My Moon, Chapter 22 pg 3
My Moon, Chapter 22 pg 3
“The best in the world.”
The troublemaker’s response made Panli desperately want to get up and kiss his cheek. But all he could do was bite his lip before saying, “It’s chewy.”
The troublemaker laughed delightedly before scooping some stuffed omelet onto his plate too. “The talented chef needs to eat a lot, okay?”
Panli looked at Klaijai, smiling widely as he thought…
No matter how talented I am… I’ll always lose to you.
After finishing dinner, the two of them hung out at the house until evening, when Panli took Klaijai back to his condo. Just now, he walked him up to his room, said goodbye, and came down to smoke in the parking lot. His thick hand reached into the back pocket of his pants to pull out his phone and call someone. It didn’t take long before he heard a greeting from the other end.
[Yo, Sua!]
“Phii Dom, do you remember Merk’s address?”
[Yeah… but why do you need it?]
“I need to have a little chat with him.”
[Li… tell me what’s up.]
“Once I’m done talking to him… I’ll fill you in.”
[I don’t think Merk’s at his condo right now…]
“…”
[Cause just earlier, a friend from engineering called to invite me for drinks… I heard him mention Merk’s name. He’s probably at the bar with them.]
“Which bar?”
[Your senior’s place…]
Panli thought it was truly time for Merk, because if he ran into him at his senior’s bar, old memories he didn’t want to revisit would come flooding back uncontrollably, and holding himself back would be tough.
“Okay… I’ll go find him myself.”
[Hold up… let me double-check. Wait a sec.]
Panli hung up with his close senior, then brought the white cigarette to his lips again. Before he could take a deep drag of nicotine, Phii Dom called back. Panli quickly answered without hesitation.
“Yeah…”
[Merk’s still at the bar… drinking with the seniors.]
“Okay… thanks a lot, Phii Dom.”
[Li… just talking, right?]
“Can’t say for sure…”
[…]
“Depends on the situation.”
[I’m coming with you… that bar’s not far from my condo.]
“No need, Phii Dom... just one shitty guy, I can handle it.”
[Please, let me have some peace of mind, Li...]
“Phii Dom... don’t tell Phii Fah about this.”
[Alright... I won’t say a word.]
Panli didn’t want his older brother to know because he’d worry even more. Phii Fah never forbade these things, as he wasn’t one to back down either. But Panli was more afraid that his brother would rush over to join the fray.
He just didn’t want Phii Fah to worry.
And he didn’t want him to get dragged into trouble.
“Then let’s meet at the shop.”
[Okay.]
After hanging up with Phii Dom, Panli tossed the white cigarette to the ground, put on his favorite helmet, and immediately hopped onto his red motorcycle. He sped out of the condo in no time.
It didn’t take long for Panli to arrive at the senior’s shop. As he parked his motorcycle in front of the shop and was taking off his helmet, Phii Dom called to tell him to meet at the back of the shop instead. Apparently, he’d asked a close friend, a senior of that jerk Merk, to come along. Panli guessed Phii Dom was worried things might escalate beyond what he could control.
“Hello,” the tall guy raised his hand to greet the two seniors standing there, still holding his favorite helmet. He only saw the seniors—no sign of Merk anywhere.
“Hey...” Phii Dom’s friend nodded back, exhaling white smoke. “Come wait for Merk with us first.”
“Prab already called Merk,” one of them said. “He’s finishing up in the bathroom and will be out soon.”
“Did you tell him I’m the one coming to see him?”
Prab shook his head. “Didn’t say it was you... just said someone wanted to talk.”
“While we’re waiting for Merk... can you tell us what happened?”
Phii Dom, lighting a cigarette, asked. So Panli recounted everything he’d heard from that guy Thot to the two seniors. Phii Dom got so pissed off he had to step away to cool down, afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold back if Merk showed up right then.
Panli stood waiting anxiously with Prab, and soon enough, the person he was waiting for appeared. Merk looked slightly startled to see him there. But the surprised expression on his face was quickly replaced by a smug grin. He walked up to stand in front of his close senior and said,
“The person you said wanted to meet me... is Panli?”
“Yeah... whatever it is, sort it out quick. Don’t let it turn into a big deal.”
“Sort what out? I haven’t even done anything yet.”
“You bastard, Merk... don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done or what you’re planning to do next... The only reason I haven’t said I know everything is because I don’t want you to feel uneasy around me,” Phii Prab said with a displeased expression, before continuing, “Whatever you did wrong, go apologize to them. Don’t let it get to the point where I can’t help you anymore.”
“I haven’t done anything yet. What am I supposed to apologize for?” Merk said, raising his eyebrows high. Whether it was because Phii Prab already despised his face or something else, Merk’s expression seemed even more infuriating. Panli stared at the man who never showed remorse for his actions.
He stepped forward to stand face-to-face with Merk. The other man’s eyes wavered slightly, but he tried to mask his fear by meeting Panli’s gaze. Seeing that the one itching for a fight was starting to get nervous, Panli smirked faintly before saying, “I get it... a shameless guy like you would never apologize to anyone.”
“...”
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