Most twenty-one-year-old nursing students spend their Thursday nights drafting intensive care plans for Child Health Nursing or staring at Mental Health case studies until their eyes blur.
But here I was, crouching under a massive, high-tech hydraulic stage at a GMMTV mega-event in Bangkok, holding my breath while three of Asia's biggest superstars crowded my personal space.
"Move over," a low, irritated voice muttered to my left. "You're stepping on a designer suit jacket that costs more than your entire tuition."
I slowly craned my neck up, glaring through the dim backstage lighting at the annoyingly flawless face of Win Metawin.
"And you're crowding a future nurse who can easily make your next hospital visit very uncomfortable," I hissed back, my heart hammering from the close proximity, though I'd rather die than admit it. "So unless you want me to accidentally trip you into that sea of paparazzi out there, I suggest you shut up and let me hide in peace."
Win's jaw tightened, a sharp, disbelieving laugh escaping his lips. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Yes. A giant inconvenience. Now move."
"Oh, stop crying about your jacket, P'Win," Phuwin Tangsakyuen interrupted from the shadows on my right, tossing me a smug grin. "Honestly, Tara, if you want to push him off the stage later, just give me the signal."
"Don't encourage her, Phuwin," Pond Naravit chimed in, casually checking his hair in the reflection of a blank monitor.
"She's already hyperventilating. Look at her. Tara, breathe. If you faint right when the stage lifts, I am not carrying you out in front of thousands of screaming fans."
Suddenly, the heavy bass of the event's theme music shook the floorboards beneath our feet. The countdown was hitting zero.
"Final lineup positions, now! Stage is going up!" a frantic stage manager yelled through the dark.
Before I could even scramble backward, a firm hand wrapped securely around my wrist. With one heavy pull, I was dragged right into the center of the platform just as the giant hydraulic lifts groaned to life.
The stage began to rise.
Above us, a roaring crowd of thousands of fans, flashing cameras, and bright lights exploded into view. The internet was about to literally crash by midnight. And right in the middle of GMMTV's biggest event of the year stood me-an ordinary international student trapped between three global icons.
How on earth did I get here?
Exactly Six Months Earlier...
If you asked anyone back then, the glamorous world of Thailand's entertainment industry and my life lived on entirely different planets.
On one side were the industry's elite-idols measured in millions of followers, global brand endorsements, and chaotic airport arrivals. Their schedules were masterpieces of corporate precision, surrounded by thousands of people, yet safely hidden behind massive agency walls.
My world, on the other hand, was wonderfully ordinary.
My life revolved around a cozy, slightly chaotic household, an annoying brother, and a mountain of medical textbooks.
As a third-year nursing student, my days were a relentless cycle of clinical rotations and trying to stay awake through lectures.
But beneath the stethoscopes, I had a secret escape: I love writing fiction.
Whenever the stress got too heavy, I'd hide away with my laptop, pouring my messy thoughts into secret scripts and stories. I was fueled entirely by iced coffee, spite, and the simple desire to stay safely in my own lane.
But fate, it seemed, was about to take my hidden passion and yell "Action!" on a script I never signed up for.
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YOU ARE READING
Before the final cut
Fanfiction"I control the chaos in my books. In real life, I'm just trying to survive it." By day, Tara is a nursing student surviving the chaotic reality of hospital duties and exams. By night, she is Midnight Tales-the anonymous author of a viral online nove...
