Plan B to U

Chapter 9 (In) Opportune Timing

 

In one corner of the party, there was a board where staff could write birthday messages. As I'd never pass that up, I seized the chance to grab a pen and shower my boss with some compliments.

 

'There's no one in this world as good as P'Krich.'

 

That alone wasn't satisfying enough, so I grabbed a sticky note to write one more piece of my mind.

 

"Turns out this bastard's actually a good person too.'

 

Em stood beside me writing his message with a trembling hand, looking so pathetic it pushed me to pat his back in comfort.

 

"Are you still sad?"

 

"I'm broke. Not a single Baht left in my account for this month. This is your fault, Nile."

 

"Hey, who could've known the old man would just show up out of nowhere to grab something? You're the one who told us to wait for footsteps. Footsteps, my ass!"

 

"Come on, guys, at least you achieved the goal of surprising the birthday person." Nikm joined in, wrapping both arms around our necks from behind.

 

You're missing one word: surprising the wrong birthday person...

 

"But the wrong person. Great job."

 

"There's always next time."

 

"What a flop. I don't even know if I'll ever feel happy again, with him misunderstanding this badly." I sulked, frustrated that nothing was going my way. I'd wanted to wreck him, but ended up getting wrecked myself instead.

 

What was that  "thank you for the rose surprise" I'm done for.

 

"Speaking of P'Krich, did you notice his expression when he looks at you? The eyes, the smile, something's off, I swear." And Nikm started rambling.

 

"How so?"

 

"Like he's happy."

 

"Of course he'd be happy. He's getting a gift."

 

"No, that's not the vibe. It's not a boss and employee. It's more like..."

 

"Someone with a secret crush."

 

THWACK!!

Keep talking nonsense, and you'll get smacked upside the head. Wide awake now?

 

"Hilarious. Why would he like me? We haven't even settled our old grudge."

 

"You're just deflecting. You won't even admit it."

 

"Stop making wild guesses. Come on! Let's go celebrate with some crispy pork."

 

Not wanting to give myself a headache over flimsy theories, I dumped every bit of unease and dragged my friends toward the party area, repeating 'screw it, screw all of it' to myself the whole way.

 

The studio had transformed perfectly into a rock party. The lounge area, normally used by staff for working, listening to music, or playing instruments, had been converted into a performance stage.

 

The table normally used for lunch had been draped in black cloth, transformed into a spot for serious eating and drinking. There was even a lightning bolt backdrop and all-black decor fitting the rock theme. Spectacular!

 

But the most special moment was when Dral and Sun stepped up to open the floor with a song.

 

"Hello, we're Offline Youth, back online again today!"

 

"WOOOOO!"

 

Cheers, screams, and whistling rang out, igniting the crowd into nonstop dance steps. Somebody was definitely going to throw their back out.

 

"Sway along with us!"

 

We cooperated with everything they asked. Tell us to sway, I'd sway. Tell us to jump, I'd ask how high. But my exhaustion was nothing compared to the duo's antics right at the peak; with the mood building perfectly, they left the audience hanging midair.

 

After two and a half songs, Dral marched right off stage because he'd forgotten his own lyrics. The crew had to scramble and play the song through an app instead of live, which sent the accounting senior cursing loudly in frustration.

 

I slipped away from the dance floor to resume my food demolition plan, going around the buffet table piling up plates. Mouth chewing, legs still moving to some indescribable dance, just dancing for the sake of it. I had no idea when Krich came to stand beside me, and by the time I noticed, it was already too late to flee.

 

"Did it take you long to think of it?" What was he even asking?

 

"Think of what?"

 

"The roses."

 

"Quite a while, actually." If you counted how long Em had spent on it, anyway.

 

"So why give it to me? Some kind of apology for putting your foot in your mouth?"

 

"Think whatever you like." I chewed the crispy pork happily, swallowing it down with relish. "Anyway, did you like it?"

