Chapter Text
A familiar, comforting voice.. .
It echoed—somewhere between memory and thought…
A voice I hadn't heard in years.
“Tle?”
Him. His voice.. Cautiously, I turned.
Outside the door—stood a boy, in a crisp button up, a canvas tote slung over one shoulder—slightly out of breath.
Tle's breath caught, heart beating faster. The boy he was waiting for, the boy he tried to find for so long—was right here—in front of him.
The clatter of the lecture hall faded.
Time didn't stop, but it felt like it slowed.
Slowed so much he could feel every beat of his heart..
The tug of the invisible red string felt lighter.
‘Is this the moment I've been waiting for?’
‘Is this the moment I'd see my true love?’
Tle even didn’t break a sweat—moving with certainty, catching Namping into a deep, unwavering embrace.
…
CUT!!
The loud clap of the clapperboard was heard.
“Thank you so much for filling in for Auau and Save!”
Ohm let out a sigh of relief, the heavy weight on his shoulders were lifted off. At last, the Movie Trailer is finally done.
“This project has been bugging me for a while now. I can finally send it to the professor—well... once I finish editing it.”
.
Ohm kept complaining and rambling about finishing the trailer.
Tle and Namping were an unlikely pair—no one would expect.
..
Until their phones blew up with notifications the next day.
…
The Professor uploaded to the internet—the seemingly innocent Movie Trailer Project Ohm had created, but it sparked something else:
Shipping.
One could say shipping is harmless.
For Tle and Namping?
They were given a recognition no one could expect!
Why would they decline such popularit—
“Who uploaded this? Ohm, you told us you’ll just send this to your professor??”
Tle felt uneasy, like he had somehow betrayed his first love.
Tle was sure FirstOne would cut his head off if he found out.
Namping, on the other hand—his mind was racing.
“The Professor told us to make it a movie and she said she’d raise our grades for it. Including yours, Tle. Plus, you two are getting even more popular!”
Ohm was considerate of this chance—desperate for a grade boost.
“Tle, ‘Ping, i’m not forcing anyone, but this is a great opportunity. She even said she could talk to a movie director—she sees our potential.”
“ Ohm. ”
He had never heard Namping’s voice sound so cold.
“You didn’t even ask us beforehand.”
“It’s an opportun—”
Tle stepped in between them.
“You thought we’d be fine with it?”
He let out a long, tired sigh.
“We’ll talk about this later. I have a class.”
No one spoke.
The room seemed to exhale with him as Tle walked away, his footsteps fading down the hall.
Namping slowly calmed, shoulders dropping with the silence.
“I’m not angry, Ohm. Just… don't know what to do.”
“ TleNamping might be the cutest couple yet! ”
“ Is it just me, or they’re not just acting?
THE LOOK OF LOVE.
#TleNamping ”
“ THE CHEMISTRY???
THE VISUALS???
We need a movie, rn! ”
“ I never knew I needed such a pair in my life!
#TleNamping ”
“I SWEAR THE WAY TLENAMPING LOOKS AT EACHOTHER. They definitely have something going on!!!
#TleNamping”
“Namping is so cute, i get why Tle looks at him like that
#TleNamping”
“If TleNamping aren't dating then idk what's love anymore
#TleNamping”
In their campus, #TleNamping was no.1 trending.
Namping scrolled through the flood of tweets, each one louder than the rest.
Every single gut-wrenching scroll.
Filled with ‘#TleNamping’.
Everyone wanted a movie.
He turned off his phone.
It was hard to ignore.
The halls—
Whispering,
Filming.
In class—
Eyes on him.
Even the professor asked: “So.. About the movie.”
He just had to clear this up.
They met up—Tle, Ohm, Namping.
The café was off-campus, slightly too warm despite the air conditioning, yet cold enough to bring a chill if you sat still too long. The space buzzed with life—clinking cutlery, low conversations, the occasional thud of cups against saucers. Chatter filled the spaces between their silences.
They were seated at a corner table, near a fogged-up window. The AC hummed steadily, blending into the ambient noise of the scraping plates and hissing espresso shots.
Ohm stirred his drink once. Twice.
“Film Festival’s in a few months.” He finally said, eyes on the drink.
“You both are already popular, if we build this, we might get recognized, maybe even earn something.”
Tle raised an eyebrow, leaning forward. “Earn from what?”
