Chapter 1

As the new semester approached, Khem moved his belongings into an apartment that was incredibly affordable, though it was quite a distance from the university. But that wasn't an issue for Khem, who preferred walking over driving or taking public transport, unless the distance was too far to walk. For classes, he just needed to wake up early to allow for the walk.

You might wonder if he came to study in Bangkok alone, without any friends joining him.

The answer is that Khem never had any friends because of the family curse known to everyone in his rural village. No one dared to get close to him for fear of bad luck.

Khem understood this well. Everyone loves their own life, and if it were him, he'd probably do the same.

But there wasn't any bullying or boycotting. They talked normally; just not close enough to call each other friends.

One of the reasons Khem wanted to study in Bangkok was to make friends and have a new social circle.

After settling in, he went downstairs to find something to eat. This apartment not only had good rent but was also near a market. No worries about going hungry here. Ah, this Pad Thai stand smells good.

Khem stopped abruptly when the aroma of Pad Thai hit him, changing his mind from passing by to ordering instantly.

"One order of Pad Thai, please, Auntie."

"Just one wrap?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't the other person want one?" Khem paused, slowly looked around before asking,

"Who do you mean?"

Thud!

The Pad Thai vendor accidentally dropped her spatula, her face paled before she gave a strained smile.

"Oh, sorry, my eyes are bad, dear. Here, forty baht." Khem took it, paid, still somewhat confused.

While crossing the road, Khem accidentally stepped on his own shoelace, tripping and nearly falling onto the street before quickly retreating back. He intended to bend down and tie his shoelace.

Screech

Bam!!

Before he could even crouch down, Khem heard a loud noise nearby, causing him to hastily look up. His light brown eyes widened when he saw a speeding big bike just under a bus that was stopping to pick up passengers...

...right in front of him.

Everything happened in a split second. If he hadn't stepped back to tie his shoelace...

Khem thought about the family curse, then shook his head, trying to think positively to comfort himself.

It was just a coincidence, after all, nothing unusual had happened before.

Not knowing when he had instinctively grabbed the amulet around his neck, Khem backed away from the chaos and ran straight back to his room.

The next day, the incident from the previous evening had made it to the news. As Khem was about to pass through the lobby to head back to his room, he stopped in his tracks, looking up at the TV in the common area broadcasting the scene of the accident.

"Last night, a tragic incident occurred. The driver of the big bike with license plate number กข XXX, crashed into the rear of a bus that was stationary and picking up passengers, resulting in immediate death."

At the scene...preliminary reports indicate the deceased was a final-year university student...who had just returned from a celebration with friends.

Khem's heart sank upon hearing that the other person had died on the spot. His arms hugged the water bottle he had just fetched tightly, as if it were a source of emotional support. He couldn't help but think that if his shoelace hadn't come undone at that moment, this incident might have resulted in more than one casualty...

There was just over a week left before classes started. After that day, Khem tried to live his life normally. Although the memory of that life-or-

death moment haunted him, he knew that if he kept worrying, he wouldn't be able to do anything.

Khem only thought that from now on, he would need to be more mindful and cautious than ever before.

"Done." Khem said to himself. After buying second-hand items to decorate his new room to make it look more organized and inviting, most of which were unwanted by others.

He wiped his sweat once, the wall clock showing almost 10 PM, "Time to study." Khem thought to himself before quickly sweeping up the trash into a black bag to take downstairs.

The trash bin was located in a quiet alley next to his apartment, with only the flickering light from a street lamp in the middle of the alley providing any illumination...

Like a scene from a ghost movie.

This somewhat eerie atmosphere made Khem look left and right cautiously before he hurriedly threw the bag of trash into the bin. But as he was about to turn and leave, something caught his eye, making him stop dead in his tracks, his brain trying hard to process what it was.

Curiosity got the better of him, and Khem glanced back to see what appeared to be a child, unidentifiable as either male or female, wearing a dirty white shirt, squatting and looking at the ground beside the large trash bin...

Khem was certain it wasn't a living person because when he first approached, there was no one there.

The hairs on his body stood up.

What kind of person would sit by a trash bin in such a dark, secluded alley at this late hour!