 

The pronouns we'd been using had always been a confusing mess, shifting constantly, mostly dictated by mood. Some days I'd call him 'you,' some days 'senior,' some days' old man.' Whatever struck me.

 

"I liked it. The only thing was the music and balloons. For some reason it felt like a love/confession scene."

 

Yep, exactly~

 

It was supposed to be Em's confession of love to P'Mee. I'd just had the bad luck of being the one standing there when the old man showed up. Part of me wavered, wondering if I should just tell him the truth. Letting the misunderstanding drag on could spiral way out of control, and that wasn't even counting the money invested. A single bouquet was already pricey, let alone a whole trunkful. Catastrophe, no investigation needed.

 

In the end, I couldn't bring myself to claim all of my friend's effort as my own. Having thought it through, I had my answer, and I'd tell him the truth.

 

"Actually, the whole thing was a plan by"

 

Bring  Brring 

Someone with absolutely no sense of timing. Sigh.

 

Every important moment, something always had to interrupt. This time it was an incoming call. I pulled out my phone and saw an unfamiliar number, but answered anyway. Luckily it wasn't a telemarketer; she was calling from a cake shop instead.

Nothing complicated, just calling to let me know the cake we'd ordered was ready, and asking whether we wanted a rider to deliver it or to pick it up ourselves.

 

"I'll go pick it up myself." After confirming, I quickly hung up, but just as I turned to head out of the party, the taller figure caught hold of my wrist.

 

"Where are you off to?"

 

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

 

I managed to slip out without further questioning, and to avoid eating into the schedule everyone had planned,

 

I quickly started up the motorbike and buzzed off to pick up the cake. The trip there was no problem. After checking everything over, just carried the cake box, tucked it carefully into the delivery box on the back seat, mindful and deliberate about the placement since it was fragile cargo. Most cake shops usually used special delivery services by car. 

 

On a motorbike, you really had to trust whoever was riding. And me, I could puff my chest out. I delivered cakes more times than I could count, 99.99% safety guarantee.

 

While I was busy basking in pride over my own track record, the marketing senior called for an update. Short and simple: Dral, one of the birthday people, had gotten drunk and was looking to leave, so the team thought it best to do the cake-cutting content early before the artist passed out cold.

 

Not wanting to lose the precious moment they'd planned to share with the band's fans, the pressure landed squarely on me. What had been a leisurely errand turned into kicking up the bike stand and bolting off at full speed.

 

I absolutely hated myself for this. It happened every time, never fixed. Anything that fell outside the plan and I'd get frantic, scattered, completely unable to stay grounded, sweat starting at my palms before spreading everywhere, my back, my forehead...I weaved the bike left and right through the gaps in traffic stretching for kilometres. Time kept closing in, and on top of that I had to stop for red lights. This was maddeningly frustrating.

 

The clock on my phone bothered me less than the message that had just come in, telling me exactly how anxious everyone was about the cake not arriving. I twisted the throttle harder, deciding to cut through a narrow shortcut alley with traffic coming from every direction, only to find a car heading straight toward me. There was no way I'd brake in

time.

 

But from what I could judge, there was still a bit of a gap between the vehicles on either side, so I figured I could squeeze the bike through. One final gamble… And it worked~ Way to go, Nile.

 

I wanted to scream out loud to celebrate my own talent, after sweating through my inner thighs from the suspense. And after all that, the effort had finally paid off.

 

BANG!!

 

But every prediction completely fell apart when a motorbike taxi suddenly shot through the intersection.

 

Without even checking left or right, I got hit head-on. The force was strong enough to throw me clean off the bike, the world spinning, my mind going hazy, the view flashing dark then bright, before my body slammed onto the ground.

 

All I heard was a ringing buzz, nothing intelligible. By the time I pulled myself back together, I found myself sprawled out on the road, being helped up by some good Samaritans nearby.

 

That 99.99% guarantee I'd bragged about earlier turned out not to be safe; it was a disaster!

