7 Short Story (May 2022)

Soulmarks pt. 2

A nightmare. That must have been a hell of a nightmare. There wasn't any other explanation.

After their eyes had met, the tanned man jumped up, eyes wide as if he'd seen a ghost. Arthit panicked, turned on his heels and stormed into the room reserved for personnel. His heart thundering in his throat.

How...? Why...?

He leaned against the locker, slowly sliding down it.

Maybe, he hadn't recognized him. Yeah, maybe he hadn't seen him that well.

Yeah, there were still hope.

...

Ok, no. There wasn't.

That Kongpob guy clearly had recognised him. In fact, ever since that day, the tanned man came to the university library daily looking for him. Sometimes he'd even asked the other's volunteers about him.

There were plenty universities in Bangkok, so why did they have to attend the same one? Damn it.

Maybe he should just tell the university board he couldn't ensure his availability anymore. He literally spent more time hiding behind there than actually doing his job. By now he run out of excuses to give Knot to explain all his absences.

What the hell had he gotten himself into?

He leaned his back on the concrete of the wall and his knee bends on the right side, desperately trying to free his mind.

The tattoo did nothing but ting, as if to remind him that it was there and that he could not escape that power. That he would feel incomplete and empty, until he found his mate Thinking back during this long night, Arthit remembered he had let himself be carried away by instinct and feelings that he would not have been able to explain in words; they were so intense and complicated.

"I didn't expect you to be such a coward..." A deep voice paralyzed him on the spot, his eyes wide with shock.

How did he find him in there?

He turned his head slowly towards the sound. He nibbled on his lip, praying it was one of his hallucinations. But no. The tanned man was really there. And what's more, he was blocking the entrance and his only escape route.

"I'm your senior. Be respectful!" He snapped, trying to regain control of the situation.

Kongpob didn't react. He shuffled, not sure what to say next and realised the man in his economics department uniform was looking at him with interest.

"I wasn't hiding, I... got nothing to say to you...." Trying to disguise the trembling of his hands, he kept them tightly clamped together. "It means nothing." He added, clearly referring to the events of that night.

Kongpob's heart stopped beating listening to those sharp painful words. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm.

'It means nothing, my ass.' He thought.

That morning he had woken up to an empty bed and, for a split second, thought that the previous night might have actually been a dream, that is, until he saw that stupid phrase tattooed on his bicep.

How could Arthit be so indifferent while he felt as if his brain were exploding with the ramifications of their meeting?

How could he tell him to act like a normal person?

How could he not feel the sense of incompleteness that haunted him every minute?

How could he even think such a thing? Did he really make such a bad impression on him? Maybe he hurt him... yet the expression the grumpy man had had that night was of anything but of pain.

He really didn't understand it. Everyone had always described the connection as something extremely beautiful and rewarding. And, well, he felt them both. The raven-haired man was fantastic: ironic, charming and cute. He hadn't even been surprised when he felt the tattoo on his bicep, still half asleep, the shadow of a smile floating on his face. Then he found the other side empty, and a frustrating disillusionment hit him.

"I can offer you a bite... to make amend." The words masked the anxiety he felt.

And again, he didn't understand what was wrong with them. It was obvious that they had a connection, the connection. So, like it or not, the older man had to accept it.

But Arthit made a horrified face, taking a step back.

"I'm not gay..." He muttered, staring hard at the ground.

Oh, that was the problem then. It was so simple and stupid that he couldn't help but smile tenderly. Until that moment he hadn't even passed through the hall of his brain that that might be the answer. Hetero? That? He quickly changed his amused expression into a confused one. Usually, straight guys didn't threw themselves at the first man they met... right? Because, come on, Kongpob knew he wasn't ugly, but he wasn't even self-centered enough to think he could convert people's sexuality on the spot!

"You don't need to be gay to eat." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Then he sneaked a sideways look at him. His instinct told him he had already won.

"No, obviously I don't have to-" Arthit froze, caught off guard. The tanned man raised an amused eyebrow in response.

"It's just a quick bite out, I swear." He said, raising his hands. A smile that was simply too much for Arthit.

The "just a quick bite" was not a singular event. Kongpob'd made sure they meet again, always with the promise to do nothing.

A bite led to another. That routine had been going on for some months now. They met and chatted for hours and hours.

At first Arthit acted himself bold and full of himself, but as soon as he reached out, even if it were to grab his drink, he fell silent and still, a hint of fear in his eyes. Kongpob had never said anything about it. Rather he hurried to find a stimulating topic.

It was not easy at all, but slowly the raven-haired boy began to easy up and stopped flinching with every move he made.

Silently and patiently both boys got used to the other's constant presence. Their respective tattoos burned less, as if to tell them that they were on the right path. Arthit was no longer afraid of him. Kongpob was happy every time he could touch him, even the slightest contact. He practically spent all his time dreaming of the moment when he'd get to taste the smooth silk skin of that hysterical raven-haired man again.

"If you want to grab dinner this week - nothing serious, just a - you know, an hour or two with a friend." He said one day, trying to sound natural and calm. He even tried to smile.

Arthit looked at him hesitantly for a few seconds before nodding slightly. "Why not?"

NOTE

The KongArt week is officially over, but I couldn't end it with the last story as it stands, could I?

Stay safe 💜