William sat on the edge of the bed, arms folded, lips pressed in a dramatic pout. The room was unfairly pretty. Like "I have money but I won’t brag, I’ll just put a 20-foot glass window and designer cushions on the bed" pretty.
He plopped down onto the silk blanket with a huff. “Am I insane?” he whispered to the ceiling. “This man could be a someone dangerous… or a mafia boss. Or worse a-” dramatic gasp. “A serial killar”
He rolled sideways on the bed and...
Thud
“OW! WHAT THE-”
His forehead met the wooden frame of the low nightstand.
He sat up like a startled kitten, rubbing his head with a scowl. “Perfect. First day in witness protection with Mr. Tall and Mysterious and I get a concussion.”
He peeked toward the massive window.
“What if he has cameras in here? What if this whole place is bugged? What if the shower has secret buttons and-”
DING~DING
He jumped up in alert. A soft chime rang through the room.
Est’s voice echoed from the downstairs intercom like a deep spell.
“Dinner’s ready, Baby Star.”
William froze. Eyes wide.
“…He did not just-”
He stood abruptly, tripped over the edge of the thick fur rug, again, and barely caught himself on the vanity.
After a dramatic pause, he muttered, “This was a mistake.”
But still… he fixed his hair, sighed like a tragic princess, and headed toward the dining hall.
•••
The dining hall looked like it had been ripped straight out of a luxury drama. Golden lights, floor to ceiling windows, a glistening chandelier, and a ridiculously long table that could host the Last Supper twice.
William stopped in the doorway, blinking like a confused hamster.
“…What in the Michelin star mafia is this?”
The table was loaded with food. Not just any food, his favourite food. His comfort dishes. His childhood favorites. His late-night cravings from that one interview he did three years ago.
His feet hesitated. “Okay no, no no no. This is creepy.”
Est looked up from the end of the table, already halfway through a bowl of soup. He grinned. “Took you long enough, Baby Star.”
William’s soul shriveled.
“Don’t call me that,” he muttered, dragging his feet toward the seat which, of course, Est had pulled out like a gentleman. Like a flirt. Like a menace. William thought.
“I could’ve sat myself, thank you,” William mumbled.
Est raised a brow. “That’s what people who knock over dumplings say.”
“…Huh?”
Before William could process that confusing prophecy, his hand slipped while sitting down and he launched a dumpling off the plate. It soared majestically, bounced off the edge of Est’s bowl, and...
landed squarely onto Est’s lap.
Both froze.
Est looked down slowly, then back up with the calm of a man who’s seen war. “Are you offering me your dumpling?”
“I-it was an accident!! I don’t hand feed serial killers with soy sauce bombs!”
“I feel honored.”
William launched a napkin across the table. It hit Est in the chest and flopped onto the floor like a dead jellyfish.
“…That was supposed to be cooler in my head,” he admitted.
Est was wheezing. “You’re unreal.”
“No, I’m mentally spiraling!”
Est popped the rogue dumpling in his mouth with exaggerated slowness.
“Tastes like embarrassment.”
Oh boy! The audacity!
“I hate it here.”
“You’re literally in a mansion.”
“I’m still emotionally homeless.”
Est nearly choked laughing.
William huffed and began eating. But the moment he bit into the seaweed rice ball. The exact brand his grandma used to pack for him in middle school.
He froze.
“…How do you know all this?”
Est shrugged, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Lucky guess?”
“You’re either a stalker or a sorcerer.”
“I’m a great listener.”
“I’ve never told you this stuff!”
“You talk in your sleep.”
“WE’VE NEVER SHARED A BED!”
Est smirked and leaned closer, elbows on the table, “Haven’t we?”
William felt like teleporting into the next dimension. “I NEED TO LEAVE.”
As he stood up dramatically, his hip knocked over the water glass. The cold splash hit Est’s thigh with a vengeful splash.
Both looked down. Then up, making eye contact.
“…Oops-” William said with the smile of a guilty squirrel.
Est stood up slowly, the front of his pants soaked, wiping at the water like he wasn’t even phased.
“You’re lucky I look good wet.”
William shrieked and fled like a scandalized pigeon.
“DON’T FOLLOW ME! I SWEAR TO GOD, DON’T!”
Est’s laughter echoed behind him. “I’ll send you hot cocoa, Baby Star!”
YOU ARE READING
||ᴍʀ.ғᴀɴʙᴏʏ ɪ𝗌 ғɪ𝗌ʜʏ|| ᴱˢᵗʷⁱˡˡⁱᵃᵐ
Fanfiction"You're running away from your wedding in a hoodie?" "And you're wearing sunglasses inside a plane. Who's the freak here?" William, a popular Thai idol, runs away on his wedding day to avoid an arranged marriage. On a flight to South Korea, he meets...
