In my worst moments, the person who stood by me, even when he himself was struggling, was Ong, my brother. The one I even pushed into the pool when we were kids. He stayed up all night with me for two months because I insisted on waiting for Jao-Jom in the same place. Ong had to endure the hardships with me. Recently, Miriam knocked on my door and told me that Ong had fallen asleep while driving and crashed into the wall of our house on his way to work.
"How are you, Ong?"
I rushed to see my brother, who was uninjured. Only the family’s European car had a small dent. Ong laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.
"Sorry, Re. I dented your car."
Instead of caring about himself, he was more concerned about my feelings and afraid that I would scold him. I looked at my brother with deep gratitude and concern, walking over to hug him and pat his back.
"Are you okay? Don’t let anything happen to you either."
As we hugged, I could feel his heart beating. Ong seemed surprised that I was showing him affection. He looked like a young man receiving love from a woman. It seemed like what Jom said about Ong admiring me wasn’t far from the truth.
"I’m fine. I’ll take care of you, Re, until we grow old."
"Are you two proposing to each other or what? Where’s the ring?"
Miriam crossed her arms and shook her head.
“Ong, go to sleep. You don’t have to work today. It’s our company; no one will dock your salary."
"I have an important meeting with Kimhan today. Cancelling it wouldn’t be good."
"It’s okay. I’ll go.”
I said, knowing my responsibility. After all, I was the one who set up this meeting.
“Ong, go rest. It’s time for me to get back to work.”
"At least you have some sense."
My sister shrugged.
She had been criticizing me a lot lately, but I knew she was more concerned than trying to pick a fight and just wanted me to recover.
After sending Ong off to rest, I dressed up to look respectable, even though I felt terrible inside. Miriam snuck into my room to help me get dressed, looking a little irritated.
"Can you really handle this?"
Miriam asked, full of doubts.
"I have to do this. By the way, have you contacted the craftswoman I asked?"
"Yes, she said she’ll try, but she’s worried it won’t turn out well."
My grumpy sister said with a smile, making me irritated.
"Is there any good news? Isn’t that craftswoman a woman?"
"Yeah, why does it matter?"
"Why do you look so happy? Are you in love?"
"Never."
Miriam looked horrified when I mentioned this.
"Seeing your state, I’m scared. Someone as strong as Re is a mess right now. I’d better back off."
"It’s not that bad."
"So, Jao-Jom is the one you’re dating, right?"
I froze and stared at my sister, who didn’t seem surprised. Like I said, I was close to Miriam. There was nothing I could hide from her. It was just a little embarrassing to talk about personal matters, especially since my lover was once my student.
