Chapter 19: Coincidences

Pond ducked behind one of the burly bouncers in the club to let Joong pass through.

He had already arrived hella late thanks to his love drunk little sister, who had gone out with the senior she had a humongous crush on and then gotten lost trying to catch the wrong bus home. Now the last thing he wanted was to get stuck helping P'Joong drive his drunken friend home.

And wasn't this the second time he was seeing P'Joong with P'Dunk? The first time, he had seen him trying to escape their house in the morning, after the wild party that P'Joong had thrown. And now, it was P'Joong carrying him home practically plastered to each other?

He understood that P'Dunk was drunk and could hardly stand straight, but didn't it seem like his Phi was enjoying it a little too much? The last he remembered, Joong and Dunk were sworn enemies.

"Nong? Are you going to move or do you plan on hiding the whole night?"

Startled at the heavy voice, Pond looked up at the nearly seven foot bouncer and immediately moved out of his shadow. "Karthot khab, Phi Tum." He waied in front of the man before dashing into the club.

Thankfully, he didn't need an ID because he had been here before, plenty of times. The bar belonged to P'Luke, who was P'Nirin's fiancé and thanks to Joong being an almost regular at this bar, he had the pleasure of accompanying his brother several times.

Now, he looked towards the end of the club, to try and find Aun, who hadn't been answering his calls either.

"Ai sat!" He cursed as his eyes scanned the customers, but he couldn't find the familiar face of his best friend. "Did you just abandon me here? Where the fuck are you?"

But as another one of his calls went unanswered, he found a familiar voice coming from somewhere in the room. Turning to his right, he found Aun laughing and enjoying his drinks with two girls sitting on either side of him.

No wonder he wasn't picking up the phone. Fucker was too busy flirting with the girls!

Ai Hia! Saraleo! Pond cursed his friend in every possible language he knew. Why the hell did you bring girls to this meeting? How will I face Phuwin now?

But before he could turn away and make a run for an empty table in the middle of the room, Aun noticed him and called out to him immediately.

"Damnit!" Pond forced himself to smile as he turned back and approached the table. "Ai Aun, why didn't you answer my calls? I've been trying to find you for so long!"

"Karthot na, Pond." Aun waied to his friend, already looking like he had a good too many drinks. "My phone has been on silent since classes started. I forgot to turn it back to sound mode."

"Of course, you did." Pond grumbled under his breath, before taking a seat next to one of Aun's female friends but at the same time, he scooted his chair a bit further away so that anyone looking wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Ah, Pond, meet Pim," Aun swung his arm around the petite woman's shoulder beside him, who blushed at the sudden act. "And this is Fah. Pim, Fah, meet my bestie, Pond Naravit."

"Sawadee Khab." Pond joined his hands in a wai at the two women. "Sabai di mai khab?"

"Wadee. Sabai kha," Fah, the long haired woman in a pink dress who was sitting next to him greeted him with enthusiasm. "Are you in the same faculty as Aun, Kha?"

"Chai," Pond smiled. "I am."

"Oh! That means you're very good at drawing, right?" Fah seemed to have taken an open interest in Pond, but when he turned to Aun for help, it was to find him and Pim giggling and whispering to each other with not an inch of space between their chairs.

"Um…I guess." He laughed nervously. "I'm a 2nd year Fine Arts student."

"Then you must be fantastic!" Fah leaned closer to Pond, making him back away wearily. "Can I see some of your art? Can you draw a portrait of me?"

How on earth did I get myself in this situation? Pond thought to himself, feeling perspiration bead his forehead. And how on earth do I get out of this?

Just then, the microphone buzzed with sound, snapping everyone's attention to the band onstage…and Pond felt star-struck once again.

"Thuk khn," Phuwin's soft yet firm voice drifted through the microphone, sending a shiver down Pond's spine. "This next song goes out to anyone who has had a secret crush on someone, but never had the courage to express themselves."

Pond felt his heart thrash against his ribcage.

The last time he met Phuwin at P'Nirin's café…he had nearly fainted when he had been asked by him if the hotel was indeed the first time they had met. And then he had seen one of his drawings on Phuwin's lock screens.

Pond had dismissed it as a simple coincidence. After all, he was always around Phuwin, secretly watching him whenever he had an event. So it wasn't unnatural for Phuwin to have noticed him from time to time. 

