Gemini, who didn't have to get up too early that day, allowed himself a moment of relaxation by browsing Instagram. He didn't find anything interesting, and what's more, to his dismay, he discovered that he lost another 100 followers overnight. This was a painful blow because Gem also made money from his posts on Instagram.

He came down for breakfast still in his pajamas, with the grumpy look of an offended child who wasn't allowed to buy the toy he liked. He placed the plate and cup on the island so loudly that his mother, sitting nearby, looked at him with worried eyes. She hadn't recognized her youngest son lately, and with each passing day he was becoming a more and more difficult mystery for her to solve.

"Is everything okay, son?"

"Yep, everything's OK, perfect even"

He replied sarcastically and made himself some coffee. He thought about the meeting with fans awaiting him. Will anyone even show up? What if there's no one? Then his sponsor will definitely end cooperation with him. Mother and Erin will be disappointed again. And the fact that Pond stuck with him only made it worse. In their small world of the Thai entertainment industry, Pond had a reputation as a playboy, a man who didn't care much about what the public thought of him and who flirted with both women and men. Gem remembered that he once had to bandage Pond's wounds after his friend got into a fight with the boyfriend of a girl he met at a bar. The funny part of this situation was that just a week later Pond and the boy had become 'friends with benefits'. Gem wasn't like that, but only those closest to him knew that. In the public eye, Gem and Pond were the same. At first it worked very well. It sold well, it increased the sale of tickets for their mini-concerts, their personal gadgets, it increased the viewership of their programs, but over time their fans got bored with it, and Gem found it more and more difficult to play his role. He felt tired of it.

"Oh G, you know you can tell me anything".

Her soft, reassuring tone made him look at her. It seemed to him that he could actually admit everything to her, tell her how terrified he was about that mysterious package that someone had left in his car (that someone must have known perfectly well that Gem hadn't locked it, so that meant that he was watching him - just thinking about it made Gemini feel an icy chill run through his body), how worried he was about the impending loss of his job, and how much he was disturbed by his dreams, the meaning of which he didn't understand. He chose only one, least important topic to talk about.

"Yes, I know, mom. I'm just worried about my fan meeting today. And I still feel sore from yesterday".

"No wonder, honey, you fought with a paramedic".

"W-what?" Gemini's eyes widened. "I fought who?!"

"You fought paramedic. Phu and Dunk too. You were acting very strange. We thought you were possessed by something. Phu wanted to call an exorcist".

Her damn honesty.

Gemini punched the counter.

His mother was like that: she believed that only by being completely honest could we be happy and live with a clear conscience. She didn't tolerate lies. When she caught one of her sons doing this, she punished him severely, most often taking away something that was most important to the boy at that time: a phone, PlayStation, Nintendo, headphones, a ball or keys to a car or scooter. It didn't bring much results, G still had secrets.

"Dear lovely Phu" Gem said sarcastically and suddenly lost the desire to eat anything. He looked with distaste at the bowl of cereal and milk he had prepared for himself.

"Don't be angry with your brother, you know he meant well, he wanted to help you".

"Okay, mom. No problem. I see. Don't worry about me, I'll sort it out somehow".

I'll sort it out somehow. How?

He smiled at her and put the bowl of cereal aside (he didn't like it when they stood in the milk for too long and became soft, it seemed to him that then they lost all their charm as breakfast cereals). He took his coffee mug and went back to his room.

He didn't tell his mother the truth. Even a tiny part of it. He wanted to do it, but he couldn't trust her. Her absolute honesty could have led to even bigger problems. NO. He couldn't do it. He knew he would have to tell someone about it anyway. But to whom?

His first thoughts were of his friends, Prim and Pond.

Yes, he could trust them. Besides, Pond had no job at the moment, so he would definitely be willing to help him, and as for Prim... As for Prim, he knew perfectly well how much his friend loved conspiracies, secrets and mysterious riddles. After all, she was one of the authors of very popular stories in which crime stories mixed with romance. She also devoured dozens of manga, stories on all available websites and BL series at a dizzying pace. If anyone was going to help him solve this mystery, it was definitely Prim.

So he quickly texted both of his friends, asking them to come meet him after his show.

Gem: I need to talk to you about something. This is important. Meet me right after my show today, okay?

He got answers almost immediately. Pond, as Gem had predicted, had nothing better to do, but Prim expressed both interest and concern. Just in case, he packed the LGBT+ flag and photos he received in his backpack and started getting ready. He considered for a moment whether or not to tell Dunk, the eldest brother, too, but he was too afraid that Dunk would immediately tell his mother and Phuwin about it. No, he couldn't risk it like that.

