THENEXTPRINCE, Chapter 06: The True Winner.
By: ceo. ft ennice.
This is a huge misunderstanding… Khanin felt he had made a grave mistake in choosing to lie to Paul from the beginning. Now, he felt no different from a sheepherder. The reason being the lie he once uttered had backfired and harmed him.
His close friend with golden hair… had defected. Paul, who liked wholeheartedness, had booked Charan to the point of inviting the other party to join them at the party.
“Do you want to go? That’s great. If you like my friend that much, you have to pass through me first. You can’t just follow him around like this every time.
At least we should get to know each other a little, right?”
Paul’s good-natured attitude was a positive force but had a negative effect on Khanin. The young man pursed his thin lips, trying to think of a way out for himself but ended up in complete darkness, having inadvertently tied a noose around his own escape route.
Khanin had no choice but to reluctantly play along because if he refused to bend and expose the secret he had been hiding from Paul, it would leak. If he resisted or showed too much interest, it would be like fueling someone else’s anger. He couldn’t let anyone know about this matter, no matter what.
“Once more, what’s your name?” The person who seemed to bring color and excitement turned to ask their new friend as they all reached Samantha’s place.
“Charan.” the owner of the name responded in a firm voice. However, his sharp eyes didn’t stop at his conversation partner. The other party looked straight at the smaller man. In that quiet calmness, there was just a thin veneer hiding the excitement deep within. Khanin saw the hidden amusement.
It was as if the other party was quite satisfied with seeing him on edge.
Annoying… very annoying.
“Okay, Charan, we’re about to go to a party. As usual, we’re going to drink until morning. If you like Nin and want to get to know him, you can come along, but think carefully; don’t be fooled by his cute appearance. He’s actually quite ruthless.”
“…”
“You’ve seen him with a sword, right? It’s not too late to change your mind now.” Paul said, jokingly. It made Khanin frown when he heard his close friend’s description. It sounded like it would only help as a deterrent, but only seemingly so.
“Not that scary. I think I can handle it.” Charan replied, eliciting varying reactions from the listeners. Paul seemed quite satisfied, while Khanin felt as if he was being rubbed the wrong way.
Well, if he wanted to annoy him that much…
Let’s give it a try.
“Let’s go inside, so the party can finally start.”
Khanin decided to jump in and join the game.
As Charan seemed to like the eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth style, he would try to match the other party for a while, curious to see what else someone like Charan could do besides following and taunting. If he wasn’t interested in someone so fickle, how different would he be from the air?
“It’s going to be fun for sure.” Paul said cheerfully. Khanin made eye contact with the person who had been given the title ‘almost fanatically in love with each other’ before leading the way.
“Yes, it’ll be fun for sure.”
Only Khanin and Charan knew that an undeclared war had begun between them. This time, whoever backed down first would lose. The winner would be the only one left, and Khanin was confident.
It had to be him…
He would push him to go back to his country without even realizing it. Just wait and see.
“Hey, are you going to stare at it for the next lifetime? If you’re not playing, step back, man.”
Someone’s voice got louder when they saw Paul crouching and peering at a game in a ruined building. Now they were on the rooftop of Samantha’s house, sitting in a circle, playing a simple game that added color and excitement to the atmosphere.
“Calm down, Kim. You know Paul is afraid of losing.” Samantha said, teasing her Korean friend with a laugh, prompting others in the circle to laugh as well. She held a guitar in her hands, gently strumming it, helping to create a pleasant atmosphere like a classy trick.
A cool breeze blew across their faces. Khanin glanced at the people who had followed them, evaluating them with a discerning gaze.
Charan seems strange…
He couldn’t figure out the other party’s intentions, as they didn’t seem to be deliberately following him, just appearing in his line of sight. It was as if they were there to irritate and annoy him rather than having any other purpose.
