The Next Prince, Chapter 8 pg1
The Next Prince, Chapter 8 pg1
Chapter 08: Game of Life by: ceo. ft ennice.
Khanin couldn't sleep...
He had been awake for a while, but he didn't get up from the bed. His eyes were hidden behind a drowsy look, gazing out the window. The difference in temperature between the indoors and outdoors caused the clear window to fog up with white condensation.
The young man lacked any sense of freshness, lying still like a sunflower that never found its own sunlight, similar to wilted vegetables on a store shelf that no one picked up. It took a while before his father's voice echoed through the door of the room.
“Khanin, Nin... Are you still not awake, son?” The question was not answered immediately. The young man chose to swing his legs out of bed, walk straight to the bathroom with more clumsiness than usual.
It was an indication that he was already awake, and Khanin was confident his father would hear it.
“Nin, come and eat breakfast first.” Another greeting that morning, which Khanin didn't respond to. The young man opted to take a deep breath after walking down the stairs, only to find Tattanai waiting in the same blue apron.
The father's eyes showed clear agitation. Eventually, the hard-hearted man had no choice but to place his backpack on the sofa and slump down on a dining chair instead of walking out without acknowledging his family.
Today's breakfast menu was a full English breakfast. Khanin grabbed the knife and fork and began cutting the grilled tomatoes, putting them into his mouth without uttering a single word.
He was absorbed in the taste of the food, which seemed to be specially prepared by his father, evident by the larger than usual amount of bacon in the plate and the addition of two fried eggs.
Although in reality, Tattanai had always tried to control his son's weight as an athlete. But this time, his father had served him everything he used to say was off-limits, allowing him to eat happily.
The young man realized all the effort his father was making. However, Khanin's response was the opposite; he simply continued eating his breakfast quietly. Although he got what he wanted, he still felt no happiness.
Khanin guessed that his father knew not to sit beside him as usual. The older man maintained distance before daring to approach closer than before when the third piece of bacon on the young man's plate was finished.
The handsome young man's eyes caught a glimpse of his father's actions, causing Khanin to accidentally hold his breath due to the heavy feeling in his chest.
Tattanai paused, then used his dominant hand, skilled in cooking, to place a caramel candy next to the hand holding the knife. It made Khanin stop in his tracks.
The young man looked up but didn't even have a chance to make eye contact before someone turned away.
Tattanai avoided confrontation, and this was his father's way of apologizing...
“I know you want something sweet, but I can't let you eat too much, Nin, because your teeth will decay... So you can only have this as a reward for yourself when you accept your own feelings. Is that okay?”
The image of his father's gentle voice addressing him shone clearer in his head, like watching an old film reel. The more he thought about it, the more frustrated Khanin became, as he had many pressing questions to ask. This action seems like the father wants him to understand.
But what does the father want Nin to accept? To accept the anger, disappointment, and sadness from suddenly having to become someone else, no different from a stranger, or so?
Or does he want him to accept that they are not truly father and son, and that he has been deceived by the person he trusted most in his life, hiding the truth for 21 years? Which issue does the father want him to accept?
The double-layered eyes retreat in a blink. Khanin gathers the fork and knife. Suddenly, the favorite dish in front of him changes its taste, becoming bland and insipid.
The thin figure abruptly rises from the dining table, heading to the sink, deciding to leave that caramel candy where it was... the long, slender legs quickly grab the backpack and sling it over the shoulder before glancing back at the problematic caramel candy still lying there.
Khanin doesn't intend to go back and pick it up and put it in his bag, mainly because the person who gave it doesn't want to talk or communicate anymore. So there's no need for him to pick it up.
The young man decides to leave the house, but a sudden loud sound from behind stops the thin figure whose feet haven't yet stepped beyond the doorframe.
“Don't go yet.”
“... “ Khanin turned back to face Tattanai reluctantly. The older man takes off the blue apron after being gone for a while.
The father, on behalf of him, moves closer. With a rough, calloused hand, he grasps the slender hand of the person he has called his son for twenty years and places the caramel candy in it.
