Arc I - Going Home - Part 2

There was a banging sound. And it was loud. And it wouldn't stop. And it was annoying. Also, why was he so nauseous? He groaned and rolled to his side. His head immediately protested and started pounding violently. He moaned and rolled onto his back again. The banging continued both inside and outside.

"Go away!" he yelled, his mouth dry as sandpaper, his voice as sharp as glass down in his throat.

"Mister Xiao! Sir"

The banging intensified. Whoever they were, it seemed like they wouldn't let him be. Xiao Zhan opened one eye but regretted it immediately. The threadbare curtains did little to hide the sunlight, and one particularly well-aligned ray shone right on his face. He wondered what he had done for the sun to bear such a grudge against him.

"Sir!" Continued the voice outside, along with the incessant banging.

All of a sudden, reality came back to him. He sat up straight. The sun. The sun had risen. That meant…

"Fuck!" he yelled, jumping on his feet.

His foot caught the strap of his bag. He stumbled forward and failed to right himself on the teak desk against the wall. Instead, he crashed to the floor, taking a lamp and most of his toiletries along for the ride.

The banging momentarily stopped. With a groan, Xiao Zhan turned onto his back and enjoyed the silence while dust moths danced in the light. He mused for a moment that it would be pretty nice for him just to stay down here. True, it wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't that bad, either… If he could just close his eyes for a second…

"Mister Xiao?" This time, there was concern in the voice. 

Xiao Zhan was pulled right back to reality as he recognized it as one of the younger local PAs who had been of great help during their stay. He couldn't remember his name for the moment as his head threatened to split in half. 

"I'm ok," he croaked as he reluctantly struggled to get to his feet.

He walked to the door and opened it a crack. The young man pushed it open and barged in, making him stagger backwards. When he finally found his bearing, their eyes met. He must have looked even worse than he felt because the PA looked utterly shocked. At least he had the decency of quickly recovering.

"Mister Xiao… Sir… You're going to be late for your flight. I mean, you're already too late. I tried to wake you up, we all did… but you didn't hear."

"What time is it?

"Eight am, sir."

Eight am. The bus taking them to Chiang Mai International Airport, roughly two hours away, had been scheduled for six am. Even in his current state, he could easily tell that were he to somehow find a way to drive there and fly out on the next available flight, he would never make the connection in Bangkok. As for flights out of Chiang Mai, his fuzzy mind vaguely remembered Director Luo saying there were none.

"Did everyone leave without me?" he asked, struggling to keep his eye open against the glare of the hallway lights.

"They left, sir," he replied with no more emotion than if he was telling him about the day's weather.

Xiao Zhan's first reaction was to be hurt, but then he knew he couldn't really have expected them to wait. They all had their respective schedules. He was amazed he hadn't heard his alarm or anything else. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this drunk. Or hungover, for that matter.

"We really tried to wake you up, sir," said the PA, as if reading his mind. "You must have been really drunk!"

This seemed to be very funny to him.

"Is everyone gone?" Xiao Zhan asked.

"Everyone, sir. Well, except for the sound, light, and camera crews. But they're on location right now to finish tidying up. They won't leave for a few more days. So Director Luo told me to stay and help you, sir."

Suddenly, there was light at the end of this hangover tunnel.

"So I can stay until they're done?" He asked, hoping for an unexpected vacation.

The PA shook his head.

"Director Luo said that you had to make your way to Beijing in time for a press conference tomorrow? He said I had to get you on your way no matter what, or your manager would skin him alive."

Xiao Zhan rubbed his eyes with his hands and sighed. He'd forgotten about that. His latest drama was coming out this week, and the marketing team had been kind enough to push the press conference back to accommodate his travelling schedule. If he missed it, Director Luo wouldn't be the only one suffering the wrath of his manager.

"Yes, that's right. So I assume Director Luo's assistant has made travel arrangements?"

"Yes, sir."

Thank God for that, he thought. In his current state, he couldn't even trust himself to write his name correctly. He made a mental note to send Director Luo a gift and an apology.

"Alright, let me pack up and freshen up, and I'll be down in thirty minutes," he finally said.

The PA shook his head disapprovingly.

"The car is downstairs, sir. I can only give you five minutes."

Xiao Zhan sighed, exhausted. He suddenly envied toddlers and their ability to throw tantrums. But then again, he corrected himself; had he been a toddler, he wouldn't have been so hungover.

