Until We Meet Again (English Translation)

7

Chapter 7. Smile

The clock hits five and a half,


The room owner who is a student of the Faculty of Economics is sitting on the bed. He wakes up before the alarm clock even ring, almost an hour earlier, because he is so excited that he couldn’t sleep. Dean will be coming to pick him up at seven o'clock in the morning. Finally, he gets up to wash his face and goes to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast. Whenever he wakes up, he is always searching for something to eat.



Parm opens the refrigerator to look, and finds that there is pig's blood and a soup that just needs to simmer. So he decides to make boiled blood soup which is not too hard to make. He takes the soup and sets the stove to warm heat, adds radish, and salt. Let it boil and wait for it to smell fragrant. In the meantime, flavored pork is chopped into chunks and then put into the pot. The pork blood is already blanched, prepared and set aside to rest. Then he waits for the soup to boil, to put in the meat. When everything is done, he puts the top of gourd leaves in a bowl and scoop the boiled pork blood on to it, then places it on the small dining table. Enough for two persons to sit on.


While waiting for the rice to be cooked, the boy walks out to the balcony of the room to breathe in the morning air. The advantage of staying in a condo deep into the alley is that there is no smell of vehicles' smoke like on the main road.


"Huh ..." Parm sharpens his eyes to look at the parking lot. He soon frowned at the sight of a car,


It is familiar...


While he staring, the owner of the car comes out. The big tall body, tanned skin, all very familiar, makes his mouth open wide, he rushes to see the clock. What time is it now? 


6:15! Did Phi Dean come early?!?


Parm quickly grabs the room key and runs with a bang down to the ground floor. He completely forgets that he is still wearing his sleepwear, that is a regular T-shirt.


"Phi Dean!!" Runs to the person that is leaning against the car door. "Why did you come so soon ... did I remember the time wrong?"


Dean shakes his head and scratches his neck. "Phi is the one coming at the wrong time." He didn't want to say that he couldn't wait for the appointed time. So he was in a hurry to come out from his home. "Never mind. No need to hurry. Phi can wait."


"How could it be the wrong time for almost an hour, na khrab?" Parm furrows his eyebrows making a hesitant and doubting face, looking at Dean’s pale face, alternating with his wet hands from self-consciousness. "Anyway ... Just come in first ..." He raises up his head and looks him in the eyes.
  


"Let’s go to eat breakfast together in my room, khrab."




The ghost of the sugarcane farm* is definitely possessing him to be able to say that. Now, in the studio room, his studio have a large guest visiting. Dean stands looking around with interest, this room looks smaller and more comfortable.


"Please sit here," He moves a chair to the table and serves a plate of hot rice, "but I haven’t made the fried omelette yet." 


Dean sits, nodding his head, looking at the face of the chef skillfully preparing the eggs in the pan. Shortly after, a fluffy omelette is placed in front of the person who recovers from his daydreaming.

"With boiled pork blood soup and omelette." A hot cup of boiled pork blood soup is served with a wide smile.

Fragrant aroma with a warmth that is luxurious for him. Bringing forth smiles from the person being served. Then when the little boy sits down, Dean laughs gently.

"Parm ... not go for showering first?"
  

Parm looks at himself ..... and his face is suddenly red. He immediately knows the cause of phi Dean’s laughter, it is because he is still in his sleepwear!

"Wait, I’ll take a bath first." The boy jumps, grabs his student uniform, and rushes to the bathroom. Fortunately, he had already washed his face and brushed his teeth as soon as he woke up. So, he just needs to run through the water for a short time, less than 10 minutes. The child comes back with dishevelled hair to sit at the dining table.

"Don't rush." Dean said and helps to tidy up his messy hair into place. "Tell me, I can wait."

Huh ... Parm feels like he is dissolving into water. "Let's eat rice. If you wait till it's cool, it won’t taste good."

Morning weather in a small studio. The sounds of the fan works loudly. Two people with a common breakfast. Hot boiled pork blood soup and fragrant omelette and steamed rice. In spite of being ordinary it feels special to these two. It looks familiar, like they used to do this, as if they had been together before.

Suddenly

In the middle of enjoying the dish, the couple suddenly stop, look up, stare at the eyes, some memories suddenly flash into their heads like a flashback in a movie.

[......... that omelette, Phi really don’t want to eat?]

=Weah … Want to take revenge?=

[Not burnt again, na]

[Guaranteed that this one is tasty?]

tuk tak (*heart beat)

tuk tak

tuk tak

The hearts of the couple dance. Some feelings erupting in the chests until they couldn’t be stop, unable to breathe. Sad, happy, Parm is looking at the eyes, he likes the beautiful color. The low bass voice of someone is still ringing in his ears. The smile is still charming. The warm touch of the big hands does not fade away from the memory.

