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Perspective - Third Person
A holiday with a vibrant atmosphere turns somber the moment the household's only son sits in his romantic partner's embrace, his face buried against the other's shoulder. He lets silent tears seep through his shirt, without a sob, without a word, his two hands wrapped around the other's broad back, while the other gently rubs his back, strokes his hair, occasionally tousling it in comfort.
"Ae..." Only when the sounds of argument downstairs fade does the one crying call out in a trembling voice, prompting the listener to softly respond.
"My father… My father wants us to break up."
Swoosh.
"What did you say!" The listener instantly pushes the other's shoulders back, his sharp eyes flashing at the softly spoken words, causing the one crying to press his lips together tightly.
"My father… Won't stop...I know my father's nature well. Once he finds out… He'll do everything he can to make us break up."
"But I won't break up!"
As soon as he says that, Ae responds immediately, his grip on the other's shoulders tightening, firmly repeating:
"No matter what your father does, I won't break up with you." The words make the listener let his tears trickle down his cheeks once more.
"Ae, you really won't break up with me...truly, no matter what my father… says… Please don't break up.. .please?"
Grab.
"I won't break up. No matter what, I'm not breaking up… Stop imagining things, damn it," the young man says, his tone stern. Yet, the two hands that pull the pale figure into a hug are gentler than ever, as he speaks the words the listener most wants to hear.
"I love you this much...how could I ever break up with you?"
Grip.
Hearing this, two hands clutch the other's shirt even tighter, wrinkling it as he buries his face in the shoulder of the one who once said, Why lean on your knees when you have a partner with a shoulder for you to lean on? Words Pitchaya has kept in his heart and leaned on.
A shoulder that absorbs his tears and gives him strength.
"I don't want to break up...I don't want to..."
"No one is breaking up with anyone."
Turn.
Then, the door opens, and the two holding each other tightly turn to see the family's elder standing there, her expression tense.
From the few minutes she spent arguing with her former husband, Khun Patchara now looks worn and appears years older. This sight makes Inthach realize just how much stress his romantic partner's mother has endured in the recent confrontation. Yet, her gaze remains strong, inspiring his respect.
"Mother… Father..."
"Father has left, Pete," says Khun Phat, moving to sit beside her son and wiping away his tears, even as her own eyes are wet with tears.
"I'm sorry for making you see this kind of scene again..."
"I think I should step out for now," says Ae, feeling that he has no place in a family discussion. However, Patchara slowly shakes her head.
"There's no need, Ae. You're like family to us, and now that things have reached this point, you should know everything." With that, she turns to her son.
"It's all right, isn't it?"
"Mother, are you alright? Did Father do anything?" Pete moves closer to his mother, looking her over from head to toe to ensure she's unharmed, which brings a faint smile from her as she swallows back her own tears.
Her life revolves around her only child, and she must protect him.
"Your father wouldn't dare do anything. You know he's only good with words," says Khun Phat with a wry smile, lightly patting her son's head before continuing.
"No one has to separate, Pete. You and Ae don't have to break up."
"And Grandmother..." Pete suddenly speaks up.
Although he is deeply concerned about his father, he doesn't want Grandmother to know about this. She is elderly, and there's no guarantee of how she would react if she learned her grandson's sexual orientation. His words prompt a sigh from Khun Phat.
"Your father won't say a word."
"Is that possible, Mother?"
Father would not take this opportunity to blame Mother for anything?
The question prompts a sigh from the listener.
"Recently, Grandmother's health check results have not been very good. In fact, I think your father returning to Thailand may not be about seeing you, but more likely related to Grandmother's situation."
"So, I told him that if he wants to harm me by discussing this, then let him... He wouldn't dare, Pete. The only reason he has a position in the family today is because of Grandmother. He wouldn't risk giving her a heart attack right now."
The more Inthach listens, the more he feels that man is despicable. He does not care for his wife, children, or mother; it is all about himself.
