Carta Visa: 10th Round

Bold: The characters are speaking in English.

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5 AM sharp.

The sound of a phone wailed cacophonously. Punnaphob opened his eyes wide, startling awake in a completely dark room to a familiar noise ringing beside his ear. However, still groggy with sleep, he had no intention of finding its source. He lifted up his head, then let it fall back again as if weighed down by lead. A slender hand fumbled around, finding something soft… like… a person…

Who…?

And… where was he…?

Slender eyes surveyed around the room.

Hua, why was it so luxurious… why was there an extravagant lamp on the ceiling… a forty-four inch plasma TV over there… a white curtain next to the bed… a white bed… and a white body with golden hair…

Was he dead? And why did his spirit not have a single piece of clothing on its body? Also, what was God thinking, sending him to heaven… was God also drunk?

“Answer the phone, it’s noisy…” The person laying beside him mumbled a complaint.

Pun looked at the phone sitting nearby. Who was calling him? Was it Saint Peter calling to inform him that he had won a grand prize ticket? A three days and two nights trip to heaven?

Peering closer… what Saint Peter? It was editor Chid! This meant he wasn’t dead then, oh god!

“Pun!!!”

A furious voice blared out of the phone. Pun bounced straight up from bed, reaching for his glasses while securing the phone between his neck, then crossing over the body which belonged to… what was this guy’s name? …Forget it, he’d better grab a pen and paper first before his editor scolds him.

“Pun, when are you and Petch going to arrive? Everyone’s waiting woi.”

“I haven’t seen Petch yet sir…” This was the most polite answer he could conjure up at five in the morning… (wasn’t he in heaven?) “Then again, why are you waiting for me P’Chid?”

“You’ve forgotten haven’t you, your memory is as short as a goldfish. It’s about what we discussed in yesterday’s meeting, you and Petch are to act as replacement for Mew and Mr. Dave. Didn’t you accept the job wholeheartedly yesterday? Anyways, speaking anymore is a waste of time, the fashion department called to rush us, the car is about to leave for Khao Takiab and they’re going to be late for the appointment with the model.”

(TN: Khao Takiab – A popular tourist destination with a temple and tons of monkeys on it. It is located in the beach resort town of Hua Hin.)

How unlucky… He had forgotten about this completely… Pun scratched his head and adjusted his glasses back in place. “I’ll go call Petch then.”

“His phone is turned off and he’s not at the condo either.”

“Oh.”

“Did he pass out drunk at your house?”

“Umm, no P’Chid.”

“I have no idea then. If you can’t find Petch within fifteen minutes, you’re doing this job on your own.”

“Hua, aren’t there going to be seven female models and another three male ones? That’s impossible to do alone.”

“Well that’s your problem, go get dressed already!”

Bang!

 

Pun scratched his head with confusion, looking at the piece of paper in his hand which had the name of a four star hotel on it… what happened yesterday and why was he sleeping in this place? Flipping the paper over to the back, there was a map of the hotel and its surrounding area… The hotel was three hundred meters away from the night bazaar, turning right at the four-way intersection was the way to Pran Buri while turning left led to the highway and Hua Hin Airport…

This was still a dream right…? Let’s go back to sleep…

The sound of the phone from hell rang out again. This time, before he could even pick up the call, the device was stolen out of his hand.

“Hello…?”

The Thai accent was odd, caucasian-sounding. He focused his vision and saw that it was Sasha, bare-chested with a mixed expression of sleepiness and agitation.

“…Listen to me, Mr. Pun is already at Hua Hin, he’ll cover for Mr. Petch too… Don’t worry, he can make it… Yes… Call again when you arrive, but for now please stop calling him. I need some sleep!”

“Punnn… answer me this instant, who’s this foreignerrrrr…”

Sasha made an irritated face, throwing the phone back in Pun’s hand. “He wants to talk to you.”

