"What can I say? They are Pat and Pran's best friends." Chimon started in a mocking tone, earning an irritated glare from the singer. Then he changed his tone to a more serious one."Well, honestly, I want you and Ohm to be comfortable around people from the company who know about you and him, people you can see as allies. P'Jimmy and Drake happen to be some of these people. Whatever the hell happened in that Zero Waste Village, made them come after me asking very personal questions regarding your relationship with Ohm." Chimon clarified.
"And you told them?!" Nanon looked astonished.
"It was them who narrated to me how you guys desperately started kissing in the middle of a beach after some sort of fight! I really can't imagine what got into your minds while you two were in there. So careless! No wonder that Ananda had photos of you two fucking against a palm tree." Chimon loved his friend, but he wouldn't miss a chance to censure him for not taking the precautions needed when he was in public with Ohm.
Nanon was about to lash out at him when his friend took a cookie from a jar his sister had left on a chair and shoved it into the singer's mouth. "Chew on this, okay? My sister makes the best cookies I've ever tasted. It will loosen you up. I can't let you have an anxiety attack at my party."
"The fuck did she put in it? They actually taste good." The singer commented, as he chewed on the cookie, and quickly picked another one. His irritation soon dissipated. Chimon had the ability to dodge his wrath whenever it was about to pour out of him.
"That's a jar of edibles, Non. She loves to bake them." Chimon sighed. "It's Siradarat Ruangwiwat's latest specialty."
"Did you just let me eat a weed cookie?" The singer coughed, thoroughly taken aback.
"It's not gonna kill you, silly. A friend of hers grows the weed in a private greenhouse. Don't tell anyone about it, especially your mom." Chimon winked at him, and Nanon clicked his tongue.
"Geez, man! My sister is about to join the entertainment industry and yours is baking weed cookies. What are we gonna do with them?" Nanon ran a stressed hand through his hair and ate another cookie.
"Let them do their thing. It's not a big deal. I bet Nonnie will do great in Only Friends. GMMTV won't break her, she's a tough cookie. No pun intended." The older smirked. "That girl can handle herself in toxic environments. Maybe she does it better than you." Chimon said in a teasing tone. Nanon rolled his eyes at him.
"You can't let Ohm have these cookies nor drink any of the alcohol we bought, okay?" The singer reminded him. Chimon made a face at him. It was amusing how Nanon pretended not to care about Ohm, but seemed to be thinking about his ex 24/7.
"The guy is on meds. I'm not an idiot, Non. His juice bottle is already in the fridge."
"By the way, I'm still not sure if I'm comfortable with the fact that you told your sister I am gay."
"First of all, you're bi, after all you've been with girls too, right? Second, as I said before, I didn't tell her. She indiscreetly read one of the texts you sent me and she drew her own conclusions. But you know, you don't have to worry about Sira. She won't go on a Twitter rant and out you and your ex. As a matter of fact, she despises the BL industry. According to my dear sister, the genre presents a distorted version of what it means to be gay in Thailand, and it also fails to reflect the systemic discrimination faced by LGBT people in our country. It's safe to say that she's far from being a shipper or a gossipmonger. Honestly, she's not even a fan of yours."
"I'm not just a BL actor. I am an actor." Nanon corrected his friend.
"Sorry, buddy. Some people forget the fact that you weren't always Pran." Chimon gave him an apologetic look.
"Are you sure she won't say anything?" The singer insisted.
"I don't think so. Unless she wants me to tell our parents she's a lesbian." Chimon shrugged. "I got you covered, man."
Nanon nodded and chuckled. The singer was about to ask if those cookies could really help him with his anxiety, but at that very moment Chimon's sister appeared in the backyard with Nonnie, Prom and Perth by her side.
"What the hell is that kid doing here?" Nanon gritted his teeth.
"Ohm asked me to invite him." Chimon said quickly as the guests waved at them and started to walk in their direction.
"And you agreed just like that?" The singer eyed him in disbelief.
"Well, he supposedly saved my bestie's life. I guess I owe the little shit." Chimon gave him the half-assed excuse without much effort. He wasn't going to reveal to Nanon that Ohm was the one who needed an opportunity to show the singer that Prom was really just a Nong he treasured like a friend.
"You claim you don't know why Prom thinks he has a chance with Ohm, but it is a fact that they already kissed, Chimon!" Nanon exclaimed.
"You already told me that a thousand times. So what? There's no harm in a simple kiss, is there? You kiss people all the time!" Chimon smirked, amused by the jealousy etched on the singer's face. The younger one huffed.
