SOTUS 3

As his phone alarm went off, Kongpob opened his eyes and stretched. He reached out and turned off the alarm. Then he turned over and looked at his bed companion. An empty pillow. Again.

P'Arthit must have gone to work early. As he had for the past week.
When Kong had gotten a job at Ocean Electric, he had suggested that he should work in Procurement, while Art took a position in Production (where he really wanted to work). After p'Earth had been given the position of Vice Supervisor, Art had taken over her roll. A new hire had then taken over Art's position. Kong argued that his background in economics in addition to engineering made Kong a perfect fit for Procurement. After much back and forth, Arthit had finally agreed, as had p'Danai and p'Yong.
Lately several large projects had been happening at the same time, which meant the Production Department had been very busy. Art had taken on as many extra hours as he could. Going in early and coming home quite late. He even went in to work last weekend.
Kong missed him. He wondered why p'Arthit felt he needed to work so many extra hours. They were doing fine financially. Neither of them were extravagant spenders. What was all the extra money for?
Finally getting up, Kong made the bed. He ate a quick breakfast and washed the dishes. He then showered and got dressed for work. All of this was accomplished automatically. Kong's mind was busy thinking of his boyfriend, desperately wishing for one of his quick smiles, or even hearing him complain about being woken up.
Kong tried every night to stay awake until Art arrived home, but the Procurement Department had also been busy. By the time Kong got back to their dorm, he was exhausted, and quickly fell asleep after eating a lonely dinner.

Soon after arriving at work, Kong received a line message. It was from Bright.
Bright- "HEY, TUTAH! ARE YOU AWAKE?"
Bright- "HEY! DO YOU KNOW WHO THAT BEAUTIFUL WOMAN WAS THAT I SAW WITH ARTHIT? SHE IS AMAZING! I NEED TO KNOW WHO SHE IS!"
Kong stared at his phone. With shaking hands he slowly typed a reply.
Kongpob- "I AM SORRY, P'BRIGHT. THIS IS KONGPOB, NOT P'TUTAH."
Bright- "KONGPOB? KONGPOB, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH TUTAH'S PHONE?"
Kongpob- "I'M SORRY, P'BRIGHT. YOU DIALED ME INSTEAD OF P'TUTAH."
Bright- "WHAT?"
Bright- "... "
Bright- "FORGET WHAT I SAID. I WAS WRONG. NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, IT WASN'T ARTHIT."
Bright- "WHY DO I EVEN HAVE YOUR LINE ADDRESS?"
Shaken, Kong put down his phone. P'Earth came into the office and greeted Kong. He didn't respond.
"Nong Kong? Are you all right? Have you seen a ghost? You are grey."
Kong looked up at her. He quickly greeted her and tried to smile.
"I am fine, p'Earth. Thank you. Maybe just tired."

Arthit looked over at the woman at his side. She was amazingly beautiful. Black hair, pulled back severely from her face, fell in soft waves down her back. Porcelain white skin, with just a hint of make up, seemed to glow, while thick lashes framed green eyes. An impeccably tailored white blouse and flowing black pants gave hints of a trim figure. She moved like a dancer and her voice was deep and soothing. That soothing voice was now describing virtues of the room they stood in. Art shook his head, making up his mind.
"I'm sorry, Boonsri, This isn't right."
"What?" she asked.
"This house is too modern. The pictures online made it look warmer, but now that I'm here, it just doesn't work."
Boonsri smiled slightly. "No need to apologize, Arthit. This is why we visit the houses. Seeing them in real life is always different then how they appear in staged photos."

They made their way to the front door.
"I have a few more listings for you to look at," Boonshi told Art, "and will probably have more in a few days. I'll e-mail them to you, and you can pick those you wish to visit."
"Thank you again, Boonsri, for helping me with this. I didn't think it would be so difficult. I also didn't think I would be so picky."
The realtor just laughed, "you aren't even close to as being picky as some of my clients. Many act as if I hiding the perfect house from them. It is difficult enough finding the right house. Even worse when you are having to take someone else's tastes into consideration."
As Boonsri drove off, Art again thought about how beautiful she was. But as with any person he found attractive, she didn't measure up to one simple standard:
she was no Kongpob.