“Hey, Charan, if you finish your drink, you can have a refill. We only have carbonated water here, but if you change your mind, we can mix it for you.” Samantha acted as a good host while Charan was able to chat smoothly with his friends, making it quite frustrating.
He had a good attitude towards others, but Khanin could see that Charan was just putting on a mask. In reality, he was a part of a high wall that could adapt very well…
“Thank you, I don’t want to drink much.” Charan maintained his gentlemanly demeanor, his gaze drifting from the drink in his hand to the sweet face of someone else.
Khanin turned his attention back to the collapsing building game after satisfying his curiosity. Charan guessed that the smaller man was fully preoccupied with his thoughts, not because of the charm but because he was cautious like a small animal watching out for danger.
That kid didn’t trust him, but Charan had no ill intentions. He came here partly because of… Tattanai.
…
“Nin… I mean, Young-Prince hasn’t answered my call. I tried to contact him, but he didn’t.”
The worried father figure seemed interesting. Charan volunteered to watch over the stubborn child, acting as a spy to report on their movements. The glass of carbonated water in his hand gradually lost its fizz as he didn’t show any interest in drinking it.
He let the ice in the glass melt while talking to various people to gather information about the little one. Khanin seemed more relaxed when in his own territory. The kid occasionally laughed, smiled, and hid a smile every time their gazes accidentally met.
It was funny…
“I’m bored of this collapsing building game… Let’s find something more fun.” Charlie, the half-Thai boy, spoke after they had taken turns playing and losing for almost twenty minutes. He threw the toy onto the table, signaling Samantha and Paul to come up with a new idea.
“How about that game?”
“Which game is that?” Paul raised his eyebrows slightly as the venue owner smiled mischievously. Samantha scanned the room with her eyes before placing her guitar down and shifting her body slightly. She then mentioned a game that made all the party-goers more excited than before.
“The King game.”
“Let’s do it! Sounds interesting.”
“I have a feeling tonight is going to be more fun.” Kim, the Korean boy, excitedly swept all the toys off the table and put them away before giving everyone a high-five in preparation.
But for this game… I want our new friend to join as well.” As Samantha finishes speaking, she gestures towards the tall, dignified figure of Charan, who is currently standing, rummaging through his pants pocket with an expressionless face that doesn’t reveal any emotions.
“I don’t…”
“Don’t bother inviting him. He can’t play anyway.” Before Charan could even refuse, someone else responds on his behalf, all at once. Khanin glances at the older man for a moment before uttering a sentence that changes the listener’s determination. “Or maybe he’s just too scared to play.”
“Where should I sit then?” The initial intention to decline is put aside. Charan places his drink on the table and joins the circle, engaging in conversation. In truth, the young man isn’t particularly interested in building relationships or playing games with anyone; his main objective now is just to annoy the stubborn kid.
“Here, sit right here.” The others in the circle seem to sense the impending conflict, but for them, it’s seen as an amusing event. Charlie opens the circle and invites Charan to sit next to Khanin.
Someone’s face displays a refusal to accept the invitation. Khanin is annoyed but doesn’t want to appear weak, so he swallows his irritation. He reassures himself that this is just a game, and if he wins, he will become king and use this opportunity to punish the other person severely.
“This game is called King, and it’s a game we play regularly at parties… The person who becomes the ‘King’ has the ultimate power and can order other players to do anything they desire… Have you ever played?”
“Never.” The person being asked replies immediately without having to think for a moment. Charan’s face doesn’t show much interest, and he only sits there out of courtesy, just to remain within Khanin’s sight.
“Okay, no problem. Let me take a moment to explain the game to our new friend, Charan.” Charlie reaches for the numbered cards beside him, then looks at the newcomer.
Do you see these numbered cards? We will distribute them to serve as player identification codes. Everyone must not reveal their card to others until the King issues orders for every number… The person who becomes the King will have the power to order any number to do anything, but if they refuse, they must drink a strange concoction that we have mixed up.” Charlie points to a large glass filled with various colors and smells, so repulsive that no human would dare to swallow it. If they do, they’ll likely suffer from severe stomach aches, all because of someone’s sock floating in the glass.
