WHILE THE WORLD ISN’T WATCHING

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CHAPTER 6 — DAWN AND THE RETURN

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The night had passed in silence, accompanied only by the sound of the waves.
When Smart opened his eyes, the sky was just beginning to clear.
For a few seconds he remained still, still half asleep. Then he gently turned his head toward Boom.
Boom was still asleep.
Smart smiled as he watched him.
—Boom...
Boom barely moved.
—Mmm...
—Wake up.
—What time is it?
Smart looked toward the balcony.
—It's starting.
Boom slowly opened his eyes.
—The sunrise?
Smart nodded.
—We said we'd watch it.
Boom spent a few seconds with his eyes half-closed.
—Already?
—Already.
They got up. Boom grabbed the camera before heading out, determined to capture the moment. Smart grabbed a blanket and positioned himself right behind him on the balcony, wrapping them both in it.
He rested his chin on Boom's shoulder as they watched the first light appear over the sea.
They didn't talk too much.
They didn't need to.
For a few minutes, they just stood there, without rushing and without thinking about what awaited them upon returning.
When the sun finally finished rising, Boom smiled.
—It was worth getting up for.
—I told you.
—No. You said I had to wake up.
Smart let out a laugh.
—Because if it were up to you, you'd still be sleeping.
Boom looked at him in disbelief.
—Me? You're always the one asking for five more minutes.
Smart smiled.
—But I got up today.
—Because I woke you up.
The two of them ended up laughing.
Boom was still holding the camera and looked at it for a few seconds.
—Wait.
—What?
—We're missing one.
Smart understood immediately.
They drew closer to each other and took one final photograph facing the sea, with the sunrise glowing right behind them.
They waited a few seconds as the picture slowly began to develop.
—This one turned out nice —Boom said.
—Yeah.
Smart looked at the photograph for a few seconds before putting it away.
—Now we can finally go get breakfast.
—Finally —Boom said—. I'm starving.
They showered, had breakfast, and finished packing their things.
Check-out arrived way too fast.
And when they finally left Hua Hin behind, both of them knew those eight days were starting to draw to a close.
The drive back to Bangkok was quiet.
For a while, they talked about random things: the food, how little they had slept, and how tired they would probably be when they arrived.
Boom glanced at Smart out of the corner of his eye.
—Though you're mostly to blame for this.
Smart looked at him.
—For what?
—For us sleeping so little.
Smart let out a laugh.
—Me?
—Yeah.
—You were the one who didn't want to sleep.
Boom tried to hold back a smile.
—Because you didn't want to either.
—Then you can't blame me.
—I can try.
Smart shook his head, amused.
—How convenient.
—I'm just saying we're both tired now.
—That part is definitely both our faults.
Boom smiled and turned his gaze back to the road.
For a few minutes they kept talking about nonsense, until the atmosphere slowly began to shift.
Boom looked at his phone.
It was still in airplane mode.
—When we get there... should we turn it off?
Smart took a few seconds to answer.
—I guess.
—What a convincing answer.
—Do you want to do it?
Boom made a face.
—No.
—Me neither.
They both laughed.
During those days they had managed to keep the outside world at a distance. They had time to be together with no schedules, no calls, no messages, and without constantly having to think about what came next.
But now they were returning to Bangkok.
And with Bangkok would come the schedules.
The commitments.
The messages.
The flights.
The meetings.
Everything they had left outside during those days.
—We can still see each other —Boom said after a while—. An afternoon, a night, maybe a whole day...
Smart nodded.
—But several days in a row like these are difficult.
—Very difficult.
Boom rested his head against the seat.
—I wish it weren't so complicated.
Smart smiled slightly.
—Me too.
That was precisely what they had enjoyed during those days: not having to count the hours or think about when each of them would have to leave.
—I wish we could do this more often —Boom said.
—I wish we could work on projects together again.
Smart smiled slightly, though there was a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
—More trips.
—More days.
They looked at each other for a few seconds. Both of them knew they wanted the same thing, but neither said anything else.
When they finally arrived at the apartment, neither of them was in a rush to touch their phones.
