GODDESSBLESSYOUFROMDEATH, Case File 24: A Meaningless Apology

“Make something to eat yourself.” were Singha’s last words before he walked out the door.

After returning home, both went to take a shower. Thup spent his time cleaning the house to keep his mind off the events of the afternoon. Meanwhile, Singha secluded himself in his study. It wasn’t until evening that the older guy came downstairs, dressed in a fitted black t-shirt and matching jeans.

Once Singha left the house, Thup, unsure of what else to do, decided to pick up his drawing supplies that he had brought from his condo, setting them up on the living room table, and continued sketching from where he left off last time. Now he was certain that there were only three ghosts attached to the doll: one was an older ghost woman with white eyes, her lips torn to her ears. Another was a young girl without eyes, similar to what Darin encountered, and…

A woman with red thread hanging loose at her eyes and mouth, the ghost girl he had seen since childhood. Although he felt some fear, she had never done anything violent to him.

Why was that?

Singha, having just parked his car, lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, his sharp eyes gazing at the towering condo with a neutral expression before he picked up his phone to his ear.

“I’ve arrived.”

“Coming up, I’ve left the keycard at the counter.” After saying this, King hung up. The thick hand dropped the cigarette on the floor before crushing it with his foot until it was obliterated. The dissatisfaction made Singha arrive at the young detective’s door within minutes. He knocked three times before it opened, revealing a tall man in a white bathrobe.

“Whatever you want to talk about, let’s hear it.”

“Come in first.” King stepped aside to let Singha enter.

“Speak quickly, I need to leave.” Singha sat down on the sofa, propping his feet on the coffee table and leaning back nonchalantly.

“I’ll take a shower first.” a cold beer can was pressed against Singha’s cheek before being placed on his lap.

“How long are you going to stall?” The young inspector picked it up, opened it, and took a calm sip.

“Until you act like you used to when we were together.”

“Something from that long ago, should I remember it?”

“Are you sure you don’t remember?” Singha’s chin was lifted to meet the eyes of the person standing behind the sofa, “Or should we jog your memory?”

“Do you dare?”

“Why wouldn’t I dare?”

They locked eyes, neither yielding. King leaned closer, reducing the distance between them until their noses touched, and Singha warned in a tone that was once again elevated by Khem.

“I asked, do you dare?”

“I miss you.” King said softly, gently stroking Singha’s chin.

“And what am I supposed to do with that statement?”

“Let’s get back together.” Singha chuckled in his throat before pushing King’s face away from his sight.

“We never even dated. So what are you on about?”

“But you like me, and you know how I feel, Singha.”

“What makes you think that?” The man took a sip from his beer, his expression bored. He looked out the long glass window that stretched from the left wall to the right.

“Are you going to say what happened in the past was just casual?” King walked and stopped in front of the visitor, his gaze cold as he looked at Singha.

“And wasn’t it?”

“Then let’s just do it casually today too.” King lunged forward, pressing Singha down onto the sofa, his disappointed eyes not leaving his former lover.

“Are you sure you want to keep acting like this?”

“Mhm.”

“It’s annoying, you know.”

“And isn’t that kid even more annoying, following you around like a puppy?” King bent down, nuzzling the strong neck affectionately, hoping the person beneath him would play along like old times.

“Not really.”

“How long do you plan to keep him around?” King slipped his hand under Singha’s shirt, caressing the well-defined muscles expertly.

“Get to your point.” Singha pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from his pants pocket, lighting up even as the person on top of him continued kissing his neck.

“Dad said he’ll offer you a new position in the Department of Special Investigation.” white smoke floated up into the air.

“In exchange for?”

“This is a big serial case. If you catch the culprit, it’ll be beneficial.”

“Huh, beneficial for who? Me, you, or your dad?” King left love marks on the neck before moving down to Singha’s abdomen.

“We all benefit from this, just let me handle it.”

“Is your business just this, King?”

“Still as hot as ever.” King said, admiring the muscles unabashedly.

“So, do you want it?” The young inspector took a last drag of nicotine before flicking the cigarette butt to the ground, his sharp eyes looking down at the person now at his feet with an emotionless gaze.

“Heh, take it off.”

“I mean, do you want my foot?!?!” A foot slammed into King’s chest without holding back, toppling him off the sofa to the floor, losing balance. Before he could get up, his bathrobe collar was yanked forcefully, and heavy punches landed on his left cheek until it went numb. King could barely see how many times he had been hit.

“Singha!!!” When he found an opening to escape the onslaught, King kicked Singha’s knee joint, pinned him to the floor, and punched his right cheek with full force.

“You’re still the same, only interested in benefits.” Singha countered with a punch, knocking King to the side. “Want to know why an apology today is so worthless?”

Singha straddled King, raining down punches mercilessly. The cheekbone, as broken as the lip, started bleeding. Singha then stopped his hands.

