"No," Anamarija said quickly.
"He just grabbed me so I wouldn't fall."
I smiled and glanced at Chak.
"When you get a boyfriend, I need to be the first to know," he said, completely serious.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Why you?"
"Because you're my sister," he replied calmly.
"And he'll have to follow a few rules."
"Rules?" she repeated, amused.
"What kind of rules?"
Chak adjusted his watch, then looked at her with a calm but stern face.
"For example… I want to know everything about him. And I'll ask him questions about you. If there's anything off—anything I don't like—then he's not right for you."
Anamarija laughed softly.
"Interesting."
I just smiled to myself and thought: Typical Chak. He wants to protect her, to make sure she's safe.
Chak then looked at me, and after that at Taeng, shifting instantly into another mode.
"And if the team asks what you two were doing on the yacht…"
He gave us that sharp, commanding look.
"You two say you were working. You helped Taeng in the kitchen. To prepare snacks, cocktails, whatever we wanted. And nothing exciting happened. It was boring. Stick to the story. Make something up if you need to. Understood?"
Taeng sighed dramatically.
"Well, I'll just say Kit served himself an appetizer before we even left."
Then he looked at Kit… and at Kit's lips.
So obviously that I almost burst out laughing.
His eyes were glowing with that soft, hopelessly-in-love expression.
We all laughed.
Kit leaned back, completely calm.
"Can I also get the main course… and then dessert?"
Taeng turned red instantly.
"Not in front of everyone," he muttered.
"When we're alone."
And he shamelessly lay down across Kit's legs. Kit's hand slowly approached his hair, then his neck. Taeng closed his eyes.
At that moment the staff arrived with trays of sliced tropical fruit, cold drinks, and snacks—
mango, pineapple, watermelon, fresh juices, and even small cocktails.
Sunlight poured through the windows, the yacht swayed gently, and for a quiet moment, everything felt peaceful—
like the beginning of something bigger.
I picked up a piece of mango from the tray and turned toward Chak.
He was sitting close enough that our knees brushed, his posture relaxed but his eyes warm, watching me more than the food.
"Open," I teased.
He raised an eyebrow at me, pretending to hesitate—
but then leaned in and let me feed him the mango.
His lips brushed my fingertips just slightly, enough to send a shiver up my spine.
"That's good," he murmured, voice low.
"Give me another."
I rolled my eyes, but I still reached for another piece.
Before I could bring it to his mouth, Chak tipped the cold glass of juice toward me.
"You first," he said.
I took a sip—sweet, icy—and when I lowered the glass, he took it gently from my hands and drank from the same spot, his eyes never leaving mine.
Sharing a drink shouldn't feel intimate.
But with Chak, everything did.
Across from us, Kit and Taeng were… unsurprisingly… worse.
Kit held up a small cluster of grapes.
"Open," he said, mimicking my tone.
Taeng groaned.
"Kit—don't embarrass me in front of everyone."
Kit popped a grape into his mouth anyway and smirked.
"Fine. Then come closer."
Taeng gave in instantly, crawling up onto Kit's lap and letting Kit feed him grape after grape.
Every time Kit's fingers brushed his lips, Taeng's face went pinker.
Anamarija watched the two of them, then looked at Chak and me sharing juice, then back at them.
She exhaled dramatically.
"I swear," she muttered, "I'm surrounded by couples."
Taeng, with a mouth full of grape, pointed at her.
"You're next. Just wait."
She rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face said she didn't mind the chaos at all.
Meanwhile, Chak reached for another piece of fruit, leaned forward, and murmured in my ear:
"Your turn now."
And the warmth in his voice made my whole chest melt.
Kit tossed another grape into his mouth, then shifted his attention to me with that signature, knowing smirk of his.
"Niran," he said, pointing at me with the grape stem like it was a royal decree,
"you do realize you've basically won the lottery, right?"
I blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Kit leaned back, crossed one leg over the other, and gestured casually toward Chak—
who was currently drinking from the same glass I had just handed him, looking far too calm and far too gorgeous doing it.
"You," Kit continued dramatically, "have managed to soften that man's heart."
He tilted his chin at Chak.
"Do you know how impossible that is?"
Taeng laughed.
"Trust me, it's true. Kit tried for years and failed."
Kit clicked his tongue.
"Hey. I wasn't trying to soften him. I was trying to survive him."
Chak glanced over with a deadpan stare that made Kit snap his mouth shut in 0.2 seconds.
Then Kit pointed at me again.
