BOUND BY SECRETS

The lecture hall buzzed with whispers as Professor Perth scrolled through the slides, his voice calm and steady.

"And in this model, the key factor ensuring stability is?"

"Santa!" Louis nudged him. "He's looking at you."

Santa snapped out of his daze, his eyes widening as he saw Perth watching him.

"Mr. Pongsapak?" Perth repeated, a slight amusement in his tone.

"Uh... Load distribution?" Santa blurted, his cheeks heating. "And... material strength?"

Perth's lips curved into a smile. "Correct."

Louis snickered. "Look at you, teacher's pet."

"Maybe he gets extra credit for looking cute," Mark teased.

"Shut up," Santa mumbled, glaring at them.

Sammy grinned. "You blush any harder, Professor Perth might give you a participation award."

Santa groaned, sinking into his seat.

---------

Santa and his friends were having lunch break...

"Where were you last night?"

Santa nearly choked on his juice. Louis smirked, his eyes twinkling with curiosity.

"Just... out."

"Out where?" Mark pressed.

"Alone?" Sammy added dramatically.
"Or with someone special?"

Santa’s face reddened. "Can you guys not?"

"Oh, we can," Louis teased. "But we won’t. Spill it!"

"There’s nothing to spill!" Santa protested.

"Is it your mysterious husband?" Sammy’s grin grew. "Come on! What’s his name? How does he look? Tall? Handsome? Romantic?"

Santa's lips clamped shut.

Mark gasped. "Wait! Do you have a picture?"

"No!" Santa huffed, flustered. "And I’m not talking about this!"

"Suspicious," Louis singsonged. "Very suspicious."

Santa groaned. There was no escaping them.

-------

Later in the day, Santa strolled across campus when a cheerful voice called after him.

"Santa!"

A tall senior jogged up, his smile easy and bright.

"I’ve been meaning to ask," the guy began, scratching his neck nervously.
"Would you like to grab a coffee sometime?"

Santa blinked. "Oh, I—"

"Is there a problem?"

Santa’s stomach twisted. Perth...

He stood a few steps away, his arms crossed, eyes locked on the senior. His usual calm demeanor was laced with something else. Something possessive.

"N-No problem!" The senior stammered, stepping back. "I-I should go."

Without another word, he disappeared.

"Phi!" Santa gaped. "What was that?"

Perth shrugged. "He was flirting with you."

"And?" Santa challenged, though his cheeks were already pink.

"And I didn’t like it." Perth's voice was low, his gaze never wavering.

"Jealous much, Phi?"

Perth smirked. "Maybe."

Santa was dumbfounded to react... He just excused his self and ran from there...

----------

It had been two days.

Two long days without a single message or call. Santa stared at his phone, the screen still blank. His thumb hovered over it, refreshing the inbox again — nothing.

“what are looking at in your phone ?” Louis asked, noticing how Santa’s face fell.

Santa quickly shook his head. “Just some notifications. Nothing important.”

Mark sighed. “You’ve been weird, you know that? Not eating, not talking. If we didn’t know any better, we’d think you’re lovesick.”

Louis grinned. “Wait, don’t tell me! Did someone finally capture the heart of our little Santa?”

“Shut up,” Santa mumbled, forcing a laugh that didn’t reach his eyes.

Perth had vanished without a word. Santa was left wondering, worrying, and overthinking. He barely slept, jolting awake every time his phone buzzed. But it was never him.

Sammy frowned. “You didn’t even finish lunch. Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.” Santa’s voice was barely a whisper.

But he wasn’t.

-----------

The next morning, Santa dragged himself to class. His body ached, his head spun, and the world seemed hazy.

Film, the ever-elegant professor, walked in, her presence drawing everyone’s attention. Her bright smile and confident demeanor filled the room.

"Good morning, everyone! Today’s lecture will be a bit lengthy, so brace yourselves."

But Santa barely heard her. The heat radiating from his forehead was unbearable. His eyes blurred, the lines on the notebook dancing before him.

Louis noticed. “Santa… You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” Santa whispered again, though even he wasn’t convinced.

But before anyone could say another word, his vision darkened.

The last thing he heard was Louis shouting his name.

--------

Santa woke up to the sterile scent of antiseptic. The white walls of the hospital greeted him as he blinked the haze away. His friends were hovering around him, worry etched across their faces.

“You scared us!” Sammy scolded. “Why didn’t you say you were feeling this bad?”

“I… didn’t want to trouble you.”

Mark scoffed. “Idiot.”

Louis patted his shoulder. “You need to rest. No more skipping meals, alright?”

Santa gave a weak nod. But his mind was elsewhere.

Still no message. No call. Not even a word.

---------

That afternoon, Perth finally returned to the university. Dressed in his usual crisp shirt, he strode through the halls, but his eyes were sharp — searching.

Film’s bright smile welcomed him. “Professor Perth! You’re back. How was your leave?”

“It was… productive,” Perth replied, though his voice was distant. “How have things been here?”

“Oh, the usual,” Film waved her hand. “Though, there was a little incident today. One of the students collapsed during my lecture.”

Perth’s heart stopped. “Collapsed?”

Film nodded casually. “Yes, a boy named Santa Pongsapak. His friends took him to the hospital.”

“Where is he?” Perth’s voice cracked.

Film blinked, surprised at his reaction. “He was sent to Chiang Mai General. But why—”

Perth didn’t wait.

Without another word, he turned and rushed out, his heart pounding with fear.

---------

Santa…

He needed to see him.

Now....

To be continued.... 🖤🤍