"Ai' Leo," called Beam as he waited for his friend to look at him.
"Why haven't you get on the bus, Beam? Are you waiting for someone or something?" asked Leo as he noticed Beam's weird behaviour.
Beam was drawing a circle in the sand with his shoes. He was also acting too shy with a pink tint for Leo's liking.
What is he doing?!
"Actually... I want to request something.
Huh-can you like-sit in a different place or with Nong Fiat?" asked Beam shyly as he avoided eye contact.
"Aren't you going too fast in courting him, meng?" teased Leo as he messed Beam's hair.
"I'M NOT!!.... I want to spend more time with him.
Maybe share some childhood stories or something," replied Beam shyly with a tint of pink in his cheeks.
"What did you say? Why is he blushing in front of you?" comes an accusing voice behind them.
"Why? Are you jealous?" teased Leo again.
"No. More like I'm getting irritated and angry. Why don't you stick with Nong Fiat instead? Leave my Beam alone," said Forth as he dragged Beam away from Leo as laughed hysterically at their childish behaviour.
"Why were you blushing towards him? Do you like him, Khun Beam?" asked Forth straight away without hiding his jealousy.
"Never. Leo is like my brother," answered Beam, but his blush didn't leave his face or reduced.
"Then why are you still blushing?" whined Forth, unlike his usual gang leader vibe.
"Cause he was teasing me with you....," answered Beam in a small voice as his blush increased.
"Huh?!" Forth looked at him, confused with a frown.
"Has anybody ever said that you're a little dumb sometimes?" asked Beam as he noticed that Forth had no idea what he was implying.
"Yes.....," said Forth in doubt, cause the poor guy still doesn't get the point.
"Sit beside me later. Leo will be with Nong Liat," replied Beam as he got on the bus with a sigh.
Haih, He has a long way to go.
"You are stupid!" said Inn as he climbed on the bus after Beam.
"What? Why?!" asked Forth, particularly to nobody.
"Because you are, boss," answered Run as he placed his arms around Forth's shoulder.
"Why....??"
"Mo'Beam was shy and blushing because Mo' Leo teased him about you and him. Not because he likes Mo'Leo. Got it?" Run was kind enough to explain it to him.
"Ohhh, So Khun Beam was shy because of me," said Forth as he smiled, proud and content.
"Maybe Mo' Beam should find someone else to love. You're too dumb for him," added Run as he shook his head disapprovingly and got on the bus leaving, Forth behind.
~
"Mo'Leo, have you passed all the medical equipment and meds to the logistics team?" asked Inn as he settled behind Beam's seat.
He and Run will be sitting in between ForthBeam and LeoFiat.
"I have, Khun Inn," replied Leo politely.
"Mo'Leo, if I'm not wrong, we are all of the same age. You can call me Inn. No need to add Khun all the time," replied Inn friendly.
"I'll call you Inn if you start to call me Leo, not Mo'Leo. I'm not even a doctor yet, right Beam?" stated Leo, with Beam agreeing with him.
"Okay, okay. Don't gang up on me. I'll call you guys with first name basics," said Inn, smiling, as he settled between their seats.
"Mo'Leo, can you please pass me the snacks bag?" asked Run as soon as he got on the bus with Forth.
But he didn't get any reply from Leo.
"What happened? Is Mo'Leo mad or something? Or doesn't want to share?" asked Run to Inn.
"They won't answer if you talk to them too politely from now onwards," mentioned Inn as he pointed at Beam and Leo.
"Ohhh, that's all?" asked Run excitedly with a relieved sigh.
"Ai'Leo, pass me some snacks. I'm hungry," Run tried again, and this time, Leo passed him the whole bag with a satisfied smile.
"P'Forth, all are here. We can leave now," updated Nong Fiat as he finished taking the attendance.
"Okay, Thank you, Nong," replied Forth as he went to the front to inform the driver to leave the port.
They returned to the port two hours ago. Forth allowed the nongs and volunteers to shop around for souvenirs as he and the committee members double-checked the campaign things and other stuff. Now they're on their way back to the campus.
Beam listened to songs while the others settled down in their seats before the bus took off. Forth joined him a bit late and relaxed on the headrest with a sigh.
"Sleep if you want to, Khun Forth. I'll wake you up when we reach there," suggested Beam as he saw how sleepy Forth looked.
"It's okay. I can still handle it. I'm sure you didn't request your friend to change seats only to watch me sleep. Why don't we catch up a bit? or do you want to have a quiet ride?" questioned Forth as he smiled sweetly at Beam.
"I don't mind chatting with you," said Beam as he turned a bit and faced Forth with a charming smile in return.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself?" asked Beam sweetly.
