Chapter 22

Bold: The characters are speaking in English.

Dear Hummer… are you aware that P’Petch has… gosh, how embarra.s.sing… well, P’Petch has admired you for a long time now… Although a Hummer like you may appear super manly and super masculine, a cutesy guy like P’Petch has secretly fallen in love with you ever since he saw you stop at the red light by Arun Amarin intersection.

Dear Hummer… although you may look strong and burly enough to protect a frail man like P’Petch, P’Petch has never realized how soft and comfortable your seats are to his b.u.t.t before.

Oh Hummer… Hummer… although you may make P’Petch look like he's riding on the shoulders of G.o.dzilla, P’Petch is willing to offer up his body and soul in order to make you his. That said, how much dowry is your mother demanding?

“Quit making those dreamy eyes Petch, you look like an idiot.”

“Hummer, P’Petch has to leave this world of dreams now… a Kazakhstan G.o.dzilla is calling him.

“Who might you be referring to?” And then I cleared my throat as if nothing had happened; discreetly using the back of my hand to wipe the saliva drooling from my mouth. Hua… talk about getting in the way of my love life.

“Don’t just get on the car and do nothing, have you brought all of your belongings with you? Over there, go help Jessica carry her chest of clothes too.”

“Yes sir, yes sir.” I remarked with a hint of sarcasm. Good grief… couldn’t he let me have my moment of happiness for even a little bit?

As I walked away, I heard his voice in the distance say: “Don’t forget to go say goodbye to Jerry too.”

Jerry…? Huh? I thought that cow had been turned into a steak already. Upon approaching for closer inspection, the reddish-brown dairy cow greeted me by flapping its ears and swinging its tail. I wondered why this Danish breed of cow was so exceptionally smart? Despite drinking imported Danish milk all my life, it hasn’t made me noticeably any smarter. Perhaps the important nutrients responsible for nurturing the brain was destroyed during the shipping process? In any case, I waved bye-bye at Jerry. To which, of course, it flapped its ears back in response. Being this smart… if I asked for its hand, it would probably obey. After all… it could even speak Thai with me, hahaha.

Recalling Jerry, I held onto the optimistic thought that Alexey was maybe worried about me to some extent as well. If not, why would he have gone out to search for me so late at night?

At first, I was about to start sulking again, however, after thinking it over… it was better if I didn’t. I mean, he did placate me with a Hummer and its cushiony seats which were a blessing on my a.s.s. Ah… Alexey was going to drive? He can’t, I should be the one driving. Come sit in the back this instant. Don’t you know that a young master should sit in the backseat while a servant sits in the front? Come, come, sit down obediently now.

Naturally, he stared daggers at me.

“Over there, your car is that one.”

He pointed towards my BMW convertible, but I stubbornly held my ground with a glare, adamant on staying on the Hummer. Eventually, Viktar was the one to halt our brewing conflict by offering to drive my car back in my stead. Thus, I wound up sat with a face-splitting smile at the front of the Hummer… despite not being the driver, getting to sit upfront was nice as well.

“You can stop smiling now Petch, your mouth is about to split up to your ears.”

Jessica’s voice rang out from the backseat. I turned to give her a glare but… I  really couldn’t stop smiling, my jaw was stuck since last night.

This was due to… no one other than this hottie. Last night, he agreed to risk his life on the line by letting me–who had never driven a car larger than a Honda Jazz before–sit behind the wheel of a Hummer for the first time in my life. With just my feet touching the gas pedal, my limbs trembled and sweat profusely. Was I craving a Hummer or amphetamines? I couldn’t tell. Alexey instructed me step by step on the correct way to drive the car, it was the most patient I’ve seen him be since getting to know him. Despite the clunky start, eventually, the large vehicle brought the two of us to the top of the highest hill in the area as we waited together for the sun to set.

Wait, don’t puke just yet… it’s not as romantic as you think it is. Except, well… well it was pretty nice… We weren’t being overly sweet or lovey-dovey with each other–as if someone like that hottie would do something like that, no way, no way–but he gave me the answer to a question which had been lingering inside my heart.

All of you have viewed sunsets in beautiful and impressive places before right? Me too… Sure, it was beautiful, however, this gorgeous sight came with a feeling of inexplicable loneliness. I felt adrift like the round circle which was slowly disappearing into the horizon.

“Hey, don't you have work to do? Why decide to bring me out for a drive?”

“Mm, I’m taking a few days off for vacation.”

“Taking a vacation with me? Have you thought this through? There’s probably someone waiting for you in Astana, don’t you think?”

Truthfully… it was bugging me, it was bugging me a lot actually. If that man was so special to him, why wasn’t he there looking after him?

