The soft morning light slowly found its way through the curtains.
I was the first one to wake up.
For a moment, I simply lay there, quietly watching Chak sleep beside me.
His face looked completely peaceful.
He looks so different when he's asleep.
No serious expression. No CEO attitude. No meetings. Just my Chaky.
A small smile appeared on my lips.
I leaned closer and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, I was kissing his forehead, his other cheek, the tip of his nose, and his cheek again.
I couldn't help myself.
"Just one more," I whispered to myself before giving him another kiss.
That was when Chak's eyes slowly opened.
He stared at me for a moment, clearly still waking up.
Before I could escape, he gently caught me by the shoulders and turned me over so that I was lying on my back.
A second later, he was leaning over me, looking down at me with an amused expression.
"You're getting way too mischievous this early in the morning,artist " he murmured.
I smiled innocently.
"Maybe."
Chak raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe?"
I nodded.
"Maybe."
A small smile appeared on his lips.
He leaned down until our faces were only inches apart.
Then he gently kissed me.
I smiled into the kiss, wrapping my arms around him as the quiet morning continued around us.
After a few more quiet moments together, we finally got out of bed.
We quickly got dressed and headed toward the living room.
As soon as we entered, I noticed that almost everyone was already awake.
Anamarija was sitting with her phone in her hand, scrolling through something. Kit was reading a book, while Malai and Suraphom were sitting together and talking quietly.
Chai, meanwhile, was happily eating cookies as if it were the most important task of the morning.
"Good morning," Chak greeted everyone.
"Good morning," I added.
"Good morning," Anamarija replied, briefly looking up from her phone.
The others greeted us as well.
Chak and I sat down on the couch.
Anamarija suddenly looked at Chak with a curious expression.
"Chak, what were you doing this morning?"
Chak looked at her.
"This morning?"
"Yes," she said. "I heard voices around three in the morning."
I immediately looked at Chak.
Oh no.
Chak calmly leaned back against the couch.
"We had a meeting."
Anamarija blinked.
"At three-thirty in the morning?"
"It was nine-thirty in Thailand."
She shook her head.
"Still. What kind of meeting starts at three-thirty here?"
Chak simply shrugged.
Then he looked at me with the faintest smile.
"And my secretary was late."
I immediately turned toward him.
"Hey! That's not true!"
Everyone looked at me.
"I didn't even know you were going to have a meeting!" I protested. "And especially not at three-thirty in the morning!"
Chak raised an eyebrow.
"You could have asked."
"Asked what? You were asleep when we went to bed!"
He tried to hide a smile.
"You're still responsible for being late."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"You're the one who left the bed without waking me!"
The room went completely silent for a second.
Then—
Everyone burst out laughing.
Anamarija nearly dropped her phone.
Kit lowered his book, laughing.
Malai covered her mouth while Suraphom shook his head with an amused smile.
Even Chai stopped eating his cookies for a moment.
I looked around at all of them.
"What?"
Anamarija laughed even harder.
"I can't believe you two are arguing about who was responsible for a three-thirty-in-the-morning meeting!"
Chak looked completely calm.
"I told him to sleep."
"And I did!" I protested. "Until I woke up and discovered you were gone!"
That only made everyone laugh harder.
I crossed my arms and looked at Chak.
This man was impossible.
But judging by the little smile on his face, he was enjoying every second of it.
I sighed and sank deeper into the couch, still looking at Chak.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
"A little," he admitted.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"You're impossible."
"And yet you married me in your imagination," he replied casually.
I stared at him.
"Chaky!"
Everyone started laughing again.
Anamarija put her phone down and looked between us with an amused smile.
"You two really don't need anyone else to entertain you."
"I agree," Kit said, turning a page in his book.
Chai reached for another cookie.
"I think they're cute."
"Thank you, Chai," Chak said.
I looked at him in disbelief.
"Why does everyone take your side?"
"Because I'm usually right," Chak replied.
"Usually?"
"Always."
I grabbed a cushion and lightly hit him with it.
"Stop being so arrogant."
Chak caught the cushion before I could hit him again and pulled me a little closer.
"Careful, my artist."
I tried to keep a serious expression, but I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
Then Anamarija suddenly looked at all of us.
