Naughty Babe | ENG TRANS |

Tacha Wongteerawit was engaged to Phayak Chatdecha Chen through a business agreement. The mutual benefits led to the marriage contract between the direct descendants of the clan heads of the two families.

The Chen family’s ancestor was a Chinese merchant who traveled to Thailand to sell goods. He had the opportunity to do business with foreigners who ran a car import business in the early period of Siam in the fifth kingdom, where the royals and nobles were interested in automobiles. After several generations, the Chens decided to officially establish a private car import company. Chen Dealership subsequently dominated the car import business market in Thailand from then until today.

Chinese families have always been large. The history of family inheritance struggles that nearly led to their defeat by the economy had caused the family leader of one generation to initiate the one-child policy. In the last generation, the tycoon had only one son, Phayak, who was arranged to be engaged to Tacha Wongteerawit.

The engagement negotiations began when Tacha Wongteerawit was young. The young gentleman educated by the world-class academy with perfect manners and a handsome face, was adored by everyone. The way the young gentleman spoke was adorable… He was even cuter when he called himself ‘Nong Diaw’.

~~~~~

Khon Diaw… was the precious son of the president of the national car import company, but he was not the only son. He was not sent to study in England because they were well off. The reason was that he could not get along with his father’s new family.

Khon Diaw’s stepmother was not a cruel witch like those in the dramas. However, his father’s new wife treated him indifferently on purpose. The brothers of about the same age turned away whenever Khon Diaw approached.

His home that was warm and loving had turned into a place where he was unwanted. The seven-year-old could not stand the adult world. The unanswered questions… led Khon Diaw to be a bad boy.

“It’s mine!”

Khon Diaw had once offered that toy to his stepbrother, but he had gotten up and left that day. So why was he playing with that toy in secret?! If he didn’t want it, he shouldn’t have played with it. If he had wanted it, he should have asked first.

“Hic… wahhhhhhh.”

Khon Diaw was scolded by his father for making his stepbrother cry. Instead of scolding him, his stepmother fixed her reproachful gaze on him while holding her crying baby. Khon Diaw’s little heart ached because he thought his father didn’t love him anymore. No one loved him.

In Khon Diaw’s childhood, he hated staying at home. He vaguely remembered that he was always all excited when his father took him to the huge mansion near the Chao Phraya River. When they were there, his father never scolded him, but treated him to delicious food without his stepmother and stepbrothers.

The family in that villa had a large cat that usually slept in the study. Sometimes it would wander around with the sound of the chain dragging on the floor. Khon Diaw had never seen it up close. He had to wait for his father outside the study, eat snacks that the maid had prepared, or watch cartoons.

Khon Diaw barely remembered those times. They were vague as if shrouded in smoke. He only remembered that he had to be there. Khon Diaw waited in the living room as always, and his father disappeared into the room with the villa owner’s cat.

The wait was boring. The seven-year-old boy looked out the window that overlooked the beautiful garden and the Chao Phraya River. His big round eyes darted back and forth between the view outside and the study door. His little lips were pressed together before he decided to get up from the sofa… His father wouldn’t scold him for taking a quick look around.

Tacha loved the cool breeze from the river. He had seen the giant boat glide past the palace. The seven-year-old hovered over the white fence of the place to enjoy the scenery of the vast body of water. At that moment, the sound of the chain dragging across the lawn caught his attention. The vague memory became clearer when he saw the cat.

The large brown-yellow cat that he often glimpsed in the villa owner’s study was a few feet away on the lawn. The end of the chain was not attached to anything.

“Nong Meow…”

Smiling brightly, Khon Diaw stopped looking at the river and walked towards the cat. His teacher at school had told him that cats like to be petted under the chin. He wanted to do so, but the cat was bigger than any he had seen… The cat seemed to be a match for Khon Diaw.

“Let’s play together. My name is Khon Diaw. Do you have a name, Nong Meow?”

A smile spread across Khon Diaw’s soft cheeks as the cat approached. As the cat approached, he thought that it was too big to be called Nong. Finally, his little hand touched the big cat’s short, soft fur.

“Good boy. Meow meow.”

“Nong Diaw!”

His father’s roar froze his little hand. His handsome face was shocked as the big cat lunged forward and knocked him onto the grass. The cat’s furry paws were on Khon Diaw’s body, then its mouth with rows of white teeth parted, revealing its red tongue.

BANG!

Crimson blood splashed across the seven-year-old’s body. His large, round eyes widened at the great cat’s head, before the enormous weight crushed him.

Tacha Wongteerawit woke up with his memory lost and was sent to England immediately.

