Part 2. 06
October 26th, 5:39pm
Kim is feeling… unsettled.
If he didn’t know better, he would say he was nervous. Except Kim does know better and he doesn’t get nervous.
He’s frustrated because he can’t figure out what to wear, and he’s changed his outfit four times now.
But he isn’t nervous.
Jimbo, Kim’s cat, intermittently walks into the bedroom, only to walk back out again a few minutes later. As if he wants to be in there with Kim, but the tension is too much for him to stay long.
Kim sighs.
Tonight is family dinner night. It’s a new weekly tradition Kinn and Porsche are trying to make happen, and tonight will be the third night they hold it. For Kim, it will be his first night attending. He doesn’t mind spending time with Khun, but Kim doesn’t get along too well with Kinn, and he’s hardly exchanged more than two words with Porsche. His father will also be there, which is never an appealing situation.
Normally, Kim would avoid such an event and ignore Khun’s hassling until his attendance is given up on.
Except Porchay asked Kim to come.
Kim thinks he would go through far more grueling activities than family dinner in order to spend time with Porchay.
And… this will be the first time since they broke up that Kim and Porchay will be spending an extended period of time in the same room together.
They might even get a chance to talk.
…
Maybe Kim is a little nervous.
But only to see Porchay.
They’ve been texting most days recently. The topics they talk about vary a lot, and Porchay is usually the one to initiate the conversation. He also asks for pictures of Kim’s cat on a regular basis, and Kim has taken to bringing his phone with him around the house so he can snap pictures of Jimbo for the next time Porchay asks for them.
Kim looks down at the leather jacket in his hands and holds back a smile.
…
He really needs to get going though, or he will be late.
Well… later than he already is anyway.
Kim throws on the first outfit he tried 45 minutes ago, checks himself in the mirror for another ten minutes, gives Jimbo a scratch under his chin and leaves his apartment. He’s now running almost 25 minutes late for dinner.
Kim arrives at the compound dining room just as the staff are putting food on the table. Kinn and Porsche both look surprised to see him, but Kim ignores them in favour or looking at Porchay. They lock eyes, and Porchay smiles gently at Kim.
Kim’s heart soars.
“It’s not nice to be tardy, little brother!” Tankhhun remarks haughtily, pulling Kim’s attention away from Porchay. If Kim didn’t know Khun so well, he would miss the pleased look that Khun is trying to hide in favour of his fake exasperation.
“Hush, Tankhun,” Korn says “it’s lovely for you to join us, Kim. What a pleasant surprise!” Korn looks every bit the pleased, loving father he pretends to be on the outside. Kim sends him his most charming smile.
“I happened to be in the area, thought I should stop by at least once.” Tankhun huffs at his excuse, but he still looks pleased as he begins sorting through the food on the table.
Kinn doesn’t say anything, but he does have a hint of a smile on his face as he follows Khun’s lead with the food.
Perhaps tonight won’t be such a struggle after all.
The staff bring out an extra table setting for Kim, and he begins serving himself some rice.
The conversation at the table kicks off when Porsche turns to Porchay and asks him about the garden bed he’s been cultivating under the watchful eye of the family’s gardener. Kim makes a mental note to ask Porchay more about his flowers if they get a chance to talk and he needs something to fall back on.
Khun makes a comment about how delicious his food is, but how the pad kra pao could have been better. Kim silently agrees, but only because his pad kra pao is one of the best things he cooks. He was taught how to make it by their previous head chef when he was fourteen, and he perfected it when he moved out. Ever since that chef retired, the dish cooked by anyone else has never managed to please the table, and it’s almost guaranteed that Khun will comment on it.
Just as Kim is starting to think family dinner isn’t so bad after all, Korn turns to Kinn and Porsche and begins to talk business.
Which of course means various metaphors instead of actually talking directly, even though everyone at the table knows exactly what is being discussed.
“Kinn, how did the meeting go last week? Did you sort out the issue with the bread?”
“Yes pa. The bread is running through the clubs with our regular bakers once more. There was a slight disagreement regarding the ingredients used but it has now been sorted out.”
“Wonderful news. Well done. I knew you could handle the situation,” Korn remarks jovily. Kim internally rolls his eyes. He would bet good money the issue was actually caused by Korn’s own devices as some way of testing Kinn.
Kim’s phone buzzes in his pocket, and he turns away from the conversation to fish it out.
Kim’s hand flies up to his mouth, but he’s not nearly quick enough to stifle the loud snort-laugh he lets out at Porchay’s message.
The table goes quiet as everyone turns to look at Kim in surprise, Porchay looking at him in delight, though he’s trying to hide it. It’s not working.
“Sorry,” Kim explains, “I ate too quickly.” His face feels like it’s burning, and he keeps his head down as he fishes a piece of tofu off his place.
The conversation resumes, but Kim is no longer paying it any attention.
How fucking embarrassing.
Kim looks up at Porchay, who is already watching him with a pleased smile. They lock eyes for a moment before Kim feels like he needs to look away once more, unsure how to handle the soft look on Porchay’s face.
Dinner passes without further incident, Khun asks Kim a few things about his music and demands photos of Jimbo and Kim makes a mental note to send Khun a few of the pictures he’s been taking for Porchay.
The night winds down and eventually Korn retires for the evening. Kinn and Porsche have been giving each other bedroom eyes for the past half hour, and excuse themselves shortly after.
Tankhun looks to Kim like he’s about to say something, but changes his mind and excuses himself with a swish of his long cloak and a request for Kim to join them next time.
Kim doesn’t think he can handle another family dinner.
He’s standing up to leave when Porchay speaks up. He’s still sitting at the table, picking at the edge with his fingers.
“It’s good you could come. They always serve too much food and I feel awful leaving it on the table.”
“Don’t. The staff eat any leftovers so it doesn’t go to waste.”
“Ah.” Porchay looks down at the table, fiddling with his thumbs. The suspended silence is awkward, but Kim still hesitates to leave.
Just as he decides he should probably go, Porchay speaks again.
“Hey, are you busy after this?” he asks.
“Mm no, I was just going to head back home and do some work.”
“Oh… are you working on new music?”
“Maybe. Not sure if this one is going anywhere yet though.” Kim shuffles his feet. He’s not sure what to do with his hands, and tucks them away in his pockets.
“Well…” Porchay pauses, as if unsure of his next words, “um, if you’re free for a little while, can you come upstairs with me?”
Kim’s brain short circuits. What?
Porchay continues quickly, “I’m fine tuning my latest shit post and I could use your critical eye.”
Kim doesn’t know what to say. Porchay fiddles with his fingers some more, looking down at the table top and back up at Kim, and then looks away again.
"Yeah,” Kim eventually finds his voice “Yeah of course. Lead the way.”
END OF PART 2
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