"The worst wounds, the deadliest of them, aren't the ones people see on the outside."

Chiang Mai –

He hated coming here, hated that every single waking moment, all he could think of, was this dreaded place. But he was bound here, his heart and mind drawn to it like moth to a flame. Today, as he had watched that boy dance, he had forgotten himself for a few moments, forgotten a promise made long ago, a promise to never let go. He could not afford to forget. Every single thought in his coalesced to that one moment with pinpoint accuracy.

Six years ago:

"I love it here," trilling laughter filled the air as a beautiful girl twirled around on the grassy knoll in her bare feet. "You have to bring me here every day," she laughed looking down at the boy sprawled on the blanket beside her. "Everyday! Ku sayaa!" the boy laughed with her, as she bent down and locked her pinkie finger with his. "Even when I die, promise that you will not let me be buried, instead, I want my ashes spread here," she said, a slightly serious note entering her voice. "What rubbish!! You are not going to die anytime soon. And I will not let you," the boy said, annoyed now. "Phayu, promise Amy na? That you will do what I said? And that you will never forget me and never make place for anyone in your heart?" the girl said, a slightly pleading tone in her voice. "I promise, that will never happen. No one will belong to me the way you do and I will never belong to anyone but you," the boy said, bending his head to kiss the girl's hand, missing the satisfied smile on the girl's face.

Present:

He had no choice but to keep his promise to Amy. One night stands were all he could do, all that he could bear to do. He could never harm Amy's memory in his head or heart, even if he was tired of carrying around the burden of a childhood promise. That was something he had no choice in. He could not bear to even think what his beloved would think from high up in heaven. He used to meet Amy's brother once a year, who reminded him periodically that he hoped he hadn't forgotten the promise made to his sister. And Phayu had always assured him that he would never do so. Amy may not have been his first love, but she was definitely his last.

Theerpanayakul Mansion –

"So did you find out who it is?" Kinn asked Arm, his cyber security expert. Arm looked around the room at the expectant faces of the brothers and Pai, knowing how important it was for them to know who had put that look in Phayu's eyes. Arm had seen that boy born, brought him up, trained him, and loved him, not only because he was the son of a friend, but because he was a genuinely wonderful boy, loved by all. He knew and had wallowed with his friends in the worry they had for Phayu, so without further ado, he began.

"Rain Varain Kirigun, 18 years old, only son of Tharn Thara Kirigun, owner of The Sundance Theatre company and Rain Music Productions as well composer par excellence, and Type Thiwat Kirigun, renowned celebrity sport therapist. His grandparents on his dad's side are the Kirigun Imports and Exports which is now run by his Uncle Thorn, his aunt, his dad's sister, is Thanya, the former actress, who is still quite well known. His Pa is an only child and that set of grandparents own couple of resorts, which does good business. His best friend is Sky Thupfah Suansri, son of former Ambassador Leo Suansri and former national level basketball player Fiat Suansri. He, no, actually, both of them, recently got into Chula Uni in the Performing Arts department," Arm said, laying out Rain's file in front of them.

Kinn picked up a photo of Rain and passed it around. Everyone seemed drawn to the beautiful boy, whose face exuded grace and elegance. "He has won several national level dance competitions and can play multiple instruments as well. He also can speak several languages, and is seriously pretty well known for being humble and down-to-earth. Openly gay, but he never has been in a relationship before," Arm continued, knowing that for the Theerpanayakul brothers, it was imperative to know the past of person their children would eventually date. Finally it would be Phayu and Pai's decision whom they want to be with and they would not interfere, but as paranoid fathers, they still needed to know. And so far, Rain seemed to be fitting into what they wanted for Phayu. He seemed to have an excellent pedigree and also seemed to have a charm of his own, so far, they were happy with what they were hearing. But they also knew that Phayu was not going to appreciate what they wanted to do. So at the moment, they decided that any and every discussion on Rain, would be tabled, and if they felt Phayu opening up at any given point, they would take it as a sign and speak to him. But right now, silence was golden.

Chiang Mai –

Phayu wandered the length of the cliff. His heart was full of pain for a lost love and this mind was full of the dancing boy he had seen earlier that morning. This push and pull of the heart and mind was something he dared not dwell on. For him, he was a Theerpanayakul, and a man of his family would never break a promise, something he really prided himself on. His word was bond, and his honour would never let him forget that. His heart and mind had never wavered in these past 6 years and he did not intend to allow the image of a chit of a boy to make him forget his past.

Bangkok –

"So that's how the programme is going to be. We expect you to be on time every day, follow all orientation activities and also concentrate on your studies. You must not fail your uni, your seniors, your family and yourself. We will support you in any way we can," the seniors said, as they guided the freshmen to prepare for their four years at the university. "It is going to harder than it seems," Sky whispered to Rain. Rain nodded, but before he could say something, a group of seniors approached them. "Rain, shemai?" one of them, a girl with long brown hair, asked him. "Yes, that's me," he replied with a smile. "And you are Sky, am I right?" she continued. "Yes Phi, I am Sky," he also smiled. "We are looking forward to seeing you both shine during the next four years," another boy said. "Khopuna khap Phi," both boys waiied to their seniors. "We want to inform you that the department will have multiple performances and programmes coming up. The management and the board members will be coming in for these shows. So we need you to start preparing and be ready for these events," another senior boy said. "Okay Phi. When is the first show? And is there any theme?" Rain asked politely. "The first show is next Friday, a sort of closing of the orientation programme. No particular theme, but yeah, it should be a bright and peppy performance," the girl spoke up.

"Phi, if you don't mind, can we have your names and LINE ids? In case we have any doubts or questions?" Sky asked. "Of course. My name is Pam, this is Aum and this is Phi Jom," she said pointing first to her right, then to her left. All of them exchanged numbers and the seniors left. Sky looked at Rain. "Aren't they supposed to train us first, before asking us to perform?" Sky asked, rolling his eyes. "Well, maybe they think we don't need to learn," Rain said, a bit bothered by the 'taking for granted' attitude of his seniors. But they both knew that if they had to stay in college happily for the next four years, they had to indulge them.