He devoted his next free hours to studying. He was still a student, after all, although he hadn't been doing very well lately. Professor Zee Pruk seemed to particularly dislike him, so Gem had to be 100% prepared for his classes, not to mention the fact that, according to Professor Zee, he had to know something else. Professor Zee was a demanding but handsome teacher barely in his 30s, always taking care of himself and going to the gym. Many of his students looked at him dreamily, but it didn't matter to him. He was at the university to teach and he did it to the best of his ability.

Dunk, as promised, drove him to the meeting place.

"I'll wait for you," he said.

"No, you don't have to, really! I'll come back alone".

"I'm afraid I have to. After yesterday, I can't leave you alone. I already told you that".

"Cool, but I made an appointment with Pond and Prim, I don't know what time I'll be back. Maybe I'll ask Pond for a ride. No problem".

"There is a problem. And it's huge. Mom told me to keep an eye on you, and I will".

"Mom told you?" Gemini felt weak. And he already believed that Dunk was doing it because he was worried about him and cared about him. And now it turned out that it was their mother who had forced him to do it. "There's no need for that. I can handle it. I'm not five years old".

"It's weird because you act like you're only two years old," Dunk replied.

"Fuck off. Go home. I don't need anyone's grace or pity".

"Of course you don't need it, but I'll stay anyway. I'd also love to meet Pond and Prim. I have a message for Pond from Phuwin. I think he will be happy".

When Dunk persisted, Gemini gave up. He didn't have time to argue with him and he didn't want to waste his time on him. He had an important task ahead of him. He had promised P'Erin that he wouldn't mess up this time. Dunk's presence ruined his plans. How was he supposed to tell his friends about what had been happening lately in front of him?

Gem sighed loudly, grabbed his things, and got out of the car.

Okay, at least he'll have one viewer, and who knows, maybe even three if Pond and Prim show up early. It wasn't much, and it wouldn't satisfy his employer, but Gem believed he shouldn't count on more. Therefore, when he arrived at the place, he was surprised by the crowd of people who were already waiting for him. He entered the makeshift dressing room, greeted everyone, and asked P'Erin.

"P' tell me, why are there so many people here?"

"I don't know, I'm surprised too, but it's good, it means you still have some fans. You should enjoy. Get ready, no one will wait for you".

"OK".

Gemini allowed P'Erin to hand him the outfit he would wear: an elegant but uncomfortable light purple suit, a white shirt with straps tied in a bow at the neck, and furry gray cat ears mounted on a hairband. Cool. Gem had completely forgotten what today's meeting was about: he was supposed to advertise cat treats and help raise funds for a foundation that takes care of homeless cats.

"Oh, at least they're not dogs, I'll manage somehow" - He consoled himself while changing his clothes.

Another surprise was that the event organizer brought two adorable kittens, sitting calmly in strollers similar to those intended for small children.

The first minutes went smoothly, there were no problems, Gem smiled at his viewers, told jokes, laughed and even dared to pick up one cat, when suddenly something strange happened.

When he met the stranger's gaze, the whole world suddenly stopped existing. A wave of longing and sadness washed over him. The same blurred images appeared before his eyes again, memories hidden in his head. His lips unconsciously whispered the name. Ignoring the squeals of the fans and P'Erin's warning voice, he approached the stranger and stopped just two steps in front of him.

"LiMing..." He whispered again.

"Excuse me, what?" The boy in front of him looked confused.

"Err..." Gemini hesitated. The memories are gone. Suddenly he realized that he was standing in front of someone he didn't know at all, the fans around them were filming the whole thing on their phones, some were squealing, and P'Erin was trying to control the chaos that had occurred because of his behavior. "Come with me".

Gemini grabbed the stranger's hand and dragged him to a more secluded place. Erin followed them with a frown. She didn't like it. She was already wondering how she was going to explain this to their boss. He wouldn't be happy about this, she was sure of that. The stranger allowed himself to be led mainly because he was in shock. And Gem could only think of one thing: it was the boy in the photo. But how was he alive? He was murdered?! Or maybe these photos weren't from the present at all, but from the future? If so, maybe Gemini will somehow be able to save the stranger?

Regardless of anything, including the outrage and surprise of the fans, he went straight to the makeshift dressing room, dragging the stranger by the hand. Once inside the room, he stopped in front of the table on which his backpack lay. He hurriedly pulled everything out, making sure the photos were real and still in his possession. Without saying a word, he handed both photos to the surprised stranger.

