Khaotung stared at the laptop screen in front of him for a long time, trying to make sense of it.  Usually Margaret took care of his social media, he didn't like it.  He knew that one had to be very careful on social media: one wrong word used by mistake or when he was unaware of its other meaning could ruin his career forever, something he worked for years.

And now he had to face another problem.

Khaotung pressed his lips into a thin line and read the e-mail again.

"Khao, baby, hey!

You probably don't know me, although I've tried for years to make you notice me.  I'm sorry I don't have enough money to buy the gadgets from your collection, some of them are really cute, especially this keychain!  I'm also sorry that I can't afford to go to any GP race, but believe me, Khao, I'm doing my best to be there for you.  Why don't you ever see me?"

Khaotung stopped reading.  First and Margaret looked at him with concern and fear in their eyes.

“I have millions of fans, it's hard for me to see and remember everyone.  I'm sorry I made her upset, but I really don't know what she expects of me.”

His voice sounded sad.  In addition, he hadn't slept very well the night before, waking up every now and then with the feeling that his heart was much heavier than usual that night.  Some gut feeling told him that something bad was going to happen, and when he shared this feeling with First and NuNew this morning, he heard back:

“No wonder you feel this way. Last night one of us had to die.

“Who?”  Khao asked weakly, though one glance at where the parabatai rune should be was enough for him to understand even before New said it aloud.

“Just don't get mad, okay?”

“It's Joong Archen, isn't it?”

“Yes, Khaotung, it is Joong, your parabatai.”

Khaotung then slumped helplessly to the floor, knocking over the chair next to the desk.  All memories came back. The phone dropped from his hand.  First bent down to quickly pick it up.

Khaotung and Joong had known each other for a long time, and they met through Thanawat's father, who was one of the Knights of the Light and learned about the admission of the then thirteen-year-old Archen to the Academy of the Knights of the Light.  His father then decided to introduce the 13-year-old to his 16-year-old son.  He believed that his son would one day stand by his side and they would go on a joint mission together.  He didn't live to see that day.  Although the official version spoke of a serious, incurable disease, Khaotung's father actually died in the performance of his duties.  He had died a hero, and Khao had always had to deal with that burden of responsibility and the realization that he might never be as heroic or brave as his father.

Joong and Khaotung quickly became friends.  As the older, Khao always felt the need to take care of Archen, which made them share a very strong bond.  Khaotung knew that in the other world Joong Archen had siblings, but here he was an only child.  Khao treated him like his brother and was ready for anything for him.  He was the one who got Joong out of trouble when the younger one got into it.

Khaotung thought about all the times Joong came to him asking for advice or help in carrying out some plan.  Khao tried to argue, shaking his head and making discouraging faces, but in the end he always helped him.

“Why didn't anyone tell me?”

“There was no time.  Sorry.  I know we should have told you, but we had to save him.  It was the only way.”

“Only way?  How is it?  I don't think I'm keeping up.”

“You see, Dunk was seriously ill, and to save him, Joong made a pact with the Prince of Hell, which upset the Angel Choirs, who considered him unworthy of the runes and the name Knight of Light.  He would be banished to the Non-Magical world before midnight, stripped of all memories.  Magnus Bane found out about it.  It turned out that Dunk can be healed, but the decision of the Angels is, as you know, irrevocable and final.  We had to think of something if we didn't want to lose Joong and let him be banished to a world he never really belonged to.  So we decided to let him die after the vampire attack.”

“You're kidding!”

“Do I look like I'm kidding?”  NuNew's expression on Khaotung's phone was serious, sad.  No, he was definitely not joking.

“So Joong will be a vampire now?!” Khaotung shouted as he realized this.

“Yes.  This is the best of our options, we had no other choice.  Fourth can tell you how damn hard it is to lose memories not only for the person affected but also for all his loved ones.  Are you sure missing him wouldn't cause you or Dunk to sneak off to the Non-Magic world to meet him?  And he won't know who you are.  It's gonna hurt.  We couldn't allow it.  Again, this was our best option.”

“I understand,” was all Khaotung said.

“But that means Joong is alive, right?”  First joined the conversation, adjusting the phone so that it now showed his own face more.  He and Khaotung were still sitting on the floor.

