Arthit didn't see it coming. His clear record got tainted by a misunderstanding and his managers are going hysterical in doing damage control. He can only groan as he washed his hands on his face.
"Another article came out. This time, they are saying that Arthit is dating a university student because he is wearing black slacks and a white polo shirt." Rainza announced as she continued to navigate on her laptop while Jane is busy answering calls.
Different angles from the initial news articles are coming out. Some are talking about his gender and preferences, him dating a man, him dating a student, him keeping his relationship, and more. People are now digging up past articles and incidents where he was cornered about his dating life. Even his past loveteams are resurfacing because of this.
Seriously though, who wouldn't want to know about this? After 18 years of being an artist, Arthit Rojnapat's dating life is revealed to the public! Even details about his family are securely kept, so him being labeled as 'careless' for being spotted on his 'little escapade' is surely giving the media a field day.
"Arthit, are you really not going to tell us if who is he?" Jane asked in frustration as he tossed his phone on the table while massaging his ear. He let the phone ring as he needs to have a short break from answering calls.
"I told you, he's nobody P'Jane, P'Rainza. It's not worth the time." Arthit reiterated to his managers.
Arthit hired a personal manager instead of getting a manager from the company. P'Jane is someone he met when he was 14 years old. He was a hairdresser and he was really nice to him. Jane shared a few stories of him being a manager before. Once Arthit turned 18, he looked for Jane and offered him the job. With a really good managerial skill, Jane has kept in career floating and rising as ever. Rainza was then hired by Jane to be his assistant manager and Arthit's PA. She is someone close to him so he knows that their baby is in good hands.
"But it is worth the time if you actually explain how you ended up being with him instead of going home straight after the party. Ice is not even saying anything!" Jane raised his voice as he glanced at the bodyguard who kept his mouth shut. His main loyalty is with Arthit and when Arthit told him last night not to tell his managers about it, he's keeping his mouth shut.
"Why can't we just release a statement that I am not dating that man?" Arthit asked in frustration. Today is supposed to be his free day and he planned to just rest since he'll be facing a long week of schedule by tomorrow. He was having a good sleep when Jane called him telling him to be ready and that they need to meet. He never thought that it was going to be like this.
"Because it is like denying something that has been caught by the naked eye Arthit. You look like you're kissing him and it was dark, who wouldn't speculate things? We need to address this carefully." Jane replied.
"And darling, we have always told you to be careful, right? We all know how much these people are just waiting for you to make a single mistake so they can say something against you... and now it is served to them in a silver platter." Rainza added.
"We have been trying to reach out to the news site that released the first article to confirm their sources and they are obviously not picking up our calls." Arthit can clearly feel the frustrations of his managers and he can only slump his body at the backrest of his couch.
Silence suddenly enveloped them when Arthit's phone started to ring. It's a special ringtone and they all know to whom Arthit assigned this.
"Shit." Jane muttered under his breath as he gulped while picking up Arthit's phone.
"It's him." Jane slowly handed the phone to his talent as Arthit gritted his teeth.
Charong- ACB Managing Director
"Shit." He hissed before he took a deep breath and swiped to answer the call. He made sure to put it on a loudspeaker.
"Hello."
"Arthit, we need to talk."
And the four of them exchanged glances. Everyone knows that a talk invite from Charong through call never ends well.
+
Kongpob wipes away his sweat as continues to walk at a fast pace. He just got out of the train and he needs to reach their office as soon as possible.
"Kongpob, come to the office right now!" was the first line that welcomed him after he answered the call from Toota while he was nursing a throbbing headache. After the incident with Arthit, he went to drink his frustrations out and he had to call a friend to fetch and bring him home. He hasn't even talked to his parents about the reason why he came home drunk last night. When he woke up, they have left for work and his brother has left for university.
He didn't have time to check his phone as he had to quickly fix himself and go to their office. The train was full and he was standing the whole time while being pushed around as more people came in. He barely had time to breathe.
