P.Panli: Lee finished my classes a while ago.
P.Panli: Lee is now smoking in front of the faculty building.
glaijai: Okay, we'll practice the presentation in the small meeting room in the library.
glaijai: Room 1020.
P.Panli: Ok ka.
glaijai: But Panlee, you can finish your cigarette first because I'm walking to the cafeteria to buy a drink with my friend right now.
glaijai: There's only Thot in the room right now.
P.Panli: Oh, okay.
glaijai: sent a sticker
GlaiJai sent back a sticker of a fluffy white rabbit with sparkling eyes. The half-burnt white cigarette touched his lips again before being tossed onto the wet ground. The name 'Thot' flashing on the screen made Panlee decide to head straight to the meeting room immediately. Knowing that the awful Thot, who always bullied GlaiJai, was sitting alone in the room made him hurry without hesitation.
I've been wanting to talk to you in private for a long time, Thot...Arriving at the meeting room, the person inside showed a hint of surprise upon seeing him through the large glass panel. Panlee had used this room before and knew that without the person inside unlocking the door, no one could enter from the outside.
Thot was still sitting in his chair with a clearly worried expression. Panlee raised his hand to knock on the glass door to bring him back to his senses. What he did was successful because Thot quickly got up from his chair to quickly press the unlock button.
As the door opened, Panlee brushed past Thot into the room. Thot closed the door and returned to his seat. Panlee scanned for GlaiJai's bag, aiming to sit in his chair. The brown leather bag engraved with the name 'glaijai' on the corner made it clear that GlaiJai had chosen a seat far from Thot.
The tall figure sat down in GlaiJai's chair. Panlee remained silent to think about something. The atmosphere in the square room was quiet as if no one was there. His thick hand reached out to grab a white pen that was placed next to the notebook that he had given GlaiJai to play with while thinking about what to say to the other person.
Panlee turned to look at the person sitting far away. Thot, who didn't know how long he had been looking at him, quickly looked away as soon as he looked back. He was still playing with his phone without looking up at him. Panlee decided to speak up.
"Did you tell your friend what I asked you to?"
"..."
"That bastard Mek..."
The questioned party looked up, his large eyes darting nervously. "I... I told him."
"..."
"I told him, so don't hold me responsible if he does anything else."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean I've done what you asked, but if Mek does anything else to Glai, that's not on me. You can't pin it all on me."
Panlee stared at him intently, still casually spinning the pen in his hand. "Why can't I? ... Because all of you have the same shitty nature."
"And what does that have to do with me?"
That question made the pen stop mid-spin. Panlee pressed his tongue to his cheek in frustration before replying. "How can you even ask that?"
"..."
"If you hadn't invited Glai to that place that day... do you think Mek would've done that to him?"
"..."
"I know you know about it. There's no way you don't know what happened to Glai." Thot's refusal to meet his gaze only confirmed his suspicions.
"I know everything!" Because Panlee couldn't control his emotions anymore, he shouted at the other party without thinking, "I know everything you've done to Glai."
"..."
"You've been hurting him all along... and you're still doing it now."
"..."
"You even tried to take advantage of him in your group project."
"..."
"If you keep bullying or taking advantage of him... you're going to face the real me, Thot."
"..."
"I can talk nicely, but if it comes to using force, I'm not above it."
"..."
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Panlee slammed his hand on the wooden table, making a loud noise. Thot flinched a little before looking up to meet his eyes again. "I'm asking you !"
"I-I understand... I won't mess with Glai anymore."
"Good."
"B-but like I said..."
"What do you know? Tell me everything."
"..." Thot swallowed hard. He seemed hesitant to speak.
"If you don't talk... I'll assume the worst and take it out on all of you."
"..."
"I'm not bluffing... If anything happens to Glai,"
"..."
"The moment you step out of the university gates... I'll beat you up immediately." Thot began to panic, stammering. "I didn't mean to... This time, I really didn't mean to."
