Rushing to see if there is either a ruckus going on or if everything is generally fine, Jannine comes out of the same door that Jeff and Folk used earlier to go to the backyard. "Is everything alright, Herr Jeff?" she asked with worry in her face after arriving at the table.

"Oh yes, Jannine. All is well," said Jeff, turning to her and forcing a smile.

"Sorry if we alarmed you, miss," seconded Folk, smiling like a dog yet still looking handsome.

"I thought you two were fighting," sighed Jannine, feeling relieved with what she has heard.

"Oh no, miss. I shouted because of a surprise that Jeff said."

"Alright, Herr Folk."

"Kindly serve us some of the sticky rice and coconut cream, Jannine," said Jeff.

"Right away, Herr Jeff."

"Care for dessert?" asked Jeff to Folk, whose face still shows traces of surprise. Jannine, on the other hand, crosses the threshold and is back inside the house. "You'll surely need some as we continue talking."

"Just lay it on the table, Mister Satur."

"It has no fruits though: I had her cook tapioca balls and add it to the coconut milk. I hope that's okay with you."

"No issues for me," assured Folk, smiling. "Getting back, you said that you know this Opp Weerapong?" he continued, replacing his smile earlier with a speculative look."

"Yes."

"Did you really have sex with an old man? He must be old? Right."

"Old man?" clarified Jeff.

"Let's assume that because his name appears on the reports, he must the one who created Scylla and Charybdis, and if he did them back in the 90s, he must be around in his fifties by now – even older."

"He is surprisingly young: he is about the same age as us."

"As old as us? You must be joking," sneered Folk with his eyebrows raised.

"No, Folk, I'm not. He really did look young that day we did it," said Jeff back – a little embarrassed. "I know because I saw his face up close. Even if my head was spinning, I saw him clearly."

"What happened ba..."

The sound of the backdoor swinging open prompts Folk to stop: his question has – no, it needs – to wait.

Carrying a tray that holds an oblong plate filled with rice balls, a bowl with the coconut milk and tapioca combined, and a couple of saucers and spoons, Jannine walks out to the backyard and makes her way to their table.

"I hope you enjoy this, Herr Jeff, Herr Folk," she said as she lays the dishes and wares in front of the two.

"Thank you, Miss Janine," said Folk. Jeff, on his part, nods to her while smiling.

"Is there anything more I can get for both you?" asked Jannine, hugging the tray.

"A glass of water for me," answered Jeff. He looks at Folk next, asking the obvious question using only his facial expression.

"The same for me," said Folk.

"Okay."

Folk follows Jannine with his eyes. "What happened back then, Jeff?" he proceeded after ensuring that their conversation is private once again.

"It happened on a Friday night: I went out to have a drink in a pub," started Jeff.

"You and Chef Gameplay were still together then, right?"

"Yeah. We had a misunderstanding that day."

"About what?"

"Actually, the next day – Saturday – is our anniversary. I made an excuse that I will not be able to be with him because of work. However, it was only a ploy."

"Ploy? You had another thing in mind?"

"Yeah. Since he will be on duty at Cocotte only in the morning, my plan was to go there, fetch him myself, then we'll both go to the countryside to celebrate."

"You have no idea how much I'm giggling now," mocked Folk, showing a straight face that doesn't suggest a tincture of emotion.

Jannine shows up in the backyard again. This time, her tray has two glasses – full to the brim – whose outside surface are each lined with water beads, which are from the condensation of the cold liquid contained in them. Her presence mutes the two into silence once again.

"No, really. I feel the sweetness there," continued Folk once Jeff and him are alone again.

Jeff's rolls his eyes, emanating the same level of sarcasm he has just been showed with. "Whatever you say, Jakrin," he said, momentarily looking away from Folk.

"Anyway, what happened that Friday?" Folk takes a sip from his glass.

"Gameplay was obviously upset, but he does not know what I had in mind. I had to endure his tantrums that night and on the next day."

"I can only imagine."

"His sulking face looks cute though. He looked even more handsome when sulking rather than when he is not." Jeff tries to squeeze in a wee bit of joke into the conversation.

Folk, as a response, curls his lips after letting out a heavy exhale of air. "But, you are not a drinker, Jeff: it is so not you to take a couple of shot glasses of alcohol just to vent out." He shoves the talk back in the proper mood.

"I got ticked with what he said when I took him home that night."

"Why? What did he tell you?"

"He told me that I am a workaholic: I would prefer to work rather than be with him on our special day," said Jeff, stopping to sip some of his cold water. "I just laughed it off without saying anything back, but he pressed on."

"I see, but you can't spill the beans, right? It was a surprise after all."

"Yeah, so I just deflect whatever he said over and over again until I can't do it anymore: we all have our limits, you know."

"I understand. So, what happened next?"

"He haggled of course: he said he will ask Plan – that is his deputy chef – to be in charge of the restaurant the next day, so he could be with me in the office and after work: we could still celebrate."

"And you declined that again, I guess."

"I'll give you two choices, but you will only need one," said Jeff, alluding to the most obvious answer – a yes. "Then, that was when things got out of hand: GP's mouth started to spit out bullets like a gatling gun when its trigger is pressed: he kept on talking, laying out alibis after alibis he conjured in his head on why I wouldn't be able to make it."

"I can't blame him. It's your anniversary after all."

"We had a shouting match inside the car; I was drawn to the limit; I nearly told him the truth; I had to hold it back no matter what; I want to see his reaction the next day when I prove him wrong."

"I see. So, from Chef Gameplay's house, where did you go to have some booze?"

"From GP's house at Thon Buri, I went to Sky Bar at Phra Nakhon."

"That place is near Le Cargaison." Folk's face is stern as he takes another sip of his water.

