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In the past few days, strange things have been happening to me. No, actually, it's more like they've been happening to Phum, but I've been affected by them completely.

Phum has been coming back home late without any reason.

Usually, I'm the one who comes back late, or sometimes I don't come back at all because I have assignments to do.  If I finish my classes first, I would go pick up Phum at his faculty, and we would go back together. But if Phum finishes first, he would come to my faculty to wait for me so we could go back together. But now, that's not the case. During the past week, Phum has been disappearing for no reason.  I've had to go back to the condo alone for almost a week now. I've had to do reports, draw pictures, and wait for Phum until almost midnight every night.

I'm not sure if we're fighting or not, but what's certain is that I'm really annoyed right now. I don't understand what's happening. I just know that suddenly we're talking less, suddenly Phum doesn't have time for me, and I'm feeling hurt because he's not telling me anything. When I ask, he just says it's nothing, just doing reports and labs. It's against his nature because no matter how busy he was, he would always tell me first.

I've always trusted and believed in Phum, but this time he's acting suspiciously and making my trust in him... start to waver. The atmosphere between us has become tense and gloomy, making me uncomfortable. But when I don't talk to him, he doesn't try to make up either.

And today, I have to go draw outside. It's like the professor finished his class just to make things worse for me, ordering us to sit and draw the scenery in front of the engineering building. There's no scenery worth drawing at all. I don't even want to be near it. Fine, Peem can be moody too, you know.

[T/n: Yeah, there's nothing worth watching in the engineering faculty.]

"Peem, hey Peem, what's wrong? You're so spaced out you look silly. What's up?" Q poked my cheek with a paintbrush, making me ticklish. If I get a pimple, it'll be your fault. I'm already in a bad mood, should I snap at you?

"I'm fine. Can you stop pestering me? Damn."

"I just..."

"Are you done with your drawing? Why are you so nosy about other people's business? Whatever is wrong with me, I'm still your friend, you idiot."

"Uh..."

"Fuck, damn, buffalo (ควาย-stupid), lizard (เหี้ย Hia-bastard)..." This sentence lacks a subject, verb, and object but not emotion. I've fully transformed.

"Whoa! Are you opening a zoo? The animals are about to eat me alive."

"I'm annoyed."

"Is your period coming?"

My hand and mouth are equally quick. The largest paint tube flew straight to Q's head, hitting the mark perfectly. He screamed and held his head. What a drama queen. It's just a paint tube, but he's acting like he got hit with a wooden stick. Such a wimp.

"Hey, Q, Peem, what are you guys doing here? Don't tell me you're hitting on engineering students, haha." Tan and his group of friends arrived just in time. Great.

"What the heck? I'm here to draw your faculty building. Good timing, tell your dean if your faculty is so rich, share some budget with ours. Why build such a huge building? The students are all idiots anyway."

Why did you have to come at the wrong time? I'm in a bad mood. My mouth was hanging open. Tan's friends blinked in confusion, looking sheepish. Never seen this side of me, huh? I'm an original badass.

"Uh, did I miss something, Q?" Tan looked at Q, whispering. Q put a finger to his lips, shaking his head to say don't ask now. And as if heaven and hell conspired against me, they sent the culprit right to me.

"Peem, come see my friend? Ouch!"

"If you don't want to get hurt, keep quiet."

Tan jumped to cover Mick's mouth. I glanced at the handsome guy following Mick. I didn't want to look at him. Damn it. He stood there looking at me, and I looked back at him. This morning he left first. We used to come in the same car, but now we come separately. What an artistic life!

"Uh, it's noon. Let's go eat. I'm hungry," Tan said, probably sensing some tension between me and his friend (I don't want to say his name, got a problem with that?).

We packed up our things and headed to the engineering cafeteria. Q was excited to check out girls from other faculty. Should I send a quick message to Toey?

"...?" I looked up at the person who took my drawing board and used his jacket to shield me from the sun. Wow, his service is good but at this moment I'm not pleased!!!

"Try to make your face look better."

"This is as good as it gets. If you don't like it, don't look." Hmph, you don't know me well enough. I can be just as petty and dramatic.

I looked at his pale face. This is the first time in many days I had a chance to look at his face clearly. Why does he look so worn out? Well, coming back late and sleeping at 1 or 2 AM every day would do that to anyone, no matter how handsome.