"I kiss people I am close with! And not on the mouth! Why are you minimizing what's going on right before our eyes-"
"Whoever kisses your ex now is not your problem. You're not together anymore, remember?" Chimon raised an eyebrow at him. The singer swallowed.
"I know, but-"
"Listen, you should get used to seeing Ohm around people who fancy him. The guy is single now, you made that clear to him when you called him a dirty slut you would never marry. Therefore, if he happens to hook up with anybody now, you'll have to deal with it." A straightforward Chimon clarified to him. That statement shut Nanon up for a long second, until he regained his ability to talk.
"You seem to have gotten offended by what I said to him. You keep repeating it." The singer squinted his eyes at him.
"I'll tell you something, Non. If it was a stranger who had called my friend a dirty slut, I would be furious, and I would defend him with my fists. But since it was you who did it, my hands are tied." Chimon snorted, but the singer knew he meant what he said.
"Listen, I promise I won't cause a scene in your backyard, but I swear, if Prom provokes me, I will-"
"Just chill. He's no match for you. You'll see. Just eat more cookies, Meung." Chimon said quickly and went to greet his guests, who brought bottles of wine and desserts with them. Nanon was confused by Chimon's words. Now he couldn't tell if his friend was pro-OhmNanon or anti-OhmNanon. He didn't feel like greeting any of the first guests. He was still living with his mom, but he barely exchanged words with Nonnie even though they were eating and sleeping under the same roof. He decided to give his sister some sort of silent treatment until he thought she was punished enough for lying to him. Nanon was not happy with Perth's presence there either. He had called Perth and asked him if he knew about the kiss Prom and his ex shared, but as expected, Perth refused to share whatever Ohm asked him not to share with others, especially with him. Nanon could've asked Nonnie about the occurrence, but he would rather keep ignoring her than knowing the truth. Prom had definitely gotten into his bad side since the boy claimed to be in love with Ohm and even kissed him in a supposed moment of weakness. The kid was already scowling at him from afar, and Nanon had to brace himself not to walk up to the boy and squeeze his young, delicate neck with both his hands.
Therefore, he put another cookie in his mouth, turned around, and walked into the house. He locked himself in the bathroom and sat on the toilet lid. He stayed there for a while, just trying to get himself together. He reminded himself that it was Chimon's party, and that he wasn't supposed to do anything to ruin it. So, he rehearsed a few smiles in the mirror of the bathroom cabinet and told himself that he was an actor, and pretending was of course, his special skills. It was nothing he hadn't done before. After taking a deep breath, he decided to come out.
As soon as he opened the bathroom door, Jimmy was there with an apologetic look on his face. Nanon had just found out recently that the doctor/actor also hid from him the fact that his mom was not ill.
"Oh, you're here too. Do you need to use the bathroom? Sorry I took so long. Go ahead." Nanon said coldly, not looking his Phi in the eye.
"Hey, Non, how are you doing?" Jimmy asked softly, before the singer went back to the party.
"What do you think? There's not even a single person I can trust in my life. How does that sound?" Nanon retorted and made a face at him.
"Will you at least let me explain myself? Your sister only told me about her insane plan later when I tried to contact your mother's doctor. I didn't mean to lie, kid. Actually, I didn't know how to tell you the truth. It was the kind of mess she was supposed to fix it herself. She said it was necessary for you to believe this cancer story, but I didn't even know what she meant with that. Nonnie assured me it was a matter of life and death. That was all she told me." Jimmy said quickly before Nanon tried to walk away from him.
"You're a doctor. Doctors are not supposed to lie about a person's diagnosis." Nanon said bitterly without bothering to put himself in the man's shoes. Jimmy gave him a pleading look.
"Nanon, your mother was never my patient. I didn't even examine her or anything. I had no idea what was going on with you, and Nonnie's mysterious warnings kept me from opening my mouth. Come on, Nong, can't we just get past that?" Jimmy insisted, putting a hand on his shoulder, but the singer just brushed it off.
"Maybe. I just need some time." Nanon muttered, and as he walked back to the backyard, he still heard Jimmy shout after him.
"Whenever you're at the company and people start giving you a hard time, you can come to me. I have your back kid!" Jimmy exclaimed, and even though Nanon didn't turn around to face him again, what that Phi said meant a lot to him. Jimmy was only able to have a glimpse of his and Ohm's relationship on their last trip to the Zero Waste village, but Nanon could tell that the doctor would fight anyone who kept feeding those heinous rumours inside GMM. Nanon wasn't really mad at him, just frustrated.
