Mate by chao Planoy

Chapter 6

“How much money can you earn selling a novel?”

I proposed the self-publishing novel project to my mother, who was an

investor. She looked surprised and laughed. I know, she could easily give

me money, but I had to ask questions and everything, to make it harder.

“Quite. Don't you have savings?”

“Yes, but I don't want my friend to know that I'm an investor. Money is

always a delicate topic.”

She once said that she doesn't want to lose a friend because of money.

"Don't do it then if she's so worried about it.".

I thought she was playing hard to get. I knew I didn't like begging. It was

exhausting..

“If you called your friend who owns a publishing house and gave her

money. I will remember it until the day I die.”

My mom looked at me with surprise. She gave me a kind smile. I never

asked my mom for anything. She knew I had a big ego. But if I begged her so much, that meant it was a big problem for me. She nodded at the end.

“Ok, you begged for that. How did you meet this friend? I don't see that you

have many friends. Do I know her?”

“My childhood friend. I don't think you can remember it. I just wanted to help her and I can see that she will make money. It may be little money for you, but it's big for a girl.”

“I know. Are you someone's daddy long leg?”

“This is what great people do.”

“If my friend finds out that I was behind her success, she will be very

pleased and will appreciate me. If he were a man, he would kneel in front of me, but if she were a girl, she would transform into a man and devote herself to me.”

“Your life is complicated.”

It was even worse than a bad novel. In the end, I made a business deal with

my mom. We chatted for a while and I had to leave. I walked towards my

car but Somkit ran after me and gave me a big smile.

“Gen.”

“Yeah?”

“I have something about the girl you asked me about.”

“The girl I asked about?”

I looked at him having forgotten that, then I realized what he was talking

about.

“Ah... Yes, what's the update, please?”

I was excited to find out more about the girl I had been living with for two weeks. Although we talked, we slept next to each other, I hardly knew anything about her. She still didn't talk much about herself. Finally I would find out what was wrong with her.

“It has a tough history.”

I was watching my friend, who was trying to heat up some pork meatballs and was bragging about how good they were. I looked at her... for a long, long... long time. I looked at her all over her body.

"Your friend had a s****l problem with her stepfather."

That was the reason she ran away. She didn't dare ask me or if she asked, I

didn't know if she would tell me. We weren't that close.

“Aoey.”

I called. She turned and gave me a sweet smile under those glasses I asked her to wear to hide her eyes.

“Yeah?”

“How is Teacher Salee?”

"It's fine as always."

She looked at the microwave, showing no emotion. I thought it was strange, so I walked towards her and stood next to her.

“Oh?”

She turned around and looked at me as I stood behind her.

“I'm much taller than you. If I hug you from behind her, I have to crouch

down."

I crouched down and hugged her after saying that. My arms wrapped

around her slim, tiny body. My chin rested on her shoulders. I smelled the light fragrance of shampoo from her long hair. I felt so good that I didn't want to let her go.

(“Aoey was an adopted child. She was shocked when her adoptive mother

kicked her out of the house, accusing her of flirting with her stepfather.

That's the reason your friend had to run away from home.") My eyes were all teary when I heard that. I wasn't sure what that feeling was. It could be pity. This little woman was kicked out of her home by a woman who raised her. She didn't have another like she had before. She must have hurt a lot.

“Gen, are you okay?”

“You're much shorter than me. I can tell just by looking.”

I put my hand on her head. I don't know why I did that. She was amazed at my clumsy approach. We looked at each other and I finally said what I felt.

“You got me.”

“I just wanted to tell you that.”

I tried to walk away once I said that. But it wasn't that easy. Aoey pulled on my shirt to stop me from pushing her away. She looked at me with a serious face.

“What do you know?”

“What?”

“Do you know anything about me?”

The beautiful eyes searched for the truth in my eyes. I was now nervous and worried about her tension..

“I need to know something?”

“Did you investigate anything about me?”

We both sat in silence. I felt bad and turned my face away. But I didn't feel

guilty about seeking the truth about who my roommate was. What she did? Who was she? What had she been through? I had a right to know.

“Yeah.”

“Because?”

“I wanted to know why you came to Bangkok. What was your story?”

Her sweet eyes widened when she heard that. Aoey took a step back and hugged herself as if to protect herself from me.

“Why do you need to know about me?”

“Why not?”

“I never interfere in your affairs. I never investigated…”

“You knew my story. Who I am? Where am I from?”

“And you don't know who I am and where I come from?”

“I don't know why you ran away from home. I was just worried.”

“Do not worry about me. You're just nosy. If you want to know about me,

why don't you ask me?”

