HEMP ROPE

Be yourself.

Team remembered when he was in junior high school, he got a taste of his first love. A short-lived puppy love lasted less than a year, simply because they were too different. From then on, his primary focus was on swimming from morning to evening. From junior high school to high school and finally university, love had never been on his mind. Until one day, a guy named Phawin came into his life.

 

Phawin Wanichakarnjonkul, or Hia Win, a twenty-one-year-old big guy who was terrified of ghosts, hated bread, and saved the best of his food for the last, was a motorcycle fanatic, and his morning must start with coffee before going to university. While Team himself loved horror films, hated speed and ate everything except coffee.

 

Line!'

 

The young man checked his cellphone. A smile pulled at his lips, seeing a text from a person on his mind. We really had nothing in common.

 

Winnie the Pool: See you in front of the dorm.

...But I was so damn comfortable around him.

 

A black Japanese car swerved in the university parking area as the time hit nine o'clock. The car's owner, now in the passenger seat, looked through his backpack. He had some time before his class started at nine thirty.

 

"Hia, what time is your class?"

"At one. I'm going to the club this morning."

 

Team nodded. He opened a plastic box and put a sandwich Pharm had made yesterday in his mouth. He picked another one, tore out the bread crust and handed it to Win.

 

"Sandwich from Pharm."

"If you didn't exercise, you'd be fat with Nong Pharm's food."

 

Phawin swayed his head. Even his best friend, Dean, who was still flirting with Pharm, always got food from Pharm. Even though he never talked about it, Dean always ate everything Pharm made for him and mostly hated to share with anyone else. He also extended his training session to keep in shape, but the one who made the dessert himself was as small as ever. He couldn't blame Dean...Pharm's food was scrumptious.

 

Phawin finished the sandwich in a few bites and shook his head to Team when Team gestured to give him more. Win thought that the food wouldn't last until noon for Team if he ate more of it. 

 

Once Team finished all the sandwiches, he looked wistfully at an empty box. His mind already thought about potato chips in a convenience store.

 

 "Why do you call Pharm Nong? He asked out of curiosity.

 

"Nong Pharm this, Nong Pharm that. You're so polite to him, but you call me "Ai Team". That's a double standard." 

 

He shoved the box back in his backpack.

Win arched his brow. "You want to be called Nong?"

 

"Hey, I'm the youngest in the group."

 

Win chuckled. Of course, he remembered Team was the youngest, just recently turned eighteen, saving Win from going behind bars by a hairbreadth.

 

"Then I call you..Nong Team?"

The atmosphere seemed frozen; they were both so awkward. It was so cringey.

 

"It won't work" Team had hairs stand on end. It didn't feel like how Dean called Pharm 'Nong Pharm.' That was so tender.

 

Phawin chuckled again, ruffling Team's hair. "You just be you. So, where's your tie?"

 

Team stopped running his hand over his hair, standing on end and fished a crumpled tie out of his pants pocket. The tie was handed to his senior with expectant eyes.

 

Said senior, who was now Team's special someone, was aware that he might as well become a butler, too. He did the tie and flicked a finger at the junior's forehead.

 

"Alright, go ahead."

 

Team rubbed his forehead. "Oh, I'm going back with Pharm this evening. You go ahead and drive my car back."

 

Win nodded, not knowing when they had started taking turns driving each other's cars to and from the university...

 

"Ok, don't just play games."

 

They didn't know when they started keeping track of each other's time and activities.

 

"I know. Oh shit, I'm almost late! I gotta go. Hia, don't leave your coffee in the car." Team grabbed his backpack and got out of his car.

 

They had no idea when they started being in each other's everyday lives, as if it were a normal thing.

 

"I forgot." Team ran back to the car. He opened the car's door and raised his hand to wai with a shit-eating grin. "Thank you for helping me with a tie, father."

 

"Ai-!"

Team blurted out laughing before he fled, leaving his senior to bare his teeth behind him. Then his phone buzzed, and he checked it.

 

Winnie the Pool: Father = Daddy, I'm good.

Ai Hia!!

 

"Why do economics need English lessons?"

 

A collective whine sounded when the teacher handed out the quiz results to the students. The red score clearly indicated that the student received exactly half the score.

 

"Told you to memorise lots of vocab. Let's try better next time."

 

Manow patted her friend's back in consolation, but it was also hilarious to her. They helped him cram for the test. This passing score was good enough reason for her to thank god. Team muttered, turning to Pharm, hoping to get some words of comfort, but went quiet upon Pharm's gloomy gesture.

 

"What's wrong with Pharm?" Team frowned, leaning towards Manow. "He's quiet and gloomy."

 

"No idea. He's doing well with P' Dean nowadays, isn't he?"

 

Manow's eyes shot up. "Or they fight? I don't think so, wait." She picked up her phone to type.

