The class collectively groans when the professor asks them to complete a field study by the end of the week. All of the third years, especially Bright,

were looking forward to the Thank You Party this coming weekend, but now, they need to visit small out-of-town factories, unsure if they can come to the party on time.

"How will I claim the chocolates my lovely juniors would give me?" Bright whines while leaving the classroom.
 

~

I will be in Amphawa today. i don't think i will be there at the party.

Kongpob reads the message with a serious face. A few more days have passed, but he and Arthit still don't have a proper talk. But still, out of duty, Arthit texted him that he'll be out of town.

Now, Kongpob's unsure if he still wants to go to the Thank You Party. What's the point of going if the senior that he's most thankful for won't be there to receive his gift?

~

"Bright, I'll drive on our way to Amphawa, but going back, you'll drive," Knot says.

Bright can't say no. He has already done so much ruining these past days that he can't decline anything that Knot tells him to do just to appease him.

"He's here," Prem uses his lips to point at Arthit, who's moving slowly down the stairs, face expectedly frowning.

Knot shakes his head. He doesn't want to see his friend like this. Prem squeezes Arthit's shoulder, offering moral support. While Prem doesn't understand the full extent of Arthit's emotions, he understands the difficulty of hiding a relationship. Arthit gives him a questioning look.

"Where's Tutah?" Arthit finally speaks.

"He's a part of the party's planning committee, and he'll also host it," Knot answers, "so I allowed him to skip the trip. He gave our group funds anyway."

"How much?" Bright asks.

"Shut up."

And Bright does so.

"How about you, Arthit? Do you really wanna go?" Knot asks.

"Why wouldn't I wanna go?"

Knot, Prem, and Bright look at each other. "Nothing," Knot says. "I just thought you may want to go to the party or something. Maybe... talk to someone."

"Huh? No. I really wanna go. We are less one person, so I want to help," Arthit says sincerely.

With the other three reluctantly nodding, the friends ride the car and go on to their long trip.

With Bright restraining himself from angering Knot, Arthit not in a good mood, and Knot and Prem worrying about Arthit, the ride is uncharacteristically quiet. After an hour and a half of driving, they reach their destination, and they immediately get to work. To get the job done faster, they decided to split, Prem and Bright will take two factories, and Knot and Arthit will take another two. With this plan, they hope they can finish in time so that they can have a chance to attend the party in the evening.

Observing small factories and surveying personnel, Arthit forgets about his inner turmoil for a moment. Knot is impressed. When it comes to work, Arthit never really lets anything to get in his way.

The two finish their observations earlier than expected, so they decide to stroll around. They find a market that has stalls that sell keychains, phone accessories, and other things that they can give to their juniors. What a coincidence. Finishing early already gave them hope, and now they are in a place where they can buy gifts. Maybe they can attend after all.

With them alone, Knot tries his luck in getting into Arthit's mind again.

"Hey, Arthit, cat's got your tongue? Or you have a fight with someone?" Knot feels stupid asking the question.

"What? I don't have a fight with someone," Arthit defends. "I know you're all worried about me, but it's really nothing."

Hopeful that their two friends finish on time, they continue buying stuff for their juniors. With his mind out of his head, Arthit bumps on a man.

"Sorry," Arthit said.

The man nods, and another man beside him holds his hand. "Let's go, babe."

Arthit looks at the two men holding hands walking away. Back then, he was dreaming of doing that with Kongpob, living freely, not caring what others would say.

Knot puts his hand on Arthit's shoulder, which startles him, "I'm glad they can do that now." Arthit looks at him, curious whom Knot is referring to. He follows where Knot is looking at, and he finds the two guys with joined hands now farther from them. "Society has improved. I hope they really feel much safer," Knot continues. He looks at Arthit and gives him a soft smile. But Arthit doesn't know how to react.

Knot leads Arthit to a coffee shop where the both of them can rest.

"Where's Prem and Bright?" Arthit asks.

"They said they're still working on their observations."

One can't paint Arthit's face. It's like he wants them to finish early so that they can go, but he's also not ready to see Kongpob.

"Arthit," Knot starts again. "If anything is bugging your mind, you can share it with me." He's not changing his strategy, but he hopes his friend will open up this time.

Arthit gives him an apologetic look. He's sure Knot sincerely wants to help, but he's not letting him. He also feels bad that he is keeping a secret from him, a secret that's not supposed to be a secret to Knot since he's his best friend.

What if I tell Knot?

Now, he also thinks about Kongpob, if it will be fine with him if he tells Knot about them. Knowing Kongpob, he would be happy if Arthit tells one of his friends about their relationship. He's fine with Namtan and Joy knowing about them after all. Hearing Knot's words about the couple they saw earlier also convinces him that Knot is a good person, not that he doesn't know that yet.

With the thought, Arthit takes a deep breath and finally decides to do the brave thing.

"If I tell you, promise me that you won't laugh at me."

Knot's face lights up.

Arthit bites his cheek. "First, I'm sorry if haven't told you much earlier." Knot intently listens. "I didn't... we didn't know how to bring it up..."

Knot waits for him to continue.

