KongArt Week 2021

Raindrops Rhapsody Part 1 - Muffin

Day 3 of KongArt Week 2021

Kongpob met Muffin, but little did he know that the cat would bring him something more than what he could imagine.

Baker!Kongpob house-slash-shop was inspired by Singto friend's donut shop in Chiang Mai. However, the house layout is inspired by the bakery in Kiki's Delivery Service, just imagine that there was a wooden fence separated Kiki's room and her landlord's, and that it was actually the back side of Kongpob's home.

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Chiang Mai was drenched. Rain seemed to favor the city more than any other places in Thailand since the past few days. Gloomy sky, thunderous cloud, and incessant, torrential rain were the daily norms lately.

Kongpob stared absent-mindedly at his backyard garden from the huge window in his room on the second floor, holding a cup of hot tea in his hands. He moved to Chiang Mai almost a year ago for the weather, but it seemed like the climate change had arrived in the city as well.

Yes, Kongpob loved the chilly, fresh mountainous air, and he was an avid, solid pluviophile too. He loved the sound of raindrops on his window, the smell of petrichor, the glistens on the hydrangea bushes in his garden, the fresh, chilly air after the rain was gone, the perfect-for-snuggling-under-the-duvet cold atmosphere.... The list could go on and on, but simply put he loved rain, just not this kind of rain. Not this kind of Weathering-with-You rain that could drown a whole city in a blink of an eye – oh well, probably not that extreme, but at least its density made people reluctant to leave the warmth of their home for non-work-related business.

His eagle eyes roamed mindlessly in his backyard, scrutinizing his well-maintained bushes and trees drenched under the rain. His eyebrows creased as his brain meticulously calculated all of the effort and the money he needed to restore his garden to its former glory soon after this odd rain rages had gone. Eventually, his eyes stopped at the window on the 2nd floor of the house right in front of his room.

He called it his backyard neighbor, as their respective property was just separated by a backyard and a set of rustic, weatherworn wooden fences. They had been neighbor for almost one year since his day one of moving there, but he never saw the owner of that house, not even once. He saw the window open during the day and closed in the night, but he always failed to notice the person doing it. How come they never met, albeit he owned the one and only bakery within 1 km radius?

The ladies that loved shopping in his shop didn't give any useful information but the fact that the house was called The Ruangroj Cottage and the previous owner moved to Bangkok to get better access for their son's school. Those ladies proposed him to go walk around the neighborhood on his day off to get to know it better, but it wasn't a pretty good option. His day off was spent at the storage and the market to replenish his stock, while on daily basis he barely lived in his shop and kitchen.

So, for the past few weeks, Kongpob had developed a new hobby: to enjoy his backyard view in the morning from the window in his bedroom, while hoping to catch a glimpse of the person living across his house. Sounded like a creep? Hell yes he knew it full well, but for now he couldn't find any other way. His only free time was a window in the wee hours when his pastries were resting or finally in the oven, but to walk around at such small hours would be even creepier, eh?

However, today seemed to be unlucky, just like usual. The window was still closed, and with all the crazy downpour outside, even though the owner finally opened the blinds, it would be very difficult to see from Kongpob's place. He took a deep sigh, finally admitted his defeat and slowly moved away from his window, left it slightly ajar to let fresh morning air in.

He took a final glance at his neighbor's before finally left the room. He had to open the shop downstairs in a couple of minutes although the rain seemed to be unwilling to stop. Raining in the morning meant fewer patrons in his shop, but business had to keep going. Bills and his employees' payroll wouldn't pay by themselves.