Love Mechanics

Chapter 37  Special Episode 2.

 

(Vee Vivis]

 

I sit and listen to my friend making fun of Bar and the former Prom King of the medical faculty in front of the department. Beside me is a tall guy who's flashing a little smile to the medical student. It makes me so frustrated. I've seen them lock eyes ever since Kan held Bar's hand and walked over here, being lovey-dovey and all. Since he went for job training, my friend's been extremely obvious about his relationship, as if he's afraid others wouldn't know. They upload photos on Facebook till others feel jealous. I look back at my own case, which is also about someone who's returned from job training. We both studied hard, and have boyfriends in the same year, but things couldn't be more different between us.

 

When he was having job training, Kan drove all the way to Rayong Province to see Bar, while ... drinking forlornly with a senior at work. Bar called me to complain that his boyfriend prohibits him from drinking, whereas in my case. Mark tells me to go out and see the world more, and not to call him often. When Bar has a three-day holiday, Kan makes a surprise visit, whereas Mark neglects me no matter how long the holiday lasts. I'm complaining, but I'm not upset, though. All I'm saying is that my life is so different from my friend's.

 

"So concerned, huh? Is he so worried that others might not know that his boyfriend is a medical student?" I look at Pan before following her eyes. Bar's neck is being loosely embraced from behind by Kan. The handsome guy flashes a sheepish smile towards us, but I make a weary face in response.

 

"Shouldn't he be concerned, though? Kan's so handsome." Mark, who's sitting beside me, speaks up. I emphasise to him that he's just sitting beside me, while his hands are under the table and not holding mine in a cutesy manner like in the drama series. He doesn't nudge me with his feet or knees like before anymore. I can only look at him crossly. We've been away just a few months, but he's learned to flash his smile everywhere.

 

"Why are you just picking on me? Shouldn't the former Prom King also be concerned?" Bar says, and looks at me.

 

"Your boy's flirting with mine through his smile," I say calmly, prompting the entire table to look at me.

 

"What're you talking about?" Mark asks, looking at me calmly. I can't expect him to wheedle me or try to make it up to me. Does he even know I'm upset? I doubt it.

 

I'm still consistent with Mark. I called him often and talked to him a lot while I was away on job training. We met each other just last week, no different from Kan and Bar, but why doesn't Mark give any indication at all that he misses me?

 

I started becoming seriously concerned about this upon seeing my friend's couple. They're wheedling sweetly, while in my case, Mark simply looks here and there, locking eyes with the new freshies, observing the birds and the trees, just anything but me.

 

"Can I feel upset at you?" I utter softly, but loudly enough to grab the attention of the one beside me.

 

"About?" Mark turns to me and asks softly. I let out a soft sigh and avoid his gaze.

 

"Ignoring me," I say, just that.

"You're such a child." He mentions simply and smiles a little.

 

"Well, you haven't been treating me well at all since I came back," I say.

 

"What do you mean, not well at all?" Mark turns to ask seriously. I frown, before searching for the words to describe my feeling. It must be true when they say you become younger upon falling in love.

 

"You behave as if you don't miss me.." I lower my face, look down at my own hand, and utter softly. "Look at how sweet Kan and Bar are.

 

"Why do you need to compare? The reason I'm neglecting you is that I'm focusing my attention on the freshies who are looking at you." I look up and look into the eyes of the one beside me upon hearing the reply.

 

"What?"

 

"Those kids are eyeing you no differently than they're eyeing Kan." The raspy voice points out, tinged with an upsetting tone, though I smile at this, place my hand on his silky hair, and nudge it gently. He turns and makes a messy face at me, prompting me to pull my hand away.

 

"Why did you fuckers call me out so early? On my left is Vee-Mark, on my right is Kan-Bar. What the hell did you want me to come and see? Tell me!" Lily grumbles and makes a displeased face.

 

"But haven't you seen them together before? It's already been like this for a year, hasn't it?" Pond contends and makes a weary face at Lily.

