Proofreader: SMV2454

"Hey, what were you guys talking about? You look exhausted, haha." Chan sent his minions to tease Phum and me as soon as we sat down in the drinking circle.

"Must have been a lot of positions, I guess. Looks like they're in good shape. Hahaha." Tan was a great sidekick.

Actually, Phum and I didn't do things the way our friends thought. We just helped each other a little bit, just enough to get rid of the feeling of missing each other, that's all.

[T/n: Yeah, they had extraordinarily dirty minds.]

I glanced at Kluen, and he gave me a small smile. I smiled back.

Kluen was sitting next to Fang, laughing, and when his eyes met mine, he gave me a small smile. I smiled back.

"Hey, long time no see. Come over here and sit next to me." Q called out. Fuck, I'm not a hostess, you pervert.

They were all pretty tipsy. The large drinking circle on the soft grass was lively, thanks to P'Ging for laying out the mats and providing plenty of food.

"Which thief is calling me?"

I got up and smacked his head, glancing around at my dear friends. I missed them a lot. When I saw them my life immediately became more colorful. Each of them had changed a bit since we last met months ago.

Q's hair was longer and scruffier. If he crossed the line from scruffy, he'd look messy, but his good looks saved him.

Chan had lost a bit of weight, and his hair had gone from brown to black, making him look fresh and fitting for a medical student.

Tan looked rough with his ears full of earrings and a buzz cut. Too cool to handle.

Fang was even paler, probably from living in a cold place with little sun.

Mick and Matt had bright blonde hair, visible from afar.

Beer, the aristocrat, hadn't changed much; still as handsome as ever.

Pan hadn't changed at all, still the same in every detail.

Little Toey was still as charmingly handsome as ever, but my friend was probably very protective of him.
But right now, the one who seemed to be in trouble was Kluen.

"Hey, don't you have Nitipon or Wuttisak clinics in your area? Take care of your face a bit, so you can be as handsome as me." Pan was smiling and winking at Kluen. Haha, you've found a new toy, haven't you? Poor Kluen, being so quiet.

[T/n: I always try to love my appearance, but I'm sure I'll never reach that level of confidence like Pan and Mick.]

Fang, being the good guy, helped pull Kluen away from Pan's teasing. Fang and Kluen got along well because they were in the same faculty and both played rugby, I think. And I don't know if it was just my imagination, but the atmosphere between Kluen and Phum seemed a bit friendlier (just a bit). They were arguing over my head, though.

"P'Q!" That brat is here again. Just now, he was chasing the neighbor's puppies with Matt as his sidekick (forced by Toey).

"Yeah, what is it?" Q looked up at his boyfriend standing over him.

"I need to pee, Toey needs to pee."

"If you need to pee, then go pee. Why are you telling me? Or do you need me to hold your d...?" We all laughed. You guys have a hardcore relationship, Q.

"Hia Peem's house is huge. Toey can't find the bathroom. Can I pee in front of the house?"

Just say you're too lazy to walk. We were all waiting to see how Q would handle this. When Q nodded and sighed, Toey smiled at me and then ran to pee at the base of the frangipani tree in front of the house.

"You brat, you picked the perfect spot upwind. Now we all have to smell your pee."

[T/n: 🤣🤣🤣]

Over two months and none of their behaviors have changed. Kluen seemed to fit in well with my friends. He already knew Q and Toey from the camp. Chan probably saw that Kluen was easygoing, so he kept making drinks for him. Were you trying to get him drunk?

"Drink up, man. There are plenty of better people than Peem. I'll find one for you."

Oh, so you're trying to cheer him up, but why use me as the standard?

"Hia Chan, give me some too."

"Just eat the snacks, Matt. You can't get som tam in Italy, can you?" But he still took Matt's empty glass to make him a drink.

"Peem, look at Tan, haha." Beer whispered to me. Tan was using his mouth to bite Fang's shoulder to get his attention. My friend looked just like a dog.

"Tan, can you stay still when you're drunk? My shirt will tear."

"Fang, why are you only playing with your BB? Does your BB look like your husband? Fangggg!!!!!!"

"Fuck."

"You guys, look at him. My wife doesn't care about me."

But Fang didn't care, just kicked Tan away lovingly and started a medley of scolding him so fast we could barely keep up. But Tan, being a jerk, made a sad face but still put his hands together in a wai. Oh, these guys.

[T/n: There's a Vietnamese saying "đội vợ lên đầu thì trường sinh bất tử" (translates to "Putting your wife on top of your head grants immortality." Looks like you're on the path to immortality, Tan!]

"You just had your wisdom tooth removed. Can you drink alcohol?" I asked the person sitting next to me.

"Heh, I can eat you whole, let alone just drink alcohol." Should I do a few backflips to kick him in the face?

"What's wrong, Peem? Are you drunk? Your face is red."

Beer, you're so observant.

"No, I'm just hot." The person next to me laughed, satisfied. Don't let it be my turn.

As the night went on and the alcohol in our blood increased, our senses started to fade. When drunk, the craziness began, especially for someone who was already crazy like Pan. He sat crying, lamenting that he had been dumped by a girl.

