Chapter Text
“Ah, I’m probably boring you. Just remember to bring a shovel if you come, okay?” A sweet-sounding male voice reminded its friend through a phone.
Bang !
“Mn. See you then.” The short winded man on the other end replied.
Bang !
“Well, I’ve got to go. See you soon!” The cheery man’s grin was visible even without being there physically.
Bang !
“See you.”
Beep beep- your call has been disconnected.
Pocketing his phone, the tight-lipped man brushed his gloved hands together to wipe the blood off.
Mondays, amirite?
Putting his gun back in its holster, he huffed.
He didn’t want to be there right then.
If it were his choice, he would be back at his apartment watching reruns of Too Cute and drinking a strawberry milkshake (he would never admit this to his friends, of course).
Too bad the choice was never his.
Ram, as much as he hated it, was bound like a dog on a chain; cursed to forever bring the bone back, even if the master is unfaithful.
It wasn’t a surprise.
If he could be unfaithful to his wife- if he could be unfaithful to his child too- he could be unfaithful to his job as well.
Sadly, there was no way to get out of those types of duties.
It was better for him that Ruj wouldn’t be doing the dangerous work.
Ram was trained, highly skilled- he could handle it.
Vrrr !
A sigh.
Vrrr !
A pause.
Vrrr !
A click.
“P’Ram! Finally you answer. You still need a ride?” Asked a familiar voice.
Ram thought for a moment, trying to calm himself before he snapped at the woman.
“It’s not bad.”
Silence.
“Taking the bus.”
He could hear crying on the other end of the phone.
“You sure? I can always come get you- oh hush hush hush! I’m making the bottle right now-” Pin cooed her baby gently.
Ram bit his tongue.
“It’s alright, I’m already on my way. Talk later.”
Beep beep! Your call has been disconnected.
He wasn’t a stingy person.
He didn’t enjoy talking, sure, but he was fine with other things.
Yet, the reminders of what his father did- reminders of the betrayal, of the the heartbreak, of his mother’s tear stained face when she learned the truth-
Those made him stingy.
Those made him mad.
They were a perfect, happy family, minus the whole mafia thing.
They were content for so long… and his father had to go and do something so idiotic.
Ram paused before he shook his head, as if to physically disperse his train of thought.
There was no use dwelling on the past- it was better to focus on the present.
Present being: where is he supposed to find a shovel?
It’s not like he can just waltz into a Walmart with his current outfit.
Maybe he should invest in something more colorful.
Some shuffling, pushing bodies around, and stepping over large red puddles later, and he was on his merry way.
He was actually rather thankful for the job he was given today, since at least it was close to the plot of land for the community garden he was assisting in planting.
Did he want to do that?
Not really.
Was he going to do it anyways?
Yeah.
Of course someone as silent and unapproachable as him would get roped into a task that could involve social interaction.
Woo talking to people~!
How scary~!
He could imagine that in the asshole Tingting’s voice, which served as fuel to his salty mood.
Unless the heavens themselves were going to open up and give him some golden opportunity today, he really didn’t see the point in trying so hard.
Was the community even going to use the gardens?
It was a relatively new area, and he doubted many of the young families living nearby had the time or energy to work on it.
Ding ding! The bus has now arrived at XXX station.
He stopped his thoughts before they could once again get out of hand, and it finally registered that they were on the stop he should get out of.
There was a store near Duen’s apartment (right next to the plot of land, what a coincidence) if he truly needed the shovel, but the idea of getting the work done and having a nice warm shower was more pleasant than that of searching through aisles of metal tools.
It wasn’t a long walk before he could make out many familiar faces, and his best friend greeted him with a warm grin.
“P’Ram! I’m glad you made it!” Duen waved as his friend got closer, “Bohn brought a shovel so you’re fine.”
Ram mentally rolled his eyes.
“Right,” he nodded in understanding, “instructions?”
His friend thought for a moment.
“Hmm… you should probably ask the project organizer.” He decided, slamming his fist on his palm in triumph.
