Only Friends: Dream On.
Raffy auditioned for Romeo & Romeo to prove himself as an actor, but another reason was to catch the eye of Jack, a widely recognised director with a promising future. He wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip away, especially at a time when Jack was no longer wanted by him. He had waited long enough for this moment.
The selection of a theatre director for the company forced him to enrol in a regular elective course. Raffy wasn't particularly interested in this subject anyway; he just wanted to pick an easy one to fulfil the credits. The problem was, if he didn't attend this time, he'd likely get an F and have to retake it. So, he was determined to arrive on time. It seemed the lesson had just begun. The professor opened the slides just as Raffy opened the door and walked into the room. The professor glanced at the latecomer indifferently before returning to the slides.
Raffy spotted an empty seat at the back of the room. It was the perfect spot for someone like him who had no intention of studying this subject. He hurried over and sat down, without noticing who was sitting next to him.
"So you're so smitten with me that you're enrolling in the same class?" Raffy noticed Rome's flirtatious gaze first. He never imagined he'd get this. We met again unexpectedly.
"I registered for it a long time ago, I just haven't logged in much. I didn't even know you were taking this course."
"Last night was awesome!"
"Can you stop talking?" Raffy snapped. "Are you afraid others can hear?" Rome nodded as if to obey, but ultimately continued to tease him.
"Last night was... awesome!" Rome repeated.
"I was just drunk. There's no way I'd have sex with you when I was sober."
"What were they talking about in the back room?" The teacher, who had been observing their interaction for some time, asked, crossing his arms. Raffy was about to apologise, but Rome wouldn't let him have the chance.
"We talked about the farewell party last night, Professor."
"Was it that much fun?"
"It was fun," Rome narrowed his eyes at Raffy, a flirtatious glint in his eyes once again. "So much fun that...Unforgettable."
Raffy refused to let himself be intimidated, so he quickly blurted out his own response. A mocking tone, "But I think it's just so-so. Ordinary, boring, nothing special."
"Really?" Rome raised an eyebrow mischievously. "But you seem quite involved."
"He screamed as if he were about to die."
"Enough, I'm going to continue teaching," the teacher interrupted, wanting to stop the argument. He didn't want to listen to any more nonsense about the students' farewell party. "You two can continue arguing amongst yourselves."
Although classes continued as normal, Rome still glared defiantly at Raffy, who was feigning intently in class, like a predatory animal eyeing its prey.
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Tua, seeking solitude, spent the entire day browsing Pinterest, saving mood and tone images to inspire his theatre troupe's costume designs. He gathered many ideas to discuss with Jack, the director, later. But as he gathered interesting information, hip-hop music suddenly blared from a nearby rehearsal room. Normally, when it's not class time, the art students spend their free time doing various things in the drama rehearsal room, whether it's talking on the phone, gossiping, sharing secrets, or even using it as a nap to rest between classes. And it seems like someone is using the room to practice dancing right now.
Curiosity leads Tua to walk closer to see what's happening, only to discover it's Arnold seriously practising breakdancing moves. Tuo watched the perfectly muscular body move gracefully to the rhythm like a work of art. He was lost in thought for a while before remembering that he had something to settle with the other person. Someone outside the room decided to knock on the glass pane, causing Arnold to stop dancing abruptly. However, Arnold wasn't upset; seeing it was Tua, he couldn't hide his smile before beckoning the other person to come in.
"When did you get here?" Arnold asked when the other man walked into the room.
"I'll pay for the taxi last night. Almost forgot," Tua held up his phone, signalling that he was ready to pay, but Arnold lightly pushed his head away. The tall man pretended to be annoyed because he didn't want him to do that.
"I wouldn't dare ask for money from a drunk person. Do you even remember what you did last night?" Tua felt a shiver run down his spine, and his face went numb as he swallowed nervously, but he pushed on. I wonder if I accidentally did something inappropriate.
"I didn't say anything weird, did I?"
Arnold smirked, which made Tua even more nervous and sweat profusely. What if I accidentally let it slip? But in reality, the opposite is true.
"No, I just have to listen to you complain about Dean for about a hundred sentences."
Wow, you're quite the complainer, aren't you?
Tua was relieved ...but he was also a little disappointed.
"Yeah, I'm a complainer."
"That's cute."
"Okay," Tua said, sounding rather displeased. "I'd rather transfer the money to you. Use PromptPay."
"No need."