They dropped their things.
They sat down.
They looked at each other.
And then they looked at their phones.
Boom sighed.
—Well...
Smart looked at him.
—Well.
—Should we do it?
—You do it.
Boom raised an eyebrow.
—Why me?
—Because you were the one who said we still had two days left.
—That has nothing to do with it.
—It does for me.
Boom let out a small chuckle.
—Coward.
—Prudent.
They stared at each other for a few seconds.
Then Boom smiled.
—Fine. Let's play rock, paper, scissors.
Smart looked at him distrustfully.
—Rock, paper, scissors?
—Yeah.
Smart shook his head.
—But we always play...
He paused and pointed at him.
—And I always lose even when I win.
Boom laughed.
—This time I'll respect the result.
Smart stared at him fixedly.
—Really?
—Really.
—Without changing the rules afterward?
—Without changing the rules.
Smart smiled, still distrustful, because he knew Boom way too well.
—Fine.
Boom raised his hand.
—Rock, paper, scissors...
First round.
Rock.
Rock.
—Tie —Boom said.
Another round.
Scissors.
Scissors.
—Again —Smart said.
They tried once more.
Rock.
Rock.
—Tie —Smart said again.
Rock.
Paper.
Smart raised his eyebrows.
—I won.
Boom looked at his hands.
—Another one.
—Another one?
—Yes.
Smart let out a laugh.
—You said you'd respect the result.
—I know. But we can play again.
—All right.
Another round.
Paper.
Rock.
Smart won again.
Boom looked at him in disbelief.
—No.
—Yes.
—Another.
Smart shook his head, amused.
—Okay.
Last round.
Scissors.
Paper.
Smart smiled.
—I won.
Boom looked down at his hands.
Smart watched him for a few seconds.
Then he pointed at his phone.
—Turn it on. Take it off airplane mode.
Boom looked up.
—Why? If you won.
—Because of that. It's your turn to turn off airplane mode.
Boom frowned.
—That's not what we agreed on.
Smart looked at him, confused.
—What do you mean, no?
—Whoever won had to turn off airplane mode.
Smart let out an incredulous chuckle.
—Are you cheating? How am I going to win and still be the one to turn off airplane mode?
Boom didn't answer.
He simply made a little pout.
Smart looked at him.
—No.
Boom kept the pout on his face.
—What?
—Don't do that.
Boom did the pout again.
—Do what?
—That.
—I'm not doing anything.
—Boom...
The pout appeared once more.
Smart tried to keep a straight face, but ended up letting out a laugh.
—That's cheating.
Boom barely smiled.
—Then you do it.
Smart shook his head.
—You always do the same thing.
Boom looked at him with that expression again.
Smart sighed.
—Fine.
Boom smiled immediately.
Smart picked up his phone.
—See? It always happens. I win, and yet I still end up losing with you.
Boom let out a small chuckle.
—You do it this time. You'll see I'll make it up to you tonight.
Smart gave him a side glance.
—I hope so. Because if it's anything like rock, paper, scissors, I can already see myself losing again.
And he turned off airplane mode.
For a second, nothing happened.
And then...
Bzz.
Bzz. Bzz.
Bzzzzzzzz.
They both stared at their phones at the same time.
Smart widened his eyes.
Boom burst out laughing.
—Well... whatever.
He looked at his screen.
—Now it's my turn.
And he turned off airplane mode too.
Boom's phone started vibrating almost immediately.
A missed call.
Another one.
Messages.
Notifications.
And, among all of that, missed calls from their respective managers appeared.
Boom looked at Smart.
—They were looking for us.
—Looks like it.
—And a lot...
Smart checked his screen.
—I have messages from fans.
Boom did the same.
—Me too.
For a few minutes they tried to catch up on everything that had happened while they were disconnected.
Until two new messages arrived.
Both on WhatsApp.
Both with their respective schedules.
Smart opened his.
Boom did the same.
They read in silence.
Then they looked up at the exact same time.
They looked at each other.
Neither of them said anything.
Because now the time had truly come to discover what awaited them after those eight days.