33
Us
I stomp out of the restaurant to call a taxi home. But my arm was grabbed from behind with such force that I stumbled. Aontakarn ran after me and is now squeezing my wrist tightly. She doesn't look happy.
"Chris. Why didn't you wait to tell me you were leaving before leaving?"
"I don't want to get in the way of your happy dinner. Enjoy."
This is probably the first time that I have rebelled against her. I coldly twist my wrist out of the sweet-faced woman's grip. There is no taxi, so I have to be with her a bit longer.
"What's the matter with you? I just went to the restroom for a bit, and when I got back to the table, A said that you left. We came together. Why are you deserting me like this?"
"I can't bear to be with that man for another second. You should leave, too. That man didn't come with good intentions."
"What did he say?"
"He bullshitted."
"What did you two talk about? How could he get you this frustrated so quickly?"
The sweet-faced one still doesn't understand it. I'm too frustrated to give a long explanation. And I know that I'm unstable, so I'm being more emotional than I should be.
"We talked about who he is and where he's from. And from what he told me, it's obvious that he bullsh*ted. You as well... why did you talk to him behind my back? And it wasn't just once, but often. Why did I have no idea that you did that?!"
Aontakarn is stunned, but she tries to explain herself.
"Because it's nothing."
"Then why did you invite me here today?"
"I want you two to get to know each other."
"Be honest, Karn. You invited me here to make your future in the entertainment industry easier. If I, who's your lover, get along well with A, you will no longer have to talk to him behind my back." I bite my lips, furious. "I thought we were on a date today. But, instead, my lover fooled me and invited me to dinner with a man who's hitting on her. What crazy shit is this?"
"Like I told you, him hitting on me doesn't mean that I feel anything for him."
"Not today, but who knows what will happen in the future?"
"Chris!"
"You lied to me about this dinner. What about next time? I know that you're excited to get the opportunity to follow your dream. But shouldn't you be using your talent rather than your charm to make things easier for you?!"
We stare at each other. No one is backing down. Though I feel that I was a bit too aggressive because I know that Aontakam cares about me more than anything, I have to tell her that what she's doing is not right.
"Do what you want, Kant But let me warn you... That man does not have good intentions. He may just leave you be after he gets what he wants. A career in the entertainment industry? He may bury you instead."
"Don't be quick to judge someone by your own standard."
Aontakarn is saying that I know this because that's how I think. I just give her a slight smile in frustration. A taxi happens to stop to pick me up at this time.
"Then you can use your standard. I'm just warning you out of love; that man is bullshitting."
"What did he bullshit about?"
I open the door and get into the taxi. I reply to her before I close the door.
"He said that lie's Apple!"
"So what if he is? Why are you frustrated by that?"
"Because he's not."
"How do you know that he's not?"
I tighten my lips. I can't give an answer, so I decide to close the door, stop paying attention to Aontakarn, and tell the taxi driver to start driving.
In the end, we fight...
And I'm lying in bed with an anxious heart. I'm worried about what Aontakarn and A are doing right now. If I were there, I could get in the way or force the sweet-faced woman to go back home. But I played big. I got angry and hailed a taxi home.
She doesn't even LINE (message) me to try to reconcile with me!
In the end, I was awake the entire night. I get off my bed at 5 a.m. to jog. My mother is shocked. She's up early to give alms, as usual. But she's never seen me up when the sky is still dark like this since I was still in high school. This is my first in many years.
Aontakarn didn't message me. She didn't try to pick a fight. There's zero feedback from her!
I go into the office, looking very grumpy. No one dares get close to me. I already normally look very arrogant, but it's worse today. Aontakarn is nowhere to be seen. That is not unusual because we don't encourage staff to come into the office to save on electricity costs.
What now... Should I contact her first?
As I'm sitting in my chair, stressed and staring at the chat application, hesitating whether I should contact Aontakarn, someone pokes me in the back. I was startled a bit. At first, I was happy because I thought it was Aontakarn. But when I see that it's Tem, I go back to being grumpy.
"A smile can fade so quickly. It's as if someone cast a spell on you. Who did you think poked you? Miss Karn?"
I bared my teeth at the guy and crossed my arms across my chest grumpily. Not only am I stressed, but I'm also very annoyed right now.
"Don't joke around. I'm not in a good mood."
"You will be more stressed if you're alone. I will help you relax."
"I said don't... Hey!"
I'm dragged into the elevator. Tem takes me to a convenient store to get something simple to eat for lunch, which is an instant cup of noodles. We opted for a change of scenery and sat on a bench outside our office building, watching the cars go by while we ate.
"Why are you taking me here to breathe in pollution?"
"It's a change of ambient. It's stressful to do the same old things."
"I'm going to be more stressed. Instead of eating good food, I'm eating a cup of sodium." I'm eating the instant noodle as I complain.
"Even if you eat good food, you won't have any appetite looking that stressed. If I were to guess, you fought with Miss Karn?"
"Don't butt it. I may be fighting with someone else at the office."
"Where there's a woman, there's a problem. You won't fight with a man. Everyone is afraid of you since you lashed out at us at that party about you and Miss Karn not dating."
When I hear that, I let out a mocking laugh. Even if it's just mocking, it's a laugh.
"You're smiling."
"…"
"Oh. I shouldn't have said that; now you're not smiling... You're so cute when you smile. You look like a little girl."
"Don't sweet talk me. Aren't you obsessed with the new hire now?" I tug my elbow into his ann. Tem laughs and sniffs his arm.
"Your elbow smells so good."
"You must be a womanizer. You're so flirty."
"But if I have a lover that I love, I will stop being flirty like this."
I glance at him and force out a dry smile in disbelief. I then strike up a conversation about men, relating to the fight I had with Aontakarn last night.