Without further ado, Arnold grabbed the other person's cell phone and stuffed it into his own jeans pocket, confident it would work. But the other person calmly reached in and retrieved the phone. The sound of the hand entering the pocket startled Arnold, and before he knew it, the other person had transferred a significant sum of money to his PromptPay number.
Five hundred baht has been paid.
"That's way too many of them!"
"Consider the admission fee for you practising your dance moves for me."
He shrugged indifferently before turning back to find a suitable seat in a corner to settle in and watch the performance while scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration.
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"I sent you the script for the audition in an email," Jack told Timmy on the phone.
telephone
[Ah, I see... but tell me where you are right now.]
"I'm going speed dating."
[Does it really work?] The voice on the other end of the line was full of uncertainty.
[Come sign up for Tinder Gold with me!]
"I've arrived in front of the shop. I'm leaving the work to you. Let me know how it goes." Jack pressed the disconnect button.
Whether it was loneliness or just having a lot of free time, Jack decided to join a speed-dating event he'd seen reviewed on TikTok, and that had been a trend for a while. The event was held at a bar. Upon entering, Jack was directed to the registration area, where someone handed him a sticker and a marker to write his name on, which he then placed on his chest for easy visibility. Once finished, an employee led him to the event area and seated him in a chair. The opposite seat was empty, waiting for fate to bring someone to sit there and get to know each other. In the meantime, the staff explained the rules.
"Each round, we'll rotate dates every five minutes. There will be a signal...That's the sound of a bell."
"Thank you very much"
Jack's heart was visibly pounding; he was excited and anticipating what would happen. The bell rang for the first time, and a handsome man appeared shortly afterwards. He was about the same height as Jack, or maybe slightly shorter. Jack smirked. He'd already found someone promising on the first try.
"Hello, what's your name? My name is Ton."
"I'm Jack, Ton."
"Are you interested in a multi-person relationship?"
Jack's face fell noticeably. "You mean Polygamy, huh?" The other person responded with a wide smile. Jack, who hadn't considered that in the first place, didn't object and simply sat still. He engaged in a few more conversations until the bell rang, signalling the end of class.
Jack thought it would be easy, but what he encountered was nothing like what he had imagined. Everyone who came around was either looking for casual sex or had some strange commitment that Jack didn't want to get involved in. From being excited, he now just hoped this speed dating session would end quickly. He regretted not listening to Timmy from the start; if he had signed up for Tinder Gold, he would have already talked to someone and started a relationship.
The bell signalling the end of class rang again. Jack forced a smile and waved goodbye to the handsome, pretty young man whose hobby was collecting snake skins he found along the way. He sighed in boredom, following the narrow back and slender waist until someone else sat down in the opposite seat.
"hello"
"Hello, I'm..." Jack took a deep breath and tried to compose himself, but he found himself gaping in surprise, completely unprepared to see the other person looking up at this moment.
"Jack," the person opposite him finished the sentence, "My name is Dean." The Prince of Fine Arts rested his chin on his hand, looking at the person in front of him. The mischievous smile beneath the bright face made Jack slightly annoyed, but before he could open his mouth, Dean blurted out, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.
"You just broke up not long ago, and you're already looking for a new boyfriend?" Dean narrowed his eyes, deliberately teasing him.
"Lonely Boy"
Jack hated that word.
"My ex-boyfriend was a total jerk, so I want to find a new, better boyfriend."
"So, have you found anyone yet?" Dean retorted, before letting out a sarcastic laugh.
"I haven't seen you like anyone. Let's be honest, nothing tastes better than the taste of your ex-boyfriend, me."
It seemed Dean was trying to use a metaphor, but Jack swallowed hard because, in fact, he still remembered what the other person's 'taste' was like. Just a thought. Even thinking about it, I can still feel it on my tongue.
"There might be someone a million times better than you at this event, Dean. Don't be so arrogant."
"Haha, I've never heard anything funnier than this before," the person with arms crossed wanted to laugh. "But anyway, if you think that way, then I hope your wish comes true. But remember, no one will ever please you as much as I do, whether as an actor or even as a boyfriend."
The bell rang, a lifesaver. Just as he was about to get up from the chair, Dean deliberately kicked Jack in the crotch, making Jack jump. The skinny man stretched his arms, yawned, and revealed his stomach beneath his crop top a few times to show the other man how utterly bored he was. His large, round eyes stared at Jack defiantly before he waved one last goodbye as a good luck signal.
"Goodbye Lonely Boy"
Jack dejectedly peeled off his name tag as the other person walked away. And that concludes Jack's speed dating adventure.