Just The 2 Of Us

Chapter 33: Just a Stranger

"I don't wanna goooo..."

"Come on, Meung. Don't be so difficult." Nanon begged as he tried to lift the older up by putting one of his arms around Chimon's armpits. He wanted to curse his friend and thank him at the same time for keeping his mind busy with his inconvenient behavior.

"Excuse me, are you guys Thai?" A well-dressed man approached their table and smiled at the pair when Chimon nodded energetically. "Oh, what a relief! My friends ditched me earlier, and I am unable to find my way back to my hotel. My Korean is pretty limited, so it's difficult to make myself understood by the locals. My phone has just died and I really need the help of someone who can properly understand my language."

"Oh, my friend here is good at everything. He can help everyone but himself. I'm sure he can help you call an uber." Chimon snickered drunkenly and swiftly passed out on the table, hitting his forehead hard on the wooden surface. Nanon sighed in embarrassment, but still gave the man a polite smile and offered him a seat at their table.

"Sorry about my friend. His manners vanish when he has too much alcohol in his system. Don't mind him." Nanon hurried to say, as he took his cell phone out of his pocket and focused on finding an app to help the stranger, before the latter realized who he was.

"I was his age before. I do remember how nice it was to meet friends and drink all night long. Being a husband and a father keeps me from enjoying some good old habits." The man chuckled, as he grabbed the singer's glass and poured some soju to himself.

"Oh, you're a family man, already? You look young. Should I address you as Phi?" Nanon asked curiously. He didn't mind the fact that the man started drinking from his glass, he was just relieved that he wasn't recognized by him. As popular as he was in Thailand, it was rare to find another Thai that hadn't seen at least one TV ad which had him on it.

"Oh, don't mind about these formalities. Just call me Ananda." The man gulped down the rest of the liquid in the glass with clear satisfaction and eyed Nanon with clear gratitude. "Thanks. I hadn't had a drink in a while. You don't mind me finishing this bottle, do you?"

"By all means, go ahead. My friend already had enough, and to be honest I'm not the drinking type." Nanon said kindly and poured more soju to the friendly man.

"Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, Korapat Kirdpan." Nanon was still thankful that even after saying his real name the man was unable to tell that he was a popular figure in Thailand.

"Nice to meet you, kid. What brings you and your friend to Korea?" The man asked casually.

"We're here for vacation. That's all." Nanon lied, and for a second he regretted having the man empty that bottle of soju. He couldn't help thinking that the kind stranger could have some sort of problem with alcohol. "Do you want me to call a cab for you, or perhaps, look up the direction of your hotel on Google maps?" The singer suggested, as he scrolled down his phone and eyed the man expectantly.

"Am I such a boring company?" The man asked suddenly.

"No, not at all. I just want to help you out before I go. You see, my friend here needs to sleep it off, so I've gotta drag him back to-"

"Just five more minutes, okay? Just five more minutes until I have to face the responsibilities of my mundane reality." The man begged, as he closed his eyes for a brief moment and sipped the last drop of soju from the glass. "My wife is pregnant with our second child. My monthly wage barely covers all our basic needs at the moment. I was hoping to get promoted at the company I work for, but instead I got demoted." He sighed tiredly. "There's my story. What about you? What's your excuse for drinking at this ungodly hour?"