Punnaphob swallowed his saliva… he was done for, his editor was definitely going to bite his head off.

 

…

 

“P’Pun, P’Pun…”

A young girl who was in charge of makeup approached him meekly. Pun detached his eyes from the camera that was calculating light measurements and looked up at her, his state half-asleep and half-awake.

“P’Pun… your friend over there… um… can I borrow him…?”

He helplessly blinked his blurry eyes. “Are there not enough technicians to move the lights? Yeah, you can go ask him.”

The makeup artist rolled her eyes and lowered them to the ground. “Idiot! P’Pun, he’s as handsome as a model, why I would ask him to move the lights. Have you been making him lift sandbags like a ricemill laborer? I never assumed you to be the type of person who could order around a good-looking man so cruelly.” Why did her words sound oddly erotic?

“Well how am I supposed to know?”

Pun furrowed his brows and turned back to the camera, his trusty Canon 5D Mark II. He thought to thank god for last night as he happened to bring his camera bag along to drinks with Sasha. It was twice as fortunate that his fancy new expensive lens was also sitting in the same bag; he was still obsessed over it. Thus, the fashion photography job which lacked zero physical, mental and equipment preparation wound up proceeding smoothly. If not, he was definitely going to be slaughtered alongside Petch.

The effects of the alcohol was still coursing in his blood as he was sending sweet glossy looks to everyone today. It was to the point where a female stylist had to whisper and ask him:

“…P’Pun is something wrong with you today? Your stare is making the model shy. She’s already passed along her phone number, do you want it? And will that friend of yours mind? Or does he like ‘swinging’…?”

(TN: Swinging – A.k.a. Partner Swapping, people in a committed relationship engage in sexual activities with others as a recreational or social activity)

Swinging? Your fucking father! He cursed in his heart but simply answered back with a smile.

“Hua… P’Pun, you’re secretly evil… an innocent face with a villainous heart, I never realized before.”

This was getting out of hand woi… Pun scratched his head, eyelids heavy. Inwardly, he thought to curse his beloved junior, Petch who disappeared without a trace. When he gets back, that puppy will need to be taught a lesson. How irresponsible.

“Then if you don’t mind, I’m going to borrow him P’Pun, he’ll be an honorary model.” The same girl demanded an answer.

“Be my guest, put him in your Tom Yum soup or curry if you want.”

“You don’t care?” She said while wiping away her drool. How scary, Sasha was going to get his liver eaten by a Thai girl.

“And why should I care? He’s my friend, not my husband.”

“Your mouth is stubborn P’Pun. It’s difficult to find a man that’s handsome, rich, and a sweet talker these days.” The makeup artist paused slightly and then lowered her voice. “Now that I think about it, does P’Petch know? About your boyfriend with godly good looks. He’s going to feel severely neglected.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Pun wanted to hang himself. It was only three days ago that he became single, yet his reputation had already been dragged through the mud because of the foreigner who was smoking a cigarette, sipping beer and sitting leg’s crossed reading a magazine nearby… he loathed the other man’s good looks.

But what actually happened last night…? He remembered that Man U lost and the other man told him that he was friends with Alex Ferguson (It would be crazy to believe such a blatant lie). He drank uncontrollably, hailed a taxi home, told the taxi driver to call Petch… so how did he wake up in the bed of a luxurious hotel by Hua Hin Beach? The time which was lost, what exactly happened?

Everything was white like a blank slate… except… his hips hurt… his waist hurt… his shoulders hurt… or was this a sign of ageing? Getting extremely wasted and waking up old all of a sudden…

He decided to ask Petch about this later. That said, what did he get himself into while drunk that caused his entire body to hurt like this?

RRR…RRR…RRR

The number displayed was unfamiliar but he picked it up anyway, hearing the petulant voice of a grade three preschooler whining loudly.

“P’Punnnnnnnn… I’m lost!”

