Business Deal | KaoEarth

Chapter 3: Meeting - Part One

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Kao and his friends were seated in the cafeteria having lunch. Kao had a dark expression on his face, he was still thinking about what his father said in the morning. He was not paying any attention to what his friends were doing. Prem, who was sitting beside him, was trying to eat his lunch in peace, but a certain someone was making it impossible. Boun was seated right across Prem and was constantly teasing him; either by stealing food from his plate, or, saying silly stuff just to make Prem mad. His day just won't go by without irritating Prem at least once. Ohm, on the other hand, was sitting quietly, distracted by something on his phone. He was already used to his friends acting this way. It was an everyday thing.

Boun stuffed his mouth with the piece of meat he stole from Prem's plate. In the midst of enjoying Prem cursing him, his eyes fell on Kao. Of course he had noticed his friend feeling unusually distressed today. With a concerned tone to his voice he asked,"You okay, man?", he continued,"I mean, you don't look okay."

Hearing this, Ohm and Prem too, diverted their attention toward Kao.

"Is it because you drank too much last night? I told you to control, didn't I?",Boun added.

"Oh look who's the one talking. Last night you got so drunk that you kept on calling me to meet you at the bar you were in...I was sitting right beside you."'I'm so done with you' was written all over Prem's face. Boun just sheepishly smiled, feeling guilty.

"Is it about that 'business deal' of you father's?" Ohm was the one to speak this time.

Kao had told his friends about the business deal that his father had mentioned that day over drinks. Although they were shocked at first, they could only sympathise with Kao. They didn't know what else they could do. They accompanied Kao every time he said he wanted to go for drinks. They knew that this was the only way he could let out his frustration, since he could not go against his father even if he wanted to.

"You said you'll talk to him." Ohm could see how helpless his friend looked.

Kao had not even touched his food. He had just been holding the spoon in his hand without even using it. He finally put the spoon down and let out a heavy sigh.

"He said I should think about it again. That it's all for the best." Kao said this as if it was obvious what his father was going to say if he even thought of rejecting the deal.

Kao looked so tired and worn out. It was like all his energy had been drained out of him. He didn't even want to lift up the spoon to eat. He, indeed, felt helpless.

"He said he's going to talk about it tonight", he continued,"I don't know what to say to him. I want to refuse, but, I know, I won't be able to do that. How?! Just how do I get myself out of this?!" He held his head with both of his hands.

Boun, Prem and Ohm just quietly listened to their friend vent. This was the least they could do.

"He says it's all for the best. That it's going to benefit me in the future. But how exactly is it benefiting me? It only benefits the company."

Even though they were only listening, his friends were actually surprised to see Kao talk about his feelings. Kao was the silent type. He rarely ever talked about his feelings. Even with Ohm, who was his best friend, he didn't share much. Whereas, Ohm, used to tell him about everything about what's going on in his life. They were quite relieved actually, that at least, he was letting out his frustration through words; and not by drowning himself in a shit ton of alcohol.

Kao was trying so hard to regain his composure. But the more he tried, the more he wanted to burst out. He kept going on about how frustrated and angry he was.