Chapter Thirteen Mee Noi
When P’Payu walked in the door of Sign’s office, he struck me as unfriendly with his bold, dark eyebrows and solemn expression, but all of that changed when he grinned and hauled me out of my chair to take me on a tour.
He points to offices, telling me about agents, producers, actors, and a bunch of other people I’ll never be able to keep straight.
Not that I’m going to be taking the job.
I’m not an actor. Yeah, maybe I kind of enjoy acting with Sud now that I’ve done it, and the fact that they want me definitely boosts my ego.
But I’ll be sure to mess it up eventually, and then what?
I’ll be fired and Sud will be left worse off than he would have been if they’d partnered him with someone else from the get-go.
Only, I don’t want Sud partnered with someone else.
Thanks to Jess’s sister and all the boys’ love-related social media she’s sent to me, I know what fan service is all about.
Whomever Sud partners with will soon become one of the most important people in his world.
I glance at P’Payu, who has paused the tour to look at his phone.
He and P’Tar are an extremely popular shipped couple.
Sud and I really lucked out getting into a drama with them.
A little voice whispers in my ear that this series could be my way out from under my parents’ respective thumbs—a way to earn my tuition and release myself from them forever. No other job I could get right now would pay as much.
“Are you and P’Tar close?” I ask P’Payu as he stuffs his phone into his pocket and leads me into what appears to be a breakroom.
P’Payu grins at me before getting a couple of bottles of cold drinks out of the refrigerator and handing me one.
“I’ve never been closer to anyone,” he says happily.
“At first, when we didn’t know each other at all, it was awkward.
We had to do a lot of skinship practice.
But now, there’s no one I would rather hang out with.
I’m lucky, though,” he says. “Some guys have to go through several partners before they click with someone. P’Tar’s one of them.
But he’s my first and he stuck. The good thing is if you click, your ship becomes popular with the fans.
And then, if you’re handed a shitty series or two, the fans will back you up anyway because they love you. ”
I nod, understanding for the most part.
“Do you know Sud well?” P’Payu asks, wiping his mouth after a long drink.
“We’ve been friends since we were six,” I say.
P’Payu’s eyes light up. “Oh! Then you’re already familiar with each other.
Must be why your audition went so well. You’ll like it at Rainbow.
Everyone is really great here, and you don’t get that at other production companies.
Sure, there’s always some competition, but the execs like to think of us as a big family.
They’re here for us, and they make sure we participate in a lot of events that bring the actors together as a team.
You’ll see. Anyway, if you have any questions, just ask me.
Here.” He takes out his phone and pulls up a QR code. “This is my LINE id.”
I take my cell phone out of my pocket and scan the code, then let him scan mine.
“There you two are.” I turn to see P’Tar standing in the doorway, Sud behind him. I walk over and hand Sud the unopened drink P’Payu gave me.
P’Payu gets another one out of the refrigerator and hands it to me.
“P’Sign wants to talk to us, Nong,” P’Tar tells P’Payu. Then, to us, he says, “I guess we’ll be seeing you guys soon.”
“Are you ready to go?” Sud asks me after they leave.
I nod, and we start down the hall.
“I looked for Khun Intapong, but she wasn’t in her office.
We can call her this afternoon and tell her you don’t want to do it.
He stops when the elevator doors open. “Or maybe we should talk it over with P’Sign first?
Get his opinion on the best way to go about it?
He seems nice.” He starts to turn around, but I stop him with a hand to his arm.
“No, let’s leave.”
We don’t talk anymore until we’re in Sud’s car.
“Don’t worry, I’ll tell Khun Intapong. You don’t have to do anything.”
Distracted with my thoughts, I say, “What? Tell her what?”
“That you don’t want the part. This is my fault, so I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”
Who am I fooling? There’s no way I’m going to let Sud do this without me.
I know that as well as I know my own name, so there’s no point in fooling myself anymore.
Even though I’ve never wanted to act, and even though it makes me nervous thinking about having so much attention on me, I want to do this for Sud and I think I need to do it for me.
I want to be the one beside him all the way, not some other guy who doesn’t know him like I do.
And I can squirrel away money until I have enough for next year’s tuition and then tell my so-called parents to fuck off.
And in the meantime, I’ll come out of my shell and experience life.
“I’m going to do it,” I say.
“Noi, there’s no point. I can do it for you,” Sud protests.
“No, I mean, I’m going to take the part.”
Sud shoots me a shocked look. “What? Why? I mean, you don’t want to be an actor.”
“When do we sign the contracts?”
Sud moves his mouth silently for a moment, swallows, then clears his throat. “Um. Tomorrow morning at eight. Are you sure, Noi? I don’t expect you to go this far for me.”
I don’t want to admit that possessiveness and jealousy over a faceless new partner is a big reason, so I go with the other reasons for my decisions. “I have to admit, acting is kind of fun. And this way I can save money for tuition.”
Sud frowns. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting your parents continue to pay your tuition.”
“You don’t get it,” I say, trying not to be annoyed because Mae and Pah are nothing like my parents, so Sud wouldn’t know how I feel.
“My mother and father don’t care about me, and I don’t want to take their money anymore.
” Sud opens his mouth to protest, and I cut him off.
“They ask me about my grades and don’t say a thing when I tell them I got all A’s.
