I had to meet Vichian today and told Jao-Jom directly that the guy who asked to be my boyfriend would come today. But Jao-Jom just smiled and didn't believe me, accusing me of making up a character to make her jealous. What a self-centered child. But it was okay, if she didn't believe me, I would take her to meet Vichian. I wanted to see her face when she met him.
"Today is the twenty-first day, you know. I should have called you at 8:08 p.m., but I couldn't wait."
Besides being an annoying brat, she always found something to surprise me, like this thing where we called each other for 21 days until it became a habit. On the days when Jao-Jom didn't call, I felt like something was missing. I had heard this theory before, but I never thought anyone would believe it.
But believe it or not, she used it on me.
"It seems like you're not used to it."
Come to think of it, if she didn't call for a day, I would probably miss hearing from her too. Every day, she always had something creative to say.
"Who are you going to meet? But I bet there's no one. You're just making up a character to make me back off..."
And when Vichian appeared, Jao-Jom, who could read minds, immediately sensed her presence. He looked at my confident student and smiled secretly.
How about this... The guy courting me is cool, right?
But... what I saw was a humble behavior that surprised me. Jao-Jom looked dejected and asked to leave immediately after greeting Vichian. I intended to reject him in front of Jao-Jom, but my brilliant student ruined my plan.
"Are you really leaving?"
"I keep my promises. If you had a real commitment, I would leave."
And the composed girl backed away. I could only watch her disappear backwards into a taxi in front of the restaurant, feeling helpless. It seemed like I had made her very jealous. Normally, she was so resilient. Why did she look so sad this time?
"Is she okay?"
I looked at Vichian, a little irritated, wondering what he was thinking when Jao-Jom grabbed his hand, making her run away.
"Nothing. Let's talk about us."
We ordered Japanese food and ate slowly. My head was full of thoughts about Jao-Jom, forgetting why I met Vichian today until he cleared his throat and nervously brought up the subject.
"Did you think about us?"
"Yes, I did"
I replied indifferently, taking the last bite of sashimi and drinking hot tea.
"I'll be straight with you... I'm sorry, Vichian, I can't date you."
"I guessed that from your answer on LINE."
He said, looking sad.
"Aren't you dating anyone?"
"I am."
"Do you have someone you like?"
"Yes."
"May I ask who?"
I pursed my lips and smiled at him.
"For the sake of our long friendship, I usually don't talk about personal matters, but I’ll tell you.
“...”
"I’m in love with the girl who just ran away in a taxi."
I should have kept it simple from the beginning, just taking off the ring or telling him on LINE. There was no need for this stressful meeting. I had destroyed a child’s trust. Normally, Jao-Jom was tough. Why did that make her run away?
