Episode 02

    Several days later.

    “Kab Kluen, open the door for Dad. I have something to talk to you about.”

    Achira called out loudly for his son several times in a row since early morning. Though Kab Kluen was still enjoying his sleep and didn’t want to get up, the noise outside was too loud for him to continue sleeping. In the end, the small figure crawled down from the bed, reached out to open the door for his father, then threw himself back down to lie on the floor.

    “You little rascal, what are you doing? Why are you lying on the floor like that?”

    Achira asked in surprise before leaning down to lightly smack Kab Kluen’s body repeatedly. Of course, someone who loved his son as much as Achira would never actually hit him hard. He treated Kab Kluen like a fragile treasure—never letting a mosquito land or a mite crawl on him. Because of that, the light smacks didn’t hurt Kab Kluen one bit.

    “You’re acting stranger every day. Can’t you try behaving like Brother Yi for once? Seeing you like this makes me want to bang my head against the wall and die.”

    “It’s because you woke me up so early, Dad. If you’ve got something to say, then say it. I’m going to lie here. I can’t get up.”

    Achira looked at Kab Kluen and let out a deep sigh of frustration before saying something that made Kab Kluen immediately spring up in shock.

    “What’s wrong, Kluen? You don’t seem to be having fun today.”

    Today, Kab Kluen seemed off. He looked sad and didn’t seem to enjoy himself or show any excitement like he normally did when they played together. Even the snacks brought by the bodyguard who usually watched over him—Kab Kluen showed no interest, turned his face away, and sighed. In the end, He Xing Yi couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer and chose to ask.

    “Brother Yi… I probably won’t be able to come play with you tomorrow,” Kab Kluen spoke in a sorrowful voice.

    Upon hearing those words, He Xing Yi, who had been sitting two arm-lengths away building a snowman, quickly rushed over to sit in front of him.

    “Why?” he asked, full of concern and confusion.

    Kab Kluen sighed and lifted his face from the pile of snow, locking eyes with He Xing Yi before explaining.

    “My grandfather passed away. Dad and I have to travel back to attend the funeral.”

    He Xing Yi froze for a moment after hearing that, then finally responded.

    “I’m sorry. In that case… when you come back, we can play again.”

    Kab Kluen shook his head in refusal and continued.

    “We only have Grandma left. She’s very old and has a chronic illness. So Dad said we’re moving back to Thailand for good, to take care of her more easily. I asked him if we’d ever come back here again, and he said he didn’t know… whether we’ll be able to come back or not. That’s why I said I probably won’t be able to come play with you anymore.”

    Kab Kluen spoke sadly, then lowered his head again to face the snow. He Xing Yi, upon hearing this, also froze in place. He looked at the younger boy with deep sorrow in his heart. He had always thought that he and Kab Kluen would grow up together, and never once imagined that something would separate them. Deep down, he didn’t want Kab Kluen to move back at all—he loved the time they spent together, and there were still so many things he wanted to do with him. However, because it was something that couldn’t be avoided, He Xing Yi could do nothing to stop him. All he could do was sigh deeply, then smile gently. He brushed the snow off his hands, reached out to lift the younger boy’s face to look at him, and spoke:

    “Goodbyes are normal. It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. Don’t be so sad, okay? Today is our last day to play together, so let’s find something really fun to do together—let’s make the most of it.”

    Kab Kluen looked at the smiling face of He Xing Yi with a blank expression. He didn’t say anything in response. Seeing that, He Xing Yi instead reached out and pinched Kab Kluen’s round cheek.

    “Cheer up. Are you going to stay like this all the way until it’s time to leave? Come on, let’s go have a snowball fight with Uncle Fang Rong.”

    After he finished speaking, He Xing Yi let go of Kab Kluen’s face and focused on shaping the snow into round balls. Once he had a few ready, he turned to smile at Kab Kluen, then reached out to take the younger boy’s hand and pulled him up to his feet. Then, the two of them ran toward the group of bodyguards standing at a distance.

    “Uncle, let’s have a snowball fight!”

    Before Fang Rong could even respond or decline, several snowballs were already hurled at him without pause. Although he was getting older, when the young master of the house invited him to play—and since he didn’t want to be the only one taking hits—Fang Rong ordered the other bodyguards to start shaping snowballs too. And with that, the snowball war officially began. Originally, Kab Kluen had been so buried in sadness that he didn’t enjoy the play much. But before long, he started to smile and finally joined in on the snowball fight.

