I woke up half-conscious because of a whisper and a gentle touch on my arm. My eyelids felt heavy, either from exhaustion or because it wasn't time for me to wake up yet. I could hear the sound of rain outside and answered Jay in a drowsy voice.
"… Hmm."
"Are you awake?"
"Where are you going?"
"Get ready. The coach has arrived."
"Hmm," I mumbled, trying to open my eyes, but I only managed halfway. I saw Jay's silhouette. "I'm coming with you."
"Dan, get some rest. I'm fighting this afternoon. You can catch up later."
"No, I'm going with you." I tried to get up, but Jay gently pushed me back onto the bed and covered me with the blanket.
"I turned down the air conditioning. Are you still cold?"
"Yes," I replied without opening my eyes. "Hug me, Jay."
"I want to, but I have to go." Jay kissed my cheek, the kiss lingering for a few seconds before he pulled away. "See you later."
When I woke up again, I found myself in someone's embrace. I sat up in bed, confused. It turned out to be Nao beside me, his arm wrapped around me. I realized that Jay had really left early in the morning to get ready, and Nao had come to hug me afterward.
I looked at the clock. It was past nine. Nao stirred, half-awake.
"You're up?"
"Why are you here?"
"Well…" Nao stretched and rubbed his eyes. "Jayden left early and asked me to hug you because you were cold. I was confused, but I came."
"Oh, and why are you up this early? What time did Jay leave?"
"Six o'clock. I didn't wake up early—I haven't slept yet. A new game was released last night, and North wouldn't let me sleep." Nao's eyes were red and dark, proof that he really hadn't slept. "I didn't know you needed hugs to sleep."
I frowned, confused. "That's not true."
"Not true? When I walked into your room, you were mumbling, 'Jay, hug me,' and your hands were searching around the bed."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, you've gotten used to Jayden hugging you."
"I don't think so. It's only been a few days."
"That's true. Anyway, I didn't know you two slept together." Nao smirked. "I want to tease you more, but I need sleep. Can I sleep again?" Nao pulled the blanket over himself.
"Yeah, go ahead," I said. "Are you going to watch Jay fight?"
"What time?"
"This afternoon."
"What time is it now?"
"Past nine."
"Ah," and Nao was asleep again. I didn't get an answer about whether he would come or not. I didn't want to wake him, so I let him sleep. I sent Jay a message that I was awake. Then I went to shower, changed clothes, and looked for something to eat. I saw Mom watching TV.
"Dan, you woke up late."
"Yeah, I was tired yesterday," I replied. Mom stood up and went to the kitchen. I followed and saw her preparing food for me, so I sat at the table and waited.
"Aren't you working today?"
"No."
"All right, get some rest. Jayden left early."
"He said he was going to get ready."
"Yeah, someone came looking for him earlier. What about Nao?"
"He's sleeping in my room," I answered while taking a bite of rice. "He didn't sleep all night because a new game was released."
"I heard that when Jayden left, he asked Nao to hug you. Is that true?" Mom smiled. "That's so sweet—he said he was afraid you'd be cold."
If Nao stayed up all night playing games, then Tiger must have been sleeping with Fei. If Nao was with Tiger, there was no way Jayden could have asked him to hug me.
I kept eating while Mom watched me. We talked about our plans to cheer for Jay at his fight this afternoon. We decided to wait until Nao woke up. If he didn't wake up by noon, we would go without him. So, I sent Jay a message letting him know we'd be there in the afternoon.
"All right. By the way," Mom said as we washed the dishes together, "if you get married, what would you do, Dan?"
"What?" I almost dropped a plate at Mom's unexpected question. "What do you mean?"
"With Jayden—like Nao and Tiger. Nao changed his last name to Tiger's because they're both Thai names and it fits. But Jayden's last name is English."
"Eh," I was a little surprised. "I don't have to change my last name."
"I think it's nice to have the same last name as the person you love. Think about changing your last name to Jayden's. What's his last name?"
"McKay."
"Ah… I see. You use an English name abroad, right?"
"Daniel."
"Yes, Daniel McKay. I like it. It sounds perfect."
"Haha," I chuckled at Mom's enthusiasm. "At school, my friends called me by many different names. Since my name is Dan, they assumed it was short for Daniel. Some even called me Danny."
"Danny is cuter," Mom said.
"Really?"
"Which name do you like more?"
"I'm not getting married anytime soon," I laughed again. Mom was really serious about names.
"All right," Mom finally gave up. Then we started talking about names, mentioning how 'Dan' was easy to pronounce abroad. If my name were 'Nuea,' it would be more complicated. "Do you have classmates with difficult or unusual names?"
"Yeah, of course. We're from different countries. Fortunately, everyone respects each other's names and tries to pronounce them correctly. But some people know their names are hard to say, so they use easier nicknames."
"I see."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
"Your name is Nao, right?" Nao had just woken up at around 11:30 and was eating.
We asked him about it. "If foreigners call you Duen Nao, it must be difficult, right?"
