Extra Chapter 1: Nunew
Author's note:
Aside from the open ending of the main story, I already wrote the another 3 three versions of the ending in the upcoming extra chapters.
You guys may choose between two approaches: (1) Treating each as an independent parallel ending (you can stop at extra 1 if you want to see ZeeNunew gave each other a chance to talk again), or (2) Reading them sequentially to follow the character's psychological progression post-canon.
Sequential reading is highly recommended.
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Extra Chapter 1: Nunew
The car braked to a halt in front of a medium-sized restaurant. The golden glow of streetlights, interlaced with the flickering neon red and blue from the signage, reflected onto the pavement—a sight that Nunew found utterly enchanting. He peered out at the urban nightscape with such wide-eyed excitement that Tee couldn't help but feel a sense of helpless affection.
"Is my stubborn kid that excited?"
Nunew turned his head, gifting him a beaming grin.
"Of course! It’s been months since I was been able to hang out with Tutor and Yim."
The last time Nunew had seen them was when they stood as witnesses for him in court. The litigation had concluded smoothly: Kannika was sentenced to twenty years in prison and ordered to pay substantial damages for emotional distress. For this lawsuit, even Ponn—despite his busy life in Australia—had flown back to Thailand to provide Nunew’s medical records to the court.
Nunew still remembered the staggering sensation of stepping out of the courthouse only to find countless lenses pointed at him. However, it took him a moment to realize that the person the reporters were truly hunting wasn't him. All they wanted was a shot of Kannika’s pathetic defeat for their front-page headlines.
Facing those prying eyes mixed with the blinding camera flashes, a strange thing happened. Contrary to all his previous anxieties, when he finally stood before them, Nunew didn't feel much of anything. He just hadn't expected to ever witness such a scene.
In the following days, news of Kannika’s imprisonment flooded every newspaper, accompanied by her "dark history" written with a messy mix of facts and rumors. Within those reports, Nunew’s case was revisited. Whether someone had pulled strings or not, many media outlets published articles about the lawsuit and the truth behind the injustice he suffered two years ago; some even reached out to him for interviews. To all these gestures, Nunew simply gave a gentle shake of his head in refusal.
He had no intention of involving himself with the media or the entertainment industry ever again.
It took Nunew a few more months before he officially logged back into his social media accounts, which had been gathering dust for years. The number of pending messages had reached nearly four digits, spanning all sorts of content and senders. Some were apologies from bystanders or fans who had maligned his character back then. Others were vitriolic curses from Kannika’s fans and anti-fans. Finally, there were a few messages of concern from colleagues and friends that he hadn't had the chance to read before deleting the app.
Nunew read through every single message slowly, then silently logged out.
After two years, a new post suddenly appeared on Nunew Chawarin’s account.
It was a photo of a clear blue sky above a lush green lawn, brimming with the breath of life.
Below it were the words: "Begin again."
Seeing Nunew so happy, Tee only stroked his head without saying a word. He leaned toward the back seat, retrieved a rather large paper bag, and handed it to Nunew.
"Here are the Chinese documents you asked me to print."
Nunew blanked for a moment before lightly knocking his own head.
"Thanks, P’Tee. I almost forgot."
Lately, DMD had been trying to increase their artists' visibility in the Chinese market. This meant that regardless of their schedules, every artist under the label was required to dedicate a certain amount of time each week to intensive Chinese lessons. This had Tutor and Yim exhausted to the point of feeling more dead than alive. Hearing them recount their progress in tones of "crying without tears," Nunew didn't know whether to comfort them or laugh at their misery. Ultimately, he had to promise to give them some of the Chinese materials he had used in the past before they would stop their whining.
While it might sound exaggerated, to both Tutor and Yim, being able to borrow the materials Nunew had studied and annotated was like finding gold with bare hands. They had seen how serious he was about his studies, so it wasn't hard to understand how he had remained a top student for years—even now. Despite nearly a two-year hiatus, it didn't take their close friend much time to reclaim his foundational knowledge and catch up with his coursework.
Yim had often blurted out that Nunew was truly cut out for teaching. Sometimes, seeing Nunew focusing on his own studies while still being able to explain the detailed mnemonics for pictograms, Yim felt as if they were learning from an actual professional teacher. Sitting nearby, Tutor would nod in agreement.