    The two boys played around all day. They didn’t even go home for lunch. Every activity that He Xing Yi suggested turned out to be a lot of fun for Kab Kluen. He smiled and laughed, forgetting his sorrow for a little while—as if tomorrow, the two of them would still be able to play together like always. After they were exhausted from playing outside, the boys returned to He Xing Yi’s room and played video games together.

    While they were having fun with the game, Kab Kluen’s phone rang.

    “Kab Kluen, it’s time to come home. It’s late. We have to travel early in the morning.”

    Hearing his father’s voice through the line, Kab Kluen froze, then stood up and walked to open the curtains and look outside. When he saw that it was truly dark, his expression turned somber. They had been so focused on playing all day that they lost track of time. It felt like they had only just started playing, and now a new day was already about to begin. It made Kab Kluen realize that the farewell was drawing near—and that they really would be parting soon.

    “Yes, I’ll come home now.”

    After hanging up the phone, Kab Kluen walked over to He Xing Yi, who had been watching him talk from the sofa. The boy gave his older friend a small smile and said:

    “I have to go home now. Dad called me.”

    “You’re leaving already?”

    “Mm. Today was a lot of fun. Thank you so much, Brother Yi. I’m going home now, then.”

    Kab Kluen tried to smile at He Xing Yi, and He Xing Yi also forced a smile back at Kab Kluen. But inside, both of them knew how truly sad they were, knowing their time together was really coming to an end. He Xing Yi nodded, then walked to the door to see Kab Kluen off, raising a hand to wave goodbye. Kab Kluen raised his hand to wave back at He Xing Yi as well, before turning and starting to walk away. But after only one step, Kab Kluen turned around to face He Xing Yi again.

    “Don’t forget to come see me off tomorrow. You absolutely have to come, okay?”

    “Mm, I know. Of course, I’ll come see you off. Now go home—Uncle will worry. Get a good night’s sleep. Sweet dreams, okay?”

    He Xing Yi stepped closer to him and gently laid a hand on Kab Kluen’s soft hair, speaking with a faint smile on his face.

    The next morning.

    “You’ve packed everything, right? Didn’t forget anything?”

    He Xing Yan asked Achira out of concern, then turned to tell the bodyguards to help load the luggage into the car. Achira, hearing his friend’s question, shook his head with a weary sigh at the ridiculousness of He Xing Yan’s concern.

    “I’m how old already, and you think I’m some kid who forgets things…”

    “Brother, did you forget another bag in the house?”

    Before Achira could finish his sentence, Zhang Ai Yue shouted from behind, appearing with the bag Achira had forgotten. The contradiction between his denial and his actual behavior made He Xing Yan burst out laughing uncontrollably.

    “Thanks, Ai Yue. And you, Xing Yan—stop laughing at me.”

    Achira thanked his friend’s wife with a smile before turning to scold his friend. While the three adults were chatting away, Kab Kluen stood craning his neck, waiting for He Xing Yi. But five minutes passed. Then ten. Even after all the luggage had been loaded into the car, He Xing Yi still hadn’t come out. Kab Kluen’s face visibly saddened, thinking that He Xing Yi wasn’t going to come send him off as he had promised. When the time to depart came, Kab Kluen said goodbye to the two adults and got into the car, still secretly hoping He Xing Yi would appear at the very last second. But the car began to move—and He Xing Yi still hadn’t come out.

    “Liar.”

    Kab Kluen muttered, then turned his face to look out the window. Just then, his eyes caught a reflection in the car’s mirror—it was a boy riding a bicycle, following behind. Kab Kluen pushed his body away from the seat and broke into a wide smile, thrilled, before quickly telling his father to stop the car. Once the car had come to a stop, Kab Kluen wasted no time, immediately flinging the door open and running toward He Xing Yi.

    “Sorry I’m late. I slept late and overslept this morning.”

    “It’s okay. I’m just happy that you came to see me off.”

    Kab Kluen had felt angry at first, thinking He Xing Yi wouldn’t come to send him off. But once he saw how rushed and out of breath He Xing Yi was from pedaling hard to catch up, all that anger melted away completely. He Xing Yi set the bike’s kickstand and walked up to Kab Kluen, then pulled something out of his bag and held it out toward him.

    “A necklace?”

