Teeradon walked slowly through the club corridors, conducting his routine inspection. Network Solutions technicians had been installing the new computer system for over five days now. After finishing work at his company today, he rushed straight to the club, hoping to catch the project 'engineer'—the one who'd been dodging him for days. But when Niwat, his assistant, pointed out today's supervising engineer, Teeradon's face darkened.
"Mr. Wittawin only came the first two or three days, never on schedule. He'd peek in briefly and leave. The one here regularly is Mr. Anuchit. Mr. Pamorn says he's just as capable. Would you like to speak with Mr. Anuchit?"
"No need." Teeradon shook his head as Niwat continued with other matters, eventually reaching the topic of Mr. Bannavit, the rival club owner who kept approaching Teeradon about selling shares.
"I already told him you weren't interested, but he doesn't seem ready to give up," Niwat summarized his report. "I think Mr. Bannavit will send his son to negotiate again."
"Next time he comes, let him see me. I'll handle the conversation myself." Teeradon spoke curtly, then stopped to watch the small-framed engineer giving instructions to workers not far away. He couldn't help but mock Sarayoot internally—the man certainly had a knack for finding baby-faced subordinates. Anuchit looked as young and soft as Wittawin, barely out of high school.
So he's completely ignoring my ultimatum, is he?I told him if Wittawin wasn't the project engineer, I wouldn't hire them. But he's deceived me by having Wittawin work only the first few days, then putting someone else in charge...
Sarayoot wouldn't dare defy me. But that engineer... he probably doesn't fear me one bit...
Teeradon pulled out his phone, ready to 'scold' the troublesome head engineer of the computer company.
***
Teeradon stood outside the second-floor office of Network Solutions. It was six in the evening—all employees had gone home, leaving only Wittawin alone in the executive office. The young man sat hunched over his desk, writing something, with loud rock music blasting from what must have been his computer.
You can't just abandon me that easily. Don't play the sacrifice act, Wittawin. You can't just push me away and hand me over to Pirayu like some object...
Teeradon took a deep breath, preparing to confront Wittawin. He knew talking to the young man wouldn't be easy. From their phone conversation that afternoon, Wittawin still refused to change his mind about pushing him toward Pirayu, stubbornly insisting he didn't want Pirayu to get hurt, no matter what Teeradon said.
Wittawin was tough, decisive, stubborn, and above all, fiercely loyal to his friends.
Pirayu is a good person, someone lovable. You should open your heart and consider my friend more deeply...
He knows that, but he doesn't love him...
When Teeradon opened the door, the music hit him full blast. Wittawin didn't notice anyone entering until Teeradon stood directly in front of his desk. Only then did the young engineer look up with calm, steady eyes.
"Wittawin, I need to talk to you." Teeradon raised his voice over the music, gesturing for the young man to turn it down. But Wittawin sat motionless. Teeradon looked around for the stereo to lower the volume himself, then remembered Wittawin was probably playing music from his computer. He started walking around the desk, but Wittawin immediately stood up, as if to block his approach.
"Turn off the music. I came to talk." Teeradon's expression hardened, but Wittawin shook his head and walked toward the door. Teeradon followed, fighting the urge to grab that tall frame and hold him tight until Wittawin suffocated against his chest.
"Speak," Wittawin turned to face Teeradon after stepping out of the office, standing on the small landing above the stairs.
Look at that—even when we're talking, he's still being difficult. Just turning down the music or switching it off, but he won't do even that...
"Why are you avoiding me?" Teeradon asked.
"I'm not avoiding you." Wittawin shrugged as usual.
"Then why aren't you going to work?"
"Uncle Yoot assigned someone else to do it instead."
"I don't approve." Teeradon's voice hardened. "I don't trust them. The club's computer system is crucial. I absolutely won't accept anyone else doing it. It has to be you."
"Is this really what you wanted to discuss with me?" Wittawin's voice carried a mocking edge as he moved toward the stairs. Teeradon reached out to block his path. The young man stopped and turned to face him. "Stop playing games like this. The contract doesn't specify who has to do the work. Don't play dirty, or I'll encourage uncle Yoot to sue."
