By Your Side ✧⁠*⁠。

Episode 28

A few days had passed, and things had finally settled down. Perth and Aou’s friendship had grown stronger, and their group of friends—Perth, Pond, Phuwin, Est, Gemini, and Aou—felt closer than ever. After all the tension between Perth and Aou, they could finally be happy and tease each other without any awkwardness. 

Perth had also taken a big step by telling his parents, Ariya and Arthit, about his relationship with Santa. During the phone call, Ariya let out an ear-piercing scream of excitement, causing Perth to flinch and pull the phone away from his ear. "Finally! My baby boy is dating Santa! I've been waiting for this day!" she exclaimed, her voice full of joy. Arthit, overhearing the conversation, chimed in from the background, "Does this mean I finally have a son-in-law? Woohoo! Finally!" Perth couldn’t help but chuckle at his father’s dramatic celebration, rolling his eyes affectionately. 

On the other hand, Santa also called his parents, Ploy and Min, to share the news. When he told them, Ploy screamed so loudly during the FaceTime call that Santa nearly dropped his phone. Min, meanwhile, started dancing around the house in a mix of celebration and comedic moves, singing, "My baby has a boyfriend! My baby has a boyfriend!" Santa laughed so hard at his parents’ over-the-top reactions that tears streamed down his face. 

At the university, Aou had been hanging out more with Santa, Chokun, Aston, Fourth, Dew, and Mark at their faculty café. Over lunch, Aou loved teasing them, especially about their glowing, happy faces. "You all look like newlyweds," he joked, smirking as Aston, Fourth, and Santa blushed deeply while Chokun just smirked back and flirted shamelessly with Aston. Dew, however, groaned and brought up his ongoing frustration. 

"It's great for them, but do you know how tired I am of Est ? He always brings William to our room and...being busy together, and I end up having to crash in Mark’s room!" Dew complained, shaking his head. 

Santa chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I get it, Phi Dew. William’s practically living in Phi Est’s room now." 

"Thanks for feeling bad for me, Ta," Dew replied sarcastically, which made everyone burst out laughing. 

Over the weekend, the group—Perth, Santa, Est, William, Pond, Phuwin, Gemini, Fourth, and Aou—often hung out together. They rotated their spots, sometimes lounging in the park at Chulalongkorn University, other times under a big tree at the campus, and occasionally in a cozy café nearby. During one café outing, a cute waiter caught Aou’s eye. As the boy brought their drinks, Aou asked, "What’s your name?" 

The boy smiled warmly and replied, "Boom," before walking off to serve another table. 

Aou turned to the group, a dreamy look in his eyes. "I think I’m in love," he declared. 

Perth, Est, Pond, Phuwin, and Gemini groaned in unison, while Santa, William, and Fourth couldn’t stop laughing. 

Sometimes, Perth, Santa, Est, William, Phuwin, Gemini, and Fourth would watch Pond, Aou, Dew, Win, Mark, AJ, JJ, and Ohm during football practice on the university field. It became a fun group activity, with everyone showing support. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Currently, Santa, Chokun, Aston, and Fourth were attending Mr. Tay’s class. They paid attention through the lecture, but relief washed over them when class finally ended. They headed to the faculty café for lunch, grabbing food and sitting at a table. Aou, Mark, and Dew soon joined them, and they all began to eat together. 

"We have football training today," Aou announced. "Do you guys want to come?" 

Chokun and Aston nodded eagerly. "Yeah, sure," Santa replied with a smile.