Look Beside You (Completed)

Chapter 24

Last year was the toughest time for Kimmon. A month before his fight with Tee happened, his mother died. The reason why he endured every bitter thing in his life was gone. As his mother left him, she brought with her his will to live as well.

On the day of the funeral, Kimmon remembered that day as a dark and cold one. He was the only person there. Although Tee came, Kimmon chased him away.

Not once did his father come. He waited, but he never came. His father was the man that his mother loved the most. She loved that man more than she loved her own son. But that man never came.

“Kimmon! Kim, open up!”

Kimmon woke up from his nightmare, panting heavily. Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead and it was getting hard for him to breathe properly.

“I’m getting in okay?”

Kimmon heard someone typing his door’s passcode. It must be Tee. Tee was the only person who knew his passcode anyway.

As his friend entered, terror overtook his face. Tee hurried towards his friend’s bedside and started to wipe Kimmon’s forehead with his palm. “What happened?”

Kimmon forced a smile as he replied, his voice hoarse. “I’m fine. Just a nightmare. Why are you here?”

“I was on my way to the market and I figured you might want to come. You’re going to buy flowers, right?”

Kimmon nodded. It’s been a year, huh.

*****

“Oh! Isn’t that your boyfriend?” Tee shouted and pointed towards a little guy in his uniform across the road, picking up papers on the ground. “Aren’t you going to help him? That’s a lot of papers.”

Kimmon chuckled at the sight of his boyfriend who, without a doubt, must be cussing under his breath.

Tee turned his head to his friend who just stood in his place and looked at his boyfriend with the softest eyes as if Copter was the only person he could see. Copter wasn’t doing anything amazing at all, he was just picking up papers, and Kimmon had just seen him yesterday yet he was staring at him like he had seen an angel doing miraculous things.

Tee fought the urge to roll his eyes at his mushy friend.

Tee wanted to take a picture of his friend’s foolish face but as he noticed Kimmon’s eyebrows twitch, Tee sensed something wrong.

Tee turned his head towards Copter’s direction. Mean. Mean was already there, helping Copter out. Before Tee could suggest to Kimmon that they go to the two, Kimmon was already walking towards the opposite direction.

Kimmon changed a lot ever since he left his father and his family. Yet one thing was difficult to change, getting insecure around his step-brother. Feeling small whenever he could feel his step-brother’s presence near him.

*****

“Phi Tee—”

“Son of a— Copter, what are you doing there?” Tee’s soul almost left his body at the sight of Copter standing outside the diner. Of all places where he could stand, Copter chose to stand beside the garbage bins where there were no lights at all. If it wasn’t for his expensive looking uniform, people might mistake him as a beggar.

“The diner looks busy so…”

Tee noticed at how Copter had timidly rubbed the nape of his neck and bit his lower lip, as if hesitating to ask something.