Content Warning: This work is intended for mature (NC17) audiences. If you are younger, please kindly leave this site.
~~~
“Dear, listen to me.”
“I won’t listen, Wôoi! Let go, you jinx Phîi Porsche!”
At this moment, inside the department store, the eyes of many people were watching two young men who were pulling at each other on the walkway with alarm. Some thought there was a serious issue and were about to call security. However, those glances didn't concern Dear as much as his desire to shake off the hand of his bloody fucking romantic partner.
“Dear must listen to me. It’s not what you think.”
“Not what, Wá?! I heard with my own two ears that you are that child’s Phôo. I didn’t want to believe you could be this kind of person!!!” The little puppy began speaking with a louder voice, causing Purin to frown sharply. He stared at the face of the person whose eyes were reddened as if about to cry, then sighed.
Whoosh.
“Come here. We need to talk.”
“No, Wôoi! Let me go right now!!!”
“Fine then. If you struggle again, I will kiss you right here. Do you want the whole mall to know there’s a pair of gay men fighting here?!” Just as Purin was about to drag the little-one another way, Dear started to resist, making the young man turn back to meet his gaze and ask in a strong voice. His pair of intense eyes were fiercer than before, until the listener looked around.
He didn’t want to care, didn’t want to pay attention, but it was the truth. They were both men. If it were a man and a woman quarreling, it probably wouldn’t be peculiar. But because they were both men...
“Since you understand, come here now.” When Dear finally settled down, Purin dragged the little puppy toward the parking lot. The one being dragged felt his entire face burn with heat.
That’s right. Because we are both men. Is that why, isn’t it? That’s why you didn’t tell me you already had a Miia. You saw me as a dim-wit who would agree to everything you said, didn’t you?!
The thoughts of the person biting his own lip tightly persisted until they emerged into the parking lot. Purin then spun around to confront his little romantic partner, and his heart skipped a beat. When he saw that face looking like it was about to cry but holding back with all its might, he had to reach out a hand intending to touch his cheek.
Pat.
“Don’t touch me!” The extremely angry demeanor made the person whose hand was batted away sigh.
“Dear has misunderstood me.”
“Is that right?! What damned-animal misunderstanding, Wá?! That child called you dad. So that woman is your Miia. Is there another meaning?!”
“That’s why I said you misunderstand.” Purin said, trying to stay calm, both amused and annoyed. He wanted to shake the deep-thinking-but-castrating youth forcefully and ask where he got this idea from. But right now, he had to explain first.
“Yes. I am Alice’s Phôo.”
Thud.
At this moment, the listener’s feelings were as if his heart was shattering. A pain he had never felt before surged into his heart, like an invisible hand squeezing and crushing it, then stomping on it repeatedly until not a single good piece remained. His large, round eyes began to glisten with droplets, looking at the person before him with both anger and hurt.
“But only a Godfather.”
Sss...Crash!
“Huh?!” Have you ever had it, Khráp? The feeling of reaching the absolute limit, but then it was like a car slammed with violent brakes, crashing into that feeling until it crumbled apart. It was like Dear right now, about to cry, but then someone turned off the tap and even used duct tape to block the waterway so it couldn’t flow down anymore.
“Wha...what did you say? Godfather?”
“Yes. Godfather.”
“Like in Harry Potter, where Sirius Black is Harry’s Godfather?” Dear stammered as he asked, making the listener sigh at his propensity for comparisons.
“Truthfully speaking, yes... Phîi Petra, Alice’s Mâe, is my relative.”
Blink blink. “Huh? Relative?!!” More than shocked, Dear’s mouth hung open as he stared at the person before him.
“Actually, to call us relatives isn't entirely precise. Phîi Pe is a very, very distant relative of mine. Very distant. My great-grandmother and Phîi Pe’s Grandfather were cousins. We didn’t even know we were relatives until we met in university. I saw her surname and it seemed familiar, like I’d seen it in the family registry book. After asking back and forth, we found out we were distant relatives...”
“Wait. No, no, no. I don’t want to know about that relative stuff. Then the Phôo... uh, what about Alice’s Phôo?” Now, the little puppy couldn't get his head around it, could only ask in a trembling voice. And that made the listener sigh.
“He was Swiss, but he passed away.”
“Hmm.” Having narrated to this point, Purin sighed because, in truth, the senior who held the position of distant relative had returned to Thailand because of this matter.
