Num Ja Thaing - Don't be afraid of the different types of people, Mom.

"In any case, in the end, to show Ko Ko that he is not rude and that he is generous, Aye Nge will have to be heartbroken, won't he? Ko Ko is already considering abandoning Aye Nge, won't he?"

Aye Nge's words pierced my heart like a sharp blade. Aye Nge wiped away the tears that flowed down her cheeks with the edge of her handkerchief.

Then I wrapped my handkerchief around it...

"In the end, the real loser in Ko Ko's fight is Aye Nge, Ko Ko. Ko Ko shouldn't think that love is a compensation. Do you think that Aye Nge can forget Ko Ko just because she doesn't love Ko Ko anymore? Aye Nge doesn't love anyone except Ko Ko, and Aye Nge can't separate Ko Ko from Ko Ko."

Even as I spoke, my heart sank. The words stopped, no longer forming eloquent words, but merged with sobs. Then, I buried my face on my desk and began to cry.

I closed my eyes tightly.

All the thoughts I had originally thought about were thrown into a mortar and turned upside down. I was still in pain and suffering inside.

Aye Nge suddenly stood up, sobbing and crying so hard that her entire back was shaking. Looking at him intently through her tears, Aye Nge asked in a cracked voice.

"Wait, Ko Ko, what is Aye Nge's fault in this whole matter? Doesn't Ko Ko's love of the truth count towards Aye Nge anymore? Doesn't Ko Ko's not being rude show it towards Aye Nge anymore?"

The pain inside me was so unbearable that I felt a hand on Aye Nge. I sighed in relief because I was so exhausted...

"Okay, Aye Nge, I know what you want to say, Aye Nge, I know what you mean, I'm also wondering if I'm wrong, Aye Nge, just shut up for a moment and leave Ko Ko alone, Ko Ko, after you think about everything, I'll come to Aye Nge, then I'll tell you what Ko Ko's decision is, give Ko Ko a moment, Aye Nge."

Aye Nge stood up, wiping away her tears. She was about to turn away, so I couldn't help it...

"Can you clean up your face a little, Aye Nge? Aye Nge has to pass through the factory."

Aye Nge sighed and carefully cleaned her face with a handkerchief. She also tidied her hair. Then she took out a Karen puff from her handbag that was on my table and touched it...

"Aye Nge always listens to Ko Ko, and now I will pretend to listen to Ko Ko and keep Ma Pu Rook in check, but I don't want Ko Ko to forget what's going on inside Aye Nge. Aye Nge, Ko Ko, understand that there is no other choice in love, that's all, Ko Ko, Aye Nge, please allow me."

I sighed and nodded.

After a while, I was left alone in my office.

I looked at the small, swinging door that had been left behind by Aye Nge's departure.

The elephant ear doors are different from my heart. They will soon be peaceful again.

My heart, which was left trembling because of the cold...

"Shining..."

Unable to control the painful anger inside me, I snapped.

In his eyes, I saw a face that was as beautiful as it was rich, as majestic as it was proud, as cruel as it was arrogant.

I can still hear the complex, twisted sound of all the tension.

"People shouldn't be aggressive and take advantage of each other whenever they get the upper hand, Khin Maung Latt. The grudge that it's my turn to take revenge is a mentality that only very rude people have. Don't you want to take revenge on me? Don't you want to turn to someone who can win like a chicken because you can't win me? If that's the case, then I'll just give up on you even if you're on your own. You've succeeded in taking revenge. You can take me down."

"Aw... he's the only one who can say that," I muttered in frustration.

My mind was no longer able to settle down, so I stood up abruptly from my chair.

He took a cigarette out of the cigarette case on the corner of the table and lit it. The poison was left in his lungs, and the smoke that came back rose to the ceiling of the room.

“Karen... if... if..."

I remembered in my mind that it was a long-distance call to Yangon that I had asked for at the exchange earlier. I picked up the telephone with great anticipation.

'Kolat'

"'Oh... yes, Saw Win, I'm Khin Maung Lat."

The telephone operator is a friend of mine, so it's easy for me to communicate, even though it's a small town with no auto lines.

"I have arrived in Yangon, as Ko Lat called me. I said, 'Ko Lat' ."