The number of people in the backyard had doubled since he went to the bathroom, and the environment had become quite pleasant. Perth was grilling meat next to Nonnie, and she seemed to be enjoying whatever the actor was telling her, because her laughter could be heard from afar. Drake and Prom were sitting by the edge of the pool, playing some game on their phones, Chimon was serving drinks to Mix and Tay at the table...? Nanon was suddenly puzzled. Chimon made him think that only people who knew about him and Ohm, and supported them as allies would be there. How come Tay Tawan was there too? He needed to find out.
"P'Tay?" Nanon walked to the table and Tay immediately stood up and pulled him into a hug.
"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you come to me? I am your Phi and I care for you. I would have understood." Tay said softly and kissed his cheek. Nanon felt like crying. He kinda loved that man. He did wonder why he never thought of talking to him about his issue with Ohm.
"How did you find out?" Nanon whispered still inside his hug. They have always been that affectionate with each other, and everyone there already knew that.
"Japan. That trip we played that stupid truth or dare game." Tawan chuckled. "You gave Billkin's finger a blowjob and told everyone that Ohm was the one who taught you how to do it. Somehow, I knew it wasn't just the alcohol talking. I was hoping that you would open up to me at some point after that. I wanted you to know that I knew, but I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."
"What did you think when you heard about the recent rumors?" Nanon asked anxiously. Tay clicked his tongue.
"First thing that came to my mind was...How sad it is for a beautiful thing to turn into a tragedy because of the ugliness of envious people." Tay said simply as he patted the boy on the back. Nanon closed his eyes and hugged his Phi tighter. He thanked Chimon internally for bringing that man there. Nanon almost felt like Chimon was throwing that party not for himself, but for OhmNanon.
"It's been tough." Nanon bit his lip to avoid crying. Even though the people there didn't know half of his and Ohm's story, it was good enough to have a person like Tay there, just warm and without judgement.
"It will get better, you'll see." Tay said in a rather reassuring manner. Someone cleared his throat next to them, and they finally disentangled their limbs.
"I am here too, and I happen to also want a hug." Mix said in a fake hurt tone, but when Nanon grinned at his words, that Phi also pulled him into a bear hug. "By the way, I really wanna hear this story about someone's finger receiving a blowjob. What the heck?!" he added with a cackle. The singer looked away embarrassedly.
"It was just a stupid game." Nanon assured him, and the older just nodded, making sure the younger understood that he didn't have to explain himself.
"Don't mind the gossipmongers. You are loved, kid. You and Ohm both." Mix said and Nanon never knew he needed to hear those things so badly. He closed his eyes and struggled not to start sobbing right there.
"I swear that if you start crying in the middle of my party, Nanon Korapa-"
Chimon didn't get to finish his sentence. Nanon let go of Mix and brought him to his arms too.
"Meung, I love you." Nanon whispered to him, and all his friend did was hug him back and smile.
"Hey, no one told me this was a gay party. Should I leave? I am not ready for a gay hug." Drake approached them with a playful smile on his face. "You guys are not going to make me gay, are you?"
"No. This pool will." A mischievous Nanon said as he exchanged looks with Chimon and they quickly pushed Drake into the pool. Everyone started laughing, including the singer, who felt like he hadn't had a laugh for a decade.
A surprised Nanon also ended up in the water a second later. Someone sneaked behind him and pushed him into the pool. When the singer almost fell on top of Drake, he swiftly turned around to see who was the culprit, and his face hardened when a snickering Prom apologized to him.
"Sorry, P'Non. I couldn't help it. He's part of Pat's engineering gang. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us." Prom said with a cynical smile on his face. Nanon knew the boy was pretending to be lively in front of all the Phis there, and that push was not far from being a provocation, but the singer still kept his feelings in check. He could swear those cookies were helping. Nanon simply gave him the finger, and the boy pretended not to be offended. Everyone laughed again.
When Nanon was about to leave the pool, Drake pulled him back.
"Hey, P'Jimmy claimed you're mad at him but he didn't tell me the reason. What is it?" Drake asked in a lower voice, so the others wouldn't hear him.
"Actually, it doesn't matter anymore." Nanon told him quietly.
"Look, let me clarify something to you." Drake sighed a bit disconcerted before he continued. "Neither of us spoke to anyone about what happened at the village. What we witnessed on that beach, all that tension between you and Ohm was beautiful, and scary...What took place there was no one else's business but yours and Ohm's." he paused again, and cleared his throat. "What I am trying to say is that Korn and Wai are Pat and Pran's best friends on a TV series, but in real life P'Jimmy and Drake are OhmNanon's greatest supporters, okay? You guys still have people you can rely on."
