Chapter Text
Sea always woke before the city.
The sun had barely risen over Bangkok’s glass, steel skyline when he slipped out of bed, the apartment still and quiet except for the rhythmic hum of his air purifier. His morning was the same every day: minimalist, controlled, and predictable. A neatly ironed shirt. A watch fastened at the exact same notch. His reflection in the mirror stared back at him with the practiced calm of a man who had rebuilt himself from the inside out.
No mistakes.
No attachments.
No more ruined lives.
Five years ago, he had been a fresh-faced public defender with too much hope and too little power. Now at 29, he had become one of the city’s rising attorneys, co-founder of SP Legal, a law firm known for impossible wins and merciless precision. Piploy, his co-founder, always joked that Sea was “half human, half calendar app.”
Stepping out into the morning air, Sea inhaled deeply. Cool breeze, early traffic, street vendors opening up their stalls. The city was walking with a thousand tiny sounds he used to miss when his life was chaos. He walked the familiar path to the office, past the same news stand, the same crowded bus stop, and the same coffee cart where the barista nodded at him but didn’t ask for his order anymore.
Stability.
Control.
That was Sea now.
When he reached the firm, the glass doors reflected the crisp lines of his suit. Inside, the warm light of the lobby greeted him: sleek marble floors, framed legal certificates, and the comforting bustle of employees already settling in. Two junior associates bowed slightly as he passed.
“Good morning, Khun Sea.”
“Morning,” he answered with a polite smile, never too friendly, but never cold.
At the reception desk, View, the firm’s receptionist, perked up.
“Oh! Khun Sea, good morning! Umm, there is someone waiting for you in your office.”
Sea frowned. Clients never came this early. Not announced.
He took a slow sip of his coffee, bracing.
“Who?”
View swallowed, eyes full of nervousness.
“He said you.. Know him.”
Sea made it to his office in anticipation of this man who “knew him”. Could it be his old law firm? An unhappy client?
Sea pushed open the glass door.
He froze.
There, seated casually in the client chair with his boots propped up on the edge of Sea’s desk, his desk, like he owned the entire building. Boots dirty. Knuckles scarred. Broad shoulders tense beneath a worn denim jacket. His hair was a little too long, his posture too confident and his eyes…
Those eyes.
Sea’s hand tightened around his coffee cup.
It was Jimmy.
Jimmy, who had vanished behind prison bars five years ago.
Jimmy, who Sea had defended with everything he had and still failed.
Jimmy, whose voice had once been soft against his ear in the brief moments before the world took him away.
Jimmy, who had now looked at him with fury so sharp it had carved itself into Sea’s ribs.
Sea’s throat worked silently before a word finally escaped.
“....Jimmy?”
Jimmy looked into Sea’s eyes more intensely, expression unreadable except for the cold amusement at the corner of his mouth.
“Well,” he drawled, “look who didn’t expect to see a ghost today.”
Sea felt his heart thud harshly against his ribs, but before he could speak:
The scene shifted.
————————————————————
Jimmy POV - Two hours earlier
“Oi hurry up, I’m not tying your damn shoes for you,” Jimmy snapped, flickering Force’s ear as the man hobbled toward him.
Force grunted, adjusting the sling on his arm. “I didn’t ASK you to tie anything! I’m just saying, you walk too fast! I’m still recovering!”
“You should’ve thought of that before trying to rob a pharmacy to get your sister’s medicine and then going to jail,” Jimmy muttered, but his tone held grudging affection.
Force smirked. “And you should’ve thought before bailing me out using all that underworld money you pretend you’re too cool to care about.”
Jimmy shot him a glare. “Shut up.”
Bangkok was painfully bright this morning, the sunlight bouncing off windows and motorcycles roaring past as the two men navigated the crowded sidewalks. Jimmy had spent the last five years carving out a reputation inside prison: strong, respected, and untouchable, but the outside world felt louder, faster, and strangely small.
He tugged at his denim jacket, the same one he wore the night he was arrested.
“Remind me why we’re doing this at ass-o’clock in the morning?” Force asked.
“Because,” Jimmy said through gritted teeth. “I’m going to get my name back.”
“And this lawyer guy… you know him?”
Jimmy’s jaw flexed. “Unfortunately.”
Force stopped walking, staring at a nearby billboard. It neatly read “The #1 Criminal Defense Law Firm in Bangkok” There were Sea and Piploy's backs against each other smiling sweetly. The average person would feel relieved or indifferent. Jimmy felt rage.
Force exclaims, “Oh shit. Is this that guy? The one from your case? The one you-”
“Don’t finish that sentence.”