It’s a fitting punishment for those who refuse to obey the King’s command.
“…”
“The king can order anything, but must consider the five rules. First, don’t order anyone to harm others or themselves. Second, don’t order anyone to break the law. Third, don’t order anyone to swallow garbage from the beginning. Fourth, if in that round the king fails to make someone swallow garbage, they must swallow it themselves. Fifth, we won’t order anyone to give us money from their wallets… we’ve already done that. It was Kim who made us set up this rule.”
“Well, at that time I was the king, I just ordered you to serve me… As a king, I can do anything, right?” Kim raised his voice while glaring at Charlie with dissatisfaction.
“Is that called serving? You ordered me to open my wallet and give you almost all my money… Even if you’re the king, it’s not called serving. It’s called clear robbery.”
“But you took revenge on me by ordering everyone around to pinch my forehead as much as the money I took from you.”
“That’s why we set up the first rule: not to order anyone to harm others or themselves.” Charlie waved his hand to dismiss Kim, who was trying to speak further, and turned his attention back to Charan.
“…”
Listen, becoming the king depends on who the old king will grant power to. If you become the king, you can take revenge, but you have to watch the reactions of others. If you target someone and they seem strange, you can take revenge immediately…” Charlie glanced at Kim slightly after teaching a small trick to the tall man.
“Alright, for the first time, we’ll choose the king by spinning a bottle. I, as the host, will spin it.” The only woman in the group spoke and gestured for Charlie to start distributing cards to everyone in the circle.
Of course, no one disputed Samantha’s request. Paul brought a nonalcoholic beer bottle and placed it in the middle of the circle, instantly livening up the atmosphere.
“Last time we played, it was intense. Someone ordered me to pole dance in front of the club downstairs. We never stopped teasing each other.” Someone, whose name Charan couldn’t remember, complained from his seat on the left.
“But I remember you ordered me to clip Charlie’s toenails. It was disgusting. This time, I’d rather have someone kiss like Jimmy.” Samantha, the party host, commented. She made a face when mentioning Charlie’s toenails and looked at Jimmy, who was also making a disapproving face.
“But when I got to kiss, Nin ordered me to exchange tongues with Seymour…” Jimmy looked around.
“Told us to kiss for five minutes until my mouth was sore, and then the short guy next to Charan didn’t even look at Seymour’s face.”
Jimmy’s voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, but the action prompted smiles from the others in the circle.
“But that got you a girlfriend, right?” Khanin, the short man, glanced at Seymour and grinned. “Call it fate, Kim. When I was king, I didn’t know I’d chosen you and Seymour to kiss.”
“Khanin always plays like this.” someone commented.
I hope he gets it himself sometime.” Jimmy joked half-heartedly, and then everyone laughed, knowing that Khanin had never been kissed and had never been ordered to kiss someone, even though he often gave such commands.
This is because he is known as the Game Master.
“We’ll find out soon enough if he gets it or not. Whoever can defeat Khanin tonight, I’ll bow down and salute.” Charlie said, and then handed the bottle to Samantha, who prepared to spin it.
The slim hand spun the bottle vigorously, making it rotate in a circle at the center of the table for almost a minute, creating suspense among all the members. Finally, the bottle stopped in front of Paul.
“Awesome! I’m the king!” The blond guy exclaimed happily. The others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Paul usually wouldn’t give harsh orders.
They all felt like their lives could continue a little longer.
“Alright, so according to the rules, everyone can check their own numbers but don’t show your card to anyone until the game is over. Okay?” Charlie, who acted like the host, reminded them once again, and everyone quietly looked at their cards and put them on the table.
“Go ahead, make it challenging since we haven’t played this game in a long time.” the dark-haired guy nudged Paul, who was proudly stretching his chest for his newly acquired king position.