The person... that they are always looking for

The very important people

drip ..

"Eh ..." The boy is blinking his eyes. The warm water flows out of his eyes without him knowing why. He tries to wipe and begins to rub his eyes because the damn tears are still flowing. Won’t stop. "Why ..."


"Sshushh ..." Dean takes the other person’s hands so he won’t hurt his eyes. He reaches out his hand and gently wipes the cheek as if he is afraid of breaking it.

Parm is sobbing and slowly looks at the young man's eyes again. Now, the strange green-gray eyes are just red, they don't teared up like his. Dean's eyes are red, and that makes the tears of the younger person flow out more.

"Don't cry ..." The bass voice is gentle. He doesn’t even ask the reason for what happens, doesn’t think about why they are like this.

"Phi is here .."

After a moment, the two of them begin to calm down, the feelings change into shyness. The little boy rolls his eye down when the other person rubs his hand at his cheek. 

Feels like a bomb will explode here.

Dean himself breathes slowly. He slips to the other side, spells out many feelings that are erupting in his head 

Want to hug!!

Really miss him!

"Uh ... I’ll scoop it for you" 

Parm tries to dispel the strange shy atmosphere. He scoops the eggs onto Phi Dean’s plate and smiles.

The young man scoops the omelette rice into his mouth, raised his eyebrows. The lips moves up and shows satisfaction. He has such a big appetite that if the people at home see him they will be shocked.

"Humm" Dean stops when he sees the eyes glaringly like a puppy waiting for compliments. He laughs in the throat and moves his smile.

"Very tasty"

short compliment but warm to the heart.

***

The calculus class has students from many faculties studying together, and Parm, ManNow and Team are sitting together in the room like always. The three people are busy trying to solve the problem on the board until their heads almost explode.

Team moves closer to his friend. Secretly looking at the answer that his friend had exactly did, turning his pen in his hand.

"How did you come to University this morning?"

Parm stops when he is asked so suddenly. He glances at Team who is busy looking at the answer on his paper.

"Come by myself." but with phi Dean's car. He said the last sentence in his heart.

"Yeah .." Team responds shortly and bows to the next problem. 

His heart is still not confident, so he doesn't dare to tell his friends. But it's clear that he intended to tell them someday

absolutely..

The sound of a mobile vibrating make the two boys turn to look. ManNow smiles apologetically. The girl opens her phone and looks.

"Aiya !! Parm, quick, take a look at this!" She jerks her friend's shirt.

Both Team and Parm lean forward to look at the phone, when their girl friend is exclaiming.

The blue app page shows a familiar young man. The tall body, the tanned skin in a student uniform, leaning against the wall, resting like everyone else. One hand is inside the pant’s pocket, and the other hand is holding a mobile phone, looking at something. But the most striking thing is, the usually fierce face is smiling brightly, the whole eye is secretly taking a picture that creates a flow of comments from people in the swimming club and girls as well.


"Oiii Phi, he smiled, so handsome." ManNow said with a red face.


"Ohhoo… smiles and looks good like this. Why don't you smile often?" Team takes the phone and zoomed in the picture, "What was he looking at, making him smile like that?"

"I hope he is not talking with a girl." The girl pouts, she doesn't try to cool down her friend.

"Maybe he sees something funny?" Parm, who is just calming himself down, is hit by his two friends.

"What's funny Parm? Phi Dean seeing something funny won’t ever laugh like this," ManNow shakes her head. "Just imagining that he watched the dog clip, rushed into the bush and laughed ... was creepy." Team rubs his arm from the goose bumps.

Parm opens his own mobile phone. The same picture as shown in ManNow’s phone. He tries to scroll through many comments. Most say the same thing, that Phi Dean is talking to someone that might be important.

... frighteningly strange.

"But he still doesn't have a lover." ManNow is confident about the news she shouldn't miss.

"But that does not mean that he isn’t seeing anybody." Parm answers simply making his friends surprised.


"Hey, he really doesn’t have anyone close. Phi Win told me that everyday he is just swimming and never going anywhere" Team hurriedly explains and tells the reason. 

He closes the phone and gives a smile to both friends. "Team once said he will protect me and ManNow, why is he acting as if pushing me to another so easily?" 


Team shrugs. "I did. I will intervene when my friend is attacked, but will (help) invade when a friend wants to flirt with someone."

ManNow holds her laughter until she is shaking. As for the person who was hit by the shocking fact that he was lonely, he immediately becomes hot. 