"I'm dating someone... I'm dating Kongpob... 0062."

"I know who Kongpob is, Arthit." Knot answers.

Arthit forces a laugh. "I hope you're... okay with that... and with me being... you know... gay."

"Why would I not be okay with that?"

"I... I don't know. Sorry, if I didn't trust you."

"Hey, it's okay. I understand. Finally, you opened up to me."

Arthit is silent for a while. Then, it hits him.

"What do you mean 'finally?' You knew?"

Knot gives him a soft chuckle. "Contrary to what you think, you and Kongpob are bad at hiding it."

Arthit's face reddens. "R-really? How did you know?"

"Hey, hey, let's talk about that later. So what's up with you and Kongpob? Did you fight? Is it because of Praepailin?"

Arthit's mind starts to freeze. His best friend knows all along, so other people might have knowledge of his relationship with Kongpob as well. He's curious, but he's afraid of the answer if he would ask.

But seeing Knot's reaction to his confession, Arthit's sure he's fine with his relationship with Kongpob. Arthit should've come out to him and asked for advice much earlier. It could've avoided him some sleepless nights.

"Knot, I have tried not to think much. But there are a lot of boundaries in male-to-male relationships. Be it our families or our society... what if we want to have kids?"

Knot's eyes widen at the thought of his friend already thinking about having kids. Arthit must be really serious with Kongpob, he figures.

"In the end..." Arthit continues. "... the relationship between us might come to an end after all. And if it has to come to that, why don't I let him be with someone who is better and can be more accepted than me?

Look at Praepailin, for instance. When they are together, they look perfect for each other, much more than him with me."

While he understands Arthit's fears, Knot can't take Arthit's logic anymore. "Do you regret to be with him?"

"No... it's not that. I'm just afraid he will regret being with me."

"Have you asked him that yet?"

Arthit looks away and stays quiet.

"So you haven't asked him yet. Do you even talk to him?"

"I haven't... for days now."

Knot shakes his head. "Are you a mind reader? How come you know what he thinks?"

"I-it's not that... I just worry about his future."

"You choose to worry about the future that you don't see... over the person who is right in front of you now?"

Arthit, again, doesn't have an answer.

"And another thing... You get annoyed when you see him with someone else. It's not because you're envious of them... Technically speaking, it means you are getting jealous."

"Hey, Knot!" Arthit punches his shoulder. "I'm not getting jealous!"

"Fine. Fine. Whatever." Knot rolls his eyes. "But if anything is bugging your mind, you should tell him directly. I saw Kongpob a few times this week, and he looks really dejected. Being left in the dark is difficult, Arthit."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"I'm not talking about myself. I'm talking about Kongpob. What do you think he feels now that you stopped talking to him all of a sudden without letting him know your problem?"

Feeling guilty, Arthit puts his gaze on the table. Reflecting on his conversation with Knot, he finally clears his mind. He wants Kongpob. He's the one that makes him feel special. His feelings these past few days... they're not because of the guilt of holding Kongpob back like what he thought. It's because he's afraid of their future. He thinks he might lose Kongpob, and he doesn't want that to happen. It's just now that he realizes it might happen sooner if he keeps on pushing Kongpob away. He needs to talk to Kongpob as soon as possible.

"Knot, do you think we can go now?"

Knot feels victorious. The eagerness in Arthit's voice speaks volumes that he wants to fix his relationship as soon as possible. "I'm going to text Prem."

"Thank you, Knot. And also, thank you... for accepting me. I hope nothing would change."

"Hey, you don't have to thank me. Accepting who my friend is is the bare minimum. But, after you fix your thing with Kongpob, you have to talk with me over a bottle of beer. I need to know the details. When I found out about you two, I was surprised."

Arthit nods. He's feeling a new kind of joy right now. Coming out to his best friend removed a heavy burden from him. "But you still haven't told me how you knew."

"Oh... remember that day you left me in your room?"

"Uh... yes." Arthit remembers vividly. It's the day he carried Kongpob on his back.

"I kind of... followed you."

"Knot!"

"I was curious about your girlfriend, okay!"

"He's not a girlfriend... that's why."

Their conversation gets interrupted when Knot's phone dings. It's Prem telling them they're done. Knot looks at the time, and it looks like they still have a chance to get to the party.

"It's Prem. He says they're done. If we hurry, we can still get to the party."

"Let's go." Arthit immediately stands up and storms towards the place they parked. Knot looks at Arthit, amused. His friend is so whipped at Kongpob; he just won't admit it.

They wait for Prem and Bright by the car for a few minutes. When they come, Arthit hurriedly gets on the front seat. Knot takes this chance to pull Bright at the side.

"Here's the key. Drive fastly. Arthit already told everything to me. He plans to talk to Kongpob tonight, so do what I say so that you can redeem yourself," Knot whispers.

"Really? He already-"

"Shut it! He still doesn't know that you know. Wait for your turn. Now, get into the car, and drive us back to Bangkok."

Bright agrees and takes the key. Prem knowingly looks at them. Thanks to Knot's texts about the development, he already understands the situation. All three hop into the car, ready to deliver their prince to his prince.