“Alright, then. Ahem.” Paul cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. The blond guy seemed excited and pleased because he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
“…” Everyone around the table fell silent as Paul scanned them, thinking for a moment before announcing the order.
“Card number 7, go get a new beer bottle, open it, and chug it all in five minutes.”
Oh, it’s me, number 7. Lucky me.” Kim showed his card with number 7 to everyone. The Korean guy got up, grabbed a beer bottle from behind, and sat down to chug it casually, as if the order from King Paul was relatively easy.
“Next person…” The amateur king didn’t wait for Kim to finish his beer. Paul started looking for a new target, his eyes gleaming with the excitement of increasing the intensity of his orders.
“Numbers 1 and 5, pick your noses and twerk, then post it on Jimmy’s
Instagram story right now.”
“Paul! Damn it, there’s someone I like in Jimmy’s IG story!” Samantha showed a number one card before folding it away and then gave the middle finger to the one who gave the order, but she knew there was no other choice.
The order from the king was absolute, so in the end, the only girl had to reluctantly turn to call Charlie, who got number seven, to dance and twerk together to upload on Jimmy’s IG story.
“If the next order isn’t as daring as mine, I’ll scream in your ear, watch out.” As Samantha sat down, she gave a threatening tone to Paul, causing nearly everyone in the circle to burst out laughing.
“Okay, this time I’ll make it more intense.” Paul swept his gaze over the remaining people who hadn’t yet received an order from the king. “I think this round someone should drink that nasty liquid.”
“But you can’t order anyone to drink that from this game.” Charlie protested, the half-Thai young man who was the guardian of the rules, still performing his duties diligently. “Even if you are the king, you still have to abide by the rules.”
“I’m not ordering them to drink, but to compete. This round will find a loser… Winner…” Paul began to show his cunning, mimicking a soccer player asking for time out on the field before running into Samantha’s room for a moment and then returning with a box of long, strawberry-flavored Pocky sticks that the hostess liked to eat.
“Pocky?”
“Yeah, I’m going to have you guys play a Pocky game. The losing pair will share that nasty liquid, each drinking half.”
“Isn’t this kind of cheating?” Khanin, who had been sitting quietly, commented. “If you order like this, there will definitely be a losing pair, or if there’s one pair who doesn’t dare to play this game, they’ll have to compete against each other to determine the winner and loser and drink that liquid anyway. Either way, the king is safe this round.”
Everyone who could read the situation in front of them groaned in unison. Khanin felt that it was an overly clever, cheating way to escape, but his close friend with golden hair didn’t seem to hear him.
“I just have to find a scapegoat, I’m not breaking any rules, right? The king is still under the five rules.”
“But it’s making them compete to force someone to lose.” Khanin’s words were of interest to Charan, who admired the young man’s quick-wittedness in reading the game, and thought highly of Tattanai for his skill in teaching such a talented student.
This kid had observant skills and a quick mind. If he could add some negotiation skills, he would be good for managing people, but even so… Charan thought that the manners deducted would still be there and saw it as a separate matter.
Give what is due.
Deduct what is to be deducted.
Can’t be used to cancel each other out…
“Charlie didn’t set a rule that the king can’t indirectly pressure others.”
“Okay, next time I’ll set that rule.” Charlie conceded, realizing that what Paul said was something he hadn’t thought of himself.
“If I have to drink that liquid, you’re in big trouble next round, Paul.” Someone spoke up.
“If you don’t know which number
“If you don’t know my number, what can you do to me? Everyone knows this if Khanin is the king of games. I’m a pro in maintaining a poker-face.” Paul laughed and leaned back in a repulsive manner. “Next round, I’ll order…”
“…” This time, the whole group was even quieter than the first time. Everyone looked at each other’s faces, knowing that someone in this circle, except for the person who has already lost, will have to drink from that trashy glass.
