Chapter Text
The early morning bird calls began chirping, and soft sunlight slipped through the curtains. Teetee opened his eyes and reached for his phone to silence the alarm that had been ringing nonstop. He lay still for a moment, breathing deeply before pushing himself out of bed.
He turned to his right.
The small baby cot sat beside him, holding the boy who had changed his entire life. Akin slept peacefully, tiny chest rising and falling, completely unaware of how he had kept Teetee awake half the night.
Teetee smiled, tired but warm.
“You cheeky little monkey,” he whispered, brushing a gentle hand over Akin’s soft cheek. “Sleeping so peacefully now, but last night you tried to finish me.”
He shook his head with affection and went to the bathroom to freshen up.
Teetee was not perfect. He knew that. But Akin had settled into his heart so quietly and so completely that trying his best for him felt like the easiest choice in the world.
Akin was six months old now. Small enough that the world still felt too big for him. Small enough that every sound made him turn his head, every shift of air made him blink in surprise.
Teetee adjusted the baby carrier and looked down at the little boy strapped against his chest.
In the beginning, he had no idea what he was doing. He did not know how to hold a baby, how to soothe one, how to be someone’s father. But he learned. He practiced. He asked for help. He made mistakes and tried again.
“Da da da da,” Akin babbled, kicking his feet.
Teetee’s heart melted instantly.
“You are not actually calling me,” he said with a grin, “but I am going to pretend you are.”
He wiggled the baby gently and pressed kisses to his cheek.
“Look at you smiling like you did not keep me up all night. Too bad I am leaving you with Aunty Feen today. I will come get you as soon as my lesson finishes.”
Akin stared at him with wide eyes, lip trembling, and then tears began forming.
“Ayy, do not start,” Teetee laughed softly, bouncing him. “You are too dramatic. You get that from me.”
He handed Akin a teething toy and headed out of the house.
Three months.
Akin had been three months old when Teetee’s brother left him.
And no matter how much time passed, that moment stayed quietly in Teetee’s chest. Not sharp, not loud, but heavy. The kind of heartbreak that does not break you but changes you.
“Good morning, Teetee, glad to see you quite early.” Feen says as she takes the baby with her. “ohh come here Akin.” She says as she starts to take Akin from the strap Teetee had.
Akin not wanting to leave Teetees side, his bottom lip began to quiver, a tiny tremble that warned the tears were gathering. As Feen lifted him and took him from Teetee his started to cry.
Teetee heart broke every time he had to leave crying Akin to the daycare, but he knows he had to. He needed to finish his study as soon as possible so that he can fully start working.
Thankfully his cousin and her parents own a daycare centre just 10 minutes away from his university, so he was very luck in that sense, and because they are family, they even gave discount. Although his aunty had said they will take him in for free, Teetee didn’t think it was right, plus his parents still helped him.
And you might also wonder why Teetee’s parents didn’t take care of Akin. They could have. His mother had offered; his father had quietly prepared a room in Chiang Mai just in case. But when his brother left, he didn’t just disappear he left a letter. A short, shaky note asking Teetee to look after his son, to give Akin the love he couldn’t.
That letter had settled deep in Teetee’s chest, heavier than anger, heavier than grief. It was the reason he refused to hand Akin over to anyone else.
It took him weeks of convincing his parents to finally give in. They worried, they argued, they reminded him he was still studying, still young, still building his life. But Teetee stood firm. He didn’t want them to uproot their entire world not when they were already caring for his elderly grandmother, not when his father was still working as a senior architect, not when his mother had stepped away from her job to support the family.
So they stayed in Chiang Mai. And Teetee stayed in Bangkok, raising Akin on his own.
His parents visited whenever they could at least once every two weeks arriving with bags of food, tiny clothes, and more love than Teetee could ever repay. They never complained. They never made him feel alone. But the choice to raise Akin was his, and he carried it with quiet pride.
“Por… Por!” a slender guy called out, making people turn their heads. He caught up to him and shook his shoulder.
Por slowly turned around, pulling his headphones out. “Save omg, you scared me.”
“I’ve been calling you for so long. My god, you walk fast.” Save panted dramatically. Por chuckled and paused his music.
“Did you hear? For our final-year subject, Ajarn Yok said we have a project. And it must be Interior Design and Architecture students together.” Por pouted cutely and nodded.
“Let’s go before we get in trouble with Ajarn Yok.” They rushed to the classroom.
As they sat down with their friends, Teetee rushed in with his friend North. Por looked at the man who entered bright smile, but tired eyes.
A group of students at the table in front of him whispered and stared.
“Bro, did you hear? Apparently, he got some girl pregnant and now he’s got a whole baby,” one girl whispered, barely containing her giggles. “Last week he ran to class with a baby sling still on him. And toys in his bag. I swear, he looked like he came straight from daycare,” another girl added, snickering.
“Do you think it's true! What they are saying. Did he get a girl pregnant?” Auau whispers to his friend group. Por looking at the direction where TeeTee and his friends sitting, looking at the man, having a conversation with his friends, smiling and laughing, but still noticing the little yawn here and there he is taking.