Once he arrived in the building, he looked down as he fast-paced towards their EIC's office. There aren't usually a lot of people around when he comes over since he comes in the morning or at lunch when people are out. It is awkward to see more people facing their PCs, typing their hearts out. He dreams to be a writer like them, or maybe become an editor or layout artist, or video editor, anything that can make him look serious while looking at his PC... not him going around following celebrities to get a scoop of their dating life.
Once he heard Toota's faint 'come in' he entered his office and he can see Toota looking at him intently. His eyes widen seeing Toota's PC screen facing him.
"This is you am I right?!" and Kongpob almost choked on imaginary water upon seeing the zoomed-in image that Toota showed.
"What the fuck?!" he cannot believe what he is seeing.
"Fuck!" Toota also cursed as he shook his head.
"What the hell happened?!" Toota asked as he sat down on his chair while Kongpob's eyes are glued on the screen. How can they look like they were kissing when it was at that moment when his precious new camera lens hit the edge of the coaster's door?
"What happened?" Kongpob asked back and Toota can only shake his head.
"Check online." He instructed as he turned his PC screen to him. Kongpob shakily took out his phone and started scrolling online. His jaw dropped over the number of articles about Arthit Rojnapat's secret dating life.
"Shit." He continued to scroll and a blurred image of him seated at the coaster's entrance was even posted. His face cannot be seen at all and it's grainy when zoomed but his heart is beating so fast now. Like what his EIC asked, what the hell happened?
"Tell me everything, Kongpob." He instructed and that made the younger gulp as he looked up to meet his EIC's eyes. There is something in his eyes and Kong can already feel that it is something that is not in his favor.
He gulped before he started to tell him everything as he had no choice – including his broken camera lens and 512GB SD card that Arthit took.
"Wow, Namtan dating Earth... Dr. Sam's ex-boyfriend could have been huge!" Toota gasped as he typed out what Kongpob said.
"But this one is bigger." Toota pointed at his PC and Kong doesn't need to guess that it must be another article about the superstar.
"But it's not true." Kongpob insisted.
"I know... but how will they explain it?" Toota smirked as he continued to scroll on his PC.
"Pictures can speak a thousand words that captions can't, Kongpob." He added.
Kongpob is getting worried. Is he actually fired now? What is going to happen? Will people, especially the media and Arthit's fans find out about him? Why is Arthit's side not releasing a statement? It has been 10 hours since the first news was released, there should be a statement now, but it's past noon and there is no news from ACB as he has checked.
"What possible things could happen then?" Kongpob asked innocently. He is trying to think of any of their lessons that tackled this type of situation but he cannot think of any... or perhaps, his mind is just filled with worry that he cannot think of anything right now.
"We'll never know what is going on in the mind of Arthit's personal manager, or ACB's managing director... instructions will surely just come from them." Toota honestly replied. Being in the industry for a few years after he took over the EIC role, he has started to be familiarized over how things in entertainment companies work. He cannot wait on what move will Arthit's side do with the news.
"The news is trending everywhere, he's number one on twitter and there are a lot of speculations coming out. The news is not just about anyone Kong, it's Arthit Rojnapat." And Kong sighed. Yeah, it's Arthit Rojnapat, the person who broke his lens and took his 512GB SD card.
Toota and Kong are busy refreshing news sites and social media sites to monitor the news. Toota has assigned one of their writers to work on articles for Arthit's news. He has not revealed anything about Kongpob in their team. All they know is that he must be someone working as their EIC's trusted sources for him to stay so long in the EIC's office.
While they are monitoring, Toota smirked when his phone rang, it is a call from someone he expected. Kongpob looked up from Toota's laptop that he borrowed only to see his EIC's smirking lips.
"Hello?"
"Toota, this is Jane. By now, I believe that you have expected me to call."
+
Leaving their office, Toota drove him and Kongpob to Arthit's place as instructed by Jane. Kongpob is fidgeting on his seat, unable to know what is going to happen.
