Boys’ Love (Boys’ Love #1)

Chapter 1 Chinda

CHAPTER ONE: Chinda

Watching my older brother unload coffees from the shop down the street, I can tell by the way his dark brows are lowered and he’s biting on his full lower lip that something is on his mind.

I’ve always been a bit jealous that he got the gorgeous looks in the family while I, the only daughter, had to settle for the brains.

Not that Rama’s ignorant, but he was never the straight-A student that I am.

And while our father wants him to work in his successful auto parts company, Rama wants to be an actor.

He’s spent the past several months feeding that passion while visiting family in America.

In Thai, the word Rama means king, and the name fits my brother perfectly.

Both regal and graceful, Rama has our deceased mother’s thick, dark hair, pale complexion, doe eyes, straight nose, and softly shaped mouth.

(I’d once thought he’d inherited her sunny disposition as well, but over the years Rama has grown stoic and serious.)

“Is something wrong?” I ask him.

He looks up at me. “Hm? Oh, no. Actually, something good just happened.”

He looks perplexed, as though good things don’t happen to him all the time. With his looks, Rama draws people to him like flies to honey. But he can be very oblivious about it.

“What?” I prompt.

“I’ve been offered an audition,” he tells me.

“What? But you haven’t been gone twenty minutes! You were offered an audition while you were buying coffee?” Only my brother could have something like this happen to him.

Handing me my coffee, he explains, “I slipped on the wet floor, landing on my ass at a woman’s feet. She helped me up, stared at me a moment, and then asked if I had any interest in acting. Crazy, isn’t it?”

“It’s absolutely insane for a normal person, but we’re talking about you. What’s the audition for?”

“She gave me her card.” He reaches into his pants pocket and hands it to me. “She told me to be at the audition tomorrow morning.”

Looking down at the embossed card, my mouth drops open.

“Rama, this woman is a producer at Hearts Productions!”

He nods.

“They produce bl dramas!” When he just looks at me, I huff. “I can’t believe you aren’t more excited about this.”

“I am excited,” he says seriously.

Shaking my head, I return my attention to the card. “Does this mean you’re going to try out for a part in a bl?”

I’ve been a fan of boys’ love dramas—wildly popular shows in Asia that feature young men in romantic relationships—for years. The idea that my brother might get a part in one is blowing my mind.

“I think that’s what she said,” he confirmed.

Letting out a shriek that sends Trumpet, our Pekingese, into a barking fit, I jump up from the table and clap my hands. “I can’t believe this! This is awesome!”

“I haven’t gotten a part yet,” Rama reminds me.

“You will—because I will make it happen even if it kills me. Let me be your assistant. Please! Please, please, please.” Latching onto Rama’s arm, I lay my head on his shoulder.

A slow smile carves a dimple into his left cheek. “Don’t think I don’t see your real motives, Nong Sao. You just want to get close to all the cute boys.”

I lift my chin. “I’m a Y-girl. This is my opportunity to see behind the scenes of a bl drama. Is it really as cut-throat as some rumors say? Are all those clips scripted or real? I swear, you’d better not screw this up for me, Rama. Audition for every part you can.”

“Don’t worry, I will. If I can land a role and make this work, maybe I won’t have to do the internship Pah wants me to do in the new year. Don’t tell him about it, though. He’ll only say it’s a waste of my time.”

“Don’t worry, I have no intention of telling him.” My excitement ebbs. “Do you think you’re up to being one half of a Y-couple, though?”

At his questioning look, I clarify, “Y as in Yaoi, the Japanese term for a male/male couple. It isn’t just on camera, you realize.

You have to sell your relationship to the fans.

“ My brother’s somewhat of a playboy, jumping from woman to woman more often than he changes socks, so I have good reason to be concerned.

“Can you think of a better way to hone my acting skills?” he asks.

Excitement bubbling over, I leave him for my bedroom to message my friends that I am going to see a real bl drama audition.

We set off for downtown Bangkok early in the morning. Rama’s grumpy and sips an espresso while I drive. The corporate building that houses Hearts Productions isn’t difficult to find and fortunately I snag a parking space fairly close to it.

The producer emailed Rama the night before that the auditions are taking place on the top floor, and when we step off the elevator, I look around in excitement at all the people.

“Don’t worry,” I tell my brother while scoping out the room.

“You’re more attractive than any of these other guys.

