Atikom's smile vanished when he clearly saw the new black Lexus RX 300 pulling up with Atid driving and Anupap in the passenger seat.
Atid's face, no different from Atikom's, had been laughing at jokes with his friends in the car, but now dropped instantly. He parked in front of the tall policeman he disliked.
Atid looked at Anupap with hurt accusation.
Anupap was busy unbuckling his seatbelt, missing the wounded look in the doe-eyed young man's eyes.
Atid said nothing. Anupap didn't know what to say either, settling for silence. He got out first. The back doors opened—Mark and Pojanee stepped out, with Sambat exiting the other side. Atid slowly emerged from the driver's seat, handing his keys to the valet.
Atikom smiled broadly, welcoming and greeting everyone. He nodded slightly to Atid, who bowed his head in return, not raising his hands in a wai like Mark and Pojanee.
"CaptainAtikom is so kind, inviting us to celebrate your promotion!" Pojanee gushed.
"Major now, Poj." Mark corrected.
"Watch your manners when eating, girl. Show some consideration for the host." Sambat added, ignoring Anupap's sharp glare.
"Please, inside. Table 7, by the fountain." Atikom gestured.
Anupap led the way, brushing past Atikom to enter the restaurant.
Their eyes met. The young detective narrowed his gaze, his face still wearing a soft smile, but his eyes intense—as if saying, "Very naughty. I'll settle this later."
Anupap averted his eyes, looking down as he passed, mumbling softly to Atikom, "They followed on their own." Then he hurried inside.
"Following in the usual order, I see." Atikom replied quietly, just loud enough for the two of them to hear.
Atid walked past the young policeman with a dark expression, meeting his eyes challengingly, showing his displeasure. Pojanee and Sambat chatted loudly, walking and laughing, followed by Mark as usual. Only this time, Atikom brought up the rear with an expression that couldn't swallow or spit out his frustration.
Who would have thought Anupap would 'play hardball' like this?
He was probably looking for a chance to 'get back' at him.
But don't think he'd 'give up' and let the defendant get away.
Anupap, I'll have to settle accounts with you soon.
Atikom began planning to kidnap Anupap for a special dinner together, just the two of them. If they couldn't eat here, they'd go somewhere far away, without any obstacles.
The special dinner turned out to be quite entertaining after all. Sambat, Pojanee, Mark, and Atikom chatted comfortably, having socialized during the Kanchanaburi commercial shoot. Laughter rang out periodically. Atid sat silent. Anupap spoke occasionally but mostly sat quiet.
Atikom kept glancing at Anupap expectantly, while Atid looked at him reproachfully.
Anupap felt like a defendant. The new detective's eyes seemed to say, "Watch out. I won't tolerate this." While Atid's eyes said, "P'Nu, why are you doing this to me?"
"Khun Nu seems quiet tonight. Is the food not good, or are you worried about something?" Atikom deliberately emphasized his voice.
"P' Nu's busy with work. Several new commercials." Atid interjected.
"Now we need to find a new model. For the roll-on commercial, the model needs to be rugged, cool, sexy, charming, confident in his body scent. Has to take his shirt off to show his physique." Pojanee looked dreamy.
"Captain Atikom would be perfect." Mark complimented.
"Major now... getting free food to celebrate a promotion and still forgetting his rank. Next time you pay yourself." Pojanee scolded Mark.
"Khun Atid probably already found a model?" Atikom turned to Atid with a smile.
"Yes." The young man answered curtly. Anupap knew Atikom was deliberately provoking.
"I don't want to do commercials anymore. I'm afraid I'll become famous." Atikom joked. The trio laughed.
"Someone like the captain—I mean detective—if he did movies, he'd be a huge hit. And modeling too. Magazines would sell like hotcakes." Sambat flattered.
"Are you going to recruit the detective as a model for your personal agency, P'Bud?" Mark teased, knowing Sambat had several 'guys' he was pushing into the industry.
"Are you crazy? The detective already has an agency. His real boss would come tear me apart."
"The detective's still single, right?" Pojanee played innocent.
