Summer House

Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

Kongpob Suthiluck couldn't sleep. He refused to sleep. Pulling himself upright, he reached over to turn on the touch lamp and threw his legs over the side of the bed while massaging his temples, attempting to rid of the headache that had been bothering him.

Bare-chested with only black drawstring pants on, he moved to the window to part the curtains, inviting in the streaks of moonlight that push back the shadows in his room. His gaze landed on a lone figure that stood underneath the cherry blossom tree in the middle of the garden. Judging only by his behind view, lean figure and long hair, Kongpob couldn't be sure if the person was a man or woman. The person's long hair flowed down almost to their waist, and he was dressed in a long white nightgown. The person's luminous pale skin made him appear almost fictional and angelic. For a moment, Kongpob stood in stillness captivated by the mysterious person's alluring presence, wondering who he was and what he was doing in front of his house.

The moment the person spun around, Kongpob retreated back from the window, afraid of being discovered. When he peeked from behind the curtains again, the luminous figure had been replaced by the figure of Arthit who stood in his unusual black attire and hair tied up in a bun, pointing at the moon and speaking to it as if it had the ability to answer back.

Funny, I could've sworn I saw...Nah, must be the night and sleepiness playing tricks on me.

Curious as to what Arthit was saying, Kongpob pushed opened his window and listened.

"Mocking me again, huh? It's not how it used to be," Arthit said, aiming at the moon as if he was aiming a gun at it. "I'll win this time. Just watch me. Bam!" he said aloud, pretending to shoot at it.

A smile perked at Kongpob's lips. "Such an idiot."

As if he had heard him, Arthit stopped what he was doing and turned around look up at his window. Realizing that he was being watched, Arthit raised his hand to salute him as if he was a soldier.

Kongpob thought he'd never before met such an interesting, unique, stubborn character like Arthit. Thinking about it now, he realized that he had been a bit too harsh on him earlier. The woman he loved had left him and he had acted out rash and in agony towards the wrong person. He wanted to apologize for his rudeness. Leaning forward on the window sill, he said, "Wait there. I'll be right down."

Grabbing his sleeping robe to wrap around him, he headed downstairs and outside to the front porch, finding Arthit seated on the bench with his legs pulled up to his chin as if feeling insecure. "Go ahead and have a seat," he said without sparing Kongpob a glance.

Kongpob went to sit beside him and said, "What are you still doing up at this time?"

"I don't sleep much. So, I'm always up. You could even say that I suffer from insomnia."

"Look, about what happened before—"

Arthit cast him a glance, cutting him off. "You tried to kill yourself. I know. Thanks to my full bladder, I saved your life."

Kongpob didn't like that he was being so forward and casual about it. In fact, he wanted to forget that it took place in the first place. Through gritted teeth, he said, "I wasn't trying—"

"Being depressed gets you like that. Trust me, I've been through it myself. Although, I've never been dumb to the point where it makes me want to end my life. That's just foolish." Well, that was a bigass lie.

Immediately, Kongpob regretted coming down to offer an apology. If Arthit was trying to make him feel angry again, then it was working. Leaning back against the bench, he said with a sigh, "Never mind."

"This might be a bit too personal, but that woman. How did you two..." Arthit trailed off without finishing his question.

Kongpob wasn't supposed to discuss his personal issues with his housekeeper, the other had no right to learn about it, but despite himself, he said, "I met her in school. We go to the same university together. We have dated ever since."

"Really?" Arthit said, stretching out his long legs in front of him. "What's her name?"

Kongpob didn't have to answer that either, but it came out anyway. "May Rojnapat."

"May Rojnapat," Arthit repeated slowly after him.

"Why are you so curious anyway?"

Arthit almost 'tssk' him when he said, "Don't you know not to ask a person why they're curious? Curiosity is part of the human nature. We're all bound to curiosity. You don't ask a person why they're curious. You know why they're curious."

Kongpob shifted to look at Arthit, wondering why he hadn't changed out of his clothes into something more...comfortable to sleep in. Kongpob moved closer, attempting to intimidate the other. "You're right about that. Now, you might want to confess the truth about you being here. I know you're not a housekeeper." He eyed Arthit up and down when he leaned in closer. "You don't look the type."

Instead of leaning back like Kongpob had expected him to, Arthit leaned forward until their faces were just inches apart. "If I tell you the truth, you would never believe me. So I'll do my best to give you a plausible excuse for being here." Arthit added with a mysterious smile.

Closer, Kongpob thought. A bit closer and he would definitely give in. "I could handle the truth."
He could barely read Arthit's expression in the dark, but he knew he was going to give him some smart-ass remark.