Unexpectedly you - YokLongtae

Chapter one

Some months had passed since Yok and his friends were kidnapped by Tawi. Yok had spent these months trying to find anything to distract him, anything to prevent his mind from flashing back to that night repeatedly. Therapy would probably have been the best solution, but it wasn't something a guy like him could afford. He still had to pay all the hospital bills, which forced him to work three different jobs since the garage was still off-limits after the shooting. Besides, working as a mechanic for Gumpa wasn't a reliable source of income anyway.

But no matter how busy his life was, he always found himself standing in front of Dan's painting. After his classes, his legs would automatically carry him to the exhibition. The painting would stay there for another three months, until the next exhibition took place. Yok was impatiently waiting for that moment so he could finally cover it and never look at it again.

He didn't like it anymore. Dan's gaze felt too intense.

But Yok didn't spend time looking at the painting because he missed the cop. It was just a constant reminder that they almost died because of him. It was a reminder of how much of a fool he was for trusting a cop, for being blinded by the love he felt for him, for the compassion and pity that overwhelmed him every time Dan talked about his past mistakes—the redemption Yok saw in his eyes.

The same redemption he saw while his supposed lover was handcuffing him.

The same redemption he saw when Dan came to apologize.

Yok understood that it was either him or his family, but the sleepless nights that followed were too frequent to ignore. Yok tried to forgive him, to be with him again, but it wasn't the same.

He couldn't be happy with Dan, and the cop wasn't helpful when Yok woke up screaming in the middle of the night, because he was never there.

Though, that was mostly Yok's fault. He could barely bring himself to have sex with him, but sleeping on the same bed completely suffocated him.

He couldn't look at him without seeing the fear in his friends' eyes when they thought it was the end. He couldn't ignore the actual terror he felt that night—true terror that made his whole body tremble while that black hood covered his face, and all he could think about was that his mother would've never known what had happened to him.

He just couldn't.

Moreover, he couldn't forgive himself.

His life had taken a downturn since that event. Every time he thought it couldn't get any worse, his mental state would drag him further down. His friends always suggested taking a break from everything, taking time to heal, constantly telling him it wasn't his fault, but Yok knew they weren't honest.

In his view, he deserved every bad thing that happened to him. It was his punishment.

He thought he was finally getting it all. He had a boyfriend; his bond with his friends had grown stronger since White joined them; their protests were finally being heard. It was just a matter of time before they would have been all over the news, and after reaching television, they would have been invited for interviews. Their voices would have been heard. They would have changed Thailand.

But then he got shot.

He fucking got shot.

They went to the hospital and became the easiest targets.

Yok smiled. A bitter smile.

It was so silly of him to think a miracle like that could've happened. Poor Yok.

Always too big of a romantic.
Always liked dreaming big.

That experience reminded him once again that people like him couldn't get a happy ending.