Reflections [Complete]

Chapter 24

Kong's POV

I stared at my phone for a very long time. Fingers almost ready to hit the call button but uncertainty ruling the day. I had even come up with a perfect excuse to call. Been working on that reason for a week now. It would sound perfectly reasonable. A very valid problem that only Arthit could help me solve. And maybe if he answered my call and spoke to me like I dearly hoped he did, just maybe we could atleast begin mending our fractured relation.

Three weeks ago I had woken up after an intense panic attack following the showdown with Arthit. I was lying in bed with the room awash in darkness, while he occupied a sole chair in the corner of the room. When I sat up to orient myself to the lack of light and my dizzy head, he simply asked me if I was feeling better. A quiet whisper that barely disturbed the silence of the night. I didn't know what to say yet. I didn't know how to respond. So I just nodded my head, completely missing the fact that he probably wouldn't be able to see any of that. Or maybe he had. Cause the very next instant he rose up from his chair, informed me of the warm soup and dinner on the table before turning around and leaving my room. And that was the last I saw him.

I heard from him though. Every single day. Either via a brief text or a frustratingly short phone call. Every day he would inquire if I got home from my classes ok and if I was feeling fine. And that's it. As soon as I gave the customary positive response he would end the communication with a short goodbye. And none of my attempts have been successful in prolonging that conversation. It's like he couldn't wait to get away from me but he couldn't do it entirely. There was this one obligation he needed to fulfill and he performed his duty every single day.

But I wanted to desperately talk to him. Hear his happy, cheerful voice once again. See his dimpled smile once again. See the tenderness and care pour out of his eyes every single time he looked at me. I missed him more than I had the capability to express. But I was beyond scared to call him myself. How could I when nearly all my messages to him went unanswered. The only ones he did respond to were the ones where I informed him that I was back home for the day. But after 3 weeks I was finally ready. I was ready to see what rejection to my face felt like. I was just about to tap his name on my phone when I heard the knock on my door and I practically leapt out from bed. There were only two people who ever came to my apartment, and this was definitely not Kim.

But when I flung the main door open, the person standing across from me was probably the last man on earth I had ever dreamt of seeing at my apartment.

"Oh!"

"Are you Kongpob?"

"Ye...yeah"

"Do you know who I am?"

"The owner of the company. And....and Arthit's father."

"May I come in Kongpob? I won't take too much of your time."

"Uh...sure. Come in."

He wasn't a very large man but somehow he still managed to have a looming presence that overwhelmed my tiny apartment. Other than the bed, I had only two chairs in my small dining area and I awkwardly took the seat across from him. It didn't take a genius to figure out how intimidated I felt in this moment. I could take some wild guesses as to why he was in my apartment in the first place and I feel I wasn't going to like any of the reasons. Now, more than ever I wished Arthit was around me. I sat stiffly at the edge of my seat, dreading the next words that would come out of his mouth.

"I...uh....like your place. Very alive."

"Hmmm...."

"I hear you used to work with us until quite recently."

"Yes."

"You also accompanied Arthit on the trip to China?"

"Yes."