Chapter 24

The garden felt quieter after Ngern's grandmother and Mali went inside. The absence of their voices left behind only the rustling of leaves and the occasional chirp of birds. Jes turned to Ngern, scanning him with a calculating eye.

"Sit," Jes instructed, gesturing to the wooden bench where his grandmother had just been.

Ngern blinked. "Why?"

Jes lifted his camera in response. "I'm taking your picture."

For a second, Ngern just stared at him. "You... you don't take photos of people."

Jes shrugged. "Not often." He adjusted the camera strap on his shoulder and looked at Ngern expectantly. "But I want to now."

Ngern wasn't sure why that single sentence made his heart race.

Swallowing, he did as he was told, sitting down but feeling incredibly self-conscious. Jes lifted the camera to his eye, but after a moment, he let it drop again.

"You're stiff," Jes said, unimpressed. "Relax a little."

"That's easy for you to say," Ngern grumbled, shifting awkwardly. "You're not the one being stared at through a lens."

Jes rolled his eyes. "You're an actor."

"That's different! I'm used to being directed, not—"

"Fine. Let me direct you, then." Jes exhaled, stepping closer. He reached out and adjusted the way Ngern was sitting, gently nudging his chin up, tilting his shoulders a little. Ngern was so focused on the warmth of Jes's fingertips against his skin that he barely registered Jes stepping back again.

Jes lifted the camera once more. "Now just look at me."

That was easier said than done.

Ngern met Jes's eyes through the lens, and suddenly, it felt like the world around them disappeared. There was no garden, no house, no morning breeze—just the weight of Jes's gaze behind the camera, steady and intent.

Jes clicked the shutter.

Another.

Another.

Each snap of the camera felt like it was capturing something beyond the moment itself—something unspoken, something that lingered between them.

Jes pulled the camera down, his lips curling slightly in satisfaction. "That'll do."

Ngern let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

Jes sat beside him, opening the camera's screen to scroll through the photos. Ngern leaned in, peering over his shoulder, and the first photo had him stunned.

"Wait... these are—"

Jes clicked to the next one. Ngern looked so at ease, so unguarded. His eyes, his smile—Jes had somehow caught him in a way no other camera ever had.

"These are really good," Ngern muttered, awed.

Jes hummed, tilting the screen for a better view. "Yeah."

Ngern turned his head slightly, his gaze slipping from the screen to Jes instead. The sunlight hit Jes's face just right, casting shadows over the curve of his jaw, the slope of his nose. His expression was calm, absorbed in the images, completely unaware of the way Ngern was looking at him now.

Without thinking, without realizing what he was doing—

Ngern leaned in and pressed the softest, briefest kiss to Jes's lips.

The moment it happened, his brain caught up with his actions.

Jes went rigid, his breath hitching, his fingers still hovering over the camera. Ngern pulled back immediately, eyes wide, panic seizing his chest.

"I—"

Jes blinked, still stunned. He wasn't reacting. He wasn't saying anything.

Ngern's stomach dropped.

"I—" Ngern tried again, struggling for words. "I didn't—"

Jes finally turned to look at him, lips still parted slightly, as if trying to process what had just happened.

The air between them felt heavier now.

Ngern didn't know what to do. So he did the only thing that came to mind.

"...Delete the photos," he blurted out.

Jes, still dazed, frowned. "What?"

Ngern gestured vaguely at the camera. "Delete them. I can't look at them after—after that."

Jes, slowly coming back to himself, blinked again—then scoffed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes!" Ngern's voice pitched higher. "I panicked! I just—I wasn't thinking and—"

Jes closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and then looked at Ngern like he was the single dumbest person in existence.

"I'm not deleting them," Jes said, voice flat.

Ngern groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Oh my god."

Jes was still staring at him.

Still feeling the ghost of that kiss.

Jes exhaled, setting the camera down on his lap. His heart was still hammering, but he wasn't sure if it was from the kiss itself or from Ngern's complete and utter panic over it.

Ngern was still sitting beside him, hands over his face, shoulders tense.

Jes sighed. "You're acting like you just committed a crime."

Ngern peeked at him between his fingers. "Did I not?"

Jes gave him an unimpressed look. "You kissed me. You didn't rob a bank."

"That's debatable," Ngern muttered, dragging his hands down his face. "I might've just stolen my own dignity."

Jes stared at him for a beat, then rolled his eyes. He shifted slightly, nudging Ngern's arm with his elbow. "You really want me to delete the photos?"

Ngern groaned. "Please don't talk about the photos right now."

Jes smirked a little, but it faded as he looked at Ngern properly. His ears were still red, his expression twisted into something between regret and absolute mortification. Jes didn't know whether to find it amusing or to take it more seriously.

"Ngern," Jes said after a moment, his voice quieter.