"So, you can rest assured that this matter will not reach Grandmother's ears. But..." Khun Phat takes a deep breath and looks at her son's romantic partner with a concerned expression.
"But, Ae... you must be careful during this time. I don't know what that man might do. He can't come after me or Pete. He might come after you though." The short young man listens calmly, noticing the worried look in the eyes of the one he loves.
Nevertheless, he smiles.
"Don't worry; I will be cautious. No matter what happens, I will never break up with Ai Pete," Inthach states firmly, smiling to reassure both of them that he is prepared to face whatever that man might do.
No matter what happens, I will never break up with Ai Pete.
The thought that he tells himself with utmost conviction.
~~~
After listening to the wickedness of a man who has hardly ever acted like a father, Ae thinks that he must confront this man alone. However, he does not expect that merely stepping out of his romantic partner's house and walking along the road to the bus stop leads to a car already waiting there. As he walks past it...
Skreech.
The driver's side window rolls all the way down, revealing the face of the driver who just scolded his son, causing the younger person to stop in his tracks. He takes a deep breath and raises his hands in greeting.
"Hello."
"Are you here to leech off my son?"
Thud.
The listener freezes, his two hands at his side clenching tightly together. Yet he tells himself not to be hasty, since the other party is the elder. If he lets slip a curse, it only provides grounds for insults directed at Ai'Pete for choosing to associate with a street thug. Thus, the young man replies in a calm voice.
"If that means being in a relationship, then yes, I am currently dating Pete." His sharp eyes remain resolute, not even flinching to look away, as he meets the gaze of the elder who possesses everything, prompting Khun Phum to look on with displeasure.
This arrogant child, let me see how long you can act so self-assured!
"How much is Pete paying you?" Once again, the derisive tone rings out, causing Ae to clench his jaw tightly. He wants to punch the man in the face, but he forces himself to take a deep breath.
"We are dating. Pete does not buy me."
"Then that means he gives it to you for free, does it not?"
Thud.
Ai'Bloody-fucking cur, how dare you speak of your own son like this, you hellish beast!
The thoughts of the person, though he maintains a serious facade, reveal his hands clenching tightly together until the knuckles turn white. He does not want to say anything that might provoke the man to take it out on Ai'Pete even more, while the other side smirks as he turns to grab something to press against a pen.
Scrape.
"Three hundred thousand... break up with him."
"I do not want the money."
"Oh, is that too little?" Even as he states this with a firm voice, the other party merely shrugs, tears the paper, and writes the number down again.
"How about three million... and get out of my son's life... I will not allow him to ruin the family name like this!!!"
A new check is thrust out through the window, accompanied by a harsh tone that sounds as if he loathes his own child, making Ae barely able to keep his composure any longer.
"Take it. I consider it a charity."
Inthach lowers his gaze to the paper with cold eyes and then looks up to meet the gaze of the man who believes that money can buy everything, while he waves the check back and forth.
Thud.
At last, the short young man reaches out to take the paper.
"He is much smarter than my feather-headed son..."
Rip.
"Oh!"
As if the paper holds no value, Ae tears it apart before the other party's eyes and lets it fall to the ground. Then, his sharp face leans closer to the other man, speaking in a calm voice that clearly conveys seriousness.
"Take your money and donate it to an orphanage. There are many who need that money... Perhaps if you die, you will not go to hell for hurting your wife and child like this... goodbye."
Finally, Ae raises his hand in a farewell after his keen eyes and fierce face (as others say) glare at the other party in anger for almost a full minute.
Afterward, the one who has just admonished an elder turns on his heel, leaving the other man to watch him with wide, angry eyes.
"You arrogant brat, do you know who I am!?!"
However, Ae does not care, as his two feet carry him away from that spot quickly, before any assault charges occur, leaving the father of his beloved to clench his fists tightly in frustration.
"It is just as Khun-nu has said, it is you who leads my child down this depraved path! A person like Khun Phum cannot have a gay son, remember that!"
