Anyone can offend a baby.

Boonmi

I didn't know what I would need, and also finding such an attractive man in my bedroom awakened vivid fantasies and distractions. With my imaginative mind, undressing Umka with my eyes wasn't difficult. Firm skin the color of sand from the southern beaches, iron muscles, and abs... 6 or all 8 cubes... I understood that he and I are as far apart as Doi Tung and North Twin... And our paths can not only cross, but are simply in parallel universes.

He's a successful, practically married man, and I'm a student with an unheard of inheritance dropped on my head that he thinks I'm 100% going to lose....

*(Author's note: North Twin or North Twin Peak is one of two major peaks that make up the Twin Peaks massif, located in the northeast corner of the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park. It is the third highest peak in the Canadian Rockies after Robson and Columbia Peaks and the second highest peak in Alberta.

Doi Tung is a mountain in the Thai highlands of Mae Fa Luang District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand).

Damn...

"Can we get a killer whale?" - I grabbed the first thing I could, to cover the consequences of a rich fantasy.

He looked at me with such a sweet expression, one might even say warmth. It's looks like that give some people hope ...

"Okay, stop thinking, all you're doing is going to his house, because he needs yu to make sure his friend is okay," I reassured myself.

I had already put my personal belongings and laptop in my suitcase before, the only thing left to do is grab my tablet and I'm ready.

"Do I have to go? I've got Jung and Lim and Ant, I can hook up there," I used my last hope.

"It's not safe there," he replied briefly as he continued to look around my room.

"How can a place that's stocked with weapons and houses a hundred Trey-trained fighters be unsafe?" - Genuinely not understanding, I objected to him.

"Are you sure they're not bribed? You know nothing and learn nothing. Though you're not stupid either. But let's have less words and more movement," he rushed me.

"That's what you do in bed," I snapped, and immediately regretted it.

Flushed with color, I grabbed the shark and raced to the studio.

"You better be mute, or at least find that wire that connects your tongue to your brain."

On the way to his house, I didn't dare look at Vago. The cabin was so quiet I could hear the air conditioning running.

"Babe, are you okay?" - Rattana sitting next to me asked me.

"А?" - I looked up at her.

"You've just been acting like you haven't been yourself since the interview, did the reporter upset you?" - she asked cautiously.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, the reporter," I quickly found myself, lost in my own thoughts, the reasons for my embarrassment and my desire to constantly argue with the person across from me.

Why hadn't I denied what he'd said at the press conference? And why did my fear pass at the mere touch of him?

"Who taught you to lie to adults?" - Bear asked gruffly.

I seem to think better of him than I really am, it's just an instinct of self-preservation, the little ones hide behind the strong.

"Vago!" - The girl besought him.

"Well, what of it! Doesn't listen to advice, gets into trouble, doesn't do her homework," scoffed the man.

After all, he didn't know that during the day I was dealing with the affairs of the Enthil, and then instead of the usual textbooks and art books, I was studying everyone with whom my father had dealt with in the last five years. And I should bite my tongue and go to Trey, because I have so much to tell him, and more importantly, to ask him. But who's gonna stop me in this sarcasm race?

"I may be that experienced, but I'll say it again. You cannot neglect me!"

"Really? There was no reason to be convinced otherwise. You don't know anything and you don't even try to rectify the situation."

"Vago Pattana, born 1988, place of birth Canada. Kent County, village of Rexton, currently reorganized. Mother Kessie Pattana, arrived in Bangkok in 1991, obtained citizenship in 1992, after arranging marriage to Khamhaeng Pattana, born 1958. Blood type 2+, 1+, 1+ respectively," I began to respond to his attacks, "Raon Kamsing, has been your company's assistant since 2011, security chief and personal assistant since 2013. Born in 1986 in Bangkok. Higher education, economics department. Blood type 1+. Rattana Chaibancha..."

"That's it for me, it doesn't matter how old I am or where I was born, I'm forever 20, right boys?" - The girl interrupted me, trying to defuse the situation.

The man continued to stare at me intently, he was clearly amused by the whole situation. Lights of pleasure and arrogance shone in his eyes, the corners of his lips twitching in a snide smile.

"Phhhh... That doesn't change anything."

