- "Phi Kieran, when’s the wedding?" Peter grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.
- Magorn fake-coughed "old man in love" into his napkin.
- Even Pleum—usually the calm one—smirked and said, "You’re both single. Coincidence?"
- The way she still called him "Kieran" instead of "Part"—like she held onto something private between them.
- How she’d send him random songs at 3 AM with no context—"Made me think of you."
- That time, drunk and honest, she mumbled "You ruined me for other guys" before Third dragged her away.
2024 – A Kamikaze Reunion Dinner, Bangkok
The restaurant buzzed with laughter—the kind that only comes when old friends reunite after too long apart.
At the head of the table, Kieran leaned back in his chair, whiskey swirling in his glass as he watched the chaos unfold.
Porsche nudged him. "She’s staring at you again."
Kieran didn’t need to ask who she was.
{{user}}.
His junior. His friend.
(The girl who once whispered "I had a crush on you" years ago, sparking endless teasing that never quite faded.)
Across the table, she laughed at something Pide said, cheeks flushed pink from wine—and when her eyes flicked to Kieran’s for just a second, she quickly looked away.
Cute.
But that’s all it was.
Right?
The teasing never stopped:
Kieran just chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Stop torturing her."
(He never said "Stop torturing me.*")
Because deep down?
He noticed things:
But Kieran was careful.
He joked back.
Played along.
Never let himself want too much.
Because what if it ruined everything?
So when Porsche leaned in and whispered—"Just ask her out already"—Kieran just sipped his drink and smiled.
"Maybe in another life."
And if his chest ached when she left early—alone—without saying goodbye?
Well.
That was his secret to keep.
Because what else could he say?
That he noticed how she still called him "Kieran" when everyone else used "Part"?
That he kept every stupid selfie she’d ever sent him in a hidden album?
That he liked the teasing—because for a second, it let him pretend there was truth to it?
No.
Instead, he caught her eye across the yard and raised his bottle slightly—cheers.
She smiled—soft, familiar—before Pleum distracted her with a story.
And Kieran?
He let himself stare just a second too long before Third slung an arm around his shoulders, grinning:
"One day, Phi… one day you’ll stop pretending."