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The release of MARS' first indie album didn't earn them millions or win them dozens of awards, but it did do well. Exceptionally well for a group trying to reestablish themselves without a major label behind them, from their own startup company.
"I'll accept all your praise and adoration," Baifern crowed, but Po could see how her body shook. Standing in the same room as anyone from MARS still sent her heart and head spinning.
Po shook his head with a fond smile, but it was Pepper who spoke up and said, "You're playing, but it's true. Thank you for all your help, P'Fern."
Baifern's face turned pink, her eyes shining with tears. "N-n-no-No problem."
She excused herself to the bathroom, but Po knew she needed to breathe more than pee.
Pepper was right, and so was Baifern. As the head of the most recognized MARS fan page, Baifern had been indispensable in MARS' success. She'd supported Pepper and Gam going public with their relationship, and repeated what MARS said in interviews about idols being allowed to find happiness in a special someone while still loving their fans. And, other than the official MARS account, she was the biggest supporter of Thame and Po when their story broke.
All five of the guys had agreed that they didn't want to be famous at the expense of their loved ones, and both Pepper and Thame had the support of the group to go public. Thame and Po had sat down one night to discuss what exactly 'going public' would mean for them.
"You'll probably get a lot of hate online," Thame had said, quiet, hands in his lap.
Po took one of Thame's hands in his own and squeezed reassuringly. "We'll handle it. Together." He shook his head and gave a small smile. "No one is convincing me to break up with you this time."
"The hateful fans could come see you in person," Thame warned, grabbing Po's other hand too. He frowned. "Sasaengs are real, and they can be scary."
Another shake of Po's head. "It's fine. At the end of the day, I have you, and the guys, and Baifern, and my parents. It'll be okay."
Thame stared Po in the eyes for a long time, searching, tentatively hopeful. When Po's honesty and seriousness finally sank in, Thame let out a relieved breath and pulled Po in for a hug.
"Okay. That's good," he said, then nuzzled into Po's neck. "I don't want to hide you, Phi. I want everyone to know how happy you make me."
Within the hour, all of MARS knew Thame and Po were going to go public, and they'd discussed how it should happen.
"Organically," Pepper suggested. "Not like Gam and me."
"The hell does 'organically' mean?" Dylan groused.
"No big social media post or press conference," Jun said.
"They just date how they want to and people will find out when they find out," Nano explained, a smile curling his lips. "They'll introduce each other as 'boyfriend.'" He shrugged. "It'll blow up eventually, probably sooner than later."
"I'll have Patch draft an official post so we're ready," Pepper said, already pulling up the contact info for their PR rep.
After that, Thame agreed to go to Po's school meet up and be introduced as Po's boyfriend. Publicly. People Po hadn't spoken to personally (the group chat he rarely responded to notwithstanding) in six years stopped by their table to ask what he was up to and take pictures with Thame, and Thame made sure Po was included in every one of them. They held hands under the table and fielded questions about their relationship—from everyone except Baifern, who quickly got drunk to handle being near one of her idols.
"I briefly had a job at Oner," Po explained, but Thame quickly corrected, "He directed the MV for Who Says, as well as the documentary that played at our last concert." He met Po's eyes with his own fond expression. "He's an amazing director."
"I loved that MV!" Several people gushed at Po, telling him their favorite parts and asking him how he made one shot or another.
Then someone asked, "Will you direct any more MARS stuff now that they're indie and you're dating?"
Po's first instinct was to say 'No.' But, then again, why not? Sure, he hadn't gone to school to direct music videos, but it had been fun. Without the stress of a tight deadline, it might actually be more fun. So, instead, he just shrugged and let the conversation move on.
The next day, Po called Baifern first thing. She greeted him with expletives and a request to die.
Laughing, Po said, "You're always like this after you drink too much, yet it keeps happening."
"I know where you sleep and the code to your door," Baifern threatened, even as she sounded half dead.
"Uh, uh," Po acknowledged, shifting the phone between his ear and shoulder so he could pour himself a cup of coffee while they spoke. The shower shutting off had him pouring a second cup for Thame too. "I actually had a question for you."
