~published on April 2020~

A/N:

I hope I didn't mess with the timeline. I hate when I did that. I despise when people didn't do their thing right.

*

Ming gets his gear bracelet at the SOTUS closing tonight. He looks at it while blinking blankly. This gear ... everybody made a fuss about. Their previous head hazers make this gear thing a legend.

A love confesion, a symbol of commitment.

Ming wasn't fond of that kind of thing—commitmen.

He didn't interested. At all.

And then he got this and the whole night he was just thinking about Phana.

Some girls were making confesion to Ming, too many of them. And each one of them got him thinking about Phana more and more.

So he was hiding in his room.

Everyone is going to give their gear bracelet to their lover.

And that thought also got his heart felt like stabbed.

Phana already had that white golden bracelet that Wayo showed to him.

Better bracelet—with gold and diamond.

Ah.

Ming holds his gear bracelet with both his hands and pressed it against his forehead.

They are going to go back to the city at Sunday afternoon. And he can't avoid Wayo anymore. Wayo was insisting on having dinner together with his new lover and Ming doesn't have the heart.

He was trying to keep being friend with Phana. But the way Phana keeping friendship with him, got the butterfly on his stomach dying. He felt guilty to Wayo because he has feeling for his lover when he knew from the start that Phana is Wayo's forever one and only since high school.

"Ah. I'm a jerk."

***

Phana blinks. "You haven't did your part?" He asks Kit in a flat tone. Monday morning 9 AM after their first two hours class in the morning, Kit had not do his part for the group project due on 3 PM today.

Kit shakes his head. He smiles, trying to save himself from Phana's scolding. Phana was fun last week, he has chance to live.

Beam gulps. "I think we still got time to do Kit's part and get it together before the due time at 3 PM." He tries to save the day. "We didn't have more class until before 10 AM."

Kit already moves slightly behind Beam's back for protection.

Phana blinks. "Sure." He says. "Let's find a table and works on it." He says and then walks first leaving his friends.

Beam raises his eyebrows. That's it? Phana didn't even try to scold Kit.

Kit blinks. "I thought he gonna exploded." He says confusedly.

Phana stops his steps because none of his friends follow him. "Are you coming or not?"

"Ah! Coming!" Kit hurriedly run to Phana, followed by confused Beam.

***

"Something is wrong with Pha." Beam says in worry to Kit just after their second class on Tuesday 10 AM, the next day.

"Oh, thank God!" Kit says and holds Beam's shoulders.

"Why are you tanking God when there is something wrong with Pha?!" Beam frowns in anger.

"I was not tanking God because something is wrong with Pha! I was thanking God because I thought something is wrong with me to even think that something is wrong with Pha! I thought I was going crazy! There's no way anything wrong with the first son of Kongthanin, you think?!!" Kit is panicking.

Beam nods. Fast. "I was re-thinking for at least ten times before decided that I'm going to ask you."

Kit looks at Beam in worry. "What's wrong with Pha? I can't tell what, but something is definitely wrong."

"He didn't mad at you for not doing your work. He's not scolding me for having a super bad hang over." Beam tries to list down what he knows. "He... didn't raise his hand to tell the professor that some of his saying is wrong. He didn't even comment when we discuss the lab report in your messy room on weekend!"

Kit nods. Fast. "Yes! Yes! He did and didn't!!"

Beam gawks in sudden realization. "He didn't smile!!! I didn't see his smug smile for gooood!"

"Huh?"

Beam gasps. "Oh my God, Kitty!! Pha didn't smile or laugh anymore!!!"

Kit gasps too. "You are right!!"

"Of course I am!" Beam says.

"What we gonna do?" Kit asks.

"I don't know." Beam answers while shaking his head.

"What we usually do if we don't know what to do?" Kit asks again.

"Ask Pha." Beam answers.

And then both of them growls.

*

Ming plays with his lunch and barely eats it. Phana didn't text him anymore and he knows he can't text Phana first.

He tortured himself for days now.

"Miiiiinnnggg!!!!" Just then Wayo walks into the Engineering foodcourt and yells his name cheerfully.

"Ah." Ming closed his eyes. He could avoid Wayo saying that he was busy with SOTUS, but it was over on weekend and he has no more excuse. Yesterday Wayo asked for lunch together, Ming even skipped two classes to avoid him when he dropped by to Engineering. But here we go... Ming can't dodge the lovely story which will make his heart bleed out for real.

Ming opens his eyes and then smiled at Wayo. "Hi."

Wayo sits across Ming. "Ah, you already had your lunch? I was going to treat you lunch to celebrate." He says.

"I told you, no need, Yo." Ming says.

Wayo pouts. "But happiness should be shared." He says. And then he waves happily to a direction.

The person walks closer and smiled back at Wayo. "Hi, baby...."

She pecks Wayo on his lips.

Ming is stunned

The person is his classmate, Fai.

Fai sits beside Wayo while put her arm on Wayo's thigh. "What?" She hisses to Ming. They are classmates in Mechanical Engineering and Wayo already told her that Ming is his friend since high school.

