Lil' Prince

Chapter 25

Kongpob: 21 Arthit 13

3rd Person's POV
Sighing deeply, Kongpob sat and sank deeper into his comfy couch as he closed his eyes, trying to get some rest throughout his busy week. Ever since talking to Somchai, Kongpob had learned a lot about things he didn't know and didn't want to know.

Like his mother is actually still alive, like how he's the Alpha King's eldest son...

He'd not told all of these to anyone yet, not even Prem or KhaoFang. He didn't want them to get involved and drag them into the mess he was now in. But he could sense that Aim and Prem were starting to be suspicious of him since they could hardly meet him or even talk to him as he was too busy with everything happening.

It's been almost a month since he reunited with Somchai and his mother, Dara and his life had been really hectic since then. He needed to juggle college, his part-time job, and the training scheduled by Somchai, and he was getting tired.

But he'd already promised Somchai that he will do his best to follow the old man's plan to seek revenge for Dara.

It wasn't easy. He started going to martial art classes to learn sparring and weapons, learning more about computer languages and all sorts of things. He was starting to doubt if he should even agree to Somchai. But whenever uncertainty arises, his mother came into his mind and he knew it was the right thing to do for her.

Luckily, Somchai did notice the exhaustion in his eyes and decided to give Kongpob a day to rest, and not have everything piling up on his shoulders.

Kongpob reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He was debating if he should give KhaoFang or Aim a call when his phone rang and he saw an unknown number on it.

"Hello?" Maybe because the last time he picked up an unknown number he was deep in a mess right now, he became very hesitant to pick up the call but eventually managed to convince himself to answer it.

"P'Kong, where are you?" He was surprised to hear Arthit's voice. He'd never given the younger his number so might have gotten it from Prem.

"I'm at my apartment. Do you need anything?" Kongpob sat up straight as he spoke and he noticed the excitement in the younger's voice.

"Yes, P'. Are you busy right now? Can I come over?" Arthit asked and he could hear a few other unfamiliar voices in the call.

"You can definitely come over." Still unsure of what Arthit was going to do, he replied as he tidied up the coffee table that has books and documents sprawled all over. The younger then said that he'll be there in 30 minutes before hastily hanging up the call. Kongpob heaved a breath softly as he thought about Arthit coming over.

'Guess I'll be spending my day off with that kid.'

He wasn't complaining though, it's been a hot minute since he saw that kid and it'll great to catch up. He started to clean his place briefly and it was barely 20 minutes when his doorbell rang. He rushed to the door and opened it, not expecting to see more kids behind Arthit.

"Hi, P'." The kid has a toothy smile and Kongpob could only nod his head, "I need your help, I mean, we need your help."

Sighing internally, he made way for all the kids to come in and prepared juices for them. When he was finally done, he sat down on the floor since his couch was already occupied and Arthit instantly joined him, sitting close by his side as he rummages through his bag and grabbed a metal container out. Handing it to Kongpob, he looked at the older man with sparkly eyes.

"What is this?" Kongpob asked as he read the label on the container and found out that they were cookies. All of a sudden, Arthit's gift for his 18th birthday flashed into his mind and his ears reddened slightly as he thought about the condoms that were still in his wardrobe, still perfectly wrapped in the box since the day the younger gave him.

"Cookies, P'." Arthit answered as Kongpob opened the box carefully and found a few rows of assorted cookies in the container, "There are chocolate chip cookies, gingersnaps, oatmeal raisin cookies, lemon frosted cookies, and espresso chunk cookies."

Kongpob nodded as he listened to Arthit enthusiastically introducing all of the different cookies and grabbed a piece of the espresso chunk cookie. He gingerly took a bite and was amazed by the richness of the coffee and the little hint of butter in it. It was soft and chewy, just like how Kongpob likes.

"How was it, P'?" Arthit was staring at him the whole time when he took a bite and Kongpob nodded his head in approval as the younger broke into a bright smile.

"It was great. I love it."

"Really, P'? We made it ourselves. I've joined a society in school a few weeks ago and we're currently baking our own cookies to sell them for charity. The funds will be going to an animal shelter near our school and we could visit the shelter next month." Kongpob was surprised to hear that Arthit and his friends were the ones that did the baking and he softly caressed the boy's hair.

"You did really well. How many more batches of cookies do you have? I'll buy them." Kongpob said and Arthit shook his head.

"This one is for you, P'." Arthit said bashfully as he scratched his nape, looking to the side when he heard his friend whisper to Kongpob that he'd added a few extra pieces of cookies into Kongpob's container of cookies.

"I'll buy them for my friends then." Arthit could only agree, knowing Kongpob could be really persistent at times. Arthit's friends didn't stay over for too long, leaving after saying they needed to go around the house this evening to sell their cookies. Arthit stayed back, helping Kongpob clean up the glasses.

"You didn't come here to just send me cookies, right?" Kongpob said while rinsing off the soap from the glasses before handing it to Arthit to wipe them dry.

"Yes and no. I haven't seen you for a very long time, P'." Arthit softly said as he placed the glasses back into the cupboard after drying them, "P'Prem said you were really busy and you weren't texting him as often. He's worried and P'Aim was out of town for industrial training, so he told me to come over."

"Tell Prem I'm fine, okay?"

"But I'm worried too, P'." Arthit turned around and looked into Kongpob's eyes, distress filled his gaze.

"You shouldn't be." Kongpob gently patted his head and grabbed his shoulders, leading him out of the kitchen. Kongpob knew he should spend more time with his friends and girlfriend, even if it was just a few texts so that he won't make them concerned.

"So, how's middle school?" Kongpob decided to advert the younger's attention from him and started a conversation. They spent the evening eating takeouts and talking, mostly with Kongpob provoking Arthit as the younger was easily agitated by Kongpob. By the time Arthit need to leave, he'd promised to bring the younger out for lunch that weekend since the younger was sulking due to Kongpob's constant teasing. Sending the boy off, Kongpob could feel the exhaustion and heaviness on his chest finally being lifted and he felt so much better than the last few weeks.

A/N:
I love oatmeal raisin cookies❤️

I'm starting to feel unsure of how this story is proceeding... Is the storyline okay until this update or was it too weird? If so, I'll consider a few options in my mind. I also wanted to take down another story of mine, 'One Last Year Together'. It was supposed to be an angsty story but I couldn't bring myself to write it. I'm already under constant pressure due to university and my personal life, and I don't have the will to write anything too emotionally draining. Instead, I'm planning to publish a rom-com (I hope so). Some of you might hear it from my previous stories, it's called 'Feeding The CEO', a story about a picky CEO and an apprentice.

Thanks for reading, I really appreciate every vote and comment. Have a good week ahead❤️❤️