"..." Even though nothing had happened to Khun Glai yet, just knowing that someone intended to harm him made Panlee feel a sharp pain inside.
"The day before yesterday, I met Mek at the condo... I told him everything you asked me to tell him."
"..."
"Then Mek got angry... He thought you were threatening him. He said you're trying to show off, acting tough."
"..."
"So he..."
"So he wants to test it out..."
Thot nodded slightly while taking a deep breath. "I'm confident he doesn't have feelings for Glai anymore because he's currently talking to a girl from the Communication Arts faculty... but he's going back to see Glai."
"..."
"...just to provoke you."
"That bastard must have too much free time!"
"..."
"And what else is he planning to do?"
"On Wednesday... the reception team where Glai is the team leader, will go to help the art team set up the booth for the Open House event behind the university... in the open area."
"..."
"Mek plans to see Glai..." Ai Thot paused for a moment before quickly continuing.
"...but I warned him not to mess with Glai. He said he'd just greet Glai... nothing else."
"And what's the part where you said it wasn't intentional... because, in the end, you intentionally told your friend where Glai would be and what he'd be doing."
"..."
"You paved the way for your friend to harm the person I love."
"..."
Panlee lost control to the point of raising his hand, ready to punch the other party's face. However, seeing Thot raise his arm to shield his face in fear, he tried to hold himself back. Panlee could still recall his dad's teachings clearly, 'Khun Pan, no matter how angry we are, if the other party shows no intention to fight back, don't hurt them. If you do, it's no different from harming someone weaker than you.'
Panlee gritted his teeth tightly before lowering his hand back to his side. He tried to calm himself before speaking. "Alright, Thot... This time, I'll let you off."
"..."
"But if there's a next time... if you let this happen again..."
"..."
"You'll definitely deal with me."
"..."
"As for your friend... he'll meet me soon enough."
"..."
Panlee stared at the worried-looking individual before asking, "Let me ask you seriously... What did Glai ever do to you guys?.. Why do you have to keep hurting him?"
"..."
"What did Glai do to you guys so much... that you have to keep making him go through such bad things?"
"..."
"Honestly, it's not just the two of you that I feel like punching... there's another bastard senior."
Thot frowned slightly in confusion before saying, "You mean P'Chin, right?"
e"Yeah! That bastard!"
"P'Chin has nothing to do with this."
"..."
"If you say you know everything I've done... then you'd know that everything happened because of me alone, including the incident where everyone in the department learned that Glai was rejected by P'Chin. P'Chin wasn't the one who told other juniors about it."
"I know..." Panlee analysed the changing expression and tone of Thot, who seemed to be protecting that senior. Despite being uncertain, he decided to voice his suspicion.
"Do you secretly like Chin?"
"..."
"You keep bullying Glai... because you secretly like Chin too?"
"Mind your own business... Just don't mess with P'Chin."
The newfound truth infuriated Panlee even more. "You really do secretly like Chin, don't you?"
"..."
Sometimes the clearest answer is silence and avoidance. Panlee bit his lip hard enough to feel pain before speaking. "As someone who also loves in secret... you shouldn't have done this."
"..."
"Because you should know how hard it is for someone who loves in secret to gather the courage to confess."
"..."
"Because if it was easy... you wouldn't still be secretly in love with Chin right now."
"..."
"...and it hurts so much knowing that you, who clearly understand how much rejection hurts, still chose to make Glai feel even worse, repeatedly subjecting him to bad things."
"..."
"You're disgusting, Ai Thot."
"..."
"And everything you've done so far... has it made Chin look at you even once?"
"You don't know anything... In the first year, P'Chin only cared about him, only looked after him."
Panlee gritted his teeth even tighter because he knew why Chin did that and was starting to grow tired of Thot's jealousy. "Ai Chin did that because he's selfish."
"..."
"The person you have a crush on isn't much better than you... that's all I can say."
"..."
"I won't interfere with Chin... not because you asked."
