Anupap rushed to finish his work. Atikom had said he'd pick him up at the company entrance at five o'clock. He glanced at his watch.Ten more minutes. He didn't want to keep Atikom waiting.
Though it wasn't quite closing time, nearly everyone in the office had already left. There was a popular singer's concert today, and the young office workers were buzzing with excitement over the free tickets Trin had distributed. Their boss had even granted them permission to leave an hour early.
More importantly, he didn't want Atikom running into Trin. They'd probably clash like when he met Atid. He couldn't help thinking that in any confrontation, Atikom would definitely be the one to start it.
Atikom's personality certainly suggests that... annoying, irritating beyond measure.
Trin was still working. He always arrived before everyone else in the morning and left after everyone else. Anupap had seen Trin walking in and out of the central office several times already, and on the fourth time, he stopped and stood in front of Anupap's room, his left shoulder leaning against the door frame.
"I heard you're not going to the concert."
"I'm not available—I have to go work."
"In Kanchanaburi..." Trin finished the sentence. "I thought you weren't going. I saw you rushing to finish the Panoview advertisement." Trin remained stern and serious.
"Panoview is almost done. By the middle of next week, we can show it to the client. If there aren't major revisions, we can shoot the commercial the following week." Anupap shut down his computer.
"I'm worried you're overworking yourself. Don't you ever rest?" Trin's eyes showed concern.
"If you're worried about exhaustion, then reduce the workload," Anupap smiled. "Throwing tons of work at me makes me tired." The young man spoke half-jokingly, half-seriously.
"I know. I'm trying. Wait a little longer—once I find someone to replace you and Gigi, things will get easier for you."
Anupap shouldered his laptop bag, gathered his files, and walked out of the room. Trin turned and followed, then called out to him.
"Khun Nu... the team already went to Kanchanaburi... how are you getting there?"
Anupap turned around, wondering how to answer Trin properly.
Trin's eyes and ears caught everything—he knew all the details except for the nickname "Emperor" that Sombat's team had given him.
"Um, well, I..."
"Don't drive yourself. Let my driver take you..." Trin stopped mid-sentence, his gaze shifting to something behind Anupap. He had his clear answer.
Anupap turned around because he knew the answer Trin had received was Police Major Atikom. He sighed...
I told him to wait in front of the company entrance.
Atikom wore his usual broad, good-natured smile, but Anupap saw something else in the troublesome cop's eyes—a challenging look, a defiant glare, possessive intensity. Anupap couldn't help thinking that if he could see such an expression, then Trin, with his greater depth of perception, must surely see it too.
Trin walked past Anupap and headed straight for Captain Atikom.
"Didn't you go with the team?"
"I waited for Khun Nu," Atikom replied curtly, clearly, stepping aside from the narrow walkway between the work desks to let Trin pass. But Trin didn't move.
"I don't think this is appropriate... having a model drive the creative director to a commercial shoot. I was thinking of having my driver take him. It would be troublesome for you to drive—you'll get too tired." Trin spoke so softly that Anupap, standing behind them, could barely hear.
"It's no problem. I'm happy to drive with Khun Nu myself."
Anupap felt the tension building and quickly interjected.
"Khun Trin, don't worry at all. Kanchanaburi isn't that far. We'll be there in no time. We can take turns driving... Captain, let's hurry and go. It'll be late otherwise." Anupap reasoned, walking straight to the exit door, hoping Atikom would follow immediately. But no—he remained standing face-to-face with Trin.
"Don't worry, Khun Trin. I'll take care of your subordinate as best I can."
Anupap sighed softly, not expecting Atikom to deliberately provoke Trin.
"It's our company that needs to take care of you properly as an actor." Trin stepped toward the office. "I'll call and order my subordinates to take care you well."
Trin walked away. Atikom narrowed his eyes, watching him go, before turning to follow Anupap.
"I'll order someone to watch your every step," Atikom murmured softly, deliberately making his voice smooth and flat, mimicking Trin's tone.
Anupap heard him and felt both exasperated and amused. Besides being playful and cunning... Atikom was quite the provocateur too.
Both men reached the car. Atikom opened the door while complaining that Anupap's boss was fierce and overly protective of his employees.
"Acting like I'm going to kidnap you for ransom."
"Khun Trin is just like that—he looks stern," the young man opened the door to put his bag in the car. "He has no reason to be angry with you." Anupap defended him.
"Maybe he's jealous of me the same way Khun Atid is jealous of me."
"If you hadn't provoked Khun Trin, he wouldn't think much of it. Are we going or not? If you're going to keep gossiping about my boss, I think we should walk over and sit at that coffee shop instead." Anupa cut him off with a slight edge of sarcasm.
Atikom thought to himself that he had many rivals—Atid acting like a possessive cat guarding his master, Trin behaving like a dog protecting his bone, and Tongrob seeming ready to pounce like a cat stealing grilled fish.
Accidentally falling for Anupap has brought me no small amount of worry.
Atikom had no idea how wrong he was about all of this. His real rival would be someone whose face he'd never seen—someone like a silent force he'd never known existed.
Atikom had never imagined that he himself would end up sitting here anxious over a quiet, reserved man like Anupap. A man who showed no interest in accepting his advances. Someone completely different from anyone he'd ever been involved with... someone who made his heart pound every time he saw his face.
Once the car left the metropolitan area, Anupap deliberately pretended to sleep the entire way, refusing to chat with Captain Atikom.
