Piggy Bank

Type | High School AU |
Rating | Teen and Up |
Fandom | SOTUS: The Series |
Genre | Fluff, Mild Angst, Humour |
Trope/Tags | Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, MLM |
Pairing | Kongpob Sutthiluck & Arthit Rojnapat |
Warnings | Descriptions of social anxiety, eating disorders, and homophobic bullying |
Length | 29 chapter + epilogue (~93,900 words) |
Status | English: Complete Chinese: Up to Chapter 14 |
Description:
Quiet loner Arthit works at his family’s grilled pork cart every day after school, trying to make some pocket money. Popular rich kid Kongpob comes across a delicious smell one day, and strikes up a transaction deal that sets off an unlikely friendship…and possibly more.
Or, select chapters from the drop down menus below:
Chapter Descriptions
Chapter 1: Balance: ฿1000 | Kongpob runs into a familiar face on his way home from school when his mother can't pick him up one afternoon. With a little wit and charm, he manages to strike up an unusual deal that sets him up for an unexpected journey ahead. |
Chapter 2: Balance: ฿962 | Kongpob's first encounter with Arthit leaves him curious as to why he'd never noticed him before. To compensate for lost time, he begins, much to Arthit's disgruntlement, to try and skim the surface of his mysterious classmate. |
Chapter 3: Balance: ฿942 | Arthit panics and shies away from Kongpob's invitation. Kongpob meets an important person in his new friend's life. |
Chapter 4: Balance: ฿893 | Following an amusing bargaining session, Arthit takes Kongpob up on his offer. Kongpob encounters another stakeholder in Arthit's support network. |
Chapter 5: Balance: ฿856 | Kongpob struggles to find answers to an equation, and likewise, to Arthit's air of mystery. At lunch time, he makes an alarming discovery that only leaves him with even more questions. |
Chapter 6: Balance: ฿846 | Following some soberingly worrying research, Kongpob treads carefully in continuing his mission to befriend Arthit. That day at lunch, Kongpob attempts to bring a little warmth into a cold corner of Arthit's life. |
Chapter 7: Balance: ฿815 | Arthit reveals a part of his past that still casts a shadow over his present. Kongpob really, really likes emojis. |
Chapter 8: Balance: ฿780 | Arthit is out sick with a cold. Kongpob is an annoyingly good friend. |
Chapter 9: Balance: ฿775 | Kongpob invites Arthit to have lunch with him somewhere more pleasant. M reveals more secrets from their past. |
Chapter 10: Balance: ฿723 | Kongpob unearths a heartbreaking remnant of his and Arthit's past. Arthit recoils, and M tries to mediate. |
Chapter 11: Balance: ฿708 | The two boys make amends, and Arthit begins to have questions of his own. |
Chapter 12: Balance: ฿663 | Arthit asks his Mae for a day off from work to watch a basketball game. Prae and M make their estimations for the future of their friends' budding friendship. |
Chapter 13: Balance: ฿653 | Prae presents her friend with some difficult questions with many obstacles. M watches his best friend fall. |
Chapter 14: Balance: ฿620 | A peek in Prae and Arthit's childhood. |
Chapter 15: Balance: ฿580 | Kongpob wakes up to a...problem...that leads to more conclusions which have him reeling. Arthit isn't putting any thought into his wardrobe. |
Chapter 16: Balance: ฿537 | Faced with a little more clarity regarding their feelings, Kongpob and Arthit share a moment in Kongpob's kitchen. Kongpob's teammate, John, reminds everyone why they don't like him. |
Chapter 17: Balance: ฿501 | Arthit is caught doodling in class. Kongpob's mother presents him with a twist even more shocking to him than the lakorn they're watching. |
Chapter 18: Balance: ฿465 | Tew invites Arthit to the upcoming basketball finals. Kongpob hasn't slept. Arthit waits for him at the cart.....and waits......and waits. |
Chapter 19: Balance: ฿423 | Arthit drops everything to tend to Kongpob's injury. At the hospital, a three-year weight is lifted off his shoulders, leaving him with one less reason to deny himself of his desires. |
Chapter 20: Balance: ฿397 | Tew shows an unusual interest in Arthit, leaving Kongpob with feelings of discomfort, and not just in his leg. |
Chapter 21: Balance: ฿361 | In the quiet of Arthit's bedroom, the two boys toe the line of their friendship. Kongpob begins to drown in his insecurities. |
Chapter 22: Balance: ฿321 | Arthit asks M for advice, and takes a leap of faith. Kongpob is either too tired, or too dense. |
Chapter 23: Balance: ฿285 | Arthit confronts his father about his childhood, and steps into a new chapter of his life. |
Chapter 24: Balance: ฿249 | Kongpob and Arthit are buzzing with endorphins, but are still faced with a million uncertainties. |
Chapter 25: Balance: ฿206 | Kongpob accidentally reveals a short-lived secret, and faces someone who's left a strain on his family's life for most of his childhood. |
Chapter 26: Balance: ฿162 | The two boys soon discover the harsh realities of giving in to their desires, hurting not only themselves, but those around them. |
Chapter 27: Balance: ฿130 | Kongpob finds out just how distant his father is. Arthit makes a brave decision for himself. |
Chapter 28: Balance: ฿88 | Stuck indoors, Kongpob and Arthit struggle to restrain from temptation. Arthit lets slip his thoughts. |
Chapter 29: Balance: ฿38 | Kongpob presents his book report in class, and reminisces his and Arthit's first proper encounter. |
Epilogue | Kongpob, Arthit and their friends open their university entrance results together. |