I am.. Arun BekFah.
This is my real name, which sounds a bit funny at first sight, because when you hear this name you usually end up singing a song without being able to help yourself, since everyone knows the show Jaokhun John. I am quite proud of this name because it is quite rare and, without a doubt, no one would give this name to their own child.
But my father and mother chose it for me. If you ask them if they intended it to be a different name from the others, I don't think so. Probably, they just couldn't think of another name. I was born exactly when the show was airing, so my father chose this name for me by chance.
I am the second daughter in the family, I have an older brother, and I was born into a family with limited financial resources. If I were to describe my coming into the world, it might end up being disrespectful to those who gave me life.
But, if we are to tell the truth, my father and mother didn't know how to prevent a pregnancy. They didn’t want to have another child, as they were just living with what they had. When I was born, it became another burden.
Still, I am grateful to them for raising me this far. Although I didn’t have a comfortable life, like those families who have children when they are ready and can send them to shows like Master Chef, I did have a basic education that any human being should have. I had to fight to get into university, but I managed to get by this far.
I graduated and came to Bangkok to look for a job. That was the beginning of my journey to actually work and earn a living.
At first, I worked at a bank and tried my best to increase my salary. After a while, I felt that I wasn’t progressing and moved to another company, and then to another. I gained considerable experience and learned how things work and what needs to be done.
I can say that I am good at what I do. Until I finally moved to the last company, where I got the position of assistant director, and my salary went up to the "three digits" range.
Everything was going well until the day my boss invited me to lunch. I didn't think much about it, I just did my job, because having lunch together is also an opportunity to get to know your boss better, and that's part of the job. But, it turns out, I was interpreting the situation on my own, because my boss didn't think the same way.
"Are you seeing anyone, Arun?"
"Not yet."
I answered honestly, without thinking much. But my boss, who seemed to want to get closer, was visibly excited by the answer. I have the ability to observe people. When their voice changes even a little, I notice.
"What do you mean? A woman as beautiful and talented as you..."
"Thank you."
What is beauty...? I really don't know, just like I don't know what it means to be handsome.
I couldn't even tell if my boss is handsome or not. All I know is that his voice is a little high-pitched, the kind of voice that sounds a little unreliable. If we were to just talk on the phone, I would probably think he didn't take anything seriously.
"You're a person of few words, aren't you?"
"I don't know what to say."
"But you accepted to have lunch with me."
Well, you invited me... Of course I didn't say it out loud, because I know we should know what to say and what not to say. Some things are better kept to ourselves.
"Anyway, thanks for agreeing to have lunch with me."
.
.
