Friday - Kobe

Kobe is much smaller than Tokyo. It feels more like a town rather than a city. They arrived in the afternoon, and Aki had dropped them off on top of another city center hotel.

Aki: Gentlemen, I will be around if you need anything. Mr. Suthilak, please make sure your tracker is on, and here is the phone you can use for this weekend. Your reservation for Mouriya is at 6 pm. Please let me know if you have a change of plans.

Aki hands Kongpob a black cellphone. The men bid farewell, and went their separate ways.

Kongpob and Arthit took an elevator down to the hotel lobby to reach the exit. They walked into the streets of Kobe.

"Tracker? Why are you being tracked?" Arthit asked with a hint of concern.

"Well, Thak is not with me, so he is tracking me wherever I go. I'm sure Aki will be following us around too, but we most likely won't be able to see him."

"Do you always have people following you?"

"Unfortunately, I do. I just have to live with the fact that my safety is not just my own business. I owe it to all my business partners, and all the families that work for me. But I try to keep a very low profile, so my daily life isn't disturbed too much."

"Kongpob, does that mean that someone can see you with me right now?"

"Sure, we are walking around in broad daylight. Anyone can see us." Kongpob continues to walk nonchalantly pulling Arthit along.

Arthit pulls back halting them from taking another step.

"No, Kongpob. You know what I mean. Don't you care that someone will see us together like this?"

Arthit points to their joined hands, and he removes his hand from Kongpob's hold.

"No. My love life has nothing to do with my safety nor the stock market. So, why should I care?"

Kongpob firmly grabs Arthit's hand again, but Arthit resisted.

"Kongpob, can we just not do this?"

Again, Arthit points to their joined hands, and looked at him with a frown.

Kongpob reluctantly let's go of Arthit's hand. Kongpob is disappointed. It hurts. Rejection hurts. But he quickly pushes it aside, and tried not to let it ruin their mood. He puts on a smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes, and nods to Arthit's request.

Arthit can see that Kongpob is not happy with him, but he is not used to PDA. He doesn't like any unnecessary attention it draws. Being gay came with a lot of scrutiny and unsolicited comments already. So, he doesn't like advertising the fact. Also, Chet never asked for it either since he said he had an image to upkeep for showbiz.

Arthit can't understand why Kongpob is so careless about this. Doesn't he have an image to keep? He is the straight guy here. Why would he want to be seen holding hands with another man?

However, no matter how much he reasons with himself, he finds his palm itching to reach for Kongpob's hand. But he resisted the urge.
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They were walking around the Merikan Park, and heading towards the Kobe Port Tower for some pictures. Kongpob was telling Arthit that they can go up to the tower top later at night if he wanted to. The view is nice, but nowhere near as nice as the one from the Skytree Tower back in Tokyo.

Arthit was really only half listening to Kongpob. His mind was clouded with what he should or shouldn't do for the next couple of days. Why is being around Kongpob harder now than it was before?

While Arthit continued with his internal battles, a group of four Japanese girls came up to him and Kongpob asking for help to take their group photo. Since Arthit doesn't speak Japanese, he stepped aside to let Kongpob help the girls. So, Kongpob gladly offered to help with a sexy smile on his face. Arthit is again captivated by his air of confidence and easy going demeanor. Smiling and laughing with those girls. He watched as Kongpob unconsciously licked his bottom lip while concentrating on getting the right angle.

Arthit stood there watching Kongpob's every movement. The way his long fingers played with the camera, and the way he squatted and bent down taking photos. Arthit really wanted to lock Kongpob up in a hotel room right about now. He wants to pin Kongpob down so that he can suck on those enticing soft lips of his till his heart's content. Ugh. Gutter thoughts again.

Unfortunately, he was not the only one that finds Kongpob captivating. The group of girls started conversing with Kongpob in Japanese. They were all smitten with Kongpob's charm, and was impressed with his Japanese skills. And whatever Kongpob is saying has the four girls in giggles. One of them is downright squealing with her hands clenched against her teeth.

Feeling a little annoyed, Arthit wanted to move on to another site. They only have a day here, and it's already in the afternoon. So, they shouldn't waste time talking to these tourists, right? So, Arthit did the next best thing. He used the all mighty universal body language, 'get the fuck away from my man' language. Arthit marched right up to Kongpob, and laced their fingers together, and pulled the man away.

Kongpob was a little confused, but he followed Arthit anyway. He made sure to turn around and wave to the girls goodbye as they walked away.

Arthit's heart is pounding so fast and loud, it's about to explode. He can't believe he just did that. He doesn't know what has gotten into him.This is so unlike him. A smile was also threatening to break through on his face. He tells himself that he needs to act cool, and nonchalant. This is all normal behavior.

Arthit continued pulling Kongpob along with their hands joined. He continued to power walk at super speed, too nervous to face Kongpob's reaction to his little stunt. Kongpob blindly followed trying to keep up until he noticed that Arthit was about to walk straight into oncoming traffic.

Kongpob quickly pulled Arthit back before he can take another step. And luckily Kongpob did, because at the very moment a mini truck just zoomed by.

