The next time Kai returns, the ground is still wet from a recent spring rain. He’d planned to force Khanh to let him fix the fence, but now he can see how water is overflowing from the top of the gutters—a sure sign that they need a desperate clean.

The moment he steps onto the property, the front door flies open to reveal Khanh.

“Hey there,” Khanh says with that easy smile. “You’re back!”

Kai freezes. Is he being creepy by returning again? “I mean...thank you so much for the food the other day and all the baguettes and condensed milk and it was really good and I’m here to clean your gutters so if you have a ladder handy I can repay you?” His voice goes higher and higher, and he snaps his mouth shut before it gets worse.

Khanh blinks. “There’s nothing wrong with the gutters, is there?”

“Well, I—”

A thoughtful smile hovers on Khanh’s lips. Slowly, they say, “I do have a ladder, it’s by the side of the house.”

Kai nods. “Thanks.” He goes to the side and finds an old metal ladder amongst the overgrown grass. It still works, and it’s hardly the most dangerous thing Kai’s ever done. With his trusty heavy-duty gloves and an even older bucket he finds near the ladder, Kai sets to work. It’s slow going: he has to continually move the ladder along the sides of the house as he finishes each section.

There’s a gate blocking the back half of the house, so Kai can only do the front. Even then, it’s starting to get late, and Kai should finish up so that he can go home for his second job.

The strong smell of soy sauce and meat makes his stomach grumble. But he still hasn’t fixed the fence—especially the part that he’d messed up by leaning on the first time, the part that he’d noticed constantly while weeding the front garden.

“Kai?” Khanh sticks their head out the front door. “It’s getting late, come in and eat dinner!”

Kai’s eyes widen. “No, it’s fine—I need to fix your fence, too, and then I have to get going.”

Khanh emerges from behind the door. “Kai,” they say, a gentleness in their voice that leaves Kai breathless. “You can fix the fence another day. It’s not like it’s falling over!”

Kai winces.

“Now come on in, I made way too much food…”

“I…” His stomach grumbles, and at Khanh’s smile, Kai’s entire face heats up. Head dipping down, Kai plods inside. “Okay. Thank you. Thank you a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” Khanh says warmly.

The front room is a dining space that leads directly into the kitchen. The table by the huge bay window is laden with more than just one dish. Kai is getting a little dizzy purveying the array of unknown dishes on the table. He sinks automatically into the chair Khanh pulls out for him.

“Tea?” Khanh offers.

“Y-yeah.” Kai accepts a small cup of tea: fragrant but light.

“It’s chrysanthemum,” Khanh informs him. “Rice?”

“Okay....” Kai accepts a small bowl of rice, but has no idea where to start. There’s a deep dish of caramelised pork belly and hard boiled eggs, a plate of sliced cucumbers, tiny bowls of various dipping sauces and chilli, and a large dish of a brothy soup.

“Try the thịt kho first—braised pork and eggs, soy sauce and fish sauce,” Khanh says. “If you ever need any more rice, just tell me. Traditional Vietnamese meals are eaten like this—there are two or three or half a dozen dishes, and you can have as much or as little of anything on the table, in any order.”

“Thịt kho,” Kai slowly repeats, trying to wrap his mouth round the tones of the first word. It’s heavy and sharp, and when Khanh good-naturedly says it again, Kai repeats it once more.

He watches how Khanh uses the spoon in the bowl of braised pork and eggs to ladle some into his own bowl, as well as some slices of fresh cucumber and chilli.

Kai does the same—well, skipping the extra chilli. The pork is...mouth-meltingly tender, rich and salty, the egg is firm and richly flavoured, yolk savoury and crumbly, and the plain rice and fresh cucumber make bright accompaniments and perfectly balance out the rich flavours.

Khanh scoops him a second bowl of rice. “A little less, so you can try the canh—the soup,” Khanh informs him.

“R-right, yes, thank you.”

The broth of the soup is surprisingly flavourful and deep, and the pieces of green semi-translucent melon are soft. Kai tries to focus hard on eating, because he doesn’t know what to say. It was easier before, with the bánh mì, when he thought he’d repay Khanh and that would be that. Now, though, he’s eating dinner in Khanh’s house with a promise to come back to finish up the yard work. The food settles comfortably in his stomach, and he feels satisfied. It’s scary how he feels this at Khanh’s place.

“More rice?” Khanh asks. “Or if you’re ready for dessert, I have mangoes for us. I got a whole box of them today at the store!”

Kai’s eyes widen. “Wait, no—that’s fine. I’m really full. I need to get to work.” Mangoes are expensive. And all the eggs and pork—meat is expensive as well, and the tea is probably expensive too.

Khanh frowns. “This late?”

Kai nods hesitantly. “It’s freelancing,” he says, using the nicest word to describe the odd-job online tutoring and customer service work he does. “It’s all computer work.”

Khanh tilts their head in curiosity but doesn’t press the issue. “Alright then, I’ll pack away dessert for you!”

“No, you don’t have to—”

“I want you to have a snack for some energy doing your work,” Khanh says firmly.

Kai rather helplessly sits and watches Khanh slice up a whole mango and pack it in a plastic box. And then fills another slim take-away box with rice and the braised pork and eggs.

“There you are!” Khanh says.

“I...I don’t know how to thank you. Thank you so, so, so much,” Kai mumbles. “I—I’ll fix your fence. Not tomorrow, but the day after, I promise.”

Khanh’s smile is like yet another gift.

He doesn’t know whether he should hug or shake hands. So he settles on an awkward head-nod/bow, holds the boxes of food against his chest and flees the warmth of Khanh’s home.

Bonus scene:The fairy of Kai’s dream appears! They wave their wand and a box of food manifests in Kai’s arms. “Thank you,” Kai replies, but before he can turn away the fairy waves their wand again. Another box appears.And another, and another, and another. Kai finally ends up running away with 34 boxes of food as the fairy chases after him, conjuring more and more food. He mustn’t end up hungry!