Po and Earn had known each other since their school days. Baifern wasn't particularly fond of him. She once said, "If my friend likes him, I'll turn a blind eye." Earn always told Po that he couldn't do without him, that he wanted to succeed together with Po - and EarnChop would be the key to that.
Po quit his promising full-time job to give Earn more time to fully commit to developing his app. Po took care of everything for Earn: doing laundry, washing dishes, and making sure there was food on the table. Earn, in turn, would sit in the same spot almost all day, focused on building the app.
To make ends meet, Po worked at a suit shop, earning just enough to keep the two of them afloat. App development generated no income but came with massive expenses. Sometimes, Po would call his parents to borrow money, carefully noting every baht and promising to pay them back once EarnChop succeeded. After work, he'd buy two sandwiches - one for himself and one for Earn - and continue helping Earn with tasks when he got back to their apartment.
The day the app was completed, they hugged in joy, celebrating with beers on the condo balcony. Po envisioned a bright future with Earn.
On the launch day of EarnShop, Earn invited numerous investors to a hotel ballroom. Dressed in a casual suit, he confidently presented the app, earning thunderous applause. Investors expressed keen interest, and Earn became a millionaire overnight. Po stood in the crowd, clapping with pride. But then, Earn proclaimed to everyone that the success of EarnShop was entirely his own doing.
At that moment, Po felt as though all the moisture in his body had evaporated. His ears buzzed with the sound of applause for the man on stage. Earn didn't have to credit Po for supporting him in other parts of his life, but he should have at least mentioned that the app's design and some of its features were Po's contributions. Yet Earn said nothing.
When they returned to the apartment, they had a huge argument. Earn claimed he had done nothing wrong, arguing that he was the one who had created the most critical parts of the app. People would invest in him as a talented developer, not in a capable team. Po couldn't refute that; he knew nothing about how these things worked. He wasn't someone who sought to win arguments or stand in the spotlight. He could live in Earn's shadow. But then Earn said they should break up because they had grown too different from each other. Po didn't understand those words.
"I'm on the verge of great success, but you're not. How could I tell anyone that my partner is someone who works part-time at a suit shop? People would just laugh at you."
Po was stunned into silence.
"When two people are no longer on the same level, breaking up is the right thing to do."
Earn packed up his belongings and left the apartment that had served as his base for success. He took everything of value Po had to offer, leaving behind only the things he no longer needed - ideas, old work, drafts, and Po himself.
As Po slumped to the floor in the now-empty room, surrounded by remnants of Earn's presence, he made a vow to himself: never again. Never again would he let someone like this into his life - someone who would achieve success only to abandon others without a second thought. Someone this selfish. Never again.
TO BE CONTINUED.