“Because on that day, you never thought to apologize to me.” The thick hand let go of King’s collar before standing up to his full height. He looked down at the man sprawled on the floor with colder eyes than ever.

As Singha was about to step over King’s body, his ankle was grabbed first.

“If I had apologized that day… would I still lose you today?” Singha didn’t answer. He simply freed his foot from the grip and walked forward without looking back.

The sound of the closing door made King slowly close his eyes. He knew what kind of person Singha was. Old memories flooded back, and he could only laugh at himself. If he hadn’t done it then, he might still have the person who just walked out by his side now.

‘King, just tell him I didn’t do it!!!’ Singha was handcuffed to the table after causing a big scene upon learning the truth.

   ‘Yes! He arrested the wrong suspect, so the real culprit got away.’

   ‘King!!!’

   ‘And what about the shooting of the officer?’

   ‘…He missed.’ King dodged the gaze of the person in front of him. It wasn’t a look of anger or vengeance, but one of disappointment.

   Since that day, his relationship with Singha has been severed beyond repair.

Thup took a brief break from drawing. He went to prepare a simple dinner to eat in front of the television. Even though a cooking variety show was on, intensely competitive, he had no mind to watch. His beautiful eyes kept glancing at the clock repeatedly. Now, the short hand was pointing at nine, but there was still no sign of the older man returning.

“Should I call and ask?” Thup muttered softly to himself.

Almost twenty minutes later, while he was washing dishes, the sound of a car in front of the house made his heart beat faster. Thup quickly dried his hands before rushing to the front door, but when the door opened, the smile he had faded away.

“Phii, what—”

“Why aren’t you in bed yet?”

“Why do you have a wound?” Unconsciously, Thup raised his hand to cup Singha’s face. The bruise and cut on the right corner of his mouth caused him to gently brush it with his thumb.

“Just a small matter.” Singha gently pushed Thup’s hand away before heading upstairs without another word. As he was about to take off his shirt to change into pajamas, the bedroom door opened, and the young man poked his head in.

“Phii, can I come in?”

“Yeah.” Singha replied, removing his shirt and wrapping a towel around his waist to change his pants. “What’s that you’re holding?”

“…Let me apply some medicine, please.” said Thup, standing at the doorway, averting his eyes towards the bed until Singha finished changing. He still wasn’t used to seeing the older man’s bare upper body.

“Why such fuss over this small wound?” Thup said as he saw the homeowner sit down on the bed. He then approached and sat on the floor in front of the young inspector.

“Even a small wound is still a wound.” Thup said while squeezing ointment onto his finger, preparing to apply it. He glanced and noticed a faint red mark on Singha’s neck. His face brightened slightly, but his eyes dimmed, mirroring his feelings. “Didn’t you understand when talking to Khun King?”

“Yeah.” Singha replied nonchalantly, allowing the kid in front of him to apply the ointment to the corner of his mouth. He then picked up his glasses and documents from the bedside table to continue reading.

“I should have gone with you.”

“What would you have done there? Take care of yourself first.” Singha glanced up and then lightly tapped Thup’s head with the rolled paper. “Will you train me, Phii? So I can help you with something.”

“Train? Someone as soft as you?” Thup sat cross-legged on the floor, massaging Singha’s legs as they talked.

“I work out too, you know. Not that soft.”

“Wouldn’t you be better off fighting ghosts?” Thup quickly shook his head like a rattle. “You’re not ready for that yet.”

“Hmph, then how do you plan to help me?”

“Even if I can’t help much, I still want to help. At least, I can break down the door for myself today.” Thup said softly, looking up at the person sitting on the bed. He hugged the older one’s legs and rested his chin on the knee under the black sweatpants.

“Want to help?”

“Yes.”

“Then come up here and give me a proper massage, I’m going to sleep.” Singha removed his glasses, placed everything on the table, and lay face down on the bed. He had exhausted both his mind and body today and didn’t feel like doing anything more.

“I’m really good at massages, even the old monk praised me.” Thup eagerly climbed up to sit beside him, boasting about his skills to the older man with an excited tone.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“May I?” the young man said, his eyes sparkling. His heart was pounding so hard he had to raise his hand to hold it, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Once he settled down, he placed his hands on the tanned back, beautiful, and started to press down gently along the muscles.

“A bit harder.” Thup increased the pressure as requested by the older guy. He looked at the scattered wounds on Singha’s body, gently running his fingers over them.

“Let me know where you’re sore, okay?”

“Just keep massaging.”

“Phii Singh”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you decide to become a policeman?”

“…Because of my mom.”

“Did your mom want you to be one?”

“No. Just wanted to help.” Thup didn’t press further, sensing that this older guy was avoiding a direct answer.

“Is your job hard? What do you usually do?”

“Like what you’ve seen, just dealing with cases all day. Difficulty varies with time. Harder there.”

Thup looked down at where he was massaging, his beautiful eyes blinking rapidly before he glanced away at the room’s wall… Phii Singha’s waist was quite stunning.

