Chapter 1: Friendly Little Diner

Chapter 1: Friendly Little Diner

Kit:

Kit placed the neatly cut slices of pork into the plastic bags and placed the poached eggs onto another plastic bag , before finishing it off with a garnish of fresh spring onions.

It wasn’t often that he got to bring back something delicious to share with his sister, especially because he had to save up all the money from his part time job to help his sister pay off the debtors.

So when the restaurant owner had told him to take home some of their freshly made porridge with any of his favourite toppings…he hadn't stopped to think before rushing to the topping’s station with packs in hand as he piled up on the veggies. He knew that taking too much of the meats would make the other employee’s frown, so he kept it to a few slices only but usually the customers didn’t like adding too much greens to their dishes, so he made sure to take some extra with him.

“Got everything you need?” The restaurant owner, an old man of about fifty years of age, came to check on him, placing his hand on his backside, a little too long for his comfort.

Kit ignored it. He knew the owner was a nice person…he just made a few accidental touches that he was uncomfortable with…so he moved out of the way in case there were any misunderstandings.

“Yes, krub.” Kit bowed his head in respect. “Khob khun khrup.” (Thank you)

“No need to thank me na,” Khun Thong placed his hand on Kit’s chest inappropriately once again. “Just keep working hard…like you always do.”

Kit tried not to think of it, but it was getting difficult to shake off this feeling in his chest that Khun Thong might not be the nice person he had thought he was. But what else could he do?

Finding a proper job without a University degree was hard already, and not many places hired University students because they knew that students were just out to make some extra cash and for them, the work wasn’t serious. But for Kit it was so much more. It was his and his sister’s only way of survival.

The crack of thunder in the distance brought Kit back to reality as he sprang back from the owner, acting surprised at the sound of thunder. He looked out the big glass windows to see fat rain drops falling onto the glass as more thunder crashed through the sky.

It was strange, Kit thought to himself. The forecast this morning had predicted a light drizzle, but this looked more like a thunderstorm. And even though he had brought an umbrella with him, it didn’t seem to be fit for this kind of weather.

“Ah…it started to rain so heavily.” Khun Thong sighed heavily from next to him, looking around his empty restaurant. “We won’t have any customers come in either now that the weather got bad. It’s a good thing though…since we are about to close.”

The uncomfortable feeling in Kit’s stomach began to grow, but he pushed it aside. “I should wait until the rain clears a bit.”

He set aside the toppings that he had collected in the plastic bags and went to the kitchen to see if the chef, P’Aun needed any help. The man was usually quiet and minded his own business but at least he didn’t make him uncomfortable.

“Aun, make some tea for us, will you?” Khun Thong asked the chef as he waited outside in the sitting area. “It’s raining and I feel like getting something warm.”

P’Aun simply nodded and got to making tea for the three of them. Since the restaurant was already small, there were only five staff members in total that worked there, including the owner, who usually took over the cash register as he trusted no one else to do so.

The other two members, another chef and another waiter, had to go home early due to the rains as they lived far away. Kit too lived more than an hour away from the restaurant, but he didn’t complain or ask for a break in fear of a pay cut. And besides…the owner had offered to pay him extra today if he stayed back…along with the offer to take food back home for him and his sister.

“Here you go.” Kit watched P’Aun set two cups in front of Khun Thong as he was cleaning away the tables.

“Come here, Nong Kit.” Khun Thong invited him over. “Join me for some tea.”

A bit hesitant at first, Kit nonetheless accepted the offer because he hadn't had anything since lunch at the University…and that had been almost six hours ago. It was getting late and he was hungry. Tea wouldn’t help much, but he was lucky to have someone offer him a warm beverage on a cold rainy day, right?

So he sat opposite to Khun Thong and took a sip of his warm tea, enjoying the silence as well as wishing for the rain to stop quickly so he could go back home already. He wondered if his sister was stuck in traffic or at her workplace because of the rain as well.

“So, Kit…I heard that you have a lot of debt to pay.”

Kit almost spit out the drink from his mouth as he heard Khun’s words, his eyes widening in horror. He had only started working here a week ago…then how did Khun Thong know about his debt?

“Khun…” He wanted to ask his employee how he knew about it, but he was suddenly afraid as he felt his heart beat speed up.

“Look, Kit,” Khun Thong sighed, his big body hunching forward as he placed a hand on top of Kit’s. “My shop is small and has a fixed set of customers. I’m not a big shot…but I have money…money that can help you.”

Was it because of Khun Thong’s words…or was it because he was scared of his secret being discovered, but…why did he suddenly feel so hot?

“I…I don’t need…” when his words jumbled up, Kit knew something was wrong for sure. But as he tried to get up from his seat, his body suddenly feeling heavy…Khun’s hand on top of his stopped him from moving away.

Thunder crashed through the sky once again, lighting up the entire room and it made Kit see the wicked gleam in Khun Thong’s eyes as his hand crept up to hold onto him more firmly. Kit had suddenly lost all strength and he was starting to realize that it might not be fatigue or the fact that he hadn't eaten anything for almost six hours.

He had been drugged.

“But like all loan sharks out there…I want something in return.” Khun Thong’s smile told him that he had his prey exactly where he wanted him. “But don’t worry…I’m not deducting interest in money. I’ll give you 50,000 baht…but in return, you have to be mine for the rest of the month.”

Kit shook his head, trying yet again to get away. The chairs scraping against the floor caused a shrill noise as Kit stood up, ready to leave and Khun Thong stood with him, his hands still holding onto the boy with enough force to leave bruises.

“Mai…” (No)

Kit’s voice came out breathless, his whole body hot as he felt his pants tighten. What had they put into my drink?

“Khun!” P’Aun’s voice sounded from the kitchen, giving Kit momentary hope, but when Khun Thong turned to him with his eyes ablaze, P’Aun was forced to lower his head.

“Remember your debt to me, Aun!” Khun shouted at the man in his late twenties. “Or do you want your sister to pay off the debt for you?”

No! Kit had made a grave mistake!

He had thought that Khun Thong ran a fair, legal business…but underneath it all, he too was another debt collector and one that was just as nasty as those who barged on Kit’s door regularly, terrorizing him and his sister. He had fallen into the trap of another debtor.

“Let me go…please.” Kit begged. “I don’t need payment…I don’t need anything!”

He wanted to escape! He wanted to get the hell out of there!

He had never wanted to get into this kind of a situation!

But this time, when Khun Thong reached out to touch him over his pants inappropriately…his legs gave out from under him, making it easier for Khun to do what he wanted.

“There, there.” Khun caught the younger boy in his arms, grinning from ear to ear. “Good boy…just sit back and enjoy it.”

Khun fumbled with the buckle of his belt as his free hand went to his behind, fondling him over his pants as he got impatient.

Kit bit down on his lips, trying hard to find the strength to push him off, but whatever they had put into his drink was potent…and it made him weak…so weak and pathetic…

Help…

He pleaded out to whoever was listening…

Help me…

“And here I thought I was about to walk into a friendly little diner.”