimulated some feeling to sprout even more.
Sǐndhu reiterated that he was afraid they would break up.
The face of his ex-romantic partner, whom he had once thought he loved very much, flashed into his head. The young woman who had sobbed and cried, saying he was scary, telling him not to come near, saying 'let's break up', and looking at him no differently from a wicked man who only wanted to take. But he had tried. Sǐndhu had tried to cherish the other party as much as possible, but it turned out that the matter in bed was the point that broke the relationship.
It made him afraid to do anything with Nông Plêrng.
Before, he had been drunk. He wasn't sure what he had done. And if he did it when he was fully conscious and Nông Plêrng didn't like it, what then? What if he became afraid of him? What if he said he was a man whose sex was no good? The feeling of not wanting to break up was even stronger than the feeling of wanting to do it.
However, Nông Plêrng was Nông Plêrng, the one who charged in without fear of anything.
Thinking this far, Sǐndhu himself couldn't help but be stunned, because the other party had even brought handcuffs to lock him up. At first, he had tried to tell him to stop, because he was afraid he might inadvertently do something violent, even with only one hand free. But when Nông Plêrng said he would go find someone else...
He couldn't allow it. No way. He wouldn't let him go!
An intense feeling flashed through him, until he... ended up being violent.
If he let Nông Plêrng go and become someone else's, wouldn't it have been better that he did it himself?
Therefore, after all the emotions had passed, Sǐndhu was afraid they would have to break up. However, it was another time that Nông Plêrng instantly dispelled his unease.
The cute youth with his messy hair and flushed red face said in a pleasant voice... "I can take everything, Khrap."
It made Sǐndhu's heart swell. He wanted to hug him tightly, to keep him so no one else could see the cuteness that he saw, to want Nông Plêrng to be his alone.
This feeling was so intense that he himself could hardly believe it.
"I (Kuu) am leaving now."
Therefore, as soon as class ended, Sǐndhu grabbed his things and quickly left the lecture hall, telling his friends 'hurry' until Âi'Mix [Mik] himself shouted to ask,
"Where are you rushing off to, Wá?"
"To pick up my romantic partner." He turned and said clearly with a wide smile.
Right now, he desperately wanted to see Nông Plêrng.
Sǐndhu didn't care what his friends asked next, because he hurried to his car and drove around to find the person at the faculty on the other side of the university. He scanned left and right; this was the area where Nông Plêrng and his friends liked to sit and talk, to sit and work. However, today there was only the half-Thai girl who was his close friend's Nông and another good-looking young man.
Sometimes he felt a little possessive, you know.
Not just with Nông Andrea, who was a girl, but also with Nông Phént, who was a boy.
The young man admitted that these two looked so good that someone like him couldn't compare, and he was afraid Nông Plêrng would turn to like his own friend instead.
"Oh, Phîi Sǐndhu, hello, Khá."
"Here to pick up Âi'Plêrng, Khrap?" The two of them turned to greet him with wide smiles, raising their hands in a wai as always.
"Yes, Khrap. Where is Nông Plêrng?"
Andrea and Phént looked at each other, then gave dry laughs, making Sǐndhu himself frown sharply.
"Is something the matter?"
"Not exactly, Khá. Phîi Sǐndhu, would you like to sit first? Âi'Plêrng will be here soon." The young woman patted the chair beside her. Sǐndhu himself moved to sit, keeping a respectful distance. Then he looked at the two juniors who were making frantic eye contact with each other, until he asked again, uncertain.
"Is there something I should know?"
Suddenly, Sǐndhu became afraid again that Nông Plêrng was avoiding him.
"Not exactly, Khrap, Phîi." The two answered in perfect unison, then nudged each other back and forth.
"Just tell Phîi Sǐndhu, come on."
"Âi'Andrea!" Andrea tried to speak, but Práo Plêrng tried to stop her. Sǐndhu asked again with a worsening expression.
"Does Nông Plêrng not want to see me, Khrap? Or has he gone back already?"
