Chapter 12 — Midnight Tea
1329 Words
The atmosphere inside the dining room changed completely after Aran moved beside Tharin.
A serious issue honestly.
Because suddenly—
everyone at the table looked emotionally invested in ways that felt spiritually dangerous.
Especially Praew.
A terrifying older brother honestly.
Meanwhile—
Tharin sat completely frozen beside Aran while trying to focus on literally anything else.
Failing horribly.
Because somehow—
the moment Aran sat beside him—
everything became too noticeable.
The warmth from his shoulder.
The faint scent of clean cologne lingering around him.
The quiet sound of his sleeve brushing against the chair whenever he moved.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Meanwhile—
Aran looked perfectly calm externally.
Which honestly made things worse somehow.
Because unlike Tharin—
he didn’t seem nervous at all.
Psychotic behavior honestly.
Across the table—
Praew stared between them dramatically before physically grabbing Khem’s arm.
Praew: “Do you SEE the chemistry?”
Khem looked spiritually tired already.
Reasonable honestly.
Because Praew spent the entire dinner emotionally unstable.
A serious issue.
Khem: “Please lower your voice.”
Praew: “Impossible.”
Correct honestly.
Meanwhile—
Than calmly continued drinking tea beside Arthit like nothing unusual happened.
Coward behavior honestly.
Because he absolutely allowed this chaos intentionally.
A terrifying oldest brother trait.
Then suddenly—
one of the household staff quietly approached the dining table carrying another tray of desserts.
A complete disaster honestly.
Because apparently—
the family still believed Tharin hadn’t eaten enough.
Psychotic behavior.
The tray contained:
* strawberry shortcake,
* coconut pudding,
* mango sticky rice,
* chocolate pastries,
* and tiny fruit tarts arranged perfectly.
Enough sugar to emotionally destabilize an entire faculty department honestly.
The second the tray settled onto the table—
Praew immediately pushed the strawberry shortcake toward Tharin.
Praew: “This one’s your favorite.”
Tharin looked helpless immediately afterward.
Reasonable honestly.
Because everyone in this house treated him like he would vanish if not constantly fed.
A serious issue.
Then quietly—
without thinking much—
Tharin took the fork and split the cake naturally.
One half toward himself.
One half toward Khem.
A small habit.
Automatic.
Because Khem always liked strawberry desserts too.
And immediately—
Aran noticed.
Of course he did.
Because somehow—
his attention naturally followed every tiny thing Tharin did now.
A terrifying development honestly.
Meanwhile—
Khem smiled softly afterward before accepting the plate.
Then gently—
Khem: “Thank you.”
Tharin nodded slightly.
Small interaction.
Still warm somehow.
And suddenly—
Aran understood another important thing.
Tharin showed affection quietly.
Not dramatically.
Not loudly.
Little habits.
Remembering preferences.
Sharing food automatically.
Checking whether people ate enough.
Dangerous realization honestly.
Because somehow—
those small things affected Aran more than grand gestures ever could.
A serious issue.
Across the table—
Praew suddenly gasped dramatically again.
A terrifying sign honestly.
Because every time Praew gasped—
peace disappeared immediately afterward.
Praew: “WAIT.”
Silence.
Then—
Praew: “Aran should stay the night.”
Real silence exploded across the dining room.
A COMPLETE disaster honestly.
Because absolutely nobody expected that sentence.
Meanwhile—
Tharin nearly dropped his fork spiritually.
Reasonable honestly.
Because WHAT kind of suggestion was that?
A serious issue.
Beside him—
Chai physically slapped the table laughing.
Coward behavior honestly.
Chai: “You skipped twenty emotional steps immediately.”
Correct honestly.
Meanwhile—
Praew looked deeply offended afterward.
Praew: “It’s late already.”
Arthit: “It’s barely nine.”
Praew: “Emotionally late.”
Psychotic statement honestly.
Then unexpectedly—
Than calmly looked toward the large windows outside.
Rain suddenly hit the glass heavily.
A serious issue.
Because apparently—
a storm arrived while everyone ate dinner.
Thunder echoed faintly across the property while rain poured against the gardens outside.
And honestly?
The timing felt suspiciously cinematic.
A dangerous atmosphere honestly.
Then quietly—
Than spoke.
Than: “Road conditions will worsen soon.”
Silence.
Because somehow—
that sounded dangerously close to agreement.
A serious issue.
