WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Chapter 4: Pisces

   Daotok

   I looked away from the horror movie in front of me to the door after hearing a knock, paused the movie, and walked over to peek through the peephole.

Again…?

I slowly opened the door, my eyes scanning the drunk neighbor from next door.

“You, help me out a bit.”

“No.” I immediately answered, closing the door without waiting for him to say more. He seemed taken aback, not expecting that.

I went back to watching my movie when I heard another knock. I put on my headphones to block out the noise because I’ve been working a lot lately, making me need some rest. Today was supposed to be my day off, and I didn’t want anyone to disturb me much.

‘I usually don’t want anyone to disturb me anyway,’ Emma’s voice echoed in my mind. I didn’t turn to see what she was doing. I didn’t reply because I was watching a movie.

I love watching horror movies, horror, mystery thrillers, movies with strange plots or cool plots; they give me new ideas, which is good, but I don’t like the torture genre much. I’m not a fan of romantic movies because they’re boring, action movies are okay.

Now I’m watching a ghost movie, really focusing on it. Me and North exchange a lot of horror or thriller movies because North likes watching scary movies even though he’s very scared. If you ask me, the way to not be scared while watching horror movies is to look at the behind-the-scenes footage. Check out the cast list. Look at the makeup and set design. I’ve suggested this to North, but he said it ruins the immersion.

And for me, the way to not be afraid of ghosts is to encounter them often; you’ll get used to it. But my grandmother once said that most people are scared because they fear ghosts might harm them or want to take them away. If they want to take you away, the simple solution is not to be too good; act bad, and no one would want to live with you.

But if they mean harm, I don’t know either because last night Phii Donat almost pulled me off the bed, and I got scratched on the neck by the ghost in the bathroom. But I’m okay, nothing serious. If it gets really painful, I’ll go consult with Grandma Puangthong, my grandmother.

I watched the ghost in the movie closely; it’s scary in films, but in real life, it’s not that scary. Or maybe because the ghosts in my room aren’t that terrifying. The one in the bathroom is probably the scariest because he was murdered, but Phii Donat was killed too, but I don’t count him because he’s always complaining about being hungry for basil fried rice.

Ah, speaking of Phii Donat, I completely forgot to buy him that basil fried rice; it’s probably Arthit now. Whatever, he probably doesn’t want to eat anymore.    After a while, my phone beside me notified me of a Line message. I reached over to check and saw it was from North.

North♣: lololololololololol

   North♣: Are you confused?

   North♣: Heard you locked Arthit in the bathroom today and slammed the door in his face again?

   North+: lolololololololol    What kind of news is that…

Me: Did he tell you?

   North♣: Not exactly, he was just complaining while we were playing games.

   North♣: lololol, you’re so cold-hearted, I feel sorry for him.

   North♣: Don’t just ignore him, the thing he’s asking for help with.

   North♣: It’s an interesting matter. Phii Donat seems like he wasn’t killed by his girlfriend, so he wants you to talk to the ghosts in the room. If Phii Donat’s girlfriend didn’t kill him but went to jail for it, she’s pretty pitiable.

   SS:??

   SS: He told you to talk to me , right?

   SS: Like last night?

   North: Yeah, LOL.

   North♣: You know everything, don’t you?

   North♣: I’m interested, so I came to talk to you .

   North♣: Come on, help him out a bit. You might help an innocent person avoid jail.

   SS: He didn’t give details.

   SS: Just said someone innocent is in jail.

   SS: Otherwise, I’d help.

   North♣: You shut the door on him.

   North♣: Just listen to him.

   SS: Yeah, alright.

   North♣: I want to see you talk to ghosts.

   North♣: Can you go find them?

   SS: Midnight.

   SS: I’ll try asking the one who hanged herself.

   North♣: Probably won’t work.

   North♣: Phii Jo probably won’t allow it.

   SS: For sure, it’s late.

   North♣: sends a sticker

   North♣: Want to play a game?

   North♣: The team needs a tank (like you)    SS: I’m watching a movie.

   SS: sends a picture

   SS: It’s pretty good.

   SS: The hero sees ghosts, investigates cases with their help.

   North♣: The plot sounds familiar, like what you’re about to do.