His worry dissipated into thin air. Pun shook his head, exasperated at the owner of the voice before smiling to himself, dimples full-blown.

“What a silly idiot, this puppy. Where are you?”

Suddenly, a luxurious looking Volvo van rolled up in front of the set, parking on the side of the road. An out-of-place man in a black suit and black sunglasses stepped down from the driver’s seat. The giant figure then pulled the open the passenger door and grabbed the arm of a disoriented Thai man.

“Um, I’m… uwa, Isakov what the hell are you doing? We’re not there yet.” Petch’s cries caught the sole attention of everyone on set. “P’Pun hold on– let me go woi. I’m filing a police report: Foreigner kidnaps juvenile.”

“Your mentality is what’s juvenile. You’re a twenty-seven year old with the brain of a seven year old.” Although his Thai was not perfect, it was downright spicy.

“You keep on talking, when this job is over I’m going to punch you till all of your teeth fall out– oww, owww. Ah… P’Pun, how did you get here? Hello, hello? Can you see me?”

Look at this puppy, standing there with a wide grin, waving his hand back and forth. Pun wanted to use his size forty-three shoe and fling the other man into the ocean seeing as he came so well-dressed; how detestable. Trying to be all ‘Korean’ in that outfit, wearing a turtleneck, a beret and knee-length shorts to the beach of all things. If this was someone other than Petch, Pun would have scolded them already.

 

…

 

“Petch, can I ask you something?”

The hand which was in the middle of cleaning the camera lens flinched. My heart was beating loud inside my chest. Glancing at the person next to me, I saw that he was also preoccupied, focused on taking light measurements with his camera.

“That mafia-foreigner isn’t my boyfriend, senior.”

“It’s not about that matter woi.” P’Pun smacked the center of my forehead.

I made a pouty face. “Don’t hit so hard, what if my brain falls out?”

“Oh yeah, you don’t have very much of it remaining too, now can you shut up and listen to my question already?”

I jutted out my bottom lip. It looked cute (as if!) for a man in his latter twenties like me.

“Tell me then.”

“Last night…”

Hua! Oh shit, don’t tell me that P’Pun knew…

“P’Pun, how much did you pay for this lens?”

“Thirty-seven thousand baht, now about last night…”

“Thirty-seven thousand? Really? Can I borrow it?” I quickly interjected, fast like lightning, hoping to crash two planes with one cannon.

(TN: Crash two planes with one cannon – A play on the expression ‘Kill two birds with one stone’. To succeed in achieving two things in a single action.)

“You can’t woi! Can you shut up and listen to me already? Or are you looking to get beaten up?”

Seeing P’Pun’s large double lidded eyes glower back, I quickly stitched my mouth close in spite of my rapidly beating heart. Please don’t ask. Don’t ask me. I beg of you, don’t make me recall the memory from last night, about the things that feral hottie did to me. The more I recalled, the more ashamed I felt, performing a live action film on the car with two extra spectators! And could I stop myself? No! My life was over.

“Last night I got wasted like a dog, and when I woke up again my body hurt like hell. You… umm… did you tell your next-door neighbour that we had work at Hua Hin today?”

The question was a roundabout one, however, it was the complete opposite of what I was anticipating. Subconsciously having been holding my breath, I desperately breathed air back into my lungs again. If not, my brain was going to stop functioning, making me even more stupid.

P’Pun’s double lidded eyes looked at me naively. I shook my head side to side.

“Nope. Maybe you accidentally told him in your drunken stupor?”

“Hmm, but I really don’t think I told him.”

I wrinkled my face. If you didn’t forget, you probably wouldn’t have called me late last night. But w…woi… the images from yesterday night were returning to me snapshot by snapshot again… both sound and sensation… that hottie was… way too sexy. How infuriating, I felt angry at myself for not being able to resist temptation.

“What’s wrong, your face is red, are you sick Petch?” My kind elder brother rested the back of his hand on my forehead. “It’s kind of warm. Have you taken any medicine yet?”