“If I asked you, would you have told me that you ran away from home

because you had something with your stepfather?”

Because I was frustrated, she pushed me to use my sarcastic tone. I felt bad after saying that. She looked at me surprised. It seemed like that was

something she was ashamed of, and I said it out loud to embarrass her

more.

“And now you know! Are you happy now?”

She yelled at me and ran out of the room. I stood there in silence. Why do we fight? I just wanted to know more about her. Why was she so important? Go if you want! No one has ever yelled at me like that. Did you think I would give up everything? It just for those beautiful eyes? Even my dad never yelled at me like that. Who did she think she was? She was just a girl who had lice. I looked at the door nervously waiting for her to come back in, as she should. But 10 minutes passed, and her soft eyes had not returned.

I started to feel nervous. The clock on the wall said it was past 9:00 p.m.

Bangkok was not so safe. It was dangerous and she just went off like a drama queen. Did she expect me to run after her? OK! I would like to! I took my cell phone and some cash. I walked around and looked for her. I never actually walked there. It was only driven..

“Hello, security. Did you see a small woman with glasses leaving here?”

“No, no one left here yet.”

"Okay,"

I responded and realized I hadn't left the building. I went back to the lobby

and called her on my phone. This time she wasn't a drama queen. She

answered the phone and told me where she was..

“I'm right behind you.”

“Oh?”

I turned around and saw her right behind me. Her face was still angry. I saw her tears that made me feel guilty. But they seemed more like tears of anger than sadness.

"You have to apologize to me now,"

Aoey said and hung up the phone. People passing by looked at us, but

quickly walked away when I looked at them. My first reaction was to fight

back when she gave me an order like that. Although I knew I could be

wrong.

“Because?”

“You're wrong.”

“Don't you think I have a right to know that the person I live with has been through something?”

I told her the reason, but that was not all. I didn't think she was a thief or

anything. I just needed to know the whole story.

“If you want to know, you can ask me. Don't snoop behind my back.”

“What kind of secret do you have? Are you a drug dealer?”

“Are you going to apologize?”

“Ok I'll go. This time I'll really go.”

I still didn't care about the threat. Aoey walked out of the lobby and almost passed through the security desk. I bit my lip hard. My conscience was fighting inside my head. A voice said to let her go wherever she wants. The other voice told me to stop her before she left.nOh no! I was fighting with myself. The angel in my head won, I ran towards her. She was way beyond the security desk. I had to take a bigger step to keep up with her. I finally stopped in front of her and stopped to breathe..What was this all about? What kind of drama was this where I was running after someone? Sonthat?

“Where are you going?”

“That's my business.”

I couldn't believe I had a moment like that. Was that what people did when

you fought with a friend?

“It's late. Let's go back.”

“No.”

“Do not argue with me!”

I screamed and glared at her when she refused to come back. We stared at each other for a long time until Aoey looked down.

“You don't apologize and you're wrong!”

Her tone sounded like crying. She made me stop in surprise.

“We are friends. If you want to know anything about me, you should ask.

Don't snoop. We all have a secret that we don't want people to know. Can I

have my own secret? Can l have my own space?”

I bit my lip hard. I've never had to say something like that in my life. Oh

damn! Don't cry in front of me. I couldn't stand that.

“I'm sorry.”

I finally said that. I never thought I had to say this. I always trusted what I did and I never thought I had to apologize to someone like her who didn't deserve that. I felt so weak, why was that? Aoey looked at me with her sweet eyes filled with tears.

“Oh really? Are you really serious?”

“Yes, I didn't know it would bother you so much. I just worry about you and wonder what I can do to help you.”

The girl gave me a very strong hug. Her crying face was now right on my

neck. I felt sensitive and very uncomfortable.

“I will not do it. I'll ask you if I want to know something and you should

start talking to me..”

“Please don't do it again.”

“Okay, I was wrong.”

“I was wrong too. I was too angry.”

She let me go and looked at me in a long silence. It was a very profound

moment that made me feel that in the entire world it was only us. The horn

of the passing bus woke us up from the moment our bubble burst. We let go while I felt confused. Then, we continued as if nothing had happened.

"First, let's go home,"

I invited her. She smiled at me and grabbed my arm.

“We're going home.”

“Okay.”

“Home sounds cozy. I will call your condo my home for the time being.”

The word home sounded nice and warm, more so than the condo.

"It's so nice to know that there is someone who loves me in this world," Aoey said as we walked back.

“Who?”

“You, Gen.”

I smiled at the word 'love'. It gave a strange feeling.

“AHA.”

"I love you too, Gen, in case you didn't know."

My heart raced when I heard that. I realized that this could not be due to

any illness.