TMPG Epilogue

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“Graphhhh, let us go eat cake together!”

“But today, you said you were in a hurry to go back.”

“I am not in a hurry anymore! Let us go, let us go, let us go, let us go!”

The school dismissal bell had just rung a minute ago, when the clear-faced young woman with her hair tied up in a high ponytail rushed to the desk of the handsome young man who this year had gained a massive number of fan club members, due to his coldly-aloofness changing into increasing kindness, the kind that made many juniors want to apply to be his romantic partner, but they were stuck because he already had a real one.

The real one was now making sparkling eyes and inviting him to go eat sweets together after school.

“That restaurant you said has a handsome owner?”

“Yes, yes, that is the one. Phîi there is not only handsome, but he also makes delicious sweets. I heard he used to work at a hotel before, then opened his own shop. It is extremely delicious.” Janjao raised two thumbs up to confirm the quality again, in a way that made the listener become interested. Having heard that this shop was delicious both from this friend and also having heard that his other friend, Âi Gok, was a genuine fan, he started to want to try it too, but...

“Today I have extra class.”

“Aww, what a pity.” The person who had been leaning on the edge of the table wilted immediately, but after a moment she smiled widely as before.

“It is okay. Another day is fine. As long as Graph is going to the same university as me, I can steal Graph away another day.” Janjao said cheerfully, looking at the former delinquent classmate who used to be called to the administrator's office every day without fail, who had now become Phîi Graph, a class committee member who supervised juniors in sports competitions, and whose academic results had been climbing continuously until one could say he was not unattractive, making the teachers surprised about what had happened during the break.

There were even rumors that he had an accident that caused brain damage, but the person himself did not say anything. So, the people who knew the truth in this school were only two... Graph and Janjao.

The truth was that Krittitee had just returned to living seriously because he did not have to sarcastically mock anyone anymore.

“Do not let that person hear it at all. I am too lazy to listen to the complaining.”

“Hahaha, have you become a jealous man?”

“Very!” Graph answered fully, thinking of that person who even now still narrowed his eyes looking at his close friend. Meanwhile...

“Move, move, Âi-couple-of-the-class, I have to do my duty. You are really in the way.” The classmates still thought that the two of them were dating sweetly, which no one was bothered to sit and correct the misunderstanding. Telling people like this was fine.

Janjao could avoid people who came to hit on her. Graph could reject people who came to see him. Each person gained benefits. So they had been letting it be for the third year.

Now Graph was in Mathayom 6. The time for university entrance exams was getting closer and closer. He himself had to try if he wanted to study at the same place as his close friend who had chosen a university with extremely high scores. In the end, he asked someone if he could take extra classes, because if he left it as it was, he would definitely not survive.

Of course, he was permitted, but...

“Then we are going now. Another day. Today Phîi Pakin is probably coming to pick me up soon.”

“Okay, go ahead. It is so good that you have a tutor coming to teach at home.”

That was right. Phîi Pakin did not send him to study anywhere but hired a tutor to teach him at home.

“Whenever there is something to be thrilled about, come and tell me about it, okay?” Then Janjao said with a smile that made the listener laugh.

“You still have not stopped being thrilled?”

“No, it is the period of being in love that makes one thrilled all over.” Not enough, she also made a flower-blooming gesture until Graph laughed loudly, raised his hand to wave goodbye, then grabbed his bag and took long strides to the school gate where someone was already waiting to pick him up. There was no need to look for it; the prominence of the supercar was obvious.

The person who was sitting waiting in the car, and when he saw him, stepped out.

“You do not have to hurry. The doctor said your leg must be careful about the bone. Stop jumping down from the building.”

“I jumped from the stairs, I did not jump from the building.” Graph argued, as he slipped into the car, flapping the air conditioning towards himself, glancing at the person who returned to the driver's seat, then asked.

“Janjao told you, did she?”

“A little... Luckily, these days Aunt Kaew makes sweets.”

Oh, so the people around here used cake to lure his friend into telling what he did at school, right? And as for Janjao, she was not greedy for money, but for sweets, it was uncertain.

“I only jumped a few steps of the stairs. It was very comfortable. The doctor said I can play sports.” Graph patted his own knee several times to increase confidence, before turning to meet his eyes.

“Phîi, you do not have to come pick me up yourself. You can have anyone come pick me up. You have a race event tonight, don't you?”

“That is right... but I will put you to bed first before going.”

“Can I go with you?” the young man asked hopefully, even though he knew the answer full well.

“No.”

“So strict.” He could only mutter softly, leaning his arm against the car door, looking out the window to show his displeasure, even though he knew the people around here did not indulge him. Only this matter, no matter how he asked, they never allowed it. Maybe because of the incident from the previous year.

The sulking youth's attitude made Pakin pause for a moment, then he reached out to place a hand on his head.

“It is not that I do not want to indulge you, but understand me.”

If it were before, he would have protested, but now Graph turned to meet his eyes, seeing the gaze of the person that showed how worried he was. The former stubborn youth nodded twice.

“Um, I understand. I am not being stubborn.”

The good youth said that and received a reward of a light press on the head affectionately. Then Pakin drove the luxurious car out onto the road, heading straight home where the tutor was waiting, with the young man constantly telling about what he had encountered today as a lulling sound throughout the way.

Who would believe that the ordinary stories of a Mathayom 6 youth would be this interesting when coming out of Graph's mouth.

On days when he did not hear the youth tell his own stories, he probably could not sleep, even though there were some stories he was not very pleased with.

“My friends still think that Janjao and I are romantic partners. It is so funny. When they ask anything, Janjao just nods and only answers vaguely. She said her Phîi taught her that if she does not want to answer, just keep nodding, umm, and let them misunderstand by themselves.” Graph said with a laugh in his voice, which made the listener frown slightly.