As for the drawing, it could very well have been another coincidence. Because he had once dropped one of his drawings at an event and since Phuwin's band had been playing that night, anyone could've picked it up and handed it to him. It wasn't any big deal…right?

But now…what Phuwin had just said…

Another coincidence? Was that what he was going to tell himself once again? Or was there something far obvious happening right in front of his eyes that he was unaware of?

"This song is to give encouragement to those unrequited lovers, to go ahead and confess their feelings. Who knows? You just might get a positive reply." Phuwin adjusted his guitar strap over his shoulders. "If you know this song, sing along na khaaabb…"

The keyboard started playing a softer melody, and since Pond was familiar with almost all of Phuwin's songs, it didn't take him long to guess which song it was…and it was one of his favorites.

Mong bpai bon fah ti mi duang dao mak mai (Look up to the sky with all the stars)

The entire room fell quiet as Phuwin's angelic voice floated through the speakers. Pond was sure that others were just as spellbound as he was.

Go mai tao huajai ti chan hai ter man mak gwa (It can't compare to my love for you)

Khaotung joined in as his partner, his voice even softer…and Pond wished it was him singing instead.

Hak wa lom fon ja pad pa kwam rak chan bpai (If the wind will blow my heart away)

Mmae wa yu saen glai rak ni ja bpai ha ter (No matter how far, this love will find a way)

And then the chorus began.

Kae mi ter dang mon sagot (Only you… it's like magic)

Mai at yud rak ter dai ley (I cannot stop loving you)

Kae piang ter, ter keu kwam rak kong chan (Only you… you are my one true love)

Ik gi roi reudoo nao (A hundred seasons pass by)

Tam glang moo dao song bpragai bon fah (Among the stars shining in the sky)

Rak ti hai ter mai koey ja jang hay bpai (My love for you will never fade away)

Mai wa nan tao rai (No matter how much time pass by)

Ter ja yang mi chan ti rak ter tang huajai (You'll have me who's madly in love with you always)

Just as the song came to an end…Phuwin looked across the crowd, and his eyes locked with Pond's.

Or was that just Pond's imagination? Because the stage lights would probably make it impossible for him to look at anyone…right?

"Suay mak!" Fah clapped her hands together, breaking Pond out of his thoughts. "He's so handsome, na? I wonder who he is…"

"Hope you all enjoyed tonight's performance!" Phuwin was saying as his band packed up their equipment and the entire club erupted in cheers, drowning out the rest of what Fah was telling him. "Hope to see you all soon! Wai jee gan, khab."

Pond's entire focus was on Phuwin and his band as they came out through the curtains that he knew led backstage as the DJ replaced the live singers and a lot of the crowd moved to the dance floor to dance the night away.

He realized that the only other empty table he had seen previously had actually been theirs all along, as the band now headed in that direction, followed by two other boys who he didn't seem to know…however, Pim sure did.

"Tutor! Yim!" Pim called out to the two boys immediately, her voice clearly louder than the music in the club because one of the boys turned back to search for the source of the voice.

Pim raised her hands and waved at them, calling the two of them over. 

It wasn't long before the two of them were standing in front of their table, giving Pim a hug.

"It's been a long time, Pim!" The one called Tutor told her, a huge smile on his face. "How come you're here?"

"I came to have fun with my friends," Pim giggled. "By the way…do you know the band members?"

"Oh, chai." Yim nodded enthusiastically. "Aren't they so cool? Some of them are in the same book club as us! They're really talented!"

"Can we join you then? Please?" Pim asked them and Pond watched helplessly as even Fah joined her. "Na, na?"

"Dai dee." A voice sounded from right behind Tutor and Yim, startling almost everyone. "Of course you can join us."

Pond's head snapped in the direction of the familiar voice and his eyes widened in shock immediately.

Because it was Phuwin who stood behind the couple, in his black shirt and pants with his denim jacket swung over his shoulders…and his eyes locked with Pond as a small smirk formed on his lips.

There was no way this was a coincidence…there was just no way.

Which meant…Phuwin had indeed seen him from across the room, even in a sea of crowd. And his expression now told him that he had Pond exactly where he wanted him.

Looks like Pond was finally running out of excuses to run now.