Chapter 6

(Chan POV)

By the time Chan got out of his car, Tankhun was already at the entrance of the Moonlight, his favorite bar slash jazz club, a gem that he'd discovered many years ago. To say he wasn't curious about the reason why Tankhun was in such a hurry, was a lie. Therefore, Chan quickened his pace, trying to shorten the distance between them.

Chan was only two steps behind Tankhun, when the fashionable Doctor (just look at that sweater!), who was standing in front of the bar counter that separated him from Porsche, the owner of the Moonlight, and his husband, Kinn – who turned out to be Tankhun's younger brother (shocking!), pointing his finger at them.

"You two are so~~~ DEAD!" shouted Tankhun in a loud voice, which obviously took the newlyweds by surprise.

"P'!" exclaimed Porsche with a look of wonder.

"Tankhun?" Kinn's expression at the moment was also not much different from Porsche.

"Good evening, Porsche… Kinn…"

"P' CHAN!?" shouted both of them at the same time, both of their faces looked even more confused now.

Sorry, boys…

Porsche, who was the first – between the two of them, to recover from his shock, asked Tankhun calmly, "P', you came here with P'Chan? I didn't know that you two knew each other."

"Likewise," replied Tankhun. "I also didn't know that the two of you had known P'Chan?"

"Ah, shit," muttered Kinn under his breath. It seemed like Kinn was the only person, apart from Tankhun of course, who had realized what was really going on.

"It's not that I never thought about Kim or anything, Tankhun, or trying to hide the fact from him, but the circumstances were never right. Besides…" Kinn hesitated to finish his sentence.

"I never allowed it," Porsche said firmly, finishing Kinn's sentence.

By then, Chan was starting to have an idea of what the real problem was, and if he wasn't mistaken, it must have something to do with their youngest brother, Kim, who in Tankhun's words, was his biggest fan.

"Why?" asked Tankhun with an icy tone, his brown eyes staring intently at Porsche.

"P'Chan has been a regular here for more than 10 years, when the club was still managed by my late Pa. He always reminded all the staff and people here to never disturb P' and to just treat him as an ordinary person," explained Porsche. "I will obey my Pa's words forever."

"Kim is not just anybody, and Chan is his favorite player. Not even a single autograph for his sake, really!?"

"Guess who was my Pa's favorite footballer? Did you see P'Chan autograph in this club?" replied Porsche, still keeping his composure, even though his voice trembled slightly as he once again mentioned his Pa who had died when he was still a teenager.

"Tankhun… please?" begged Kinn, his right hand gripped the back of the Porsche's waist, comforting his partner.

For a second there, Tankhun just stood still before he suddenly turned his body around and left the bar. Purely on reflex, Chan caught Tankhun's wrist and shocked the man, but then again, he himself was also stunned by his own action, but now was not the right time to find reasons.

He gently asked him, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the restroom for a while, please order anything you want, I'll be right back," answered Tankhun as he avoided looking at Chan's face to hide his sad eyes.

Chan released his grip on Tankhun's wrist, and then watched the slender body wrapped in a multi-colored sweater, walking away. He still has his swag though, so he should be okay.

From behind him, Chan could hear Kinn's soft voice gently calming his Porsche.

"Don't worry, okay? I'll talk to him," said Kinn before following his brother, who walked toward the restroom.

"P'Chan, aren't you going to sit down?" asked Porsche, still sounding a bit shaky.

Chan turned around with a smile on his face and then sat on a bar stool right in front of Porsche. The tall boy… no… not a boy anymore… but an adult (and married) man, who he had known since Porsche was only 16.

Pat, Porsche's Pa, was his most trusted confidant, a super nice guy who had built this very intimate small jazz club, and the one who knew all about bitter stories in Chan's life. When Chan had to part ways with his fiancé, his childhood sweetheart whom he loved very much, Pat was the one who held his hand and listened to him for hours. He was the one who made him understand that sometimes in life, just loving each other wasn't enough, that the breakup happened not because Chan wasn't good enough or not tried enough, but simply because it must end, for the sake of them both.

Since his debut at the age of 16, apart from his own place, Chan has never really been left completely alone. People would always come to him, to say hi, to shake his hand, to smile at him, to offer him something – whether innocent or raunchy, to ask something from him, and Chan never did not respond to them politely, no matter how tired he was. The Moonlight was his sanctuary, where he can hide from fans, media, or fame, where he can be sure that no one will bother him. And he owed it all to Pat.