    “Mm. It might not be that fancy, but I made it just for you. When you’re in Thailand and miss me, you can look at this necklace and think of me.”

    The truth was, He Xing Yi wasn’t late because he didn’t want to see Kab Kluen off. After Kab Kluen left the night before, he kept thinking about what he could give as a keepsake. After thinking long and hard, he went and took the beads that Grandma Jiao Lu had kept and strung them together into a necklace he thought would fit Kab Kluen’s neck. It was made of small white beads interspersed with light blue ones, along with several other decorative beads strung in a pattern.

    To He Xing Yi, the necklace didn’t seem very pretty. But to Kab Kluen, it was beautiful and incredibly precious. Kab Kluen looked at He Xing Yi’s face with tear-filled eyes and spoke in a trembling voice:

    “Thank you, Brother Yi.”

    “Why are you crying? Is the necklace that ugly?”

    “No! It’s beautiful—really beautiful.”

    He Xing Yi’s startled expression finally softened into a smile after hearing Kab Kluen’s praise.

    “Then let me put it on you. I want to see how it looks on you.”

    “Mm,” As soon as Kab Kluen agreed, He Xing Yi walked around to stand behind him and gently put the necklace on. Then he stepped back to the front to take a look.

    “It’s beautiful. It really suits my Kab Kluen.”

    He spoke with a wide, beaming smile.

    “Kab Kluen, we’re out of time, son.”

    Just then, Achira’s voice called out.

    “Then… should we take a photo together, Brother Yi?”

    “Sure. We've never taken a photo together, after all.”

    After He Xing Yi agreed, Kab Kluen took his phone out from his bag. Knowing what to do, He Xing Yi went to stand behind the younger boy. While Kab Kluen was adjusting the camera angle, a hand suddenly wrapped around his shoulder. Kab Kluen was startled and froze for a moment—his heart once again began beating erratically.

    “What’s wrong? Aren’t we taking a photo?”

    He Xing Yi asked after seeing him go still.

    “Ah—yeah, we are.”

    After saying that, both boys smiled and took a few photos together in various poses until they were satisfied. Kab Kluen put his phone back in his bag, then turned to face He Xing Yi standing behind him, with a sorrowful look.

    “Then… I’m going now. Thanks for the necklace—and thank you for coming to see me off.”

    He Xing Yi nodded. “Mm.”

    Kab Kluen raised his hand to wave goodbye to He Xing Yi, then turned and walked away. But just then, his wrist was gently pulled back by someone from behind. When he turned around, he saw He Xing Yi standing there, looking at him with an unreadable expression.

    “What is it?” Kab Kluen asked in confusion.

    “Well… there’s something I want to tell you before you go. I was planning to say it when we were older, but since I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again, or have the chance to say it to your face… I thought I should just tell you now. I don’t want to keep it in my heart anymore.”

    Kab Kluen looked at He Xing Yi with trembling eyes. His heart was pounding wildly in anticipation of what He Xing Yi was about to say. Even though he didn’t know what it was yet, his heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest.

    “Tell me what?”

    After he asked, He Xing Yi suddenly leaned forward before Kab Kluen could react and whispered:

    “I like you. Not as a younger brother. Someday, when we’re older, I’ll save up money and come see you. If, by then, you like me the same way I like you…”

    “…” ‘My heart’s going to explode,’ That was what Kab Kluen thought.

    “…then let’s get married and live together, okay?”

    “Huh?!” Kab Kluen exclaimed in shock.

    “I’m going to marry you, Kab Kluen—when you’re older. Do you know what this necklace means? It means I’ve already reserved you. So when you grow up, you have to marry me. Got it, Kab Kluen?” He Xing Yi stepped back and looked at the stunned boy with a wide smile.

    “Mm… I got it.”

    Kab Kluen took a moment to gather himself before replying shyly—and that made He Xing Yi’s smile grow even wider.

    “Kab Kluen!” Achira called out to his son once more.

    Seeing that, He Xing Yi raised a hand to wave goodbye.

    “Go on. Uncle is waiting. Have a safe trip.”

    Kab Kluen raised his hand to wave goodbye in return, then turned and ran back to the car with a heart that beat wildly, out of rhythm. Once inside the car, the boy rolled down the window and looked out at He Xing Yi, who stood holding his bicycle, waving. They didn’t take their eyes off each other for even a single second, gazing at one another until they finally disappeared from each other’s sight.