Phukong was sitting beside the hospital bed that was occupied by his brother.

"That fuc—Mil! I'm sure he did that on purpose!" Sarawat said, "He is just too jealous that I'm dating Tine!"

"Phi, I'm tired of listening the same time over and over again," Phukong said.

He took his bag from the bed and said, "I'm leaving. I'll pay you a visit tomorrow if I have enough time to spare. See you."

Phukong walked towards the door and greeted Tine who was coming in.

"Hoi! Are you leaving already?" Tine said, smiling.

Phukong nodded. "Yes, Phi. I have a lot of assignments to complete," He said.

"Ah!" Tine exclaimed, "Alright."

He took a coke can out of his bag and gave it to Phukong.

"Take this. It'll refresh you," Tine said.

Phukong took the can and waiied at Tine. "Thank you, Phi," He said.

He then walked out of the room.

"Mil is so childish! I just hate him!"

Phukong heard Sarawat yelling from inside the room.

He just clenched hard on his bag as he walked out of the hospital.

*

"Phukong!" Mil exclaimed, happily. He waved at the latter and ran towards him.

"Sawadee krap, P'Mil," Phukong said, waiing at the panting senior.

"Wadee krap!" Mil said, composing himself, "Are you free later?"

Phukong looked at his schedule and nodded. "Yes, Phi. Why?" He asked.

"I'm having a football match at 7," Mil said, "Join us."

'Football match?' Phukong thought, 'Right! He doesn't know that P'Wat is my brother.'

Phukong nodded. "I'll meet you at 6:50, Phi," He said, calmly.

"Great!" Mil said, "I'll see you soon!"

With that, he walked away with his friends.

Phukong watched Mil till he disappeared in the crowd.

"Phukong~ Sit with us!" A bunch of girls, in the same year, yelled.

Phukong smiled in apology and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I already have other plans," He said, "Maybe next time."

"Ow!"

The latter marched toward the huge football field.

Inhaling the fresh air, Phukong smiled. 'Wouldn't it be good if life was as nice as the fresh air?' He thought.

"Phukong!"

An angry voice made the boy flinched in shock.

Phukong turned around and saw Boss and Man.

"P'Boss, P'Man, it's just you two. You made me scared," He said. He then raised his palms and waiied them.

"There are other people in the campus! Why did you only find Boss's sweetheart to have a crush on?!" Man asked.

Phukong looked puzzled.

"But, Phi, I have a crush on my senior—"

"Yes!" Man yelled, "That senior is Boss's sweetheart!"

"Haa! P'Boss, you have a crush on P'Mil too?!" Phukong exclaimed, eyes widened.

Boss nodded. "Yes! I have a crush on her—Huh?! You have a crush on Mil?!" He said.

Phukong nodded, innocently. "I do, but he doesn't even notice me unless there's a football match or a project," He said.

"Maybe," Boss said, "You should enter the cheerleading club."

Man nodded. "Yeah! Tine was also in the cheerleading club—"

"So you want me to turn into another P'Tine?" Phukong said, "Sorry, Phi but I would prefer it if P'Mil liked me as Phukong not as P'Tine."

Phukong waiied at the two seniors and walked away.

*

Phukong was doing his assignments in his room for the rest of the day.

6:30PM

"Ah, it's already half past six. I need to meet P'Mil in 20 minutes," He said to himself.

Phukong then started assembling his papers together and when he finished, he went directly to the football field.

"Phukong! Over here!" Mil yelled, waving at the latter.

"Sawadee krap, P'Mil," Phukong said, "I'm not too late, I hope."

Mil shook his head, saying, "No, no. You're on time."

He then gave Phukong a pair of clothes and told him, "Here. Change into these."

"Krap,"

*

The football match was going well. Mil and Phukong were winning.

"Mil plays so well. Why did he have to cheat to win against Sarawat?"

"I know right,"

Phukong shook his head, unamused and drank his water.

"Ai'Mil! That move you played with Sarawat was just wow!"

Phukong frowned.

Mil laughed. "Yeah?" He asked, "I don't think it was just 'wow'."

The other boy hit Mil's shoulder jokingly and said, "Sarawat is literally in the hospital."

Mil winked.

Phukong clenched his water bottle so hard, that it became twisted and the water dripped out of it.

"Nong!" Mil yelled, "Let's play again!"

Phukong nodded.

"P'Mil," He called, "This time, I'll play against you this time."

Mil frowned. "Huh? Why?" He asked, feeling perplexed.

