Chapter Text
The midday sun was beating down on Chuai as he picked up the last suitcase left in the taxi and heaved it onto his cart. The guests—a group of women in their early 20s, he'd guess—were already gathered at the front desk, smiling and laughing among themselves as they were awed by the prestigious interior of the Wat Phra Si Hotel.
With a wave, he thanked the taxi driver and sent him on his way. Chuai pushed the cart forward and placed himself just out of the way of other guests, while staying in the line of sight of the women.
A quick glance at his watch revealed that afterwards, he'd have enough time left to comfortably take his break and finally get some food into his stomach. He inwardly chastised himself for skipping breakfast. Won't be repeating the same mistake twice, unless he wants to start being hangry at work.
"Ladies, follow me!"
Chuai was glad and proud to say that he delighted in his job. Unlike what he overheard about some coworkers, he didn't get bored while explaining the amenities or assisting guests to have a more comfortable stay. It brought him great joy to know a guest was satisfied through his hard work.
And work hard he did.
With an elderly mother and father to care for, he had started looking for jobs even before he had gotten his graduation grades back, desperate to fill the gaps in their household income; working part-time at 7/11 barely kept them afloat as it was.
No, what Chuai had needed was to figure things out.
Finding an entry-level offer as bellhop on the seventh page of the nth website he'd scoured had been the first spark of hope.
His application was sent, and a few days later he received an invitation for an interview. An interview! It was set an hour after his exam—doable if he didn't slack off. Over the following two weeks, any time that wasn't spent studying for school was used for studying for the interview. Proper etiquette, basic questions, his smile and tone of voice. He even made his mom drill him on necessary vocabulary he'd need to know.
The spark got crushed immediately when he hurried into the lobby and sat down next to a row of polished, prim and proper women and men. The competition was daunting. Nevertheless, he had held his chin high and taken deep breaths. What mattered most was the interview.
The interview.
It, well...
He wouldn't lie, it had been kinda lousy.
Tripped entering the room, sat down on the wrong chair, stumbled over his words, spilled water because of his shaky hands, and couldn't seem to stop his heart from pounding a million beats per minute. That was barely-18-years-old Chuai during the interview.
After introductions and logistics, the questions came.
How would you deal with a guest who is not satisfied with the service provided?
They kept on coming.
What is your previous experience in customer service?
A wave of doubt crashed over him every time he answered.
How would you handle a situation where a guest is upset about their luggage being late? How do you manage your time and prioritise tasks when the hotel is fully booked and busy? How would you assist a guest with special needs or requirements? What differentiates you from all other candidates?
Honestly, he wasn't sure what he had responded at all during those 30 minutes.
Well. Except for that last question.
What differentiated him from all other candidates?
"I don't have a lot of experience."
Chuai cringed when he thought back on that. He had taken that question way too literally and simply spelled out the truth.
He hadn't had a lot of experience. It made him a blank slate, a sponge ready to soak up everything they had to offer. In a few more words, that is how he rationalised his statement to the interviewer and to himself, trying to cover up the fact that that was not what he originally meant.
It worked out in his favour though. Somehow, somewhere, some higher being had taken pity on him and granted him the position. He was grateful for it every day of his life.
Now, a few years later, he was able to have his lunch breaks without worrying over the payments to his parent's cosy home by the sea. He called them as often as he could.
Speaking of lunch.
The women had thanked him with a generous tip and promised to call on him if they ever needed anything. A satisfying lead into a well-deserved break.
Quickly passing by the staff lockers to get his lunch, he strolled to the break room and made himself comfortable at a table. As he took his first bite (damn, curry with rice was a classic for a reason), another person entered the room and rushed to the sink.
Oh! It's- "Sai, hey!"
"Can you imagine?" She bent over the running water and started scrubbing the collar of her shirt. "Somehow, this guy managed to flick his soup onto my neck!"
He grimaced, "My condolences."
Sai Somsri. Head of the Restaurant Waiting Staff, charismatic and beloved part of the hotel, and the woman of his dreams.
Quite literally.
