Wrong move!

When they arrived, the class was almost full.

New and Anurak found two desks at the very back of the class and settled into them. New wanted to chat, but Anurak brought out the textbook for that lecture and started reading the first chapter.

Since he left that toilet, Anurak had been feeling uneasy. Everywhere they went, both boys and girls wouldn't stop staring nor would they stop pointing. It was okay for them to talk. He was used to it. What he wasn't used to was being grabbed and stared at like some spicy chicken wings.

That guy in the toilet was sexually attracted to him and didn't bother to hide it in such proximity. That was why he made the run for it. It was dang creepy and unnerving. He kept thinking about how close he was to getting kisses by a guy.

A guy!

And a total stranger at that!

Anurak was furious, but he had nowhere to direct his anger. He started missing his gym back at home.

Whenever his father, step-siblings, or their mother did something that pissed him off, he would go to the gym and burn his steam, punching sandbags or humans, depending on what was available.

"Where were we just now?" Anurak suddenly asked.

His voice was stern, but he was trying to sound as normal as possible.

"Faculty of Arts," New replied suspiciously.

"Faculty of Arts" Anurak murmured to himself.

He instantly decided never to step foot in that place again. Since it was far from his faculty, he hoped he would never have to see that guy again.

"How bad is sexual harassment in this school?"

I knew it! Something was wrong. New thought to himself.

"It depends. Why are you asking? Did someone harass you? Who was it?" New said in a near shout that had Anurak looking around the lecture room, panic-stricken.

"Dude! Keep it down!" He sneered.

New got the message and immediately calmed down. He then joined his chair to Anurak's own.

"Was it inside the toilet? What happened inside that toilet?"

"Some guy grabbed me and was acting creepy," Anurak whispered.

"Shia. You should have told me. What does he look like?"

New was angry. He suspected that something happened inside the toilet, but since Anurak had the habit of switching moods like a girl on period, he decided to leave things alone.

He had sensed that Anurak was a sensitive person and decided to take things slow. Anurak was going to be his ticket to the big leagues after all, so he would rather not do anything that would cross his baseline… Yet.

"Tall, good-looking. He was wearing a red Lakers' jacket over a white singlet."

"That could be anybody," New muttered thoughtfully. "You don't have to worry, though. Sexual harassment is very common here, just like any other school, but as long as you have some backing, nobody will look for your trouble."

"Backing? What kind of backing?" Anurak was confused.

"Like I am a rich kid and most people won't want to offend me because of my Dad. I am your backing." New explained. He was trying to act as nonchalant as possible.

Anurak wore his pride on his sleeves. Their friendship was just a day old and New couldn't count how many times Anurak had given some 'back off!' vibes which he intentionally ignored. So he knew Anurak wouldn't take the fact that he needed someone to protect him easily.

When Anurak heard New's words, he was shocked.

"It's that bad?"

Before coming to Bangkok, he had heard of how it was the headquarters of the LGBT community.

There was even a time when a group of straight guys had a rally condemning the sexual harassment they were exposed to because members of the LGBT community wouldn't stop approaching them. Due to this rally, a lot of debates had come up on TV and Radio.

People also talked about it for a long time online. During this period, he really learned a lot about the community and the city's social life and norms. But he never thought things could be so confrontational.

Anurak had several gay guys approaching him back at home, but it wasn't a big deal to him. All he had to do was reject anybody who approached him and clarify that he wasn't gay. Some of his friends had the same experience. It even led some of them to develop phobias for gay men, and he always thought that was an overkill.

Back then, Sophea had even made jokes about straight men, saying it was good that they get a taste of their medicine. After all, straight men also harass women. In fact, heterosexual harassment was more prevalent than homosexual harassment and as a pretty girl, she went through that constantly, so he felt she had a good reason to make jest of them all.

Now, Anurak was discovering that he had taken the safety of his small, remote town for granted. He was waking up to the reality of city life. A place where money speaks and people are unrestrained. He didn't like it a tiny bit.

"Anurak, you really don't have anything to worry about. My family isn't among the top ten in Bangkok, but we still carry some weight. As long as we are friends, nobody will mess with you. I promise." New tried to reassure him.

Only if he knew that his words had the opposite effect. Anurak didn't feel reassured at all. He felt like a noose was being tightened around his neck.

While he didn't mind being friends with New, he wanted it to be on equal standing. But with the way New spoke just now, Anurak didn't see that happening. When New said 'As long as we are friends…,' what Anurak heard was, 'For me to protect you, you have to do as I say.'

I have to call P'Eshin. He will know what to do. Anurak thought to himself as he absentmindedly flipped through his textbook, trying to calm down.

"Once we join the racetrack on Saturday, you will have more backing. Racers are elites in this school. Once you join one of the teams on Saturday, nobody will mess with you again. So relax. Okay?" New reassured him again.

"Okay." Anurak nodded.

While Anurak and New were engrossed in their talk, they didn't notice that the whole class had gone quiet.

The double doors had opened, and four men stepped inside, grabbing everyone's attention. They were King and three of his boys, namely; Payu, Nat, and Saint.

Their entrance would have gone unnoticed, but one student had recognized King and had whispered aloud.' "P'King!'

For a few seconds, the entire class just froze. The only sound that could be heard was the whispering coming from Anurak's desk.

"Where would you like to sit?" Payu, who was right beside King, asked.

King looked around the room and his eyes landed on Anurak.

He is here too? King thought to himself.

Payu's eyes followed King's gaze and also landed on Anurak. Instantly, Payu made his way to the unsuspecting boy.

Just as the rumors claimed, this was King's second time in school. While students knew he would be coming back to school for a second degree, nobody knew the course he would be taking. That was why the whole class was in shock.

Even though it was a freshman class, there was hardly any student of Sunny-Uni who didn't know about King. They might not recognize him because his pictures weren't easy to come by, but they have heard of him.

"To think that the popular and infamous son of the school owner is actually in our class!" One of the students suddenly exclaimed.

Thanks to him, the whole class woke up, but they were still too shocked to make any more sounds. Their eyes just followed Payu as he walked up to Anurak's desk and stared at him.

"Hey!" Payu muttered in a stern voice.

Anurak and New looked up. Anurak was confused while New was shocked.

"P'Payu," New muttered, confused.

Everyone knew that Payu was King's right-hand man, and he followed him everywhere. Even the toilet.

Therefore, wherever one sees P'Payu, King would not be far away. This was the thought that flashed in New's head the moment he saw Payu.

New looked around and spotted King close to the door. He was right. But what does P'Payu want with Anurak?

New turned around again and saw King glaring at him. His heart raced. He started thinking of everything he had done since the morning. He was sure that he didn't have any encounter with King, so how could he have offended him? It was simply impossible.

What is he doing here? Why is he looking at me like that?, New mused.

"Alai?" Anurak asked Payu. He had no idea who Payu was, but after he was grabbed by a stranger just a couple of minutes ago, Anurak could be said to be on edge.

"Stand up," Payu ordered, giving Anurak a cold gaze, meant to frighten him.

Wrong move!

Anurak might be a lot of things, but fear wasn't one of them.

He was the kind of person who would fight tooth and nail for something that was rightfully his. It doesn't matter whether he needed that thing or not. It doesn't matter who was fighting him for it.

This was someone who knew that he was no match for the person who insulted his girl but still went ahead to confront them. He got beaten black and blue. When he got better, he started his professional fighter training and went after them one after the other. He couldn't beat them as a gang, but he and his girlfriend caught them when they were alone and trashed them up one after the other.