Chapter 6 : Teepakorn's Partner

I'm stunned as I look at the phone and see an Instagram post. I am trying to figure the words out, over and over again. But no matter how many times I tried to read it, the result is still the same.

Sarawat's friends are really something! They are making fun of me.

@Nii1987

Is Sarawat really flirting with Tine? Really? No!!!!

As soon as I read that first comment, I wanted to grab my car keys and hurriedly buy betadine and plasters. Just to prepare myself in case I will be beaten by Sarawat's wives throughout the campus. I just hope they have mercy on me.

Why is this happening? What should I do? I threw out the cellphone away from me to get out of trouble.

As I pitched my phone out, the door burst opened with a blazing light from a cat burglar, Ohm. I see an aura of seven colors from him, damn! Who told you to wear these pants, huh? He looks like shit carrying a ton of papers.

In fact, he was not a cat burglar. It was I who gave him a spare key earlier so that he could get in the room and I could see his homeworks. Laziness has become my old best friend.

"Why are you doing a holding-bus-handle pose? Are you gonna dance to Rapter's song?"

"I'm in a bad mood. Please don't add fuel to the fire."

"What's the matter? Is it your monthly period?"

"Didn't a celeb like you know what happened? Deep shit is following me on Instagram right now."

"Is that the thing about Sarawat? You think too much." He finished his words, then he threw the book right in the middle of my head before his colorful body was comfortably placed on the bed.

Ding~

"That's your IG notification. Check it quickly." Ohm says.

"Lazy, I don't want to open it."

"Then just quickly copy the homework."

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding~

"I can't stand it anymore." Finally, my patience exploded out of control to the point where I threw my pen to the floor and then cursed angrily.

"Bring your cellphone to me, I'll find a solution." Ohm immediately told me.

"Take it." I threw my cellphone into bed without looking, but the corner of my eye could still see my friend typing a comment on my phone. Then I focused on copying the homework.

"Done." Ohm looks very happy, holding out and throwing my cellphone into the corner of the bed. Hey, that's my phone!

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"How is it?"

"Don't worry about it. You can go anywhere as usual, nothing to be afraid of."

"Thank you."

I quickly take my phone from the bed. Ohm said that everything is alright but when I saw it-

Fuck!

There's no sound, but the fucking phone is vibrating like non-stop. It's like an earthquake from the TV series Descendants of the Sun. Damn! There's no way to make it stop.

Boss-pol

@Tine_chic @Sarawatlism No. He said to flirt with you.

Tine_chic

@Boss-pol I'm blushing >///<

What the heck? I am not blushing at all! Hmm... Okay... calm down, Tine. Read some more comments.

Tine_chic

@Boss-pol Did he say anything else?

Boss-pol

@Tine_chic he is asking me how to follow you.

Oh, my God. What the hell did you just do, Ohm! Why does he have to ask that in public? And why does Sarawat's friend keep on replying? I want to let them know that I did not type those... Why do I have to miss stupid things like this?

Tine_chic

@Sarawatlism then let him know to follow me and don't cheat

Oh, my God. Ohm, you jerk!

CheryCheerup

what is this? Tine, you are such a character! Hahaha

Chaemfriendzone

it seems like this is just a joke. 555+ Love_Sarawat I ship them since they are in the same club! Hahaha

I thought these people would scold me, but no. I only see they typed 'hahaha'. Some said we're just kidding, some said we're so close that we can joke around. Uh, but I didn't do anything. It's Ohm.

Tine_chic

he loves me

Momomoko

how about you? 55555555 @Sarawatlism

My heart... God bless me please!

I think about Sarawat right now. I didn't know how he would be, but I'm shocked. And I'm worried about him because I know that he is an introvert. He doesn't like being in this kind of situation. What a pity!

Ding~

See? My concern has been sent to him.

Sarawatlism

Do you have time?

Oh, Sarawat. What happened to you? I just thought in my mind and didn't answer anything. I know a lot of your fans will comment here. In five minutes, everything will be clear. Then a comment popped-up...

Sarawatlism

Recommends online lottery website number. Register for free membership. Tickets for 830 baht. Lottery transactions long days. Get online transactions 24/24. Fast, convenient, 100% safe.

What the hell? I am really bothered all this time. Turns out it is just an advertisement. Ahh! My heart...

"Hey! You are so popular now!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean Wat-Tine went viral. I heard the girls said they shipped you guys because of the messages on Instagram."

"That was Ohm! He replied to those comments." Talk of the town right now is about Sarawatlism and Tine_chic. After Ohm helped me "solve" the problem, everything seemed to be much better than before. Because Sarawat's Wives thought that we're close and just having fun. Most of them enjoyed it, and they seemed to be relieved.