"Who would doubt it... I don't understand, what do you want from me? Power? Money? Company? What the fuck am I doing in this car? You want to tame me like a dog, or make me your puppet. Maybe you're afraid I can take my father's place and you'll never see his greatness again. What, the prospect of being second to me before I die offends you?" - The resentment of his change of heart toward me overwhelmed me.

I realize I won't be accepted, but they could have at least pretended to be decent people. Why give the hope of salvation, declare in public that he will patronize me? And in the end, I have to pay for this protection? In humiliation, ridicule, to please his amusement?

"And this gratitude of yours?" - The man grinned.

"I don't remember personally asking you for help!"

"Stop the car!" - commanded the bear.

"Vago?" - Tana looked at him fearfully.

"Good day, Mr. Sansiri," his tone was extremely polite and his gaze clear enough to make it clear that I was leaving the car.

Looking at the situation from the outside, it looked quite epic. A kid with a plush fish in his hands was thrown out of a fancy car, right on a country highway. A suitcase was left nearby from the trunk by the driver, and as soon as the subordinate takes his seat, the car takes off.

I wasn't too scared, knowing that Jung was driving behind. As soon as he realized the situation, he immediately parked the car a little further away.

"What is it this time?" - He asked doomedly.

"Let's go to Anthill, I'm tired."

"Trey knows?" - he clarified.

"What, I can't make my own decisions?" - I barked.

"Okay, whatever you say. Or should I say you?"

"Jung, are you on purpose?" - I almost howled.

"Let's go," he called to me, picking up my suitcase and toy.

The anthill greeted us warily. I was clearly not the one expected here.

"Mr. Sansiri, where's Trey, there were some questions from customers," the secretary gibbered.

"So ask your questions and tell them, what's the problem?" - their attitude annoyed me.

Looking over her notes, and making my own notes, I tried to get away from her as quickly as possible and hide in my father's office. I don't think I'll ever be able to treat this place like it's my own.

It's like getting Umka to paint pictures. It looks simple from the outside, but one stroke can ruin the whole experience. I wonder if he could understand my nighttime experiment. Why am I thinking about him again, he hates me and wishes for a quick demise.

"How many times, have to go through death for them to accept me..." - Flopping down on the couch and closing my eyes with my hand, I talked to myself.

A knock on the door, didn't surprise me, and I continued to lie there, unwilling to even move.

"Yeah," I echoed, in as indifferent a voice as possible.

"Boss, it's me. What happened? Why did you deviate from the plan? Trey said you both would be gone for at least a week," Lim asked as he walked in.

"What happened... And really, what happened? Nothing happened besides me!!!? I'm not old enough, I'm not smart enough, I'm not experienced enough, and there are thousands more skill claims to blame me for, I'm nothing but trouble from me. My father wanted Trey to take his place," tears of resentment did spill today, but Lim couldn't see them as his sleeve absorbed the traitorous drops.

"And where's all this self-injury coming from?" - hummed the boy, sitting down next to him.

"Why, isn't it? He was introducing it at parties I wasn't allowed to attend. I didn't even know this building existed when my bodyguard was already earning authority here. It's a lot of things."

"You're the one with the post-traumatic, anyway. Otherwise, where's my talkative friend and boss?" - Lim tried to joke.

"Should I really leave everything behind and take off to Europe somewhere?" - I asked my interlocutor.

At that moment my phone rang, the number was unfamiliar, but since I don't advertise my account much, I could answer it fearlessly.

"Speaking."

📞"You! What the fuck!" - Raon's voice could be heard even a meter away from the speaker.

"At home," I replied quietly.

📞"Do you realize what you're doing! Why are you making trouble for everyone?" - he continued to yell.

"Do you have something important?" - I ignored his questions.

📞"Get ready, they're coming to pick you up!" - he barked.

"Thanks, of course, but I'm not going anywhere at the moment," I could barely hold on, "If I get the time, I'll visit Trey tomorrow. I've got things to do right now."

📞"What business do you have? You'll be dead before midnight without a babysitter! Don't piss me off and make Trey nervous, pack up your stuff and wait for the car!"

"Sorry, I'm in a meeting, tell Trey it's okay," I hung up the phone and sighed heavily, disconnecting it.

"Who's the meeting with? There's nothing on the agenda today," Lim wondered.

"You, we met, we're sitting around talking. Consider it a meeting," I grinned.

Yeah. Fake owner. Fake son. Fake meeting. I'm a total fake.

