Somchai Faumnuaipol, or simply Jake, was a very active and strong child from birth, he could be in constant motion from morning to night, helping his parents around the house and in their small flower store, carrying heavy boxes, playing ball with his friends in the yard, running through the streets and exploring the neighborhood, pretending to be a spy. The one thing he didn't want to do with his whole being was study. Reading books, doing homework, and memorizing formulas were things he hated. He would rather unload railroad cars instead of going to school and sitting through boring classes. His parents fought his inner protest every day, and he lost every time.

Jake was never kicked out of school because he managed not to fall below a 2.5 GPA and was always at the center of all sports activities.

(From the author: The grading system in Thai public schools is a four-point system, where 1 point is the lowest grade and 4 points is the highest grade)

This continued until his first year of high school, at which time Jake was 15 years old. A couple months after he started, a quiet boy with short blond hair, blue intelligent eyes, and a genuine smile transferred to them from another school. They called him Chatchom, or just Chom. He was very smart and clever, but he did not boast of his merits, which were, to say the least, quite a lot: he was strong in exact sciences and skillfully juggled words, played chess and was a prize-winner in many tournaments, played the piano and guitar, knew three languages - Thai, Russian and English, as he lived in a family of bilinguals.

Chathcom

Jake immediately liked this humble kid and approached him first to get acquainted:

"Hi! I'm Jake. You're the smart one and I'm the strong one. Do you think we'd make a good tandem?"

"Hi! I'm Chom, I'd love to be friends with you!" - After Chatchom's words, they worked together in and out of the school, taking care of each other, Jake protecting the boy from outside attacks, and Chom training his study partner.

At graduation they got very drunk and slept together, after which Jake proposed to the kid to date, as he had warm feelings for him for a long time, Chom responded with enthusiastic consent.

They enrolled in the same university in Bangkok: Jake - in the sports department, and Chom - in the chemistry department. It was an amazing time, wrapped in love, warmth, care, and passionate sex almost every day in their first rented apartment, paid for by their parents.

After successfully graduating, the boys stayed in the capital, rented a bigger apartment and became teachers at the same school: Jake was a basketball coach and gym teacher, while Chom taught chemistry and worked part-time in a private laboratory. Both were respected and appreciated not only at school, but also in town. The only disadvantage was that the school administration adhered to conservative principles, about which they were immediately warned by their friends, so they did not advertise their relationship at school.

On their fifteenth anniversary, the guys decided to have a small celebration at home. Jake created a movie with their photos from the very school and to this day, and Chom cooked a fancy dinner.

When they sat down at the table, Chom got a call and went to the balcony to talk, and when he came back with a scowl on his face, he apologized and said that he had to go to work for a while because there was a problem in the lab. Their relationship was built on trust and sincerity, so Jake didn't worry, just waited at home for his baby, but two hours later he was worried. Chom wasn't answering his cell phone, so Jake ran to find him.

The lab was a couple blocks from their house, and when Jake got there, he saw a lot of people and cars with flashing beacons. He quickly made his way through the crowd with only one thought: "I wish he was okay!"

But the picture that appeared before his eyes killed all hope in him. There were two bodies on the pavement, covered with white, bloody sheets, and one man's familiar hand was visible from under the cloth, wearing the very watch that Jake had given Chom for his tenth anniversary. 

Everything after that was a blur... Jake shook his lover's lifeless body... Sobbing and begging him to come back.... He cursed the bastards who had done it... and kissed his closed eyelids... He hated himself for not going with him... and stroked his smooth blond hair with his hands... He cursed the gods for injustice... and hugged the breathless corpse of the man he loved more than life... He was pushed away by the police, but he resisted and hit one of them. Tears choked him, his heart died, but he continued to scream like a mortally wounded animal until the ambulance doctors gave him an injection and... everything faded away.

Then there was the funeral, which went like a dream, the police questioning about what Chatch was working on that Jake was unaware of, the signing of dismissal papers from the school as the administration learned from the police about their coach's orientation.

Jake sank into a swamp of despair and the bitterness of irreparable loss. He couldn't imagine happiness, joy, or moving forward without Chom, so he drowned this fucking "new" life in wine.

