Just The 2 Of Us

Chapter 53: Just Surviving the day

"Ah, you're here at last! Good morning!"

"Morning, Phi." A dishevelled and dejected Nanon replied without much enthusiasm as he approached his manager in one of the corridors of the 4th floor of GMMTV. "Listen, I left some souvenirs from Osaka in your room, there are a few things for a couple of colleagues and there's something for you too there, when you have time, you can just give the others-"

"Hey, what's with the long face?" Kwang cut him off as she cocked her head to the side. "Shouldn't you be more excited to be back? Gosh, you look like crap, kid." She examined his state and frowned.

"Tell me about it." He muttered, not really in the mood for chit-chat. He couldn't sleep last night. He spent hours awake researching survival rates of lung cancer patients and more advanced treatments. Nonnie intended to stay awake doing the same, but she ended up falling asleep beside him. He didn't have the heart to wake her up and send her to her room, so he just removed the laptop from her lap and covered her with his blankets. They had slept like that before, and he didn't mind having less space on a mattress that he probably wouldn't use properly. He felt worn out, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep a wink. Not after that break up, and especially not after learning about his mother's cancer.

"Insomnia? Or too much celebration? I bet you had lots of reasons to be awake last night, huh?" She gave him a knowing look. "I thought you two would arrive here together. But keeping the appearances is not a bad idea. There are gossipmongers in every corner of this building."

"Excuse me?" A confused Nanon gave her a puzzled look. She just cleared her throat and changed the subject, while Nanon struggled to decipher the meaning of her words.

"Sorry, it's none of my business anyways." She quickly assumed a professional stance again and tried to focus on her work. "Listen, P'Aof has been waiting for a while. Earth, Mix and Ohm are here too. How come you're this late-"

"Wait! What did you say?!" Nanon was suddenly too awake. His ears could be playing tricks on him, so he had to ask. "Phi, will you please repeat what you've just-"

"Are you still sleeping!? Geez, Nanon! You're late for the meeting director P'Aof requested to discuss the crossover between A Tale of Ten Thousand Stars and Bad Buddy. Our Sky 2 brings together the stories of Phupha and Tian, Pat and Pran, remember? You already read a rough version of the script last year! The two couples, Earth and Mix, Ohm and Nanon, in Chiang Mai-"

"Is Ohm here?!" The apprehensive singer cut her off abruptly.

"Yes! Of course! When you picked up that phone yesterday, you told me that you would make Ohm show up at that meeting with P'Tha, and he did! Gladly, after you literally beat some sense into him, he accepted to play Pat's role again and the project can finally move forward." She eyed Nanon weirdly. "Why do you look so surprised? Didn't you know that he would be here?"

"No. I mean, yeah! I just...I wasn't sure." The singer was completely disconcerted while his manager studied his features. He did pick up her call before Ananda showed up in Ohm's room the previous morning. He had almost forgotten that while Ohm slept like a baby beside him, he convinced Kwang that everything would go back to normal, even though he knew their relationship was hanging on by a thread. He didn't go into details, but he assured the manager that their work wouldn't be affected. At that point, all he knew was that Ohm was unfaithful. Nanon was devastated, obviously, but until he found out that Ananda was involved in that 'affair', he thought he could forgive and forget.

"I know it's supposed to be a secret, but...Aren't you two back together?" She lowered her voice as she pulled him out of the corridor and led him to an empty meeting room. Nanon swallowed, as she stared at him curiously. "You gave him that bruise on his cheek, didn't you?"