“No… I feel fine, yesterday um… I slept late!”

The handsome face similar to that of a Korean drama protagonist crooked his head to the side and inspected me. Now the hand was placed on my cheek and neck. From there, it returned back up to the area underneath my eye, pressing lightly with a thumb. It would have been an extremely romantic scene if not for the following words… you would have looked very handsome if you didn’t say anything Mr. Punnaphob.

“Your eyes are swollen, did you watch too much porn or something? You look tired.”

Um… When P’Pun bent down, the collar of his shirt fluttered open, and I saw something odd which did not belong there… it looked round.. bruised… red.. like a… to say it out loud was embarrassing but it looked exactly like the ‘inheritance’ Alexey left for me last night (this is why I had to wear a turtleneck to the beach today, oh how fitting with this weather!)

To say that it was a mosquito bite, the mosquito would have had to be as big as a dung beetle in order to make such a mark.

I whipped my eyes to the corners, seeing a foreigner that was as handsome as a descended god reading some paperwork on a cloth bed near the edge of the beach… something was bothering me but I couldn’t tell what it was… or did P’Pun’s ‘backdoor’ get shot down already? Was he simply putting up an innocent act?

“P’Pun, what’s that mark on your neck?”

I concluded that my senior was pretending to act innocent so I teased him by asking cluelessly, thinking it would give me some good hints. But who would have guessed it, the person in question made an even more naive expression. His handsome face looked as if it was pleading… for god’s sake, why have I been paying close attention other men’s attractiveness as of late?

“Oh, it’s probably some insect bite. I woke up and it was already there, maybe it’s an allergic reaction to alcohol.” P’Pun flexed the muscles by his neck loud with a crack. “I’m sore all over Petch, have you ever been allergic to alcohol and had this happen to you before?”

Ra-rather, I think you’re allergic to foreigners.

And should I be happy or sad that P’Pun still managed to protect his innocence?

“Oh Petch, another thing.” He lowered his voice and whispered close, tone serious. “These days, are you at the level where you need to be accompanied by a personal bodyguard? Don’t tell me that you and that… that hottie from room 1202…”

It eventually comes back to this matter! Isakov’s tall figure casted his eyes in my direction, sending a wide annoying sneer at P’Pun. The person who glanced just in time to see it wrinkled his face. P’Pun turned back to look at me disapprovingly but refrained from saying anything.

I wiped my sweat.

Dammit, I really didn’t want to lie to P’Pun… but I also didn’t want to confess that this matter had already gone too far.

I smiled dryly. “Pshhh, why would that be the case. That hottie prefers someone with way higher standards than me.”

P’Pun narrowed his eyes… abandoning his earlier innocent act.

“Don’t let me find out.”

Hua!

“If I do, he’d better be prepared because I demand an expensive betrothal gift.”

(TN: Betrothal gift – The opposite of a dowry. The groom is expected to give money to the bride’s family as a cost for asking their daughter’s hand in marriage.)

Senior, are you opposing or encouraging me to get a husband, which is it!?

 

…

 

The set was loud and chaotic. Five makeup artists and another three assistants were running around frantically… touch up her face… fix her hair, the sand is blowing everywhere… are the lights ready yet… can you brush the sand off the model’s feet please…

“Another three minutes everyone, the sun is about to set, we won’t be able to take anymore photos after this.”

I shouted to my team while looking at the brightly-colored Casio watch on my wrist.

P’Pun was occupied, not too close or faraway from me. I estimated the remaining time in my mind while squatting my butt down. Watching the sun descend closer and closer to the horizon of the calm ocean, a gust of the sea wind blew a long thin cloud slowly across the sky. The orange-red sky looked fiery but also desolate, empty…

“Who are you thinking about Mr. Petch?” A deep voice with an odd Thai accent rang out from behind me, along with a large hand which rested lightly on my waist. I flinched. Turning back, I was met with a cheery man whose smile stretched up to both cheeks. “Could it be me?”

