Melting the Devil

This Is How He Works

A/N: Oh love!

***

Thankfully, everything goes smoothly for the remainder of the week after Field Day. Cantaloupe is able to persuade Tin to have an examination of his ankle the following day, and happily, they discover that it is not even a minor sprain. Cantaloupe is only able to put up with Tin's arrogance during the entire drive back to the office because he is genuinely relieved that he wasn't hurt.

Later that day, they begin interviewing potential employees, and by Thursday, they have already decided on the most deserving candidate: Pramilok "Prem" Nithiphat, a charming and vivacious young man who was previously an administrative assistant at a Chiang Mai advertising agency.

Prem exudes a soothing energy that Cantaloupe finds admirable. He is organized, enthusiastic about every task, and has enough experience to handle the pressures of working for Tin Medthanan. Though Cantaloupe had secretly assumed that Tin would be turned off by Prem's exuberance, he had been pleasantly surprised to see Tin subtly amused by Prem's (admittedly charming, but occasionally overwhelming) mannerisms and clearly impressed by his determination. Tin seems to have a soft spot for people who have any sort of connection to either team sports like soccer, figure skating  whether he admits it or not; Cantaloupe will never forget the adorable shell-shocked face Tin made when he found out that Cantaloupe had played in college, either. (Inside joke, Cantaloupe also believed Tin had been officially sold on Prem when he learned that he was the starting goalie for his college team)

Fortunately, Tin leaves early on Friday to meet his parents, who are visiting the area, leaving Cantaloupe with the rest of the day and the next weekend to try out new recipes and narrow down his menu. He discovers that he has made almost every type of pastry he has ever learned to make—pies, scones, cupcakes, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and more—and ends up giving the most of them away to his pleasantly surprised neighbors.

If he is being completely honest with himself, the only reason he goes overboard is because he is deliberately attempting to block out the possibility of what will happen after he formally quits his job. As he places tray after tray into his truly worthy but overworked oven, a dark cloud of doubt hangs over his head: is he really willing to give up the comforts of home for the chance to launch the bakery of his dreams?

Is leaving his friends and his (beautiful, kind, giving) boss to take a chance on starting his own successful business worth it? Besides, he still has roughly a month left on his current job; why is he even considering this now? Do these brownies require additional sugar, mm? Maybe another pinch of salt?

Cantaloupe literally runs out of things to bake before he collapses on his couch, lighter than he has been in a long time. This helps him bake out his anxiety. Then he finds himself waking up to sunlight pouring through the windows of his living room.

Hold on a moment. That isn't possible. On a weekday, cantaloupe never sees the sun. He gets up quickly and grabs his phone to see what time it is. The time, mockingly, reads 6:53 AM.

Cantaloupe screams, "Fuck me," and dashes to the restroom.

He quickly gets ready, barely giving himself enough time to do his hair and forcing himself to accept that his cowlick will have to do for now. Before he rushes out the front door and straight into the solid chest of a stranger, he makes sure to swiftly put together a little pile of baked goods as an apology to Tin for being late. He is knocked backwards by the force of the collision, but the stranger uses two powerful hands on his biceps to steady Cantaloupe.

Embarrassed, Cantaloupe feels the heat rising from his cheeks as he struggles to regain his balance. "Oh my god, I'm really sorry."

When Cantaloupe looks up, he sees Tin Medthanan staring down at him with a wry smile. "Can," a familiar, sleek amused voice says.