Name: Warin Pankarn
Native name: วรินทร ปัญหกาญจน์
Nationality: Thai
Gender: Male
Born: March 26, 1985
Age: 35
Spouse: (m.2012; died 2016)
Children: 1, Marc Pankarn (7 years old)
Occupation: entrepreneur; business owner

Warin Pankarn is owner of PHG (Pankarn Hospitality Group). PHG owns eleven boutique hotels throughout Thailand, most in Bangkok and Phuket. He is a widower with a seven years old son that is deaf-mute. Deceased wife Suam Thanachart, cause of death unknown.

Luke mentally goes over Warin's profile for the millionth time since receiving the data from the Ruangroj's head of security. It's nothing out of the ordinary for him. He memorizes everyone's profile. It's for safety measures. Really! But this Warin guy seems fishy to him. How can his wife's death be unknown? What is Nina doing with someone like that? That woman is just dumb, and asking for trouble. Are there no men left on the planet? Why him?

From where Luke is sitting, he can see Nina's back, she was laughing at whatever that Warin guy had just said. Every so often, that guy leaned into Nina's space, touching her bare shoulder. Luke looked away. He doesn't want to see anymore of it, but two seconds later he couldn't help himself from looking again when he heard Nina giggle. What the heck is so funny? Is she doing one of those dumb fake laughs, pretending to get a lame joke? That Warin guy doesn't look like he would know a good joke even if he was hit in the face with one. He doesn't even have manners. When everyone was introduced before boarding the jet, that Warin guy didn't even bother to acknowledge any of the security or staff members on the jet. Kongpob is the youngest billionaire in Asia, and more than a hundred folds wealthier than this guy, yet he never looks down on people like that. Without exchanging a word, Luke already hates Warin's guts.

~~~

"Hey, how long do you think till Luke explodes?" Arthit whispered next to Kongpob. He has been observing Luke for the past thirty minutes since take off.

Kongpob looked up from his laptop, and looked across the other side of the jet. Everyone sat in the row seats up front other than him and Arthit. Nina and her date Warin sat in the very front row, then Luke behind them, and then Nina's bodyguard Jeep behind Luke. Arthit and him were seated side by side in the dining section of the private jet where there's a table that he can set his laptop out to do some work. Just because he has a wedding to attend to doesn't mean he can put everything aside. Kongpob wants to get as much done as possible so he can enjoy some time with Arthit in Koh Samui. Arthit has never been there, so he is excited to show him his vacation villa with its own private beach. This is one of the few properties that Kongpob's birth mother had left him. There's also one in Spain near Barcelona. Someday, he wants to take Arthit there too.

Kongpob smirked. "From the way Luke is crushing that soda can in his hand, I give it three days. He'll do something before the end of this trip."

Arthit turned to study Kongpob for a second. "How are you so sure? Luke is very professional. I think he can hold it till after the trip."

"Baby, I can read people. I can tell if a deal is going to happen or not within the first three minutes. Luke keeps a straight face, but he's one of the easiest to read. The hardest to read people are those who act really nice, and try to befriend you. Some older people would even try to act like a father or uncle to you. It's their tactic to bring your guards down, so you would show your hand to them. Then they would kill you mercilessly without blinking an eye. You should take note of this. It will come in handy."

"Are you always this skeptical? How did you ever trust me enough to take me home?" Arthit elbowed his boyfriend in the arm.

"Basic instinct. You looked too cute to be a killer." Kongpob said as he continued typing.

Arthit grinned so hard he had to hide his face behind Kongpob's back. How does his boyfriend say these things with a straight face? Schooling his face back to normal, he sat back straight to pretend to be working on his own laptop. However, he has had the same email open for the past thirty minutes. He was either too busy watching Luke and Nina, or he was too nervous thinking about Tycoon Chaiyut's Wedding to focus on his work.

"So, do you know anything about this Warin guy? He seems quite the charmer. Nina sure seems to enjoy his company." Arthit waited for Kongpob to reply, but nothing came. "Are you ignoring me?"

"I never pegged you to be this nosy." Kongpob chuckled.

Arthit tried to pinch Kongpob's thigh, but Kongpob's solid muscles were impenetrable. With a huff, he settled with a smack on Kongpob's arm instead which only led Kongpob to laugh harder.

"Fine. Fine. Fine. I'll tell you what I know. I've seen him once at my grandparents' house. I remember clearly my grandpa introduced him to me. But it was the only time. We don't run in the same circles, so to speak. However, my grandpa did tell me Warin was interested in opening a hotel in one of the Ruangroj properties. He wanted to buy it off of my grandpa, but my grandpa declined. Then he offered to go into partnership, but my grandpa declined as well."

"Why? Was it not a good deal?" Arthit shot Warin and Nina another quick glance.

"I don't know the details of the offer, but my grandpa just said he is happy with the way things are, and he is too old for anything new. He says he is just holding down the fort until I'm ready to take over. I promised him I will in three more years. After the SuSus Project is completed, I will take over Ruangroj's business. Are you ready for it?"

"What does it have to do with me? Ah, you're going to be even busier. I'm sure you won't be as busy once SuSus is over. Don't worry."

Kongpob rolled his eyes with a little sigh. When is he going to get it?