"I'm Forth," said Forth-like 'I'm GRUTE' tone.
Beam laughed a little at that tone.
"I know that already," he added, smiling.
"Well, Let me try again.
I'm Forth Darvid Kongtanin. I'm a single child for my parents, with no siblings.
All my family members are doctors or lawyers except for my only grandma. She is a social activist. I hate memorizing. So I declined the idea of becoming a doctor or a lawyer and following the family legacies.
I love to play the guitar and ride a bike. My current mission is to court you," ended Forth proudly, which only made Beam blush hard.
"Smooth talker...," replied Beam as he blushed shyly.
"I am, Aren't I?" asked Forth back with a teasing smile.
"Yes, you are. Don't you think becoming an engineer is like studying medicine and law together? You have to learn the formulas like the meds students memorizing the procedures and law students remembering all the ordinances. You also have to be decent and disciplined," addressed Beam.
"In a way, you're right, Khun Beam. But, this is what I like and want. So, it doesn't seem that hard for me," replied Forth.
"Alright, don't divert the topic. Tell me about yourself," said Forth and paid full attention.
"Ookay... I'm Beam Jaruji Jaturapoom. I'm a single child in my family too. In my family, apart from one of my grandpa, the others are either engineers or lawyers," said Beam with a chuckle as he noticed Forth's surprised face.
"They let you study medicine. That's awesome," exclaimed Forth, excited for no reason.
"Actually, they didn't. I tricked my family into that and made them believe I'll stay as a doctor in the future."
"You are not?"
"I have always wanted to become a medical researcher. But my parents and Granpa were so against it. Then they sent me to a boarding school in Canada and enrolled me in medicine. And stuff happened. Now, I'm back for good and in my 3rd year of medical studies and will continue in research major," answered Beam with a sad smile.
"Look at the bright side, Khun Beam," Forth stated encouragingly.
"There's one?" asked Beam in doubt with a frown.
He can't think of anything good in that.
"There is. If that incident didn't happen in your life, you wouldn't be here with me," said Forth sweetly.
"I didn't know you could change every situation with your silly flirting?" replied Beam as he smiled happily.
"Hahaha, It's a skill, you know? By the way, what was your family name just now?"
"Jaturapoom. Do you like it?" Beam asked.
"It feels strangely familiar. Like -like I've known this sir name for a long time," said Forth with sudden seriousness.
"If you like it so much. I can give it to you, you know?" flirted Beam with raised eyebrows.
"Oiiiii, I need an insulin jab," shouted Run suddenly.
Beam and Forth turned around from their seats to check on him.
"Ai Run, what happened?" quested Forth, worried.
"You guys happened, you dumb wits," scolded Ai Run as he threw peanuts at them.
"Hye...careful there," warned Forth as he blocked the peanuts from hitting Beam.
"Stop being too lovey-dovey and overly sweet, you stupid human. You guys are giving me diabetes," complained Run.
"What are you talking about, Ai'Run? Stop wasting foods," scolded Forth.
Inn stares at their gang leader with an unamused look.
The point that Forth doesn't concede his own flirting and caring attitude towards Beam proves that he is genuine.
These courtings are coming to him naturally without the need to be told.
"Ai'Beam, I think you should reconsider dating Forth. He looks intelligent. But he is totally idiotic sometimes," notified Run in an earnest voice.
"I double that, Beam. You still got a lot of time. Think again," added Leo from his seat behind Run and Inn.
"Hye, why all of you are ganging up against me?" asked Forth with a pout.
"P'Forth, you are hopeless," said Nong Fiat as he sighed deeply.
"Khun Beam, don't listen to them, please," pleaded Forth, worried.
He didn't even get to ask Beam to be officially his.
But, His friends are already playing against him.
Why is the world so unfair?
Forth looks at Beam worriedly, but all of his worries fly out of the windows when Beam smiles back at him lovingly.
"You have a lovely set of friends, Khun Forth. Why don't we take a nap?" suggested Beam as he casually rested his head on Forth's shoulder.
~
Mew's office,
"Dad, may I come in?" asked Bane by the door.
"Yes, come in," replied Mew, but his eyes didn't leave the monitor in front of him.
"What are you checking, dad? Aren't you done with all the cases for this month's hearing?" asked Bane as he walked behind the table to check the monitor.
"Bane, do you recognize this man?" asked Mew as he zoomed in on the CCTV clip.
"Isn't that the Blue Pheonix CEO? What is he doing there?" asked Bane alarmed.
"This footage was taken when he visited the burnout spot with his legal team last month. If I'm not mistaken, he is the man behind Blue Flames ship and the company right now even though they are not in business," stated Mew with his stern look.
