SWEET

CHAPTER 19

Porchay pushed around the food on his plate, poking at rice and vegetables as if they could answer the questions he had in his mind. Final exams were around the corner, and he had been missing school for days. His stomach twisted every time he thought about the teachers, the failure, the consequences of his own absence.

Macau had offered to tutor him, but Porchay still felt small, like he was stumbling through a path that he wasn’t ready for.

Vegas, noticing the tension, reached over and lightly squeezed his shoulder.

“Porchay… if it gets too much, if you feel stuck, you don’t have to go through it alone,” Vegas said softly. “You can drop out, lean on me. I’ll be there for you. Always.”

Porchay looked up, eyes wide, caught off guard by the gentleness in Vegas’ tone. He opened his mouth to refuse and insist he could handle it but the words stuck in his throat. He knew Vegas meant it, and the warmth of that reassurance made him happy.

Dinner continued quietly, the clinking of chopsticks and soft murmurs filling the room.

Kim, ever observant, finally leaned back and looked at Porchay with a teasing smile.

“So… what do you want to do after high school, huh? You can’t hide forever.”

Porchay’s fingers froze around his spoon. His cheeks flushed slightly. “I… I want to do music,” he admitted,in almost a whisper.

Kim laughed, a teasing sound that echoed through the walls. “Ah! Of course! Music, huh? I see how it is—you just want to be close to me.” He poked Porchay lightly, grinning mischievously.

Vegas, quiet until now, set down his chopsticks, his expression unreadable.

Then, suddenly, he spoke, voice calm but heavy with intent. “Let’s get married and go far away from people.”

Kim blinked, spoon mid-air, and Porchay froze, eyes wide in shock. There was silence for a beat, a moment so thick it felt like it could snap. And yet… neither of them said no.

The words hung in the air,surprising, but filled with a promise that none of them could deny.

Vegas leaned back, a small smile forming at his lips, while Kim tilted his head, amusement sparkling in his eyes, and Porchay’s cheeks burned hotter than the steam rising from his dinner plate.

It wasn’t a plan yet, not a decision, but it was a truth, a desire to escape together, to be a family in their own little world, far from judgment, far from stress, and entirely theirs.

The next few days were a quiet chaos.

Porchay’s textbooks and notebooks spread across the living room floor, Macau hovering nearby with a patient frown, explaining equations and grammar rules over and over. Porchay groaned, slumped in his chair, but Vegas sat beside him, offering small encouragements.

“You’re doing fine, Chay. Just… don’t give up,” Vegas murmured, resting a hand on his shoulder. Porchay blinked, feeling the warmth of that support hug him, calming the panic that had been twisting his stomach.

Kim leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, eyes twinkling with amusement. “You know, Chay, I still think you’re only doing this to be near me.”

Porchay rolled his eyes, cheeks burning, but said nothing. Vegas shot Kim a pointed look that silenced the teasing immediately, and Kim just chuckled softly, letting it go.

Dinner that night was filled with laughter and light teasing. Vegas finally leaned back, sighing in satisfaction. “No matter what happens, we’ll be together. Always,” he said, looking at both Kim and Porchay.

Porchay swallowed, heart swelling. Kim reached over and linked fingers with Vegas’, squeezing lightly. Porchay’s small hand joined theirs, and in that moment, no exams, no worries about money, no lingering fears of the past mattered.

They were a little family, messy and imperfect, but perfectly theirs.