Meanwhile—
Aran looked toward the rain outside briefly.
Then calmly—
Aran: “I can still leave.”
Before anyone else could respond—
Praew immediately pointed dramatically toward him.
Praew: “Rejected.”
A complete disaster.
Because apparently—
Praew already decided Aran belonged inside the house emotionally.
A terrifying level of attachment honestly.
Meanwhile—
Tharin quietly lowered his head toward the table because eye contact became impossible suddenly.
A serious issue.
Because honestly?
The idea of Aran staying overnight inside the mansion felt emotionally unsafe.
Dangerous even.
Meanwhile—
outside the dining room—
one hidden bodyguard quietly updated another security member through the communication line.
Bodyguard: “Weather conditions worsening.”
Another voice answered calmly.
Second Bodyguard: “Any changes inside?”
Small pause.
Then—
Bodyguard: “…Family attempting emotional adoption of university student.”
Silence followed.
Then—
Second Bodyguard: “Understood.”
Completely normal Aiyarak household behavior honestly.
Back inside the dining room—
Khem gently placed another dessert onto Tharin’s plate afterward.
Then softly—
Khem: “You barely ate sweets today.”
Tharin looked weak immediately.
Reasonable honestly.
Because Khem weaponized gentleness professionally.
A terrifying brother honestly.
Before Tharin could argue—
Aran quietly spoke beside him.
Aran: “He ate one pastry at orientation.”
Silence.
Real silence.
Because suddenly—
everyone turned toward Aran simultaneously.
A serious issue.
Meanwhile—
Aran looked calm.
As usual.
Unfortunately—
his sentence carried dangerous implications.
Because somehow—
he remembered what Tharin ate earlier.
A COMPLETE disaster honestly.
Praew slowly lowered his spoon afterward.
Then dramatically whispered:
Praew: “…He notices details.”
Correct honestly.
A devastatingly accurate observation.
Meanwhile—
Tharin’s face turned red immediately again.
Because honestly?
Even he forgot about the pastry from earlier.
A serious issue.
Then unexpectedly—
Than asked another question calmly.
Than: “You pay attention to everyone like this?”
Silence.
Because somehow—
that question sounded important.
A dangerous older brother question honestly.
Across from him—
Aran answered honestly.
Aran: “No.”
Another pause followed immediately afterward.
Then—
Aran: “Just Rin.”
Real silence exploded again.
A COMPLETE disaster honestly.
Because somehow—
Aran kept saying emotionally catastrophic things naturally.
Without hesitation.
Without embarrassment.
Like honesty became easier whenever it involved Tharin specifically.
A terrifying thing.
Meanwhile—
Tharin genuinely wanted the floor to swallow him spiritually.
Reasonable honestly.
Because his heartbeat stopped functioning correctly several conversations ago.
A serious issue.
Beside him—
Chai physically slid downward in his chair dramatically.
Chai: “This family dinner deserves awards.”
Correct honestly.
Meanwhile—
Arthit quietly watched Aran for several seconds afterward.
Careful.
Thoughtful.
Dangerous honestly.
Then unexpectedly—
he asked:
Arthit: “What exactly do you want from Rin?”
Silence settled instantly.
Heavier this time.
More serious.
Because unlike teasing questions earlier—
this one mattered.
A serious issue honestly.
Tharin looked down immediately afterward.
Nervous.
Because honestly?
Part of him still feared hearing fake answers again.
Back then—
people flirted for entertainment.
Pretended interest for jokes.
Made him believe things that were never real.
Those memories still followed him quietly sometimes.
Meanwhile—
Aran noticed the subtle tension immediately.
Of course he did.
Because somehow—
he noticed every shift in Tharin’s mood now.
A terrifying development honestly.
Then quietly—
Aran answered:
Aran: “I don’t know yet.”
Silence.
Because honestly?
Nobody expected honesty that direct.
A serious issue.
Then calmly—
Aran continued.
Aran: “But I know I want to stay around him.”
Real silence followed again.
And somehow—
that answer felt more sincere than anything else he could have said.
A dangerous realization honestly.
Because there were no dramatic promises.
No fake confidence.
Just honesty.
Simple.
Real.
Meanwhile—
Tharin slowly looked toward him afterward.
And for one brief second—
their eyes met quietly beneath the warm dining room lights.
Then suddenly—
something inside Tharin’s chest softened unexpectedly.
- Writer