“So… Do you get any time to relax with all this work? I see you working all the time.”

“Relax where? Every day there’s something.”

“You must be very tired.”

“Hmm.”

“Rest now.” Thup stopped the conversation to let the older guy relax as he should. He continued massaging for almost another hour until he heard the steady breathing from the person lying face down. Once sure that Singha was asleep, Thup stopped his hands and covered him with a blanket properly. “Good night, Phii Singha.”

The young man went downstairs to tidy up a bit before taking a shower, turning off the lights, and getting ready for bed. Seeing the older guy sleeping soundly, a smile spread across his lips. He had observed Singha’s daily work. Even though this older guy never complained about being tired, there were many times when he noticed Singha stretching or massaging his temples. It wasn’t expressed in words but through physical actions that often showed his fatigue.

Thup collapsed onto the bed, turning to face the older guy with a concerned look. He could easily not care, could just leave him be, but this person in front of him still brought him along, and even knowing he saw ghosts, tried to shield him from it. Despite often scolding him, he never once neglected his fears. His slender hand reached out to gently brush away the jet-black hair from Singha’s handsome face.

“I’ll try harder on my part, okay?” So you won’t have to be so tired, Thup placed his hand over Singha’s, slowly closing his eyes to fall asleep. “I promise.”

After twenty minutes, the sharp eyes that had been tightly closed opened. Singha looked at Thup’s clear face, well-shaped eyebrows matching his long eyelashes, a high nose bridge, and small lips. No matter how you looked at him, this kid seemed like he was of mixed heritage, either from his father or mother. A pity there was no background information. Singha glanced at the hand resting on his own before gently moving it away without waking the boy in front of him. He stared at the ceiling for nearly ten minutes before turning to lie on his back, contemplating what the kid had said – he heard all of it, and strangely, it kept echoing in his mind.

Singha decided to get up from the bed and walked out to the balcony. He picked up a menthol cigarette, lit it, and at the same time, pulled out his phone to call his close friend, wondering if he had gone back to sleep yet.

[Hello.]

   “Where are you?”

[At the lab, why? You want me to come collect King’s body?]

   “A wound like that won’t kill him.”

[So, what did he want to talk to you about?]

   “He wants to take this case for himself.” Singha exhaled white smoke into the sky. “To make a name for his father too.”

[Damn, why not let him try then? And throw in some ghosts too, would be great, // Say said not to speak!!!] Darin’s voice shouted into the phone, making Singha chuckle in his throat.

“Isn’t Rin going home?”

[Yeah, she said she absolutely won’t stay alone. So now she’s making herself a burden to me // how about some ghost ripping out your chest too?!]

   “Be careful then.”

[And where are you now?]

   “Home.”

[Wow, Khun Singha is getting domestic, but not sure if you are really into the house or someone in it.]

   “More like attached to the spot here, let me talk to him for a bit.” The back-and-forth bickering was nothing new to Singha.

[What’s up, Inspector? Because all they ever do is fight like this.]

   “Do you know any good places selling sacred items?”

[Don’t tell me you’re scared of ghosts now. How’s that? I told you not to disrespect them.]

   “Not for me, it’s for Thup.”

[Why give it to the kid? You said he doesn’t see ghosts when he’s close.]

   “Can’t have him clinging to me like this forever, it happened once today already.”

[Why, what happened?] Singha began recounting the day’s events to the person on the other end, while extinguishing his cigarette in a glass tray. [Shit, so many tricks and traps, why are they so keen on getting Nong Thup?]

   “Don’t know.” Singha paused, then turned to look at the boy sleeping on the bed. “Thup mentioned once there was a female ghost following him, like she wanted something.”

[Singha… what ghosts want now might be lives, right?]

   “Tuesday, Wednesday.” Singha murmured to himself.

[What’s that about then?]

   “Thup was born on a Saturday.”

[So what?]

   “And the remaining days, have they been chosen or are they dead already?”

[What are you talking about, Singha, that’s creepy.]

   “Rin, go ask the kid in the nurse’s room what days those two were born.”

[Now?]

   “Yeah, let me know when you get the info.”

[Say, get up, let’s go together.]

   After hanging up, Singha walked back into the room. He approached the bedside and flicked Thup’s front hair lightly.

“Ugh.”

“Troublemaker.” The phone in his hand vibrated, drawing his attention. He opened to check the message, and Singha had to sigh upon seeing the information received.

DARIN: The kid named Bom was born on a Friday, Dear was born on a Monday.

   DARIN: Song, born on Sunday.

   SINGHA:What about the other one, the one who went home already?

   SINGHA:Have Lieutenant Khem contact to check if the kid made it home yet.

   Sunday, Two.

   Monday, Dear

   Tuesday, Jump

   Wednesday, Darin

   Friday, Bom

   Saturday, Thup

   Just one more day until Thursday, if this were a new selection, it means the killer has almost got all his victims. Just needs to act, or maybe… he might have already started.

 

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