"Who is this and what is he doing here?" Prim looked at Fourth distrustfully. And Fourth knew why. She must have sensed his nervousness, and maybe even noticed the scar across his eyebrow (one of the reminders of the training he had undergone alongside one of his fathers, something he had no right to tell anyone about if he didn't want that person to die). Back then, he was a little boy who preferred to play rather than listen to his parents and study to take over the family business. This didn't interest him at all. Father Mile was furious. Not the first time. He hit his son, who was sitting on the floor next to the bed, so hard that the boy's head turned and hit the metal frame of the bed with great force. Blood immediately appeared and the terrified toddler began to cry. Fourth wasn't sure how old he was then, but he couldn't have been older than ten. He remembered something else from that day: his twin, who later visited him in his room (neither father took him to the hospital, Mile called Dr. Earth, who dressed the wound and gave him stitches). Gun then sat down right next to his lap, pulled him towards him and hugged him tightly.
"I will avenge you, little brother. Our fathers and all evil men will pay for what they did".
These were terrifyingly ominous words spoken in an unnaturally icy tone that didn't suit the small, slim frame of the little boy.
Gun already had a part of evil in him, which grew stronger over time and slowly took control over the teenager. Gun was cunning and smart, and he learned how to survive on the edge of the law. He even gained some very close friends who followed him blindly, trusting him implicitly. Gun was their leader. Fourth had always admired him, and when Gemini showed him the photos, his heart stopped for a moment as the thought flashed through his tormented mind for a split second that the dead boy in the photo might be his twin brother.
He wanted to tell Gemini about it. He didn't know why, but this young artist inspired his trust from the moment he started talking to him. And yet he couldn't do it.
"You'll die like the poor guy in the photo, I can't tell you. Sorry, it's for your safety!"
And Fourth decided to stay as long as possible to find out the details. Gem led him and Dunk to a quaint café where Prim and Pond were already waiting, chatting happily together. A few minutes later, the mood changed when Gemini asked them to come with him to his house.
"I don't feel very safe in public places," He explained to them, although to Fourth it sounded even more mysterious and dramatic.
"Meeeh, you're being too dramatic," Dunk waved his hand dismissively. Gem just looked at him and replied.
"You'll change your mind soon. Let's go, I said. What I want to tell you... Well, I guess I can't say it here". He gestured suggestively at the tables around them. There was someone sitting next to each of them, and Gem was in such a state that he could suspect literally anyone of bad intentions.
"Okay, let's go".
Pond, who knew Gem exceptionally well, immediately sensed that something was wrong and pushed Dunk to leave. Prim followed, and Gem and Fourth walked hand in hand at the end. When Fourth accidentally touched Gemini's hand with his, it seemed to him that electricity ran through his body. He tried to steal a glance at his new friend and saw that Norawit was so deep in thought that he had no idea where he was going. He almost collided with a pillar in his path. Fourth pushed him aside at the last moment, waking him from his thoughts.
"Huh? Did someone say something?" Gemini asked confused.
"No one has said anything for a long time," Pond replied with a worried look on his face. Fourth knew right away that the two of them must have been very close.
"Maybe Pond is really Gemini's boyfriend? I wouldn't be surprised actually, Pond is hot". Fourth looked closely at the young man.
"Don't stare at my friend like that. Have you already fallen in love with him? You're seeing it for the first time!" Gemini reminded him maliciously, fortunately he was gracious enough not to say it out loud but only whispered it directly into Fourth's ear. Nattawat turned his face abruptly, not realizing how close Norawit was to him, causing him to slap his cheek against the artist's jaw.
"Ouch! You want to kill me too?" Gemini asked an angry man, rubbing the sore spot. Prim stopped and turned to see if Gem and Fourth were following them.
"Something happened?"
"No, it's nothing, Prim, let's move on. I need to get to my room as soon as possible. It's only safe there".
It took them another half hour to reach Dunk and Gemini's house. Gem insisted that Prim sit next to Dunk in the front, and he squeezed himself in between Pond and Fourth. They were cramped, but Nattawat didn't dare complain, Naravit seemed used to it, and Norawit was lost in his dark thoughts again and didn't say a word until they entered his room.