Nanon's heart raced. How come Ohm had a change of heart? Shouldn't his ex be worse than before? Drowning his sorrows in a few bottles of vodka while crying and grieving over their end would be understandable. But being at the company at 7 AM for a meeting was unexpected. Was he the only one feeling depressed after what happened? Was a break up all Ohm needed to get himself together? He couldn't believe the older actor was back to work so soon. And on top of that, flaunting the evidence of their yesterday's fight for the whole world to see and wonder what had gone down. He could already foresee that everyone in GMMTV would connect Ohm's sudden change of mood to the fact that his vacation was over. It was no wonder that his manager had already connected all the dots and even assumed that they were back together. The singer was aware that people in that building would be making similar theories, and rumours about an OhmNanon honeymoon phase would start. Yet, they couldn't be more wrong. And Nanon was ready to deny any sort of misinterpretation of what was going on between them. If P'Tha thought that they were in a relationship again, contracts could be terminated, a scandal would be unavoidable, and lives would be destroyed. His heart had already made a home for his personal chaos, and the last thing the singer wanted at that moment was to expand that chaos to his professional life.

"Sorry, but, with all due respect, I believe that doesn't concern you, Phi. And I would appreciate it very much if you could just inform me where this meeting with P'Aof and the others is taking place. I don't wanna make them wait even more-"

"Cut the bull, Nanon. Hitting each other is an old modus operandi of yours. Look at you! Who do you think you're fooling? You barely brushed your hair, you didn't even put on a presentable outfit to come here, but you're clearly wearing a concealer. It seems to me you're the only one trying to hide what's going in here." Her voice sounded more austere now. "You two are under my care again and I need to be aware of a few things if we're going to make this work! There has to be a relationship of trust between us, so I am gonna ask you again. Are you two back together or not?"

"No, we are not." Nanon chewed on his lower lip. That confirmation made his whole body ache. "Are we done here, or-"

"How come?!" She looked appalled. "He looks different, I mean like the old Ohm. Since you're back in Thailand and you picked up his phone yesterday, I thought-"

"Yes, I went to see him. I spent the night with him. Then we fought in the morning and agreed that...That we shouldn't go on like that, so we ended it." Nanon's eyes watered as he looked away. He told himself not to cry. He was at work, and he had to keep his feelings in check. The fact that he was going to play Pran for Ohm's Pat made him nauseated, yet, he knew he could forget himself in that role again, and finally accept the sad reality he was in. Unlike Pat and Pran, Ohm and Nanon would never get a happy ending.

"Room 13." She sighed and opened the door for him. "I'll be here if you need me."

Nanon did some quick breathing exercises as he stood in front of the meeting room door.
He counted to ten before he knocked on it. He thought of running away when he heard Aof's voice telling him to come in, but his feet just didn't allow him to move. He started listening to loud animated voices and laughter when he finally gathered enough courage to open the door. He braced himself for what he was about to face and stepped into the room without looking at anyone or anything in particular. Luckily, the director was the one who sat nearest to the door, so he quickly greeted him first and apologized for being late.

When he lifted up his head to greet Earth and Mix he realized another CP was there too, a young one, Fourth and Gemini. The two nongs were the ones making all the older actors laugh. Gemini was sitting on Ohm's lap, but quickly got up when he noticed the singer's presence in the room. Fourth was clinging between Earth and Mix, but immediately left their side as soon as he laid eyes on his favorite idol. The kid jumped on Nanon and back hugged him excitedly, failing to notice the low-key side-eye Ohm was giving him.

Nanon tried to smile as he received such a warm welcome. Earth and Mix waved at him across the room, and he managed to wave back, even though Fourth was practically keeping him captive. Fourth still wouldn't let go of him, and Gemini was thankfully blocking Nanon's view of the person sitting on Mix's left. Suddenly, the singer was relieved to have the boys there, at least for a few minutes. Both kids were also part of Our Sky 2 but they were not part of the PatPran×PhuphaTian story. And for a moment, Nanon wished they could be there too, just to borrow some of their liveliness. He indeed needed a boost of that devil may care kind of vitality.

"Phi, can you believe that even though we played the role of Pat and Pran's juniors in Bad Buddy Series, P'Aof didn't include us in this sequel?" Gemini pouted. The director just chuckled at the childish complaint.

