Unmasked

IronMan

Tin Medthanan got into his car before the sun had even risen. Shadows lingered in the darkness under the trees, and a distant dog's bark echoed through the night. Even though he couldn't see the moon, it felt like the middle of the night. He couldn't understand why he had agreed to drive to this dreadful race.

He took a moment to sit in the Ford Bronco Raptor and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. A war was waging inside his mind - should he really go or simply crawl back into bed? The overwhelming fatigue he felt only added to the difficulty of making a choice. The last six weeks had been a whirlwind, absolutely insane, and he had completely slipped his mind about participating in the IronMan  to support breast cancer research. He was excited about finally having the opportunity to catch up on some much-needed sleep. Maybe he was just too exhausted to realize that it was strange to have an entire day completely empty on his schedule. Tin rarely experienced a day without any drama, meetings, or appointments, so he should have sensed that something was off.

He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, counted to ten, and then let it out. However, instead of feeling refreshed, he only felt dizzy, and it didn't improve his mood about the task at hand. He furrowed his brow even more, turned on the engine, and opened all the windows, hoping the wind would jolt him awake before he arrived at Can's place.

It was a complete failure.

At Can Kirakorn's place, Tin still had that feeling of stumbling and falling flat on his face, so he decided not to step out of his vehicle. Instead, he parked right behind Can's shiny sports car and gave a loud honk.

Can leaned out of the bedroom window to give a friendly wave.

"Let's go! Pick up the pace!" Tin stuck his head out of the car to call out. Can promptly came out of the house with two travel mugs of coffee. "Thanks a bunch, Can." Tin extended both hands to grab one of the mugs.

Tin chuckled and took a sip, while Can raised an eyebrow. "I can read you like a book. Let me guess—you chose extra sleep over brewing coffee this morning."

Tin nodded and took another sip. "Guilty as charged. It was a tough decision between a shower and coffee, but coffee lost."

"That's not a smart move, buddy. Not smart at all. Coffee will always come out on top."

"You might think so," Tin replied. "But you'll appreciate it later when you're not getting a whiff of my body odor."

Can laughed. "Noted."

The clock had just struck six, and the streets were surprisingly deserted. Tin found it slightly unsettling as he was accustomed to the chaotic rush-hour traffic, spending up to thirty minutes stuck in one spot. Cruising down the highway felt unfamiliar to him. They traveled in silence, with the only noise being the sound of sipping hot coffee. Tin appreciated the tranquility. He took advantage of the moment to let the caffeine awaken his mind and get ready to face everyone else at the challenge, hoping to be more alert and less like a zombie.

After securing a spot to park behind the building, Tin and Can made their way inside. It was a bit of a struggle, but eventually they located the changing room.

"Seems like they're trying to make it impossible for anyone to find this place," Can grumbled. "That was like a journey to the center of the earth."

Tin laughed. "Just poor design, buddy. It's a total disaster."

"No kidding. Hey, guess what? There's a party happening at Enigma in a few nights," Can mentioned while tying his shoes. "You should totally check it out."

"Are you going to be there?"

"Nah, I've got something else going on."

Tin raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? What's this 'going' you have all of a sudden?"