"Wittawin, help me!" Teeradon's voice rang out from the office, followed by another crash.
Wittawin grimaced, then calmly fixed the electrical panel until everything was working properly. The lights came back on and stayed on. The young engineer grabbed a shirt hanging by the bathroom, pulled it on, and walked back to the office, determined to finally chase Teeradon away.
But when he entered the room, Wittawin nearly exploded with laughter at the sight of the cool, self-absorbed man who thought himself more devastatingly handsome than anyone else, lying flat on his back in the middle of the room. A computer monitor and tangled cables draped across his chest and stomach, electronic equipment boxes piled on his legs, files and papers scattered across the floor.
"What did you do?" Wittawin's voice cracked as he tried to look stern while suppressing his laughter.
"I fell, obviously. What kind of question is that?" Teeradon's tone was irritated as he struggled to remove the items from his body.
"You damaged my stuff. The CPU and monitor are probably broken."
Good thing the printer didn't fall on his head. If that thing wasn't so big and heavy, I'd actually want it to drop right on Teeradon...
"I'm happy to compensate you. Help me first, Wittawin."
"Not even a please."
"Dear Wittawin, could you help me just a tiny bit?" Teeradon immediately mocked him, but didn't wait for help, his hands still trying to untangle the computer cables. Wittawin protested that he'd damage more equipment and cause the scanner and other peripherals to fall too.
"Why do you have so many cables tangled everywhere? Don't you know how to use wireless?" Teeradon complained, finally extracting himself from the mess.
"Everything's ruined," Wittawin sighed and shook his head, walking over to crouch and collect the scattered items from the floor. He forgot he was wearing only a loose shirt and small shorts, and the other man lying on the floor was stealing glances with gleaming eyes.
"Let me change from an apology to compensation," Wittawin said without looking at the other man, so he didn't see Teeradon's smile or the sparkle in his eyes.
"I can take you shopping for replacements tonight."
"Who's open this late?"
"Wittawin," Teeradon's voice softened. "Let's go get something to drink. I want to celebrate Christmas."
"How can we go anywhere in this mess? I need to clean up first or uncle Yoot will kill me."
"We can clean up later," Teeradon bargained.
"No way. If you want to drink and celebrate, go by yourself." Wittawin shook his head.
"I want to celebrate with you." Teeradon's voice was gentle as he reached out to grasp Wittawin's hand, which was picking up computer cables from the floor. The young man jerked his hand back immediately and looked up with fierce eyes at the person who'd seized the opportunity.
"Don't do that again," the touched man said curtly.
"Why not? What's wrong with what I did? It's not strange for me to express my feelings. What about you—what are you thinking? Why keep it all bottled up?" Teeradon spoke evenly, his eyes fixed on the reddening cheeks of the young man he'd been pursuing for months.
"You want me to show my real feelings?" Wittawin's voice turned cold after a moment of silence. "Fine. I want you to stop bothering me because I don't want my friend to get hurt. And I want you to be serious about Pirayu. Someone that good—you'll regret it if you let him slip away. Or if you don't plan to be serious, then stop messing with my friend. Stop messing with me. Stop messing with both of us."
"I already told you—if you'll be my boyfriend, I won't bother Pirayu."
"You're talking nonsense," Wittawin sighed loudly.
"What can I do when I already like someone?" Teeradon shrugged.
"You're a player. You like everyone indiscriminately."
"Don't go that far, Wittawin." Teeradon's voice hardened.
"That's nothing compared to what the president of Thailand's playboy association deserves. Don't tell me I'm being too harsh. If you're putting stickers like that on your car, it has to say something about who you are. How can I not believe it? And that's not even counting your behavior."
"If you'd noticed, you'd see my behavior has changed. And I've been persistently chasing only you. Why, Wittawin? Have you ever thought about why? And those stupid stickers—I tore them off ages ago. Want to see? I'll take you to look at the garage at home tonight. That car—ever since you cut me off, I barely drive it." Teeradon explained.
"You have plenty of other cars. And what does it matter..." Wittawin's voice cracked and he quickly stopped. "Forget it."
"I know what you were going to say," Teeradon said softly. Wittawin didn't listen, exhaling forcefully before standing up, intending to walk out through the back door of the office again, but Teeradon grabbed his wrist.
"Wittawin. Give me a chance."
"What chance? You're just determined to have me no matter what," Wittawin snapped.
"That's true, I admit it. But I don't plan to have you and then throw you away," Teeradon's face grew serious. "When I say give me a chance, I mean let me prove myself."
"Prove whether you'll really throw me away or not, right?" Wittawin interjected. "Dream on. If you don't love me, you won't get me."
"If I do love you, will you be mine?" Teeradon shot back, his voice rough. "Will you let me prove it or not?"
"Some people don't know what love is," Wittawin whipped around to face Teeradon. "I'm really sick of this one-sided love bullshit. How many people have to suffer because of it? But what I know for sure is that someone close to me is suffering every night because the person he loves just keeps drifting away."
"Wittawin." Teeradon's voice was tight, his jaw clenched until it formed sharp lines, feeling a stabbing pain in his heart.
Never felt like being hit by a hammer like this before. That day when Pirayu said he didn't want anyone's pity, that hurt enough. But now, Wittawin's cutting words hurt even more...
Why? Don't they think he could be serious or love anyone? He has a heart too...
But this one-sided love thing—don't count on it. He'll never love anyone one-sidedly. Either way, Wittawin has to love him back...
"Well then, I guess I'll be celebrating Christmas alone tonight," Teeradon put on a dejected expression, his shoulders drooping as he changed tactics, wanting to make Wittawin feel guilty for pushing him away like this. "Merry Christmas, Wittawin. Sleep well. Dream of whoever you love. I'm sorry for disturbing you."
Good night for tonight, little reindeer. Teeradon won't give up here. Since it's come to this point, he'll prove himself, clear his name, and charge forward at full speed. Don't think you can trick him into falling in love just to break his heart. He won't allow it...
***