BEYOND THE AROMA

CHAPTER 3 _NARIN'S FAMILY

CHAPTER 3 – HOME

NARIN

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped out of Thanakorn Group with a long sigh.

"My first day..."

I rubbed the back of my neck.

"I didn't expect to survive a battle with the CEO."

Bangkok was already glowing with evening lights as I boarded the train home.

My phone buzzed.

Mama ❤️

I smiled before answering.

"Hi, Mama."

"Narin! Are you on your way home?"

"I just left work."

"Good. Don't buy dinner."

"Why?"

"Because your Mother has been cooking since this afternoon."

I laughed.

"She cooked that much?"

"She said your first day deserves a celebration."

"I'll be home soon."

"We're waiting."

The call ended.

No matter how stressful work became...

One phone call from home always made everything feel lighter.

---

Forty-five minutes later...

I unlocked the front gate.

Before I could reach the front door, it flew open.

"There he is!"

Mama hurried outside and wrapped me in a hug.

"My baby finally has his first office job."

"Mama..."

"I'm twenty-seven."

"You'll always be my baby."

I laughed and hugged him back.

Behind him stood Mother.

Unlike Mama's cheerful personality, Mother was calm and gentle.

She smiled warmly.

"Welcome home, Narin."

"I missed you both."

"And we missed you," Mother replied.

As soon as I stepped inside, another familiar voice echoed through the living room.

"Little brother."

I looked up.

"Phi Nawin!"

My older brother walked over with a wide grin.

His Omega husband, Liam, followed behind him carrying one of their twin boys.

The other twin was crawling across the carpet toward me.

"Mama!"

The little boy reached up.

I laughed and picked him up.

"Hey, champ."

Liam smiled.

"They've been waiting all afternoon for Uncle Narin."

Before I could answer, a young girl came running downstairs.

"Big brother!"

"Nina."

My younger sister threw her arms around me.

"How was work?"

"Can I at least take my shoes off first?"

"No."

Everyone laughed.

The house instantly filled with noise.

This was home.

Not a mansion.

Not a billionaire estate.

Just a warm house filled with people who loved each other.

---

Dinner was ready within minutes.

The table overflowed with food.

Mother looked around proudly.

"Everyone's here."

Mama clasped his hands together.

"Now we can eat."

Halfway through dinner, Mama couldn't hold back anymore.

"So..."

He leaned forward excitedly.

"Tell us everything."

I swallowed my rice.

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"Especially about your boss," Nina added.

I sighed dramatically.

"You all really want the gossip."

"Yes!" everyone answered together.

I laughed.

"Fine."

I told them about my first day.

The crowded office.

The meeting.

The presentation.

The argument.

And finally...

"The man I argued with..."

I looked around the table.

"...was Kiet Thanakorn."

The room fell silent.

Mother slowly lowered his chopsticks.

"The CEO?"

I nodded.

"The billionaire Alpha?"

"Yes."

Nawin burst out laughing.

"Only you could argue with the owner of the company before lunch."

"I didn't know who he was."

Mama covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.

"What was he like?"

I thought for a moment.

"...Cold."

Nina tilted her head.

"How cold?"

"Imagine talking to a wall."

Everyone laughed.

"He barely smiles."

"He speaks like every word costs money."

"He walks around the office as if he owns the entire city."

Mother smiled knowingly.

"Well... he does own a large part of it."

"I know."

I reached for my glass of water.

"But there's something strange about him."

Everyone looked at me.

"He listens."

Nawin frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"I criticized his presentation in front of dozens of employees."

"And?"

"He didn't yell."

"He didn't threaten me."

"He just... listened."

Mother nodded thoughtfully.

"That tells me something."

"What?"

"He values honesty."

Mama smiled.

"Maybe he's not as cold as everyone says."

I immediately shook my head.

"No."

"He is."

"He definitely is."

"But..."

I paused.

"When he smiled..."

"It didn't look fake."

For some reason...

That small smile kept replaying in my mind.

I quickly pushed the thought away.

"No."

I muttered under my breath.

"I'll never understand that Alpha."

Little did I know...

At that very moment...

The billionaire CEO was probably wondering exactly the same thing about me.

The house slowly grew quiet.

The twins had finally fallen asleep after insisting I read them the same picture book three times.

Nina had disappeared into her room to finish her homework.

My older brother, Nawin, helped Liam carry the sleeping boys upstairs.

Downstairs, I could still hear Mama and Mother talking softly in the kitchen while washing the dishes together.

It was the same routine every evening.

Simple.

Peaceful.

Comforting.

I smiled to myself.

No matter how stressful my day became...

Coming home always reminded me why I worked so hard.