"Yeah, so I've heard." Nanon gave the boy a sympathetic look. "But you guys have your own series now, so I guess he's not that cruel, right?" The singer grinned as he glanced at the director, who just clicked his tongue humorously and opened a folder with a bunch of papers in it.

"It's time to let the adults work, kids." Aof said as he put his glasses on, signalling the boys to leave the room. But as stubborn as they were, they didn't leave immediately.

"We came to say hi the moment we heard about this meeting. P'Aof was sorry for excluding us from Pat and Pran story, so he let us in just for a while." Fourth singsonged, the director rolled his eyes. But the kid continued fanboying over Nanon. "I haven't seen you in a while. How are you today, Phi? Did you get enough rest in Japan? Did you bring me anything nice?" Fourth asked animatedly as he shook Nanon a little, keeping the singer within his embrace. Nanon snorted at his youthful chaotic energy.

"Remember your favourite Phi suffers from chronic backache. Release him." Ohm's softly firm voice echoed in the room and a wave of anguish washed over the singer's whole being. He almost forgot that his ex was in the room. An apologetic Fourth removed his limbs from Nanon and stepped away a little. The singer just patted the boy's shoulder to indicate that he was fine.

"I'm good, Nong. Japan was good. Thanks for asking." Nanon informed the youngster and ruffled his hair playfully. And yes, I do have a little something for everyone, I left them at P'Kwang's room. Why don't you stop by there and ask her to find the packages with your names on it? Let your Phis work now, okay?"

"Okay!" Fourth and Gemini spoke in unison and politely said their goodbyes to the others in the room, but before they could leave, Nanon still tried to keep them inside the room for a few more seconds.

"By the way, have you two finished filming your Our Sky 2 episodes?"

"Yes, Phi!" Fourth and Gemini replied at the same time again.

"Alright, go on then. Behave, will you? See you guys later." The singer nodded and finally let them go with a sigh. Who was going to block his vision now? He could barely bear listening to Ohm's voice, let alone look at him. As soon as the young actors left, P'Aof started the meeting in an outgoing tone, just to reacquaint the couples with each other. An idle conversation was initiated, while everyone commented on what they did on their weekend, Nanon just kept smiling and nodding to his seniors. He didn't have much to add to the topic. His weekend couldn't have been more shittier. Earth asked about Japan, but all Nanon did was complain about the cold.

"So, after Our Sky 2 and The Jungle, you're focusing on your music career, huh? Abandoning the acting field so soon?" Mix commented as he turned to Nanon.

"I didn't give up being an actor, at least till I am 30, I'll still act. The truth is I've been trying to get this album out since the beginning of the pandemic. I need to focus on it to get it done." The singer clarified.

"Once you're 30 you'll retire?" Earth looked surprised.

"It's not like that, Phi." Ohm chimed in, before Nanon could even open his mouth. Once he's 30, he plans to work behind the scenes like a director, with his own production house. He plans to be married at 35. And around 40 he intends to stop working in the industry and take a full rest. He figures that once he reaches 50 he will die, since his back pain is already killing him slowly at a young age." He informed them, and Nanon's heartbeats doubled. Ohm was there, and he breathed in the same room as him. The singer never thought that such a thing could unnerve him.

"Wow, you're such a young kid, and it seems you have your whole life figured out, don't you? You have even scheduled your time of death! You do sound like someone who strives to be in control of his own fate." Earth was flabbergasted as he turned to the singer. "But sometimes, fate doesn't agree with our plans, and we've gotta accept that." He added thoughtfully.

"That's quite detailed, Ohm. It's usually Nanon who pays attention to details. You often can barely remember his shoe size and suddenly you've memorized all this?" P'Aof raised an eyebrow at Ohm, who simply shrugged.

