SOTUS - The Next Chapter

9.

Kongpob: P'Bright, have you talked to P'Arthit these past few days?

Bright: He came to my bar last Thursday. Haven't seen him or heard from him since, though. What's up?

Kongpob: I was just wondering if he's busy, because he hasn't been returning my calls or messages.

Bright: Is that so? I'll try to contact him and ask him.

"Kongpob, what are you still doing here? Everyone's ready to go. Come on." Achara urges the young man to stand up from his desk.

"You know what? I don't really feel like going anymore."

"No way! You can't change your mind at the last moment! Yuta and the others are looking forward to drinking with you. Let's go!" she insists and literally drags him out of the classroom.

The place is your typical izakaya (*), full with loud salarymen who came to unwind after another stressful day at work. Kongpob and the other students who are participating in the training program sit at a table that accommodates all 15 of them.

  (*)  izakaya - informal Japanese pub usually used for after-work drinking.

He chooses to sit at the farthest corner so he could check his phone without being seen and/or teased by others. He is sure he must have sent at least 50 messages to his P' in the past week, but he has yet to receive a single reply. The only reason Arthit might be upset is because he didn't tell him sooner that his father knows about them, Kongpob muses. He checks the phone for the nth time but, of course, still nothing. He runs his fingers through his hair, sighing.

"What's wrong, buddy? You're not having fun? You don't like this kind of place or ...?" Yuta asks him. Kongpob has grown the closest with him, being the same age and sharing a common interest in games and comics.

"No, it's not that. I just ..."

"Come on, try this shochu (*). I'm curious to see if you like it. It's your first time trying it, right?" the young man encourages him.

(*) shochu - Japanese beverage typically distilled from rice, barley or sweet potatoes

The truth is Kongpob is kind of tired of studying until late into the night, of worrying over what might have happened to his P'Arthit and of raking his brains about how to make his father fully accept his relationship. So he decides he will drink enough to become numb and able to forget for just one night.

"I'm all about trying different drinks but make sure not to mix them too much, or else you're going to feel like s**t tomorrow morning." another student from Indonesia warns him.

And Kongpob takes his advice but it still doesn't help anyway, since he is not too good at holding his liquor. It's only after a couple of beers and glasses of shochu that a nasty headache already kicks in and the room starts spinning with him. He can barely hold his eyes open.

When the party is over and they call it a night, Yuta helps Achara take Kongpob back to their hotel.

"Yuta kun, thanks a lot. See you tomorrow." the girl says, once they've reached the hotel entrance and they part ways.

"My pleasure. Goodnight. See you."