Rule No. 1: Don’t be too emotional : Chapter 53

If you think you’re so hot better show me what you got.

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Jean screamed at the top of her lungs, sounding as if her throat would tear, the moment she heard those words. She thrashed violently, to the point where Boat and Lee could barely hold her down. As for me, I went ice-cold from head to toe. My-hands trembled.

Once I regained my senses, I lunged toward P’Jane, shouting at the top of my lungs.

“What did you say?! Have you gone insane?!”

“Get out, Jane.” He shoved me aside without a second thought. Jean’s piercing screams echoed throughout the old garage. I scrambled up to block P’Jane’s path. Even if we owed him a debt, the idea of maiming someone was pure madness.

“Don’t do it, P’Jane! You’ve lost your mind!”

“Move. Now.”

“P! Help me! Aaaaah!”

“Let my sister go! Lee! Boat!” I moved in to wrestle with Boat until his whole body shook. I would never allow my sister’s leg to be cut off. Boat shouted back at me,” P’Jane, I can’t hold on much longer!”

“Lee, grab Jane.” Lee let go of Jean and pinned me down. Even so, the young girl wasn’t freed, as Boat’s strength alone was more than enough to keep her pinned. I screamed as Lee restrained me. The glint of the saw blade was driving both Jean and me to the brink of insanity. Finally, I stomped on Lee’s foot with all my might and lunged to cover Jean’s body, determined to let no one harm her.

“You’ll have to go through my corpse first, P’Jane!”

“I told you to move, Jane.” The owner of the padlock pendant spoke in a harsh tone. He pushed me so hard I went sprawling onto the floor. The saw blade touched Jean’s leg; I could see it pressing against her skin. He was preparing to saw it into pieces. I felt like I was losing my mind. Jean wailed like a slaughtered pig, her face drenched in tears.

“No! No! Please don’t hurt me! P… whatever you want, just take it!”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I’m sure!”

“Boat, let her go.” Boat released Jean as ordered. I lunged to hug my sobbing sister. She was shaking from head to toe. I stroked her hair and back to comfort her, even though I was just as shocked. Jean’s heart was beating so fast I feared it might stop right there.

“Jean, it’s okay now. P is here.” Jean hugged me tight, her tears soaking my shirt. She was clearly traumatized. I turned to snap at P’Jane, who stood watching us with an expressionless face.

“Have you gone crazy? Huh?!”

“Hic… P, I’m scared… ”

“Iť’s okay, Jean. It’s okay.”

“Sorry about that. Maybe the ‘joke’ was a bit too much.” Never before had I wanted to slam my fist into that handsome, wicked face-the one currently wearing a slight smirk-as much as I did now. A joke? Did he think this was funny?

“You think this is just a game, don’t you?”

“Actually, it was very entertaining,” he replied bluntly, indifferent to the gravity of the situation. His response left me speechless.

“We’re heading out now, P’.”

“Sure. Thanks, guys.” Boat and Lee gave P’Jane a slight bow and left. It was clear they had rehearsed this perfectly. They never actually intended to cut off Jean’s leg; they just wanted to scare her half to death. I admit that the way Lee and Boat held her so tightly made me believe P’Jane really was going to saw her leg off. Given that he had always been a man of his word, neither Jean nor I thought they were joking.

“Once you’re done comforting each other, follow me to my office.” The tall figure left us with those words and walked out of the garage, whistling. His voice echoed from a distance in the silent night, while Jean and I remained there, our faces as pale as paper. The two of us entered P’Jane’s office. Jean’s legs were still shaking so badly she could barely walk; I had to support her the whole way. Inside, an air purifier was running, making the smell of smoke tolerable for non-smokers like us. P’Jane was tapping his fingers rhythmically on his desk, looking relaxed and in a good mood while scanning stock graphs on his computer. When he saw us enter, he looked away from the screen and spoke with a thin smile.

“Take a seat.” Neither of us answered. Jean and I sat down in total silence. The room was dim, lit only by a few orange-tinted lamps. The cruelty from moments ago was still seared into our minds. Even if it was a “joke,” I would never forget the image of that saw pressing against Jean’s skin. I knew I would dream about it tonight. As for Jean, she sat shivering like a bird fallen from its nest. P’Jane called the girl’s name, making her flinch. – “Jean, you said ‘Don’t cut my leg, take whatever you want instead, ‘right?” Jean bit her lip hard before nodding in affirmation. P’Jane leaned back in his chair comfortably, a deep voice speaking through a smile.