"I guess soulmates never forget what really matters. Ohm will have to hurry up and propose to Nanon before he turns 35!" Earth joked and all of them laughed, except for Nanon, who could not believe why he was listening to Ohm's cackling in his ear. The singer couldn't help thinking that his ex was under the influence of some really heavy depressant drug. All hell broke loose yesterday in his apartment, resulting in a painful break up between them. Ananda finally got what he wanted, and now they were supposed to be as miserable as Mark's even cousin, but that Ohm in the room didn't look like the same Ohm of the day before.

"Damn, I'm jealous now. We've been together for 10 years and I bet you can't tell what I'm gonna do when I'm 30, P'Earth." Mix joked, faking hurt as he lightly punched his co-star on the arm.

"Actually, I couldn't wait till he turned 30, so I already proposed to him, and he said yes." Ohm commented out of the blue, and his Phis suddenly didn't know if those words were really legit, or if he was really joking. Due to the rumours going around the company, they weren't sure of how they should react at first, until Ohm himself grinned and rolled his eyes at them. "Don't make those faces. Phis! I'm already getting into my character, you know. Pat would certainly propose to Pran before he turned 30. He's not the patient type."

At this point Nanon's face had already turned red, not due to embarrassment, but raw anger. He didn't open his mouth because he knew he wouldn't be able to play his role as well as Ohm.

"You two and your characters have a lot in common.' Mix's eyes travelled from Ohm to Nanon and he smiled at them with genuine sympathy. "I watched BBS the series. The pair of lovers went against their family's will and fought for their love. If you think about it, it's not much different from what's going on now between you guys and P'Tha. You see, I've never dreamed that a BL CP would come as far as you guys did. The two of you are indeed inspiring human beings."

"Sorry, guys. I am going to the restroom. I guess I ate something this morning and I just don't feel well...Just gimmie a sec, I'll be back." Nanon didn't wait for anyone's permission to leave the room, he just stood up, turned around and walked out. Mix immediately regretted what he said. Earth was too uncomfortable to say something, and Ohm sighed in frustration.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset anyone-" Mix started, but Ohm cut him off.

"Don't worry, Phi. He's just a little indisposed this morning."

A concerned Aof stood up to go after the singer, but Ohm stopped him.

"Let me go check on him, Phi. I'll bring him back."

"No fights in restrooms, okay? People are still talking about the last one." The director warned him. Ohm nodded and hurried to find his perturbed co-star.

At the nearest restroom<<<<<<<<<<<

"You have to go back there. You're worrying everyone, including me." Ohm announced as he entered the restroom and watched Nanon splashing water on his face and trying to keep himself together. The singer was being careful not to ruin the concealer he was wearing. Ohm was certain he would find his ex in a private space like that one. It was the restroom usually frequented by people who held meetings on that floor of the building, and since most meeting rooms were empty at that hour, Ohm easily guessed that Nanon would take advantage of that fact to recompose himself. And he was right.

"Leave." The trembling singer said without turning around to look at him. Ohm crossed his arms and did exactly the contrary. He took a few steps forward in Nanon's direction, making the singer glare at him through the mirror above the sink.

"If I do, P'Aof will come find you, and you don't want that. Look at the state of you..." Ohm exhaled, and stopped on his tracks before he got too close to him. He couldn't risk unfolding his arms and pulling the singer to them. "Our personal lives shouldn't interfere in our work. You, better than anyone, should know that."

"Why the hell did you not cover your bruise?" An uneasy Nanon demanded.

"It looks more believable when I inform people that we broke up. And don't even try hiding the purplish colour on your cheek, people will figure out that you're too lazy to wear concealer when you're not filming anything. Then, they will know you're just as marked as me." Ohm replied sourly.

"What?!" Nanon exclaimed exasperatedly. Ohm snorted dryly.

"Don't worry. I'm kidding. Whenever people ask me about it, I tell them that I got it while practicing Muay Thai with my little brother." The older actor confessed with a shrug.

