Sotus After Story

Chapter-6 Arthit

Walking along the empty streets ain't that spooky as it sounds. Cool breeze of dawn slightly touched my cheeks & sent a chill down my body. It was my first day in office after the short vacation & fortunately I lost my car keys. Which was good indeed or else I'd be never taking a walk in the nature. I kept half jogging & half walking in order to avoid being late. The craziest of all was my fortune. I lost my car keys, which was cool but there was not a single cab on the street. Which was super uncool.
I double pressed the elevator button as I reached my office. It was stuck somewhere in between 18th & 19th floor. I jinxed myself again for this devastating situation but I was also relieved at the same time to cover half an hour drive in just 45minutes. But this elevator made me wait for another 10 minutes. When the elevator reached ground floor 10minutes later, and I was supposed to put a step inside, some office staffs came rushing. I fought inside the extremely crowded elevator just to make a little space for my own. Thankfully it didn't exceed my time limit, if it took more than 3 minutes to reach then I'd have die out of suffocation.
I inhaled & exhaled really quick as I successfully made it out of the combat.
****
Bright was sitting on his desk, his face buried with some files. His presence made me realize how stupid I was not to call him to pick me up in the morning. I took the spare file resting on his table and uttered.
"I was called in by the boss."
"I know right?"
He giggled still busy over checking the papers.
"Where is Belle?"
"Search for yourself," he retorted somewhat annoyingly.
I was not in the right mood to look for her, I put my checked files on the table, & gestured P'Mack to pass me the rest.
                                           *****
One my way home Kongpob called me twice, first to ask if it'd be okay to pick me up. But I rejected his offer as I assured him that Bright will drop me on his way home. The latter one was to make sure of what I said.
Bright wasn't that type of guy to cook dinner at home. Usually he had his dinner either at street stall or at a restaurant. As I was with him I was super sure about us having dinner together. Unexpectedly he was kind enough that day to allow me to pick a place. I kept on searching for one while he kept on driving pretty slowly. Finally a "shushi" restaurant caught my eyes & I pointed that to him.
I almost started to drool after smelling the rich aroma of various kinds of shushi. Temaki is my all time favorite, while Kongpob loves Uramaki. Without feeling the urge to have a look at the menu I waved the waiter and told him to bring Temaki & Japanese tea. Bright intervened in the middle by ordering Shashimi for him.
While the food took time to be served, we engaged into a little chitchat. Mostly, about office. He seemed quite eager about succeeding the upcoming target he was assigned with.
"Don't you think you're being too serious about this project?" I stated.
"Weren't you serious in your time? Let me remind you, you shifted to Chiangmai leaving your boyfriend behind!"
Though he said it jocularly but it nowhere sounded near joke. Instead it was like a pinch of truth which did hurt a little. A little, because he was my bestest friend with a bitter mouth.
I was willing to retort but I couldn't, as he was not wrong.
The waiter finally arrived with the food. He kept on serving as Bright uttered,
"This project is very important for me, at least in order to prove my worth."
It did fret me a little. "Whom is he trying to prove his worth?" Despite of my eagerness I ended up asking,
"What happened?"
"Belle left for Chingmai."
"Well she had to, you weren't expecting her to stay here until both of you grow old?"
"But..."
"But what? Wait....Did you propose her?"
"I was about to....?"
He stammered. His face felt a little gloomy.
"She already has a boyfriend."
"I'm so sorry, mate!"
I was actually feeling sorry after learning out the truth. I was about to ask him about how it happened, but he uttered himself out without giving me the scope to speak. After all he was Bright, he'd always speak as much as he want without giving others the opportunity. I smirked a little despite of feeling somewhat bad for him.
"When you and your clingy boyfriend left for this honeymoon...."
"He's not clingy! And it was a vacation! Not a honeymoon."
"Okay! I got it." He sighed.
I felt a bit pity on him, not for how he got rejected even before getting the chance to express his feelings but for the unfortunate encounter that he had with Belle's boyfriend. It was like chilly on the top instead of cherry. I could feel his pain though I never wished the same for me.
*****
Kongpob opened the door after three hard knocks on the door. Apparently, we weren't living together. It was just that I loved to stay at his place when it was too late to get home. I was too lethargic to make a bed or clean the mess in my room. So it was also a way to escape from these tasks. On the other hand, Kongpob always made the bed on time & his room was way more clean than a hospital. It always smelled so good to be in his condo. It obviously poured a thought in my mind of living together, but I was too shy to ask him that. I was never brave as him, ever!
"Take a shower."
He commanded laying on the bed, probably ready for sleep.
I was feeling too tired to get a shower. After all I went to work after about a week of "doing-almost-nothing."
I quickly put my bag on the table next to the bed & jumped like a kid on the bed, on him. He was now lying just beneath me, his body pressed against mine. And his face just an inch away.
"What are you doing, P?"
He mumbled softly.
"I don't know."
I idiotically replied. Sometimes, I act a little too weird, and I regret it later for behaving like that. But with him I don't think it's worth to regret later. As he's just no one to regret about.
"Then you should know."
He whispered even more softly, & pulled me closer to him.

Hey, guys! I'm so sorry for updating my chapters this late. But my school exam is just a month away, so I'm burdened up with study pressure. But once I'm done with it, I'll write longer chapters & update them super quick. After all, this story is infinitely long!! I hope you guys are never disappointed. Just share all your opinions & love you all ❤️