You(r) Tuber Vol 1.

7 Chop-khun's Confusion

 

The phone in Intouch's hand was left on Chop-khun's chat screen, paused on the profile picture that had just been updated. It showed Chop-khun smiling widely, his eyes squinting with joy, as he held Kati close to his cheek. Intouch glanced at the relatively small clothes he was wearing and sighed. He felt that he'd been somewhat impolite to Chop-khun earlier that evening.

 

At first, he'd planned to help clean up the water droplets from his wet clothes on the floor after changing, but an urgent matter had forced him to leave in a hurry without properly explaining anything to Chop-khun. By the time the chaos was over, it was already very late. However, messaging Chop-khun now didn't seem appropriate. He decided to reach out the next day instead. With that thought, he locked his phone screen and headed to take another shower.

 

Although what was in his hand was a cordless vacuum, it'd now become a makeshift microphone for Chop-khun. His singing competed with the artist's voice playing through the speakers for quite some time, leaving the housework barely progressing. Kati could only sit and watch his owner's peculiar antics since morning.

 

Today was Chop-khun's weekly deep-cleaning day. It wasn't just about vacuuming Kati's fur, which he did almost daily, but also included dusting, sweeping, mopping, doing laundry, hanging clothes, and organising the house. Playing upbeat music while cleaning was one of Chop-khun's favourite rituals.

 

"Huh? Why is In calling?" Setting the vacuum down, Chop-khun noticed the missed call on his phone screen. The music must've been too loud for him to hear the ringtone. After calling back, he cleared his throat a few times, his singing having left his throat dry. He walked over to grab a glass of water just as the smooth, deep voice on the other end of the line spoke up.

 

"Hello, In. What's up?" Chop-khun greeted.

 

[Hello, Khun. Are you busy?]

 

"Not at all. I can talk," he replied.

 

Though the pile of unfinished housework begs to differ.

 

[I wanted to apologise for last night. Did the house get really wet? I was in such a rush...]

 

"Oh, don't worry about that. A quick mop and it was spotless. You had to rush to pick up your partner; I totally understand. The rain was so heavy, I didn't think much of it," Chop-khun said sincerely. In fact, he couldn't help but admire Intouch's attentiveness.

 

[Huh? I didn't go to pick up my partner, though,] Intouch replied, sounding puzzled.

 

"Wait, didn't you say you were going to pick up your baby last night?" Chop-khun asked, confused. The glass of water he was about to drink paused mid-air. Had he misunderstood? But Intouch had said that, hadn't he?

 

[Oh! I said I was going to pick up my baby, Fancy. She's my cat. I must've been so flustered last night that I said it like that.]

 

Crash!

 

That was the sound of Chop-khun's confidence shattering into pieces. Or maybe it was the thunder and lightning from last night that had caused him to jump to conclusions. At the time, Chop-khun had been silently thinking Intouch was rushing off to pick up someone important, so he hadn't been fully attentive. Hearing the word 'baby, he'd jumped to conclusions.

 

"Oh, I see. I must've misunderstood. Fancy is a cute name for a cat." Chop-khun hastily changed the subject, laughing awkwardly to cover his embarrassment before taking a sip of water.

 

[It wasn't me who named her. My younger sister insisted on naming her. Last night, Fancy had a little accident and got a small wound. I had to rush to the clinic because the wound couldn't get wet.]

 

"Oh no, is your cat okay?" Chop-khun asked, his earlier embarrassment forgotten, replaced by genuine concern.

 

[Just a small wound. My sister took her to the vet, and the vet said it's nothing serious.]

 

"Poor thing. Is she feeling down?"

 

[She was a bit down yesterday-probably from the pain and fear of the thunder. But today, she's back to her mischievous self.]

 

"That's a relief. You must've been so worried last night," Chop-khun said, understanding the feeling all too well. If something happened to Kati, he'd be just as anxious.

 

[Yeah, a little. Anyway, I have to get back to work now. My break's over, and I need to continue the shoot.]

 

"Alright. I hope Fancy recovers quickly."

 

[Thank you.]

 

After ending the call, Chop-khun shook his head. He'd made a huge blunder again. But misunderstandings like this could happen. He consoled himself before setting his phone down, only for a LINE notification to pop up. He opened the chat with the person he'd just spoken to. 

 

IN Sent a photo

 

And there it was-the true face of the one who'd 'saved the world.' Calling it a person would be wrong because she was actually a cat! The photo showed a Siamese cat with bright blue eyes, looking healthy and smug, sitting on a cat condo. The image was accompanied by a message from her owner:

 

IN: This is Fancy, and she's not my girlfriend.

 

Is he teasing me?!

—————

 

"Have you talked to your brother recently?" 