"Gulp." The young man swallowed hard before tearing his gaze away, his legs moving forward in hurried steps, almost running.

Was that a ghost? In his nineteen years, Khem had just seen his first ghost.

As Khem half-walked, half-ran away, the child's ghost slowly raised its head.

Its lips slowly curled into a smile before its skinny figure stood up and began to stagger after the young man.

Since that day, Khem started encountering more strange things.

First, he had three accidents within a week, which had never happened before, like tripping over nothing while walking, and nearly falling down twenty steps of stairs. Luckily, he managed to grab the railing that day.

Otherwise, it would have been disastrous.

Second, Khem began to see spirits more frequently...

Like now...

Khem took a deep breath, pretending not to see the faint ghost of a woman in an office outfit standing with her head bowed in front of the door next to his room.

She had been standing there for three days now.

The room next to Khem's was occupied by a working man and his young son, just the two of them.

When he first saw her, Khem almost called out to ask if she needed help, wondering why she wouldn't go inside, but then he noticed she had no feet...So, he quickly opened his own door and went inside.

Khem thought she might be the wife of the room's occupant, probably still worried about something and not ready to move on...

"Don't...my...son..."

The voice, though faint and faltering, was chillingly cold, making Khem's heart sink. His hands shook as he tried to unlock his door, and by the time he got inside, he was almost relieved.

The young man's legs gave out, and he sat down on the floor, his eyes burning.

Did she just say, "Don't hurt my son"?

Or had something happened to her son?

That night, Khem could hardly sleep, thinking about what the female spirit had said. Part of him didn't want to get involved because he had his own issues to deal with, but another part was concerned, fearing something bad might happen to the child.

The next morning, around eight, after the man next door had left for work, Khem stood in front of their door. After much hesitation, he decided to knock.

The ghost of the office woman was still there, standing so close that their shoulders almost touched.

The door slowly opened, revealing a little boy, about six or seven years old, but because of a chain lock, it only opened slightly, just enough to see the boy's face.

"Hello." Khem smiled and crouched down to be at eye level with the child. "My name is Khem, I just moved in next door."

The little boy didn't reply but nodded in acknowledgment.

Khem peered through the gap unceremoniously, seeing several beer bottles lined up, and the place was cluttered and disorganized.

What's going on here?

"Have you eaten yet?" This time, the boy shook his head, causing Khem's eyelids to twitch in surprise.

The father went out to work without even feeding his child...

At the same time, Khem felt a chill run down his spine, a sense of pressure enveloping him.

"Would you like to have dinner with me? I'll treat you, and I'll bring you back after."

The boy shook his head more vigorously.

It was then that Khem noticed a small chain tightly wrapped around the boy's ankle, leaving a terrifying bruise on his pale skin.

Khem slowly smiled and said to the boy,

"Then wait here for me for a moment."

Khem went downstairs, bought some congee, water, and snacks for the boy to eat.

The boy hesitated but seemed unable to resist his hunger and finally extended his hand to accept.

"Don't tell my dad that I ate your food, please." The boy pleaded with a hopeful look, making Khem feel both heartbroken and angry, but he nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I won't tell."

That evening, after Khem reported to the landlord, the police raided the room next door, arresting the man who was drunk and beating his son right there.

Upon interrogation, it was revealed that the boy was the child of his deceased girlfriend who had died in an accident last month. Currently, the man was deeply in debt; with his girlfriend gone, there was no one to help pay it off, leaving him with the burden, which led to his stress and subsequent violence towards the boy.

Khem didn't know what punishment the man received, only that the boy was now under the care of his maternal relatives.

Hopefully, he'll have a happier life from now on.

Just as Khem was about to drift off to sleep, he heard a whisper by his ear, but being too sleepy, he didn't open his eyes.

"Thank you."

"..."

"Be careful."

Chapter 2

Finally, the university term started.

Khem looked at himself in the freshman uniform with a proud expression in front of the mirror, then slung his cloth bag over his shoulder and stepped out of his room.

It took Khem exactly one hour to walk from his apartment to the university. Tired from the walk, he stopped to buy some water from a stall near the lecture building, still having plenty of time before his class.