Force raised both hands. “Alright, alright.”
But Jimmy’s chest tightened anyway. Sea.
Sea, with his shy smile and trembling hands gripping legal papers.
Sea, whose visits had kept Jimmy sane.
Sea, who had eventually stopped coming, leaving only a brutal message delivered by someone else:
“Sea doesn’t want to see you again. He’s done with you.”
If it had been a lie, Jimmy had five years of believing otherwise. That lie had shaped him into someone sharper, colder.
The kind of man who would walk into Sea’s shiny new law firm and make demands.
Force nudged him as they approached the building. “You gonna be okay?”
Jimmy scoffed. “I’m always okay.”
His heart said otherwise.
Back to the Present:
Sea approached slowly, each step heavy.
“What…. What are you doing here?” he managed.
Jimmy slowly lowered his boots from the desk and stood. He was taller than Sea remembered. Broader. Rough edges everywhere.
“Five years,” Jimmy said softly. “Five years because my lawyer couldn’t protect me.”
Sea felt the words like a slap.
“I did everything-”
Jimmy cut him off. “Save it. I’m not here for apologies.”
Sea’s hands curled at his sides. “Then what do you want?”
Jimmy stepped closer, close enough that Sea felt the heat of him and the cold anger coiling beneath it.
“You’re going to clear my name.”
Sea blinked. “That case is closed. You were convicted-”
“And I want to be un-convicted.” Jimmy’s voice was steel. “You’re reopening it.”
Sea’s breath hitched. “Even if I wanted to-”
“Oh, you want to,” Jimmy said, leaning in. “Unless you’d prefer everyone to know your father’s little secret.”
Sea went still - frozen breathless.
Nobody talked about his father. Nobody knew. Except one man.
“You wouldn’t,” Sea whispered.
Jimmy’s smile was razor-sharp. “Try me.”
Silence. Heavy. Bruising.
Sea’s pulse hammered. “Why me?”
Jimmy’s eyes flashed. “Why NOT you? You’re the one who put me in there.”
Sea’s breath shook. “P’Jimmy, I can recommend—”
“I don’t want recommendations.” Jimmy leaned in until Sea could see the faint scar on his jaw. “I want you.”
Sea stared at him, voice cracking. “I don’t understand. You hate me.”
“Correct.” Jimmy’s smirk darkened. “And that’s why this is perfect.”
Sea’s brows knit. “…What?”
Jimmy’s voice dropped to a low, venom-soft whisper only Sea could hear.
“I want you to suffer,” he murmured.
“I want you to feel everything I felt for the past five years.”
Sea froze, the words slicing straight through him.
From behind the inner office door, Piploy peeked in, eyes wide with concern, but Sea subtly shook his head. Not now.
Jimmy crossed his arm. “So here are the rules.”
Sea flinched at the word rules.
“One,” Jimmy said, raising a finger, “you take my case. No half-effort. No excuses.”
“Two - you report directly to me. No hiding behind Piploy or your fancy firm paperwork.”
“Three”, his eyes hardened. “You don’t get to walk away again.”
Sea stiffened. “I never walked away.”
Jimmy’s expression flickered, something wounded, something bitter, but he masked it instantly.
“Then it won’t be a problem.”
Sea swallowed hard. He thought of the chains Jimmy wore in the courtroom. The bruises he’d seen during those early visits. The last conversation they had—
Or rather, the conversation passed by another.
Guilt curled in Sea’s stomach like a fist.
“…Fine,” Sea whispered. “I’ll help you.”
Jimmy stepped back, satisfied.
“Good. We start today.”
Force appeared at the doorway, panting. “P’Jimmy! I told you not to threaten anyone! Did you threaten him? You totally threatened him—”
Jimmy shoved him back out into the hall with one arm.
Sea almost laughed. Almost.
Jimmy opened the door to leave, pausing just long enough to look over his shoulder.
“Get ready, Khun Lawyer. We’re digging up the past.”
Sea’s heart pounded. “P’Jimmy, I—”
“Save it.” Jimmy didn’t turn around. “You’ll get your chance to talk.”
The door clicked shut behind him.
Sea sagged into his chair, head spinning.
Piploy rushed inside. “Sea, what on earth—was that Jimmy? That Jimmy?”
Sea stared at the empty doorway.
“Yes,” he breathed, voice shaking.
Piploy’s eyes softened. “Are you okay?”
“…No.”
But there was no time for comfort. Because in the silence of his office, Sea finally allowed himself to think about the thing he had buried for half a decade.
The case.
The trial.
The man he had believed in.
The man he had lost.
And just as the memories began drowning him—
The past came rushing back.
Five years ago…