Chapter Text
Executions are generally not broadcast to the public, but Pond's case was different. Not only the national public, but also the international community demanded transparency regarding the sentence. Acts of solidarity were carried out by many people, demanding justice for Phuwin Tangsakyuen's case. As a result, this particular case would be broadcast live.
"How does it feel, Lertrakotsum? Isn't this what you wanted? To become the center of everyone's attention?" Phuwin asked mockingly. He sat on Pond's lap, facing the young man while wrapping his arms around his neck.
"Shut your mouth, you damned ghost. You keep ruining my plans," Pond hissed, only to be answered by a small laugh from Phuwin.
"Oh, darling, I've never ruined your plans," Phuwin replied while touching Pond's cheek, staring directly into those green eyes with a teasing gaze. "You're the one who ruined me. Have you forgotten, hm?"
Phuwin's fingers moved down to Pond's chest, idly playing there while deliberately biting the corner of his own lip. "Every night, Pond. Have you forgotten?"
If Pond's arms and legs had not been paralyzed, perhaps he would have done everything in his power to get rid of Phuwin. But considering what had happened because of Phuwin's actions, Pond could only sit there and let him do as he pleased.
"You belong beneath me, Phuwin. That disgusting sweet face of yours is perfect for begging me."
Phuwin's hand immediately stopped moving, not expecting Pond to still dare say something like that to his face.
"If only you had asked properly, I honestly wouldn't have minded if you had asked me to be your wife, Pond." Phuwin resumed moving his fingers, this time tracing along the young man's broad shoulder. "You're intelligent, filthy rich, handsome, and charming. Who wouldn't be tempted by that, Pond?"
Then Phuwin laughed, his gaze sharpening. "But the problem is... you're nothing more than a disgusting bastard... who doesn't understand the value of another person's life at all. So why are you still in this world, Pond Naravit Lertrakotsum?"
Phuwin grabbed Pond's chin and forcibly turned his head toward where Phuwin's parents were sitting. "Do you see them, Pond? They are the people most shattered by your disgusting desires and impulses. They had to lose their beloved son... all because of you."
"Look over there too, Lertrakotsum." Now Phuwin forced Pond's gaze toward Satang, Fourth, and Gemini, who were seated on the opposite side. "They are the people you repeatedly tried to silence simply because they wanted to tell the truth to the world."
Phuwin then turned Pond's face back, this time making him look directly at Phuwin himself.
"Now look at me, Lertrakotsum. Me, the person you destroyed every night both physically and mentally. I had to sacrifice my life just to sustain your ego, Pond."
"Weak people like you are supposed to kneel at our feet, Phuwin. But what happened? You were simply too stupid and naive," Pond replied, paying no attention to Phuwin's touches. "I was only trying to remind you of your place, that you never deserved to be at our place."
"I never even bothered you, you bastard!" Phuwin snapped, tightening his grip on Pond's cheek as he glared at him. "Do you really have the right to call me weak when you're the one sitting beneath me? With your arms and legs paralyzed?"
"If you were still human, Phuwin... you'd be crying and begging me to stop."
"What an unbelievably narcissistic perverted bastard." Phuwin stood up from Pond's lap and walked around the young man's wooden chair. A smile appeared on his face when he saw his father approaching while carrying a torch.
"You... you're the one who killed my son?" Phuwin's father asked Pond, but the young man merely shook his head.
"Your son killed himself, sir. I didn't do anything except show him where he belonged."
"Who do you think got me pregnant, bastard?" Phuwin snapped, unable to believe Pond could still say such things with complete confidence. "If it weren't for you, I would be live in peace!"
Phuwin's father's hand visibly trembled with anger, his grip around the torch tightening. "What did you do? What did my son ever do to you? You knew about his condition... why did you do it?"
"That was what your son deserved, sir. He disrupted the balance of the campus. That was the price he had to pay."
The moment those words left Pond's mouth, Phuwin's father dropped the torch from his hand. The fire immediately spread along the gasoline trail that had been carefully arranged leading toward Pond's chair.
Phuwin returned to sitting on Pond's lap, his semi-transparent body pressing even closer against the young man's. "You've got a lot of nerve saying that to my father, Pond. The man acting as your executioner."
"Aren't you afraid of burning with me, Phuwin?"