"Go ahead. I'm not afraid." Teeradon shrugged.
"You love throwing your weight around. Right from the start, threatening not to pay for the system installation at the company and the club repairs if I didn't come apologize to you over something meaningless. If I didn't pity my uncle and worry about the employees, I wouldn't have done it. But now, I won't let you boss me around."
"Don't you really know why?" Teeradon lowered his voice, leaning forward to look at Wittawin, who kept his gaze fixed on the stairs leading down.
"You're bored, so you're looking for entertainment."
"Don't you really know why I've been pursuing you so relentlessly?"
"You don't like that I beat you in every race and dropped a wrench on your head. And that I won't follow your orders." Wittawin's voice was soft.
"Stubborn." Teeradon moved closer, but Wittawin shifted away, positioning himself on the first step as if ready to bolt down the stairs if he needed to escape.
"You're hurt that I snuck into your club twice without paying."
"You know exactly what I'm thinking, yet you still play dumb." Teeradon smiled slightly. "If you want me to be direct, I will be."
Wittawin shifted, immediately stepping down and running down the stairs in full view of Teeradon, who quickly followed.
"Wittawin, stop running from me." Teeradon called out, but the other man ignored him, leaping down to the ground floor and pushing through the exit door.
"Wittawin! Stop and talk to me first. Don't just walk away like this. What's wrong with you? When someone's trying to talk, walking away like this is called bad manners. I should tell Sarayoot to punish you."
"Uncle Yoot wouldn't dare," Wittawin replied without turning around, walking slowly along the sidewalk in front of the office building.
"That's what I thought—your uncle is too soft on you. Can't handle you. I'll do it instead." Teeradon quickened his pace until he caught up, their shoulders nearly brushing. "You can't run from me forever, Wittawin. I won't stop trying to follow you. The more you run, the more I'll chase. Don't even think about tossing me to Pirayu like that. I'm not some object you can just throw to anyone. I don't love Pirayu."
Wittawin stopped abruptly, turning to face Teeradon with hard, fierce eyes. "You're hurting Pirayu. You know he loves you, but you still treat my friend this way. I don't want to see my friend suffer. I don't want to see..."
"I can't force Pirayu's feelings, and no one can force mine. You can't make me not like you either." Teeradon's voice was intense, his face stern.
"Don't say you like me."
"You like me too. Just admit it. Stop being so stubborn."
"Delusional." Wittawin's voice cracked with strain.
"Self-deception." Teeradon shot back.
"Just go away. I don't want to talk to you." Wittawin turned away and walked quickly forward.
Teeradon didn't follow but called after him: "Stop thinking nonsense, Wittawin. Don't play the self-sacrificing friend. Even if you tell me to stop bothering you, and even if I do what you say, that doesn't mean Pirayu will get what he wants. Your friend will suffer even more because he knows exactly what's going on."
"Go far away! Go find someone else!" Wittawin whirled around, shouting at Teeradon before picking up his pace. Inside, he wanted his legs to run faster.
"Just give in to me."
Teeradon's final words echoed in Wittawin's head as the young man crossed to the other side of the street. Car horns blared as he cut across traffic and jumped onto the opposite sidewalk. Wittawin glanced back once to see Teeradon still standing there, hands in his pockets, watching him without moving an inch.
Just give in to me...
Dream on. Acting like it's that easy to order someone around. When has Wittawin ever given in to anyone? Just saying he likes me and expecting me to go soft? Never going to happen...
Is that all—just to say he likes me? I want to punch that mouth so badly. If he only came to say something like that, he shouldn't have shown his face at all...
***
Pirayu locked his office door and walked through each room, checking that everything was in order before coming to stand in front of the small building. The sun was setting, darkness beginning to spread over his little kingdom that he loved so dearly—and which would soon belong to someone else.
That afternoon, the landowner he rented from had come to discuss accelerating his decision. He had less than a year to move out and find new land if he still wanted to keep the school running. No one knew about this—not even Wittawin and his other friends. But tomorrow, he would have to announce it to everyone in a meeting to get their opinions.
"Why are you leaving so late?" A voice behind him made Pirayu startle, then adjust his expression into a smile before turning to look at the person he'd been thinking about so much all week.