~~~

"I love scuba diving. It's very exciting. It's amazing what you can see deep under the sea. I've been to many of the most popular scuba diving spots in the world, but my favorite place is the Egyptian Red Sea. There's a spot where the British Thistlegorm ship sunk after being attacked in 1941, during World War II. That ship carried a cargo of war supplies such as rifles, motor bikes, train carriages, and trucks. Here's a picture I took." Warin showed the picture of the motorbikes he took from his excursion.

***cr. Tim Nicholson

"Wow. That's amazing, and a little spooky. I wish I could see that in person. It's great that you can have all these adventures." Nina sighed. She can never do anything like that.

According to her doctors, Nina is lucky to be alive and breathing. No one expected her to live beyond twenty eight. All her life, she has lived according to what the doctor says, ate what the dietician ordered, and exercised according to her physical trainer. A part of her feels like she has never lived at all. It's a curse that this damn heart of hers is still beating. She is caged without bars and chains. Nina just wants to be free and do what she wants for once in her life. Is that too much to ask for? Knowing her condition, her parents have treated her like she's made of glass. They never let her do anything remotely dangerous. The last time she did something adventurous was go on a rollercoaster ride with a boy when she was seventeen. That landed her in the hospital for over two weeks.

Nina has given up on the idea of ever having babies. It's not even just the risk of carrying a baby, it's also the risk of passing on this curse. She would never want to pass this curse to anyone, not even to her worst enemy. But she gets lonely too. Gone were the days when she was young, and she could go party and hangout with friends. All her friends her age have gotten married, and have families of their own. Now, there are little babies running around calling her aunty when she visits her friends. There's plenty of suitors, but they all want a future that she can't give. Then there are some who are just after her family's money. It's so hard to trust anyone. She only wants a companion. A person she can talk to, and understands her. A person she can let her guards down. Someone that can look beyond her face, because one day she will no longer be young and beautiful.

All these years of dating, Nina has never truly fallen for anyone after her broken engagement. Sure, she was entertained, and maybe even smitten by a few, but it was never love. Luke was someone she never expected to cross paths with. He was Kongpob's bodyguard, and that was it. They are complete opposites. Luke was no different from a brick wall when he's working. And most of the time he just ignores her if what she says has nothing to do with Kongpob. But when he's not working, he teases and bickers with her. Somehow, over the past few months, their bickering had turned into flirting. It got so confusing. Luke was hot one minute, and cold the next. Nina got so frustrated, she didn't even know what to do with herself. Some days she couldn't wait for him to show up at her restaurant. And on others, she hated the mere sight of his shadow. She has never encountered a man like Luke.

Men usually showered Nina with gifts, flowers, and jewelry. Nina doesn't care about the gifts and money. What she cares about are intentions. All those men's intentions were clear, but that's not the case with Luke. She lost many nights of sleep trying to decipher his every word. Looking for clues to see if there's more than face value to those teasing words. But now she just feels stupid. She feels stupid to think there was anything at all between them. Nina has never encountered such a brute. She has never been dumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and treated like she was nothing. She was wrong all along. She meant absolutely nothing to him. Nina allowed herself a week to cry over being nothing, and that was it. Today, she hasn't bothered to say more than a good morning to Luke.

"I can take you scuba diving if you are interested. I have a friend who is a scuba diving instructor too. We can start at easier locations first of course." Warin said eagerly, showing more pictures of colorful fishes and corals.

"Maybe someday. I'm not very good at swimming, so I might just slow you down. Aww...that sea turtle is so cute." Nina smiled, and coos over Warin's picture.

~~~

"Sir, may I take these?" The flight attendant asked Luke, pointing to the little pile of crushed trash on top of the side table.

Luke simply nodded, and handed over the crushed soda can in his hand. He can't hear what Nina and that sleaze ball was saying. All he could see was their heads leaning close to each other's. Nina was laughing again. What was this Warin, some stand-up comedian? What can possibly be so funny that Nina's been laughing the past hour?

~~~

Arthit leans into Kongpob, and whispers in his ear. "Wow. I think you're probably right again. Luke looks like he might pop a vein any moment."

Kongpob turned his face to Arthit, and planted a kiss on Arthit's opened lips.

Arthit quickly looked around, and then smacked Kongpob's arm. "Kongpob, there's people here."

"Yeah, and I'm one of them. Try focusing on me instead."

~~~~~~
AN: Sweets, Chapter 100!!! 🎉

Thanks for still reading this super long story. I started with the simple idea of wanting KongArt to make out after tequila shots. There was no plot at all. But somehow we are here. I promise the end is near. At least, I can see it.

I know I have a few ongoing stories already, but I couldn't help starting another one. 🙄 It's called, "Wake Up, Bangkok!" I was inspired by Singto's mini series "Girl Next Room" and Singto's live with Krist's pretending to be a DJ. Please check it out. It's another fluff. 😜

Love you lots,
Lana ❤️