 

"Well, I'm easily peeved. Pinky colours and lovey-dovey all around me, but I can't get it on with anyone." Lily continues ranting, turning her face away. They carry on discussing the newly admitted freshies, which makes me look around as well. Frankly speaking, freshies in student uniforms look cute, but no matter how | look at them, they're no match for Mark. Especially right now...he's as cute as ever.

 

"Go ahead and ogle. I hope your eyeballs fall out." I giggle to myself at the jealous one. Mark doesn't express himself as much as he did when Bar is jealous over Tossakan. He mentions softly so that just the two of us can hear, not announcing it out to the world as that couple does, and I like him for it. He doesn't make me feel uncomfortable, nor does he ignore me.

 

"I'm just looking," I whisper beside the ear of the one sitting next to me. He frowns at me before pretending to be interested in the conversation happening in the group.

 

"Don't you have class?" I ask the medical student after someone teases him.

 

"I do, but I came here to see P'Bar off." He answers clearly, before flashing a handsome smile.

 

"Where I'm from, seeing someone off means walking and then waving goodbye, then going your separate ways. But what's this with your arms wrapping around each other like monkeys? Is that really called seeing someone off?" Lily scoffs sarcastically.

 

"It is, where I'm from." Bar's answer makes me frown at him. They take ages to say goodbye, before the doctor eventually tells him to focus on his studies, and that he'll come pick him up in the evening. My friend acknowledges and tells his boyfriend to behave and not to be naughty. Oh gosh~ Could they get any cheesier?

 

Kla reaches out to smack his handsome friend once for making others feel nauseated, which delights me. If Bar were sitting beside me, he'd probably get kicked. Bar grimaces and tattles to his boyfriend, before referencing me once he's accused of being childish.

 

"You're such a tattler, Bar. It's so true when they say you become like a child once you start dating." Nuea says.

"Just ask Vee. Has he become more childish?" Bar asks, as I chuckle in my throat, and am about to mention that I've become super childlike, even though Mark and I aren't officially an item.

 

"I can't answer that, since I don't have a boyfriend." We've never had that silly status to label us, nor is it necessary. As long as I'm important to him, and he's so freakin' important to me, then that's enough. Our relationship is a matter between the two of us. A matter in which two people weave an unbreakable bond.

 

"Who's that beside you then, some abandoned kid you picked up from the streets?" Kla says, and looks at Mark, who shrugs, while I flash a mischievous smile and look down at my wristwatch.

 

"Hey, abandoned child, want daddy to see you off at the classroom?" I bend down to whisper just to Mark.

 

"P'Vee!" He scowls at me from his throat. I chuckle softly, ignoring my friends and even the glare from the medical student looking my way. I nudge Mark's hand softly and lock eyes with him before we get up and walk out. I didn't tell my friends or say anything out, but simply walked away quietly, as they're still interested in Dr Kan and Bar. I hold Mark's wrist loosely and walk with him to his classroom. When we first started dating, I always saw him off. Even though he was already using his luxury car back then, he mostly rode my motorbike because his car attracted too much attention.

 

"You haven't got a lot of classes, right?" I say as we walk into the classroom. I let go of his hand to greet the wai from other juniors.

 

"How about you?" Mark queries back.

 

"Not much. Just morning class. I'm free in the afternoon." I reply. As a fourth year, my class schedule becomes freer, but definitely not my life schedule.

 

"What are you gonna do then?" | look back, puzzled, since he usually doesn't ask such a question, but just acknowledges with an oh, yeah, or okay.

 

"Why are you asking?"

"Can't I?" The one who's taken a seat looks up, raises his brows, and asks me.

 

"Well..normally you don't ask," I say, and sit down in the empty seat next to him.

"How's this normal?"

"Hmm?" I make a sound, since I can't hear the other person clearly. Mark simply looks at me and lets out a soft sigh. "Are you jealous over me?" I ask, and place my face down onto the desk. I look at the one whose brows are raised, and give him a thin smile.

 

"Yeah." I grin widely and extend my hand to nudge Mark's arm. I do that and just look at his face without saying anything. There aren't many people in the classroom yet, but that doesn't mean no one is paying attention to us. Some people look our way, though that doesn't make me feel annoyed. Someone takes a photo of us with the phone, but I don't feel transgressed. After all, these are my juniors and Mark's classmates. And besides, it wouldn't be harmful if they spread the photo of me seeing Mark off to class on the first day of school. Mark and I aren't some super cheesy couple. My boy indeed likes me to be sweet and tender, but it seems he's concerned about me being a public figure, so when we're outside, we don't express our love as much as Kan and Bar do.