As for the person who caused the problem, the great Sarawat himself, I haven't asked him why he created an Instagram account. I also want to inform him that he doesn't need to work that hard and act like that only if Green is around. It doesn't have to be in front of the entire campus because I am afraid that the result may be tragic and I can't tempt women ever again.

"So, do you have a guitar practice today?" Fong asks. I can see from his face that he's hungry for something.

"Yes, but I'll be there just for a while. I have a cheerleading rehearsal today."

"What a shame. I want to take you to eat something I saw on Peuk's page. There are promotions like 'eat pork get dog meat free'. And it's okay if you want to take your partner with you."

"Dog meat? Which dogs?"

"Around here. Damn! How can I know?"

"I thought they were referring to all three of you."

"Hey! We don't look like dogs! We're so handsome! Not a jerk like you."

"Watch your mouth! If you say that again, I'll curse you to be a draftee for the conscription."

"Damn! I'll curse you a black magic! But I think you have been cursed since the day that Green began following you. Hahaha!"

Is it okay to jump and kick a damn friend now? When he mentioned Green, I immediately felt uneasy. During these past two days, he became unfaithful and didn't come near me anymore. But I am still afraid of an aftershock.

With a silence like that, I think there will be a big tsunami coming.

I spent the whole day with my friends. Sometimes, fans of Sarawat will come and send me snacks to ask me directly about him. Think about it, in just one day, my Instagram followers skyrocketed to thousands. This is clearly because of his influence.

Fifteen minutes before the guitar class, I went to the club room to sit and relax. One hand clutching a branded guitar that belongs to Sarawat, and the other hand holding the phone and surfing Instagram. The seniors posted a 15 seconds clip from the juniors, including mine. My clip had been talked about a lot because the place where I recorded it was a haunted dark room owned by a man who is really popular to girls. They were only talking aboutthe room, not my performance.

Honestly, it's very sad. Not even a single sentence that talks about me. I feel hurt. I checked Sarawat's Instagram account. He hasn't changed his profile to private yet because for sure, he doesn't know how to. He still hasn't followed, but the number of his followers surprised me.

For only one night, thousands and thousands of followers even though no photo has been posted. Seriously, how did he do that? Did he buy followers or something? And also, his bio was really annoying even though all the words were spelled correctly. I think his friends helped him to type those characters.

'My friend created this account. I don't know how to post pics.'

Bang! The sound of the door opening was heard after a few moments of silence. I am still alone here because I deliberately came in early so I can finish early as well because I still have an agenda after this. I lifted my head to see who had just arrived. When I noticed that tall body, I frowned automatically. Seeing him wearing a football shirt from Political Science inevitably made me wonder if someone like Sarawat knew how to play soccer with people. It is a bit strange because I always see him wearing neat uniforms all the time.

"You look weird today." I started the conversation.

"How? Am I riding a magic carpet? So you said I'm weird?"

"Damn! I'm sick of you." He laughs softly, and then his voice is minimized by the sound of plastic bags.

"Someone sent it for you."

"Who?"

"I don't know. Maybe your fans?" Wow! So excited! I reach out my hand and take a bag from him. There are some nice goodies- food and sweets. But it would be better if the name on the note papers on each goody is only my name, not with Sarawat's. What is Wat-Tine?

"Wow! Barramundi sandwich! I've never seen this before."

"Umm."

"It looks delicious! But she wrote our name on it." I ended the sentence with an upward glance to see the person standing and he looks very bored. There are still many bags in his hand. Maybe it's still enough to eat in the next life.

"So what?"

"But I know you won't eat it. So... I'll take it!" I pretended to tap his arm so I could pull more plastic bags from his hand. Then I saw chocolates!

"..."

"You definitely don't like this one either." I took my third bag.

"..."

"This one too. You don't like sweets, right?" Then took another bag. I got almost all of the plastic bags from his hand before he spoke something.

"If you wanna take it all, would you like to take me too? I'm giving myself to you."

After hearing that, I hurriedly let go of my hand and raised my fist to punch his stomach.

"Do you want to get hit? Besides, you won't eat anything that is given to you. I don't understand why you are taking some of this."

"When did I say that?" The tall body lowered his body and sat next to me as usual. We waited for the seniors to come. As for me, there was nothing I could do but eat the sandwich.

Damn! This is tuna, not barramundi!

"Hey, you only made Instagram yesterday?" I asked while eating.

"Umm."

"Who made it?"

"Boss. But he refuses to set it to private mode. Can you help me?"