 

"Who are you chatting with?" Team craned his neck to take a look, but the name on his friend's chat application was unfamiliar.

 

"Delta?"

"Del, P'Dean's sister."

 

"Damn!" Team exclaimed, then profusely apologised to his teacher, glaring at him. "How did you know her?"

 

"Del's in the drama club. Recently, we're in the same cast. We need to produce desserts. That's why we need help from the Pharm Club."

 

"Oh, you're talking about the purple-colored dessert, aren't you? Is there a conflict between them?" Team frowned harder. He hoped it wasn't something like Thai drama where the mother-in-law often had a beef with the daughter-in-law.

 

"Not at all. Pharm and Del get along so well. Oh, Del just responded...Nothing's wrong with P' Dean, so it can't be a fight."

 

Team thought hard as he saw Pharm exhale. His eyes were on the teacher, but his mind was definitely somewhere else. Even if he coerced him, he believed Pharm would just tell him it was nothing. Team suspected that he just had trouble sleeping. And he was born caring about his homie.

 

"Pharm."

"Hmm?"

 

"I'm staying overnight at your place today."

 

The university was crowded with students and outsiders in the evening. Team exited his swimming club and headed towards the cooking club to find something to fill his stomach. Oh, wait. He was going to see his friend, whom he was concerned about.

 

Halfway there, he noticed a tall, slender man in casual clothes, who looked left and right, frowning, and seemed lost.

 

"Damn it. Why's this university so big?" That indicated he was really lost. Team went in and patted his back. "Where are you going, Phii? Do you need help?" The guy stilled, his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses slightly. "I'm going to the business faculty. I don't see the guidepost."

 

"I'm going that way. Come with me." Team gestured for him to follow, and he led the way. "Are you here for a master's degree? It's the other way."

 

"No. I'm just here for my brother." The man smiled from his lips to his eyes, a smile that made Team frown in thought.

 

It was familiar. It resembled someone. Even the voice was familiar. In under five minutes, they reached the business faculty building, where students sat at tables, one after another.

 

"Here you are. And if you want to go back, that way's faster." Team advised and walked the other way.

 

"Thank you so much, Nong Team." The stranger waved at him cheerfully. Team tilted his head. He hastened his pace to meet his friend as intended, but it slowly dawned on him.

 

..Why did he know my name?

 

The stranger laughed at Team's confusion and laughed even harder when the kid turned back to look at him again after walking a few paces away. He kept doing that for a while before he completely walked away without looking back.

 

In the business faculty classroom, some students put their handouts away in their bags after the teacher left, while others continued discussing the report due next week.

 

"Make sure to send me an e-mail so I can print all of them." Phawin reminded his friends to prepare to leave. The most challenging part of group work was keeping track of all the documents.

 

"The presentation is next week." He turned to remind Dean, the group's presenter. Lately, the guy had been busy lurking about the Economics Faculty.

 

"I know, I know."

 

"And you, Tul, don't just play games. Have you sent in the report?"

 

Win turned to his other friend, who was nose deep in his phone.

 

"I did; it's on LINE." Tul yawned; his attention never wavered from his phone.

 

"Did you play games late at night again? We'll be having an exam soon, mind you."

 

Tul's mouth twitched. "Last night, I had too much fun teasing my gaming partner. I won't stay too late tonight."

 

Phawin rolled his eyes. Then he scrolled through his phone, looking for the file his friend had sent, relieved to find it was still there. "Alright, I found it. Next time, send it to my e-mail, got that? LINE could delete our files anytime.

 

Eh?" He frowned at the pop-up notification. "What in...Fuck!!" Dean and Tul's attention left their phone and turned to Win.

 

"What now?"

"My brother's here!"

 

Phawin looked dead. If his brother were here, that meant trouble. If it wasn't a fight with the client, then it must be something his brother wanted to vent on him, the younger brother and also his siblings' consultant. Win dragged Dean along with him when Dean was about to sneak the other way. When they reached the first floor, they found Win's brother sitting at the table, his feet propped up, playing with his phone.

 

"Hia!!"

"Hey, Ai Nong."

 

Phudis Wanickarnjunakul, or Hia Waan, the twenty-six-year-old man, gave a big grin. He had a tall frame, by Thai male standards, a clean face and warm-looking eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses. A perfect image of a good brother. One that Win deemed the most ideal mask of a deceitful brother.

 

"Long time no see." Waan got up and clapped his brother on the shoulder.

 

"Long time, my ass. I was home last week. You popping out of nowhere means you have fought with someone. Is it the client?" Win narrowed his eyes knowingly.

 

"No, not the client." Waan wound his arms around Win's shoulders, preventing him from fleeing anytime.

 

"Oh? So who was it?"