Written in Thai by N.T. Katawoot. Translated and edited by Arlix Stiles and Non K. Kozai.
The love story of a young police officer who resolved to quit his playboy ways upon finding true love, Anupap. But the heart's mission for someone as devastatingly handsome as him wasn't a simple matter. The true love he found had built walls to shut out everyone who entered his life, because his heart remained buried in a sorrowful past. Police Captain Atikom had to tear down those walls to offer his love—to capture the heart of someone so guarded while others crowded around, competing for his affections. The young police officer had to close this 'love case' as soon as possible.
Chapter 1 The Crash
Slender fingers, pale and pristine, reached out to change the radio station mid-song. The melody had struck too close to home—something about the walls in the heart and isolation that he didn't want to hear right now.
...Sukhumvit inbound from Thonglor Soi heading toward Asoke is congested. Heavy traffic volume. We'll have more updates from Captain Prompong shortly. Captain? How's the traffic situation? Captain? Captain? The signal isn't very good. Meanwhile, let's hear the traffic report for Silom...
JS 100 radio station reported the rush hour traffic.
Click…
Anupap reached over and switched back to the original station, then kept changing channels restlessly, as if he couldn't decide what to listen to—or perhaps trying to escape thoughts that the music kept stirring up.
The soft hum of the engine and air conditioning filled the sleek red two-door sports car. Anupap lifted his foot, slowly releasing the brake to inch forward behind the car ahead, then stopped again.
The young man leaned his head back against the headrest and exhaled softly, his gaze vacant as he stared ahead at the pristine black BMW X5. He wondered if the driver sitting in that car felt the same tedium he did.
Getting out of Sukhumvit Soi 49 took no less than twenty minutes each morning, then sitting in traffic on the main road for an hour before reaching work.
Anupap tapped his fingers absently against the steering wheel. Every morning he drove from his condominium on Sukhumvit Soi 49 to work. The distance wasn't far, but Bangkok's traffic turned this short journey into an endless crawl.
Bangkok, the city he never imagined he'd live in.
Many friends told him he'd get used to Bangkok traffic, but even after nearly six years since graduating abroad and returning to work at one of Thailand's leading advertising agencies, he'd never grown accustomed to the metropolitan traffic conditions.
Cars crept forward like turtles on the chaotic streets, always racing against time. At this moment, time performed its duty with mechanical precision, never slowing by even a second.
Time moved forward at constant speed, but the cars moved and stopped, moved and stopped, moved and stopped.
This is life in Bangkok. In Bangkok's traffic, to be exact.
But his life in the capital city this morning crawled by so slowly it made him restless.
Today would be busy—meetings, client visits. He wanted to reach the office quickly because so many tasks awaited him.
The song ended, and Anupap thought about the lyrics that had been playing—something about breaking through walls, about persistence in the face of barriers. He reached to change to a preset radio station.
That song had pierced his heart in an unsettling way.
Many people told Anupap he liked building walls around himself because he feared love after what happened before.
...Who wouldn't be afraid? After loving someone for ten years, they can still abandon you...
Though time had passed, he knew and constantly reminded himself that he no longer felt heartbroken. Everything had ended and belonged to the past. After graduation, he'd thrown himself into work, trying to forget everything from before.
Anupap didn't particularly care for life in Bangkok or big cities. He dreamed that when he'd saved enough money, he'd buy a house in a northern province and start his own business.
...A small single-story house with a spacious living room, tall glass windows all around so he could look out and see the lush green trees outside...
Anupap still remembered that little dream house painted clean white, snow-white. He and Chavis had designed it together.
Vis builds, Nu decorates. Once we finish building our house, we'll go build houses for other people...
The young man thought of the past. Chavis studied engineering while he was in his final year of architecture when they began designing that house. The blueprints still lay in his condo storage.
Anupap's mind wandered.
Chavis..Vis.. How is he doing now? Does he have a new boyfriend yet?
Lost in thought, the young man jolted when car horns blared incessantly behind him.
The car ahead had moved considerably forward. Anupap lifted his foot from the brake and pressed the accelerator to follow.
The car didn't move!
What the hell? he thought irritably.
Then he realized he'd left the gear in neutral.
The car behind honked again.
Anupap shifted into drive and floored the accelerator to escape. Guilt gnawing at him, knowing the driver behind was probably cursing him out.
In the narrow soi, Anupap accelerated to catch up with the car ahead, taking the curve rather quickly. But rushing to escape the honking car behind, he surged too close to the vehicle in front and failed to notice the black four-wheel drive emerging from a small side street just past the curve.
Anupap slammed the brakes when he saw himself dangerously close to the same BMW X5 because he knew that if he rear-ended this luxury red-plate car, it would be a disaster.
But he had only a split second to react. A thunderous crash erupted behind him. The rear-end impact jolted his Toyota Celica forward with violent force. He flinched—there was nothing gentle about the collision. His body whipped forward, and his forehead slammed into the upper rim of the steering wheel, a harsh consequence of the car's low-slung seating and cramped cabin.
