Yeojin and Kanika are Jinyoung’s first cousins, Yeojin was his maternal cousin and Kanika was his paternal cousin. Yeojin was Youngjae's younger sibling and the sweetheart of the IPC family and Kanika is the little sister of Bambam. Jinyoung’s paternal aunt Ms. Park Hei Jin married crown prince Kiet Bhuwakul and took the name of Sirikit Bhuwakul to honour the Thai royal lineage.

Jaebeom, Jinyoung and Youngjae adored Choi Yeojin and Kanika Bhuwakul. Jaebeom and Jinyoung went about as a parent figure to both the young ladies, whereas Youngjae was the older protective sibling. Bambam is the young ladies dearest friend, brother and sly accomplice in their crazy adventures. He gave them the illusion of allowing them to go wild, however he was 10 strides ahead of the girls for their safety and wellbeing.

The young ladies were best friends since early on and they considered each other as soul sisters as them shared the same birthday. At 8 years the two of them attended the same boarding school Collège et Lycée Saint Charles in Switzerland. Both the ladies choose ETH Zurich for their bachelors program. Kanika choose Environmental Engineering as her major and Yeojin went for Architecture.

Over the years, Bambam and Kanika has become part of the Im, Park, Choi cousins. Truth be told, Bambam and Kanika are as close to Jaebeom and Youngjae as they are with their first cousin Jinyoung. Bambam and Kanika disliked visiting their maternal grandparents in Korea. They felt stifling with the amount of restrictions they had to face in Park household; they wondered how Jinyoung fared in such a toxic household. To make matters worse, the maternal grandparents were very vocal about their disdain on how the Thai siblings were being raised. The siblings felt there was undeniably more freedom in Thailand where they were constantly under media gaze as Bambam was second in line to the throne and Kanika being third in line of succession.

The Thai siblings parents were loving, and they showered their kids with understanding, support, freedom of choice. They were progressive in all aspects of life. They choose their kids happiness above everything. The crown prince and his wife were strict with the kids in certain aspects, but they were also friendly at most part. They encouraged their children to express their concerns and confide in them without hesitation.

 

The setting was familiar to Bambam, the same friendly staff the usual booth all his friends sat at from their undergrad days, it was their usual hangout spot for the weekends for a night of winding down. Bambam was grooving to the music in the pub with a few of his friends from university as it was a weekend. He was popular among his peers at Oxford university. It’s almost a year since he graduated with a masters in Politics and international relations from Oxford university. He secured a job at Amnesty International as a political risk analyst right after graduation and is excited with the work he is been dealing with.

“Hey Bam, where is your husband?” and friend among the group questioned.

“As usual, he is assuming the job of a devoted spouse and completing the house tasks and is occupied with his final year of DPhil program,” answered Bambam with a smile.

“You have got yourself a caring and boring husband, ask him to join us sometime we haven’t seen him for a while,” his friend suggested.

The ringing of Bambam’s phone interrupted their playful banter. Bambam sighed, looking at the caller id. He excused himself saying that he has to attend the call and he let them call it a night.

“It better be important, it’s freaking 2 AM here,” Bambam huffed into the phone.

“Yah Bambam when will you learn to respect your elders, you are half Korean don’t forget that, and I know that you are not asleep,” replied Jaebeom.

“Ahh ok hyung, did you call me just to teach me etiquettes?” groaned Bambam.

“You insolent brat, I just called to check on how you are doing,” replied Jaebeom.

“So I assume you saw the news hyung?” questioned Bambam.

“Yes, and I needed to know how you are getting along,” expressed Jaebeom with concern.

“I’m ok, hyung, it’s not me who is being ordained as the King, you need not stress over me,” stated Bambam passively.

“Bamaa, you know that it is not what I am asking about, but I will not compel you to open up. Call me whenever you feel like sharing it,” replied Jaebeom patiently.

“Ok hyung I will let you go for now and say hi to the other 3 hyungs for me,” said Bambam softly.

“Ya will let them know and keep in mind that we are there for you. Take care and get home safely,” Jaebeom stated and disconnected the call.

Bambam called for a taxi to get back home, he anticipated that he would be drunk so he din’t drive to the pub. His thoughts went back to the news on his father stepping up for the role of the King. It compels him to decide about his future role in the monarchy. Once his father ascends the throne, that would make him first in line to become the next monarch of Thailand. He will be titled as crown prince of Thailand who would be a King one day.

Bambam realized for a while, he din’t desire to be the crown prince or take on the role of a king in the future. He was content with his role as a young royal and his duties towards monarchy and their family business. He believed that titles are not needed to serve people in this day and age.

There was also the responsibility of taking care of the business owned by the royal family. They are the dominant players in real-estate and hospitality sectors in the whole of South East Asia and they have enormous investments in IPC group. Both the Bhuwakul siblings have to step up and take responsibilities of the business along with their royal duties.

A choice must be made. The royal palace has to announce a crown prince or a crown princess once his father becomes the monarch. Being next in line of succession, he has to renounce the position so it would go to his sister Kanika. He had a brief talk about the matter with his father a few months earlier, his father din’t influence him on taking the position as crown prince. They gave him the liberty to decide for his self.

He had two thoughts that are consuming him; one being his sister. Will she feel burdened to take up the responsibility? She was as free spirited as him. What if she doesn’t want to assume the title of crown princess? The other concern was about his own conscious. Is he betraying the country and his people by not assuming the role of a crown prince? The people of Thailand has always shown immense loyalty and love towards the royal family. Will he be able to make the Thai people understand the reason for him stepping aside?

