Beam is still doing his final exams of his second year. Phana made him do it by promising him a watch if he still hits the golden score, means, average GPA above 3.5 (top GPA is 4).

Phana even follows Beam to the administration office.

Ming has to take care of both Wayo and Kit when Beam makes the mess and has drawn all of Phana's attention to him.

"P'Pha is the kind of man who would put his son over his wife, isn't he?" Wayo is pouting.

Ming sighs. He has to bring Wayo to the ice cream place later in the afternoon because he is sulking and buys three boxes of chocolate for Kit because he has to again go through splitting Ming's attention to Wayo for the nth time this week.

***

First day of the new study year.

Phana and Kit stand in front of Beam's room. Wayo who lives in the same dorm as Phana is there too. They are still hoping that Beam will change his mind last minute.

CLICK.

Beam opens the door.

Phana and Kit growls when Beam gets out with jeans, white SOTUS T-shirt and instead of wearing black leather shoes, he wears dark brown jim jokers.

Wayo could only blink.

"Good morning." Beam greets his friends. "They have a full month for SOTUS and I don't have to study until next month. Yeay!!!" He is happy.

Phana, Kit and Wayo could only follow Beam's step behind him as they still can't believe how he can do it.

They thought Beam would not pass the entrance test, moreover he was gonna choose one of the favorite Majors of Engineering, Electrical.

But here he is, wearing a SOTUS T-shirt and ready to get bullied for a full month.

Beam reaches the first floor and he saw Ming just arrived there for Kit.

Ming is stunned seeing Beam wearing a white T-shirt with big 'SOTUS' written all over it. He really did it?! Enrolling to the Engineering Faculty, starting fresh as a freshman in his third year?!

"Good morning, P'Ming." Beam winks at Ming. "Don't be too harsh during the hazing, will you?"

Ming is in his second year on Engineering, means he will have to help the third years in hazing. He is stunned on the spot when Beam addresses him as 'P', his senior. He can't even move when Beam's car has already disappeared from his sight.

"Ming! Your friends and seniors are gonna eat him alive! Beam is not for that kind of life of yours!" Phana holds both of Ming's shoulder in worry.

Ming gulps. He looks at Phana. "P'Pha.... I...."

"You have to protect him there!" Phana demands.

"Huh?" Ming frightened. Protecting a freshman year of Engineering during SOTUS? Is he kidding or trying to kill him?!

"Promise me! if he has even a scratch, I swear on your entire family, I'll get you killed!" Phana yells.

"All right, P'Pha!" Ming has no choice but promising something he probably could not fulfill.

*

Beam walks happily to the freshman year group of students. He's amazed of how the first year of Engineering students looked muscle. He doesn't remember having muscles is on list of the stuff for being an Engineering student.

Even the girls look fierce.

Ooohh... this is exciting!!

Beam nearly jumps around but he holds himself.

For the better gang than Med-gang which could protect him from his troubles. He'll do everything.

"FIRST YEAAARRRSS!!! RUN!!!"

Suddenly a super loud voice yelled from somewhere and the gun shots sound follows after.

BANG BANG BANG!!

"Get in the field and CRAAAWWWLLL towards the gear flag across the field where your seniors are!"

Beam's eyebrows rose. Owh. So that's why they were told to leave their backpack in the locker. They are having army training since the first second they entered.

Beam watched as his soon to be friends crawled on the field. And then he found who gave the order and was shooting a gun.

Park.

Beam looks at him. He is still standing straight while his friends are starting to run to get to the field before crawling.

Beam looks at Park.

Just then Park saw Beam. He nearly drops his gun when he saw him. What the fuck is Beam doing here, wearing SOTUS T-shirt?

Beam chuckles. He winks at Park.

Park is gawking in awe. He looks around. His friends are nowhere to be seen since all of them are at the end of the field, near the flag.

Park's supposed to shoot his gun with blank bullets again but he is too stunned to act.

Is he fucking-real?! He really left his study in Medical for two fucking-years for being an Engineering student?!

Beam is crawling with his fellow first years. And then he sits in the middle of them all. All thousand of Engineering first year students are on the field.

Park is finally catching up to his senses and now is joining the hazing team on the stage. He is whispering something to Forth who is standing on the middle.

Forth's eyes widened. "For real?"

Park nods in confusion.

"Maybe he is just borrowing a SOTUS T-shirt." Lam joins the conversation.

"I don't think so, no one would dare to lose their T-shirt just on the first day. Besides, the T-shirt for the next day is black. We always get it that way, so they have to manage their T-shirt with more difficulty." Park retorts. "He is wearing his own T-shirt."