"No, no, no, Phîi Sǐndhu. See, Âi'Phént, you told me (Kuu) to be quiet, and now Phîi Sǐndhu misunderstands everything... Phîi Sǐndhu, you don't need to worry, Khá. Believe Andrea, right now Âi'Plêrng is head over heels for you, his head is stuck in the mud, pointing at the sky, you can't pull him out, Khá." The half-Thai girl used a confusing analogy for fun, then shot a look at her other friend that said 'I (Kuu) told you so'.
"Âi'Plêrng doesn't not want to see you, Phîi. All day today he's been looking at his phone and smiling like a fool." Phént finally gave in, nodding as if to say 'fine, I'll just tell it'. Which made the half-Thai girl beam.
"Yes, Khá. And Âi'Plêrng didn't go far. He went to Humanities."
"Hmm."
Sǐndhu frowned, because two years ago, he had gone there almost every day. A strange premonition stirred in his heart.
"Why did Nông Plêrng go there, Khrap?"
Andrea and Phént looked at each other again, and then the young woman blurted out.
"He went to see your ex-romantic partner."
"Hmm!" The listener's eyes widened, until Phént hurriedly continued.
"He didn't go to pick a fight, Khrap, Phîi Sǐndhu. He was just curious about what your ex-romantic partner was like. He said he'd go quickly and come back quickly, just to see her face... I guess he's just very possessive of you, Phîi Sǐndhu." The listener calmed down at the words saying the cute youth was possessive of him, because he admitted frankly that he wanted him to be possessive.
However..... he went to see Bua, huh?
It wasn't because of the story he told him last night, was it?
"I think I should go after him."
Therefore, the large figure quickly stood up, thanking the two juniors who let out a loud
Gasp
"Phîi Sǐndhu, Phîi Sǐndhu."
"Yes, Khrap?" The one about to leave turned to look at his friend's Nông's face.
"It's just that Âi'Plêrng is a very blunt person. If he happens to talk to your ex-romantic partner and says something bad, please, could you... forgive him, Ná? He's a bit intense, Khá."
"But he's a cute person, Phîi Sǐndhu. We don't want you to misunderstand him." The two juniors tried to defend their close friend.
Sǐndhu smiled widely in acceptance and said in a firm voice, "Don't worry, Khrap. I think that straightforward personality is quite cute."
Sǐndhu wasn't a blind man, was he? He could see what Nông Plêrng was like. His style of dress, his confidence, his figure and face, it all told him that Nông Plêrng wasn't a proper person. If you said he was intense, he was probably intense in a cute, endearing way. Even if he spoke bluntly, when he looked at him with pleading eyes, pouting... he was already defeated.
Of course, once the young man had walked out of sight...
"Which temple did Âi'Plêrng make merit at? I (Kuu) want to go make merit there too," Andrea said in amazement, while Phént immediately interjected.
"He's been eating failure for a whole month. Are you sure you want to make merit at the same temple as him?"
"But it made Phîi Sǐndhu smile so goofily like that when he talked about him, Wôoi!"
Yes, indeed. The smile that said... he was utterly smitten.
Sǐndhu was more familiar with the Faculty of Humanities than the Faculty of Communication Arts.
Because he had dated a girl from this faculty for almost a year. Even though they had broken up, someone who had been attentive to his romantic partner wouldn't forget the place he had come to pick her up from and drop her off at almost every day. The young man didn't take long to find it, but...
"You have no right to scold me!"
"Ugh, when did I scold you? I was just saying that even if you feel embarrassed that Phîi Sǐndhu turned to date a man who is better-looking than you and feel hurt, you don't need to accuse Phîi Sǐndhu of being despicable, do you?"
Sǐndhu immediately hid behind a pillar when he heard his own name from the mouths of both his ex and his current romantic partner. His dark eyebrows furrowed together as he saw Práo Plêrng standing alone amidst Bua's entire group of friends, confronting his ex-romantic partner with a displeased expression.
What was happening here!?
"I'm not hurt. I'm just telling the truth."
"What truth, Khrap? The truth that Phîi Sǐndhu is selfish because he came to pick you up and drop you off? Do you understand the meaning of Thai words, Khrap? What kind of selfish person sits waiting to pick you up at the faculty? If he were truly selfish, he'd have you run to find him at his faculty instead. This is what you call a good romantic partner." Sǐndhu stood stunned, because even though they had a bad breakup, he never thought his ex would talk about him like this.