“What I’m going to ask for is very simple.” “… ”

“I want money from you.” Jean sighed , her shoulders dropping in relief.

She felt like she could finally breathe again-until P’Jane’s next words turned everything upside down.

“Twenty million.”

“Tw… Twenty million? Twenty million baht?!” It wasn’t just Jean who was shocked enough to repeat the number twice; I was too. I felt like I could barely stay upright in my chair. That amount was more than what I had earned from selling his condo-the money that had allowed our family to get back on its feet. Yet, P’Jane kept smiling.

“Yes. I gave you your dream, Jean. Dreams aren’t cheap, are they? And I told you from the start that the debt for this was expensive. You agreed without hesitation.”

“But I-”

“But in the end, the reason you didn’t get to debut was because of you, not me.””… ”

“Your request was to be a trainee at the number one agency. I made it happen-just like a snap of my fingers.” P’Jane snapped his fingers loudly in front of her.

“Weren’t you so confident that if you got the chance, you could definitely do it?” “… ”

“What happened after that is not my responsibility.” His voice was sharp, his eyes flashing with intensity. Jean looked like she wanted to protest, searching for words to argue her way out of the trap she had built for herself, or perhaps to say it wasn’t fair. P’Jane leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and interlocking his fingers.

“Are you not going to pay?” His cold, terrifying tone sent shivers down my spine. It silenced Jean instantly.

“Are you ready to default on a debt to me? I asked… are you ready?” Jean swallowed hard and shook her head frantically. P’Jane lowered his hands and smiled again.

“Then it’s settled. Twenty million. You can pay it off for the rest of your life for all I care.” His smirk deepened as he saw us sink into silence. At this moment, he had reverted to a man I didn’t know-someone who enjoyed tormenting, Pressuring, and controlling people’s minds. When it came to business, he never joked.

“But don’t forget, Jean: besides the blood oath, we signed a real contract. One with witnesses and a lawyer. I’m sure you haven’t forgotten.” I whipped my head around to look at Jean in shock. No one at home knew about this. My sister avoided my gaze entirely. P’Jane whistled and leaned back.

“If you dodge it, the lawsuit will be quite entertaining.” “… ”

“But if you don’t want to pay the money, there is one other way.” Jean and I looked up at him at the same time. P’Jane grinned widely, looking like the most generous man in the world.

“Give me both of your legs instead.”

“P, what am I going to do?”

“Stop. Stop crying right now, Jean.”

“What am I going to do? It’s twenty million! Sob… ” I grabbed my sister’s shoulders, shaking her and shouting in anger.

“Didn’t I tell you not to do this? Didn’t I tell you P’Jane isn’t someone you can mess with? How many times did I tell you that the method is just as important as the goal? Using dirty methods might get you what you want, but you won’t keep it for long. But you didn’t care. You said no one cares about the journey, only the result. Well, here is the price you have to pay. The method might not matter to others, but it matters to us!”

“Hic… P… ”

“Cheating and taking shortcuts never brings anyone true peace of mind. The most important thing for a human isn’t success-it’s peace. How can you live happily if you’re constantly looking over your shoulder? What comes fast, leaves fast. And this? It didn’t even happen! Do you understand what I’m saying now? And now it’s not just you in trouble-our whole family is.” Jean collapsed, crying on the carpet of my bedroom. I held my head in my hands; it felt like it was going to explode. Because I knew… He was serious. Jane Patrick never joked about things like this. Even if he and I were dating, he wouldn’t go easy on us. Rules are rules. No one is ever an exception. Twenty million. The amount made me feel so cold that even two layers of blankets couldn’t help. Jean was the same. Neither of us slept that night.

When I drove her home the next morning, I didn’t say a word. In my head, I kept wondering how to tell my Dad and my Mom. But no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t find the right words. Jane needs to stop struggling for everyone in the family. Even though P’Jane had said that once, twenty million wasn’t a sum a child could pay back alone, nor was it something a family could just ignore. Even with my savings and the money my Dad and Mom had, it wasn’t nearly enough to clear the debt anytime soon. Forget “soon”-I doubted we could do it in this lifetime. Eventually, Dad, Mom, and Jet would have to know. And I believed P’Jane knew full well that a debt this size was a burden the whole household would have to carry. Jean couldn’t do it alone, even if he whipped her, cut her legs off, or threatened her life. Despite knowing it had to happen, I chose to stall.

After dropping Jean off, I drove straight back to the Palakorn house without seeing my Mom or Dad. I had work to do; I had Jamie to look after. At the very least, Jean should be the one to tell our parents herself. Since she was the one who started the problem, she should be the one to untie the knot. She should at least gather the courage to tell them what happened. As for what would happen next… well, I was prepared for my parents to call.

