Together With Me (Thai Novel Fan Translation)

Chapter 16A

Editor's Note 04/25/19: I'm sorry for the delay, you guys! I got swamped at work when I got back to the States, and then I had an unfortunate incident occur over the past weekend that lead to this delay. Better a bit late than never, right? I'll do my best to get 16B and 17 out as quickly as possible by way of apology. Much Love, Noona.

PS: Cho appears in this chapter (albeit very briefly) so YAY!

Knock had decided to come back to my condo with me, oblivious to what fate I had planned for him. The guard smiled at us warmly when he saw us coming up the condo stairs together.

"Oh ho, Mr. Korn, you've finally made up with your friend?"

"Uncle, this guy is not my friend." I said, my tone of voice unreadable.

"Aw, you asshole, Uncle isn't going to let me in if you say it like that!!" Knock was whining, and I  struggled to hold in my laughter, but my shaking shoulders had probably already given me away.

"Then, what would you like me to do, Mr. Korn...?" Uncle Guard started to ask, but I raised my hand, gesturing for him to stop.

"Uncle, he's not my friend, he's my boyfriend."

Both Uncle Guard and Knock were staring at me wide-eyed and slack-jawed. You'd think I'd just sprouted a second head or something.

I draped my arm protectively around Knock's shoulders and said "Let's go upstairs, babe."
Then I steered him away from the still slack-jawed Uncle Guard, and he followed my directions obediently. 

Since I still had my arm around his shoulder, all Knock could do was turn back to Uncle Guard and holler as I pulled him into the lift with me: "Uncle! It's not what you think!!!"

He deserved it. He was still trying to maintain that toxic macho facade. Disgusting!!

Knock and I used the lift together. He was already starting to whine about it and it hadn't even been a few hours yet. 

He was still being wishy-washy and it was starting to piss me off.  "If you still feel uncomfortable about being my boyfriend, then you should just go back to your own place. Don't let me detain you."

"No, Korn sweetheart." He playfully poked his fingers at my chest. His cutesy act wasn't going to placate me this time, so I pushed his head away.

"Then why're you complaining, huh?" I raised my voice.

"Ho.... It just feels weird, I think we should just keep it just between us for a while." He was acting sheepish, as if he's worried that I would be angry. Truthfully, I wasn't angry at all, I just wanted to tease him. It's called 'annoying the wife' in our dialect.

"Fine, I'm 'weird'; I guess I'm not as good as your woman." I let my face tense up.

"It's not that..." Knock immediately explained. He'd gotten all nervous and sweaty, like someone who had gotten caught red-handed cheating by their spouse. 

"Listen to me... It's... I'm just trying to figure how to break this to her..."

Oohoho. It's taking everything in me to not burst out laughing at him. Did he know that, could he tell? I can't hold it in any longer!

Knock tapped my shoulder lightly and I turned back to him, my face carefully expressionless.

"What now?"

"Don't be mad at me, please? Heeey, c'mon. Please?" He waved his hands trying to get my attention. That's was it, I couldn't hold it in anymore! I burst out laughing, clutching my ribs and gasping for breath.

"Aw, Korn, you asshole, you were messing with me!" I was laughing so hard, Knock suddenly took hold of my shirt collar.

"This is my revenge for all the pain and suffering you've caused me,"  twisting free from his  grasp easily, and Knock seemed impatient now.

"Fine, then we're even now!"

Even now? How could just that little bit possibly make us even?

I grinned to myself secretly. If he thought I would be satisfied with just messing with him a little bit, then Knock had it all wrong.  I would make him shout my name by the end of the night, just wait and see!

The lift chimed sweetly as the doors opened and my thoughts were interrupted. We walked out into the hall together, and we bumped right into my friend and neighbor who lived across the hall from me.

"Hey Korn, where you coming back from?", he greeted me pleasantly.

"Oh hey, Cho. I just went out for a bit. How about you? Where are you going?" I replied.

"Oh, I'm gonna go pick up something at the mall."

"Hmm." I nodded, Cho glanced at Knock, while Knock eye-balled the newcomer curiously.

"Who is this?" Cho asked.

"My friend." I replied, and Knock's face contorted, causing me to chuckle. "Or would you prefer that I said, 'my wife'?" I turned back to ask him, wry amusement all over my face.

"Aw!!! You think he didn't already hear you? Do you need a loudspeaker?" Knock mocked.

"Huh?" Cho seemed obviously to the true meaning of our banter.

"Friend, he's a friend of mine." I repeated.

"Oh, hmm. Your friend is really handsome." Cho complemented and smiled, flashing the deep dimples in his cheeks.