Singto is a bit nervous walking into the station this morning. He's still trying to convince himself that his cousin Kat is just full of baloney. There's no way Krist likes him romantically. Krist only followed him on his date because he's nosy and not because he's jealous. And the ginger tea gesture was only a returned favor. Or maybe Krist made it as an apology for following him. And truth be told, Singto couldn't hold a grudge after drinking that tea.

He has spent the whole weekend thinking over Kat's microscopic breakdown of his and Krist's interactions and behavior around each other. Kat has managed to turn even the most innocent touches by Krist into some secret hidden message that he has failed to acknowledge. By the end of Kat's analysis, she practically claimed Krist has been holding up a neon sign flashing "I ❤️ Singto" this whole time. Pff. Yeah, right! Of course, Singto had a valid argument for everything Kat pointed out about Krist. And of course, he didn't fail to mention that Krist was the one that came up with the Singto's Soul Search campaign and has been setting him up on some of the weirdest dates of his life. And of course, Kat said Krist picked those horrible dates intentionally so he wouldn't fall for them. See, his cousin is delusional.

Yet, why was Singto all giddy inside at the slightest possibility that his cousin could be on to something? Why were imaginary images popping up in his head? And then Kat had to go and ask the most impossible question, "does he like Krist?" That very question has bugged him the entire weekend too.

In all honesty, Singto does find Krist attractive. What's not to like? He's handsome, cute, and damn sexy. He's also fun to be with. Krist brings out a different side of him where he doesn't have to be perfect all the time. And they did have a nice time that night at Krist's place. Singto can't remember ever feeling so comfortable with just a friend. God, they even cuddled to sleep. Could they really be more than friends? A part of him wants to know the answer to that question but what if Kat is actually wrong? What if he asks Krist and he laughs in his face? Singto can only imagine the horror of the aftermath. It would be so awkward to work together if it turns out to be that way.

