Until the Meet Cute!

Part 1

"Hey boss...you seem quite happy ever since you got in...you won't stop whistling..." Lhong exclaimed in irritation.

Tharn didn't pay heed to what Lhong said. He continued to be in a jovial mood and kept whistling.

"Hey, boss...stop it will you...my ears are going to bleed now..." Lhong complained again.

Tharn looked up at his irritated face and felt the urge to irritate him more. He started to whistle louder and moved closer to Lhong. He was having his share of amusement, while Lhong covered his ears to avoid further ache. He crouched covering his ears with his fingers and started to sing nonsense. Even though he was an excellent singer, this was all he could do to annoy Tharn and make him stop. Well, that worked. Tharn started to laugh looking at Lhong's scrunched face.

Lhong got up sighing. "Boss don't tell me you have gone maniac by the excitement of getting admission in the A University. To remind you, your father is one of the Board members. There was no way you could not have got it."

Tharn got serious. "They don't know who I am. And I got the admission on my merit. Don't mention him in front of me again. Remember that." After pointing a finger at Lhong and tabbing on his chest to emphasize the seriousness, Tharn's mood got back to earlier and he started to whistle again. He moved to his practice room and picked the guitar to play a tune.

Watching Tharn intently, Lhong sighed. He has been with Tharn ever since they were babies. Lhong's father, Mr. Zhao, is the personal guard of Tharn's father, Mr. Tadashi. One could say that Mr. Zhou was the right man of Mr. Tadashi, the most trusted and worthy fellow. Mr. Zhou is very close to Tharn's father, that there were rumors of them which infuriated Tharn's mother, Mrs. Akira, who left his house with little Tharn and baby Tanya. She wanted to take Thorn along as well, but since he was studying in a boarding school, she had to let him be.

Tharn's grandfather, Mr. Tadeo, was a very strict and disciplined man. He had taken his empire to a new height from just being the King of Retail Industry to owning several chains of hotels, hospitals, and Universities. A University was also established by Mr. Tadeo. So, you can understand that technically, Tharn is the owner of that University.

It was after the interference of Mr. Tadeo and the promises of Mr. Tadashi, Mrs. Akira agreed to come back. However, she never trusted her husband again and came back with conditions. Some of those conditions included that Mr. Tadeo would never interfere in here decision of their children's education and health. And, he would never force them to join their business if they did not want to. Mr. Tadeo had to accept her conditions, as all he wanted was his grandchildren to be with him until his last breath.

You must be wondering why I am addressing them with their titles. It is because they are not normal businessmen or entrepreneurs. You can say they control everything from business to government to the military. Mr. Tadashi today has a say in everything. They are respected and feared. But with this also comes enmity. Thorn, Tharn, and Tanya were raised with much security and restrictions. Thorn however took the steps of his father and is very much involved in the business. Tharn on the other hand took after his mother and chose a simple and serene life. Considering his background, no matter how hard he tried, he was always surrounded by security. He was never allowed to stay alone. Lhong had always been there with him as his guard, and several invisible men alongside. Tanya who was also quite interested to follow her brother Thorn's footsteps has been showing interest in the business.

Coming to the personalities of these three children, where Thorn and Tanya go along in terms of shrewdness, cleverness, astuteness, and are sharp-witted, Tharn was more of a gentleman and had a much more emotional quotient than his siblings. He preferred being in solitude and involved in music. Considering his interests, Lhong was also trained in music alongside Tharn. He was very witty and temperamental, but in front of Tharn he would often become submissive and go along as Tharn said.

In the present scenario, Lhong was leaning on the door frame and listening to the music Tharn was playing. Tharn was happy, and Lhong was satisfied as long as Tharn was happy. He had to update his father every day on how Tharn was. Even though he did not have to, but he did only so that he could talk to his father, despite the communication being very formal, like in a boss and subordinate relationship.

When the music got over, Lhong could not suppress his curiosity anymore.

"Hey, boss...will you tell me what exactly made you so happy today?"

Tharn leaned on the guitar, placed his chin on the frame, and blew air upwards to his hair that streaked with every blow and reformed again on his forehead.

"I have found my muse, Lhong." Tharn said, which confused Lhong further.

Squinting his eyebrows to make sense of it, he said, "Come again?"

Tharn placed his guitar on the table and walked up to the porch. He stood on the door frame, leaning on it by his hand, and inserting the other one in the pockets. He chuckled to himself.

"I found him." He then turned and shook Lhong's broad and stern shoulder and walked inside leaving a perplexed fellow behind.

But Lhong would not give up. "Hey, boss. You know, I do love riddles, but they should have the entire story to them. Now tell me, who did you find again?"

"I don't know his name, but he is a Sports major. I saw him when he was giving his practical entrance exam. He and some new joiners were asked to play a football match against the A-team. I watched the entire match." 

Tharn sat on the couch, placed his foot on the coffee table, one above the other, using his hands as a headrest at the back of his head.

"Boss, there were many guys. Who are you talking about?" Lhong wanted the specifics.

Tharn sighed. He looked at the ceiling, smiling to himself, closed his eyes to recollect the look of the said person.

"He must be my height. He has a dark skin tone, unlike my pale skin. He is quite muscular and strong. His shabby hair falling on his forehead. He has innocent wide eyes, beautiful kissable lips. He was like the wild stallion unleased. A stallion who is not aware of his own beauty. That's my hero." Tharn was in a mood. He took out a pen and paper to write something.

"What are you doing?" Lhong got perplexed.

"Writing another song for him." Tharn's expressions were like puppy love. He was only 16, no doubt they would be. Lhong was no different, however, he'd prefer a cute and sweet girl who could give him the real family he's missed throughout his life.

"Boss, are you talking about the one who wore a brown t-shirt and scored the highest in that game?" Lhong asked again to confirm.

"Yep...that's my man..." Tharn exclaimed and got buried in writing a song for him and humming along.

There was a loud thud sound. When Tharn looked up he saw Lhong sitting on the floor with an exasperated look. He shook his head and got back to songwriting.

"Hey, boss...don't mind...but this love interest of yours is a bully..." Lhong expressed his concerns to him. Looking at Tharn, he could not imagine him fall in love with a person like that bully. He had seen his aggression on the game, and he had indeed got one of the A team's player hurt. He also cursed another meek fellow, who seemed like his friend. Lhong was worried about Tharn.

"I know...that's why I called him a wild stallion. He needs taming." Tharn smirked. Lhong shook his head in disbelief and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Tharn asked still engrossed in writing the song.

"I have homework to do. I might as well get started." Lhong gave a disbelief sigh and left to make phone calls.

By the end, Tharn completed the song.