For three and a half months he lived like a life sentence, almost never leaving the house, mostly only for another case of alcohol and a carton of cigarettes, though he had never smoked before and drank only on holidays. A couple of times he stopped by the police station to ask about the progress of Chom's case, but the police officers just threw up their hands.

His parents were unsuccessful in getting him out of this state, and he simply ignored his friends.

August, Monday

Jake woke up on the floor around six in the evening in his own vomit. He cursed the damn life, as was his custom, and wandered to the shower, stumbling over numerous things, since he hadn't cleaned the apartment in over a month.

After he had recovered a little under the cold water, he put on the only clean red colored tracksuit and left the house. He walked wherever he was going. When he saw a small grocery store, he bought two bottles of beer and sat down at a plastic table outside, which had been set up for visitors by the owners of the place

Jake drank and stared at the embossed pattern on the table, and only when the beer was finished did he look up and stare blankly around. On the concrete wall hung a worn social advertisement: "If you feel bad and can't cope with your life situation, talk to a loved one! Or call us at YYY!"

He didn't want to talk to his parents and friends, as they interacted with him through the prism of pity, and he didn't want to call this number either, so it went through his mind, "You need to find someone to talk to!"

Jake went wherever his feet led him, searching with his eyes for a place where he could talk to someone. Fate led him to the Red Dragon Club.

The manager of the club offered him one of the available venues, but he didn't mention the basement, so he dismissed the restaurant and the club and headed for the bar. Taking a stool at the bar, he ordered a long island and began to look around at the place he'd gotten into. Two handsome boys in large mesh bombers ran between individual booths with couches and tables. Often customers stopped the waiters, sat them on their laps, and then kissed and touched them where they wanted without crossing the Club's boundaries, which Jake had been instructed to do as well. There was no one he wanted to talk to, and he sighed as he drained his glass.

Suddenly, a tall, handsome man in his forties, wearing a dark blue suit and a white shirt with no tie and the top two buttons undone, approached the counter:

"Good evening, Khun! I've been watching you for a while and realized you were looking for something. I'm Norman, the general manager of this establishment and you can safely voice your desires to me."

"Good evening. I would like to have a private conversation with someone," Jake said as is.

"We will gladly grant your wish, but it will cost quite a bit of money. You'll be able to pick a guy 'to chat with' based on a photo," Norman interpreted the visitor's words in his own way.

"You even do that? That's lucky I walked in, ha. How much will it cost?" - Jake smiled, but his eyes were sad.

"The price depends on the one you choose."

"Show me the contenders."

Norman opened his clipboard and started flipping through the photos, peering at the customer, and as soon as the customer's eyes lit up he looked at his choice - it was Red, so he immediately spoke up:

"This guy works until 10 p.m. and has a full appointment for tonight. Why don't you pick someone else?"

"I only want to chat with him," the man insisted.

"Can you offer double payment? Time with Red costs fifty thousand an hour," Norman voiced the price.

"Woooah! What on earth is he offering for that price?" - Jake wondered.

"If you don't agree, then we can pick another guy," the manager shrugged his shoulders.

"No, I want this one. I'm willing to pay," Jake remembered that there was 200,000 left on the card, but he wanted the one he'd chosen because that look, the face, the blond hair reminded him of Chom, only the color of the eyes wasn't blue, but brown.

"Alright... I'll clarify if he can. But this kid has special conditions, that's why the price is lower. You can do everything, excluding anal," Norman immediately explained.

"Ahem...I see. Let's give it a try," Jake wouldn't budge from his chosen path for anything.

"Wait five minutes, Khun. One long island on the house!" - The manager smiled, then turned to the bartender.

Ten minutes later, Jake was escorted to the red room in the basement. The atmosphere was uncomfortable for him: semi-darkness and almost everything red, a color he'd hated with all his soul since the last time he'd seen Chom. Jake took a seat on the edge of the bed and didn't shower as he'd been asked, since he wasn't going to do anything with this boy.

There was a knock on the door and a guy in a red silk robe entered the room.

"Good evening, Khun," he began in a calm sweet voice and immediately continued: "Can I help you take a shower? According to club rules..."

"I know! Sit down...let's talk first," Jake rudely interrupted him without raising his head as he just wanted to chat but didn't know where to start.

The man felt the 'red' little man sit down on the bed half a meter away from him.