   SS: Yeah, sounds interesting.

   SS: Yeah, yeah, interesting.

   SS: We hope this case turns out to be a big one.

   SS: Investigating and finding out it’s linked to some Hong Kong drug lord or something.

   SS: Or maybe Phii Donat was killed for some business or family benefit.

   SS: North

   SS: We’re very interested.

   SS: I’m excited now.    North♣: …

   North♣: lolololololol

   North♣: Tell me how it goes.

   SS: Ok

   I put down my phone, a small excitement building up because I’m interested when there are strange things that normal people don’t often encounter, like this little case I have to help with now. I’ve never done anything like this before. Even though I seem indifferent and uninterested in things, I’m actually interested in everything that might give me new ideas for my work.

And new ideas often come when you step out of your daily routine. I don’t sit cooped up in my room all day and come up with new ideas, no. When I can’t think of something for work, I go out to do other things. It might sound unbelievable, but I like traveling alone, going out to experience new things. If I have enough time and money, I’ll go further.

I like mountains, I like forests. I don’t like the sea because it makes me sticky. I can drink alcohol and enjoy drinking beer alone. I tried smoking once but found I didn’t like the sensation. I have a tattoo on my arm of bamboo with the star because my aunt’s name is Pai, and I plan to get a white hawk tattoo because my dad’s name, Gavin, means “white hawk.” I might also get a tattoo of a butterfly pea flower, which is my mother’s name, and a marigold for my grandmother. If I get all these tattoos, my arm will be completely covered.

Getting to know North more, he said you can’t judge people just by their appearance, and that’s true no matter how you look at it. I’m content to do what I want. If I want to do something, I do it. Thinking I might be reborn as a bacterium in my next life, I decided to do everything I want now because as a bacterium, I

won’t be able to do much.

I study science even though I freelance in drawing, editing, and designing all sorts of things because I love science. It’s not that my mom didn’t support my art; she just said my current work wasn’t stable, so why not learn another skill? Art can be learned outside of class, but to study science, you need to be in the faculty. Since I also like biology, I decided to study biological sciences, which turned out to be quite fun.

I try to do things I don’t like to see what I might discover. I used to hate exercising, but during the last break, I took up Taekwondo and found it wasn’t so bad. I should learn to defend myself in case of unexpected events. Even though I don’t like the sea, I’ve been to many beautiful beaches but still didn’t enjoy it. I don’t like spices, yet I’ve been a regular at an Indian restaurant for nearly a month, only to find I still don’t like them. I don’t know why I keep going, but the vendor recognizes me now and thinks we’re friends.

When it comes to things I don’t like, I try to watch movies in genres I’m not into, like romance. They’re boring, sitting through hours with nothing gained but boredom, but I watch them anyway, and if there’s a new one, I’ll go sit in the cinema again.

Yeah. I don’t really understand myself either.

I kept watching movies, and before I knew it, it was past midnight. I took off my bracelet, and the usual oppressive feeling came over me as it does every time I remove it, but there was no sign of the usual silhouette of the person who hangs themselves on the balcony. I turned to look at Phii Donat sitting on the bed.

‘Dao, don’t go near the bathroom.’

   “…”

‘Phii Cream, she’s going crazy.’

   “…” I didn’t heed Phii Donat’s warning and walked straight to the bathroom. Phii

Cream, the one Phii Donat mentioned, must be the one at the bathtub, the only one in this room who also gives me an uneasy feeling, probably because she was brutally murdered, holding a lot of resentment.

I entered the bathroom, the door closed immediately, and the lights flickered. A shadow appeared by the bathtub, then the light dimmed like an old bulb not giving out its full light. Long, wet hair. She had her back to me, then started singing in a slow, eerie voice.

I’m still puzzled about how she can talk even though her throat was slit. Now she’s even singing. No, it’s more like it’s echoing in my head.

“You’re singing it wrong.”

‘…’

   “That part should be ‘Why do you…’.” I didn’t continue speaking before the figure in front of me slowly turned to look at me. Her face was pale, but her neck still bore the cut of a knife with blood flowing continuously. She smiled, and one side of her mouth, where it was cut, made it look like she was smiling wider than usual.