So Singto has decided the best way to face Krist is to just put everything behind them. They still have to work together so let's just move on like nothing happened. Kat is probably wrong anyway. He still doesn't like the fact that Krist followed him but he won't ask for the reason behind it. Hopefully, things can go back to normal.

~~~~~~

Krist looks at the clock for the nth time. He came in earlier than usual because he just couldn't wait at home any longer. He has never gotten up earlier than what's necessary but this morning he woke up even before his alarm went off. He's just too antsy to see Singto and see what he'll say to him.

That night after Singto walked off in the rain, Krist moped his way back inside the restaurant where his date was waiting.

Flashback

Upon entering the restaurant, Krist's date Sofi was on her way out.

Krist stops Sofi touching her arm. "Oh, Sofi, where are you going?"

Sofi sighed, "I'm going home, Krist. All I wanted was a little fun tonight, but I'm not in the mood anymore."

"I'm sorry about that." Krist didn't know what else to say. In all honesty, he didn't even think about what would happen after dinner.

Sofi shakes her head and adjusts her purse strap on her shoulder. "Krist, it's okay. We mean nothing to each other anyway."

"Well, we're friends," Krist says weakly.

"No, sweetie. We're not. We're just booty calls. We've never even had a real conversation."

"That can't be true." Krist frowns staring back at Sofi. Chitchats before and after counted for something, right?

"Oh really? So if I run out now, will you run after me like you ran after that guy?"

Krist remained quiet and cast his eyes down because he knew he wouldn't.

"That's what I thought. Krist, I don't think you've ever put yourself out there. You've got a pretty face, and people just fall at your feet. But even the all mighty will fall someday. You just need to realize when you've fallen. Goodnight Krist." Sofi pecked Krist on the cheek and left the restaurant.

Krist went home asking himself all the questions that have been nagging at the back of his mind for a while already. What's going on with him? What's going on with Singto and him? Why does he care about Singto? What does it matter to him if Singto has a good date or not? Why is he so bothered?

Then Krist sneezed, drawing him out from his contemplation. His damp clothes had pretty much dried already, but he still felt a bit chilly. He didn't have dinner but he also wasn't hungry. He went to the kitchen and opened the fridge out of habit and saw a piece of ginger root sitting there. Then suddenly Krist had a warm feeling while thinking about Singto making the ginger tea for him and watching him drink it like he's a child to make sure he drank the whole cup.

Without a second thought, Krist took the ginger root out and made the tea with a squeeze of lemon juice. It was only after he had squeezed the lemon that he realized he probably shouldn't have done that. Because that would give away the fact that he did know how to make ginger tea, and he had lied to get Singto to come over. And it's exactly at that moment Krist finally realized what has been going on with him. He has been seeking Singto's attention. He has been getting jealous over Singto's dates. And he was just caught stalking. What the fuck! Sofi is right, he has finally fallen. And of all people, he has fallen for Singto.

Under normal circumstances, Krist would slap himself and tell himself to snap out of it. Because love is sappy and messy. It's not worth the time or the chance of heartache. So why didn't he slap himself and run for the hills? Instead, why did he proceed to pack the ginger tea nicely in a thermal with a smile on his face? Why did he get back into the rain just to take a taxi to Singto's place? Why?

Because it's Singto. Krist concluded that Singto is worth the sappy mess. Singto is not the type to toy with people's emotions, and he's as real as they come. Besides, he's so damn charming and handsome. If Krist ever had to take a chance in love, then Singto would be it.

When Krist arrived in front of Singto's door, he debated if he should give Singto the tea in person. Singto was still mad at him and he might just tell him to leave. So in the end, he decided against it. Instead, he asked the doorman to borrow a sticky note and left the tea outside the door.

End of Flashback

Over the weekend, Krist kept checking his phone for messages from Singto that never came. He didn't know what to expect but he had hoped that Singto would be less angry with him after he drank the tea. Singto was pretty upset that night and he had every right to be. After all, Krist was stalking him no matter what the reason was behind it. And frankly, the truth might not sound any better to Singto.

Krist looks through the glass window and sees Singto enter the control room and greets Fiat on the other side. His heart starts racing. What is Singto going to say? Krist waits anxiously as Singto and Fiat make small talk outside. One minute became two, two became five, and so on. Krist is starting to get annoyed. He feels like Singto is purposely ignoring him. The show will start soon and Singto has yet to come inside the studio room. Usually, Singto would already be sitting here looking all perfect while sipping his coffee. Is he really that mad?

Then finally Singto turns around and makes his way into the studio room.

"Good morning," Krist greets Singto as the latter settles down.

"Good morning, Krist." Singto pulls out his notes per usual. He's aware that Krist has been watching him. He had tried to kill as much time as possible outside with Fiat so they wouldn't have to address what happened that night.

Singto fumbles around in his bag looking for his pen but then Krist's thermal falls out. Shit! They both reach down to pick it up at the same time and both their hands grab the thermal. They look up and their faces are mere inches away.

Both of them quickly moved back and retracted their hands.

