"What happened here?" Phana barged into Beam's cabin, halting abruptly at the mess.
"Phaaa…" Beam's voice trembled, his eyes glossy and on the verge of tears.
Phana raised an eyebrow. "Are you on your period, Beam? Your mood swings faster than a pregnant woman's."
A flying slipper smacked his shoulder before he could blink.
"Hey!" he yelped, dodging too late. "See? This is what I mean - first you're angry, then you're crying, now you're throwing stuff. How am I supposed to understand what's going on?"
Beam only whimpered in reply. "Phaa…"
The moment Beam's voice stuttered, Phana's teasing faded. He knew that tone - it meant something deeper.
Without a second thought, Phana scooped him up in his arms, bridal style, and carried him to the sofa inside the cabin. He sat down; Beam curled in his lap like a wounded child. No words passed between them. Phana simply rubbed soothing circles on his back as Beam broke down, his sobs muffled in Phana's chest.
After Beam's parents, Phana was all he had.
His mother, a top-tier model. His father is a businessman from Egypt. Too busy to parent. Contact came rarely - birthday calls, New Year's messages, nothing more. Phana had been there since Beam was five, practically raising him. He was a year older but had even delayed a year of his studies to attend college with Beam. To Beam, Phana was everything - father, mother, brother, protector.
And Kit? He was Beam's best friend.
Beam's world was small, fragile, and tightly wound.
Wayo's world was the opposite - backed by Forth's gang, vast, powerful, and dangerous. How could they ever belong to the same story?
Beam didn't notice the camera shutter clicking through the slightly open door.
But someone else did.
At the Mansion
"Sir, Wayo's crying and throwing everything around. I'm scared he might hurt himself. Please come quickly!" Rosy's frantic voice crackled through Forth's phone.
Within thirty minutes, Forth arrived with his team. The room was a storm. Clothes littered the floor, books scattered, pillows ripped. Wayo's eyes were red and swollen, tears streaming down his face as he hurled another shirt across the room.
Forth reached out to grab his wrist, but Wayo shoved his hand away and resumed the rampage.
"I told you - he's spoiled!" Park yelled at Lam. "Forth's been too soft on him."
Wayo spun, enraged, and lunged at Park. Park caught him mid-air and twisted his arm behind him.
"Easy, baby, easy," Lam rushed to calm him. "You're not big enough to take on Park."
But Wayo was far from calm. He snarled and tried to strike Lam instead.
Something inside Forth snapped. His emotions were already fraying because of Beam. Now Wayo - his sweet, gentle Wayo - was unraveling too. Without thinking, his hand came down sharply across Wayo's face.
"FORTH!" Lam shouted, shoving him back.
Park immediately released his grip, stunned.
Wayo froze. Then crumpled to the floor, sobbing.
"You slapped me, brother… Even you don't want me anymore. I don't want to live!"
His hands reached for the nearest object - anything to hurt himself.
Park moved fast. One precise chop to Wayo's neck, and the boy slumped into unconsciousness.
"Are you insane?" Park growled. "You're his guardian, not his executioner!"
He lifted Wayo carefully and took him to the guest room. The others followed, stunned into silence.
Later, around the dining table, silence lingered until Lam broke it.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Forth? You slapped him?"
"He was attacking you!" Forth barked, voice frayed. "I was just - just trying to stop him. The slap wasn't even hard. You know me, if I wanted to hurt him, he'd be out cold!"
"Oh, stop acting like we just met yesterday," Lam shot back. "You raised him. He's like your own son. You hit him because you're frustrated about that damn doctor!"
"Lam - "
"Again a doctor?" Tul's voice cut through like a knife.
Park leaned in, wrapping an arm around Lam's shoulders. "Accept it, Forth. You're losing it over this guy. But Tul, what do you mean by again a doctor?"
Tul tapped away on his laptop, eyes glinting. "Wayo's last known location was the hospital. I pulled up the internal security feed."
Max nudged closer to Tul. "You have the full story, baby?"
"Of course," Tul smiled, pecking Max's lips. "I always do."
"Rosy!" Forth barked suddenly, startling the housekeeper into sprinting to the room. The others winced - Forth wasn't himself tonight.
"Sir?" she said breathlessly.
"What happened? Do you know anything?"
Rosy wrung her hands. "He was happy when he left for the hospital, sir. Said he was going to show the invitation card to his P'Pha. But when he came back, he was… furious. He tore the card into pieces and started throwing things. I panicked and called you."
She handed the tattered card to Forth with trembling fingers.
Tul rotated his laptop toward them. "No wonder he broke down like this. Just watch."
The video played.
Wayo entered the hospital, smiling with anticipation. The staff pointed him to Beam's cabin. He pushed the door open quietly - and froze.
Inside, Phana was on the couch, holding Beam in his arms. Beam was curled into his chest, sobbing. Phana's hands stroked his back in soothing patterns, whispering something Wayo couldn't hear.
But the body language was undeniable. Intimate. Comforting. Too close.
Wayo stood at the door, stunned. He called Phana's name. Phana didn't even lift his head. Only glanced at his phone, then returned his attention to Beam. Wayo waited. No response. He left. Silent tears had already begun rolling down his face.
The footage ended.
Forth closed the laptop slowly. A heavy silence settled.
He felt the guilt slam into his gut.
He had slapped Wayo - his Wayo - when the boy was breaking apart inside.
His jaw tightened. But alongside guilt, something darker festered.
Anger.
At Beam.
He knew there was nothing between Beam and him, yet. Still, Beam should've known better. Should've respected boundaries. Forth himself had never been that physically close with his own friends, no matter how emotional the moment.
Yes, Phana was to blame too.
But the real blame…
Lay within him.
Did I scare Beam that much… that he had to seek comfort from someone else?
His fists clenched.
I'm responsible - for both of them. For Beam, for Wayo.
But as he looked at the picture again, another thought slithered in.
Beam can't stay that close to him. He can't take away what my baby brother loves.
You have to stay close to me, Beam. So, I can keep an eye on you.
A twisted justification settled into his mind.
Yes. That's the only way. You have to, Beam.
At hospital Beam & Phana sat nearby. Beam's head was resting on Phana's shoulder when Kit entered the cabin. " What happened here ?" He asked.
Phana looked up, " We were right. He is the one Kit. He is the right person."