Tokyo

Focusing on the meeting was becoming increasingly hard for Sora. Ever since meeting Arthit the last time he was in Tokyo, he hasn't been able to get the man out of his mind. Sora was instantly attracted to him without even knowing if he was interested in men. He couldn't take his eyes off of Arthit's bright smile, and beautiful face. Arthit's personality only added to the charm. He was shy and cute, yet he was friendly and sociable. Sora just felt so comfortable and drawn to Arthit. All it took was the course of two days for Sora to fall for Arthit. So taking a chance, he worked up the courage to casually ask Arthit out.

Unfortunately, Arthit had turned him down at the time. Arthit said he was already in love with someone else. So, Sora didn't press further. Honestly, even he himself thought it was a bit crazy of him to fall for someone so fast. Sora tried to just accept it, and move on. However, he couldn't help himself from getting excited every time he received an email, or message from Arthit. They were all work related, but he always managed to add a little bit of friendly exchange to them. And soon Arthit did the same.

Sora had looked forward to meeting Arthit again. He knew he would see him again due to the project. However, he didn't expect Arthit to be suddenly promoted to CEO of BKK Engineers. The news came as a shock. It's not that Sora doubts his capabilities, but it's just so sudden. Arthit is also so young. Sora was worried that he wouldn't get to see Arthit again when the new replacement takes over the project. When Arthit had informed him that he will be accompanying the new project manager to Tokyo, he was beyond elated.

Seeing Arthit again took his breath away. Something about Arthit has changed. His aura and everything is different. They say clothes don't make the man, but whoever the man is making Arthit's clothes should be rewarded. Every bit of Arthit's clothes fitted him perfectly. Arthit was sharp-witted the last time, but this time he is nothing short of amazing. Arthit exuded confidence and brilliance. He was so sexy in his element. Sora could only fall harder after seeing this side of Arthit. He was determined to get Arthit to take him seriously this time.

This was his second chance. He doesn't know if Arthit is still in love with that someone or not. But he was sure Arthit's Facebook posts didn't show anyone new. Although, he couldn't see Arthit's Instagram since it was a private account.

Either way, Sora decided that even if Arthit did love someone else, he wasn't going to let go without a fight. Sora was done taking a back seat in life. He was done being the one that has to walk away. His ex-boyfriend broke up with him after being together for six years to marry a woman just to carry on the family name. It took two years of countless lonely nights, and faceless sex to become numb. And only one man to finally make him feel alive again.

Last night, Sora held his breath all night up until Kiko came to let him know that his guests had arrived at the club. He was so happy that Arthit really came to his show. The entire night Sora kept looking at Arthit during his performance, and he could feel Arthit's eyes on him too. He definitely felt a connection with Arthit. He was almost positive that Arthit felt something too. So, he sent a text to Arthit after the show suggesting dinner the following night, just the two of them. However, Arthit didn't read or reply to his text. He doesn't know if Arthit had actually seen it or not. His confidence crumbling by every second that ticked away.

And here he is. The man that has been weighing on his mind, robbing his sleep all night, looking all fine. Arthit has barely given him a second glance since this morning's greeting. Sigh.

"Sora, do you have anything to add before we conclude this meeting?" Sora's boss, Yamiko asked.

"Uh, no. I think we've got everything we need as of now. We can always follow up later if we need to." Sora said, and looked around to everyone in the group.

"Yes, that's very true. You will also be in Bangkok next month. So, I'm sure you will meet with Knot again. Thank you for everyone's hard work. I will be taking my leave now. Please let me know if you have any questions, or issues. Have a nice rest of the day. Goodbye." Yamiko bowed before leaving the conference room.

Sora's eyes met Arthit's surprised ones. He couldn't tell if Arthit was happy or not about that news.

Everyone gathered their belongings, and said their goodbyes before leaving as well. Sora stayed back waiting for his teammates to leave first. Arthit was about to leave with Knot too, so he called out to Arthit.

"Arthit!" Sora took a few quick steps to stop Arthit from leaving. That's a very unprofessional thing to do, but he didn't care. He can't let the chance slip.

"Uh, yes Sora. Did you just think of something?" Arthit asked, trying his best to act normal. He had felt Sora's eyes on him the whole morning. He was anxious to get out of there, and just safely go home tomorrow.

Knot was eyeing them closely. He could clearly see the desperate look in Sora's eyes. Sora's stares were so obvious during the whole meeting that only those blind wouldn't have noticed.