The singer frowned. "What the hell happened to you!? Who are you and where's my...What did you do to Pawat Chittsawangdee?" A clearly stressed Nanon finally turned to his ex and examined his features. Ohm had closed off completely. It was as if he had forbidden the singer to have any access to his real feelings. Nanon felt helpless when he couldn't recognize his ex-lover there in front of him. The singer stepped closer to him and instinctively tried to touch the older's face, feel his bruise, just to make sure no doppelganger had taken the place of the man he couldn't live without, but his fingers were rejected.

"Hey, hey, hey! I didn't come here for this." Ohm quickly dodged his touch and narrowed his eyes. Nanon hated to be the one wearing his heart on his sleeve at that moment. He despised his own vulnerability. It did hurt when Ohm refused to be touched by him, but that coldness emanating from the older was piercing through his soul.

"What is it then? Don't you wanna talk about us, and-"

"No!" The older denied his assumption briskly. "I already told you I am here because you stormed out in the middle of a meeting and-"

"Do they know about us?" Nanon didn't have enough patience to let him finish his sentence. "I don't even know what was going on there! How come P'Mix-"

"I didn't tell them anything. P'Mix just assumed stuff, like everyone else is doing." Ohm ruffled his own hair in frustration and inhaled. "Let me update you on a couple of things regarding our working environment. After people saw me trying to beat the shit out of P'Tha in that restroom a month ago, it's difficult to deny a couple of things... We are the talk of the company, Nanon. You should know that the situation was even more chaotic while you were away. Everybody thought that P'Tha was deciding whether or not to sack the golden child of GMMTV because he had an affair with his unstable, cancelled co-star." Ohm revealed bitterly. "I guess they were just wrong about who our CEO planned to fire."

"Well, it just seems to me that you have no problem feeding rumours like that! When you say stuff like the one you've just said in that room about proposals and-"

"You saw how I let them know I was joking. I was just trying to break the ice. You avoided interacting with me, so I had to do something to make you notice me. You were in that room, but you weren't at the same time! You didn't even look in my direction, goddamnit. And we're supposed to play one of the most popular characters of the Thai BL world again! There has to be chemistry between us, right? P'Aof is not stupid, if he notices that something might get in the way of this project again-"

"We've just broken up yesterday, Ohm! I'm sorry if I'm not completely over the fact that my fucking boyfriend cheated on me, not just once, but dozens of times, with the cousin of my worst enemy! I'm sorry if I'm not as insensitive and heartless as you!" A resentful Nanon spat bitterly, not failing to look directly into his dark orbs. The older one flinched.

"You're mistaken. We broke up before you left for Japan, remember? I've spent a whole month mourning our ending. For me, this relationship has been dead and buried a long time ago. You're always the one who's late to face reality." The older said mercilessly, not failing to see the despair in his ex's features. "This is no topic to be discussed here anyway." Ohm looked away. "We said what we had to say to each other already. It's no use talking about the same thing over and over again. It's in the past. It's over between us. Let's move on."

"Just like that? No more drinking, no more isolating yourself? How come?! Aren't you even feeling sad anymore? Or regretful?" An unsettled Nanon insisted. He couldn't conceive what was going on in that restroom. Didn't their relationship mean nothing to Ohm?

"Why should I? Perth has already moved in. I didn't even have time to feel lonely after you left." Ohm said nonchalantly. Nanon could tell he was purposefully sending a misleading message with that information. But the singer knew better. And he was at least relieved to hear that Perth was doing what he asked.

"I bet you two are getting along pretty well. Does he know you let junior actors sit on your lap while you're at work?" Nanon's accusing tone caught him out of guard. And a sudden offended Ohm immediately faced him again.

"Oh, please! Gemini is a child! He was just playing around. I would never touch-"

"Really? You fucked Mark's cousin! Mark's cousin!" Nanon threw his hands in the air exaggeratedly. "How come?! I still can't wrap my head around this shit! How am I supposed to believe that you would never touch a fresh young teenager-"

"Stop it! You're being crude, Nanon! And crudeness is beneath you. You know I was never with Ananda because I wanted to! Just like when you went to live with Mark Pakin, I had no choice-"

"I hate you! I hate the sound of your excuses, and the way you twist things around! I hate how your eyes look at me like they've never seen through me. I hate your loveless expression, and all the broken promises that ever escaped your dispassionate, hateful lips. I hate you!" A pained Nanon raised his voice suddenly and Ohm gulped. For the first time, inside that restroom, the older's eyes fluttered with emotion.