 

"What are you doing in the afternoon?" Mark asks again. He doesn't swipe my hand away, but neither does he hold it.

 

"Ogle at the lads." I stretch my body up and answer him mischievously.

 

"You're still being a smartass to this day." Mark jibes at me, which makes me laugh.

 

"I've been invited to help recruit the Prom King and Prom Queen contestants. They've been scouting them out and will introduce them to me today."

 

"Why do you still have to do it? Just let other people do it." Mark complains.

 

"What's with you? Why are you suddenly so jealous over me today? What should I say to them? That my wife won't allow me to attend the recruiting session?" I ask him back, though not in a moody or upset way, just wondering in case he saw or heard anything weird again.

 

"I'm just worried. You like bright things, so that you might fall for a freshie." He replies, to which I chuckle.

 

"I used to like bright things, but now all my heart belongs to you," I answer back.

"Go and start a silly gag club with Kan," Mark retorts, making me smile.

 

"I'll call you in the evening," I tell him and stand up.

"Yeah." I lift my hand to rub the messy hair of the one sitting down, before smiling at him and walking out.

 

My morning class is no different from other times. The lecturer comes in to introduce the curriculum, we discuss, get to know each other, and take roll before we are given free time. I then fiddle with my phone beside Yeewa. It appears Mark is still in class, since he hasn't replied to my Line message.

 

"Ya handsome." I turn towards my friend's voice, who calls out to me. She points down at the phone, so I look at it too.

 

Dew dely

2 hrs

The opening of the semester is like opening up about their relationship. So it's officially on, the love between the handsome P'Vee and Mark, the hot junior whom he's been chasing after for many months. This time he saw him off at the classroom. It's a classroom~ but why are they so lovey-dovey? #/WontSkipClassesLikeThis

#EngineeringSweetAsSugar

961 likes 411 comments 48 shared

 

Dew's post is accompanied by a photo of me rubbing Mark's messy hair while the kid looks up at me bashfully. The picture taken from the front of the classroom looks so good that I want to hire the person who took it to snap a photo session for us. I hand the phone to Yeewa without saying anything and take out my phone to save the photo to my device.

 

So Sosae: The engineering couple become official?

Chilling dow : Cuteeee

Lotus Blooms in Big Pond: P'Vee's so handsomeee

Fha Farada: So they're boyfriends now?

Ty twenty: /'ve seen them arm in arm for a while now. No surprise they made it official.

Pan padora: Even these days, he says they're senior junior~

U unun: Senior juniorrr

Noppa Gao: Wowwww, such a cute senior junior couple, Masa Mark

 

"Won't you reply a bit?" Yeewa asks once she sees me scrolling elsewhere.

"My boy doesn't like to be flashy," I reply to my friend.

 

"Won't Mark complain about this, though?" Nuea turns to me.

"I dunno. But so far, Dew's not posted about me at all." Ever since I scolded her, Dew hasn't uploaded any news about me.

 

"I'd be worried if I were him. He got a real chiding from your fan club back then." Kla, who's seated on the other side of Yeewa, mentions.

 

"Yeah..well, now your friend's being clear." Nuea turns and says to Kla.

 

"If it were me, I'd just announce it clearly. Maybe Mark's not cool with this because Vee hasn't been clear about it." Bar turns and speaks to us.

 

"Who'd be clear like your boy?" Kla turns to scoff at Bar, though Bar simply raises his brows in response.

 

"None of your business." Bar retorts, while I stop paying attention as my phone vibrates. Mark messages me on Line to let me know he's done with classes. I let out a little smile to my phone and reply that my lecturer is about to wrap up our class.

 

"If you're gonna smile that much.." Bar looks at me and frowns.

