Shanghai

Kongpob sat in yet another meeting for the third day in a row. He is beyond exhausted. The folks at HWA Industries take hospitality to the next next level. From the moment Kongpob landed in Shanghai, he was greeted by five representatives from HWA Industries. They came in two stretched limos to take him and Thak to their hotel.

And before he can even see straight, they were already taking him to lunch with their boss at a fancy restaurant that won some number of Michelin Stars. Mr. Wang, the CEO of HWA Industries had made it his point to personally take Kongpob around Shanghai despite Kongpob telling him he had already been here countless of times.

On top of that, Mr. Wang's daughter Daisy has accompanied them to many of these outings. She has been pleasantly polite, and entertaining, but Mr. Wang's suggestive hints on courtship has not escaped Kongpob. Kongpob hopes it will not go beyond suggestive as he does not want their business to go sour. Luckily, Mr. Wang or Daisy has not made anything awkward as of yet.

So here he was. Sitting in another one hour meeting. This will actually be the most relaxing part of his day. There are plans, strategies, and numbers. Those are all his favorites squeezed into one hour. The rest of his day is dizzying as Mr. Wang continues to insist on taking him to all the local hidden gems for countless meals. And then take him to another country club for either tennis, golf, or racquetball. But this is still preferable over his last trip to Shanghai where he was taken to a karaoke bar where women draped themselves on him.

By the time Kongpob returned to his hotel, it was almost midnight. He is exhausted mentally and physically. How much ginseng are these people eating here? How can they keep up with this lifestyle? He took off his jacket, and stretched rolling his neck. Is it weird that he can almost imagine Arthit massaging, and kissing the back of his neck as he stretched? Damn, he has never missed someone so badly.

He held his phone wondering if he should call Arthit or not at this hour. Bangkok is one hour behind, so there's a slight chance that Arthit may still be awake. But after thinking about it, he decided to send a message instead.

Message:

Kongpob: Are you still awake? If yes, I will call you. I'll wait five minutes. But if you are asleep, I hope you dreamt about me.
12:06 am

Kongpob checked his watch to see what time it was so he can start his five minutes countdown.

Ring. Ring.

Kongpob: Hello

Arthit: Kongpob, did you just get back to the hotel? It's already so late.

Kongpob: Yes, I haven't even showered yet. Did my text wake you?

Arthit: No, I was just.... uh, playing with Popeye.

Kongpob: Oh. Okay, well I just wanted to....uhm, say hi....uhm, you know.

Arthit: Yeah. I know. Okay, it's been a long day. You should shower and get some sleep.

Kongpob: Yeah, I'll do that. Uh, you should go to sleep too.

Arthit: Yeah, okay. Uh....

Kongpob: Uh.... Arthit....I, uh...

Arthit: Yeah?

Kongpob: Nevermind....get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Arthit: Oh. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Goodnight.

Kongpob: Goodnight Arthit.

Ring. Ring.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is busy. Please try again."

Kongpob hangs up, and tried again, but he gets the busy signal again. How can that be? They've just hung up. Who was Arthit talking to already? Sighing, Kongpob gives his phone a rest.

Kongpob feels like something is missing. For the third day in a row, he feels like something is off. He knows exactly what his body is craving, and he can't blame it, but it's his mind that is annoying him. He can't seem to focus. His mind is constantly wandering off, and thinking about Arthit when he should be focused on work.

He is seriously going crazy as he has to pep talk to his own mind about staying focused. He tells himself if he doesn't focus, the trip will only take longer, and therefore he won't get to go home to see Arthit sooner.

Ring. Ring.

Kongpob: Arthit!

Arthit: How come my call couldn't get through?

Kongpob: Huh? When?

Arthit: Just right now. I tried to call back right after we hung up, and the line was busy already.

Kongpob: Oh. I was....uh...

Arthit: I'm sorry. You can call anybody you want.

Kongpob: I was calling you back.

Arthit: Really?....(chuckles)

Kongpob: Yeah. I didn't say what I wanted to say. So, I wanted to call back to tell you.

Arthit: Mmm....what did you want to say?

Kongpob: I....I uhm...miss you. A lot.

(Rustling noise in the background.)

Kongpob: Are you okay? Arthit? Are you there?

Arthit: Yeah. Yeah. I miss you too.

Kongpob: (chuckled softly)....Okay. Well, I guess it's really goodnight then.

Arthit: Goodnight.

Kongpob hung up with a smile on his face. He has been trying to avoid being sappy. Ever since he has gotten romantic with Arthit, he is losing his cool. He is totally fine with it when they are together, just the two of them. However, it's now taking over the rest of him. He wonders if it's just him.

Last night, his mother called him. He had briefly mentioned that he wanted to cut the trip short, and his mother instantly teased him.

Last night's conversation:

Kongpob: I'm going to try to get as much done in the next few days. I don't think I will need to be here for two whole weeks. You can go ahead, and send me the new draft.