"...."
"But because I think that right now, he's probably living in torment with guilt. No matter how much he regrets, he'll never forget the awful things he's done... let him suffer with that guilt until he dies."
"..."
"But for people like you, those who never feel remorse for you've done... sometimes you need a slap on the head to wake up."
"I..." Thot swallowed hard before continuing, "...I promise I won't mess with Glai again."
"Engrave that in your head... and don't even think about breaking that promise." Thot nodded before avoiding his gaze again. Panlee tried to calm his raging emotions before Khun Glai arrived at the room because he didn't want Glai to know about his conversation with Thot or to worry about any of this. Panlee was sure that if Glai knew he was dealing with these people, Glai would feel uneasy.
So, he worked to regain his composure quickly. The appearance of GlaiJai helped ease his anger considerably. The smalle figure in a navy-blue suit smiled through the large glass pane. Panlee immediately got up to unlock the door for him. GlaiJai entered the room with a smile and turned to ask him, "Have you been waiting long, puppy?"
"Not too long."
The smaller one nodded before saying, "Then, wait for me a bit... I'll quickly finish practicing my presentation."
"Yes, sir."
After replying, Panlee sat back in the same chair. GlaiJai, the rightful owner, had gone to stand by the projector screen and showed no intention of reclaiming it. Panlee glanced at the person beside him who had just sat down. Pie smiled at him warmly, so he returned the gesture.
"Panlee, I've been meaning to thank you so many times, but I never got the chance."
"..."
"About the clothes... the ones you told Glai to return to me."
"Oh..." Panlee nodded, recalling that he had asked GlaiJai to return Pie's clothes to the shop and promised to cover all expenses himself. "It's nothing, really."
"That... um, that guy, he won't come asking for me to take responsibility again, will he?"
Panlee chuckled before responding, "I've already handled it. P'Pee wouldn't dare demand anything from you, Pie."
"Panlee... P'Pee must be really handsome in person, right?" The attractive woman sitting next to Pie leaned over to look at him. Panlee remembered that this close friend of GlaiJai was named May. "I've seen him as model for the shop's new collection, and they posted photos on the shop's Instagram."
"It's hard to say..." Panlee said with a laugh. In truth, P'Pee was stunningly handsome, to the point that even some partners had begged him to tone it down. But Panlee wasn't used to praising people so directly. "...he's good-looking, I guess."
"There you go... and Pie said he wasn't good-looking!"
"I just think he's not... what's so handsome about him? He looks like a playboy."
"And what does a playboy look like?"
"A playboy looks just like that guy."
Panlee smiled as he watched Pie and May argue about P'Pee. Pie clearly disliked P'Pee to the point of giving him a nickname the first time they met. However, the nickname 'Playboy' seemed suitable for P'Pee.
"What are you all talking about?"
A familiar voice drew Panlee's attention away from the pair. When he turned to look at the source, he saw GlaiJai standing beside him. Panlee wasn't sure when GlaiJai had approached the desk, leaning casually with his arms crossed and flashing a sweet smile. At that moment, Panlee thought that 'little rascal' was the perfect nickname for GlaiJai because he was making Panlee's heart race with his charming manner.
Panlee's large hand moved to gently caress GlaiJai's slender leg. He had no inappropriate thoughts, he just wanted to convey, 'I'm falling for you so hard, through this small touch. GlaiJai glanced down at his hand and bit his lip before looking back up at him. In a soft voice, as if meant only for the two of them, GlaiJai said,
"Puppy... stop being clingy."
Panlee chuckled softly and withdrew his hand. "I really want to kiss your hand, though."
"You little puppy!"
The smaller one's ears and cheeks turned a rosy red as he scolded Panlee, making him want to tease him even more. But Panlee's attention was drawn to Thot, who had gone to unlock the door for two more friends to enter the room. He quickly returned his focus to GlaiJai.
