Kongpob wakes up to the chirping of birds. He feels as though a hundred pins are pricking his eyelids and there is a steady throbbing in his temples. His jaw, where Arthit's fist hit him yesterday, is also a bit sore.
He sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes to chase away the last traces of sleep and takes in the surroundings: there are clothes scattered everywhere on the floor, his suitcase is laying almost completely emptied in a corner of the room, next to a broken vase.
The memories of the previous evening come rushing back, overwhelming him and he thinks he might throw up. In the bathroom, he splashes cold water over his face and neck, then props his hands onto the edges of the sink and stares into the mirror. His vision gradually becomes blurrier and it's not until hot tears fall down his cheeks that he realize he's crying.
"God, what have I done!"
He doesn't expect his lover to answer but he calls anyway. He waits, heart beating loudly in his ears. His P' either turned his phone off on purpose, or the device is out of battery, Kong suspects it's the former.
He starts cleaning up the mess he's made in a fit of rage after his boyfriend left the other day. Where did the usually level-headed me go? he muses. He is sitting on the floor, absentmindedly folding shirts and pants and placing them inside the suitcase when his phone rings. He almost trips on his own legs in a hurry to reach it and pick up.
"Hello!"
"Ai' Kong, good morning. Do you have some time today?"
"Oh ... Hi, Fai. Why?"
"I was just thinking we could all go down to the beach. And this time you should bring your fiancée with you. Pete, Chai and I are dying to meet her."
"Sorry, Fai, I was getting ready to head back to Bangkok. Thanks for the invitation, though. Maybe next time."
"Kong, you sound weird. Is everything OK? Why are you leaving so early? Did ... did you by any chance have a fight with your girlfriend?" Fai presses on.
"No ... I ..."
"Do you wanna talk about it? You know my house is only one block away from yours. I've got your favorite cookies and tea, if you wanna come over." she insists.
The young man is about to refuse but changes his mind at the last moment. Maybe it would be good to talk to someone. She is one of his childhood friends, it should be easy to discuss his problems with her.
Fai's mother greets him at the entrance. She looks almost the same as when he was still a kid and would often hang out at their place, except for a few fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and some gray hairs at the temples.
"Come in, Kongpob. It's so nice to see you again."
"Likewise, Mrs. Thahom. Thank you for having me."
Fai is waiting for him in the garden. She has her hair tied in a bun on top of her head and is wearing a flowy dress with big, yellow flowers printed on. She is watering the plants in the yard and when she sees her friend, she puts the hose away and walks towards him. Concern clouds her otherwise pretty face.
"Let's have a sit and talk." she says, guiding him towards the white lawn chairs in the shade. "What happened?"
Kongpob looks at her. He opens his mouth to speak but can't find the right words, doesn't know where to begin.
"You did have a fight with your fiancée, didn't you."
"Fai, I ... I am the one at fault, I screwed up real bad." Kongpob chokes on tears and raises shaky hands to cover his face. He can't believe he's crying again.
His friend kneels in front of him and pries his hands away, wipes the tears and forces him to look at her.
"That can't be true. You are too nice and gentle of a person to hurt your lover. She must have misunderstood you."
Kongpob lets out a sigh and brings her into a hug. She is taken aback by the suddenness of it but quickly reciprocates.
"It's okay. You can cry all you want. I am here."
"Th-thank you, Fai. You've always been a good friend." he says in between hiccups.
Once he calms down a bit, Kongpob leans back in the chair and Fai returns to hers.
"We've been together for over four years. Our relationship had its ups and down so far, but we always managed to overcome anything. We are going to get married soon, hopefully ..."
"What kind of girl is she?" Fai asks.
Kongpob shakes his head. It is about time he made things clear.
"Remember P'Arthit, the guy who was with me yesterday, the one who introduced himself as my senior from university?"
"Yes ... Oh my God!!! Don't tell me she cheated on you with him!"
"No! Nothing like that! He is my fiancé."
Fai's jaw goes slack and her mouth hangs open in a comical way. Once she snaps out of the initial shock, she takes a big sip of the tea in front of her, almost chokes on it.
"Wh-what? P'Arthit is your ... you're dating him?!"
"Yes. We got into a stupid argument yesterday and he stormed out of the house. I wasn't able to get a hold of him since." Kongpob explains.
"Wow ... you never struck me as a guy who likes other men." she murmurs, slumping in her chair.
"I don't like men, I only like P'Arthit, who simply happens to be a man." he corrects her. "Are you disappointed in me?"