Huh?
The short-winded man tilted his head to the side in confusion.
“He’s a gardener,” the sinnamon roll explained, “P’King. He invited us all to help, so we’re following what he tells us.”
He then points to a small section a ways away, where the back of a strange man huddled by a bush could be seen.
Ram didn’t feel the need to respond, and instead trotted over to figure out what his job would be.
If he was told to just stand around and wait for something heavy to need lifting, he wouldn’t be against that.
Ram waiied respectfully, “Are you P’King?”
The stranger looked up, the sun's light casting a warm glow over his body and making his bucket hat shade his face perfectly.
Said organizer’s overall straps were almost falling, and he had dirt stains all over his face.
“Ah, hello!” This new ‘King’ greeted, using his hand to try and wipe some of the mud off his cheek and only further messing it up, “what do you need?”
Silence.
It wasn’t as if Ram wanted to be rude, he just..
He rarely talked to people outside of his circle, let alone someone quite like- like that .
The handsome gardener didn't seem to be deterred by his lack of response, though.
“You just got here, right? I think P’Tee might need some help unloading plants from the truck.” He suggested with a smile that Ram could only describe as ‘dazzling and mildly annoying’.
Ram turned to gaze in the volunteers direction.
Moving things wouldn’t involve much verbal communication, and he could just nod and follow whatever his senior had to say.
It was decent enough… he just wished he could work with one of his closer friends.
Ones who understood his desire to speak as little as possible.
“Or…” King followed his gaze, “You could help me pull weeds? I could use the extra hands.”
The quiet man paused, mentally weighing his options.
If he were to go to Tee there was no doubt he’d bug him to speak, but it was the kind of labor he expected.
If he were to stay with King… Well, he didn’t know what he’d be getting into.
Worst case scenario he has to speak as much as he would’ve with his other senior, best case scenario they could just get through the job and not have to deal with each other ever again.
“Okay.” He nodded his assent, dropping to kneel next to the organizer.
King flashed a bright smile.
“Great! We need to relocate this bush before we get started, I was just making sure it was healthy.” He explained, “can you grab two shovels?”
Ram stayed silent, simply trotting over and taking the necessary supplies despite Bohn’s whining.
He didn’t really like Bohn much anways.
Back in a matter of minutes, he held the tools out to his senior.
“Great!” His senior looked up at him, taking one of the shovels, “We need to dig the roots out so we can move it to the spot I marked earlier.”
The short-winded man gave him a blank expression as the gardener demonstrated how to do so.
“We’ve moved a couple already, but some people had to go home, which is why I need your help. You’re not much of a talker are you, huh stranger?” He laughed, adjusting the straps of his overalls.
What kind of a person is this?
So blinding and yet so… weird.
Yes, that’s the best way to describe him.
Weird.
Not the way Tingting was weird, nor any of his friends.
Just… weird.
He didn’t seem to expect an answer back.
Everyone expects something back.
“Oh, looks like you have the hang of it!” The older complimented, “Hm… it’s odd to keep calling you a stranger.”
Ram sighed, about to disclose his name when King’s voice cut him off.
“Well,” he studied the tight-lipped man, “Since you have cool tattoos, I’ll just call you cool boy.”
Cool boy ?
He repeated the word in his head.
Well, it wasn’t a rude nickname at least.
Yet, Ram wasn’t sure if the word cool could be used to describe him.
“So cool boy, you’re one of the ones Duen got to come right? The new one?” He asked, looking at the other with intrigue.
Ram didn’t hold his gaze, focusing his attention on the motions of the shovel as it dug into the dirt.
“I was wondering how he got you to come, but I guess you were so quiet he took it as a yes.” King joked, making the junior roll his eyes.
The program leader gazed at his helper with eyes filled with curiosity; and possibly humor.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a good listener?”
He laughed the deep kind of laugh, the kind of heartfelt laugh that makes you throw your head back and smile wide.