"Can I stay too?" Dunk asked this question in a slightly uncertain voice, and it occurred to Fourth that maybe Gemini was even meaner at home than he showed in public, and that seemed almost impossible.
"Stay, maybe even better, if you also know, maybe you'll be useful for something. But you must swear to me that you will not say a word to our mother".
"Eeeeeem, I... I..."
"You swear and keep your mouth shut or get out of my room and forget anything happened," Gem threatened Dunk.
"Okay, okay, I swear I won't tell her".
Curiosity won.
"That's what I'm talking about".
For some reason, Gem seemed a little less tense and nervous after those words.
"So will you finally tell us what this is about and who this boy is?" Prim pointed with a movement of her chin to Fourth standing next to the window, who was looking outside from time to time, expecting to see a familiar black BMW at any moment. They would find him, he was sure of it, it was only a matter of time. He only hoped that Gun would find him first, because if one of his fathers' men found him... Nattawat didn't even want to imagine it, he would definitely face a severe punishment... And even Uncle Earth, as he called Dr. Earth Pirapat, with whom he had over time established a relationship that could be called friendship, could no longer help him. Not to him, not to Gemini, nor to anyone who was in the artist's room at that moment.
"Before I present him to you, look at these photos". Gemini took out familiar photos from his backpack and handed them to Pond, who immediately began to compare the appearance of the boy from the photo with the one present between them. Fourth smiled sadly at him.
"No, it's not me. And no, I didn't fake my death, although now I think that would be a pretty good idea".
"Are you sure it's not you?"
"Yes, I'm standing here. I'm not a ghost, I can still feel my heart beating and I'm still breathing, so it's definitely not me or my twin because I saw him this morning and Gemini claims he got these photos a while ago".
"What is this all about?"
"I'd like to know too, Prim," Gem sighed and fell heavily onto the bed. Fourth felt the need to comfort him for some reason, so he walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder. Gem looked at him quizzically.
"What have you gotten yourself into again?"
"It was not me! I did not do anything! I knew! Fuck, I knew you wouldn't believe me! That's why I didn't want to tell you about it!"
"Hey, hey, no such thing, dear brother. Calm down and start answering from the beginning, because I don't understand anything. Where did you get these photos and what does it all mean?"
"One day I forgot to lock my car when I went to university, and when I came back, this box was already there. I didn't have anything to open it with, so I brought it home and only opened it here". Gemini found a box hidden in the closet, which he hid there "just in case", guessing that his friends might deduce something important that he didn't notice, and what could help them a lot in solving this mystery. Dunk looked at the box from every side.
"Wait, there is something written in very small handwriting".
"Where, where?! Show!"
Gemini grabbed the box from his brother's hands and only then did he notice the inscription hidden under the tape. He tore off the rest of the tape and then realized that his situation was much more dangerous than he could have imagined.
"I think... No... Never mind".
"What? Prim?! Tell me what you think! Our friend is in danger!" Pond grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her.
"I think it's time to call the police".
"No. That's out of the question. If you inform the police, the perpetrator will find out about it and either hide or may even attack you. Besides, what if it's one of them? Someone who has access to all information?" Fourth reminded them.
"So what should we do? I don't want to sit idle!"
"Don't worry, we'll think of something. If anything, we are in this mess together and we will get out of it together". Pond consoled her.
"I have another idea. You called me a name at a fan meeting, can you repeat it?"
"Yyyyy..."
"Come on, don't be shy. It's just us here and we won't tell anyone".
"Please, don't laugh".
"Speak!" Dunk urged him.
"LiMing. The same day I received these photos, I heard someone's voice in this room. He said something like, "That boy's name was LiMing." Except I was the only one here, I'm 100% and a billion percent sure of that! That's why when I saw Fourth, I thought he was the same person, that's why I took him out from the crowd. Sorry Fourth, I must have scared you a lot. Some people say that I've been acting like a psychopath lately, believe me, that's not my intention. I'm lost myself. I wouldn't be talking to you all if it wasn't important. That name tells you something Fourth?"