Ohm nodded, looking up.
“Great question, Internships, Projects. A short film based on the trailer could go far. This could be something—something real. Actual income.”
Namping took a slow sip of his coffee.
“Feels like you’re jumping ahead.”
Ohm shrugged. “There’s potential, i’m not trying to force anything.”
Tle leaned back in his seat.
“You’re telling us to act like a couple?” He asked flatly.
“To sell a love story that doesn’t exist.” Namping added, setting his cup down.
Ohm didn’t deny it.
“Just for the meantime.”
“Fanservice, until the movie is finished.”
A short pause hung in the air, stretched by the soft hum of the café and the weight of unspoken thoughts.
“Please think about it, let me know.” Ohm added with a hopeful smile.
Tle and Namping were left behind, Ohm had left to meet Jimmy.
After he left, Tle and Namping stayed in the café, mostly in silence. The crowd hadn’t thinned, but it felt quieter between them. The leftover coffee had gone lukewarm.
Tle tapped the side of his cup.
He didn’t look at Namping, but he knew he didn’t have to.
“You okay?” he asked.
A short pause.
“No,” he added. “Not really.”
Tle glanced at him now. Namping’s shoulders were slouched, the way he kept his eyes on the table. Not like he was upset. Just… done.
“I get why he did it,” Namping said.
“Grades, opportunity, attention. It’s just… everything moved fast.”
“Too fast,” Tle agreed.
Another moment passed.
“You ever think we’d be shipped?” Namping asked, with a dry little smile.
Tle scoffed, finally easing a grin. “No. You?”
“No way.”
“I feel bad for Ohm, he didn’t know the professor would upload it anyway—yet he still considered it because it was a great opportunity.”
Ohm gave both of them time to think over the weekends.
The rain wasn’t heavy—just soft and steady, like it had nowhere else to be.
It tapped against the window unevenly. You could hear it in the distance too, brushing over rooftops, slipping down gutters, soaking the pavement in a quiet, constant hush.
The curtains were drawn halfway, letting in the dull light of a rainy afternoon. The kind of rain that made the world feel quieter.
Near the window, a guitar leaned against the wall. On the desk beside it, music sheets with love songs were spread out, some marked with pencil, others blank and waiting. A mug with forgotten coffee sat near the corner, steam long gone.
Tle sat hunched forward, one hand flipping a page, the other scribbling down notes. His brows were drawn together—not in frustration, but in focus. The type of stillness that comes when you’re deep in something that matters.
The rain tapped gently against the glass, like it was keeping time with his pen.
“Must be hard being an Engineering Major.”
FirstOne cuts the silence, breaking the calm—and Tle’s focus along with it.
Tle glanced up from his notes, blinking as if surfacing from underwater.
Tle silently chuckled. “Aren’t you also an Engineering Major? Why aren't you studying?”
First stuttered, caught.“I studied at home!” he scoffed, folding his arms with a mock sense of pride.
Tle sighed, then raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. “What, flashcards under your pillow?”
First grinned. “If osmosis worked, I’d be top of the class by now.”
Tle laughed. He leaned back slightly, stretching out his stiff shoulders.
“You just came over to distract me, didn’t you?”
“Maaaaybe..?~” First said, plopping down on the floor beside the desk.
“You’ve been studying non-stop since morning. Figured I’d save you from turning into a calculator.”
“Well, thank you, I guess?” He sighed softly.
Tle placed his hand onto FirstOne’s head, ruffling his hair with little to no care.
“Sooo..I saw Ohm’s trailer.”
Oh. Will he be okay with that?
Tle’s hand paused for a second in First’s hair.
He pulled it away, casually, but his brain was already sprinting.
“…You did?” he asked, keeping his tone even.
“Yeah,” First said, looking up at him.
“It was cool, I knew you could act, but you were amazing!”
Tle’s gaze move onto First’s eyes.
“You were alright with that?”
“What do you think I'd feel?”
“Nam is really good at acting as well, that was great.”
Tle let out a quiet sigh of relief.
He leaned back in his chair again, letting his head rest lightly against the wall behind him.
“I just… thought maybe you’ll feel weird. Seeing me like that.” he admitted.
“Nope, I like seeing you do what you’re passionate about.”
First got off the floor and sat on the bed, laying down.
Tle stood up and sat beside FirstOne.
First stared at the ceiling, hands folded behind his head.
