Chapter 23 Every Step Of The Way

When Santichai opened his eyes in the morning, he found himself in KK's arms. He suddenly felt a little uncomfortable being held in such a position. When he was still living with Asnee, they always had schedule conflicts. It was one or two in the morning when he came back from work, so he didn't disturb Asnee's sleep. He would take a quiet shower and sleep on the floor because he knew Asnee was a light sleeper. Santichai slowly removed KK's hands from his stomach.

KK said in a sleepy voice, "Where are you going?"

Santichai said, "Bathroom."

KK loosened Santichai's waist and turned to lie flat on the tiny bed. He yawned and stretched out his arms. He asked, "How is your back?"

"Better," Santichai said. He sat up and looked at KK. "KK, I am..."

KK said, "What's wrong?"

Santichai said, "I have to step over you."

KK, "Um...don't trip over the bag on the floor."

Santichai, "Huh?"

"Don't trip over the bag on the floor," KK said.

Santichai stood up and stepped over KK, it was still dark, but the light from the street shot from his window, so he saw a large black thing on the floor beside the bed. He slowly climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. When he came back, he decided not to go back to the bedroom, so he sat on the sofa and slowly stretched his back.

KK hasn't slept since Santichai went to the bathroom. He lay in the dark and waited, and after more than thirty minutes of flushing the bathroom, he stood up and walked to the door. He stood in the doorway, watching Santichai stretch. Then rested his head on the sofa. KK slowly approached Santichai. He lowered his head and kissed Santichai on the lips. With this kiss, Santichai suddenly opened his eyes.

KK raised his head and asked, "Are you hungry?" He smiled at Santichai.

Santichai, "Mmm."

KK said, "I'll reheat your food." He lowered his head and kissed Santichai on the lips again. "After eating, you should go back to sleep."

Santichai asked, "Why?"

KK said, "You have an appointment at nine"

Santichai asked, "What kind of appointment?"

KK said, "I scheduled an appointment with a spine surgeon for you."

Santichai asked, "What? KK, I said I'm fine."

KK grabbed the bowl of porridge and walked to the sofa. He handed the porridge to Santichai and said, "But for how long? You said it yourself last night, it's getting more and more painful." He sat beside Santichai and held Santichai's hands. "Santichai, if you don't want to do this for others, please do it for yourself."

Santichai looked at KK and murmured, "KK, please don't be too kind to me."

KK asked, "What are you afraid of?"

Santichai said sadly, "I'm afraid of the unknown future."

KK smiled and said, "Me too, but now I'm less scared because I have you who will walk with me into that unknown future." He sighed. "Santichai, let me accompany you? If you are afraid of the dark, my arms and hands are only a reach away." He smiled. "Don't be afraid, if you fall, I will stand by your side to catch you."

Santichai's tears slowly fell, "Hinata Suwannarat...don't be too kind to me...it's scary."

KK chuckled and pulled Santichai into his arms, "Okay...okay...whatever you say."

At nine o'clock that morning, KK was in the lobby waiting for Santichai to return from the radiology department. After waiting for thirty minutes, the radiologist took Santichai back to the waiting room. He gave Santichai a ticket number and Santichai walked back and sat next to KK.

KK asked, "What number are we?"

Santichai said, "sixty-four."

KK looked at the TV display, and number fifty-three was just called. He said, "Are you hungry?"

Santichai, "Just a little."

KK said, "You wait here, I'll get you something to eat."

Santichai said, "KK, it's okay. I'm not that hungry."

KK looked at Santichai and said, "But I'm hungry, you wait here."

When KK arrived at the cafeteria, there were a lot of people in line. He didn't want to waste too much time in the cafeteria, so he took a sandwich, a bottle of soy milk, and a bottle of water, and rushed back to the main building. He sat next to Santichai and handed Santichai the sandwich and the bottle of soy milk.

Santichai took the sandwich and looked at the plastic bag. There was only a bottle of water in the plastic bag. He looked at KK and said, "KK, why did you lie to me that you were hungry?"

KK said, "Lie? I didn't. Just eat your sandwich. It's almost our turn."

Santichai looked at KK and said, "How about you? Have you eaten yet?"

KK, "I haven't eaten yet, but I'm fine. I'm used to it."

Santichai frowned, "That's why you have a stomach problem." He returned half of the sandwich to KK. "I'm not very hungry."

