The Second

Ken was stunned. Someone knocked on the door of his room when he had just finished taking a shower.

Ken had just come home from a dizzying anatomy class and had a nice bath with lavender aromatherapy oil and a hint of vanilla, his favorites.

In front of him now stood the man, its Max, who last night helped him and then made him keep thinking about him in a strange way.

Behind Max, shoulder to shoulder and supporting each other were two other men. All three wore the same dark blue jacket, with a gear badge, jeans, and a black T-shirt underneath.

"Hi, Ken," said Max with a smile.

"Max?" said Ken doubtfully.

"Thank goodness you're home," Max said. "Can you help us?"

Max pointed to himself and his two friends. The two men nodded to Ken. Ken looked at Max and reached out, touching the corner of Max's lips. There's still dried blood there.

"What happened? You, no, I mean, you guys got into a fight?"

Max chuckled. "Just geography senior, avenge the stupidity of his brother we beat up last night."

"Oh my God," said Ken in surprise. He opened the door and stood pressed against the wall. "Come in!"

Max, Pran, and Leon entered Ken's room. Pran and Leon whistled when they were already inside.

"Wow, this is very ... medical kid," Leon said with furrowed brows at not being able to find the right words.

Pran hit his shoulder while laughing. "Idiot! He mean, elegant and classy," Pran corrected. "He has occasional brain dyslexia."

"Shh, sit down and be polite, you, or doctor Ken won't treat you and the seniors will find out about the fight," Max said.

He looked at Ken with a big smile on his face. "Please treat us a bit, doctor Ken. We have to face the cruel senior in an hour."

Ken sighed. "First, I'm not a doctor. I'm also a sophomore like you. Second, your seniors will still know about the fight because the scars on your faces won't go away just because I treat them now."

Pran took his phone and sighed. "Well, actually, they must have known by now," said Pran wearily. He showed his phone screen to Max and Leon. "Look!"

"Sh*t!" cursed Leon.

Someone recorded the fight and sent the video to the general group of engineering students.

Ken peeked over Max's shoulder. "Max, how many people did you deal with?" Ken asked confused.

"Uh, around 11, I guess?"

"13, with two people coming later," Leon said.

"And only three of you?" Ken exclaimed. "Are you guys crazy? What if you lose? Oh My God, your opponents are more and more bigger."

"Yeah, luckily we won," Max said, grinning, but then grimaced at the stinging pain on the corners of his lips.

"By the way," said Leon. He pointed to Pran. "He's Pran and I'm Leon. Engineering, freshmen. We are Max's friends." 

Ken nodded and opened his medicine box. "Hi. I'm Ken, medical, also freshman."

"I've heard the story about last night," said Pran, holding back the pain when Ken smeared the wound on his chin with ointment. "You can fight?"

"I won the first medal in the national junior high school taekwondo martial arts competition. I know some karate moves, too," Ken replied as he pressed the gauze to Pran's chin. His chin is a little torn, but not deep, just peeling skin.

"Wow," Leon exclaimed. "You should have gone into engineering, doc."

Ken laughed and switched to treating Leon. Max looked around the room and saw a refrigerator in the corner that served as the kitchen.

"Ken, can I have a drink?" Max asked. "I am thirsty."

Ken laughed and nodded. "Of course, Max. Just get it in the fridge."

Max walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He chuckled at the contents of the refrigerator. Bottles of mineral water are neatly arranged on a shelf in the refrigerator. Boxes of eggs, sausages, meatballs, and greens were also neatly stacked at the bottom.

"You're a true doctor-to-be," Max said as he took a bottle of mineral water. "Drinks and food are healthy, neat and organized."

"You should meet Foy, if you want to know about real neatness and order," Ken muttered as he put a bandage on Leon's hand. "Done!"

"Who's Foy?" asked Max.

"My bestfriend," answered Ken.

"Hey, Max, Phi Waddi told us to come now," Pran said while looking at his phone screen.

Max waved his hand. "You guys go first. I'll follow. Just say I'm on medication."

Pran patted Leon's shoulder. "Come on!"

"Doc, thanks for the treatment. I'll treat you to lunch next time," Leon said.

"Don't take too long, Max, I don't want to face those seniors inflamed," said Pran. He nodded at Ken. "Thanks, doc."

Ken saw Pran and Leon leaving his room. He patted the sofa beside him and motioned for Max to sit down.

"Your bruises from last night are getting darker and you already have another bruise, Max," Ken said as he studied Max's face.

He brought his face closer to see how deep the tear was on Max's forehead. His neck just in front of Max's face. Max stuned, seeing Ken's white like pearl skin. He gulped.

"Hey Ken, what brand of perfume do you wear?" Max asked suddenly.

Ken pulled away from max and raised a hand to kiss his shirt and armpits. "Uh, do I stink? I just finished taking a shower when you came over."

"No, no," Max said quickly. He brought his nose to Ken's neck and sniffed there. "You smell so good. It's warm and soft and sweet. Reminds me of my mom's muffins. Feels like... home."

Ken was stunned and his face turned red. Max looked at him dumbfounded. "Oh, the color of your skin... wow!"

Ken covered his cheeks with both hands. "Hey, stop looking at me like that," Ken said shyly.

"Your skin is turning pink," Max said in amazement. "Very cute. You look like a doll, Ken."

Ken took a deep breath and tried to calm his heartbeat, which was beating twice as fast. "Shut up, don't talk about it anymore. Let's treat your wound first. Your senior is waiting for you, right?"

Max sat down obediently, leaning back on the sofa in a relaxed manner. He closed his eyes, enjoying Ken's hand treating his wound and his scent making his eyes sleepy.

"Thanks, Ken," Max said quietly.

"Hm? For what?"

"Treating me and my two friends earlier."

"Ah, it's nothing. You helped me, too, and because of that now you have to fight again because the economics boy's brother is as stupid as his brother last night. Forgive me."

"Hey, don't be sorry. The economics kid is in the wrong. Besides, fighting is pretty fun for me to relieve stress. I've been quite stressed out because of ESO lately."

Ken laughed amusedly. His eyes narrowed like a crescent moon and his bunny teeth peeked out between his red lips. Max gulped and thought of something common to shift focus. Max closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Gosh, what happened with his heartbeat?

"So tomorrow, at lunch time?" Max asked, opening his eyes. He looked at Ken's  thick eyelashes that quivered every time he blinked.

He is so pretty, Max thought. He smells good too. Ken lifted his face and smeared the corners of Max's lips with ointment.

Max looked at Ken's red, full lips and suddenly the curiousity about how the taste of that lips make him scare.

Stop it, Max! He is a man, just like you! Max mentally scolded himself.

"Hm? What's up tomorrow?" Ken asked.

"Lunch at the engineering cafeteria. We have the best tomyam in the whole university. The beef teriyaki is also delicious," said Max, holding up a thumb.

Ken laughed. "Prepare your money. I eat a lot, especially after the quiz."

"Calm down," Max laughed. "Just prepare as much free space as possible in your little belly," said Max, stroking Ken's stomach.

Ken patted Max's hand. "I'm not little! You are too big."

They laugh together. Ken packed up his medicine box and Max's phone rang.

"Your seniors seem to be looking forward to slaughtering you," Ken said with a laugh.

Max looked at his phone screen and sighed. "This is more terrible than senior."

"Hmm? Who?"

"My girlfriend."

Ken was stunned.