CHAPTER 4: !?
"P'Phun, who is this?"
That voice spooked the hell out of me. Of course I recognize her. I know exactly who this girl, with an innocent face and slyness hidden in her eyes that is standing looking confused behind Phun, is.
There she is! The legendary nong Pang!
Is it too late to send out that Bat-Signal for help?!
I'm in shock to see this cute girl standing here as if I'm seeing a ghost. (To be honest, a ghost would be a better choice in my current situation.) Meanwhile, it seems Phun has this situation under control. (I think?) He simply takes a deep breath before he turns around and gives his little sister a smile.
Hey...buddy. Can you not be so cheerful? I'm...scared...
"Didn't you tell me you were heading to bed?" I furrow my brows the second I hear how gentle Phun is towards his sister. It's no wonder all those girls at the convent are so into him. These thoughts enter my head while I raise my brows as he pats his middle-school age sister's head. He's such a nice brother. For some reason, this image puts me at ease. I can't really explain it.
"I couldn't sleep so I came down here to see if Dad's home yet. But then I saw you." The little troublemaker answers while she keeps eyeing me. Aha, I look familiar, don't I? (The last time I saw her was last year during the soccer tournament. Nong Pang came to see Phun, he was working in front of the bleachers. On the other hand, I was working with the band. I was the one to went to get Phun for Pang myself.)
I flash her a wide and friendly smile, showing all of my 32 teeth. (I thought I was gonna rip my gums) I see that Phun turns to face me and smiles too. Another chill runs down my spine.
"Oh, well...a friend...came by to see me." He turns back to Pang. Why did he put such a weird emphasis on the word friend? (He even stretched out that word!)
"Friend?" I can see it in her bratty little eyes. Things are starting to feel not right to me. Are these two siblings playing some kind of a cruel joke on me right now?!
"Actually..." Phun begins to speak while turning to face Pang, but he also keeps glancing at me at the same time. It doesn't seem like he's paying any attention to the panic glances that I'm giving him in return at all!
"You said that you wanted to meet Noh, so I asked for him to come meet me." What was that?! I dare you to say that to my face without kicking me in the shin and surprising me! Bastard! Ow! This jerk! He better watch out!
"I wanted to meet p'Noh?"
"You told me...that you wanted to meet my boyfriend, didn't you?"
Since when did I agree to this?! Did I happen to get amnesia or are you just making things up on the fucking spot?!
I was about to get up and hit him in the head, if it weren't for the fact that he grabs my hand and is gently caressing it.
Is this what my life has become...?
At last, I was dragged inside the Phumipat Mansion. (I tried resisting this time around too.) These two siblings are equally annoying. Once Pang found out that I'm about to become her brother-in-law, (I'm going insane here!) she insisted on her brother bringing me in for a glass of water. (Couldn't she bring one out there?) As for Phun, he decided to be very supportive of his sister. He told me that the mosquitoes will bite us if we stay outside. (It'd be simpler if you just let me go home!)
Of course, I always lose when it comes to these arguments. There's a saying "your mouth is drowning so the water spinach is drifting." I finally understand what it means now. (Did someone just say that this isn't how the proverb goes?) So here I am sitting on the sofa in the living room of the Phumipat Mansion. Meanwhile, Pang is sitting on another sofa nearby. As for Phun...he's so close that I might as well be sitting on his lap.
"Why are you so close?! It's hot!" I whisper to Phun so that Pang, who is watching an American series, would not hear. This bastard simply mocks me in return by giving me a look.
"You're hot? Should I turn the A/C up?"
"No! Just move away!" Why can't he think of something so simple for himself? -_-"
Instead, he gives me a sly smile. "How can I do that? We need to be convincing, Noh." The fuck is he on about being convincing?! He's the one doing all of this against my will!
"What the fuck are you talking about? Just move!" I start to get vulgar with him. I refuse to give up on making him move away from me. He listens and it seems like he'll let me have my way this time around.
I let out a huge sigh of relief since Phun finally moves away from me (even though we're still sitting right next to each other). That relief didn't last long since Phun decides to lean over and puts his arm around my shoulders!
Seriously, man?!
I notice that nong Pang is now staring at us. Her eyes are twinkling but there's something eerie about them. They seem to be filled with warmth and happiness, though I can't really explain it. But whatever it is, I'm getting goosebumps all over my arms.
Please just keep watching the television, Pang! T____T
"P'Noh, how are you getting home tonight? It's pretty late." Nong Pang shoots me a question. But...is there more to that question? No, no, no. This is not good. I should change the direction, it'd be safer. I check my watch and realize that it actually is pretty late. It's time I escape from this 18th level of hell.
"I rode my motorcycle here. I probably should get going. Bye, Phun." I turn around and wave at the older troublemaker who is about to get up to see me off. However, it seems the younger troublemaker won't let me go and reincarnate that easily.
"How can you let p'Noh go off in the night like that, p'Phun?! What if something happens to him on his way home?! Who'll be responsible for that?!"
What the hell? I'm 17! I can take care of myself, Pang!
"Uh..."
"P'Noh, spend the night here? Please? You can sleep in p'Phun's room. You can't leave tonight, it's too dangerous." What am I supposed to do with a kitten that is hanging on my arm currently? -_-" If I could, I would love to give her the boot and watch as she bounces away.
Those tiny lips continue to move and it doesn't seem like they'd be stopping any time soon. "P'Phun, you can't just tell me that you got a boyfriend so that I'd talk to Dad for you. If you don't take a good care of p'Noh, then I won't help you." Holy shit! What the hell?! There is a 500pt exclamation mark on my face, I might fall over.
"Um, Noh. You should probably spend the night. If you go home now...heh...it'll be dangerous. Heh...heh." Look at him chuckling. He's clearly laughing at me. Goddamn Phun, if you're not gonna bother helping me then at least don't make it worse. Ugh, which profanity should I throw in his face first?!
"How can I do that? We have school tomorrow. I didn't bring my uniform with me."
"You can wear p'Phun's uniform, p'Noh."
"I can't do that. The student ID won't match." Here goes nothing. It's the battle on who will win this debate now.
"That's okay. The teachers rarely check that stuff. And even if they start asking questions, you can just tell him that you happened to spent the night at my place so you were borrowing my uniform." You're not helping at all, Phun! Fucking hell! I'm so touched by your kindness!
I'm so touched!
"...." I'm speechless now. I've gone mute. I have no retorts left in me.
"You should go upstairs and take a shower. The both of you. And I'll try talking to Dad about that thing later, p'Phun." Pang tells us while she shoves our backs, forcing us out of the living room so that we can go to the honeymoon suite (??). Phun's eyes lit up at the last sentence she said. On the other hand, I'm feeling pretty depressed about this whole thing.
What does she mean by try? How long will I be stuck in this situation?!
"Don't worry about your club's budget. I'll take care of that for you too." Phun whispers to me. I actually almost forgot about this.
Is this really worth it?! Honestly!
Noh actually did remember the proverb incorrectly. Literally, it's supposed to be 'your farm is drowning so the water spinach is drifting.' It means someone who talks a lot, but there's not much to be learned from what they're saying. He mixed them up with another proverb 'water-filled mouth' which is when you're in a certain situation where you're forced to stay silent.
