Chapter 25: What’s the date?

Gemini grunted in his sleep while his hands patted the bed beside him for his phone.

That stupid devise had been ringing constantly for some time now with no signs of stopping and he was getting frustrated with it by the minute. He had been up almost the whole night studying for his semester exams and now, he was being woken up early in the morning by a random phone call.

'If this is a scam caller, I'll curse his entire family!' He thinks to himself as he finally manages to locate his phone and place it on his ears.

"Hellooo…" he answers sleepily.

"Good morning khub," comes the sweet, familiar voice from the other end of the line.

"Good morning, teerak!" Gemini instantly feels a smile creep up his lips as he hears the voice of his sweetheart. "Did you sleep well last night?"

He opens his eyes and peaks at the time to find it only eight in the morning. Of course! He wasn't even surprised. After all, Fourth was a morning person. He loved sleeping early and waking up early as well. He has never met someone more punctual either.

"Not so well." Came the surprising answer, followed by a loud sigh. "I was expecting a call yesterday, but it never came."

"Huh?" Gemini was very much awake now as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and sat up in bed, looking around his room until his eyes landed on the calendar. "Last night? But…didn't we text before bed last night? I remember texting you…"

Just to be on the safe side, he quickly opened his Line messages and checked the last message he sent to his faen last night, at exactly 9.55PM. 

'Rak na khub. Jub-jub. Fan dee na.'

Yup…he definitely texted him…

Then what did he miss?

"La?" Fourth's voice immediately took on a different tone that he couldn't quiet pick up. "Then I guess you weren't supposed to call me. My mistake."

And then…the line went dead.

"Hello? Fourth? Fourth, khub? Teerak?" Gemini tried to stop him, but the beeping sound from the other end was a clear sign that the call had already been disconnected.

"Aarai wa?" Confused as to what could be wrong, he tried to call him back…only to be met by an unexpected tone.

'The number you're trying to reach is currently switched off.'

"Huh?" Gemini scratched his head, looking around his room as if a clue will magically appear in front of him as to why his boyfriend was suddenly upset. But even after five straight minutes of staring at the white walls of his room, as well as the calendar, he still couldn't come up with an answer, so he decided to get ready for school instead.

Maybe that would help? Maybe if he met up with his teerak at school and managed to ask him what was wrong, he could find more answers.

After showering and getting ready, he headed down the stairs to the kitchen, only to find his brothers lazing around on the couch and the house seemingly devoid of their father's.

"Where are pa and dad?" He asked once he reached downstairs. "And why aren't you guys ready yet?"

Phuwin looked at him with a frown, lifting his eyebrows after he placed his phone on his lap. "Oho! Look at the little genius! Too much studying has gotten to his head."

"It's a Saturday, ja." Dunk mocked him with a laugh. "Who's going to school on a Saturday?"

Shia! He really messed up, didn't he? 

Gemini sighed and made his way to the breakfast table after loosening his tie. Since he was up and ready, he might as well get some food into his stomach. Maybe that would help him think clearly.

"What's up with you?" Phuwin asked, turning to his nong as he too joined the breakfast table where Dunk was preparing buttered toast and cutting up some fruits for all of them to enjoy. "You have bags under your eyes. Have you been studying till two in the morning again?"

"What else, Hia? I'm a med student." Gemini told him with a sigh. "I have to study at least fourteen hours a day so I can keep up the grades and make dad proud."

"You need to have a break or two in between as well." Dunk reminded him like the caring older brother he was. "Trust me, I've been there, done that. But if you don't keep some kind of balance and enjoy your life a little, then you'll miss out on some of the best years of your life."

"Chai. You should come to my concerts sometimes, or go with Hia Dunk to some of the parties he's been attending lately." Phuwin almost sniggered as he mentioned 'parties', causing Dunk's cheeks to turn flaming red.

"Arai? What parties? Gem is too young to be attending those parties!" Dunk protested instantly, almost like he had been caught stealing something.

"Why Hia?" Phuwin leaned in curiously. "What kind of stuff happens at those parties exactly? Why are you trying to keep us from having fun? Don't tell me…you've been doing naughty things at those parties…or are you a part of some illegal gang now?"

Phuwin fake gasped in horror, while Gemini tried to disguise his snigger as a cough.

"Little brat!" Dunk reached out to hit the back of Phuwin's head, causing him to dramatically yell out and clutch his head. "Says the boy who has his eyes glued to his phone twenty-four-seven! Ever since you got a boyfriend, you've hardly spoken two words to me. And now you want to talk about parties?!"