She seems in such a good mood, smiling so broadly…

‘…Not scared, …huh?’

   “No.”

‘Do you…want to stay with me?’

   “No.”

‘…Why, sob, sob, why don’t you want to stay with me, why do you date someone else, why did you kill me, scream!’ The spirit in front of me started to go mad. I was startled by the piercing scream, thinking it might even shatter glass.

“My ears hurt.”

‘Scream!!!!’

   “I…ouch, my ears hurt.” I covered my ears when the frequency of the scream became unbearable. I’ve been to many Korean artist concerts, and the screams are just like this. Before she died, she must have been a huge K-pop fan.

‘How…did you know?’

   “Huh?”

‘Are you a fan too?’

   “…”

‘You’re a fan too, which group do you like?’

   “I’m not that much of a fan, but I follow them. Which group do you like? Maybe I can become a fan too.”

I ended up talking with Cream in the bathroom for a long time about Korean idol groups, which…uh, what’s this? I kept asking myself what this was all about. She’s a ghost, driven mad by resentment but calmed down by talking about Korean kpop groups. She said she really liked one group, but after she died, she couldn’t follow them or hear any news about them because, being dead in here, she couldn’t go anywhere. I had to search for information about that group to tell Cream.

I walked out of the bathroom and sat down next to Phii Donat.

‘She’s calm now.’

   “Uh-huh.”

‘How did you calm her down? Phii Cream is really scary.’

   “Everyone has their exceptions.” I said with a small sigh. When I remembered I needed to talk to the one who hanged herself, I went out to the balcony again, but no one was there, “Phii Cream, where’s the one who hanged herself?”

‘I don’t know, I didn’t see her.’

   “Oh, do you  know about the night Phii Donat was killed?”

‘Nong Donat, who knows where he went, I would  just tease him a bit and he got sulky.’

   ‘You made your  head come off,’ Phii Donat stood beside me, I don’t know when he got there.

‘Like this?’ Phii Cream mockingly pulled her own head. At first, it didn’t come off, but because there was already a cut from a knife, it could be pulled off if you applied enough force.

‘Aaaah,’ Phii Donat quickly covered his eyes. What’s with him, being a ghost but afraid of ghosts? ‘Huh, where’s Meen, wife, I’m scared now, wife, help me.’    ‘You love your wife so much, loving each other to the point where even ghosts like us are jealous.’

   ‘Phii Cream, don’t tease him .’

   “…” I, watching the two ghosts tease each other, found an opportunity to interject, “Phii Cream, you  know anything about the day Phii Donat was killed?”    ‘How would I see from the bathroom? Try asking Praow.’

   “Yes.” I nodded slightly, then returned to sit at my desk, letting out a small sigh as I thought about today’s events. It seemed too normal to talk to them like this. Praow must be referring to the one who jumped off the building at two in the morning. And the one who hanged herself wasn’t around.

I waited for two in the morning and went out to the balcony to wait for Praow. At twenty-three minutes past two, the balcony door opened with the usual figure of the young woman I’d seen before, looking the same. She was crying and stopped at the edge of the balcony. I stepped in to stop her.

“Wait…wait, can I ask you something?”

She didn’t answer, slowly turning to look at me. We locked eyes for the first time before she paused slightly.

“That night when Phii Donat was killed, did you see anything?” She didn’t answer.

“Did you see anyone else come into the room?”

She nodded slowly, which made me feel excited.

“Someone else killed Phii Donat, right?”    She nodded again.

“Who was it?”

‘I don’t know her.’

   Yeah, how would she know?

“Can you give me a rough description?”

‘Woman. Short hair, black shirt…I need to go now.’

   “Oh, okay, okay. I’ll ask again later, please go ahead.” I slightly bowed my head. She nodded again and jumped off the balcony. I walked back into the room, having gotten the information that Phii Donat was killed by someone else, but still not knowing who. Phii Donat seemed quite happy about this.

‘I’ll have to go into Arthit’s dream then, with this new information, or will you tell him?’

   “No, I’ll leave it to you.”

‘Okay.’ Phii Donat nodded slightly.

…

Arthit

   I seemed to half-wake because I felt someone sitting next to me, bothering me while I was trying to sleep again. I turned the other way to ignore it since I was so sleepy, but then Donat grabbed my arm to turn me back.

