Hidden Agenda (English)

Chapter 5

"Habitually, Sitang was gradually taken over bit by bit. The act of picking up and dropping off became familiar to those who saw it, and even Sitang herself forgot to ask: why... did Jiranai suddenly become her private driver like this?

A fair figure sat next to the stone table, in front of which was a row of schools with a large tree providing shade. It was almost evening, and though she didn't have classes, the person who brought her back was busy with a teacher, so she told Sitang to wait, and so Sitang sat there waiting.

Suddenly, a large hand slapped her shoulder, making the person sitting and reading a book startled. She turned her beautiful eyes to look. A tall young man was standing there, laughing in response; he was the owner of the hand that just struck, and it made Sitang freeze.

"P'Wave!"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

The young man, wearing a shirt and trousers, was Annop, or "P' Wave," the senior with the same ID number as Sitang, who graduated last year.

"I had a meeting nearby, so I stopped by. If I don't meet anyone, I'll leave. Didn't think I'd run into you."

"Aren't you coming back to work?"

"Who am I? I'm the owner of a business." He replied with a bright smile before plopping down on the long bench with his junior of the same ID number. Seeing Sitang's fair face, he couldn't resist reaching out and pinching her cheek playfully.

(note: *for those who are confused; *the phrase "Who am I?" is not a question about the person's identity but rather a rhetorical expression used to emphasize the person's importance or status. The use of "who am I?" in this context is more like saying, "Don't you know who I am? I'm a business owner!" rather than an actual question about their identity.)

"Hello, all behaving properly?" The person whose cheek was pinched raised their hand in a gesture of respect but couldn't say a word because the senior with the same ID number was playfully pulling their cheek tightly. Annop smiled affectionately before letting go of Sitang's fair cheeks.

"So, do you have any more classes?"

"No, I'm done for the day. If P'Wave comes like this, then it's time for an afternoon treat." The young man laughed and shrugged generously.

"Call everyone here. Thang Fang, thang Pok, and the other first-year student, what's his name?"

"North."

"Ah, that guy, I saw him before at Siam, hanging out with thang Pok. Looks quite decent, suitable as my replacement." Sitang looked at the handsome senior with admiration in her cold eyes while texting a message to her three juniors with the same ID number.

"Replacement for what?"

"As a caretaker of the family, Sitang."

"Then why North? He's a freshman, P'Wave should ask me." Annop glanced at his juniors with a face of innocence, with pure eyes and a fair figure, and then turned his head to think, "Don't let him take care of the family while he's still dealing with his own issues." Otherwise, the reputation of him and the other elders in the family might not last until the fourth year.

"Hey!" A loud call interrupted, and both Sitang and Annop turned to look.

The tall young man who was the owner of the previous call was also taken aback when he saw the man sitting next to Sitang, but he didn't know who that person was. Seeing that this man seemed older than him, he clasped his hands in a greeting but said nothing.