Chapter 68 Shock

It was almost ten o'clock in the evening when Decha parked his car on the side of the road at the gate of the community. Santichai looked at Decha, who was still sad. He said, "Frank, do you want to stay. KK is on the night shift today and he won't be home until tomorrow morning."

Decha smiled and said, "No…thank you for spending the afternoon with me."

"I love the stories you tell. I feel sorry for your friend," Santichai said. "Frank.... Please tell Asnee that we can still be friends if he accepts my decision."

"You know that there won't be a day like that, but I'll tell him," Decha said. "Thanks. Good night. I'll call you when I get home."

Santichai stepped out of the car and closed the door. He said, "Be careful while driving." Santichai waved his hand and started walking towards the gate of the community.

Decha shouted, "Santichai…"

Santichai took two steps before returning to the car. He asked, "What's the matter, Frank."

Decha said, "Ai Chai...if I ask you to call Asnee and wish him an early happy birthday, would you?"

Santichai shook his head. "No, Frank...I'm not going to call him."

Decha sighed, "Well...it's okay...I tried." He rolled up the window and drove away.

Santichai walked back to the guard, got on his bike, and drove back to KK's home. On the way back, he kept wondering why Decha called him by his name. They had known each other for so many years, and he never called Santichai by his first name. He parked his bike in the driveway and walked into the living room. He was sitting on the couch; he took out his phone and googled Triple X Knockout. Decha told him how his girlfriend made money by fighting illegally. From his conversation with Decha, he learned that Triple X Knockout usually streams their fights live. Also, all fighters must wear ski mask to hide their identity. He scrolls down slowly, there are hundreds of old videos. He kept scrolling down, chuckling at the ridiculous stage name from time to time, until one caught his eye. He stopped and stared at the name Chainee VS Grim Reaper.

Santichai murmured, "Chainee..." He pressed the play button.

The two fighters continued to fight in the ring without interruption. The two fighters are technically equal. Fifteen minutes into the fight, Chainee's punch misses Grim Reaper, who punches Chainee on the right side of the head, and Chainee falls to the ground. The referee starts counting, the camera zooms in on Chainee's face, blood drips down Chainee's nose. The crowd cheered and Chainee seemed to move his lips.

Santichai rewinds the clip quickly, and the moment the camera zooms in, he blocks all other sounds in his ears and focuses only on Chainee's lips movements.

Chainee murmured, "Chai…"

Santichai's hand suddenly softened and dropped the phone on the floor. His entire body seemed to freeze in time, and suddenly remembered Decha's words. Staring at his phone, Chainee slowly got up and started fighting again. Tears suddenly fell from Santichai's cheeks. He covered his mouth with his hands and slowly fell to his knees, watching the fighting clip scene play to the end. Although at the end of the video, Chainee was announced as the winner, but that made Santichai cry even more.

Santichai didn't know how long he had been sitting on the floor, until his trembling hand slowly stretched out to the phone, and then he came back to his senses. He picked up his phone and called Decha. Decha picked up the phone and asked, "Ai Chai, what's wrong?"

Santichai asked, "Ai Frank, is Chainee Asnee's stage name?"

Frank said, "What? I don't understand what you're trying to say."

Santichai went crazy, "Ai Frank, don't lie to me, I look at the triple knockout site where you said your friend was fighting, I look at it. Chainee, Chai and Nee. That's his stage name."

Frank said, "Ai Chai, forget it, you said you were happy, you are living a happy life now. Why dig? Let it go. You told me yourself; you forgot Asnee, you look forward to fall in love with KK. Then go with the flow."

Santichai cried, "Ai Frank, don't lie to me. I may look stupid, but I'm not stupid. The story you told me about your friend was Asnee's story, right?"

Decha said, "No, it's not."

Santichai sobbed and said, "You... just admit it. We've known each other for so many years, and you've never called me by my first name, so why are you calling me by my name tonight?"

Decha didn't want to argue with Santichai, so he hung up.

Santichai grabbed his jacket, hopped on his bike, and followed the GPS on his phone back to the house Decha took him to earlier that afternoon. He stopped at the gate to the house, and looked at the lock on the gate. He took out his phone and called Decha.