"As you should. Never let go of this feeling. Just like love, it keeps you going. Hate me all you want. Don't miss me Nanon, don't regret the end. But do your fucking job how you're supposed to. I bet you don't wish to anger your boss after all he did to keep you in this company and save your ass from a huge lawsuit." Ohm gritted his teeth. Nanon's eyes widened.

"What lawsuit? What are you talking about?" Nanon tried not to panic so fast. Perth wouldn't have told Ohm about that, would he? He promised he wouldn't. The other person who knew about it was his father and Nonnie, but before going to Japan, Nanon made them also swear that they would keep quiet about that issue.

"Right, play dumb. You're great at it. I'm tired of this prattle." The older actor shook his head in disbelief. "I'm going back to the meeting room right now, and you'd better follow me if you know what's good for you." Ohm added in a patronizing tone as he headed to the door.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." Nanon's guilty voice made him halt his steps. "Ohm, I couldn't let those people-"

"Shut up. It doesn't matter anymore. At least now I know why you really left." The older buried his hands in the pockets of his pants and walked out of the restroom without looking back.

Nanon swallowed his hurt, checked if the concealer was still there on his cheek and counted to 10 before thinking of leaving the restroom. His anxiety was threatening to peak too fast, and when he thought he would start hyperventilating, the door of one of the stalls there opened suddenly. The singer thought he was the only one there, but now he realized that his emotional instability made him careless. It could've been anyone from GMMTV witnessing that quarrel, and the exes could've gotten in trouble if it was one of P'Tha's underlings, or the CEO himself, but luckily, the person walking out of that stall was just a Nong, and also a college who played the role of one of Pat's friends in BBS the Series. Prom Theepakorn Kwanboon was also the teenager whose childhood friend was paid by Nanon to intimidate the cyberbullies who were harassing Ohm online.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop." A timid Prom slowly approached him and gave him a sympathetic look. "Rest assured that whatever I heard here won't leave this restroom."

"What exactly do you think you heard?" The singer asked him, not really happy with the fact that an outsider heard him and his ex going at each other. "You must be confused, aren't you?" Nanon started, trying to remember everything he and Ohm discussed in that restroom. He knew that a lot of compromising and disturbing topics were mentioned there, and he was ready to ask that Nong to forget everything he heard, but Prom quickly showed him that he wasn't totally unaware of what the pair was debating seconds ago.

"I'm not confused. I already know P'Mark can't be trusted. It's hard to imagine that a seemingly outgoing actor who worked with us was such a psychopath. By the way, I know about the evil cousin too." The boy said simply as he went to the sink to wash his hands. Nanon turned pale.

"Who told you that?"

"A drunk P'Ohm says a lot of things." The kid replied calmly, while drying his hands in the sink. Nanon sighed in frustration and crossed his arms. The fact that the teenager knew about such private issues made him uneasy, but the singer tried not to freak out on the boy.

"How bad was the drinking while I was away?" Nanon asked in an anxious tone. "Do you know if he mentioned these things to anyone else?"

"Don't worry. Even though he was plastered, he's not a fool. He just revealed a little too much because he knows I am trustable." Prom assured him." Oh, and by the way, I ended up telling him about the lawsuit. Since he showed me some honesty, I felt that I should return the favor."

Nanon's eyes widened and a huff escaped his lips. "So, it was you then."

"Phi deserved to know, don't you think?" Prom said, and he didn't seem to feel bad about it. That wasn't an apology, he was plainly telling the singer that he didn't follow the legal instructions he was supposed to.

