Sweet Pink Love

Part 1

"I'm telling you Kong, he would be the best candidate!" Aim repeated himself for the umpteenth time as he watched his stubborn best friend stir up a new batch of pancake mix.

"Everyone knows that he's the fastest in the district. I don't know what you have against the guy."

Kongpob rolled his eyes as he set the bowl down. Leaning forward over the kitchen counter, he stared at Aim.

"I don't have anything against him. I just want to make sure I get the right delivery guy for my products." Picking up his batter, he lovingly stared at the mixture as he continued, "everyone knows pancakes are time sensitive."

"Which is why I'm telling you, he is the best!" Aim groaned. "He has a proven track record and my cousin highly recommended him!"

Kong seemed to have not heard a thing as he hummed happily, picking up a pan and placing it upon the stove.

"Kong, I've already asked him to drop by today at 2 in the afternoon so please be nice." Aim called out as he was leaving the cafe.

"I will be nice if he meets my standards." Kongpob hollered after him.

He continued busying around the kitchen, humming along as he whipped up batch after batch of pancakes. Kongpob was experimenting with various flavours and jotting down notes in his notebook as he went along, deciding which were the new flavours to add to his new menu. He had prided himself in the cafe's constant ability to surprise their customers and refreshing their menu every quarterly was key.

However, with the current pandemic situation, Kongpob was finding it harder to keep his fanbase. Even though he had insisted on doing a limited area for delivery, the delivery services weren't up to his speed standards and he had been through 5 different services to date. It had gotten to a point where he had to cease the cafe's operations, at least until he had found a service that could safely and perfectly deliver his pancakes within 10 minutes so that they maintained their structural integrity.

Aim had called him insane for a week but Kongpob was adamant. He had refused to let any of his loyal customers down. So here he was, interviewing the 5th delivery rider in 2 days. It was almost impossible to find a decent delivery guy to work with in this period of time when delivery was rampant and every food business was turning to them for services.

At exactly 2 in the afternoon, a pale, handsome guy walked into the cafe. Just as Kongpob was about to call out that they were closed out of reflex, he stopped himself in time. Glancing at the clock, that had just struck 2 at the point the guy stepped in, he checked off the first box in his mind.

Punctuality. He liked that.

"Hello! Are you Kongpob?" The pale man offered a courteous wai.

"Yes, you must be Arthit." Kongpob wai-ed back.

"That's actually P'Arthit for you if you're Aim's friend. Didn't he tell you?" The older guy answered, removing his mask while slowly turning in a circle and taking in the decor and atmosphere of the cafe.

Kongpob frowned, Aim had not mentioned a thing about Arthit being older. It would have been something he would have remembered. Kongpob was always respectful of his seniors.

"I'm sorry Phi, it must have slipped his mind," Kongpob quickly apologised, wiping his hands on his apron and stepping out from the kitchen.

He could see Arthit assessing him from head to toe and he smirked, while doing the exact same thing to the man he could now see clearly in front of him.

For someone who was a delivery rider, Arthit was surprisingly fair. Kongpob wondered mindlessly if he had a skin care routine to maintain this pale. He also neither held nor wore a helmet like the rest of the delivery guys who had come by the last two days.