"But you—YOU—need to keep an eye on him at all times."
I frowned.
"Why?"
Kit leaned forward, lowering his voice like he was revealing a dark secret.
"Because Chak is unpredictable. You never know what he's planning. One moment he acts like he doesn't care, the next he's kissing you in the middle of a moving yacht and dragging you into a private cabin."
Chak coughed pointedly.
Kit ignored him completely.
"And," Kit added with a sly grin, "if he's actually in love—like actually—you're going to have to deal with his… ehm… intense side."
Taeng nodded vigorously.
"Oh yeah. He gets very intense."
Chak narrowed his eyes.
"Do you two want to swim back to the mainland?"
Kit immediately straightened.
"Just offering helpful advice."
Then he pointed at me one last time.
"You won the jackpot, Niran. But stay sharp. A man like Chak?
He doesn't fall easily. And once he does—"
Taeng finished the sentence, grinning:
"—he doesn't let go."
I felt Chak's hand rest on my knee—warm, steady, unmistakably possessive.
And Kit smirked like he had just proven his point.
Kit kissed Taeng's forehead. Taeng leaned into his lap.
"Taeng…" I said softly.
He looked at me, cheeks red, eyes shiny in a way only I would notice.
A smile tugged at my mouth—the kind that comes from the heart.
"You found the right one," I told him.
"The real one. The one who actually sees you."
Taeng's breath hitched, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Kit's hand slipped around his waist, pulling him closer, protective without even thinking about it.
I chuckled and added quietly,
"I'm proud of you."
Taeng lowered his head, embarrassed but glowing, and Kit kissed his temple like he agreed with every word.
And honestly… it felt perfect.
Just when Kit leaned down to kiss Taeng again, footsteps approached, and a polite voice broke through the warm chaos.
"Sir," one of the staff members said with a small bow,
"we will be arriving at the docks in about fifteen minutes."
Chak nodded calmly, instantly shifting into his composed mode.
"Good," he replied, then glanced at Kit and Taeng with a subtle smirk.
"You two have… exactly fifteen minutes. Spend it together. Make it worth it. You won't have time for yourselves later."
Taeng choked on air.
Kit grinned like Christmas came early.
Anamarija laughed under her breath.
I tried not to.
"Alright," Chak continued, clapping his hands once, gentle but firm.
He took my hand and we headed toward the lower deck. Kit and Taeng practically vanished into their cabin the moment the hallway turned dark—no surprise there.
Chak and I entered our room.
He closed the door behind us.
And the moment it clicked shut, he pulled me in.
His lips met mine in a slow, warm kiss—one of those that makes the whole world pause. His hands slid around my waist, mine curled into his shirt, and for a few seconds nothing existed except how good it felt to be close to him.
When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine, his breath soft.
Then—of course—he smirked.
"Niran," he murmured, brushing his thumb along my jaw,
"don't forget the suitcases."
I groaned.
"You kissed me on purpose so I'd forget, didn't you?"
"Maybe," he said, smiling like the devil.
Before we went upstairs, he gave me a little kiss on my neck.
"My artist," he said calmly.
As soon as we returned to the upper deck, Chak walked straight to Anamarija. Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a warm, genuine hug.
"If you need anything," he told her quietly,
"you tell me. Anything at all."
She smiled and nodded, touched.
Then Kit and Taeng arrived.
With swollen lips.
Both of them.
Chak, Anamarija, and I exchanged the same exact look—slow smile, raised brows, silent teasing.
Taeng hid behind Kit's shoulder.
Kit looked proud of himself.
"Not. A. Word," Taeng warned.
We all pretended to zip our lips… badly.
I moved to my position near the exit, ready for docking procedures. The engine slowed, the yacht glided smoothly toward the pier.
Just before the vessel fully stopped, Chak stepped up beside me.
He leaned in like it was the most natural thing in the world—
—and kissed my cheek.
Soft, warm, claiming.
I swear my heartbeat tripped.
"See you down there," he murmured.
The yacht halted. The crew lowered the ramp. Others stood on the pier, waiting for us. Our colleagues who arrived by ferry were already there.
I stepped off first.
Then Chak behind me.
Then Anamarija.
Then Kit and Taeng.
The moment my feet touched the wooden pier, I inhaled the warm air—
—and suddenly—
"NIRAN!"
Strong arms wrapped around me.
From the front.
I froze, startled, breath caught in my chest as someone's body pressed into mine, holding me tightly—
like they'd been waiting for me all this time.