 

"Your doctor doesn't contact you, Bar?" I ask him, to which he frowns and turns back to listen to the lecturer. I continue my chat with Mark, telling him to come and wait. He whines a bit at first, not wanting to come, but eventually manages to coax him to come over. I'm going to help recruit the faculty's Prom King and Prom Queen contestants, together with his friend Fuse, so Mark agrees to tag along. This is the first time I'm going somewhere on campus with him as something more than just a senior and a junior. Although my friends think that way, in my mind — and so does Mark —I'm well aware that our relationship has gone far beyond the limits of senior and junior.

 

After class, we come to the cafeteria to eat. I told Mark to meet me here, although he's still nowhere to be seen. I can only eat quietly while looking at the plate of rice opposite me.

 

"Is that Mark's?" Nuea asks as he sits down.

 

"Yeah, he told me he finished a while ago, but I don't know why he's not here yet," I grumble.

 

"We're here, we're here~" Kamphan's voice sounds out from afar. They greet me with a wai and find places to have a seat. I turn to them and point to the plate of rice, so Mark moves towards me.

 

"It's all cold," I utter, as he takes a seat opposite me.

 

"I was waiting for Fuse to finish playing the game." He responds calmly, in the same tone that I chided him with.

 

"Oye~ I'm sorry. I didn't think you guys could be this inseparable. I thought P'Bar was the only one who was so attached to his boyfriend." Fuse, who's sitting nearby, mentions so loudly that many people look towards our group. My boy's face becomes reddish, though he doesn't say anything in response.

 

"I'm definitely one you can label as being attached to his boyfriend, but I don't think these two are..." Bar says and gives me a superior smile.

 

"Not boyfriends, but senior and junior," Yeewa says.

"That's a matter between us."

 

"I think you really should tell the world that you've got a wife," Kla suggests, and looks around. Many people look towards us, and gossip can be heard. I can't make out what they're saying, but judging from their eyes and gestures, I'm sure that it's about Mark and me. Many people know about us, but they're unsure, since I have never dated a guy before. But as I'm often going here and there with Mark, they should realise by now.

 

"Dew has such impeccable timing," Pan mentions, while her eyes are still fixed on the phone.

 

"What did P'Dew do?" Mark turns to ask me.

 

"Well, about us," I reply, and show him the photo which I'd recently saved on my phone. Mark raises his brows a bit before accessing Facebook to read the post. The one next to me falls silent for a while, as my friends jeer us about this and that. They carry on their conversation, for which I get involved from time to time, depending on the topic.

 

"Uhm." Mark hands back the phone and just lets out that sound.

"You don't mind?" I raise my brows to ask him.

"There's nothing bad about it." He says bashfully and leans down to scoop up his rice. I let out a slight chuckle, sneaking in a nudge on his head out of affection. If the two of us were alone together, I'd lean over to bite his lip by now. Such a lovely reply that I want to hear it over and over again.

 

"My friend tells us to reveal our status." I continue talking to him, not paying attention to anyone, nor bothering about whether they're listening in on us. Let those friends around the table be and talk about whatever they want.

 

"So?"

 

"Would you mind if we update our status on Facebook?" I try shooting him the question because, in fact, I've never really seriously asked him to be in a relationship with me, just like others have mentioned. As long as our feelings are mutual and our hearts are aligned, I'm satisfied. But recently, it's started to feel a bit off, so I recommend we announce it publicly. It'd be good, even... so others would know that Mark's already taken and that his boyfriend is very handsome, so they won't come and mess around with him.

 

Before, Mark was already handsome, but these days he's even more attractive, whereas I'm older and may not be as good-looking as I was in previous years. It's not that I'm worried about these things, since we have mutual feelings towards each other, but he has chances to meet new people. At the same time, I keep falling in love with him over and over again, so I'd like some degree of certainty or a guarantee of our status.

 

"."

"P'Vee..we're long-time fan club members of yours, may we have a photo with you?" A couple of fresh female students come over to greet me. The entire table looks at me grinningly, while I look at Mark, who lets out a little sigh before continuing to eat.

 

"Yes." I smile at the freshies and take a photo with them. I agree to accept the photo because Mark has not objected. He may have been miffed or a bit upset, though he understands me.

