"What the hell is wrong with you this morning?"

 

"What?"

 

"Why are you staring at me and frowning? Are you looking for trouble?"

 

"I was just looking around. Are you looking for trouble, shorty?"

 

"Hey, you idiot! Button your own shirt then!" Jinn flipped off the annoying person early in the morning, feeling irritated. Instead of feeling refreshed after waking up, he turned around to find this annoying person staring at him. If it were a normal glance, he'd think it was just accidental eye contact, but this person had been staring since he woke up until he was getting dressed. How could he not feel strange?

 

"You get irritated too easily, Jinn. Should we go to the doctor?" Jerome buttoned his student uniform shirt with one hand, a little difficult but not impossible. His eyes were fixed on the person making coffee not far away.

 

One spoonful of condensed milk, two spoonfuls of unsweetened milk. The young man took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, repeating this three times before finally calming himself down. His eyes, still clouded with a hint of panic, remained fixed on the person stirring the coffee at the machine.

 

"Ah, that's the perfect taste."

 

"The coffee maker is ready. 'Ah, this is it,' Jinn happily sipped his favourite coffee. It tasted just as delicious every time. It was worth begging his mother to buy it for him.

 

While the room's occupant continued to slurp his coffee, the person leaning against the wall, seemingly exhausted, wasn't enjoying it as much. Jerome felt like he'd suddenly become a superhero, and an utterly useless one at that. The power he'd gained was the ability to foresee the future, a power that should have been incredibly cool, if only it weren't for the fact that the future he was predicting belonged to the person standing right in front of him.

 

Seriously, why would they need to know what their rivals like or dislike, what their future holds, what kind of job they have, how they live their lives, blah blah blah? Seriously, for God's sake!

 

Yes, Jerome thought he could see Jinn’s future. A future that would unfold after this, but with no precise timeline. It couldn't be seen as a long, chronological story; it was like a random future. It wasn't important at all. Why would he need to know what kind of coffee Jinn liked? How would he explain it if Jinn was satisfied with the coffee he'd brewed? Why would he need to know that?!

 

"What the hell is this?" he muttered softly to himself, feeling weak.

 

"What are you complaining about, Jay? If you want to drink it, make it yourself. Or do you not know how? I can teach you, kid," Jinn turned and gave his rival a teasing wink. Once he got the coffee that suited his taste, his earlier irritability vanished without a trace.

 

"No, I'm not drinking it." Jerome wasn't usually a coffee addict; he could drink it or not, it didn't matter to him. But today he was so confused he didn't even want to do anything.

 

Life is playing a cruel joke on me.

 

"Okay, wait a minute. What are you going to eat, or should we eat at the university?" As the (forced) person responsible for caring for the other, Jinn tried not to overthink things. There was no way to change this now. If it weren't too much trouble, he wouldn't hold it against him. He'd make a big note of it, as long as he didn't get on his nerves again.

 

"At the university is fine." Right now, he doesn't even have the energy to tease Jerome back. He'll have to find a way to accept it soon, otherwise he might miss out on the fun of sparring with Jinn. He can't let the other person live an easy, comfortable life without bothering him!

 

“Yeah, that’s right,” Jinn narrowed his eyes, observing the person who was picking up things with one hand to take to school. Why did he seem so down? Was the head injury still not healed? That didn't seem likely. He seemed fine yesterday. Maybe he didn't sleep well. Whatever, it wasn't his concern anyway.

 

Not long after, the two young men found themselves awkwardly sitting in the car again, glancing at each other with a sense of unfamiliarity. Normally, they would drive separate cars, competing whenever they met, never even going near each other's cars. But today, sitting side-by-side like this was... truly beyond imagination.

 

"We'll probably get used to it," Jerome said, blinking. Everything felt so strange, and they couldn't adjust to it in just a day or two. Really.

 

"Yeah, I think so too, but damn..." Jinn pushed his tongue against his cheek.

 

"That's fucking awful!" they cursed in unison before bursting into laughter.

 

"sang"

 

“Haha, oh dear, get well soon. I’m afraid if this goes on any longer, both you and I will die of goosebumps.” Jinn finally drove the car out of the parking lot. Okay, just relax, don’t overthink it. There’s nothing strange at all. Everything is normal! (high-pitched voice) He tried hard to hypnotise himself.

 

“Yeah, I think so too,” Jerome relaxed more, gazing absently at the driver’s profile.