"Ow!" Anupap felt pain above his right eyebrow. With whatever instinct and composure remained, he lifted his foot to brake. Fortunately, the car ahead had pulled far enough away.
Anupap sat motionless, still reeling from the impact. As he gathered his wits, shock gave way to anger—blazing fury at the car that had rear-ended him. Accident or not, he didn't care. The was right or wrong could be debated later, but right now he was livid. Time to conform the driver responsible.
The young man switched on his hazard lights, turned off the engine, opened the door, and stepped out to assess the damage.
Today I have that meeting about the new client's advertising campaign. Now I'll be late. This is just my luck.
Bangkok's eight AM air was warming up. Sunlight hit his face as Anupap squinted while examining the damage. The rear hood was crushed nearly to the back window, the entire rear bumper panel dangling and scraping the asphalt. The impact from the heavy gray-black Land Rover had been sufficient to wreck his small sedan this badly.
He turned toward the driver. Through the four-wheel drive's dark tinted windows, he could vaguely make out a young man talking on his phone.
Figures… sick of these phone-while-driving types, he thought, taking his own side because of his foul mood.
Can't wait any longer. Rear-ends someone and still has the nerve to sit there chatting.
He walked straight to the Land Rover and knocked on the driver's window.
The man inside, appearing to be in his early thirties and alone in the vehicle, raised his hand signaling to wait a moment, but Anupap ignored him and knocked again.
The driver rolled down his window. A strikingly handsome young man with sharp, intense features and short-cropped hair like a police officer raised his eyebrows, seemingly indicating he was on the phone... don't bother me.
Annoying. Anupap thought.
Expired insurance. He noticed the sticker on the Land Rover's windshield.
"Stay on their tail. Don't let them slip away. Call me immediately if anything happens... yeah... that's enough for now." The stern-faced man ended his conversation.
Police Captain Atikom opened his car door. His tall frame, around 185 centimeters, stepped down beside the large Land Rover, facing the young man who stood with furrowed brows and a scowling expression beside his car. His imposing build made Anupap appear small despite being reasonably tall himself.
The young man looked up. The man standing before him had sharp, chiseled features—high cheekbones, piercing eyes beneath thick brows, a prominent aquiline nose, masculine lips, the shadow of a fresh shave along his jawline, a slightly cleft chin, sun-darkened skin like someone who spent time outdoors regularly, broad shoulders, thick chest, and well-defined arm muscles from consistent exercise.
...Devastatingly handsome... Anupap recalled his senior friend Sombat's words when admiring good-looking men, summing up the entire exterior appearance of the large man standing before him.
"You rear-ended my car!" Anupap opened the confrontation.
"I can see that," the young man replied with a slight shrug, appearing untroubled. Anupap felt increasingly irritated by those gleaming eyes.
"You braked way too suddenly," the one who caused the collision said casually.
"If I hadn't braked, I would've hit the car in front. Now I'm rushing to work and have to waste time on this." Anupap's frustration mounted.
"Well, with cars following in a convoy and you driving fast then braking suddenly, who could stop in time?"
"If you'd been driving slower, you could've stopped in time."
"Drive slow and the cars behind curse me out."
"So that means you were driving fast, tailgating others, couldn't brake in time."
"If I could brake in time, I wouldn't have hit you."
"Then you're at fault."
"However suddenly you braked, anyone would've hit you. You can't say I'm entirely at fault."
"Talking like this means you won't take responsibility." His voice grew louder.
"Not at all, I haven't even spoken yet." The one who hit him raised his eyebrows challengingly.
Anupap bristled at the sharp, stern face looking down at him, acting completely unperturbed.
"Does your car have insurance?"
Sweat began beading. Anupap's fair, clean face flushed red, eyebrows furrowed as he glared fiercely at the young police officer.
So irritating. Been annoying me ever since I was in the car. My car has insurance, but I'll say it doesn't. I'll make this guy pay out of his own pocket. Anupap thought.
Looks like he's not backing down. Captain Atikom thought to himself.
The young man's face, flushed red from sun and heat, made him inexplicably captivating. Atikom felt instantly interested.'
Melancholy eyes that sparkled like someone temperamental, clean fair skin, slender eyebrows and prominent nose, naturally reddened lips, a tall slender frame around 175 centimeters with decent muscle tone. Simply but stylishly dressed like a modern young man, probably in his mid twenties.
Something about him made Atikom want to get acquainted.
Atikom searched for an approach.
The young man standing there scowling had something that made him know 'this is it.'
He was intrigued and wanted to test the waters.
Lately he'd been swamped with work, rarely having anyone to flirt with for some refreshing entertainment.
Usually it was fun-loving guys he met at pubs during night outings with his buddy, Captain Tongrob, or friends who introduced him around.
Who wouldn't like a young police captain with striking good looks, great physique, and wealth like him?
His car had first-class insurance, freshly renewed, though he hadn't yet replaced the sticker on his windshield. But if he let the insurance handle everything, he'd have no opportunity to stay involved or keep in touch with this young man.
Hmm... the young captain thought... this young man really catches my eye. Maybe I should try flirting a little.