~~~~~

“Ah…”

Khon Diaw woke up in the middle of the night because of the nightmare that had haunted him since he was young. He often dreamed that he was walking in the garden near the river and a puma jumped on him. Sometimes he would wake up, sometimes, the dream would sometimes go on until the puma was shot and its blood gushed all over his body. Sometimes it would reach the point where the dark figure holding the gun would appear in the farthest point of his vision. He had tried to make out the face many times, but he had always woken up first. There was nothing more, so this dream was simply a typical nightmare that he repeated over and over again when he was asleep.

Tacha’s father once said that it was the trauma of his childhood when he visited the mansion of his father’s friend who had a puma and was scared to unconsciousness. However, in his dreams, he had never been afraid of the puma. He was… surprised by its jump. Now, he was not sure if it was a shock from the jump or the fatal blow.

His delicate back was soaked with sweat. He ran his thin fingers through his wet hair and rose from the bed. As soon as the light was turned on, he sighed… The reflection in the mirror showed him frowning. His body was soaked, and he looked terrified as if he were on the verge of death.

The slim figure stepped out of the bedroom and turned on all the lights until the top floor of the opulent car showroom in the city center was lit up. He paused briefly in the middle of the quiet apartment before walking to the glass wall and pressing the button to fold the curtain. There were a few cars on Sukhumvit Street after midnight.

Even though his name was Khon Diaw*… he was afraid of being alone.

(Khon Diaw means the only one or being alone.)

The thin figure pulled his knees to his chest and leaned against the glass wall as he always did when he woke up from a nightmare. The sound of a rerun of a show broke the silence of the luxurious apartment… Khon Diaw loved the place because it was empty of people. At the same time, he hated the place because it was frighteningly quiet and lonely.

He wanted to go back to England… He wanted to be with Kuea Keerati. Having Kuea Keerati as his best friend had saved him from the nightmare. Kuea was always bright and active and constantly dragged him along to do everything he did. Their room was filled with music and Kuea’s chatter, but they both had to grow up.

The more he looked at the diamond engagement ring with the expensive mount on his left ring finger, the deeper he sighed. Khon Diaw was eighteen at the time. His engagement to Phayak had been the talk of the town for days. On the day of the engagement, he was dressed in a white suit and had his hair and makeup done early in the morning. He was aware that before he left for Thailand, he would be engaged to Phayak, although he had never exchanged a word with his fiancé.

The grand ballroom of the five-star hotel in downtown Bangkok had been decorated with fresh white flowers and chandeliers. The rows of beautiful white chairs in front of the stage had been occupied by countless guests of honor. The flashes of photographers and reporters focused on him with every step he took on the platform.

Of all the attendees, Tacha Wongteerawit only knew his father, his stepmother and his stepbrothers. The man sitting with his legs bent to one side in front of the exquisite tray… was his fiancé with an impassive face like in the photo his father had sent him when he was in England. He was wearing the same white outfit.

Phayak Chatdecha Chen.

He was different from what Tacha had expected. His fierce eyes and frowning brows made him unapproachable. Khon Diaw had never associated with anyone like that before… so Phayak was so scary to him that he couldn’t meet his gaze. Tacha lowered his pretty round eyes to his hands or only turned them to the elders and photographers who called out to him.

The engagement ceremony when Khon Diaw was eighteen was successfully conducted by professional organizers. He did not have to say a word during the event, and neither did the man next to him… All Khon Diaw heard was the low voice of his fiancé when he once asked his hand to wear the engagement ring, and Khon Diaw quickly picked up the other ring on the tray to put it in the strong hand that was stretched out towards him. Phayak’s hand was warm and larger than his.

There was no interview of the young fiancé that the media was interested in, as it was an engagement between two influential families. There were only steps including taking photos, expressing gratitude to the blessings of the elders, and placing hands together on Phayak Chatdecha Chen’s chest to show respect in order.

