The Gangster Boss in a High Schooler's Body

Alive But Dead

Kallang River.

"Young Master Darren!" someone clad in a black uniform called out.

The man hustling toward Darren was breathing heavily.

"Who’s that calling out to you, kid?" Ah Beng asked.

"My driver," Darren replied calmly.

"Young Master, what are you doing here? Did those troublemakers jump you again? Oh, Lord, Young Master!" Raj was horrified to see his employer's son beaten black and blue.

"Relax, don't freak out. Uncle Raj, aren't you used to seeing me all bruised up by now?"

"Well, yes, but what are you doing here? You're not trying to drown yourself in the river because of the bullying, are you? Please don't, Young Master! I'll get fired, then I won't have a salary!"

"Ugh, stop shouting. I'm looking for a body."

"Huh? A body?" Uncle Raj looked around nervously. "Whose body, Young Master?"

"A human body, of course. Who calls a dead animal a body? Help me out, Uncle!"

"Wait, wait! Whose body? Young Master, just get back up here. Let me search. Is it a man, a woman, a kid, or ladyboy?"

"Damn, he just called me ladyboy'? Your driver’s got some nerve, kid!" Ah Beng grumbled.

"A guy's body. Supposedly a gang boss. Ugly mug, acts like a big shot," Darren chimed in.

Ah Beng tried to cuff Darren on the back of the head, but his hand swung through thin air.

"Dammit, kid. Plenty of girls dig a rugged face like mine!" Ah Beng grumbled again.

"Alright, Young Master Darren, come back up. Let me do the searching. If you sprain something and tumble into the river, I'm done for. Especially since you can't swim."

"See? I told you I couldn't swim," Darren said to Ah Beng.

Raj glanced left and right. "Young Master Darren, who are you talking to?"

"To you, Uncle Raj, who else?" Darren climbed back up.

Raj scrambled down to the riverbank with cautious steps. His hands probed the slippery, moss-covered concrete canal walls, his feet searching for footing among the scattered rocks. Below, the Kallang River surged rapidly with murky brown water, the stench of fish and rot stinging his nostrils.

"Good grief, asking me to hunt for a body at this hour. Forget a body, you can't even spot a coin dropped in this river," Uncle Raj muttered, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Leaning over the bridge above, Darren called down, "Found anything yet, Uncle?"

"Not yet, Young Master! This river is huge! I'm just one man!"

Ah Beng floated beside Darren, his eyes sweeping across the current with razor precision. "Tell him to head east, near that pile of plastic trash. I remember getting washed toward that spot before I went under."

Darren passed it along. "Uncle, try heading east! Near the pile of plastic trash!"

Raj turned, his brow furrowed. "East? How do you know it's east, Young Master? You're way up there!"

"I ... I can see it from up here, Uncle. Better view."

"Alright, Young Master!" Raj picked his way along the bank, his shoes occasionally slipping on the slick stones. He had to navigate a mound of garbage—plastic bottles, plastic bags, even the decaying carcass of a rat. Raj grumbled under his breath.

"This isn't a driver's job, this is a scavenger's job," he muttered. "How much am I even getting paid? Thank God Young Master Darren is nice. But hunting for a corpse?"

He kept moving, slapping away the occasional mosquito on his arm. The sun was dipping lower in the west, casting an orange sheen across the water. Raj’s shadow stretched long over the scattered debris.

"Young Master!" Raj shouted from a distance. "I see something over here!"

Darren tensed up immediately. "What is it, Uncle?!"

"Looks like a pile of clothes, Young Master. But it's shaped like a person!"

Ah Beng shot through the air toward Raj’s voice. The moment his eyes landed on it, the breath he no longer needed hitched. It was his body. Lying on its side jammed between a heap of plastic garbage and a wooden log snagged on tree roots near the bank. His clothes were filthy, shredded in places. His face was deathly pale, his lips tinged blue. One arm was stretched out to the side, and right beside it lay a soaked black leather wallet.

Ah Beng drifted closer, staring down at his own physical frame with a surge of indescribable emotion. A mix of relief, terror, and sheer disorientation.