Decha replied, "Hey Ai Chai, I already told you that those stories have nothing to do with Asnee. I have a lot of friends. You and Ai Nee are not my only friends. You are very happy right now, so do not ruin your chance in the sun."

Santichai asked, "Frank, gave me the passcode for the lock on the gate."

Frank asked, "Ai Chai, where are you?" He stopped abruptly and pulled the car to the side of the road. "Ai Chai, answer, have you returned to the house?"

Santichai shouted madly, "Gave me the passcode, Frank." Decha could hear Santichai's broken cries. "Please."

Frank asked, "You are back at the house, aren't you?"

Santichai said, "The passcode, Frank."

Frank sighed, "0822. I don't know the passcode to the house."

Santichai hung up the phone. He quickly entered the code and the gate swung opened. He pushed his bike in and closed the gate behind him. He now understands why the house looks familiar to him. He should've known; it's his design. He walked in the front door and entered Asnee's year of birth, but it was incorrect. He entered in his own years of birth, but it is also incorrect. He entered 082215 and the front door opened. He should have known; Asnee and he had met in August, in room twenty-two, when they were fifteen.

Santichai stretched out his trembling right hand and turned the door handle. He walked into the room and tears began to fall. Everything in the house was the same as he had pictured when they were talking about their dream house.

Asnee and the voice of his youth came back to Santichai as he walked through the small beach house. He heard their voices happily talking about what a kitchen should look like, or what their bedroom should look like. Santichai doesn't want a big house because he knows Asnee will not help him clean. Their small two-bedroom house. Their dream homes.

Santichai walks past the kitchen, staring at the large glass door that leads to the endless sea. He looked down at the chair he and Decha sat in not long ago. His hands trembled so badly that his key fell to the floor. When he turned to pick up the key, he saw fourteen pictures on the wall, the many pictures of Asnee and him from their youth until now. At the top of the frame, it reads "The Chapters Of Our Lives". As he approached, there seemed to be no picture on the fifteenth picture frame. He found only a small gift box sitting on the frame. Santichai took the box, opened it, and cried aloud.

(Memory)

Asnee asked happily, "Do you really like it?"

Santichai said, "Mmm... I like it."

Asnee said, "Chai, it's all settled, I'll be back in two days. Do you want me to get you anything?"

Santichai replied in a timid voice, "No, I don't need anything."

Asnee shouted, "What? I can't hear you; the music is too loud."

Santichai said, "I don't need anything."

Asnee said, "Chai, I can't hear you. I'll get you something, okay."

Santichai, "Mmm..." Santichai can hear Somsak and Ruangsak calling out in the background for Asnee to rejoin the party.

Asnee said, "I have to go back to the party now. See you in two days. Since you're working, I'll have Frank pick me up."

(Memory End)

Santichai fell to his knees, staring at the ring, he wondered, was this ring supposed to be for him. At the time, he thought the ring was Asnee's engagement ring. Asnee's voice suddenly entered his ears "Chai, trust me... trust me again. What I did in the past was for us to have a better life in the future. I am almost there don't leave me at this time".

Santichai sobbed, "Asnee, why are you lying to me? I'm not a smart person... If you don't tell me directly, I won't figure it out."

Decha walked in and closed the door. He saw Santichai kneeling and sobbing in front of the many pictures he had taken. He walked up to Santichai and said, "That's what I told him."

Santichai raised his head and hugged Decha quickly, "Frank...I'm the real scumbag, am I?"

Decha said, "You're not... Ai Chai, you're not. If you're a scumbag then I must be the devil."

Santichai burst into tears, "Ai Frank…Is Asnee dying?"

Decha's tears slowly rolled down his cheeks. He trembled and said, "Mmm…if he refuses the operation, he will."

Santichai asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Decha said, "Brain tumor."

Santichai felt all the energy in his body had been sucked out of him. His lips trembled so much that it was difficult for him to speak. He stammered, "Brai...brain..." He slid into Decha's arms.

Decha quickly grabbed a hold of Santichai. He said, "Ai Chai…calm down…calm down."