‘Ignoring me even in your dream?’

   “You’re in my dream again, what now?”

‘It wasn’t Meen who killed me; the ghosts in the room told me.’

   “The ghost in the room.”

‘Yeah, that’s right, Nong Dao already asked.’

   “I’m curious, why don’t you ask yourself?”

‘I’m scared, friend.’

   “Loser.”

‘Please tell Meen that the witness described a woman with short hair, wearing black.’

   “Sigh, yeah, yeah, let me sleep.”

‘Also, tell Meen I miss her a lot, I cry for her every day. I can’t sleep without holding her.’

   “I might vomit, yeah, yeah.”

‘Yeah, Arthit, the ghost in the bathroom you threatened…’

   “Whatever.”

‘She said if you want some hanky panky. She is ready, she has been waiting in the bathroom all the time.’

   “…Damn.”

 

I drove to the prison parking lot, thinking about last night when Donat came into my dream. He said the ghost in the room told him that Meen didn’t kill him, and on top of that, he delivered a message from the ghost in the bathroom to me.    Damn, one word, damn, it’s damn crazy. How many more women like Meen will I have to deal with in my life? And that girl she’s not even human anymore.    Meen walked over to sit in front of the glass as usual, but what was strange was her face had fresh bruises, her lips and eyebrows were split. I immediately raised my eyebrows looking at her.    “What happened to you?”

“Just a little something.”

“What do you mean by ‘a little’?”

“Last night, I was picked on by the big shot in the prison.”

“Huh?”

“It’s normal here. I was just minding my own business, not joining any groups, right? But because I’m not in any group, that’s why I got picked on.”

“And then what?”

“I don’t know, but I sent the one picking on me to the hospital.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, who would pick a fight with anyone? Her silicone boobs popped out after my slap. I’ve got the number one slap in Vichitra, I’ve slapped everyone at school.”

“Slapped people?”

“Volleyball, damn, my team was the champion every year.”

“And you sent the big shot to the hospital, is she okay?”

“I don’t know, it’s my first time, so I didn’t get punished, but I have a plan to make myself important here.”

“How?”

“I’m going to become the big shot in charge. What do you think? Nice, right?

Won’t get picked on, start a new group, become the queen of the prison.”    “…” I didn’t know what to say to this woman anymore, “Yeah, that’s so you, can’t believe you figured it out.”

“Really? Quick, my dad’s Conan.”

“I asked the neighbor to ask for me, and the ghost said it wasn’t you who killed him.”

“There you go.” Meen slapped the table, making the guard look over. She beamed a wry smile to the guard, “Nothing, just happy.”

“They said there was a woman who came into your room that day. Short hair, black shirt.”

“Who the hell is that, which bitch killed my husband and framed me? I’m pissed.

Go find her, Arthit. Who has short hair? How short?”

“I don’t know. It wasn’t that detailed.”

“Come on, is it shoulder-length or ear-length, what?”

“Do you have anyone in mind?”

“Short hair, there’s Ming, Olin, my sister has short hair, everyone else has long hair, my mom has long hair, Donat’s mom has long hair.”

“Three people then?”

“Yeah.” Meen nodded.

“But that day, Meen, you were drunk when you came back to your room, right?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“Did you lock the door?”

“…Damn.” Meen’s face paled slightly, “I don’t know, maybe I forgot to lock it.”    “There you go. I used my brilliant Conan mind to think. You might have forgotten to lock it.”

“Seriously, did you come up with this yourself?”

“I asked Fah.”

“Idiot, and then what?”

“Fah asked if you locked the door because otherwise, how could someone without a spare key get in?” I said, having told Fah about this earlier in the morning.

“I don’t know, I was drunk, can’t remember.”

“And about the short hair, could it have been a wig or tied back?”

“Hey, you’re smart.”

“That’s what Fah said too.”

“There you go.” She sighed deeply, “Can’t rely on anything, go and call Tonfah to visit me. As for you, get lost, you’re useless.”

“Next time, I won’t help, you’ll be the big shot in prison forever.”

“Just kidding, Arthit, don’t take it seriously, or I’ll pinch your balls.”