"Nope. I don't want to interfere. I will feel pity for those people who are following you. But your friend is also very nosy, causing a lot of commotion. Good thing, my friend helped me to clean it up."

"Sorry." The low voice sounded.

"But did you tell your friend to tease me, that's why he posted such comments?"

"No." Sarawat only answered briefly. I can't ask anymore. So, I threw the bag next to him then turned to practice playing the chords while waiting for seniors and other friends to come.

Today, practice cannot be completed for only one hour because of the need to train hard. Whereas Sarawat didn't bring his guitar today. So he just walked and lay in the room.

"Do you think someone who has never been in love can write a love song?" Suddenly the person next to me spoke. I turned to look at his face for a moment before sighing.

"I don't think so. You won't have the inspiration when writing it." That is from the experience that I have. People who cannot feel something or have never experienced a situation will not be able to convey it well. I believe so.

"Is that so?"

"You've been writing songs recently?"

"Umm."

"You should make a song about your bad life. On how to be free from all of your wives." Then I supported my joke with a laugh.

"Why are you laughing at me?" He spoke in a low voice, not to mention his sharp gaze.

"Well, you've been writing a long song? For real?"

"Not really. But... You could say that."

"You've been writing a love song, that's why you've tried flirting with me?" I figured everything out! This might be the reason why he accepted my request.

"Something like that."

"It will be really special. Trust me, I am not the usual type of person. I am a complete package. I even have a banana and eggs. See? I am special!" Oh, I forgot he is a man so my joke did not land unlike the girls I flirted with.

"Yes. You are special, that's why I decided to flirt with you."

"Damn! I got goosebumps. But come on, don't fall for me for real! I am a rare item!"

"..."

Silence appeared again. I just prayed that someone would enter the room. I picked up the guitar then played it without getting bored for five minutes. At the last second, I decided to sing a song that I often listen to lately.

"If you saw me cry, it's just a dust in my eyes, I didn't cry.(*3*)

Don't look back. Don't be worry."

"Are you singing a song? I thought you were chanting at first."

"What does that have to do with you, Sarawat? I like the song, so what?"

"Give me the guitar. I'll play it for you."

"So, where is your guitar?"

"I didn't bring it because I will be having a meeting with the football from my faculty." As expected to active students. Only good in extra curricular activities, not in studying.

"I also have cheerleading training later."

"Let me visit you later then." Damn! I hate the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes. It made my heart weak for half a second for no apparent reason. His thick hand reached for the guitar right before his eyes.

I don't know what Sarawat is playing. He is just playing the guitar without lyrics. It also has no texture but is etched with a really good melody that brings joy to my ear and to my heart. It sounded so sweet like a syrup. When I was about to lick my mouth to taste it, the song ended.

"Was it good?" He asked.

"What song is that? I don't understand it."

"Music is the only language in the world that everyone can understand. Even if you don't understand its meaning or its lyrics, you can understand the emotion it is bringing."

"But I don't know what emotion you bring when you play that."

"When you listen to that song, what do you feel?"

"Hungry."

"..."

"Okay, okay! No more jokes."

"..."

"Okay, please help me with that. So what should I feel after listening to that song?" We're just here together. If you don't help me, then who will? If someone asks, someone must respond.

"You must feel love. Because that is a love song."

Boom! Pack the goods, save the items, and play elsewhere. No matter what I hear, I don't feel anything. Maybe because I did not listen that much and only focused on the honey? But why are my hands trembling? Why is my heart pounding? Maybe, I'm not used to his jokes so I can't control my emotions?

Damn! My heart...

Three minutes later, people began to arrive in turns until the entire room was full. I sat separately with Sarawat from a different angle because we have different guitar teachers. Also, he can't practice because he has a soccer practice schedule. So the seniors let us both leave earlier than the others. But before we could pack up and leave, the door of the room was pushed by a dog-mouthed senior. Mr. Disathat, who appeared as if accompanied by a trumpet sound. But he did not come alone, he also brought someone.

And... That's Green!

Shit!

"This is our new members. From now on they will be practicing the guitar with everyone. Get along well, and do not play with each other." When he finished, he pushed open the door and walked away leaving these creatures who will become one of our club's new members. Didn't you say that you will not accept many people?

"Introduce yourself." P'Air spoke with a gentle smile. Then I turn to Sarawat and scrape my mouth, ready to cry as if I am asking for sympathy.

"Hello, my name is Green from the Faculty of Anthropology. Please help and cheer meeeeee~."

He might look cheerful and friendly for everyone. But for me, it feels scary. Especially his eyes when he looked at me as if he wanted me to be eaten alive.