"You can ask me questions while we deal with this traffic," Toota suggested as he noticed how restless Kongpob is.
"Is there someone from RevealDaily following Arthit?" Kongpob asked the question he has been thinking since earlier.
"Then we could have been the one to cover that news about you and Arthit." And Kongpob grunted.
"I don't have someone following Arthit. To say the least, I may have a truce with Jane since I started working as RevealDaily's EIC." Toota replied and that got Kongpob's attention as he glanced at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Before I became the EIC, RevealDaily was after Arthit, we all know how big of a superstar he is right?" Toota started and Kongpob nodded in agreement. He is like... a household name. Even elders know him since he started in the industry at such a young age.
"But he is really clean, squeaky clean, right?" and Kong nodded again. He's not a fan though he was able to watch some of the dramas when he's watching the television with his mom. But then, he monitors news and he knows that aside from his achievements, dramas, and endorsements, there's not a lot of negative news about the actor.
"That's because he has a really good manager handling him, plus a good legal team." Toota continued.
"For huge and negative news like this, news sites have two options, you know what is it?" Toota asked and Kongpob shook his head. He may have learned it but he's too tired to think right now. He's still nursing a hangover.
"They can either release it immediately and face the consequence after... or contact the company and do some barters and it's either... monetary or other newsworthy articles." And that made Kongpob's jaw drop.
"But the previous EIC of RevealDaily doesn't really care about that. He just released one after another without even confirming the sources sometimes. It tainted our name that we ended being labeled as one of the biggest tabloids in Thailand." and Kong just pulled his lips into a thin line as he nods.
"So when I took over, Jane contacted me. We were friends before, he was my hairdresser in a salon before he became Arthit's manager.
He informed me of all the cases that they have prepared against RevealDaily after all the articles we released against Arthit." Toota paused as he focused on driving while checking the GPS that was instructed by Jane earlier.
"We called for a truce. They won't file any case as long as we don't have someone follow Arthit and release negative articles about him without checking on them first." Toota continued and that got Kongpob thinking.
"Is this the reason why Arthit is 'squeaky clean' when it comes to news like this?" Kong raised his hands to quote and Toota nodded.
"It's amazing, right? He's lucky to have such a team. Not all artists can get that kind of treatment, but being in the industry for 18 years can result in that." And Kongpob nodded.
"Then why did DaraDara released that article?" Kong asked remembering the first news site that released the pictures and article from their 'source' and he just received a snort from Toota.
"DaraDara is on the verge of bankruptcy. They need something to keep them afloat. Releasing something as big as Arthit Rojnapat's dating news can keep sponsors and ads coming you know."
"Shit. I never thought of that."
"You still have a lot to learn in this industry, Kong." and he nodded in agreement.
"Now I wonder how their legal team will deal with DaraDara since they said they reached out to ACB." Toota cannot help but ask though he expected not to get any answers from the confused man beside him.
When they arrived in the building, they carefully drove to the basement after passing by a lot of media and some fans from the outside. It made Kongpob's eyes widen in disbelief. He saw some people waiting for the artists he used to follow as instructed by Toota, but he never saw that kind of crowd.
"You might want to wear a mask and cap to complete the overall get up." Toota teased as they prepared to go out of the car after parking in the basement based on Jane's instruction.
"You're here." Toota almost slapped the person who suddenly talked behind him as Kongpob tilted his head to check what was going on as he has yet to come down.
"What the fuck?!" Toota hissed as he saw Arthit's big man looking at him and then he glanced at the opened door to see Kongpob still seated on the front seat.
"We meet again," he said in a monotonous tone and that just made Kongpob gulp as he gave him a wai.
"They are waiting inside. Let's go." Ice said and Kongpob scurried to get out of the car.
Ice escorted them to pass by another door so they don't pass by the lobby. Ice wasn't talking at all as Kong and Toota can only exchange glances, not knowing what else to do than follow him.