"Gods, what am I doing here? I doubt this boy can help me. Nothing and no one can help me," Jake began to mentally berate himself, and images began to flash before his eyes: him and Chom holding hands as they left the house, sitting in the park eating pad thai, and Chom getting dirty as usual, Jake having to wipe his pants with a napkin, and cleaning his mouth with his lips....

"Shit!" - shouted Jake to push the vision away and slapped his hands on the bed. Without raising his head, he decided to try to talk himself out, and when he started, he didn't recognize his voice:

"I can't take it anymore... I can't! You know! I can't stand this pain and their stares."

Jake clenched his fists and listened to the silence.

The boy sitting next to him began to breathe more frequently, so the man turned sharply to look into the eyes that looked so much like Chom's.

"Yes, that painfully familiar look, the blond hair. I wish I could touch it again..." Jake thought, and suddenly realized that the guy in front of him was afraid of him: eyelids raised, eyes widened, mouth open, and body numb: "Are you afraid of me, kid? I guess I don't look so good right now."

The anger, sadness, and disgust at life receded, and Jake pulled back a little, hummed, shook his head slightly, and then smiled and spoke:

"I'm sorry... you got scared, didn't you? I'm mad, but that doesn't apply to you. I don't know how I got here in the first place... had a few drinks and my feet were dragging... wanted to talk to someone... and when I wandered into this club... they told me you were free, but had finished your shift and it would be up to you to agree... good thing you agreed... for the picture... I liked your eyes..."

The boy's gaze, even after he'd said that, was distrustful. Jake looked around the room, fixed his shoulder-length hair, and continued to speak quietly:

"I just don't understand... Why is all this happening to me? We have time, don't we? Can I just talk to you?"

The guy in red nodded slowly, it seemed nice to Jake and he lifted the edges of his lips slightly and thought, "I'll try to open up to him, let it be whatever it is. Maybe it'll really help?" - he spoke slowly:

"I had it all: a great job that I ran to with gusto.  Someone I lived with, worked with, and wanted to face old age with. But then...I lost everything I hold dear! And now I don't know how or where to go from here... My heart and soul have been torn into a thousand pieces, and they haven't invented a glue to unite these lifeless parts...hmmm... I haven't found any answers to my questions... Love, passion, interest, joy, pleasure - it's all in the past... and all that's left is to be angry and curse this worthless new life... sad story, isn't it?"

Jake felt a little better after he'd spoken, but he didn't feel the relief he'd been expecting, the huge stone still pressing against his heart and not about to come out. There was silence, then suddenly.

"Why don't we do something fun to ward off the sadness?" - said the kid in the red robe with a shy smile.

Jake immediately turned and looked into the guy's eyes, "What is he implying? How interesting. I'll play along" and a playful smile appeared on his face, "What do you suggest?"

"Well...maybe...It's up to you, Khun," the guy spoke timidly and seemed confused.

"Hmm, what a funny one. Should I prank him or something?", the man thought and immediately decided to put his plan into action, "Well...since you're suggesting it...go ahead!", with those words he reached towards the kid and hovered over him. Avoiding contact, the kid moved farther and farther away and, unable to bear it, collapsed with his back on the bed, while the man continued his attack and reached for the hair of the boy.

The guy's head abruptly dropped even lower, making him stay confused, it was read on his face, and the man held a pillow in his hands and laughed.

"Pillow fight?" - Jake said playfully, he was amused by the guy's behavior, "What a shy guy, with a job like that?!"

"Really?" - The little guy asked in confusion.

"Why? It's a fun thing to do! The bed is a ring. We play to three falls, the loser ... mmmmm ... will ... will ... will crawl on his knees and meow for a full minute. Agreed?" - Jake said whatever the first thing that came to his mind, for the first time in a long time he was having fun.

"I agree!" - he heard back.

Everything that happened next brought Jake joy.

At one playful moment, Jake shouted out: "Hahaha! Kid, that was powerful! Bravo! So, rematch?! Now I won't hold back and you'll know the power of Singha."

"Yes, yes, you will know the lion's power!" - The kid was nimble and strong, it spurred the man on, he wanted to win.

The couple laughed and were completely engrossed in the game, until in the third round the kid lost his balance and started falling on the bed. Seeing this Jake instinctively reached out his hands to the boy, but eventually both lost their balance....

