Me and Thee: English translation.

Wake up call #14

Peach grabbed his sister's arm tightly, knowing full well how headstrong Plub could be. The chances of her standing up and causing a scene were sky-high, but he couldn't let that happen. Wivit was a master at keeping up appearances, and if Plub lost her cool, she'd be the one to take the fall instantly.

"Didn't Nuch hire Peach until the end of the project?" one of the team members interjected, their brows furrowed in confusion. They'd worked with Peach several times before and found his skills and attention to detail impeccable. The thought of replacing him had never crossed their mind.

"Nuch only signed a contract for the Fall Collection," Wivit replied smoothly, flashing his signature wide smile. "The rest of the project was just a verbal agreement. I figured it'd save us from the hassle of drafting new paperwork. Plus, it's more cost-effective for the team if we bring in a full-time photographer from the company." He patted Tren lightly on the shoulder, then slid his arm around the younger man's shoulders in an overly familiar way.

"Besides, while Tren might not have as much experience as Peach," he continued, his tone dripping with patronising sweetness, "his fresh perspective and enthusiasm as part of the new generation should make up for it. I'd appreciate it if everyone gave him a fair chance before jumping to conclusions."

Pausing for effect, Wivit turned his gaze to Peach, his expression polished to a fault-soft and professional yet brimming with unspoken challenge. "Mr Peachayarat is a well-known photographer with a packed schedule," Wivit added, his words deceptively kind. "I'm sure it's inconvenient for him to have us calling on him all the time. Stepping aside to let the younger talent take over for this project wouldn't be too much of a burden, right?"

Peach pressed his lips together, his eyes narrowing slightly. But in a split second, he masked the irritation with an easy, casual smile, as though none of this had rattled him in the slightest.

"I've got no issues at all. I'm happy to support new talent," Peach said smoothly. "But if you ever need a hand, you know I'm always here-all you have to do is ask, Mr Wivit."

The new team leader's smile faltered ever so slightly, his eyes hardening for just a split second before softening again. Don't mess this up... or you're done.

Though the meeting was officially over, it had been anything but smooth in Plub's eyes. If it weren't for her brother holding her back, she would've done something about it already. She followed him down to the parking lot, her hand just lowering as she ended a frustrating call with their former team leader—now a stay-at-home mom.

"Nuch said that jerk already submitted the team list to upper management. She only found out about it right before this morning's meeting. Nobody could fix it in time."

Peach gently patted her head, as if calming down a hissing cat with its fur on edge. He knew Nuch had meant well. Originally, she had drafted a contract covering only the fall collection, hoping that if the work turned out excellent, she could negotiate a better rate for him next time. Nobody expected Wivit to use that as leverage.

Peach knew exactly what Wivit was after: he wanted him to come crawling back, begging for the job. But Peach wasn't that desperate. He didn't need a job badly enough to grovel to someone like that. Still, a pang of regret twisted in his chest. The project he'd worked so hard to build from the ground up... gone. He clenched his jaw, frustration boiling under his skin, bottled up with nowhere to go.

 

"I'll go talk to the department head," Plub declared, determination flashing in her eyes.

"Don't even think about it, Plub. Let it go. Stay away from that guy." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently guided her to a nearby bench. Peach knelt on one knee in front of her, his large hand softly squeezing hers.

"Don't give up, Peach," Plub pleaded. "We might not have the connections to fight him, but I'm not giving up that easily."

"Plub, it's not about winning or losing. That jerk's a rabid dog; he won't stop coming after me, no matter what. Even without this job, I've got plenty of work lined up. You know that." He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. He could see how angry she was— he felt the same, but he couldn't let this mess drag her down too.

"Stay out of it, Plub. If he hates me, let him come after me alone. If you try to push back, I'm afraid he'll come after you, too. You're my sister... and I've already caused you enough trouble."

"You're my brother too," she shot back, her voice trembling.

"Why should I stand by and watch someone hurt you?" Her tears spilt over, streaming down her cheeks. She was furious at Wivit for what he'd done and at herself for being powerless to fix it. Peach pulled her into a tight hug, gently pressing her face into his shoulder while running his fingers through her soft hair. Seeing her cry made his own chest ache. It had always been just the two of them against the world, and now he'd made his beloved sister cry.

"Shh.. It's okay now," he murmured. "Don't cry, sweetheart. If you cry too much, your eyes will get puffy... what'll your brother do if his beautiful sister isn't as pretty anymore?" He rocked her gently, like soothing a child.

"Why, Peach? Just because we don't have connections as he does... is that why he has to treat you like this?" Her voice cracked.

"What did you ever do to him? Why won't he just leave you alone?" Peach didn't answer. He simply pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head and continued rubbing her back and shoulders until her trembling eased. When she finally seemed calm enough, he gently wiped away the lingering tears with his fingertips. Plub managed a faint, shaky smile before heading back inside. Peach stayed behind, watching her disappear through the doors before climbing into his car.

Peach rested his head against the steering wheel, letting out a long, weary sigh. His chest felt as tight and heavy as Plub's must have, but as her older brother, he could only force a smile and pretend everything was fine. His gaze drifted toward his phone. When Plub mentioned "connections," his mind involuntarily flashed to that man, the mafia heir.

Since their last sTrended encounter, whatever it had been, there hadn't been a single call or message from the other side. Peach had been meaning to put some distance between them, feeling he might have crossed too many lines already. Reaching out for help now felt... unthinkable.

He exhaled sharply, trying to push the thought aside. He hadn't lied to Plub. Peachayarat was one of the country's top photographers. His schedule was packed solid, probably until next year. He didn't need to cling to anything tied to Wivit's name. But even knowing that, the bitterness still simmered under his skin, bottled up with no outlet in sight.