Kongpob's sudden jerk reaction caused Arthit to slam his whole body into Kongpob. Kongpob's free hand automatically wrapped around Arthit in a protective manner.

Arthit recovers quickly, and straightened himself. Kongpob still had his arm around him, and he slowly looked up and their noses touched. As if the pounding of his heart wasn't enough already, now he has adrenaline coursing through his body from the shock.

Arthit looked away, and pushed himself off Kongpob. He knew he was at least three shades redder than a tomato. He could feel his ears burning. So, he took both his hands to cover his ears, and turned around facing away from Kongpob.

"I'm sorry Kongpob. I didn't notice the traffic."

"It's okay. Just be careful next time."

Kongpob softly chuckled at Arthit's behavior. Kongpob didn't know a grown man can be cute too. When the light for the crosswalk finally changed, Kongpob offered his hand to Arthit. And this time Arthit silently took his hand without hesitation.

Arthit reasoned, the man saved his life, holding his hand is the least he can do. While he sported a silly grin on his face.
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The two men strolled around, and roamed into Kobe Motomachi shopping street. There were over 300 stores down a 1 km stretch.

As they walked in and out of stores, Arthit looked around to see if anyone was looking at them funny. And to his surprise, no one spared a glance at them. Maybe people were just too busy shopping to pay them any attention.

Okay, that's not entirely true as the sales ladies at the skincare stores kept trying to sell him sunscreen. His fair complexion made him a prime target. He had to keep politely saying no to them.

That is until Kongpob took one of the samples from a sales girl's hand, and started to apply it on Arthit's cheek, caressing it gently with his thumb. Arthit's breath hitched as he stared at Kongpob, and felt his warm hand on him.

"Perfect. This shade matches perfectly. Let's take it." Kongpob turned to the sales girl that was blatantly ogling him despite his actions.

Arthit snapped out of his trance, and slightly frowned at the sales girl that's tripping over herself, and fumbling with the products because she is still staring at Kongpob.

"Kongpob, I don't need any sunscreen. I can't get tanned even if I wanted too."

Kongpob chuckled.

"It's not about getting tanned or not. It's to prevent sun damage. Do you like me tan, or should I get the whitening one?" Kongpob teased as he waves a different tube of sunscreen in front of Arthit.

"I love your tan skin." Arthit blurted out.

He immediately felt his blush creeping up again.

Kongpob stepped closer, and whispered beside Arthit, "I love your smooth and milky skin too."

Arthit stood frozen on the spot while Kongpob went to pay for the sunscreen. Arthit is so embarrassed, he wanted to die on the spot. Kongpob is too much for his poor heart. How is this guy single?

The two men were walking pass an arcade where a bunch of young teenagers in school uniforms were crowding. Kongpob looked inside to see what all the commotion was about.

Arthit didn't know where Kongpob was going, but he followed him anyway. They waited behind the group of teenagers for what looked like a photo booth. When it was their turn, they stepped inside to find out it was a GIF booth. Arthit picked a Doraemon background where they looked like they were inside Doraemon's pocket. Both men with arms over each other's shoulder pretended to jump out of the pocket.

When they came out of the booth, there was a crowd of girls giggling. Arthit figured they were just waiting for a turn, but one of the girls stepped forward gushing, and said something to him. He didn't understand, so he looked to Kongpob.

Kongpob answered the girl, and then they all squealed in high pitched voices. Kongpob grabbed Arthit's hand again, and then waved to the girls goodbye as they left the arcade.

"Kongpob, what did she say? Why were they so happy?" Arthit asked curiously.

"She asked if we are boyfriends. And she said we look cute together. It's pretty much the same as what the other girls said earlier."

Arthit's eyes widened. What the heck! Was that why they were squealing? He got jealous over that? He almost got himself killed earlier.

Watching the changes in Arthit's facial expressions for the past few hours has Kongpob internally sighing. He gently tugged Arthit to stop him from walking.

"Arthit, can you just try to relax? Stop thinking so much. Let's just have fun. I'm am yours, and you are mine. Okay?"

Kongpob stepped forward, and kissed Arthit's forehead.

"Okay." Arthit softly mumbled. The damn zoo is about to burst. Who said global warming is a myth? He is about to melt into a puddle right then and there.
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They finally reached Mouriya for their dinner reservations. Arthit is super excited. He can't imagine the wagyu here being better than what he had before with Kongpob, but Kongpob promised it is. Mouriya is not a very big place. There are two floors, but it's still pretty compacted.

Kongpob ordered for the both of them. Before the wagyu was cooked, the waiter brought it out for them to take a look at it's beautiful marbling. Arthit was so excited, he made sure to take pictures of it. Kongpob had ordered the champion wagyu for them. It was the most expensive one there. It was ¥18,300 for 130g. That's almost a weeks pay for Arthit. He asked Kongpob to pick something cheaper, but Kongpob refused.

When they finished eating, Arthit knew he was doomed. He can never look at another steak without thinking about the one he just had. He looked up from his empty plate, and found Kongpob looking right back at him with a mischievous grin. Okay, cross that. He will never be able to eat steak again without thinking about the man across from him.