The lion was lying on top of the boy, clutching him tightly around the waist, their faces now a centimeter apart, their gazes meeting, the boy's mouth open and inhaling air frequently. Jake could hear the pleasant soothing scent of peppermint. The eyes... beautiful brown eyes... but suddenly, the kid blinked a few times and the man saw one of the lenses shift and reveal a natural gray-blue, "Are those lenses?"  Jake tried to imagine what the kid would look like without the lenses, looking into his face and that image started to spill warmth into his body.

"Ahem... sorry! I was trying to help you...," the man stood up quickly, but then his gaze fell on the boy's black satin underwear and smooth, long, shapely legs as the robe fell open at the fall. Jake's thoughts weren't on the game at all now as he lingered his gaze on the guy's body:

"Oh, it's been so long since I've even masturbated. No-No, this is all wrong. He's too young for me."

"Sorry again..." - muttered the man, looking at the guy, who adjusted his robe, drenching himself in paint, and then cheerfully announced, "Well? Shall we continue?"

Lion couldn't take his eyes off those eyes and really wanted to see this man outside the walls of this room and this dim red lighting.

The game continued and the score was already 2:2 as the little boy suddenly missed a shot, staggered and fell to the floor.

"I think he did it on purpose," Jake's mind immediately ran through his head, but he didn't voice the thoughts out loud, as he hadn't felt this good in a long time, he was smiling and so was his sparring partner.

"Hold on, I'm going to take a little breather now and I'll be ready to watch kitty," the satisfied man collapsed into a star shape, thus occupying almost the entire surface of the bed. After a few seconds, the guy in red cheekily mouthed:

"We have three more minutes. I'm starting! If you miss it, I won't repeat it again

Jake immediately turned his head. The kid crawled farther across the carpet, turned toward the client, folded his hands into the shape of cat feet, gracefully arched his back downward and began to move around the room, meowing sweetly. The edges of the silk robe revealed a view of taut, beautiful breasts, the muscles on which rolled with every movement of the kitten... Jake's gaze involuntarily went lower to the flat belly... and on to the mesmerizing movements of the buttocks.

"Ah... This isn't how I envisioned this when I thought up the terms of the game... Why is this so sexy! Jake, brace yourself! God, when will this SEAL be done already?....Is this punishment for him or for me?" - The thoughts were ringing in the man's head, his mouth dry, and he unconsciously clutched the soft bedspread with his hands to calm his arousal.

The boy stopped a couple of times, purring and pretending to lick his paws, and Jake struggled to contain his obscene thoughts and fantasies:

"I wonder what that tongue tastes like!...and the neck?...Gods, what am I thinking! He's just a boy!"

The sound of the alarm clock announced that their time was up. Jake didn't want to leave and didn't take his eyes off the man standing next to him, "I want to see you again!" suddenly came out of his mouth:

"What's your name?"

"Red."

"And your real name?"

"According to club rules..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it... Thank you, kid. I forgot about my problems for a while... it was fun!" - the man said those words and sighed, his gaze became sad again, "Damn rules. I'd like to meet him outside of the Club, but it's not meant to be. It's impossible to find a person by one eye and smell among 5 million people."

Suddenly the guy said:

"Take care of your heart, Khun...imagine your sorrows and pain are birds in a cage, don't keep them to yourself, open the door and let them go free! If you continue to feed them and keep them inside you will miss the chance for a new happy life. Move on and a bright future won't keep you waiting for long, you will definitely find a new job and a new love if you don't let up"

The kid opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, and Jake, slightly stunned by what he had heard, was left alone with his thoughts:

"Letting the birds go! Interesting, but difficult. So young, and already so wise... If only it were that easy, kitten! To free my heart from pain is to forget Chom... Will I be able to?"

Jake walked up the stairs and out of the building, then turned around and thought:

"Will we ever meet again, Red?"

Walking home, the first thing Jake did was look around his apartment, he was highly aroused at this point, the "kitten" with the sagging back and wiggling buttocks kept flashing before his eyes. He groaned, rolling his eyes, and then as if bitten by an accauratist, pounced on his chambers, starting a thorough cleaning. The man collected two large bags of trash, washed dishes, dusted, scrubbed the floors to a high shine, put things away, and packed the dirty laundry to be taken to the laundry room.

