Kao waited outside Mok's dorm, using the excuse of missing him just to pick him up. During every class break, Kao dropped by simply to ensure Mok was doing well.
The photos had finally been removed from the university's official website.
However, after circulating across various group chats, Win kept searching for the person continuously uploading them. For now, Mok only had to deal with quiet stares and lingering rumors. It was hard on him, but he held his ground as best as he could.
At the same time, a small group of students rallied to defend them against the haters. They made several posts asking what was so wrong with two people falling in love or being in a relationship.
"Wow..." Toffee gasped, scrolling through the fan community under the hashtag #KaoMok.
(#KaoMok or #MokKao? The poll is live!)
(KaoMok: 10k | MokKao: 2k)
(They look so good together! I need high-res photos so I can print them out for my wall!)
(Now everything makes sense. The haters are just jealous that two fine guys are dating.)
(Two guys together? Disgusting...)
Comment deleted. User blocked.
(Are these people eating grass or what?)
(Right? I'm a girl, and my best friend is gay. I'm proud to have him in my life.) — Tagged.
(Girl, total respect to you...)
(Now that's what a real friend looks like...)
(Any leads on the girl clinging to Mok in that photo?)
The comment section grew intense as users speculated over the girl's identity and who had leaked the picture.
Smiling with deep satisfaction, Toffee took a sip of his drink.
He then shifted his attention toward Phayu and Lamon sitting beside him. Opposite them sat Mok, with Kao resting his head peacefully on Mok's lap.
Flash! Click!
Passersby kept snapping photos, but nobody at the bench cared. Kao certainly didn't. As for Mok, he just wanted to dig a hole and hide inside it.
"Guys... I'm telling you, it's definitely KaoMok," Toffee muttered.
"Agreed," Phayu chimed in without hesitation.
"MokKao," Lamon declared firmly. He pulled his straw from his cup and fixed his eyes on his two friends.
"KaoMok..."
"MokKao..."
And just like that, they dragged each other into an unnecessary debate that didn't even need to exist.
Morning turned into noon.
The campus courtyard was noisy, matching the lively energy of their group.
Mok gently ran his fingers through Kao's hair. After checking to ensure no eyes were on them, he set aside his cup, where the ice cubes had already melted into water.
"Isn't your neck stiff...?"
Kao shook his head without opening his eyes.
"Kao... your phone has rung four times already."
"Let it ring. I don't care."
"Ow!"
Kao jumped up instantly. Everyone turned toward the bench, looking at the source of the sudden yell.
"What did you pinch me for?"
"Answer it," Mok said, stressing every single word.
Swallowing nervously, Kao grabbed his phone and stepped away to take the call.
"Lamon is right. It's definitely MokKao," Phayu noted.
The other two nodded, looking satisfied with that conclusion.
When the call ended, Kao was in a terrible mood. He glanced back toward the table, wishing nothing more than to stay by Mok's side.
"Mok..." he murmured, sitting right next to him. "I have to head home."
Mok, who had been focused on his book, couldn't hide his disappointment. He raised his head and asked anxiously, "Can I come with you?"
Kao tilted his head, giving him a gentle look.
"I'll be back before you know it. Just promise me you won't go anywhere alone like you did yesterday."
"Mm."
Mok's shoulders slumped, though he forced a small smile for Kao.
After pressing a brief kiss onto Mok's cheek and offering a quick goodbye, Kao hurried off, calling out over his shoulder for Mok to take care of himself. Under the midday sun, Mok's cheeks flushed red. His friends, who were waiting for something, found their target.
"Aww... look at Mok..."
"Cut it out Phayu... Everyone's staring..."
"Oh, somebody's getting shy now!"
...
Kao's car pulled up outside the K9 building, where someone was already waiting for him outdoors. She nervously kept tapping her palm against her hand.
"Oh!" She rushed toward Kao the moment he stepped out, urging him to leave the car behind and follow her immediately.
"Samy, did he mention anything? Why is he here?"
"No..." Samy replied, her tone anxious. "Kao, everything's going to be fine, right?"
The sharp click of her heels echoed against the floor as she hesitated to step inside after him. Kao gave her a reassuring expression before opening the door to his office.
A man in a tailored suit sat facing the K9 emblem, leisurely sipping tea with his legs crossed. Hearing Kao enter, he merely shifted his gaze sideways before returning his attention to the teacup.
"What is a high-profile lawyer—one who would gladly sacrifice himself for my father—doing here?" Kao asked, his tone cool and sarcastic.
"Am I right, Lawyer Fluke?"
"I am getting old, young master. Kindly refrain from saying I would die for your father..."
"Ha..." Fluke let out a dry laugh.
He set his cup down on the desk just as Kao took his seat in the main chair.
"Your father will probably live longer than me," Fluke added.
"Is that so? Even the gods must be afraid to take him."
"Haha... You certainly aren't in a pleasant mood today, young master."
Kao clasped his hands on the desk and leaned forward.
"You threatened me to get me here. Do you honestly expect me to be all smiles?" He leaned back into his seat.
"Yet you refused to answer my calls..."
Kao ignored the comment and rubbed his face in frustration.
"Not just for one day, but for half a month, young master. He has been demanding to see you. He said there was something urgent to discuss."
Kao lowered his eyes before fixing Fluke with a sharp glare.
"So what is it this time? Is he threatening my friends again?"
"Please understand, Young Master. You have far too many weaknesses right now."
Slam!
Kao slammed his palm against the heavy glass desk. A loud crack rang through the room as fractures spread across the surface, though the glass didn't shatter. Samy, who had just walked in, flinched at the noise.
"Kao... please calm down..." She caught his arms to hold him back, but he didn't budge.
