"Toothbrush, towel, my laptop.....what else? Leo, where's my MP3 player?" shouted Beam from his room to Leo who's bedroom is right beside his.
"I leave it on your dressing table. Don't forget your power bank and the first aid box," reminded Leo from his room as he shouted back as well.
"You boys are sure loud," said someone by the door.
"Grandpa Gulf, what you're doing here? Do you need something?" asked Beam as he noticed his other grandpa.
Unlike grandpa Mew, grandpa Gulf was so against the idea of sending him away. He was very supportive of Beam's dream to become a medical researcher, same as him.
Grandpa Gulf was a sports medicine researcher before. Now he is one of the sports medicine board members.
"Why? Can't I visit my only grandson's room? What are you hiding here?" he asked teasingly.
"Grandpa...... you know that I don't have anything to hide here," stated Beam as he clung to his favourite grandpa's arm.
"Look how much you've grown up. You used to be this height," said grandpa Gulf with lovely eyes as he pointed at his hand below his waist level to imitate Beam's once height.
"Grandpa, that was my height ten years ago," whined Beam playfully.
He loved his time with grandpa Gulf the most. Unlike grandpa Mew, who seems too strict, and grandpa Ohm, who ask him to work out, he prefers grandpa Gulf, who plays soccer and pulls a prank on his father with him.
"I didn't get to spend time with you at breakfast due to a meeting, and your mom told me that you fought with your dad again," said grandpa Gulf softly.
"Grandpaaaa, who does my dad take after by gene? Is it grandpa Mew or you? Why doesn't he cut some slacks on me? Why doesn't he talk to me softly like you? I'm sure my dad is exactly like grandpa Mew, too strict and scary," completed Beam with a pout.
"Hahaha, your dad takes after me. I was the hot-tempered and strict one at his age. Your grandpa Mew was the fine-tuned and more kind one among us," grandpa Gulf replied with a far knowing smile.
"What?! I don't believe you, grandpa Gulf," responded Beam, not ready to believe that.
"Our family lost some dear ones a few decades ago. From then, your grandpa becomes overprotective of your dad and me. Then his over-protectiveness extended to you when you were born.
Your grandpa Mew and your dad were so playful and carefree together with your dad's uncles before. I always have a hard time controlling them. Those three were trouble makers, and your dad was a little rascal as well. They were not this strict before."
"Who did our family lose, grandpa? What happened to them? Why didn't I know about this before?" asked Beam, confused and curious.
"It's because your great-grandpa doesn't want to talk about them, and P'Mew doesn't want to relive the pain of losing his dear ones again and again."
"But grandpa, won't the deceased be sad by that? It's sad not to be remembered by our own family," asked Beam as he listened to the story for the first time in his life.
He had no idea about this. It's the first time his family members talking about this. Therefore he felt thrilled and curious to know more about the family history.
"We never know, kid. Now, it's getting late, and you should pack up quickly and hit the bed," responded grandpa Gulf as he ruffled Beam's hair before he stood up to leave his room.
"Sir Gulf, will you be there for breakfast tomorrow morning?" asked Leo as he entered the room after giving them enough privacy.
"How many times have I told you to call me grandpa as well," scolded Gulf as he ruffled Leo's hair as well.
"Sorry, Grandpa. So, will you be there?" he asked again.
"Do you want me there, Nong Leo?"
"Definitely yes. Grandpa, you're the only one who can handle any argument which may arise tomorrow. I want my first camp in Thailand to be memorable and happy. But if something happens and it spoils Beam's mood, then he will make my stay miserable," explained Leo in detail with his puppy eyes.
"Hahaha, alright. I'll make sure that my son won't start anything tomorrow. Beam, you shouldn't too," warned grandpa Gulf.
"Like they will ever let me," mumbled Beam slowly. But it was still heard by the elder.
"What was that?" challenged the grandpa at his grandson.
"Nothing, grandpa. I said goodnight. Have a sweet dream, grandpa," said Beam as he pushed both Leo and his grandpa out of his room.
Leo said his goodnights and left to his room as well. They have to wake up early tomorrow and reach the campus by 8 am.
~
Gulf walked back to his bedroom only to be welcomed by his son and husband having a serious conversation.
"The last time I checked, this is my bedroom. Not your meeting spot," said Gulf to gain the attention of his small family.
"Papa, you're here," replied Bane Jaturapoom, his only son.
Gulf noticed the tense atmosphere in the room.
"What's keeping both of you awake this late at night?" he softly asked as he sat down beside his husband.
"We were talking about the case," chimed in Mew.
"Beam is back early, papa. He was not supposed to return early. The case is still in court, and they haven't found or caught the prime criminal yet. You know that Thailand is not safe for him with his frequent nightmares and phobia," declared Bane worriedly.