"Yeah. Sky Bar is at Rambutti Alley; Le Cargaison is at Thanon Tani."

"And that is where you met Opp Weerapong?"

"Yeah. If I remember correctly, I was still not finished with my first shot of whiskey when he approached me at the bar table."

"Wow. I never knew you could drink something hard as whiskey." Folk's familiar sneer draws on his face again while he shakes his head. "Then? What happened?"

"I was surprised: the encounter was so out-of-nowhere. We had a little talk. Then, he got a Mudslide for the both of us."

"You didn't take it, did you?"

"No," said Jeff firmly, frowning. However, his eyebrows quickly relax and return to the same coordinates where they were before, suggesting that his "no" will not age for long. "Well, not immediately – not yet. I downed my whiskey first before I took the drink from him."

"So how did you end up having sex with him in your own car?"

"A few minutes after I drank the cocktail, I felt light-headed. I was getting drowsy, and everything my eyes saw were in a ripple."

Folk did not respond, not wanting to break Jeff's momentum in his recollection. Nodding, he lets his friend proceed.

"I remember almost passing out, and I fell on Weerapong's chest that time," continued Jeff.

"Didn't you see anything weird in the drink he gave you? Or if the Mudslide tasted differently?"

"I don't know; I can't say; it looked and tasted perfectly normal to me. After that, I felt like I was walking away from the place, and someone was supporting me from under my shoulder."

"Okay," said Folk, tapping his chin with his thumb. "So he walked you to your car, got in himself, and that is when the thing happened, right?" he asked, stressing out the term he used as a synonym to denote the sexual act that had happened.

"Yeah. I don't want to go into the details about that."

"You don't have to: I already get the picture," assured Folk, sensing that Jeff is not comfortable.

"The next thing I remember was waking in the hospital. I was already sober, by my headache was a different thing: it was like someone was splitting my skull open with a power drill – vibrating, debilitating." Jeff takes a couple of pieces of the rice balls using the serving spoon that came with the dish. Afterwards he douses it with the coconut cream with tapioca balls. "Here. I'll get you some," he said, motioning for Folk to give his saucer to him, which the other did.

"And painus in uranus? Nothing of that?" Folk blurts the questions with a little bit of laughter.

"Fuck you, Jakrin," spat Jeff, filling Folk's small plate with about three balls and pushing it to the other after.

"I'm just saying, bro. He drugged you, remember? So there's a chance that he was above you for a moment or two."

"Which – thank goodness – did not happen. No painus in my anus, dummy. There is only one who can top me," rebut Jeff. "You put the sauce yourself."

"That's a breather. So, who was with you in the hospital?" Folk ladles the dressing four times, making his dessert look more like a stew.

"Tonhorm was by my bed. Not long after, two cops came. They read to me a complaint and showed me two videos – one from a surveillance camera in the parking lot and another one from my dashcam."

"A street cam caught you and Opp doing it?" Folk takes a bite off his dessert.

"Yeah, and it is at an angle too that gets a clear view of my car's back window."

"So, it caught everything? I remember your car being lightly tinted."

"Yes." Jeff breaks a rice ball with his dessert spoon.

"What about the video from your dashcam?"

"That was more like an icing on the cake: with a secondary evidence, I wouldn't be able to rebut the complaint. After I was discharged, everything went like clockwork: I got arrested, went to trial, and finally ended up in prison." Jeff chews the chunk of cooked glutinous rice after.

"So, do you think you were framed? That it was all a setup?"

"It ish hard to shay. Though when I ashked the policemen how they got the video from my car, they shaid it came from the complainant."

"Someone took the memory card off your dashcam and gave it to the police?"

Jeff nods as he chews, looking Folk in the eyes.

"And who filed the complaint."

Jeff finishes swallowing first before answering. "They said that the head of the local community did it. The video from the surveillance camera was from their office."

"So, someone stole your camera's memory card and gave it to another person. That person, then, used it and another video to pin you down, and everything happened right after you were probably drugged into having sex with someone. I'd say this qualifies for a screw job, and they did it successfully if I may add." Folk sips some of the coconut cream with the tapioca balls after.

"After the police left, GP came and slapped me in the face while I was lying on the bed," said Jeff, deviating from what Folk has said.

"In front of Miss Tonhorm?" Folk eyes round in surprise.

"Yeah."

"That is more than embarrassing."

"Tell me about it. To rub salt on a cut, he called it quits between the two of us while I was on the bed with a needle stuck in my arm."

"Yikes - ouch indeed."

"That is a dark time in my life, Folk," said Jeff, bowing down. It is indeed true that there are wounds that even time can't completely heal.

"There is something I don't get: how does Opp know where your car is? And why do you need details from Scylla and Charybdis if your aim is just getting your ex-boyfriend from Top?" asked Folk, using just the nickname of Le Cargaison's CEO instead of the initials since they are not in the company's premises – nowhere near it. "You're not going to tell these things to Chef Gameplay, are you?"

"I don't know: that is for your first question; and no, I will not tell GP what we talked about today," said Jeff, a devious smile tracing on his face afterwards. "I have one better," he continued, his dessert spoon filled again with the rice, sauce, and soft pearls.

------

Author's Note

Imagine having a complaint read to you, getting the taste slapped out of your mouth, and your boyfriend parting ways with you - all of  this - while you are on a hospital bed nursing some kind of illness. This must be a lot for one man to bear - even for Jeff. For anyone, something similar must surely be a dark chapter in their life as well.

Hmmmm, but if Jeff was really set up? Who is the brains behind it and why? And what is that "one thing better" that he has in mind? What is he planning to do with Scylla and Charybdis, and can he do it considering that the info he knows is still incomplete.

Stay tuned for release of the next chapter - All Six Paid - on the next coming days.

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