Phukong shrugged. "Just like that," He answered.

"Okay," Mil said, "I don't mind."

Both of them went to their respective team.

The game was going well. Both teams were playing their best, until Phukong did something unimaginable.

He kicked Mil's knee so hard that the latter couldn't stand up.

"Phukong!" Mil yelled, "What the **** are you doing?!"

Phukong glared at Mil and yelled back, "Doing what you did to my brother!"

He then took his bag and left the football field.

Mil was surprised, knowing the truth.

*

The next day, Phukong was trying to avoid Mil, by staying in the library.

"Phukong, stop avoiding me,"

Phukong froze at the voice. He stood up and turned his back towards the senior.

"What do you mean, Phi? I'm not avoiding you," He said, taking his notes from the table.

Mil grabbed Phukong's arm and, forcefully, made the latter turn towards him.

"Then why are you not looking at me?" He asked, seriously.

Phukong removed his arm from Mil's grip and said, "Stop getting the wrong ideas, Phi. I'm just busy."

Mil huffed. "Busy?" He said, "Busy doing what? Your exams are due in like eight months later."

Phukong looked down. "Phi—"

"Listen, I didn't mean to hurt your brother. It was unexpected," Mil said, feeling guilty, "It was mistake, not my intention."

Phukong scoffed. "Then why didn't you tell your friends so? Why did you let them believe that you did that on purpose?" He asked.

"T-That's because I didn't want them to think that I did that unintentionally," Mil said, "I have an overwhelming pride. That's why I didn't say that to them."

"Why are you explaining yourself to me?" Phukong said, "Don't you think that instead of wasting your time on me, you should apologise to my brother?"

"You matter more to me," Mil said, "That's why I'm here, instead of being with my friends."

Mil tapped on Phukong's shoulder and left.

"Wha—"

Phukong touched his chest. "P'Mil, stop saying those things," He whispered softly with a baked face.

KNOCK KNOCK

Phukong knocked on Sarawat door. "P'Wat, it's me," He said, "Can I come in?"

The last time, when he dropped in unannounced, he saw something that he shouldn't see.

Tine opened the door with a huge grin. "Hi, Nong! Come in," He said.

Phukong waiied him and entered inside the room.

Sarawat was sitting on his bed, with his guitar on his hands.

"Hey, Phukong," He said, putting away his guitar.

Phukong put a plastic bag on the table and said, "I brought food for both of you. Eat it before it cools down."

Tine opened the bag and saw only two takeaways. "Huey! There's only two in here. Where's yours?" He asked.

"I have plans with my friends. I only came here to give you food," Phukong said.

"Since when did you start caring for us?" Sarawat asked, looking at his brother suspiciously.

"Shut it, Phi. You two clearly don't have the talent to cook. I just don't want P'Tine to die before he meets our family officially," Phukong said.

Tine's eyes widened.

"Don't you know how embarrassing is it for everyone to know that the great Sarawat and Tine the chic guy died because they can't cook?" Phukong continued, "My reputation would be ruin."

Sarawat took a pillow from the bed and threw it towards his brother.

"Phukong! Get out!" He yelled, "Don't come here, unless you need a shoulder to cry!"

Phukong stuck out his tongue and marched out of the room.

"Your brother is really something," Tine said, looking amused.

Sarawat looked at his boyfriend, feeling betrayed. "He is just a burden," He said.

Phukong gasped. "Phi! At least, Mom and Dad love me more than you!" He yelled as loud as he could.

"Phukong! Get lost!" Sarawat yelled back.

*

"Phukong! Wait for me!" Boss yelled, running towards Phukong with Man.

"Sawadee krap, P'Boss, P'Man," Phukong said, waiing at them.

"So, what did you decide?" Man asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Phukong frowned in confusion.

"Decide what, Phi?" He asked.

Boss sighed in disbelief. "About Mil! What did you decide? What are you going to do?" He asked.

"I'm not going to join the cheerleading team," Phukong said, "And that's final."

"Huey! Then what are you going to do?" Man asked.

Phukong shrugged. "I don't know," He said.

"We are going to help you! Right, Man!" Boss said, enthusiastically.

Man nodded.

"Phi, I already told you, I'm not going to sign up for the cheerleaders team," Phukong said.

"We are not going to do that," Boss said, "We will figure out another way to help you."

Phukong looked at the two friends, suspiciously.

"Chill! Trust us!" Man said, batting his eyes innocently.

