Chapter 24 Just Friend

The muttering in the lobby resounded all over the place, but Santichai didn't seem to understand anything. He sat by the window and waited for KK. Once, Asnee took him back to the hospital for a check-up. He clearly remembered that it was a sunny day, the first time Asnee came to the hospital with him, and the day he realized that his love for Asnee needed to be kept secret forever.

(Memory)

In the lobby of the hospital in the heart of the city, after registering, they were sitting in the lobby waiting. Just as they were talking, suddenly a college classmate walked up to them and greeted Asnee.

Mina, "Pi Nee."

Asnee looked up, "Hey, Mina, what are you doing here?"

Mina smiled and said, "I'm here with my mom. How about you?"

Asnee looked at Santichai and said, "I am accompanying Chai to get his scan."

Mina greets Santichai, and she refocuses on Asnee. She said, "I haven't seen you lately."

"I've been very busy lately," Asnee said.

Santichai said, "Asnee, my number was called."

Asnee said, "Chai, you go, I'll have a chat with Mina."

"Hey, don't worry, you can call me, and we'll talk later," Mina said, laughing and teasing. "Don't let your boyfriend go alone."

Asnee chuckled, "Don't get us wrong, he and I are just friends."

Mina quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, you two are closed, I thought he..."

Asnee said, "No... we're not." He looked at Santichai. "You go first."

Santichai looked down at the floor and nodded. He started to walk away, but he could still hear their voices and laughter echoing behind his back. After Santichai returned to the main lobby, Asnee was gone. He called; Asnee picked up.

Asnee, "Hello."

Santichai, "Asnee, I'm done. Where are you?"

Asnee, "Chai, take the bus home. I'll be home late."

Santichai asked, "Where are you?" He felt a little dizzy because of the painkillers.

Asnee said, "I'm taking Mina and her mother home."

Santichai's eyes were wet, and he said sadly, "You left me here and sent others home? Asnee, why do you always do this to me?"

Asnee, "I'll talk to you later."

Santichai said, "Asnee..." Asnee had hung up.

Santichai suddenly felt an upset stomach, possibly from the heavy pain medication he was taking. He rushed into the bathroom, ran quickly to the nearest stall, and suddenly vomited into the toilet. After vomiting, he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Khun, are you okay inside? Need help?"

Santichai quickly wiped his mouth with a tissue, and said, "Thank you, but I'm fine." After flushing the toilet, he went out. He didn't look at the concerned man standing next to the stall. He walks over and risen his mouth.

"Here, this will help." The man put a piece of chewing gum on the bathroom sink counter.

Santichai saw the beautiful watch, but when he raised his head, he only saw the man's back. He picked up the piece of gum and said softly, "Thank you..."

(Memory end)

Sometimes, a memory can suddenly reopen a healed scar, and a once dormant disease suddenly spreads between the internal organs without warning like a sudden eruption of a volcano. It was this kind of disease that made Santichai want to stay away from Asnee, but after more than half a year, why did Asnee suddenly appear in front of him? The wounds Asnee gave him suddenly started to slowly reopen one by one.

Santichai sighed and saw KK walk into the main hall only to stop in front of a boy and the boy's mother.

KK smiled, "Kid, what's the matter?"

Boy, "Pi, my stomach is uncomfortable."

KK looked at the boy's mother and asked, "It's okay for me to talk with him?"

The boy's mother said, "Of course."

"I'm a doctor too," KK said. He looked at the boy. "Do you think you're going to vomit?"

The boy said, "Yes."

KK reached into his coat pocket and handed the little boy a piece of chewing gum. He smiled at the boy and said, "Chew this, it will help."

The boy happily took KK's gum. He asked, "Pi, are you sick too?"

KK smiled and said, "No, my boyfriend is over there." He pointed to Santichai. "He's sick, and I'm just accompanying him."

The boy asked, "He's a man."