The stranger looked at them and turned pale.

"Are you threatening me?" He asked, and Gem discovered that the stranger had a really nice voice.

"No no no!" He denied it immediately, afraid that the handsome stranger would misunderstand him. "Someone is probably threatening me. Flip the photo".

"What is this?! Is this some joke?"

"I wish this was a joke".

"Explain it to me!" The stranger demanded, and then added more calmly and quietly. "Please explain this to me, khun Gemini".

"First, tell me your name".

"Is that necessary? I think you already know me, khun Gemini, since you used my likeness to create a photo like this".

"But I'm telling you it's not me! So will you tell me what your name is?"

"Nattawat Jirochtikul, but everyone calls me Fourth".

"Fourth, your name is Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul," Gemini repeated the entire name and thought it sounded like something that would fit this boy perfectly.

"Yes, khun Gemini".

"Are you always so polite?" Gemini tilted his head to the side, looking at his interlocutor.

"And are you always so mean and self-confident?" Fourth blurted out before he could bite his tongue.

"Oh, so you can talk back after all. Great, I like it".

"And I don't like it".

"Don't you like the fact that you can talk back?"

"That's not what I meant. I don't like that you, khun Gemini, are so arrogant and mean. Just because you're a star on the screen doesn't mean you have to act like you're better than everyone else. There would surely be ten other much nicer people to take your place".

Fourth didn't know what compelled him to say what he was thinking, but around this irritating star he couldn't help himself.

Meanwhile, Gemini felt a strange twinge in his heart. He had expected such words, he had often heard such comments about himself and was used to them, but when Fourth said it out loud in such a calm, matter-of-fact tone, he realized that it wasn't about anyone else, that it was solely his own fault. that people perceived him this way. He unconsciously ran a hand through his hair.

"Well... I guess you're right, I should change". Gemini nodded thoughtfully.

"What? No, that's not what I meant. Please forgive my boldness, khun Gemini, I don't know why I said that. Sorry".

"You have no reason to apologize. Most people who know me think that about me. I'm an asshole, an arrogant, self-absorbed asshole. I know what they write about me on the Internet, I'm probably their favorite topic". He laughed bitterly.

That's exactly what he was: a topic, a product for sale, a handsome actor and musician, a single man with a very bad reputation, despite his young age he was called a womanizer and an alcoholic. For the first time, his own name began to weigh heavily on him, for the first time he wondered if who he showed others was who he really was?

"Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?" He asked Fourth, wiping the last remnants of makeup from his face.

"No, I took the day off, no one knows I'm here... or rather, they didn't until you made a fuss. My brother has definitely seen the videos".

"You have a brother?"

"Mhm, even two, one older one, his name is First and he is a Formula 1 driver, he is rarely at home, he has cut himself off from our family almost completely. The other is my twin, Gun, he's younger by about 15 minutes. But to the point, maybe you could finally explain to me what these photos are about?"

"Someone threw them in my car wrapped in this flag". Gemini handed the stained rainbow flag to Fourth, who looked at it carefully.

"I'm afraid I don't understand anything".

"I'm afraid so do I, but the boy in the photo looks like you. Or maybe it's your twin, Gun?"

"No, it's impossible, Gun is alive, I'm sure of it, he'll still argue in the morning..." Fourth interrupted. He wasn't sure whether he should reveal details about his private life to the singer. He knew too well the rumors surrounding the young artist. And now he was caught up in it himself. He didn't run away from home to be the center of attention again. The irony was that he had only escaped that morning, so his "freedom" lasted only a few hours. And he had only himself and his damn curiosity to blame. But he really wanted to see up close at least once this famous actor who was so „problematic" and about which so many people had negative opinions.

Up close, Gemini looked nothing like the person he portrayed himself as in the media. He was different and Fourth saw it immediately. Gemini made him curious and intrigued, he wanted to know more about him, see what he was like privately and whether he was really such an arrogant, pompous asshole that his opponents thought he was. He wanted to know what was hidden beneath the surface. And force Gemini to drop the mask that was destroying his life.

"You can be yourself, khun Gemini, people would love you if you just let them." He said quietly, not realizing that he was saying his own thoughts out loud. Gemini smiled to himself without taking his eyes off the reflection of his own face in the mirror. His friends, Prim and Pond and Dunk, stood in the doorway of the room. Gem guessed that both of them were now facing a long interrogation on their part.

"Meet my brother Dunk and my friends Pond and Prim". Gemini got up from the dressing table, introduced everyone, and then invited them to their favorite cafe. "We need to talk".

Gemini has never been so serious.