"I don't need a straw, please." Khem told the vendor who was offering him a plastic straw. If it wasn't a biodegradable straw, Khem would rarely use one, showing he was quite environmentally conscious.

As he moved to stand by the stall, in the moment he was about to drink, his eyes caught sight of a flower pot that was about to fall.

'Oh no!'

"Watch out!"

Khem heard someone shout a warning, but even though he wanted to dodge, his body wouldn't move, as if it was pinned in place. Just as the pot was about to smash into his head, someone rushed in, colliding with him, and they both tumbled to the ground.

Crash!

"Scream!!"

The sound of the flower pot shattering was followed by screams of shock.

"Are you okay!?" The man who rushed in to help Khem exclaimed, his face full of concern. The man had honey-colored skin, bleached blond hair, and wore a small black headband.

Khem turned his pale face towards the flowerpot that had almost hit him.

"Uh, thanks for helping." He managed to say once his shock subsided, then let out a small yelp as he was pulled along.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" Khem asked in surprise. The other turned back with a serious expression, and intimidated, Khem followed

without protest until they stopped under a frangipani tree behind the academic building where it was relatively deserted.

The man looked around before turning back to Khem and said,

"Dude, you're being followed by a ghost."

"..."

"If you don't do anything about it, you're going to die."

Khem stood there, mouth agape, shocked by a stranger's sudden proclamation. With a furrowed brow, he asked,

"How do you know?"

"Just now, when the flowerpot fell, I saw it on the third floor. That was the ghost doing it." Khem was still reluctant to believe, though part of him already accepted it.

Look at all the strange things he'd encountered since he got here.

"It's okay if you don't believe me. I just wanted to warn you to be careful."

Khem hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"No, it's not that I don't believe you. I just don't want to accept it." The last sentence seemed more like Khem was talking to himself, "But thanks anyway. If you hadn't come to help, I would've definitely gotten hurt."

The other shrugged.

"No worries. I'm Jett, that's my real name. And you?"

"My name is Khem...Khemjira." Khem introduced himself. When Jett heard his name, he blinked, then looked him over more closely...

Khem gave a strained smile.

"My mom named me like a girl's name to ward off bad luck." Jett looked surprised and then scratched his head awkwardly.

"Sorry, I thought you were a girl because of your delicate features."

"It's okay, when I was younger, I looked more like one."

Jett nodded as if to say, "I thought so." Then asked, "So, which faculty are you in?"

"Fine Arts." Khem replied.

"Whoa, same here, first year, right?"

Khem's eyes widened, and he quickly nodded.

"Yeah, that's right." Jett laughed at our coincidence.

"Cool, let's be friends. First, can I have your LINE?" Khem was excited and happy, quickly pulling out his phone to add each other as friends.

"Let's go to class first, we can talk about your stuff later." Khem bit his lip and then nodded slightly.

They had classes until three in the afternoon. After class, Jett led Khem to sit at a marble table behind the building, the same spot where they had talked that morning.

"Okay, so, do you realize you're being followed by a whole bunch of spirits like this?" Jett said bluntly without giving Khem time to brace himself. Earlier, Jett had talked to him using the formal thai pronouns instead, but now was using casual pronouns because it felt more natural, and casual pronouns seemed more intimate to say. For friends, people prefer mung and Ku rather than naai and chan, which Khem agreed with, preferring using 'rao' for himself due to habit.

Khem hesitated before answering.

"Not really...But there have been many times I felt like I wasn't alone."

"..."

"Plus, lately when I go places, I often see strange things."

"Ghosts?" Khem was taken aback by Jett's directness, then nodded in acknowledgment, causing Jett to raise an eyebrow.

"So, you see ghosts elsewhere, but you don't see the ones close to you?"

Khem's eyes widened in surprise.

"You can see them, Jett?"

"I see them, but not clearly. Sometimes it's like grey smoke, other times black shadows."

"..."

"Like when I first saw you, there was both smoke and dark shadows, swarming all over your back."

"I'm seriously asking, what did you do to deserve this?" Khem swallowed hard. If he said he hadn't done anything, it wouldn't be entirely truthful, so he decided to tell Jett about the family curse. Upon hearing it, Jett fell silent, which made Khem feel down.

"Sorry for not telling you from the start."

"..."

