Ever-Snow Company - Chapter 9.2

Flirting (Second half)

After we finished (not) settling the issue, Geerana and I came back to our department. However, we find a new face standing there at the front counter talking with Yu. Geerana immediately lifted his hand up to give a wai, which I automatically followed. “Good morning, Mr. Rut.”

The other side returned our greeting before I finally got a good look at his face and went ‘Ah!’. It’s the beautiful man who interviewed me- no, the beautiful man who sat in the interview room with a scowl and just ignored me for that whole period to be precise.

On that day, since I was very nervous, I didn’t have a chance to properly observe his face. The man really is someone with gorgeous features, his eyes, mouth, and nose all compliment each other, however, his body is not delicate that you would mistake for a woman at all. He’s a type that even if I’m not gay, I would still probably be swoon by his look.

“Oh, you already started working?” Mr.. something… look at Geerana and point this out. The sentence sounds like a normal greeting, however, the expression on his beautiful face really makes it sound strangely intimidating.

“Yes, Me. Rut!” Oh, his name is Rut, then. “This is my second day here.”

The two of them continue to talk to each other while I quietly slip away to stand next to Yu who is holding something in his hand. I lean over to take a look and find that the object in his hand is a very old model phone, and when I turn to look at the man who is crossing his hand over his chest, I get an answer. “I dropped it in water… Please fix it.”

…This is an IT department, not a Mobile repair shop. This is what I want to reply, but decide to hold myself back after facing the scary look in his eyes.

Yu turns to look at me as if asking for my opinion. I contemplated for a while, before finally recalling. “Oh! I remember now! …please wait here for a moment.” Then, I ran into the staff break room, searching for something in the closet before coming back out with the thing I was looking for. “Ta-Da!! Use this!”

“Hm, a hairdryer?” Yu repeatedly blink while I start to dismantle the antique phone, before plucking up the hair drying and start blowing it. All the while, my mouth is also explaining. “An Old phone like this is usually very durable. After this, just to be sure, you should put it in a rice tub so It could be completely dry.”

I remember that back in the day, mobile phones were very durable. If I dropped it in water, I just need to let it dry for a bit before it’s back to functioning like normal again. On the other hand, phone this day, just a bit of a bump and you can say goodbye to it.

“Then please do that too, and send it back to me after you’re done.” He said slowly, before reminding. “Just do whatever that will make it work again.”

Yu nods like a chicken pecking rice. “Yes, I know, Mr. Rut.”

I can only blink while still holding the hairdryer in my hand. Why does this man seem to be in a really high position? Is he a director of some department? I look at how neatly he dresses, starting from the expensive-looking beige color suit, a brand name light blue shirt, his belt, watch, shoes, and accessories are all brand name products too.

Mr. Rut, the pretty-face man, must have felt my gaze since he looked at me from the corner of his eyes. His gaze is very unfriendly as if we have some grudges accumulating from the past 10 lives, but I don’t remember having done anything to cross him at all. Moreover, my type is more of a cute, delectable, 18 to 19 years old teenager, I would never approach the gorgeously beautiful type like this.

“I’m off then.” Mr. Rut turned up his nose before turning away, his long hair flips beautifully into a fan shape like those in a shampoo commercial. 

After he left, I finally turned to ask Yu. “So.. who is that?”

Both Yu and Geerana simultaneously turn to look at me, making me look left and right nervously. “W-What?”

“Mr. Rut, full name Marutawan.” Get started, which still leaves me confused. Yu facepalm, before patting my shoulder. “Bro… Mr. Rut is the owner of this company.”

“Oh, so he is the owner of this com- WHAT?”

The Owner!?

“Wow, you really don’t know?” Yu looks at my face, before letting out a heavy sigh. “My bro, how can you not even know who is the owner of the company you are working for…”

I stood there in an astonishing haze that I have just met with the CEO of my company face to face, and then thank myself for not pissing him off by telling him to go find a phone repair shop by himself. After we all went back to our respective seats, at the moment that I am about to put my butt down, the office phone suddenly rings. Yu and I look at each other awkwardly since Nopparat is not here right now.

“Bro… Do you still love me?” Yu sent me the puppy eyes. F*uk you, go die.

“Yu.. Do you still see me as your brother?” I return him a look Do you think I would just surrender easily like this? Never!

While Yu and I are having a battle with our gaze, the angel- cough- I mean Geerana comes in to save the day.

“Is no one picking up the phone?” Geerana looked at the two of us with innocence in his eyes. Yu and I understand each other thought profoundly with just one look and say at the same time. “You can pick it up, Ge.”

