Be Mine, Baby✅

Prologue

After classes, War was walking with his friends, but he seemed to be preoccupied. He was contemplating about the next few weeks since it was close to the end of his first semester, and he had run out of money. His dad would send him enough money for monthly expenses and food. But this past month, Ray and Kla would drag him out to the House Lounge for a few meals and leave him with just a paltry of few bahts. He had decided to get a part-time job, but none were available close by. Ray took notice and gave War an elbow to the side.

"What's wrong, War?" Ray playfully smiled at War as he tossed the basketball from one hand to the other. War didn't reply to anything. He continued to walk quietly.

"Shia, dude. That test was brutal." Kla sighed as he joined the group.

"My brain is totally fried." He scratched his non-itchy head.

"At least, that's all done. We should go out to celebrate." Ray said and patted his shoulder. They were Business students, and they were currently having their monthly tests.

"Hell yeah! I'm in! I could really use a night out after these stressful days." Kla gave a high five with Ray.

"No, not today, guys. I'm just going to get going. You guys go ahead and enjoy." War walked away in the other direction.

"We'll meet you back at the dorm," Ray shouted after War.

"Owh, what happened to him?" Kla asked and Ray shrugged.

"Don't know. We'll ask him tomorrow. Let's go," Ray said.

War was pretty disappointed as he was walking back to his dorm. He didn't know how long he was going to manage for the next few weeks. He could ask his father, but his father was already working hard and sending him his allowances. If he were to use all that money on enjoyment, what kind of son was he? At least if he wanted to do that, he should do it with his own money. War sighed.

As he passed a little flower store, he was expecting to see the old man outside. He would always be sitting near the window or watering the plants outside. Khun Niran was an elderly man in his early seventies. He was the owner of a small flower store in one of Chiang Mai's neighborhoods. The flower store was next to his dorm, and War found himself passing in front of the owner and waving at him pretty much every day. The man always greeted War with a smile, surrounded by multi-colored buds.

As he was passing by a flower store, he heard a groan coming from the back of the store. He frowned and peered inside, hearing cursing and rustling sounds.

"Hello?"The only answer he heard was feeble: "Please, help" coming from the same directions of those grunts of pain.

War rushed inside and found an old man hunched over some common houseplants.

"Khun Niran!"

"Oh, Wanarat! Help me, son. I got stuck!" War's first urge was to laugh. But his sympathy for the old man won over and that helped him keep his composure.

It took a couple of minutes to get Khun Niran back to an erect position. Once they were done, the old man wiped off his sweat with the back of his hand, thanking War profusely.

"I'd bow to show you how grateful I am, but..." Khun Niran tried to joke, even though he was still in pain.

"Don't!" War shouted, then realized how casual he sounded and slipped back to a more formal tone. "Please take care of yourself, Khun. You shouldn't be overexerting yourself so much."

"Someone has to take care of this place, right? And my son has his own business in another city. If I can't even do this much, I should just close the store," the old man sighed."No!" War interrupted him.

He had come to know from his father that his parents had met in this very same flower store back when they were University students. For his mother's birthday, he and his father would stop by and buy her favorite flowers, and War would look around at all the blossoms and call them, pretty. Till today, his father would visit the store at times to purchase white roses for his mother's grave now.

He couldn't let it be closed down.

"I could help you out," War suggested. He was looking for a job anyway.

"When you need to move something heavy, so you don't have to do everything yourself." The old man's eyes shined.

"Really? You'd do that for me? Aren't you studying?" War nodded.

"Don't you have club activities? Your dad always brags about how good you are at playing the guitar whenever he visits." War blushed, both happy and embarrassed, and coughed to hide it.

"Yes, but I was already in search of a part-time job. Just for a while. You see, I've used up my pocket money and I couldn't get any part-time job. So I could help out here, after classes and on weekends," War offered.

"That's good. But you should know that it won't be much because the business has been struggling a bit lately," Khun Niran clarified, "But I'll make it worth your while. I'll teach you how to handle the flowers too, so maybe I can get a day off like everyone else too sometimes."

"It's alright. I'll help you to make this store bloom again!" Khun Niran smiled and held his wrinkly hand towards War's hand and he shook it strongly.

"Welcome to your first part-time job, Wanarat. You're hired!"

"Thank you, Khun Niran." War smiled as he bowed in respect.

He thanked the old man before leaving and returned back to his dorm happily and contented. He had got a job which was not only just an ordinary one, but one which held a valuable and emotional sentiment in his personal life.

His mother.

When War told his father that night, he could feel that his father felt proud of him.

"Your mother would be very proud of you." When War heard this, there was a melancholy smile on his lips as he tried to swallow down the pinpricks of his tears so they wouldn't spill over.

He would never let the flower store be shut down.

Promise.

TBC...

Published on 9th September 2021