Mok held the dual roles of personal secretary and bodyguard to the president of Arseny Corporation, a responsibility entrusted to him by the family patriarch himself. Since childhood, he had been trained to follow and protect the eldest son of the Arseny family. Besides the documents related to the Russian-based family conglomerate that Theerakit had to master, there were also files from the fragrance company in Thailand, which Theerakit had built from scratch. This made Theerakit's workload far heavier than that of an average corporate president.

Normally, Mok organised the paperwork into four major categories. Non-urgent and unimportant documents, urgent documents, important documents, and finally, documents that were both urgent and important. Over the past week, he had just decided to move the All Seasons' One Word project file into the "Important" category. Most of the bodyguards, unaware of the finer details, assumed that Mok moved the file because the president's latest fling was a handsome young model. But he alone knew better. It wasn't because of the model—why would the president's new plaything matter, anyway? The real reason he moved the file was a certain photographer whose status remained unclear to him.

That day, new documents were delivered. Mok quickly opened the file, noticing the project title he'd already classified under "Important." He decided to read it first, his eyes scanning through the pages as a faint frown tugged at his brow. He'd done his own digging on Peach and knew exactly who the photographer's former team leader was. He also knew that her resignation officially took effect just yesterday. This meant that the previous team leader, Ms Nuch, had only wrapped up her work a day ago. 

Yet, in his hands was a new team roster for the project — dated two days prior. The file had somehow sped through the usual corporate channels, reaching the president's desk far faster than normal. Too fast to have been formally drafted. Too quick for the document to be submitted through official procedures—especially since the former team leader's signature was conspicuously missing.

Mok tucked away his growing suspicions and read the file more carefully. He flipped through to the last page, where he finally spotted what was wrong. The photographer's name was nowhere to be found. Having served the president long enough, Mok immediately reclassified the file as "Urgent and Important" and retrieved related documents to cross-reference. After organising the papers and slipping the updated team roster to the bottom of the stack, he strode toward the executive office. He knocked firmly on the door, requesting permission to enter.

Theerakit sat behind his massive desk, multiple stock graphs flickering across the screen. An iPad loaded with documents waited beside him, along with a hefty stack of printed files.

The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension, making it clear that no sane person would willingly approach. Yet, despite the heavy workload, the president of Arseny Group was staring intently at his phone, his dark brows furrowed in deep concentration. The air around him felt oppressive, as if he were about to close a billion-dollar business deal.

Mok couldn't help but shake his head slightly, unsurprised by the scene. After reporting last night that he'd safely dropped Peach off— even slipping in the final words Peach had left him to pass along— his boss had gone disturbingly quiet. Since then, Thee had been glued to his phone, alternating between stealing glances at the screen and outright picking it up, only to put it back down like he was fighting an internal battle. Mok had never seen his boss like this before, though strangely, it didn't seem all that out of character now.

"Mr Thee, urgent documents for your approval," the secretary announced, striding forward to place the papers on the desk, completely unfazed by the stifling atmosphere radiating from his employer. Thee hummed in acknowledgement without looking up, sparing only a fleeting glance before returning his attention to his phone like it held the secrets of the universe. For God's sake, if you want to call, just do it already. Mok thought with mild exasperation. As much as he was tempted to let his boss stew in his own mess for a while, the matter at hand couldn't wait. If he found out later, he'd only end up blaming Mok for the delay.

"Boss, these papers really need your urgent attention," he pressed firmly. Thee shot him a sharp, mildly annoyed look before begrudgingly dragging his gaze away from his phone to the stack of documents. Mok still held onto the old project team roster, silently hoping Thee would notice something was off and ask for the previous file himself. If he missed the inconsistency and signed the approval blindly, Mok would still have to hand it over. Mok, already leaning a bit toward the photographer's side in his heart — combined with his boss's unpredictable mood swings — came to a solid conclusion: if Thee didn't notice the issue himself, he'd have to speak up for the sake of his own survival.

The young secretary stood silently, watching his boss sift through the stack of documents with practised efficiency. Thee's sharp analytical skills and decisive nature allowed him to tackle problems at lightning speed. Everything was going smoothly — until he reached the last file in the stack.

His already furrowed brow deepened, and his hand paused mid-turn. Fingers traced the names listed in the document for the third time, moving faster with each pass.

"Where's Peach's name?"

Mok suppressed a knowing smirk. It seemed the photographer's significance had just levelled up again.

"The new project lead requested a replacement," Mok answered evenly, repeating the exact line from the document. "They proposed using the company's in-house photographer to cut costs." His voice was calm and detached, devoid of any emotion.

"I don't approve!" Thee's voice dropped dangerously low, laced with a growl that could freeze blood. "That kid can't just walk away from a project he's responsible for." Despite the intensity of the cold, demanding tone, Mok didn't even blink. He'd been through this countless times and was thoroughly desensitised by now.

"I'm certain Peach wouldn't abandon his work. I checked his schedule myself. He's free for the next three months- cleared his calendar specifically for this project." Mok stated firmly. He'd personally verified the photographer's availability when digging into his background earlier.

The room pulsed with oppressive tension, the kind that would make most people's knees buckle in fear. But Mok, seasoned by years of navigating his boss's volatile moods, remained unfazed.

"Who suggested the change?"

"The new team leader is named Wivit, sir. The head of marketing already signed off on the approval. All that's left is your signature to make the document official."

"Freeze all documents from the marketing department. Tell the department head to write me a proper explanation — in detail." Theerakit snapped, his voice sharp and unforgiving. He rose abruptly, long strides propelling him toward the door while issuing orders for the car to be ready.

Mok shook his head, half-amused. Good thing he'd saved that particular file for last. He'd figured his boss wouldn't sit back and let this one slide. It may be time to start drafting a recruitment plan for the marketing department as they might need a couple of new hires soon.