Roundabout Way to You

30. Mall.

Ayut looked at his little brother and his 'fake' boyfriend, who were busy clicking selfies not far away from him. No matter how much he looked at it, it didn't seem like they were faking it. Those two really did look like a normal couple who were at the mall for a date.

This made him worried. He could see the joy in his little brother's face. He knew that the young one was enjoying this, but he couldn't say the same for his friend. He noticed how Sarth often stole glances at the women passing by.

Having always known that Sarth had only dated women before, Ayut was concerned that his little brother's first love might end up in a heartbreak.

"One, two, three. Say cheese..." Ayut lost count of the photos Anwit and Sarth had taken together.

All four of them had come to the mall because Anwit decided that Sarth needed a whole new wardrobe. He said that Sarth's punk style of dressing wasn't suited for a nearly thirty-year-old white-collared employee.

He dragged his elder brother and Mihit along saying that he needed a second opinion in the selection. The real reason for it was that he wanted Ayut to spend more time with Mihit, whom he had certainly been avoiding being around.

He never understood his brother's reasoning about staying away from the person he obviously had a crush on. He felt that his brother needed a push and he was more than happy to be the pushing force.

Ayut was sitting on the bench as he waited for Anwit and Sarth to be done with their photography. The photographs were meant to be shown to Sarth's parents as proof that they were dating.

"P' Yut," Ayut turned his head hearing Mihit's voice. He saw Mihit standing next to him holding a cone of ice cream towards him. "I got this for you."

"Thank you," He gave Mihit a small smile as he took the ice cream from his hand. He didn't want to appear rude by rejecting the ice cream even though that was what he wanted to do.

Mihit happily sat next to Ayut. He was not going to give up any chance he would get to be next to his idol. He peeked at Ayut who was eating the ice cream silently, while watching Sarth and Anwit.

"P' Yut," He tried to start a conversation. Something he certainly disliked doing.

"Hmm?" Ayut was feeling pretty awkward having to be around Mihit, who had shown obvious signs of not liking him in the past.

"Is the ice cream alright? None of the flavors you liked weren't available in the shop. So..." Mihit scratched his neck. 

He had gone to the Ayut's favorite ice cream brand store in the mall, only to find that they were out of all three most liked were out of stock. In the end, he had to buy the ones that he thought Ayut might like.

"It's good. Thank you." Ayut answered. He was really hungry and neither Anwit nor Sarth were showing any signs of moving on from their photography session to get some food.

Mihit bit his lips, seeing how Ayut had once again turned his attention away from him. "P' Yut."

"Yes?" Ayut did not like the fact that he was having to interact with Mihit. Mihit had long entered his blacklist in his heart. He was one of the people whom he would like to keep his distance from.

"Phi, are you mad at me?" Mihit was no fool. He could sense that Ayut was being distant.

"No. I don't have any reason to be mad at you, Mihit." Ayut said matter of factly.

"If you are not mad, then why are behaving like this?"

"Behaving like what?"

"So distant and indifferent."

"Indifferent? Distant? We were never close in the first place, Mihit."

"But, I would like us to be close, phi. Like how P' Sa and Wit is. We see each other almost every single day. Don't you find it awkward that we are not close?"

Ayut pressed his lips together. He couldn't deny what Mihit said. It was true. They were neighbors, living across each other. Plus, due to the new collaboration between their companies, both of them worked at the same place. They often run into each other at work. It was indeed awkward.

"I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable," He apologized promptly. 

"It's not your fault, phi. We just started on the wrong foot." 

Ayut just nodded and didn't argue. 

"Phi, how about we start over again?" Mihit suggested eagerly.

"Sure," Ayut smiled lightly.

The smile on Mihit's face grew larger and he began introducing himself. "Swadee Khrab. My name is Mihit. I am twenty-seven years old." 

Ayut chuckled at this. "Swadee. I am Ayut. I am twenty-eight years old."

"I am a game developer in TechNova."

"I am the Vice president at Omni."

"I have a Nong saao."

"I have a Nong chaai."

"I love both dogs and cats. But prefers dogs more."

"I love dogs and cats alike."

 "I am single."

Ayut paused for a second and looked at Mihit. He could see that the latter was waiting for him to speak. "I am single as well." He could clearly see how Mihit's eyes brightened up, but he didn't want to read too much into it. He was afraid that he would get it wrong and end up messing everything up.

Growl. Mihit's stomach growled loudly. "I am hungry." He said, looking at his tummy.

"I am hungry as well." Both of them burst out laughing.

"I heard that there's a new Japanese restaurant here that serves delicious sushi. Would you like to check it out with me?" Mihit asked. He wanted to ask his idol out on a date, but he didn't want to do it rashly.

Haste makes waste. He had to make Ayut lower his guard first before slowly scooting into his life. He was a very patient person and was willing to invest his time into winning his idol's heart.

"Sure, I love sushi," Ayut replied. "But, those two..." He turned to look at Sarth and Anwit who were still taking photos.

This time Anwit was posing alone, leaning against the handrail while Sarth was squatting on the floor to find the perfect angle for clicking the pictures.

Ayut was shocked when he felt Mihit wrapping his arms around his waist.

"Let's go, phi. They will follow us later." Mihit knew that Sarth and Anwit were clicking more photos on purpose so that he could spend more time with Ayut alone. He was not going to let their efforts go to waste.

"But~" Ayut tried to resist but Mihit was holding him firmly.

"P' Sa knows the restaurant. Don't worry, phi. They won't get lost." Mihit led Ayut in the direction of the elevator.

Anwit noticed this from the corner of his eye. He quickly ran to Sarth. "There they go! I think our plan is working!" He said excitedly. 

Sarth looked in the direction the duo was walking in. "Never seen Hit being so proactive with anyone before." He commented with a sly look in his eyes.