In the end, it is not concern for how his child will be seen in society, but rather worry about how he will appear if society learns that his eldest son... is gay.
~~~
"Ae, Ae, do you know? Big brother has succeeded!"
"Hmm."
"Hey, hey! The housing project I told you about, we won the auction for electrical equipment. Once this job is done, we will profit a lot!"
"Yeah."
After returning from his beloved's house, Ae walks into his home with a serious expression, which his brother does not notice as he is too busy boasting, thinking he will see his younger brother happy like everyone else in the house. Instead, it turns out that Ae responds with only one word throughout the lengthy conversation, causing his brother to frown.
"What is wrong with him, Nat?"
Even after his younger brother walks off to his room, the elder turns to his wife, who is holding their daughter.
"Well, if you ask me, who else can I ask...? Nong Yim, do you know what is wrong with Uncle Ae?"
The three-year-old girl smiles brightly and shakes her head.
"Nong Yim does not know what is wrong with Uncle Ae, but Nong Yim knows what is wrong with Mommy."
"Huh?" The father exclaims in confusion, turning to look at his beloved wife, questioning what is wrong with her, which causes the young woman to lower her hand and touch her abdomen.
"P'Oh has good news... I also have good news..."
"Don't tell me..." The listener's eyes widen as he looks down at his wife's belly, then back at her face in disbelief, while their little daughter speaks up clearly.
"Nong Yim is going to have a sibling, Daddy!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!!! My efforts have paid off!!!"
"P'Oh shush now. Soon everyone will know in the whole neighborhood," the overly excited soon-to-be father of two causes his pregnant partner to say softly. Then she yelps as he hugs her slender frame along with their daughter, kissing both their cheeks before releasing them.
"I will be right back."
Thud, thud, thud.
"Daddy! Mommy! I am going to have another baby!!!" After he says that, the fierce-looking man (much like his younger brother) runs towards the restaurant side, shouting so loudly that customers turn to look from every table, while the soon-to-be grandmother merely waves her spatula with a laugh.
"Everyone already knows, Oh. You are the last to know."
Upon hearing that, the excited man walks to the front of the restaurant, looks up, and shouts to his younger brother who is upstairs. "Hey, how can that be? No way! Ae shouldn't know yet... Ae, you hear? You are going to be an uncle again!"
Ae merely peeks out, raises a hand in acknowledgment, and then disappears back into his room, leaving his older brother acting un-befittingly to his fierce appearance.
Thud.
Then Ae uses both hands to clasp behind his head and flops down onto the bed. Although he feels joy knowing that his older brother won the auction and is about to have a second child, his heart and mind think of only one thing... Ai'Pete.
He truly does not know what Pete's father will do, and whether what he says will ignite even more anger from the other party.
"Sigh... no matter what happens, I will not break up with you."
In the end, the short young man reaffirms to himself once again as he lifts his hand to touch his left chest.
He cannot believe that he has become the kind of man he never imagined being two years ago.
The Ai'Ae who used to scold friends for being silly over their girlfriends has died, leaving only Ai'Ae, who believes he cannot be without someone named Pitchaya.
"I love you. I love you so much that I cannot lose you."
The event when Ai'Pete was taken away teaches him that... he does not want a life without him.
One week passes, amidst the worries of both Ae and Pete. However, everything remains eerily quiet... too quiet for a man who shows such disdain for his son.
There is no meeting.
There are no harsh words.
There is no bloody event.
Everything remains silent, causing the son to feel even more anxious.
"It is good that nothing is happening. Try not to dwell on it."
I cannot help but worry, Ae. My father is not the type to give up easily. Back when it was about my mother, things dragged on for months… I'm just afraid he'll reappear with some huge explosive stunt.
The listener thinks along with him, and even though a week has passed, he has not told his partner that his father came to throw money at him because he thinks it is not an important issue. The important thing is that he does not intend to take a single baht. Therefore, the reason his father has disappeared may be because he knows there is no way to use money against him.
