After rain comes the clear sky (Kaoearth)

7. Meeting again

Kao woke up feeling groggy. He felt that he had been sleeping for a long time.

He raised his hands to rub his eyes and was surprised to see a medical adhesive tape on his right hand. He turned his head to see an IV stand. He understood that he must have been given IV drips as he had passed out last night.

Kao tried to sit up as he looked around the room. It didn't look like a hospital room. It was a bedroom, more like a bedroom that belonged to kids.

The room was decorated with several plushies and fairy lights. A wall was completely covered with a shelf containing trophies, medals, and framed certificates. At one end of the room, there was a door opening to the balcony. Beside the door, there was a spiral staircase leading to the upper deck of the room.

Kao was confused thinking about where he was and how he had ended up there. He removed the duvet and was about to get up when he heard a voice.

"Phi, you are awake!"

Kao turned in the direction of the voice. He saw a pale petite teenager standing at the door smiling at him.

"How are you feeling, phi?" the teenager walked over placing the books he was holding on the coffee table.

The teenager stretched his hand and touched Kao's forehead trying to feel his temperature.

"Looks like your fever has gone down." The kid walked over to the cabinet and took out a first aid box.

He brought a thermometer from the box and checked Kao's temperature again to make sure that the fever was gone. He nodded in satisfaction upon seeing the thermometer reading.

Kao stared at the kid without uttering a word.

"We found you unconscious outside the gate yesterday. You were running a high fever. We had to put you on drip the whole night." The teenager said smiling ear to ear.

Seeing no reaction from Kao, the teenager pointed a finger at himself and asked "Phi, you don't recognize me?"

"Earth?" Kao said weakly.

When he heard Kao recognize him, Earth's smile grew brighter.

"I thought that you wouldn't recognize me now that I have grown up. It has been years since we last met." Earth let out a sigh of relief.

Kao smiled weakly. 'How could he not recognize that smile? The smile that drove him crazy over a decade ago.'

He was around ten when he first met the one-month-old Earth. He still remembered how excited he was when baby Earth held his pinkie finger for the first time.

Back then Earth was still too young to recognize people. But he would always smile at Kao whenever he visited.

Growing up, Kao became Earth's favourite person. He would cling to Kao wherever he goes.

Kao too was very fond of little Earth who followed him around like a tail.

Only after he hit puberty did Kao realize that his fondness for this little brother of his had turned out to be something more special.

The discovery scared Kao. He wanted to distance himself from Earth. That was also the reason why he accepted when his parents suggested that he join the boarding school for aristocrats for high school during high school.

Even after all these years, Kao couldn't stop his heart from palpitating seeing the smile of the young boy.

"Phi... P' Kao..." Earth waved his hand in front of Kao who was lost as he was mesmerized by the youngster's face.