"Team ... Maeng ... Oii, what the hell?"

He can't fight, so just can quietly accept.

***

After the last class Parm goes to the club room to make a simple sandwich for both friends. Today, ManNow must go to the final practice before starting the audition. As for Team, he is a bit hard because the seniors are training him deligently for the race, collecting points in the next three months. So, he became so drained. These two people then paid for him to make them food. When he visited the convenience store, he had bread, ham, cheese, boiled eggs and salad. So it is easy to make something to eat.

"Sawatdee khrab." Parm says hello to the members of the club who are opening the food menu. They talk about  desserts.


"Aww Parm kha, just now, the acting club contacted us."


"Khrab?" he says while putting the bag on the table. "Oh, Phi I'll borrow the kitchen to prepare a little bit of stuff, na."

"Er" Phi Oom replies and continues. "He said he is having a short film project together with the movie club. There is a scene of the heroine carving vegetables and fruits and then making Thai snacks. What do you think, Parm? "

" Hm ... Food carving, Phi Giffy and Phi Goong can teach it. "

" Um, this time, Goong and Giffy might be busy" Phi Oom says, then he suggests another male member. He has a big build, but he is briliant at food carving.

"But for Thai snacks Phi thinks that Parm is the best expert to make desserts in the club and your cooking is delicious. "


Parm thinks while moving his hands, putting cheese, putting ham on bread and cutting them into pieces. At the other side takes a boiled egg, mix it with mayonnaise, which is accompanied by a salad on another slice of bread. 

"Well, if filming that kind of movie, it must require beautiful looking food, but must not be too difficult that the actors can’t keep up." He takes a salad and wraps it with another set of bread. Cut each other together to have vegetables in every piece.

“How about Chor Muang?"

The seniors hurry to flip the menu to look for the Chor Muang the Nong mentioned.

"We will prepare the fillings. Let the heroine decorates the dough. Pretty good, I think."

"Hey, it's really beautiful. What do you think?" Phi Oom turns to ask the head of the food club that is considering the menu in the book. After a while, she nods.

"This is beautiful. Delicious to eat and easy to teach. Just decorates the snack. No need to use a pan."

Parm smiles. He arranges all the sandwiches into two plastic boxes. Then cleans the kitchen neatly.

"Well excuse me, I'll go first khrab."

"Parm" Phi Oom calls. The young boy raises his eyebrows.

"Can you teach? Next week they'll finished choosing the heroine, so they need to start learning how to do it. "

"Yes, I got nothing to do that day." He responds without much thought. But secretly hoping that if ManNow is the heroine, it will be fun.

"Okay, this job goes to Parm and Dech. The compensation is a ticket to eat for two each at XXXX hotels. "

This time, Parm is shocked. "XXXX hotel that is near the Chao Phraya River?" People who are foodies they is no way they'll miss it. "I remember that the buffet was very expensive. It is almost three thousand per head. Use only good stuff, plus Michelin chefs.” He wanted to try and eat there for a long time, but couldn't afford the price.  (*michelin chef : International certified chef)

The club's President laughs. "This is a full course meal for two persons, it costs more than ten thousand each. Someone in the acting club got them from his dad, he is a star, he got free but it's near the expiry date. So they give it to us to pay for those who love to eat like us."   

"So, okay. "

When he knows what was the pay, he smiles happily. He carries the food first to the acting club. The young man shakes his head when he sees his friend in the corner of the room. He quickly rushes to call,

"ManNow". ManNow runs to him with a smile.

"Parm, I’m hungry." the little girl complains. She receives a plastic box and widen her eyes. "Hhaa … I got Parm, I don't have to die."

“Not to that extend.” Parm shakes his head.

While they are talking, someone's hand suddenly reaches out, taking one of the sandwich out of the box.

"Eii" ManNow, who is the owner of the food cries out. But when she turns to see who is stealing her food, she stops, her face red.

"Ui, Phi Alex."

A half-blooded actor who is coming stands smiling, with a handsome, sharp, western face. Alex has light brown hair like his eye colour. He always smiles and is always friendly with everyone.

"Give some to Phi na, I saw that ManNow is having a delicious meal everyday." Snatch the sandwich again. "Then this is Nong Parm, a friend of ManNow, right?" He smiles at the boy who is still standing shocked.

"Aah yes, the person who made the leum gleun snack."

"That was very delicious. If it’s like that, I want to order to take to the shooting set." The young man smiles and stares at him and it made Parm puzzled.

"I can’t. I am alone so I can only make foods for my friends and for me to eat." Parm smiles back at the other person and answers honestly. 

