The Kingpin's Possession

55: To Make One Understand

Kit:In between preparing for final examinations and spending time with P’Kim, time flew by quickly, and before Kit knew it, three weeks had passed, and their final exams had come to an end.

To celebrate their survival of the academic year, Kit and his friends went to their favorite restaurant, right outside of the university perimeters, and ordered all their favorite food on the menu.

“Ohh…look at you boys! It felt like yesterday when you troublemakers joined the university,” the aunty who owned the restaurant teased them fondly. “Soon, you’ll be graduating and getting married.”

They laughed at her teasing before Prem said, “Not so soon, Pa“Dai, dai,” the aunt laughed. “Go on, pick your table, I’ll get the food there soon.”

“The end of the semester, finally!” Kit exclaimed as they gathered around the table after having made their respective orders.

“Right?” Earth agreed, throwing his hands up in the air. “What a ride! I seriously can’t wait to get our well-deserved vacation. Summer, here I come!”

They all laughed at Earth’s antics, before putting their heads together to plan for their summer vacation.

“So what should we do?” Ben asked now that they were on the topic of summer vacation. “We should go somewhere, us four only!”

The dig was directed at Kit and Prem, who chose to ignore it with a roll of their eyes.

“The beach?” Prem suggested instead, bringing them back on track.

“It will be packed this early in the summer,” Ben dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Let's go there during the enrollment period.”

“Siam Paragon?” Kit asked, looking around.

“Boring!” Earth objected immediately. “We want to go on a trip, Kit! We can go to the mall anytime!”

“Besides, Siam is pretty much always hosting one event or other for those TV actors,” Ben added with a cringe. “The last time I went there, my eardrums almost exploded.”

“Well, if you're so picky, where do youEarth was the one who spoke up. “I don't know about you guys, but I just want to stay in bed and sleep the summer away.”

They all booed at him, making faces of disapproval as they shoved their upside down thumbs to his face.

“You're no fun, Earth,” Kit teased. “The rest of us want to do something that's actually fun! And to think you were just complaining about me choosing the mall!”

“Talk to me when you guys finally have real plans,” Earth retorted, rolling his eyes.

At that moment, the aunt came to their table with their respective drinks and food and the boys thanked their ‘khun Pa’ Kit first took a bite from the stir fried spicy basil pork with rice that he ordered, then washed it down with his red soda. “This is so good,” he gushed. “The best reward after hell week.”

“Tell me about it,” said Ben, stuffing his own face with his favorite chicken rice.

“Alright…how about we all go to Chiang Mai?” Prem suggested. “My family owns a holiday home there. I bet they’ll be more than happy if we stay there for a couple of days. The staff will make sure that we are safe and taken care of, so our guardians won’t have to worry about us.”

“That sounds great!” exclaimed Ben with a wide grin, and even homebody Earth nodded excitedly.

However, this time, it was Kit's turn to be hesitant. His first thought upon Prem’s suggestion was, ‘Would P’Kim let me go?’He didn't want to confirm his attendance only to cancel later on because he had impulsively agreed without consulting P’Kim first. And not only did he have to consult P’Kim, but his sister as well.

Somehow…it seemed like ever since he became P’Kim’s lover, he has had even less freedom than before. And it wasn’t until now, when he needed some space to think about his future, that he was finally noticing it.

Noticing he hadn't said anything, they all turned to him expectantly. He felt the pressure of their gazes, so he merely shrugged noncommittally. “Um, I’ll have to ask P’Kim if I can come with you or not. Chiang Mai isn't exactly just around the corner.””

Earth booed at him. “Buzzkill,” he said, blowing raspberries. “P’Kim is your boyfriend, not your father, so he can't stop you if you want to go.”

Kit's nose scrunched in slight annoyance at Earth’s words—he didn't like how his friend said it. But then again, they have been in each other’s company for years now, so he figured that Earth didn't mean for it to sound so harsh. Instead of responding in anger, he simply said, “Then I’ll need to ask my sister, if not P’Kim, at the very least.”

As though sensing that the atmosphere was turning a bit awkward, Ben steered the conversation to a different angle. “Well, now that that’s settled, let's talk about what we're going to do at Chiang Mai! What fun activities should we be doing? We need to spend our precious vacation time wisely!”