I climbed the stairs to the second floor and walked into my bedroom.

Unlike the elegant executive offices at Thanakorn Group, my room reflected exactly who I was.

Sketches were pinned across one wall.

Shelves overflowed with design books from Thailand, Japan, Italy, and the UK.

My drawing tablet rested beside a stack of notebooks filled with ideas I had collected over the years.

I placed my company ID on the desk and loosened my tie.

"So..."

I muttered to myself.

"My first day."

I laughed quietly.

"I argued with the CEO."

Not exactly the beginning I had imagined.

A soft knock came from the door.

"Come in."

Mama peeked inside, carrying a glass of warm milk.

"I thought you might still be awake."

"You know me too well."

He walked over and placed the glass on my desk.

"You always overthink things after your first day."

"I do not."

He raised an eyebrow.

"When you started university, you stayed awake until three in the morning because you thought your professor hated you."

I rubbed the back of my neck.

"...I remember."

Mama chuckled.

"I was right, wasn't I?"

"You were completely wrong."

We both laughed.

After a moment, his smile softened.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

"Choosing Thanakorn Group."

I looked out the window.

The city lights shimmered in the distance.

"No."

"Even after today?"

I nodded.

"Especially after today."

Mama pulled the chair beside my desk and sat down.

"Your Mother and I never understood why you refused to join our company."

"I know."

"We've always supported your decision."

"But we never asked why."

I looked down at my hands.

"I wanted to prove something."

"To us?"

I shook my head.

"To myself."

Mama waited quietly.

she always knew when to let me speak.

"When I graduated from university, everyone assumed I'd become a designer at Phuwan Creative."

I smiled faintly.

"They'd say, 'Of course Narin got the job. His parents own the company.'"

Mama sighed.

"People can be unfair."

"They weren't entirely wrong."

I leaned back in my chair.

"If I worked there, every promotion..."

"Every compliment..."

"Every achievement..."

"People would think I earned it because I'm your son."

Mama reached over and squeezed my hand.

"You would have earned it."

"Maybe."

"But I wouldn't have believed it."

Silence settled between us.

Finally, I continued.

"I wanted my own name."

"I wanted clients to see my work before they saw my family."

"I wanted to know whether I was actually talented."

Mama smiled proudly.

"That's exactly what your Mother said."

"What?"

"That you'd leave one day."

"Not because you didn't love this family..."

"But because you wanted to build something with your own hands."

I smiled.

"Mother knows me too well."

A second knock interrupted us.

Mother stepped into the room.

"I thought I'd find the two of you talking."

Mama laughed.

"You know us."

Mother looked at me.

"There's something I should probably tell you."

"What is it?"

He folded his arms.

"When you mentioned Mr. Kiet Thanakorn tonight..."

"I remembered something."

I frowned.

"What?"

"You've actually met the Thanakorn family many times."

"I know."

"When I was a child."

Mother nodded.

"But only Mr. Aran Thanakorn."

"The founder."

"He and your Mama became close friends after opening our companies around the same time."

I remembered visiting a large office building as a little boy.

An older Alpha with kind eyes had always greeted me with candy.

"Uncle Aran..."

Mother smiled.

"Exactly."

"He used to tell everyone you had an artist's imagination."

I laughed softly.

"I remember him."

"But..."

"I don't remember seeing his son."

"You didn't."

Mother sat beside Mama.

"Kiet was studying overseas for many years."

"And after returning to Thailand..."

"He immediately began training under his father."

"By the time you returned from London..."

"He had already become CEO."

I blinked.

"So..."

"Today was really the first time we'd ever met."

"Yes."

Mama laughed.

"And somehow..."

"The first thing you did was argue with him."

"I didn't plan that."

Mother smiled.

"Life rarely follows our plans."

He stood and walked toward the bedroom door.

Just before leaving, he turned back.

"One more thing."

"What?"

"Your Uncle Aran is one of the few people I trust completely."

"He raised his son to carry an enormous responsibility."

"Kiet may seem cold..."

"But don't mistake silence for cruelty."

I remembered the CEO listening without interrupting while I criticized his presentation.

For a moment...

I wondered if Mother was right.

Then I shook my head.

"No."

I muttered after they left.

"He's still impossible."

I picked up my sketchbook and opened to a blank page.

Without thinking...

I began drawing.

A sharp jawline.

Calm eyes.

A perfectly tied necktie.

I stared at the sketch for several seconds.

"...Why did I draw him?"

Annoyed with myself, I snapped the book shut and switched off the lamp.

Tomorrow was another day at Thanakorn Group.

Another day with the cold Alpha CEO.

And somehow...

I had a feeling neither of us would make it through the week without another argument.