Nanon smiled. "Alright, man. I get it. Come here, this is definitely the time for a gay hug." The singer gave him a bro hug and they got out of the pool right after the singer whispered a shy thanks to him. Nanon appreciated the way Drake wouldn't ask about what happened at the village, and was just okay with not knowing the whole story.
"Where's he by the way? We arrived here together." Drake asked.
"P'Jimmy's in the bathroom, I ran into him a minute ago."
"No, man. I mean Ohm." Drake said as he scanned the backyard with his eyes, but there was no sign of Ohm there.
"He's here already?" Nanon asked nervously, running a hand through his wet hair. Drake nodded to him, and grinned when he noticed Nanon's sudden disconcert.
"Don't worry. Maybe loverboy went to get something in his car. He will be back." Drake winked at the singer, who just shook his head timidly, turned away, and walked towards Perth's direction. Nonnie was still animatedly grilling meat with the actor, and Nanon wondered when those two had gotten so close.
"Hey, have you seen Ohm?" The singer asked the two, frowning at the plastic cup in his sister's hand.
"Wow, he's talking to us! I thought we were the only ones in this party you would not say hi." Nonnie clicked her tongue and raised an eyebrow at her big brother. By the sound of her voice, Nanon could tell that the cup in her hand wasn't the first, and what she was drinking wasn't juice.
"Have you seen him, or not?" Nanon ignored her comment.
"I guess he went out to buy some ingredients for a salad or something." Perth finally answered him.
"Have you already gotten all wet just because you know P'Ohm is here?" Nonnie teased her brother in a mocking tone as she stared at his drenched state.
"Maybe you should slow down with the booze, little sister." Nanon narrowed his eyes and moved to take the cup from the girl's hand, but she dodged him.
"Take it easy. I'm looking after her. Just go upstairs and get changed. I bet these are not your swimming clothes." Perth told him in a rather pacifying tone. The annoyed singer nodded and went into the house. He kept reminding himself that it was Chimon's party, and that he was not going to make a scene there.
While he climbed the stairs to Chimon's bedroom, he saw that the door was closed, and he could hear voices coming from there. He would've knocked on the door, and asked if he could come in, but when he heard his name being mentioned he just barged into the room with an intimidating glare on his face.
"Non?" A startled Jimmy uttered from the bed where he was sitting with Ohm as the singer marched into the bedroom.
"So this is where you've been hiding." Nanon spoke in a rather edgy tone as his eyes travelled from Jimmy to his ex.
"I should go help with the barbecue. You boys have a nice talk, okay?" Jimmy announced in a sympathetic tone and stood up to leave.
"What were you guys doing up here?" Nanon couldn't help asking before their Phi walked out the door. However, before Jimmy could answer his question, Ohm did it from him.
"As you can see, we both have our clothes on. So, before your thoughts run wild, be reasonable and accept that we were just having a peaceful conversation until you interrupted us." Ohm stated, defensively. Nanon glanced at a worried Jimmy at the door and shook his head.
"That's not what I was getting at, Phi...I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay, Non." An understanding Jimmy assured him, and before he closed the door after him, he added, "You guys just need to have an honest talk and get over this. We'll be waiting downstairs."
As soon as Ohm and Nanon found themselves alone in the room, the singer silently walked to Chimon's closet, took some clothes out of it and started to undress himself.
"What are you doing?" A wide-eyed Ohm gasped.
"Getting out of these wet clothes. Why? Can't you keep your eyes and hands to yourself while I'm at it?" An unbothered Nanon asked, and the older cast his eyes down. "Don't be shy, it's not like you haven't seen it before." The younger added, while wondering if he would get naked so boldly and fast in front of Ohm if he hadn't had a few of Sira's cookies.
"Chimon's swimming trunks will be too tight on you." The older pointed out and Nanon chuckled dryly. Ohm then cleared his throat, still looking away and spoke again. "By the way, I saw you and Drake hugging through the window. You two looked happy." Ohm cursed himself for saying it, but he couldn't help it. Nanon scoffed.
"I was happily playing with Pat's best friend in the pool while you were here in bed with Pran's bestie. That's kinda ironic isn't it?" Nanon joked without much humor, as he finished getting into one of Chimon's shorts.
