Chapter Text
“Hey! Eat some”
“No. I told you guys, I’m not hungry”
“Just a littleee. Come on, sugar boost!”
“Geez, I said no. I’m already about to burst!”
Loud.
Overly energetic.
Completely incapable of spelling the word ‘give up’.
If there were any words that could perfectly describe Teetee, North, and Wave — three teenage boys whose fate had somehow arranged to travel across seas and mountains just to meet each other, it would probably be those.
Normally, their noisiness was something Wave could easily get used to and let it drift past like the wind.
But today was different.
Because this time, the shouting had a ‘target’.
And that target… was him.
Wave, the youngest one of the group.
It all started about an hour earlier, when they had been filming a scene... an important one. Several actors were involved, and the moment required everyone to hit their marks perfectly.
And he messed it up.
Again.
Wave had lost control of himself for a moment.
Whenever the clapperboard snapped, he always felt like he slipped into another world entirely.
And that wasn’t always a good thing...at least not while he still couldn’t control it.
Still, no one on the team seemed annoyed. The atmosphere on this set is the kind of team where people held hands and grew together. Over time, Wave started learning to give himself a little space for that kindness too.
The problem is… for some reason, they always worry about him…way too much.
‘Do I give off a sad vibe?’
Whenever something like this happened, Wave would secretly glance at the nearest mirror. But every time, he reached the same conclusion…He doesn’t look like a gloomy, tearful kid at all.
If this were a Japanese manga, he’d probably belong to the back-of-the-class troublemaker gang, not the sad protagonist.
And right now, the “mission” (which aimed for 15% efficiency and 75% for creating chaos) is clearly focused on comforting him, because they somehow convince themselves that Wave is drowning in melancholy because of his own mistake.
“I’m not eating!” Wave insisted stubbornly.
Normally, he’d just go along with it. But today—even though he wants to have ice cream more than anything, he is determined to resist.
A new version of Wave is about to be born today!
“Don’t think we will give up that easily, Wave!”
“Yeah! No way we’re surrendering!”
The two older brothers shouting competitively, sounding exactly like cartoon villains in a Pokémon ...retreating step by step but still keep yelling dramatically as their voices faded into the wind.
Just when things finally began to quiet down, another voice appeared.
It was calm.
Low.
Unhurried.
“There you are. Finally found you.”
Thee Teerati
Wave looked up.
The newcomer holds out a sheet of paper.
“The crew asked me to bring this to you.”
Wave’s brain completely forgot how to function, still recovering from the previous chaos. He accepts it automatically.
Before his extrovert system has time to reboot, the newcomer is already sitting down beside him.
Close.
Close enough that Wave can feel the subtle shift of air when Thee moves.
Thee starts reading the script in his hand, quiet and focused like the noise from earlier had never existed.
“How do you know where we are?”
“Oh please,” Thee said lightly. “Anyone who has normal hearing test results can all tell where you guys are.”
“Okay, doctor.”
Thee smile without looking up.
That smile again.
Wave had seen it a few times before, but it still felt strangely… distracting.
They came from the same modeling agency. Even though they had joined at different times, they had talked here and there—more often lately, since they are working on the same project.
Still, Wave couldn’t help thinking that Thee felt like someone who belongs in an entirely different genre of novel from him.
Thee’s smile is contagious, and the confidence in his gaze has a way of making people look twice. He seems easy to get along with.
Too easy, maybe.
Which is exactly why Wave somehow finds it harder to look at him directly.
“I’m not exaggerating,” Thee’s still smiling. But then, his eyes pause on a particular line. “What kind of expression do you think fits this line?”
“Which one?”
Wave leaned closer to look.
For a brief moment, their shoulders nearly brush but wave pretends not to notice. His playful expression slowly fades as he focuses on the script.
After a moment, he looks up.
And this time, he meets Thee’s eyes directly.
“How do you feel?” Wave ask.
“...How do I feel?”
“When ‘Tong’ says that line,” Wave said softly. “What makes him say that?”
Thee thought about it for a second.
“… surprised?”
Wave tilted his head. He doesn’t say anything.
Just waiting.
“Well… just surprised,” Thee continued. “But not in a negative way, just… think that it is so unexpected”
“Then that’s already clear”
“Hm?”
