Chapter Text
All of Phuwin's close friends are busy tonight. Gemini and Fourth were supposed to join him at the club tonight but they bailed at the last minute as the shoot of their upcoming series was taking forever to end.
Alone, bored and being drunk, Phuwin thinks going live at one am in is an excellent idea.
In his defense, the night had already been annoying before the alcohol, and without friends or anyone interesting to occupy his mind he had resorted to drinking.
He would've been fine if he found a casual hook up but that girl– Pearl? Parla?— was so fucking boring, he couldn't even pretend to be intrested in her to get laid. And the worst thing was, she just wouldn't take a hint, he literally had to say, “Leave me the fuck alone!” and walk away to get rid of her.
So yes, maybe he’d done tequila shots till he lost the count.
Now he’s waiting for a ride but no one is accepting the request on Grab, just his luck. He is visibly drunk with flushed cheeks, droopy eyes and half buttoned shirt when he opens Instagram out of habit and goes live.
“Wad dee. Hello, hello, hello guysss.” His words slur, he is absolutely wasted, the livestream comments fly past faster than he can read.
“Let's see how many people joined.” He narrows his eyes, trying to read the number, “Forty one k? Shit, what are y'all doing up this late?” Phuwin sounds surprised and then guilty.
“Fuck, I said ‘shit’ on live!” He hiccups.
“Oops I also said fuck.” Phuwin giggles like a naughty kid who swore for the first time.
The comments explode.
His second phone vibrates in his pocket, he has to concentrate hard to see the name.
P’Ying GMMTV
Phuwin rejects the call immediately.
“I need to set some boundaries with her,” he says.
Phuwin keeps rambling as he walks, ignoring the call till it's fifth time ringing.
“What?” He says, picking up the call, annoyed.
Where are you, Phuwin!
“I was at the Void… but now,” He looks around, “I don't know, there's a seven eleven near me?”
That doesn't help narrow it down, Phuwin. She lets out an exasperated sigh. We have seven eleven at every street and every corner here!
Phuwin finds it funny for some reason. “Hehe, true that!”
Do me a favor and stay exactly where you are. Okay?
“Fine.” He huffs, ending the call, then holds up the other phone which had the IG live going on still.
“I am not a kid anymore you know, I am an adult!” Phuwin complaints. “I am an actor. I won an award as the best lead male last year!”
He goes off on a tangent about award shows. Then starts rambling about how actors should be allowed to give interviewers a middle finger who asks dumb questions.
“He had the fucking nerve to ask me, a nineteen year old ‘did you have s—”
Then suddenly—
He stops mid-sentence.
“Oh.”
There’s a terrible pause, Phuwin presses his lips together, holding back.
Then he doubles over and throws up violently onto the curb.
The livestream catches everything.
Every horrifying second.
Comments flood the screen.
Phuwin wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, eyes watering.
A pedestrian passing nearby wrinkles his nose in disgust.
“Ew. Gross.”
And unfortunately drunk Phuwin reacts to criticism like water on a hot pan, loud and steaming.
He straightens immediately.
“The fuck you just said to me?!”
The pedestrian doesn't stop, goes on his way.
“Come back here, asshole!”
“I am NOT gross, do you know how hard it is to look like—”
The livestream ends abruptly.
—
By the morning, the clips are everywhere.
Twitter.
TikTok.
Instagram.
Someone has turned him into a meme.
Human beings are surprisingly ruthless creatures.
Phuwin is blissfully unaware of all of this while lying face-down across the sofa in P’Ying’s office with a cold water bottle pressed against his forehead.
“Fuuuck. Why did I drink this much?”
“I don't know. You tell me.” P’Ying sounds disappointed.
“Uh-did you bring me here?” Phuwin mumbled sheepishly.
“Who else was gonna carry your drunk ass here?!”
“Don't shout na, my head is still pounding…” He winces.
“And whose fault is that.” She folds her arms over her chest. “You have any idea what you did last night?”
“Uh yeah, I got drunk. Wait– my mouth tastes horrible. Ohmygod, did I throw up in your office?!”
“I would have preferred that, actually, nothing can top what you actually did!”
“I highly doubt that… It can't be that bad.” He mutters under his breath but she looks completely serious. She didn't even ask if I am feeling okay, he thinks.
“Here,” P’Ying hands him a tablet and a glass of water.
She then takes the empty glass back and hands him her ipad, screen showing twitter headlines.
“I think people are being dramatic,” he mumbles.
P’Ying waits for him to scroll down, see the clips.
Phuwin cringes listening to himself.
“You swore nineteen times within half an hour, Phuwin!”
“Apparantly…”
“And you broadcasted yourself puking on the sidewalk.”
“Okay, that—that isn't something I have control over. What was I supposed to do, swallow it down?”
They both make a face at that.
“You were supposed to drink within limits, or better yet, not drink at all!”
“It's all GemFot’s fault, they were supposed to be there last night.”
“I thought you're an adult, Phuwin. Why are you so hell-bent on self destruction?! This was the second time this month you got blackout drunk…What if someone kidnapped you or hurt you out there?”
Phuwin has no words, he looks down at the table, ashamed.
P’Ying has managed him since he was eleven years old.
Back when he still had baby cheeks and used to beg her for candies because his parents didn't allow him to eat them.
She used to tie his shoelaces before schedules.
Used to carry snacks in her purse because he got cranky when hungry.
She has survived:
dating rumors
fanwars
Unfair movie critics
Horrible interviews
Usually she handles him with fond exasperation.
Today she just looks bone tired. And disappointed.
“You vomited on livestream,” she says. “You screamed at a stranger.”
“He insulted me first.”
“He called ‘vomiting’ gross.”
“How do you know he didn't call me gross?”
P’Ying pinches the bridge of her nose.
“And what excuse do you have for being so mean towards
fans on twitter?”
“Wait, what?”
She shows him the tweets.
Oh shit! He had cursed out multiple fans on twitter from his official account. God save him!
He pretends he isn't bothered by it at all. “Oh I am not sorry about that at all. They were being toxic losers. Somebody had to give ‘em a reality check.”
P'Ying shakes her head in disappointment.
“One can always learn from their mistakes.” He tries to sooth her.
“Your mistakes are making me age prematurely.”
He grins automatically—
then slowly stops.
Because P’Ying isn’t smiling back.
Uh oh.
“What are we gonna do, Phi?”
“You are going to do an apology video. Show that you regret what happened and mean it. Get your act together, Phuwin.”
“Sorry, Phi. I didn't mean to cause you problems.” He says, eyes glistening, holding back tears.
P’Ying tilts her head, giving him a sympathetic smile.
“Don't worry. It will die down in a few days.”