"We were advised by GMM's lawyers not to speak about this to anyone." Nanon sighed in frustration. "Why did you do it?"

"Phi had to know why you left. Since you weren't going to tell him, I did it." The boy informed him nonchalantly, dried his hands with a few paper towels and turned around to leave. The singer eyed him in disbelief and followed him out of the restroom.

"Prom, you had no right-"

"I couldn't lie to him anymore!" The teenager changed his tone suddenly as he turned to face him again. "Don't you see what's going on?! P'Ohm is getting dragged daily by people. Every time he fucking breathes, those hellish cyberbullies call him out for simply existing! Since January 8th, when he decided to be honest about the bullying rumours, these online warriors keep judging him nonstop! Now he seems to have dozens of victims, and I bet these fuckers were never really his schoolmates. This whole shit is so unfair! GMM shouldn't be making deals with those jerks, the company should be suing them for defamation!" Prom's speech got heated by the minute, and Nanon had no idea of where that was coming from. They were in the middle of a corridor and that kind of conversation shouldn't be happening in the open like that. Therefore, Nanon grabbed the teenager by the arm, dragged him inside the nearest elevator, waited till the door closed and pushed the stop button.

"Hey, listen to me, we cannot control the haters. Even if we take care of a few of them, others will continue their dirty work. What I asked of you and paid your hacker friend to do was wrong. To fire back with hate makes us no better than them. You're a good Nong, and instead of wasting your time reading these hate comments, you should use this energy in showing your support to him privately.
I know you're mad, and so am I, but-"

"You don't look mad, Phi." Prom gave him an accusing look. Nanon blinked in bewilderment. For a second, he almost got angry, but he swallowed, and reminded himself that he was talking to a teenager there. That boy couldn't possibly know what he was going through.

"Hear me out, you can't even imagine how I struggled to make things better for him, for both of us, but nothing I tried worked-"

"Save it, Phi! P'Ohm is a wreck, and neither his agency, or his friends, or you, or that lazy manager of his have defended the guy publicly! Lots of brands are not working with him anymore, he's apologized, he's not hurting anyone anymore. But he's still getting punished for what he did, and the people who claimed to love him are disappearing-"

"Stop saying nonsense!" An impatient Nanon hissed, as he grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and shook him a little. "You're starting to sound like those other idiots who don't know the first thing about the current situation and keep writing nonsensical theories online. No artist of this company is supposed to talk about this shit! Whenever a GMM 'asset' is publicly called out, we're not allowed to engage with the agitators. You're well aware that everyone is supporting your Phi behind the scenes, so you'd better shut your goddamn mouth. And do not drag our manager into your insane discourse. If it wasn't for P'Kwang Ohm would've been fired already! Both of us would! I am thankful to her and so is he! Why are you being like this? Are you-"

"You don't love him anymore, do you?" The boy asked out of the blue. "Why would you want him after he cheated on you? Why not leave him for me?"

A shocked Nanon immediately let go of Prom and furrowed his brows. "What did you say?"

"I bet I can be a better lover than you are." Prom whispered bitterly. "You've gotta let me try. You don't deserve him. You never did. All you do is take him for granted."

"What?!" The singer was flabbergasted. He couldn't believe his own ears. Was that kid infatuated with Ohm? What did he miss? When did that start? What was exactly going on between them? Could Nong Prom be the reason for Ohm's cold behavior towards him that morning?

"I'm younger, cuter, prettier, thinner, and more delicate than you...I'm sure I can succeed where you failed. Just set him free, Phi." Prom's voice was a mix of plea and arrogance. The singer gasped. He couldn't help thinking that maybe, Ananda Kunaanuwit's bed wasn't the only one Ohm visited while he was away.

"Do you happen to like Ohm?" Nanon was still unable to process all that information. Prom never showed any kind of interest in men, nor ever said anything that could make anyone think that his affection for Ohm was more than just innocent brotherly feelings.