"Beam is old enough and mature enough to handle everything that you're worried about, Bane. Your son has grown up. You don't have to keep him under your wings and protect him all the time. I believe Beam can protect himself well," explained Gulf calmly to make his son understand and stop worrying.
"But.....,"
"No buts, Bane. It's past your bedtime. Go back to your bed," ordered Gulf.
"Papaaaaaa......I'm 45, don't force me to sleep early," whined Bane to his papa as he asked for help from his dad.
"And I'm 73, young man. Now go back to your room and console your wife. Sanoh seemed calm and collected. But we all know how tense and bothered she is about Beam going to Phuket. Calm down your wife from any worries, and I promised your son that I wouldn't let you start any argument tomorrow. So, you better behave, Bane," warned Gulf sternly as he does back in the day when Bane was still a teenager.
"Dad, control your husband, please. He's getting grumpy nowadays," stated Bane playfully as he ran for his life from Gulf.
"You little shit, come back here," called Gulf, irritated by his son's teasing, but it's too late since his son has run out of the room.
"Yai Nong, let him be. You know he is messing with you," consoled Mew as he pulled Gulf back into his arms.
"Khun Phi, look at your son. He never changes," complained Gulf to Mew with his signature Bambi's eyes.
"Let him be. He was very concerned just now," stated Mew to calm down his upset husband.
"So are you. When are you planning to tell Beam about this? He thought of you as the strict grandpa. Beam doesn't know how much we all love him and are worried about his safety," responded Gulf as he rested his head on Mew's chest as he played with their wedding rings.
It's been more than 45 years since their marriage but, he still finds the small silver ring around his husband's ring finger fascinating.
"I don't mind him thinking bad about me, Yai Nong. As long as I could protect my family, I'm fine with it," exclaimed Mew calmly as he tights his hug on Gulf.
"Even though we were too late the last time, I'm sure we will protect him or them if he exists, Khun Phi. I promise," said Gulf softly.
"Hmm. Let's go to sleep. It's late," stated Mew, and with that, they both head to bed.
~
D-Day of the Phuket Camp,
"Ai'Forth, wake up. Have some coffee," said Ai'Inn as he shook Forth out of his dreams at the faculty foodcourt.
Forth took a deep breath as he covered his face with his palms.
"Ai'Forth, did you stay up all night again? What's with that tired eyes and tensed look?" asked Ai'Inn as he sat beside him.
Inn returned from helping the juniors load the luggage into the bus, and he bought coffees with him.
"Hmmm," answered Forth absentmindedly.
"We have a lot of things to do there, and we need to be in our best condition to do all that. Why couldn't you sleep?" asked Ai'Run as he joined his mini gang with some sandwiches, which was prepared by their lovely Nong'Fiat..
"Nothing.....," Forth didn't give any more information to them as he stared at nothing.
Suddenly Forth's phone ranged with a loud ringtone, and he quickly picked up the call as he saw the caller.
"Sawadee Khrap," he greeted politely.
"Yo, champ. How are you?" comes the excited voice from the other side.
"Grandpop, why are you so excited early in the morning? Why are you even awake this early?" question Forth as he laughed a little with his grandfather's reaction.
Hearing his grandfather's voice made him feel somehow relaxed.
"When did I ever sleep past 7, young man? Anyway, how is the preparation for your Phuket camp?"
"Pops, the preparation is long over. Today is the D-Day, na," reminded Forth, unamused with his grandfather's answer.
"I totally forgot," stated the old man gloomily.
"It's no big deal, Pops. Why did you call me this early? Usually, you give me a call at night time," inquired Forth.
"I missed my only grandson, and your mother forbids me from going to the hospital. It's very boring at home," whined the old man, unlike his age.
"Hahaha, no wonder. Good that mom finally did that," teased Forth.
"Both of you are so cruel. You guys don't allow me to go to my own hospital," complained the elder with a small smile as he missed spending time with his grandson.
Even though he had a whole hospital under his wings, he always found time to manage his family well. Some days, he even took off to play all day with the baby Forth at his young age.
"Grandpops....," called Forth softly as both of them remained silent for more than a few seconds.
"What's bothering you, hlan chay(grandson)?" asked the elder.
"You know that I've been having dreams about a man for a while now, right?" he asked uncertainly.
"Yes, what's with that?" urged the elder as he already knew that Forth is Bisexual.
"Today, I had a dream, a nightmare to be exact. I don't remember clearly. But, when the dream finally ended, I was so sad and was crying," stated with so many emotions in Forth's voice.
"Can you remember what did you see in your dreams?" asked the elder slowly.
Forth was silent a bit before he decided to share his nightmare with the elder like he used to do.
"I saw the ocean again, and the man was there too. In the beginning, it seemed like a vacation. But, then I started to drown out of nowhere, and I saw fire....." stopped Forth as he once again felt the heavy feelings he experienced in his dreams.