"No, not at all. So, what are you going to do now? It must be pretty serious if he left and he is ignoring your calls."
"I ... know I made a mistake and I want to apologize. But ..."
"But what?"
"I've had it with his insecurities. And how he still cares so much about what others might think of us. That was the reason why he didn't let me introduce him to you guys as my boyfriend. It's been four years, I want him to get over it already." Kongpob says, resting his head in his hands.
Fai watches him silently. He looks so miserable that she wants to pull him into a comforting hug, but she decides against it.
"You should confront him about this."
"I have, many times, even yesterday. But he always avoids the discussion. It makes me wonder if he still loves me as much as I do ..."
"Regardless, you should talk to him again. And ... if it doesn't work out in the end ..." she trails off.
Kongpob raises his head to see her smiling shyly at him.
"I'll be here for you."
❈❈❈
Arthit couldn't sleep all night. Guilt and regret kept gnawing at his mind and the bed felt cold and way too big without Kongpob there.
"Arthit, thanks a lot for helping out. I hope you didn't have to cancel any important plans." Earth greets him as he enters the office, early in the morning.
"No, it's OK. No plans ..." he mutters. "So, what am I supposed to do?"
"We need to contact all the suppliers on these lists and see which one can accommodate our order for the best price. We'll split the work load in three. Here's your part." she explains, handing him a folder. "And this is for you, Tod."
"Yes, ma'am. Let's do our best to finish by noon. Then I'll treat you guys to some sushi. I know a good place. What do you say, Mr. Sun, are you in?"
"Uh ... I dunno ..."
Arthit is glad he has something to help him keep his mind off Kongpob. Except, whenever the collar of his shirt brushes against the spot at the base of his neck where his boyfriend bit him the other day, he remembers it all, too well. The regret in his junior's eyes, his cracking voice, his fevered apologies.
Please, P'Arthit!
I am sorry!
Please hear me out!
Arthit covers his ears, groaning.
"Are you OK? Do you have a headache?"
"No, I'm fine, P'Earth. Sorry."
He needs to get a regular supplier's contact number from his phone and it's the first time he turns it on since yesterday. He stares at the notifications from Kongpob: 15 missed calls and 8 Line messages. His fingers hover hesitantly over the screen before he goes straight to the agenda, ignoring everything else.
Earth and Tod have known him for long enough to tell something is off and they exchange looks when their co worker is not paying attention.
"You ask!" she mouths.
"No way! You do it!" her boyfriend shakes his head a bit too earnestly.
She glares at him but concedes.
"Arthit, do you wanna take a break? Maybe ... you wanna give Nong Kong a quick call? We don't mind."
"I ..."
"I'll go get us some drinks." Tod says and he is out of the office, leaving the two alone.
Earth turns her chair towards Arthit.
"Wh-what is it?" he stutters.
"You think I am stupid not to realize something's wrong? If you can't focus on work, you're of no help."
Arthit puts his pen down and glances at her. She looks determined to have him spill his guts.
"He took me to his family's vacation house in Hua Hin yesterday. We had a fight ... we both said and done some really dumb things ... and then I left."
"No wonder you looked like your dog died, since you came in. You'd better go home and apologize. Tod and I can take care of the rest."
"I can't see him. Not yet. It's too early." Arthit retorts.
"Nonsense! You said you fought over something stupid. Then you need to clear things up immediately. As your senior, I order you to go home and apologize right now!"
"I ... o-okay ..."
❈❈❈
Arthit's heart is racing like crazy and his hands are so shaky that it takes three failed attempts for him to finally unlock the door to the apartment.
No trace of Kongpob. Nor his suitcase. Which means he is still in Hua Hin, at his parents' house, or perhaps at some friend's place. The young man sits on the edge of the bed. He pulls out the silver ring from the pocket of his pants and holds it in his palm, staring at it.
Is he really ready to get married to another guy? Will he ever get rid of this fear of possibly being shunned by the society because he is gay? At the end of the day, would returning home to Kongpob's warm, welcoming arms be enough to keep going?
Arthit looks around the room. In almost every corner, there is something to remind him of Kongpob, whether it's a framed photo, the bracelets they used to wear in university, their joint gears or other memorabilia acquired over the four years they've spent together.
Without a doubt, Kongpob is deeply rooted into Arthit's heart and attempting to remove him would cause irremediable damage.
Arthit takes his phone out of his bag and dials his boyfriend's number.
"Hello."
"H-hello, Kongpob ..."
A/N: I dunno about you guys, but I can't wait for "Our Skyy" mini series to see how Arthit and Kongpob deal with their LDR.