Chapter 12 We Met Before

When KK called, it was nearly two in the afternoon. Santichai picked up the phone, "Hello."

KK said, "Santichai, I'll pick you up early. There may be light rain in the afternoon according to the weather forecast."

Santichai said, "Okay. I'll be ready, bye."

Santichai hung up the phone and looked in his closet, there wasn't much to choose from. He knew that there were a lot of people attending this kind of social event, dressed in all sorts of flashy clothes, and whatever he chose to wear, he was more of a butler walking around with a tray full of drinks. He took out his white blouse and black pants. He opened the shoe box and took out his dress shoes. Looking at the white blouse, black pants and black leather shoes, he sighed. This suit was bought by Asnee for his first interview.

There have been more problems than sweet moments in Santichai and Asnee's decade-long relationship, but it's those tiny, brief, sweet moments that make Santichai hope he can change Asnee in some way, but over time he knows that whatever how he changes himself to what Asnee wanted, Asnee will never change.

He sat next to the clothes and sighed, "For the sake of the old times, let's wear you for one last time."

Santichai started ironing. After he ironed his blouse, someone knocked on his door. He went to open the door, and it was KK in a slim blue tuxedo with a blue bow tie.

KK asked, "Are you ready?"

Santichai said, "Not yet the pants have to be ironed."

KK smiled and said, "Take your time. I'm two hours early."

Santichai turned on the fan and said, "Wait. It won't take long."

Santichai quickly ironed his pants and got dressed. He put on his shoes and walked out of the bedroom. He approached KK who was sitting watching TV. "I'm ready," he said.

KK turned off the TV and stood up to face Santichai. He smiled and said, "Wow, I didn't expect you to look so good in this suit." He chuckled lightly.

Santichai knew that he couldn't fit into the upper class, but at least he could fit with the sommeliers with this white blouse and pants. He smiled and said, "Thank you..." He looked at KK awkwardly. "This is the best I can do, and I hope I don't embarrass you too much in front of others."

KK smiled and said, "Not at all. Shall we go? It's a forty-five-minute' drive."

The interior of KK's yellow Ferrari f12 is very clean. There was a faint scent of sea breeze in KK's car.

Santichai looks around as the car starts to leave the old apartment. "This car is not the same car you usually drive to work," he said.

KK said, "Oh, I don't usually drive this car, you are my first passenger."

Once they got out of the small city, they drove along the coast that stretched for miles. Santichai looked at the dark night without moonlight and felt that the dark sea was somewhat similar to what he had in mind. There have been tragedies in his life since he was growing up. Sometimes, he felt like he was about to drown, and the more he struggled to pull himself out of the sea, the faster he drowned, so he decided to submerge his body in the sea and leave his fate at the mercy of the sea currents.

KK stared at Santichai; in the dim light inside the car, he saw tears in Santichai's eyes. He could see that Santichai's tears would slowly flow down his cheeks at any time, but he also felt that Santichai tried very hard not to let his tears flow in front of others.

KK wanted to shift Santichai's thought, so he said, "Have you been to the sea before, Santichai?"

"A long time ago, I went there once during my freshman year. It was a trip for the college volleyball team," Santichai said.

KK asked, "Are you on the volleyball team?"

"No, I signed up to help prepare food and water for the players," Santichai said.

KK asked, "Have you had a good time?"

Santichai said, "On the first day, but the next day, I was hit with a quick spiked ball. It left me unconscious and when I woke up, I was already in the hospital, half of my face was bruised." He paused. "But that injury brought me a good friend. So, in the end, it was worth it."

KK chuckled, "What were you doing at that time?"

"I just watched the game from the sidelines," said Santichai as he watched KK enjoying his misfortune. "Did you play on a sports team in college?"

KK said, "I did."

Santichai asked, "What type of sport?"

"I play volleyball, basketball, tennis and football. I also swim, but I'm not on any of the teams," KK said.

Santichai, "Why?"

KK, "I didn't pass the selection process, so I decided to play for fun." He turned to look at Santichai, and he found that he had completely pulled Santichai's mind from those unpleasant thoughts just now. "What kind of sport do you like?"

"I didn't like any sports in college," Santichai said. "I dropped out after one year of school."

KK asked, "How did that happen?" He quipped. "Failed to pass the final exam?"

Santichai smiled at KK and said, "No money to continue."

KK asked, "What did you study in college?"

Santichai said, "Accounting."

KK scoffed, "So I guess you are pretty good with numbers."

"I only finished the first year," Santichai said. "So, I'm not really good."

KK looked at Santichai and asked, "Do you still want to go back and continue?"

Santichai said, "No, I have no purpose to go back." He looked at KK. "Mr. KK, you said yesterday that we had met at Bell Rose Café and Secret Palace before, I thought back to it, I don't remember meeting you."

KK said, "I met you at Bell Rose Café last year and my family and I were celebrating my birthday. We were sitting on the second floor of the café. I saw you sitting at the table below us. You were sitting there for a long time. For a long time, I thought you were waiting for your girlfriend. When everyone is gone, you're still sitting there until the waiter comes and tells you they're closing. It was only then that it occurred to me that your date deceived you."

Hearing KK tell him what happened last year, Santichai suddenly remembered the cafe, but he didn't know the name of the cafe at the time, so when KK said the name of the café he didn't recall meeting KK.

(Memory)

It was his twenty-fourth birthday. He got a text from Asnee. Asnee wrote: 'Chai, I sent you an address, be there at 6:30, my meeting should be done at 6:30, I should be there at 7:00, I'll treat you to dinner tonight for your birthday'. When Santichai arrived at the cafe, it was a very upscale cafe. The waiter took Santichai to the seat that Asnee had reserved for them. He waited silently for Asnee. At 7:00, Asnee texted Santichai that he would be late because he was still in the meeting, the last text Santichai received from Asnee that night. At 7:30 he texted, but his text was not read or responded to. At 8:30 he called, but his call went directly to voicemail. At 9:30, he called but also went to voicemail. He sent Asnee another text message, but Asnee hadn't seen his previous message.

Santichai sat there for a long time until the waiter came and told him that the cafe closed at 11:00, he looked at his watch and it was 5 minutes before 11:00. Then his phone rang. He picked it up quickly and it was Asnee.

Santichai quickly picked up, "Asnee where are you?" He heard the loud music in the background.

Asnee said, "Chai, you don't have to wait for me. Go home after you eat."

Santichai said, "Asnee, you promised to have dinner with me today, have you forgotten what day it is today?" Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.

Asnee said, "We will go next time. Our company signed a big contract today. I'm taking the senior staff to celebrate a job well done."

Santichai bit his trembling lower lip, "Asnee, today is my birthday, have you forgotten?"

"There are birthdays every year, and big business like this happens once in a while," Asnee said. "I'll take you somewhere next year, okay."

A woman said, "You lose, drink up."

Asnee said, "Okay, baby. Chai, I have to go."

Santichai said, "Asnee, when are you?" The phone was dead. He wiped his tears, grabbed his phone, and walked out of the cafe quickly, only to bump into a man as he approached the stairwell. The man was holding a glass of red wine. Wine spilled on the man's suit. Santichai lowered his head, apologized quickly, and ran into the street.

(Memory End)

KK looked at Santichai and said, "You left without paying the bill and/or the cleaning fee of my suit."

Santichai said, "I can pay you back. Can you tell me how much?"

KK said, "I forgot, let's say you owe me a favor."

Santichai said, "Okay, what about Secret Place?"

KK slowed down and said, "We're here."