A Few Words

v

when kongpob asked him to be the best man to his wedding, em was excited.

of course he'll accept it. kongpob is his best friend to begin with, and it's an honor having a huge part in kongpob's wedding.

he just forgot that all best men have to give speeches.

em is not one to give public speeches. that's kongpob's thing, and as prem hands him over the mic, it took all of em's remaining courage not to faint on the spot.

he thanks prem, scanning the crowd before him as he taps the mic awkwardly with a chuckle when it gives a feedback.

"hello," he waves a hand, trying to reign in his nerves by chuckling. "my name is em, and I'm kongpob's bestman."

he turns to his best friend and gives him a smile. "kongpob, congratulations . . . and p'arthit as well."

there's a chorus of chuckle from the audience, and em wishes for it to be over. he smiles awkwardly towards arthit's direction and his senior returns it with a closed-lipped one.

unlike tew, he's never really gotten over his irrational fear over arthit. to em, arthit is still that terrifying senior they had during their freshman days.

but he has to compose himself to give his speech. this is kongpob and arthit's day, and em doesn't want to embarrass them.

"i was with kongpob when he studied in china a couple of years ago," starts em, trying to recall the speech he's prepared earlier.

"it was hard," when he chuckles, his eyes crinkle. em looks over at kongpob to find his best friend nodding with a laugh. "i didn't know what was going through my head at that time when i took that opportunity."

"but i'm glad i did," em continues. "not only did i learn a lot – kongpob had to help me with most of my papers, but that's beside the point. i get to be with my best friend during one of the most trying times he had."

he shares a knowing smile with kongpob before proceeding. "it was a two year course, and at that time, kongpob and p'arthit's relationship were already at that point where they're stable enough to proceed with their own life, and also fragile enough that with just a misstep, it could all crumble down."

"i was glad that they made it work out."

em sees arthit inching closer against kongpob. he knows the story of what had happened that night – kongpob had told him. he's just glad that they resolved it.

"so . . . the thing that i'm about to share was when i noticed kongpob browsing through flights back to thailand . . .

--

his best friend was a strong man. kongpob had always persevered even through the hardest of times, and he's always been a resilient guy, but that didn't mean kongpob's invulnerable to the cracks of the human psyche.

em noticed some subtle changes on kongpob. he's not really a talkative guy – preferring to watch over people than interact with them, and that's what made him pay attention more to his surroundings, becoming more aware of his friend's 'aura.'

they were on the course's second year. time seemed to have flown by, and it'll only be a couple of months before they return home.

but the distance and time had seemed to be getting into his best friend.

at times, em could count how many times kongpob had looked over to his phone only to put it back down with a grunt or a dissatisfied huff.

he would notice kongpob eating less – or slower, playing with his food rather than finishing them, hiding behind the excuse that he was full and not hungry.