But throughout the week, no one called me. And I was too cowardly to dial their numbers first. I lived in a daze, so much so that Jamie commented on it several times. As for P’Jane, he seemed busy lately with both his daily work and P’Dan’s affairs, so I didn’t see him much. But we still talked constantly via Line or phone.

Our activities as a couple remained normal on the nights he was free-watching movies, listening to music, eating together, and… other things. We lived as if the twenty-million-baht ghost didn’t exist. I’m sure P’Jane could tell I wasn’t fully “into it” because of my anxiety, but he never said a word.

In fact, he acted like he didn’t notice at all. It wasn’t until my weekly day off came around again that I had no choice but to go home and face the truth. But when I arrived and saw everyone’s normal faces and heard their lighthearted conversations, I knew instantly: Jean hadn’t breathed a word of what happened to anyone.

I was fuming. I could no longer stand Jean’s “business as usual” attitude. I grabbed the key, unlocked the door, and barged into my sister’s room without even thinking of knocking.

“P!” My anger flared even higher when I saw Jean simply lying on her bed, scrolling through YouTube aimlessly, looking as if she hadn’t done a single thing wrong. I didn’t know if she was so stressed that she’d chosen to shut out reality or what-I know that happens to people-but seeing it now was the last straw. I screamed.

“When exactly were you planning to tell Mom and Dad?!”

“I… I… ” Jean scrambled into a sitting position, tears welling in her eyes.

“Why now?! Things have come this far. Do you really think that if you act like nothing happened, it’ll just go away? When are you going to stop being like this?!”

“I’m stressed too! I’m so stressed I’m going crazy! I don’t know how to tell them. Every time I look at their faces, the words won’t come out. I’m living in hell every day!”

“Then why didn’t you think of that before you signed the contract? Now that the time has come, you can’t do anything but cry. If you weren’t my sister, I’d be even harsher than this!”

“Do you think it’s easy? Telling Mom and Dad that I’ve run up a twenty-million-baht debt?!”

“It’s not easy, because it’s been ‘hard’ ever since you were brave enough to ask P’Jane for a favor. Don’t you realize you’re the type of person who doesn’t shed a tear until they see the coffin?”

“Children, what are you arguing about so loudly?” Mom appeared unannounced because I’d left the door open. Jean quickly wiped her tears with her sleeve while I fell silent immediately. Mom didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong; she spoke with a smile, her powdered face looking bright.

“Hurry downstairs, kids.’ Big’ Jane is here. He’s talking to Dad in the pharmacy right now.” With that, Mom turned and headed back downstairs. Jean froze at those words. It was clear she was so terrified she could barely breathe. I bit my lip before finally speaking to urge her on.

“Get down there now. You can’t hide it anymore anyway.” The two of us followed each other downstairs. I could hear dad’s loud laughter coming from the pharmacy. P’Jane was standing across the counter; the two of them seemed to be having an enjoyable conversation. They both turned to look as Jean, Mom, and I walked in. Dad spoke up: “We’ve been standing here chatting for ages. Let’s go inside the house. Big Jane has been standing so long his legs must be tired. Mong, watch the shop for a bit.”

“Yes,” the other pharmacist replied. We all walked into the living area together. I sat on the sofa first, unable to draw a full breath. P’Jane was the last one to enter, dressed in black. It was incredible how he seemed to carry a thick cloud of incense and invisible atmospheric pressure around his tall, slender frame. Finally, everyone was seated in the living room. I flinched, feeling as if my lifespan had just shortened by ten years, when Jet popped his head in after a date with his girlfriend. He greeted everyone brightly, including P’Jane. Now, every single member of the household was present. I covered my face with both hands. I’d never felt like the stars were aligning against us quite like this. P’Jane sat cross-legged, placing a glass of apple juice he’d finished sipping onto the table with elegant poise. He scanned the room: Jean’s pale, fainting face, my face, Jet’s face, then Mom, and finally Dad. He began to speak with a thin smile.

“I’ve come to visit because I wanted to ask… what are everyone’s plans for paying back my twenty million?” Dad, Mom, and Jet were stunned. Mom was the first to regain her senses.

“What are you saying? I don’t understand. What twenty-million-baht debt?”

“Has Jean not told her parents yet?” P’Jane turned to Jean immediately. She remained silent, staring down at her lap. Mom turned to snap at her daughter.

“What does this mean, Jean? Explain yourself this instant!”