Ming points at Wayo. He doesn't find anything to say. Fai is the only girl in their class and everyone knows that she likes girl, not boy.

"I did say during the closing night when the seniors asked what I'm going to do with my gear, and I told you guys... I will give it to my boyfriend." Fai says. "And you all laughed at my face."

Ming is still frozen. He looks at Wayo confusedly. Of course they laughed. Thay thought it was a joke! She is the 'man' even among the men. She casually dating girls, not the one with relationship type.

Wayo grins ear to ear. "Surprise! You didn't see it coming, did you? I was planning to surprise you when she already gave me this." He shows a gear bracelet in his wrist. "A bracelet for a bracelet. She said that when I gave her that."

Fai shows a white golden bracelet in her wrist to Ming. "It has diamond on it. So I have to give him something that beats diamond. So... Engineering heart it is."

Ming blinks. Yeah, he noticed the diamond when Wayo showed him the bracelet. He then looks at Wayo. "I thought you were trying to get P'Pha's heart...? The confesion on the stage...? And when you said you got a lover, I thought you got him at the end."

Wayo shakes his head. "P'Pha won't ever look at me. I already accept that and seeing him again after a long time and he still the same stiffed person who deosn't need love, I moved on. And then I met her." Wayo smiles at Fai. "When I was looking for a studio to practise piano, I met her. She saved me, actually. Did you know she can beat three men by herself?"

Ming nods.

"She saved me from three men who tried to rob me. It was love at first sight and really... it's very hard to convince her that love is not about the gender. And... she gave me a chance." Wayo says.

Usually, the 'love is not about the gender' said when it was about a same sex relationship, not....

"I thought you were gay." Ming says to Wayo.

"Yeah... gay, bisexual, whatever." Wayo says. "Besides, you like men now, so... our friendship has to keep its balance. You are now that one gay friend. Not me."

Ming blinks. "Huh?"

Fai chuckles.

"Owh, come on, you thought I didn't notice? You ignored the Stars who flirted with you to sit with P'Pha. I was here couple of times to have lunch with her during my courting but you always left early to give P'Pha the best iced latte in the university. You remember to get me a pink milk but I already got it from her. So... what about P'Pha? I notice you still have your gear. I thought you gonna give it to him soon. Or did you prepare a romantic dinner?"

Ming blinks. He shakes his head. "I don't think he...." he is confused.

Wayo laughs in disbelief. "Wait... I thought P'Pha asked you to have dinner together?"

Ming blinks. "Ah. That...."

"Don't tell me you didn't confess yet?!" Wayo looks at Ming in shock. "What are you waiting for?"

"I thought... you were with him." Ming says. "I thought he accepted your confession."

"What?" Wayo frowns. "Even I did confess to him, no way he gonna accept me. He's head over heels for you."

Ming blinks. "Huh?"

Wayo laughs dryly. "You didn't notice?"

Ming shakes his head.

"Ming! You're the first person ever who can make him closed his book! He choose to chat with you instead of doing productive things.... He... he asked you for a dinner! He didn't even...." Wayo gasps. "God, Ming, don't tell me you just casually flirting like you always does...."

Ming shakes his head again. "No. No... I was... j-just... enjoy being with him. And... before I know... I already like him too much. He is sweet and awkward if you can look behind his perfection and he...."

"Ming!!!" Wayo glares at Ming. "I even support you!! Why are you acting all tsundere like this?!!"

"I was not acting all tsundere! I thought he was with you so I tried to make a distance!!" And then Ming gasps. If Phana is not Wayo's lover and Wayo was right that Phana head over heels for him but he always rejected his invitation and replied his texts coldly ... then....

"Fffuuuccckkk!!!"

Ming gets up from his seat and runs super fast to get to the Faculty of Medicine to see Phana.

*

"Phana!!!"

When Ming got to the foodcourt, Phana is just finished having lunch with Beam and Kit. He looks at Ming without showing much in his expression.

"What?" Phana asks in a cold tone.

Beam and Kit gasp. Even Phana was mad, he never had that tone.

That is Beam's tone when he was suuuuuper angry.

It means....

"We will go to class first and reserve a seat for you." Beam hurriedly says and pulls Kit with him.

They are practically running.

"Was that the kid whoss ever lunch out with Pha?" Kit asks. "The new Campus Moon?"

"Yup." Beam nods.

"Was he the one who made Phana lost his appetite to even smile politely?" Kit asks again.

"I will stay away from Pha's business." Beam says.

"Ah. Wise. I will too." Kit agrees.

Ming blinks. "Uhm... I...."

"My 1 PM class will be started in 5 minutes." Phana says. "I don't want to be late."

Ming gulps. Damn. Phana is scary. "I just want to talk."

"I don't have time." Phana turns around and then walks away.

"Ah. Phana...!" Ming tries to catch up.

"I am older than you. Address me as 'phi'." Phana says even colder without looking back. He keeps walking away.

Oh. My. God.

Ming felt like all his blood was leaving his body.

Okay. He's in a big trouble.

Super big trouble.

***

A/N:

What should Mingkwan do?