Seeing Krist isn't going to pick up the thermal, Singto finally picks it up from the ground and places it next to Krist. He had originally planned to put it on Krist's desk when he's not around but it's too late for that now.

"Uh, here's your thermal back. Thanks for the tea." Singto says softly and looks away.

Krist can see a faint blush on Singto and he can't help but find it cute. "Did you like it?"

"Yeah. It was good. Did you drink some too? You were in the rain too?" Singto tries to speak normal while his heart is thumping a lot faster than usual.

"Yeah, I drank a big cup too. Look, Singto, I know I shouldn't..."

"Air in 10," Fiat announces through the overhead speakers.

"We can talk later," Singto says before putting his headphones on.
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Caller 18: The silliest thing I've done for a crush was when I was fourteen and my crush was obsessed with collecting Snoopy items. And McDonald's at the time had a special Snoopy collection for their Kids Happy Meal. There were a total of eight different styles. I went to so many different McDonald's and ate over a month of Happy Meals just to collect all of them.

"That's so cute, Alexa. So was your crush happy to receive the collection?" Singto asks with a big smile.

"Yeah, what happened?" Krist wants to know too. Alexa always has interesting and cute stories.

Caller 18: Well, I kind of chickened out at the last minute. It was really for her birthday and I was all excited to give her the collection until I saw someone already gifted her a gigantic plush Snoopy. You know, those that cost over ฿2000. So I didn't give her the collection after all. I still have it at home to this day.

"What? After all that trouble, you didn't even give it to her? Did she ever know you had a crush on her?" Krist doesn't know why he feels so disappointed.

Caller 18: No, I never confessed. We ended up going to different high schools. Now, I wish I was braver and just gave her the collection anyway.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Alexa. But what you did was seriously cute and romantic. I'm sure your partner now appreciates this side of you. Thank you for sharing."

"What about you, Singto? What's the silliest thing you've done for a crush?" Krist asks curiously.

Singto smiles reminiscing for a moment. "I used to ride my bicycle at night to my crush's house that was down the street and when the lights went out, I would wish my crush a goodnight and sweet dreams. I was also just a silly teen." Singto chuckles.

God, why is Singto so romantic? Krist swears he's not swooning. Nope. He's not. He's really not imagining himself as Singto's crush right now.

"Okay, that's a wrap for today. Please join us again tomorrow. We will leave you with 'You're Mine' by Earth Patravee. Have a wonderful day." Singto switches off the microphone.

Krist snaps out of his daydream. "Hey, I didn't get to tell you...I mean share what I did for my crush."

Singto smiles awkwardly. "I'm sure you can share it another time. We have similar topics all the time. But you can tell me if you want to."

"Guys, tech support needs to check on the equipment. Please clear out." Fiat announces.

Krist curses at the bad timing. Just when he wanted to tell Singto the silliest thing he's done was follow his crush on a date. Ugh.

They quickly exit the studio room and upon emerging through the door, the same two colleagues from the other day are waiting for Singto.

"Singto, we've been waiting for you." The two ladies beam at Singto.

"Oh, Hi Namtan, Apple. What can I do for you?" Singto walks out of the recording studio with the two following behind him.

They keep asking about Singto's date with Anna. They want to know if Singto and Anna actually had a whipped cream date. Krist can't roll his eyes hard enough behind those two nosy gossipmongers. And as usual, Singto politely explains to them that Anna and he just didn't work out. Of course, Charming Singto didn't bad mouth Anna a single word. Ugh, that ugly bitch!

"Krist, come to my office."

Krist spins around to see Tay right behind him. Tay came out of nowhere. Krist takes another look in Singto's direction and watches him enter the break room with the two gossipmongers. He really wants to hear what Singto says to them, but Krist has no choice but to go to Tay's office.

"Close the door and have a seat," Tay tells Krist upon entering his office.

Krist sits down and immediately shivers from the dramatic temperature drop.

"Yes, Tay. Is everything okay?"

"Did you hear what Singto just said?" Tay looks excited.

"Yeah. He and Anna didn't work out."

"Yes! That's exactly right. So we must get him another candidate. This time, I want you to pick someone more interesting. These past few weeks with this Anna didn't generate as much buzz. But those disastrous dates were a hit with the listeners. The ratings soared through the roof. Our sponsors even increased their ad frequencies during the show. So, make sure the next one is a mega weirdo," Tay says with flashing dollar signs in his eyes.

"Bu...but I promised to find him decent candidates, and Singto takes these things seriously. I can't do that to him," Krist replies.

"This is business! It's just a gimmick! A campaign! Singto isn't banking on this to really find his soulmate. What the fuck has gotten into you?" Tay glares at Krist. How dare he refuse him?

"Tay, I don't think Singto would be okay if he finds out about this. And...and there's Fiat. He has to approve the ones I choose too. I really can't just pick a weirdo like you want. That was the deal with Singto." Krist is really trying to dissuade Tay from moving forward with this evil plan. In fact, he wants this whole campaign to end.

"Just do as I say. Don't worry about Fiat. I'll take care of him."

~~~~~~
AN: Sweets, Wattpad seriously hates me. For some reason I can't attach music videos from YouTube like I did before. I'm not sure if you all even listen/watch them, but it's kind of part of my story. I've struggled with it since the last update. I'm so bummed about it. 😩

Anyway, Singto's Soul Search must continue whether Krist likes it or not. Suggest me some weirdos. 😈

Curtsy,
Lana ❤️