What I did was selfish, Khrap?
However, Nông Plêrng continued.
"But don't worry. It's good that you didn't want a romantic partner like this. Because now he's mine, Khrap." The attractive one smiled sweetly, while the other party turned pale as if being bullied, even though she was the one saying things that shocked the eavesdropper.
"Take him! He's just a man I don't want."
Plêrng's eyes glittered, and he retorted immediately.
"Don't want, or can't have? No ability to handle him, so you push the label of 'despicable' on him? That's more despicable, Khrap."
What Sǐndhu saw was the deathly pale face of his ex-romantic partner, her fists clenched tightly, pulling back old memories of being blamed that it was all his fault. But now, Nông Plêrng was saying, wasn't he, that it wasn't, and telling him to be confident that there was someone who could accept his true self, even if this woman couldn't.
"Why are you picking a fight like this?"
Sǐndhu wasn't surprised to see Bua cry, because the other party was a sensitive woman. But he frowned sharply when Práo Plêrng raised his head, sending a confident smile, looking like someone bullying a defenseless woman.
"Not picking a fight at all. Just came to clarify on behalf of my romantic partner. Is it wrong that I don't want my own romantic partner to be slandered, Khrap?"
"But you didn't have to speak like this. I didn't pick a fight with you at all. I was just minding my own business, I didn't go harass you first. You just showed up, saying I'm a vicious woman who slandered my ex. You started it." The young woman's shoulders shook, her voice trembling, which made her friends quickly try to comfort her.
"Why are you comforting her?"
"It's true. Âi'Bua can say whatever, it's not wrong. They've already broken up. Why come pick a fight?"
However, Plêrng was undaunted.
"I (Kuu) already said, I (Kuu) heard it and couldn't stand it. Use your brain and think, if you happened to hear someone speaking badly of your romantic partner, who could just stay silent, Hâ? I was being polite. How can you call Phîi Sǐndhu despicable for using someone as a cover? Listen here, Phîi Sǐndhu doesn't like men in general. Phîi Sǐndhu just likes the one man standing right here. Understand?"
Sǐndhu raised his hand to clutch his left chest tightly, taking a deep breath, because he thought he had heard enough.
"Nông Plêrng."
"Phîi Sǐndhu!"
The large figure stepped out, calling out to the confidently posturing one. But Práo Plêrng, upon seeing him, widened his eyes. However, the one calling Sǐndhu wasn't Nông Plêrng, but.... Nông Bua.
The ex-romantic partner who had once said she was afraid of him now stepped forward and pointed at Plêrng with a deathly pale face.
"Why did you let this guy come pick a fight with me? I didn't do anything, and suddenly got scolded."
"Fuck."
Even though Nông Plêrng muttered softly, how could someone standing this close not hear? The one who usually looked up at him with pleading eyes, making a face like a little kitten, just sighed. In contrast, Bua's eyes immediately gleamed, and she quickly continued.
"You know, Phîi Sǐndhu, that I'm someone who doesn't like to pick fights with anyone, has never hurt anyone. But Bua got scolded even though she didn't do anything wrong. How are you going to handle this, Khá?" As she spoke, tears fell profusely, making Sǐndhu himself move uncomfortably. But it wasn't because of any lingering affection. The only thing he
had left with this person was the words that said... 'No one can handle Sǐndhu!'
"Does Nông Plêrng have nothing to say to me?"
Sǐndhu turned to ask the little-one, who pouted and shrugged.
"Nope. I did scold her first, that's true. I have no excuses. And I don't want to compete in squeezing out tears either." The attractive one said plainly, admitting outright that he had picked a fight with Bua first. Then he turned to stare at his ex-romantic partner's face, the tip of her nose bright red.
"I admit it. You admit it too, that you called Phîi Sǐndhu despicable, Ná."
"Hmph"
Instead of saying anything, Bua let out a soft sob, looked up at Sǐndhu, and shook her head with a pitiful demeanor.
