Chasing Sunset

Unpredictable Weather 🖼️

He was unpredictable like the sun shining on a rainy day or hiding behind grey clouds in summer.

~~~

Boss could hardly focus in class the next day. He couldn't stop thinking about what his uncle said and trying to come up with ways to earn some extra cash but nothing was coming to mind.

He couldn't get a part-time job because he was needed at the store. He couldn't tutor either since everyone he knew either didn't care much about their grades or were already excellent students.

He involuntarily let out a deep sigh which Golf pointed out as he approached Boss' desk. "What are you sighing about?"

"He's been sighing all day." Nat commented.

Only then did Boss realize that the bell had rang and class was over. He had been so caught up in his problem that the whole lecture just flew over his head. But he also remembered that he needed to get going.

"Guys, I have to go."

"What? Again?" Nat protested. "Man, you're no fun."

"What about you, Noeul? Wanna hang out?" Golf asked his new best friend but to his disappointment, Noeul turned him down albeit gently. "Sorry, I can't today. But I'm free tomorrow. You guys promised to take me to that merch store."

"Oh, right!" The boys chorused. "We'll see you tomorrow then."

Now, Boss didn't mean to nitpick but how could their reaction to him and Noeul rejecting them be so different? He got labeled as 'no fun' while they just gave Noeul a pass and were excited to meet with him the next day. What the hell?

Whatever, he didn't have time to dwell on it.

It was a busy day at the store as his mom decided to allow dine-ins to raise their profit. Boss served tables during peak hour and when the rush finally passed, his mom called him.

"Son, we just got a big order but it's for delivery."

"Okay, I'm on it." Boss said right away without having to be asked to deliver the food. His mom touched his cheek tenderly and mouthed a 'thank you' before handing him the order.

As Boss was mounting his bike, he noticed the address was unfamiliar and quite far...correction, very far.

It was way inside of a subdivision and once he reached a certain point, he could no longer ride his bike and had to climb a flight of stairs while carrying his bike and the food at the same time.

When he finally reached the address, he was panting and dripping in sweat and hardly had any strength left to even push the doorbell.

Thankfully, the door swung open after the first ring but Boss wasn't expecting the person on the other side to be none other than Noeul. He flashed that same bright smile he wore on the first day and said casually, "Took you long enough."

~~~

Boss couldn't believe his eyes as he was entering the house-it was huge. Two or three families could probably fit in there.

"You can just put those down here." Noeul said, pointing to the low table in front of an expensive tv set. Boss didn't make it obvious but he was a bit scared to touch anything and end up accidentally breaking something he can't afford to compensate .

He brought out the dishes one by one which consisted of noodles, stir-fried pork and some side dishes-each one double in servings. Boss assumed Noeul lived with his parents or siblings given the amount of food he ordered and wanted to get out of their way as soon as possible.

"That'll be 550 baht."

Boss stood timidly off to the side, waiting for Noeul to pay but the latter sat down and looked as though he was gonna start eating. Then, he said, "Okay, I'll give it to you after we eat."

Boss took a while to process this and only managed to utter a confused, "Huh?"

Noeul gestured to the rest of the food. "I ordered for two. It must've been hard getting here; you should eat before you leave."

"Ah, no thanks. I have to get back to the store as soon as possible." Boss insisted.

At this, Noeul tilted his head curiously and mused, "I was pretty sure I ordered around closing time. But oh well, suit yourself. I'll just call when I'm done and you can bike all the way back here to retrieve the plates."

Boss hated to admit it but he wasn't wrong. If he left, he'd have a long way to go before making it back to the store and then he'd have to make that same trip twice just to retrieve the damn plates! He chewed on his lower lip as Noeul waited for him to either leave or take a seat. In the end, he sat down and was "forced" to eat.

Noeul watched with amusement as Boss stuffed himself with his mom's locally famous noodles and side dishes. He was so focused on eating, he seemed to have forgotten he wasn't alone.

"Was the trip here very draining?" Noeul asked to get his attention and Boss nearly choked on the food. Thankfully, Noeul handed him a glass of water to push down the blockage.

After clearing his throat, Boss clarified, "I just don't wanna waste food."

Noeul nodded as if to agree. Turning back to his food, he remarked, "This is really good. Who's the chef?"

"My mom's no chef but she makes the best Tom Yum in town." Boss replied.

"Mm, I see. I'll order that next time." Noeul said, enjoying the dreadful expression on Boss' face at the mere thought of delivering food to his house again. "Wait, if your mom owns the place...then who's Chaikamon?"

Boss briefly hesitated before answering, "Chaikamon is my first name; mom named the store after me. Wait a minute, how did you even know about our store? People usually find out about us only by word of mouth."

"Exactly." Noeul smiled mischievously. "I asked your friends and they told me-word of mouth."

"And why did you ask?"

"Why can't I?" Noeul asked back. When he saw that Boss was starting to get annoyed, he chuckled and finally answered him properly. "I was curious since you're only either in school or at the store. Also, I wanted to eat some real food for once. I'm getting bloated from all the instant microwavable meals I've been eating."

That piqued Boss' interest somehow and he glanced around the spacious but rather empty house.

"You're wondering why there isn't anyone else here?" Noeul piped up as if reading his mind. "My family is in Korea. I'm not sure if you can tell but I'm a halfie. I have some relatives here in Thailand but they're mostly in Bangkok."

"Then...why'd you move here?" Boss asked. "And why live way up here? Going to and coming back from school must be so exhausting."

"Because it's nice up here." Then, Noeul's eyes flicked up to meet Boss' as he said, "Everything nice is worth the effort, am I right?"