"Are you even listening to me, Pat?"
"..."
"Pat!"
"Huh!? Oh yeah, congrats," I replied half-heartedly to Sunsun, who'd been excitedly discussing the business faculty's Star student for minutes.
"You're not paying attention at all, are you? I'm not repeating it!"
"Alright, sorry." I pretended to agree.
Sunsun was a fair-skinned guy with healthy-looking peachy cheeks. He'd just got his hair dyed a light blonde, which made his face look even more adorable and pinchable for some reason. Even though Sunsun was the shortest among our group of friends, the girls still considered him tall. He was slim but with a hint of muscle, not soft at all, and most importantly, he had an adorable face, like one of those K-pop boys.
However, he didn't like getting called pretty. He'd rather be handsome.
"Do you think this one will last a month?"
'Chekov,' a handsome, long-haired guy from the south and a star rugby player at the university, whispered with a curious glint in his eye.
I shook my head and shrugged at Chekov as my response.
Will she last a month? I thought. I knew this sweet-face Sunsun's pattern pretty well. He'd be all excited at first, but after two or three weeks, he'd break up with her and move on to another girl, continuing his flirtatious cycle.
If Sunsun were serious about someone, he wouldn't talk about it like this… Trust me!
"Anyway, what about you, Pat? The first year's almost over. Got some yet?" Sunsun asked with a teasing smirk.
"What are you rambling about? I'm not the kind of guy who sleeps around," I said, wiggling an eyebrow.
Sunsun pouted in annoyance before continuing, "Isn't that because you have to rush to cling to the toilet, throwing up every time someone tries to make out with you?"
"Shut up!"
Sunsun was a friend I'd known since childhood. We graduated from England together. So, It was hard to keep a secret from him. The guy had eyes and ears everywhere. What he mentioned earlier was about the time when I was in tenth grade. Back then, there was this gorgeous Asian girl who tried to hook up with me at a party. To be honest, I was turned on because I was drunk. But when she suddenly attacked me with a French kiss, those messed up memories just popped into my head out of nowhere. And that was why my 'queasy episode' was triggered so badly that I had to run to the restroom to throw up, barely making it in time.
Sigh, it was such an embarrassing story.
"There, there, I'm just kidding around," said the blond, who realized he might've gone a bit too far, leaning his head against my shoulder in a playful manner. I smiled and lightly patted his head, not really angry because it was true... I was weird. And Sunsun didn't even know that I had this kind of condition. At first, when it started happening, I went to see a therapist, but after all the treatments, it just never completely went away.
"I'm so bored today. I couldn't do well on the exam, too. Tylor... why don't you throw a party at your penthouse? Can you bring those beautiful girls like you did two months ago? I need some motivation to keep studying," Sunsun pleaded with a pitiful face, looking cute like a fluffy bunny from a children's cartoon. Little did people know that he was actually a rabbit from the Playboy logo.
"Heh, cheeky bastard," The most handsome and tallest in the group, known as 'Tylor,' chuckled throatily while shaking his head, clearly not too keen on the idea.
"Are you crazy? We have a graded exam with Professor Paul tomorrow," Chekov interjected, which was a good point.
"Right. You can't be throwing a party now," I added.
If we were to have a party, there was no need to guess that all of us would end up hugging bottles of Dom Perignon, passing out through the day for sure. We probably wouldn't even make it to class, let alone pass the exam.
"I'm sulking with you three," Sunsun declared.
The blond-haired guy gave us a thumb-up[1] and then pulled a face. Tylor, with a mischievous grin, flicked the guy's forehead. That was when the commotion started... the rabbit began making a big fuss.
"Pat, he's bullying me," Sunsun complained, kicking Tylor's chair back and forth. This one was such a pain, really.
"Stop clinging to Pat. What are you? A three-year-old?" Tylor was usually quiet, but he could be a smartass if he wanted to. But man, he should stop flashing that bright white smile. Even as a guy, I couldn't help but be a bit dazzled by it.
Tylor was ridiculously handsome. I thought it was the genetics from his dad, who was half American-African, and his mom, who was Thai-Brazilian. So, he had those light green eyes, a buff muscular build, and was over one hundred and ninety centimeters tall. Plus, he was the vice-captain of the university basketball team. By the beginning of our first year, the seniors were all over him, trying to get him to compete in the Moon and Star contest.