"I always loved him in secret, because it was clear that he only had eyes for you. But after you left, I was the one visiting him at his parents' house non-stop. I was there when he was kicked out by his dad. I stayed by him when P'Chimon took your side and called him a drunk! I was with him whenever P'Perth asked me to keep an eye on him because he was busy and couldn't watch him. I was there, all the time, and he confided in me. P'Ohm is miserable because of you! Ever since you two became a CP, he's been through hell!"

"Did he tell you that?" Nanon asked fiercely, as his eyes watered. He hated the fact that he was absent when his beloved most needed him. He hated the fact that they had broken up. He hated the fact that Ananda had won. He hated the fact that Mark was still alive. He hated to think that Ohm would soon have a replacement for him in his heart. He hated the fact that his mom had cancer. He hated the fact that his dad was not dependable. He hated the fact that he had broken his promise to Mrs. Chittsawangdee. He hated the fact that P'Tha and GMM were still going to make money off a ship that had sunk completely. He hated the fact that the company would have him and Ohm go through all kinds of criticisms for not being as close as they used to be, but still get a lot of likes and views on GMMTV's YouTube channel after OurSky2 was out. He hated that his 2000 gang was falling apart. He hated his fucking life.

"Did he have to? You and I know it is true." Prom knew how to sound persuasive, and cruel at that moment. "You see, I even created an anonymous account and started the #freeOhm, because all he needs to get back on his feet is to be free of Nanon Korapat. He needs someone reliable on his side. Thankfully, the few loyal fans he still has, are defending the same theory too. You need to get out of his life Phi. If you truly ever loved him-"

"We broke up! I am not forcing him to work with me. Why would I do that? He broke my goddamn heart! Your P'Ohm is not a fucking saint! We're only meeting for work, so do not assume that I am still-"

"That means I can flirt with him then? Are you allowing me to go after him with all I have? You're giving him to me?" Prom asked with a look of expectation on his face. A conflicted, hurt and acerbic Nanon clicked his tongue, and told himself that Ohm's love life was no business of his anymore.

"Gor for it. It's not like he was never really mine anyways. He and I are officially single. You don't have to ask my permission for anything." The resigned singer replied, and shrugged, struggling to keep his feelings in check. The audacity of the teenager was seriously getting to him though.

"Thank you." Prom smiled then. "I knew you wouldn't be difficult about this. After all, you're not such a bad Phi like all the Ohm stans keep talking about on Twitter."

"And I thought you were more mature than them, after all, you worked with us, and you know how things really go down in real life. But I guess I was wrong. It's a pity you're just as childish and delusional as those seemingly pubescent netizens who waste a great amount of their free time on fan wars, idol stalking, shipping, hate comments, and cringe fanfiction." Nanon shook his head in disbelief and pushed another button in that elevator that could send him back to his meeting. But the teenager's next words made him halt.

"Huh! Go ahead. You can try and sound condescending. But I was the one who saved his life, you know? Ask P'Perth, P'Tanat, or P'Chimon." Prom said at last and walked past him as soon as the elevator door opened. The boy purposely bumped on his shoulder and waved him goodbye, satisfied to have had the last word.

Nanon had the urge of going after the kid, but he quickly reminded himself that he had people waiting for him. Further questions had to be made another time. Therefore, he just put a neutral expression on his face, a professional mask that should last at least until that meeting was over, and went back to room 13.

To his surprise, a tense Kwang was there, and both Earth and Mix were gone. Ohm had an indescribable look on his long face and Aof looked concerned.

"What happened? Where are the others?" The singer asked puzzled.

"Well, Mix is a vet student. He was planning to miss classes this morning to attend this meeting here, but since you disappeared, I told Earth to drive him to his faculty." The director informed him and took a deep breath. "Now that they're no longer here, we can talk about the most expected CP of Our Sky2. Let's take this opportunity to open up about the current issue at hand. Because obviously, there's a serious issue to be tackled here."