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Happy belated Valentine's Day! I heard that Tan was being cheesy, right? Don't get so smitten with him that you forget about me. So, what did I get from my boyfriend on Valentine's Day? It's hilarious, let me laugh first. Hahaha!

I got a plant, in a cute little pot. That day, Phum came to my house and said he would take me out for dinner. As soon as I got in the car, Phum looked down and acted weird, not starting the car. He seemed nervous so I didn't say anything. After a while, he handed me something and said a sentence I'll remember for the rest of my life:

"Valentine's gift, this is my love plant. Take good care of it ná!"

I took the aloe vera pot, confused. It was green with long, spiky leaves. Honestly, I didn't know whether to be touched, shocked, or to laugh. I had never once prepared myself for the fact that in my life I would receive aloe vera as a gift from my boyfriend. I tried very hard to understand Phum's thought process but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure out the reason. Why did Phum give this to me? Did he want me to use it for wounds? Or face masks? Or should I boil and eat it?

But oh my god! My boyfriend sees aloe vera as a love plant. When I realized, I burst out laughing in the car. I laughed until I cried, causing tears to flow. My diaphragm and jaw was hurting. He pouted, so I had to reconcile with a long kiss. But after asking him, it wasn't so funny anymore.

"I know you like plants, but I didn't know which one. I didn't dare ask because I wanted to surprise you. The seller told me to buy a plant that resembles my partner. I told them my partner is kind, easy-going, and makes me happy. Aloe vera is easy to care for, grows fast, and lives long. Plus, the shape of the tree looks cute, I thought it suit you."

"Wow!"

"I want our love to be like that. It may seem simple, but it's valuable. I want us to be like this for a long time. Another thing is that this gift is not like anyone else's."

Phum's reasoning made me feel guilty for laughing. Even though I didn't quite understand the comparative logic, I was still very impressed. Roses, daisies, lilies, and carnations seem dull compared to this aloe vera. I couldn't believe that a man like Phum had a romantic side too. I promise to take good care of this love plant. But  what if acne appears on my face one day? Let's see, hahaha.

As for me, I gave him a phone charm, the little boy doll carved from coconut shell that I bought in Hua Hin. I intended to give it to him for a long time but haven't gotten around to doing it, so today is a good opportunity. When Phum got my gift, he stopped pouting. Even though it's only a small thing, Phum seemed very pleased. His smile never disappeared. He probably likes it very much. He keeps touching it,  and can't put it down. He says it's very strange but I saw that he kept picking it up and looking at it and smiling all by himself like it was a ninety-carat diamond. This is my Valentine's Day.

[T/N: I have a pot of aloe vera. I boil the gel and eat it with yogurt. It's delicious!]

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Today, we gathered to relax our minds before tomorrow's exam. The day before an exam, we usually don't study but instead seek some enjoyment in life. So, we gathered at my coffee shop. We chose to sit outside because we wanted to be close to the greenery. The truth is, we were afraid of disturbing other customers because we talk loudly.

The girls at the shop were all cheerful. Besides having fun, we also planned to play cupid for Nong Toey. That's why our handsome friend Q wasn't around today.

While waiting for Tan's cappuccino, my phone rang loudly. Whose number is this?

"Hello krub," I answered the phone while arranging eight cups of hot and iced coffee on a single tray. P'Ning mouthed to me to take them half at a time to avoid spilling.

"..................."

"Hello, can you hear me?"

(Speaking so politely) Oh, when answering unknown numbers, you have to be polite.

"Who is this?"

(I'm an employee from Siam Commercial Bank, calling to ask about customer satisfaction.) I burst out laughing. Which goofball is pranking me?

"Ai Nueng?"

(Are you satisfied with our service?) He continued, so it wasn't him.

"Damn Joe?"

(Do you usually save in a savings account or a daily account?)

"Who the heck is this? If you don't tell me, I'm hanging up."

(Haha, it's me, Kluen.) Kluen? Which Kluen? Ohhh.

"Dude, are you that free?" I almost forgot about him.

(Hmph, I'm upset. You didn't recognize me.)

(I'm sorry, I don't remember you.)

"Well, your real voice and your phone voice sound different."

(Really? So, what are you doing?)

"Talking to dogs"

(Wow, impressive. Talking to dogs and they understand. Be careful they will lick your lips, haha.)

"Shit, what do you want?"

(Just wanted to tell you about the camp. Sign up for three people.)

"Oh, okay."

(Are you going?)

"Yeah, I'm going."

(Really? That's great.) Hmm, great? He probably means it'll be fun to go together.

"Who are you talking to?" Oh crap, when did Phum get here?

"Talking to a friend... Hey, I gotta go, I have something to do."

(Oh, okay. See you at the camp.)

"Yeah, see you. Bye." I hung up on Kluen, but Phum was still staring at me. What the heck? He was just smiling sweetly at P'Aom a moment ago, why the grumpy face now?

"Why are you looking at me like that? I was really talking to a friend. He called to tell me about the camp." I tiptoed to hug Phum's shoulder, . He knocked me back on the head.

"Don't let me find out you have an affair. I'll kill both of you."

"Whoa, so fierce. No one krub, Phi krub! Come help me carry the coffee tray quickly."