Raj approached slowly. "God preserve us," he whispered. He leaned down, taking in the face of the corpse. "Looks like a thug, doesn't he? That dragon ink is terrifying. Why is Young Master Darren looking for a guy like this?"

He crouched lower. The wallet lay open. The paper bills inside were gone—either swiped by someone or washed away by the current—but the identification cards were still intact. An IC featuring the photo of a man with a dragon tattoo creeping up his neck.

Raj picked up the wallet, prying it open wider. Inside were an NRIC, a driver's license, and a few other cards. The name on the IC read, Ah Beng.

Raj looked closer at Ah Beng’s frame. "Young Master, he's not dead. He's still alive!" Raj yelled.

He brought his face close to Ah Beng’s nose. A faint puff of warm air hit his cheek.

"This thug is still breathing!" Raj stumbled back, landing hard on his rear in the trash heap. His hands were shaking violently. "He ... he's alive!"

From up on the bridge, Darren shouted down, "Uncle Raj, what happened?!"

"Young Master! This guy is still breathing! Is this the man you were looking for?!"

Ah Beng hovered over his own body, utterly bewildered. "What? No way! I died, kid! I drowned, I ran out of air!"

But Raj was already double-checking. He pressed two fingers against Ah Beng’s neck. A pulse. Weak, but definitely there. He pressed his palm against Ah Beng’s chest. A faint rise and fall. Slow, but steady.

"He's alive!" Raj called out again. "Young Master, he's alive! Hurry, come down!"

Darren scrambled down from the bridge embankment as fast as he could. His thin frame nearly slipped on the slick concrete. Once he reached the bottom, he saw it with his own eyes—the massive, tattooed body of the gang boss lying among the debris, his chest rising and falling faintly.

"Bro." Darren called out under his breath.

Ah Beng floated right beside him, staring at his own physical self. "I ... I don't get it. I died in the river, kid. I felt my lungs give out."

"But you're still breathing, Bro."

Frustration boiled over inside Ah Beng. He dived toward his body, trying to jump back in just like before. He plunged downward, aiming to merge with his flesh.

He passed right through it like smoke.

"Fuck! It's not working!" Ah Beng tried again. From above. From the side. From the front. Every single time, his transparent form passed through his physical body without any resistance.

Darren watched Ah Beng's frantic attempts. "Bro, why isn't it working?"

"How the hell should I know?! I should be able to get back in! This is my own damn body!" Ah Beng bellowed in total frustration.

Raj stared at Darren, who was talking to thin air. "Young Master ... Young Master Darren, who on earth are you talking to? We need to move, this man is in critical condition!"

Darren took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. "Right, Uncle. Let's carry him!"

The two of them hauled Ah Beng’s body up. Heavy. Immensely heavy. The solid, muscular frame of a gang boss was a stark contrast to Darren’s fragile build. Raj took the shoulders while Darren grabbed the legs. They hauled him up the embankment, stumbling over rocks and garbage.

"Ugh, he's so heavy!" Darren groaned, his hands shaking under the weight.

"Of course I am, I'm a gang boss! I'm built!" Ah Beng barked from above, still floating along irritably.

"You're not helping, Bro! You're just making commentary!"

"I'm a spirit, kid! I can't grab anything!"

"Then shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!"

Raj gave Darren a bewildered look. "Young Master, who have you been talking to this whole time?"

"Nobody, Uncle. Just on a call. Come on, heave!" Darren pointed to his wireless earbud so Raj wouldn't suspect anything.

Raj shook his head, but kept hauling. They finally managed to heave Ah Beng’s body onto the pavement above. Raj scrambled to pop open the back door of the car, and together they shoved the heavy frame onto the back seat with great effort.

Ah Beng drifted into the car, floating right beside his own body. He stared at his physical form with a deeply conflicted gaze.

"I don't get it. I died in that river. So why the hell is my body still breathing?"

Darren climbed into the front passenger seat, gasping for air. "Uncle Raj, get us to the nearest hospital! Fast!"

The car sped off into the traffic. In the back, Ah Beng remained floating, staring at his own body in total confusion. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. But he couldn't put his finger on what it was.