The Universes of Love

Chapter 1.3: {Star and Moon}: The Family of the Star

The morning breeze was warm, not too cold, not too hot. In the midst of August, it's the perfect weather for the universe. A time everyone liked, the balance between two opposite weathers, not much rain either.

Except for the smoke of the vehicles, the air was still breathable. The mist and smoke of the vehicles were always the same, no matter which weather.

The night had passed but unlike the other stars, the star of our universe, Jimbae's shine hadn't faded. No star had their own light but that wasn't true with our star. He was never dependent on anyone to make him shine.

Jimbae's father, Phupha, worked as a forest ranger in Pha Pan Dao. Both his father and pa had lived there before they decided to get married and adopt Jimbae. Then, for the sake of Jimbae's future, they moved away.

Because especially according to Phupha, Pha Pan Dao didn't have a fixated future for Jimbae so Jimbae started living with his grandparents and Tian, his pa, in Bangkok, the capital of their country.

Though Phupha did come to see Jimbae and his husband once or twice a month, it was not enough. Both Jimbae and Tian missed him a lot. Another thing Tian missed was teaching, teaching the students of Pha Pan Dao and teaching in an actual school was different. More different than he might have realized. He really missed the students, the kids of Pha Pan Dao.

That day, Tian had woken up early, it had become his habit since he started living in Pha Pan Dao. He stretched his body and checked the time. "7:32".

Yawning, he got out of bed to the room where his treadmill was. Running swiftly with the moves of the treadmill, he checked his phone. Not many updates.

By the time he was done exercising, it was past 8. He decided to cook something before waking anyone up.

Stirring the pot of stir fried rice, a moment of flashback came to his mind. He used to be stubborn and such a young master. He used to not know how to cook or even put on a mosquito net. Remembering things, he giggled and sighed at his young self as if his young, stubborn self, was standing right in front of him, expressionlessly, as if disappearing or dying.

It was true though. That day at the operation theater, he did die. Not his body but probably his soul. And he had made a great decision to leave that dead soul behind and move on to develop a new, greater, better soul. That day, his body didn't die but his stubborn, careless self did.

The fried rice was ready. He stirred them up properly before turning the stove off and putting on the lid of the pot.

He slowly made his way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to find the room of his star. That was the room where he once stayed but then, it had become Jimbae's and surprisingly, he had grown up so much that it was almost unbelievable.

Tian slowly knocked on the door, smiling but after no response, he had understood that Jimbae was still asleep so he walked in.

"Jimbae..." Tian murmured softly and sat beside him on his bed, wrapping his hand around Jimbae's arm, slowly tapping. "Wake up. It's past 8:30." Jimbae turned to his side before opening his eyes to look at Tian like a baby. "Wake up..." Tian murmured and smiled.

Jimbae nodded slowly and Tian walked away from the bed, shallowing his stand at the door frame. He watched as Jimbae sat up from bed and stretched before yawning one last time and getting out of bed.

Tian walked back to the kitchen to serve the food once he was sure that Jimbae had woken up. He stirred the food so the spices got properly mixed before serving the food on a plate to the dining table.

In a few minutes, he saw Jimbae walking to the table, stumbling after washing his face. He silently pushed a chair and took a seat, before starting to eat the food. "It's so delicious, pa!" And his talkative mind had started. He exclaimed with a big smile as if that smile was trying to hypnotize.

Jimbae was a sunshine, a star. Why? Because he had no difficulties ever talking with anyone. He genuinely enjoyed people's company and never made fake friends. His communication skills were truly impressive. It's like he had never heard of social anxiety. All of that was probably because he sang. He was taught to go sing on the stage from a very young age and the appreciation of being around people took over him.

"Thank you." Tian muttered slowly as he sat next to Jimbae on a chair and started eating his own food. His tone of voice didn't have any energy at all. He was sweating and had no idea how Jimbae had the energy to be so loud in the morning but he didn't hate it. He liked how Jimbae was capable of things he wasn't. It made him proud.

"Do you know what I dreamt last night?" Jimbae asked all of a sudden, resulting in a smile from Tian. He shook his head.

"I dreamt that Pha Pan Dao had developed from a village to a big town with so many opportunities and we lived there with father. I miss him." Jimbae murmured, the shine on his smile faded just a little bit but he brushed that off with a sigh and a bigger smile.

"I do too but it's his job. We can't do anything about it." Tian grabbed Jimbae's hand softly and sighed back.

Jimbae never understood it. Phupha loved him and his pa then why did he have to live there? It's just a village. Did the village have more significance to Phupha than his own son and husband?

"Does he really have to stay there?" Jimbae asked, slightly confused. He just didn't get it.

"Jimbae, Pha Pan Dao is the chief's birth village. It holds a lot of value to him. His dream is to save people from danger and he's a forest ranger. If he's not there, many people's lives will be at risk. He just loves his village and job." Tian explained, shaking his head in slow motion in order for Jimbae to understand properly.

"What about us? Doesn't he love us?" Tian sighed, moving his chair closer. 

"He does. But he can't risk the lives of so many people just for us two, right?" Tian asked and ruffled Jimbae's hair with his hand.

Jimbae pouted. He still didn't understand why the village was held more prior to Phupha but he respected that point of view. "And what about you? Didn't you used to teach there as well?" He asked, resulting in another sigh from Tian. Tian looked away to the wall for a bit before his lips curled in a smile, remembering the old moments.

"Yes but someone has to come take care of you, right? Your grandparents are aged. They can't take care of you alone." Tian pressed.

Jimbae nodded, understanding that he was right. After finishing his food, he spent some time alone laying on his bed and just thinking how hard it'd be to stay away from someone you hold dear to heart. Probably the same he felt right then but stronger. Lying there, he wondered how his relationship would ever turn out if he was to start a long distance relationship like that.

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A/n: What do you think about me making Phupha and Tian Jimbae's parents? Does it suit?