“There was a bit of a problem within the family, Dear. Phîi Pe had never brought her child to Thailand before. This was the first time. Because her family didn’t accept the foreign son-in-law. Ever since they found out she was pregnant, Phîi Pe was told not to return to Thailand and disgrace the family name again. I only found out about it when Alice was two years old because I went to visit, around the same time Alice’s Phôo had just passed. So I became her Godfather at that time.” Purin said while sighing, making the listener immediately feel pity for the Mâe and child.
“So when you said you were visiting a friend in Switzerland...”
“Yes. I was visiting these two. And the reason I returned late was because Phîi Pe’s Mâe had just passed. But the people here in Thailand hid the news so those over there wouldn’t know. So I handled the conversations on her behalf, before the people here chased Phîi Pe until she didn’t dare return to Thailand.” The story coming from the mouth of the person before him made the listener grow colder and colder, before his face turned pale as a ghost.
So it turns out I misunderstood on my own...
“Then when you said you’d never gotten a woman pregnant...”
“Of course I never have!” Purin said with a heavy voice. His pair of sharp eyes began to look fiercer. When he clearly saw the noisy-one shrinking smaller and smaller, Hanging his head completely, he gave a dry smile.
“You understand now, don’t you?”
Whoosh.
“Dear is sorry. Sorry, Khráp. I’m crazy. I’m foolish. I’m a noisy complainer. Phîi Porsche isn’t angry with me, is he?” This situation called for appeasement as the only option, because the little puppy moved to hug the other party tightly, burying his face against the broad chest, rubbing his face against the strong shoulder, speaking in a soft, muffled voice, making the listener sigh heavily until he felt even more annoyed.
Gah, I shouldn't have. I shouldn't have trusted my own instincts.
“Never mind. I intended to introduce you to each other anyway... Let’s go apologize to my relative together.” Purin shook his head, then pulled the little-one back into the building, making the listener’s face crumple as if about to cry immediately.
“No. I’m embarrassed.”
“You have to go anyway. Come here, you little troublemaker.”
And how am I supposed to tell this Phîi Petra person that the reason I called Phîi Porsche a jinx is because I was fiercely jealous?!
***
“Hahahahaha! Ouch, my stomach hurts... Hahaha, I can’t stop laughing...”
“Jae! I’m embarrassed, Wôoi! What’s so damn funny, Wá?!”
Inside the house of the two siblings, Darinphan, who had heard the story from her Nông’s own mouth, was laughing uproariously without any consideration for her Nông’s sullen face. Meanwhile, Dear could only shudder when he remembered the events from a few days before.
Well, after clearing things up, he was dragged by Phîi Porsche back into the restaurant again. He saw those two nuisance friends sitting and eating comfortably, even playing with Alice. There was a moment when they turned to say, see?
The over-imaginative-one is back, Wôoi!
Yeah, you guys know the truth now, huh?
And when he turned to look at Phîi Petra’s face, the young woman was suppressing a smile with all her might, looking at his hand which was being held by Phîi Porsche with amusement, then greeted him with words that made this ÂiDear person almost dissolve into a parasite.
"Hello, Nóng Sà-Pâi. Don’t worry. Phîi and Porsche are just like siblings. And Porsche has already told Phîi all about you, Dear."
Don’t ask if I was embarrassed. It was the utmost, most extreme embarrassment.
Dear, thinking back, covered his burning-hot face with both hands. This was in contrast to his Phîi, who was still chuckling in her throat, unable to hold it back. The more she looked at her Nông’s condition, the funnier it was, until her voice became stuttering.
“Heh heh, Haha. Let me ask you seriously, Âi'Dear. Are you crazy or dim-witted? That child has black hair and green eyes. The Mâe is Thai. So how could the Phôo possibly be Porsche? Did you fail biology or something? Ooh, Jae, I can’t, my stupid little brother.
Having said that, Darinphan burst into another round of loud laughter, Hammering home the truth until the dim-witted youth didn’t even want to lift his head to accept reality.
Right. I should have had a hint from the green eyes. With such distinctly mixed-race features, how could I possibly think Phîi Porsche was the Phôo, Wá?
“Enough, Jae. I’m embarrassed, Wá. I can’t take the embarrassment anymore.”
“Serves you right. Why didn’t you ask me? You know Phîi Pe, right?” This time, Dear looked up immediately, and that made his sister tell him.
“Phîi Pe is a senior to Jae and Porsche from university. We found out later that we were relatives...”
“And she’s a close friend of my Rahad-Auntie too.”
Snap.
Before Dream could finish her story, a clear voice sounded at the front door, making the two siblings turn to look. Then they saw the person being mentioned holding the hand of her adorable daughter. Not far behind was the only man who could enter this house without ringing the bell.
