After rain comes the clear sky (Kaoearth)

43. No gender

“Then again, I think if the offer is for being set up with ‘you’ then… I might be interested.” Ohm decided to tease Fluke a little. He was very much interested in the kid who had managed to make Kao lose his cool.

“You are really funny, P Ohm. I am sure you will find someone someday.” Fluke was trying his best to show that the teasing was reaching him.

“But I think I just found the love of my life yesterday.” Ohm pulled the phone closer to him.

“Oh? Then congratulations to you.” Fluke chuckled.

“Congratulations to us, N’ Fluke,” Ohm spoke teasingly. “I could feel that you and I had a connection of previous lives.”

“Ew cringe. You should try something new phi. This kind of approach belongs to the last generation.” Fluke replied.

“Really?” a mischievous smile spread across Ohm’s lips. “Then, what do you have to say to flirt with someone?”

“How am I supposed to know? You better ask your Phi-chay sitting next to you. He just came back after ruining his chances with his true love.” Fluke’s words dripped with mockery.

“Thank you for the compliment,” Kao replied sarcastically.

“Seriously, P’ Kao? That is what you want to tell me? I think you owe me an explanation.” The disbelief in Fluke's voice was clearly audible.

“There is nothing to explain, Fluke.” Kao slurped his noodles.

“Wait, wait. What is going on here?” Ohm looked at Kao and then at the phone. “What chance? What true love?”

“Why do you think P’ Kao was so wasted last night?” Fluke asked.

“I don’t know,” Ohm answered honestly.

“Because he rejected the confession of the person whom he was interested in and got his heart broken yesterday. He was celebrating the event yesterday.” Fluke sneered at the end of the sentence.

“There is no heartbreak, Fluke.” Kao put his utensils down. “I drank because I felt like drinking. I am an adult. It is normal for me to get drunk once in a while.”

“Oh, can you swear that the whole ‘I am an adult. It is normal for me to get drunk’ This thing has nothing to do with your Mae being at the restaurant you two were at?” Fluke questioned, obviously knowing the answer.

Ohm eyed Kao suspiciously. His cousin was acting pretty weird. He got a hunch that it had something to do with the so-called best friend of Fluke.

“Fluke, I think you should mind your own business.” Kao’s tone turned grave. He couldn’t let Fluke dig into the whole matter.

“I am sorry to inform you phi, but everything that is related to my best friend’s life is my business. Whether you like it or not.” Fluke’s tone also changed from a friendly one to a stoic one.

Ohm felt the temperature in the room drop as he watched Kao. His cousin was really pissed.

“Fluke, I am telling you for the first and last time, keep your nose out of my business,” Kao spoke monotonously. “If you care about your friend so much, look after him. Instead of wasting your time in encouraging his puppy love, you should concentrate on building a future for yourself.”

“Spoke like an old man.” Fluke snickered. “I am sure that you know that it is not puppy love, P’ Kao. If you think it is, then you don’t know my friend for real.”

“Fluke, I have to go to work. All the best for the finals.” Kao hung up the call without another word. He was getting a headache after talking to Fluke. “Argh!” he groaned.

“P’ Kao,” Ohm called out. “Care to explain what is going on?”

Kao stood up from his seat. “It is nothing, Ohm. Just some teenagers playing around.” He said dismissively as he cleared the table.

“It seemed otherwise from your reaction.” Ohm helped Kao do the dishes.

“Why is everyone being so nosy nowadays?” Kao muttered.

“P’ Kao, I didn’t mean to be nosy or make you uncomfortable. I just felt that the whole matter is getting to you so much.” Ohm took a dry towel to wipe the washed plates.

Kao turned to face Ohm. He could hear the concern in his cousin’s voice. “Earth confessed to me a while ago.”

“Earth as in Yay Dumpling’s grandson?” Ohm asked.

Kao nodded. “He came to Bangkok with Fluke a few days ago and he came to meet me. We had lunch together and I rejected his confession.”

Ohm blinked a few times digesting the information. he was aware of his cousin's fondness for the younger. “Do you like him?”

“Of course, I like him. He is Earth, Yay Dumpling’s grandson.”

“Let me rephrase the question. Do you love him? The way he loves you?” Ohm asked.

“Ohm, he is a guy.”

“So, do you love him?” Ohm asked again

“He is only freaking sixteen, Ohm. He doesn’t even know what love means. He is yet to see the world.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Phi.” Ohm stared straight into Kao’s eyes. “All I asked was a single question that can be answered in a single word- yes or no. tell me Phi, do you love him or not.”

Kao remained silent, looking at the floor.

Ohm got his answer from Kao’s silence. “P’ Kao, you love him, don’t you?”

“Ohm, I-” Kao was interrupted mid-sentence by Ohm.

“P’ Kao, I am one of the people who believe that love has no gender. If the fact that he is a guy and that he is almost ten years old is stopping you from pursuing the person you love, then I will have to call you a coward.” Ohm said calmly.

Kao looked up at his younger cousin. Even though Ohm was several years younger than him, Ohm had always been more mature compared to him.

“You know Phi, in today’s world, it is not easy to find a person who would actually love you the way you love them. You are lucky that you found Earth. Despite knowing that there are high chance that you would reject him, he still had the courage to confess his love to you. Please don’t take his confession as an act of a teenager. Especially when both of you are male. He came out of the closet for you. He was brave to speak his mind and I think you should be appreciative of that.”

A pregnant silence engulfed the room as Ohm stopped talking. He was sure that his words had gotten to Kao as he could see that his cousin was brooding over it.

“I think you should give him and yourself a chance, phi.” Ohm checked the time on his phone. “I have afternoon classes. I think I should go get ready.” He excused himself from the living room leaving Kao to think over the whole situation.