I was taken aback, wanting to back away but I was cornered as I happened to be standing in front of a light stand. The clear blue eyes looked at me gleefully in the same manner as the smile on his face.

“Why such a surprised face? I only came to say hi.”

It would be great if you greeted me three and a half meters away, I argued in my heart but tried to mind my manners by only bearing my fangs. “Yes…uh…”

“Last night’s dinner with Mr. Pun was very enjoyable, Mr Petch you should have come along.”

“I… I wasn’t free.”

“Has work been busy?”

“Um, yeah. Oh, right, last night… I… had to tune in to the football match.”

And I shot a ball into my own goal too, huu huu huuu…

(TN: Goal = Petch’s ‘Backdoor’)

I glanced at my watch, another ninety seconds. “Can we talk later? Mr. Sasha… umm, I’m still working.”

The handsome face raised his eyebrows high before unfurling a smile. If I was gay and single, I would have melted right at his feet. Ei… either way… stop smiling already, you’re making me weak.

“I have to get back to Bangkok, the ambassador is summoning me for an emergency.” His clear blue eyes were smiling, sweet and glistening. The tall figure bent down to whisper something beside my ear while pulling at my hand, squeezing it tight.

“Please give me a chance Mr. Petch… I’ll be waiting.” Before placing a soft light kiss on my ear without any warning.

Next thing I remembered, a red passport book–the color of pig’s blood–was sitting in my hand. A luxurious Mercedes-Benz ignited its engine, then drove away.

“Thirty seconds everyone, are the cameras ready Pun? Petch?”

My heart was beating thunderously. I turned to look at P’Pun and secretly let out a sigh, he was still preoccupied with cleaning the face of his lens.

“Petch, are the lights too strong…? Petch, can you hear me…”

“Petch woi! The sun is about to set, are you gonna take the photos or not!”

Smack!

P’Pun’s forceful rap on the head brought back my consciousness effectively. I gathered my thoughts that were strewn across the floor and got back to work; in spite of the look of mockery that everyone on set gave me. Hmph! Have you never seen a guy being courted before? Hmph!

 

…

 

When I got back to the condo, I found a small note inserted under my door with a very short message written on it.

‘Take your passport to Madam Yelena at the embassy. I’m going to Malaysia.’

There was no name signed at the bottom… Didn’t you just get back? What kind of person doesn’t keep his promises!

I stared at the bread which I had bought for two people and opened the door wide. Beckoning Isakov inside the room, I portioned the Au Bon Pain bread and goat cheese into a separate bag. “Give this to your boss.”

Isakov made an expression which meant he didn’t understand. I elaborated, “I saw that your room’s fridge is almost empty so I bought this, it’s nothing much.”

After shoving the bodyguard out, I sat dejected at the edge of my bed for a long while, rolling around left and right. I turn on my MacBook to do some work, make coffee, edit photos, call P’Pun, call Ma’ and Pa’, and chat with Phai. I did all this but the hands of the clock still moved suspiciously slowly. Therefore I called P’Pun for the second time, only to wind up getting ridiculed at.

“Oh you poor puppy~ You’re depressed, has your owner has abandoned you?”

“That’s not true! What nonsense, a person like me never gets lonely.”

“Yeah sure, if you’re not lonely then you’re not lonely.”

“How about you senior, are you going anywhere tonight?”

“Drinking.”

“You can’t! Didn’t you promise to quit drinking with me for Buddhist Lent?”

“Your next-door neighbour from room 1206 was the one who called to invite me out.”

“Whaaat…?” I whined, unimpressed. “Are you so in love that you’re deciding to abandon me?”

“In love with your father!”

This confirmed it… P’Pun wasn’t taking any Benlo… Hua, I mean… P’Pun didn’t seem to be having a hidden affair with Sasha. Yet this made my heart heavy. My plan to cram sugarcane into the mouth of an elephant had failed completely. How troublesome, now I’ll have to think of a new plan.

