Chapter 19

(Tankhun POV)

Tuesday Morning - Theerapanyakul Residence

"P', this is really good," Kim said while chewing on the sandwich that Tankhun brought home last night. As soon as he woke up this morning and finished taking a shower, Tankhun immediately heated up the two sandwiches for Kim and Pa's breakfast.

"Yes, it's really good, son. I don't think you've ever bought this before. Is there a new Deli near campus?" asked Pa, who also seemed to be enjoying the sandwich very much.

"No, Pa, the Deli is a bit far from campus, but worth every mile," said Tankhun.

"P', are you sure this is gluten free bread? It doesn't taste like one at all," Kim insisted, his mouth still chewing nonstop. "Ah~ so good."

"I'm sure, unless Chan lied to me," Tankhun replied without a second thought. "We had lunch together at his regular Deli yesterday. He bought this sandwich for you and Pa."

"Cap!? Really? Then, I have no doubts."

"Why, you, little-"

"Cap?" interrupted Pa in a questioning tone.

Ah, Pa~

One more member of his family he had to lie to. His damn mouth!

"Pa~~! I forgot you don't know about this... P' is-"

"Kim," Tankhun warned.

"Sorry, P', not my story to tell. I shut my mouth now."

Pa looked at him with gentle eyes, patiently waiting for Tankhun's explanation, while the scientist started to feel very bad. He actually had no desire to involve Pa at all, but telling him the truth now would make things even more complicated. There was no other choice, he needed to be strong and finish his plan to the end. It was only for three months, and he was determined that Pa would not be affected by this matter at all, but even if he had to, as little as possible.

"I'm dating the BSFC's Captain, Pa," confessed Tankhun, as calm as he could.

"The Captain? Chan Knight?" asked Pa. "Ah, no wonder."

"Yes, Pa, Chan Knight," confirmed Tankhun. "No wonder… about what?"

He was actually scared to hear Pa's answer.

"No wonder you're watching football matches now," replied Pa calmly.

"What? I didn't know that," blurted Kim before Tankhun managed to give any response to Pa.

"Yes, Kim, I heard a couple of times, the voice of the football commentary came from his room," Pa elaborated while smiling. Oh , is that a mischievous smile? Pa hadn't looked this excited about anything in a long time, and Tankhun felt his heart split in two. He hated lying to Pa, but seeing Pa like this made him very happy.

"I thought you only watched the derby that one time. Aw~ P' that is so sweet."

Tankhun was so~ ready to pull out his claws to silence Kim, but today, Pa was very spirited. If he didn't know better, he'd think Pa and Kim were working together on purpose to gang up on him.

"He's also a very handsome man, so it's understandable if you want to see him in action," stated Pa, his mischievous smile got even deeper.

Oh God…

Did Pa... just tease him? Tankhun felt like he was back in the old days when Ma was alive. If Ma was still here, both his parents definitely would have ganged up on him to tease him without mercy. Tankhun's feelings were so mixed at that time, he was unable to speak, like there was something stuck in his throat.

"He's very kind too, Pa~ and the coolest… Cap is the best!" added Kim. "You won't find anyone better than Cap, P'!"

Pa's smile was shifting from being mischievous to be contented and relieved. He looked so radiant.

Okay~ he needed to stop this Chan praise event ASAP, before Pa expecting something that doesn't exist. If only...

Too soon, remember?

"Oh wow, look at the time," blurted Tankhun with the worst acting ever, but he just couldn't take it anymore. "Kim, we better go now."

"Okay, P'," Kim responded as he grabbed his car keys from the dining table and put them into his jacket pocket. "Drop you at Hattrick as usual?"

"Yes," replied Tankhun. "Pa, we're leaving."

"Tankhun," called Pa as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Tankhun. He then gently held Tankhun's face in both of his hands and said, "All I want for all my sons is for them to find great love in their lives, just as I found great love in your mother."

Oh my God…

"Pa..." replied Tankhun who was so moved by Pa's words at that time, placing his hands on top of Pa's. "I want it too, Pa, believe me."

Pa just nodded slightly and smiled at him, afterward, he pulled Tankhun's face closer to kiss him on his forehead.

"I wish the best for you and Chan, Son. So, when can I meet him?"

Whoa! Mayday… mayday…

"We just started dating, Pa," reasoned Tankhun, hoping Pa wouldn't push him. "Still too soon."

"Okay, okay, I'll just wait for your cue then," Pa responded with a chuckle.

Tankhun kissed Pa's right cheek. "We better go now, Pa."

"Yes, of course, have a good day, both of you."

"You too, Pa!" replied Kim. "See ya!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On the way to the Hattrick, Tankhun checked all the messages and notifications on his social media that he didn't have time to check last night, while Kim, who was driving, sang along to a catchy pop song on the radio. To be honest, Tankhun always thought that Kim has a good singing voice, but football is his life, otherwise Tankhun will ask Kim to enter a music academy.

"The boys are so adorable, all of them," said Tankhun with a laugh.

"Who are you talking about, P'?" Kim asked.

"The BSFC boys," replied Tankhun. "They followed me on Instagram. Wait, let me follow them all back."

"They followed me back too, P'! Can you believe it? Me!?" cried Kim.

"It must feel like a dream to you," asked Tankhun.