"Hmph. Looks like this time Âi'Plêrng is in the wrong. Whatever. If you want to comfort her, go ahead and comfort her. I know you're a gentleman. I consider that I have said everything I wanted to say." The little-one said in a sullen voice, believing wholeheartedly that he would surely take the side of this long-haired girl.
Then Nông Plêrng made as if to step away from this spot, but...
Grab.
"Why would I want to comfort anyone who isn't my own romantic partner, Khrap?"
Wait.
Yes, that's right. The reason he had moved uncomfortably was because Bua had probably forgotten, hadn't she, that they were nothing to each other anymore. The person he was dating now was Plêrng.
Sǐndhu realized it wasn't just Nông Plêrng who looked up at him in shock. Even Bua herself widened her eyes, looking at him in disbelief, then glanced sharply at the large hand that was holding Práo Plêrng's white hand tightly.
"Phîi Sǐndhu, but he scolded me." Bua cried.
The large figure turned to make eye contact with the woman who had left him with a scar, sending a warm smile no different from the days when they were together, and said in a polite voice,
"I don't know about this matter, Khrap, because I just arrived. And I don't know why Nông Bua is reporting this to me, since we are nothing to each other anymore. I probably can't handle anything for you, can't comfort Nông Bua, or take your side, because I came here to pick up my romantic partner, who is this person here." As he spoke, he raised the hand joined with Práo Plêrng's for them to see, then turned to smile at the intense one who had stepped forward to defend him, with a smile even warmer than before.
"Finished your business, right, Nông Plêrng? Shall we go back then?"
"Uh."
Nông Plêrng turned to look at the stunned people, turned to look at him again, and then....
"Ah. Ahem. I am Phîi Sǐndhu's romantic partner, right? It's right that Phîi Sǐndhu came to pick me up. Let's go, Khrap."
Sǐndhu laughed amusedly while leading the other by the hand out of the building, not thinking to look back at the past he had already moved beyond, thanks to the cute little-one who shouldn't have been able to stand up to that large group of women earlier. The one who had defended him to the best of his ability. The one who had spoken up to say that he wasn't the despicable person his ex had tried to make him out to be.
Unbelievably, once again, when he was near Nông Plêrng, Sǐndhu's boring world brightened up.
The thought made him hold the other's white hand even tighter.
"How did you manage to show up there, Phîi Sǐndhu?"
The moment Práo Plêrng regained his composure, the little-one turned to look at the large man's face, asking incredulously. It wasn't that the other had shown up, but what Phîi Sǐndhu had said was different. If he were to take sides, it should be with him, even though in that situation, Âi'Plêrng was clearly the villain, wasn't he? A moment ago, it was no different from a drama scene where the male lead arrives just as the villain is bullying the female lead.
Just think about it. While Plêrng was confidently raising his head, the other party was crying, tears falling profusely. Anyone seeing it would think he was the one bullying her. Plus, he was a man. And someone like Phîi Sǐndhu, who came straight out of the classic male lead mold—who should be foolish and succumb to a woman's tears—had taken his side like that.
Plêrng viewed Phîi Sǐndhu as a wonderfully kind, warm man, so he wouldn't have been surprised if Phîi Sǐndhu had gone to comfort his ex, wouldn't have been angry either, because the truth was he had bothered them first. But who could stand it, Wá? How could she say Phîi Sǐndhu was despicable?
He himself had just been scolding him, saying he was too good, not suitable for a rhino like him.
If later... okay, if Phîi Sǐndhu had taken their side, he might have sulked a bit, but that's a matter for later.
"Andrea and Phént told me."
"Those loudmouths." Plêrng grumbled.
"And why did Nông Plêrng go to see Nông Bua, Khrap?"
The listener fell silent for a moment, hesitating whether he should tell or not, but then admitted frankly.
"I just wanted to see her face, wanted to know who it was that made Phîi Sǐndhu think-deeply until he wouldn't do anything with me for so long. Like, I flirted until I was tired, so I (Kuu) went to see the face of the source of my (Kuu) tiredness. And then I (Kuu) couldn't help it. I (Kuu) was eavesdropping (?) and then they started talking about Phîi Sǐndhu. If she had said straight out that the sex wasn't compatible, I wouldn't have said a single word. But she called you despicable! Despicable for what? For picking up, dropping off, taking care of her every day. Oh, please. It's just her pride being hurt that Phîi Sǐndhu is dating a man like me instead." Once he started, he didn't stop, still irritated at what she had said about the person beside him.