"That makes you more suspicious," Phukong said.

Man and Boss held Phukong's arms from both side.

"Trust us! Why would we betray you? You are Sarawat's brother!" Boss said.

"Yeah!" Man agreed, "We won't do anything without your consent!"

"Hey!"

A loud voice startled the three boys.

Sarawat was coming towards them with his crutches.

"Ai'Wat! What are you doing here?" Boss said.

Man supported Sarawat to stand up. "You should take rest, don't you know?" He said.

"P's, I'm going back. I'll see you guys later," Phukong said, starting to leave.

"Wait," Sarawat stopped his brother.

Phukong looked at his brother, unamused.

"What, Phi?" He asked.

"What were Boss and Man telling you?" Sarawat asked, seriously.

He didn't want Phukong to get influenced by his two idiots friends.

Phukong rolled his eyes. "Nothing," He said, flatly.

Sarawat turned towards his friends and glared at them. "What were you two telling him?" He asked.

Boss laughed. "Ai'Wat, we were just talking causally," He said.

Sarawat scoffed. "Yeah?" He said in sarcasm, "Your casual talking is what worries me the most."

Phukong slowly turned his feet towards the exit and marched away.

He sighed in relief when he found himself far away from his brother and his brother's annoying friend.

Just in a few distance away, he saw Mil laughing and joking with his friends.

Phukong gulped. His face turned into a cherry.

He nearly melted in that smile of Mil.

"Phukong!" Mil called out, waving at the latter.

Phukong walked towards the senior. "Yes, Phi?" He asked, "You need something?"

Mil turned towards his friends and gestured them.

"Phukong," His friends said, "We are sorry for what we said about your brother."

Phukong's eyes widened.

"Oh—"

"And we won't do it again," Mil's friends continued.

"No, no!" Phukong said, "It's okay. I was just out of my mind yesterday. Forgive my language, but you can talk shit about my brother. I will gladly join in, as long as, you don't cross the line."

Mil and the rest of the boys frowned in confusion.

"You..." One of the boys began, "You are giving us the permission to talk behind your brother's back?"

Phukong nodded. "Krap, Phi!" He said, "Everyone loves my brother. I never met someone who can talk bad shits about him. You guys are quite interesting."

The boys, including Mil, busted into laughter.

"You are really something, Phukong," Mil said, tapping on the junior's shoulder.

He then turned towards his friends and said, "We have a class. Let's go."

The boys assembled their things and told a goodbye to Phukong.

"Alright, Phukong," Mil said, smiling, "I'll meet you later."

With that, he left with his friends.

Phukong banged his head on the wooden table.

"****, Phukong..." He whispered to himself, "You are doomed..."

Letting out a big sigh, he also took his leave.

*

At night, Phukong went to the nearby food stall to meet Sarawat, Tine and Boss.

The table was a four people table with two benches. On the first bench, Boss and Phukong sat down and on the second bench, Sarawat and Tine sat down.

"So, Phukong," Tine said, eating his tomyum, "What's interesting in your life? Got any crushes yet?" He teased.

Boss choked on his food, coughing loudly.

Sarawat looked at his friend, unamused. "What happened to you?" He asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" Boss quickly defended himself, "Yeah! Phukong, got any crushes yet?"

Before Phukong could answer, his brother spoke on his behalf.

"No," Sarawat said, "Phukong has no crushes. No girls, in my view, match his standard."

Phukong smiled and nodded.

"Oh really?" Boss said, teasingly, "No girls? Then is it a boy?"

It was now Phukong's turn to choke on his food.

Sarawat turned towards his brother. "You..." He said, hesitantly, "You have a crush on a boy?"

Phukong had now red cheeks decorated on his face.

"What?!" He said, taking a tissue to wipe his mouth, "No, Phi! Don't you know how P'Boss is? I have no one like that in my life."

"Really?" Tine asked, unsure, "Are you sure?"

Phukong nodded, fastly.

Sarawat leaned towards Boss and smacked him on his head.

"Stop talking nonsense!" He said, sternly.

"But I'm not—"

Phukong kicked Boss under the table. He then turned towards Sarawat and asked, "Phi, where is P'Man?"

"Oh!" Tine exclaimed, "He is having a dinner date with my brother."

Phukong nodded.

Boss leaned towards Phukong and whispered in his ear, "If Mil becomes your boyfriend, who will be the top?"

Phukong gasped. "P'Boss!" He yelled, with cheeks more redder than the previous one.

