Chapter 2: The Secret Admirer

Joong walked down the stairs casually, trying to appear as nonchalant as he could, even though his heart was hammering inside his chest.

However, the scene downstairs was straight out of a horror story…or that of a crime scene after a murder…a violent one.

The first thing he noticed was the red plastic cups on the floor…on the counter…on the sofas…on top of the fan blade? What the fuck?

But before he could notice any other detail that he had missed the first time around…like how his youngest sibling was trying with all his strength to pick up the overturned sofa…three pairs of eyes met his.

His Dad Off, his Pa Gun and lastly, his sister and the only woman in the house…Nong Love.

Nong Love simply looked disappointed as she picked up plastic cups from the floor and threw them into a huge trash bag; and Joong got the feeling that most of the disappointment stemmed from the fact that she had missed out on the party while she had been away with their fathers at their grandparent's house, rather than the fact that Joong had thrown a party at all.

However, it was very easy to tell that the two other pair of eyes on him weren't just disappointed…they were fuming…

"Pa…Dad…" Joong called out in a polite voice, smiling like the good child he was not. "Why didn't you tell me you guys will be back early?"

"Why? So you could throw the party earlier or throw your guests out of the house sooner?" Pa Gun told him in a deadpan voice…which was bad…because as far as he could remember, his Pa Gun wasn't the type to get angry. It was usually always Dad Off who got angry…and right then, he was scared to even look at him.

"I-it's not what I meant Pa…" Joong tried to keep his voice from stuttering, but his nervousness was getting the best of him. "You don't have to do that…let me call for house cleaning-"

He went to take the broom from his Pa's hand when he saw that he was cleaning crumbs of food off the floor, but right then, his Dad's voice rang out loud and clear, stopping him mid-step. "Stop right there."

Joong swallowed hard, knowing he was in big trouble.

"We've already hired cleaners to clean the house." His dad told him and he almost sighed in relief…almost…until his next words hit him like a ton of bricks. "But you'll be cleaning the entire pool…all by yourself. I want it scrubbed clear until I can see my face on the walls."

Joong swallowed once again, knowing this was the end for him…right when his younger brother walked into the house, looking flabbergasted at the upturned state of the furniture and everything around him. "Joong…what's going on? Was that Phi Dun-"

Pond stopped mid-sentence as he noticed their fathers standing in the middle of the room, their faces filled with anger and disappointment. He looked at Joong who motioned with his hand in front of his throat in a slicing motion, telling him to stop talking. Pond nodded briskly, before turning to their father's. "Sawadee Khap, Pa…Dad…when did the three of you arrive?"

"Why do you want to know? So you could've warned your brother, huh?" His dad raised his voice, but he knew that no matter what his dad said…he was the favorite son. "And why was Fourth locked up in his room? Why did you take away his cell phone?"

Pond raised an eyebrow at Joong from across the room, to which his Phi choose to ignore him completely, leaving him at the mercy of their father's.

Fourth took the opportunity to make a sad puppy face as he came and hugged Pa, acting the poor victim when he himself was aware that he was a light weight and couldn't handle alcohol at all. The last time they had allowed him to have a can of beer, on his eighteenth birthday, he had ended up drunk calling his one of his classmates he really disliked and had sung a famous Thai song, but the entire lyrics had been made up of cuss words. Apparently, he was using his musical talent for all the wrong reasons.

The only reason he hadn't been punished was because the classmate had actually found it funny instead and that had saved Fourth from a suspension…because that particular classmate had been the son of one of the senior teachers in his high school.

"Why don't you ask Phi Joong?" Pond smiled awkwardly, pointing to his older brother, because he didn't want to be involved in his drama. "I wasn't even here last night. You can ask Fourth. I was at a friend's place, finishing up on my art project. I just came home."

When all eyes turned to Fourth, he simply nodded his head in affirmation of what Pond had just told them. And as he had expected, all glaring glances were once again pointed towards Joong, who looked like someone had doused a bucket of ice-cold water on top of his head.

"The pool! Now!"

Pond didn't wait to hear the rest of Dad Off's warnings, nor did he want that cunning older brother of his to trap him into cleaning the pool along with him. So Pond clutched his sketch book tightly in his arms and dashed down the hallway to his room before unlocking the door and entering and then locking the door behind him.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that everything inside his room was just as it was supposed to be, undisturbed and exactly where he had left it.

Placing his sketch book on the table he went into his bathroom to take a quick shower and changed into a loose, oversized T-shirt and shorts before heading back to his desk and taking a seat on his chair.

He hadn't exactly lied to his parents…he had been with his friend last night, but he had gone to the exhibition held by the students held by the Faculty of Economics. After all, the one he wanted to meet so desperately had been there as well. 

Phuwin Nimtawat.

He opened his sketch book and there were several sketches of the boy he liked. The boy he had met during their first day of University activities and had fallen in love with at first sight. 

There were several other notebooks hidden in his closet. Hundreds of pictures. But somehow, he didn't think he was able to capture his beauty right. Phuwin was one of a kind after all. The middle child of the famous Nimtawat family. The man that every girl in the University was pinning for.

He had tried to confess his feelings several time, but each time, he had chickened out at the last moment and ran away. If only he had the courage to make the first move…

He had been Phuwin's secret admirer for a year now, always looking in from the outside, never having the courage to approach him. But this year, he swore to himself that things would change. He was finally going to confess to the man he had loved in secrecy for over a year…and he was going to be courageous enough to stand beside him, hand in hand…by the end of the year…come what may.

It was a promise he made right then and there, staring at the face of the handsome man in his sketch book. Both to himself and to Phuwin.