Once they arrived in front of the door of Arthit's place, Kong doesn't know what he actually feels. One thing is for sure, he is furious as he is reminded by his broken lens. He still needs to have it checked under his warranty to have it fixed, but he is sure that he will need to pay some Baht since it may be tagged as negligence. His lens hitting the edge of the coaster twice suddenly replayed in his mind that he can only grip his knuckles.
But his breathing hitched the moment they entered Arthit's place. He had to push his appreciation on the interior at the back of his mind as he saw Arthit seated on the couch. On his right, the man stood up which he assumed as Jane and the female beside him as Rainza. He then saw two persons on the left couch who are wearing suits and Kong can only assume that they are part of his legal team.
"Hi, I am Jane, Arthit's manager." Jane introduced himself and then he started to introduce the people around them. Kong got every one right. The two lawyers were Atty. Nicky Nachat and Atty. Leo Saussay.
"So... what's the plan?" Toota asked as he felt like he came as Kongpob's representative here.
Jane clicked his tongue as he crossed his arms on his chest as he recalled Charong's exact words to him earlier.
"I need Arthit to be viewed on a different light. Despite being on top, people are starting to find him boring." And that statement got him to hold himself from talking back. He saw Arthit huffed some air as he slumped his back on the couch.
"He's 25 and he is still squeaky clean. We need to give some spice to the media especially he's working on a project. Right now, the reaction from the people is mixed, but I can see his fans are extremely supportive over it."
He started explaining about their plan and Kongpob went from being blank to having his lips parted in shock, to feeling his throat dry that he had to reach out for the juice that Ice, of all people, served to them. He took a few quick sips before he looked at Jane who has finished explaining.
"This sounds like a very bad and cliché plot of every book and drama ever!" he exclaimed and he can see Toota's jaw-dropping with what he said.
"Kong!" Toota gritted his teeth but Kongpob shook his head.
"Who can think of a fake dating in the midst of this situation? We're on the 21st century, who would believe that?"
"People," Jane replied and that made Kongpob gulp.
"But-"
"Think of this as an opportunity and both of you will gain something from this." Rainza cut him in as he can see that Jane is starting to get annoyed.
"That is deceiving people! Why can't you just reveal the truth?"
"That he caught a paparazzi trying to get a scoop from Namtan's birthday and they ended up in an intimate position in the attempt of getting the SD the card from the camera?" Jane's statement made Kongpob accidentally bite his tongue.
"Should we also reveal that it is someone from RevealDaily? Hmm?" And Toota who is now silently seated beside Kongpob went blank.
"Wouldn't you be using the community for clout as you are-"
"What makes you think I am using the community for influence? Who are you to judge me on that?" And that is the first time Kongpob heard him speak since they arrived. He bit his lower lip with the sudden embarrassment that he felt with how Arthit reacted.
Silence then enveloped the room.
Jane noticed that Kongpob seemed to tone down and that made him smirk.
"As we were saying, both sides will gain something. Arthit may lose some opportunities now but this will surely open a lot of new things as well." Jane paused and looked at Kongpob from head to toe. The young man looks disheveled and his glasses are slightly crooked over how he kept on pushing it up while he was listening to him talk.
"For you Kongpob, we will need to help build your name after you leave RevealDaily."
"Excuse me??!" Toota didn't see that coming.
"You did not expect us to go on with this fake dating troupe and let Arthit's lover work under RevealDaily without any influence right? He'll be revealed as Arthit Rojnapat's lover, not just anyone but Arthit!" And that got Toota to shut up.
"What does my company get then?"
"You'll never change am I right?"
"Happiness for the greater number, P'Jane. My team needs to get something from this."
"And your offer?"
"Since you are taking away a very handy writer." And Kongpob almost groaned when Toota even touched his shoulder.
Yeah, handy writer that you asked to follow people around and rejected all his captions.
"I want RevealDaily to cover the first exclusive interview once you reveal whatever you are plotting to the public. We need to be first before other news sites." And Jane and Rainza know they got no other choice.
"You came prepared." Jane can only shake his head.
