All in the family name ✅

[EP 5] Getting to know you

Dunk joins them for a cup of coffee as the afternoon crowd left. Joong can't help but finds him cute when his puffs out like a goldfish as he lets out a long breath.

"is it always this busy?" Joong tried to small talk.

"Sometimes. But it's good. It means good money." Dunk smiled cheerily. The brothers nodded in agreement. They can't fault his logic.

"If you don't mind, can you tell me a bit more about my brother, Phi Earth. We have been away for too long." Dunk sipped his coffee before asking what they would like to know. The only answer that came to Joong was everything.

Dunk chuckled before taking out a notepad and pen. He drafted out what he understood about his brother's relationship with his men and the people he discussed business with. He told them of any altercation that happened within the café. He noted down names and promised to compile CCTV footages when he is free, so that they may a better idea on how they looked like and to find further information that Dunk may have missed. Joong couldn't help but be amazed at how professional Dunk was. He shook his head, thinking that maybe his brother Bright had requested that he prepare this information ahead of time. Joong thanked him for the information, he was preparing to pass the information to Boun and Prem to look into it further. But Dunk had more to say.

"If you ask me, it's always the quiet ones that you should look into first." Dunk said quietly. Joong was a little confused at his statement. Dunk had made sure that no one is within hearing range. He lowered his head as he whispered to them the story of a returning customer of his. Apparently, he was a quiet guy who always ordered one cup of coffee and was seen working on his laptop. It wasn't anything new since the café provided free wifi. But they found out that he had actually installed a spy cam in the female toilet and enjoyed watching the video feed at the café itself. Dunk wore such a scandalized look that it was almost comical. What was more comical was Pond mirroring his expression. Joong started to wonder if perhaps they had grabbed the wrong baby at birth. Dunk looked more like Pond's brother at this moment than him. It was as if they shared the same brain cell. Joong shook his head but thanked Dunk nonetheless for that wonderful insight.

***

Joong was hesitant at first when he passed all the information to Boun and Prem after Dunk provided the CCTV footages. but he relented in the end. He had asked Boun and Prem to look into the quiet ones in Phi Earth's organization. He didn't expect Dunk's words to be true but yet it was.

Mark, the most quiet and harmless looking one within his brother's organization was the mole within the organization. Dunk's information had given them more than what they needed. He was seen contacting with people outside of the organization. Mark was always seen entering a dark tinted car, so there was no way of them knowing who he was in contact with. But their paper trail gave them a good idea of what was going on. They were using Mark to smuggle drugs into the country using the Chivaaree name.

That was one thing that the Chivaaree never dealt with. They would deal with weaponry, liquor, extortion, money laundering, anything but drugs. Their father's warning fresh in his mind till this day. It was a messy business that they weren't allowed to touch within a ten-foot pole. Joong clenched his fists after learning this.

 It was time to update Dunk of their findings.

***

Dunk did live up to his bargain and brought them out to eat.

"Since the both of you had been away for so long, I don't want to stress out your stomach too much with spicy food. Let me introduce you to the wonders of Mookata. The food we bond over with when we're with family and friends." Dunk introduced as he put the slices of pork on the grill in the center. He put the vegetables in the broth by the rim of the pot along with other fresh ingredients. Once it was done, he placed some on their plate once it's done and introduce the various sauces available.

"Loong chim (try it out)" The both of them thanked him as they took a bite.

"hmm!! Oishii (delicious)!!" Pond exclaimed. Dunk laughed.

"shai ba (right)? I would bring Phu and Gem over whenever we get to have a break together. That was before Gem got married. Now we have Fot to join us as well. That is a challenging task- how to get the right timing with their busy schedule " Dunk had a soft smile as he talked about his family. Joong couldn't help but mirror his smile as he looked at the way Dunk described his family time that the Chivaree brothers never get to have. They had chatted and laughed over the meal. Joong thought it was the perfect opportunity to tell Dunk about his findings and to inform Kitsune.

"Are you sure you want me to inform Kitsune this early? Once they take him out, you will have no lead on the people he came in contact with. I don't think Mark is capable of pulling this stunt alone."

"Gor jing (that's true)" Pond agreed with Dunk's assessment. Dunk sudden sound of excitement surprised them both.

"Pond, meung chaawp nong gu, shai ba (you like my brother, right)? I have the most brilliant idea." Pond was equally as excited when Dunk shared his plan with him.     

~Please vote if you like this EP. It drives me forward. Khoorp khun na kha~

Do comment to let me know your thoughts. 😊😊 

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A/N: for the life of me, I can't remember where I've heard the toilet story. It was a while back. 

I've been thinking what Thai food to include in this EP but then I realized if Joong had been staying in France and Pond in Japan, they really won't be able to handle the level of spiciness... in my mind that made sense so mookata is kinda the neutral ground.  

actually its pretty common to go for mookata, with family and friends where I'm from. yes, mookata is in the list, along with korean grill, hotpot & shabu shabu .🤣🤣  Food always connects ppl🤭🤭

More PP in the beginning then will go more into JD after but there's a lil JD here n there. 2 EP today. 😊😊