"Chakan's on the phone," either a friend or a subordinate alerted me, now I couldn't trust anyone.

"So answer it."

"Say what?" - He asked.

"Whatever you want, he's calling you."

"Hello Khun" I heard, "Yes, I know, yes. I understand, but the situation has changed. Yes, he is still at Pattan's house. Raon probably won't let him go for a while. Yes, understood, accepted."

"Did you know about them too?" - I asked, not elaborating on the names when he finished talking.

"Yeah."

"Then why I'm here, you know about that too?" - He only nodded meekly in response.

There you go. Perfect. That was just what I was missing for the completeness of the image.

"Lim, can I be alone, I'm really tired these days?"

"Are you okay?"

"Sure, I'll rest up and get to work."

"Call me if you need anything."

Everyone around me knew everything. They knew, but they didn't say anything. Well, it's time to accept that the only real thing in my life is brushes and acrylics. If now I have relatives in the form of illegitimate children, I won't be surprised.

I spent most of the rest of the day sorting out documents and proofreading contracts. Lim had already left for the shipment at lunchtime, while Jung stayed at the firing range.

"Mr. Sansiri, Mr. Supalai is on line two, requesting a private conversation," I wondered what he wanted.

"I'll answer," I replied, switching the line.

"Hello, to what do I owe the call of such a distinguished gentleman," I made my voice as cheerful as possible.

📞"Hello Boonmi, I called to inquire about your well-being, and to apologize for the incident."

"It wasn't you who dispatched that mercenary, was it? I'm sure if Supalai-san wanted to kill me, he wouldn't have made such an oversight as mistaking a rival's son for a bodyguard," I said with a chuckle.

📞"Of course not, if it were my will, I'd be buying a memorial wreath by now," the man replied as if he wasn't hurt at all.

The tone of the conversation was as if we were discussing buying cufflinks, not a contract killing. I was once again convinced of how scary this world was, but I had to at least give the appearance of creating some semblance of having entered the darkness.

"Unfortunately I don't have enough time to make small talk right now, if you have something, tell me directly."

📞"You and Pattana have become friends?" - Yes as the man popped up.

"That's where you should have started, no. We just work together."

📞"I have something to offer you, could we meet in the next few days? What about tomorrow?"

"I don't even know what to answer you, it's probably not the best time."

📞"Ah, right, probably should wait for your subordinate to get off sick leave. Or has Vago banned all of you from outside contact? The only question is, on what grounds?" - Supalai asked ironically.

What is it, everyone is going to poke me with my ignorance and inability to make a decision, and what does this have to do with Umka? The mood was deteriorating by the second.

"It's not that, it's just that I have meetings these two days, what about dinner in a couple days?" - Realizing that I had no chance of getting out of it, keeping my dignity, I had to look for options.

Having agreed on the meeting place and time, we talked for a couple more minutes, and having finished this meaningless conversation, I finally exhaled.

Not life, and the theater of the absurd, it's been a few months, and still pop up surprises. I wonder how my father started out, how he went from a house painter to a powerful man in the mafia circle. Walking around my desk, I leaned against the window slope and watched the people below. How they would be affected by my desire to leave everything, whether they would be accepted in other "companies", whether they had enough money to start a new life outside the capital. Swarms of thoughts about responsibility for people flooded my head again.

My father always said that we are responsible, for those we took under our wing. What if my wingspan wasn't big enough to shelter even myself from harm?

I wish I had someone to cover me with his wing so I could feel safe. Strong, handsome, tall, like this ignoramus who didn't even call to apologize.

Oops! I turned my phone off. The silver plastic one was lying like that with the dark screen on the couch, it's only a matter of pressing a button and you're in touch with the outside world. But do I want that?

Turning on the gadget, notifications from faculty chat rooms, friends, and Trey popped up. How much he was in my life now. Someone I couldn't imagine life without before. I need to do something about that, but not today.

"Hello, what's up? Don't you want to party tonight?" - I dialed the number of a university friend.

The chosen place was a cozy bar, on one of the lively streets so beloved by the night residents of the capital. Small sofa groups in a circle, a dance floor in the center of the hall. The establishment was kept in a uniform style, bright mustard velour chairs diluted olive or burgundy cushions, garlands with bulbs of warm light went on the outer circle, creating a soft and cozy atmosphere. All of this was balanced by the massiveness and authenticity of the chestnut wood tables. Taking one of the available tables, I waited for my classmates to arrive.