Khon Diaw tried not to make a single mistake. His nervousness turned into surprise when he felt the soft touch on his head as he showed respect to his older boyfriend. When he withdrew his body, he saw his boyfriend’s large hand lowering to his side. Khon Diaw wasn’t sure how it felt, but it wasn’t a terrible feeling. Not at all… Phayak might not be as scary as he looked.

The engagement ceremony was followed by a press conference by Phayak who had taken over the position of chairman of the Chens’ car dealership and officially opened the new F1 circuit, the largest in Southeast Asia.

Khon Diaw sat on the sofa on the side listening to Phayak’s low voice presenting his vision on his first day as president and explaining the plan to develop the F1 circuit to be the number one F1 factory in Thailand… Phayak was out of reach as if he belonged to a different world. If it wasn’t for the ring on his left ring finger, Khon Diaw would have thought he was dreaming.

For an eighteen-year-old who had graduated from high school less than a month ago, the billion-baht project sounded so epic that his heart skipped a beat. When Phayak finished his speech, there was a thunderous applause. Khon Diaw stepped forward to be photographed next to him again, and then the engagement ceremony was over.

Khon Diaw’s worry and excitement at having no idea what to say to his fiancé disappeared in the wind as Phayak led his bodyguards out of the hotel as soon as the formal ceremony was over. Khon Diaw was left in the luxurious suite with a private pool and 180-degree views of Bangkok…

The media published articles about the dream engagement ceremony. Two influential families were united like fate. The image of the cold upper-class man putting the ring on the younger boy resembled the scene in a romance novel… Behind all this, Tacha cried alone in the luxurious suite with his knees to his chest.

He had been left alone on the first day of their official engagement.

~~~~~

Years had passed from their engagement to their wedding day. The wedding ceremony in the following month of Phayak Chatdecha Chen and Tacha Wongteerawit would be the great national ceremony that many were anticipating. Their love was as beautiful as the happy ending of a romance novel. Two influential families were equal in both wealth and image. The bride and groom would be side by side, a perfect match. One groom was the chairman of the country’s renowned car dealership and the owner of the largest F1 circuit in Southeast Asia. The other groom’s influential family owned the auto parts import company. Besides their mutual business advantages, their love had begun when one groom was only eighteen years old.

Glamorous wedding invitations designed by a famous designer had been sent to over three thousand guests of honor, with a note in parenthesis that they refused to receive envelopes of money. Everyone had given their all and was exhausted from the preparations. Everyone was jealous of the groom-to-be, the Chens’ future son-in-law. Gifts and blessings were continually being delivered to the Chen Villa on the Chao Phraya River. The atmosphere was filled with joy… Of course.

“Your tea, sir.”

“Thank you.”

The soft voice of the staff member in the first class airport lounge brought Khon Diaw back to reality. His pretty face was visibly painted with worry. Hia Yi must be awake since it was already ten o’clock. However, Phayak had not come home last night, so he probably had no idea that Khon Diaw had left. There was nothing to worry about. The maid would find out about his absence because he would not have breakfast or lunch as he was supposed to. He couldn’t bring his furry chihuahua with him, but she would be fine. The maid would give her food, water and snacks every day.

So far, everything had been going smoothly. He had left his phone at home and all the valuables that Hia Yi had given him. He had brought nothing, except… the engagement ring that he had not been able to take off.

As he was about to leave it on the nightstand, he started to cry… so he had to carry it. Hia Yi wouldn’t mind losing a ring. It had to be okay to keep it. To Hia Yi, the ring might mean nothing, but it meant everything to Khon Diaw.

He was about to travel across continents with a suitcase, a wallet with a reasonable amount of money, and his passport. Even Kuea Keerati, who had booked the ticket and taken care of everything, was not there to greet him fearing that the Hia would know… Both Hia Lian and Hia Yi must not find out.

All Khon Diaw knew was that he would start his new life in Switzerland. Kuea Keerati had booked a hotel for a month for him to adjust to his new surroundings. After that, he would move into the college dormitory where he had applied for a short course. The student visa would allow Khon Diaw to live in a foreign country for a while. He would think about his next step after graduation.

The decision to go to Switzerland was not a whim. It had taken Khon Diaw more than six months to find a college, apply for a course, and get a visa. Everything had gone so well that he was able to book his plane ticket… Finally, he was waiting to board the plane in the first class lounge at the airport.

It’s the right decision… Khon Diaw asked himself many times if he was sorry to leave everything behind, and the answer was yes. Of course, he was sad… From now on, they would never meet again. He would not be able to see the deep frown or the man annoyed by everything in the world. However, the sadness pushed him to start again. No one would choose to be sad forever… Khon Diaw wanted to stop crying.

The engagement to Hia Yi came with a dozen pages of conditions. Khon Diaw had first signed the contract when he was eighteen, with the lawyer clarifying each condition one by one. Their engagement was all for the good of the business. He was forbidden from meddling, interfering, betraying, or harming them, and had to stay in his place. At that moment, Tacha understood… Hia Yi didn’t want to marry a person. He wanted to marry a doll.