The three of them went to buy food, leaving me to guard the table with our stuff. I was about to call Fang and Toey as Tan instructed, but someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Uh, Phi, I mean, my friend said you're cute and wants to know... what's your name? My friend likes you." An engineering student pointed to his friend, who was grinning at me.

[T/n: Nong, why did your friend not say it himself?]

I felt my blood pressure spike. Should I be happy? A guy just said he likes me. Hehe. While I was confused, deciding whether to scold or smile, thank or curse, a plate of food slammed onto the table, causing everyone to turn and look.

"P'Phum." the kid mumbled. His face turned pale as if he'd seen a ghost.

I turned to see Phum standing there with a stern face.

"Second year, right?

"Uh, yes."

Then came the shout.

"SECOND YEARS, ASSEMBLE!"

Within a minute, chaos erupted. Second-year engineering students who were eating or nearby scrambled to line up, along with the sound of Phum counting. I just sat there, dumbfounded. What demon possessed Phum?

"One two... nine... Can't you form a line?"
In a flash, everything went silent, and the line was perfectly formed. There were about twenty students, including the student who asked for my name and his smiling friend.

"What's up, Phum?" A man with a rough expression, like a hero of a Hong Kong mafia movie, walked in and asked.

"Nothing, P'Diao . I just needed to handle something."

It seemed to be a fourth-year senior, the discipline leader, who asked. Phum whispered to him, and the senior smiled slightly before looking at me and returning to his seat.

Could someone clue me in? Do I look like a genius? In case of an emergency, I'd like to know so I can escape. Everything was quiet now. Some third and fourth-year students stood next to Phum. This must happen often because everyone reacted quickly.

"Who hasn't finished eating?" The handsome guy asked calmly.

Several students raised their hands. Tan returned just then, talking to someone and giving me a mischievous smile. What's going on? I may not be smart, but I knew this was because of me.

"Then exercise while eating. I want you all to be strong."

The students' faces turned pale. I'd be confused too if I were suddenly called to be punished. You're a dictator, a tyrant. You must be related to Hitler.

"Prepare for push-ups!"
"Prepare!"
"Two hundred times!"
"Two hundred times!"

[T/n" Two hundred push-ups??? 😵 Are you kidding me???]

"Begin!"

"One, two, three..." Sweat started to pour, but the counting continued loudly and in unison.

"Stop."

Everyone halted, standing straight with hands behind their backs like Navy SEALs. Damn it. What is this? I really couldn't reach the thinking level of those engineering students. Suddenly, they were punished. Told to do it two hundred times, but after three times they had to stop.

"Do you know why I'm punishing you?"

"No, sir." If they knew, they'd be geniuses.

"You haven't done anything wrong then why didn't you ask? If I told you to die, would you?"

"..."
"..."

"Answer me! Why accept punishment when you did nothing wrong?" Tan shouted. Wow, these guys are naturals.

"Because we obey our seniors and support our friends." I saw Phum smile before putting on a serious face.

"Good, that's what I expect from my juniors. Ok, go back and eat. This is to buy snacks." He hands the juniors two thousand baht. They looked more confused than when they were called to be punished but after receiving the money, they all smiled happily.

"As for you two," he pointed to the guy who asked for my number and his friend, "continue until you finish two hundred." I started to understand why they were being punished.

"I, uh, what did I do wrong, P'Phum?"

"Your crime? For daring to hit on my faen."

This time, there were cheers and jeers from all around, screams from real and fake girls. The kid's friends slapped his head while he stared at me, mouth agape, with various comments from the cafeteria.

"Of all people, you hit on Phi Phum's faen, you idiot."

"You're lucky you're not dead."

"You deserve it."

"But Phi Phum's faen is really cute. So cute, is he senior or junior?"

"Which one? That one? Wow, so fair-skinned."

"What faculty is he from? Is he the one who watched us during the freshman orientation?"

"That's the senior I said I liked during the orientation day. Damn, P'Phum got him first. I have no chance now."

"They're a perfect match."

And many more. I wanted to crawl under the table and disappear.

"Damn, that's harsh." Mick's voice, I think. I just kept my head down. I was beyond embarrassed.

"Shorty, can I have some water?" And the troublemaker had the nerve to sit close to me, making me the center of attention. I turned to glare at him. He always acts without thinking. "What? Don't look at me like that. What's wrong?"

"I hate you."" It's as if I had forgotten about our ongoing problem. I really couldn't resist scolding Phum.