"Hello! My name is Prae. I'm studying medicine. Please help me." Wow! A buzzing sound ensued as soon as she finished getting acquainted. I looked at the girl across the stage without looking away. She wears the Faculty of Medicine badge. She has a beautiful face and has a gentle smile. The point is white which I must call heaven and earth. I think I'm in love with this girl.

"Hello! I'm Earn, studying architecture." When finished, she took her guitar and walked to sit with a cool attitude. She was wearing a uniform shirt with torn jeans, completely different from the others, making men whistle teasingly because they met a trusted friend, not to mention she had a beautiful face.

"Alright, friends. Please welcome our new members and don't forget to get along well!" Said a senior.

Then this creature called Green started to approach me and stick to me like gum.

"I haven't seen you for two days. I really miss you." Green is the first to speak. I guess he has given up. Who would have thought that he would return stronger than before? Is this a face or building material? Looks like concrete is also thicker than his face.

"But I never miss you. Why did you join here?"

"I want to play the guitar." He is lying.

"If you want to play, then go there and play far away from me."

"Tine. Tine, do you know what 1+1 is?" I just kept quiet for a while.

"You go there and play." I pointed to the corner of the room with a very bored face.

"Oh... 1+1=2 but nothing else. So what does Tine + Green produce? Is that love? Eeeee~"

Tine + Green is these legs that are ready to kick you. I do not want to extend time here so I walked away and accidentally bumped into someone. She is the medical student named Prae. She smiled sweetly at me. Wow! So sweet that it's like the Glico ice cream.

"My name is Tine. I am from the Faculty of Law." I introduced myself.

"Umm. I'm Prae. Nice to meet you."

"So why..." Before I could ask a question, my wrist was pulled by the thick hands of Sarawat.

"It's time for cheerleading training. Hurry now! The seniors are waiting for you." He pulled me out of the room in a way that is really confusing. Even Green can't say anything.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Doing your business." And then he left.

The faculty cheerleading training session begins soon after. The seniors let the first-year students do the standard posture for half an hour. We were standing for so long that our sweats began to flow all over our body.

When they announced lunch break, my tears wanted to flow. I almost crawl to escape the tiredness. I sat down and picked up my lunch box then started to put rice into my mouth, replenishing energy for a while. I then heard cheers and screams from seniors which made me surprised. I looked at where the sound came from then I saw the tall body of someone so familiar approaching with a super cold look.

Sarawat.

"Why did Sarawat come to Law school?" My senior asked him and is trembling so much.

"Come to see Tine."

"Naughty! Come here to find his partner. Hahaha!"

Sarawat dropped into the opposite chair and stared at my lunch box then to my face.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"None."

"Why did you come?"

"I told you I'd stop by."

"Done with the football selection process?"

"Umm."

"I'm sure you are not chosen."

"Look at my face before saying insults."

"Then, hopefully your team loses." I do not know why I wanted to bully him. When I first looked for Sarawat, I remembered it very well. I came and whined to beg for help. Now only anger can not be issued. If Green the swamp leeches didn't stick to the music club, I might have let Sarawat go.

"Tine, come here for a moment. We want to ask for your help." My senior waved at me. I then stood up and walked towards someone who was sitting with the group. They gave me a long list of papers that were even longer than my mother's shopping paper.

"What is this?"

"Have you ever seen the Tootsie Diary? (*) We just want to get to know Sarawat, your friend. So I want Tine to take this and ask Sarawat a little." I bent and scanned the paper in my hand. Seeing the writing that looks like this worm, I immediately knew if they wrote very quickly.

"I should ask these questions to him?"

"Yes. Let us know immediately his answers. We want to know more about Sarawat." Seriously!?

"You want me to ask him now?"

"Yes. Go, Tine! Help us." I wanted to refuse but when I saw their hopeful eyes, my heart softened and turned my face to the chair awkwardly.

"You... I have something to ask."

"Eat your food first." Sarawat said in a nonchalant voice.

"I'm good at multitasking."

"Eat first, you will choke." I'm afraid if I offend him, he wouldn't allow me to ask him the questions. So, I quickly finished my meal.

"The seniors are asking me to ask you something."

"Say it."

"If there are two things to choose, which one do you choose? Okay, let's begin! First, Louis Vitton or Gucci?"

"What is that?"

"..."

This is just the first question but I already want to beat his head to death. That is not a difficult question. But I need to understand that he is an ignorant guy who doesn't care about anything. Sarawat is clearly at the center of the confusion.

"Nevermind. Alright let me ask another question, Adidas or Nike?"

"Onitsuka."