Alex raises his eyebrows. He looks at the young man seriously. Can't imagine that this little boy is cute and terrifying.

"You already have a lover?"

Parm makes a face as if wanting to say "What the hell?" But can only exclaims because he is still shocked.

"Do you have a lover? If you don't, I want to flirt with you.” the young star winks his eyes, making ManNow gaps in the background.

The young man keeping flirting with his eyes. Parm drops his eyes and looks at the floor before speaking up. "It's a great honor to have celebrities flirt with me. I still don't have a lover." He tightens his hand on the bag on his shoulder and looks at his wristwatch. So late, Team will already be hungry. 

"Then I can flirt?" Alex asks with the sparkling eyes.

The boy shakes his head and refused, "There is no lover, but I don't want to have a star as a lover. Ah, ManNow. I’ll take this food to Team first."

ManNow is nodding. Shut up the screaming inner voice. My friend has grown up !!

Parm waves his hand to his friend and pays his respect (wai) to the senior before going to the semi-outdoor pool. But the young star stares at the first year junior with glistening eyes.

Interesting ..

Almost 7 pm.

He hurries to the pool. Today Team is practicing till 7:00 pm. The voice of the coach shouting and the loud sounds of people swimming can be heard when he approaches the pool. The light shines all the way down to the pool. Today, the club members practice at the outdoor pool because the indoor pool is temporarily closed. When he arrives there he sees the girls. Sitting in a circle by the gallery stand with the sound of their cheers.

The boy looks around the pool and sees Phi Win holding a megaphone, shouting at the swimmers to be quick, and his other hand is holding a stop watch to show to the club members.

"Have you come?" The unexpected force on his shoulder makes Parm jerk a bit. He wrinkles his eyes in front of his friend who is wet with a towel on his head.

"Hungry." Team drags him to sit in a corner of the stands. And ignores the frantic girls' voices who took out their phones to take pictures.

"I finished eating. So you eat now, the schedule is very tight." Parm doesn't allow him to open the box. "Just look at them, they will upload it their social media tagain." It is a pain in the ass because the photos of Team and him are shared so much.

"We’re not really dating. What's to fear?" Team wriggles his eyebrows. "Oh, you have to be scared.
Parm thinks Phi Dean will misunderstand?"

His face becomes red at once with his friend’s words who always teasing him.

Yes, that would be enough to get the heart beating fast. Just hearing the mention of Phi Dean. Very embarrassed, hot flashes, dead. But when Phi Alex said he'll flirt with him, he didn't feel anything ... and the heart didn't dance like this.

"Looking for someone?" Team asks when he sees his friend looking around. "Phi Dean went back at 7 pm today. He was in a hurry. Don’t know why, but he said he got some business?"

"Yeah .." Parm is peeking at the box of sandwiches in his own bag ... Wondering whether he will be able to give it to him or not.

"Finished. I’ll give back the box tomorrow. Now, how will you go home?"

"I can go back by myself. Don't worry." He gives a smile to Team and slaps his friend's shoulder before getting up. "Then I go home first. My condo is in the alleyway and I’m alone "


"Well, Line me when you get home. The punishment will end really late." 

"Kay, bye."

Parm hangs down his head, walks while kicking a stone. He kicks the gravel along the way. There are still a lot of students so the University is not yet silent. But it's darker and quieter than usual for him.

Sigh..I really don’t meet Phi Dean!

Thinking while walking along the road in the University. Remembering this morning, his damn lips reveals a smile that couldn’t be hold in.

beep beep

Short horn sounds pulls the young boy out of his daydreaming. He turns to look in a daze. Parm is on his way and was surprised when the driver opens the car window and calls him with a soft voice.

"Nong Parm"

Phi Dean is always successfull in making his heart beats wildly.

"A … are going back khrab?"

Dean nods. "Parm is going back, right? Come, I’ll send you."

Parm is smiling and his hand begins to shake that it is impossible to hide. So he can only hold on to the strap his bag tightly. "Uh, I'm afraid that I’ll bothering you."

The young man shakes his head, "Come ... "

... ..

....

Oh. Okay, and I was defeated so I'll just follow along..

"Thank you." When he sit in the car, he curses himself, because he is terribly gullible.

The car moves out on to the road. Dean selects a soft song to keep the atmosphere in the car from being too quiet.

"Are you busy today? I Line and called to meet you, but you do not answer."

"Eh!"  

Parm shakes his head and quickly picks up his phone to find that there are so many Line and missed calls because he actually turned off his ringtone. After leaving the class, he completely forgot to turn it back on. He didn't realise it until now.