"You have no idea, P'! I think until this very moment I still haven't woken up from the dream," replied Kim who stunned. "Since last night, I keep pinching myself, it's madness, P'!"

"Aaw~ I'm so happy for you, Kim," said Tankhun, ruffling Kim's hair.

"Oy, P', leave my hair alone!" yelled Kim as he stopped the car in front of the cafe and immediately fixed his hair.

"Thanks, sweetie, have a good day!"

"P, wait!" yelled Kim once again. "How about I just wait for you here? So, you don't have to deal with the paparazzi?"

"No need, Kim. I don't want you late for class," rejected Tankhun. "I'm going to be fine, besides I don't know how long the queue is today."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay, then, if you say so," said Kim. "Please, give me a call if you need me."

"I will, see you~" said Tankhun, waving to his youngest brother, who is such a sweetheart most of the time.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The queue was quite long today, Tankhun was relieved he didn't ask Kim to wait for him. He would definitely be late for his first class, if he had to wait this long. While waiting for his turn, Tankhun decided to check the messages and DMs on his cellphone which seemed endless.

TayTay_11

Doctor T, congratulations! But more importantly, please let me compliment your fashion sense~ those Ferragamo combat boots are to die for! Super love! ❤️

Tankhun T

Aaaw~ Thank you, Tay! ❤️

LB_2_Arm

Doctor T~, OMG! This is Arm, and Pol is here with me atm. We need to ask you something. Will you give us permission to write a ff about you and Cap? Your love story is GOLD!

First, Tankhun laughed at Arm and Pol silliness, but then thinking about them truly writing a story about him and Chan made him shudder. No way in hell!

Tankhun T

How about never? And don't you ever think that you two can create a side account to write a ff about me undetected. Believe me, I will hunt you down and will ask Chan to make your life a living hell. OH, how about VP? Any progress? You need to update me about them!

CB_BIG4

Doctor T, I just wanted to say, no matter how bizarre your first meeting with Cap was, I'm glad he found you. Thank you for returning his smile.

Wow , that was intense. Big's DM made Tankhun so fucking curious though, what exactly that infuriating ex from hell had done to Chan!? He needed to ask Porsche about it.

Tankhun T

Thank you, Big.

"Next customer!"

Ah, finally it was his turn.

"Oh, Doctor T, it's you," greeted the barista. "I'm Macau, Vegas's brother. Uhm, P' has already explained the consequences of my action to you. I owe you a big apology. So, I'm so sorry, Doctor T."

The boy, who seemed to be about the same age as Kim, looked very apologetic, so Tankhun wasn't going to prolong the matter any longer. After all, it happened quite a long time ago.

"Macau, right?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, Doctor T."

"Let's just forget about it, okay? It's forgiven."

"Thank you," Macau replied, his face looking very relieved. "Large hot Americano, right? Or you want a jumbo size, Doctor T?"

"Large is enough for today, Macau, thank you."

After paying for the coffee and tipping Macau, as usual Tankhun stood at the end of the counter waiting for his Americano to be brewed. While waiting, he decided to read the last DM on his phone, it was from Pete. It was a long one and seemed more intense than Big's.

Co_Cap_Pete8

Doctor T, I don't know if the others have tried to contact you or not, but if they did, I wouldn't be surprised. I just hope you don't feel like we're being too presumptuous or crossing the line by sending you a DM like this. But our team is like a family, and like a real family, we protect each other.

Oh my God , was he about to get "the talk" through DMs by the co-captain of BSFC? These boys truly were adorable, they entertained him so much. Still, Tankhun prepared himself to get "the talk." He definitely would share this with Chan, they're going to have a good laugh over it.

But, just as Tankhun set out to read the rest of Pete's DM, Macau called out his name, his coffee was ready.

"Your Americano, Doctor T, " said Macau sweetly while handing the hot coffee to Tankhun. "Have a good day."

"Thank you, Macau. Have a good day, too."

First thing first, Tankhun took his first sip of coffee for today before he continued reading Pete's DM.

Co_Cap_Pete8

… We all care so much for Cap, and we're so grateful that we can see him laughing like this again. We've been waiting for this moment for a long time. So, thank you very much, Doctor T! We owe you big time! We don't know how we can repay this, but if you need our help, please say so without hesitation.

Apparently it was not the "if you hurt our Cap, we will hurt you back" talk that he expected, but somehow this was way worse and not amusing at all. In fact, Pete's DM had made Tankhun feel very bad about himself, almost as bad as he felt when he heard Pa's words earlier this morning, or when he made Porsche sad that night at the Moonlight. But, he truly never expected that so many people would be so delighted or this keen because of whatever it is that's been going on between him and Chan. Not only that, some of them even felt very grateful to him, since they all believed he was the reason that making Chan smile and laugh again.

But all of this was fake! Their relationship was fake... and who could guarantee that Chan's smiles and laughs are genuine? He said it himself, with his own mouth, that it was too soon for him to start a new relationship. So, who really knows? Despite what those BSFC boys said.

What have I got myself into?

Tankhun should have accepted Macau's offer earlier and gotten the jumbo size coffee. But, honestly, he didn't think it would make things any better, because for the first time since he discovered the Hattrick, he did not find the slightest pleasure in his coffee.

TBC