“Your threats, damn, I’ve never been ball-pinched, but I bet it hurts.”

“Yeah, my husband used to say it hurts.” I burst out laughing because of Meen’s words. Damn, why did you pinch his balls?

“He said he misses you, he can’t sleep, cries out for you, calls out ‘my love’.”    “Really? Yeah, that’s him, whiny. Even after dying, he’s still in the room. I was thinking how he’d manage without me.” She sighed again, looking annoyed, “Tell him to be patient, I’ll give him a hug when I get back.”

“Gross, how did I become a love messenger?”

“Come on. You’re the only one who can communicate between us, right, idiot?”

“Where would you hug him? He’s dead.”

“Damn, Arthit, you’re ruining the mood.”

“And what will you do when you get out? It must be tough, having been with

Donat for so long.”

“I don’t know.” Meen made a bored face, “It’s not like in the novels where

Donat isn’t dead, just in a coma like a sleeping prince and wakes up.”

“Damn, I watched his body being cremated myself, and saw his face before the cremation too.”

“Sigh, it’s sad, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s how it is.”

“You sound like you understand.”

“I do understand, whatever, it’s good he’s still here, we can still talk.”

“Did I touch some nerves in you?”

“Yeah, whatever.” I brushed off the turmoil in my heart and got back to discussing the main point with her, “So, what’s next? You had me ask the ghosts, and this is all I got.”

“There are several of them, have you asked them all?”

“Probably.”

“Damn. These useless people, I did so much good, what should we do? Even so, we don’t have any evidence, damn it, what kind of evidence do they have to convict him?”

“That’s right.”

“Ugh, I’m annoyed, the wound hurts like hell, is my nose crooked?”

“Why?”

“Asking, huh?”

“No.”

“I thought it was the silicone that’s crooked, it hurts like hell, I spent so much money on it.” Meen said with an annoyed expression, gently squeezing her nose,

“Yeah, my boobs hurt too.”

“Why?”

“From fighting with that bitch, it’s killing me, do I need to take it out?”

“The silicone in your boobs?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn, Meen, if you take it out, what will you have left? Apart from your big boobs, you don’t have anything good.”

“Wow, Arthit, how do you know besides big boobs there’s nothing good left in me? Have you tried it?”

“Maybe I should try then.”

“You said it yourself, if I get out, don’t run away from me.”

“Why, as a guy, do I get harassed?” I furrowed my brows and sighed. We always tease each other like this, but I never win against Meen, “Will you get a new husband since Donat is dead?”

“I don’t know. I can’t imagine myself with someone else, you understand? I have been dreaming about our wedding since I was a kid, when I was with him, wearing a wedding dress, raising kids with him, Arthit, why are you asking such a damn thing?” Then Meen started crying. I was a bit surprised that she let her tears flow in front of others. She wiped them away, but more tears came.

“Cry then. It’s not a big deal, I won’t mock you.”

“Why should I cry? Damn, Donat, you big kwayhang, leaving me like this is worse than leaving me for someone else, you flirted with me first, how am I supposed to live now?”

“What does ‘kwayhang’ mean?”

“It means ‘idiot’.”

“I don’t get the meaning, but it hurts somehow.”

“Yeah, damn you Donat, huh, sob, making me cry again, my slapped wound hurts, my silicone boobs hurt, damn.”

“…Sigh, Meen, you…”

“Damn my life, whatever, you can’t do anything right.”

“I’ll try my best to help.”

“You suddenly act nice, you’re making my ears hurt.” She cursed and then forced out a laugh while wiping her tears.

“Let me see.”

“Careful you don’t get sucked in.”

“Is it a black hole?” I said, sitting and chatting with Meen for a while until she seemed okay. Normally, it’s not much, but when it’s a close friend, even Meen, who seems rough, has a very sensitive side, outwardly she’s loud and crass. If you ask if she’s really strong, she is, but she can’t be strong in every aspect.

   I don’t know…

   But looking at her, it’s like looking at myself.

   Except I’ve never cried even once. Even though just thinking about it hurts so much I feel like dying.

   “I’ll go now, I’ll let you know if anything comes up.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Yeah, don’t fight with them too much, or your boobs will get crooked, then you’ll have to get them redone.”

