The laughter around the table hadn't even fully faded when Kit cleared his throat again.
Too stiff.
Too formal.
Too suspicious.
"We came for preparations," he repeated.
Non leaned back in his chair slowly.
"Preparations," he echoed. "On the yacht. At night."
Taeng crossed his arms. "Why are you all looking at us like that?"
Pim blinked innocently. "Oh, nothing."
Amara tilted her head. "It's just interesting timing."
Kit's eyes moved across the deck.
Then he stopped.
On Chak.
On me.
On Chak's hand — still resting very openly against mine on the table.
His eyebrows lifted.
Slowly.
"…You told them."
Chak didn't deny it.
"They know."
Taeng's shoulders visibly dropped in relief.
"Oh thank God," he muttered. "I was about to fake amnesia."
Non gasped dramatically.
"YOU KNEW TOO?!"
Taeng winced. "Please don't start screaming."
Pim turned to them sharply. "Wait. Since when did you two know?"
Kit exchanged a quick glance with Taeng.
Chak answered instead.
"They've known."
"From the start." Before we started dating." I said.
Non clutched his chest again. "Everyone knew except us? What is this? A secret society?"
Amara narrowed her eyes at Kit. "And you just kept quiet?"
Kit shrugged slightly. "It wasn't my secret to tell."
Something about that answer made the atmosphere soften again.
Pim sighed. "Fine. That's… actually respectful."
Non wasn't done.
"So what exactly were you two doing before you walked in shouting about lovebirds?"
Taeng froze.
Kit looked straight ahead.
Silence.
Then—
Taeng cleared his throat. "We were… discussing wedding logistics."
Non squinted. "While holding hands?"
Dead silence.
Pim's jaw dropped.
Amara's eyes widened.
And for the first time since arriving—
Kit lost his composure.
"Taeng," he said quietly.
Taeng blinked. "…What?"
"You forgot to deny it."
The entire table erupted.
Non stood up dramatically. "DOUBLE DATE. I KNEW IT."
"It was not a double date!" Taeng protested immediately.
Chak raised one eyebrow.
"Sit down," he said calmly.
They did.
Immediately.
I glanced up for just a second.
Kit's gaze met mine.
There was no judgment there.
No teasing.
Just something steady.
Understanding.
Taeng leaned forward slightly.
"So…" he said carefully. "How bad was the reaction?"
Non pointed at himself proudly. "I handled it with grace."
Pim hit him again.
"He cried."
"I did not cry," Non snapped. "I emotionally expressed betrayal."
Chak's thumb brushed lightly against my knuckles under the table.
A small, grounding movement.
I finally lifted my eyes fully.
Not at everyone.
Just at Chak.
He looked… calm.
But there was something softer in his expression now.
Something unguarded.
"They support us," he said quietly — more to me than to anyone else.
My chest tightened again.
Support.
Not scandal.
Not rejection.
Support.
Non suddenly leaned across the table.
"One question," he declared.
Everyone looked at him warily.
He pointed between me and Chak.
"Who confessed first?"
My brain short-circuited.
Pim gasped. "YES. Important."
Amara leaned forward eagerly. "Details."
Taeng smirked.
Kit crossed his arms, clearly entertained.
I could feel heat climbing up my neck again.
Chak didn't look away.
He didn't hesitate.
"I did."
The table went silent for a split second.
Then—
Non slammed his hand on the table. "I KNEW IT."
Pim looked at me in disbelief. "And you said yes immediately?"
I swallowed.
"…Yes."
Amara squealed softly.
Taeng covered his mouth to hide a grin.
Kit just nodded slowly.
"About time," he muttered.
Chak's fingers intertwined with mine openly now.
No hiding.
No pretending.
The yacht swayed gently with the water.
Laughter blended with teasing questions.
Fruit bowls were half empty.
The night air felt lighter.
And for the first time since everything came out—
I didn't feel exposed.
I felt seen.
And somehow—
That was far more terrifying.
But also…
Far more beautiful.
Non suddenly straightened in his chair.
His eyes widened slowly.
Suspiciously.
"Wait."
Oh no.
I knew that tone.
He pointed dramatically between me and Taeng.
"Now everything makes sense."
Taeng blinked. "That sentence never ends well."
Non ignored him completely.
"That's why yesterday," he said slowly, narrowing his eyes at me, "only Niran and Taeng went to the yacht."
Silence.
My heart skipped.
Pim's head snapped toward us. "Wait. It's true."
I could feel every pair of eyes land on me again.
I suddenly found the fruit plate very interesting.