"Ok. See you in five then."

He closed the door and turned around. His room was a complete mess. He regretted not having packed before the party, but it was too late now. Yibo's bad habits were rubbing off on him. He smiled at the thought.

Xiao Zhan dragged his suitcase out of the closet, put it on the bed along with his carry-on and started cramming stuff inside as fast as he could. As he did, he changed into clean clothes, putting on the new items as he grabbed them from around the room. When he finally got to his phone, he realized why the alarm hadn't woken him up. He'd plugged the cable in, but the charger itself hadn't been plugged into the socket. His phone was dead. He started to laugh in spite of himself. He could almost hear Yibo say: GeGe, you're such a shǎguā!  

After making sure he hadn't forgotten anything, Xiao Zhan rushed downstairs. The owner of the hotel was at the front desk. Against all expectations, she turned away from him in a huff and pretended to be very busy organizing some paperwork. That was weird, but he didn't have time to worry about it. He left the key on the counter with a quick "Goodbye! Thank you!" and ran outside as fast as his heavy luggage and throbbing head would allow. The driver, who was leaning against the car, straightened up and pinched his cigarette between his lips before helping Zhan put his bags in the trunk. He then opened the door to the back seat for him. The PA, whose name finally came back to him — Sitwat — was already sitting in the front seat and shuffling papers. Zhan had barely had time to settle when the car started moving, leaving him scrambling for the seatbelt. There were none. He grabbed onto what Yibo liked to call the "Oh Shit!" handle and hoped for the best. Unfazed, Sitwat turned to him and handed him some documents.

"This is your ticket from Bangkok. The connection in Seoul will be very short, so don't waste any time."

Xiao Zhan grabbed the sheets with his free hand.

"Thank you. What about the part to Bangkok?"

"That part is chartered; you won't need a ticket. Don't worry, sir."

Sitwat's smile made him uneasy for some reason. He handed him more papers. 

"I've filled your custom documents as well. Please don't lose them."

Xiao Zhan awkwardly grabbed the other documents with his already full hand and did his best to slide them into his passport holder.

Sitwat chatted with the driver for a while, Xiao Zhan holding on for dear life as they sped down a very bumpy road. 

"What happened to the lady at the hotel? She seemed angry at me," Xiao Zhan asked, trying desperately to make his body forget about all that alcohol he had imbibed the previous night.

The PA turned to face him again.

"You called her an annoying old bat last night. By the way, those duty documents, I haven't filled out the duty-free section. I don't think you'll have much time to shop, but if you do, make sure you're within limits."

The young man had answered his question so seamlessly that he had almost lost it among the rest of the information.

"I did what ?"

Sitwat beamed at him.

"She tried to talk to you when you came back last night because she wanted to give you a gift before you left, but you told her to piss off before calling her an annoying old bat in front of everyone."

Xiao Zhan's eyes widened, and he turned two shades paler. He felt a sudden dizziness that had nothing to do with his hangover. The PA's grin widened. Somehow, that shouldn't have been possible.

"Don't worry, sir. She is an annoying old bat. The story is already making the rounds in the town. You're somewhat of a hero now. Nobody normally dares stand up to her."

He was mortified. 

"I'm so, so sorry," he finally managed.

The young man laughed.

"Don't be, my aunt; she has her ways. She'll be fine."

Xiao Zhan's stomach sank even deeper.

"Your… Your aunt?" he asked in a hollow voice.

"Yes, she's my aunt. That's how I got the PA job. I work in Bangkok normally, but this is my hometown. By the way, I got the gift she wanted to give you. It's in the trunk."

Xiao Zhan felt like his life was about to start flashing in front of his eyes. He was suddenly drenched in sweat.

"Please convey my most sincere apologies to her."

What if this ended up online? What if someone had filmed it… He made a mental note to have a gift arranged and to ask for more details from whoever had come back to the hotel with him.

"No need, sir. She's probably gonna brag about it in a few days. She'll find a way to spin it. She's a strong woman, don't worry, sir."

With this, he turned back to look at the road.

"We should arrive in about thirty minutes. You can sleep if you want."

Sitwat seamlessly started talking to the driver in Thai. They were laughing within seconds, and judging from the furtive glances the latter gave him through the rearview mirror; he had no doubt it was at his expense.