"Buddyyy, it's been so long since I've seen you, you've lost weight again," Criss snapped at me.

"Easy, easy, you'll crush him and we won't be able to squeeze him!"

"Lei, babe, I didn't know you'd be here, I'm so glad you're here! Your latest project is awesome, saw it on the uni website!" - I was genuinely happy to see my friends.

"Of course I will, my sweet boy is out of the twilight, I have to be here, I want all the gossip!" - she chirped.

"What gossip, what are you talking about!"?" - I laughed.

She was as right as ever, the all-consuming darkness that had enveloped me these months now seemed to open the door to a familiar colorful world I had never dared to dream of.

It was a beautiful evening, filled with laughter, discussion, gossip, and I listened and enjoyed it more, clarifying and asking the occasional question. I didn't have much to tell them. Though so much has happened to me, it's something you can't share. The darkness is too cruel for them. It was too cruel for me.

Alcohol was flowing, from time to time we were joined by acquaintances and those with whom we study in parallel. A guy from the international whose name I couldn't remember lingered with us a little longer.

"Little Boon can still visit places like this? I thought for a favorite of the Pattana family, there would be no more opportunities to meet mere mortals," he turned to me.

"Who's the Pattana family?" - Lei asked in surprise.

"Don't sweat it, it's just a friend of my father's. He helped me out a bit recently," I tried to brush it off and change the subject, "Hey let's refresh the drinks, it's already over."

"What are you hiding from us, someone has a crush on you?" - The girl didn't relent, hanging onto my arm.

From the outside her behavior looked like she was flirting, since not many people knew I was gay.

"This guy is like a prince on a white horse, saved him from the shooting, one-handedly dragged him into his fancy car, and the next morning made it clear to everyone that he wouldn't let him get hurt",-somebody shut that internationalist up....

"That's because he's a friend of my dad's."

"I saw the way he looked at you, it was all over the news today."

"Tell me everything! Who he is, how old he is, what he looks like, I demand details!" - Uh-oh, now this locomotive of curiosity would be hard to stop.

Drinking another cocktail in two gulps, I leaned back on the back of the couch, and Lei rested comfortably on my shoulder, continuing to look for an opportunity to set me up with Umka, and making plans to get rid of his fiancée.

The alcohol was working harder and harder, the girl lay her head on my chest, drawing strategic diagrams in the air. It was impossible to hear what exactly we were talking about, but the laughter of our couple could drown out the music. From the outside, we looked like normal lovers enjoying the company of friends.

"Am I interrupting your unbridled fun?" - I heard an angry bass.

"Babe, he's just like that prince on the news that Criss's friend showed," Lei said, covering the light from the lamps with her hand, trying to see who was blocking the exit.

"That bear can't be here, he doesn't care about me, it's a mirage," I said in a stammering voice, hugging tighter to the warm soft body of my friend, whose speeches were so comforting and relaxing.

"While your wounded momddy* is fucking up my whole house, raising the Enthil, are you here, you juvenile shithead, getting drunk with second-rate human beings?" - rattled the man.

*(momddy - is a word formed from two words: mommy and daddy.)

"I am the master of my own life, the anthill, and everything! I am Boonmi Sansiri! I'm above you in status, I'm richer, I'm cooler than you, so you're the only second-rate person here!" - alcohol is the great fear pill.

"You can make up for your last wish brat!" - the man angrily yanked my belt with such force it practically folded me in half.

I'd never complained about stretching, but that hurt. After pulling me so roughly out of my seat, he simply threw my drunken body over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"Leave my babe boy alone! Put him down, HE'S MY BABE!" - Lei roared, clinging to his jacket.

"What did you say?" - He marveled, turning around to face the girl.

"You have to give him back to me, we haven't seen each other in so long, I've missed you, I haven't had time to enjoy my boy! Give me back my babe!" - the more the girl wailed, urging her friend back, Umka's eyes grew darker.

"Yes, yes, yes... Anyone can offend a baby!" - this and many more different curses I heard hanging onto this hot, great smelling, gorgeous man.

"As soon as your babysitter makes sure you're in one piece, I'll shoot you or snap your neck!" - were the last words I heard before I passed out.