“There are hundreds of people waiting for me in Astana, I’m used it by now. Which person are you specifically referring to?” Grey eyes stared at me mischievously. Hmph… drop the clueless act.

I wasn’t ready to give up though… quickly choosing a photo in my camera for him to see, it was a photo of both of them hugging at the party.

“This person.”

“…”

“…” I went silent as well. As I expected, this person had some sort of influence on Alexey.

“…”

“If he’s… your important person, then there's no need for you to be wasting your time here with me.” I fought against my feelings to say these words out loud. But for what reason…? I was probably lonely. I was only an arm's reach away from him, yet it felt so much farther apart. “You’ve given me too much of your time, if I were him, I would be feeling displeased.”

“He has no right to be displeased at me.”

“Does this mean that I also have no right to be displeased at you too?” I was in a good mood just seconds ago, why did bringing up this topic cause my voice to tremble…? I didn't think I was such a weak person.

“Ethan is your model, there’s nothing more important than that.”

“He may be my model, but what is he to you?”

Good grief… this question was too vague wasn’t it? If this hottie answers by saying that they’re Facebook friends who play Farmville and Hay Day together, I wouldn’t know what to follow up my question with.

“We used to be friends… we were born on the same year, shared the same G.o.dfather, studied together, ate together, slept together, attended the same university together, had our clothes cut by the same tailor and shoes fitted at the same same store, oh… and we had the same president. Except, now we're not even friends. We only see each other out of necessity, anything else you want to know?”

“Really? Then… do you guys also wear the same size of underwear?”

The hottie smacked my head. “Cheeky kid.” But he had a smile on his face. “You’re very curious today.”

Alright… feel free to accuse me of being gullible but I believed him… Whether it was due to the large hand which held onto mine all throughout our short date, or the scarf that was wrapped around my neck as he patted my head, I didn’t want to be finicky about relationship stuff. Although I felt confused and a bit lost, let’s just say that I believed him for now. As for whether what he said was true or not, that can be proved later.

Our car was pa.s.sing through so many mountains that I was starting to feel drowsy. Suddenly, I heard Jessica produce a squealing sound from the back. Ahh! Petch, there’s a sheep farm too, how cute. Alexey dear, can we stop to get some photos with these small sheep, pretty please? Her pleading voice came with the fluttering of her eyelashes, each strand curled seventy-five percent of the way with a Dior mascara.

Seeing as the owner of the car gave his permission… alright then. I slung my camera over one shoulder and attached my trusty lens, except, before I could get to work, the hottie walked over and nudged me.

“What are you in a hurry for? Go play with them first.”

“Hua… what grade do you think I’m in?”

However… upon merely climbing over the fence, the flock of sheep dispersed in a panic, crying ‘baa baa’ as they ran up the hills. They were sheep but they ran very fast, it would be a lot of trouble to capture even one of them. As for the person who initially had good intentions, he was laughing his stomach stiff near the edge of the fence. What are you laughing for!?

I brushed away the strands of gra.s.s stuck to my body before turning to meet, bang… Jessica lovingly kissing the forehead of a small pure white sheep as she beckoned me over. “Petch dear, the owner of the farm has given us permission to take photos with the sheep, come quick.”

I stared at the creature that was crying ‘baa baa’ in my arms. Ew… how could Jessica kiss this sheep, it smelled horrible. What kind of sheep looked cute but also so foul to kiss? It turns out, in the instant when the owner of the farm turned around to see me holding his sheep, he quickly grabbed his rake and swung it at me as if to shoo me away. As if I would obediently stay still to get hit. Hurriedly, I began to run away with the sheep still in tow, only realizing later that the more I ran, the angrier he became. I reluctantly let go of the sheep and held my hands up in surrender, almost afraid to turn back and look…

Eh…? Why did the yelling from earlier suddenly die down? I gradually twisted my neck to look behind me, discovering that… um… Your Excellency, the civil servant was… uh… using the same rake to… uh… take care of his citizens and keep them peaceful by beating them into unconsciousness.

“Uh… Alexey… wasn’t that a bit too violent?” I asked sheepishly. However, if he hadn't used this method, my head would have likely been cracked open by now.

Your Excellency… shrugged his shoulder, making a slightly sorry face.

“Then… let’s run away, I don’t want to be interrogated on the basis of having a.s.saulted my own citizens.”

My fear was forgotten, replaced instead by a sharp headache…

So are you going to be a civil servant who serves their country and protects their citizens' rights, or a cold-blooded mafia gangster? Just chose one already, please!

“Now I can’t take photos with Mr. Sheep anymore, this is all your fault.”

I whined under my breath, trying to act nonchalant despite wanting throw Alexey out of the car.

