Gemini was just getting ready to leave and Fourth was sitting on the couch in the living room of his apartment, playing some game on his phone, when there was a knock on the door.
“Are you expecting someone?” Fourth asked without looking up from his phone screen. They still had plenty of time before they left, Gem planned to buy them some snacks on the way to take with them to the movie set, where today they were recording one of the scenes for the music video. The music video was Joong's idea, and he begged their boss, P'Off Jumpol, to let them make a music video about friendship with Gemini, Fourth, Pond, Joong, NuNew, Mark Pakin, Java, and Tay with Newwiee as special guests.
Gemini stood in front of the bathroom mirror, fixing his hair. He wanted to look perfect. He loved those moments when he showed up somewhere and his fans were already waiting for him and almost squealed and fainted at the sight of him. The extraordinary amount of attention he was attracting began suddenly after the scandal with that Slovenian ski jumper and after the safe landing of the A330 passenger plane. People suddenly saw him as a superhero and began to worship him almost like a God, and he was flattered. It seemed to him that he finally got what he deserved.
“No, I didn't invite anyone today because I know we have a tight schedule. And you? I think you told the boys and Prim that we wouldn't have time today?”
“I told them”.
Fourth didn't have time to say anything else. The knock on the door came again, but this time it was more energetic, louder, and after a while they also heard a rough male voice.
“Police! Please open! We know you're home, Mr. Norawit”.
Gemini looked at Fourth, surprised and terrified at the same time. Fourth ran up to him and stood right behind his back, clutching his white and pink T-shirt with a funny inscription: "Fart proudly, don't stand behind me."
Gemini, with Fourth attached to his arm, slowly walked to the door and opened it with his heart in his throat. On the other side stood four men dressed in typical police uniforms. A little behind them, the boys saw a familiar figure. It was P'First. In full uniform he looked like a completely different man. He wasn't smiling. His face was as gloomy as a stormy night, his arms were crossed on his chest and his hair was hidden under a typical police cap.
“We thought we'd find you here, Mr. Nattawat. You'll come with us”.
“Wait a minute! On what basis? My boyfriend didn't do anything! He was with me all the time!”
The man leading this group looked like the most important of them, their commander. He took his ID from his pocket and showed it to the boys, introducing himself.
“Commissioner Prachaya Ruangroy, Criminal Division. We have orders to arrest Mr. Nattawat Jirochtikul on charges of planning a plane hijacking and extended suicide. You'll come with us”. Prachaya, known as Singto by all, signaled to his subordinates, who stepped forward and began handcuffing the shocked Fourth.
“Wait, wait! On what basis are you detaining him? Fourth was with me the whole time! He couldn't have planned to hijack the plane! What are you crazy about? Who told you such nonsense? First, do something, please, he's your brother! Will you let your own brother be arrested?! You know he's innocent!”
“I don't know. That's the problem, I don't know if he's innocent. There are many indications that it is him. I'm sorry. I know you're disappointed, but I know my brother, and although it may be hard to believe, I can't make exceptions. Even for the family. The law is the same for everyone”.
“THAT'S BULLSHIT!” Gemini screamed and pushed the nearest policeman so unexpectedly that the man's back hit his commander's chest. Norawit pushed Nattawat back into the room and immediately locked the door and pulled up the shoe cabinet, barricading the entrance.
Fourth fell to the floor, raised both of his handcuffed hands and hid his face in them.
“GemGem, I didn't do it, I swear I had nothing to do with it. I'm begging you, don't let me take you away from here. It was not me! You have to believe me!”
“I know, I know it's not you. Come on, quietly, calmly. I'm with you and I believe you. I know it's not you,” Gemini embraced Fourth and helped him up, leading him to the couch. The policemen were still banging on the door. Gemini quickly realized what a trap they were in. There was nowhere to escape. None of them believed in justice and fairness and the reliability of the justice system anymore. Fourth snuggled trustingly into Gem, as if it would save him. He was so afraid. He didn't want to go to prison. He didn't want this to ruin the future not only for him, but also for Gemini.
“It's my fault. You'll get in trouble because of me. The police have been looking for a way to get to our family for a long time. P'First has been protecting us as best he can, but now they've finally found something on us. They know I'm the weakest link. They know I will crack under their pressure. They're just waiting for it, but I swear to you that since I met you, I haven't done anything wrong. I swear!”
Fourth's voice was full of pitiful despair, his body shook with sobs, and Gem felt as if his own heart was breaking and his soul was being torn into billions of pieces. He felt so fucking helpless, powerless, useless. One sentence worried him the most.
“Since you met me? And before?”
Fourth didn't dare look him in the eye. In one breath he said:
“You know, you know where I come from...”.
Gemini knew. Mafia. Now everything became clear. Norawit understood why the police had so easily linked his boyfriend to the case. Perhaps they knew that Fourth's fathers would not defend him, but would rather let the boy rot in prison, glad to be rid of the problem. Gemini had the opportunity to meet P'Mile and knew that this man had no scruples, he was willing to sacrifice his own family for the sake of his dirty business.
Gemini clenched his hand into a fist.
Just a week ago they had finished appearing on a hilarious and adventurous live variety show that was very popular, Joong, Phuwin and First found out more information about Heart and LiMing and their mysterious death, it seemed that they were getting closer to discovering the truth, when suddenly everything fell apart, turned into ruin.
Gemini, still hugging the shaking Fourth, took his phone out of his pocket and wrote a short message in the group chat from which he had previously removed P'First.
“Guys, it's an emergency. We need help. The police with P'First are at our door. They want to arrest Fourth because they think he is behind the order to hijack the plane. We are in a trap. I'm begging you, help.”