“I… it’s… ”

“It’s exactly what you all know,” P’Jane cut in, explaining briefly in two sentences.

” Jean asked

me to help her become a trainee, and in return, I am calling in her debt of twenty million baht.” Mom swallowed hard, her voice raspy.

“Isn’t that… a bit much?”

“Not at all. You surely know how competitive the K-Pop industry is. Just passing an audition is incredibly difficult, and I used a significant amount of my connections to get Jean in.”

“But in the end, Jean didn’t even debut,” Mom argued. P’Jane simply offered a small smile.

“That has nothing to do with me. I fulfilled my part of the deal perfectly-flawlessly, even. Our agreement did not guarantee she would become an artist. That was the part Jean had to strive for herself. But as we’ve seen, Jean failed.” In that moment, I understood P’Jane on a deeper level. I understood why he went around offering “favors” to people. He once said he wanted to be a judge but had been barred from that life forever. Now, he was living his dream of being a judge-not in a courtroom, but in real life.

“If you don’t believe me, you can look at the contract Jean and I made.” The tall man placed the contract on the table. Then, he acted as if he’d just remembered something-it was a calculated performance. He laid down credit card bills and various slips.

“Furthermore, there are bills for living expenses and food that I took care of for Jean throughout her time as a trainee.” I whipped my head around to look at my sister. Jet and Mom did the same. What living expenses? Dad had sent her a monthly allowance without fail.

“Jean! What living expenses? I don’t understand. Dad sent you money every month!” Jet shouted , shaking his sister’s shoulder as her tears fell.

She didn’t dare look anyone in the eye now that the whole truth was out. She had deceived us all-taking money from Dad while P’Jane was already covering her costs, just so she could have extra money to spend extravagantly.

“Here, take a look. Jean was spending about five to six hundred thousand baht a month. I suppose she enjoyed her shopping,” P’Jane added, placing the final sheets of paper on the table. In that second, Jean lunged forward, brushed Jet’s arm aside, and grabbed the contract. She tore it into tiny pieces as everyone watched in shock. Jet and Mom sat agape, but Jean didn’t stop. She swept up all the bills and shredded them violently, scraps of paper flying across the house in a fit of madness. P’Jane didn’t look shocked at all. Instead, he looked furious. His voice turned cold and harsh.

“That was just a copy. And you know that destroying a document doesn’t end the legal obligation, right? If you don’t believe me, ask your mother. She used to be a bank manager; she knows better than I do.” Jean, panting after her frantic shredding, was struck with terror. But nothing was as scary as P’Jane rising from the sofa. His height made Jean look as small as an ant.

“This is exactly why I don’t like dealing with kids who try to play grown-up games.” Jet rushed over to hold P’Jane back, fearing he might strike Jean. Dad was still in shock and hadn’t said a word. Jet pleaded: “Everyone, calm down. Let’s talk this through. Jean was just overwhelmed and did something stupid. P’Jane, twenty million… it’s too much. We’re just an ordinary family. Is there any other way to lower the amount?” Jet let go of P’Jane’s arm. Though he had looked enraged moments ago, P’Jane regained his composure in a heartbeat. A devilish smile spread across his face.

“I will reduce the debt to twelve million. In exchange for the pharmacy and this house.”

“And,” he added sharply, “I will not allow anyone to stay here. I won’t rent it to you. And if you ever happen to come into money, I won’t sell it back to you.” Everyone was stunned by his cold ultimatum. The man with the padlock pendant stood up to his full height, speaking without mercy despite his polite tone.

“Once you’ve made up your minds, contact me. I’ll give the family three days to decide. But a ‘good’ offer like this won’t stay on the table for long.”

“Otherwise, it’s the full twenty million. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Have you gone mad?! Signing a contract like that without telling us?!” Mom screamed at her youngest child. Jean could only sob, unable to deny her guilt. The truth was out. I knew this had to happen. You can’t hide a dead elephant with a lotus leaf. Jean might have felt better lying to herself, escaping into YouTube or Netflix to get through each day, but it didn’t change the facts. The problem was still right there.

“Those designer bags, the clothes, the expensive makeup you said the agency provided… you lied to me about all of it, didn’t you? You took Big Jane’s money to pamper yourself? How could you be so thoughtless? And then you tricked money out of your own family on top of it! How did I raise a daughter with a character like this?!” Mom, who had never used violence against her children since they grew up, poked Jean’s forehead so hard she fell backward. Jean collapsed on the floor, weeping.