"Choose from the options, buffalo."

"I don't like both of them."

"Umm." Our question and answer today is like asking what to eat, and you answer it's fun to go to the waterfall. Something like that. Nonsense.

"iPhone or Samsung?"

"Samsung."

"But you are using an iPhone."

"I use Samsung." Then he took out the Samsung Hero that I bought for 500 baht. Ooh, tears flow to Erawan waterfall. I thought he threw it in the trash. Wipe away the tears and proceed to next question.

"One Piece or Dragon Ball?"

"I like both of them."

"I told you to choose, so you have to choose."

"Dragon ball."

"Waltz or Post-Rock ?"

"Waltz."

"Guitar or Drums?"

"Drums."

"Soap Operas or Movies?"

"Soap operas. Especially soap operas that have lots of episodes."

After answering that, it seemed strange. So, I added my own question to verify if he is taking this seriously.

"Music or painting?"

"Painting."

"I knew it! You answered everything wrongly." I immediately scolded him. Go to cheat with me, wait on your next life...

"I answered what I hate." But I ask you to choose what you like. With the desire to know what was more in his hatred, an idea suddenly came out.

"So between me and the terrible Korean drama series, what will you choose?"

"You."

"Eh? So you really hate me that much."

"This time, I answered what I like the most."

"..."

"Are you done, Troublemaker? I'm hungry, I'll get something to eat."

"What? Ahh... Yes... Yes... I'm done." But before he left, the thick-faced Sarawat turned to throw a question making me more silent...

"And you? Handsome or not handsome?"

"What? Me? I chose the handsome." I said, pointing my finger at myself.

"Okay."

"Okay what?"

"You just chose me because I am handsome." Then he left.

The seniors also looked at me eagerly to see how the mission was. Honestly, everything failed. But what the hell? Making people confused then leave without clarifying things out? Damn! My heart...

I returned to my room at eight o'clock because my senior made me go home late. Actually, this is not a strenuous exercise. But because of the results of the interrogation of the national husband Sarawat, the seniors went mad because they can't afford to buy an Onitsuka brand. Very bad. Because I was tired all day, I lay in bed surfing on the phone until I fell asleep.

When I wake up, it's almost eleven o'clock. Activities after waking up in the middle of the night are not washing my face or bathing, but surfing on social networks to read the news. The Instagram feed was a chaos again. One hour ago, Sarawat caused another big uproar by posting a picture with words and a brief description.

♥ 27,079 likes

Sarawatlism

I cortected it many times byt it stil wronh so annoyin

When you are handsome, you can also misspell.

Momoko

I choose two

Prem_kanin

What game is this, Sarawat ?

Apple09me

number one. Because sarawat is number one in my heart.

And that comment got an answer from him an hour ago

Sarawatlism

one is setting to private and two is deleting this account

Fc-sarawatlism

@Sarawatlism Rrrrgghh ! Sarawat! Don't joke like that.

I am laughing out loud. Seeing his wives worry tends to be funny and sad for me. People with problems have the right to improve their hearts. Also, the number of likes for just his single photo is more than the likes on my combined posts for two years! Damn!

Rrrrrr~

Not in silent mode. The sound from my cellphone rang. This is a strange number that I don't know. With curiosity, I quickly answered the phone and spoke.

"Hello." The other end did not send anything. All I heard was a click. "

Hello?" I say it again. If you just keep quiet like this, I will hand up and block your number.

[Tine...]

The first sentence came out then I realized whose voice it was.

"How did you get my phone number?"

[When I had your phone. Anyway, this is my new number.]

"Do you change your number everyday? Anyway, what's wrong? You didn't even want to give your number before."

[I am calling to practice flirting with you for tomorrow. I heard you want to get rid of a man named Green, right?]

Call to practice now? Really? And inevitably, we talked for almost two hours until my eyelids almost collapsed. I don't want to take a shower anymore. I am so sleepy that I can't open my mouth anymore.

" Hey... I'm sleepy." I yawned at him.

[Then sleep now.]

"You need to hang up."

[One or two?]

"What?"

[Choose.]

"Geez. I saw it on Instagram already. Then I choose two! You are irritating. Go delete the damn account.."

[I'm asking something different this time.]

"Ohh. Then, number one. "

[Number one is me.]

"Then I will choose number two."

[Still me.]

"Which one is not you?"

[Nothing. You can only choose me. Sleep tight.]

________________

*3* - ทางของฝุ่น Fhoon (Dust) - Atom Chanakan

(*) Tootsies Diary is a famous Thai drama that deals with the lives of 4 tootsies and how they Find love. Its available in GDH and Netflix.