As soon as I reached the class, I saw Tan standing there. His expression, Shy. Shy? Why the hell is Tan shy? That’s not normal. Beside him, Pim was glaring at some kid—same age as her—who stood in front of her. And beside that kid, a man in a suit.

The moment Pim spotted me, her eyes lit up, and she ran toward me. “Brooottthhherrrr!” she wailed dramatically, hiding behind me. “That new kid grabbed my hair!”

I blinked, mumbling, “New kid?”

Both the kid and the man in the suit turned to look at me. And that man was none other than Thanathorn Wachirayan’s manager.

I was shocked to see him again. Then, I greeted him, “Sawasdee krap, P’.”

He nodded back, all calm and composed. “Oh, Teacher Win, are you Pim’s guardian?”

I nodded. “Yes... Did my sister do something?”

Before the manager could answer, the boy huffed like a tiny tycoon. “Teacher, Pim grabbed my hair first!”

I turned to Pim, narrowing my eyes. “Pim, what is this? Didn’t I tell you I don’t want to hear about any more complaints?” 

Pim gasped, offended, “Oww, brother! This kid started it first! He called me... he called me...” 

She paused, her face red with fury. “He called me a shorty!” 

The boy crossed his arms, not backing down. “You are short!”

Before I could even process this ridiculousness, the manager looked down at the boy and said in a stern voice, “Sky... enough.”

But Pim wasn’t done. She gasped again, clutching my arm like she’d just been stabbed. “Brother! Did you hear that? He said it again!”

I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Pim, it’s not a big deal—”

“Not a big deal?!” Pim cut me off. “It is a big deal! He insulted me in front of everyone! I want justice!”

Justice? I almost laughed. 

Where does this girl learn such words? 

Then it hit me. Oh, right... Yesterday’s performance by Mom, who emotionally blackmailed me into agreeing to her blind date idea. I sighed. Yep, she gets it all from Mom.

Whatever, Let's handle the situation first. Turning back to the manager, I bowed slightly. “I’m sorry, P’. Please forgive my sister.”

The manager shook his head politely. “Oh no, Teacher Win. It’s also my son’s fault. Please forgive him as well.”

I politely smile, then turned to Pim with glare. “Pim, how many times do I have to tell you? You can’t just beat people up! It’s a bad habit.”

Pim blinked at me, all wide-eyed innocence. “But you never told me that.”

I froze. Excuse me?

Tan Chuckled. Even the manger snorted barely holding in his laughter.

I grabbed Pim’s cheeks and tugged them lightly. “I TOLD YOU. Every. Single. Day.”

“Owww! Okay, okay, you told me!” she yelped, squirming.

The manager crouched to Sky’s level, his voice gentle but firm. “And you, Sky… Don’t you know you shouldn’t fight with girls? Do you want to upset your P' Than?”

Sky’s little shoulders slumped. He turned to Pim and mumbled, “Sorry.”

But Pim? Oh no, she just crossed her arms and looked away like a tiny queen on her throne. 

“Pim,” I muttered, nudging her. “Say sorry.”

She ignored me, so I said louder, “Say sorry, Pim.”

She sighed heavily, like I was asking her to donate a kidney. “Fine… Sorry.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, we all—Tan, the manager, and I—let out a synchronized sigh of relief.  Dealing with kids? Absolute nightmare.

We all managed a polite smile, and the manager turned to Tan with that calm, collected aura. "Teacher Tan, if you don’t mind, can I take my son home now?"

And then Tan—sweet, shy Tan—blushed. Wait. What?

I blinked, trying to process what I was seeing. Why the hell is he blushing? And then it hit me like a flying chalkboard eraser. Oh no. No, no, no, no… don’t tell me…

The married man Tan has fallen for at first sight is Thanathorn Wachirayan’s manager?!

Oh. My. GOD.

Tan, still blushing like a lovesick teenager, stammered, “S-Sure! You’re allowed to do… everything.”

The manager frowned, confused. “Sorry?”

Realizing what he’d just said, Tan’s eyes widened, and he scrambled to fix it. “I-I mean… you can take him home!”

The manager nodded and turned to sky, “Go grab your bag. Your P' Than is waiting in the car.”

Wait. P' Than? That means, Thanathorn Wachirayan is here too?

“Really?!” Pim’s loud, excited. "P’Than is here too?"

The manager nodded, and Pim’s excitement hit the roof. She turned to me, practically bouncing on her feet. “Brother, I want to meet him!”

"No, Pim, you cannot," I said firmly.

But she wasn’t listening. "Please… please, brother! Please, please… pleaseeeee…"

The manager chuckled, clearly amused. “It’s okay, Teacher Win. Than would love to meet her.”

                                                                                              ***

Later...

And just like that, we all started walking toward the black van parked on the ground. The moment we stepped outside, I realized—no one knew Thanathorn Wachirayan was here. If they did, well, we all knew what would happen, right? The chaos would be real.

Sky and Pim were running toward the van, all excited and happy, after all the little kids going to see their favorite person. And of course, we were trailing behind them. Tan was blushing like a schoolgirl. 

Why? Because he’s walking next to his crush—Thanathorn Wachirayan’s manager—and now he’s about to meet his favorite star. Oh, Tan.

Sky and Pim knocked on the van door.

"P'thann...."

"P'thannnnnnn...."

And then the door opened, revealing Thanathorn Wachirayan himself, looking like he just woke up from a nap. His hair was all messy, like he’d been rolling around in bed for hours. He didn’t even notice us at first, just looked at Sky and said, "Oh, Sky, you’re here?"

Sky nodded with a huge smile.

"Pim is here too, P'thannnn.." she shouted, practically jumping up and down.

Thanathorn glanced at Pim, went silent for a second. 

Maybe he didn’t remember her? 

Or maybe he was just processing to recall her. 

Then, his eyes moved to me... no, wait, maybe it was all of us. 

His eyes widened, and then... he suddenly slammed the van door shut—BAMMM—leaving all of us standing there, frozen in shock.

And then.... 

Everything went silent. 

The whole world went silent.