Once Upon A Time (Ongoing)

Chapter Two

"See you."

Phuwin thinned his lips and nodded once again, as he watched Pond walk away from their room.

Once Pond was away, Pat and Prim went to him.

"What was that, huh? Are you dating P'Pond?" Prim asked.

Phuwin knotted his eyebrows with what Prim said. "Alaiwa? What nonsense are you spitting about?"

"Hoooooo...Don't deny it, Phu. I can see it by the way you and P'Pond look at each other. You're both in love."

Phuwin looked away and bit his lip.

Is he in love? He just feels good whenever Pond is around.

Phuwin heaved a sigh and faced his friends. "I'm not."

Prim raised her eyebrow as she watched Phuwin grab the drink that Pond gave him.

"Yeah. You might not be, but P'Pond surely is."

Phuwin continued to drink the Oliang that Pond gave him. Really? Pond likes him? How?

"Acts of service," Patrick said, out of nowhere.

"What?" Phuwin was confused. What is Pat referring to?

"That is P'Pond's love language – and yours too," Pat said as he took his seat behind Phuwin.

"Wait a minute. Where did you get this theory that I and P'Pond are a thing?"

Prim rolled her eyes and fixed her glasses. "For someone who's a consistent 4.00 GPA earner and a first-class honor student, you're quite slow, Phu."

Phuwin's confusion got even worse. Though he had been friends with Pat and Prim since elementary, his friends' way of thinking sometimes didn't match his.

"What do you mean, Prim? I don't get it."

Pat placed his arms around Phuwin's shoulder and leaned to his ear.

"Sometimes, the most simple and obvious things are the most difficult for some people – just like you."

Phuwin scratched his head with what Pat said. "Alaiwa?"

Just then, Phuwin received a message on his phone.

"I will wait no matter how long it takes for you to solve the cube." 

Was the message Pond sent to him.

End of Flashback

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<Chulalongkorn University; Faculty of Engineering>

Pond and Dunk were working on a project that they had to submit next week. Pond heaved a sigh after sticking a piece on the diorama that they were working on.

Dunk heard Pond's loud sigh, and can't help but comment on it.

"You sound so stressed, dude. Calm down." Dunk said while sticking another piece on the diorama.

As Pond's habit, he brushed his hair backward.

"How can I not be stressed when it's only the two of us who are working on this project?"

Dunk shook his head. "We could've actually paid someone to do this for us, but here you are. Working your ass off while in the middle of working on our thesis."

"If someone will do this for us, it will not be my work, but that person's work already."

"Even if I will have a hard time, it's fine. As long as I'm the one who did the work. That way, I know that I deserve my grade."