Time Bomb

"Where did you learn to drive like this, huh?!" He hollers at me and inside the enclosed space, his voice is a lot louder than it would be if we were outside.

"Hey! I saved your life back there!" I yell and point with my thumb behind me, indicating about the mob we left behind.

"Nobody asked you to do anything!" He snaps and this time closer to my ear. I really just want to shove his face back, but I keep myself from starting another fist fight.

"Fine! You want to die, Phi? Fine!" I go to yank the wheel in the opposite direction, not caring about the other cars, only for the man to reach over and clutch my shirt in his fist.

Damn that scared me!

"You are crazy if you think I want to go back there." He let’s go of me, plops back in his seat and loosens his tie. I glare at him and he doesn't care to notice.

Rich bastard!

"And what about me, huh?! You think I wanted to save you?" I bitch at him, but all he does is take out his phone and angrily tap on the screen.

I watch him, dumbfounded as he holds the phone to his ear and he's nowhere near nicer to the person on the other line. "Where the hell are you?" He complains and completely takes his tie off.

He tosses it to my side causing my mouth to gap open in distaste. I grab his tie and throw it in the back seat, luckily, he didn't notice as he continues to argue over the phone.

I should have killed him with that damn tie when I had the chance!

"I'll be home in a few minutes. Where is Ming?" There's a couple seconds of silence from him. "You don't know?! I swear to God, I will have your heads on a stake when I get back!" The man then hangs up, lets his phone drop to his lap and rubs his face with both hands in distress. He even lets out a heavy sigh.

"Phi, can I take myself home first?" I ask him with a scared smile and I can't help but grip the leather steering wheel in anticipation while staring straight ahead.

"No! Take me home. I don't need to go any other route. And anyway," He scans me up and down. "I just met you." The man shakes his head at me like I was dumb.

"Then why did you let me in your car?!" I grumble out loudly, my knuckles turning white.

"Sorry, my life was on the line. I wasn't thinking about the one guy I could take on in a matter of seconds." He spits with sarcasm and gives me a half-ass smile in the process.

I frown and lean back in the drivers seat with defeat.

A few minutes later

"Boss!" Almost more than a dozen of men approach the vehicle coming to the man's side.

They lash the door open, about to tear the whole car apart as they tend to the man. The one who I saved, gets out with an unhappy expression and waves off the men in suits. They see his icy stare and immediately back off.

Where were all these men when he was being attacked? They are treating him as if he's Buddha himself.

"Get out of my way! You are all useless!" The man quarrels and shifts through the tall men.

That’s one thing he got right tonight.

I roll my eyes. Before he is out of sight, I jump out of the drivers seat to call out to him. "Wait, Phi'!" All black suits stare at me now in surprise. The man stops in his tracks and glances back at me. "Can someone take me home? Please!" I beg and clasp my hands together for clear indication.

"Bring him inside." The man demands of the suits.

My eyes widen as the dozen of men take a hold and start to drag me inside. "Let go! I need to go home!" I slash around while yelling but all of them put together are stronger than me.

Soon enough, I'm taken inside the large entryway where a large bifurcated staircase stops in front of us. Hardwood stairs that a dark red rug, like a dark wine, sits on top of them. Two open rooms from both left and right that appear, from where I stand, to hold expensive items inside. A chandelier above me to top it all off with the hundreds of crystals that illuminate light throughout the room. It smells of jasmine and the cool air around me tops it all off.

This place reeks of rich! What did I get myself into?!

The men let me go after slamming the two doors shut behind me. I glare at them and fix my shirt that they had ruined. Huffing, I turn my attention back to the man who stands in front of me and I notice the white suit he wears, even his shoes are white.

What kind of date was he dressing up for? He looks awful.

To cover up my laugh, I place my hand over my mouth and pretend to cough. The man in the white suit snaps back at me and mouths for me to 'shut up' which makes me glower at him. "Son, back so early?" An elderly man comes waltzing down the left side of the staircase with an energetic attitude. The whole room seems to glow now from this mans presence. He even glows with the crystals above me.

He's the complete polar opposite of his son.

"It is only because I was attacked, dad." He talks politely to his dad unlike the rest of us.

"Attacked? You were only there because..." The dad trails off when he sees the stranger standing behind his son, that and being surrounded by a dozen men.

I don't wear a suit, I don't wear nice shoes, and I do not have a nice appearance as my face is probably beaten up due to the fight from earlier. I wai to the older man who wai's back with a gentle smile. "Who is this?" He peers at his son for an answer.