The younger person says, "Sorry!" 


Dean shakes his head and reaches out his hand to rub his head gently. "Later, if you are going home late, then call to ask Phi first so I can send you home."

The clear white cheeks are warming up immediately. Parm doesn’t dare to answer and just hangs his head down to open the blue app. Surprisingly .. he felt like he is used to sitting with Phi Dean. Despite having only been sitting twice

"Today, don't you have any business, Phi?" He remembered that Team told him that Phi Dean had to leave early because of some business.

The young man raises his eyebrows and clears his throat slightly. "My business is you."

"Me?" Parm turns to look at the face of a confused person.

"I intend to send .." Explains. "If you wait for me for three hours, it will be too late."

Oh ... my heart Parm mumbling to himself, "Yes, but you are not allowed to skip the practice just to send me like this everyday"

Dean moves around smiling. "So that means if I am not skip practicing, I can send you everyday, right?"

The little boy tries not to shake. His finger quickly slides on the feed page, until reading the status, doesn't know about it. He needs to find a way to change the topic

"Ah, actually." He stops at the picture this morning. The picture that made ManNow screaming in the calculus classroom. Clicks on the picture and shows it to the young man to see. "Is this you seeing something in this status? They teased that you have a girlfriend. Is this you talking to anyone? Is that person cute?" Parm asked it himself but

If Phi Dean says that he is talking with someone... He definitely die.

"Yes... talk to someone." The respondent says so unabashedly, but the listener .. coldness suddenly creeps down to the toe. The little boy in front of him fell down and looking at his hand clenched tightly. 

"Uh.. So er ...." 

"Parm knows that person,"

Parm tilts his head. Now, Phi Dean stopped at the red light.

Wait ... Which Phi Dean's version is this?

"Look" Dean picks up the phone and opens and then enters the green app, shoves it to his hand. "I only talk with one person privately, while the others are in group."

The boy holding the phone is confused. His mouth is trembling and he bows down to look at the screen with his heart shaking. Looking at the top name, apparently, Phi Dean’s LINE has only three groups of Line: family, Swimming club and classmates. As for those who have a single chat room alone, there is only one person.

"Ph @ m"

What is it? Will surely get heart attack!!

"The pictures that they uploaded on facebook should be when I was opening the Line that you sent the day before. Everytime I see it, I couldn’t help laughing." He is laughing loudly to the person beside him.

"Hooiiii Phi Deannnn. Delete it, na khrab. Remove it now.”  The boy’s face is now crimson red. Parm does not know what he is embarrassed about.

"I’m sorry. Don't remove. Don't delete it." Dean says and turns the steering wheel to enter the familiar lane. Unfortunately today, there is no taffic jam. They arrive at the condo very quickly.

Confessing to shyness and calming the rhythm of his heart that is dancing Zumba. Today, there is too many events that make the Nong feel so shy as if almost die. Did not see Phi as Team told him, that Phi Dean was very cruel.

"Good night."

Dean looks at the red cheeks. Seeing him so shy, this kind of shaking, fears that hyperventilating illness will appear again. He waited until the little boy raises his hands (wai), thanking him, and then picks up the bag from the car.  Unfortunately, he can't figure out what the reason for his own symptom.

When he hears the sound of the car's door closing, the sound rises gently. His heart wavering as though he didn't want to go. Dean sighs and pushes the gear, preparing to turn the car around, but then stops at the sound of knocking on the car’s window.

Tap tap

"Did you forget anything?" He slide down the glass window on his side.

Opens the bag and takes out the plastic box. "Uh, I made sandwiches for you. If .."

"Thank you" Dean reaches out to receive it without waiting for him to finish his sentence.

Even though the sandwich had already been taken, the boy still stands there, frozen. Of course, Dean isn't rushing either. He sits calmly waiting.

Parm waves on the windshield and says with his trembling lips,

"Phi Dean"

"Khrab" ..

".... Tomorrow .... will you come to eat breakfast together?"

The young man raises his eyebrows. A hollow heart is being filled with warmth, with just a few words.

"..the, Phi won’t bother you, right?"

Parm smiles widely. "So tomorrow, please come at six and a half."

"Okay." Beautiful eyes shining.

"Don't rush." The little boy hastily stops mid way. "Don't come too early and made me go down with sleeping pajamas like this morning."

"Huh, got it." Dean answers and laughs. 

The black car drives away, leaving only the young man standing and smiling in front of the condo. Parm feels like his cheeks might be broken before raising his hand, holding at his two sides, and shouts loudly.

"Yes!!!" 

Will see Phi Dean again.

***