“Next time, tell them who the person who comes to pick you up is.”

“What a matter.” Graph retorted immediately. His friends did ask who the owner of the luxurious car that came to pick him up was, and he answered:

“I told them it is my Phô.”

That was what made Pakin displeased.

“Do you sleep with your Phô?”

“Hey, do not be irritated, Phîi. I am just too lazy to answer. Okay, okay, next time I will say it is my uncle.”

The listener was still not satisfied, making the onlooker laugh.

He didn’t know whether Âi youth was doing it on purpose or not — calling him Phô to others, then Uncle to his face; never mentioning his age, yet still calling him an old man. In truth, they were only ten years apart, and he wasn’t even thirty yet!

“Yeah, keep making that face, damn it — your crow’s feet are showing now, Phîi Pakin.”

He wanted to punish the youth right now.

“Watch your mouth, that is all.”

Smack.

The listener raised his hand to smack his own mouth, making his eyes wide, as if to say, if you are so tough, come kiss my eyes instead. Until the person who was always scary from start to end, but felt that he was starting to be unable to control the stubborn youth, could only roll his eyes, sigh, and then accelerate to go straight home, until the person who had played a bit too much started to poke him.

“Are you angry with me, Phîi?”

“Why would I be angry?”

Okay, he was angry.

The young man smiled provocatively, knowing that whenever the voice was firm like this, he should stop playing. So he moved closer a bit, held onto the hem of the shirt, and tugged lightly, along with a soft, pleading voice.

“Graph is sorry.”

Graph did not like to refer to himself by his nickname, but if he referred to himself like this, then some old person would smile. This time was the same, so there was also...

“Are you not angry anymore?” That person who was not good at acting cute moved his face to press a kiss strongly on the cheek and then pulled away, using the skill he had learned over many months to the fullest, because he knew that some people around here liked to be acted cute towards.

Even though the face was still stern and fierce as always, the eyes that often shone fiercely until they were scary had softened, to the extent that if a youth in the house did something wrong, they would come to ask him for help, because it seemed that only Nai Graphic could take the anger of Phîi Pakin. Even Phîi Win said that Phîi could not match Graph.

"If you let me eat before going to work tonight, I’ll be fine." Pakin conceded.

Eating food sometimes meant... eating Âi Graph.

“Well, if the class ends early.” The young man did not promise, but that was enough to make Pakin laugh.

“I am joking. Go study seriously.” He almost smiled, if not for... . “Tomorrow is a day off, we will talk then.”

Âi Krittitee immediately made a face, because it meant he would not escape. Until when the cool car stopped completely, the young man quickly stepped out of the car, turned his face to stick out his tongue, and then shouted loudly.

“Dream on, Phô!”

“Krittitee!!!”

Then he ran into the house immediately, until the person who had returned earlier laughed loudly.

“That is crazy to death.”

“Oh, has Phîi Win returned already?” Graph turned to look at the person who told him that if he wanted to see Phîi Pakin's new perspectives, try calling him Phô for once, or when angry, curse him as Âi-old-lust go back... This person was the one who instigated.

“I stopped by to talk with the old person a little. Next week I have to go to another province, so Kin called me to talk.”

“Oh, about work. Yeah, I saw the magazine cover that you were on, Janjao showed it to me. It was so provocative!” The listener laughed.

“The cover that came out with the Korean side, right?... This photographer likes that kind of concept. It came out making me think I was not a man.”

“Hey, I think it is beautiful, extremely beautiful.” Graph stopped walking and made as if to continue talking, if not because a worker in the house came to tell him that the tutor had been waiting for a while.

But before running away into the living room that was used as a classroom, Win called out to him and also gave him a smile. “These days, are you happy?”

“The most, Phîi Win.” The answer made Win smile widely.

“Good... go ahead.” The young man ran into the room and disappeared, while Phawit still stood still, because he was seeing his own image overlapping with that youth.

“It is good that Graph chose this path.”

They started love in their youth almost no different, falling in love with a heartless-person alike, but Graph was the person who chose the correct path and got to touch the happiness he had been craving all his life. And he... was truly happy for this younger person.

“What are you talking about? Your voice is loud to the front of the house.”

“About the old person.” When the deep voice sounded from behind, the young model turned to meet the eyes of his elder cousin, teasing funnily until the listener rolled his eyes.

“Can you not incite my youth too much?”

“And are you happy, Phîi?”

“Hmph, looking at my face you should know.” Pakin answered fully, and then said with a firm tone.

“I will make that youth happy to the extent that he feels that loving me is the most correct thing in his life.”

This was Pakin's goal. He would give love to that little one until he did not regret at all loving a person like him, being willing to be sad because of a person like him, being willing to be hurt because of a person like him.

From now on, Pakin would make the youth named Graph the happiest.

The answer made Phawit smile.

“Including going to watch the youth during class too? The teacher is scared to death, you know.”

“I just sit and work. If he wants to teach, let him teach.” The homeowner said that, but no matter how you look at it, the person who said he was working... was clearly watching the youth.

Having said that, he stepped into the living room.

“Phîi, why are you coming in?!”

Of course, there was a loud complaint, making Win laugh amusedly, and he would have continued laughing like that, if not because someone stepped into the house with a large stack of documents, someone who erased the smile from the young man's face.

“Khun Win.”

Panchai stood there, making the owner of the name Win just turn to meet his eyes, and then said only...

“From now on, I entrust myself to you.”

From now on, Nai Phawit would have a temporary bodyguard for a full month.

While one stubborn youth had passed through all the bad times and was now experiencing love that made laughter echo throughout the house, another man was about to start a new path of love with the same heartless-person man.

The love of Krittitee had traveled to the destination of happiness.

But the love of Phawit... was about to begin...