Chapter 3 — Lunch Beside the Window
1426 Words
The second Aran Rattanakosin stopped beside Tharin’s desk, the atmosphere inside the architecture classroom changed completely.
A serious issue honestly.
Because suddenly—
nobody paid attention to the orientation seniors anymore.
Students stopped talking.
Several freshmen openly stared.
One person near the front quietly lowered their phone after obviously taking pictures.
A disaster honestly.
Meanwhile—
Aran stood there calmly like he didn’t just become the center of attention again.
Tall figure.
Black basketball jacket hanging loosely over broad shoulders.
Sharp eyes fixed on Tharin’s desk.
And honestly?
He looked deeply out of place inside the messy architecture classroom.
A dangerous kind of handsome honestly.
Beside Tharin, Chai slowly leaned backward in his chair while looking between them like someone watching a live drama.
A terrifying cousin honestly.
Then casually—
Aran repeated himself.
Aran: “…Your family preparing for war?”
Silence.
Then immediately—
Chai burst into laughter loud enough to attract more attention again.
Coward behavior honestly.
Chai: “I told him the same thing!”
Tharin looked emotionally exhausted already.
Reasonable honestly.
Because somehow—
his first university friend group became:
* one chaotic cousin,
* one terrifyingly handsome senior,
* and public humiliation.
A serious issue.
Meanwhile—
Aran quietly looked over the food containers again.
There were:
* two lunchboxes,
* three desserts,
* fruit containers,
* multiple drinks,
* and enough snacks to survive a small apocalypse.
Normal Aiyarak family behavior honestly.
Tharin looked slightly embarrassed afterward before answering quietly.
Tharin: “My brothers worry too much.”
Chai immediately looked offended.
Chai: “That sentence is fake.”
Correct honestly.
Because the Aiyarak family worrying about Tharin became a full-time occupation years ago.
A terrifyingly devoted family honestly.
Before the conversation could continue—
another architecture freshman suddenly approached the desk nervously.
Then immediately froze after realizing Aran stood there.
Reasonable honestly.
Because most students at Suryakarn University admired Aran from far away.
Approaching him voluntarily felt emotionally dangerous.
The freshman awkwardly looked toward Tharin afterward.
Freshman: “Um… the seniors said we need to separate into workshop groups soon.”
Tharin nodded politely.
Tharin: “Okay. Thank you.”
Soft voice.
Gentle tone.
Respectful naturally.
And immediately—
Aran noticed something again.
Tharin always sounded careful around strangers.
Polite.
Warm enough not to seem rude.
But still distant somehow.
Like invisible boundaries surrounded him naturally.
A serious observation honestly.
Because somehow—
that made Aran even more curious.
Meanwhile—
the freshman visibly relaxed after speaking with Tharin.
Then awkwardly hurried away again.
Beside them, Chai grinned immediately.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Because Chai absolutely noticed Aran staring.
A serious problem honestly.
Chai: “Interesting.”
Tharin immediately looked suspicious.
Reasonable honestly.
Because Chai saying “interesting” usually led to emotional destruction.
Tharin: “Don’t start.”
Chai: “Too late.”
Correct honestly.
Across from them—
Aran ignored the conversation completely before unexpectedly asking:
Aran: “You transferred here?”
Silence.
Because somehow—
that question sounded genuinely interested.
Not polite conversation.
Real curiosity.
A serious issue honestly.
Tharin blinked once before nodding.
Tharin: “Mn.”
Aran: “From where?”
Tharin: “Chiang Mai.”
Nearby students quietly listened immediately.
Of course they did.
Because apparently the entire classroom already became emotionally invested in this conversation.
A disaster honestly.
Aran studied him silently for a second afterward.
Then quietly—
Aran: “That’s far.”
Tharin nodded once.
Then softly—
Tharin: “My brothers wanted me closer to home.”
Lying honestly.
Well—
partially lying.
Because technically true.
But the real reason involved:
* bad memories,
* cruel classmates,
* fake confessions,
* and people treating his feelings like entertainment.
Things Tharin preferred not thinking about anymore.
A serious issue.
Meanwhile—
Aran noticed the small shift in his expression immediately.
The hesitation.
The slight dimming in his eyes.
Tiny change.
Barely noticeable.
Still—
Aran saw it.
And suddenly—
something inside his chest tightened strangely.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Because somehow—
he immediately wanted to know who hurt him.
A terrifying thought honestly.
Before the atmosphere could become heavier—
an orientation senior suddenly entered the classroom loudly.
Architecture Senior: “Freshmen! Group workshop activity in ten minutes!”
Immediate exhausted groaning filled the room.