Ngern swallowed. "Yeah?"

Jes hesitated. He didn't know what he was supposed to say here. Was he supposed to call it out? Laugh it off? Pretend it never happened?

The truth was, Jes didn't really mind.

His lips still tingled from the kiss, from the sheer unexpectedness of it. But it hadn't felt bad. It hadn't even felt entirely out of place.

It had felt like something that had been waiting to happen.

Jes watched Ngern fidget beside him, clearly expecting Jes to scold him, or worse, walk away. And maybe Jes should be thinking harder about what this meant, about why his heart hadn't stopped racing yet.

But instead, he just leaned back against the bench and shrugged.

"It wasn't that bad."

Ngern turned to him so fast that Jes almost laughed. "What?"

Jes tilted his head. "The kiss. It wasn't that bad."

Ngern gawked at him. "Jes, I literally kissed you out of nowhere, and you're—"

Jes raised a brow. "Panicking?"

"Yes!"

Jes considered that, then shrugged again. "Well, one of us has to keep their cool."

Ngern looked at him like he had grown another head. "What is wrong with you?"

Jes chuckled, shaking his head. "You're overthinking it."

Ngern groaned, running his hands through his hair. "I shouldn't have done that," he muttered. "You're probably—ugh, forget it. Let's just—pretend it didn't happen."

Jes hummed. "That's an option."

Ngern frowned at him. "What's the other option?"

Jes met his gaze, holding it for a second longer than necessary.

"I don't know yet," Jes admitted. "Guess we'll find out."

Ngern visibly gulped. Jes saw it—the flicker of something in his eyes, the way his hands clenched slightly against his lap.

Jes looked away, pretending not to notice.

He picked up the camera again, scrolling through the photos once more.

"Either way," Jes said, voice lighter now, "I'm not deleting these."

Ngern groaned again, but Jes could hear the small, barely-there laugh that slipped out of him.

Jes smiled to himself, just a little.

Ngern groaned again, rubbing his hands over his face before finally lowering them, exhaling. He turned to Jes, eyes flicking between him and the camera in his hands.

Jes, completely unfazed, continued scrolling through the photos he had taken, stopping every so often to zoom in on a detail or tilt the screen towards the light.

Ngern squinted at him. "You're enjoying this way too much."

Jes didn't even look up. "You make it too easy."

Ngern let out a weak laugh, shaking his head. "I'm glad my existential crisis is entertaining for you."

Jes hummed noncommittally. "At least you admit it's a crisis."

Ngern sighed dramatically, leaning back against the bench and tilting his head up toward the sky. The late morning sunlight filtered through the leaves above them, dappling his face with soft shadows. Jes glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Ngern looked calm now, like he had finally exhaled whatever tension had been twisting up inside him. Jes wasn't sure what to make of that.

And he wasn't sure what to make of himself either.

Because he should be panicking, shouldn't he? Ngern had just kissed him. Out of nowhere. It wasn't something Jes had seen coming, nor something he'd thought about before.

And yet...

Jes lowered the camera onto his lap, looking down at his own hands. His fingers were still curled around the body of the camera, but the usual focus he had when handling it wasn't there.

Because the truth was, Jes hadn't hated it.

His lips still tingled faintly.

He wasn't entirely sure what that meant.

And he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

Jes exhaled sharply through his nose, shaking himself from his thoughts. He turned his head, catching Ngern still staring up at the sky, looking oddly peaceful now.

Jes clicked his tongue. "Are you done being weird?"

Ngern laughed, stretching his arms above his head. "Relax, I'm not gonna do it again."

Jes quirked a brow. "Not gonna?"

Ngern blinked at him. "What?"

Jes tilted his head. "You make it sound like you want to."

Ngern sputtered. "I—that's not what I—" He clamped his mouth shut, visibly processing what he had just said. Then, he groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Forget it."

Jes huffed a quiet laugh. "You really don't think before you act, do you?"

Ngern, muffled, muttered, "Not when it comes to you, apparently."

Jes froze.

The words weren't even spoken directly at him—more of a frustrated mumble to himself—but Jes still heard them. Loud and clear.

His fingers twitched.

Ngern must have realized what he said a second too late because he suddenly went still, slowly lowering his hands from his face.

Jes exhaled, standing up.

"Come on," he said, stretching his arms before grabbing his camera bag. "Let's go inside before your grandma thinks we ran off somewhere."

Ngern blinked up at him, looking caught between confusion and relief. "You're not gonna say anything?"

Jes gave him a look. "What do you want me to say?"

Ngern opened his mouth. Then shut it.

Jes sighed, shifting the strap of his bag onto his shoulder. "Think about it properly first. Then ask me again."

And with that, Jes turned on his heel and headed toward the house, leaving Ngern to sit there, utterly speechless.