Chapter 5

Even though it was past one in the afternoon, the streets were still packed with traffic. Thankfully, it was flowing rather than stuck like during the evening rush. I sat in my car, humming along to a hip-hop tune and nodding my head in relaxation. Today, I only had one morning class. After I handed over the books to Le, the afternoon session's professor had the students break into groups to discuss the minor project we had to work on. My friends and I decided to go home and brainstorm there before coming back with our proposals later.

Honestly, we were just too lazy to hang around the university. Sunsun wanted to go home and crash after partying until dawn last night. Tylor had a date with a mystery girl, and Chekov had to pick up his dad from the airport at three. As for me, with no plans for the day, I figured I'd head home early and dive into some comic books.

While waiting for the green light, I watched people bustling about on the sidewalks, never expecting to see Kong emerge from the chicken rice shop by the roadside. I reached out to turn off the music and silently observed his tall figure, feeling a mix of surprise and happiness.

Kong probably didn't see me since my car tint was pretty dark. I alternately watched him and the traffic light counting down. He seemed to be struggling to hook a bag of chicken rice onto his motorbike handle, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't manage it.

I smiled at Kong's comical struggle, but my amusement quickly turned to shock when, out of nowhere, Kong fell hard, causing the bag of chicken rice to drop and the soup to splatter everywhere.

What should I do now?

Thoughts clashed in my head...

Firstly, setting the kiss thing aside, he'd never done anything nice for me. Secondly, we weren't close, not even friends. Thirdly, he probably hated my guts. And fourthly, I didn't like him being that way either. So, if I chose to drive past without a second glance, it wouldn't really be wrong, would it?

However, when the traffic light turned green, I activated my turn signal instead of driving on and pulled over into a nearby alley. I hurried out to check on the person lying unconscious on the road. As I ran, I already knew what had caused Kong to faint.

The heat on the sidewalk was insane!

Even the breeze was hot. Luckily, the uncle, who owned the chicken rice shop, and his son were already helping Kong into the shop. Kong's face was as pale as the boiled chickens hanging in the display case.

"Uh, you..."

I didn't know how to start because I was still confused by my own actions. A grandma, who was holding a mint inhaler to the unconscious person's nose, looked up and asked, "Are you friends with this young man?"

"Yes... yes, I saw him faint earlier, so I came to help."

"Good. That's good. I saw you're wearing the same uniform, so I thought you might study at the same university. It's good you're here. Take your friend to the doctor. He doesn't look too well, " the grandma said.

I agreed and moved to help the large man to his feet.

Kong's dark hair was drenched. There were no wounds or bruises since he hadn't hit his head when he fell. His shirt was soaked with sweat, but his body wasn't too hot. It didn't seem like heatstroke, but it was still concerning.

"I put your friend's shirt and jacket on the motorbike," the uncle said before I led Kong out of the shop.

"Thank you for helping my friend. I, uh..." I said, feeling indebted to the shopkeeper for taking the time to care for him. To show my gratitude, I pulled out a thousand-baht note and offered it to the uncle, but he refused, waving his hand.

"No need, no need. I help where I can," he said, and I truly understood. But what could I do? The uncle had gone out of his way to help, and the best I could think of to repay him was this gray banknote.

"Sure, next time, I'll come to support your business. Thank you on his behalf," I said as I helped the large and heavy figure out to the outside. My eyes glanced at the black motorbike with a leather jacket and a helmet lying on it. Anyway, I had to leave it for now and have a staff from my house take care of it later.

It took a lot of sweat to stuff Kong's unconscious, bulky body into my Aston Martin Vanquish Coupe. I unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt and unbuckled his belt to make him more comfortable. As soon as I turned up the air conditioning, Kong's pained expression began to relax. Then I called Nat, one of my house staff, to have him bring this guy's motorbike back to the house.

[Do you need me to call an ambulance as well?]

"Let me check his condition first. Thank you very much,"

I replied to the person on the other end of the line, already thinking about taking him to the hospital.

Nat was like a mentor, bodyguard, and personal assistant who handled various matters for me. He had also taught me several basic self-defense techniques. I respected him like an older brother. After hanging up, I returned my attention to the person lying beside me.

"He's not hot, no fever," I said, touching his tanned forehead.

Suddenly, Kong grabbed my arm, his light brown eyes half-open, looking at me quietly.

"I'll take you to the hospital," I said.

"No... don't go. Too expensive."

Kong's mouth was gasping before he slowly fell back to sleep. His breathing was steady, like someone who hadn't slept in a long while. Okay, maybe there was no need to take him to the hospital, but could he at least wake up and tell me what to do next? I sighed and sat there, looking at his sharp features, asking myself what exactly I was doing here.