~~~~~

Khon Diaw had forgotten that matter in the past seven years just because of tasting Hia Yi’s smile, how he came home more often, how he brought him the dog and how he arranged the wedding… Khon Diaw believed that it was out of love and that Hia Yi had finally opened his heart. But no. Hia Yi’s sweet doll found out that he had started a relationship with someone else. The marriage was supposed to relieve the pressure from the elders who had often tormented him. If… there was no other party in that cold relationship, Tacha would have stayed by Phayak’s side as before. He wasn’t open-minded enough to share Hia Yi with just anyone. He was so angry and sad that he didn’t want to be there anymore. Before he could talk to himself, he had deceived himself every day by saying that Hia Yi wouldn’t marry him if he didn’t love him at all.

He dreamed of the big wedding ceremony until reality reminded him that he was the only one excited. He had worked with the organizers alone, chosen the venue alone, selected the invitation design alone, decided on the gifts alone, and tried on the dress… alone.

He was left alone on the day of his engagement. He was left alone when he moved into Hia Yi’s house. As the wedding ceremony approached… he had to take care of everything by himself… His name was Khon Diaw, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be alone.

~~~~~

“It’s time to board the plane, sir.”

“Ah… thanks to you.”

He gave the lounge staff member a grateful smile for reminding him. He grabbed the straps of his backpack and prepared for the gate with his passport in hand. In a few minutes, he would be leaving Thailand forever.

His thin legs carry him to the gate agent at the entrance to check his passport. The first-class line was short. Suddenly, the obsolete phone in his pocket vibrates and makes him stop.

Kuea had given him that phone with a SIM card for his stay abroad. It was a prepaid SIM, and the only one who knew the number was Kuea Keerati.

“Do you miss me already? I haven’t even gotten on the plane yet.”

“Diaw… W-where are you…? Are you at the airport?”

“Well… yeah. In front of the gate now. Where else would I be?”

“No… I mean, I don’t know if I should tell you, considering you’re about to start your new life… but… I think you should know.”

His best friend’s troubled voice made his smile fade. He rubbed his forehead before exiting the area where the gate agent was checking passengers’ passports.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hia Yi… He found out you were going to Switzerland and made a big fuss at my house. He… he looked so shocked, so I told him. Diaw… Sorry. I felt sorry for him.”

His best friend’s words shocked him a little. There was a pang in his heart. However, as he had said, all this had not happened on a whim. Even though Hia Yi had found out, Khon Diaw’s resolve did not waver.

“It’s okay. Once there… it will be difficult for him to find me. By the time he’s free, I’ll be far away. Hia Yi is a busy man… He also needs to cancel the wedding ceremony. He might not follow me. He might just be shocked because of my disappearance.”

“No, Diaw… Listen, Hia Yi went to the airport an hour ago.”

“P… to find me? He won’t see me… I’m at the gate, Kuea. I’m leaving now.”

His soft voice trembled uncontrollably. He tightened his grip on his passport. Even though he knew there was no way Hia Yi would get there in time, he couldn’t help but look around. This was the passenger area. If… Hia Yi didn’t have a ticket or passport, he wouldn’t be able to get in. Besides… Even if he did get in, the plane would already be taking off by the time he reached the gate.

“Diaw… Hia Yi won’t be there. His… His car overturned on the street.”