He knew he sounded very desperate, but he had no other ideas. The policemen's fists pounding against the door and their loud calls for him to open the door and go with them were still pounding in his head.
“Shhh, Fifs, calm down, I won't hand you over to those bandits, calm down. They won't take us alive”.
Gem gently wiped the tears from his boyfriend's face with his thumb.
“Come on, Bubu, it'll be fine. I wrote to our friends, they definitely won't leave us, you'll see, they will think of something”.
“What if it was really me who ordered the plane to be hijacked?”
“No, you didn't. I don't believe that. I've known you for a while and I know you wouldn't do that”.
Fourth looked deep into his eyes with a question on the tip of his tongue: "What if it were me?" But he didn't say that. Instead, the tech shrugged, smiling sadly.
“You say that because you love me, but you don't know what I was like before we met. You don't know what my fathers forced me to do. I've done a lot of bad things, Gem, a lot. I think it's time for me to pay for them”.
Fourth sounded as if he had given up completely, as if he had lost faith and hope for a happy ending. Bitter memories, suppressed for months, flooded him in a wave that almost swallowed him completely. P'Erin remembered. P'Erin already had reason to distrust and like him. She recognized him immediately, but didn't show it. She, too, learned over time to be a good actress. It quickly turned out that the woman urgently needed a lot of money for an operation on her six-year-old daughter she tried to hide. Gem, moved by her story, asked his friends to come together and together pay off the woman's entire debt to P'Mile that same day.
Gemini wondered what influence P'First had on the police investigation? Is it possible that he betrayed them? But why?
The sound of the phone ringing brought Gem out of his thoughts. The boy answered almost completely unconsciously.
“H-Hello?”
„Gemini? What is this chat message about?” Gemini heard the familiar voice of a worried Dunk.
“What I wrote. The police are at our door, we can't leave. Another moment and they'll break down the door. They said Fourth planned the plane hijacking”.
“Don't you think it's very likely?”
“No, I don't think so. Fourth didn't do that”.
“How can you be so sure? You don't know him well enough to be 100% sure. You know who his fathers are”.
Gemini would love to strangle his brother with his bare hands. He was furious. He didn't understand why Dunk sided with those who didn't really care about justice. They just wanted to keep their papers in order and have peace of mind. After all, they couldn't touch Fourth's fathers, whom they were probably afraid of. Gemini guessed that P'Mile had been blackmailing the cops for a long time, keeping them in check. They had no choice but to do their jobs and were probably as concerned about their families as Gem was now.
“You're a great brother, I can really count on you”. Gemini said ironically. “Thanks so much for not helping”.
“You don't understand. I wanted to tell you that maybe it wasn't Fourth who planned this, but his fathers. Have you thought about it? Let the cops in and tell them what you know, but don't mention the Heart and LiMing case. I have the impression that the police are also hiding a lot. We'll use your Fourth as bait. If necessary, let them take Fourth into custody, it will buy us some time”.
“Have you completely lost your mind?! Should I send my own boyfriend to jail?”
“Not to a real prison, but to arrest”.
“No difference”.
“A big difference. Those who are not guilty also go to jail”.
“And our job? Our careers? What about our future? If they lock Fifi up now, no one will want to employ him anymore, he will lose everything. You don't understand? This will be the end for him”.
Gemini was close to tears when he realized how hopeless their situation was. They had no one to turn to for help. They had nothing to offer in exchange for Fourth's freedom, and Dunk was right, they weren't allowed to say even a single word about the investigation into LiMing and Heart's deaths.
Fourth, now calmer and as if resigned to his fate, took the phone from Gemini's hand, smiled faintly at him and said to Dunk on the other end.
“Don't worry, I'll be fine. I have to pay for the mistakes of my own past. For the past few months, I have been running away from who I am and where I come from. Karma caught up with me. Don't worry”.
“How can I not worry? This will ruin your life!”
“I know, that's why I think we should break up”.
Gem didn't think he would ever hear words that hurt him so much. He grabbed Fourth by the shoulders and shook him.
“What breakup?! Don't even mention it to me! No one will break up with anyone. You have a boyfriend to be there for you in the hardest moments and now I promise you that we will get through this together”.
“Lovely boys, but we don't have time now. Listen carefully,” Dunk felt compelled to interject, and quickly told them the plan he had in mind. Gemini initially didn't want to agree, but they had no other choice. Eventually they opened the door and Fourth came out with the officers. First waited until his colleagues were out of sight before saying:
“I think we need to have a serious talk”.
“No, P'First. I have nothing to talk to you about. You betrayed your own brother. I'm no longer surprised that you were even thrown out of Formula 1. You don't belong there. You only fit in with those stupid, loudly barking dogs”.
Gemini looked at First with the utmost contempt.
“I'm... I'm sorry...”
“It's not me you should be apologizing to. You should do everything to catch the real perpetrator. We both know perfectly well that my Fifi had nothing to do with it, that it wasn't him. If I were you, I'd take a closer look at your own fathers' dealings. Oh, and one more thing: don't you dare tell anyone that Fourth is in custody”.
Gemini stopped trusting First. He was disappointed with what he learned and saw. Brother sold brother. In the name of what? Gemini was sure that neither Phuwin nor Dunk would ever do the same to him. He sighed heavily, pushed First away brutally and, with a fake smile plastered on his face, went to his car to go to work. On the way, he had to take Gun, Fourth's twin, with him. That was Dunk's idea. Dunk decided that Gun, as Fourth's twin, would be perfect for his role.