Forth was nowhere to be seen.
"Park, have you been able to contact him?" Lam asked anxiously.
"Not yet. The phone hasn't been active since yesterday after dinner and the last time I checked it was ten minutes ago," Park answered grimly.
Everyone looked at the couple in confusion.
"I've also contacted my uncle and aunt, Phi Forth's parents and all our relatives, but no one knows where Phi Forth has gone. In fact, some of them are surprised because as far as they know Phi Forth is on holiday with us," said Wayo in a trembling voice.
Ming pounded the table in annoyance. "What if Phi Forth gets kidnapped? Like ... that time?"
Lam put his hand on Ming's arm and shook his head.
Phana, Kit, and Beam listened and watched all the conversations and scenes in front of them in silence. Then, there was a soft sob from someone.
Phana turned around in surprise, knowing that it was Wayo who was crying. He immediately hugged Wayo's shoulder in panic.
"Nong, why are you crying? Are you sick?" asked Phana in surprise.
Lam immediately stood up and took Wayo's hand. "Sshhh... don't cry, Yo, we are here with you," persuaded Lam, hugging Wayo tightly and stroking his head.
"Where is Phi Forth," cried Wayo sadly. "I don't wanna lose him again!"
Wayo drowned himself in Lam's arms and cried even louder. Park motioned for Lam to take Wayo away and his lover walked, hugging the man who was younger than him, towards their room.
"What happened, Phi?" Kit asked confused. "Why is Wayo crying like that?"
"My fault," Ming said, hitting his own forehead. He also looked like he wanted to cry, so Kit, who was sitting next to him, subconsciously reached out to comfort him.
Park took a deep breath. "Don't blame yourself, Ming. Once upon a time, all of us would have let go of talking like that," said Park.
"Phi, does Wayo's crying have anything to do with Phi Forth's disappearance?" Beam asked carefully.
"Yes," answered Park.
He was silent for a moment, before continuing his words. "Among us, Forth is the closest to Wayo. They look after each other because they have both experienced the most difficult times in their lives. In the past, we all really liked camping in the hills, mountains or forests. We didn't like the sea. One day, the five of us invited Nayma and Rayma, Wayo's younger twin sisters, to join us camping at a hill, as their birthday present. The twins had just graduated from elementary school and were happy because they were allowed to go camping. However, a terrible incident turned all that joy into tragedy."
"At that time Phi Forth left with the twins, because there was business that had to be resolved at the twins' school regarding their graduation. On the way, they were intercepted by a number of criminals. Apparently they were people ordered by Wayo's father's business rivals. They intended to kidnap the Twins. Phi Forth tried hard to protect them and offered himself as a replacement. He told the twins to run and they cleverly hid, but they saw Phi Forth shot and collapsed, then taken somewhere," Ming continued.
Phana, Kit, and Beam turned pale when they heard the story.
"Forth disappeared for more than three months. Then, one day, a farmer suddenly found him collapsed in his field, while hugging two cats. The farmer reported it to the police and it was discovered that it was Forth. He had amnesia, his body was full of wounds from whippings, almost blindness, and malnutrition. I don't know what the kidnappers did to him," continued Park in a trembling voice. "It took eight months for Forth to recover, and even then he still often had nightmares after that."
"After Phi Forth could remember again, he told who was behind the kidnapping. Apparently it was Wayo's father's personal assistant. He embezzled funds because he forgot himself, because Wayo's father trusted him too much. However, an even more unfortunate thing happened, when he was about to be arrested. He took the twins as hostage and took them away as collateral. Two days later the police found his car burning in a ravine. He and the twins were burned to death. They were trapped in the car."
Ming really cried this time. Kit hugged him and cried too.
"Forth, who had not yet fully recovered, when he heard about the incident, experienced shock and became depressed. He blamed himself for telling who the perpetrator of his kidnapping was. He thought that if he had not revealed the identity of the kidnapper, the twins would not have died so horribly like that. Forth had to undergo mental treatment for six months after that," Park said quietly.
"After he returned from the mental treatment center, Forth never let Wayo out of his sight. He felt guilty for the death of the twins and he was afraid he would lose Wayo too. He became even more possessive of us. Meanwhile, Wayo, felt guilty because he saw how Forth going through all the tough times for the twins," said Ming while wiping his tears.
"Since then, Forth has always avoided hills, mountains or forests and he insisted that only beaches would be our tourist destination after the tragic loss of the twins," said Park. "And Forth started establishing an animal shelter because he often said that the two cats he was carrying when he was found were his friends who kept him alive," said Park.
"Phi Forth often feels like his life has been in vain, because previously he underwent torture from kidnappers to save the twins, but then he still lost them because of his own actions. He keeps blaming himself like that," said Ming. His voice caught in his throat.
The atmosphere became silent. Ming and Kit cried silently while hugging each other. Beam's eyes felt hot and he bit hard on the inside of his cheek, holding back the tears that were about to spill. Oh, God, what had he done?
***
Beam PoV
The night before.
"Fi ... ancé?" Forth asked.
I nodded with a smile and continued eating as if nothing had happened. I could feel the guy next to me staring at me, but I pretended not to care.
After finishing dinner, I decided to go back to the hotel first. This afternoon Elena sent a message that she would call to talk about her plans to come to Malibu and meet me.
She said she was worried that her parents would investigate her whereabouts.
"Beam!"
I almost jumped when I heard someone calling me when I almost got to the hotel. I turned and saw Forth walking towards me.
Fuck! He was very handsome in his black sleeveless t-shirt and cream colored shorts. His thick hair looked messy.
"Phi Forth?" I asked confused. "Why are you here?"
Forth stood in front of me. His face looked serious. "I need to tell you something," he said softly.
He took my hand and held it tightly. I tried to brush him off but he was too strong.
"What? Hurry up, Phi, my fiancé will call in a moment," I said in a flat tone. I don't want him to hear my crazy heartbeat.
"I am falling in love with you."
I was astonished. Only for a moment, then I laughed amusedly. "You're in love with me? Are you serious?"
He nodded firmly. "Yes. I'm serious. I'm in love with you."
"You're funny, Phi. Just because we made love then you fell in love with me? That's ridiculous!"
"Beam, I'm serious. I fell in love with you before we even made love. I fell in love with you after five minutes of staring at you in that cafe, when we first met."
"That's even more absurd. Even people who have been together for years can't fall in love, let alone just five minutes."
"It didn't take me long to fall in love with you, Beam."
I wrenched my hand from his grip. "Don't be ridiculous! I have a fiancé. If you ask me why I made love to you, it's just because I'm a person who likes to try new things and I think, there's nothing wrong with me trying to make love with a man before actually committing to my fiancé. That's not bad, but it's also not something I want to repeat again. So, stop bothering me, Phi!"
Forth's eyes looked hurt. "I've experienced a lot of loss Beam and don't want to experience it again. I'll wait until you can open your day because--"
"There's no need to talk about loss," I snapped coldly. "You don't know anything about that! People with family backgrounds and abundant wealth like you, what can you lose? Don't dramatize your feelings just to bind someone. No feelings are eternal. Even those who have walked together can hate each other, especially those who only watched for five minutes? Bullshit! Losing isn't something to show off, unless you've never experienced it and are just trying to get sympathy from someone."
I turned and left in front of Forth and didn't look back at him.
Oh God! What have I've done to him?
***