Feel Something (BounPrem FF)

Chapter 28: Family Matters

That Friday evening the cousins brought Dee and Sinn with them to Sook's family home. Aawut wasn’t feeling well, so he canceled their Saturday family brunch. That meant that Dee and Sinn could have the whole weekend to themselves and do whatever they wanted.
   
The smell of food greeted them as they walked through the front door and took their shoes off. “Mae! We’re here!”
   
All at once, Sook's mother, father and sister with her daughter all rounded the corner in a hurry. Sook's eyes grew wide when he saw all three coming to them with huge smiles and his mom's arms open wide to embrace Dee. Sook was nervous, but for no reason because Dee hugged her back and acted like they were old friends. Dee and Sinn greeted Sook’s father, then Tana and her daughter Sunni. The baby girl was already giddy upon seeing the two new handsome faces.
   
“Do you mind holding her? I need a break before my arm falls off.” Dee was surprised, but took Sunni from Tan anyway, smiling at the little one who was giggling away.
   
“Look, she loves him!” Lin gushed over the sight in front of her. “Make yourselves at home while we get the food out.”
   
Sook went to help his parents in the kitchen while watching the other three play with Sunni in the living room. Dee held Sunni's hands as she took steps towards Chan, who had his arms wide open.
   
“Sunni, come to P' and I'll spoil you for your next birthday.” Dee helped her until she reached Chan, and they took turns showering her with hugs.
   
“Sorry I’m late! I brought the cake!” Khem walked in with a box, smiling and immediately noticing the two newcomers.
   
“Pho, let me help you.” Chan let Dee take Sunni so he could grab the cake and set it in the kitchen.
   
Dee and Sinn wai-ed at Khem, with Sinn being extra nervous to make a good first impression. He had never cared to show his true side to strangers before. Khem gave off a warm and inviting aura, though, and it eased Sinn's mind.
   
Chan hopped on back to the living room and helped Sinn stand up. “Pho, this is P'Sinn. That's Dee.”
   
“Ah, you’re Sinn.” His eyes smiled along with his mouth at Sinn, who just nodded. “Welcome to the family.” He looked down at Dee, too. “Both of you.”
   
“Boys! Help me set the table!” All of them stood up and rushed to the kitchen. Dee carried Sunni, while Chan and Sinn took trays of food outside to the large table in the small yard.
   
“I came as fast as I could!” A man wearing glasses walked out from the house and gave Tan a sweet kiss.
   
“Oh, honey, these two are the boys' friends. That’s Dee and that’s Sinn. This is my husband Krit.”
   
Krit was a doctor who had just rushed home for his wife's birthday, as he was still in his white coat and stethoscope. “Welcome!” He gave them a large smile and went to grab Sunni from Dee. “I'll take her so you can visit with everyone.”
   
Once all the food was set on the table, Chan held Sinn's arms and guided him to the chair next to him. “Here, sit next to me.”
    
Everyone sat down at the long table and dug in right away. Tan dug in first, because she was very hungry after waiting so long for the food. “Mae, you outdid yourself.” She fed herself as if she were starving.
   
Lin winked at her and took Sunni from Krit. “Come here, little one. Eat up, Krit. I’m sure you had a long day.”
   
“I had a nightmare patient today. Just before I got here I had to stop by his house in place of a colleague of mine. The man is a control freak.” He adjusted his glasses as he recalled his patient.
   
“House call? And he was rude? How ungrateful.” Lin shook her head in disdain.
   
“Tell me his name, I’ll take care of him.” Sinn was shocked by Tan's offer. It really ran in the family to handle things on their own.
   
“Honey, I can’t tell you that, it’s classified. I won’t have to see him after today anyway.”
   
“Good! He doesn’t deserve your attention.” Tan wiped some sauce from Krit's cheek and smiled at her husband. Dee and Sinn hadn’t seen such loving people before. Their own parents never showed such affection.
   
After dinner and cake, Chan and Sook had to wash dishes as the ladies relaxed and played with Sunni. Chan wore long blue cleaning gloves and washed while Sook towel-dried the dishes and cups.
   
“Oi Chan! You’re getting water everywhere!” Sook wiped his face with his arm.
   
“What can I do? I’m making sure everything is clean. Dry faster!” He flicked his fingers at Sook, who immediately retaliated with a whip of the towel. Soon the boys were running around the kitchen, with Chan chasing Sook with his wet gloves.
   
