The next morning, as usual, Toffee and Mok's dorm room was loud.
"Mok! Did you take my sore cream?"
Mok was busy with his phone and didn't hear Toffee at all.
Toffee didn't like being ignored.
"Hey, MOK!"
Toffee yelled right into his ear.
Mok jumped from the bed. "Are you trying to kill me? Is my ear bleeding? Where did you get that loud voice?"
"Oh, I talk like 'bla-bla-bla' all morning while you just sleep, sleep, sleep!
Look at this room!" Toffee pointed at the mess. "Look at my bed, then look at your bed. It's clear, right? You never make your bed or wash your clothes.
Every time I walk in here, it feels like I'm entering a cave where bears have lived for centuries without bathing!"
Toffee scolded Mok like a worried mother.
He stood tall on his bed so he could look down at Mok's face. Actually, whenever Toffee scolds Mok, he tries to stand up high just to look more powerful.
"I will wash my clothes," Mok mumbled, but Toffee didn't hear him.
"What did you say?" Toffee asked.
"I WILL MAKE THE BED AND WASH MY CLOTHES!" Mok shouted with his eyes closed.
When Mok opened his eyes, Toffee was already recording him.
"Toffee, delete it!"
"No!" Toffee teased, laughing.
"Look, I'll play it again and again: 'I will make the bed and wash my clothes!'" He replayed the video and laughed while hitting the mattress.
Suddenly, he stopped laughing. He remembered something.
"Hey Mok, did you get the sore cream from my shelf?"
"Oh, that's right. Why?" Mok asked.
"You jerk! Then where is the cream?"
"I used it," Mok replied.
Toffee grabbed Mok's collar. "You jerk! How dare you...!" Toffee was so angry it was like he was grabbing a bear's fur. "That was given to me by P'Artit!"
Toffee sat back on his bed and looked like a sad puppy.
"Oh... I didn't know it was from P'Artit. I'm sorry. I really needed it," Mok said.
"Why? Why do you need sore cream? Is the pain in your leg still there?" Toffee asked.
Mok started to act nervous. "No... it's not that..."
"Then where is the bottle? Give it to me!"
Mok got even more nervous. "What are you saying? Didn't I tell you I used it all? There is no bottle left."
"Mok, you jerk!" Toffee grabbed Mok's hair, and Mok grabbed Toffee's hair. It was a real "dog fight," not a kid fight anymore.
"You... you...!" Mok yelled.
"You... you...!" Toffee yelled back.
The chaos continued.
The dog fight ended and they both sat on their own beds to rest.
Total silence.
Their shirts were a mess, their hair was a mess, and they both looked like a disaster.
"Toffee, are you really a dog? Look at my forehead... you just bit me! It hurts!" Mok complained.
"Ohhh, Mok! You think you are a Buddha?
Look at my hand! You bit me like a stray, crazy dog. It hurts!" Toffee shouted back.
"Is it all my fault? Who started it?!" Mok said.
"You are really like a worm, I can never catch you. If I could, I would bite you exactly where you bit me!"
The both of them looked at each other and went "Mmmmmmm!" at the same time in an annoying tone.
They looked in opposite directions like they were still mad.
But just a minute after the fight, Toffee asked, "Mok, I am handsome, right?"
Mok looked at him and gave a thumbs-up. "Yes."
Am I fit?" Mok asked as he pushed his glasses up to see his own reflection.
"You are so fit," Toffee said, touching Mok's arm muscles.
"Let me fix your hair, Mok. Then let's put on our uniforms."
Oh ho! It was like the fight never even happened. What a pair of crazy friends...
As they got into the elevator and went down to the main door of the dorm, they walked past the security guard.
"Oh, good morning Toffee!" the guard said.
"Sawasdee khab! It's a good morning,"
Toffee greeted him with a polite and warm smile. The guard gave him a warm smile back.
But the moment the guard saw Mok smiling, his face changed. Toffee saw the guard's expression, so he looked back and saw Mok's smile.
"Oh, Mok! Don't smile!" Toffee quickly covered Mok's face and dragged him toward the entrance. "Sorry!" Toffee told the guard.
The guard looked at them and said, "It's alright, I'm used to it," and waved at them.
"Oh, Mok! Didn't I always say to practice in front of a mirror?" Toffee scolded.
"Ahh, I am trying..." Mok replied.
"Oh, look at you. Your face is best when you are unbothered by anything. Oh, forget it!" Toffee let out a deep sigh.
While they walked out, Mok said, "Wait here. I'll go get my car. You can wait here." Toffee nodded.
Just as they planned, Artit was waiting for Toffee. Mok and Toffee were shocked to see Artit in front of their dorm.
But the real reason Mok was shocked was that Artit was actually smiling and waving at Toffee!
Mok said to himself, "Oh my god, has Artit really fallen this madly for him?"
Mok looked at Toffee's shocked face and then back at Artit. He started to feel pity for Artit. He thought, "I pity this guy... then he look Toffee again.
Both Mok and Toffee approached Artit.