"Arthit, can I speak to you alone?" Sora asked, still maintaining a reasonable distance. He was very aware of Knot's piercing eyes.

Arthit looked at Knot, and gave a little nod. "Can you wait for me outside? I'm sure it won't take long."

Knot looked between his friend, and Sora. He gave a warning stare to Arthit before leaving. "I'll wait for you in the lobby."

Once they were alone, Sora closed the conference room door. Arthit was a little nervous seeing this, but he kept his composure.

"Arthit, did you get my message last night?" Sora asked carefully. He really hoped that Arthit just missed it, or it wasn't delivered.

"Would you believe it if I said I didn't?" Arthit looked at Sora, and pursed his lips. He doesn't want to play dumb, and outright lie to Sora. He should have replied last night, but he didn't know how to respond at the time. He almost expected Sora to approach him today.

Sora looked at Arthit, and felt a pang to his heart. So Arthit did see his text, and decided to ignore it. That's what he was afraid to hear, but he decided he wasn't about to give up. He took a deep breath, and came again.

"It doesn't matter anymore. Can I see you tonight? Just the two of us? I won't take no for an answer." Sora pleaded.

"Sora, I don't think it's a good idea. I'm already seeing someone, and I don't want to lead you on."

"It's not like you are married. You still have the right to choose. I really like you, and I won't force you to do anything you don't want to. Just give me a chance." Sora took a step closer to Arthit.

Arthit took a step back clutching his bag tightly. "Sora, I'm sorry. I really like you as a friend, but right now I think we should keep it professional. I don't want to ruin our partnership."

"Can't we just hangout? What are you so afraid of? Are you afraid that you would feel something for me too? If you are so certain about that person, then what can one meal with me do? I'm going to wait for you at Krung Siam at 7 pm. I won't leave until I see you." Sora turned to leave.

"Sora, please don't do this. I'm not going to come. I don't want you to waste your time." Arthit spoke to the retreating back of Sora.

"I'll be waiting." Sora said before he turned the corner, and disappeared.

Arthit walked out of the conference room, and found Knot outside in the reception lobby. They walked over to the elevators in silence, and continued to stay that way until they left the Mitsubishi building.

Once they stepped outside, Knot stopped Arthit from walking further by grabbing his arm. He didn't want to speak in front of Aki that was waiting for them in the parking lot around the corner.

"Arthit, what did Sora want? Did he ask you out again?"

Arthit looked away, and simply nodded.

"So what did you tell him? Did you tell him you have a boyfriend already?" Knot asked in a serious tone. He doesn't want Sora to come between Arthit and Kongpob in anyway. He has never seen Arthit this happy before, and he doesn't want anything to keep him from staying that way.

"I did! I told him I'm seeing someone already, and we should keep things professional between us. But he says that he is still going to wait for me tonight. He said he is not going to leave until he sees me. What should I do?"

Knot shook his head. "I don't know. The Mitsubishi account is very important. He can make it very difficult for us if you aren't careful."

"I don't think he will mix personal and business together. At least, he doesn't seem like the type to do that." Arthit sighed.

"So are you going to go?" Knot asked.

"I don't know yet. What if he really waits all night? Also, he is going to Bangkok next month. So, I'm bound to see him again. I really don't want things to get awkward."

"I think you should tell Kongpob about it. See what he says."

"I don't need his approval. Besides, I already know what he would say. He would just tell me not to go, and let Sora wait all night. He doesn't care if this jeopardizes the project. Just let me think about it. Let's wait and see what happens tonight. I'll text him that I'm not going later, and maybe he will give up." Arthit turns to start walking to the car. He saw Aki waiting for them from the corner of his eyes. Aki must have noticed his position from his tracker.

"I don't like the plan. I'm telling you right now that if you go, then I'm going with you." Knot took big strides to catch up with Arthit.
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After much deliberation, Arthit decided to tell Kongpob about Sora. He wasn't going to let Kongpob decide what to do for him, but he didn't want to keep any secrets from him either. He called him a couple of times, but it went to voicemail. He tried to call Kongpob's office, but Alexa said he had some personal matters today. Arthit thought that was odd. Kongpob didn't tell him anything about being out of the office today. So, Arthit just left him a text telling him to call him when he gets a chance. Something just doesn't feel right. Kongpob is usually very responsive to his calls or texts.