Sarawat looked at Phukong. "What happened? Why do you look red?" He asked, "Do you have a fever?"

Phukong shook his head.

*

Later on, Mil asked Phukong to meet him on the usual place.

The football field.

"P'Mil, why did you call me here?" Phukong asked, "I thought you had to study for your tests."

Mil took out his watch and gave it to Phukong.

Phukong looked at the watch in confusion. "Why are you giving me this?" He asked.

"Take it," Mil said, "Your teachers will be giving you a lot of pop quizzes. This watch is a lucky charm."

"Thanks, Phi," Phukong said, smiling.

Mil touched Phukong's shoulder and said, "I like you—"

Phukong's eyes widened. His cheeks reddened. He was grateful of the night time.

"As a brother," Mil continued.

"I like you...as a brother,"

BLINK.

Phukong woke up from his usual nightmare.

He sighed as he kept looking at the ceiling.

Can't he just have happiness for once?

*

KNOCK KNOCK.

Phukong knocked at Sarawat's dorm, with his pillow in his hand.

He heard some shuffling and groaning inside before the door finally opened.

CLICK.

"Phukong?" Sarawat said, rubbing his eyes, "What are you doing here at one in the morning?"

"Phi," Phukong said, "Can I sleep with you?"

That's when Sarawat noticed the pillow trapped in his brother's hands.

Sarawat yawned as he spoke, "Phukong, I'm very sleepy right now. I don't have time for your pranks."

Phukong clenched hard on his pillow. "Phi," He said, softly, "You told me to only come here if I need a shoulder to cry."

Sarawat's sleep vanished in thin air, as soon as, he saw tears threatening to fall down from his brother's eyes.

He only moved away from the door and let his brother inside.

Walking slowly, Phukong sat down on the couch. He had his knees curled up and arms around it.

A few minutes later, Sarawat came back with two cups of hot chocolate and blankets.

Putting the cups on the table, he wrapped one of the blankets on his brother and gave him a cup from the table.

Sarawat then settled beside him and did the same thing.

"So," He spoke, taking a sip of the hot chocolate, "What happened?"

Phukong stared blankly at his cup. "Nothing, P'Wat," He said in a soft voice.

Sarawat sighed. "I'm your brother, right? Why are you hiding things from me?" He asked.

Phukong shook his head. "You might not like it," He said, drinking his hot chocolate.

"Fine," Sarawat said, "Tell me when you feel free to."

He put his cup away and turned on the television.

"P'Wat," Phukong said, putting his cup away, "You said you were sleepy. Don't waste your time on me. Go to sleep."

Sarawat smacked his brother's head. "Shut it," He said, "I'm not going to sleep until you do."

Phukong kept staring at the latter. His brother would be the most complex person in his mind.

Sarawat noticed the quietness of the room.

He turned towards his brother and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

That's when Phukong couldn't take it anymore. He hugged his brother tightly and cried on his chest.

"Phu—" Sarawat was too stupid to know what to do in this situation. He simply hugged back his brother.

"Why?!" Phukong cried, "Why, Phi?! What did I do to deserve this?!"

"I like you as a brother,"

"I like you as a brother,"

"I like you as a brother,"

"I like you as a brother,"

The voice he loved the most, now became his nightmare.

Sarawat was shocked to see his brother in this state.

"Phu—Phukong? What's wrong?" He asked, raking his hand on his brother's hair, "Please tell me what's wrong."

Phukong sniffed and removed himself from Sarawat's hug. "So—Sorry, Phi," He said, "I'll leave. I didn't mean to bother you."

He started leaving with his pillow when Sarawat grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the couch.

"You are not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong," Sarawat said in a stern and angry voice.

Phukong flinched, hearing the voice tone of his brother.

Sarawat mentally cussed himself in his head for being angry. His brother was already scared and he made him more scared.

Without wasting time, he pulled his brother into a hug and said, "Sorry."

"It's okay, Phi," Phukong said, "I need to leave."

Sarawat shook his head. "No. You don't need to. You came here to sleep, then you'll sleep here," He said.

"But—"

"No buts. We'll talk in the morning," Sarawat said, throwing Phukong's pillow towards his bed.

He stood up and said, "Come on! Let's sleep now."

Phukong could only stood up in defeat and followed his brother.

*

In the morning, when Tine arrived at his boyfriend's dorm, the first thing he saw was Sarawat sleeping while sitting on the edge of the bed and Phukong was sleeping peacefully, having his brother's hand on his hair.