"Kao, just go with him. Okay?" She patted his shoulder gently.
Deep down, she was terrified to let him go. Every time he visited his father, he came back with new injuries. Samy and Kaen knew how dangerous these visits were. Plus, Fluke reported everything. If this argument got out of hand, Kao could end up in the hospital again.
Kao went to change into formal clothes while Samy waited outside. Fluke was already in the car, waiting to take Kao back to the main house.
...
Heavy dark clouds had been gathering over the city around noon for days, only for the wind to sweep them away to rain elsewhere. Some days, people longed for rain that never fell; other times, the storm blew up right when no one wanted it.
The house hadn't changed a bit. Every time he returned, that same familiar heaviness settled over him the moment he stepped inside.
Even though he missed his grandfather, Tsukasa, and Auntie Pang, who had become a mother to him, staying with them would have been much safer. But his father used his mother as an excuse to bring him back. In the end, they had no choice but to let Kao return to that house, at least for a while.
It wasn't that his grandfather didn't have influence. His father was simply far more ruthless—someone who wouldn't hesitate to eliminate anyone standing in his way.
Maybe that was why, even after losing his mother and brother, Kao couldn't bring himself to hide behind his grandfather, even when the old man tried suing for custody.
Kao had insisted on staying behind.
To this day, the older servants still remembered the thin boy who used to stand out in the pouring rain for hours every year on the anniversary of their deaths.
Standing near the ground-floor courtyard, Kao looked up at the balcony.
After that, his only wish had been to visit their rooms—just to pretend that they were still alive and still with him.
When he was a kid, he actually believed dying was the only way to see them again, and a faint smile had crossed his face. He'd even laughed, thinking he could finally escape this living hell.
He tried ending his life in his brother's bathroom—first by drowning himself in the tub, and the next day by cutting his wrist with a small blade. As blood mixed into the water, his vision went blurry and his soaked clothes turned ice-cold.
His heart had pounded like crazy during what he thought were his last moments, and he felt completely at peace. He could still see his brother clear as day—giving him a bath, playing games together, helping him with homework. Every memory came rushing back like a dream.
A very beautiful dream.
But when his eyes opened, his brother wasn't there. He was lying in a hospital bed.
A ten-year-old boy had asked the attending doctor, "Why am I here...? Who brought me...? Why save me...?"
Those were not the eyes of a normal child. They belonged to someone begging for an escape.
From that day on, even his best memories turned into painful reminders of everything he'd lost. They haunted him nonstop, as if asking why he hadn't followed them yet.
...
'I hate this place...' Kao thought, standing inside his father's office.
Nothing about the room had changed. The paintings on the wall and the files stacked on the desk still seemed to carry far more importance than his life.
"You've arrived, my son." Napat clicked his tongue before picking up a folder from his desk.
Flick!
He threw the file straight at Kao's face like he'd been waiting for this exact moment. Kao didn't flinch. His face hardened as he recognized the papers scattering on the floor.
Photographs. Dozens of prints capturing intimate moments between him and Mok.
Kao bent down to pick them up one by one.
Crunch!
Without warning, his father slammed his shoe right down on Kao's fingers, grinding his heel into his skin.
Not a single sound escaped Kao's lips.
He simply stared at his father.
The man pressed down even harder, the sharp pain turning the edges of Kao's eyes red, but his father didn't pull back.
"President..." Fluke cut in quietly, keeping his voice carefully in check.
"Fetch me the cane," Napat commanded, holding out his hand, eyes locked on Kao.
"Sir... if you leave visible marks on him, the upcoming dinner meeting with the..."
The older man scowled, dripping with contempt. "Are you ready for that meeting, or do I need to break your lover's legs first?"
Kao clenched his jaw tight, staying completely silent.
"You're getting engaged," Napat said, turning away to grab a cigarette while Fluke flicked a lighter open for him.
"No... I love..."
"Haha... Love...?" He cut in. "Someone like you claiming to feel love...? You are just as pathetic as your mother."
Napat threw the cigarette aside and slapped Kao hard across the face. Grabbing him by the collar, he pulled him close, his breath heavy with tobacco.
"You ungrateful, miserable bastard! You murderer! You dare disobey my orders?"
His anger wasn't about love or relationships—it was purely because Kao said no.
"Bring me the cane. No—fetch a golf club."
"Ha... haha... hahaha..."
Kao laughed as he looked at the furious face of his father.
Slap!
"Don't you dare laugh at me, you leech who dragged my son to his death! I should have killed you the moment I realized you had survived."
"Tsk."
...
Splash!
Cold water streamed over Kao's body. He had managed to wash his hair, but the bruises and injuries across his skin made applying soap painful.
His small bedroom felt suffocating.
The neatly pressed formal suit prepared by the butler lay arranged across his bed.
'Mok should be back at his dorm by now...'
Kao had promised to pick him up, but here he was, trapped within the walls of his childhood cage.
Knock! Knock!
"Come in..."
Ton, the senior butler, walked inside. His hair was dyed black to hide the gray. He was one of the few old staff members left in the house.
"The President requested that you be fully prepared within fifteen minutes."
"Mm... You may leave. I'll get ready on my own."
Ton gave a respectful bow. Kao used to be a scared kid who flinched at everything, but now he stood there looking guarded and sharp. That was why Ton felt uneasy around him.
Sigh...
As the door clicked shut, he let out a low breath.
'What if I just took Mok and ran away far from here?'
He leaned his forehead against the bed. Dust was gathered in the corners and the air smelled stale, like the room had been locked up for months.
"I miss him so much..."
The night had yet to arrive, and the sun was still shining, but the small room no longer welcomed either sunlight or moonlight.
'I should have just died back then...'