Two hours later, sitting on the couch in the already clean apartment, he closed his eyes and started talking out loud to himself:

"The kid is right... I'm alive and I have to move forward. Do I have another chance to find the happiness I had with Chatchom? I've got to try it at least once... I've only got a hundred thousand in my pocket... I'll start with a job. I was called to a ZX school once, I have to call their director tomorrow morning. What's his name? Pattanapong Hirunardtin, I think. Then it's up to the situation."

Jake went to bed, closed his eyes, and was about to fall asleep when the image of a guy in red with blue eyes came into view. Jake couldn't push the vision away, and now he was sliding his eyes and then his hands over the kitten's graceful body. With a quiet groan, the man pulled down his pajama pants, unable to stand it any longer.

Tuesday morning

Jake woke up close to 9:00, though he hadn't fallen asleep until 3:00 a.m. He didn't get out of bed. Without getting out of bed, he reached for his cell phone. Finding the number he wanted, he called, and the other end answered immediately:

"Khun Somchai Phaumnuaipol, very glad you called! Tell me you've changed your mind! Our situation is catastrophic, the current coach is leaving for personal reasons, and we have important matches coming up!"

Jake heard what he was really hoping for, and so he quickly spoke up:

"Khun Pattanapong, good morning, I agree to discuss terms. When would it be possible to meet with you?"

"Wonderful news! Today, closer to 1:00 am. Come, I'll be waiting. In the meantime, I'm going to hang up, I'm on sale today. See you later!"

"Whew, first thing's done. The next step is to get ready. Hmm, I'll have to buy a new suit," Jake reasoned on the way to the bathroom.

An hour later, he was trying on a new suit at the nearest store and looking at himself in the mirror. It looked good: a blue three-piece suit with a fitted cut, a white shirt, and a cobalt-blue tie with a slash of light beige stripes.

"Now let's grab a bite to eat and get on with our new life!" - cheered the man.

Jake pulled up to the school in his Mazda CX-5 at 12:05 approximately. It was quiet and empty, as class was in progress. Jake walked calmly through the first floor of the building, then went up to the third floor and stepped out into the hallway to see an interesting scene: a little girl sitting on the floor with broken knees, rubbing her elbows and sobbing. Next to her was a blond-haired student of about 17 or 18, his face obscured as he was squatting with his back to the man.

Jake listened to their dialog.

"Babe, are you okay?"

"I'm not baby, P! *Whine*... I've already moved on to middle school! *Whine*... Ooooh that hurt... I just wanted to get to the cafeteria sooner... *whine whine whine*... I had to get seats for my... friends... what's going to happen now!!!.. aaaaaaahhhh"

"What's your name?"

"*Whine*...Mali...like jasmine."

The guy spoke in a soothing voice that sounded familiar to Jake:

"Nong'Mali, let's not be sad! We'll let your pain and sadness go free like birds. I'll help you. First we'll go to the infirmary and heal your wounds, and then I'll find a table for you and your friends in the mess hall. Okay? Come on, let's wipe away your tears..."

"Birds again? A coincidence? It can't be!" - Jake couldn't believe that anyone else could talk about birds like that. He took a quick step to the door of the principal's office and opened the door. He fought the burning desire to turn around and look at the boy's face, but he was afraid, "What if it's him?"- and the man wanted to get away as quickly as possible.

Pattanapong Hirunardtin was very happy with the arrival of the new coach. They had a long discussion about the terms, responsibilities, the existing curriculum, which Jake was already mentally reworking in his head. They came to a complete understanding and signed the documents.

Then the director introduced the man to the outgoing trainer, who looked pained and coughed frequently.

"Khun Somchai, I think it would be a good idea if I introduce you to the M6-1 class, they are having a gym class right now," Kanokwan said as he and the new coach walked out of the principal's office.

"And while you're gone, are they resting?" - Jake asked.

"Haha, noooo, that's unlikely! Left in charge of the senior captain of the basketball team, he won't let anyone down! Ahem..."

"Interesting to see him."

A couple seconds after the men entered the gym, it got quiet and the already former coach asked everyone to gather.

When everyone stood in two lines, Kanokwan walked up to them and gave a touching speech about how happy he was to be their teacher and how grateful he was for their successes.

While the students stared in shock at the coach and the man new to them, Jake slid his gaze over them, trying to guess which one was the team captain:

"Not likely this one. And this little guy doesn't fit. How about this tall, stout brunette?"

