After that late-night conversation, Ngọc Duy seemed much more open… but only with me and the other gay guys in the room. With the straight boys, the moment they opened their mouths, they still looked down on his profession with contempt. The most important thing was that I could see Ngọc Duy was no longer alone. He wasn’t quietly sinking into loneliness anymore; he had started accepting the care and concern everyone was giving him.
It felt like just yesterday, but Phong had already moved out to live with Kiên for more than half a year now. From what I heard, things were still sweet and happy between them. We never kicked them out of the main group chat of the room, even though their “seen” status was almost never lit up. Out of sight maybe, but never out of heart — the whole room still considered them brothers.
One day, the group chat was exploding with messages when Nhật Hào suddenly asked: “Eh? Who are these two?” He pointed at the corner of the screen where two unfamiliar avatars had just viewed the messages.
Duy Long answered: “Minh Phong and Bá Kiên — they’re our friends. They used to live in our room too.”
I jumped in to see what was going on that made those two suddenly appear in the group, and right away I received a private message from Minh Phong: “Weekend free? Come over to my place!”
I shouted into the room: “Who’s going?”
Thế Sang — knowing full well that when Minh Phong “invites” people over, there’s definitely going to be drinking and partying — immediately replied: “I’m going! You guys don’t have to come, I can handle it myself, no problem!”
Tùng Dương shouted: “Fuck your mom! That was fast! I’m going too!”
Quốc Bảo, Vũ Linh and Minh Khôi weren’t in the room at the moment, but knowing how much they love a good time, they would definitely show up. Ngọc Lễ and Duy Long couldn’t possibly refuse — it had been ages since the “sisters” had a chance to gather. The two youngest got dragged along and eventually gave in. The only ones left were Hoàng Tuấn and Ngọc Duy, who were still at work and hadn’t come back yet.
I figured there were still a few days until the weekend; Hoàng Tuấn would probably manage to take half a day off. So I typed into the group: “Let’s have the whole room go! Prepare to welcome them properly!”
Minh Phong dropped a “haha” under my message and replied: “Come over, don’t worry about going hungry — there’s always plenty of dog food at home!”
Minh Phong’s mom rented him an apartment in a building in District 10, not too far from our school, very convenient for going to class. Every time we met on campus he liked to brag that downstairs there was a swimming pool, gym, restaurants, cafés, outdoor exercise area… basically everything.
In the blink of an eye, Saturday evening arrived. The whole room was excitedly dressing up, getting ready to head to Minh Phong’s place. Quốc Bảo had just come back from outside and saw us all looking sharp and polished, so he asked: “What’s up? Where are you guys going?”
Minh Khôi teased: “What’s that, dad? You don’t read group messages or what?”
Trọng Quân answered: “We’re getting ready to go hang out at Phong and Kiên’s place. You coming?”
Quốc Bảo slapped both hands on his head and wailed: “Fuck! How would I know! I already made plans to drink with the class committee! If I’d known I would’ve rescheduled for tomorrow!”
Vũ Linh said: “You definitely turned off group notifications, right? Classic!”
Thế Sang waved it off: “No problem, Quốc Bảo! I’ll take care of your share!”
The whole room hurriedly left, leaving behind Quốc Bảo’s sour face. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken a lot of convincing to get Ngọc Duy to agree to come along. I was really afraid that Quốc Bảo, once drunk, would start saying things he shouldn’t, hurting Ngọc Duy again — and then I’d probably end up jumping in to argue with his narrow-mindedness.
Me, Ngọc Duy, Duy Long, Ngọc Lễ and Trọng Quân stood at the parking gate waiting for the others to bring their motorbikes out. When Hoàng Tuấn rolled his bike up, the whole group couldn’t help but let out a collective “Whoa!” It was the brand-new Air Black model that just came out this year — aggressive design, masculine color.
Vũ Linh blurted: “Fuck, that’s badass!”
It wasn’t just Vũ Linh; everyone else was openly admiring it too. I asked: “When did you buy this, Tuấn?”
Hoàng Tuấn replied: “Bought it at the beginning of the year. Finally got the chance to take Hưng for a ride!”
Thế Sang teased: “Hưng is the luckiest one here!”
Minh Khôi sighed in admiration: “Really pays off working day and night! Looks so damn good!”
I shouted: “Come on, let’s move! We’re already late!”
Sitting on the back of that brand-new bike, I felt even more how capable Hoàng Tuấn really was. He never once complained to me, never showed how tired he was in front of me. Whenever he was with me, Hoàng Tuấn was always full of energy, and always had more than enough gentleness to give. I could also feel how much he wanted to protect me, just by leaning against his solid back.