Should I call his parents or his friends? Or should I take him home? I took the time of the red light to reach my left hand into the right pocket of his pants, searching for his phone, but found his wallet instead. So, I switched to my right hand and moved closer to fish out the phone from his left pocket. Now, it looked like I was straddling Kong.

Whatever. I just needed to find his phone.

"Um," Kong moaned softly in his throat.

"What are you moaning for?" I stopped rummaging and pushed his head gently with my right hand, annoyed.

He was passed out right now, so I could do whatever with him, haha.

"Ah! Found it," I was relieved to find Kong's phone. This guy was still using a BlackBerry Bold in black? This brought back my elementary school memories. But the phone was password-locked when I tried to look for his contacts. Sigh... Maybe I could call Pang since I had her number, but... better not. They broke up, so let it be that way.

"Ummph."

Kong moaned again. Why was he moaning?

I looked away from the BlackBerry screen and down, only to see my left hand inadvertently placed on his thigh to support myself while searching for the phone. My left hand was near his crotch. No wonder he kept groaning. I hadn't even touched him yet. Probably, my left hand moved while I was rummaging, and he thought he was being seduced.

Kong's thick eyebrows furrowed so tightly that I had to press my index finger between them to loosen them out. His handsome, sharp features looked charming even in this state. His tan skin contrasted with his orange lips. He had a prominent nose, a defined jawline, and neatly arranged eyelashes. No wonder girls still liked him despite his foul mouth and moody nature.

"Man, I can't unlock your phone. I don't know where to take you. So... you're coming to my place, okay?" I said.

Since he didn't respond, I took it as his agreement!

"My goodness, Mister Pat, who did you bring home? Aof, come help Mister Pat quickly."

Nanny Thim rushed over alarmed when she saw me carrying someone. Kong was still out of it, just as before, and so heavy that I had to quickly look for help. After a moment, Aof, a sturdy-looking boy, ran out of the house to help me support one of Kong's giant arms.

"He's my friend. He fainted on the side of the road, so I brought him home," I explained as Aof took half of Kong's weight before sighing in relief.

"Is he the owner of the big black motorbike that Nat brought over earlier? Oh, you poor thing!" Nanny Thim continued, her chubby hand pressing against her chest. She was a sympathetic soul. Anyway, Kong's motorbike was already here? That was quick.

"Yes, I'll take him to my room to lie down," I said, and Nanny Thim nodded in agreement. I supported Kong into the house's elevator because if Aof and I tried to carry him up the stairs right now, we'd probably end up falling and dying. The guy was anything but small.

"Let's lay him down on my bed, Aof."

Once we reached the bed, I immediately let go of him. He was so heavy, and I was exhausted. It wouldn't have been so tiring if he was slender and petite. I turned on the air conditioning and handed the only fifteen-year-old boy in the house a purple banknote[1]. Aof was the son of Kaew, the cook, and Chok, the driver. He was well-behaved and smart. I was fond of him like a younger brother, but I couldn't get familiar with him too much. My mother always said that no matter what, I was his boss. Affection was acceptable, but it must have boundaries, or else I wouldn't be able to keep them in line. I didn't completely agree with my mother, though. Because if that were the case, I wouldn't be handing out money to him like this.

"Thank you, Sir," Aof said, looking a bit awkward but accepting the money anyway. I scolded him once for refusing a tip. I told him that when I offered something, he shouldn't refuse. I gave him that because I genuinely wanted to, and if he didn't accept it, it'd be like insulting my generosity. After that, whenever I offered something, Aof never refused it again.

After Aof left, I locked the door and turned to gaze at Kong lying at the end of the bed, breathing heavily—his muscular, solid chest moving up and down beneath the shirt.

Oh, even when he was passed out like this, he still exuded an overwhelming amount of pheromones...

But before my brain could wander off to nonsensical thoughts, I remembered that his clothes were soaking wet. If left like that, he could develop pneumonia. So, I decided to change his clothes first and worry about the rest later.

"Oi! Stay still," I exclaimed, losing my patience as I tried to remove his shirt. Kong was wiggling, his hands sweeping around, refusing to make it easy for me. Then he snuggled back into my pillow and continued to sleep contentedly. Annoyed, I thumped his broad back, but he seemed unfazed, happily burying his head in my pillow.

I stood up, taking a deep breath before going into the bathroom to soak a cloth in a small basin to wipe him down, hoping to make him feel better. His body was already starting to emit a faint scent of sweat.