"Why do you hate me?"

"Are you crazy? How could you punish your juniors like that?"

"Why? Do you like people flirting with you?"

"You're missing the point. It doesn't matter whether I like it or not. But you can't do this to everyone who comes to talk to me. If you do it too much, how will others view you?"

"Are you worried about me?"

"No."

"Hmph, stop being so cute, Peem.

"Ughhhhhh."

You were just being tough a moment ago, you buffalo. Can you at least be a bit embarrassed?

Now, Mick and Q were recounting the recent events to Fang and Beer, with Pan providing sound effects. Pan, you weren't even there. Dr. Chan couldn't come because he had a midterm exam, and Matt was working on a report. After a while, Toey joined us. Q looked up at his faen and made room for him to sit next to him.

"You're late. Where have you been?"

"Finding a new husband."

Wow, that was bold. Haha. Toey got a light smack on the head from Q, and Fang laughed in satisfaction.

"Don't follow Fang's example too much."

"Why? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, my dear Khao Fang." Q pulled Fang's cheeks, stretching them in front of Tan.

"And what's wrong with you two? Both of you look pissed. Did someone have a mistress?"

Fang, you devil. I curse Tan to have a mistress.

"No."

"What's up, Phum?"

"Nothing, just someone being unreasonable."

Oh, so now I'm the unreasonable one? Just found out. Being upset because my faen disappears late at night and gives vague answers when asked makes me unreasonable, huh?

"..." I had nothing to say. I could barely swallow my food. Walking away would be too dramatic, so I just sat quietly, trying to smile with my friends. Thanks for not pestering me and for changing the subject.

"Guys," Pan said seriously, looking determined. I can't describe it well, but it was something like that.

"What?"

"I'm going to be a Good Member of Society, a role model for kids."

"Pfft." Beer's green tea sprayed out.

Hahaha, we laughed so hard we almost fell over. You, a role model, Pan?

"For kids with mental illness who can still live with normal people, right? Hahaha." Q's comment made Pan's face turn red.

"This is why democracy in Thailand is just paper. Education hasn't raised your consciousness. That's why there's corruption. Every government claims to serve the people, but once in power, they ignore everyone. Look at America. If someone doesn't do their job well, they resign because they have responsibility. But in Thailand, even an elephant can't drag them from their seat."

"Uh..." We just looked at each other, blinking. Who brought this up? We all know Pan is full of ideals. So, we sat and listened to his speech on good citizenship.

All the while, Phum reached out to hold my hand on my lap. I didn't pull away but didn't acknowledge him either. I wasn't angry, just hurt. I just wanted Phum to tell me where he's been, what's bothering him, or if he has problems with someone. I want to know and help as his partner. Doesn't he know how worried I am seeing him so worn out?

He gets up to take stomach medicine in the middle of the night. Some nights, he even vomits. I know he has gastritis, but it hasn't flared up in a long time. The cause is irregular meals and stress. I don't know what's causing his severe stomach pain this time. Every night, Phum hugs me with one hand and holds his stomach with the other.

And tonight was the same. I was dozing off after waiting when Phum finally came back. He kissed my cheek before grabbing a towel and heading to the bathroom. Not long after Phum went in, I had to open my eyes to find the phone that was ringing loudly. I frowned when I saw the caller ID. It was someone important to Phum.

Mae

"Phum, your mom is calling." I shouted to the bathroom. Soon, Phum came out wearing only faded skinny jeans, his upper body bare. He grabbed the phone and kissed me gently.

"Go to sleep, it's late." Phum pushed me to lie down and covered me with a blanket before going out to talk to his mom.

I watched his back and sighed. It was normal for Phum's mom to call every day, but never at this hour. It must be something important for her to call this late.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of another phone vibrating. What now?

"Hello?"

(Is this Phum?)

A woman's voice.

"...No, Phum is talking to his mom."

"Oh, are you Phum's friend? Phum forgot his workshop shirt. Should I bring it to the university, or will Phum come to get it himself?"

My brain couldn't process. It was like I was so confused about what I just heard. Forgot his shirt?

(Hey, are you listening?)

"Yes, I'll tell Phum."

(Thanks. Bye.)

I looked at the phone in my hand, questions flooding my mind. Who called? And why did Phum forget something like that with a woman?

Phum, what's happening between us?

Can I still trust you?

End of Chapter 50 >>>>>>>>>>>>