The problem with absence-
was that it created space.

Arthit noticed it first in the mornings.

No corrections.

No interruptions.

No-
unnecessary commentary.

The reports came back clean.

Too clean.

No marginal notes.

No precise, irritating annotations pointing out what he'd missed.

Just-
approval.

Efficient.

Useless.

"...he didn't say anything?"
Prem leaned over his desk, frowning at the file.

"No."

"That's... worse."

"I know."

Arthit flipped the page.
Nothing.
No corrections.
No-
him.

Bright snorted from across the room.
"Maybe he finally realized you're right all the time."

"That's not funny."

"It's a little funny."

"It's not."

Toota glanced up briefly.
"You're distracted."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I said I'm not."

A pause.
Then, quieter-
"...it's just quieter."

Prem exchanged a look with Bright.

Didn't comment.

Didn't need to.

Arthit tried to ignore it.

For a day.

Then two.

It didn't go away.

The absence-
persisted.

Kongpob was still there.
Technically.

Same office.

Same meetings.

Same-
presence.

But-
not directed.

Not at him.

The first time Arthit noticed the difference properly-
was in a meeting.

He made a mistake.

Minor.

A miscalculation in projected risk.

He realized it halfway through explaining.
Braced-
for interruption.

It didn't come.

Kongpob said nothing.

Did not correct.

Did not-
look at him.

The silence stretched.

Unnatural.

Arthit finished the explanation.

Sat back.
Waited.
Nothing.
"...that's it?" Prem asked.

Arthit blinked.
"...yeah."

"That was wrong."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you fix it?"

"I thought-"
He stopped.
Thought what?
Across the table, Kongpob turned a page.
Uninterested.
Uninvolved.
Arthit frowned.

The correction came later.
Written.
Precise.
Detached.
No comment.
No-
tone.
Just-
fact.

Arthit stared at it longer than necessary.
"...this is stupid."

The words came out under his breath.
Because it was.
Before-
Kongpob would have said it.

Immediately.
Sharply.
Annoyingly.
Now-
nothing.

The realization did not arrive all at once.
Arthit was not slow.
Just-
resistant.

It came in pieces.
Fragments.

The way Kongpob used to-
step in without asking.

Fix things.
Uninvited.

Unnecessary.
Consistent.

The way he had-
noticed.
Everything.

The way he had-
interfered.

The way he had-
tried.

Arthit sat back in his chair.
Stared at the file.

"...oh."

The sound was quiet.
Barely there.

Across the room, no one reacted.

But the pieces-
aligned.

Not cleanly.
Not comfortably.
But enough.

Kongpob's behavior:
• constant attention
• unnecessary correction
• persistent interference

Recent change:
• withdrawal
• distance
• absence

Trigger:
• the junior

Conclusion:

"...you've got to be kidding me."
Arthit scrubbed a hand down his face.

No.
No, that-
He looked up.
Across the room.
Kongpob sat at his desk.
Working.
As always.
Unchanged.
Except-
now it wasn't.

Arthit watched him for a moment.
Longer than necessary.
Then looked away.
Because-
that didn't make sense.
Kongpob-
sharp.
Controlled.
Deliberate.
Kongpob-
would not-

"...that's ridiculous."
He said it out loud this time.

Prem glanced up.
"What is?"

"Nothing."

Arthit pushed the file away.

Because it didn't fit.
It didn't-
Except-

"You don't get to do that."

The memory surfaced.
Sharp.

"You don't get to pick apart my work because you don't like who I'm seeing."

Kongpob's response:
"That is not the cause."

Too immediate.
Too-
Arthit stilled.

That hadn't been-
denial.
That had been-
deflection.

"...oh, you absolute idiot."
Prem looked up again.
"Still nothing?"

"Still nothing."

Arthit leaned back.
Stared at the ceiling.
Because if that was true-
Then every-
every-
"Because he meant it."

The words came back.
Clear.
And Kongpob had-

Arthit sat up.
"...he didn't."

Not like that.
Not in a way Arthit understood.

Not in a way he would-

"...you're unbelievable."
Arthit let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

Of course.
Of course he would do it like that.
Make it impossible.
Make it-
Arthit pushed his chair back.
Stood.
"Where are you going?" Bright asked.
Arthit didn't answer immediately.
Because the conclusion-
was still settling.

Not clean.
Not simple.
But clear enough.

"I need to talk to him."

Prem raised a brow.
"About?".

A pause.
Arthit exhaled.
"...something I should've figured out earlier."
He didn't wait for a response.

Turned.
And walked out.
Across the room-
Kongpob did not look up.
He didn't see Arthit leave.
He didn't see-
what was coming.

Because for the first time-
Arthit had the answer.
Even if he didn't yet know-
what to do with it.