GUN AROUND MY NECK

It was around eight in the evening, and Phuwin was walking through his usual street with his earphones in. The street was almost completely empty, just the way he liked it. After spending the entire day surrounded by students and people constantly talking to him, the quiet walk home was something he genuinely enjoyed.

He walked slowly, his hands tucked into the pockets of his thick denim pants, completely lost in the music playing through his earphones. He didn't have to greet anyone here, make small talk, or pretend to be interested in conversations he didn't want to have. It was peaceful.

Until someone suddenly crashed into him.

"Whoa—"

Phuwin stumbled backward as a man fell straight into his arms. He immediately pulled one earphone out, confused. The man's breathing was heavy, and his hands were trembling against Phuwin's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Phuwin asked quietly.

The man didn't answer. He only looked behind Phuwin, his eyes filled with fear.

Phuwin slowly turned around and saw three men standing several metres away. Then another group appeared behind them.

"Uh... do you know these people?" Phuwin asked.

The man grabbed Phuwin's shirt. "Please. Don't let them take me."

Phuwin stared at him. "I... don't even know you."

"I know. Just please."

Phuwin didn't know what to do. He hated confrontation, and right now there were at least six men surrounding him.

He carefully pushed the stranger away and took a step backward. "Look, whatever this is, I don't want to be involved. You can deal with this yourselves."

Before anyone could answer, the men suddenly moved aside. Someone walked through them, and Phuwin immediately noticed the difference.

The others looked tense around him, but the man walking toward them looked completely calm.

Pond stopped a few steps away and looked directly at the stranger.

"You're making this more difficult than it needs to be," Pond said.

The stranger's face went pale. "Pond, please. Just let me go."

Pond didn't answer. He pulled out a gun.

Phuwin's entire body went stiff. His eyes widened as he stared at the weapon, suddenly realizing that the quiet street he loved so much didn't feel peacefulanymore.

The stranger raised his hands. "Please, Pond. I can explain."

"You've had enough chances."

Pond lifted the gun toward him.

Phuwin couldn't speak. He simply stood there, frozen, wondering how his normal walk home had turned into this.

The stranger suddenly reached into his pocket. Before Phuwin could understand what he was doing, a small knife appeared in his hand.

He grabbed Phuwin from behind and pulled him close, holding the blade against his neck.

Phuwin's breath caught.

"Don't move!" the man shouted.

Pond immediately lowered the gun slightly. "Let him go."

"If you shoot me, I'll kill him."

Pond glanced at Phuwin. For a moment, his expression didn't change at all.

Then he looked back at the man. "I don't even know him."

Phuwin almost couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Exactly! I don't know him either!"

The stranger tightened his grip. "He's with me. He helped me with the mission."

"What?!" Phuwin's voice cracked. "No, I didn't! I've never even seen this guy before!"

"He's lying!" the stranger shouted.

"I'm not lying!" Phuwin struggled against him. "I was literally just walking home!"

Pond kept his eyes on both of them. He didn't seem convinced by either side.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Pond asked.

Phuwin stared at him in disbelief. "You don't! Because I don't even know what's happening!"

The stranger pressed the knife closer.

Phuwin's voice became quieter. "Please... just let me go. I really don't know anything."

Pond watched him carefully. Phuwin looked terrified, but there was no recognition in his eyes when he looked at the stranger.

Still, Pond didn't trust easily.

"I can't trust anyone," he said.

His gun moved between the two men. Phuwin's heart hammered against his chest.

Then, for the briefest moment, the stranger looked away.

Pond moved instantly.

He grabbed Phuwin by the arm and pulled him away. A gunshot echoed through the empty street.

Phuwin stumbled forward, completely stunned. For a few seconds, he couldn't hear anything except the ringing in his ears.

Pond released his arm and turned toward him.

Phuwin slowly looked back. The stranger was down.

He couldn't process what had just happened.

Pond stepped closer.

"Can I believe you?"

Phuwin looked at him, still shaking. "I told you. I don't know him."

Pond's gaze remained fixed on him. "Are you really not involved with him?"

"No." Phuwin swallowed hard. "I swear. I don't even know his name."

Pond stayed silent for a moment.

Pond didn't answer.

Instead, he looked into Phuwin's eyes.

Phuwin looked back at him, and it was terrifyingly scary. He was trying to remain calm, but Pond's eyes were furious, as though they contained fire.

Pond finally turned away.

"Take him to the warehouse."