"Hey, who came into your dream, Pan?" As soon as I put down the coffee tray, Tan called out. We all turned to look at him and saw Pan walking over with a big smile, arms crossed, showing off his hair that had turned from black to light brown and was styled perfectly. "I thought you were a Korean movie star."

"Tan has good taste. I told the stylist to give me a Korean look." Didn't he know we were being sarcastic? Mick, the mischievous one, grabbed Pan's hair to look closely and then pouted. We all laughed.

"Really? Which salon? I'll go get mine cut tomorrow."... Cut the power and burn the place down, Chan whispered to the two of us, hahahaha.

"Around Siam Soi 4. I can take you there. The stylist said my face is international, and this style makes me look like Siwon." Pan said seriously. I couldn't tell if he was gullible or just full of himself. Even though I'm not an expert on Korean stuff, I'm sure Pan doesn't look like that.

"Who is Siwon?"

"Fang, you're so out of the loop. How do you not know Siwon? He's a singer from Dong Bang Shin Ki, the same group as Nichkhun."

"Really, P'Pan?" Matt quickly interjected.

"Yes, definitely. The stylist said  I'll give this style a rebirth." He continued to rave.

"Before something can be reborn, it must die first, Pan. It's a natural law. And if I'm not mistaken, Siwon and Nichkhun are in different groups." Tan shook his head in exasperation.

[T/N: Comparing Pan to a dog is an insult to the dogs.]

But Pan was unfazed. He moved his face closer to Phum's as if to compare, "Am I handsome, Peem?"

"Handsome," I said through gritted teeth.

A hidden handsome, deep handsome (handsome but not obvious). You can't really see it with the naked eye. Actually, he does look good. This color brightens his face, but I'm afraid his hair will poke someone's eye out one day. Let's see how long he can keep styling his hair like this for school.

...

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"Ouch, that hurt, Fang!" After I told them what I said to Toey at the Archives, Fang smacked me on the head and made me dizzy. Damn, I'm going to tell your brother. Ouch, it hurts.

"You deserved it," the Korean movie star wannabe piled on. "You did something without thinking. Saying that to Toey made him know that we know. You're so stupid, dense, scatterbrained, slutty, loose-tongued. No sense at all..."

"Okay, okay, I was wrong. I'm sorry. Can we move on? What should I do now?"

"First, bring Toey here so I can interrogate him," Fang said, acting all high and mighty. Damn, acting out and scolding me.

After agreeing that there was no better way than to talk to Toey directly, Fang had Matt call his close friend out, saying that Tan was treating us to coffee. It didn't take long for Toey to arrive. We heard him greet P'Ning and P'Aom before coming out to join us outside.

"Hey guys, what's up? Gossiping about Toey?" Toey still had his charming smile and cheerful demeanor as always. Seeing him like that made me reluctant to bring up anything that might upset him.

"Toey, come sit here, next to me," Tan said. Toey obediently sat next to Tan, but Matt's face had turned pale. He was probably afraid his friend would be angry.

"Matt, didn't you say you were coming to my house today? How did you end up with these guys?"

"Oh, well, P'Peem called me over," Matt said. Damn, Matt, throwing me under the bus.

"Yeah, I invited him for some cake and told him to call you too. Hey, Tan, didn't you have something to talk to him? Go ahead," I said. Tan glared at me. Never mind, just trying to pass the responsibility.

"Beer, you talk. You went to the same school, right?"

"Hey, Mick, Fang, and Phum are his seniors too. You talk, Phum."

"Let Chan do it. He's studying to be a doctor." Your excuse is so lame, Phum.

"Fuck you, Phum. I'm studying to be a doctor, but what does that have to do with this?"

Toey looked around, confused.

"Enough, I'll do it," Khao Fang, the hero, stepped in.

"Uh, what's going on with you guys? Trying to prank me? Just so you know, I can handle it, haha."

"We're not pranking you, but we have something to ask."

"What is it? Is it hard?"

"Not hard, but answer honestly."

"Okay."

"Toey."

"Yes, Hia."

"I'm going to be straightforward."

"Uh, ok."

"You love Q, right?" Silence. The atmosphere suddenly became very tense.

Toey froze, mouth agape, face pale, before turning to look at Matt, whose face looked like he wanted to die.

"I'm sorry, Toey. I didn't mean to tell them. I was drunk... and it just slipped out."

"Don't be mad at Matt. We just want to help you. But if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. We're not forcing you. We just want you to know that we're here for you,"

Who do you think those kind words came from? Definitely not Pan. It was our gentleman, Khun Chai Beer. Toey still kept his head down, silent, and we all just looked at each other quietly.

"Toey!!!" Suddenly, Pan jumped up and shouted in Toey's face. Toey was so startled he jumped and clung to Tan's arm. Not just Toey, we all flinched.

"Why are you shouting, you idiot? We're right here," Fang kicked Pan's leg. Toey sat there, looking scared, surrounded by us, the self-proclaimed Cupids. Haha, I can't believe I called us that.

"Hehe, I saw him sitting quietly and wanted to call his kwan." Pan said. Only he would think of that.

After that, it went quiet again. Toey probably didn't want to talk. Sigh, we shouldn't have ambushed him like that.

"You don't have to...."

"Toey loves P'Q." Toey said, cutting off the conversation. We were all stunned into silence. This was the first time we'd heard him say it himself.

"Toey and P'Q, we used to be special people to each other."

End of Chapter 27 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>