Meanwhile, Kanokwan continued:

"Don't look at me like that! I'm not going to the other world! Hehehe... you and I will meet many more times. I'll try to attend all your games! Better let's get acquainted!... My mission within the walls of this school will be continued by Khun Somchai Phaumnuaipol! He's much younger than me and more experienced, so you guys will have to sweat it out... Hehehe."

It was time for Jake to address the class, he was confident, so the words flew off his lips easily and freely:

"Greetings, students! Thank you Khun Kanokwan for introducing me! You may call me P'Jake. I will try not to torment you too much, but I am very much in favor of discipline, so please observe it to the fullest in advance... That's all for now. We won't keep you any longer."

He let everyone go, but the boys continued to stand, so Jake decided to close the question he was interested in right away, he looked around the rows of students and asked:

"Is the captain of the basketball team here?"

After a couple seconds, a guy with blond hair came forward from the farthest side from Jake and raised his hand:  "Y-yes... it's me..." his hair was falling over his eyes and it was impossible to see, but his voice was the same, and the man also noticed the scarlet cheeks.

"Ah, there you are! Why so red and unsure of yourself? Maybe my guess is a hundred percent right and he recognized me after all! Is that why he's afraid?"  - Jake's mind raced. Glancing at the blushing kid and averting his gaze to his hands so as not to embarrass him even more, he quickly spoke out loud: "Tomorrow I want to see the whole team ten minutes before practice starts. Don't take too long. Now everyone is dismissed!"

Jake thought that was the end of it, when suddenly...

"P'Kanokwan, I want to say thank you so much for your hard work on behalf of all the boys and the basketball team! You have tied your life's work into passing on your experience and knowledge to our generation. We appreciate all that you have done for us!" - The captain folded his hands as a sign of deep respect and bowed slightly, the others immediately followed him, and words of gratitude sprinkled from all sides.

"And he's good... and that voice... it's so much like the voice of the kid from the Club. I wish I could smell him and look into his eyes..." - Jake pondered as the former coach thanked the boys.

When everyone had dispersed, the man called out to the old man, "Khun Kanokwan, could you stick around for a bit and tell me everything you know about the team captain for our better interaction going forward?"

"Ahem... Let me think about it. Hope is an orphan, but he has a very caring guardian. He's the head of the class, president of the School Council, captain of the team, and academically he's always praised in general teacher meetings. He is fair and responsible, I can always rely on him. Very good potential in terms of physical fitness. I've been watching him for years now, he's obviously still training somewhere - the guy's getting physically stronger over the years"

"I see, thank you. Also, I'd like to talk to you about the team," Jake decided to deal with the kid later, but for now it was worth learning more about the basketball team and making decisions about how to proceed, since practice was tomorrow.

A couple hours later Jake left the building and as he got into the car his thoughts went back to the guy with the birds:

"If it's really him, then why is this kid combining two such different identities? With so much merit under his belt... Hmm. He probably has money problems. Maybe he's not as simple and modest as he seems, and his fear or shyness is because he's afraid of being exposed!"

Jake tried to mentally piece together all the facts he knew about this boy, and he didn't notice that half an hour had passed.

Suddenly Hope came out into the parking lot and headed toward the white Mercedes. Jake couldn't take his eyes off him: tall but a little shorter than he was, handsome but sad, and his eyes looked like two dark oceans from afar.

When the guy jumped into the car, Jake looked at the driver: the man looked like a bodyguard or a member of the Mafia, but the retro car didn't look like the latter:

"Maybe he's the one putting the guy to work? How can I find out more?"

The white Mercedess drove away, and Jake decided that tomorrow, as soon as he got his advance from school, he would go to the Club again and talk to the kitten.

The evening passed with chores, and before going to bed, Jake would relieve his tension again, only this time in the shower. As his hand slid over his cock, his brain was relentlessly throwing up more and more racy images, one of which made Jake almost hysterical: a naked, blond Kitten sitting at his feet in the coach and running his tongue over the head, the fires of lust burning in his eyes, swallowing his big cock whole and letting out a passionate, guttural moan....

"Aaaaaahhhh..." - the sperm burst out with a wild scream...ten seconds and the words "What has this demon done to me?" sounded in Jake's head in sync with his pounding heart.