"Why? What's wrong with me? Tell me, guys. What's wrong with me? I'm handsome, my dad has supernatural powers (ìt-tí rít)."

"Power, Pan, power (ìt-tí pon). Calm down, buddy."

[*in case you forgot, Pan's father is a politician.
T/n: Maybe she dumped you because you told her your father has supernatural powers. ]

"Yeah, yeah. I should have been the one to break up. She asked me out and then dumped me. Peem, call her for me."

He handed me his phone. I took it, confused. I felt sorry for him, but it was also funny.

"Which number?"

"The one named 'Mortar'."

"What kind of girl is named 'Mortar'?" Q thought the same as me.

But wait, I scrolled through Pan's contacts. Damn, "What the hell, Pan? Mortar, Pestle, Pan, Strainer, Pot." His phone was full of names like that.

"I save girls' names as kitchen utensils. Cool, right? Have you called yet? Call her, damn it."

[T/n: Have you collected a complete set yet, Pan?]

"Yeah, yeah, I'm calling. Hey, it's ringing." Phi Ruj's song filled my ears, 'I will never answer your call again.'*

[*No more excuses (หมดเวลาแก้ตัว) by Ruj Supharuj]

"Uh, she didn't pick up, Pan."
"Hmm?"
"She didn't pick up."
"Why didn't she pick up?" Q chimed in, asking if it was a prank. Haha, this guy.
"I don't know."
"Why don't you know?"
"Well, I just don't know. I only know she didn't pick up."
"Why didn't she pick up?"
"How would I know?"
"Why don't you ask her?"
"I told you, she didn't pick up. How can I ask her if she didn't pick up, you idiot?"

He took his phone back and put it to his ear. Then he... started talking. Talking on the phone alone. We all laughed.

We were very drunk. My mom came out to ask if we needed anything else. She looked very happy and seemed to like Phum a lot.

[T/n: All moms like handsome sons-in-law.]

"Hello, Mae!" Mick raised his hands to wai my mom. I don't know how many times now. My mom laughed. We get silly when we're drunk.

"Haha, you wai a lot, son."
"Ugh, we're Thai, Mae. Wai!"

And then he sat down and performed a full prostration. But sorry, Mick, my mom was behind you. You were bowing to the ice bucket. Hahaha.

My mom was given two glasses of beer by Fang and Q. She then excused herself to go upstairs to sleep, with Phum walking her up.

"Nong Phum is Mae's new son." she said before leaving. He he.

Everyone cheered. Damn, my mom will be suspicious.

My mom doesn't mind us drinking. Sometimes it's just the two of us. As long as we drink at home and don't cause trouble for the neighbors, she's happy to provide mixers.

We were eating, drinking, and singing silly songs for a while when a car's headlights shone into our eyes. I wondered who it was. Today, dad came home late, almost midnight.

"Who is it?" Tan stretched his neck to look.

"It's my dad." I told Tan and then looked at the person next to me.

For some reason, I reached out to hold Phum's hand and smiled at him. My dad got out of the car, and Uncle Yot drove the car to park it. When my dad walked over, everyone raised their hands to wai him, even though their voices were a bit slurred.

"Good evening, Khun Por!" Tan and the others knew my dad well, especially Chan, his favorite. Dad said Chan looked like him when he was young. What a load of crap, Mustache*!

[*In case you forgot, Peem calls his dad by nickname 'Mustache']

"Por, I missed you." Pan, the ass-kisser, said. My dad patted his back affectionately with a loud smack.

"Yeah, when did you all get here?"

"Just this evening, Por. Please have a seat." Chan, playing the role of the favorite son, made room for Dad to sit and served him a drink. It seemed like Dad had already had a few. Didn't you say you were on duty, Por?

"Yeah, it's been a while. How have you been? And these five or six young men, are they your friends, Maew?"

"Heh heh, Maew?" Phum muttered softly, but I heard it. He was going to tease me about it.

"Yes, I'm Khao Fang, that's Beer, Phum, Mick, Matt, and Toey. We're Peem's friends."

Dad nodded and took a sip of his drink, "Alright, make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just ask P'Ging. I've been busy with work and not home much. Maew, take care of your friends."

"Yes, sir."

"So, how was the waterfall trip? Did you have fun?" Dad turned to ask Kluen.

Oh no, Phum finally found out. I felt a strange chill down my spine. Even though I didn't turn to look, I could feel a dark energy radiating from the person next to me.

"It was fun, Por. The weather was very nice. Peem took me to pick oranges and I got a lot of them."

"Why don't you all go out again tomorrow? The more, the merrier. Looking at them, they must all be Bangkok kids, right? Take them to see the farm and orchard, Grandpa will have friends."

Dad sat down and drank with us, with Chan providing full service and Phum trying to take care of Dad too. Haha, Por, when you're drunk, you always have funny stories to tell, like a comedy show. Mick tried to speak the local dialect with my dad.

"I can speak Central Thai, Tiger. But this young man has the look of a lady-killer. Looks like he'll have many wives."
There was an immediate silence when Dad pointed at Phum. He seemed surprised but...

