After rain comes the clear sky (Kaoearth)

23. Hackathon

"The first-place winner of the 2015 National Hackathon is..." the MC pauses to create suspense "Katsamonnat Namwirote from St Nicholas High School."

The announcement was followed by thunderous applause.

Fluke gently tapped a teary-eyed Earth's shoulders to wake him up from his daze. They smiled at each other and hugged. He then hugged his parents before climbing the stage to receive the award.

Earth received a check worth one million, a certificate and a memento.

He was beyond emotional. He had only wanted to learn hacking and programming skills out of curiosity a few years ago. It had somehow managed to catch his fancy and soon he found himself trying to improve his skills.

Never in his dreams did he think that he would be able to get first place in hacking in a national-level competition. Now, he will be representing his country in international competitions in the upcoming year. It was a huge responsibility. But he didn't feel burdened, he felt surreal.

As he got off the stage, his three friends pulled him into a group hug. They were both happy and proud of Earth's achievement.

They made Earth pose with his awards, clicking pictures from all angles.

"Are you going to talk to your parents tonight?" Fluke asked in whispers sitting in the back of the SUV, heading back home.

Earth who had been smiling and blushing as he chatted on the phone with Kao, sending his newly-clicked pictures to the older, looked up at his friend. His smile was slightly flattered at the question. Nonetheless, he nodded his head.

"Do you want me to tag along?" Fluke could how tense Earth was.

"No, Flukie, I can handle it." Earth said with determination.

"If anything goes wrong, give me a call. I will be there." Fluke said getting off the car as they dropped him home.

"I will." Earth waved goodbye.

"Today was exhausting." Darla, Earth's mother, groaned massaging her neck as they finally reached home.

"I think I am too old for this," Frida said agreeing with her daughter-in-law.

"We should have arranged a party to celebrate his win." Mac looked at the awards his son had won that day. "How about we arrange one this weekend?" he suggested.

"No Por. I don't want a party." Earth whine.

"Why? Don't you like having parties?" Mac was stunned.

"But I have got plans this weekend." Earth pouted frowning.

"It is okay, dear. We will do as you say." Darla patted his cheeks. "You know your Por. He can't wait to show off to those people." She playfully smacked her sulking husband.

Earth hugged his mother tightly as she kissed his cheeks. "You made us really proud baby."

Earth could only smile. He was nervous inside. "Mae, Por, Khun Yay... there is something I want to tell you guys."

Darla pulled away from her son and observed his face closely. "What is it dear? You look tensed."

Under his mother's concerned gaze, Earth grew even more nervous. "It is going to be a long talk. So, why don't we all freshen up and have dinner before we dive into the matter?" he tried to buy some time for himself to cool down.

Darla eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds before finally agreeing to it.

Earth ran upstairs to his room. Taking a quick bath and changing into comfortable clothes, he stood in front of the mirror. He looked at his reflection, trying to practice his speech. He had to convince his parents without offending them. he sincerely wished that his parents would be supportive of him like his friends said.

He took deep breaths to calm his nerves. "Come on, Earth. You can do it. sus u." he encouraged himself looking at the mirror.

His phone dinged indicating that he received a message. His face immediately lit up when he saw it was from Kao.

It had been several weeks since he confessed to Kao. Even though Kao didn't give him an answer, the older didn't push him away or avoid him. Instead, they had become closer, face timing almost every day, sending each other good morning and good night messages and many more. He took it as his cue to court the older.

With his friends acting as his biggest supporters, Earth confidently started pursuing Kao, throwing occasional flirty lines and actions at the older without making their Phi-Nong relationship awkward.

When he read the string of messages sent to him by Kao, his smile grew wider.

In the message, Kao was congratulating him and expressing how delighted he was to know of Earth's winning. It also said how surprised he was when he found out about Earth's hacking skills.

A small blush made its way to Earth's cheeks. He was practically over the moon when he read that Kao was supportive of him pursuing a career in the computer and technology field.

"What do you want as a reward for your win?" Earth read the last message out loud. "What do I want? I want you, Phi." He said looking at Kao's profile picture, the one he had clicked when they went to the nearby beach.

Earth knew that he couldn't ask Kao to give himself as a reward. "What do I want?" he sighed and lay on his bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn't think of anything. He flipped and lay on his stomach. He supported himself with his elbow and texted back.

"I don't know, phi. I will tell you when I think of something."

Kao sent an ok emoji as a reply almost immediately. The duo started chatting and Earth totally forgot that he had to talk to his parents.

"Earth, dinner is ready. Come downstairs." He could hear his mother calling out for him.

He snapped back to reality. "Coming, Mae," he shouted back.

He took one last look at his reflection in the mirror and put on a calm expression. He mumbled a quick prayer that everything goes well and headed downstairs.

As he climbed down the stairs, he could see Darla setting up the dinner table.

"Earth, what are you waiting for? Come and help me." She commanded.

"Khrab." Earth smilingly helped his mother unpack the takeaway food they had bought on the way back.

"Go call you Khun Yay for dinner." Darla reheated the food before placing them on the dinner table.

Earth nodded and went to get his grandmother. By the time he returned with his grandmother, his father had also joined the table.

Everyone took a seat as soon as the old woman took hers. They dug into the food hungrily. Earth too wanted to dig in without any worry, but he knew he had to speak to his family today. He had to let them know.