Chapter 30

The next few days passed with their usual rhythm—Jes worked at the café, managed his photography gigs, and Ngern juggled his busy schedule. But the difference now was that Ngern texted him all the time.

It started off casually. Updates about his work, complaints about long shoots, random photos of things he saw that he thought Jes would like. Then it escalated—voice notes of Ngern yawning mid-sentence about how exhausted he was, pictures of his half-eaten meals with captions like "Jes, would this get your approval?" and even sneakily taken selfies where he looked particularly smug.

Jes should have been so annoyed. But instead... He found himself looking forward to them.

One evening, just as Jes was about to close up the café, his phone buzzed.

Ngern: I'm outside.

Jes blinked. What?

He turned his head toward the glass door, and sure enough, there was Ngern, leaning against his car, waving with a bright grin.

Jes stepped out, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"

Ngern shrugged, casual as ever. "Had some free time. Thought I'd come kidnap you for dinner."

Jes folded his arms. "You're ridiculous."

Ngern grinned wider. "And yet, here you are, still talking to me."

Jes sighed but couldn't stop the small smile tugging at his lips. He really is impossible.

"...Fine. But I'm picking the place."

Ngern's laughter rang through the quiet night. "Anything for you, P'Jes."

...................................................................

Jes was enjoying the dinner. More than he expected.

It was a cozy little place, nothing fancy—just a simple restaurant with warm lights and quiet music in the background. Ngern, despite being an actor, never seemed to care for flashy places either. He was too busy stealing bites from Jes's plate, anyway.

Jes smacked his hand away for the fourth time. "Ngern."

Ngern blinked, chopsticks frozen midair. "...Yes?"

Jes gave him a look before sighing and pushing a portion onto Ngern's plate instead. "Eat your own food."

Ngern beamed, completely unbothered. "But yours tastes better."

Jes rolled his eyes but said nothing. Ridiculous.

But nice.

He really hadn't noticed how easy it was with Ngern.

They were just finishing up when—

"Oh my god, Jes?"

Jes stiffened. That voice—

He turned his head and, sure enough, there stood a small group of people near their table, all grinning at him like they had just seen a ghost.

His old high school friends.

Jes forced a polite smile. "Uh. Hey."

One of them, a guy named Ton, stepped forward, eyes darting between Jes and Ngern with obvious curiosity. "Damn, it's been forever! You don't answer in the group chat."

Jes shrugged. "Busy."

Ton laughed, then not-so-subtly nodded toward Ngern, eyes glinting with interest. "And this is...?"

Jes hesitated.

Ngern, however, did not.

With his signature easy-going grin, he leaned back and said, "Oh, I'm Ngern."

That wasn't enough for Ton, though, because his grin turned downright mischievous. "Right, right. But like—boyfriend?"

Jes choked.

Ton and the others started laughing. "What? He looks at you like one."

Jes's ears burned. "Shut up."

But before he could say anything else, he felt a warm hand casually rest on the back of his chair.

Ngern, very amused, was watching him with far too much enjoyment.

"I wouldn't mind, though."

Jes froze.

His friends whooped in delight.

Jes smacked Ngern's arm. "You—shut up."

Ngern just laughed, way too entertained.

His friends teased him a little more before finally moving along, but Jes could still feel his face burning.

Ngern, meanwhile, was still grinning.

Jes glared. "Not. A. Word."

Ngern just hummed, sipping his drink.

Jes groaned. He is NEVER going to let this go.

..........................................................

Jes was determined to move past it.

The moment his high school friends were out of sight, he grabbed his drink and focused intensely on the melting ice cubes. As if he could will them to erase the last five minutes of his life.

Ngern, on the other hand, looked like a cat who got the cream.

Jes could feel the weight of his gaze, the absolute smugness radiating off of him. It was infuriating.

"Jes."

Jes did not respond.

"Jes."

Still ignoring him.

Ngern tapped his chopsticks against Jes's glass. "Earth to Jes."

Jes finally looked up, narrowing his eyes. "What?"

Ngern smiled, too innocently. "So... boyfriend, huh?"

Jes kicked him under the table.

"OW." Ngern winced, but his grin did not waver. "Hey, I didn't say it. Your friend did."

"You didn't deny it either," Jes muttered, stabbing at his plate with his fork.

Ngern propped his chin up with one hand. "Should I have?"

Jes nearly stabbed his own hand instead.

He turned to glare at Ngern, only to find him watching him carefully. The teasing smile was still there, but it wasn't as obnoxious now. There was something else beneath it. Something quieter.

Jes looked away. "You're ridiculous."

Ngern just chuckled and leaned back. "Maybe."

They didn't bring it up again.

But as they finished dinner, as Ngern casually reached over to grab Jes's bag like it was the most natural thing in the world, as he walked beside him a little too close, Jes couldn't stop hearing it.

Boyfriend.

And the way Ngern hadn't minded.

Jes was so screwed.

.........................................................

Jes tried to forget about it.

He really did.

But the word clung to him like a song stuck in his head, playing on repeat every time Ngern did something unnecessarily sweet.

Like when he texted Jes the next morning:

Did you eat yet? Don't skip breakfast.

Or when he sent a random photo of Mali drooling in her sleep with a caption:

She sleeps like you. Messy.

Or when he showed up at Jes's café again, not even bothering with his usual disguise this time, just grinning as he ordered the drink Jes always made for him.

Jes handed it over, not making eye contact.

Ngern didn't leave immediately.

"Still mad?"

Jes looked up with a deadpan stare. "Why would I be mad?"

Ngern smirked. Damn him.

Jes grabbed a rag and started aggressively wiping the counter. "I just don't see why you found it so funny."

"Because I liked it," Ngern said simply.

Jes's hands stilled.

Too fast. Too blunt. Too honest.

He did not know how to respond to that.

Ngern, as if sensing Jes was about to combust, leaned forward on the counter, arms folded. His voice was softer now. Calm. "Hey."

Jes slowly lifted his gaze.

"You don't have to freak out," Ngern said, a small smile playing at his lips. "I just... I like hanging out with you, okay? That's all."

Jes swallowed.

Okay. That was not all, and they both knew it.

But Jes, for once, let it go.

"...Fine."

Ngern's smile widened. "Fine?"

Jes exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Yeah. Whatever."

Ngern chuckled, grabbing his drink. "Good."

Jes watched as he walked out, too casual, too comfortable.