Phuwin's eyes widened. "No, no! I don't even know you guys! Why are you taking me to the warehouse?"

He desperately tried to make them understand. "I'm just a professor who's trying to make a living out of my teaching skills. So just leave me! I don't even know this guy!"

Pond didn't even look back at him. He turned toward his head goon.

"Don't let them speak for too much. It's a little annoying. Tie him up, put him in the car, and take him to the warehouse."

"No! Wait—"

Before Phuwin could say anything else, the men grabbed him. He continued protesting, trying to explain that he had absolutely nothing to do with whatever had happened.

A few moments later, Phuwin's eyes were blindfolded. He couldn't see anything, only feel the movement of the car beneath him.

After some time, the car finally stopped.

Someone pulled him out. His hands were still tied, and with the blindfold covering his eyes, he had to carefully follow wherever they dragged him.

Then he felt it.

The air was chilly.

Phuwin immediately realized they had reached the warehouse.

He was stuck to a chair in the middle of the warehouse. Several goons stood around him, keeping an eye on him, but surprisingly, Phuwin wasn't struggling much.

He knew there was nowhere to go. His hands were tied, there were several men surrounding him, and he had no idea where the warehouse even was.

So instead of wasting his energy trying to escape, he simply sat there, completely still, waiting to see what would happen next.

Then Pond walked in.

He was stuck to a chair in the middle of the warehouse

He sat down in the chair opposite Phuwin with complete confidence, as though the entire warehouse belonged to him. He leaned back comfortably, crossed his legs, and looked at Phuwin without saying a word.

Two bodyguards stood behind him.

Pond calmly motioned toward the goons. They walked over and removed Phuwin's blindfold.

Phuwin blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the light. He looked around the warehouse before looking directly at Pond.

"I have no idea what's going on. Just leave me."

Pond raised an eyebrow. "How can we trust you? I don't even know you."

Phuwin stared at him. "You don't trust him either, right? Then just trust me. I'm not involved in this shit."

"I don't trust him," Pond replied calmly. "That's exactly why it's suspicious. He was saying something before he died."

Phuwin frowned. "Whatever he said, it wasn't true."

Pond didn't answer immediately. A goon approached him and handed him some background information about Phuwin.

Pond looked through it carefully.

"You're just an average college professor."

"Exactly," Phuwin said immediately. "I'm just a college professor. I have nothing to do with this."

Pond looked at him.

"Oh."

Then he laughed.

Phuwin stared at him.

What's there to laugh about?

He didn't say it aloud. He simply sat there completely still, watching Pond.

Pond got up from his chair and began walking around the room.

"Okay. I'll let you go."

Phuwin's expression immediately changed.

"But you have to report to me for a month. Daily."

Phuwin stared at him. "Okay... but I usually come late after college. It's really hard for me to report every day."

Pond stopped walking.

"This, or you die right now."

Phuwin paused.

"Okay."

Pond continued, "And if you try to go to the police or do anything to get me into jail—"

"Why would I try to get you into jail?" Phuwin interrupted, completely seriously.

Pond looked at him.

Phuwin continued, "If I complain to the police, it'll probably take months for them to do anything. And it's never going to happen because you have the power to do that. I'll probably be dead by then. So I'll just shut up and report to you."

He said it so calmly that Pond simply stared at him.

Then Pond smiled.

Phuwin remained completely chill, watching him.

Pond walked closer to him and looked him over for a moment. Then he grabbed the back of Phuwin's chair and lifted it slightly, just enough to make Phuwin look up at him.

"Interesting."

Phuwin looked at him, confused.

Pond smiled and left the room.

Phuwin turned toward one of the goons.

"Well?"

The goon looked at him.

"I think so."

He then untied Phuwin from the chair.

Phuwin stood up and followed the goons as they walked out.

Pond was already waiting outside. He gave the goons a small nod.

"Let him in the place where we took him."

Phuwin was taken toward a car.

Before getting inside, the goons blindfolded him again. He shouldn't know the route to the place.

The car drove away.

Back at the abandoned street, the place where everything had happened had already been cleaned. There was no blood left, and no obvious evidence remained that anything had happened there at all.

Everything had been cleared away.

Phuwin, sitting inside the moving car with his eyes covered, slowly began to realize just how much trouble he had gotten himself into.

He had thought he was simply walking home. Now he was being taken somewhere by a mafia boss, forced to report to him every day, and somehow expected to pretend that his normal life hadn't just been completely turned upside down.