Chapter 1: Pulled by the Thread
The band just finished rehearsal. The boys started packing, leaving one by one. Po has been waiting, arms crossed, expression tight. The air is heavy even before the first word. Thame passed by, without greeting the manager. Po stops Thame.
"You skipped two meetings this week without informing me, Thame. Two. Do you think the world revolves around your whims?” Po said sharply.
“I was writing new songs. Isn’t that the point? Or do you only care if I’m sitting in some chair nodding along to your schedules?” Thame snapped immediately.
“I care because the band depends on you. If you keep acting like you’re the only one that matters, you’re going to drag everyone down with you! That's disappointing" Po's voice was rising as he stepped closer to Thame.
“Oh, right. Because you know exactly what it’s like to stand up there, don’t you? You’ve got it all figured out from your clipboard and headset.” Thame scoff, as he crossed his arms.
“Don’t you dare belittle what I do. I’ve given everything to keep you boys standing, to keep you standing. You think this all just works out by magic?” Po snapped hard.
“You act like I owe you my life. Like I can’t breathe without your reminders. Maybe I don’t want someone hovering over me every second.” Thame's voice was sharp but breaking on the edge.
“Maybe if you’d stop acting like a reckless kid, I wouldn’t have to!” Po's jaw tighten as he said those word sharply.
Thame flinch before replying.
“…There it is. Exactly what you think of me.”
Silence hangs. Po’s anger simmers, but Thame looks wounded beneath his glare. He grabs his bag that fell, voice flat.
“…Forget it. I’m done for tonight.”
Thame walks out before Po can say anything else. The door shuts with a final thud, leaving Po staring after him, regret flickering in his eyes.
-
The shrill 'Triiiing!' cut through the room, jolting Po from his sleep.
"Ugh, when is my off?" Po groaned as he grab his phone under his pillow.
'Khun Pemika'
"Hello, Khun Pemika" Po answered his boss formally.
"Do you know where are the boys?" Khun Pemika started
"Boys? You mean MARS?"
Po rush to change his clothes and grab his bag to run in the office. He barely fixed himself just to get to the office when he heard what Khun Pemika asked.
"Ai'Po, Khun Pemika's already fuming" Baifern whispered as she lead him to their boss' office.
Po entered the office, and stood straight. Khun Pemika may look calm and compose, her sharp gazes can make Po's spine shiver. He didn't even know what was happening, he just felt Khun Pemika's cold voice and he immediately knew he's in trouble.
"Po.” Her voice was quiet. Too quiet. “Would you like to tell me where your boys are?”
His stomach tightened. “They’re… at practice. Why?”
A pause. The kind of silence that said she already knew the answer.
“They are not at practice. They are not at the dorms. They are not anywhere they are supposed to be.” Her words came steady, measured, each one landing like a hammer. “Would you like to try again?” Khun Pemika even smiles.
Po sat up straight, heart pounding. “What do you mean? That’s impossible, I—I checked in on them yesterday—”
“Yesterday, Po.” Her calm tone was almost mocking. “And today? You didn’t notice, did you? You had one job that is to keep them in line. And yet here we are.”
Po swallowed hard, suddenly cold. “Ma’am, I’ll find them. I promise I’ll—”
“Promises,” she murmured, the word curling like smoke. “You make them easily, Po. Let us see if you can keep even one.”
-
"What now?" Baifern immediately went to Po to asked
"Do you know where are my artists?" Po asked Baifern as he walked to his table and grabbed each paper he could scan to get an idea where they ran off.
"Ha? Why? What happened?"
"They're nowhere. And Khun Pemika's in my neck, holding a knife." Po said, now scanning his computer.
"How about you go to their dorm? Or contact their family, friends? Maybe they went home?" Baifern suggested, helping Po whatever he is doing.
"P'Mick had done that all, they really vanished. Ugh" Po said and sat down on his chair, as if giving up.
"Hmmm, I'm gonna ask my artist, if they knew something, okay?" Baifern said and left.
Po sighs, suddenly his phone lit up with a notification which Po lazily opened and found it was Nano's story on IG.
-
"Whoah are you going on a vacation? I wanna go too" Baifern said
"No, I'm not. I am hunting MARS. Those brats."
"Awww, who gave you the info?" Baifern asked
"Nano"
Nano didn't gave the info.
-
He was itching to swin the ocean instead of flying after knowing the delay. Finally Po arrived after a day or two delayed flight. Po roamed his eyes and familiarize the place. He's been stalking his boys and was determined to track them today.
Po dragged his luggage down yet another narrow path, the wheels rattling against uneven stones. Sweat clung to his back under the merciless heat, but he pressed on, scanning every villa, every gate, every number. The island sun was unforgiving, and his irritation bubbled hotter with every step. He wasn’t just looking, he was hunting.
His patience was gone. His shirt clung to him, his cap tugged low to hide his scowl, but inside he was boiling. Where did these kids even run off to?
Then finally, his eyes landed on a familiar sight. A villa with the same carved wooden door and number plate he once glimpsed in a blurry Instagram story from Nano… or maybe Dylan. His jaw clenched.
Dragging the suitcase behind him, he stormed up the steps. Without hesitation, he knocked. Once. Twice. Then harder.
“Open up,” he hissed under his breath, irritation sharpening with each second of silence.
When no one came, his knocking turned into pounding sharp and heavy, echoing down the quiet row of villas. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The noise carried enough to make a couple from the next villa peek their heads out, whispering at the sight of an angry man in a cap hammering his fists against the door. Another guest frowned from a balcony.
Po didn’t care. His fist grew louder, harsher. He was ready to start shouting when finally—
Click.
The lock turned.
The door cracked open.
And standing there was—
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you read Bickering Notes, then you know who opened the door. Hahahaha. Hi, thanks for waiting me but I have to apologize for any errors when I'm sleepy wriring this hahaha plus our lessons' already getting serious. Noooo huhuhuh. I might delay a lot unlike the prev story where the first few chaps are already written way before.
~Gie.
YOU ARE READING
Strings and Shadow
FanfictionThame has always kept his feelings for Po hidden, his quiet admiration masked behind music. When their band escapes to Isla Liyag, Po is determined to track them down. But between rehearsals, late-night talks, and unspoken glances, the line between...