“Phîi Pe! How did you get here?” Dream stood up immediately and moved to hold the senior’s hand with great fondness, making Petra smile. She also extended a smile to the young man she had met several days before. His attractive face with flushed, glowing cheeks made her laugh out loud.
So spot on. That day, Dear didn’t dare say anything, could only bow his head with cheeks flushed red like this.
“I happened to be summoned to the family house to hear about the will. I just found out my name was in it too... So I brought Alice to leave at Porsche’s house. I don’t dare take her there. I don’t want the child to have to hear the snide remarks of narrow-minded adults.” Petra said while sighing softly, making Dream, who knew a bit about this family’s situation, try to offer a smile and squeeze her hand gently.
“Dear. Dear.”
“Uh, yes, Alice?” Dear was startled when the little girl walked over to him, even tugging his shirt lightly, looking up and blinking her eyes rapidly with an uncertain expression.
“Oh. Alice is afraid you might not like her, because the other day you wouldn’t talk to her... Alice, remember? You have to call Dear ‘Phîi Dear,’ Khráp. We are in Thailand now, and you must speak Thai.”
Snap snap snap.
The little girl who understood but refused to speak shook her head immediately, while still holding tightly to Dear’s pants, until her Mâe sighed. Dear asked with interest.
“Alice doesn’t want to speak Thai, Khráp?”
“Khâ. Alice can understand because I spoke it to her since she was little. But over there, she was hardly ever around Thai people. So she only speaks English and German, Khráp.” Petra said with some distress, before turning to speak to Purin with an apologetic tone.
“Can I leave her for half a day? I’ll come pick her up quickly.”
“No need to rush, Khráp. But she won’t be fussy, will she? She’s so attached to her Mâe.” The listener smiled faintly, then shook his head.
“No. She understands her Mâe has business. Since she was little, Alice has always had to be left with caretakers. Since there’s only her Mâe left now.” At the end of the sentence, the young woman spoke softly, but the sad smile she cast toward her only daughter made Dear look down at the little girl who must have been quite lonely.
Even though she had relatives here in Thailand, she was pushed away simply because they wouldn’t accept a different ethnicity.
“Today, Alice has to stay with Phîi Dear, Khráp. Okay?”
“OK... Khâ.” At the end of the sentence, the little girl tried to pronounce ‘Khâ’ a little more, making the listener unable to resist gathering the small body into a hug, until Alice giggled, allowing the cute Phîi Dear to carry her to sit on his lap. Then she waved to her Mâe, who was somewhat reassured.
“Then Mum is going now. Come on, what do you say?”
"Bye bye Mom. I love you. I love you. smooch-smooch." She even made the gesture of sending kisses twice, until all the adults laughed at the little girl’s adorableness. By the time her Mâe had left, all eyes turned to focus on the little girl who was looking left and right.
“Should I take Alice back to the house? I originally just intended to bring Pe to see Dream.” Purin asked, then walked over and knelt in front of the little girl.
“Go play at that house with Dad, Khráp.” The question made the listener look up at his Phîi with an attractive face, then turn to look at the Phô-figure—whom she knew wasn’t her real Phô—with hesitation. Dream’s expression was amused.
“She can stay here. Seems like Alice is already attached to the stepmother.”
“Jae Dream, don’t confuse the child, Wá!” The stepmother’s cheeks flushed immediately, and he complained softly, making his Phîi move closer to the little girl.
“Auntie’s name is Dream, Khráp. Call auntie ‘Auntie Dream.’ Go on, say it quickly. Auntie Dream.”
“Auntie Dream.”
“A little higher pitch, sweetie. Auntie Dream.”
“Auntie Dream.”
“Remember it, Khráp.”
“Yes.”
“No, no. Auntie Dream remember.” The little girl furrowed her tiny brows but agreed to repeat as taught.
“Auntie Dream... Yes.”
“Very good! For that, you deserve a reward.” Having said that, Darinphan, who was already completely smitten with the child, gave the plump, pinkish cheek a loud mwah, making the little girl giggle as if tickled, seeming to like the beautiful aunt quite a lot.
Beaming smile. “And who is that?” Dream pointed a finger at the large man who hadn’t returned to his own house, making the little girl
"Dad."
“And that?” Dream pointed a finger at her Nông, making the little girl smile sweetly.
“Phîi Dear... Khâ.” She even added the ending particle, making Dear grin widely. He wanted to praise her too, but he wasn’t as fast as his Phîi, who shook her head sharply and also shook her finger.