"Sawasdee khab, P'Artit," Toffee said politely.
"Sawasdee khab, P'Artit," Mok added.
"Toffee, don't be so formal. I don't like it. Just call me 'Phi ,' that is enough," Artit said.
Then he turned to Mok. "You too, Mok. You don't have to be so formal next time."
Mok nodded. "Khab."
"Then I'm leaving him with you, P'. Take care of yourself!" Mok said, looking at Toffee's face just to tease him.
"Mok... you...!" Toffee whispered, trying to stay calm while Mok teased him.
"How are you getting to class? If you need a ride, I can give you a lift," Artit offered.
"Oh, it's alright. I have my car," Mok replied.
"Then, bye khab! Bye... To-ffee-e!" Mok teased one last time.
Toffee suddenly lifted his hands like the claws of a kitten and waved them at Mok. "You...!"
Both Mok and Artit burst into laughter, though Artit tried his best to control it.
After Mok left, Toffee and Artit were alone.
"P', you don't need to hold your laugh," Toffee said, looking like a sad puppy.
Artit smiled. "It was adorable... you are just so adorable."
"Let's go."
Artit opened the car door for Toffee. He got in and started to drive.
On the way, Toffee thought about what his father said—that he could talk to Artit and know him more. Toffee's heart didn't want to lose him, but he felt so confused. He felt like he was going crazy. He tried to find the courage to ask a question, but every time he looked at Artit, he forgot everything.
Then, Toffee saw some bags in the car. "P', what are these?"
"They are all your favorite things," Artit said.
Toffee was deeply moved. "Thank you... but how did you know?" Toffee stopped. "Well, you probably know everything about me already."
Artit looked at him. "That's right. I know what you like and what you don't. So..."
Toffee went silent. Seeing him like that, Artit pulled the car to the side of the road. "Toffee, are you okay? You look pale."
"I am, P'... but you know everything about me and I don't know anything about you. I don't know a single thing about what you like or don't like. I..."
"Toffee." Artit touched his face and placed his forehead against Toffee's. "It's okay, as long as you are with me. Just promise me... don't get sick, and don't get hurt. Okay?"
Suddenly, Toffee began to cry.
When Artit saw Toffee's tears, his heart suddenly broke with a terrible pain. It was not just a little ache—it felt like a hot knife was stabbing his chest again and again. He couldn't breathe. His face became as white as a ghost, and he started to shake. He grabbed his chest so hard his fingers turned blue, trying to hide the scream inside his throat.
When Toffee lifted his head, he saw Artit was gasping for air. Artit was pressing his heart, looking like he was dying from the pain.
"P'! P'Artit! Are you alright?" Toffee panicked. "Let's go to the hospital! I'm scared... I'm scared, P'!"
Toffee's tears fell fast. Artit reached out with a shaking hand and wiped a tear. "I'm okay... don't cry," Artit said, his voice very thin and weak. "Take a breath. I'm here. I'm okay."
Artit pulled Toffee into a very tight hug. They stayed like that for a long time. They felt the heat of their bodies and the wet tears on Toffee's face.
It was a hug that felt like they were saying goodbye. Artit gave a small kiss on Toffee's forehead, and then he kissed the tears from Toffee's eyes.
They looked at each other. "I am always waiting for you, Toffee," Artit whispered.
Toffee cried without making a sound. But seeing the tears in Artit's eyes made Toffee feel like his own heart was being ripped apart.
Toffee suddenly wiped his eyes. Even though he was still crying, he took a deep breath. "Don't cry, P'Artit," he said. "Seeing you like this... it makes my heart hurt too much."
Artit leaned forward and rested his head on Toffee's shoulder. As he closed his eyes, his mind exploded with images from the past.
In his mind, he replayed the memories again. He had seen them so many times for years— "For years, he had remembered their wedding—the way they looked in those old Thai clothes, so happy together." They were in the middle of a quiet, green forest. Their hands were tied together with red threads, joining them in a wedding ceremony. They were laughing and so happy.
Artit remembered his old promise: "My dear, I promise we will always be together. Not even death can break us apart."
The heavy weight of that past life flashed through Artit's heart. He pulled back and looked at Toffee, his face wet with tears. With a shaking hand, he touched Toffee's face. He slowly leaned in until his lips touched Toffee's.
Their tears mixed together as they kissed. It was a kiss full of fear—the fear of losing each other again—but also a kiss that felt like they were finally fulfilling their old wedding vows after hundreds of years.
"Instead of pulling away, Toffee kissed Artit back, following exactly what his heart whispered. He didn't want this moment to end. He just wanted to hold Artit tightly and stay by his side forever."
"It felt just like they were being tied together forever again, exactly like many years ago."
Artit closed his eyes as the weight of centuries pressed down on him. In his mind, he thought: If only I had protected you. If only I had fulfilled my promise. If only I... I... how can I not cry? How can I not hurt when I always lose you, my dear? "
After their tears dried, Artit started the car again and drove slowly toward the campus, neither of them speaking, but both holding onto the memory of that kiss."