” It’s true. Rama outshines every male there in looks—it’s his personality I’m worried about.

“Try to smile,” I say as we make our way across the room to a long table where four people sit handing out papers.

“The woman in purple is the producer I met at the coffee shop, Khun Tida Li,” Rama tells me.

She’s a tiny, fierce woman who is currently chewing out an assistant for bringing her the wrong scripts.

A hippyish man wearing a flowered shirt gives Rama a number, and we retreat to one of the round tables near the wall.

Some of the young men in the room look at Rama with open resentment, and I know they’re worried. I’m praying that he can act because, other than a few commercials he did as a kid, I’ve never seen him in action.

Presently, Khun Li introduces herself and her staff to everyone in the room.

“Some of you are here for a second reading, and some are new. The role of Kusa has already been cast. That actor will be reading with the call-backs for Atid’s role, so we can get an idea of the chemistry between them.”

While she’s talking, a staff member is handing out scripts.

When Rama receives his, I scoot my chair closer to his and read over his shoulder.

The series title is My Doctor, My Love and takes place at a university.

The character Atid is a few years younger than Rama, but that should be okay, as Rama looks younger than his twenty-three years.

“Who else are you auditioning for?” I ask him.

“I thought I’d try for Tul and Sajja. Both of those auditions are later this morning.” He turns away from me. “I need to study this script.”

Curious about the group of obvious fans gathered at a table in the corner, I walk over to them. When they look up, I press my hands together prayerfully with fingers to chin and bow slightly in traditional greeting before introducing myself.

“My brother is auditioning for the part of Atid. Do you know who they’ve cast to play Kusa?”

A girl around my age with large round pink glasses smiles broadly. “Pravat Benjawan! I’m so excited!”

My eyes widen. “Are you serious?” Pravat Benjawan is one of my favorite bl actors. He absolutely oozes tough sensuality. “I thought he worked for Bright Productions.”

“He did, but there was a scandal, and he switched to Hearts,” the girl says. “Which one is your brother?”

“The one with the perfect hair who looks like he’s negotiating world peace rather than reading a script,” I say, looking over my shoulder.

She clasps my arm. “He’s gorgeous!”

“We were just noticing him,” a wide-eyed boy with a buzz cut says. “Do you think it’s okay if we take a few pictures of him to put on our fan page?”

“I’m sure he won’t mind.” I don’t care if Rama does mind. This is a way to get his name out there. If he doesn’t win a part in his drama, his picture might win him an audition in another. I lead the group over to where Rama’s sitting, and he looks up, smiling politely.

“Rama, these fans want a photo of you for their group page,” I say, trying to convey with my eyes that he should take advantage of this.

Thankfully, he seems to understand and smiles widely at them. Obviously charmed, the trio giggle and introduce themselves. The girl with the glasses is called May, and the tall one, Fon. The boy’s name is Rang.

After the group takes the photos, I check them to make sure Rama doesn’t look like he does when he eats too much pan-fried Roti bread and can’t use the bathroom for days. Thankfully, they look good. The group wanders off, and I turn to Rama in excitement. “You won’t believe what I found out.”

“What?” Rama’s already back to studying the script.

“The role of Kusa has gone to Pravat Benjawan!” When Rama doesn’t react to this news, I huff and add, “He’s one of the hottest bl actors out there, stupid. You’ll be amazingly lucky if you get to act with him.”

Raising his eyes from the script, Rama says, “Well, I’m not going to get the part if you don’t let me study the lines.”

Clamping my mouth shut, I content myself with reading over his arm.

In the scene, Atid becomes jealous of the time Kusa’s been spending with another student.

I wonder if Rama can do jealousy well. He’s always so reserved, and I’ve never seen him act jealous with any of his past girlfriends.

I turn to observe the other actors, a few of which I recognize from some of the bl dramas I’ve watched.

A stir in the room alerts me that something is happening, and I look to the right, catching my breath when I see Pravat Benjawan has entered the room.

Wearing a white sleeveless shirt and jeans, he’s as handsome off camera as he is on.

He’s an inch or two taller than my brother with a more masculine look and slightly darker skin.

His carved cheekbones, strong nose, slim eyes, and cut jaw add up to a near perfect face in my book, and my heart flutters in my chest. As a fan, I know he’s a couple of years younger than my brother, although he doesn’t look it, and is in his final year at the same university I attend.

I bite my lip nervously as the fan group swarms him.