"If there is anything, you must tell us, okay?"
The other party reinforces once more, making him smile faintly.
"Yeah, if anything serious happens, I will tell you myself."
If it is serious.
Ae quietly tells himself this in the final line, not wanting to make the other person worry, as he walks back home with his bag over his shoulder for the weekend. Lately, he and Pete have agreed not to visit each other's homes, to avoid becoming targets for anyone looking to stir up trouble.
"By the way, please congratulate P'Oh and P'Nut about the new baby, okay, Ae... Should we buy something to give them?"
"Heh, heh... just because she's pregnant, you only need to know she's pregnant! No need to rush with gifts—just wait until she gives birth, then come visit all at once." Ae chuckles at the fussing over the news. The other person, almost more excited than a real uncle, lights up when they hear there'll soon be a new addition to the family, eagerly asking what gender the baby will be. How could Ae know that? It's only two months along—if anyone could tell already, that would be remarkable.
You are teasing me.
"I am not. Alright, I will end this call now. I will call you back later." The person ends the call as he walks up to the front of the house, but then his thick eyebrows knit together when he sees that his mother's restaurant has the iron door pulled down. Normally, Saturday is a day to make money, and there is no way his mother would close the restaurant. He is even more surprised to see that the iron door at his brother's restaurant is also shut.
"Do not tell me..." The short one's eyes widen. He quickly pulls up the door that has been put down and rushes into the house. As soon as he arrives in the living room on the upper floor...
"What is going on here?"
The sight of his family members, who are only missing the granddaughter, sitting in a circle with serious expressions, prompts Inthach to ask immediately. This causes his brother, who was so cheerful just a week ago, to look up and meet his gaze.
"It is nothing, Ai'Ae. You should go upstairs."
"What do you mean it is nothing, P'Oh? Your younger sibling is not a child anymore. If there is something, just tell me."
Ae realizes that it must be something serious because everyone in the house usually adheres to the principle of sharing any issues. However, the fact that they are trying to keep it hidden indicates to him that... it must be very serious.
The words that make everyone in the house turn to look at each other:
"Just tell him, Oh. He is not a child anymore."
"But Ai'Ae is still studying, Father. With a personality like that, it is going to stress him out to death." The older brother points at his younger sibling, who sits down on one of the sofas, indicating that if they do not tell him, he will not go anywhere either. This causes the older brother to exhale heavily and sit down again.
"What is going on?" After Inthach presses for more details, P'Nut sighs again.
"It is about the contract that won the auction, Ai'Ae."
"What do you mean, P'Nut?" The listener is surprised, recalling that just a week ago, his older brother was ecstatic, saying he would take the whole family to get passports in preparation for a celebration.
"It is like this. We sent the first batch of goods, and they contacted us back, saying it was not the agreed-upon items. Moreover, it did not meet the standards. They claim we have breached the contract, so they are going to cancel the contract with us entirely."
"Hey, but we sent it correctly!" The listener is confident that their family would never cheat, and his older brother would never be careless enough to send the wrong items to a customer.
"Right, we sent it correctly, but they are saying it is the wrong model. Everything does not meet the standards. They say they will take items from another supplier instead and will return all the goods, but the issue is I have already invested a lot in the items we were supposed to send." This time, Oh explains to his younger brother, his usually smiling face now appearing tense.
"This is clearly a setup."
"Yeah! However, I do not know what to do either." The older brother responds with a heavy tone and continues to explain.
"I consulted a friend who is a lawyer. He said we can sue because we are in the right. However, by the time the court considers everything, it will take a while. In the meantime, I took out another loan against this house... and borrowed a large sum from an informal lender as well." The listener falls silent, watching his older brother, who has always been cautious throughout his life, clutch his head in distress.
"you should know how high the interest is with informal loans..."
