Mingkwan

Part 2

PART 2

Move in day and I’m still sitting on the damn waiting list for Yo’s dorm. It’s not so bad where I’m going to be living since I, at least, have an elevator but I worry about my friend. Wayo is so innocent and gullible at times. He has a really hard time saying no to people because he worries about their feelings, even if it’s not in his best interest. There’s nothing I can do for now, short of moving into his room but it’s not really big enough for two people.

Wayo is more upset over this than I am but he’s determined to prove that he will be fine on his own. His father insisted on having some of his workers help Yo move into his new place, especially after learning that his son is on the fifth floor with no elevator. That takes one worry off my mind as I carry the last box up to my room.

It doesn’t take long to put everything away. I didn’t bring a ton of things with me other than the necessities. Clothes, toiletries, school supplies, bedding, and laptop bag will get me through for now and I can get anything else from home or the store on the weekend.

Flopping onto the small, dark gray sofa, I take out my phone and shoot a text over to Wayo to see if he’s done yet. Within seconds, my phone beeps back with his response saying he has a few more things to organize but it’s nothing that has to be done immediately. It’s almost lunchtime so I ask if he wants to meet up. Wayo being Wayo, he does not pass up the opportunity to eat so we make plans to meet at the luncheonette just off campus near his dorm.

“P’Pha lives in my dorm!” These are the first words out of his mouth as soon as I reach the table he’s sitting at waiting for me. I haven’t even sat down yet.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Setting my drink on the table, I get comfortable in my seat as this looks like it might be a long conversation. Yo will want to rehash every single detail about what happened and how the guy looked, probably a few times over, before he is satisfied.

"I don't know. You know what I’m like.” Yo slumps into his seat and plays with the straw in his pink milk. “He walked up to the building looking so handsome and I stared like an idiot, not saying a word. He walked right past me and said something about being a spoiled brat and having people move me instead of doing it myself. After spending so much time liking him and talking to him in my head, I called him on his shitty comment.”

“Seriously? Never mind, don’t answer that. I can totally believe it since it’s you.” My Yo isn’t someone that will roll over and let that kind of comment pass. He spent too much time dealing with people judging him and assuming what he’s like without actually knowing the first thing about him. Not even his first love would be exempt from his sharp tongue if Wayo feels like he’s being treated unfairly.

“He fucking called me Shorty! I’m not short!” Yo sits up as straight as he can and glares at me as if I made the comment. This is not the time to point out that he is shorter than both p’Phana and myself. It’s true though that he is not short by most people’s standards. “He’s just freakishly tall! I can still punch him!”

“You didn’t!” I say, shocked at the idea that Yo would hit his crush on their first reunion. Not shocked that he would hit him, but that he would do it at that time.

“I didn’t. I already screwed up bad enough as it is. P’Pha is never going to like someone like me. Not only am I a boy when he only likes girls, I was a jerk and threatened to hit him.” Slumping down in his seat again, Yo pouts into his cup. “Who does that to the person they like?”

“Apparently, you do,” I say laughing and hold up a hand in peace when he scowls at me. “Maybe this is a good thing.”

“How can it be good when it is so very bad?” A dejected Wayo is enough to break my heart. It not something I can stand to see.

“Think about it, ai’Yo. All those other people chasing after p’Phana are probably always treating him sweet and letting him get his way with everything. You standing up for yourself and even being a jerk will set you apart from them. It will make him remember you from now on. You no longer will be one of many in the crowd of his fans.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You are a prick. You will never be one to sweet talk so there’s no point in trying to be. Just to say something like, ‘p’Pha krub, please go out with me, na krub’ would take you three days and three nights to prepare yourself. Right?” Wayo opens his mouth to respond but I continue without waiting for him. “Talking as your asshole self makes the conversation move smoothly, even though he will think you are the freshy from hell. Trust me. He will notice you and eventually he will see you for who you truly are and fall for you. You are not a hard person to love, ai’Yo.”

Wayo still looks doubtful at my words but he is calmer. While what I said is the truth, it does not sit well with me. I have no doubts that Phana will fall for my friend if he gives him a chance. Wayo is the cutest person with the warmest heart that I know. The thought of others realizing it makes me want to hide him away but I can't do that. He's not mine.