"If you want to stop being friends because of this, that's okay, ouch!"

Khem clutched his head after getting a light tap, looking bewildered.

"That's ridiculous. Who would stop being friends for such a silly reason?"

Jett said with a furrowed brow. Khem thought about his high school friends who had distanced themselves from him, but he kept quiet.

Khem smiled.

"Thanks, Jett."

"If I didn't want to be your friend, I'd have no friends at all."

"Psh, Jett, you almost made me tear up."

"Haha, your face is hilarious." Khem's expression turned sour.

"Can we continue?"

"You're the one who led us off-topic. Anyway, there are many ghosts following you."

Khem felt a chill again.

"Right now too?"

Jett scanned the area.

"Yeah, but they're keeping their distance." Khem bit his lip, feeling more anxious.

"It seems like you've got something powerful with you, or something's protecting you. That's why they can't do much." Khem undid a button and loosened his tie slightly, pulling out a sacred thread to show.

"I have this, I've worn it since I was a kid." Jett leaned in to look closer, showing great interest but not reaching out to touch.

"Nice item, but its power has faded."

"What?" Khem was stunned. "How do you know?"

"I just know. I've dealt with stuff like this a lot." Hearing Jett's words made Khem even more stressed because if the sacred thread's power had diminished, it might explain why he was encountering more strange things lately.

"So, what should I do?"

"Take it easy, don't stress. Just give me your real name, surname, date of birth, and something you use regularly."

"Anything, right?"

"Except your underwear." Khem blushed, but seeing Jett's serious face, he realized he wasn't joking.

Khem took out a notebook and pen to write down what Jett asked for, along with a white handkerchief embroidered with his name, which his mother had made for him before she passed away.

"Okay, oh, and in the future, don't give something like this to anyone easily." Jett said seriously, causing Khem to furrow his brows.

"Didn't you ask for it?"

"How can you be sure I won't use it for something bad?"

"Oh."

"I'm just playing a scenario. You can trust me, but you can't trust others, I just want to warn you so you don't get hexed." Khem turned pale and quickly nodded in acknowledgment.

"Good, I'm heading back to my hometown this weekend. I'll consult with a monk about your situation to see if he can help."

"Thanks, Jett."

"Yeah. If you die, I won't have a friend to hang out with." Khem wanted to throw something at him.

"You're so annoying, Jett, you've been at it for a while now."

"Haha, damn, you're even swearing at me now!" Jett grimaced.

"You're such a pain, especially when someone's stressed."

"Alright, alright, come on, I'll treat you to some cold bread, I heard the shop in front of the uni is good."

Khem reluctantly agreed, following Jett like a chick following its mother, still a bit sulky but slightly confused about whether they were becoming friends too quickly.

Even though they had only known each other for less than a day, it felt like they had been friends for a long time.

Khem now fully believed that he was being followed by spirits.

Because Jett had told him that when he was around, the ghosts wouldn't approach Khem, thanks to Jett's protective amulets. Since then, Khem stuck close to Jett, going everywhere together except when they had to return to their respective dorms, and nothing major seemed to happen during those times.

There were still some minor disturbances though, like catching glimpses of things moving in his peripheral vision, hearing odd knocking sounds or objects falling, but nothing too severe.

Khem tried to keep himself busy, watching movies or reading books.

Today, after finishing his reading around 11 PM, he moved his chair to face an easel with a sketching board. The next class would assess their skills, judged by a sketch on any topic they were good at, whether it be landscapes, people, animals, or objects.

Khem was skilled at drawing people, and he planned to sketch his mother, thinking it was what he was best at.

His slender hand gripped a 2B pencil, aligning it perpendicular to the paper, squinting to gauge the distance before starting to sketch the initial

outlines of a face.

Khem had practiced drawing his mother's face frequently. The memories they shared were etched in his heart, always bringing warmth whenever he thought of her. This enabled him to draw her face from memory without needing a reference.

"Miss you so much." Khem smiled and muttered softly at the image of his mother's smiling face as he worked on the details, but suddenly he felt overwhelmingly sleepy, yawning despite himself.

Ugh, not now, just a little more and it would be done.

Khem told himself, trying to keep his eyes open, but the sleepines