"Kiet, I'm going to starve to death and you're going to have to drag me down to the dumpsters," Dao decided to remind him of his miserable existence. 

"I’ll call movers. No need to break my back," Kiet didn't even look in his direction. "Don't complain, Dao. I’ll buy you some pink milk and a dessert." 

"I’m not five years old to buy me some pink milk." he frowned, but Kiet gave him a long, inquiring look. "But I didn’t say no, so don’t try to sneak out on me downstairs." 

"When have I ever sneaked out..." Kiet murmured softly an focused his attention back on the painting.. "Well, I think it’s done now, even though I was rushing. Okay, let’s go eat." 

"Are you going to come just like this?" Dao looked at him skeptically. “You..”

Kiet stood in his pants and T-shirt covered in paint. Kiet spun around, glancing at himself in the mirror. He grabbed a lock of his hair and sighed. The appearance was second most important to him, after painting, so he gave Dao a confused smile and rushed into the shower. Lastly, he threw:

"Why don’t you get Kasem and Min out for now? I think I heard them coming back. You know when Kas is passing close by, everyone knows," and after that, Kiet fled to the shower under Dao's dissatisfied gaze.

"So you’re leaving the hard job to me? Scoundrel." Dao chuckled and stood up from the bed.

Min and Kasem were their neighbors, who lived in the opposite room. Min was an architecture student who had already earned the title of the “adorable fool.” Dao couldn’t argue with that. The friend was always smiling, blushing, and sometimes spouting absolute nonsense. His hair, amusingly falling across his forehead, bounced along with him every time he shared another one discovery of his life. Most of them were about new ways to save money, since Min was frankly poor. How he managed to had a hundred odd jobs at once and keep a high grade point average was a secret. Dao, who only had one part-time job with him, often dreamed about sleeping even lying in bed, let alone study time. And yet Min remained optimistic—or perhaps just a naive fool—which didn't stop him from staying strong, though.

Kasem—or Kas, as they called him—had enrolled in a veterinary faculty, though not many peiole really understood why. Dao was convinced Kas had been born with a phone in his hand, already started livestreaming while being swaddled. He was a blogger.  You might not find pills for a headache or indigestion in his bag, but there was always a place for a phone holder, a camera, some light bulbs.. He loved being the center of attention, and Dao had to admit—Kas was good at his job. A few million followers on TikTok and nearly half a million on Instagram were just what Dao knew about. Kas didn’t have problems with money, attention and had the clear view of his future. To all questions of why he chose veterinary, he brushed off and gave no clear answers..

“We’re like some squad of fools,” Dao sighed, pulling on his zip-up hoodie with the eagle emblem over his shoulders.

There was no one in the hallway, which Dao was immensely glad about. The performance was about to begin and it had to be endured. 

“Kasem, Min, we're going out to eat with Kiet, are you coming with us, or should we buy you something downstairs?” he banged on the door, but the door was opened to him so quickly that Dao almost smacked Min in the nose. 

“Are you treating?” he smiled broadly and opened his eyes like a hungry stray cat. “Kasem, Kasem, the guys are asking us to eat, shall we go? Is your stream over?” 

“Nothing’s stopping me from continuing it downstairs!” Kas emerged in the doorway and put his hand on Min's shoulder, holding a selfie stick with his phone in the other one. “My dear followers, as much as I don't want to leave, your Kas needs to eat wel! You should remember about nutrition too, it's very important. Bye-bye,” he smiled and showed a ‘V’ gesture, turning off the phone. Then he gave Dao a long gaze. “So bamboo stick, let's go eat some rice porridge”.

“Damn it,” Dao growled. 

He already knew that his earlier encounter with some jerk wouldn't remain a secret especially from Kas. He monitored all of his friends’ social networks, as well as the t high-profile events at the university. Dao had planned to lie to Kiet about this new unpleasant acquaintance and the situation in general, but with Kasem it was simply impossible. The friends were still in their university uniforms and there was no more time or patience to wait for them, so Dao turned on his heels and looked towards his room. Kiet was already standing there with a raised eyebrow and silently asking for an explanation. 

“Oh, I’ll tell you later, why are you sticking to me?” Dao grimaced as Min slapped him on the back, anticipating a free lunch. “Alright, let’s go, or I’m gonna miss my bus.”

