Within My Stratosphere • SOTUS

Chapter 20. Pink Lotus

[Kongpob]

The difference in the level of pain he felt between, not being able to see Arthit because he couldn't find him, and not seeing him even though he could; the second one was so much worse.

It nearly drove him mad when he lost Arthit the first time, but the type of sorrow he felt back then was much more bearable then the latter. That was because nobody's hand played a specific role in turning that occurrence into shit. Basically, it wasn't anybody's fault. Even if he had been aware of Arthit's situation, what could he have done? Arthit would not have accepted a strangers help so easily; he would have rejected him without a second thought.

The reason he was suffering this time around, was his own fault. If he had just cast everything aside when he had the chance, he wouldn't have had to feel this sort of anguish. He had chose to give Arthit his space; he had chosen this path.

That was what made this experience ten times more excruciating. It was his own damn fault; which was why he was currently now on his way to see Arthit. Two weeks and two days had been his limit. After day three hit, he felt like he wasn't going to make it anymore. He needed to see Arthit.

[Location: Macau]

Arthit looked as beautiful as he had last seen him.

Standing off to the side, Kongpob slowly folded his arms as he leaned his back against a wide, marble column. He wondered how long it would take before Arthit noticed his presence. His target was currently in a daze, dragging his feet along the floor; he must not have been getting very much sleep lately. Kongpob remembered seeing Arthit looking similarly tired at their work-related retreat in Chiang Mai.

Probing his memory, Kongpob deduced that the common denominator then and now, was Arthit's senior, Khun Bright. It was either that, or Arthit had trouble sleeping outside of his own home; which he doubted was true. After all, during their first date a few weeks back, Arthit had fallen asleep inside his car just fine. Kongpob tilted his head to side, examining Arthit's demeanor. He looked like a newborn puppy, whose main obligation in life: sleeping, had been forcefully taken away. He was so freaking adorable.

Kongpob straightened his back when Arthit lethargically glanced over in his direction. He seemed to have seen him... but he wasn't reacting much; just starring. After briefly contemplating if he should continue to wait for Arthit to respond or not, Kongpob decided that he couldn't delay any further. Pushing off from the marble post, he took large strides, heading over to the shorter counterpart.

In no time, he was standing in front of Arthit, who had his eyes squeezed shut with a wrinkle creased in between the middle of his brows. God. He wanted to touch him, hug him close, and kiss him senselessly. From up close, he could see the weary dark circles shaded beneath Arthit's lashes. His heart wrenched as the urge to kiss those shadows away teemed inside of him evermore.

Only now did he realize that the person in the text messages and behind them were different. The person in the messages always exuded positivity and liveliness; the 'I'm fine' persona. The person behind the messages; the real one, was the complete opposite.

The sudden desire to take care of Arthit, to give him the environment where he didn't have to put on a false front anymore— for whatever reason, overwhelmed his emotions as it shook his body to the core. He could feel his heart growing even larger with love for Arthit; there didn't seem to be a limit.