"So, what are we doing today?"
Malai looked up.
"I thought you had something planned."
Anamarija smiled mysteriously.
"I do."
Torn wasn't in the room, but the thought of his reaction immediately made me laugh.
"What?" I asked.
"You'll find out."
I groaned.
"Not again."
Anamarija laughed.
"Trust me. You'll like it."
Chak looked at her suspiciously.
"Should I be worried?"
"Maybe."
Kit lowered his book.
"That doesn't sound reassuring."
Suraphom chuckled.
"I have a feeling we're going somewhere."
Anamarija nodded.
"Exactly."
I looked at Chak.
He looked back at me.
Neither of us had any idea what she had planned.
After everything that had happened yesterday, I had a feeling today was going to be just as memorable.
And knowing Anamarija...
Probably a lot more chaotic.
A little while later, we finally heard footsteps coming from the hallway.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
Torn appeared first, looking like he had only just remembered that mornings existed.
"Good morning," he mumbled sleepily.
"Good morning," we all replied.
A few seconds later, Taeng walked out after him.
His hair was messy, and his eyes were still half-closed.
Kit immediately smiled when he saw him.
"Morning."
Taeng didn't answer.
Instead, he walked straight over to Kit, dropped himself into Kit's lap without the slightest bit of embarrassment, and closed his eyes.
Everyone stared at him.
Kit blinked.
Then he laughed softly and wrapped an arm around Taeng's waist.
"Good morning to you too."
Taeng simply mumbled,
"Too early..."
I couldn't help laughing.
"You didn't even say good morning."
"I'm still sleeping," Taeng replied with his eyes closed.
Chak chuckled beside me.
"That explains a lot."
Kit gently rested his chin against Taeng's head.
"Go back to sleep, then."
Taeng seemed perfectly happy with that arrangement.
Anamarija glanced at all of us and smiled.
"First, breakfast. Then we're going somewhere."
"Somewhere?" Torn asked immediately.
"You'll find out," she replied.
We all slowly made our way into the kitchen.
Everyone started helping with breakfast. Someone prepared coffee while the others brought out cereal, milk, bread, jam, butter, honey, eggs, yogurt, and a few other things.
Soon, the kitchen counter was covered with food.
We carried everything to the table and sat down together.
I poured myself some coffee while Chak prepared a bowl of cereal.
This was exactly the kind of morning I liked.
No rushing.
No meetings.
Just everyone sitting together, eating and talking.
Chai, of course, was already reaching for another piece of bread.
"Chai," Malai laughed, "you've barely finished your cookies."
"I need breakfast too," he replied seriously.
Everyone laughed.
After breakfast, we cleared the table and put everything away. We washed the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and then went back to our rooms to get ready.
A little while later, everyone was dressed and ready to go.
Anamarija took the lead and guided us through Ljubljana.
We walked through the streets, passing beautiful old buildings, lively squares, and quiet corners of the city.
I watched everyone looking around curiously.
After a while, Anamarija suddenly stopped.
We all looked up.
In front of us stood a magnificent building with an elegant historic facade.
Chai stared at it in amazement.
He leaned toward Anamarija and whispered,
"Is that some kind of palace?"
Anamarija smiled.
"No."
She pointed toward the entrance.
"This is the National Gallery of Slovenia," Anamarija explained. "It's the country's main art museum, and it houses an incredible collection of Slovenian and European art."
Chai's eyes widened.
"Wow."
He looked at the building again.
"If it looks this impressive from the outside..."
He paused, clearly even more curious now.
"What does it look like inside?"
Anamarija smiled.
"Well..."
She turned toward the entrance.
"There's only one way to find out."
I smiled.
I already knew this was going to be interesting.
We followed her toward the entrance of the National Gallery.
"So we're going to see paintings?" Malai asked.
Anamarija smiles.
"Paintings, sculptures... and quite a few pieces with interesting stories behind them.
Chai's eyes lit up.
"Stories?"
"Of course," Anamarija replied. "Some of these artworks are hundreds of years old. Every painting has something to tell us."
I smiled at that.
As an artist, I already felt a strange sense of excitement.
I had visited galleries before, but this time, I was standing in a gallery thousands of kilometres from home.
In somehow, that made this visit feel different.