“You just have to feel it, the rest will happen naturally.” Wave said. “When we get scared. We scream instantly, right? No one stops to calculate first... like, ‘Oh dear, I’m frightened. How many decibels should my scream be?’”
Thee laugh quietly.
“Wow, as expected from an acting-major student”
“You’re the one who overthinks everything…What kind of person analyzes literally everything… Are you human or a walking computer—”
Oh no.
Wave froze, snapping his mouth shut immediately. And cautiously look up to check Thee’s expression.
But Thee was simply looking back at him with a gaze Wave couldn’t quite read.
And whenever Wave can’t read a situation…
He panics.
“No...I mean that in a good way” Wave blurts out. “Like, really good! Wow! People like that are great! Thinking before doing anything, very demure, very mindful—that’s amazing! Seriously! that’s impressive”
“You’re not being sarcastic, right?”
“Society needs variety, you actually balance things out!”
Thee study him for a moment.
“But someone like me… may not really suit acting.”
“Hey. Stop right there.” Wave said it immediately...almost instinctively.
“Don’t go there,” Wave continued. “I’m terrible at comforting people. I only know how to upset people.”
That made Thee laugh under his breath.
“I don’t care,” Wave said. “At least you make Tong feel like Tong. And I like it.” Wave shrugged, trying to sound casual.
“If someone else were to replace you, I wouldn’t accept it.”
Thee’s gaze lingered on him a little longer than usual.
“So even if I’m an overthinking walking computer… that’s okay?”
Wave clicked his tongue. “Wow! After all my hard work complimenting you, you’re still teasing me? then I’m taking it back. Promotion over.”
“Okay, okay. Thanks.” This time Thee laughs out loud.
Which annoyed Wave even more.
Wave widened his eyes at him in protest.
So Thee tries to stop laughing
...but failed.
And just like that, it became a silent competition. — Thee tries not to laugh — Wave tries to glare harder.
“The 2025 Marathon: Laugh Suppression vs. Maximum Eye Widening”
Eventually Thee calmed down.
“Seriously though,” he said more quietly. “I meant what I said earlier.”
Wave blinked.
“And I want you to know…” Thee continued, his voice softer now, “I really like it too.”
“Huh?”
“I like the way you bring ‘Pae’ to life” His eyes didn’t leave Wave’s. “No one else could play that role the way you do.”
Wave suddenly forget what to do with his hands.
“This set really needs you.” Thee added. “And… I think I do too.”
Wave’s brain short-circuited. He had absolutely no idea how to respond to something like that.
So he did the only thing he could think of.
He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Oh—right,” Thee said, hold out a small box. “Want some snack? Khanom tan**?”
Perfect.
Wave immediately grabs a tiny Khanom tan and shoves it into his mouth.
Emergency exit successful.
Or so he thought.
Because every single one of those reactions has already been carefully observing and silently processing by Thee.
“Is it good?” Thee asked.
Wave chewed.
“Meh. Two out of ten*”
Thee watched him for another second. Then smiled slightly.
“You seem in a better mood now.”
Wave turned to him sharply.
“Huh? When was I in a bad mood?”
And just as Wave was about to question that...
“HEY!! Didn’t you say you weren’t eating?! We offered you EVERYTHING and you refused!”
“Yeah!! We tried this and that and you rejected all of it, so we went to find something else for you!”
“But when it’s from Thee you accept it?! What’s that about?!”
“Oh my god, can you stop yelling?!” Wave can't take it any longer.
“NO!!! The world deserves to know how unfair life is!!!”
Wave gradually turns his head to the only person sitting next to him.
“Ughhhh… Doctor, is there medicine that can cure hearing? Like… reverse it?”
“How exactly would that work?” Thee asked, grinning while trying not to laugh.
“Like turning normal hearing into temporary deafness. PLEASE just be quiet!!”
Wave sighs dramatically.
At this rate, today is definitely
going to be another very long day.
Footnote
* 2 out of 10 : It's a joke among Thai teenagers, by writing a caption "Not very tasty, just 2 out of 10" and then post a picture of the empty plate. This can be interpreted to mean that the food was actually very delicious.
** Khanom tan (ขนมตาล) : A traditional Thai dessert made from ripe toddy palm fruit.