“Yeah, I’ll use my fake boobs to hit them.”

“I’ll take it on the face then.”

“Damn.”

…

   Daotok

   I stood in a place I had never been before, reciting Meen’s name in my mind once more before telling the front guard. He asked me to wait in front of the glass. After the day I got information from Phii Prao, the drunk guy next door came to tell me the names of three suspects. I got more information by questioning the seniors in the room and investigating on my own. I don’t know what the drunk guy would do. I hadn’t seen him back in his room for several days, so I decided to visit Meen myself.

Because I think I know who the culprit is now.

“Oh.” the woman in the dull prisoner’s uniform, with a beautiful face like a foreigner, sharp eyes. Even without makeup, she’s very beautiful, tattoos covering her arms, “I thought you were Arthit. Who are you?”

“Uh, my name is Daotok.”

“?”

“I’m a guy.” Seeing her confusion, I clarified, and she nodded slightly in understanding.

“Yeah, so what’s up? Are you visiting the right person? I don’t think I know you.”

“I live in your old room.”

“Oh, oh, you’re next door to Arthit.”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“You’re the one who talks to ghosts, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, what’s up then? Arthit has disappeared, gone to which corner of the world?”

“I don’t know either, but I think I know who the culprit is.”

“Who?”

“Phii Olin, your friend.”

“Phii Olin? Why do you think it’s her? She’s so innocent.”

“In fact, she liked Phii Donat.”

“Huh?”

“Yes, Phii Donat didn’t tell you because he was afraid it would cause a fight. And he didn’t think someone he knew would kill him. But when I told Phii Donat it was someone with short hair and Phii Olin has short hair, Phii Donat told me this story about her liking him. But Phii Donat doesn’t remember what happened the night he died.”

“What? She liked Donat?”

“Yes, she once confessed her feelings, but Phii Donat rejected her. She came to flirt with him often, but Phii Donat didn’t pay attention.”

“Wow, this girl, how dare she flirt with my husband? I thought she was innocent.

What happened next?”

“…I checked the CCTV footage from the nearby building, and I got a photo. It was Phii Orlin, it seems like she didn’t plan it much, might have just been a spurof-the-moment thing.”

“…”

“Because when I followed her…uh, discreetly, she seemed uneasy all the time, and, uh, this might sound a bit exaggerated.”

“Go on.”

“I can read people’s feelings, I sneaked a look, and in her heart, there’s only guilt, sorrow, self-disappointment, and fear.”

“Hmm, I get it, so what now? I trust you, but how can we get me out of prison?”

“I think Phii Orlin will come forward and confess herself.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yes, because her conscience is eating at her, she might not be able to handle it for long. If we give her a little push, he’ll be very scared, and then…”

…

Arthit

   “Why did you kill Donat?”

“Huh…sob, Arthit, huh, don’t shout at me.”

“I’m asking why you killed my friend!!” I shouted louder, angry at the woman in front of me. Not because she killed Donat, but because I haven’t slept for days, my eyes are bloodshot from ward rounds, and finally finding time to investigate for Meen, I had to sleep on Fah’s sofa because I lost my keycard and the condo management said there are no spares left, I can’t even get into my own room, I’m so frustrated, my back hurts from sleeping on the sofa for several days.

“Sob. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…mean to, huh, sob, forgive me.”

“Go apologize to Meen, she’s in prison because of you, she got beaten so badly her fake boobs are all crooked!!”

“Huh, sob, sob.”

“Stop crying!”

“Sob, ah…Arthit, huh, sob. I…I, sob.”

“Ugh, you, come with me to the police!” I grabbed the arm of the short-haired woman in front of me, she looks like a very tough guy if anyone saw this now, especially since I’ve barged into his room. I’ve been using my spare time after ward rounds to follow Orlin, Meen’s friend, for a couple of days. After confirming from the CCTV footage from the nearby building, Orlin didn’t seem to intend to kill, she just seemed to go there to hurt Meen, but something happened, and she might have accidentally killed him.

And the reason the police didn’t look for more evidence is probably because everything initially pointed at Meen, as she said. Meen was too dazed to argue with the police. Even if the police checked the CCTV from the neighboring building, they only saw a woman with short hair entering the building.

