Artit and Toffee walked together through the long corridors toward the Music Club.
Suddenly, Toffee noticed the bag Artit was carrying. It was full of a variety of sweets
exactly the kinds that Toffee loved.
Toffee looked at the bag and looked up at Artit.
"Phi... is that for me?"
Artit nodded. "Mm, it's for you."
Toffee slowly approached him. "Give me, I want to eat," he said, looking like someone who was really craving something sweet.
Artit looked at Toffee's face and suddenly teased, "Oh... no..."
Then, Artit quickly took a sweet from the bag and tried to feed it to Toffee. Toffee tried to reject it at first, but eventually, he gave in and ate it.
"Thank you, Phi," Toffee said. While eating the sweet, he carefully made sure he wasn't being messy. Then, he suddenly took a piece of the sweet and held it up to Artit's mouth. "Here, Phi..."
Artit ate it without the slightest hesitation.
Artit smiled, and Toffee smiled back. They stood there, looking into each other's eyes for minutes, lost in the moment.
Then let's go..." Artit said.
Artit reached out for Toffee's hand. He didn't grab it fully, but just held on by a tiny bit,
he making sure Toffee felt comfortable, even though Toffee was already flustered.
After a long walk, they finally arrived at the club, but Artit looked a bit worried.
Artit looked at Toffee, and Toffee looked back before he went inside. Their hands were mostly apart now, but their two small fingers remained connected, just like their hearts.
"Phi... let go," Toffee whispered.
Artit pouted and said, "I..." but he didn't finish. Instead, he slowly stroked the hair beside Toffee's ear. Toffee's ears were already turning bright red.
Standing just behind the door of the club hall, Artit whispered, "Your hair color is already faded ."
Toffee slowly looked up. Artit was standing so close now.
Toffee found himself looking at Artit's Adam's apple and, without thinking, he reached out and touched it.
Toffee's fingers played with the movement of Artit's throat until he suddenly realized what he was doing. He pulled his hand back quickly.
"Phi... sorry... I... I..." Toffee's words were lost.
Artit moved even closer until there was no space left between them. He leaned down until his lips were right against Toffee's nose.
"If you want, we can go back," Artit said. He was serious in that moment; he wanted Toffee more than he could even think.
"Phi... what are you saying?" Toffee asked, avoiding Artit's eyes. Toffee's hand was still holding the last piece of the sweet he had been feeding Artit.
Artit opened his mouth, grabbed Toffee's hand, and guided the sweet into his own mouth. As he did, Artit's tongue brushed against Toffee's hand. Toffee gripped Artit's shirt and looked up at him.
"Phi..."
That look was enough to make Artit go crazy.
"We are standing outside... let's go inside," Toffee said shyly, finally turning to enter the room.
As they entered, the room was full of musical instruments and the sounds of students practicing.
Seniors and juniors were everywhere, busy preparing for the campus music contest.
Sara, the club president and a fourth-year student majoring in Vocal and Violin, was arranging everything. Even her eyes showed that she hadn't had enough sleep.
Then there was Jay, a second-year majoring in Vocal and Piano. He was the leader of the music contest and the busiest person in the room.
Jay was helping everyone, but his heart was beating harder than usual. His eyes kept searching the crowd, looking for someone.
Suddenly, the other seniors noticed Toffee and Artit entering.
"Oh my god, look at those visuals!"
"I never thought I'd see him in person!"
"Hey, take a photo! We can post it!"
The girls were excited, but Sara quickly stepped in. "Girls, relax. Don't you have eyes? If you don't look, you won't see why he is really here."
The group of girls saw that Artit was sticking close to Toffee, but Artit didn't care what anyone else thought.
The girls immediately backed down. Sara walked over to Toffee.
"Sawatdee, Toffee."
"Sawatdee khab, P'Sara," Toffee replied politely. Artit and Sara also greeted each other with a nod.
Hearing their voices, Jay looked toward the front. But the moment he saw Artit standing there with Toffee, all his happiness vanished in an instant.
Jay surged with an emotion he had never felt before. He had dumped so many people in the past, but this feelings was first for him.
He walked toward Toffee, carrying a cup of a Thai sweet drink that he had specifically bought just for him.
"Toffee..." Jay called out.
"Sawatdee khab, P'Jay," Toffee replied politely.
Jay smiled. "Toffee, next time, can you please not be so formal?"
"Khab," Toffee said softly.
Jay and Artit didn't even look at each other. They didn't greet one another at all.
