KIMCHAY TALES: BITTERSWEET EXCHANGE

CHAPTER 36

"He fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?"

—

Days had passed, and Tankhun never stopped coming to Kim's house. Sometimes he will bring something for him. Mostly, food, but Kim never touched them. It was the same every day. Same position, same dilemma. Tankhun is losing ideas on how to make his brother speak or notice him again, but he doesn't want to lose hope. He won't give up on his brother.

"I'm here again," Tankhun said cheerfully, entering Kim's room. He moved towards the bedside table, charging Kim's phone like it was his daily chore to do. If there's one thing that changed in his room, it was the phone. Tankhun always charges Kim's phone for him before he leaves, only to find it unplugged and dead the following day. Kim must be calling Porchay again. Tankhun can't blame him. The gun was still there, it never changed its position. Tankhun trusted Kim that the gun was indeed empty.

He sat on Kim's bed, "I brought you something. I should have done it for a long time, but it's not too late, right?" he said. No response from Kim as he expected. "Remember the cookies that Mom usually baked for us when we were kids? Well, I tried to create it using her recipe. I can't say it was the same, but Kinn said it was close. You should try it, Kim." he said.

A grunting noise came out of Kim's mouth when Tankhun forced him to sit up. The eldest Theeranpanyakul's shoulders fell when he saw how thin Kim had gotten. "My god, Kim," he whispered. That's the only words he could muster to say. He wanted to cry again. No, he won't cry. He needed to be strong. If he will do things he couldn't do for his Mom to Kim. He will be there for Kim. "You should eat, Kim," he said and took a Tupperware full of newly baked cookies.

"I don't want to eat," Kim mumbled, pushing away the cookies.

"No!" Tankhun said with a raised voice. Kim seemed surprised by what he did, even though he was surprised as well. Right. He is the eldest among them, he should show them what an eldest should do. "You will eat this cookie or I will shove this down your throat, Kim," he warned. He shoves them in front of Kim's face.

Hesitantly, Kim took one. Tankhun never raised his voice to him before and Kim doesn't want to argue anymore. He won't deny it, he was famished. The moment the scent of cookies hit his nose, he felt his stomach grumble. How long was he starving himself? To be fair, he hasn't felt hungry these past few days. Everything took a huge toll on him and even the feeling of being hungry vanished from his system.

Tankhun smiled seeing his youngest brother take a bite from the cookie he baked. It was great to see Kim eating again. A little advancement is still an advancement. No matter how long Kim needed for him to be himself again, Tankhun will always be with him. "Was it good?" he asked with a smile.

Kim scowled at him, "No." he answered grumpily. It was almost the same as the one their mother used to bake. Almost, but never the same. Tankhun tried and Kim appreciated that, of course.

Tankhun's smile widened. He knows his brother despite not living on the same roof for a long time. If Kim doesn't like the food, he won't eat it at all. He said it wasn't good, but he was already halfway through munching the cookie. "I'll go get you something to drink," he said and left the room.

Tankhun was humming to himself happily. It's great. This is great. He managed to make Kim eat something. That was good. Slowly, but surely. He will help his brother to his feet again and, perhaps, win back Porchay. Tankhun wanted to talk to the Kittisawat brothers. Seeing the effect they have on his brothers was insane. Kim was barely living, and Kinn had been working non-stop ever since Porsche left. Unfortunately, it seems like the Kittisawat brothers don't want to be bothered anymore.