The man quickly glances at me and shoves his hands in the pockets of his white pants. "He saved me." He adverts his gaze and the urge to flip him off is hard.

"You saved my son?!" The father happily says and comes running down the stairs to me.

With his physical state, you would think he's too old to move by himself, but he comes rushing down like he's only in his early 20's. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and brings me in for a close hug. A bear hug to be exact and I feel the air escape my lungs because of his tight grip. "You have such broad shoulders, Nong!" He grasps both of my shoulders and gives me a good shake. I can't help but smile with embarrassment from his compliment and try to keep my breathing down. It's almost like an Anaconda just tried squeezing the life out of me.

"That's what I need to talk to you about," the man in the white suit tells his father whose eyes brighten when they land on his son. "Let's talk somewhere else." He waves his dad to follow him.

"Khun nai!" I grab onto the elderly man's arm and his eyes are set back on me. "Can I please go home?" I beg one more time.

I don't even know where I am! Who knows what they could do to me. They could easily kill me and dispose of my body!

"I'm sorry, but until I know who you are, I can't let you go." The elderly man takes his arm from my grasp and pats my right shoulder.

"Huh?!" I holler but the two men don't pay any mind to me as they continue to walk off side by side.

I pull my hair and throw my head back in anger. I even throw myself a round a few times and cry out loud. My tantrum doesn't last long as my surroundings change when the men in black suits take a hold of me once more. I don't try and get away as I already know I can't go anywhere at this rate. They pull me behind the staircase that leads through a big kitchen to a table that can sit what looks like ten people. I'm pushed down into a seat at the head of the table while the others sit around me. My body is frozen in place as 12 pair of eyes beam on me. "Why did you come with Phi Time?!" The one with a buzzcut slams his hand on the table with a harsh tone.

"Calm down, Mike." One with thick black glasses tries to settle down the one named Mike.

They are acting as if they are his boyfriends.

I roll my eyes. Mike twists his mouth and clenches his fist that he had slammed on the wooden table that has a white cloth covering it. "I just want to go home." I repeat for what feels like the thousandth time, knowing my words don't matter at this point of my life.

"Liar!" Small eyes squints at me while yelling.

"Calm down, Bank." Mike is now the regressor leaving me speechless.

"Tell us why you came with Phi Time!" Neck tattoo glowers at me including a head nod.

"If I tell you, will you leave me alone?" I question as I feel myself grow annoyed.

They all nod.

One hour ago

"How do you manage without alcohol in your system, Bomb?" My close friend, Sam nudges me with a smirk on his face.

"It's because I'm not an alcoholic like you!" I joke back with a shake of my head.

Sam gets up from the table in a rush while saying, "I need to piss, man. I'll be back." But before he can get two steps away from the table, a body bumps into him causing the two to fall back.

My friend quickly gets up from the ground in one swift motion and when he appears, the expression he wears is not friendly. Sam glares at the two men who wear nice suits while him and I wear nothing but casual clothes. We are the complete opposite and this comes off as a threat to my friend. Sam scuffs and wipes his nose as if it was running though the weather is dry at night. "Watch where you are going!" Sam hollers and the man in the dark blue suit gazes at him from the floor in honest distraught. "Crazy drunkard." Sam shakes his head at the man who now slowly stands on his two feet.

"I should be the one calling you that, moron!" The dark suit fights back, pointing his finger at Sam with a completely red face clearly intoxicated.

They are twins!

"Moron?! At least I can handle my liquor unlike some pussy!" Sam snaps at the dark suit, the veins in his neck bulging.

The man in the blue suit goes to lunge at my friend and before I can react, a man who is by his side jumps to the rescue. He grabs his friend by the waist, clearly taller and more muscular than his companion as he tears him away from the tussle. "Sorry, my friend is drunk." He says in a kindly manner to us. His voice deep and smooth, like someone who makes those ASMR videos and has thousands of fans.

"Handle your friend better." Sam threatens and plops himself back down in his seat.

The white suit nods and sightly rolls his eyes at my friend. I frown at this as he drags his drunk friend off to never be seen again. That's until a few men who wear dark dirty clothing approach us from the dark. The sober man who holds the dark suit stops and you can see the sigh he lets go from the way his shoulders drop, like it has happened before. The men carry weapons, one has a crowbar, the other has a hammer, while the third carries a knife. An unfair fight with people who don't carry weapons with them at all times. "Who are they?" I hear Sam mumble.

"I don't know, but let's get out of here." I go to retrieve my friend and flee from the scene, but the altercation keeps me in my spot.