"Here, this drink is for you. I bought this specifically for you," Jay said.Jay tried to hand the cup to Toffee.
Before Toffee could even answer, Artit stepped directly in front of him, blocking Jay.
"He already had a drink with me. Too much sugar is not good for his health," Artit said coldly.
Jay's face twisted with anger. "That isn't something you need to say. Why are you meddling?"
"That's exactly what I want to ask you," Artit replied, his voice freezing. "Why are you meddling with us?"
"So, you want the truth?" Jay asked.
The whole hall suddenly became silent. All the music stopped.
Jay turned his face straight toward Toffee. "I like him. Toffee, I like you."
"From the moment I heard your voice, and then after I saw you... I can never forget it, It's a feeling that I can never forget.I like you. And unlike someone else, I want to pursue you officially."
Suddenly, the air went cold. Everyone in the hall felt a chill.
Sara quickly pushed one of her classmates forward. She stared at him with eyes that said, "Stop them. I don't care what you have to do, just stop them — otherwise, don't think you're going on a date with me."
Practically, Sara was threatening her own boyfriend. They both thought their relationship was a secret, but the whole department already knew.
The students whispered, "Are they going to fight?"
"This is going to be more viral than the news from yesterday," others added.
The senior, Sara had pushed forward grabbed his courage and stepped between them.
"You guys need to stop. This is the Music Club. If you have something to say, say it outside. Look at where you are standing,eyes are everywhere. Rumors are already spreading. At least think about Toffee. He is the one who will be in the most difficult position."
Artit immediately looked at Toffee. "I'm sorry," Artit said softly. "I won't let it happen again."
Toffee simply shook his head to show it was okay.
Jay clenched his fists while watching them act so sweet together.
Everyone around them was shocked by how quickly Artit's coldness changed for Toffee.
"Toffee, there's a part of the song where I don't know how to get the right feeling on the piano. Can you help me?" Jay asked, trying to pull him away.
Toffee looked at Artit. His eyes seemed to offer an assurance, but even without words, Artit knew Toffee better than anyone.
Toffee and Jay walked toward the practice session, while Artit moved to a back row seat in the hall just to watch Toffee play.
The theme of the music was simple — a piece created by Jay himself. It was a story where two lovers fell madly in love and became inseparable, until one of them betrayed the other. The betrayed lover died, and the one who remained slowly withered away in grief.
The song told a truth Artit knew too well: the only thing more painful than death is losing the one you love.
As Toffee started playing the piano, the hall went silent again. Time seemed to stop. Every broken piece of the past felt connected in that melody.
Artit looked at Toffee, his face twisted with pain.
While everyone else was focused on the music, a sudden wind blew through the open windows, bringing a strange, unnatural chill.
A ghostly sound... a presence of something beyond science was there.
Artit felt a presence sitting right beside him.
A strange, ghost-like figure appeared.
His eyes were blurred, but his body was somehow visible.
After a few seconds, the blurred eyes slowly became clearer; they were eyes that had already lost all hope and love...
But his face was filled with a look of vengeance. He wore a white dress decorated with lotus flowers, that was entangled with red threads.
On the lower part of his shirt, it was clear the dress was already worn out.
A single tear rolled down Artit's cheek; he couldn't breathe.
The figure stood and walked toward Artit until they were inches apart.
It leaned closer, slowly touching Artit's hair, then his forehead, his nose, and finally his cheek.
"Khun... my Khun..." the figure whispered. "Are you happy? Do you really think he loves you? Will he still love you after he knows everything? My poor Khun... try to be happy."
Artit let out a deep, silent cry.
The moment he saw the white thread was already broken, Artit tried to swallow his pain.
But the figure stood there with a dagger in his hand; he stabbed it right into Artit's heart, then touched Artit's face... and smiled.
Then, he stabbed again... smiling more and more, as if he were enjoying it. Artit pressed his hand against his chest but couldn't move, and the most painful part was that he couldn't speak — not a single word fell from his mouth.
It spoke in a soft voice, but it was filled with vengeance.
"Khun... Khun.... you need to be happy... so that I...."
Before the figure could finish, it vanished like the wind.
Artit finally reached out, his fingers grasping for even a tiny white thread, but all he could grab was the empty air.
'Daeng... Daeng... don't go!'
'Daeng....' Artit sank back into the seat where he was sitting.
He touched the floor with both hands and stared out the window, watching the wind blow.