"Yes, thank you, Ko Saw Win, hello... hello."

As soon as Ko Saw Win finished speaking, he transferred the call to Yangon. At the end of my hello, a very familiar voice came from the other end.

“Hello...speak, Aung Min is speaking.”

“Hey, man... Sein Aung Min... I'm Khin Maung Latt.”

"Ha... Ko Lat, Ma Ae Pei, factory manager, where are you from, you wild man? I can't hear you talking loudly."

Aung Min's familiar, familiar tone made me smile despite my depressed mood.

"Aung Min, are you not feeling well right now?"

"'Oh, man... don't ever ask me that question again. It's insulting to ask an official who is now serving the country, who was so busy during his student days that he had no responsibilities. I'm really angry about that."

"'Oh... if you're angry, you'll be angry later. Come to me, Lo Lo Se. I'm talking to the factory right now. I'm not asking you to come for a while. Come and stay for at least two or three nights. If possible, leave now."

“Ha... I don’t want to come to your village. You, the big city, come to me. We have an airport in Yangon. We can show the kids in the jungle who have never seen an airplane.”

He was just thinking about the next thing, so I raised my voice a little...

"Don't be late, man, I have a matter of life and death that I can't do without consulting you, so I'm asking for your help. I want to meet you tonight."

“What… you’re already in prison for misappropriating money and materials from the factory, aren’t you? I think so. If you give this position to someone who hasn’t even completed a year of AIT, the entire factory will be ruined. Aye… Aye… Don’t worry, son. I’ll go immediately. If you’re going to live, I’ll bring you bail and prison papers at once. If you’re going to die, I’ll be responsible for your head and burial expenses, isn’t that right?”

I sighed. Rather than refuting his words in detail, I kept it brief, saying that he would come right away.

“Cool • • • That’s it.”

"So that's it."

"Gup"

The phone rang shortly after the conversation ended. I felt a little better. Right now, I really need a close friend to share everything I'm feeling with confidence, right?

"Well, it's getting late at night, we'll continue our discussion in the morning. Let's go to sleep now."

Around midnight, Aung Min finished talking and went to bed. I hadn't gone to bed yet. Aung Min was snoring.

I felt good inside.

The person is free from heat. There is no attachment or bondage that leads to heat. He is at peace and content in life, and he is a person who seeks happiness and is happy according to his nature. The sufferings are far from him.

He lives like a child at home, doesn't mingle with friends like an adult, and has the great pleasure of being able to sleep when he lays his head down, unless he has something to say. He is gradually becoming a big cat.

The conversation between him and me is still going on, but one remark he made after I outlined my case still sticks in my mind.

"How did that woman come to you, Kolat? It's just that she's bringing in all sorts of evil and bad things for you. When have you ever felt lucky with that woman? Think about it carefully. Is this a real problem?"

I sighed..

Aung Min was not the first to say something similar to this. He always said the same thing about "Khin Gyi", who was not a problem with his conclusions.

Dear... dear.

What he said was in no way excessive.

In the past or in the present, Khin Gyi has caused me nothing but heartache, hasn't he?

Now, with Khin Gyi's arrival, the problems have arisen.

I have only been able to calm the surface of my life, which has been a dynamic dance, by treating everything with rationality. Now I am moving again.

The long-lost sleepless midnight nights are now reunited with me. I sit on the living room sofa, my whole body relaxed, my head resting on the back of the chair.

I stared blankly at the recently repainted white ceiling. The white ceiling faded and disappeared before my eyes.

The visual movements reflected on the large ceiling are stories from my past.

I don't know how it all came together. An old poem that I had read and seen many times came to my ears.

I can't tell if it's about Khin Gyi or Aye Nge.

The poem that reminds me of Dweychoe...

It is.

"I think that's enough, Ko Lat. Soon you'll be a standing stone statue right here."

Aung Min's words made me smile. I've been standing there for so long.

I looked down at the watch on my hand, forgetting to look back at myself.

Oh my... I've been standing there, watching you for over an hour now.

I don't think it's an hour in my mind. I think it's not even a minute in total. How can Khin Gyi lose so much time with his power and courage?