“In a way, yes, he'll wake up soon.”

“So we can visit him?”

“Not yet.  It's too dangerous.  You have to wait until the whole process is over.  Before that, Joong may not fully regain his consciousness and hurt you.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“Khao, I'm truly sorry on behalf of myself and P'Zee.  We really couldn't make a different decision”,  NuNew approached Khaotung directly and you could see he felt guilty.

“No, don't worry.  I'm not mad at you or anything.  I know there was nothing else to do.  I'm glad you did so.”

“Definitely?”

“Yes, for sure.”

“That's okay.  And how are your preparations for the Formula 1 season?”

NuNew safely changed the subject to a lighter one, and that allowed Thanawat to whine in a playful way about all the "hardships" he had encountered along the way.

And now, half an hour later, Khaotung's manager lady came to the room Khaotung shared with First with very bad news.  Without further delay, she showed him the e-mail that had come to his g-mail account.

Khaotung shrugged and continued reading.  The words that followed made his blood run colder.  At last he knew what he was dealing with.  This was stalking in its purest and most terrifying form.  And the girl was making threats at them that he couldn't be sure she wouldn't carry out.

"Khao, you know I love you, right?  Baby, I promise I'll do anything for you, just tell me what do you want from me?  Have you seen my Instagram?  For sure yes, I tagged you in my posts so many times that even someone with so many fans must have noticed it, right?  Tell me, then, why did you choose First?  What's so special about him?  That he's a guy?  I'm sorry baby, I'm really sorry I was born a girl, if it makes any difference I can have surgery.  Your one word is enough, really!  Leave First, I know he's cute but he doesn't suit you."

Khaotung stopped again.

“How does she know about you?”

“I have no idea, I thought no one knew about us, that we can hide”. First was full of fear.  This girl was another reason First had trouble trusting people.  He wasn't sure what someone like that would do.  His imagination gave him black scenarios, in the worst of which this girl would suddenly appear outside the hotel where they were staying and attack them with a knife as they left, mortally wounding Khaotung.  He was afraid of it.  He was afraid that his visions might come true.  “Khao, I don't think we should leave the hotel at all for now.”

“Why?”

“I'll explain later, just trust me, it's best not to go out for now.”

Khaotung looked at First and realized that it was better not to argue with him on this matter.  Playing nervously with his fingers, Thanawat went back to reading the e-mail.

"Khao baby, I'm doing everything I can to be with you.  I even have a job that allows me to save a lot of money.  I want you to be proud of me as I am proud of you.  What does First have?  Before you two met, he didn't even have a job, he was a nobody.  Really, what is he better at than me?  Just think about it: I can cook, I can always cook for you.  I promise that I will always be waiting for you in our home with a hot meal.  I promise I will always support you.  And if you're so insistent on having First as your boyfriend, go ahead, I have no problem with that.  You can be with me and with him.  Just give me a chance to prove to you how much I'm worth.

Let me warn you: if you don't agree, your boyfriend will suffer and I promise that I will do everything to make sure you never want to sleep with him or kiss him or even hug him again.

How's that, Khao?  I think this is a fair deal?  I'm not asking you to marry me (of course that would be great, but I'm not that crazy, ha ha ha!), just don't reject me.

I'll be at the race in Bahrain, meet me there.  Write to me on IG.

I'm waiting,

Yours forever,

~ Sweet Girl, Chika.

PS You know it's your fault, right?

You viewed that girl's Instastories and commented and liked her post because she's talented, right?  Have you even thought for a moment how your other fans will feel, who love you with all their hearts, who finance your dreams, and who you completely ignore?  Honey, either you start noticing all your loyal fans, especially those who have been with you for years, or you don't notice us at all, but don't single out some just because they have a talent for something!  Phew!  Those who have a talent for something will manage on their own in life, you don't have to support them, they will manage.  That was mean, Khao, and remember, if you don't agree to my deal, you'll pay for it some other way.  think it over.  You either view and like everyone's posts or no one's.  Good luck in the upcoming season!  I love you!".