Tch! If it wasn’t for the fact that I was riding my darling Hummer, I would be protesting a lot more… For now, I needed to be good, otherwise this hottie might take back my car!

…

Bangkok, Thailand.

This morning… Pun took two paracetamol pills and reckoned that he would have to take another one as a result of the silly kitty grinning next to him… Since arriving at the office today, Haru had caused nothing but chaos by prompting nearly half of the office to melt from a combination of his exuberant voice and bright smile; especially Mild who was prepared to buy out an entire shipment of cat food in order to raise this kitty. The boy was very endearing. Even when he accidentally spilled coffee on Pun’s MacBook keyboard… he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at him.

“Pun.”

Pun put a pause on his attempt to clean the keyboard that was covered in coffee. Who the h.e.l.l was bothering him now? He was currently having a headache, did they want to be bitten?

“Pun…”

Glancing up, he hurriedly clasped his hands together to make an elegant greeting. “h.e.l.lo P’Chid.”

“What’s wrong, are you not feeling well?”

“It’s nothing, I'm just a bit depressed because of the coffee spill.”

P’Chid nodded knowingly.

“Oh, has no one provided a desk for Haru yet? If he causes a mess on Petch’s workstation, it’ll be a problem if that monkey comes back to find his things missing, we’ll be hearing an earful.” Editor Chid turned to call someone over for help, but Meuk intervened first.

“P’Petch? Big or small, there’s nothing he doesn’t fuss over. Even if it’s something as insignificant as bird p.o.o.p falling on his free ice cream, you'll still be hearing a complaint about it.”

“Good point Meuk, I hate people who complain, therefore you should be the one to organize a table for Haru, just have him sit beside Pun. Oh hey… Pun, why are you frozen still? Clear your messy belongings out of the way, this is a workplace, not a storage room.” He wondered if P’Chid ingested something bad this morning. “Also, to whoever’s BMW that's currently parked blocking the CEO’s parking spot, you need move that too.”

Pun flinched then immediately sprinted downstairs… P’Chid must have definitely ingested something bad near Sasha’s luxury car!

Haru used his round eyes to survey the situation and mumbled quiveringly. “Boss is so stern these days~ It’s like he’s always in a sour mood.” His hands were fumbling around with Punnaphob's belongings, that was, until his gaze tripped on a stack of polaroid photos with a post-it note stuck to the top, it read: ‘Vol. 12’. As a result of his eager curiosity, Haru couldn’t resist examining the photos…

“Eh!!!”

His cry which resembled that of a cat being poured with hot water chimed simultaneously as the polaroid photos fell from his hands and scattered onto the floor.

Everyone’s eyes turned to focus on him.

Pun, who had just coincidentally emerged back into the office, was unprepared to have his body yanked, Haru asking with a trembling voice:

“P’Pun! P’Pun do you know this person too? P’Pun, answer Haru.”

A polaroid photo was stuffed in front of his face, his nose almost touching it. Once Pun managed to gather his thoughts, he quickly pushed both the kitty and the photo out of his s.p.a.ce.

“Wait, wait, what photo?” Upon clearly seeing the photo, he… turned around to confront the person who was suspensefully waiting to hear his answer. Pun’s brain, which was already muddled from seeing this guy’s face, was now straining harder.

“Uh… he’s a model… uh… well not really, he’s more like a special guest Haru.”

“I really want to meet him.” His alarmed voice evolved to sound almost imploring as he bowed and bowed again in deference. “Okay P’Pun? Please help me, I’m begging you.”

“He’s not easy to track down you know.” For the first time in many months, Pun lied. “He… really is a special guest, I don’t know how much I’ll be able to help you.”

Pun spoke evasively. However, in the end, he couldn't bear the boy’s pitiful gaze. d.a.m.n… why did he have to make those ‘Please take me home and raise me, I’ve been abandoned’ eyes!? His att.i.tude was like Petch’s to a T!

“P’Pun, your face is a tell-tale sign that you have Sasha’s phone number for sure… can Haru have it?”

As the end of that sentence was followed by a wide grin which displayed a bit of the kitty's fangs, hua… oh Punnaphob, you truly are weak when it comes to adorable cats and dogs…

“So how do you know him?”

“That’s a secret ❤ ❤ ❤” The kitty teased, saving the phone number into his iPhone with an expression of overwhelming happiness.

But wait, that sentence just now… what do those three hearts mean Haru!?

“P’Pun… arigato.”

Ugh, his head hurt! Somebody… send help.

…

Didn’t he say he was going to Vienna…?

Why wasn’t he picking up his phone? Making international calls from Thailand was expensive, didn’t Sasha know? No matter the provider, they all charged ridiculous prices.

