SOTUS: The University Days (and Other Universes)

Slip of the Tongue

"Yes, mae. I will visit when I have time."

Arthit is talking to his mother.

"Probably, next Saturday."

His workload keeps him away from his family.

"I can't promise, mae."

And he might try to grow out of his childish image.

"Alright. I promise."

But deep inside...

"Love you."

...he's still his parents' only baby boy.

While it isn't usual for men of his age to say "I love you" to their mothers, Arthit retained it and says it every time they end a call. He just misses his parents so much but is kept from seeing them by the middle-class corporate adult life.

He hangs up and drops his body on his bed. He took work stuff to his apartment the previous night because his higher-ups need his reports finished by Monday, so despite it being the weekend, he's still working and only took a break when his mother called.

It's 5 PM, and it's almost time for dinner, but Arthit doesn't have time to cook nor to buy food outside, so he decides to order pizza. He thinks he deserves it anyway. A whole four-cheese pie with Angus beef and bell peppers can probably console him from his sorry adult state.

"Hello, this is Big Phi's. What can I get you?"

It's the small pizza parlor down the road. Their pizza always tastes like homemade, so Arthit's officemates love ordering from them.

"Yes, can I get a large four-cheese with added Angus beef and bell peppers? For delivery."

"Sure. That's a large four-cheese with Angus beef and peppers. Anything else?"

There's something very comforting about how the pizza guy repeated his order. His voice is sweet, and Arthit can't help but smile because of it.

"Hello?"

"Ah, no. That's... that's it."

"Alright. Can I get an address?"

"Of course," Arthit pauses to make sure the guy on the other end of the line is ready to write down the address. "Unit 306, Sunshine Bldg., Nak Niwat 38 Alley, Lat Phrao."

"Oh, you're just down the road."

Arthit chuckles. "Ah yes."

"And I'll be looking for?"

"Arthit. Arthit Rojnapat."

"Got it. By the way, we are understaffed today, so it will probably take more than half an hour. I'm so sorry."

Arthit feels like the pizza guy is terribly apologetic, and with that calming voice, he can't just complain despite his hunger. "It's alright. No problem," he says.

"Thank you. I will call you on this number when I'm already in your building."

Arthit nods. "Thanks! Love you!"

Arthit's words register just as he's hanging up. Did he really say "love you" to a stranger?

Is it possible to die of embarrassment? Or possibly to be swallowed by the ground?

Arthit stares at his phone, feeling his face heat up. He palms his face, not knowing what to do. Should he call again and clarify, or should he just pretend it didn't happen? Maybe the latter? Right, maybe it is. He resorts to facing his laptop again to busy himself. This way, he thinks he can forget the foolishness he has just said.

After a few minutes, he's successful in putting the incident at the back of his mind, and he manages to finish a small chunk of his work. He's about to move to his next task when his phone rings.

"Hello?" Arthit answers.

"Hi! This is me. I have your pizza." It's the same pizza guy earlier. He's not joking that they are understaffed.

Now, Arthit doesn't know how to face the guy. Did the guy hear it? Does he remember? What happened earlier floods his mind, putting him in a stunned state, leaving the guy waiting for his response.

"Hello?"

"Oh, sorry." Arthit has no other choice. "Yes, you may go up."

After the call, Arthit fixes his hair and readies his wallet. Then, after a little more than a minute, someone knocks on his door.

With his little bravery, Arthit opens it, and he's shocked upon seeing the face of the pizza guy. He's tall and handsome and has this very sweet smile, as sweet as his voice. He's wearing this black and yellow uniform shirt, and "Kongpob" is written on his name tag.

"Large four cheese with extras for Arthit Rojnapat," the pizza guy named Kongpob says.

"Uhm, that was... that was fast."

The pizza guy smiles. "Well, I really wanted to meet the guy who said he loves me even before our first date."

He remembers.

Arthit's face reddens fast, and he hides it with his hand. "I didn't— there wasn't— I'm so sorry!"

Kongpob chuckles, and even his chuckles sound sweet. "It's okay. I'm just kidding, and your looks definitely make up for it."

Arthit's face reddens more as he checks himself wearing just an old white shirt and boxer shorts. In a desperate attempt to escape the situation even just for a second, he takes the box of pizza from Kongpob and quickly places it on the table near his bed. When Arthit comes back, he's pretty sure Kongpob is grinning as if he saw something beautiful.

He wants to ask about it but decides not to. He wants this embarrassment to end, but somehow also not. "Uhm, how much is it?"

"470 baht."

Arthit takes the money from his wallet and hands it to Kongpob. "Thanks," he mumbles.

"Thank you," Kongpob answers back, again, with his comforting voice. Then, he winks...

"And love you, too."