"Then....,"
"Then I saw him drowning with me. I don't want him to drown with me, grandpops. I don't want him to get hurt," said Forth sadly as he wiped away the lone tear that escaped his eyes.
"It's okay, Forth. It's a dream, remember?" consoled the elder.
"It felt so real," replied Forth in a soft voice.
"How frequent did you have this dreams?"
"Before this, it was once in a while. But nowadays, I have it almost every time I fall to sleep. Sometimes, it was sweet, sometimes confusing. Today was a complete nightmare, grandpops," explained Forth in detail.
"Hmmm, I see," said the elder as he took in the information given by this grandson.
"Why don't you come to meet me when you return from the trip, Forth. I've something to tell and explain to you," replied the elder, all serious.
"Is there something that I should worry about, grandpops?" asked Forth in an alert.
"Nothing for now. If you have more dreams in future, you'll probably know why I asked you to return for the talk. I'll let the time do its work, hlan chay(grandson)," added the elder.
"Ai'Forth, the medical team is here. We may depart from the campus now, come quickly," shouted Ai'Run from far.
"Looks like your friend is in a hurry. Go on and have some fun. Grandpops loves and miss you na," ended the elder from the other side.
"I miss you too, Grandpa Pha," replied Forth as he hung up the call and ran back to his friends.
~
"You finally going to tell him the truth, P'Pha?" asked Wayo, who has been hearing to their conversation all this time.
"Forth is remembering.....,"
"That doesn't mean we risk his health and life again, P'Pha," argued Wayo.
"Hmmm," hummed Phana as he sat quietly beside Wayo on the couch as he was deep in thoughts.
"P'Pha....,"
"I know that he might not exist. I know that I shouldn't burden our grandson with the past that is not so safe to know, and I know that our daughter-in-law will kill me if she knows that I have helped Forth get therapy. Damn, I'm 100% positive that Kit will murder me the moment he knew what I hid from him all this time, but," he said in one breathe and stopped.
"Then, why are you still insist on doing it?"
"Because, just like Kit, he was a family. I was supposed to protect him, Yo and I failed so damn bad," answered Phana with melancholy in his voice.
"P'Pha....., it was long ago. Trust me, phi. He won't blame you for this," Wayo tried to reassure him.
"He is too good to blame others, Yo, and that's why I'm blaming myself. This time I'll protect them no matter what," said Phana as he walked away from the living room, leaving Wayo behind.
Wayo sat there with a sad knowing, smile as he watched his husband march to the office room to find more clues about the past.
If there is a friendship he envied besides his own with Ming, then that's was the friendship of the 'crazy-doctor-gang's.
More than forty years have passed, and still, the love Phana had for his friends never changed. After all, he was the dad of the gang.
~
"Oi Inn, can't you do a thing without informing me. I was in the call with my grandpops," said Forth as he joined his gang by the bus.
"We had already loaded all the luggage and necessary things in the bus. Run has also checked the documents bought by the meds team and did the final checkups. The only thing left is getting you introduced to the meds team and depart," stated Inn annoyed.
"Now tell us, how are we supposed to leave when our only leader is talking on the phone for so long without a care about the world?" asked Run annoyed as well.
"Okay, okay, my fault. I'm sorry," apologized Forth quickly as Forth realized his mistake by scolding his friends without checking the facts first.
"You better be," Inn and Run replied simultaneously.
"Eh, eh, come on, let's meet the meds team," said Forth as he dragged his friends to meet the others.
They could hear the teasing voice of one of the friends and how the other was threatening to dissect him alive.
Apart from the teasing sound and friendly talks, Forth recognized one of the laughs. He had heard it somewhere before. As they reached behind the bus, where the meds Team were lazing around, Inn called out to them.
"Mo'Leo and Mo'Beam...." he called.
The moment the medical students turned around to face them, Forth was stunned by what he was seeing.
It was the same thick eyebrows and the dashing smile with the spotless snow-white skin that he had seen in his dream. Finally, he gets to see the whole face.
The second, Forth's eyes met the thick eyebrowed eyes he felt the time stop. A warm, happy smile made its way to his face as he saw the person who stood so alive in front of him, unlike an imaginary person in his lucid dream.
"Finally, I met you," was the only thought in his mind as the curious eyes stared back at him.
_______________
End of Chap 3.
TBC.
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Hi, my fellow cupcakes, How have you all been doing?
The new Covid-19 variant is spreading rapidly, and it's deadly. I hope all of my fans from all around the world is safe from it. Don't forget to follow the SOP and stay safe.
Once again, sorry for keeping you all waiting. Yesterday was my baby Kana's (Gulf Kanawut) birthday. And I tried my best to update this story as a gift for my fellow wanjais. Now about the story, how do you find this story so far? Is it getting too boring?
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Till we meet again, stay safe and healthy. Love you all.
~