“No, Khráp. Must call... Stepmother...”
“Hey! What are you teaching the child, Wá, Jae? No way. If she stays with you, Alice will probably be corrupted... Let’s go, Khráp. Better go with Phîi Dear. Alice, Have you eaten anything yet?” Seeing the situation turning bad, Dear immediately picked up the little girl and strode toward the kitchen. Because if he left her here any longer, by the time Phîi Pe came to pick her up, little Alice might have turned into a little demoness, following the great demoness Jae Dream.
The little puppy’s demeanor made Dream laugh uproariously. She turned to look at her close friend, who seemed to be smiling wider than usual.
“My, you can’t take your eyes off him, can you? You like it when Âi'Dear acts like a Mâe, huh?”
“Well, it looks like a happy family.” Purin said with amusement, making the listener sigh a little and put on a slightly more serious face.
“Don’t say that to him often. You know Âi'Dear thinks deeply. Soon his tear ducts will burst, and he’ll come running to complain to me again that he doesn’t have a uterus, and can’t give you a child.” Dream said, knowing her Nông’s nature well. Right now, maybe because Dear is only eighteen and Porsche himself is only twenty-five, they haven’t looked that far ahead yet. But she believed there would surely come a day when Dear would start blaming himself... If Porsche loved him, they would never have a child.
“I know. I have thought about this already. Since falling in love with Dear, I have prepared my heart that in this life, I probably won’t have a child.” The young man said with a faint smile, before putting the problem aside for now. Since they were happy at the moment, that was good enough. He shouldn’t bring this up to make the little-one lose his mind again.
“Want me to sell you my uterus?”
“Hmm!” Purin turned to make eye contact, as if prompting the speaker to continue.
“When I hit about thirty-five, if I still haven’t found a Phûa, I’ll take on a surrogate job. The fee will be, say, thirty million, a house, a car. Sell you the child outright.” The young woman laid out the complete proposal, making the listener narrow his eyes slightly, looking at her expression that was joking-yet-serious, then spoke in a stern voice.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Yah. Are you crazy? Even though I seem this wicked, I wouldn’t sell a child to eat, you know.” Dream said while turning to go handle household chores. Seeing Âi'Dear taking care of a child, today she was willing to do housework. Although in her heart, she secretly thought for real.
If in the future she had no family of her own, she thought she would agree to do it for her Nông... better than letting her uterus get covered in calcium deposits.
However, upon thinking this, why did the image of a certain man flash into her head... Phîi Tawan.
“You’re going to fall hard for this man, aren’t you, Dream? Sigh.”
***
Dear discovered that Alice was quite the talker, because the little girl told him story after story. About friends at school, the aunt next door, the strict teacher, not to mention that she didn’t like snow because she always caught a cold, and also said she liked the weather in Thailand, making Dear think to himself.
Because it’s the start of winter now. If she comes around April, she might just fly back home, you know.
The thoughts of the person leaning against the kitchen counter, watching the little girl eat the rice porridge he had made himself since morning. The little girl’s manner of blowing on the spoon was so cute he wanted to pinch her white cheeks that were turning pink again.
“Want to go eat in the other room? It’s hot in here.”
Shake shake shake.
The question made the little girl shake her head, still engrossed in eating her breakfast. Actually, the little girl had already eaten, but just milk and cereal. And, as is the nature of a good child, knowing Phîi Dear made it himself, she ate more because she was afraid Dear would be sad. But the warm porridge and the late morning air in the kitchen that was starting to get hot made her clear cheeks gradually turn flushed red.
“Messy, Khráp.” Alice immediately looked up when the person before her reached out to remove a small grain of rice from the corner of her mouth, making her beam, telling herself that she liked this older brother.
Phîi Dear is cute. Very, very cute. When I go back, Alice will tell all her friends.
The little girl thought, her face suddenly falling. Mum said we’d go back home next week, but Alice doesn’t want to go back yet. Dad is here. Plus there’s Phîi Dear, and also Phîi Dear’s friends, and Auntie Dream too. And Dad said today he’d take her to meet grandpa and grandma. Alice doesn’t want to go home.
“What’s wrong, hmm? Is it not delicious, Khráp?” The expression on Dear’s face started to look upset. He was dim-witted, true, but he was skilled with food, Wôoi! Seeing this, he began to suspect that his cooking didn’t suit the foreign child’s taste. And that made the little girl quickly shake her head.
"Is there something wrong?"
