The aroma of Auntie Ja's cooking drifted in from the kitchen.
Rak's voice was full of complaints as he spoke to Nut. Mix was eating the prepared ingredients and getting scolded by Nut.
It was a noisy morning.
The lotuses in the pond gently lifted their heads toward the light.
Artit and Toffee were still sleeping.
The curtains gently let in the morning light.
Toffee slowly opened his eyes. He was still in Artit's arms. He gently tried to move Artit's hands, which were holding him tightly.
Just then, Toffee noticed the wounds on Artit's fingers.
That's when Toffee glanced around the room. White cloths were scattered everywhere.
After a long struggle to free himself from Artit's arms, he crawled toward the pile of cloth. He took one, then turned back to glance at Artit.
He carefully examined the cloth.
Tears fell from his eyes—it was Artit's blood. Toffee clutched the cloth tightly. His sobbing made Artit wake up. Artit's eyes were blurred from dryness.
He saw Toffee crying, holding the cloth.
"Toffee… why are you crying?"
Artit hugged him from behind, trying to comfort him. "Toffee, don't cry…"
Toffee touched the hands that were holding him and turned back. He gazed at Artit and touched his face. Artit slowly leaned in and kissed Toffee's lips, sharing the dryness between them.
Toffee sat on Artit's thigh, their lips still brushing against each other.
Their breathing grew heavier. The white cloth was still clutched in Toffee's hand when a sound came from his stomach.
His stomach growled...
Artit slowly pulled back his lips. Toffee felt betrayed. His eyes were still closed as he spoke, "Why did you stop…?"
His stomach growled again...
Toffee looked down at his stomach. "I think I'm hungry…" He bit his lip.
Artit laughed softly, pulled him close, and kissed him all over.
They got ready to go back. As they walked through the hall, Toffee's eyes stayed on the half-finished paintings of Daeng. His eyes narrowed, and he sulked.
"Toffee… what's wrong?"
"When did you draw all this? Tell me honestly…" Toffee side-eyed him.
"It was before I found you. Toffee… don't tell me you're jealous," Artit whispered near his ear.
Toffee avoided his gaze. "No… why would I be? Silly…" he muttered.
"Let's go. I'm hungry." Toffee looked at Artit.
As they walked, Artit turned back for a moment, then looked at Toffee beside him.
He held Toffee's hand tightly. Toffee looked at him as if asking, "What's wrong?" Artit shook his head, as if to say it was nothing.
The two of them walked away, as if a withered flower had come back to life.
Inside Artit's bedroom, Artit and Toffee were sitting on the bed.
Artit's eyes were fixed on Toffee like a hungry wolf. Toffee was carefully treating Artit's fingers.
"Phi… can't you look somewhere else?"
"How can I, when something is shining right in front of me?" Artit smiled as he spoke.
"When did Mok leave? He didn't even tell me… betrayer…" Toffee muttered, then looked at Artit.
Artit pointed at himself. "Me?"
"No, Mok…" Toffee whispered.
"Toffee, why are you wearing my shirt?" Artit asked, his hand moving to Toffee's thigh. He quickly pulled his hand back, used the same hand he touched him with and covered his mouth, whispering, "Why aren't you wearing anything underneath…?"
"It's hot… I don't want to…" Toffee said. "There, all done. You need to be careful. What if it gets worse?" He gently kissed Artit's fingers again and again.
Artit's ears were already red.
He quickly covered his ears and swallowed hard.
"Phi, are you okay? You're sweating a lot…"
Avoiding Toffee's gaze, Artit asked, "Did you take your medicine?"
"Mm… P'Nut already gave it to me."
"Okay… that's… that's good…" Artit said, then laughed awkwardly.
Toffee slowly placed his hands over Artit's shoulders, as if he wanted to ask something.
But then… Artit interrupted, "You have so many questions, right? Didn't I say I will tell you everything?"
Tears fell as Toffee listened, everything—how his parents died and what Artit went through after.
"Toffee… don't cry…"
"You are not crying, Phi… so I am crying…"
Toffee tried to calm down as Artit comforted him.
"Toffee, I'm actually worried… if you get your memories back, will you be okay? Will you hate me? I'm scared to face you…"
"When I got my memories back, it was really hard. It felt like I had lived as someone else. Everything felt unfamiliar… I didn't feel anything."
"I forgot how to speak, how to use emotions. It was really hard. But the people around me didn't give up on me, even when I gave up on myself…"
"I didn't see my parents at the end. I refused… because I felt it was my fault…"
"Phi…" Toffee's tears were still falling. "Is it… is it Thanat? Did Thanat kill your parents?" he asked, taking a deep breath.
"Mm… he did…"
"Did you hate him?" Toffee gently touched Artit's face.
"No… I don't. It's not his fault… it's mine…"
Toffee hugged him tightly. "It's no one's fault… Don't blame yourself. It's enough that you're alive…"
Toffee wiped his eyes and touched Artit's chest. "Does it still hurt?"
"No… after you fell unconscious, I didn't feel any chest pain. It's like nothing ever happened…"
"Did you know… I saw you years ago?" Artit's words surprised Toffee.