You see, the plan is simple, Arthit will reveal that he is in a relationship but he won't say his name as he wants to keep it private. They will need to build Kong's name so he'll have a good title once they reveal his name to the media. They asked Charong for three months buffer time to do that. They promised the managing director that they won't let the news die down and will keep the fire and interest of the people until Kongpob's identity is revealed.
"How long do you plan to do this?" Kongpob asked as he tried to be calm. His head is working on different scenarios and he can't believe that he is stuck in this situation right now.
"Overall, we plan it to go for about a year, and then we'll slowly make things quiet down until we can have Arthit reveal that the relationship ended," Rainza replied and Kongpob nodded.
Kongpob cannot help but glance at the two serious lawyers seated on the left couch. One is busy with his Ipad while the other is busy with his laptop.
He is surely left with no choice but to agree, knowing that his name and RevealDaily's name is on the line. The presence of the lawyers beside him is scaring the hell out of him with the thought of getting cases filed against him.
Plus, his parents don't know that he is working on a tabloid, so what will they say if they find out that he is facing several case charges because he was following actors and actresses for work? Just how pathetic his life can be?
"Is there a contract?" and that made Rainza laugh.
"You must have watched and read a lot of this cliché plot that you call, right?" Rainza sounded like she is mocking him and Kong can only shut his eyes to control himself from answering back.
"You said its 20th century, we don't need that. The lawyers are here to prepare cases for DaraDara and other news sites that released the articles without reaching out to us directly. ACB's PR and legal department is different from Arthit's since we are all hired personally. It has been years and they know it but they chose to ignore it for the clout." Rainza explained.
"So how will you make each of us accountable if things go wrong?"
"Why? Are you planning to turn your back against us, Mr. Suthiluck? You haven't heard the deal behind being Arthit Rojnapat's lover yet." And with the way Jane is speaking, Kongpob knows he's in for deep trouble.
He slowly glanced at Toota who seemed to be giving him an encouraging smile but it is not working. His eyes darted on Arthit who just had his back slumped on the couch while looking at the ceiling, he seemed bored but he also seemed to be in deep thoughts. Kongpob can only shake his head in frustration. How did he get involved with this superstar?
What have I done with my life?
The whole time Jane and Rainza were explaining, Arthit was just silently seated on the couch, his head resting on the backrest and with his eyes closed.
+
Hello, This is Arthit.
I am posting this to answer all the news that has been coming out since this morning.
I would like to apologize for the delay with this statement.
Yes, I am currently in a relationship. I have been in a relationship for more than a year now. We have been keeping it in private and we hope that everyone will respect that.
If you have any questions, you can ask me directly as I would like to keep my partner's life as private as possible. The pictures that you saw don't speak everything that transpired on that night. I hope you wouldn't continue to speculate negative things about us.
To my lemons, I am sorry if I have troubled and worried you. Arthit promises to talk to you soon.
I hope that this statement clears out everything that has been going on until now.
Lastly, I hope we can still continue to respect people's rights to speak out on matters as well as respect people's privacy.
Thank you.
++++++++++++++++
Hi, this is Faith😋
I wanna clear some things out😋
1. In case you cannot imagine anyone for Ice, he is actually Knot. I just wanted to use his real name for a change (but if I slip, I am sorry hahaha I'll try to be careful lol)
2. Lemons as Arthit's fandom name has nothing to do with the rating of this fic, I swear hahahaha! As of now, I tagged it as mature due to language, but who knows in the future chapters🤷♀️
3. The only reference for Prime Minister and I was the first encounter, no other references from the drama on the future chapters
4. How slow is the slow burn here? I am planning to beat MIT's slow burn sooo hahahaha jk!! I don't know too, let's see, okay? (but the 'slight' angst is nowhere near MIT, I swear, have some faith hahahaha)
5. How long will this be? I also don't know. I don't want to count anymore, I'll only disappoint myself :D
That's all and thank you so much for reading this new story ❤