Call You Mine

Chapter Nine

The cinema was a hectic place filled with noisy crowds, bright lights, and the thick scent of buttered popcorn—all of which seemed to aggravate Arthit's already nausea-inducing headache. Hunched forward, Arthit sat with his arms resting on his thighs and lightly massaged his forehead as he waited to be called back for his interview. He and another candidate were waiting next to a door labeled 'Employees Only' in big, bold letters, and Arthit noticed with a mild sense of annoyance that the other guy was completely at ease and relaxed.

Arthit cursed him under his breath.

A young girl walked up to them and, in a meek voice, asked, "Is this where we should wait for an interview...?" The other person must've nodded, because she thanked them and sat down between them. She tilted her head to the side, looking at Arthit curiously. "My name's Jane. What's yours?"

"I'm sorry," said Arthit, continuing to rub his forehead. "Can you please not talk to me?"

If he offended her, Arthit didn't care. His head throbbed, and he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Kongpob had spent the night in his bed. For all he knew, the alpha was still there, slumbering peacefully past noon—unlike Arthit, who desperately wished otherwise.

This was all Bright and Tutah's fault. Why had they insisted on going out? Why had he agreed when he knew he didn't have time for that shit?

Arthit groaned low in his throat and brought both hands up to rub his temples in vague hopes that it might assuage his pain and suffering. Last night was a disaster, and he regretted everything. Arthit squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could forget all of it. Unfortunately, the events of last night were too absurd to forget and were forever engraved in his memory.

~*~ LAST NIGHT ~*~

"Hey, Arthit." Bright jabbed him with his elbow and gestured at the other side of the bar. "Isn't that your boy 0062?"

Distracted by his phone, Arthit continued tapping away at the screen and absentmindedly said, "He's not 'my boy'." He pressed send and slipped it back in his pocket as he lazily looked in the direction Bright had indicated, half-expecting him to be full of shit.

He wasn't. Across the bar was a familiar group of juniors, all sitting together at a table covered in empty bottles and partially filled glasses. Arthit automatically zeroed in on Kongpob, who was sitting with his back facing them. He had changed into casual wear, and Arthit couldn't help but notice that his loose, dark-colored v-neck exposed the skin normally covered by his shirt collar.

Arthit lightly slapped Prem's arm to get his attention. "Hey, didn't you say those juniors were complaining about not having enough time to do their homework?"

"Yeah."

All of them exchanged sly looks. This was a perfect opportunity to mess with those troublesome juniors.

"C'mon," said Arthit. "Let's go have some fun."

As they approached, one of Kongpob's friends—Tew, 0058—was finishing up a story in which he suddenly needed to shout, "Be silent! Every one of you, keep your heads down!"

Oak lifted his hand as if to hit Tew over the head, laughing. "I should just smack you, man."

"He's dead, but he's still hazing?" M asked, doubling over in laughter. "That's crazy!"

Arthit couldn't see Kongpob's expression, but he hadn't heard his laughter join the others and his head shook briefly before lifting up his glass. He must not have found it as funny as the others did.