"I'm the janitor too—I have to lock up all the rooms." Pirayu smiled broadly, walking slowly toward Teeradon. Being away from him for a while had helped him come to terms with things somewhat.
"Want to have dinner together? I went to all this trouble to come invite you personally. Let's see if you'll turn me down again." Teeradon spoke with a smile.
"What if I said I was fasting..."
"I wouldn't believe it. Someone like you needs to eat more to bulk up a bit."
Pirayu laughed softly and walked straight to his small red Honda Jazz parked by the playground fence, with Teeradon following close behind.
"Well? I'm still waiting for an answer." Teeradon asked with a smile.
"Don't you have anyone else to eat with? You have plenty of people who'd want to dine with you, Khun Don."
"Is this why you've been avoiding me?"
"I haven't been avoiding you. I've been at the school the whole time. We're just busy—the kids are about to have exams."
"Kindergarten kids?"
"Things are more advanced now. There are even entrance exams for first grade. We have to prepare our little ones to face the wider world."
Just like he had to be ready to face whatever was coming...
Pirayu looked at Teeradon's sharp, intense features, so calm and composed. The face that captivated him. The face he dreamed about constantly. The face he would never forget, even though he kept telling himself he had to.
"Everything has to change. Even kindergarteners have to move up to first grade." Pirayu glanced around, his gaze settling on the merry-go-round. He sighed softly before continuing. "What's happening to us now has to change too. I've been waiting for that change. I just didn't know when. But unfortunately, it's coming sooner than expected."
"What do you mean? Do you think..."
"I secretly hoped that you might be serious about me and didn't see me as just someone to keep your loneliness at bay. But the truth is the truth. Playboys are hard to cure—they don't change as easily as kindergarteners moving up to first grade. But there is one similarity: when kids have to leave their old friends, they cry. But once they meet new friends, they're happy again."
"Do you think I'd change that easily?"
"Then why are you here? I think it has to be more than just inviting me to dinner."
"I..." Teeradon hesitated. He'd never imagined he would feel reluctant to say what was on his mind to Pirayu. He'd decided to come here and settle things with him definitively, but seeing Pirayu's sweet face, those large round eyes, that beautiful smile—he felt pity and couldn't bring himself to be decisive. He didn't want to see Pirayu cry.
"I don't want to hurt Wittawin." Pirayu's expression grew serious. "Wittawin has sacrificed so much for me. He's always helped, cared for, and protected me. If you keep playing both sides like this, someday you'll fall into the water and drown. No one will be able to save you."
"Wittawin never cares." Teeradon pressed his lips together, thinking of the other man's cold expression.
"Just from that, I can tell you don't think of me as more than a friend to ease your loneliness." Pirayu's voice was bitter, but he forced a sad smile. "Khun Don, if you're not planning to choose me, then don't keep bothering me. It's hard on both of us. No—all three of us."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything so far. You're more special than anyone else I've ever known."
"And soon I'll have passed by too. Will Wittawin pass by as well?" Pirayu asked seriously. "Khun Don, will you let everything pass you by again and again like this?"
"So you won't have dinner with me?" Teeradon smiled thinly.
"No. I have to cut myself off. Otherwise, I'll never forget you. Please—don't come looking for me anymore, will you? I don't want things to get more complicated than they already are." Pirayu looked down, speaking to Teeradon slowly and clearly, his voice beginning to tremble. Tears were about to fall.
"I don't want to leave you like this."
"Just go." Pirayu opened the car door, preparing to get in. He was close to losing control of himself.
"Pirayu." Teeradon's voice was soft with anguish. He'd never imagined someone like him would be rejected. In one day, he'd been turned away twice.
Wittawin had shouted harshly, "Go far away!" while Pirayu spoke softly and gently.
Two people he felt something special for, something he'd never felt for anyone before. With all the others who'd come and gone—those actresses and singers who were beautiful and famous—none had ever tried to push him away. But these two ordinary people who'd never been on TV even once were both telling him to go far away...
Go far away...
Where was he supposed to go? It's not that easy to do that…
***