"I would love to sign hundreds of items for your Pa, you know? I don't even know that he was a fan," said Chan.

Porsche just smiled at him and replied, "You know exactly what kind of person my Pa was. After all, you and him have made an agreement many years ago, right? There is no Daddy Chan here, only Chan, an ordinary man who just wants to drink peacefully and enjoy the music."

"Thank you for keeping that trust, Porsche, but I never expected the situation to turn out like this. Frankly, I feel a little responsible for Tankhun's reaction just now."

Porsche only raised one eyebrow, waiting for Chan's explanation.

"Remember that viral video two weeks ago?" asked Chan.

"Of course," answered Porsche. "I hope you don't read those nasty comments, P', please just ignore those crazy people."

"I don't. Anyway, when you called me that night, I told you what really happened, didn't I? How did it all start because the brother of one of my fans asked for my autograph at the cafe?"

Porsche gasped and then howled, "NO~~~"

"Unfortunately… YES," replied Chan as he covered his face with his hands.

At first, Porsche just chuckled, then it escalated to whole-hearted laughter.

"For real? It was P'?" asked Porsche, still couldn't hold in his laughter.

"Yes, Porsche, it's Tankhun," confirmed Chan as he glanced to his right side. It wouldn't be funny at all if they were caught red handed by Tankhun talking about him behind his back.

"But, wait, wait, wait… how did you guys end up coming here together? I thought you said the perpetrator was gone?" asked Porsche again, all the trace of worry totally gone from his face.

"Tankhun came to see me at the training ground this afternoon, offering coffee as an apology."

"Oh my God, I can't believe this!" said Porsche, giggling this time. "And then?"

"You have to remember, at that time, I was still a bit upset and wanted to teach him a lesson, and I had absolutely no idea that he was your brother-in-law, so I kind of made him promise to fulfill 3 tasks for me before I accepted his apology."

"Oh ho~~~ no wonder P' so pissed about the autograph! Hahahaha!"

At that time, it seemed like Porsche was laughing non-stop for a full two minutes, he even hit on top of the bar counter with his hand.

"Porsche, please stop laughing, don't make things get worse," begged Chan. Once again, he glanced in the direction of the restroom.

"I swear to God, I have watched a romantic comedy movie with a story line that starts like this," replied Porsche, who was still laughing, though not as loud as before.

"Porsche, stop, I absolutely have no thought in that direction," stated Chan curtly. Whether he said it for Porsche or for himself, he really had no idea.

Oh, really?

"But why? P' is smart, good-looking, and fabulous."

"I noticed, Porsche. I have eyes, thank you."

And here we go again, that little shit snickering non-stop.

"I guess the cat is out of the bag, then?" asked Tankhun in the sassiest tone from behind him.

FUCK ME!

Chan didn't even realize when Porsche came out from behind the bar, but when he turned around to see Tankhun, Porsche was already there standing in front of his brother-in-law. Both of them were facing each other now.

"P', I..." he said.

"Oh, come here you~," Tankhun cut off whatever words Porsche was trying to utter earlier and then hugged him tight for quite a while. "Please forgive me, my dear Porsche."

"Nothing to forgive, P'… I'm sorry too~" pleaded Porsche.

Tankhun who was still hugging Porsche, nodding his head in affirmation.

"Okay, enough of this and start drinking," said Tankhun as he let Porsche go and walked to the stool near Chan.

"Excellent idea," said Kinn with a big smile on his face. He took Porsche's hand gently into his hand and afterward, returned to behind the bar together. The two of them were the sweetest.

"Why haven't you ordered anything yet?" asked Tankhun, as soon as he sat on the stool beside Chan.

"I'm waiting for you," answered Chan.

"Ooh, such a gentleman," said Tankhun cheekily. "And here I thought someone couldn't wait to be as rebellious as he could."

Chan had to admit that this Tankhun Theerapanyakul was indeed something else. He shades people like nobody's business, but instead of being hurt, Chan was entertained. In fact, he lost count of how many times Tankhun's demeanor tonight amused him.

"P'Chan, you're drinking tonight?" asked Porsche. "I'm so ready to make you a mocktail."

But before Chan could reply and explain, Tankhun already opened his mouth and answered the question for him.

"Shh~ Porsche, leave him alone. The captain will drink alcohol tonight, because I need to fulfill my first task, which is to treat him to a drink."