Baifern groaned, but it sort of sounded like a 'what?' so Po continued.
"People took a lot of photos of me and Thame last night. And we told everyone we were dating. Could you use your fan page to help mitigate fan reactions? Maybe…show us some support?" he hedged.
He remembered Baifern's reaction to Pepper dating, but she'd admitted that she would rather her idols be happy with significant others than sad without them, and other than being starstruck, she'd had nothing negative to say the night before. Still, there was always a chance she wouldn't help.
After a quiet so long that Thame exited the bathroom and entered the bedroom to get dressed, Baifern let out the most pathetic sounding affirmatives Po had heard in a while. "Bring me ginger bua loy," she demanded in a whine afterward, then hung up. Probably to go puke.
In return for the rice, sesame, and ginger dessert to help with her hangover, Baifern pulled out all the stops. She coordinated with Patch for soundbites, clips, photos, and statements from anyone and everyone with knowledge of Thame and Po's relationship and, right alongside the official MARS account, immediately began publicly supporting them. While the official account kept to straight facts, Baifern spun their story into gold—Po as a creative but quiet support for the entirety of MARS, a big part of why they were strong enough to fight back against Oner and be true to themselves, and a rock for Thame in the floodwaters of the entertainment industry.
If anyone said they were okay with Gam because she could support the group financially but weren't okay with Po because he was a nobody, she brought up how he directed the MV that won them an All Kill and argued that support came in many forms. If someone brought up the fact that they were gay and that was wrong, she had an arsenal of other famous singers and actors that were LGBTQ to compare them too—though it made Po flush. If anyone claimed Po was a gold digger or a sasaeng, she had essays on sasaeng behavior to prove Po didn't fit the bill, and the quotes and soundbites of how Thame had pursued Po, not the other way around.
"Damn," Jun said after seeing one of her replies. "If I buy her a dessert, will she defend me this much?"
It would only take a smile, but Po shrugged and said, "I don't know. Maybe."
Probably due to Baifern's quick, methodical, earnest defense, the comments on the photos Thame posted of them in Po's apartment (or out and about on a date, posted after the fact) received mostly positive interactions. Negative comments were swarmed by well-meaning—if sometimes scary—supporters. Po's own posts received the same treatment, and his inbox was flooded with messages both positive and negative, but mostly positive. And comments left on the purchase pages for MARS' first indie album sang the praises of Gam and Po and their romances with Pepper and Thame.
'You can tell Walk Me Home Again was written by Thame for Khun Po. That feeling of not wanting to say goodbye? It's so romantic!' and '5 Meters is so sad. I feel so bad for Pepper and Khun Gam that they had to go through that. I could never.' and 'The boys sound so much better now~ The power of love can really do anything~'
So Pepper wasn't joking when he told Baifern that her help really was a big part of their album's success.
Which was why, after Baifern excused herself to the bathroom to breathe, Nano said, "We should give her a shoutout for all the help she's given us."
Jun grinned. "Nah. I think Pepper should give her a shoutout."
Dylan rolled his eyes, but already had their official social media page up. He typed up a quick message, then Nano leaned over his lap to edit it and add emojis. The others read it over and approved it, and then Dylan hit Post. The post thanked all of their fans for the success of their album, and tagged Baifern's MarsOfficialFanclub account specifically.
Then Jun waved for Pepper to take out his phone, lifting a 'get on with it' eyebrow. Pepper shook his head but opened his own account. He found the official thank you post and replied to it.
'And to P'Fern: Thank you for always supporting us.'
"This is going to make people wonder who P'Fern is," Thame noted. "We'll have to be ready in case they think she's coming between you and P'Gam."
Pepper shook his head again, smiling. "We'll protect her just as well as she's protected us." And he hit Post.
Less than a minute later, they heard Baifern scream from down the hall. A thump! followed and Po sighed.
"I'm gonna go check on her. She might have fainted."
Thame held his hand until the last possible moment. "Come back soon," he said earnestly, even though Po wasn't even leaving the house.
Dylan shook his head once. "People in love are annoying."
Nano leaned up against Dylan's side and sighed happily. "People in love are beautiful."
…
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fin