"It was for work," Taeng said quickly.
Non scoffed. "Work? On a yacht?"
"Yes," Taeng insisted."Cooking.'
"Cooking" Pim repeated suspiciously.
Non pointed again. "Private cooking?"
I swallowed.
Chak remained calm beside me.
Too calm.
Taeng crossed his arms defensively. "Excuse me, I was there to check ingredients and cooking."
Kit leaned looks Taeng lips and lick his own lips.
Non leaned back dramatically. "And Niran was there to check what exactly?"
My face burned.
Amara suddenly covered her mouth.
Her eyes widened in realization.
"Oh my God."
She slowly looked at me.
Then at Chak.
Then back at me.
"We ruined it."
I blinked. "Ruined what?"
"The double date," she said, horrified. "We ruined the double date!"
The entire table froze.
Taeng choked.
"There was no double date!" he protested.
Non gasped loudly. "SO THERE WAS A DOUBLE DATE."
"There was not!"
Pim slapped the table. "This is better than television."
I risked a glance at Chak.
He looked mildly annoyed now.
Which meant he was very annoyed.
"We were reviewing details," he said evenly.
Non waved a dismissive hand. "Details. Yes. Romantic details."
Amara groaned dramatically. "We showed up uninvited and destroyed the mood."
Taeng rubbed his temples. "There was no mood to destroy."
Kit, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke.
"Technically," he said calmly, "you did interrupt something."
The deck exploded again.
Non stood up. "CONFIRMED."
I buried my face in my hands.
This is a nightmare.
Chak gently pulled my hands away from my face.
"Relax," he murmured low enough that only I could hear.
"I can't," I whispered back.
He leaned closer slightly.
"You're cute when you panic."
My brain stopped functioning entirely.
Meanwhile, Amara looked genuinely guilty.
"I'm so sorry," she said dramatically. "We thought we were just sightseeing."
Non placed a hand over his heart. "And instead we discovered betrayal."
Pim rolled her eyes. "You weren't betrayed. You were delusional."
Non gasped.
Taeng leaned back finally, defeated.
"For the record," he said, pointing at everyone, "if there had been a double date, you all would still not have been invited."
That earned him three simultaneous gasps.
Kit just shook his head quietly.
Chak's fingers were still laced with mine under the table.
Firm.
Steady.
Unashamed.
Non slowly sat back down, still muttering.
"I can't believe we interrupted romance."
Amara sighed dramatically. "We are the worst friends."
I finally dared to look up again.
At all of them.
They weren't angry.
They weren't judging.
They were teasing.
Laughing.
Adjusting.
And somehow…
Still here.
Chak squeezed my hand once.
"They'll survive," he said calmly.
Non pointed at him immediately. "We will survive, but I expect wedding invitations."
Chak didn't miss a beat.
"You'll receive one."
The table went silent for a split second.
Then—
Non screamed.
Pim shrieked.
Amara nearly knocked over her chair.
And I—
I just stared at him.
Wedding.
He said it so easily.
So naturally.
Like it wasn't impossible.
Like it wasn't dangerous.
Like it was simply… inevitable.
And for the first time that night—
The idea didn't scare me.
It felt real.
Non suddenly stood up.
Too suddenly.
His chair scraped loudly against the wooden deck.
Pim looked at him. "What now?"
He raised one dramatic hand in the air like he was announcing something historic.
"We," he declared, pointing at Pim, Amara and then Anamarija, "will no longer disturb this… clearly very important double date."
Amara gasped softly. "Yes. We've done enough emotional damage for one night."
Pim stood up too, smoothing her shirt. "We are mature adults. We know when to leave."
Anamarija rose more calmly than the others, but there was amusement in her eyes.
Non looked at me and Taeng.
"We'll see you in the room," he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "We have questions. A lot of questions."
My heart skipped.
"No," I said immediately.
Too fast.
Too firm.
Everyone blinked.
I cleared my throat. "I'm not coming to the room."
Non froze. "Excuse me?"
"I'm staying in the room of my boyfrien," I added, trying to sound casual and absolutely failing.
Taeng raised his hand calmly. "I'm not coming either."
All eyes turned to him.
Non squinted. "Oh?"
Taeng didn't hesitate. "If you think I'm walking into that interrogation chamber alone, you're insane."
Pim gasped dramatically. "Interrogation chamber?!"
Amara pointed at Taeng. "See? Suspicious behavior!"
Non looked between us slowly.
"So," he said carefully, "both of you are staying."
"Yes," Taeng and I said at the same time.