Not only was Panlee captivated, but GlaiJai, who was now blushing furiously, also couldn't seem to ignore him. As their eyes met, GlaiJai reached out and gently pinched Panlee's nose before saying,
"There are too many people here now... you can't kiss my hand yet."
"Does that mean I can kiss your hand again today?"
GlaiJai laughed softly and nodded. "You can, just one more time..."
Panlee beamed brightly. "Thank you."
GlaiJai smiled and lightly stroked his hair. "If you behave this well... I'll let you kiss my hand twice a day."
To be honest, GlaiJai was driving him insane. The small figure's face, smile, voice, and natural gestures were incredibly charming. GlaiJai probably didn't realize just how captivating he was. After brushing his hand through Panlee's hair, GlaiJai walked over to stand at the head of the table.
"Everyone... here are the notes I wrote to indicate who will present which slides."
"Okay~"
Normally, it was hard for Panlee to take his eyes off GlaiJai. Seeing him work, his serious expression and tone, his leadership qualities, made it even harder. However, the person beside him nudged him, forcing him to look away. Pie smiled before lowering his head to type something on his phone, then handed it to Panlee.
Panlee furrowed his brows as he read the group chat name displayed on the screen, 'Mission: (Help Glai) Win Khun Prachan's Heart.' When he glanced back at Pie, she was trying to suppress her smile while sneaking glances at GlaiJai, who was explaining the work to the others. It seemed she wanted to ensure their leader wouldn't notice them. Pie turned back to Panlee and said,
"This group chat... Glai was the one who created it."
The person known as 'Khun Prachan,' 'Glai's puppy,' or any other nickname that his adorable one may call him revealed a bright smile before asking, "Did Khun Glai really create this himself?"
Pie nodded before replying, "Yes... Glai created it to ask for advice from friends about what to do when spending time with Panlee."
"..."
"Because Glai was afraid Panlee would get bored when you were alone together."
"..."
"The reason I showed this to you... it's not to betray my friend."
"..."
"But I want Panlee to know... Glai is taking this relationship very seriously."
"..."
"Glai is very shy... Sometimes, he might not talk much or express his feelings very well."
"..."
"But Glai is trying his best."
Panlee smiled while nodding at Pie, who was speaking with a serious expression. "I know. I know how much Glai is trying."
"Please take care of Glai, Panlee."
"Sure," Panlee replied with a smile.
"Pie... focus on the work first!"
"Okay, okay"
He turned to look at the small figure scolding his close friend. The person stared at him with a mock stern expression before pointing a finger in warning. Panlee scrunched his nose in response, making the other person burst into laughter.
"You're really good at making conversation... You'll get it, puppy."
Panlee smiled while watching the small figure. He didn't reply. Panlee thought that if Glai knew what he was talking about with Pie, Glai would undoubtedly turn into a shy little rabbit.
For now, though, Glai could still be a mischievous little rascal. Panlee kept watching as Glai discussed the work with his group until someone's question caught his attention.
"Do I have to be responsible for slides twenty-two to twenty-six?"
"Yes... because the content in those five slides is material that New gathered."
The pretty woman sitting across from him frowned slightly before reading something on the paper. She nodded reluctantly, her expression clearly dissatisfied.
"If no one has any more questions... let's start practicing the presentation."
After that, Glai walked over and stood by the projector screen, beginning to present his part. Panlee crossed his arms, watching Glai deliver an excellent presentation. He spoke fluently without any hesitation, leaving Panlee impressed.
When Glai finished his part, the next member, Pie, stood up to present. The small, highly competent person in Panlee's eyes came to sit next to him after finishing. Glai gave him a sweet smile before asking...
"Did I do well, Panlee?"
"You did amazingly well... Khun Glai is super talented."
Afraid Glai might not believe him, Panlee also gave him a thumbs-up. When the small figure saw this, he burst into laughter.
"Thank you for always supporting me, puppy."
Glai responded with a smile...
A smile that made him fall in love over and over again.
A smile as precious as the moon.