They don’t want to be with me; they just want to tell me what to do. ” An ache takes up in my heart.
“Noi—“
“I mean it, Sud. This will be the best way for me to earn money. So, stop thinking I’m doing you a favor when you’re really doing me one.” I turn to the window. I will not cry.
“Okay,” Sud says, starting the car.
He gives me a few minutes while backing out of the parking space and getting onto the main road before he says, “I’m glad it’s going to be you I’m doing this with.”
I’m too busy trying to wipe away my tears without him noticing to answer.
***
A couple of girls stop by the outdoor table where Bua and I sit, catching some study time between classes.
“Mee Noi, this is for you,” one of them says, handing me a heart-shaped box before scampering away with her friend.
My cheeks grow hot. Things were quiet for a while after Sud and I signed our contracts for Rainbow TV.
Then came the media announcement that we were a new couple there, and suddenly tons of girls are giving me gifts and writing me notes.
“They’re flirting with you, idiot,” Bua says to me, noticing my confusion. “Any guy with any sense would be loving this.”
I guess I don’t have any sense, then, because I hate it.
Sud’s getting the same treatment but taking it much better than I am.
He hasn’t started dating anyone—he told me he won’t have time, and it wouldn’t look good for our ship—my palms start sweating at just the mention of the word—but he’s basking in the admiration, for sure.
The only thing bigger than Sud’s heart is his ego.
My only break in the chaos that is now my life is the occasional online game with P’Film, who doesn’t know anything about boys’ love and just wants to play Fortnite or talk about plants.
Listening to him recite all the Latin names actually calms my anxiety and keeps me from replaying the moment when Sud kissed me during the audition.
Because I tend to replay it a lot. Probably because it was my first kiss. That zing of pleasure and the bone melting that came after it were because of that. Of course they were. Jess could have kissed me, and I’d feel the same way.
“Earth to Mee Noi,” Bua says, snatching the box from me and opening it. “Ew, orange candy. I hate these.”
“Bua, what was your first kiss like?” I ask her.
She drops the box, and half the candy spills out. “What?”
“I need to know what your first kiss was like. You had a boyfriend. You must have kissed.”
“Well, yeah. It was good. I guess.”
“You guess?”
“I mean, sure. He walked me to the door after a date, just like in a movie or something. Only when he took my hand, our palms were both clammy. And when he kissed me, we bumped noses, and then his braces cut my lip.”
“But…there was a zing, right? You felt kind of electrified, didn’t you?”
“No, not really.”
Moving closer to her on the bench, I lower my voice. “The kiss Sud and I shared in the audition was my first kiss. I can’t stop thinking about it. I thought it was because it was my first, but, now I’m not so sure.”
“Sorry,” she says.
“Maybe I’m remembering it wrong. It was probably the feeling of being nervous.”
“I don’t know. Off and I were plenty nervous when we kissed that night.”
“Kiss me,” I say, turning to face her.
Bua moves back on the bench. “Uh, I don’t think so!”
“I just want to understand what I felt.”
Incredulity overtakes Bua’s face. “And you really think that kissing me is going to clear things up for you?” With a sound of annoyance, she pushes me away. “Yuck, Mee Noi. We’re friends! I can’t kiss you.”
“Sud and I are friends,” I remind her.
“Yeah, but that’s different.”
“How is it different?”
“Mee Noi, right?” a deep male voice says, so close to me that I jump.
Bua’s eyes get wide, and before I know it, she’s grabbed her things and is waving goodbye, babbling about having to be somewhere.
“Is it all right if I sit down?”
I look up at the tall, handsome guy standing at my elbow. I know who he is because he’s a very popular third year, president of his class, and involved in just about everything at the school.
“Of course, P’Wisit,” I say, giving a quick wai.
Putting his books on the table, P’Wisit swings his long legs over the bench and settles next to me.
“I spend most of my time in the Faculty of Medicine building, but sometimes I come over to eat in the canteen. I’ve seen you here a lot.”
My eyes widen. “Oh, you’re going to be a doctor?”
P’Wisit smiles. “That’s the plan. I’m doing clinical rotations at the hospital.”
“How did you know my name?”
“I remembered you from orientation. Cute name. And I follow you on Instagram.”
My face grows hot. “You do? Why?”
P’Wisit shrugs and smiles. “I just do.”
He probably follows a lot of people at the school. Remembering P’Tam’s reason for approaching, I say, “Do you have a club you need help with?”
“You can help me with any club you like. I’m president of the debate club and the language exchange club, if you’re interested in those. I’m also captain of the volleyball team. I’m sure I can get you a space.”
“It’s all I can do to keep up with the chess and board games club,” I say. “And I’m afraid I’m not very good at sports. Just running. But thank you.”
The university requires every student to join a club, or I wouldn’t be in one at all. Pah says it’s to make me a well-rounded individual. Sud’s in the football club, the music club, and the drama and theater club. I don’t know how he has the time.
“I heard you’re going to be in a bl drama,” P’Wisit says, smiling when I press my palms to my hot cheeks. “I think that’s cool. Let me know when it releases. I’ll be sure to watch.” With a wink, he stands and gathers his books. “See you around, Nong.”
I watch him go, both puzzled and rattled by the odd exchange.