Nhật Hào took Trọng Quân, Vũ Linh took Duy Long, Minh Khôi took Ngọc Lễ. Thế Sang took both Ngọc Duy and Tùng Dương, while I rode with Hoàng Tuấn. The roads weren’t too crowded, but people were still coming and going busily. When we passed a huge office building, we saw crowds of men and women in white shirts and slacks just leaving after work. We quietly thought to ourselves — maybe one day, we would become one of them too.
Less than twenty minutes later, the whole group had parked in the basement. When the elevator door opened, Minh Phong and Bá Kiên were already standing inside, waving us in. I exclaimed: “Damn, this elevator is huge! It can fit more than ten people easily! Unlike the one at school — the line stretches all the way to Thủ Đức!”
Tùng Dương corrected: “You’re exaggerating! It only reaches District 2 at most!”
Wherever we went, we laughed and made noise. Only when we stepped inside Minh Phong’s apartment did everyone suddenly fall silent. For the first time, a bunch of students saw a living space this luxurious — jaws dropped, eyes wide, the only sound was a long collective “Woooow…”
Their apartment was easily three times bigger than our room. There was a living room, kitchen area, two bedrooms, a bathroom with a soaking tub, not to mention the wide, breezy balcony.
Tùng Dương walked over to the balcony and sighed: “Fuck… imagine coming out here at night, banging each other and clapping cheeks — nothing better!”
Bá Kiên clicked his tongue: “You really get me!”
Duy Long scolded: “Fuck you guys! There are kids here! Watch your mouth for me a little!”
Minh Khôi shot back: “That’s exactly why the kids need to hear it, dad! So when they grow up they won’t be shocked!”
Thế Sang finished touring the whole place, came back and asked: “Hey, you two live here — why do you need two bedrooms?”
Minh Phong answered: “The other room is for parents when they occasionally come visit.”
Vũ Linh jumped in: “Oh really? I thought when you guys fight, you kick Kiên into the other room to eat vegetarian!”
Bá Kiên replied: “What are you thinking? Which night does he not hold my dick while sleeping? If not, my boyfriend would stay up till morning!”
I laughed and looked at Minh Phong: “Why so cheap, dad?”
Hoàng Tuấn asked: “Are these walls soundproof?”
Bá Kiên answered: “Very good soundproofing! Last time Minh Phong’s mom came up and bought us several kilos of oysters. That night we couldn’t hold back — moaning and screaming like we were gonna destroy the room. The next morning Minh Phong’s mom asked me: ‘My God, when you love each other you have to be passionate! What were you two doing, practicing qigong?’”
Everyone laughed until tears came out. Minh Phong’s mom was way too enthusiastic about their relationship. She kept texting, asking about their feelings, and wasn’t shy about showing their couple photos everywhere. Age is one thing, but life circumstances also affect how someone sees the world. Being older doesn’t necessarily mean outdated!
After the greetings, I went to the kitchen with Minh Phong, Duy Long, Ngọc Lễ and Ngọc Duy to set out the food. Minh Phong asked: “Long, Lễ, I heard lately you sisters have been fighting over the new kid?”
Duy Long answered: “Sisters my ass, fake affection! Sisters with dicks fighting over the same dick!”
Ngọc Lễ snapped back: “You talk big — why don’t you give him to me then!”
I cut in: “Fuck! I worship you two! The moment his name comes up you want to eat each other alive!”
Ngọc Duy asked: “But does Nhật Hào like guys or not?”
I replied: “He’s bisexual — he dances to any song.”
Duy Long puffed up his cheeks: “What?! How do you know? Did you already hit on him?!”
Ngọc Lễ continued: “Fuck! You slut! You already have Tuấn and now you’re stealing boys from your sisters?!”
I tried to explain: “What are you guys on about? Who’s stealing from you? He just told me himself! But don’t act like you’re so into him — when something comes too easily, people don’t value it.”
Minh Phong suddenly dropped a line that made me embarrassed: “Hey, that’s not necessarily true. Look at me and Bá Kiên!”
I argued back: “It’s different! You were obsessed with Kiên for a long time before he even knew. Only later did he find out. And anyway, Kiên had already liked you from before!”
Ngọc Duy sighed: “Sigh… love is blind. If everyone were as rational as Hưng, who would suffer for love?”
Duy Long agreed: “Well said! I agree! I will keep confessing my feelings. One day Nhật Hào will realize and reciprocate my sincere love!”
Ngọc Lễ let out a loud “Pffft!” “Reciprocate my ass! He’s mine, not yours!”
I shrugged and looked at Minh Phong — these two were truly hopeless. Minh Phong asked again: “What about the other kid?”
I said: “You mean Trọng Quân? No idea. Everything about him is so secretive — we don’t even know if he’s straight or gay.”
At that moment, a very familiar notification sound came from Ngọc Duy’s phone — anyone who uses the app knows that sound! Ngọc Duy checked his phone, replied back and forth for a bit. I got curious and asked: “What’s up?”
Ngọc Duy leaned close to my ear and whispered: “VIP client.”