"Nong Phu, from now on, Hin will stay with us, my child."
"Nong Phu, give your greeting."
At first, Kon Hin thought he was already tense, but once he sat facing the boy Phupha, who possessed an adorable face and pinch-worthy cheeks, the young man found himself so stressed he felt faint. Not only did the boy refrain from approaching him, but he also looked at him with a gaze as though he were an adversary, leaving Kon Hin deeply troubled.
This was partly because Khun Tul had said this:
"Nong Phu must call Hin ‘Father Hin.’ Agreed?"
"...Nong Phu wants to eat ice cream."
Not only did Phupha refuse to agree, but he turned his face away from Kon Hin and climbed onto his father’s lap, stubbornly stating his desire, causing Tul to heave a heavy sigh.
"We’re not finished talking yet."
"I want to eat ice cream," the boy said obstinately, not understanding why his father wanted him to call another man ‘Father.’ After all, Nong Phu already had one father. The same went for his mother—why did they want him to call another man ‘Father’? Nong Phu’s father was named Father Tul and no one else.
The boy thought with a sulking face.
"Does Nong Phu want Father to scold him?"
The boy’s expression faltered, but he still pressed his lips tightly together and cast a resentful glance at the person sitting silently.
Why should Nong Phu greet someone he didn’t know?
Phupha wanted to blurt that out, but being around P’Khaen often made the boy more cautious. If he said something P’Khaen didn’t like, P’Khaen would hit him, and Uncle Tinn never sided with him—not even once. This time, Phupha felt an inexplicable fear.
Uncle Tinn had been taken away by P’Khaen. Mother had been taken away by some blond-haired man. Now, Phupha had only Father left, and he wasn’t giving him up, no way.
"Is Father going to scold Nong Phu?" The boy made a sad face, pouting as if tears were about to fall.
Tul sighed softly and rocked his son back and forth.
"If Nong Phu is a good boy, Father won’t scold him."
"I am a good boy, but I don't greet strangers. Yaa said so."
"So between Father and Yaa, does Nong Phu trust Yaa more?"
Phupha shook his head rapidly, looking into his father’s still-stern eyes, then glanced at the silent man. Reluctantly, he raised his hands in a phanom wai.
"Hello."
"Good, where did that reluctance go?"
"Dad!"
"Nong Phu!" Tul glanced at him, and the young boy lowered his head.
"Hello," he said reluctantly, raising his hands in a phanom wai to Kon Hin.
Phwap!
"Good boy. Then I will go arrange to have ice cream brought to you," Tul said gently. But as the boy started to rise to follow, his father shook his head.
"Sit here properly and wait. I will be back shortly."
Tul paid no attention to Kon Hin's anxious expression, merely offering a brief smile before striding out of the room. He left one young boy seated with a man who had never cared for children before. No, if counting the time when Khun Tul himself was young, Kon Hin could only claim to have cared for one, exactly one, before. Even so, calling him a child wasn’t quite right, as by the age of seven, he had become an entirely different person.
And this five-year-old seemed even harder to handle.
"Khun Phupha, just call me Hin," Kon Hin said.
He saw no reason to force the boy to call him "Father." After all, who was he but a stranger who had suddenly entered his life? To tell the boy to address a stranger as "Father" was a bit much. This seemed to improve Phupha's gaze toward him, albeit slightly.
"Hin."
"Yes?"
The boy began to smile faintly, but his next words came with a commanding and arrogant tone.
"Do not interfere with Father."
Kon Hin looked at Phupha, who resembled Tul as a child. However, when compared, Khun Tul before being abducted was undeniably cuter. That was not to say this chubby-cheeked boy wasn’t adorable; it was just that… He was more like Khun Tinn, perhaps.
"Then, if I were to offer to serve Khun Tul and Khun Phupha instead?"
"Serve?" The boy frowned.
"Take care of you and your father."
Oh, that word was familiar.
"Alright, as long as it's just taking care." As long as he did not try to steal his father away, Phupha was willing to be friendly. That made Kon Hin smile as he carefully got up and moved to sit beside the boy.
"May I move into this house as well?"
"Why?"
Phupha raised his guard again, prompting Kon Hin to quickly explain.
"So I can take care of you."
"Let me think about it."
The boy adopted an expression of deep contemplation that seemed beyond his years, clasping his head with both hands in a manner that was endearing and slightly amusing.
Phupha remained in that thinking posture for a long minute, to the point that Kon Hin began to worry about the small head being squished between the boy's hands.
"Khun Phupha—"
"Shh! Don’t interrupt. Thinking."
Kon Hin fell silent again, watching the boy who was seriously pondering whether he should be allowed to stay in this house. After a while, he spoke softly.
"I can make sweets, you know."
Phupha looked up.
"I can drive you, Khun Phupha, to go out."
His eyes began to sparkle.
"I can keep you company and play with you."
The lonely child leaned closer, placing both hands on Kon Hin’s lap.
"I can protect you from danger too."
"Will you hit P’Khaen and make him cry?"
"Excuse me?"
Kon Hin, who had been trying to persuade the boy, made a confused face, because it seemed the other was asking him to hit someone else. However, Phupha did not back down without an answer.
"Can you hit P’Khaen really hard?"
How should he respond to those sparkling eyes, filled with anticipation? He wanted to find the right words, but Khun Tul still hadn’t returned. When he looked back at the boy, Phupha still gazed at him with hopeful eyes, prompting a half-hearted, reluctant reply.
"If you hit someone, it will hurt, you know."
Meaning if he actually hit, it would hurt, but if he didn't, then there would be no pain.
"Okay, Hin can stay with us!"
With that, the boy patted his chest contentedly and gave his approval, which made the person standing by the door laugh helplessly at the sight of Kon Hin's sigh.
"Alright, Hin will stay with us, huh?"
In contrast, Phupha ran eagerly toward his father, jumping up so that Tul could lift him into his arms. Tul nodded vigorously as he listened to the story spilling from his son's mouth, even though he had already heard every word. He chuckled at his lover, who was willing to bribe his son just to make him like him.
It seemed he still didn’t know who P’Khaen was. He should try hitting him, maybe Tinn would come to deal with him.
"So, from now on, Hin will be staying with us, right, Nong Phupha?"
"Uh-huh."
Phupha nodded enthusiastically, agreeing to whatever his father said, as long as he stayed seated on Kon Hin's lap. But then, his wide eyes suddenly grew even wider, because...
Smooch!
His beloved father leaned forward and kissed the cheek of the new member of their little group!
"From now on, we’ll live together, the three of us."
The image of his beloved father looking at Kon Hin with affectionate eyes made the boy narrow his gaze. He quickly pulled his father's face toward him and planted a strong kiss on his cheek before turning to glare at the person he had just become friendly with.
"I won't let you stay! Get out!"
Phupha's willful attitude made Tul laugh out loud, in contrast to Kon Hin, who raised his hand to rub his forehead. He thought winning Phupha's heart might not be as hard as getting Tul to stop showing affection for him in front of the boy. He knew that Phupha was protective of his father, yet Tul still insisted on doing it in front of him.
"Your son will get used to it," Tul whispered in his ear.
"No, I won't allow it!" Phupha interrupted, stepping in between and baring his teeth at Kon Hin.
At that moment, Kon Hin wanted to tell Tul to get Phupha to stop being so bratty before they went into the house.
It seemed that even though Kon Hin had won the father's heart, the road to winning the son's heart was still a long way off.
But as long as this man was with him, he would have to fight on.
The End
Many thanks to Khun MAME for creating this book and to all of you for reading along. ~~ Your Translator
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