“Do you think it’s true? Did he get a girl pregnant?” Auau whispered to their group. Por looked toward Teetee and his friends, watching the man laugh and talk, still noticing the little yawns he tried to hide.
Auau nudged Por, pulling him back into the conversation. “Well, what do you think, Por? Do you think that’s his baby? If there is a baby?”
Por didn’t know what to think anymore. He didn’t see Teetee the way he used to. Before, Teetee was everywhere, loud, teasing, always lingering around the basketball court. Now all Por ever saw was Teetee rushing. Even when they crossed paths, Teetee was always on the phone, apologising to someone, promising he would be there soon. After class, he was the first one out of the door, especially if it was the last lesson of the day.
Even though they didn’t share any other classes except this one, Por still heard everything from his basketball teammates.
Por was about to answer Save, but Ajarn Yok walked in, and everyone straightened in their seats.
“Yo, Tee, I think Por is eyeing you. He keeps looking in our direction.” Wave nudged Teetee. Teetee turned his head toward the tables three rows away, where Por and his friends sat. Por had already turned toward the teacher, ready to listen.
“Wave-ah, why would he look at me? Remember he hates me. And we haven’t really interacted since I stopped playing basketball last year.” Teetee remembered the small interactions they used to have on the court. He loved teasing Por, especially because they were on different teams.
“Yeah, yeah, but I think he missed you too. He kept asking me and North if you were going to join.” Wave whispered quietly so the teacher wouldn’t hear. “And every time we had a game, he’d look at the door to see if you’d walk in. Until warmup started, he kept checking.”
North nodded. He wasn’t sure how true it was, but it left Teetee with a small, warm smile.
North leaned closer, lowering his voice. “But anyway… you two kept bickering like an old married couple. You’d actually make a good pair, you know.”
Teetee rolled his eyes and shook his head, but Wave jumped in immediately.
“I mean, you do have the fattest crush on that dude.”
“Guys,” Teetee sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “You’re forgetting something. Even if I like him or not, he hates me. And now with the baby… I don’t think I have a chance at all.”
He lowered his head, the truth settling heavily in his chest. Who would want someone who already had a child to look after? Especially not someone like Por, who had his whole future ahead of him. And especially not someone like Teetee, who was still trying to hold his life together piece by piece.
North and Wave exchanged a quiet look. They knew exactly what their friend was feeling. North reached over and patted Teetee’s shoulder, offering silent encouragement, a small gesture that said he wasn’t alone.
“Nong North, Nong Wave, and Nong Teetee, would you like to share your conversation with the whole class?” Ajarn Yok’s voice carried a sarcastic note. North flashed him a gummy smile.
“Ehhh, Ajarn Yok, we are listening. We were just discussing what you were saying.”
The students around them burst into laughter.
Ajarn Yok shook his head and told them to focus. Thankfully, he wasn’t a strict teacher. He was kind, but still very good at his job.
“Anyway, as you may have heard, I will be assigning everyone into groups for your final project. I’ve already made the groups. There will be five groups, six people in each. And before anyone complains, yes, I tried to keep your little friend circles together as much as possible. So no complaining.”
He brought up the list on the projector.
“So here are the groups.
Group 1 North, Wave, Teetee, Por, Auau, and Save
Group 2 Fah, Yoo, Tun, Jim, Light, and Kim…”
He continued naming the rest.
Por stared at the screen, shocked to see his name next to Teetee’s. A little worried, but also relieved. Even though they weren’t close, he felt more comfortable with Teetee and his friends than anyone else in the room.
“For this final-year project, Interior Design and Architecture students will work together. You’ll redesign an old community centre into a modern, functional space. This project will require both structural planning and interior development.”
Ajarn Yok cleared his throat and pointed at the screen. “Each group will receive a different project type. You’ll redesign a real space based on the needs of specific users.”
He clicked to the next slide.
“Group One, your project is a daycare centre. You’ll create a safe, modern, child friendly environment. This will require both architectural planning and interior development.”
Wave nudged Teetee immediately. North whispered, “This is literally your speciality now.” Por’s eyes flicked toward Teetee without meaning to.
“Alright, Groups, move your chairs together. You’ll be working closely for the next few months, so start getting comfortable.”
North stretched dramatically. “Let’s go, boys.”
Wave nudged Teetee with his elbow. “Come on, father of the year.”
Teetee rolled his eyes but stood up, gathering his notebook. Por stood at the same time, and for a moment, they accidentally made eye contact. Por looked away first, pretending to fix his bag. Teetee’s heart thumped harder than he wanted to admit.
Save dragged two chairs over. Auau followed, already chatting loudly. The group slowly formed a messy circle, scraping chairs across the floor.
Por hesitated before sitting down, choosing the seat across from Teetee. Close enough to see him clearly. Far enough to pretend he wasn’t staring.
Teetee sat stiffly, unsure where to look. Wave kicked his foot under the table, whispering, “Relax.”
Ajarn Yok walked past them. “Good. Now start discussing your project direction.”
Everyone turned to each other.
Por opened his mouth to speak.