Sonya: The new draft is still under revision. The soonest you can get it will probably be Wednesday evening. But what's the hurry? Mark said he doesn't need it until the end of next week. It's better to do it right than to do it in haste.

Kongpob: I just have stuff I need to take care of back in Bangkok.

Sonya: That serious huh?

Kongpob: What are you talking about? What's serious?

Sonya: You know very well what I'm talking about. Make sure to take care of business properly. Make your partner proud, not guilty. That's all I have to say.

Kongpob: Yes mother. I understand.

Sonya: If you do get back by next Sunday, come over for dinner with Arthit.

Kongpob: Okay. Goodbye mother.

Sonya: Goodbye baby. Stay safe.

End of conversation

Kongpob is happy to have Arthit in his life, but love is kind of scary too. It's so overwhelming sometimes. He really needs to take it down a notch.

~~~~~~

Bangkok

Arthit is jumping and bouncing off the bed. He is so excited that Kongpob gave in first to admitting he was missing him. For the past three days, they've danced around without saying those words. Neither wanted to sound desperate to the other. Neither wanted to act like lovesick teenagers in love for the first time. And honestly, maybe it really is the first time he is really in love.

Thinking back to that day on the yacht in Phuket, Arthit wanted to cry when Kongpob told him he was going to be gone for two weeks. And there's a slight chance that he may have to extend his trip too if he has to stop in Taipei. But of course Arthit held himself together, and pretended to be as unaffected as possible. He knows Kongpob has important work to do, and he should be a supportive boyfriend.

So, he played it cool, and even comforted Kongpob when he saw the latter's concerned look. However, on the inside he dreaded every minute that ticked away till Kongpob left. Watching the door shut behind Kongpob that day has got to be one of the saddest moments in his life, and he has been through a lot. Kongpob was going to be gone for at least two whole weeks, and possibly even longer. That's half the time they've been together. Can anyone blame him for feeling forlorn? He can't even look at his cup of coffee without sighing. If coffee wasn't his lifeline, he probably can't even look at it.

Arthit hugged Kongpob's pillow tightly, and stuffed his face in it. The pillow had Kongpob's last worn undershirt over it. The shirt smelled like the unique scent of Kongpob mixed with his Ferragamo cologne. His cologne alone has a clean, crisp smell like a sunny day with clear blue skies, and a touch of subtle musk and spiciness that makes you want more. But mixed with Kongpob's own unique scent, it's intoxicating.

Arthit had sprayed his own pillow with the cologne at first, but something was just missing. Then the next morning when he was changing, he spotted Kongpob's shirt laying on top of the laundry hamper. He picked it up, and held it up to his face, and inhaled. A smile immediately spread across his face. Call him childish, but that shirt is what's been keeping him from calling Kongpob every ten minutes at night when he is alone. Because the last thing he wants is for Kongpob to find him too clingy or needy. Being this attached after only a little over a month can't be healthy, right. Right. He is a grown ass 28 years old man, not some 16 years old little boy.

Popeye is laying in his doggie bed giving him the stink eye for keeping the lights on. It's either that, or it's the fact that Arthit won't let Popeye sleep on the bed with him. Only Kongpob spoils him like that. Well, too bad. If he can't have a good night's sleep, then Popeye can't either. Arthit makes a face, and sticks his tongue out at Popeye. So Popeye turned away from him to try to get some sleep, and ignore the crazy jumping man.

It's almost midnight, and he is still too excited to sleep. He tried to read. He tried to watch some videos on his phone. He even checked his IG account. He hasn't been on it for months. All it had were pictures of him and his ex, so he thought to go and close that account. He saved the few pictures of him and his friends, and then deactivated the account.

He created a new account, and followed all of his friends. However, his finger hovered over Kongpob's account. Should he follow his boyfriend? Should he tell Kongpob about his new account? He made his account private so he can share some of his photos taken with Kongpob with his friends, but he doesn't want other people to see them. Kongpob's account is public, and there's over a thousand posts that clearly weren't posted by the owner himself. And before he decided on anything, he started going through Kongpob's IG.

There were so many posts of him at different events with different beautiful women hanging on his arm. Even the men that were in Kongpob's pictures were all beautiful. Are they even breathing the same air? How do you get so many pretty people in the same frame?

There were pictures of Kongpob on the runway, at different photoshoots, and media conferences all over the world. Arthit can't help but feel like they belong in different worlds.

But none of those pictures were personal. None of the pictures showed Kongpob's genuine smile. Arthit continued to scroll down to look at older posts. And stopped when he came across a nice picture of Kongpob in the snow. Arthit screenshot the photo, and saved it in his "Singto" photo album.

Arthit smiled at the proud name he came up with for his album. Kongpob was very much like a lion. Kongpob was strong, proud, smart, elegant, gentle, and fierce like a lion. And he is definitely the king of the jungle, and the ruler of his heart. Arthit feels all giddy like a lovesick idiot for even having these cheesy thoughts. Someone save him from himself, please.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"Hello. What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

~~~~~~
AN: I didn't forget this story. I'm trying. ✌🏼