The safety was released.
The blood drained from Time' s face. The man in black stood silent for a moment before speaking flatly. "This is Thailand. Walk straight that way."
The rifle nudged against Time' s back, forcing him forward.
"Wait Thailand? That' s impossible.
I just flew to Malaysia yester"
"Walk." The single word was cold and final.
"Where are you taking me? You' re a robber, aren' t you? You' re with the guys who robbed me, right?! Are you kidnapping me for ransom? My dad' s powerful, you know! If you touch me, he' ll"
Thwack.
A large hand struck the back of his head, snapping his face forward.
"Shut up. You' re noisy. Move."
The low growl sounded like a tiger warning its prey.
Time clamped his mouth shut instantly.
His eyes reddened as he shot the man a resentful look, but he didn' t dare speak again. Like a scolded puppy.
He trudged forward clumsily, dried mud clinging to his skin, thorny grass scraping against his legs. He didn' t dare stop. The heavy footsteps behind him and the rifle at his back were constant reminders.
The masked man revealed nothing but those sharp eyes—eyes that seemed to see straight through the mud and into him. Cold. Suspicious. Carrying something heavier than either.
In contrast, Time continued muttering under his breath, his once-fair face now smeared with dried mud, hair tangled with leaves, nose twitching irritably.
"I want to go home… Can you just take me home… please… you cheap five-hundred-baht bandit…"
Later…
Time' s hands were tied as he was dragged along behind the man in front of him. Apparently, the guy was too lazy to keep holding the rifle, so he simply bound Time and pulled him forward instead.
The man in black walked steadily as if carved from stone, acting as though he heard nothing at all. His indifference made it seem like he was dragging along a broken doll without the slightest care.
"My legs hurt… they hurt, hurt, hurt… Can we take a break? The ground' s all muddy, it' s hard to walk. Why don' t you just get a job in the city instead~"
"We' re not past the landmine zone yet."
The deep voice answered flatly, as casually as if he were commenting on what he had for lunch. But the words made Time freeze mid-step. His eyes widened in absolute shock, nearly popping out of their sockets.
"Whaaaat?! Are you insane?!
Then why are we coming this way?!"
The man in black shot him a cold glance and replied evenly, "Because I felt like it."
"Hey! You think you can just mess with me like that?! What tribe are you even from? I need to remember it! If I die, I' m telling the angels not to let your people into heaven!"
The man in black didn' t break his stride. He continued dragging the mud-streaked, broad-built body along. The savage-looking man frowned slightly, as if considering the words, before replying slowly,
"I don' t want to go there anyway."
"Well, at least you' re self-aware, you heavily sinful bastard!" Time pouted and scrunched his nose at him, shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Stop dragging me already! I' m not a dog! And who the hell would dare walk through a place full of landmines?! Let me go, damn it! You savage!"
The tall man didn' t respond. He simply kept pulling the whiny city boy along the path as if he were casually walking a dog through a lavender field. Time struggled and thrashed about, furious until his ears turned red.
"In twenty-five years of my life, I' ve never met anyone this savage. You' re the ultimate dictator. Or are you going through some kind of hormonal crisis? My mom warned me not to talk to strangers!"
Time kept ranting without pause, eventually shouting in frustration. The other man, however, continued trudging forward with him in tow, looking far more relaxed than when he had a gun pointed at him earlier but somehow even more irritating. The oppressive silence made Time' s mouth itch to talk, so he tried striking up a conversation, hoping the man ahead might show a little mercy.
"Hey! Have you ever watched Jam Loey Rak? (Thai Drama) "
The man in black tilted his head slightly,
brow furrowing.
"…Why?"
"Answer first!"
"…I have."
"I knew it…" Time narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the emotionless figure walking ahead.
"Maybe you should watch something else sometime. Like Buppesannivas or something!"
"…You' re insane," the man in black muttered darkly as he continued trekking through the dense rainforest, showing no intention of paying the other any more attention.
Whoooosh—
The distant roar of a waterfall blended with the wind sweeping through thick bushes. Evening fell under dark, drizzling skies, making the atmosphere even colder and heavier with moisture.
Time' s eyes darted around. He quickened his pace and moved closer behind the man in black. "Hey! What' s that sound?!"
The savage turned slightly, answering in an annoyed tone while picking up his pace but the hem of his black raincoat was suddenly grabbed tightly by a broad hand.
"Wild buffalo." Time froze. He looked around nervously before asking in confusion, "Wild buffalo sound like that?"
The man in black shot him a sideways glance, his eyes cold with mockery.
"I meant you."
There was a brief silence. Time' s brain lagged for a second before realization hit.
"My voice? A wild buffalo? You were insulting me?!"
"…Yeah."
"You! If you' re so tough, don' t threaten me with a gun! We' re about the same size, you know! I could totally take you down!"
Thud!!
Splash!!
His broad body went flying in an almost perfect frog-like arc before plunging face-first into the river, water exploding upward as if in slow motion.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!!"