But because of his unpredictable nature and the fact that this green-eyed, multiracial man didn't care about stuff like that, the contest became something he ignored. So, guess who got dragged into it? Me! Tylor didn't want to compete but forced his friend to do it instead.
And that's how I ended up with the title of University's Moon.
Sigh... Being born handsome didn't mean being free from troubles.
"I gotta go. I have to pick Chon up by six. If she doesn't see me waiting there after she's done with her tutoring, she'll call and complain to Dad, and he'll cut my allowance and gas money again." Chekov said.
"Okay, okay," I waved goodbye to him, who was leaving to pick up his little sister.
He loved his family and was super protective of his sister, as if she were wrapped in cotton wool. I wasn't surprised, though, because his sister was lovely, even at just fourteen. Sunsun, the playboy rabbit, once teased her, saying he'd ask her out. In the end, he got a verbal lashing from Chekov that got him running for his life. I didn't feel sorry for Sunsun at all. That's what he deserved for messing with a minor.
"Where are you off to next? Are you heading home?" Tylor asked Sunsun, who was grinning from ear to ear at his phone screen.
"I've got a date. See you guys tomorrow," he replied, grabbing his backpack and heading out of the room.
"Don't forget the rubber, Bro!" Tylor shouted after Sunsun, flashing a mischievous grin.
The blond stuck out his tongue, raising his middle finger. Then he dug into his pants pocket, pulling out an eraser to show off before turning his back and walking away. The 'rubber' in American English that Tylor was talking about was a condom, but for someone like me and Sunsun, who used British English, 'rubber' meant eraser. So, Sunsun knew exactly what he was doing; he pulled out the eraser to mess with Tylor.
"What about you? Anywhere to be?" Tylor asked me when only the two of us were left.
I shook my head and waved goodbye to my classmates as they left the room one by one. The girls blushed as I smiled at them. Sunsun once said that I smiled too easily to anyone. But in my defense, it wasn't like I was flirting with them or anything.
A smile was better than a scowl, wasn't it?
"Aren't you supposed to take Pang out for dinner?" Tylor continued asking.
"Huh!? Pang's already got a boyfriend. Why would I do that?"
"Really? Well, I see you are still talking to her. Thought you might still have feelings for her."
I was just being polite. She had been texting me day and night like that, and it would seem mean not to reply.
Pang and I used to be a thing. Now, "We're just friends," I continued. "I don't want any trouble with... uh... you know." I didn't want to mention the name of someone who never had a nice word to say to me, like...
"Kong?"
Tylor spoke up, catching on quickly. I nodded in agreement. In my mind, I pictured the sharp-featured face of the guy who once stood by my side during the Moon and Star contest. What a stern presence. And his people skills were downright terrible, too.
"Yeah, that guy! But never mind that. I don't feel like going home this evening. Would you mind if I hung out at your place for a bit?"
"Not at all. I've 'naive[2]' a bunch of new games," Tylor said in his scrappy Thai.
"You mean 'bought,'" I corrected him, laughing affectionately.
Tylor was born and raised in America. He studied abroad all his life, visiting Thailand only once a year or maybe once every two years. He hardly had any ties to this place. I remember he once mentioned that he was accepted to a world-renowned university like MIT in his senior year of high school. But for some reason, he gave up the opportunity to attend such a prestigious institution. The guys and I tried to pry the reason out of Tylor several times, but he was a genius at dodging the question and never gave us a straight answer.
"Right. 'Bought'. That's the one." Tylor said, correcting his tone. Very impressive, my friend!
"Okay, let's go. You didn't drive here, did you?" I asked, and the owner of those beautiful green eyes nodded. Then, my phone rang before we could start packing our things.
"Your dad's calling, Pat."
"I know," I replied, but instead of answering the call, I stuffed my phone into the deepest part of my backpack.
"Is there a problem?" Tylor asked with concern.
"It's nothing, really."
I shook my head, not really wanting to talk to my dad. I decided to wait a bit longer before texting him that I was at a friend's house. Tylor nodded in understanding and didn't press the issue before continuing packing. Eventually, I decided to spend the night at his penthouse by the Chao Phraya River because I didn't feel much like going home.