 

"P'Vee...um, are you seeing anyone at the moment? It's just that..'ve seen P'Ploy update her relationship status, but you're still single." I remain still for a bit after one of them asks, while my friends fall silent and look at me, including the one beside me.

"I have someone I'm seeing, but I haven't updated my status yet," I respond with a smile after a while.

 

"Really? You're telling the truth, right? We really like it when you're in love, especially when you were with P'Ploy. It's such a pity that you guys broke up.". The other female student utters.

 

"Um.." I don't know what to say. There's nothing wrong with what she says. They like that period of time, so they say so, no surprise there.

 

"Then you should hurry up and announce your status with the new person. Make sure it's even sweeter than the previous one." The other female student speaks up and hands me a light-blue gift box, which I smile and accept.

 

"Thank you."

 

"We'll be off then, P'Vee. Enjoy your meal." I smile and nod to them, though in my mind I'm thinking you guys come in and drop a bomb like this, and then expect me to enjoy my meal afterwards?

 

"Hey girls!" Mark calls out to them as they're walking away. I look at him, puzzled, and the girls walk back.

 

"Yes?"

"Here." Mark doesn't say anything and merely hands over the phone so they can see. Soon enough, the two girls who asked me about my relationship status turned to me with their mouths agape.

 

"So..the guy named Masa is..." One of the girls asks, stammering, and hands me the phone. I look down at the phone and grin widely. The entire world turns pink. It's such a wonderful feeling right now.

 

"He's my boyfriend," I reply, and smile at them.

"Wheeee~ See, I told you it's true." They turn to shriek at each other softly.-

 

"P'Vee..."

"My boyfriend's name is Mark." They continue their shrieking for a while longer before excusing themselves, though I'm still staring down at the phone. I look up at Mark, who makes a calm face as if nothing's happened.

 

"It's not a small matter at all," Nuea says, and hands over his phone for me to see.

Masa Mark

5 mins

In a relationship with Vee Vivis

46 likes 6 comments

 

I smile so widely that it can't possibly get any wider. It is a smile of pure joy. I feel even happier when I look at my phone.

 

Vee Vivis

5 mins

In a relationship with Masa Mark

56 likes 17 comments

 

"Lemme borrow your phone." I extend my hand out to Mark, who looks at me confusedly, before handing over his phone. I place Nuea's and my phone on the table, use Mark's phone to snap a photo, and send it to myself. I then upload that photo onto Facebook, on the screen that was showing our status reveal just now.

 

Vee Vivis

Just now

Actually, we've been an item for quite some time now with Masa Mark

6 likes 2 comments

 

"Are you so afraid the world won't know, huh?" Pan shows me my post on her phone. I unfurl a handsome smile to her and turn to Mark.

 

"I've had enough. I'm full now." Tee says, places his utensils down, and puts the phone down beside him.

 

"I'm not full though. I've no appetite." Lily follows as Tee does. My friends turn their attention to Pan, who's commenting on my photo.

 

"He's got an opportunity, so he's gotta take it," Nuea says.

"Aren't you jealous of him?" Kla asks Nuea.

 

"I so bloody am. I wanna make a snide comment, but the phone is with him." He says, and points to the phone.

 

"Take it then." | hand the phone over to him, and he receives it back.

"You're not afraid of anything these days, huh, Vee?"

"What should I be afraid of? I've got my boyfriend to help me out right here." I say, and wrap my arm around Mark's shoulder.

 

"Oyyyy-"

"I'm off."

 

"I'll cut my ties off from you guys."

"Mark's the cause of all this." Kamphan reproaches.

 

"He can't help it. Something triggered it, after all." Yeewa looks at Mark.

 

“I've got many friends, yet he got riled even when some random girls came over to ask about his ex, so much so that he had to update his status," Fuse says, and looks at Mark.

 

Mark looks up at his friend, who doesn't flinch. He doesn't swipe my hand away, nor does he say anything. The kid with the handsome face moves closer, before replying to his friend in a calm voice. "Well, this is my boyfriend, after all." 

 

Just one simple sentence. There's no sweetness, nor are there any charming words added to make it sound more pleasing. But it makes my heart beat fast.