(TN: Benlo – A legendary cure-all medicine for women. He’s saying that P’Pun hasn’t become a ‘woman’ yet.)

“Oh come on Petch, I definitely won’t steal your man.” Look at his words, should I be happy? “And I promise to not drink any alcohol.”

“You’re only allowed to have snacks and sodas.” I ordered.

“That’s too overboard Petch, are you my friend or my wife? If you’re my wife, be prepared to stock up on birth control because I’m heading over right now.”

You’re joking right? Why the serious voice?

And so P’Pun ran away by turning off his phone. It was typical of single guys to turn off their phones when going for a night out. But to do this to someone as lonely as me, ears drooping like an abandoned puppy, how could you!

Finally, I heaved my body to knock on the door of room 1202, meeting Isakov who was in the middle of changing the bed sheets, along with another bodyguard (an unfamiliar face, I’ll dub you bodyguard number three for now) who was meticulously hanging up suits in the closet, it was a very odd scene to witness.

“What do you want” He asked, as if speaking to a stranger.

But I didn’t retaliate. “When is he coming back?”

“Excuse me, but this is none of your business.”

“It is my business because I want to know.”

Isakov took one step back and silently closed the door. I perk up my ears to listen, hearing the sound of a phone call. Less than two minutes later, he opened the door again, handing me the device.

“Boss wants to talk to you.”

I looked at the screen, it displayed a private number. “Hello?”

A deep voice cleared his throat. In the distance, I heard the sound of the airport’s Final Boarding Call announcement. “What do you want?”

“You said you were back.”

“I had important business to take care of.”

Hearing this ought to make me angry. You can come back to do ‘this’ and ‘that’ with me but when you promised to come back and have a meal with me, you suddenly can’t.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“No, I’m just calling to annoy you. I’m frustrated, hungry, and mad at someone who stood up our meeting.”

“Get Viktar to cook something for now, I’m hanging up, it’s boarding time.”

I felt dejected… ears drooping… tail hanging low… I probably looked very pathetic because Isakov agreed to open the door and let me in, entrusting bodyguard number two whose name was Viktar to find something for me to eat. After finishing a plate of spaghetti meat sauce which tasted like a luxurious hotel meal, I was in a better mood. Moving to roll around in the spacious bedroom, it was annoying how uncomfortable the pillows were, they weren’t soft at all. But regardless, I fell asleep soon after.

 

I woke up in a daze due to the cold and saw a back full of tattoos lying sideways next to me. Looking again, oh, I had kicked the blanket off the bed. Reaching a hand down to pull it up, I covered the hottie with the fabric as well; not wanting to be accused for being inconsiderate.

The person sleeping next to me accidentally woke. Alexey blinked twice before flipping over to my side. Strong firm arms gathered me into a bare embrace. With the pale arms, tight with muscles hugging me, I felt warm to my very core.

“It’s not morning yet… sleep.”

I was sleepy and tired… yet my heart drummed wildly inside my chest… I turned my face to look at the balcony door with its curtains left open, seeing Alexey reflected on the glass. How could one person be this sexy…

His soft lips kissed lightly at my nape, I quickly brushed it away. “Uu…”

The handsome face was a single inch away, and the grey eyes beneath the array of coffee-coloured eyelashes was so beautiful that it had me entranced… giving him the chance to steal a kiss on my cheek.

The tall large figure shifted on top of me, looming above in full view. I quickly pulled the blanket up, covering my body completely, leaving exposed only two blinking eyes. “Don’t you dare do anything to me.”

Alexey chuckled. “Can you stop me? Haven’t you been waiting for this?”

“Hmph, how biased towards yourself, I was waiting to have a meal you actually.”