“Nin...” The first call is met with no response. Khanin acts like a sulky little child who won't even make eye contact with his father, and Tattanai understands... he shouldn't push to win his son over now when the other party has built such high walls in his heart.
“...”
“Nin, are you really angry with me...” Thus, the next sentence becomes a question mixed with guilt in his tone. Tattanai's dark eyes soften as they rest on Khanin as usual. In the end, the person in front remains silent.
Tattanai doesn't think about it. In the eyes of the father, the other party is no different from the little boy of the past, just a small child deliberately sulking at his father because he is unhappy with what he has done.
But soon, Tattanai believes that things between them must improve...
This time, it has to be like every other time that has passed... The most important thing is to care about the feelings and emotions of the child.
Nothing is complicated other than trying to make the younger person let go of his anger, because if only Khanin let go of his anger, Tattanai's world would be bright and cheerful as before.
“When you are no longer angry with me... you can eat it, son.”
“...”
“Safe travels. Take care of yourself.”
The final conversation between the two people ended just like that. Seeing that his son did not respond, Tattanai did not think further about the long and thin middle-aged man, who took a step back and allowed Khanin to pass through easily while he still stood there watching... until the door of the house closed.
A crack.
The soft sound of the door closing resonated with Khanin's nerves. The fairskinned owner of the house stood still, blankly staring at the house door, alternated with the caramel candy in his hand for a long time before deciding to put it in his pocket.
He was not 100% over his anger towards Tattanai, but partly accepting the candy was to avoid making his father feel worse than this. However, he couldn't pretend it didn't bother him. Khanin wasn't brave enough to lie to himself.
The back of his fair hand wiped away the tears that welled up, hiding his two-layered eyes in a blink, driving away the heat that surrounded and spread around the eye socket.
The sign of weakness was brushed aside. Khanin hurriedly raised his face after adjusting it to return to normal, not wanting anyone to see him crying, especially Charan... a person who often confronted each other.
Khanin froze when the person he shouldn't think of to be annoyed suddenly appeared in his mind. His two-layered eyes hid as they swept around, looking left and right for a long time. Not seeing that person, he let out a soft, relieved breath.
Charan was not around... or perhaps because last night he had scolded and chased him away, it made him think of something.
‘If you can't stand it, you have to endure it. If it's annoying, you have to bear it because the I will come here every day... until I can take Your Majesty back.’
'...'
“Between us, it's our duty. I hope Your Majesty will understand.”
Sometimes those words might not be reliable, but this was fine because Khanin still couldn't agree and remained firm without changing his mind.
Eventually, Charan would probably give up and retreat.
The young man, analyzing the situation and confronting himself alone, shook off his irritation and took a small breath before starting to walk again with the fencing club as his destination.
Today, Khanin intended to spend more time with the training bench and his teammates than usual. At least if his body was exhausted and sweaty, it might help alleviate the stress.
He was determined to reach the club in about twenty more minutes, but it seemed his instincts and the reflexes he had developed from fencing training were starting to work again. As the young owner of the small body sensed something unusual around him.
Khanin suspected that he was being followed. The inner sensory nerves in his body sounded the alarm, warning of the impending danger... causing him to unintentionally hold his breath and speed up his pace more than before, but everything continued to run smoothly.
Who are they? The ones who don't like my face or someone, which group is definitely doing this...
'Are you saying that the motorcycle intentionally hit me?'
‘Yes.’
'You watch too many movies'
'You are too vulnerable to the world.'
Once again, the conversation of the person who don't like his face breaks into the air, entering his head. Khanin frowns, trying to think of a way out by scanning the surrounding streets before deciding to suddenly change direction.
The young man crosses the street to be on the other side, away from the original footpath he was on. He slows down a bit to take advantage of this moment to look around, trying to find any abnormalities on the opposite side of the road.
The beautiful pair of eyes almost simultaneously show both irritation and concern as they gaze. Khanin exhales a long breath of hot air after discovering that the tall, dignified figure standing on the other side of the road is none other than...
The same person who has been bothering and trying to interfere with his thoughts for the past two days.
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