The cab driver interrupted his thoughts, informing they reached the destination. He paid for the ride and walked to the two-storey cottage styled house. When he entered the living room, the wall clock indicated it was 3.20 AM. He walked to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, he could see the light in the study room was on, he pushed the door to the study open and walked in.

“Hey hubby, are you still working on your thesis?” Bambam greeted, smiling softly.

“Hey Bamaa, how was tonight? Did you have fun?” welcomed Yugyeom.

“Gyeomie all our friends were asking where my husband is, and  how he is doing, you should have joined us at the pub,” stated Bambam.

“Bamaa tell them I will join them when they stop addressing us as wife and husband. The joke has gone for too long. They can’t make fun of me in front of a potential future employer. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it was,” replied Yugyeom.

Bambam couldn’t hold his laughter, “Yes I am aware of the situation and to be frank I thought it was hilarious.”

“Ok moving on from your nightmare, did you have dinner?” Bambam questioned.

“Not yet, I was just wanting to finish this one assignment, and, it took a lot of time and I haven’t realized it was past dinnertime,” Yugyeom grinned.

“I will fix something for you to eat, do you want me to get the food here? Or will you be coming to the dining area?” enquired Bambam.

“I am almost done here, allow me 5 minutes I will join you in the kitchen and thanks buddy,” Yugyeom grinned.

“What are friends for if not for a quick fix,” Bambam winked at Yugyeom.

Bambam walked into the kitchen looking for ingredients to make a sandwich and started working on it. In no time it was ready, and he called for Yugyeom to join in.

Yugyeom grabbed the sandwich and made himself comfortable at the table. He glanced at Bambam, who was staring at nothing in particular. He was aware of what was bothering his best friend. He took Bambam hand and squeezed it a little. This seemed to gain Bambam’s attention. He glanced at Yugyeom, seeing a tiny smile directed at him. Bambam knew what the action meant. His best friend was supporting him in silence, no questions being asked. He was there for him as always, quietly being his strength.

Yugyeom’s role in Bambam’s life was comparable to salt in a recipe. You wouldn't notice its essence promptly, yet when it's missing everything appears to be bland. Bambam knew Yugyeom from the age of 16, Yugyeom joined Eton College the year Youngjae graduated from Eton.

Yugyeom practically made himself invisible in the school. Bambam din’t know his existence till Yugyeom topped the category in an essay writing competition. When the winner’s name was announced Bambam was surprised to find that there was a Korean guy in his class. That was his first, noticing the lanky Korean kid in his class. Bambam introduced himself to the new guy, and he shared that he is half Korean from his maternal side and half Thai from his paternal side.

Yugyeom greeted him politely and excused himself informing Bambam, he needs to leave as he has work to do. The Korean guy din’t seem excited at the prospect of hanging out with the popular kid.

Once Bambam paid attention to Yugyeom, he noticed that he was shy, and he kept to hisself. He was good at studies, Yugyeom shocked everyone when he joined the school dance club and showcased his dancing skills. Overnight he was the talk of Eton. The Korean guy with excellent looks, top grades and amazing dancing skills. Even with the newfound popularity, Yugyeom routine din’t change. He still insisted on being invisible. He rarely hung out with his classmates.

The Korean was seen in the library mostly and if not the library they would find him in the dance studio practising. None knew much about the Korean guy, he was private about his life. According to Bambam, Yugyeom was on a mission with a single goal in sight and no amount of persuasion would deviate his sight from the goal.

Bambam took on the task to befriend the shy Korean, it was no easy feat to gain Yugyeom’s trust and friendship; it reminded him of Jackson and his cousin Jinyoung’s dynamics. Although Bambam considered it took a lot more time and effort to crack through the shell and reach Yugyeom to claim him as his best friend. Looking back, he was glad that he attempted to know Yugyeom. Their relationship has evolved over the years, and Bambam considers the Korean as his family.

They graduated from Eton and both were accepted to Oxford university where Bambam choose History and Politics for bachelors and Politics and International Relations for his masters.

Yugyeom had a full ride scholarship for his bachelors in History and Economics from Oxford university and he secured a spot for Doctorate in Philosophy in Social Policy and Intervention with Oxford. Yugyeom worked part-time jobs throughout his college life. He was relentless on supporting himself and not asking for help from his family.

Bambam had a hard time to convince him to share a home with him when they attended Oxford, the reason being Yugyeom couldn’t afford fancier homes that Bambam wanted to lease. Bambam had to beg him to share a space together, and they settled for a quaint 2 storeyed home in a decent part of the town. Yugyeom to meet his end of the rent and utilities worked multiple jobs like being a waiter at a pub close by, teaching dance in a local arts studio and being a teaching assistant. At times it pained Bambam to see Yugyeom stretching himself too thin. Bambam is aware that Yugyeom’s family is very much capable of taking care of his finances, but he din’t understand why Yugyeom was so stubborn on not accepting the help.

Yugyeom din’t take vacations like Bambam and his friends, he worked through the holiday periods. When all were busy planning for their vacation or to visit family for Christmas Yugyeom focused on his part-time job. In all these years of knowing Yugyeom, Bambam at times wondered if he knew what goes in that brain of his dearest friend. For everyone out there he was a book which they couldn’t even pick to read, in case of Bambam he had access to certain chapters of the book and the remaining chapters were invisible.