The man with the crowbar attacks first, aiming towards the taller man who instantly drops his friend to both avoid the injury and protect his subordinate. Though his friend lands on the ground with a loud thud, it doesn't stop the other two men from lunging at the other man. I jump into action like second nature and kick off the man with the knife who was close enough to tearing the mans nice clothing. "Hey, Bomb!" My friend calls out for me on the sidelines, but I don't dare take my eyes off the situation.

"Listen to your friend, lady boy, he knows what he is talking about." The man with the crowbar smirks at me.

"What did you just call me?" I stand there with confusion written all over my face.

Is this his way of insulting people?

“I called you a lady-!” My fist collides with the mans face and the blow causes him to stumble back into a couple of empty produce boxes on the side of the street.

I'm tempted to grab that damn crowbar and smash his head in!

The two other men don't like this as hammerhead comes running at me with his weapon held above his head. The tall man reacts faster than me by swiftly pushing the hand that held the hammer from above his head and begins punching the man in the stomach multiple times, in the process he takes away the hammer the attacker held. Without a second thought, the nicely dressed man held the hammer like an axe, lunging towards the man who holds the knife. The final blow. My eyes widen at the sight, the hammer collides with the goons head watching the lunatic bleeds from his mouth. "Ai’ Shiaa!" I yell with a gasp when I witness the moron trip over the tall mans friend and plummet to the ground.

"Hey!" More of them come from the shadows of the streets and they lock their attention on us.

Where are the women in this country?

I grab the nicely dressed man by the arm and dash off in the opposite direction of the crowd. No matter how loud our friends holler for us, we continue to hurry away from the commotion. This time, instead of me dragging him, he grabs a hold of the collar of my shirt and yanks me in another direction of where we were headed. He is stronger than me and almost chokes me while doing so. He ends up taking me to a fancy looking car–a Porsche to be exact—a Turbo S series, a jet black car that can't be seen at night without a single light. I stare in awe at the stallion. "Where did they go?!" The voice comes from behind us and causes me to panic.

I jump in my spot then quickly open the passenger side door and almost toss the man in the nice suit into the car. I slam the door shut, not caring about the expensive bill I would have to pay. Sliding over the hood to not waste any more time, I get in the drivers side and mess around to find the keys. "Damn it, where are the keys?!" I groan as I search the interior part of the car.

"Seriously, who is saving who here?" The man tosses the keys in my lap and all I can do is glare at him.

I shake my head and grab the keys to start the car. Without waiting, I put the car in drive and press on the gas with full force. Instead of going straight, I grab the wheel and turn the whole thing around in one swift motion. Switching gears on the car, I make it out of the area in less than five seconds, leaving behind the sparring match in the past.

"Where did you learn to drive like this, huh?!"

Why is he holding on for dear life?

Present

"We don't believe you." Bank talks for everyone.

I throw my head back and groan out loud in annoyance at the response I was given to my thirty minute long story telling. Bringing my head back, I heavily sigh and look around the table. "Can I at least lay somewhere to rest my head? It's late!" I mention though there is no source of time where I sit, I even can't remember the last time I checked a clock.

"Fine," four-eyes nags with an attitude. He motions his head towards me causing all the men to stand and approach me like a herd of elephants. I rise from my seat, quickly while holding my hands up in defense in which they back off. "Let him walk himself."

No way I'm getting carried around again!

They stay in place, staring at me like a pride of lions ready to take on their first meal. "What are you waiting for?! Lead me to the nearest couch!" I demand, my voice slightly echoing in the dinning room.

A few men jump and begin leading the way. Mike doesn't like this as his eyes shoot daggers of ice at me, an unhappy expression on his face, but I'm glad I get to finally lay down. We exit out of the kitchen and move on to another room on the same level where a couch sits in front of an antique fireplace. The couch is big enough to fit me and two pillows sit on either side, but when you set your ass on the furniture, you know it is only meant for show. I wave it away and place my whole body on the soft fabric to lay my head on the pillow. As well kicking off my shoes before placing them on top as manners are a big thing to me in other people's houses. The men gawk at me in disrespect as they eye me and my every move. "Are you going to stand here and watch me sleep like Sleeping Beauty?" I ask for any of them to reply.

"We aren't going to let you out of our sight. Until Phi Time tells us what to do with you, we will be there every second you breathe." The man with the loose tie takes a bite at me now.

"Even when I have to take a shit? I didn't think you guys were into that." I chuckle with a smirk having all of them frown at me.

"Don't think you are funny because you aren't." Buzzcut Mike interjects my happiness.

"Oh, please. I know I am." I retort with an eye roll.