"I'm a one-partner man krub."

"Boohhhh!!!!!!!!"

Phum got booed. I laughed at his embarrassed expression. I kept glancing at Kluen. He was still smiling and laughing. I hoped he was okay seeing me with Phum like this. When he saw me looking, he raised his eyebrows and gave me an okay sign. I smiled, but the person next to me coughed, so I quickly stopped smiling.

"Good, good. Being faithful is good, like how I love your mom alone. Heh." Dad was getting a bit tipsy.

"Maew, your friends are all tall. Aren't you embarrassed to be in the group?" And there it was, the topic came up.

"Don't start, Mustache. We value each other for our hearts, not our height."

"No one else would be friends with him, Por. We felt sorry for him, so we let him join."

[T/n: 🤣🤣🤣.]

"Fuck you, Pan. Dad, I'm your son."

"Haha, keep reminding Maew about his height complex, guys. Haha."

Everyone laughed, except me, sitting there with a scowl.

"I was just joking. Come here, Peem." I got up to sit with Dad. "Grandma said you don't visit her often. Why?"

"Aunt Pui doesn't take me."

"Are you so dumb you can't drive to Thonburi, Maew? You need to visit Grandma more often. My mom is lonely. And don't forget the inheritance, haha."

We all laughed again. I guess I'll have to visit Grandma more often now.

"What's this young man's name?" Dad nodded towards Beer.

"His name is Beer."

"He looks familiar. Whose son is he?"

Is Dad a cop or a mafia boss? And then the world proved to be small. My dad and Beer's dad were cadets in the same class. Wow, the world is really small. Beer gave his dad's number to my dad, and they talked non-stop until his phone ran out of battery, then he got into the house to chat more. Old people and their old stories go together perfectly, haha.

"P'Q, Toey is sleepy."

I've noticed for a while that Toey reports all his conditions to Q every five minutes. Whether he needs to poop, pee, got bitten by ants, or has a sore arm, he tells Q everything. And Q responds to his boyfriend very well.

"Sleepy or horny, huh?"

"Sleepy, damn you. Toey is drunk and sleepy, P'Q."

Q nodded and let Toey rest his head on his shoulder. But a monkey is still a monkey. They stayed like that for less than thirty seconds before Toey got up to bother someone else. I'm exhausted just watching.

"It should be written like this!"

Mick and Pan were arguing about something. They were looking at something. Pan was definitely looking, but Mick might have fallen asleep. I can't be sure.

"What's up, Phum?"

"Heh, Pan is trying to send a message to a girl, but he can't spell 'Ramakien' (รามเกียรติ์) correctly, so he's arguing with Mick."

Uh, what does the Ramakien have to do with this? Is his girlfriend Nang Sita?

"Trust me, Pan. Trust me. It's correct. Let me look it up on Google." He squinted at his phone. "See? Trust me now? It's 'รำม' not 'ราส', ม' not 'ส'." But it'll be 'รำเกียรติ์'.

[*Both ways are wrong 😂]

"Oh, really? I studied abroad, so my Thai isn't strong."

Spit! Abroad my ass.

"Abroad where? Abroad or just out of town?" Most liked by Phum.

The clock showed it was a new day. Fang carried Tan into the house with Kluen helping on one side. Pan fell asleep hugging the ice bucket. Matt was puking outside. The rest had gone to bed. Tonight, we all slept in the downstairs hall.

"Matt, how are you? Do you need medicine?"
"I'm fine, bro. I'm alright."
"Heh, okay. I'll turn off the lights then."

I turned off the light and lay down next to Phum. The sleeping arrangement was like this: me, Phum, Mick, Beer, Toey, Q, Kluen, Matt, Chan, Fang, Tan, and Pan. Geez, Mick was snoring loudly.

I heard Q and kluen laughing and joking for a long time. After a while, I was close to falling asleep but there's a loud farting sound like the sound of an explosion. It's assumed that the owner of the sound must be one of the drunk people who had fallen asleep.

"Who the fuck?!" Q was both shouting and laughing.

Just as I was about to fall asleep again, something strange started to hover around my mouth and cheek. That thing, turned out, was Phum's nose.

"Uhm, Phum, go to sleep," I whispered softly, afraid the others would wake up.

"It's been three months."

I squinted at him, feeling both sleepy and drunk, not really comprehending what he was saying.

"What?"

"I haven't hugged you."

"And what do you call this tight squeeze that I can't even move in? A python's coil is not even this tight."

"Not this kind of hug, but the kind we had in the evening."

"Are you crazy? The room is full of friends."

"Just close your eyes and lie still. I'll handle it."

"You pervert, stop it. Go to sleep."

"Hehe," he chuckled.

I really hate his loud laugh. In conclusion, he was teasing. Who would dare with so many friends in the room, and in the middle of the house no less? Well I mean I'm not brave enough, but I'm not sure about Phum, because with things like this, that guy is hard to guess. So I quickly cut off the power from the beginning by being the first to kiss him.

Tomorrow, we have to wake up early to make merit. Tonight, I am happy to be in a familiar embrace.

Good night, everyone 😴

End of chapter 43>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>