The following day, Tylor and I went to class together, only to find out that it had been canceled at the last minute because the professor had a sudden faculty obligation. Tylor decided to go home and get some sleep. He had spent the previous night writing code for an RPG game—a farming simulation or something of that sort. He said he was just doing it for fun and put it up for download on a website. But now he had hundreds of thousands of subscribers supporting the game's development. So, needless to say, the monthly income he was earning from these subscribers was substantial. He was making a fortune!
Chekov hurried off to see his little sister's ballet performance. So, Sunsun and I found ourselves looking for something to pass the time until the evening when I had to do a photo shoot for a calendar, and Sunsun had a date with his girl after she finished her classes. So, we walked up to the newly reopened central gym after it had been reserved as a training camp for bowling athletes and stumbled upon a group of second-year students dividing into teams for a soccer match. We asked to join them.
"Shooting with Pang, huh? I thought you guys would do it separately." Sunsun asked while dribbling the ball toward the goal.
"Yeah, I just found out yesterday," I replied, trying to sneak my foot in to steal the ball from him, but this little guy was too good. He dribbled left and right before swiftly passing to a senior, sprinting up alongside us.
"Is there any chance for a comeback?" Sunsun asked, stopping to stand with his hands on his hips. He gave me a hopeful look.
"What are you talking about? Pang and I are just friends," I said, feeling a bit exhausted.
Sunsun, Tylor, and Chekov all seemed to want me to date Pang seriously. She was nice and beautiful, fitting the image of the University's Star, but how could I date her when she was already taken?
"Yes! Goal!"
Our conversation was cut short as we turned to the shouts of joy. This time, my team snatched the victory. Sunsun shrugged and ran back to join Bot, the team captain. After that, another match began intensely. I ran after the ball as if playing in La Liga, exhausted beyond words.
"Let's go take a shower."
Sunsun suggested, nodding towards the seniors heading into the gym's shower room, indicating he'd follow soon.
"Wait for the seniors to finish up first," I replied, taking off my soccer jersey. The air was hot, and my skin felt sticky and sweaty. However, the girls sitting in bleachers around the stands started to scream and cheer loudly.
I might've shown off a bit too much... I better put my shirt back on.
"Whoa, Pat, you still look fit, even without serious swimming for almost two years." Sunsun pulled the shirt from my hand before taking the opportunity to stroke my abs up and down.
"I still swim for exercise." I swatted his hand away because the cheeky rabbit was starting to get around my nipples now.
I used to be a national swimmer. I even got an Olympic gold medal. Although I had quit competing, I still swam for exercise. That's why my body hadn't changed much.
Rrrrr Rrrrr.
The sound of my phone vibrating on my backpack caught my attention. Seeing who was calling, I walked over to it and answered the call.
"Hello, Mom. Is everything okay?" I asked immediately, gesturing for Sunsun to go ahead and shower first before continuing the conversation. Mom called to check in on me since she was currently vacationing in Spain with friends for another two weeks. I talked with her for a while, and by the time I hung up, everyone had finished showering.
"Pat, I gotta go pick up Kaew," Sunsun said after grabbing his jacket and putting it on over his fresh clothes.
"Yeah, yeah, go ahead. I'll shower and then go to see Annie," I replied.
"Okay, see you Monday," he said, then grabbed his stuff and headed for the exit. I picked up my backpack and made my way to the shower room. The interior was divided into sections, with a locker area for students to rent for storing their belongings or sports equipment. Long benches were lined up in the middle of the room. I opened my locker, grabbed my amenity kit and a fresh pair of underwear, and entered a stall with a showerhead, beginning to undress.
"Better hurry up and shower."
The place was deserted at the moment, giving off an eerily quiet atmosphere.
I quickly washed my hair and lathered my body with soap, moving swiftly. As soon as I rinsed off the suds from my body, I grabbed a towel to dry off. I picked up a pair of black Calvin Klein trunks hanging on the rail and put them on. Then I walked out to get dressed, using the towel to rub my damp hair. Heading back to my locker to finish dressing, the sound of a belt buckle clinking made me pause for a moment. I removed the small towel from my head and looked up to see the broad shoulders in front of me.
A man stood at the locker next to mine, stripping off his clothes.
He was Kong Kidakorn, the hot runner-up from the contest. He was the one who glared at me on the stage and was now in a relationship with a girl I used to date.
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[1] A gesture, especially for little kids, to show that they're upset or sulking with someone.
[2] Tylor misses pronouncing a tone and changes the meaning of the word entirely.