But we know because we talked to the ghosts, and I didn’t want to go looking for any more damn evidence. It’s too complicated. Just drag her in to confess. Olin looked extremely guilty already.

“Oh, huh, Arthit…sorry. I’ll go and…apologize to Meen. I really feel guilty. I didn’t mean to.”

“Just come then, stop dragging it out.”

“I…I’m hurt, huh.”

“Yeah, Meen’s hurt more than you, come here!” I dragged the small woman along, shoved her into the car, and drove her to the prison to apologize to Meen.

While parking, I saw the kid from the next room putting on a helmet not far away.

Why is he here?

He put on his helmet and rode off on motorcycle. I turned my attention back to Olin, who was crying beside me, and immediately dragged her to Meen.    “How’d it go?” I asked after Olin had talked to her, but Meen still looked furious.

“Damn her. If there wasn’t glass between us, Olin would be dead. When she sat there crying and apologizing, I almost bit her head off.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she liked Donat for a long time, but Donat was my husband. That night she just came to borrow something, she used the spare key card I gave her to get in, saw us both asleep, and because she liked Donat, she just sat there watching him sleep.”

“Yeah?”

“Then she kissed him. Donat must have thought it was me, so he kissed back. Olin got bold, they started getting frisky, almost went all the way, but when Donat fully woke up and saw it was Olin, he was shocked, pushed her away, and they argued.”

“Oh.”

“Olin took off her clothes, right? Donat was still sitting on the bed, caught off guard. Olin said she was a little drunk at the time, out of anger and whatever she was thinking, she grabbed a knife and stabbed him.”

“While she was naked?”

“Yeah, does that matter?”

“Not bad, at least he got to see boobs before he died.”

“Ugh, damn, yeah, because she was naked, her shirt wasn’t stained with blood, so she just wiped it off, put the same shirt back on, put the blood-stained cloth in a bag to dispose of it later, and staged the scene to make it look like I did it. That’s it, so easy to kill someone and blame another, especially since I was drunk, huh, the police arrested me easily.”

“Yeah, I understand, will she confess to the police?”

“She said she couldn’t sleep after killing someone, so she wants to admit her guilt, but it took her several months to come to terms with it. I almost became the queen of the prison.”

“Yeah, good that she decided to do the right thing.”

“And how did you know it was her? Your neighbor just told me a while ago, and said you haven’t been back to your room for days. He didn’t know how to tell you, so he came to me himself.”

“I lost my keycard, the condo management said there are no spares left, damn fools, lose them too often, go sleep somewhere else then.”

“Was it the management or Jo, so rough?”

“That’s it, I’ve been sleeping on Fah’s sofa for several days now.”    “Poor you, but wait, these past few days, you didn’t investigate with your neighbor?”

“No, investigate together? Did he investigate?”

“I just said your neighbor told me Orlin did it, and you dragged Orlin here, which means you  investigated separately but found the same culprit. Didn’t you guys meet at all while investigating?”

“No, I secretly followed Orlin too.”

“How could you follow the same person and not meet each other? You two have bad luck.”

“Whatever, so what’s next?”

“Take Orlin to the police, don’t let her escape.”

“She won’t escape, I recorded her confession.”

“Smart, finally acting like a doctor.”

“Fah told me to do it.”

“Bastard, yeah, take her to the police, then the police will handle it. If there’s nothing more, I should be out soon.”

“Great, I want to drink.”

“Yeah, I’ll treat you and Nong Dao, both of you. He tried to help too.” She said.

“Congratulations then, you’ll finally get out, and the real culprit will pay.”

“Yeah, Olin, she’ll have a tough welcome, I’ve told my underlings in prison to give her hell. Not only did she kill my husband, but she also framed me, damn bitch.”

“Olin won’t adapt like you did.”

“Who can adapt like me, seriously? Hey, Arthit, there are still empty rooms on our old floor at the condo, right?”

“Empty, the whole floor is damn empty.”

“I’ll move back there then. My old room is where Nong Dao lives, so I’ll take the one opposite. I’ll go back to live with my husband.”

“Yeah, welcome back.”

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