"Okay P', I'll zip my mouth shut and start preparing the drink," stated Porsche while both of his hands started to work. Watching Porsche mixing drinks was always a pleasure and a privilege, however this time Porsche didn't do much action. He only put one whiskey tumbler on the bar counter, put ice cubes inside it and then poured in the golden liquid.

"Your absolute beloved, P', Macallan on the rock."

"Thank you, Porsche, there's a reason why I love you more than Kinn."

"Hey, watch it!" yelled Kinn and everybody just started laughing.

Two minutes later, Porsche put his favorite cocktail in front of him. "And your Cosmo, P'Chan, enjoy~"

"Are you fucking serious!?" cried Tankhun, his face filled with horror. "Do you have an obsession with everything sweet?"

"Someone promised not even two hours ago to keep his mouth shut and let me drink anything I want and be rebellious."

"True, but please let me comment one last time… For real now, have you ever been interested in drinking something that isn't sweet?"

"If you're like me, who spent most of his life in the last 25 years eating bland healthy food, zero calories drink, and plain protein shakes, trust me, darling, you will also be craving for anything sweet."

Someone behind the bar choked, and looked like it was Kinn, because he faintly heard Porsche giggling. But Chan didn't have a chance to confirm it because Tankhun had already launched a new complaint.

"What did I tell you about calling me with an endearing name? It's Doctor."

"My bad, Doctor."

"Sweet lord, only one sip of Cosmo and already so forgetful, old man."

And now Chan heard two different chuckles coming from behind the bar.

God damn it!

"What's so funny that you two can't stop giggling like an anime fangirl, huh?" blurted Tankhun out of the blue, his focus now moved on to his two brothers.

"Nothing, P', I just find out the interaction between the two of you is... fascinating," answered Porsche.

"Huh?"

What the Fuck, Porsche!?

"But I really do feel my age today, I must admit," said Chan quickly, trying hard to change the topic and returned Tankhun's attention to himself. Just now, Porsche was playing a very dangerous game. "Something happened in the dressing room today that feels like a slap in the face, I just realized that the generation gap really does exist."

"What happened?" asked Tankhun, his interest peaking.

"Vegas, our new player, and Pete, my co-captain, still couldn't work well together, so they had been scolded by Coach non-stop after practice, it was bad. But I truly have no idea what made Arm and Pol giggled like mad each time Coach opened his mouth to scold Vegas and Pete. And then, they started throwing out various terms that I'd never heard of."

"Terms you never heard of?" Questioned Porsche. "Hm, they can't be a football-related term then, because P'~ you're like a walking dictionary!"

"I'm absolutely sure they're not football-related."

"Tell us, then!" Demanded Tankhun.

"Something about fanfiction, OTP, and then E… ah ETL trope!"

Chan didn't know what happened, but the answers he gave just now were immediately greeted with screams and laughter from Tankhun and Porsche. Chan was very grateful for Kinn at the moment, because at least his face looked as confused as him.

"HOLY SHIT! HAHAHA!"

"Definitely not football-related! HAHAHA!"

Porsche and Tankhun laughed so hard they cried. When Chan thought they almost stopped, their laughter began again.

"Have you guys laughed enough? Can you now explain to me and Kinn about the terms?" inquired Chan. "And thank you for making me feel so old for the second time today. No offense, Kinn."

"None taken, P'," affirmed Kinn.

"My Kinn might only be 28, but his wisdom surely is like a 40-year-old," stated Porsche, snickering like crazy.

"You're so lucky you're cute, you know that?" replied Kinn as he pulling Porsche's face closer to him to give his husband a peck on the forehead.

"Okay, okay, I will give an explanation about those terms, but first… could you tell me exactly what Coach said to Vegas and Pete?" begged Tankhun, his face still rosy pink from laughing too much.

"About their position on the pitch, because both of them are attacking midfielders."

" .GOD., I think I know where this is headed," shouted Porsche, so ready to burst in laughter again.

"Hold your horses, Porsche. Let him finish," ordered Tankhun sternly.

"Coach wants them to communicate well and be flexible, so they can switch their position and confuse the opponent team."

"I KNEW IT!" screamed Porsche, who couldn't hold his laugh any longer. Tankhun was, in more or less, in the same state as Porsche, while Chan and Kinn were still so fucking confused.

"Let's just wait until they stop laughing, P'." said Kinn, who seemed to have given up hope because Porsche was already rolling on the floor, literally.

"Are you guys ready for your fanfiction crash course?"

TBC