“It’ll be morning soon… what’s wrong with letting me eat before that?” Large hands tugged the blanket down and slithered underneath my t-shirt. “Lately you’ve been behaving very cute Petch.”

“Wait!”

“What’s the fuss now?”

“There’s a weird shadow outside.”

“Maybe its Batman spying on us.”

“I’m not joking around woi.”

I pushed his rough chin away and jumped up to the glass door of the balcony. I peered outside but couldn’t see anything. Yet it inexplicably still lingered in my mind. Before I could touch the latch, my hand was grasped. The figure of the man who was bare-chested embraced me from behind and buried a heavy kiss on my nape.

“Can you not go around opening and closing doors in other people’s homes? You restless little monkey.”

I looked at the reflection in the glass and quickly lowered my face. This was fucking crazy, did they put marijuana in the in-flight meal? This hottie was acting childish like a (wolf) puppy. How weird… Then again, this room also seemed weird but I couldn’t put my finger on it… it was even weirder when I noticed the lock, it had a fingerprint scanner installed instead of a normal keyhole, the security system was overly strict.

“There’s no need to open the balcony door unless you want to smack your head on the cement pavement.”

This hottie really had a foul mouth, good grief.

I turned my back, but the edge of my vision caught a black shadow moving outside. Suddenly, my body crashed down against the carpet flooring hard. The black shadow outside revealed itself to clearly be two people who were about to…

Hua, a gun!

Bang! Bang!

The balcony door composed of an entire pane of glass fractured with bullet holes. Alexey pulls a gun from under a pillow and shouted something loud in Kazakh, followed by English for me.

“Petch, get out of this room! Right now!”

I was at a loss for what to do, helplessly standing there in shock. Looking at the two shadows, they seemed taken aback by something outside. One of them stood on the balcony railing, preparing to jump, this of course being towards the direction of my room. As for the other person, he seemed hesitant, turning back to look in the same direction as if panicking.

“Petch, get out now!!!”

The blood in my body ran cold, nearly becoming ice. Although I wanted to get away from here, I couldn’t move a single fiber of my body, not even my fingers!

Alexey seeing the hopelessness of the situation quickly closed in, yanking my arm up before cramming me into the closet, slamming the doors shut with a bang.

I peered through the opening of closet which was slightly ajar, seeing Isakov in his pajamas cross in front of his boss and fire back one bullet. The bulletproof glass bent with the force it sustained but still managed to maintain itself. The tall figure scanned his fingerprint to open the glass pane, intending to capture the suspicious person who was loitering around without an escape route. However, before he could grab the body, the sound of a bullet sliced through the air, the piercing noise making my hair stand on end. The black shadow fell forward, stiff in front of me, his eyes unfeeling.

And everything ended…

Alexey watched as his closest underling dragged the soulless body into the room. Fresh blood flowed freely from the forehead which was hollowed out by a round hole. The expression of the man was blank, lacking any emotion of shock or panic. Receiving gloves from his personal bodyguard, he got down to searching every nook and cranny of the body by himself, throwing the items found into a black bag. Isakov used a digital camera to photograph every part of the body. The other two bodyguards appeared in the room. Viktar took out a surgery kit, slicing open the forehead and removing the bullet which had just stolen a person’s life while the third bodyguard whose figure was very tall, almost two meters tall, and name was Leof waited to clean up the mess.

“What should we do with this boss?”

Alexey whipped his eyes to the corners, looking at me briefly. “…Mark it, so they’ll know to not stick their noses in our business…”

I had no idea what they were talking about. I could only see the pair of cold grey eyes stare down the corpse with indifference while his closest underling turned over the persian carpet, opening a compartment in the floor to pull out something which looked like an iron brand the size of a palm. My eyes went wide, seeing Isakov scorch it with a lighter till it was flaming red before engraving a mark onto the cold pale flesh.

Then, as if to publicly announce his boss’ words, the lifeless body was flung off the twelfth floor and down towards Phetchaburi road!