"You don't believe me, do you, Phîi Sǐndhu, that a proper girl like that would talk like this?"
Plêrng made a wry face, because this man probably didn't believe what he was saying. Since that person named Bua or whatever was so proper, he didn't want to shatter his illusions about how proper she was. Women have a hundred carts full of tricks, Wá. If you don't believe it, go look at the friends in his faculty. In front of their husbands, they pretend to be stupid seamlessly. Behind their backs, they bloody well know every trick in the book.
"I believe you. Why wouldn't I believe my own romantic partner, Khrap?"
Thud.
Stop saying the word 'romantic partner' so often, can't you? Someone as rhino-like as me (Kuu) is having his first romantic partner, you know. It's embarrassing. Plêrng, who had been ranting, shut his mouth abruptly and turned his face away.
He was embarrassed back then when you announced it in the middle of the building, you know. But the satisfaction was greater. Now, hearing it clearly... his face is bloody hot.
"But I was like the villain."
"Then I must be the villain too, since I am the despicable one." Phîi Sǐndhu said laughingly, until he had to turn to look at his face, afraid he would think-deeply and refuse to take Âi'Plêrng again.
However, the heart of the one looking almost leaped out of his chest, because he saw eyes filled with deep emotion and gratitude, giving him the feeling that he was loved, until he wanted to turn his face away. But he was stopped because the large man reached out and touched his shoulder first, then stroked down to hold his upper arm.
"Thank you for defending me."
"You heard that, Phîi Sǐndhu!" Plêrng gasped, and the other party nodded.
"Since when!?"
Okay, he was thinking about ditching Phîi Sǐndhu someday, but he didn't want the other to hear what that girl Bua had said at the beginning. It must have been painful to hear his ex talking about him so badly, when he had taken such good care of her.
"Just a little, Khrap. Just heard that I don't like any man besides Nông Plêrng alone."
Wow, I (Kuu) said so much, and you only grasped that part? And you were so confident-faced then.
The rhino's cheeks turned bright red, because he had inadvertently displayed full-blown possessiveness. He had even told himself that when the time came to get bored of Phîi Sǐndhu, when breaking up, he must find a way to compromise and not hurt this person's heart. Someone this wonderfully kind, no matter how much of a rhino he was, he couldn't bring himself to hurt him. It's not like Âi'Plêrng was a despicable person, was he?
He just took what was refreshing, that's all. And right now, getting Phîi Sǐndhu's smile was fucking refreshing.
"So, you came to pick me up, right? Let's go back then, Ná."
Feeling very flustered, the one who claimed not to want love changed the subject immediately, pulling the other's arm to go together.
"Nông Plêrng."
"Ah. Hmm." The person trying to pull him nodded in acknowledgment, refusing to turn and look.
"I am truly thankful."
"I know, Ná. You're my romantic partner, after all. It's right for me to protect you."
It was just like if someone scolded his two friends, Âi'Plêrng wouldn't stay idle, that's all. He didn't feel anything special about it, really... But wait, are 'husband' and 'friend' the same, Wá?
"It's not just about that."
He trembled. Phîi Sǐndhu tugged his hand, making him turn to look at his face, and then encountered a pair of sharp eyes that made… No. The gaze Phîi Sǐndhu was giving him was fierce and intense. It held no trace of the savagery like when they were on the bed. But the man he had once said wasn't handsome at all, with his old-fashioned face and downturned eyes, looked dashingly handsome, making his heart almost stop, simply because those eyes... clearly reflected affection.
The other was looking at him so openly that the rhino's knees shook.
No, it's not that my (non-existent) uterus itched, but my heart itched a bit.
No, Wá! Why suddenly do I not just want the dream dick, but want the whole cursed forest too?
The thought, if Andrea were here, would probably interpret it for her pained friend as.... 'You don't just want to have sex with him anymore, do you? You want his heart too!'
Of course, Plêrng would absolutely not tell anyone about this!
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