The silence lasted two seconds.
Then Non clutched his chest again.
"This is discrimination."
Chak, who had been watching everything quietly, finally spoke.
"You're free to go," he said smoothly. "No one is stopping you."
Non turned to him dramatically. "We're leaving because we're respectful."
"You're leaving because you're noisy," Chak corrected.
Pim burst out laughing.
Amara shook her head. "Okay, okay. We'll go."
She pointed at me. "But tomorrow? Details."
"Tomorrow," Pim agreed.
"Full report," Non added.
"No report," Chak said immediately.
Non ignored him. "At least a summary."
Anamarija stepped closer to the table one last time.
She looked at me gently.
"Breathe," she said quietly.
Then she glanced at Chak.
"Don't scare him too much."
Chak gave her a subtle look.
"I don't scare him."
I looked at him.
He absolutely does.
Non started walking toward the exit dramatically, then stopped halfway and turned back.
"If you hear dramatic crying later," he announced, "it's me processing betrayal."
Taeng rolled his eyes.
Amara waved. "Have fun, lovebirds."
Pim winked.
And just like that, they began stepping off the yacht one by one.
Non was last.
He pointed at me again.
"I'm still emotionally wounded."
Then he disappeared.
Silence returned.
Real silence this time.
Not heavy.
Not explosive.
Just… quiet.
I exhaled slowly.
Taeng looked at Kit.
"So," he said carefully, "since we're apparently part of a double date now…"
Kit raised an eyebrow. "Apparently."
Chak's hand found mine again under the table.
"You're not going to their room," he murmured.
I shook my head immediately.
"No."
He leaned closer.
"Good."
My heart betrayed me again.
Taeng sighed. "Well. Since we're staying…"
Kit pulled out a chair calmly. "Then we might as well sit."
Chak looked at them briefly.
"You knew," he said.
Kit nodded once. "Of course."
Taeng smirked. "We're not blind."
I felt my face warm again.
Chak squeezed my hand lightly.
And for the first time since the chaos started—
There was no hiding.
No pretending.
Just us.
On the yacht.
Under the night sky.
And no one left to interrupt.
The silence between the four of us wasn't awkward.
It was charged.
Taeng leaned back in his chair, looking from me to Chak, then to Kit, then back to us again.
"Well," he said slowly, "since we're all honest now…"
Kit gave him a look. "Don't."
Taeng ignored him.
"It feels weird pretending we didn't all just get exposed in one night."
I swallowed.
Chak's thumb traced slow circles against my knuckles under the table.
Grounding.
Claiming.
Kit stood up first.
Not dramatically. Just calmly.
He walked around the table toward Taeng.
Taeng didn't move.
He didn't look surprised either.
He just tilted his head slightly, a small smile forming.
"You're doing this?" Taeng asked softly.
Kit didn't answer.
He simply cupped Taeng's face.
And kissed him.
Not rushed.
Not shy.
Certain.
Open.
My breath caught.
Taeng melted into it immediately, one hand gripping the front of Kit's shirt like he'd been waiting all night to do that without hiding.
When they pulled apart, Taeng grinned.
"Kiki," he murmured.
Kit's lips curved faintly.
"Tea."
I blinked.
That was… unfairly soft.
Chak stood up next.
My pulse jumped.
He didn't rush either.
He came to stand in front of me, blocking out everything else.
For a second, it felt like we were alone again.
His hand lifted to my jaw.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
I nodded.
And then, without thinking—
"Chaky."
The name slipped out before I could stop it.
Taeng made a noise behind me like he'd just witnessed something historic.
Chak froze for half a second.
Then something in his expression shifted.
Softened.
Dangerously.
"My artist," he replied.
My heart stopped.
Actually stopped.
Before I could recover, he leaned down and kissed me.
Not careful.
Not staged.
Real.
I forgot about Kit and Taeng.
Forgot about the yacht.
Forgot about everything except the way his hand pressed at my waist and how safe it felt.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested briefly against mine.
Behind us, Taeng let out a low whistle.
"Okay," he muttered. "We're not competing with that."
Kit rolled his eyes but his hand was still resting on Taeng's back.
I felt heat rise to my face again, but this time—
I didn't look away.
Chak's arm slid around my shoulders as we both turned back toward the table.
Two couples.
No secrets.
No pretending.
Taeng crossed his arms playfully. "So this is what honesty feels like."
Kit glanced at him. "Loud."
Taeng grinned. "Free."
Chak squeezed me once more.
And for the first time—
Being seen didn't feel terrifying.
It felt right.