"I was confident this job would be profitable though, Ai'Ae! I only took the loan to get through the first round. Once the first check came in, I'd have the capital to send out the next batch! How could I have known things would turn out like this?!"
The older brother shouts at his sibling, prompting P'Nut to quickly grab her husband's arm.
"Oh, calm down, Oh." With this reminder, the stressed man raises his hand in apology.
"Sorry, Ai'Ae. I just... ah, never mind." The younger brother clenches his hands tightly and then asks.
"How much did you invest?"
"Right now, three million. We got two million with this house as collateral, but there's also a one-million loan." It seemed too much of a coincidence that the total investment matched the sum someone else had offered him.
"Uncle Ae~"
"Oh! Why are you up, Nong Yim?" Suddenly, amid everyone's tension, a little girl appears, rubbing her eyes, prompting her mother to rush over.
"All the noise woke you up, huh? And now Uncle Ae is here—Nong Yim wants to play with Uncle Ae."
The little girl says in her innocent voice, prompting her grandfather to intervene quickly.
"Ai'Ae, go calm down your niece for a while. We need to talk here."
Though reluctant, Ae understands that he is still young. Even if he stays, he cannot offer any real help. So, he stands, takes the smiling girl's hand, and leads her back upstairs, his free hand clenched tightly.
It's his doing! He's intentionally squeezing in, even reaching out to pressure his family!
~~~
Though Ae insists there's nothing to worry about, no one who truly knows their own father could possibly think that nothing is happening.
Pete knows his father would never let this go easily, until... The worry deepens.
There must be something—Father must be doing something, but... what is it?
Just then, the phone rings, drawing Pete's attention. The moment he sees who's calling, his heart sinks to his stomach. He reaches out with a trembling hand to grab it.
"Yes, Father."
"Do you think he'd give up money to stay with someone like you, Ai'Pete?"
"What do you mean?" Pete asks in a faint voice, prompting the other side to let out a mocking laugh.
"I'll teach you that in this world, money is the most important thing. If you were with Nong Delee, you wouldn't be dealing with any of this!"
"What have you done? What have you done? Tell me, Father!"
"Hmph, go ask that boy yourself."
"Father!!!"
Before he can unravel any mysteries, the other end already hangs up, leaving him shouting into the phone. His hand, gripping the phone, trembles so noticeably that he can feel it, realizing that his father must have taken some action.
With that realization, he whips around to look at the clock… past ten.
Snap.
Without another thought, Pete grabs his wallet and phone, rushes to snatch his car keys, and drives straight toward Nonthaburi. He doesn't know what his father has done, but he just needs to see that Ae is safe.
"What can I even do right now?"
The clock's shorthand nears midnight, yet it seems no one in the entire house can sleep. In Ae's room, the lights are off, but he lies there, hand over his forehead, burdened by heavy thoughts of what to do next.
Yes, he feels guilty for bringing trouble to his whole family, but is he really supposed to accept Ai'Pete's father's offer?
"I'm sorry, P'Oh. I can't do it," he mutters to himself, fiercely ruffling his hair before sitting up.
In truth, Ae wants to tell his brother what is really happening behind the scenes, but he fears that the family will refuse to accept Ai'Pete. He is afraid his family will become yet another that will not accept the relationship they have. So, someone who fears nothing suddenly feels terrified of telling his family everything.
If his family tells him to break up, he might just be crazy enough to run away with Ai'Pete.
"What should I do? What can I even do?" Ae sighs, staring out the window. But then…
Fwoosh.
As he glances down at the street lit only by sparse streetlights, he suddenly bolts upright, pressing his face to the window when he sees who's standing by the sleek car below.
"Ai'Pete!"
Ae throws open the window and shouts down, prompting the man, clutching his phone tightly, to look up. That handsome face appears on the verge of tears, and the person above calls out urgently.
"Stay right there. I'll be down in just a second."
Inthach rushes downstairs, causing such a racket that the entire house lights up as everyone comes to see. All they find is… two men embracing outside the house.
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