“How did you dare spend five or six hundred thousand a month?! And now what are we going to do? He has a written contract signed in front of a lawyer. We have no leverage. If a man that rich decides to sue us, there’s no way we can win. You’re so stupid!” Mom kept poking her daughter’s forehead, scolding her relentlessly. The only” good” thing was that Jean didn’t fight back or argue arrogantly like she usually did. Mom turned to her husband, who hadn’t said a single word since finding out.

“Dad! Say something! Our family is going bankrupt!”

“Give it to him.”

“What, dad?”

“Twelve million is the same amount Jane got for selling that condo. It wasn’t our money to begin with. Give it back to Big Jane.” Dad spoke in a thin, dry whisper.” Give it back.”

“Whatever wasn’t ours from the start, give it all back. Don’t regret it. Think of it that way so you can have peace of mind. We’ve had enough happiness over the years.” Mom, Jet, and I were speechless. Dad’s face looked as if he’d just drunk the bitterest coffee in the world. His eyes were glazed and pained. I looked at him and couldn’t bear it-knowing he was going to be bankrupt and drowning in debt after spending half his life building himself up. Everything was crumbling, and it wasn’t even his fault. I had to look away. Even worse was that dad didn’t scold Jean at all. Even though Jean had destroyed the peace of the house. Dad stepped toward me and took my hand.

“Go tell Big Jane that we are willing to pay everything back. But I only ask for one thing: let our family continue living here. I’ll pay whatever rent he wants.” I bit my lip as dad delivered his message.

“This land… it’s what your Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandmother saved up for ever since they crossed over from China and started to make a life for themselves. I was born right here with a midwife. If it’s lost in my generation… I can’t live with that. How can I die in peace?” Mom sobbed at dad’s words. Even Jet turned away to hide his tears. Dad’s words were few but powerful. I wondered if Jean, watching all this while crying, finally realized what she had done. Dad squeezed my hand tight, as if placing all his hope in me, his eldest son. The tears in his eyes broke my heart. I felt like I was dying inside. I finally understood what people meant by that feeling. As for dad, his heart had already been torn apart.

“Just this one thing. Jane, please talk to him for me, son.” I didn’t even have a chance to speak. As soon as I walked up to P’Jane, who was reading an English newspaper, he spoke up without even looking at me, like some kind of ghost. I took a breath.

“Can you put the newspaper down first?”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m asking you as your boyfriend. I’m asking P’… please? Just this one thing.” P’Jane finally lowered the paper. He closed it and looked at me.

“Go on then, Boyfriend.”

“It’s… it’s… ”

“I don’t have all day.”

“Can you calm down? Why are you always so impatient?” He stared into my eyes.

“Are you going to speak or not? If not, I’m leaving. I have work to do.”

“It’s… you’ve prepared the land title deeds, right?”

“Yes. Dad agreed to pay everything back, including giving you the house and the pharmacy. But-”

“No. No renting. No buying back. No staying. I’m not changing my word. Reducing the debt by eight million is plenty. You’d never sell a house this fast on your own.” I went numb. He knew everything. In truth, losing a large pharmacy and a renovated house for only eight million was a massive undervaluation. If we sold it ourselves, we might get ten million or more. But P’Jane was right-we could never sell it fast enough to cut the debt like this. P’Jane stood up and walked toward his backyard. He stood with his hands behind his back, speaking to me without turning around.

“Rules are always rules.””… ”

“But I’m not that heartless, Jane. You know that.” “… ”

“I’ll give everyone three months before they have to move out. That should be enough time to find a new place.”

“But… three months?” Just the thought of the house I’d lived in since birth being torn away made me feel like I would collapse. A place full of memories. The home of a family that had been passed down through four generations. I thought of Dad and Mom working themselves to death to pay off the mortgage so their children wouldn’t struggle in the future.

“Home.” This word meant so much. But from now on, our home would no longer be ours. It was changing hands because of the thoughtlessness of a single descendant. Even I felt this much pain; I couldn’t imagine how much Dad was hurting. I clenched my fists in my lap, my hands shaking. The tall man turned only his face to look at me. His lips curled into a faint, wicked smile. His eyes danced with amusement. No matter how much I loved him…

“Go on. Go tell everyone I didn’t agree. Let them all know that ‘love’ cannot be used to negotiate with me. Let them understand clearly that just because I love Jane doesn’t mean I have to love everyone in Jane’s family. So even if their son comes to beg and plead, I won’t give in. Even if he offers himself up… I won’t give in.” “… ”

“Go tell them all… just how cruel ‘Big’ Jane really is.” He was the coldest man I’d ever known.