"Huh? Hia Phuwin got a boyfriend? When?" Gemini looked at Phuwin with accusing eyes. "I thought only Hia Dunk got a boyfriend!"

Dunk spit out the gulp of coffee that he had taken a sip of, nearly chocking on the beverage as he went on a coughing spree.

"Hia Dunk…has a faen?" Phuwin looked at his elder brother with wide eyes. "Since when?"

"Mi-mi!" Dunk denied instantly, his voice hoarse from all the coughing. "Ai Gem! Why do you have to make up stories first thing in the morning?"

"Ow? When did I make up stories?" Gem looked at his elder brothers in confusion. "Didn't Phi…Joong come to drop you off at the house two nights ago? And you were pretending to be asleep until he brought you inside the house."

"Ai Gem!" Dunk screeched, but it made Phuwin laugh out loud at his panicked older brother. "How long had you been peeking at me?"

"Long enough to see you being carried in his arms." Gemini grinned.

"I am going to kill you." Dunk brandished his butter knife in his fist, his eyes murderous as he looked at his youngest brother, currently the bane of his existence.

"Stop blaming Gem for telling the truth, Hia!" Phuwin shook his head at Dunk's antics. "Fine. I admit. I have a boyfriend, as does Gemini." He simply shrugged when Gem narrowed his eyes at him. "Now, it's your turn. Fess up."

"Maeng oye!" Dunk grumbled, looking at his brothers but knowing he was trapped. "I don't have a boyfriend! Joong and I aren't dating! I got drunk and he brought me home! That's it!"

"Dio, dio!" Gem called out immediately. "If you guys aren't dating, then why did he pick you up like that in his arms and carry you all the way home? And why did you pretend to be asleep all the time?"

"Who was pretending?" Dunk argued back with all his might. "I really was asleep!"

"Jing la?" Gemini scoffed, folding his arms in front of his chest. "You woke up really fast when Pa and dad arrived!"

"No, I didn't! You called me so loud, who wouldn't wake up?"

"OYE!" Phuwin placed his hands on his ears in frustration. "Stop fighting like elementary school kids! If you have a faen, you have; if you don't, you don't! What's the need to shout so loud that the neighbors can hear you?"

"True." Gemini shrugged with a smirk. "You keep defending yourself as if you have some big secret to hide."

"You know what? I'm done with this conversation!" Dunk stabbed a fork through one of the mangos he had peeled and started munching on, signaling that he wasn't going to fall for his brothers tricks any longer.

"So," Phuwin finally turned to Gemini, assessing his new target with a wide grin. "What's with the long face? Did you have a fight with your faen or something?"

Since the cat was already out of the bad, Gem let out a defeated sigh. "I don't know what's wrong either, Hia. He called me this morning asking why I didn't call last night at twelve. It's not his birthday, nor is it our one year anniversary…then what did I miss?"

"Wow!" Dunk dropped the fork onto the table with a loud chatter. "One year already?"

"No, that'll be in December." Gemini said proudly. "We started dating on Christmas day."

Phuwin and Dunk gave each other wide eyed stares before turning to Gemini once again. "How about special dates?" Phuwin asked, forgetting all about teasing his brother. "Did you forget any of those?"

"Special dates?" Gemini tilted his head to the side in utter confusion. "Special dates arai?"

"The first time you met, the first time you held hands, the first time you kissed?" Dunk noted down all he could remember. "You know…stuff like that."

"For someone who doesn't have a faen, you sure are knowledgeable." Phuwin rolled his eyes before turning to Gemini, who suddenly looked thoughtful. "Did you miss something like that?"

"Do we really have to remember stuff like that in a relationship as well, Hia?" Gemini asked, still looking unsure.

"Absolutely." Both of his older brothers agreed at once.

"Hmmm," Gemini tried to rake his brain for something like this that he might have forgotten.

First kiss? Wasn't that only a few months ago? Half-year anniversary? Nah! That wasn't it either…then what could he possibly have-

"Shia!" It was as if a lightbulb had gone off on his head.

"You remember now?" Dunk asked, chewing on a piece of toast.

"Chai, chai! Khob khun na, hia!" Gemini scrambled out of his seat and hurriedly made his way upstairs once again, without giving an explanation to the two people who had been eagerly waiting for some gossip. 

"Oho!" Phuwin sighed, looking at Gem trip several times while climbing the stairs. "There goes our entertainment."

"It's a shame." Dunk nodded in agreement. "I was really looking forward to knowing what it was that he had forgotten."

"Me too."

Knowing that they might never get to know what the deal was, Phuwin and Dunk went back to eating their breakfast, hoping that Gemini would be able to make up with his boyfriend after forgetting something crucial.