The donkey doesn't like my remark and leaps in my direction to take a number on me. Bank has other plans and pulls apart Mike from doing any further damage. "Phi Time will deal with him. Let him live for a couple more hours and then you will be satisfied." Bank pats Mike on the back but Mike just huffs and storms out of the room.

I shrug at his childishness and make myself comfortable.

One Hour Later

"Hey!" I jolt upward from my sleep, my eyes not fully open yet I can roughly take in my surroundings. My attention is pulled elsewhere to a man in a white suit.

Why is he still in that ugly thing?

I sigh and rub the tiredness away as I sit up straight on the couch. "I see you made yourself at home before knowing if you'd live." He tells me and I can't help but cringe at his words.

"Am I able to go home now?" I ask him and also resenting even my voice making it past my lips.

"No,"

"Why not?!" I throw my legs around like a toddler that didn’t get his way and it makes me embarrassed. I snap my head at the man and glower him down. "I saved your life and the least you can do is take me home!" I fling my arms in the air now, too stressed at the situation.

"That’s what I'm trying to tell you so if you don't shut up then you won't be able to hear what I have to say," the white suit shoves me by the forehead with his pointer finger. The force making me fall back on the couch and I stay there in defeat.

"Then spit it out already." I mumble, sitting still.

He sighs and shoves his hands in his pockets just like when he was speaking to his dad. I raise an eyebrow at his behavior. "Your face was seen tonight,"

"And?" I interrupt.

"I've already told you to shut up once and I'm not going to say it again," he argues between clenched teeth. I motion to zip my mouth shut, lock it, and throw away the key. He scans me like I'm a lunatic and so I nod my head for him to continue his sentence. "With that being said, my dad and I have come to an agreement that we have the duty to protect you since you...protected me." The last two words are like a whisper but I'm only able to hear him since we are the only two in the room.

Wait, what did he say?!

"Are you saying I have to stay here, forever?!" I yell and jump to my feet.

The man in the white suit rolls his eyes at me and moves in front of the large fireplace. "You don't want to live in luxury like they do on TV? Why is it that a big deal to you, anyway?" He begins messing with the figurines on top of the fireplace then looking at his fingertips that reveals dust.

"Because I have a life!" I point to myself in confusion.

"You gave that away when you saved me." The man explains like that is suppose to help.

"If I knew this was going to happen I would have let those gang members beat you up until you died!" I quarrel, not caring if my voice woke the whole house. I am pissed and want everyone to know.

He holds a finger to his lips and makes a 'shh' noise for me to be quiet. "Don't let the other bodyguards hear you say that, they will surely have your head before those gang members do," you can tell he is teasing by the tone of his voice. "And they aren't gang members. I'm not part of any sort of gang myself or mafia." He brushes off the dust from a miniature horse statue that looks to be made out of Jade.

"That's kind of hard to believe when you see a bunch of men coming out of nowhere to attack an innocent citizen." I snap back with sarcasm and a light smile to top it all off. "Even with that ugly suit." I mention under my breathe.

"What did you say?!" He approaches me and stops until our feet meet on the floor. "I'll have you know this suit costs more than your life." With that, he points at me, his finger in close proximity to my face. I stare at him in shock.

He removes him finger from my face, his expression angry at my opinion. I plop back onto the couch and huff. "You are mad over a suit but you aren't mad about someone calling you a gang member." I shake my head.

He really pisses me off!

"It did seem like I am a gang member, but I'm not. I own a car business, Suwannarat corporation." He fixes an object on top of the fireplace like it was out of place.

"What does that have to do with people looking for you?" I cross my arms over my chest waiting for his amazing explanation.

"A lot of people lost their jobs, I made more money, why else would people not want to kill me?" He now shrugs at the thought.

"I guess so..." I bring myself to sit on the edge of the couch. "These are some sensitive people if they think killing someone over money will get them somewhere."

For a moment he is silent and when he notices the unusual environment, he gives me a nod. "Anyway, you won't be living here for free,"

"Phi, do you really expect me to go along with this?" I cry out and run my hands through my hair.

I can already feel the grey coming in.

"You will get paid to drive me to meetings, home, and work. My dad mentioned to have you test drive a few cars in the making, but I'm not sure about your skills yet." He scans me up and down trying to figure my whole backstory.

"How does me living here while paying you tie into me actually getting paid though?" I add.

"Oh, that money goes to me, at least more than half of what you earn." He breaks it down for me. "Also, stop calling me Phi."

I tilt my head. "Then what do I call you? Moron?" I speak informally.

"Smartass. My name is Time, Time Suwannarat."