"Jimmy and I weren't-"
"Hey! I know." Nanon sat beside him on the bed with a towel around his neck. The singer was convinced that those cookies had a calming effect on him. He was completely chill sitting beside the love of his life, who actually suggested that, they should get back together even though he had cheated on him. Nanon definitely needed the recipe of those edibles. "Don't you think it's sad the fact that almost everyone in this party is offering us their support in a way or another now that you and I are not even together anymore?"
The older actor didn't comment on that. They just sat in silence for a while until Ohm finally lifted up his head and looked him in the eye. Ohm ran a hand through his ex's wet hair gently, and slowly pulled the towel from the singer's neck.
"Let me dry your hair for you." The older said softly, and a flushed, taken aback Nanon swallowed. He noticed how the older man's wandering eyes traveled along his naked chest and thighs. Those shorts were indeed revealing, and for some reason Nanon felt more naked than he was a second ago. Out of embarrassment, he grabbed a pillow from the bed and hugged it against his chest.
"Why should I? We're nothing to each other anymore." The singer said quickly. "You should go downstairs, the others might be wondering where you are." A jittery Nanon advised his ex, who eyed him with a nameless longing, one that Nanon was quite familiar with.
"I don't want to go downstairs, I wanna dry your hair." Ohm insisted tenderly, and Nanon felt his heart give in when the older rearranged his body in the bed and signalled him to sit between his legs.
"Are you deaf? You shouldn't even be here in this party. We shouldn't meet outside work. I don't want to be around you if I can help it. Why should I let you anywhere near my hair? I refrain to let strangers-"
"I am not a stranger. We're not strangers to each other. Strangers don't love each other. Come here." Ohm cut him off softly, so softly that Nanon felt all the hairs on his body stand up. The older extended a hand to the singer and waited.
"Are you gonna be honest with me? Are we gonna have an honest talk like P'Jimmy advised us to have? Are you gonna stop fucking with both our heads like Chimon told you to do?" The singer felt his resistance crumble as he stared deep into those pleading boba eyes.
"Nanon." Ohm said his name in such an irresistible manner that the singer gasped.
"You won't touch my hair, or me, until you tell me what your intentions are." Nanon struggled to remain firm, but his feeble determination was slowly being crushed by the beatings of his racing heart. Ohm had this special skill of rendering him speechless, or making him cry whenever he tried to put his invisible hostile armour on to protect his own feelings.
"Right now, I just need to dry your hair. I don't want you to get a cold." Ohm insisted enigmatically, and Nanon was incapable of saying no to him again.
"Okay." The singer whispered, as he took his ex's hand and timidly moved between the older's thighs. When Ohm pulled his back closer to his chest, he almost forgot how to breathe. His resolution vanished.
"I love your hair." Ohm murmured, as he proceeded to brush the towel against the singer's locks. "I love your smell, Non." He added, as he sniffed the singer's trembling shoulder.
"Ohm, please. Just dry the goddam hair. Don't do this to me." Nanon closed his eyes and chewed on his lips, as he felt the older pulling the locks gently.
"What do you mean? I am just drying your hair like I said I would." The older rubbed the tip of his nose on Nanon's back without pausing his mission. He was still drying his ex's hair after all.
"I know what you're doing." Nanon wondered if the cookies made him horny somehow. He silently cursed those shorts for getting too tight too fast. "And you're a motherfucking prick for trying this here."
"Yeah?" Ohm licked his earlobe, and Nanon squeezed his thighs tightly. "Well, just relax and let me take care of you. The bulge in these shorts you're wearing makes me think you don't want me to stop."
"This is Chimon's house. We're in his bed, and-"
"He won't mind what we're doing here. I am just drying your hair." Ohm reassured him, placing a kiss on the singer's nape. "Have I told you how much I love your neck?"
"Please. You're being cruel now." An aroused Nanon begged, as a shiver ran down his spine. "I can't... We shouldn't."
"Shh, relax. You don't have to do anything. I am just drying your hair." Ohm reaffirmed what he was doing, but while one of his hands indeed still pressed the towel against the singer's hair, the other one slipped under Nanon's arm and rubbed the tip of the towel on one of the youngster's nipples.
"O-Ohm." Nanon moaned deliciously under his touch. He was already hard as a rock, and he craved for more stimulation. At that point, being seduced by the older was more than just a temptation. The way he gave in to his ex's touches was proof that he failed to stand his ground, and now that he was caught in Ohm's web, he didn't even want to escape from there. Nanon told himself that what was happening on that bed was the triumph of Ohm's will over his. Or perhaps, the victory of his own lust over his good sense. Whatever it was, he was unable to do anything about it.