“Boys!” Lin's voice could be heard from outside, where Khem, Korn, Krit and the brothers sat and enjoyed the night sky. (This is where I’m realizing I picked all K names for the men in this family 😂 oops)
   
Khem laughed and shook his head. “There they go again.”
   
“They do this every time. I’ll have to buy Mae a dishwasher so they stop making a bigger mess for her, Pho.” Krit laughed and sipped on his beer. (He calls his in-laws Mae and Pho comfortably.)
   
Dee and Sinn smiled at the thought of their boyfriends bringing chaos through the house. They held beers in their hands and tried to keep up with the dads. “So Sinn.” The boys turned to face Khem. “How did my Chan make friends with such a quiet guy? I’m sure he gave you a hard time.”
   
Dee laughed until Sinn gave him side-eye. “I met him in class, but also through Dee and Sook. Actually…he was very annoying at first.” The older men laughed aloud at his answer.
   
“I like your honesty. I hope he didn’t bother you too much. He didn’t force you here, right?” Khem joked.
   
“No, I think he’s grown on me by now,” Sinn said with a shy smile.
   
“Dee, what about you? How did my quiet son meet someone so lively?” Dee smiled anxiously at Korn. He had spoken to the man before at their restaurant, but Sook wasn’t his boyfriend yet. Dee was feeling different now having a relationship.
   
“Mmm. I realized I had too many fake people around me, but Sook was always genuine. Now that I think of it, I dragged him everywhere. He never protested, just stayed by my side.”
   
“He's a good kid. As long as you’re good to him, he'll treat you fairly.” Korn was nice and didn’t threaten Dee, but the boy knew that this family had Sook’s back if he was ever heartbroken. “Krit, tell them your story with Tan.”
   
Krit blushed and pushed his glasses up as he thought about it. “She used to hate my guts. One time she broke all of the pencils in my pouch, just snapped them in half like it was nothing. We were only five, but she was so…passionate about hating me.” Sinn smiled at the story. He could easily see Chan being the same way.
   
“All the way through grade school she hated me, and I never knew why. I was a quiet kid, and I didn’t ever get into any trouble with anyone, so why was she like that? She began to compete with me, and she would give me this…look if my grades were better-and they always were. I had a crush on her since we were little, but never asked her why she loathed me so much, because she was intimidating. In high school, she could’ve take down a grown man if she wanted to. I didn’t approach her and she despised me from a distance.”
   
Dee raised his hand to ask a question, but Sinn lowered it. Dee was obviously buzzed. “So you were afraid of getting beat up? You just let her hate you?”
   
“Let me tell you about this family. Don’t underestimate them. They may look innocent and they’re so nice, but if you cross them don’t expect for them to take it lightly.” Dee gulped at Krit's warning, pushing his fear down.
   
“Tan wouldn’t talk to me, until the day I walked into the restaurant. She worked part time outside of college, and she had to serve me. She took my order and came back with only the food. I ordered pad prik (beef, chicken or pork cooked with chilies-spicy dish). When she brought out my food, she said ‘do you want to talk to me?’ I nodded and she looked at my food and said ‘finish this without a drink and I’ll talk to you.’”
   
“Did you do it?” Dee asked as if he didn’t know the outcome. The beers he had drank were hitting him all at once.
   
“I did. They have the spiciest pad prik I’ve ever had, but I ate it all for her to talk to me. At the last bite she finally gave me a cold glass of water. Do you know what she said?” Dee leaned closer, fully invested. “She asked me why I threw away the present she gave me for my fifth birthday.”
   
“You threw away her present?” Dee asked. “How could you?”
   
“I didn’t, I swear! She said it was a friendship bracelet with my name spelled out in the beads. I told her I had it at home, but that my old friend Prim had given it to me. Turns out, Prim had told Tan that I threw it away, and that’s why she started to hate me. I learned two things that day; she can really hold a grudge, and we both liked each other since we were little.”
   
“That's so…sweet…” Dee was holding his beer close to his chest, warmed by the touching story. Sinn patted his brother's back and laughed at the reaction.
   
“Pho, tell them yours,” Krit giggled.
   
“I met Lin at a bar when we were barely legal. She was beating up a guy for assaulting her friend. It was love at first punch. I held him down for her.” Korn smiled as he sipped on his drink, looking right at Dee.
   
Dee and Sinn felt like part of the family sitting and listening to all of their stories and advice on life. It was so casual and genuine, which they hadn’t experienced at their own home.