"Whether it's a man or a woman, it can be your lover," KK said. He looked at the boy's mother. "Sorry, it is not my place to teach your child."

The boy's mother smiled and said, "Oh, I don't mind at all. People are more open now. It's better to teach children to accept others than to teach them to hate other people's personal interests."

KK smiled, "Thank you." He walked to Santichai. "Sorry, it's been a long time, shall we go eat?"

Santichai looked at KK, "Why are you pointing at me just now?"

KK and Santichai started walking out of the hospital. He smiled and said, "That nong asked me if I was sick."

Santichai, "What did you say to him?"

KK said, "I told him I wasn't sick, but I accompanied my boyfriend to his doctor's appointment."

Santichai was taken aback and stopped immediately. He looked at KK, "Why do you say that?

KK turned to look at Santichai. He smiled and said, "Because you are my boyfriend."

Santichai said, "KK, you said it three times today."

KK asked, "What do you mean?"

Santichai said, "You admitted to others three times today that I am your boyfriend."

KK chuckled, "You look surprised."

Santichai said, "Next time, tell them we're just friends."

KK asked, "Why?"

Santichai said, "I was once told that this type of relationship needs to be lock in the closet at home."

KK turned around and looked at Santichai, "Are you ashamed of dating me?"

Santichai said, "I'm not, I'm just..."

KK said, "Santichai, I'm not your ex. I'm not embarrassed by my sexual choices. If my friends treat me differently because I'm bisexual, then I'll thank them and cut my tie with them. The friends I want to keep are the ones who accept me for who I am."

Santichai, "I just don't want people to speak ill of you."

KK smiled, "Do you think I like when people speak ill of you?"

Santichai, "I'm a nobody, I don't have any social status, other people's bad words will..." KK quickly pulled Santichai into his arms and kissed him in front of the hospital parking lot. Santichai hurriedly pushed him away. "What are you doing?"

KK said, "I want to tell you that bad words from others will not alienate me from you."

Santichai blushed, "Don't do this kind of thing in the future." He quickly rushed down the stairs and walked towards the car. "Come on, I'm hungry."

KK chuckled, "Okay...okay..."

As KK pulled out of the parking lot, Santichai said, "KK, Doctor Lin."

KK asked, "What about her?"

Santichai said, "She kept staring at me while we were in the exam room."

KK smiled and said, "It may be because you are handsome today, so she is looking at you."

Santichai looked at KK frantically, "Stop kidding, I'm serious."

KK smiled and said, "I'm serious too."

"She stared at me and asked weird questions," Santichai said. "Normally doctors don't ask so many personal questions. She asks the same questions as when people trying to hook me up with their daughters. I got this type of question all the time when I was still working at my old workplace."

KK burst out laughing, "You think so too?"

Santichai said, "This is not funny, I feel uncomfortable, can I change doctor?"

KK said, "No can't do, she is the best spine surgeon and I believe she has the ability to do the best for you."

Santichai watched KK mention Dr. Lin gleefully, only to realize that he had seen this kind of spark before. He remembers the weird smile Asnee always had when he talked about the women he'd dated in the past. Santichai asked, "Do you trust her?"

KK said, "Yes, there are no other surgeons who I would be willing to let them operate on you more than her."

Santichai concealed his fear, and then asked in a broken voice, "Why?" He knew that if KK answered that they were just friends, it meant that KK was Dr. Lin's ex-lover.

KK said, "Because she's my little sister."

Santichai stammered, "Your...little sister."

KK looked at Santichai with a smile, "Yeah, she is the daughter of my stepfather's dead wife, your expression, oh... you think we are old lovers?"

Santichai shook his head, "No..." After a pause, his eyes just fell on KK's wrist. "KK, what are you giving the little boy?"

"A piece of chewing gum will ease his nausea," KK said. He smiled at Santichai. "You forgot, a few years ago, I gave you a piece of chewing gum?" He smiled at Santichai.