“Oh! Let’s take lots of pictures!” Earth grinned. “I want to take several so we can create a yearbook of our own! Like a yearbook of memories!”

“An album, you mean?” Prem raised his eyebrows, but he nodded in approval. “That’s a pretty cool idea. Let’s do that! Where should we start our tour?”

As they all got lost in taking turns to pitch fun things they could do during the summer, Kit realized just how much he had missed talking to his friends like this. Carefree, without any school stress and especially stress about keeping his relationship with P’Kim on the lowkey.

He felt thankful that he had genuine friends to share his college life with, who had stuck with him through thick and thin, especially with everything going on with him now. The thought made him all the more determined to go to Chiang Mai with them, so he could spend some time away from the tension inside the house.

The discussion kept going as they all had fun with their wild ideas. Of course, they knew that it was unlikely they'd do everything they said they would, but it was still fun to talk about the possibilities.

Then, in the middle of their conversation, Kit noticed Prem take out his phone, looking a bit stressed. He must have gotten a text. Kit was about to transfer his gaze to Earth, who was in the middle of animatedly reenacting his experience riding a particularly crazy roller coaster, when Kit noticed Prem’s expression darken upon reading the message.

He briskly excused himself from the group, which none of the others acknowledged, Earth too busy making Ben laugh. Kit watched him disappear into the washroom.

Kit sat there, debating whether he should follow to see what was up with his friend or give him the space he clearly needed. But after a few moments, when Prem didn’t return from the washroom, he made up his mind and decided to check up on Prem.

As he neared the washroom, he heard Prem’s hardened voice, arguing with someone through a phone call. He had locked himself in one of the stalls, so he wasn't aware of Kit's presence outside the door, but Kit already had a hunch who he was talking to.

“No— listen to me!” Kit had never heard Prem so frustrated before. “Please! Don’t!”

Kit decided to wait for his friend to come out, even though the desperation in his voice made him feel horrible for intruding on such a private conversation.

“Oh, come on!” Whoever Prem was talking to must have hung up without letting Prem finish, because he ended up kicking the bathroom stall door open rather violently, making Kit jump from where he stood by the sink.

To say that Prem was upset was an understatement. He looked absolutely ticked off, eyebrows meeting together in a frown as he rushed out of the stall, not at all surprised to find Kit there, as he went to the sink and splashed water all over his face, almost getting his shirt wet.

“Hey, calm down! What happened?” Kit asked, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Prem shook his head, before turning to face Kit with a desperate look on his face. “NongKit didn't speak. Experience had taught him well enough that when his friends were ranting, they only needed someone to listen, and they did not necessarily want a response. So Kit let him rant, let him get all the weight off of his chest first.

“It's just so frustrating,” Prem admitted, running his hands through his hair. “Wayo is… changing. He’s enduring things that he doesn't really have to, and it's all because of me. That's not what love should be.” When he finally met Kit’s gaze, that's when Kit knew that Prem wanted advice.

“You're right,” Kit agreed. “Being in love and in a relationship doesn't mean you have to change everything about you or suffer needlessly. But you have to remember that Nong“Yes, but…this is different na, P’Kit?” Prem sighed, looking frustrated. Kit was surprised that Prem called him Phi, because they had discarded the honoraries a long time ago. But that also made Kit realize that Prem looked up to him enough to value his advice.

“Prem, I think it’s useless to try to make him understand at this point. However, I think that once he gets here and experiences the difficulties of the medical field by himself, he will understand what he did wrong and realize where his true interests lie as well. And when that realization finally sets in, he will quit by himself and go on to choose his true path.” Kit suggested. “Besides, let him explore the campus for the year, let him see for himself how different school and university life really is.”

Prem nodded, making a noise of thoughtfulness. “You're right,” he said, heaving a long sigh. “Thank you…for everything. I was so stressed that I might have ended up scolding him again.”

“Prem, no matter what, don’t be rude to your lover,” Kit advised. “Nong Wayo may be a bit impulsive, but he has loved you for a long time.”

“That’s true…” Prem gave him a small smile, but then he didn’t continue any longer, even though Kit could tell that he wanted to say something more.

Afterward, they went back to their table, but something about the way Prem’s eyes still looked troubled made Kit tell that he was still hiding something.

But what was it? And was it even his place to ask?