"Let me ask you something."
"Ah-huh."
"Do men do everything to get what they want?"
"Yes. If you ask me to lick the floor and lick your face, I will do it."
"Why would I ask you to do that?" I kick him in the shin and continue my line of question. "Be serious. Like... if you really want someone, you will give her everything. And once you get what you want, you will dump her?"
"That's too insensitive. If I really like someone, I will give her everything that I have. And if I also have her, I will love her to death."
"So, not every man is bad."
"Are you worried about Miss Karn?"
"Why do you think that it's Karn?"
"Because she's the only one in our office who was approached by a man. He bought her a huge bouquet." Tem spreads his arms to indicate how big the bouquet was. "But... she's beautiful, so it's probably normal that men approach her. I heard from Jeth that an agency contacted her."
"Yes. Something like that."
"If she enters the entertainment industry, more men will approach her."
Why did I ask him so that I could feel worse? When Tem sees that I go quiet, he leans his shoulder into me.
"Don't worry about Miss Kam too much. I believe that she can think for herself. If she's with someone, she has chosen."
"Right." I straighten myself up a bit because I'm the chosen one.
"What about you?"
"What?"
"Have you chosen anyone yet?"
I glance at the person who asked rue that and smile shyly.
"Why are you asking? Who would I choose? I'm not beautiful like Karn."
"I've liked you from the start. So if you haven't chosen anyone, choose me."
"Stop fooling around."
But this man is confessing his feelings and baring his heart to me. He's begging me to choose him...
"Chris."
I hear Aontakarn's voice from behind while I'm still in shock over Tem's request. I turn around so rapidly that my neck almost breaks. The furious look on her face tells me that, adding this to what happened last night, things will get really bad.
"Karn!"
I got up immediately out of shock. My hands are sweating, as if I'm guilty of something and am afraid that I will get caught. The petite woman turns around and is about to walk away. Tern grabs my arm before I can follow her.
"What is it? What happened?"
"Something big." I twist my arm off his grip and run after Aontakarn immediately. The petite woman has tears welling up in her eyes. But she seems more furious than sad. This is not good. "Wait, Karn. Let's talk about this."
But this man is confessing his feelings and baring his heart to me. He's begging me to choose him...
"Chris."
I hear Aontakarn's voice from behind while I'm still in shock over Tem's request. I turn around so rapidly that my neck almost breaks. The furious look on her face tells me that, adding this to what happened last night, things will get really bad.
"Karn!"
I got up immediately out of shock. My hands are sweating, as if I'm guilty of something and am afraid that I will get caught. The petite woman turns around and is about to walk away. Tem grabs my arm before I can follow her.
"What is it? What happened?"
"Something big." I twist my arm off his grip and run after Aontakarn immediately. The petite woman has tears welling up in her eyes. But she seems more furious than sad. This is not good. "Wait, Karn. Let's talk about this."
As soon as I grab her arm, it's dOja vu of what happened last night. The sweet-faced one immediately twists her arm out of my grip.
"Let me go."
"Are you angry about Tem? We were just teasing each other." I hurriedly explain myself and try to make what happened something to laugh about. Yet Aontakarn shows no sign of going along with me.
"That was teasing each other? I heard everything from the beginning. You two were flirting. I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears."
"Crazy. We weren't flirting..." I scratch my head. "Even if he was flirting with me, it was nothing because I don't like him."
"Then why didn't you believe me when I said the same thing last night?"
"Ah... Well..."
"You said that I use my charm to pave the career path that I've always dreamed of. How are you different
"You're weary because I'm sulky. I do things behind your back. You want to break up with me."
"I'm not breaking up with you."
Anathakarn slowly looks up and looks at me with tears in her eyes. I look at the petite woman, who has tears all over her face, adoringly. Someone this beautiful can look ugly sometimes, I guess.
Awww.
"Chris..."
"Chris won't break up with Kam unless Kam makes that request." I tighten my lips and sigh. "I was too hot-tempered last night. I went home but couldn't sleep all night. I kept worrying about you. I was afraid that you would go somewhere with him. I wonder what you were doing and if you're already home. We normally say good night to each other every night. This morning was the first time that I woke up in time to see my mother give alms in over ten years."
"I also didn't sleep."
"You're weary because I'm sulky. I do things behind your back. You want to break up with me."
"I'm not breaking up with you."
Anathakarn slowly looks up and looks at me with tears in her eyes. I look at the petite woman, who has tears all over her face, adoringly. Someone this beautiful can look ugly sometimes, I guess.
Awn. "Chris..."
"Chris won't break up with Kam unless Karn makes that request." I tighten my lips and sigh. "I was too hot-tempered last night. I went home but couldn't sleep all night. I kept worrying about you. I was afraid that you would go somewhere with him. I wonder what you were doing and if you're already home. We normally say good night to each other every night. This morning was the first time that I woke up in time to see my mother give alms in over ten years."
"I also didn't sleep."
Aontakam and I hug tightly, forgetting about Tem, who's another character in this chapter. I don't even look around to see if he followed us until I hear a cough.
"So, you two are really dating."
Tem asks this. It causes Aontakam and me to startle. The petite one looks at me as if to apologize. She knows that I don't want anyone to know about us.
Yet, this time, I want to make our relationship clear. I'm honoring Aontakarn, who doesn't care who knows about us. She probably wants everyone to know, actually. So I admit it loudly and clearly.
"Yes, we're dating."
When Aontakarn hears that, she's stunned. She then wipes her tears with the back of her hand and admits it as well. I'm not sure whether it's because she's too elated or she just wants to show her ownership because she didn't like Tem from the start.
"We're in love."