Reasonable honestly.
Everyone already looked spiritually damaged.
Meanwhile—
Tharin quietly started organizing his things again.
Unfortunately—
he still had too many bags.
A disaster honestly.
Aran watched silently for a few seconds before reaching down naturally.
Then picked up the heavy drawing tube again.
Silence.
Real silence.
Because somehow—
Aran helping once already shocked people.
But helping repeatedly?
That felt even crazier.
A serious issue for campus gossip honestly.
Tharin looked startled immediately.
Tharin: “You really don’t need to keep helping me.”
Aran answered calmly.
Aran: “You’re struggling.”
Tharin: “I can carry it.”
Aran: “Not well.”
Silence.
Then suddenly—
Chai physically turned away laughing.
Coward behavior honestly.
Because unfortunately—
Aran wasn’t wrong.
A serious issue.
Meanwhile—
across campus inside a black luxury sedan—
Than Aiyarak calmly listened to security updates through an earpiece while reviewing financial reports.
Dangerous multitasking honestly.
A bodyguard’s voice quietly spoke through the call.
Bodyguard: “The student from earlier remains near Young Master Rin.”
Silence.
Then calmly—
Than: “Problematic?”
Bodyguard: “No immediate threat.”
Another pause.
Then—
Bodyguard: “However… he appears interested.”
Inside the car, Than slowly stopped turning the page.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Because Than understood people extremely well.
Especially people around Tharin.
And interest?
Interest usually became dangerous eventually.
A serious issue honestly.
Back inside the architecture building—
students slowly started leaving classrooms for workshop activities.
The hallways became crowded almost immediately.
Seniors shouted instructions from every direction.
Music from outside still echoed faintly through open windows.
Completely chaotic honestly.
Tharin carefully adjusted the strap slipping from his shoulder again while walking beside Chai.
Unfortunately—
Aran still walked beside them naturally.
At this point even nearby students stopped questioning it.
A disaster honestly.
Several girls openly stared while whispering nearby.
“Why is Aran following him?”
“They look good together.”
“The freshman is really pretty.”
Dangerous comments honestly.
Because every sentence made Tharin more emotionally aware of Aran beside him somehow.
A serious issue.
Meanwhile—
Aran looked completely unaffected by everyone staring.
Which honestly made things worse.
Because somehow—
he acted like walking beside Tharin felt normal already.
Psychotic behavior honestly.
As they reached the next workshop room, students crowded near the entrance immediately.
Tharin nearly got pushed sideways by the crowd.
Then instantly—
Aran’s hand pressed lightly against the middle of his back.
Steadying him automatically.
Silence.
Real silence.
Because suddenly—
Tharin forgot how breathing worked.
A complete disaster honestly.
The touch lasted maybe two seconds maximum.
Barely anything.
Still—
warmth spread through Tharin’s chest immediately afterward.
A serious issue.
Meanwhile—
Aran looked calm externally.
Internally?
Absolute chaos honestly.
Because touching Tharin felt weirdly natural.
Comfortable.
Like his body reacted before his thoughts caught up.
Dangerous realization honestly.
Nearby—
Chai witnessed everything.
Then immediately looked toward the ceiling spiritually.
Reasonable honestly.
Because this situation stopped behaving normally hours ago.
A terrifying thing.
Inside the workshop room, architecture seniors continued explaining project spaces while freshmen wandered around curiously.
Tharin stopped near one of the display shelves quietly.
Small architecture models lined the shelves beneath bright lights.
Mini buildings.
Landscape projects.
Detailed structures.
Beautiful work.
And for the first time all afternoon—
Tharin’s expression softened completely.
Not the polite smile from earlier.
Not the careful reserved expression he used around strangers.
This looked different.
Quiet fascination.
Comfort.
Something genuine.
Because architecture truly mattered to him.
And suddenly—
Aran couldn’t stop staring again.
A serious issue honestly.
Because somehow—
seeing Tharin genuinely happy made him look even more beautiful.
A dangerous realization.
Then unexpectedly—
Tharin turned toward him slightly.
Tharin: “Do you play basketball every day?”
Aran blinked once.
Because honestly?
Most people only asked surface-level questions around him.
Not normal things like this.
After a second—
Aran: “Mostly.”
Tharin: “Doesn’t it get exhausting?”
Aran: “Sometimes.”
Silence settled briefly between them again.
Not awkward.
Just quiet.
Which honestly felt stranger somehow.
Because Aran almost never enjoyed silence with other people.
Yet beside Tharin—
it felt easy.
And honestly?
That realization might have been the most dangerous thing yet.
- Writer