“Phîi Porsche, it’s just that suddenly she looked like she was about to cry. Was my cooking really that bad?” Dear could only look up at the person who had just entered, and that made Purin turn to look at the little girl who was hanging her head, looking at the bowl but not scooping more to eat, acting as if trying to hold back tears. The young man moved closer and stroked the little girl’s head gently.
“What’s wrong, good girl?”
Whoosh.
The question made Alice fly into her Godfather's arms immediately, making Purin frown intently. He led her to walk another way, then the two of them whispered together, leaving the skilled cook craning his neck to look with concern. A moment later, Phîi Porsche carried Alice back, and even managed to make the little girl beam again.
“So, why was she crying, Phîi Porsche?” Once the little girl went back to eating, Dear pulled the large man’s arm toward the back of the house, asking curiously.
“Oh. Alice doesn’t want to go home. She wants to stay here. Probably because she’s met many adults here. Over there, even though Phîi Pe has many friends, it probably doesn’t feel the same as here. She said she likes it here. So I told her that her Mâe will bring Alice to live in Thailand.”
“Hey! Can you lie like that, Wá?” Dear immediately protested, making the listener laugh.
“Not lying. I talked with Phîi Pe. Now that her Mâe has passed, other relatives probably won’t care about someone who was pushed out of the family. Actually, she had been thinking since her Phûa passed about returning to Thailand. If Alice likes it, Phîi Pe would probably want to move back to her hometown more than staying over there.”
“So you mean Alice will come live here, or at Porsche’s place? Really?!” The excited expression made the listener laugh heartily.
“Being this infatuated with a child, can I get jealous?”
Slap.
“Oh, you old man. That’s a four-and-a-half-year-old child.”
“Last time, I got so jealous of a four-and-a-half-year-old child that you went and called me a jinx.”
Thud.
Being thrown back like this, Âi'Dear fell silent, Khráp.
He gritted his teeth, grinding them, looking at Phîi Porsche who raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘Was what I said wrong?’ He really wanted to bite down until his fangs sank in, but in the end, could only stick his tongue out at him, unable to argue, acting so cute that Purin reached out to wrap his arms around the small waist and leaned in closer.
“Sticking your tongue out, is that teasing me?”
“Go die, Âi'Phîi Porsche! What goose am I teasing, Khráp? I’m just sticking my tongue out... Mph!” Dear immediately shut his mouth when a warm touch pressed firmly against his lip, then pursed as if teasing, making the person who was new to kisses like this bite his upper lip back.
Don’t think I’m not daring, Wôoi! I’ve even climbed on top and moved myself before.
Gasp!
But then, the person who had forgotten a child was present started with a gasp. He turned sharply to look toward the kitchen door and saw the little girl hiding, using both hands to cover her eyes tightly, until he pushed his large romantic partner away with full force, his face flushing brightly. The small gaps between her fingers parted to reveal beautiful green eyes.
You saw everything, didn’t you?
"Alice doesn't see anything. She closes her eye...like this." She declared, as if she wasn't the one who saw anything at all, and even made a cute gesture by closing her eyes tightly, turning left and right saying Alice really doesn’t see anything, until both adults felt their faces burn. No, wait, it was only Âi'Dear who felt like the child was teasing him, while Purin laughed.
“Gives the feeling like a child seeing her parents doing something, doesn’t it?”
“That’s your child alone, Wôoi! I’m not involved! Let’s go, Khráp, Alice. Let’s go play a game.” Having said that, he immediately picked up the little girl and strode into the house. Better to escape. If he stayed, there would definitely be more teasing from the adults around here. Even if he wasn’t embarrassed by heaven and earth, he was somewhat embarrassed in front of the child, you know, Porsche.
“How can she be my child alone? I only do it with Dear.” There it was. Inevitably, a shout followed from behind, making the listener grit his teeth.
Wow, don’t talk like I have a uterus, Wôoi!
The thought made the person pause for a moment, when the little girl tugged his pants lightly, making him bend down to her. He was almost startled when Alice quickly kissed him on the lips with a sweet smile, then broke away to go to Purin, who had followed behind. She performed the exact same pants-tugging move as he had taught her, then kissed her Godfather firmly on the lips, whispering softly, until Purin’s eyes sparkled and he looked up.
“Alice says Dear sent this, or what?”
“Hey?!!” The listener’s mouth hung open, looking at the little girl who smiled sweetly as if having done a good deed, nestled in the embrace of the large man, and felt... ganged up on.
If you didn’t tell me first, I would have thought Alice was really Phîi Porsche’s child! Why is even a child teasing me, Wá?!!!
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