Five Minutes In Summer

16. Why I Am Here

Beam looked at his phone, reading again the address and telephone number he had recorded on the smart object.  Forth's hotel address and personal telephone number, which he got from Park. 

= Two days before =

"Nong Beam?" Park's eyebrows rose when he saw Beam standing in front of him. 

It had been eight days since his group and the group of prospective doctors parted ways after they spent vacation on the beach in Malibu together. 

They returned to Thailand together and separated at the airport when they arrived in Thailand. 

At that time, he and Lam had talked and wondered why Beam looked gloomy when they flight and his two friends looked annoyed with him. 

Lam asked Wayo because the boy and Phana seemed to be in love with each other. 

However, Wayo couldn't get anything from Phana, and neither did Ming, who was approaching Kit.

Then, Beam standing in front of him now, looks so serious.

"Phi Park, can I ask you a little help?"  Beam asked matter-of-factly. 

Park pointed to a sofa in the corner of the lobby and invited Beam to sit down. 

"How are you, Beam? We haven't seen each other since we came back from Malibu. Have you started your residency yet?" Park asked. 

"Not yet, Phi. I still have three weeks to take care of the files. That's why I wanted to meet you," said Beam. "I am running out of time." 

"What can I do for you?" 

"Is Phi Forth back from Brazil, Phi?" 

"Forth? Not yet. He hasn't come back from Brazil yet. He has a lot of things to do there and I don't think he'll be back any time soon. Why?" 

Beam took a deep breath. This should be easier than that morning when he, Kit, and Phana were getting ready to go to the airport. 

Phana was angry because Beam would cancel his plane ticket to return to Thailand and instead wanted to go to Brazil. 

Kit, who was curious about what made Beam so reckless, continued to ask about the cause and Beam bluntly said that he would look for and meet Forth.

"Can you keep a secret, Phi Park?"  Beam asked. 

Park's eyebrows rose. "Except from Lam, I can," Park answered seriously. 

Beam took a deep breath. "Phi Lam is okay. You can tell them. So, Phi, I slept with Phi Forth." 

Beam's words made Park gape. Its sudden confesion. A bold one.

"You? Forth? Err ... you two slept together? But, when?" 

"Yes. In the morning when you think Phi Forth and I were walking outside, we were actually in Phi Forth's room, making love." 

"Oh?" 

"Then, Phi Forth treated me like a prince. He prepared medicine, bath water with aromatherapy, new clothes, and delicious food. I was scared." 

Park doesn't know how to face Beam now. His words were too absurd for Park and he wished Lam was here now. Lam always knows how to deal with situations like this. 

"Why are you ... scared? Did Forth treat you harshly?"  Park asked confused. 

"He was my first man and for the first time I felt ... loved. But I was scared. It didn't feel right to me at all." 

"Nong, are you a homophobe?" 

"No, Phi Park, absolutely not. Even though I myself always claim that I am a straight man and I always choose women to make love with, with Phi Forth I can experience real orgasms--not just cum--for many times. Straight or gay, that's not the problem. I was afraid because ... I think I fell in love with him. But, I rejected him, when Phi Forth said that and I said something evil to him." 

Park scratched his head. He really misses Lam now.

"Then Phi Forth just walked away and you guys--you and Ming, told me this tragic story about him and I felt like I was so stupid. So, I needed to go to him and tell him how I felt about him." 

Park sighed. "You're going to chase him to Brazil?" 

"Yes. Phana and Kit forbade me from changing my destination when we wanted to go home, because I still had to take care of some documents for residency. Now I've sorted everything out and still have plenty of time until the new semester starts." 

Park looked doubtful. He looked at Beam with an appraising look. 

Forth has never had a serious relationship with anyone, since the incident with the twins. He always felt traumatized and thought that he couldn't take care of other people. 

Now, a handsome man, a brilliant future doctor, younger, and so openly declares that he slept with Forth and seems to be in love, leaving Park confused. 

He thought for a moment, then took out the phone and looked at Beam.

"Give me your phone number. I'll send you the hotel address and Forth's phone number." 

===

And, here he is now, standing with a medium-sized suitcase, looking at the hotel building with a modern classic feel, where Forth stayed while he was in Brazil.

According to Park, The Ambassador hotel is one of the hotels owned by the Forth family, whose management is part of the management of Aileen's tourism services company. 

"Welcome to The Ambassador hotel. Have you booked a room beforehand, sir?" greeted the receptionist in a friendly manner. 

Beam took care of the room reservations, taking a room not far from the Forth family's private suite.  He lay down on the bed after arriving at the room, wondering to himself what he was doing now. 

Phana told him not to be impulsive.  That's why he and Kit forbade Beam from changing their destination when they wanted to return home from Malibu. 

Not only because Beam still has to take care of the paperwork for residency, Phana and Kit also don't want Beam to get hurt because he is too impulsive. 

However, as he went back and forth to campus to finish things on campus, Beam felt increasingly convinced that he missed Forth. 

It was a feeling he had never felt since his grandmother died. He never even missed his father or mother. 

However, Beam couldn't sleep for days and he started seeing Forth everywhere. When one day he felt like crying when he saw a man feeding cats on the side of the road near campus, Beam decided to immediately order tickets to Brazil and meet Park. 

Beam took his phone from his trouser pocket. 

"Beam! Where have you been? I've been calling you since yesterday morning and your phone was never active, oh my gosh!" 

Beam took the phone away from his ear because Phana shouted at him. 

"I'm ... going out to find ... uh ... breakfast," said Beam while looking at his watch. 

It's only 8.20 am in Brazil. 

"Breakfast?" asked Phana confused. "You mean, dinner? It's too late for dinner, Beam." 

"Yeah, Pha, I just got to the hotel and it's only 8.20am here." 

There was no sound after that. Beam put the phone away and looked at it, worried that the connection had been lost. 

"P-Pha?" called Beam slowly. "You still there?" 

"BEAM!" Phana shouted thunderously.  "DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE IN...?" 

"Yeah, you're right. I'm in Brazil." 

"Oh, God!"

===