Dao checked his phone and wallet in his shorts, then nodded to Kiet toward the stairs. The guys headed downstairs. Their university and dormitory provided students with everything they needed—laundromats, ATMs, various stores, and most importantly, cafes. There you could find anything your heart desired, from Japanese restaurants to food trucks that were all located near a small lake. That's where they hung out when the temperature dropped and they could sit there without Ming suffering from the heat. But, as Dao had said, they didn’t have much time, so they headed to the canteen-restaurant , as Kas called it. The level of service was like in a classic canteen, and the food had the restaurant's quality, though it sometimes looked strange.

Plenty of tables, plenty of students, and plenty of food, that's how the establishment, The Little Fish, greeted them. Dao was still confused about why there were almost no fish dishes on the menu. They all unanimously ordered fried rice with pork and grabbed some drinks. Dao still couldn't resist the pink milk that Kiet had pampered him with. Though Dao couldn’t count how many smiles he received on his way to his table. Only Min managed to get a fried egg from Kas as well. Despite being outrageously poor, Min tried not to deny himself nothing. Especially at the expense of others. As soon as they sat down, Kiet pulled out a fan and began fanning his sweaty neck.  He looked like a model under the cameras. Kas wanted to start a livestream of their meal, but Dao took his phone away, not even let him take a picture. 

“A photo or my story about what happened,” Dao issued his ultimatum. “It`s up to you, Kasem.” 

“You little blackmailer,” Kas narrowed his eyes and chuckled, then started eating. “I'll get over it once... But after that, I’ll post everything on TikTok.” 

Dao handed his phone back, eyeing him suspiciously. 

“So, today I caught some short dude spying on the girls. He made a special stick and took pictures under their skirts,” Dao started to talk, while everyone was eating and listening to him with interest. “I caught him taking photos of our P’ from engineering, I think, and I couldn’t hold back and gave the guy a few hits in the face. Then, of course, a fight started.” 

“You couldn’t handle that short guy?” Min asked with a full mouth. “You’re not that bad and you've practiced taekwondo!” 

“There were three of them,” Dao rolled his eyes. “Well, two of them were just trying to pull me off the short guy. And then he showed up...” Dao said it in a low voice and before he could continue, Kasem continued for him.

“P, whose style and beauty have captivated the entire university. Just look at what he’s wearing!” Kasem showed a photo on his phone. The subject of their conversation was standing there as if he had come to a photoshoot.  “Everyone’s talking about him and can’t figure out how you managed to get his attention. They say he's going to be a freshman. Is that true, Dao?” 

“It was easy to get his attention. I kicked him in the teeth with my head,” Dao shrugged. “He'd started the conversation a little roughly, and I decided to continue it just the same way. He gave me a terrible nickname, which I think has already spread to every group chat in LINE,” he growled, eating his rice like a dog. “I just hope he’s not in medical faculty, and I never see him again.” 

“Well, he’s already popular... and now, so you too,” Kasem laughed, poking his phone in Dao’s face. “Look! You made it onto the university’s ‘Cool Guys’ page!” then he laughed even harder.

Dao snatched the phone and opened his eyes like a frog under the car’s tire. There, from a perfectly good perspective, was a picture of the asshole who was holding Dao by the collar. The next instant a punch followed, but it was unfortunately not posted by anyone. Dao flushed with rage, realizing he was gaining popularity rapidly and unexpectedly. He opened his mouth to unleash everything he was thinking but only managed to say: 

“Damn it, you demon of a…” 

He was interrupted by the squeal of tires on the asphalt. Everyone turned toward the source of the sound. Apparently, some racer had driven off the highway and decided to have a bite to eat at this place, forgetting to slow down. His red bike, apparently worth millions of baht, flashed in the sun as he parked it and took off his helmet. He was tall, with slightly swarthy skin, wearing a motorcycle jacket and it was impossible to take the eyes off him. His almond-shaped eyes began to glide over the inquisitive people in the canteen, and his lips stretched into a smug smile. He got off the bike and, taking off his gloves as he walked, headed toward the cash register through the guys’ table. 

Kiet happened to be sitting closest to the walkway. 

The stranger was a few steps away from the cash register and turned toward Kiet. Kiet stared at him fearlessly with a bored gaze. In fact, he was first who continued eating, choosing demonstratively to ignore the troublemaker. 

The biker chuckled to himself and moved on. 

“Who is that idiot?” Min rubbed his ears. “My teeth ached from the sound.” 

“They probably have a symposium here, do not pay attention,” Dao scoffed and continued eating. “So...”