"Uh," Kong grunted, annoyed as I undid the remaining buttons, but he stopped swatting my hands away as he began to feel more at ease. I turned him over and lifted his arms to wipe him down, my eyes inadvertently scanning his frame. Kong's physique was impressively well-built, broader than mine. As I wiped him down, I couldn't help but compare his body to mine.

"The top half is done," I said after neatly buttoning up his pajama shirt, which I'd lent him.

Now for the lower half...

A wave of awkwardness washed over me. Why did I have to do something like this? I looked around my bedroom quietly, unsure of what to do next. Calling one of the house staff to continue would be even stranger.

Screw it, I'd wiped him down this much already. I might as well finish the job. Consider it a practice in first aid and caring for the sick.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Mister Pat, do you need me to help with anything?" Nanny Thim had already knocked on my door a few times. She must've worried that I couldn't take good care of my friend, worsening Kong's condition.

"It's okay. I got this." I shouted back, recalling when Sunsun was sick and I'd helped his nanny wipe him down. That wasn't hard at all.

Once Nanny Thim had left, I refocused on the task. First, I had to remove his socks and the black slacks that fit him just right. I bent down to unzip the pants and slowly pulled them down.

"Lift your butt a bit, Sir," I said.

With one hand, I pushed on his hip to lift him while the other hand struggled to pull down the pants. But man, he was incredibly heavy and refusing to move a muscle—like a useless giant rock.

"Up you go!"

Using all my strength, I finally managed to lift him and peel off the pants, leaving them in a pile at his feet. I wiped the sweat from my brow, looking at Kong sprawled out before me, his lower half clad only in a thin, maroon boxer brief. I grabbed a damp towel and started wiping down his legs, but first, I needed to cover his boxers a bit. Looking around, I spotted a scarf draped over the side of the bed, so I grabbed it and casually laid it over his crotch before continuing.

Starting from the feet, I worked the towel up to his knees, and I couldn't help but let my eyes wander. His legs were long and muscle-packed like a boxer's. I wondered how to get such defined muscles to adorn my legs. Sure, I had a six-pack and broad shoulders—I wasn't some skinny, scrawny guy—but Kong's physique was truly enviable. Maybe I should hit the gym tomorrow.

Wait! Did I just see something?

I turned back to look at the scarf covering Kong's crotch and noticed it wasn't lying flat anymore. It was bulging out, almost like a 3D image. The heat was rising on my cheeks. What should I do? I'd never seen another man popping a boner right in front of me before. So, I stood up, took the basin to the bathroom, and stared at myself in the mirror. My face was beet red, sweat outlining my hairline, just like after an intense abs workout at the gym.

I was surprised at myself for getting flustered like this.

"Kong is also a guy. His things are just like mine. What's there to be excited about?"

I muttered to my reflection in the mirror before turning on the water to wash my face and then heading out to complete the wipe mission. I reached for the scarf and gently slid it off lightly. Kong frowned and let out a low groan, clearly uncomfortable.

Damn it, would he stop shaking my heterosexuality already!?

I swallowed hard, a strange feeling slowly taking over my heart. My body felt hot and flushed, a mix of curiosity and impure thoughts clouding my mind. My hands began to move closer to the edge of his boxers, and as I touched his warm skin, my heart raced even more.

'People like you are so annoying.'

A cold voice rang in my head, shattering my dirty thoughts. I stopped what I was doing and quickly got out of bed to stand in the corner of the room. My eyes were still on Kong, who lay oblivious on the bed.

I took a deep breath and went to put on pajama pants for the unconscious Kong before grabbing a blanket to cover his body that had the power to obliterate my morals up to the neck. Then, I pressed the intercom to instruct the house staff not to disturb the west wing.

Now, about the west wing of this house,

This whole section belonged to me. It had a bedroom and a lounge. My favorite piano was also here. There was a small bar and a food elevator. If I was too lazy to go downstairs (or got hungry in the middle of the night), I could just call a staff to deliver food to my room. Outside on the balcony, there was a private swimming pool with a Jacuzzi, and this balcony connected the lounge to my bedroom.

My house had four stories, five if counting the basement. My space was on the third floor. My parents' room was on the top floor, but my dad hardly ever slept on the fourth floor. He preferred to spend his time on the second floor because it had a large office and library. It could be said that the second floor was my dad's kingdom, the third floor was mine, and the fourth was my mom's.

As a kid, whenever I brought friends over, they were always amazed by my living. Many were envious that I had parents who loved me so dearly. I loved them, too, of course, and I was really grateful to have been born into such good fortune... However, that was just the surface. On the day when it was chipped, the truth inside would be revealed, and I wasn't sure if I'd still feel the same.

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[1] A 500 bath banknote.