The Pauper's Prince

*The Runaway*

"I said let him go."

"Or what?" Ohm challenged him.
Chen saw pleading look on Nine's face. He needs to help him.

Suddenly, the emcee started to speak:

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen..."

Ohm was distracted enough that Nine was able to remove Ohm's hand. As soon as he was free, he made a run for it.

"Nine! NINE!" Ohm called out for him "Let me go!" he shouted at Chen.

When Chen saw that Nine was far enough, that was the only time he let go of Ohm. He watched as the man ran after Nine.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Pavel was furious.

"Nine... Nine Kornchid." He looked at Pavel. He felt lost and confused with what was going on.

"Holy shit! That was him? How come we never knew?"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" Wayo screamed at Pha.

"Do I look like I am kidding? And my idiot brother didn't recognize him? I should have went with you inside that damn restaurant instead of sleeping in the car."

"Now it made sense, the way he ate, his demeanor, being multilingual. Shit." Yo asked Pha a question "but how come not even Pavel or Chen recognized him?"

"Nine, while living with his birth family, was very recluse. He hated being seen by the press and would usually go out with a face mask to hide his face." Pha then pulled out his phone and opened its browser "He doesn't want the attention and if you search for him on the internet, all you would see are photos when he was still a chubby kid." He then showed Yo the google search result under Nine Kornchid.

"He looked totally different."

"That is why it is hard to recognize him. Only a handful of important people knew how he looked like. He hated gatherings. I've only met him twice, during a wedding ceremony and a funeral."

"So he's engage to Ohm Pawat." Ben commented.

They were about to park when Yo noticed a man wearing a familiar ensemble, and he was running fast. He realized that it was Nine. "BEN STOP THE CAR NOW!"

As soon as the car stopped, he immediately opened the window and called Nine. "Nine! Where are you going?!"

When Nine spotted them, he ran towards the car and frantically knocked at the door.

When Yo opened the door, he saw the panicked look on Nine's face "Please, please take me out of here!"

"Get in, Ben drive!" Yo commanded.

"Thank you, thank you!"

"Would you mind telling me what is going on?" Yo was rubbing Nine's back.

"They found me."

"Well, Mr. Kornchid, who are you hiding from?" Phana asked.

Nine sighed in defeat "My fiance."

Nine's phone started ringing and saw that it was Chen. "Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"I'm with Yo."

Chen felt relief in his chest. "Where are you going?"

"Did you tell him you know me?"

"Of course not, why would I?"

"Okay, thank you."

Nine hung up the phone and then turned it off. "Please bring drop me off here."

"What? No, it's not safe." Yo protested.

"It's far enough. Yo, I will pay you someday. Please trust me on this. Thank you so much. You are my first friend as an adult." Nine hugged Yo and alighted the car. Before Nine closed tue door, he told them "Just remember, we never met. Okay? Now drive!"

Nine watched as the car drive away until he can no longer see the tail lights. He hailed a cab and went to the hospital. He arranged a room transfer due to security reasons. He also instructed the staff to not tell anyone their room number. The nurse told them it might take a few more hours for the transfer.

Mr. Kim noticed how agitated Nine was "Son, what happened?" he then gave Nine a hug.

Nine slumped in Mr. Kim's arms "Ohm found me."

"Oh no. Once they give clearance to my wife, we're moving out."