Chapter Text
"The early spring brought with it a pleasant air. Flowers bloomed all around the palace. But no matter what the colour of these flowers, they were tinged with red. Blood red.
On the 25th of May amidst the sound of birds chirping and green leaves swaying with the wind, the army of Jakapan had finally conquered the land of Ban Chiang.
It was a result of months of scheming and bloodshed. He thought that the struggles of his life had finally ended. He could now live a happily ever after in peace.
Little did he know that the story has barely begun and that he has to conquer the greatest battle of all: love.
The author has something to say: Today I got myself some cute new stationery (>_<) My grandma gave it to me. It’s bt21 themed skkjdfkgmk it may seem like a small thing but it makes me happy ^_^ hope you guys enjoyed the new update!!!"
As he read the author's notes, Vegas had a little smile on his lips. He lived in a reality he always sought escape from. An abusive father, an overachieving cousin whom his father always compared him to, and a younger brother who he protected from his father's abuse.
It wasn’t the kind of reality anyone would enjoy. Not to mention that no matter how hard he worked, he always came second in class.
The first was Pete. Stupid nerd Pete. Teachers favourite Pete.
Pete won only academically. When it comes to having friends and being popular, Vegas took the cake. The nerd with glasses and oversized sweaters mostly kept to himself. Vegas on the other hand was rich, good-looking, and sociable.
Pete was known to help people in their studies when needed, but beyond that, he didn’t have any friends. Vegas would of course never ask him for help. Instead, he would work very hard to beat him, which never happened.
Despite being popular, Vegas preferred being alone. He actively sought ways to run away from the reality he never liked. In all of this, the world of web novels was dear to him. It gave him the escape from reality he very much needed.
The kind of novels he liked was usually palace dramas with a lot of plot and scheming involved. Bonus points if the protagonist was gay. And Spicy Curry wrote this exact genre.
Spicy Curry was his favourite author, who was famous for their world-building and focus on character. Each character in their story would have a motive that would drive the plot. It is this style of writing that drew Vegas to Spicy Curry’s writing in high school.
Now as a university student, he has read all four of Spicy Curry’s books. The fifth one, “Jakapan’s Battle with Love”, is updated daily. Vegas could have waited for it to finish before he began reading. But he didn’t.
After every chapter that Spicy Curry would update, there would be a note from the author. Once the author finishes the book, these notes are deleted one by one. Ever since Vegas followed the author, the one thing he looked forward to was the notes.
Over the years he learned that the author has a cat named Milo, is a college student (just like him) and loves stationery. He found the author cute. Sometimes he’d think about what the author would look like, what they would sound like, and if they found their escape in writing, just like he found it in reading.
Usually, the author updates at the end of the day, when the reader can find the rest in their webnovel. Spicy Curry was different. They would update in the morning, so people who travel to work or study can read it on their way.
Vegas loved this about them, too. He loved reading the novel on the way to university and then thinking about it in his free time during the day, trying to figure out elements from the plot. Everything about the author made him love them more than the others.
Vegas reached university as soon as he finished reading the author’s notes. He got out of his car, bade the driver goodbye, and walked towards his class.
On the way to class, he greeted his acquaintances with a nod as he thought of how Jakapan had to lose his innocence and become ruthless to get what he wanted.
He pulled out his phone to check, even though there were no messages. Pete always sat in the front row. The moment anyone entered class, he was most likely the first person they would see. And Vegas didn’t like that.
While he pretended to be doing something on his phone, Pete was actually using his to talk to his grandma. “Yeah, grandma I bought the new stationery. Yes, I’ll use it well. Bye grandma I’ll talk to you later.”
Vegas snorted as he walked to his seat at the back, remembering how Spicy Curry also got new stationery today from his grandma.
Right as he was about to reach his seat, someone dashed past him and knocked some books on the floor. Annoyed Vegas turned to look at the clumsy person who couldn’t see where they were going.
"Sorry", mumbled Pete as he picked up his books. Vegas was about to scold him when he saw Pete pick up a pink notebook with Cooky from bt21 on it. Pete mumbled a few more sorries and ran past Vegas to his classmate Porsche. Vegas kept looking at him with widened eyes the whole time.
No….it could not be….he…was he….is he….Spicy Curry?????