You’ve run away to Mars haven’t you?! Answer the phone!

Punnaphob was so angry that his face was contorted. Hanging up the tiny phone which he had borrowed from his younger brother in frustration, he fumbled around with the keypad for a long while, typing and erasing over and over again.

Haru, who was ordered to clean the cameras, could only watch, round eyes blinking rapidly. Even a chatterbox like Haru could tell that P’Pun was very frustrated, therefore, he decided to shut up obediently.

During midday when he went downstairs to eat lunch with P’Meuk and P’Mild, he was able to observe as the two of them gossiped wildly about P’Pun. As such, Haru had managed to glean a brief understanding of what was happening. First, P’Chid was currently displeased at P’Pun for being distracted at work. Typically, P’Pun was not the type to be overly attached to his lover, with the exception of one person… whose name was Sasha.

As for P’Pun? The man in question hadn’t yet realized that he was being monitored closely by his supervisor. Yeah, Haru didn’t want to poke his nose into other people’s business, but he reckoned that Sasha still hasn't changed, that man was still a charming playboy who flitted around like usual. In any case, P’Pun was much more deserving of sympathy, who knows when he would be kicked aside?

But regardless of how thrilling Sasha’s love life was, and regardless of how genuine or lighthearted P’Pun’s affection was, the most important point was that… if Sasha was here, was Eisbär, Haru’s Mr. Polar Bear whom he revered as a G.o.d somewhere around here as well…?

…

Frankfurt, Germany. Three hours before departing to Vienna.

The BlackBerry phone which had been functioning for four years now was currently in a crisis for the first time in its life since exiting out of the production factory in Mexico… oh… this is bad… don’t… don’t shake me, what were these two devil brats planning to do to my life!!!

No, no.

Nooooooooooooo, don’t throw meeee, I beg of you pleaseeeeeeeeee.

“Hey, catch! Nikolai.” Brat number one was called Nikolai.

“Send it over!” As for brat number two with the gla.s.ses, his name was…

“Super awesome, Kiril.” The bespectacled kid was called Kiril.

What are you thinking of playing? This ain’t baseball woiiii, I’m just a regular BlackBerry, not a baseball. No need to throw me so high, I don't want to score a homerunnn.

Ah!!! Over there, a giant human has come to my rescue! Help, help, help me pleaseeee!

“Isakovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv.”

Huak!!! The two brats sprinted towards the giant scar-faced human, flinging me into the air as I then landed on the gra.s.s hard. The ferocious man lifted up brat number one, Nikolai, and gave his bottom a light smack before turning to smack the bespectacled kid's head, his gla.s.ses nearly falling off.

“You’ve been naughty, both you, Nikolai! Kiril!”

“Isakov, carry me too.” Kiril yanked at Nikolai’s dangling feet stubbornly, leaping up and down as if wanting to be held in the man’s arms as well.

Afraid that these devil brats were going to beat each other to death first, the extremely st.u.r.dy giant human therefore decided to hoist the both of them up onto his shoulders, smacking their heads once more to teach them a lesson before crouching down to pick me up from the gra.s.s. Look, look, look. Do you see, do you see? I have a b.u.mp on my head now.

“Who’s calling…? Whatever.”

Hey, answer the call! The ringtone’s loud, my insides feel like it's about to burst.

I heard the voice of my owner in the distance say, ‘Has anyone seen my phone?’. Here, here. Come on, I’m here!!

The giant scar-faced man sighed, then disconnected the call and turned me off before throwing me back onto the exact same patch of gra.s.s… Hey, where are you going? Come back, hey!

However… heaven still had a watchful eye on me. My charming, handsome owner had returned. I’m here on the floor, here!

“Isakov, have you seen my BlackBerry?”

“Who knows. Since you can’t find it, you might as well change your flight, I can look after Vivian on my own.”

My handsome Sasha glared back sternly. “I’ve divorced her already.”

The scar-faced man made an irritating smile, then walked away. As for the hottie… who was blind as a bat, I’m right here, don’t step on me… don’t…

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Crackkk…

The last image I saw was of Isakov carrying both twins over to Vivian so she could kiss them farewell. However, unlike everyone else, Vivian did not give the scar-faced man a farewell hug.

Nevertheless, Isakov still gave her a tender smile… like always.

“Oh, there you are. Those twins are really infuriating!” The man himself stepped and broke me under his feet yet blamed it on his children. Eh…? But it was all because of those devil brats that I ended up in this unfortunate state.

It’s too late now… goodbye owner… hopefully I can serve you again when I am reborn in my next life, that is, unless you switch to using an iPhone first, huu…