A kind that made Ram focus on his task even more diligently- made him more aware of the afternoon heat because that was the only reason his ears were a light shade of pink.
It wasn’t that far-fetched of a claim.
It was super hot outside.
“Damn, I really hope Boss gets here soon. He’s bringing food.” Said the project organizer wishfully, wiping sweat off his forehead.
The younger paused to write softly in the dirt, “Who?”
King’s face lit up.
“My friend!” He explained with a satisfied grin, “We met a few years ago and he helped me with this sort of stuff- well, until he got married. Now he’s just the designated food bringer.”
The quiet man continued on with his job.
“Oh- and it’s not like I’m mad at him or anything. I’m happy for them, since I knew the guy he’s married to from highschool. Just… Ugh, they really need to learn to keep down the PDA.” He ranted.
What an interesting thing.
Love in itself was a mystery to Ram, with all of its secrets.
Before, he thought what his parents had was love.
They grew up in two very different cultures and had to beg their parents to let them marry.
They had been so in love, so happy and pure.
It seemed as if they were a match made in Heaven- a pair perfect for one another.
Yet, everything fell apart.
After that Ram wasn’t sure what love really was.
Perhaps it didn’t even exist since even the most faithful could do things so horribly betraying.
Considering Ram only had a tiny, incredibly select group of friends, it wasn’t exactly a shock he had never felt that way.
Fleeting crushes and a slightly elevated heartbeat hardly ever amassed anything.
He’d only ever gone on a date once- thanks, Tingting- and it had practically been over before it had begun.
The girl had started talking about her boyfriend.
On a date.
With someone else.
He noped out of that as quickly as he could.
Why waste time on something that wouldn’t last?
He had a family to protect and plenty of friends that acted like children (especially Duen, no matter how much he refuted it).
“Hey, cool boy.” King called the juniors attention, “Can you just not talk or…?”
Ram blinked.
“Don’t like to.” He stated simply, not at all paying attention to the tiny gasp next to him.
“So you can!” The senior exclaimed, earning an eye roll.
At last, they had dug the roots out.
Ram could hear King’s happy cheers as they moved the bush to it’s new spot.
“Finally done!” The gardener sighed, “Now we can start planting the pre-bought things and seeds.”
Duen trotted over to them.
“Need any help? Me and Bohn just got done.” He questioned.
“Yeah, actually, can you help us start planting? Oh, and tell Bohn to help Tee unload the rest of the plants. He’s been waiting for an extra hand.” Seeing the cheerful man instruct someone so seriously was a little bit of a surprise for Ram.
Maybe this guy wasn’t a total idiot.
“Got it!” Duen mock-saluted, earning a laugh from his taller friend.
The tight-lipped junior just waited awkwardly to learn what he was supposed to do.
“So,” King turned to him, “I’m going to need your help digging the holes for the plants that are already grown. We got them plus the seeds to make it look nicer.”
Clueless ‘cool boy’ just looked over at the plants in confusion.
How… is that done?
The gardener chuckled to himself, “I’ll show you how to do it if you don’t know. Follow me.”
The pair both took a single plant, and stood in front of the first row.
“See how these are all sectioned?” The project organizer gestured to the rows on the plot of land, “It’s to help us know where to put what thing. The one I’m holding is a mint plant, so it’s going to go in the second row.”
Well, it seemed he was a gardener for a reason, since he definitely knew his stuff.
Unless he was just winging it.
Ram would be none the wiser.
“The reason we’re planting these in big planting boxes instead of the actual ground is to make sure that each plant has the right kind of soil.” Sounds smart enough, “We didn’t have the funds for a greenhouse but… maybe one day.”
His wishful thinking didn't seem disappointed or sad.
No, King looked… certain.
It was like he just knew they’d build a greenhouse in the future.
Like other possibilities never crossed his mind.
“Very determined.” Ram found himself commenting without thinking.
The senior looked at him with intrigue.
“Me?” He asked.
Ram nodded.
“Yeah, I’ve been told that.”