"Hmm... I don't think so anymore." Detective Atikom answered with a smile.
The group laughed heartily. Atid didn't join in. The young man excused himself to the restroom. Anupap shot looks between the charming detective and the stirring-up Sambat, as if saying 'Having fun?'
The dinner finally ended after 10 PM. Atid awkwardly offered to drive everyone home—meaning everyone except the new detective.
"Khun Nu and I live in the same soi. We can go back together." Atikom spoke evenly, his face neutral.
"P'Nu didn't bring his car. You didn't bring your car either." Atid argued.
"Who said? I brought my car."
"Isn't your arm still injured?"
"It's healed. I can drive perfectly fine, if you're worried about Khun Nu's safety."
Anupap saw the tension building between the two young men, while the other three kept chatting non-stop.
"Atid, take P'Bud and Poj home. Don't worry about me." Anupap made the decision.
Atid's face hardened, hurt. Even though he acknowledged that the policeman and Anupap lived in the same soi, insisting on giving them a ride wouldn't be appropriate. Anupap would have to make excuses about Pojanee having trouble getting into her soi late at night—dangerous for a woman.
For a moment, the young man wished he could move closer to Anupap's area, live in the same soi, so he'd have the same excuse Detective Atikom was using now.
After his friends' car departed, Atikom stood in front of the restaurant with Anupap. A gentle breeze brushed their faces. Anupap unconsciously yawned, showing his sleepiness.
"Thank you for having dinner with me." Atikom smiled.
"Um... thank you for treating us." Anupap replied softly, then realized he'd used the wrong rank. But Atikom didn't correct him. Anupap thought tonight's dinner must have been expensive—a fancy restaurant, just two people would be pricey enough, but six people probably cost over ten thousand.
"Was the food not good? I saw you didn't eat much." Atikom asked.
"It was delicious. But I usually don't eat much at dinner. It accumulates as fat."
"Atid really doesn't seem to like me much." Atikom spoke evenly.
Anupap felt uncomfortable, not knowing how to respond. Atikom's face looked smiling, but he didn't seem playful like usual... or was he angry? Did this man still smile when angry?... Anupap wasn't sure.
"Do you like Atid, then?"
"If he likes me, I'll like him." Atikom played with words.
"I think Atid probably doesn't hate you." Anupap spoked softly, looking ahead, beginning to wonder what they were waiting for.
Atikom seemed to read his thoughts. "The valet will bring my car soon."
Right on cue, a Land Rover pulled up front. Atikom tipped the valet, then reached to take Anupap's laptop bag and documents to store in the back seat.
Atikom knew Anupap felt uncomfortable. He deliberately acted stern to make Anupap feel guilty for bringing friends to their dinner date. Atikom thought Anupap was deliberately messing with him to get revenge for the car incident, or the accident that brought them together, or the 'ultimatum' forcing Anupap to travel to the commercial shoot in Kanchanaburi with him.
Khun Nu, of all people to mess with, you chose me. The young detective began planning his kidnapping operation.
Shortly after leaving the restaurant, the black Land Rover had to stop when they turned onto the main road. Traffic was severely congested due to road repairs, multiple lanes squeezed into one. Cars inched forward. After nearly half an hour, he glanced at Anupap and found the young man had fallen asleep.
Since returning to Thailand, Anupap never rested. He kept working late into the night, sleeping only a few hours before rushing to work early, finishing projects by afternoon to present to clients. Then marathon meetings with executives all afternoon. After dinner, Anupap had taken allergy medication, and sitting in the slowly moving car with cool air conditioning, he'd lost all energy and fallen into deep sleep.
'What now? Should I take this opportunity to punish the defendant?' Part of Atikom worried Anupap might be angry, but if he didn't try, he'd never know. Someone like him wasn't a coward... time to crash the barrier.
Major Atikom turned the car off the route home. His new destination: his beachside house not far from Bangkok.
When they arrived, Atkom'd give Anupap the excuse that the he needed some rest.
The kidnapping operation had begun...
***