KK smiled and took the half sandwich from Santichai. He said, "You don't be too considerate to me, I will be very sad if you decide to leave after the three months dating trail ends."

Santichai said, "Who knows, maybe tomorrow I might decide to end our dating trail."

KK chuckled lightly, "Okay, I won't tease you anymore."

"KK? Is that you?"

KK looked up and saw one of his old classmates. KK stood up and said, "Lek?"

Lek smiled at KK, "How are you doing?"

KK shakes hands with Lek. He said, "I'm doing fine. How about you?"

Lek smiled and said, "Look." He pointed to the young pregnant woman standing not too far from him. "Tragic, with wife and children on board."

KK, "How many months?"

Lek said, "Eight." He sighed. "Then what are you doing in the hospital? I heard that you opened your own clinic."

KK said, "Accompany my boyfriend to an appointment."

Lek looked at Santichai and said, "He...is he your boyfriend?"

KK smiled and said, "Yes, is there any problem?"

Lek laughed, "No, I just think everyone is married or has a girlfriend, and you're the only bachelor who refuses to date anyone. I can't believe you decided to have your hands and feet shackled too."

Santichai stood up and said, "KK, our number has been called."

KK said, "Lek, I'll talk to you another day."

Lek, "Ok."

KK and Lek exchanged numbers and KK and Santichai left with one of the nurses.

In the small consulting room, Dr. Lin, who is half-Asian and white, introduced herself to Santichai and KK. She pulled the x-rays on her computer and showed it to Santichai and KK.

Sarah smiled and looked at KK then back at Santichai. She asked, "According to your chart here, you are twenty-five years old. Is this age accurate?"

Santichai said, "Yes."

Sarah looked up and down at Santichai. She said, "Mr. Kittibun, what type of job do you currently do right now? Have you ever been married? Do you have children?"

Santichai looked at KK and back at Sarah. Sarah's questions puzzled him. He said, "I'm a dishwasher. I... I've never been married, and I don't have children."

Sarah then changed her tone and turned her attention back to the topic of surgery. "There are risks to doing this kind of surgery, but there are also benefits. Correcting the spine will ease Mr. Kittibun's pain. If left untreated, the spine would become more curved to the left, and Mr. Kittibun's back pain would only get worse and occur more frequently."

Santichai looked at KK and said, "Let's go home and discuss this first."

KK smiled, "Whatever you said, the body is yours, and the one who is suffering is you. No matter what decision you make, I will be by your side and support you every step of the way."

Sarah watched the two talk and smiled. "If you don't want to have surgery, then you're going to have to find a different job. Maybe an office job," she said.

Santichai asked, "Is surgery the only way?"

Sarah said, "For now, you're the best candidate for surgery. The longer you wait, the more curved your spine will be and the greater the risk."

Santichai asked, "Doctor Lin, how much does this kind of surgery cost?"

Sarah said, "I don't know how much. If you go to the finance department, maybe they can give you an estimate."

KK asked, "If he has surgery, what is the recovery time?"

Sarah said, "Full recovery takes a year. The length of the hospital stay is generally four to seven days, depending on the speed of the patient's recovery. Most patients can go back to school or a sedentary desk in about two to four weeks after the surgery, but very limited mobility is required while the bones are fused. " She looked at Santichai and KK. "You don't need a decision today."

Santichai said, "I will think about it, if I decide to proceed with the surgery, I'll call."

Sarah smiled and said, "Okay."

Santichai and KK walked out of the room. KK said, "You wait for me in the lobby, and I want to personally thank Dr. Lin for seeing you today."

Santichai smiled, "Mmm...I'll wait for you." He followed the nurse back to the lobby.

KK walked back to the examination room and Sarah looked up. She smiled and asked, "Did you forget something?"

KK said, "Thank you for skipping lunch."

Sarah laughed, "No problem, he's handsome by the way."

KK said, "Thank you."

Sarah frowned. "I thought you were going to be an old bachelor. I was surprised when you called me to fit your boyfriend into my already busy schedule."

KK said, "Thank you."

Sarah said, "Alright, quickly leave, so I could stuff food in my empty stomach."

KK stood up, "I'll treat you to dinner next time."

Sarah said, "If you want to thank me, please take him home for the New Year."

KK chuckled, "Okay...if he agrees." He left the room and walked towards the main.