Phuwin snorted.
"I've already burned in the hell you created throughout my life, Pond." His arms wrapped around Pond's neck again as he lowered his gaze sadly. "I'll accompany you all the way to the gates of hell, darling. Close your eyes and feel every moment these flames touch your body, because you're going to miss this world."
Phuwin then pressed a deep kiss against the young man's lips, not merely touching them but occasionally biting Pond's lips with deliberate sensuality. No one could see it except Phuwin's three friends, who didn't even know what their ghostly friend was actually doing.
"Can I pour more gasoline around Pond?" Satang asked with her arms crossed, glaring at Pond, who was already being consumed by flames yet unable to scream because of Phuwin's interference. "Honestly, I feel sorry for Phuwin for having to dirty his lips again."
"You could decapitate Pond," Gemini suggested. He looked just as disgusted as Satang. "Or at least tear those lips apart and cut out that tongue of his."
"Phuwin isn't kissing Pond because he suddenly fell in love with him, right? It's just to stop him from screaming, right? Screaming can reduce the pain." Fourth asked, just as confused as the other two.
Ten minutes passed before Phuwin finally broke the kiss. Pond was dead, though his body had not yet been completely consumed by the fire.
Before the execution, Phuwin had asked Gemini to bring his parents somewhere private so he could speak with them directly.
"You're insane," Gemini said when Phuwin approached him, causing the sweet ghost to pout.
"If I hadn't done that, he would have been screaming the moment the fire touched his skin," Phuwin grumbled with his hands on his hips. "Come on, take me to my parents."
"Fine. Follow me."
As agreed, Gemini led Phuwin to meet his parents in an empty room.
"So why did you bring us here?" Phuwin's father asked when he saw Gemini return.
Gemini smiled faintly before nodding toward Phuwin. "Someone wants to see you both one last time."
Without needing to be told twice, Phuwin immediately wrapped both of his parents in a tight embrace as he slowly manifested his form. "Mae... Phor... I've missed you both so much...."
His parents froze, instantly realizing who Gemini was referring to.
"Phuwin?"
Phuwin nodded. "Yes, Mae. It's me. Your beloved child."
Gemini smiled sadly as he watched the scene. "Without Phuwin's help, we never would have been able to finish all of this."
Without needing to be asked, Gemini quietly excused himself and left the small family alone. His turn had already lasted long enough. It was time for them to let Phuwin go.
"How have you been... my child?" Phuwin's mother asked while holding her son's spirit tightly. Her eyes were already filled with tears.
"I'm doing well, Mom. It's all thanks to Gemini, Satang, and Fourth," Phuwin whispered. "How have you and Dad been? Have you both been eating properly?"
"I miss you so much, my child," the middle-aged woman said. "Every day I dream of you coming back.... Hoping this is all just a nightmare... that one day I'll wake up and see you eating the Khao Phat I made in the dining room...."
Phuwin smiled and gently wiped away the tears running down his mother's cheeks with his thumb. "Mae, please let me go, okay?"
The woman broke down crying, shaking her head as she tried to hold onto her son's body despite her hands passing through him. "How can I, my child? How can a mother let go of her child?"
"Mae... please.... If you can't let me go, I won't be able to cross over peacefully," Phuwin pleaded softly. "Mae... please...."
"Will I be able to see you again, sweetheart?" she asked, and the sweet spirit immediately nodded.
"I'll always be waiting there, Mae. I'll be waiting for both of you there," Phuwin answered with a small smile, trying to comfort her.
"If that's what you're saying... then... I'll let you go."
Phuwin hugged his mother once more as transparent tears streamed from his eyes. "Thank you, Mae."
He then released the embrace and looked at his father with a smile. "Phor?"
The man appeared calmer and stronger than his wife, but anyone could tell how fragile he truly was at that moment. The middle-aged man nodded before smiling at his son's spirit. "Go, my child. Your mother and I will see you again when the time comes, won't we?"
Phuwin nodded before hugging his father tightly. "Thank you for everything, Phor. I'm going to miss you so much."
Phuwin's body slowly began to fade, a sign that his business in this world was finally complete. A bittersweet smile rested on his lips as he looked at his parents one final time. "Thank you, Phor, Mae. Please take care of yourselves, okay? I love both of you more than anything else in this world."