Knot and him worked in their hotel room for the rest of the afternoon. Arthit couldn't help looking at his watch every now and then as it got closer to dinner time. Knot and him went downstairs to the restaurant in their hotel for a hassle-free dinner around 6 pm.

Just as Arthit was about to take a bite of his teriyaki salmon, his phone buzzed in his pocket. There were messages from Sora that flashed on his screen.

Messages:

Sora Fudosan: Krung Siam
Japan, 〒152-0035 Tokyo, Meguro City, Jiyugaoka, 2 Chome−11−16 エクセレンスビル 2F
6:20 pm

Sora Fudosan: I'm on my way. I will see you there.
6:20 pm

Arthit stared at the messages for a second. He didn't open them, so they were left as unseen. Knot was looking at him intently.

"Is it Sora?" Knot asked.

"Yeah. He sent me the restaurant location, and said he is on the way there." Arthit picked up his fork to take his first bite.

"So, are you going to reply."

"No. I had already told him I wasn't going to go." Arthit continued to eat.
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Buzz.

Arthit picked up his phone, and frowned. It was another message from Sora. It's been more than half an hour since the last one.

Messages:

Sora Fudosan: I just sat down. We have a nice little table.
7:01 pm

Arthit flipped his phone over, and placed it back on the table. They were done eating, and just needed to get their bill.

"Is it Sora again? Is he still waiting for you?" Knot leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah. I don't know how long he plans to wait."

"It is kind of sad though. He does seem to be a nice guy. Maybe you should go. I mean, just to tell him to go home or something. I will go with you." Knot really did feel bad for Sora. 

"No. Let's go back to our room and pack up. We have an early flight tomorrow." Arthit waved the waitress down, and handed his credit card over.

Knot sighed. He really hoped Sora will get over his friend soon, and their project won't suffer.

When they got back to their hotel room, they started packing and getting ready for bed. Both men were eager to get home. Knot wanted to go home as soon as possible since Neem is now 7 weeks pregnant with their first child. They have wanted a child for years now, but they were struggling to make ends meet just a few months back. However, things just seemed to finally fall into place. Even Neem's mother's kidney disease is looking up. Neem's mother struggled all her life raising Neem as a single mom, and then she was plagued by kidney disease. Just recently, the hospital has contacted them to let them know that she is on top of the list for a kidney transplant. Knot couldn't be happier with his life at the moment.

"Arthit, I'm going to shower first if you don't mind." Knot said before grabbing his change of clothes.

"Yeah, go ahead." Arthit said without looking up, and checked a few emails on his laptop.

Buzz.

Messages:

Sora Fudosan: The drinks are really good here. I'm on my second one while waiting for you.
8:17 pm

Arthit thought about it for a moment, and then looked at his watch. Sora has been waiting for over an hour already. Maybe he should go and tell Sora to go home. He feels bad letting him wait like that. There's no way he would be able to sleep either knowing that someone is waiting for him. So, Arthit grabbed his keycard, and left the room.

The second he got off the elevator, Arthit saw Aki standing in the lobby. It was expected though. He knew Aki was always tracking him, and he's fine with it. After all, he had promised Kongpob to not meet with Sora alone.

"Good evening Arthit. Did you want to go somewhere?" Aki asked.

"Yes, can you take me to Krung Siam?"

"Of course."
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Upon arriving, Arthit had asked Aki to wait in the car for 30 minutes. Arthit thinks it's best to talk to Sora alone. Aki reluctantly agreed, but only for 30 minutes.

Arthit stood in front of the little Thai restaurant shifting from one foot to another. Looking in from the outside, he couldn't see where Sora was sitting. He has been standing there for a few minutes now, still debating if it's a good idea to be here. Would his presence give Sora more false hope? How can he make Sora understand that his heart has already chosen its owner? Sora didn't seem to accept that earlier.

Maybe in a different time, and different place, and if only Kongpob didn't exist. Then maybe, just maybe he would fall for Sora. After all, Sora is an attractive and nice guy. Not to mention, he is sexy as hell when he sings. But not in this lifetime, or any other one if Kongpob exists. There was just no room for anybody else.

Arthit took a deep breath, and stepped inside the restaurant.

"Hi."

One look, and Arthit was overwhelmed with emotions. He walked straight into open arms. He didn't even care who was watching. He can't stop his feelings. Maybe this is wrong? But it feels so right.

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AN: Okay Sweets, as promised. I've updated today. It's a long chapter too. It's almost 3k.

So, what is Arthit going to do now?