Me After You ✔

004

The boy twisted his head to look at Arthit. After a few seconds, a strange smile formed on his lips.

On lowering his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the two loaves of bread that Arthit was holding in his hands.

When Arthit caught him staring at his bread, he waved the white paper bag containing the bread in front of his eyes, and asked, "Do you want some?"

The boy furrowed his brows, making no attempt to disguise the look of disdain on his face.

The white paper bag was extremely crumpled, and had a layer of oil and water on the interior of the bag. When Arthit noticed the shabbiness of the paper bag, his face gradually turned beet red. Embarrassed, he retracted his outstretched hand, "It's gone cold." It was no longer nice to eat.

Having walked a few steps, the boy suddenly asked, "You're eating bread for dinner?"

Arthit nodded his head.

After a few seconds, the boy asked, "Are you deaf?"

"..."

Realizing that the boy had failed to see him nod his head, Arthit squeaked out, "Yup." As his reply had come out of nowhere, it was unclear whether he was answering the boy's question about dinner, or his question about being deaf.

The boy slowed down and came to a stop, his brows furrowing in unhappiness. Arthit belatedly realized that the boy had been staring at him for some time, and raised his head to return the boy's gaze. Unable to stare a response out of him, the boy couldn't formulate an appropriate response and simply continued walking ahead.

Arthit didn't bother to catch up with the boy before him and trailed behind him slowly. By the time Arthit reached the traffic junction, the boy was already halfway across the pedestrian crossing.

As Arthit didn't have to cross the road, he readied himself to turn around the corner and return home. Although he wanted to bid the boy farewell, he felt that there was no need to do so.

After all, there wouldn't be any other interactions between the both of them in the future. It would be best if they simply parted ways here and now.

The boy slung his jacket over his shoulder. When he reached the midpoint of the pedestrian crossing, he turned back to look at Arthit.

Arthit stood quietly at the edge of the curb, his posture upright and erect, as though he was a small tree sapling. Standing there, Arthit gazed at the boy silently. His skinny and frail frame was evident even under his large uniform, which billowed around himself.

In the afterglow of the evening sky, the boy crinkled his eyes.

Arthit pointed towards his left, indicating that his house was in that direction.

In response, the boy jabbed his thumb in the direction behind him, signaling to Arthit that he (Arthit) ought to continue trailing behind him.

Arthit's hands slowly fell to his sides. He hugged his school jacket with both hands and simply gazed at the boy from afar, unmoving.

In the gentle glow of the evening sun, vehicles and pedestrians swarmed around them.

The boy didn't bother waiting for Arthit's response, and simply continued on his journey. When he reached the other end of the pedestrian crossing, he turned back to look at Arthit, only to discover that the other was already in the midst of crossing the road.

The boy snorted to himself, the corners of his lips curling into a small smile. Sticking both his hands into his pockets, he continued walking forward. Before long, the boy reached the entrance of a small restaurant. Sitting himself down on a plastic chair at the outdoor dining area, the boy pulled out a cigarette and started smoking.