 

Phornlaphat's sweet voice asked her eldest son as she placed a serving of honey-roasted duck onto his plate. When she heard that her son would be visiting, she rushed to the kitchen herself. This dish was a favourite of both Chop-khun and Teerak. Watching Chop-khun chew happily, she couldn't help but think of her youngest son.

 

"We talk occasionally. Has Rak called you and Dad?"

 

"Whenever he runs out of money, he calls. One moment, he wants to buy this, the next, he wants to buy that. How much has he gotten from you?" Kornkun asked, shaking his head with a smile as he spoke about his youngest son.

 

"I don't spoil him like you do, Dad. I hear you're quick to send him money."

 

Although their father always grumbled about this matter, Chop-khun knew well that he never let Teerak go without. Despite his stern and serious demeanour, Kornkun was incredibly kind-hearted.

 

Today, Chop-khun had returned to the family home in the suburbs to leave Kati with his parents. Tomorrow, he had to travel to Suan Phueng for a shoot, and the accommodations didn't allow pets. So, he decided to bring Kati to visit his friend, Mantou, his father's large Golden Retriever, who was friendly with all living creatures. The two dogs were well acquainted, as Chop-khun often brought Kati over to play. 

 

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?" Kornkun asked his son.

 

"Seven in the morning. We need to film along the way, so In and I want to start early," he replied, having already arranged to meet Intouch at his house at seven to shoot the opening part before departing.

 

"Can you trust this man? You've only just met him, and now you're going on an overnight trip together. Isn't that risky?" Phornlaphat asked, concerned. There were so many scammers these days, and her son wasn't exactly big and intimidating.

 

"Don't worry, Mom. Have you forgotten? I've trained in self-defence. No one can mess with me."

 

"Don't be careless. People can be unpredictable," Kornkun reminded his son.

 

"Yes, Dad," Chop-khun nodded obediently, shovelling more duck into his mouth.

 

Since childhood, his parents had always supported him and Teerak in pursuing their interests, whether it was music or sports. However, the one thing they insisted on was learning various self-defence techniques, including Muay Thai, Taekwondo, and even shooting. 

 

His father's reasoning back then was: 'The world is scarier than you think. I don't want to see you get bullied, and I don't want you to use these skills to bully others. I'll feel at ease knowing you can take care of yourself.'

 

His father always had these wise sayings, though Chop-khun only remembered some of them.

 

"Te called me the other day." Phornlaphat brought up a new topic that made Chop-khun pause slightly. Before he could ask, still chewing his duck, his father's stern voice cut in.

 

"Why did he call?"

 

"He said he wanted to visit you and me since he has work nearby," she replied.

 

"Don't let him come. I don't want to see his face," Kornkun said flatly, though his tone carried an unmistakable edge of anger.

 

That's strange. His father's demeanour and gaze seemed angrier than usual. Could it be that he knew about Tewit cheating on him with Pluem? But Chop-khun had already resolved that issue by telling them he'd broken up with Tewit long before they got together. Still, his father probably had a good sense of what had happened, even if Chop-khun didn't say it outright.

 

"I've already told him it's not convenient. Have you spoken to Te?" Phornlaphat asked her son, clearly concerned. She knew there was more to the story, but also knew that Chop-khun rarely shared his problems. She always had to ask indirectly out of worry.

 

"No, Mom. And you shouldn't answer his calls anymore either. We haven't seen each other in a long time."

 

Although Tewit had been close to his family in the past, they'd broken up, and it hadn't been an amicable split. He didn't like how Tewit still acted as if nothing had changed with his family. After cheating on me, the jerk still has the audacity to call my mom? Should I just tell my parents everything to put an end to it?

 

After lunch, Chop-khun visited his grandparents in the other house within the same area. He chatted with them for a while but had to leave earlier than expected when he saw his aunt getting out of her car in front of the house. As he walked past, he gave her a polite wai, and the first thing she said was, "You've gained weight."

 

Ugh. I know I've gained weight. I've been eating more lately because of the heavy workload. Did you really have to point it out?!

 

"Yes," he replied curtly before quickly making his escape. Chop-khun didn't want to hear anything else that might grate on his ears.

 

By the time he got back home, the evening had already settled in. He'd spent too much time playing with Kati and Mantou. Fortunately, most of his belongings were already packed, leaving only a few clothes to fold and tuck into his bag. 

 

As he folded the clothes, his thoughts drifted back to the conversation he had with his mother before leaving the family home. The fortune teller said, ‘You'll meet your soulmate very soon.'

 

'Last time, your fortune teller said Te was my soulmate. And how did that turn out, Mom?'

 

‘I've switched to a new fortune teller. This one is incredibly accurate. They said this person is your true soulmate.’

 

 

A true soulmate? What a joke. Chop-khun could hardly bring himself to believe in love anymore.