Tine chuckled. He nearly woke them up, before he saw the tear stains on Phukong's cheeks.

"Wat! Hey, Wat!" He whispered loudly, shaking his boyfriend.

Sarawat groaned. "What time is it?" He asked, feeling sleepy.

"Shush," Tine hushed Sarawat before his loud voice wake up Phukong, "Phukong is still sleeping."

Sarawat threw a glance towards Phukong and nodded. He got up his bed and went to brush his teeth, while Tine ordered their breakfast.

In fifteen minutes, Sarawat finished brushing and the breakfast was already here.

Phukong was still sleeping. Nobody turned on the lights or removed the curtains.

The room was dimmed.

"So," Tine said, "Why does Phukong have tear stains? Was he crying?"

Sarawat nodded. "He came here last night," He said.

"Why was he crying?" Tine asked, feeling worried.

Sarawat shrugged. "He didn't tell me anything and I didn't force him to tell me," He said.

"Wat! Open the door," Boss and Man whispered loudly.

Basically, Sarawat asked them to bring Phukong's things in his dorm and whisper when they arrive.

Tine marched towards the door and let Boss and Man in.

As soon as they entered, the first thing they saw was Phukong's tear stains.

Man gasped. "Wa—" He nearly shouted. "Was he crying?" He whispered, after clearing his throat.

Sarawat told them what happened at night.

It was now Boss's turn to gasp. "Pity, pity," He said.

The boys heard some shuffling in the bed, before Phukong finally woke up.

"Phi?" He said, rubbing his eyes, "What time is it?"

"Don't worry," Sarawat said, flatly, "You have no class today. Go back to sleep."

"Hm," Phukong said, "Then I'll be sleeping."

"Nope!" Tine interrupted, "Nope! Nope! Have your breakfast first, then sleep with a full stomach."

Boss and Man dragged Phukong out of the bed and threw him in the bathroom. They then threw his things inside.

*

"Phukong," Sarawat said, looking at his brother on the other side of the table.

"Yes, Phi?"

Sarawat coughed and said, "Wha—Who made you cry?"

Phukong froze for a decent moment.

"Phukong?" Sarawat asked, again.

"Phi, don't worry," Phukong said, "Nothing happened."

Boss smacked Phukong on his head. "Just tell him the truth!" He said.

"You know?" Sarawat asked in disbelief.

Boss nodded. "In the defence, Man also knows," He said.

Before Sarawat could yell at his friends, Phukong said something that shocked both Tine and Sarawat.

"I like P'Mil," Phukong said, "I love him, just like how you love P'Tine."

*

Meanwhile, in the other side of the campus, Mil was looking for something, or someone in general.

"Hey!" Mil stopped a boy, "You are Phukong's friend, right?"

The boy nodded.

"Do you know where is he?" Mil asked.

The boy shook his head and said, "Sorry, Phi. I don't know. We don't have any classes today."

"Oh," Mil said, in disappointment, "It's okay."

Mil went straight to his class, looking sulky.

One of his friends, Talay, smacked him on his head when he saw the latter being sulky.

"Oi! What's wrong?" He asked, "Missing Phukong?"

Mil scrunched his nose. "What nonsense? I'm not missing him! I'm just—" He said, taking a deep breath, "I'm just worried."

Talay sat down beside him. "Worried? About what?" He asked.

"I like his brother's boyfriend," Mil said, sighing, "I think he is angry because of that fact."

Talay nodded in deep thought. "I got a question though," He said.

"What question?"

Talay looked at Mil and asked, "Is Phukong angry because you like his brother's faen or is he angry because you like someone else?"

Mil was taken by surprise. Before he could answer, the teacher entered the classroom.

And Talay went to sit beside his boyfriend.

*

Sarawat choked on his food. "Who?! Mil?! You like that bast—I mean Mil?!" He yelled.

Phukong nodded, flatly. He was playing with his food.

Even Tine was taken aback.

"Why him?!" Sarawat whined, "There are other good looking boys in the campus if you were interested in the other game!"

Phukong looked at his brother, unamused. "Even P'Forth from engineering is handsome. Everyone is interested in him. He is a moon and even won the runner up. Should I go after him?" He said, sarcastically, "If not him, there's P'Beam from medical. He is handsome and cute sometimes."

Tine, Boss and Man gasped.

If Forth was the nightmare of all fathers, then Beam was the death.

Sarawat was stuck, between Mil liking Tine and Phukong liking Mil.

Where would that take them?