Even before he met her, he'd had these reoccurring dreams about the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. They would hold hands, and laugh together, and spend their days in some village. One time, it had been a stroll by a river. Another dream was during It was a nice break from reality, something to look forward to after a day filled with rushing around and dealing with stressful guests.
Imagine his shock when he entered the restaurant to grab a towel and ran into her. Same face, same voice, same woman.
Sai - Waitress.
That's what it said on her name tag. He had apologised and quickly moved on, but for the rest of the week, his heart would skip a beat when he caught a glimpse of her.
She looked up from her task to shoot him a wry smile, as if to say 'Please end my suffering'.
His heart skipped a beat.
"How's the renovation going?" Chuai asked, trying to shift the topic.
"Good, actually." She gritted her teeth as she scrubbed an especially stubborn stain. "They finally finished the bathroom tiles. Estimate for the rest is two weeks, so I'm counting on three. Soon, I'll be an independent adult like the rest of you all!"
"Yeah yeah, you wish." He stuck his tongue out and chuckled. "So, the only thing left is... the attic?"
"Mhm, attic and the dishwasher. It's leaking again. Honestly, I don't know why I let myself be convinced to install that thing, it only causes me problems."
Chuai shook his head. "My old schoolmate had the same issue when they'd gotten one, only got it fixed once they got a proper expert. Expensive..."
"Perfect," Sai huffed.
"We should celebrate once everything is done! Have a house-warming once you're able to move in."
"Ohh, good idea!" It seemed like the stain had finally given in as she sat down next to him while fanning the wet spot. "What should we do? Order in some food and get some drinks? I'll have to see who to invite..."
He cleared his throat, "Maybe we could–"
Suddenly, the door swung open again to reveal Aki, the front desk manager. "Hey Chuai, so sorry, but we need you up front again. A guest wants to check in prematurely. It's... it's important."
Chuai looked down at his half-eaten lunchbox and sighed. "No worries, I'll join you in a second."
"Thanks, I owe you one." With a wink, Aki slinked away.
Chuai turned back to Sai. "Work's calling."
"Attaboy, don't let any 'important' people get you down."
"I'd never."
"I know." They grinned at each other for a second before saying goodbye.
These simple talks really brightened his days, no matter the time. Of course, Sai was an endlessly interesting person, intelligent and competent in what she did. Except, everyone knew that about her.
Not everyone knew that her dishwasher broke again, or that she had a cat as a kid, or that she loved karaoke. All of these little details made their friendship so much more.
They were what made his crush develop into... something he was hesitant to name, for fear of having to confront said feelings head on. Big feelings. Serious feelings.
Let's worry about that some other time.
Walking through the lobby, Aki called him over.
"This"—he slid a piece of paper across the front desk—"is everything you need to know for this guest. An up-and-coming producer is what they say. I want your utmost competence on this job, I can trust you'll deliver?"
"Don't worry yourself, Aki. All that stress can't be good for you."
"Oh- shut it, you."
Chuai headed towards the doors with a pep in his step, and held the doors open for guests.
He didn't have to wait long until a black car with the matching licence plate started rolling up towards their entrance.
So many things happened all at once.
One moment, he's looking at the car. Next, a man—the new waiting staff for the café, if Chuai remembered Sai's talk about it the other day correctly—was throwing himself in front of the car.
Luckily, there was a large enough gap between them for no one to be hurt. So, Chuai reminded himself of his training and kept at the door, watching out for his designated guest instead.
Amongst the commotion, the driver stepped out of the car.
Tall, lean. Dressed in all black. Styled hair.
Chuai wasn't blind. This man was hot.
Chuai, you can't think about the guests that way, he reprimanded himself.
Doesn't make it less true, the voice whispered back.
Once everything seemed settled, Chuai stepped up to the curb with his customer smile. "Welcome to Wat Phra Si Hotel, Mr. Anurak. I'm Chuai, and I will be assisting you with your arrival and stay."
The man looked at the people in front of his car before truning twoards Chuai. He scanned him up and down and up again, peeking above his sunglasses to finally lock eyes.
"Just call me Khong."