The Prince and The Thief

Thirteen

Oak watched Bright studying the business card in his hand with a serious expression for good five minutes. And finally, when he felt like he couldn't be patient anymore, Oak let out a deep sigh. "P', do you think you'll magically learn the letters if you keep staring at the card for so long? Forget English, we can't even read Thai properly, remember?" Oak said to which Bright gave him a glare. "This is the place P'. See the logo is the same," Oak said pointing at the board that said "Cafe D" with a brown coffee mug logo in the shape of the letter D.

"Good morning," a tired voice greeted them as soon as they entered the cafe. The well-built man in front of them looked like he barely had any energy left in him. Seeing him go in, Bright and Oak looked at each other confused and settled by a table. "Ask him," Oak suggested as they saw the man approach them with the menu card. "Erm...we aren't here for coffee. Actually we wanted to know where Prem is, the reporter?" Bright asked to which Dae looked at him eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know. If you aren't here for food, please leave," he replied irritatedly before walking off. He was already worried about Prem and people won't stop calling his cafe or come in for a visit ever since the news was out.
"That idiot gave my cafe address to whomever he met. What a nuisance," Dae muttered before sitting at the counter.  The next moment the voice of Bright startled him. "Sir, I understand that you are not in a good mood. But this is kind of urgent. We really need his help," Bright said. Dae looked at Bright and then at Oak who stood behind him for a while, his eyebrows furrowed. "And what do I get if I tell you?" Dae asked. He wanted to get rid of these people in front of him as soon as possible. Bright and Oak looked at him confused. "Okay, tell us how much you want?" Bright asked, shocking Oak. "P', what are you saying?" Oak whispered to which Bright moved his hand behind him and hit Oak's hand. Oak got the signal and pressed his lips into a thin line, hoping the cafe owner won't ask a big amount. Dae smirked at the question. "Get me 50 customers by evening. Then I'll tell you where he is," Dae said. He was sure that Bright would say that he can't. But, to his surprise, Bright nodded his head in approval. "Okay, I'll be back soon. Be prepared," he said before going out with Oak, leaving a gaping Dae all alone.

"P', I think he's a fraud. Where did you even get this card from?" Oak asked as they walked. "Remember I went to the mayor's place two years back?" Bright asked to which Oak looked at him confused. "Oh yes! You had bought those speakers and phones," Oak said smiling. "Yeah, that night, this reporter was roaming around the house and we accidentally met when I was about to climb the wall. I thought I was caught. But this guy actually pulled me down and somehow sensed why I was there. Then he gave me some recorder pens and asked me to keep it in the house. I kept it like he said. When I was back the guy was still there, making sure that I did what he told me to, and he thanked me. But that wasn't enought for my effort right? So I took his wallet and this was the only business card in there, which obviously means it's of someone who knows him. Kong had told me the name of the cafe back then. But I never thought I'll ever use it," Bright said to which Oak nodded his head and looked at him with so much admiration. "So what do we do now P'?" Oak asked. "Wait and see," Bright replied smiling as both walked forward.

Dae, who was sleeping with his head on the table in front of him, suddenly woke up hearing a commotion. His eyes widened at the sight of people barging into his cafe. "What the!" he said out loud not able to believe that his cafe was actually crowded for the first time since it opened. He gaped at seeing Bright who was back and trying to help people settle down.  "Here, here, people, calm down. Rain, sit properly, this is not your home," he was telling everyone. "What is this?"  Dae asked, approaching Bright. "50 people like you asked, actually 52, including me and him," Bright said pointing at Oak. "Where did you pick these people from? Do you think they can afford the food here?" Dae asked irritated. "That's none of your business to bother about. You feed us, we pay you and afterwards tell me where reporter Prem is, like our deal in the morning," Bright said. Dae scoffed and walked off to the kitchen to cook. Since his business wasn't doing well,  Dae never appointed another person for help and today he had to serve everyone all alone. He was tired by the time he settled down after people started leaving. "So, now tell us," Bright said after everyone left. "I don't know. I really don't know. He has been missing since the report was published," Dae said. "What?" Bright asked shocked. "Yeah, he has this habit of going away for a week or so when he's investigating something, so I don't even know if I can file a missing complaint. Even his phone has been switched off since that day," Dae said clutching his head. Bright and Oak sighed at what they heard. "He'll be back. Of course, no one can harm him," Bright assured, patting Dae's shoulders, though he himself felt unsure in his mind before walking out of the cafe with Oak.

Kongpop watched Arthit excitedly squeal holding his first catch ever high up in the air, and he felt his heart beat rise again, seeing the dimpled smile. It had been like this for a while now, but Kongpop knew that there was nothing much he could do about it. The moment they go back, Arthit would be back to being a prince, and him, back to being a slum dweller who stole the royal ring. "See this? I finally caught one," Arthit said showing the fish to Kongpop to which he nodded his head. Arthit looked a Kongpop, his eyebrows furrowed on seeing  his expression. "What's wrong?" Arthit asked,  settling himself next to Kongpop on the wooden bridge. "Nothing," Kongpop replied and let out a sigh before turning his head to look at the setting Sun. Both sat lost in thoughts for a while until Arthit broke the silence. "Should I just stay here, with you?" he asked. Kongpop turned to look at him surprised. "What are you saying? How can you stay here? You have to go back to the palace one day," Kongpop said turning his head back to focus on the Sun, to which Arthit gently nodded his head. "You make me feel safe and happy. Once I go back, I don't think I'll ever be happy again," Arthit said. Kongpop couldn't reply as he knew that Arthit was saying the truth. Suddenly he felt a weight on his shoulder and as he turned to his right, the scent of herbal shampoo pierced his nostrils. As Kongpop realised that Arthit was resting his head to his shoulders, he felt his heart beats grow louder.  "Your highness," Kongpop called softly. Arthit slowly raised his head in response and suddenly felt his cheeks turn a shade of red at Kongpop's gentle gaze. Kongpop gulped as his gaze shifted from Arthit's eyes to the pink lips.  The next moment, Kongpop felt Arthit's hand touch his left cheek, his thumb rubbing the scar and to his surprise, the prince was leaning forward, his eyes fixed on Kongpop's lips. Suddenly the phone rang, startling both of them. Both moved away flustered, clearly embarassed at what they were about to do. "It's P' Bright," Kongpop said as he looked at Arthit before picking the call. Arthit moved closer to clearly hear the conversation.
"Kong, the reporter is missing. He was our only hope to get you people back. Let me figure out another way now. You'll have to stay there for a few more days," Bright said. " Okay P'," Kongpop replied from the other side. "How's everything? How's the prince doing?" Bright asked. "We are fine P'," Kongpop replied. "Okay, take care of him for a few more days," Bright said and turned to see Oak missing from his side. "Okay, P'. How are you and Oak?" Kongpop asked. "Kong, I'll call you later," Bright said as panic hit him not seeing Oak anywhere. "P'," Bright sighed in relief hearing Oak's voice from behind the electric pole. Bright scrunched his eyes to see the thing in Oak's hand. As he walked closer, he realised that it was a wallet. "Are you thinking of stealing now? Idiot," Bright scolded, flicking Oak's forehead. He then dropped it on the floor and was about to turn when the photograph in the now open wallet grabbed his attention. "P', isn't that?" Oak asked, looking shocked and pointing at the wallet. "Reporter Prem," Bright said in almost a whisper as he realised that something wasn't right.