Max and Tul come closer.

"What happened?" Max asks.

"Beam is here." Lam says.

"Here? What do you mean here? I thought we are not getting help from the Medical Faculty for the Medic this year." Tul asks.

"No, not in the Medic. But there." Park points at a thousand of freshmen in the field.

Max laughs in disbelief. "You must be joking."

"No. He is really here. He was not joking couple of months ago while saying that he would leave Medical and join Engineering." Park says. "I saw him."

Forth blinks. When his friends are bickering at each other after what Park saw. He looks at the crowd of first year. He doesn't need more than a minute to find Beam in the middle of the crowd.

Beam is not even in the exact center of the crowd, but Forth just found him.

Beam sat there, chatting with two boys and laughing.

"Fuck. He is here." Forth mumbles. "He is fucking here. God. What the fuck is he thinking?"

"Where?"

Forth points at where Beam is sitting but none of his four friends can find Beam even if they squint their eyes.

"They all look the same to me." Lam says.

"Owh, come on, he is there." Forth's insisting on pointing at Beam. It's about 20 kids behind.

"Nah, I don't see him." Tul says. "Just say the opening and we could get going."

Forth nods. How the fuck can't they see Beam? he is right there!

NGGGIIINNGGG...!!!

A hurtful sound of microphone is torturing their ears.

Park plays with it before yelling, "Behooolllddd! Pay your respect to your seniors!! Everybody stand up!!"

The first years are standing up.

"Too slow!!! Sit back down! Repeat!"

The first years are sitting back down.

"Damn! Even sitting down takes so damn long." Park whines. "Get the fuck up!"

Forth watches the first years, but his eyes locked on Beam.

Beam looks at Forth. He winks at him. He is not sure if Forth saw him or not, but he winks at him anyway.

Forth blinks. That little fucker!

Does he think this SOTUS is some kind of joke or what?

Forth walks closer to Park and whispers, "Repeat until all of them stand up in same seconds."

Park looks at Forth. "But, the standard is in three seconds."

Forth glares at Park.

"There are thousand of them. It would be impossib...." Park paused because Forth's glaring eyes are not softened but getting sharpened. Gulps. "Same second it is, boss."

Forth nods. He leans off of Park and gets back on his spot, in the middle of the stage, up front.

"REPEAT!!!" Park is still yelling after the first years do stand ups and sit back down for more than ten times.

Tul leans closer to Max. "Why Park is still repeating it? They are doing it in 3 seconds already." He whispers.

"I don't know. But Forth gave the order." Max answers.

Forth sees as ten more students faint. The Medic team members which are the second year Engineering students are walking to the crowd to get them.

Park looks at Forth, waiting the order to stop.

But again, Forth glares at him.

Damn, what kind of devil possessed his soul? Why the Head Hazer is turning into the King of Satan even before introducing himself and opening the SOTUS?

Park shakes his head and then repeats the order again.

The first years finally are able to stand up almost in the same second on their 33rd attempt with at least a hundred casualties.

Forth grits his teeth. Beam is still standing on his feet.

Park looks at Forth again.

Forth nods. Approving that they succeeded.

Park thanks God in his mind. His throat felt rough from yelling.

Forth scoffs. Just like Park and the other five hazing leaders, he wears microphone to his ears. So he has two free hands and he looked cool.

"Hi, there, how are you?" Forth greets the first years.

The first years are still trying to catch on their breath after doing stand up-and-sit stunts earlier, and also confused at the sudden greeting. So they can't answer properly and just look at each other.

The girls are fangirling on all of the five hazing leaders at the stage.

Silence.

Forth sighs. "Weaklings."

Gasps are heard from the first years.

Forth rushes his eyes on all of the first years, and again, can't stop himself from looking at Beam again. What the fuck is he doing here?

"Do you know how many weaklings will survive Engineering Faculty until their graduation?" Forth asked a rhetorical question.

No one dared to answer.

"None of them." Forth answers himself.

"You know why?" another rhetorical question from Forth. "Because there are no weaklings in Engineering Faculty. There is a natural selection along the way. Either you'll drop out, or you quit or because we told you not to be one."

Silence as Forth let the words sink in to his juniors.

"You can't just let people tell you what to do without questioning them." He continues. "You should fucking-ASK!!! Moreover, you should fucking-CARE!!!"

Silence.

"How the fuck you could let people that you don't know, not only tell you what to do, but you let your friends suffer?!" Forth yells.

"You don't know who he is!" Forth points at Park. "But you followed his orders like stupid fucking idiots when he told you to get the fuck up and sit down for countless time! You didn't even question it when more than hundred of your friends collapsed!

