BCJ 3 • the baby and his sitter

***

Kao glanced at the key in his hand then at the door in front of him. He has never been this conflicted.

He attempted to knock, then paused.

His boss must have trusted him so much for him to give a copy of the key to his son's unit when in fact they barely knew him. In fact they don't know him at all.

He hesitated and tried to weigh the consequences of his decision. He even attempted to return the keys to his boss before going there, but there he was, clutching the thing that may or may not change his life.

He heaved a deep sigh before finally sputtering words of whatever shit happens and unlocked the door with trembling hands, pushing it right after.

He marveled at the place. The unit was so huge and clean that it could probably house a party of 50 people. And at the same time, it was vacant and not a single trace of human could be detected.

Kao tried calling out for someone but the halls remained empty so he decided to just settle his things on the nearby couch and headed to the kitchen.

It was where he found the real battle, for in the sink was a pile of dirty plates and several empty cups of instant noodles. It seemed that they hadn't been washed for several days based on the green musty organisms that were starting to appear on the plates, not to add the fact that some squiggly lines started moving on some of the plates.

He then looked at the other side of the house and noticed a pair of socks on the floor.

"Ugh, great. Talk about babysitting," he grunted before marching towards the door which he deemed as the bedroom.

He knocked on the door a couple times but no one answered. He knocked again but this time a topless chinky man opened the door and grinned at him. He eventually recognized him—Kristoffer Khai.

"Oh, who do we got here? Dude! You've got visitor!" Khai called out.

Kao furrowed in confusion as he looked at the man in front of him before someone else pushed him aside.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Pete's voice hollered in the entire area.

***

"Dad! I told you I don't need a babysitter! And besides I'm not a baby. Come on, I'm a full grownup!"

"Well, clearly you're not acting like one."

"Daaaad!"

Kao swallowed nervously as he watched Pete argue with his father who apparently rushed over when Pete threatened him that he'd burn the entire building.

"My decision is final, Pete. It's either you let Kao accompany you on weekends or you move with your Aunt Carrie to London."

"No! I'm not going anywhere."

"Then, you act like a full grownup and be responsible. I gotta go. I still have another meeting to attend to."

Kao could feel the glares Pete was shooting him at the back of his head.

As he was well compensated for his job, he decided it was best to ignore his "baby" and started cleaning the kitchen.

He couldn't help but grimace at the amount of chaos he had to clean.

"Get me some juice," Pete ordered out of nowhere.

He threw him a glare first before giving him the fakest smile he could muster.

"What juice would you like, sir?"

"I want freshly-squeezed orange juice. You go buy some fruits from the market," Pete said flatly but he definitely caught a glimpse of the smirk on his face.

Kao decided not to argue as he deemed it unnecessary given how much of a jerk Pete can be.

"Money," he said nonchalantly but Pete just raised his brows.

"I need money. How am I supposed to buy what you want if you won't give me money?"

"Go figure it out on your own. I'm going to sleep. Just wake me up if you already have what I want," Pete said dismissively before heading to his bedroom.

"Ugh! I just, I just want to squeeze your brain instead, you freaking jerk!" he screamed in frustration as he stormed out of Pete's unit.

***

"That would be 765 in total, Sir."

Kao swallowed hard and thickly as he clutched the money in his hand tightly before handing it to the cashier. He even had to use some from his initial pay just to cater to the whims of Pete.

He was on his way out when someone accidentally bumped into him, making him drop the bag of oranges he was holding.

With horror, he watched as the fruits started rolling on the floor and almost screamed in terror when two of them were squashed into pieces when someone accidentally stepped on them.

"Are you fucking blind?!" he turned to the guy but immediately paused upon seeing the fear on the guy's face.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Then use your eyes next time!"

He frustratingly ran a hand through his hair and started picking up the fruits.

"I'll buy you new ones," the guy apologetically offered.

Kao eyed the guy cautiously and studied his features, trying to figure out based on his looks if he could be trusted or not.

"A-are you okay? Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you. By the way, I'm John Kavine. And you... are?"

Kao clicked his tongue and handed the bruised oranges to the guy before strutting his way back to the fruit section.

***

"Again, I'm very sorry for what happened earlier," Kavine apologized for the nth time as he parked the car in front of the building.

Right after replacing the oranges, Kavine offered to give him a ride which he gladly accepted because he knew that Pete would definitely run his mouth if he would take much longer time.

"Apology accepted for the nth time. I'll go ahead."

"Wait, I, uh, do you live here? I mean, I'm not trying to invade your privacy."

"I work here."

"Work?"

"I gotta go."

***

Pete threw another popcorn at the TV and impatiently glanced at the clock.

45 minutes.

Kao had been gone for almost an hour. He shouldn't have taken that much time given that the market was just a 20-minute drive away.

With glaring eyes, he glanced at the door and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

"Ugh! What's taking him so long?" he exasperated as he threw the popcorn towards the door only for it to fling open, revealing the guy he'd been waiting for.

"What the hell is wrong with you??" Kao exclaimed deeming him speechless at his sudden outburst. In his hand was a paper bag which he presumed contained the oranges he asked him to buy.

"I-I want my orange juice right now!" he reasoned out as he was rather caught off guard with how Kao reacted.

"Tss. Please, wait for a while, your highness," Kao sarcastically replied before trudging towards the kitchen.

He just followed him with his gaze. Sure enough, Kao's presence in his place bothered him. Well, his entire existence bothered him. From the moment he first laid his eyes on him, he knew Kao was gonna test his patience.

Kao then came back with a glass of orange juice in his hand. With furrowed brows, he placed it on the glass table, making a tinkling sound.

"Oh, I realized, I don't wanna drink orange juice anymore. Get me a can of beer from the fridge," he ordered with a smirk and let out a chuckle when he noticed Kao clenching his fist. "Oh, are you defying the order of your master now? Remember, my father is paying you to take care of me."

Kao let out a sigh before turning his back on him. He could sense him silently cursing him which he found amusing. He immediately called Khai as a plan crossed his mind.

"Khai, gather the boys. We'll have a party at my place later. Tell them not to bring anything. I've got everything covered."

With a sly smile, he glanced at Kao who violently placed the can of beer on the glass table, making it shake a little.

You're asking for hell then I'm gonna show what it feels like, he thought to himself as he opened the can, his eyes never leaving Kao's.

***