Time' s fair face resurfaced above the bubbling water, the thick layers of mud that had coated his entire body dissolving away into the current around him.
His light, shoulder-length hair once dirty and matted was washed clean and now lay flat against the sharp lines of his face. Streams of diluted mud slid down his toned frame and drifted away.
Time wiped the water from his face and ran a hand through his wet hair, glaring at the dark figure standing on the bank with arms crossed, looking down at him.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You just shoved me into the water out of nowhere. You' re the worst kind of savage!"
Time shouted, his voice trembling. The waterfall pouring down from above was freezing cold. With dusk falling and rain still drizzling steadily, the chill seeped deep into his body, making the city boy shiver uncontrollably.
The man in black stood motionless by the stream, his gaze traveling slowly from head to toe over the loud-mouthed man struggling to climb out of the water.
Skin pale like a pampered rich kid' s.
Muscles firm like someone who lived at the gym.
A handsome, almost too-perfect face. The way he pushed back his wet hair if any girl saw that, she' d probably melt on the spot. He looked like something sculpted by the gods.
Too bad… he talked too much. Complained too much. Annoying. Or maybe more than that.
"I didn' t shove you."
"If you didn' t shove me, did I just fall in by myself?! My head already hurts from being beaten by robbers, and now you push me into dirty water too. That' s cruel!"
"It' s the mud on you that' s dirty. The water from the waterfall is this clear. Open your eyes and look… you albino buffalo."
The man replied irritably as he began setting his gear down, preparing to pitch a tent by the stream.
"And I didn' t use my hands."
"Huh?"
"I used my foot."
Time jerked. His eyes widened, mouth hanging open. He wanted to unleash a string of curses but remembered the bullets in the other man' s gun, so all he could do was scream out his frustration.
"You psycho!!!"
"Bathe quickly. It' ll be dark soon." The curt voice came from the man in black, who had finished setting up the tent and was now slinging his rifle over his shoulder, ready to head into the forest as it grew darker by the minute.
"What about clothes?" Time called out irritably, hugging himself as he shivered beside the stream.
"Wash what you' ve got and hang them to dry. Why ask such a stupid question?" the man in black replied flatly, as if discussing the weather.
"Then what am I supposed to wear?!
I told you I got robbed and lost everything!"
Time shot back immediately, frowning as he wrung out his soaked shirt, the fabric clinging tightly to his broad frame.
"…Walk naked."
"Ew!"
A high-pitched scream rang through the forest. Time stumbled backward in shock, his pale face flushing deep red all the way to his ears.
"Who the hell would strip naked in front of someone else?! Or are you planning to take advantage of me? I know what you' re thinking!"
The man in black let out a long sigh before replying flatly without even turning around, muttering under his breath.
"Delusional."
"If you' re not captivated by my devastatingly handsome face, then why did you capture me, huh?! You low-class bandit!" Time pressed on, unable to comprehend how he' d ended up in this situation with someone like him.
Thwack!
"Ow!!"
Time yelped, clutching his forehead after a piece of bark was thrown straight at him.
"What the hell was that for?! You savage!"
The man in black merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing, just staring coolly as if he found it deserved.
"You' re so damn annoying. Were you born with a ghost drilling a hole in your mouth so you can' t stop talking?"
The tall man' s tone was sharp with irritation.
Time whipped his head away so dramatically his neck nearly snapped, like a soap opera heroine, and fell silent.
"…What the hell is wrong with you now?" the other man finally asked.
Time stood still, then slowly lifted a hand to touch his stomach, putting on a pitiful expression. "…I' m hungry."
"What did you say?" the rough voice snapped back immediately.
"I' m hungryyyyyyyyyyyy!!!" Time screamed at the top of his lungs, loud enough to hurt anyone' s ears.
"Shut up! For once! You' re so damn loud!!"
The man in black ground his teeth, lowering his voice in exasperation. A vein throbbed at his temple as if a five-year-old child were running circles around him throwing a nonstop tantrum.
The quiet forest turned into a battlefield of sharp words as the two tall men hurled verbal attacks at each other without a shred of peace. The man in black stalked off into the woods, visibly annoyed.
Time clenched his fists and bared his teeth, shadowboxing wildly at the air as if punching someone in a frenzy before eventually tiring himself out and calming down on his own.
The broad-shouldered man stripped down to his boxers, the last piece of clothing covering his modesty, and hung his wet clothes beneath the rain tarp outside the black tent. He then squeezed his large frame inside, zipped it shut to escape the mosquitoes and insects, and lay there shivering from the cold and exhaustion until he drifted off to sleep.
…
A few hours later, the fragrant scent of smoke from a fire outside the tent made the large figure jolt awake. He sniffed the air and hurried out to see if there was anything to eat.
The handsome, pale-faced man 185 centimeters tall, solidly built with firm muscles but now completely disheveled sat hugging his knees by the firewood, swatting mosquitoes because he had nothing to wear.