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Nobody had warned Ongsa that becoming a dentist would require her to essentially forfeit all her free time. It didn’t help that it was final exam week, so her workload was elevated to the max. Her light at the end of the tunnel, though, was going home for winter break and seeing her family, friends, and, more importantly, her girlfriend.
With Sun aspiring to be an actress and Ongsa going into dentistry, it was unfortunately inevitable that they ended up at different universities. However, they were no strangers to long distance, and they were only a few hours apart this time instead of on different continents. Still, it didn’t stop Ongsa from missing Sun every day.
Ongsa shook her head slightly to tune back into the conversation her two friends were having, catching the tail end of Chin’s complaint about an exam question. The three of them were standing in the hallway, debriefing about the exam they had just taken. Grumbles from other students could also be heard as they shuffled out of the lecture hall.
“It’s like they want us to fail,” Chin huffed. “I thought there was a shortage of dentists.”
Ongsa chuckled and was about to make a comment of her own before feeling a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and her mouth fell open. Sun stood in front of her, beaming like, well, the sun.
“Sun! You’re here!” Ongsa exclaimed, lifting her girlfriend into a hug.
Setting Sun back on the ground, Ongsa took a second to bask in her presence. Their video calls were nice, but nothing was better than being together in person.
“Ongsa, who is this?”
Ongsa’s heart froze for a second, her breath catching in her throat. Even after revealing their relationship to supportive friends and family back home, she couldn’t help but worry about other people’s reactions when they found out. It was always a small but persistent fear in the back of her mind: one day, it’d be the wrong person, wrong place, wrong time, and all the good things in her life would evaporate.
It wasn’t like she was ashamed of their relationship; quite the opposite, actually. They made each other happy, and both of them had grown as individuals because of their dynamic. But she knew the risks: rumors, discrimination, outright hostility, and she didn’t want Sun to have to deal with that.
After a second too long of silence, Ongsa hurried to introduce Sun, who was looking at her with slight concern. “This is my girlfriend, Sun. Sun, these are my friends Aun and Chin,” she said, gesturing to the pair of open-mouthed students. Sun gave them a small wave.
Aun recovered first, saying, “It’s nice to meet you, Sun. When Ongsa said she was taken, we didn’t really believe her, but it’s good to know you aren’t some figment of her imagination.”
“Yeah, it sounded like a lame excuse to let people down easily at first, but she kept insisting,” Chin added.
Sun raised her eyebrow. “You didn’t tell me you were so popular,” she said to Ongsa.
“He’s exaggerating!” Ongsa rushed to explain. “I’m too awkward for all of that.”
“People seem to like it, though,” Chin said, shrugging. Aun nodded in agreement.
“Anyway,” Ongsa cut in, steering the conversation to another topic to prevent Sun from getting too jealous, “what are you doing here? I thought we weren’t meeting up until this weekend.”
“I finished my exams early and knew you still had some, so I came to surprise you,” Sun said. “Were you— was that okay?”
“Of course,” Ongsa reassured her. “You’re welcome any time.”
“I hate to interrupt,” Chin said, “but a nap is calling my name right now.”
Ongsa rolled her eyes at his exaggerated yawn but silently agreed. She turned to Sun. “I don’t think I’m up for any heavy socializing tonight. Is that okay with you, if we stay in?”
Sun linked her hand with Ongsa’s. “Lead the way.”
The four of them started heading back to the dorms. Aun and Chin interrogated Sun about herself and Ongsa since the latter was usually tight-lipped about her life before university. Ongsa occasionally contributed to the conversation when needed, but she mostly opted to concentrate on the feeling of Sun’s hand in hers.
They finally arrived at Ongsa’s room, and Ongsa reluctantly let go of Sun’s hand to unlock the door. Luckily, her roommate had left yesterday, so they had some privacy.
“Bye-bye!” Sun waved to Aun and Chin after promising to keep in touch. Ongsa smiled at how quickly the three of them had clicked. She couldn’t blame her friends for taking a liking to Sun, especially given her sweet and cheerful personality.
“So,” Sun drawled, leaning back on the door to close it, “do you want to tell me what you were thinking back there?”
Ongsa swallowed. “I swear I wasn’t trying to hide other people’s advances from you. It just wasn’t important to me, so I didn’t mention it.”
“I appreciate it, but you know that’s not what I’m referring to,” Sun said, giving her a look.
Ongsa worried at her lip, realizing that she couldn’t avoid it any longer. “I just,” she started, “I know it’s unreasonable, but I still think about how others might perceive our relationship. Not that our relationship is a bad thing! But I selfishly want to protect you in the only way I know how. Sorry.”
Sun approached Ongsa and grabbed both her hands. “I’m not mad. You didn’t lie or pretend I was someone else, so you don’t have anything to be sorry for. I’m proud of you.”
“Well, I can’t take all the credit,” Ongsa said. “I’ve always admired how assertive and confident you are, even when things are uncertain. You’ve changed how I see myself and how I want to be in the future. You make me a better person, Sun.”
It was rare when Ongsa made Sun speechless, but her words seemed to bring tears to Sun’s eyes for a moment.
“I can see why you’re so popular,” Sun murmured, leaning in. “Do you say this to anyone else?”
“Never. Only you,” Ongsa replied, finally closing the gap between them.
When they drew back, Ongsa yawned, exhausted by the exams and emotional exchanges of the day.
Sun laughed. “This place is really wearing you out, huh?”
“You have no idea,” Ongsa sighed. “I think I’ll take a nap before dinner, or else I might pass out at the table.”
They both situated themselves on Ongsa’s dorm bed. It was a tight squeeze, but they made it work with Ongsa tucked under Sun’s chin.
“Wake me up in a couple of hours?” Ongsa asked, voice slightly muffled by Sun’s shirt.
“Of course,” Sun said, kissing the top of Ongsa’s head. “I’ll be right here.”