"When? When did you find me? I mean…"
"Well… you don't remember. It was your first piano competition day. Don't you remember? You came to Phassakorn School for it."
"I couldn't take my eyes off you… and many others couldn't either…"
As Artit said that, Toffee hit his chest lightly. "Phi…"
"Oh… Toffee, it hurts…" Toffee quickly rubbed Artit's chest. "Phi, are you okay?"
"Mm… I'm okay, but I'm serious. You really look cute… Artit's face looked like a sad puppy. "But even though you looked the same… What if I was wrong? So I didn't get close to you…"
"Then how did you know it was me?" Toffee asked, playing with Artit's Adam's apple.
"Wait… Toffee…"
"Tell me… Phi…"
"Well… One time I saw you cry, it hurts me. Physically."
"It's really painful. I always have chest pain during my birth month, almost every day. But when you cry, it becomes even more painful. Everyone was worried that day—it wasn't even my birth month…"
Suddenly, Artit held his hand. "Toffee, let me be honest… The moment I saw you, I knew it was you. I just didn't want to accept it. What if I hurt you…? I'm scared of myself."
"Every time I try to distance myself from you, it hurts even more. So I just watch you from afar… I just want to see you smile."
"The more I see you, the more I fall… Toffee, I've loved you for years. It's just… I'm scared to ask."
"This is me… the real me…"
Artit cleared his throat with a playful look.
"After that, I just followed you… What else could I do? You didn't even notice me, even when I was really close sometimes…"
"Toffee, you never look around, do you?" Artit pouted.
Toffee wiped his tears and moved closer.
"Phi… don't be like this…"
Toffee slowly brushed his lips against Artit's throat.
Artit swallowed hard. The half-buttoned oversized black shirt Toffee was wearing and he wasn't wearing anything underneath.
Suddenly, Artit pulled him away. "I… I have some work to do."
He avoided Toffee's eyes, rubbing the back of his head.
"So… Toffee, get some rest. You're not fully healed yet…"
As he said that, Artit quickly opened the door and walked out, his body became hotter.
"That was close… I need to control myself… Toffee needs rest, I need to control... I have time...I need to control..."
"But how can I…" he muttered as he hurried away.
Toffee, still sitting on the bed, looked confused. He slowly buttoned his shirt and looked at himself.
"I'm not that attractive…Why is he avoiding me…?" he muttered.
"Phi Artit… do you think you can run away?" Toffee smiled slightly.
"Didn't he feel anything after seeing me like this? How can you refuse someone this cute? I need another plan…"
Toffee smirked. Even though the room felt chilly, he didn't feel cold.
It was already noon.
It didn't feel like Toffee—the same person who was crying and weak before.
Now he had more energy than ever. He was helping Auntie Ja in the kitchen, smiling and giggling.
Artit stood upstairs, watching him, lost in that smile. Behind him, Nut was trying hard not to laugh.
Night fell...
After everything was done, Artit went into the room.
Toffee was under the blanket. Artit closed the door and could hear Toffee smiling and the sound of crunching from under the blanket.
Artit slowly slipped under the blanket. Toffee paused his phone and looked at him.
Toffee was on his phone, eating snacks.
"Toffee, didn't you eat an hour ago?" Artit blinked.
"So what? Can't I eat now?" Toffee said, taking a piece of snack and munching.
Artit looked at him. 'Cute…' He cleared his throat. "But you said you were full…"
Toffee looked into Artit's eyes, then suddenly got out.
"Yes, sir…" he said without hesitation.
Toffee was left under the blanket while Artit stood outside.
"Oh my God… I forgot I'm not in my house…"
"You fool, Toffee…" he muttered, hitting the bed lightly.
Artit heard it and mumbled, "Cute… Is this what married life feels like…?"
He looked at the blanket as Toffee kept hitting the bed. Then, in a soft voice, Artit said, "I'm going to freshen up… do you want to join?"
Toffee blushed from head to toe. "No… no… no…"
Artit smiled teasingly and went to freshen up.
Artit came out and looked at the bed. He slowly pulled the blanket.
In one hand, Toffee was holding his phone. In the other, he was tightly gripping the snack packet. He was already asleep.
Artit touched his nose. "Did you use all your energy today…? I wonder where he got all that energy… Cute…"
He gently took the phone and tried to take the snack packet, but Toffee wouldn't let go.
He was holding it tightly. After a small struggle, Artit finally got it.
He looked at the snack, then at Toffee. "Do I need to buy this company or something…" he muttered.
He shook his head and lay down beside Toffee.
"Did he brush his teeth…" Artit wondered as he gently wiped Toffee's face.
Toffee suddenly hugged Artit tightly.
Artit hugged him back and kissed his hair. "Sleep tight…"
But Artit couldn't sleep.
"I need another plan… Nut's plan won't work. How can I ask him out…?"
It became a sleepless night for Artit. He kept thinking about how to ask Toffee to be his boyfriend.
But the answer was simple.
He just had to ask.
Toffee searched the internet all day on how to ask someone out, but he kept getting distracted by food. Even so, he tried hard and overthought everything.
Both Artit and Toffee were overthinkers.