This time, Gemini was speaking directly to Fourth, and when Nattawat looked into his eyes, he realized that Norawit was telling the honest truth and looked like someone who needed a long hug. Fourth wasn't going to cuddle a strange boy in the company of people he didn't actually know. He was only a little concerned about the effect this handsome actor had on him. One look in his big, sad eyes was enough and Fourth thought he would do literally anything for him. The Gemini who stood in front of him looked less and less like the one everyone knew from their phone or laptop screens, as if they were two completely different people.
"It doesn't matter, what's more, I even think I understand you a little. If I were you, I'd be terrified too. It doesn't matter now. Let's get on with our business, who knows how much time we have left".
"Don't say that, it'll bring us bad luck," Pond nudged him in the shoulder.
"Sorry".
"Cool. Now tell us, what do you think about it? This corpse looks like you, maybe someone made a mistake? Maybe it wasn't about my brother but about you?"
"I'm sure it couldn't have been a mistake. Someone was watching me, and probably for much longer than a day. He went to great lengths to get to know me and my habits, and found out that when I have classes with Professor Zee, I get so stressed that I forget basic things, like locking the car. Besides, it's clearly addressed to me".
"Oh, actually, I didn't think about that".
"Then let's try to find this LiMing on the Internet".
"Good idea". Prim praised Dunk, unlocked the phone she had been holding in her hand the whole time and entered the name into the search engine. A moment later she looked scared and the phone fell from her shaking hands.
"LiMing and Heart - a tragic love story of two boys from Thailand who sought happiness in the USA" - this was the headline in one of the entries on the Internet. Fourth picked up the device from the floor and started reading the article.
"The story of these two boys could serve as a ready-made script for a film. Heart and LiMing were two students who set out on a long journey to find their own path, but unfortunately their happiness was disturbed by the betrayal of one of them and their joint suicide".
And below it was written: "To read the full article, subscribe to our site."
Fourth didn't intend to buy any subscription and some premonition told him that he should not read it, because the entire text was untrue and intended only to attract the attention of ordinary people who, curious about the unusual story, would be tempted to buy a subscription. Nattawat turned off the article and checked LiMing's Instagram account. The last photo that boy posted was a photo of himself with the other boy...
Suddenly Fourth seemed to understand why fate had brought him to Gemini...
The boy LiMing was kissing on the cheek in the photo looked exactly like...
"Gem, what are you doing there?" Pond asked and Dunk at the same time said:
"I didn't know you had a boyfriend and lived in the United States".
"Because I don't have one and I don't live there".
"I don't understand any of this," Prim shook her head, feeling a desperate emptiness inside her. She couldn't think of any reasonable explanation.
"I think we need to hide you two," Dunk pointed at Gemini and Fourth.
"Hide? Us?" They asked in unison.
"Uh, you. You look similar to them, maybe that's one of the reasons they're after you? If that's the case, then neither of you are safe, and after your performance today, they know Fourth too, so he's suddenly in danger as well".
Fourth had to bite his tongue to keep from retorting that danger was his middle name.
"So what should we do?"
"Fourth, do you have to go home?" Dunk already had a plan in mind, but he needed the night to organize it and plan out every detail, and he preferred to keep an eye on his new friend.
"No, and actually I don't even want to, what?"
"Then you will stay with us for the night. You'll be in G's room, Pond will spend the night in my place, Phu probably doesn't want to see him. And you, Prim, will get the spare room. We're all gentlemen here and we don't want anyone to say later that we took advantage of you." He winked at her.
"I don't agree! I don't know him, I won't be in the room with him!" Gemini protested, but Dunk quickly silenced him.
"You will, because it is your business and your responsibility. It's your responsibility to keep him safe now, after all, you were the one who pulled him out of the crowd in front of everyone, putting him in danger and making his face everywhere on the internet now. If they found you because you look like that boy, they will find him now because of you".
"Ok, fine, but don't expect me to sleep on the floor for him".
"You will sleep together in your bed. I won't let my guest be uncomfortable".
"Then you sleep the same way with Pond".
"No problem," Dunk hugged Pond, standing behind him. Pond gave him a dirty look and Gem snorted loudly. He clearly didn't like it. Especially since Pond took the opportunity to kiss Dunk on the cheek.
"Thanks, bro".