“I order number 3 to pair with number 4 and number 9 to pair with number 6 to compete in a Pocky eating contest. Whoever has more remaining on the stick loses, and they will have to share the trashy drink. Ha, ha, ha.”
The one in the king’s position spoke to himself, holding his hand loosely like a microphone. The playful British guy made a sound effect with his own voice, and then swept his gaze around to wait for the four unlucky ones.
It can be said that Paul’s order is not too cruel. If it weren’t for the intention of the higher-ups to tease each other, this tense situation would never have occurred…
“I’m number 3, and Jimmy is number 4.” Seymour announced before the whole group cheered. Fortunately, unlike Khanin who held number 9 tightly in his hand, those two were dating, so the Pocky eating thing was no different than feeding each other bananas.
Both Jimmy and Seymour seemed to have taken a step towards the finish line. Meanwhile, Khanin felt himself seeing the door to salvation, and it became even clearer… as someone reluctantly uttered the sentence he least wanted to hear.
“Hey, Charan, what’s your number?”
“Number 6.”
“Don’t tell me Nin is number 9!” Paul, the good friend, almost laughed out loud when he saw his best friend’s troubled face.
Although it happened only momentarily and quickly disappeared, it was enough for Paul to feel like a successful prankster who managed to make Khanin stand in the risky spot of being punished.
“I am number 9.” Khanin admitted without a choice. He quickly glanced at his opponent before noticing that the doctor blinked more frequently than usual.
Guessing that he didn’t want to play this game… But anyway, Khanin didn’t care. No matter how much he disliked Charan, he would never give up his position as the king of games and admit to drinking that trashy drink.
“Wow, this is starting to get more fun, isn’t it?” Samantha and Paul exchanged glances, their smiles tempting Khanin to feel a headache on the right side of his head.
“Do you want to withdraw, Nin?”
“No, but if anyone doesn’t dare and wants to withdraw, please do so.” he refused Charlie’s offer and turned to look at the person next to him who had been staring at him before.
“Shall we play right away? I badly want to find the loser.” Seymour picked up the Pocky in the middle of the group and bit it in a challenging manner, forcing Khanin to quickly turn and give a serious look to the person who was forced to be his partner in this game.
“I warn you beforehand, I don’t plan to lose. If you don’t dare, it’s better to withdraw.”
“Why withdraw… when we have the same goal.” Charan remained calm with a serene expression, managing his emotions well. Khanin frowned as he takes a deep breath before signaling the start of the game.
“3, 2, 1, start!” As the countdown moves forward, Khanin thinks of many things, knowing that Jimmy and Seymour’s only obstacle is their speed. The two are used to teasing each other, so their closeness isn’t a significant problem.
This is different for him and Charan, though…
They don’t look at each other as they try to bite the long Pocky stick to reduce its length. Everything progresses at a breakneck pace for both sides until the stick is only one centimeter apart.
Khanin glances up at his opponent almost immediately, following his instincts. The dark pupils of his eyes widen as his senses become alert, reading his opponent’s reaction. Charan was about to bite the Pocky, and his slightly open mouth reveals his anxiety, which increases significantly…
One centimeter is too much… if it ends here, they will lose.
I can’t give up… I can’t lose.
As quick as his thoughts, Khanin extends his slender hand to support the strong end of the Pocky, moving his face closer until their noses touch. Their closeness intensifies as Charan’s sharp eyes widen…
The desire to win pushes his soft lips to touch gently on the warm lips, eliciting a chorus of cheers from the crowd, so loud that he can’t hear himself think.
Their eyes meet in close proximity. Khanin remains calm, unlike the older man, who is caught in a whirlwind of emotions.
As Charan freezes, nothing can erase or change the reality that their lips touched.
The truth… is that their lips met.
And that is Charan’s first kiss.
A first kiss that the people of Emmaly cherish deeply because of the legend that says when an Emmaly person gives their first kiss to someone…
That person will become their one true love for eternity…
“Holy Shit! Nin, you’re the real deal.”
.
TBC.