'Stubbornly silent,' Atikom thought. He knew he had forced Anupap to come watch the filming in Kanchanaburi, and he was probably sulking.
Atikom complained to himself that Anupap wouldn't sit up and keep him company to fight off drowsiness.
"Khun Nu, are you really asleep?" He glanced at the moody man sleeping peacefully on the passenger seat. Sharp features, thick eyebrows, a prominent straight nose, naturally clear and smooth skin, naturally red lips pressed tightly together. Atikom knew Anupap was pretending—as a police officer, how could he not tell?
"I know you're not really sleeping. I'm a police officer—I can tell when someone's pretending. I can spot criminals who fake things much more easily than this."
Anupap rolled over and turned his back to the know-it-all, thinking, 'If you can tell, then just watch. I'll keep pretending to sleep no matter what.'
Atikom was amused by Anupap's childish behavior. He continued driving steadily. Though he felt somewhat tired, glancing at the person beside him somehow made him feel strangely at ease.
Even though he could only see Anupap's back, the police officer could tell that the person who had been pretending to sleep was now truly asleep. His back rose and fell rhythmically with his steady breathing. Atikom couldn't help but look down. Anupap still wore his thin black belt since he was still in his work clothes.
He wondered if the Anupap felt uncomfortable. He wanted to wake him to loosen his belt or pull his white shirt out of his pants so he could sit more comfortably. But he was afraid that if Anupap woke up, he'd glare at him as if to say, "Don't bother."
Atikom became aware of the attraction building little by little. He wanted to feel the warm breath from Anupap's body as he lay curled up in the narrow space beside him. The well-proportioned figure sleeping peacefully now looked harmless. Atikom could barely force his eyes not to look further down. He sighed heavily and slowly, trying to suppress his desire.
Anupap was within arm's reach, yet he couldn't touch him as he wished—unlike others he'd liked before who had always reciprocated beyond his expectations.
Anupap was like a quiet force that made him feel strangely stirred. Feelings that built up bit by bit. Feelings he could wait for, but at the same time felt urgently impatient to act upon, though he had to restrain himself... Even though it was difficult, he endured it... endured it in a way he'd never done before in his life.
Atikom accidentally smiled when he fixed his gaze on one part of the sleeping young man's body beside him for too long. 'Nice ass,' he thought carelessly.
Flashing lights from an oncoming car along with blaring horns snapped his attention back.
"What the…," he exclaimed softly, eyes widening in shock as he realized he'd drifted into another lane. His muscles tensed instinctively throughout his body. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, pulling the car back into his own lane. The car's momentum jolted the happily sleeping passenger awake with a soft groan.
"Ow," Anupap said drowsily, turning to look with an expression that seemed to ask, 'What happened?'
The driver who liked to secretly peek at 'others' until he'd drifted into oncoming traffic suddenly felt flustered and quickly said, "Some crazy car came out of nowhere and cut me off. I had to swerve quickly."
Anupap raised his hand to rub his forehead gently, having been awakened in an unusual way. He had been sleeping peacefully with his face leaning against the door frame when the car's momentum caused his smooth white forehead to bang against the side pillar.
"Sorry," Atikom looked at him apologetically.
"An apology won't make the pain go away," Anupap said softly, turning back to watch the headlights cutting through the darkness ahead.
"You're mean, leaving me to sit here driving alone while awake," the police officer pretended to sound sulky.
Anupap sighed softly. Here we go again, trying to get me to banter with him.
He couldn't resist being sarcastic. "Then I can switch and drive for you. You can take a nap, very hap-pi-ly." He emphasized the last three syllables.
Captain Atikom laughed softly and said nothing more.
Silence crept in. Only the soft hum of the engine doing its job. Both men sat quietly, eyes fixed ahead. Atikom felt the wordless communication taking place.
Anupap was awake now and wouldn't sleep again—or rather, wouldn't pretend to sleep again like when they first started the journey. Atikom smiled slightly, his heart beginning to swell with the realization that the one sitting beside him was willing to stay awake to keep him company. Whether it was 'because he was worried about him getting drowsy or afraid of hitting his forehead,' he couldn't tell.
Even though they weren't chatting to fight off sleepiness, the scent of concern made him feel like he was "talking" with Anupap.
How strange, when people sit together quietly, it feels like they're having a conversation
The car was about to pass a gas station. Atikom slowed down and looked at Anupap. His passenger shook his head slightly and slowly, unconsciously. Atikom smiled broadly and returned to normal speed. Anupap turned to look at the driver while frowning slightly, as if asking, 'What?'
Actually, Atikom had slowed down as if asking Anupap whether he wanted to stop at the gas station. Anupap's natural, unconscious reaction made Atikom feels the internal communication between two people—like some invisible thread was forming to bind them together.
'Does Anupap feel the same way he's feeling?' But Atikom felt a sense of satisfaction arising... At least he knew that Anupap was beginning to close the distance between them somewhat.
The small reaction of shaking his head seemed to convey 'No, don't stop'—body language communication that made Atikom feel satisfied with the first success of his 'ultimatum' operation during their journey to Kanchanaburi together. But another part of him couldn't help wondering—Or am I imagining things?
Atikom began to feel that his life had a new purpose. Tongrob had joked about whether he was serious or just trying to win the bet about courting Anupap. The crime-fighting police officer began to think he would take love seriously this time.
Anupap was his target for a love campaign.
***