"Yeah. Would you let them call you 'Duen'?"
"Wouldn't you use a new nickname?"
"Uh," Nao frowned while eating. "Definitely not 'Winter' (DuenNao)."
I laughed. "If it were me, would it be 'Northern Land' (DanNuea)?"
"Don't use the name North," Nao shook his head in exasperation. "North is picky about names. Sometimes he calls people weird things. 'Nuea' means North, but he won't let anyone call him that. He says it's not his name."
"You're always criticizing North," I said. "So what name did you choose?"
"Duen Nao is fine," Nao replied. "I like my name."
"That's good," Mom said with a smile. "I thought about your names ever since I knew I was pregnant. I discussed it a lot with your father to decide on them—right up until the birth. Before that, we considered names like Nawa and Navin, Phon and Pluem, or Phupha and Thara. Your father liked Phupha and Thara because his name is Din. Mountains, rivers, and earth."
"And Mom is 'Mew'(cat)?" Nao asked. "Why don't you match?"
"Why don't I match?" Mom echoed.
"If you had to choose another name, what would it be?" I asked, curious.
"The eldest would get the first name."
"Mom, was I supposed to be the eldest?" Nao suddenly asked, frowning. "North said that in his village, the firstborn is the youngest because he wanted to be the eldest, so he jumped out first."
"Huh?" Mom frowned too. "Ah, you mean he wanted to be the eldest and came out first."
"That's in North's village, not here," I replied. "I'm the eldest. Don't take that away from me."
"Are you that proud of being the older brother?"
"Yes, I'm nine minutes older," I grinned.
"There's another belief," Nao continued while chewing. "North said that if twins are male and female, they have a symbolic wedding because it's believed they were lovers in a past life who couldn't be together. So, they're born together in this life and hold a marriage ceremony to break the curse." Nao paused. "Were we a couple in our past life, Dan?"
"That belief is for male and female twins, right?"
"Not necessarily. We could've been a male couple. In the past, they weren't accepting of different sexualities, so we couldn't be together."
"Ah," I tilted my head, thinking. "Every place has its own beliefs. Mom, have you ever heard of something like that?" I asked Mom.
"Yes, your grandmother used to say that. In the past, having twins wasn't seen as a good thing. They said having multiple children in one pregnancy was like a cat or a dog. People gossiped that having many twins was strange. I remember once, someone in the neighborhood said that, and your grandmother replied, 'Well, my daughter's name is Mew (cat). What's wrong with having many children?'"
We all laughed together. I could imagine my grandmother responding like that. Even though I didn't talk much about my grandparents, they created warm and lasting memories for Nao and me in our childhood. I always wished they were still alive—like Dad. I never met my father's parents because they cut ties with him when he decided to marry Mom.
We continued talking about our family while Nao kept eating. Suddenly, Mom remembered something.
"You two have had your medical checkups, right?"
"Yes," we answered in unison. Mom was worried because Po had passed away from colon cancer, which could be hereditary. One of us could be diagnosed with it someday.
"Don't worry, Mom. If we get regular checkups, we can detect it early and treat it easily. Nao, don't complain next time when Tiger takes you for a checkup."
Nao grimaced. "I know. I only complained a little. In the end, I still went."
─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───
We arrived at the stadium around 12:30. I went to find Jay to give him some encouragement.
"I won't sit in the front row like last time, so don't look for me. Focus on the fight, and we'll meet afterward."
Jay nodded and took my hand, leading me to a quieter spot.
"Dan."
"What's wrong?"
"Can I kiss your cheek?"
"Huh?" I was startled. "Wait, what?"
"I need some encouragement before my match. Please."
I avoided his gaze, looking around nervously before remembering something.
"I already gave you one this morning. I said one per day."
"Yeah, but I'm asking for an extra one. Dan, Jay needs motivation before his fight."
"Who taught you to say things like that?" I asked, feeling my cheeks heat up. It was hard to refuse Jay's usual requests—let alone this one. "Was it those bosses again?"
"Can I?"
"Fine," I nodded slightly, closing my eyes. I felt his warm breath getting closer, then his lips touched my cheek again, lingering for a few seconds before pulling away. I slowly opened my eyes and looked at him.
"Your cheeks are red like roses. If I win, can I ask for another one?"
"That's too much."
"I'm fighting. I might get tired and hurt. I want to win for you. Can't you give me a reward?" As he said that, he took my hand and brought it to his lips, looking at me. I didn't know how to react. My heart was pounding. What have those bosses been teaching him?
"O-okay, but don't push yourself too hard."
Jay gave a small smile. "Okay."
Before the staff called him, Jay had to leave. I stood there, unable to move. He smiled for the first time. Usually, he was so serious. Where did he get that smile from? And why did he look so adorable when he smiled? I went back and sat next to Nao, burying my face in his arm out of embarrassment.
"What have you been teaching that kid?"
Nao was surprised. "You guys kissed?!"
I frowned at him. "Huh?!"
"...Oops."