"What made you think like that, Dad?"
Mew placed an old photograph on the table.
"That's taken during my uncle's funeral. How is he there? Who is he with?" asked Bane confused.
"The man beside him is the Blue Flames' CEO, Khun Saen. If I'm not mistaken, Khun Saen introduced him as his heir a decade back. Maybe he's why all of our searches come to a dead-end," added Mew.
"Dad, where is the burnout place again?" asked Bane, alarmed with the location info.
"Similan Island. Why?"
"Dad, Beam went to volunteer there," stated Bane with a panicked voice.
"He what?!" questioned Mew, panicked as well. But he was quick to gain his control back.
"How did I forget this fine detail? I was too concerned about Beam returning soon and forgot to check this. What if he has one of the attacks there? What if something happens to him?" Bane started to ramble in worry.
"Bane, calm down. Beam can handle himself. Remember what your Papa said, Beam is a grown man. Leo would have contacted us if anything happened to our Beam," Mew tried to console his only son.
"Dad... but Beam is a stubborn kid just like me. He wouldn't allow Leo to complain to us," added Bane with a worried sigh.
"Why don't you contact him?" suggested Mew as he looked at his over-worried son.
"I - we don't contact each other anymore. Beam hates me," replied Bane sadly.
"Maybe he doesn't. Maybe you're over-worried. Why don't you give it a try?" advised Mew softly.
"Okay," answered Bane in a small voice as he left the office.
If Mew and Bane were not close like they are now, Mew would feel devasted.
He loves his husband and son the most.
Given or taken, he is one of the reasons why his grandson distance himself from them.
Beam is so precious. Both the Beams are.
Each of them was so much alike that he worried about them the same. Beam is like a replica of the late Beam and much more daring than any of them.
'If only there's another Forth to tame him?' though Mew with a sad smile.
~
"Ai'Forth, we have arrived at the campus," announced Inn as he woke him.
"Okay," he replied sleepily.
"Let me wake Beam," said Leo as he was about to shake the peacefully sleeping guy.
"Let him sleep some more. You can handle the logistic stuff alone, right?" asked Forth, more like a statement than a question.
"Yeah, yes. I can. Let's let Beam sleep," replied Leo with a silly smile as he continued his work.
Forth looked at Beam lovingly before leaving the bus to handle the remaining committee duties.
Beam had a sweet dream on Forth's shoulders indeed. But who would have thought the sweet dreams could lead to nightmares.
By the time Forth returned to wake him up, Beam was sweating buckets in his sleep while thrashing around. He was not waking up to Forth's call or shaking, which scared him.
"Khun Beam, wake up. Open your eyes, please. It's just a dream."
"Khun Beam! Beam! Beam, wake up na," Forth kept tapping his cheeks to bring him out of his nightmares.
"What's going on here?" asked Leo, alarmed.
He rushed back to the bus as he heard Forth's shouting. Leo was quick to think and did the only thing that worked on waking Beam during nightmares like this.
He splashed a whole bottle of water on Beam's face, which luckily made the poor guy wake up.
"Ahh," Beam woke up with a scream.
He was breathing hard as he breathed in as much oxygen as he could.
"Beam, what happened, Meng? The same nightmare?" questioned Leo worriedly.
Beam looked at Forth for a second before nodding his head.
"He gets nightmares like this frequently?" asked Forth, concerned.
Beam looked down slowly as Leo answered in his state.
"Beam, you need to go to the hospital and get this checked. I'll go with you. I'm worried, na," added Forth as he held his hands.
"I'm fine," replied Beam as he looked back at the pairs of worried eyes.
He wants to laugh at the irony. It's funny how the man responsible for his nightmare is in front of him, looking at him with so much care.
"No, you're not," added Forth worriedly.
Beam's phone goes off right at that time. Beam stared at the display, which showed 'Dad'.
"I got to take this call. I'm fine, Forth. Don't worry," replied Beam as he left the bus.
By the time he got off the bus, the call got hanged. But it ranged once again before he could try to call back.
"Hello, Beam. Are you there, son?" asked the caller, concerned.
"Yes, Dad," answered Beam.
"Thank God. I got worried there. When are you coming back?
We got a lot to talk about when you return," said his dad.
"I'm already back at campus, Dad. About the talking, we can start with the topic, FORTH JATURAPOOM," added Beam with a cold voice which reminded the caller more about someone dead.
"I'll meet you at home, Dad."
___________________
End of Chap 7.
TBC.
___________________
~
So, that's a wrap for now.
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I might update another chapter this week cause I'm a bit free before my Semester exams.
Wish me luck, guys.
Till I meet you guys again, stay safe and healthy.
Buh- Bye.
~