Scent

Arthit's plan A

Arthit's morning had been tiring enough, and the day before hadn't been all that good either, and now Kongpob was nowhere to be found. That boy spent most of his workday with him, following him around like a puppy, always at his side, except when Arthit had to talk to him.

After the previous night disastrous dinner, a night's sleep had calmed his nerves, and the lynx had begun to feel a little bit guilty about how he had treated his junior. It didn't matter how tired he was from working all day, or how irritated he was about the disappearance of his snacks and John's teasing. Those weren't good excuses for lashing out on the boy anyway.

Wearily he drank the Pink Milk he had found on his desk. It must have been there since that early morning because the ice had melted, and it wasn't cold anymore.

That was strange. P'Earth knew he wouldn't have been there until lunchtime.

Just then, the woman walked into the office.

"Ohi, Arthit, you're back. How did it go?"

"Good. The new contract should arrive by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest." He smiled, showing her the beverage in his hand. "Thanks for this."

She gazed at him doubtfully. "What do you mean?"

Arthit tilted his head confused. "The Pink Milk...?"

"It wasn't from me, Arthit."

"And then who...?"

"Nong Kongpob"

Kongpob?

"How do you-?"

She just tapped her nose twice with the tip of her index finger.

Right, obviously.

"Even the salad?" He asked, pointing to the salad placed on his desk.

"Yup."

"Oh..." He remained a little lost in thought with his gaze lost on his desk. So that was why it was all so strange. "The whole week?"

"The whole week." She confirmed.

"Do you know if he's the one who... you know..." He said, pointing discretely to his former secret snack hiding place.

P'Earth pursed her lips thoughtfully, then said slowly. "Probably. I'm not sure. His smell is everywhere on your desk."

Everywhere? What was that supposed to mean?

Before he could ask, the woman diverted her attention toward her work. Arthit stared at his friend for a while, and then decided he should go search for his junior.

"He's probably on the rooftop." The woman said, never diverting her gaze from the monitor.

He turned questioningly towards her. P'Earth just tapped her nose again, a slight smile hidden behind her other hand.

Following the tiger suggestion, Arthit made his way up toward the rooftop stairwell. He already felt guilty about what had happened the day before, and now that he had found out about all the Pink Milks he had been drinking at Kongpob's expense, he felt even worse.

-

When Arthit had decided to talk to his junior, he didn't know the direction their conversation was heading to, but certainly hadn't expect to ask him that.

"Are you flirting with me?"

Kongpob stood there without saying a word, and just stared at him.

After several endless seconds of tension, Arthit laughed softly to himself.

"Sorry, stupid question. I was just kidding." He said and turned to leave, but in that instant, his junior grabbed his wrist, restraining him.