Project Heart(h) ✓

Chapter Five

Junak stayed rooted to his spot as the other man walked up to them. They exchanged a few words, laughed, and then Dikhou took a cigarette from the tallest guy. He took a single puff and returned it.

Just the sight of it made Junak uncomfortable. As much as wanted to not judge someone on their appearance, those guys in unkempt shirts, with evil-ish smirks on their faces, did not sit well with Junak. Given the chance, he'd never interact with them.

Now, however, Dikhou looked at him and beckoned him over. Knowing he'd need their help with the music, he made his way towards the guys.

"Junak, hey!" The tallest one was also the skinniest, with disgusting hair. Junak had no idea how he knew his name; he chalked it up to the 'news travels fast in the village' factor.

"We heard you're making a movie?" This guy had a round face with his hair cut almost at the scalp. "Don't forget to cast us, yeah? We're the handsomest guys around."

"Who, you?" The other two laughed, unkindly. Dikhou did not join; he stood there with a standard smile that Junak was starting to recognise as his resting state.

"Here." The tall guy handed his cigarette to Junak.

The thought of sharing a cigarette with either of those guys repulsed Junak to the point of a shudder. "No, thank you." He smiled.

"Come on," the guy insisted.

Junak waved his hands, as politely as he could, and took an involuntary step back.

"We won't tell your grandpa." The round-faced dude laughed. "And your parents aren't here."

That one hit a nerve, though Junak couldn't tell whether the jab was intentional or not. His hands curled into fists at his side.

"Knock it off, guys, he said he doesn't want it," Dikhou said, pushing the tall guy's hand away.

"Yeah, he probably has fancier stuff in the cities," Round-Face said. "Do you?"

Junak shrugged stiffly. "I don't know."

Tall Guy huffed, leaning back. "You were a lot more fun last night."

Junak's heart dropped, cold fear taking its place in his chest.

"Quite some moves you've got," Round-Face jeered. The third guy snorted.

"Which reminds me," Tall-Guy threw an arm around Round-Face's shoulders, and looked at Junak with a smirk, "why do you dress like a girl?"

It was like Junak was in school all over again, cornered by cishet dudes insecure about their own masculinity. Having surrounded himself with women and queer folks after school, he had nearly forgotten about the existence of these people. And it had been so many years since he was faced with such a scenario, he nearly forgot what he was supposed to do.

"Is it fashionable to dress and act like girls in America?" Round-Face asked.

Junak sucked in a deep breath through his teeth, ignoring the voice in his head that wanted him to run, to cower, to back down. This wasn't home turf, he shouldn't be making enemies, the voice told him. But he ignored it. Because he was done being scared of guys like these. "I don't know," he said, without disguising the sneer in his voice, "is it fashionable to have fragile male egos in Nonrong?"

Their mirth fell away to confusion, then shock and then finally settled on rage. Junak could see it, their urge to step forward and punch him. He clenched his fists harder and braced for impact.

"Ha ha ha, you guys are so funny," Dikhou said, his laughter cutting through the tension. He threw an arm around Junak's shoulder, putting himself between him and the guys. "We'll see you around, yeah? We got places to be," he said to the three and led Junak away, through the path on their right.