You are stupid and only care about yourselves!

Not only weaklings! But all of you are cowards and untrustworthy morons!"

Kongpob, Forth's senior who is now in his fourth year and former Head Hazer whistles in the corner back of the field.

"You chose your successor all right." Wad even approved of Forth's actions.

"Indeed." Kongpob nods.

If only Tiew and Wad were close enough to clap their hands.

The first years doesn't see it coming. They just thought that they should follow. Well, even before they entered the Engineering Faculty, they have only heard about SOTUS. They thought this is about obeying...?

Apparently it's not.

Forth looks at the entire field with cold piercing eyes.

Beam looks at him in awe. Damn. And he thought Park was the scariest among them. Turns out he is wrong. But he doesn't remember that Forth was like this.

He is an easy going person who turns soft whenever Wayo is around.

Yup, and then turned into some kind of an ex-friend since Phana decided not to hang out with him again.

"SOTUS." Forth breaks the frightening silence.

"Seniority.

Order.

Tradition.

Unity.

Spirit."

Silence as all eyes are on Forth.

Beam blinks. Okay, he's not gay, but that's hot.

"You might find it useless. You might find it tiring. And you might dare to skip it." Forth says. "And I won't blame you. I'll feel sorry for you. Because for the rest of your life you'll be always avoiding obstacles instead of overcoming it."

Silence.

"I won't check attendance. You are free to skip it. And even when I have no one to haze by the third day of SOTUS, it would still be fine by me." Forth says coldly.

His friends look at Forth in surprise. He said what?!

Kongpob glares instantly and wants to take back all the praise he said earlier.

And so do his friends.

"When there is a moment in your life you find it too hard, you'll remember the day you quit SOTUS. The day that you admitted that you are a weakling and a coward.

The day that you loose.

For the first time.

And the rest of your life.

I am sorry that you failed as a person that values himself."

Silence.

"But if you are a brave person who wants to prove that I am wrong, that you are a man of your words, then I'll be with you on this journey." Forth continues. "I'll not even have to tell you what SOTUS is. And at the end of our very first journey together, I'll give you this."

Forth raised his right hand.

"Engineering gear. This gear represents how our Faculty works. It's one of the engineering mechanical devices in the cogwheel system. Having one signifies that we are Engineering students.

By the time you get it, you'll understand SOTUS. You'll be a fine person. And you'll make a great memories along the way, together with your peers and seniors.

You'll hate it when you're in it, but you'll tell this story to your grand kids when you are old enough."

Some chuckling is heard when Forth said that.

Slowly a smile breaks on Forth's lips. "Congratulations for being accepted in Engineering Faculty of a prominent university and making your parents proud of you.

Welcome to SOTUS, my name is Forth Jaturapoom, your Head Hazer." Forth closed his speech.

Silence.

Even his hazing team members are proud of Forth.

Beam is under admiration spell of Forth right now. He claps his hands happily. "Thank you, P'Forth...!!!"

That's when the whole hazing team finally finds out where Beam is.

And even all the first years turns their attention to Beam. Who the fuck dared to speak in the middle of this frightening scene?!!

Beam grimaced. "Sorry, I thought there will be hands clapping. Come on, that was awesome, wasn't it?"

Forth closed his eyes tightly. You fucking-little shit, why do you have to ruin the moment... really....

Lam has to bite his lower lips not to laugh but he fails to hold his smile.

Park's eyes widened.

Max and Tul just shake their heads.

Kongpob and their gang raised their eyebrows. Why the fuck is there always a trouble maker in every year?

"Well, at least he did not say that he will take the gear from the Head Hazer without finishing SOTUS, by making him his wife." Wad says.

Kongpob smacks his head instantly.

Ming is just in time to arrive at the field after he has to stop by at the Campus Moon & Star Competition preparation meeting, when Forth started his speech and then suddenly Beam clapped his hands. He is gawking in awe.

Forth opens his eyes and looks at Beam.

Beam would be a problem.

Some freshmen start to clap their hands too. And suddenly all of them are clapping their hands and start to smile after the long silence and tense atmosphere.

Beam smiles widely.

Forth looks at Beam with a cold expression. Correction, not a problem.

THE problem.

***

A/N:

Starting to regret that you ever saved him from the Geography students, aren't you, Forth?

If he died that day, he won't be bothering you now.

Now that he is safe and alive, he's probably gonna.

For the rest of your life.

Gyahahahahahaha (evil laugh)

Proofread by @allenshizar . Thank you.