From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

34. Gone back

Boun was looking at his phone hoping that Prem would initiate contact with him. It had been more than two weeks since he came back from Phuket and the younger have not contacted him since. He couldn’t blame Prem, after all, he had left the place in the middle of the night without saying goodbye.

‘Maybe this is for the best.’ Boun thought to himself in the beginning. But as each day passed by, he found himself waiting for Prem’s calls or texts, which he didn’t get any.

Even though he got the outcome he wanted, he was feeling empty inside. He knew that the reason for that was Prem.
Boun wished that he could hear Prem’s voice, see his face and hold him in his arms for one last time. But he also knew that none of this was possible. Not after him acting like a complete jerk back there.

What to do? He was in panic mode back then. He wasn’t thinking straight that night. Fu Xiaoman had called him in the middle of the night saying that she had already boarded the flight to Bangkok. From her voice, he was sure that there was something wrong.

After questioning he found out that her parents had gotten divorced and even ended up having a huge argument right in front of the civil court. The argument turned into a physical fight that both her parents were separated from each other by force by bystanders.

It was the first time she had actually seen her parents fight and was heartbroken that she had been the reason they stayed together despite the differences. She was so overwhelmed that she ran off to Bangkok without a second thought.

Fu Xiaoman didn’t speak Thai nor did she know anyone other than Boun and Bosston from Thailand. That was why she contacted Boun for help.

Boun was quite fond of the little girl and rushed to assist her using that as a reason for leaving Prem behind.

“You seem to be lost in deep thought,” Tae said handing the coffee to Boun.

“Oh. It’s nothing. Just work-related stuff.” Boun dismissed Tae’s queries.

“When are you going to Shanghai?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

Boun was going to Shanghai to shoot the ad with Fu Xiaoman. His initial plans of asking the crew to change locations were dismissed after he decided to cut ties with Prem.

“Prem must be over the moon nowadays,” Brad said taking a seat next to them.

“Why? What happened to him?” Mark asked sipping his coffee.

“He got back into the National team. The members were complaining that he had become stricter now.” Tae chuckled.

“He got back? Didn’t they say that he was not fit enough?” Boun was a little surprised by the news.

“Yeah. He is still not allowed to take part in competitions. He went back as a coach. He is now the assistant coach of the team.” Tae explained.

“Boun, how come you didn’t know? Didn’t he tell you?” Brad asked.

“No. We hadn’t been in touch for a while now.”

“What? Did you guys break up?” Brad’s eyes widened.

“We weren’t dating in the first place.”

“But, that was not how you guys were behaving that day in the University. You guys were like a couple. Your in-laws seemed to be really pleased by you and even invited you to have dinner with them.” Brad said.

“Boun, did you two have a fight or something?” Benz asked taking a seat on Tae’s lap.

“No. We didn’t. We were busy with our own lives that we didn’t get much time to interact with each other. And what about in-laws? They invited me to the dinner because I helped Prem with his studies that is all.” Boun said feeling a little annoyed.

“Really? I thought you two were already an item.” Brad sighed.

“I knew nothing is going to happen between the two of them,” Benz said wrapping his hands around his boyfriend’s neck.

“Why?”

“Because these two were completely different breeds. Prem is the kind that takes relationships seriously. He values them so much. Even if he hooked up with Boun a few times, he would never cross the line with him. But Boun is different. He is the opposite of Prem. He might make relationships and end them when ever he pleases.”

“Benz, is that what you told him?” Boun was enraged but he didn’t let it show on his face.

Benz nodded. “Yeah. I told him that. I didn’t want him to be fooled by you.”

“Many thanks, buddy. I wouldn’t know what to do if he had actually become serious about me. It would have been awkward since we have a lot of mutual friends.” Boun acted as if nothing had happened.

He knew from within that both of them had already crossed the line of being just friends with benefits a long time ago and it would be really awkward to face each other again when the time comes.

“Good that you think the same. I am not being judgmental about you. But I really didn’t like the idea of you two hooking up. I want him to end up with someone who would treat him as sincerely as he does. I hope that you don’t get offended that I am thinking on his part.” Benz said seriously.

“No worries. I understand, Benz. I know that you see him as your Nong. So do I.” Boun flashed a smile at him.

‘Someone who would treat him sincerely?’ That was definitely not him. The only person he would treat sincerely was himself. Boun thought.

Sitting inside his car in the parking lot, Boun looked at Prem’s picture he had clicked when they were in Phuket.
In the picture, Prem was pouting his lips with his index finger touching his chubby cheeks. It was an adorable sight.
That was the only picture he had left on his phone. The rest of it, he had transferred them into a memory card and kept them aside safely. He couldn’t bare to delete those photos and memories. Yet he didn’t want to remember them again.

The memory card was kept inside Boun’s locker inside his room. It was precious to him. So precious that he often wished to turn back time and live those moments once again.

“You must be really happy now, Pao.” Boun had a sad smile on his lips. A part of him badly wished that he could go see Prem and congratulate him. A part of him was unhappy that something this big had happened in Prem’s life and the latter didn’t even bother to let him know. A part of him was angry at himself for not staying by Prem’s side.

The conflict within himself had rendered him sleepless for several nights. He wasn’t sure if the decision he took was right or not.