“You looked so serious in the trailer,” he said, half-smiling.
Tle chuckled lightly, glancing at him. “It was acting.”
“I know,” First replied. “That’s what made it impressive.”
They sat in a comfortable pause. Outside, the rain was still steady, soft against the glass like a song without a chorus. The room smelled faintly of books and paper.
First turned his head lazily toward Tle. “So, are you gonna do the movie?”
Tle didn’t answer right away. His gaze wandered to his desk—open notes, an engineering diagram half-solved, a page corner folded with fatigue.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I didn’t plan any of this. I just helped with the trailer.”
“You should.”
What?
“I think it could be a great opportunity for you.”
You aren’t even slightly hesitating?
First sat up a little, still relaxed, but his tone was more genuine now.
“I mean it. You were really good, P’Tle. You weren’t just acting—you felt like someone else. That takes work. Talent.”
Tle blinked at him, uncertain how to take the compliment. He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking.
First gave a soft shrug, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
“Sometimes that’s how things start.”
…
..
The drops hit harder, louder. Wind had joined in, tugging at the edges of the storm, bending the rain sideways. Distant thunder rumbled, not close yet, but crawling closer.
Water traced crooked paths down the windowpane, blurring the view outside. The soft steady hush had turned into something fuller, rougher—like the rain wasn’t just falling, but trying to say something.
The air held a faint mix of brewed coffee, something toasted, and the lingering warmth of cooked rice.
A small fridge hummed in the corner, cluttered with magnets, scribbled notes, and a polaroid of Namping’s family held up by a souvenir from a beach trip with Keng. Next to it, a narrow island counter, serving as a dining table, just enough space for two people to sit and eat.
Namping was sitting on the barstool, eating Convenience Store Korean Barbecue, microwaved. He was on a video call with his family from Mae Hong Son.
His voice softened the edges of the room, bright against the drumming rain.
“Maee~ How are you naa?”
Namping smiled at the screen, chopsticks paused midair. On the video call, his mother’s face lit up instantly, blurry but familiar.
“Ping, is it raining there?” she asked, peering closer, as if she could see past the apartment walls.
“Are your windows closed?”
Namping lifted his camera a bit to show her.
“ Yes, I'm not gonna drown naa.”
Behind his mother, the familiar walls of their family home in Mae Hong Son peeked into view. His father waved from the side, half his face in the frame.
“You’ve lost weight,” his mother frowned.
“Maee!” Namping argued gently, grinning. “It’s the camera.”
“It’s your cooking,” she said, unimpressed.
He turned the screen to show the plastic tray of microwaved Korean Barbecue.
His mom gasped dramatically.
“That’s not food, that’s punishment!”
“If it’s edible, i’ll eat it.”
They both laughed for a moment.
The silence after was a bit deafening.
“If anything is wrong, remember me and your Pa is just here.”
Namping’s mother smiled warmly, the warmth seeping through the screen.
..
“Mae, should i do the movie?” Namping’s voice was slightly shaky.
“You’ve seen it, right?”
“Ping, It’s your choice.”
“People have been lowering their expectations on me. They’ve been judging me for being from Mae Hong Son.”
“Let them talk,” she said.
Her voice wasn’t angry. It was calm. Certain.
“They don’t know how hard you’ve worked. They only see what they want to see.”
Namping looked down at his tray, pushing around the last bits of rice with his chopsticks.
“But what if they’re right?” he murmured.
“Ping,” his father’s voice entered the call now, low and steady from somewhere off-screen.
“You don’t need to prove anything to people who’ve already decided not to see you.”
The rain pounded harder against the windows, like it was echoing the weight in his chest.
He rubbed the side of his face with the back of his hand, not quite wiping tears—just grounding himself.
“I don’t want to be the backup,” he whispered.
“Or the one people forget once the credits roll.”
“Then don’t,” his mother said, simply.
He looked at her.
“Don’t let them forget you,” she said again, smiling gently.
“Leave them something to remember.”
Namping nodded, just once. Slowly.
And then the connection glitched slightly—his mother’s image freezing, his father’s voice cutting off mid-sentence.
“Mae, Pa?” he said, squinting at the screen.
“Storm must be hitting us too,” came her voice, static now.
“Be safe na kha,” she added, just before the screen went black.
Call disconnected.
…
..
“ I’ll do it. ”