Inside Fluke's Dorm condo,
The four friends were sitting around the table eating BBQ pork and beer.
"Here, Fluke, the meat is well cooked." Earth picked a piece of meat with chopsticks and placed it in Fluke's bowl.
Fluke didn't touch the bowl neither did Prem.
"What the hell is wrong with the two of you? This is supposed to be our reunion cum celebration party for your new series. You are ruining the mood." Sammy snapped.
"Sammy is right. What happened to the two of you? You were alright today morning. Did something happen in the meeting?" Earth had noticed his friends' foul mood. Neither of them had said a word ever since they got back.
"We met P' Kao at the office." Prem finally said.
Fluke looked at Earth, observing his reaction.
"What? You met P' Kao? How? When? What did he say? Did he recognize you guys?" Sammy asked a row of questions in one breath.
"He did recognize us. From the looks of it, P' Kao is probably the CEO of SZ. The one P' Boun mentioned the other day." Prem looked worriedly at Fluke.
"You don't seem surprised, Earth. Did you know this already?" Fluke, who was silent all this while finally asked.
Earth remained silent.
"So, you did know" Fluke scoffed. "Why didn't you tell me?" He sounded disappointed in Earth.
"If I tell you, will you be willing to join SZ? Will you take part in the series alongside his cousins?" Earth knew Fluke very well.
The moment he gets to know about Kao, he would have said no to any opportunity in front of him, no matter how tempting it may sound. "Listen, Fluke, I am your best friend and your manager at the same time. I don't want you to lose such a huge opportunity for my sake."
"So? Did you decide to keep this matter undercover? Are you trying to become the sacrificial goat?" Fluke blew up. "Earth, all these years I have been with you. I have seen you struggle to overcome your breakup. Now, you are telling me that you are perfectly fine, meeting him every day and working with him? What a load of bullshit."
Sammy and Prem decided to remain silent as they watched the two best friends arguing.
"First of all, Fluke, he is the CEO of the company and I am just an employee. The chances of us running into each other are very low. You are going to start filming next month and I will be with you on the set. So, don't worry about our encounter. Second, you said you have been with me all these years. Yes, you have been with me when I needed him the most. So, you should know better than others that he no longer has any value in my life. It can only be described as puppy love by a naïve teenager. My love for P' Kao is a closed chapter."
Earth chucked down a can of beer.
"Huh! A closed chapter? Then why are not willing to move on? You had so many admirers in university. But none of them caught your eye. You rejected all of them with silly excuses." Fluke scoffed
"Wounds heal, but scars remain, Fluke. I have moved on from P' Kao but that doesn't mean that I am mentally ready to find a new partner. Currently, my priority is building my career and becoming independent." Earth stated."I really didn't want to hide it from you. But, I only got to know about it after we signed the contract. There is no turning back now. We have already taken the step forward, let's keep moving forward, na. Let the past remain in the past."
Fluke was still reluctant to let the matter go.
"Fluke, don't worry. This matter is between me and P' Kao, I will handle it. I am not as weak as I used to be. You know that too right? I can face it. Trust me." Earth pleaded.
"Whatever you say. But you have to tell me anything and everything that happens between you two. No more secrets. Promise me" Fluke extended his pinkie finger.
"Promise" Earth interlinked his pinkie finger with Fluke's.
"Truth to be told. I already ran into him a few weeks ago." Earth rubbed his neck.
"You ran into P' Kao? What did he say? Did the two of you talk?" Sammy asked.
"We did talk. But he didn't seem to recognize me."
"Then what did the two of you talk about?"
"Just CEO to employee stuff." Earth shrugged.
"Earth, are you alright?" Fluke placed his hands on Earth's shoulder.
"Hey, don't worry. I admit that I kind of felt hurt when I saw him first but thank god I was mentally prepared. Or else I would have messed up big time." Earth let out an airy chuckle.
"In a way, it is good that he didn't recognize you that day," Sammy commented.
"He might not have recognized him then. But today he had seen me and Prem. He will probably get to know that Earth is my manager."
"What's wrong with him knowing that Earth, works in SZ? He was the one at fault in the first place, not Earth. I don't think P' Kao would do anything out of line." Prem questioned.
"I am not talking about P' Kao. I am talking about his wife, Shelly. Don't you remember meeting her? If she gets to know that Earth is here, then... " Fluke bit his lips.
"Nothing is going to happen. P' Kao and Shelly divorced after a year into their marriage. She even left the child to P' Kao and remarried. I heard the child is under Pa Jane's care." Earth said as he flipped the meat.
"Ho... somebody is keeping updated news..." Sammy teased
"Sammy!" Fluke called out shutting her up.
"Then... what do you plan to do, Earth?" Fluke was genuinely concerned.
"The plan is that I don't have a plan. I will just let fate do its job while I do mine."
"Good choice, Earth. If the two of you are meant to be, you will still end up together even if you run away. It is better to do nothing and let nature take its course." Sammy supported Earth's decision.
"Sammy is right. Earth you took the right decision." Prem too supported Earth.
"Today evening, I was truly afraid when P' Kao and Fluke were having a face-off. I thought Fluke would punch Phi for sure. And there was Hia Boun irritating him since morning. He came in between with his stupid jokes. Fluke was close to hitting him in his goalpost. Only I myself know, how difficult was it for me to drag him away."
"That's true I really wanted to hit him and make him shut his mouth forever" Fluke cracked his knuckles.
"Fluke, you must control your anger. They are your seniors. You are a public figure now. I don't want any scandals coming up." Manager Earth was back in action.
"I know. But he is too irritating." Fluke whined.
"If you find him irritating, then ignore him as much as you can. Treat him like air." Prem advised in Northern Thai local slang.
All of them giggled as they continued drinking.