 

"Sorry, I'm so sorry,"

 

I didn't even know if I was at fault. My whole body had gone numb. Good thing I still had some sense left, so I gritted my teeth and pushed myself up off the ground, and with help from others, I managed to stand.

 

"I'm really sorry, I didn't see you in time." I apologised to the other party again. He'd fallen too, but didn't seem particularly angry.

 

"Hey, you've got to watch the road next time, kid. That's an intersection."

 

"Sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?"

 

"I'm fine, but you don't look so good. Want to see a doctor?"

 

"I'm okay. I've got something urgent to deliver."

 

The terrible bit of luck for the bike taxi driver and me was that neither of our vehicles had insurance. I offered to help cover repair costs and left my contact number. Lucky for me, he was generous enough not to press the matter, and I stammered out my thanks before flipping the bike upright and riding off, barely any composure left.

 

By the time I made it to the studio, I was tens of minutes late. I didn't dare go inside looking like this, so I hung back outside and called Nikm for help instead.

 

"What dog did you fight with, looking like this?"

 

My best friend showed up wide-eyed. Without wasting a word, I shoved the cake bag at him. Given the condition of that cake, completely mangled, I had no idea how I'd even take responsibility for it. Everything felt hopeless.

 

"Are they going to yell at me?"

 

"Who's going to yell at you? They are more worried about you than anything."

 

"Then hurry and get that cake to everyone first. I'm worried we're already too late."

 

"Okay, wait here. I'll be right back."

 

Nikm took care of business quickly, then rushed back to drag me to the bathroom, finding a clean cloth to wipe the bleeding wounds. Once I could see clearly, the cuts were scattered across almost my entire body. Luckily, I hadn't scraped my face against the asphalt, or the state of things would've been even more pathetic.

 

I'd been so startled in the moment that I'd thrown my hands up to protect my face, so my palms had taken the worst of the scraping.

 

"Am I too much of a mess right now?"

 

"Let's go see a doctor?" My friend asked with genuine worry.

 

"I'm fine, minor scrapes."

 

"But it's everywhere. Let me see." He turned me this way and that, finding cuts covering my palms, elbows, knees, every joint, basically.

 

Nikm helped wash the wounds with water. Before long, the happy birthday song could be heard echoing in. I let out a breath, relieved that at least the mission had succeeded, however rough the journey had been.

 

"So, this is where you two disappeared to."

 

The bathroom door swung open. We both whipped around toward the voice and found Krich's tall figure standing there watching.

 

"Heh, heh."

 

"Getting into a fight with dogs or something?" Wow, same exact words as Nikm. Guess I really did look that wrecked.

 

"I didn't fight any dogs. Just went and measured the pavement, that's all."

 

"That was not funny."

 

"I wasn't trying to be."

 

"Let me see the wounds."

 

He came over quickly, scanning me from head to toe. The jeans were the worst; the fabric around the knees was torn to shreds, so he gently rolled up the pant leg.

 

"This is bleeding too much; we need to treat it. Nikm, can you bring me the first aid kit outside?"

 

"Got it."

 

Krich helped me limp out to a table in the garden, with Nikm following close behind to bring over the first-aid kit.

 

"Thanks a lot. I'll handle the wound care for Nile from here; go enjoy time with your friends."

 

"You good?" Nikm asked, still not fully at ease. Not wanting him to worry too much, I nodded.

 

"Yep."

 

With some of his worry eased and seeing Krich there to help, he excused himself and went back to the party. That left just the two of us, boss and subordinate, in an awkward situation.

 

"I knew it. So that's why the cake's a mess."

 

The moment that low voice fell silent, I couldn't help staring at his handsome face, blinking rapidly. Inside, I forced myself with everything I had not to cry. I'm an adult; hold it together. But in the end, the tears welled up anyway. Guilt clung to my chest, impossible to shake off. It had fallen apart this badly because of me.

 

"I'm so sorry. I never meant to make this a bad memory on your birthday. This wasn't supposed to happen." I couldn't hold it anymore, my mouth crumpling bit by bit before I really did burst into tears.