…Goodbye. We won’t forget your sacrifice.

Turns out, Geerana really did go there and sacrifice himself, because even after Nopparat comes back to the office, the three of us have lunch, and the working hours have ended, Gee still doesn’t come back. Yu sighs resignedly. “Guess he doesn’t know how to say no. At first, I used to just go along with those sisters in PR too since I was just an intern. What happened is that I got called to stop from the first table at the front to the last table inside.” 

“….” Actually, yesterday I almost met the same fate too. It’s a good thing that I decided to just reject them coldly in anger, or else I might be stuck in that room forever!

… Please standstill to pay respect for Geerana!

I use this opportunity to pack my stuff, checking to make sure that I won’t forget my wallet again, before dashing out of the company. Yesterday, It’s only after getting out of the Taxi that I remember that I almost walked into live porn in my office. Adding the horror-action movie experience which blew my mind away, and the fact that Geerana has to pay the fare for that trip home and the trip to work this morning for me…

To be honest, even if you can work with someone you have a one night stand with, but a colleague who also boldly expresses that he’s chasing after you? This is just too awkward! No matter how cute that colleague is.

I waited for the bus in front of the company, and luckily found an empty seat. While sitting on the bus, my phone starts to vibrate with a picture of a person with the name save as ‘1.’

… Nung, my friend. 

I pick up the call with a smile. “Hey, how is it going?”

“Hey, how is your work? Did you have fun?” The person on the other side of the call is Mr. Akekapop, or Nung, the friend I called on the morning of my interview day. We have been friends since high school and all the way through university. We’re the best of buddies that if there is an award for the best friend for life, I would give him one.

“..Someone flirt with me today. “ I said the only thing I can think of, making Nung laugh.

Afterward, I proceeded to retell him all of what had happened between me and the young man next-door with no detail left out at all. He scolded me a bit for getting drunk and just let some stranger take me home. Oh, except maybe leaving out the part that sounds really novel-like… No matter how close we are, he would still call me out as working to the point of madness if he heard what happened at my company.  

“Hm… Doesn’t that sound nice. Why not try it out with him?” After having gone quiet for a while, Nung finally said. “Phat… It’s been 6 years, I think it’s time you start opening up for a relationship again, no? Else you will be too old soon.”

“Nung… I…”

“I know, you still can’t forget him. But I’m not telling you to forget, I just want you to be able to move on and live with it, Phat.”

I bite my lip.

“You know that I will always be here for you, right?” He says softly.

“Yeah.”

Before he can say something else, I hear the sound of the door opening followed by a murmur, signaling that Nung’s lover is back at home taking away his attention. I decided to leave the call connect (since Nung is the one paying this phone bill) and let him have his lovey-dovey moment with his lover while I went into my room and made myself a cup of cocoa. A long while later, Nung came back with the generic response. “Gotta go now. Good luck, bye.”

“Yeah, see you.” Man, you’re out of breath as if having run a mile.

Nung’s lover is actually a big mystery to everyone in my faculty. Everyone who has the chance to meet them all says that they’re a beauty. Even I at most have only seen their hair, which is long and very smooth flowing from the distance. When I ask him to introduce us, Nung always shakes his head. Until one day, he couldn’t stand my nagging anymore, he just said. “For your own safety, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Why?”

“We’re best friends, right?”

“Yeah…” Why are you asking me such a strange question?

“You know that sometimes people misunderstood that we are together, right?”

“Yes.” Nung and I are very close to the point that we won’t even mind sleeping in the same bed, so we were a ‘ship’ material for the girls in our university. Later on, someone told me that there were a lot of sneak shots of Nung and me on Facebook, and unfortunately, since Nung is more muscular, people always took me for a bottom. Tsk!

Nung paused for a long time as if contemplating what to say, before finally summarizing in a long sentence. “My lover is very jealous.. to the point that they won’t hurt me, but would rather kill the other person who dares get involved…Furthermore, they are a person who can kick down a banana tree with just one kick… and let me just say, that they have seen the photo of us together on Facebook before too.”

“Okay, I understand now.” I would be stupid not to understand at this point.

Therefore, for my own safety, I have never met with Nung’s lover to this day. But no one but Nung also knew better, that it would only ever be friendship between us.

…It’s been 6 years. Nung’s voice echoed in my head.

6 years since I left, with a deep, empty hole in my heart, that I could never fill them with anyone ever again.

Translator Notes:

Has anyone guessed who Mr.Rut is yet?