Those words, the vast majority of which should carry positive emotions, now sounded like a threat and sent shivers down their bodies.  A shudder ran through First's body.  As cruel as it sounded, he thought that the girl was partly right, he himself was nothing, he had no profession or education, only recently and with the great help of Khaotung and Lewis Hamilton, he had obtained a driver's license, and he could not give Khaotung children,  which he also dreamed of, and he knew that while Tung agreed to adopt, he wasn't all that happy about it.

“I wasn't going to show you this, but this isn't the first email from this girl.  We have much more.  She's been writing to you for months.”

“And you didn't tell me anything about it?”

“I didn't want to burden you with this, your job is already very stressful.  I was hoping that if we ignored her, she'd get bored eventually.”

“Marge, you're a grown woman with a lot of experience, how could someone as professional as you think something so naive?”

“Sorry!  Because... Because fans often send similar messages in a rush of emotions.  Some people treat writing messages to their idols as a form of therapy, you know that not everyone can afford real therapy.  Many of them talk in these messages about themselves, about their day, about their problems and their small or larger victories, I guess I thought it would be the same now.  At first, it was really innocent news.

"I know, and there's nothing wrong about fans sending messages to their idols, i fully support it and if it helps them, I'm really happy, but don't you remember why I didn't want to read the fans' messages at all?”

“Yes... Yes, I remember,” Margaret confessed contritely.  “You didn't want to offend or leave anyone out, and you were afraid you wouldn't have enough time to pay even a little attention to everyone. You didn't wanted anyone to feel worse than others.”

“Yeah, Marge, yeah.”

Margaret sighed heavily.

It was First who asked the next question.

“But why did you decide to show us this now?”

“Because of that video,” Margaret pulled the laptop closer to her, found a file that had been sent from another email address.  “The girl thinks she's smart, but our technicians have already discovered that both email addresses belong to the same person.”

The line between evil and good in this case was really thin.  And the line between being a good, supportive, loyal fan for this girl has completely blurred.  This was their greatest fear.

In the video they saw only someone's hands, and in it a lot of photographs.  The hands showed the photographs to the camera.  One hand reached for a lighter and ignited the photos in the other hand.  In the background, the words were whispered in a strangely distorted voice: "I will kill your boyfriend, I will kill him, I wanna kill him.  First will die, he will die, I wanna kill him, I will kill him!" followed by a terrifying, blood-curdling, demonic laugh. The hands pointed to the camera for a doll that looked somewhat like First. One hand began to cut open with a knife the doll's right cheek, slowly sliding down and slicing through the chest as well.

“Agree to my friend's proposal or I will do the same with your boyfriend.” — They heard these words.

“I think the police should look into it,” First said as the recording ended with a sound like a gunshot.

“No, we can't afford it.  I spoke to P'Zee, he already sent someone there.  We suspect the girl may be possessed.  She's not doing all this, the demon is.  And if that's the case, then we must do everything we can to save her soul.”

“Demon?  You think so?  Isn't she just mentally ill?”

“It's possible, too, which is why P'Zee promised to send his best and most experienced people there.  Besides, there are different types of mental illness, you've been sick yourself, so you probably understand it best.”

“Yes, unfortunately I understand that.  But look, in my case it turned out to be almost completely curable and it was rooted in a tragic experience, what if mental illnesses are simply our minds' ways of dealing with suffering?”

“I don't know, First, I'm not a psychiatrist or a scientist,” Margaret shrugged.  “Anyway, I hope this girl gets the help she needs.”

“If this matter is already settled, why did you show me this?”  Khaotung showed interest.

“Because I want you to be careful. From now on, you are completely banned from using social media, your social media accounts will be managed by PR people and myself.”

“After all, I don't legally use Instagram anyway, I only use Twitter or TikTok sometimes.  Does that mean I can't use them anymore?”

“You can, but you must create a new private account for yourself and you must be very careful what you post there.”

Khaotung felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

It is true that he was not very fond of social media, but he was not against it.  He liked to share with his fans fragments of his life from time to time, he had the feeling that he was closer to them.  He wanted to be a good idol for them, someone who appreciates their support and commitment, someone they will want to support because he deserves it.

