Melted: A MaxTul AU story

Chapter Forty-Five: Telling the Truth

Author's Note (you can skip--not part of story): Obviously, I'm a fan of Max and Tul. I think they have amazing chemistry together, which is why I am writing this story with them as the leads. However, I never assume anything about their personal life, and the fact that Max had to do a press conference clarifying his relationship with Tul and with his girlfriend, Mook, made me really sad for all of them. Fans are owed good quality content. We are not owed that any artist or sports figure live up to the fantasy we have about them in their personal lives.

I mentioned this to someone elsewhere, and they said (rather nastily, I might add), "but isn't that what you are doing with your fanfic? You use their names not their character names. Aren't you being a hypocrite?" My answer to them was "no." I do use their names in this story, but we also all know that the real Tul Pakorn isn't the son of a man who runs Shilapath corporation nor is the real Max Nattapol an orphan writer who has a mysterious national security past.

If readers know Thai drama, they will know that most of the characters in this story use the names of real Thai actors because these are the people I would cast if this show were to be made into a lakorn. For example, Plustor is Plustor Pattanasettanon, and I was saying to a friend a couple of weeks ago how I felt guilty for once again casting him in this type of role when he seems like such a cinnamon roll in real life. I'll show some more pictures of some of the real people I cast in this story below if people are interested. You've already seen Metinee; I used Metinee Kingpayom in my mind.

I say all this because we do this for fun and should remember that the actors and idols are doing a job to help us have fun, but it is still a job. If you admire them, you should want them to be happy and not give them a hard time because they aren't playing into some fantasy about what you want their real lives to be. Doing otherwise turns you into the stereotypical horrible drama parent who wants their children to marry who they choose for the good of the family/corporation.

**

Max and Tul thought it was hard to describe the workdays that went by after the dinner. Years later, neither would really remember them in any detail. At the time, the ten days or so after just seemed an oddly calm break. Later, after the crazy died down, they would be grateful for that time of rest. It was like a round of boxing had ended, and everyone went back to their corners to wait for the next round . . . and then just decided to stay there for a bit.

Max sent Tul his transcript of their interview like he promised, but for the most part he holed up in his apartment going through and organizing all of his notes and then completely revising the overall outline for his book about Shilapath. He visited Pongpat frequently, sometimes when Tul was there and sometimes not. He didn't try to see Tul nor did he try to avoid him. They did keep in communication through messaging, but Tul had acquired a burner phone for that and only used it in his apartment or sometimes from his office—never in public. They particularly avoided setting up any kind of pattern together because they knew they were being watched.

But it wasn't just them. Tul and Team 2 began working in earnest on proposals for several small farms based on Tul's Hongtai Farm presentation.  However, because of their previous experience and despite the added security, they were all being extra careful and low key about this work. Everyone on the team mentioned at one time or other noticing that people seemed to follow them round. Ann, Sukrit, and Wanna all mentioned seeing strange people outside of their homes sometimes on weekends. They even sometimes saw suspicious people when they went out for team lunches.

Chakrit from SPI Securities had warned them that whoever had been spying on them before was going to be frustrated at his or her lack of access, so they might be watched more outside of the company where security would be harder to maintain. He volunteered to have the company do a sweep of their living spaces, which everyone but Max did. Max thought that having SPI Securities come to his place would make whoever was watching link him more to the group than would be helpful in the future, and Chakrit agreed. Besides, Max had his own contacts and was able to do his own sweep and surveillance.