KISMET Prequel TaeTee

The Void

I took a thorough bath, washing away every speck of dough and flour from my body and hair. I found Jae Kulap inside mine & P'Tae's closet, hunched over an open traveling bag.

"Are you packing for P'Tae?" I asked leaning against the door and rubbing my hair with a towel.

"Yes, Khun..." I saw her place a stack of folded and immaculately pressed shirts on the bag.

"Do you need help?" I asked throwing the damp towel over my shoulder.

"I'm really bad at choosing ties for Khun," Jae started fumbling inside the sock drawer. "Khun Tae always changes and repacks my choice of ties." She sighed dramatically and squatted on the floor. "What would silly old me know about colors and suits?"

I laughed.

"Let me try," I opened his drawer of ties. There are neatly folded ties in different shades. I looked at the shades of gray and navy suits Jae had put aside. Running my fingertips down the different shades and textures of fabrics, I chose several and handed them to Jae. "If it's a blue suit, it should be a navy tie. If the suit is gray, choose a black tie. The colors should complement, not clash. So even if you choose the wrong tone, get the hue right and you won't go far wrong." I smiled down at her.

"Now that Khun had chosen, I can see that the colors really match," She began to pack carefully  the ties I chose for P'Tae. "But when I try to do it alone, it never seemed to work," She lamented.

"Matching a suit and a tie is a bit tricky. So you should aim for the tie to be around the same tone as the jacket and trousers. But this doesn't work with lighter suits, where you should go darker. Must judge suits individually. But keep colors similar." I tried to educate Jae while going through P'Tae's collection of tie pins and cuff links. I never thought P'Paris' lessons on how to dress elegantly and immaculately would come in handy one day. "Then, of course, for a complete suave look for a man like P'Tae, he should need socks to match with the tie," I grinned at Jae who had been rummaging in her master's sock drawer.

But Jae gave me a baffled look and slumped on the floor, hugging her head.

"I give up, Khun Tee," She shook her head. "Khun can match the clothes from now on. I will only press and pack." She huffed.

I laughed and got back to work, feeling happy to do something I'm actually good at.