 

He had never seen Jinn driving this close before. Usually, they were in separate cars, or at most, parked next to him and rolled down the window. They were just arguing, but this accident turned everything upside down, no matter what.

 

Although they both have the same group of friends, that group is very large, with ten or twenty people. So even if they don't particularly like each other, it doesn't make others feel bad about it. I've asked around, and they're just annoyed and tired of it.

 

They went on trips together, but never stayed close. They never showered naked as they did with other friends. They never put their arms around each other's necks or touched each other unless it was a slap on the head or a kick/punch... They never sat next to each other in a car; even if they went in the same car, they'd always sit in the front and back, clearly demarcating their territories. They never ate together, just the two of them. They never did anything that "normal friends" do, because they were rivals, not friends. Rivals who were just in the same group, rivals who had competed against each other for ages.

 

But now, many things they hadn't done in over a decade were happening. Sleeping together in the same room, living in the same space, riding in the same car—just one day had changed so much. Who knows how much more it would change if it lasted longer? On one hand, Jerome felt a chill, like Jinn had described, but on the other hand, he didn't feel that way at all. It was as if there was a subtle, inexplicable anticipation within him.

 

Waiting? Waiting for what? Waiting for the other person's secrets, to learn more about them through being together and in dreams?

 

People who have always been rivals, competitors in everything to add excitement to life, people who have never spoken kindly to each other – who knows if things will remain this way in the next month or two? Will they turn into hatred, to the point of not wanting to see each other's faces, or will they take the other path, the one their friends and everyone around them want to see: "friends who truly understand each other?" Who knows how much creepiness they'll feel by then?

 

Life is such a cruel joke. Damn it!

 

"Hey, hey, hey! Tell me I'm not hallucinating?"

 

"No, that's what you need to tell me: my eyes are still working, right? I'm not hallucinating or acting weird, am I?"

 

"Oh my god, Bangkok's definitely going to flood, remember that!"

 

"Oh, or did someone lose again?"

 

"But Jay was in a car accident, right? His hands are still all tangled up. Is the car wrecked?"

 

"Even if the car broke down, it doesn't mean they came together. They rode in the same car, do you understand?! That's JJ, you know! JJ, which means 'possible'!"

 

“You can!”

 

"Okay, man, this is the biggest news of the day. Besides Jerome's car accident, this is it."

 

"Or does JJ mean that the enemy's end is near?"

 

"I don't know, but I have this weird feeling of satisfaction. It looks amazing, the chemistry is great!"

 

Jinn rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Please, when you want to gossip about someone, can you do it somewhere far away from the person being gossiped about? What kind of people gossip when they're right nearby? People these days are so bold!"

 

"So, you're going with me all the way to the end, right?" Jinn said to the person who, even though they came together, still couldn't resist competing in a speed-walking race like usual. It's become a habit, hasn't it?

 

“We’re going to eat, aren’t we? If we are, we have to go the same way. If not, we’ll split up.” Jerome heard those words, too, but he didn’t glare back menacingly like Jinn. He just gave a small smile, and they all stopped talking. It’s really unfamiliar being gossiped about. Usually, all I hear is them competing again, fighting over something. It’s creepy! Ugh!

 

"I usually eat here anyway. Whatever. It's always like this." Jinn also eats lunch at the university every day. If he doesn't go home, he always ends up here. Good food, low prices, and he doesn't have to waste time stopping to eat outside.

 

"I eat here too," Jerome said, adding that he often comes here for breakfast as well, maybe not every day, but quite frequently.

 

They both glanced at each other briefly before sighing. They suspected they'd have to get used to being stared at because they'd be together soon; otherwise, they'd be feeling awkward and uncomfortable like this every day.

 

After that, all the students in the cafeteria watched two handsome, popular guys from the fashion design department walk in together. They ordered food from the stall next door, then mysteriously split to sit in different corners, and finally walked out together in the same direction and into the same classroom.

 

That feels strange.

 

At the same time, another big news story broke. After the news of Jerome crashing his car into the racetrack, it spread again. This time, Jerome was still the main character, and Jinn was still a key figure, but both were central. The main characters weren't in a love triangle or any kind of competition; rather, the news was that the two might have made a truce, because someone saw them attending class together, driving the same car, having breakfast together, and returning to class together!

 

Big news, sensational news, where the story changes depending on who tells it. It's impossible to know where it will all end. But one thing is certain: everyone who hears the news will inevitably say one thing.

 

"Who said JJ and Jinn don't get along?"

 

So what's the real story here?!