“You know?  I'm wondering if it's worth coming out in public then... People don't know I'm not interested in women, maybe if they knew that I already have someone I love and who loves me and who I want to spend the rest of my life with  maybe they'd leave me alone?”

“You believe in that?”

Khaotung thought for a moment, then hesitantly answered.

“I don't know, I guess I'd like to believe it.”

“Khao, you are my favorite ward and that's why I don't want to say it, but I have to say it, no matter how much I don't want to say it.  If you want to race in Formula 1 again, you can't do that.  We all know why.”

“Sick world,” Khaotung muttered to himself, grimacing in disgust.  First patted him comfortingly on the knee.

“One day everything will change, people will accept us, you'll see.  Our time is yet to come. ”

“And you're not mad that we have to hide?”

“No, why would I be angry about something like that?  It's not your fault, and you won't change people's thinking that has been shaped this way for hundreds of years in one day or even a week.  It takes time.  Don't worry.  It is true that sometimes I would like to show you to all those people who crossed me out, who rejected me, so that they would understand that you cannot reject someone just because they are different from us, but that wouldn't bring anything good either.  I don't want them to envy me.  Jealousy is a bad feeling.  And I know they won't be proud of me, so why should I tell them?  Maybe one day they will realize their mistake.”

Khaotung felt a surge of pride at these words.  He thought his boyfriend was really smart and lovable, generous and strong.  With difficulty he resisted the temptation to take him in his arms and kiss him on the forehead.

“I love you.” He only said very quietly so only First could hear him.  He guessed that Marge heard it anyway, but she tactfully pretended to be more interested in something on her phone than what he was saying.

They both knew they still had a long way to go, but they were already beginning to see small positive changes.  Everything seemed to be going in the right direction.

Khaotung had a simulator session on his schedule that day, so he said goodbye to First and Margaret and went to practice.  First and Marge, like a pair of best friends, went shopping together and had a lot of fun.  First still couldn't believe how dramatically his life had changed: not so long ago, he felt like a social outcast, someone who didn't deserve happiness.  He had loved Khaotung before, too, but while he could talk to pictures of him in his room, he never really felt good enough to even try Instagraming him.  From time to time, he would just leave a nice comment under the F1 driver's post, but that was where it ended.  Khao left a like on his comment only once, and First spent weeks afterwards wondering if Thanawat didn't do it by mistake.

“I was a fan of his, too,” he told Margaret as they browsed teddy bears together for something suitable for Margaret's eight-year-old niece.

“I know, First.  But you never imposed on him, you never sought information about his private life, you supported him, we know that, we saw your posts and comments, but you never crossed the line and when you met you didn't immediately know who he was, right?”

“Eeee?”  First wasn't sure if he could honestly answer that question.  He still remembered their first meeting, or rather the collision where the Khaotung had saved him from falling.  It felt like ages ago.

“You did know?”

“As we both know, Tung is not a good actor,” First admitted, avoiding her gaze.  He pretended to be more interested in the colorful teddy bear in front of him.  He grabbed the toy in his hand and showed it to Margaret.  “I think this one will be perfect.”

Margaret, sensing that First didn't want to talk about it, took the mascot from his hands and looked at it carefully.  It was indeed a cute rainbow bear with a cute red bow around its neck and red embroidered "I love you" on its hind legs.

“Yes, it's a very nice bear.  You can give it to her yourself.  My brother is coming to visit us tomorrow.”

“I?”

“Um, you.  You chose this stuffed animal, you give it to her.”

“Okay... I'm just not sure if... Because, you know, I... I've never had a good relationship with children.”

“Don't worry, Astrid is a very cute young girl, you'll like her right away.”

“If you say so...”

♀️😒😤😡😎🇵🇱🤩😈😇 🤫😭😟😬🤗😅😂😜😆

From the author!

I wrote this chapter at the request of a very nice person who has helped me a lot over the past few months ❤️ Thank you for being here and sorry if I ever worried or disappointed you ❤️

Thank you also to everyone who reads this 💖 You are wonderful, wonderful 💛

Have a nice day Magic People 💖💛 Never forget that there is Magic in each of us, we just have to learn to see it 💛💖

~Annie