 

"I haven't even said a word yet."

 

"But the cake's completely ruined. You're upset, right? You can yell at me; it's fine."

 

"It's just a cake."

 

"You must be at least a little angry, instead of getting to take pretty cake photos."

 

"Nobody's angry. Everyone had fun."

 

He explained, opening the first-aid kit, handling the supplies with practised ease, bending down to treat each wound one at a time. Only I hadn't moved past the guilt yet, so I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and confess more sins.

 

"It's my own fault for being careless and not watching the road. The cake's ruined, my bike's ruined, and it'll be ages before I get it fixed and can deliver food again. Waaah~"

 

Completely falling apart, full pity party mode, pulling in absolutely everything around me to complain about.

 

"Just don't work part-time for now."

 

"Then what am I supposed to eat?"

 

I asked in a trembling, wavering voice, tears streaming down my cheeks until I had to wipe them with the back of my hand.

 

"I'll add a bonus. Overtime pay."

 

"Can I get it in advance?"

 

"Let me see your elbow." He changed the subject. Without protest, I held it out for him, blood still trickling.

 

"Does it hurt?"

 

"More embarrassing than painful."

 

"So which is it, sad or embarrassed?"

 

I shook my head furiously, confused. Honestly, it was both, and the accident had drawn quite a crowd of onlookers too.

 

"If I'd known, I'd never have agreed to do it. Your cake should've gone to someone else, a delivery rider, anyone but me."

 

"What's done is done. While you can't use the bike, claim travel expenses from accounting and take public transport for now."

 

"Free?"

 

"Free. Don't let the wounds get wet."

 

"Thank you," I said quietly, head down, looking thoroughly pathetic.

 

Krich finished treating the wounds. He swept his eyes over me once more to check everything was in order, but that simple act sent heat flushing through me. Even so, I tried to keep my expression composed and stay as calm as possible.

 

"Want anything to eat? I'll go get it for you."

 

"No, thank you."

 

"Anything else you want, then?"

 

"You'll make it happen?"

 

"Sure." Krich seemed to be trying to comfort me, indulging me however he could, even though he didn't need to bother at all. I didn't like it. It made me see him differently. But what I disliked even more was that deep down, I wanted him.

 

"Will you stay and keep me company?"

 

"Of course." He agreed right away. So we sat together in the shaded garden. Off in the distance, music drifted out from the building, the upbeat rhythm helping me relax. My body hurt, but my mind felt much better. 

 

"I'll take you home tonight, don't worry."

 

"I'm not worried. Even without you, I've got friends."

 

"I know. Your best friends are devoted to you."

 

He was right. Ever since my dad died, those two had become a part of my life, the reason I'd been able to push through the loneliness and end up here.

 

"You..." I let my thoughts drift far off. It took quite a while to muster the courage to turn, look at his handsome profile, and say something. "Happy birthday." He broke into a smile, blinking slowly like a cat.

 

"Thank you."

 

"Want a birthday wish?"

 

"As long as it's not a curse, of course I want one."

 

Honestly, I wasn't about to say one of those sappy lines couples use, like "thank you for being born' or whatever. Our relationship was far more complicated than that. Right now I  just wanted to be honest with him.

 

"I hope you get everything you want. I mean that, genuinely."

 

"I know." I was sure he didn't doubt my words at all.

 

"Quite the talent."

 

"Your eyes are easy to read. Every time you're plotting something, I always catch it."

 

"Uh..."

 

"But thank you."

 

"..."

 

"Since I met you, I've never been lonely again. Come mess with me again tomorrow."

 

I never thought, never expected, to hear an answer like that from him, because we'd somehow landed on the exact same thought, startlingly so.

 

After my dad died, I'd drifted aimlessly even with close friends to comfort me, until the day he came into my life. He'd impressed me at first, before I'd cast him as the enemy soon after.

 

Even so...

 

"I've never been lonely either, not since I met you."

 

"I'm exhausted, old man."