As for Nunew, with two friends performing such a coordinated "praise routine," what else could he do but give a faint, embarrassed smile?
After saying goodbye to Tee, Nunew carried the paper bag into the restaurant while pulling out his phone to check the group chat. Since Tutor had suggested and booked this place, he wasn't quite sure where their table was.
"Nunew! Over here!"
Nunew instinctively looked up. Standing next to Tutor and Yim, who were waving vigorously, was a tanned older man smiling warmly at him.
"P’Net?"
Nunew’s eyes widened, looking back and forth between Tutor, Yim, and Net. He wondered if he had missed a message in the group.
"Let’s go. I’ll lead you guys up."
The three followed Net’s steady pace. Tutor took the opportunity while Yim was chatting animatedly with Net to whisper an explanation to Nunew.
As it turned out, the restaurant Tutor suggested was one Net had opened not long ago. Tutor had been racking his brain to find a place that was both delicious and private; hearing that Net had opened a restaurant, he immediately decided to book a table to show support. Perhaps fearing his explanation wasn't convincing enough, Tutor repeatedly emphasized the "unmissable" 20% early-bird discount on the total bill.
Nunew smiled without comment.
Luckily, the unexpected person was Net, not James or Nat. Otherwise, Nunew wasn't sure if he could have remained so composed.
Net was truly a qualified boss. Not only did he arrange a private space for the three, but he also generously treated them to several exclusive signature dishes under the guise of "gathering customer feedback." Receiving the fourth plate from the server, Tutor couldn't help but marvel.
"The aura of a restaurant owner is something else. He's not playing around."
Yim didn't mind much, eating while remembering to scoop more food for Nunew.
"Nunew, try this. It’s so good!"
As Yim heaped braised salmon with vegetables onto Nunew’s plate, Tutor couldn't help but blurt out:
"Nunew, if you like it, you should invite P’Tee here for a date next time."
"Cough!"
A piece of carrot he was about to swallow caused an instinctive, violent coughing fit, making Nunew’s face turn bright red.
Yim hurriedly pushed a glass of water toward him, not forgetting to glare at Tutor. Tutor, knowing his place, lowered his head and didn't dare say another word.
One couldn't really blame Tutor for Nunew’s choking. He and Yim had known about the "ambiguous" relationship between Tee and Nunew for nearly half a year; he just didn't expect his best friend to be so thin-skinned that a little teasing would make him choke on his food.
Once Yim saw that Nunew had stopped coughing, he felt relieved enough to "clean house."
"Go ahead, try teasing Nunew again and I’ll tell P’Tee."
Unlike Nunew, who got shy at the mention of Tee’s name, Tutor got terrified. He immediately switched to a pleading tactic.
"Don't be like that, Yim. If you tell P’Tee, how will I survive?"
Tutor wasn't exaggerating. Unlike Yim, who only saw Tee occasionally—and usually when Nunew was around—Tutor had chronic experience dealing with this man, whose "temperature" was colder than Chiang Mai at the start of the year. Because of Tee’s cold-to-the-world but soft-for-one attitude toward Nunew, Tutor felt a mix of reverence and pity. Just imagining Tee’s glare after finding out Nunew had choked was enough to give Tutor goosebumps.
Nunew covered his face, sensing an endless display of childish sulking between these two was about to begin. He felt a slight headache coming on. However, a part of him simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.
Nunew truly loved his life right now.
Click.
The sound of the door cut right through Tutor and Yim’s battle of wits. Net poked his head in, asking in a somewhat lazy tone.
"How’s the food, kids? Want to order anything else?"
Before Nunew could shake his head, Yim’s voice rang out.
"No need, P’Net. Just bring me that cake I left in your fridge."
Net signaled his understanding and hurried off to call the server.
Nunew, who had a sweet tooth, was still wondering what the cake in Yim’s mouth would look like when he heard footsteps behind him. Thinking the server had arrived with the cake, he turned around excitedly—only to be met with a figure he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Hello, Nu."
Zee stood in the doorway, his expression a mix of restless hesitation.
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