Page 7 of Baby Love

We all nod and line up in the order we are to be called onstage. Butterflies take off in my empty stomach.

Due to my short stature, I can’t see past those in front of us. I listen as one of the producers of Best Entertainment takes the microphone.

Tida Li from Hearts Entertainment begins introducing couples from the company, and I notice that she places Pravat and Rama together even though they are both starring with other people right now, probably due to fans’ refusal to think of them with anyone else but each other. When she’s finished, a producer from Rainbow TV takes the stage, immediately introducing Tar and Payu. The applause is thunderous. After about thirty minutes of introducing couples and their new series, it’s finally Khun Hom’s turn. Currently, the most popular shipped couple for SPPT are Prince and Gift, so they are introduced first. Gift is so stunning, I can only stare at him as he passes by, his hand clasped in Prince’s. After what seems like forever, Khun Hom finally introduces P’Park and me as the company’s newest ship and the stars of the new office romance, Heartbeat.

Taking a deep breath, I force myself to relax and loop my arm around P’Park’s as we walk onto the stage together, both of us smiling. The crowd is much larger than I imagined it to be, but because of the lights, I can’t see individual faces in the audience and that helps to calm my nerves. We take our place on the final X on the stage, and Khun Hom explains that Heartbeat will be a “steamy office romance” that no one will want to miss. I realize I have a death grip on P’Park’s arm when he leans down to my ear and says, “Relax. Give them that beautiful smile, and you’ll have them eating out of your hands.”

Heat rises to my face at his words as flashes go off from cameras. I do as Park instructed and smile, pressing the side of my head against his hard bicep, being careful not to get makeup all over his shirt. When it’s time to walk off the stage, P’Park takes my hand, and we exit the auditorium into a small hallway that becomes increasingly packed as others follow us out. I’m uncomfortable being in the middle of all these taller people. It feels suffocating.

“You did well,” Khun Hom says when we’re all packed in the hall, and then she proceeds to give a speech while I concentrate on breathing evenly. I really want to be outside in the fresh air.

“You okay?” P’Park asks quietly, looking down at me.

Embarrassed, I nod.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m just a little claustrophobic in tight spaces,” I admit.

Seeming to notice for the first time how my height puts me at a disadvantage, P’Park takes my hand and says, “Stay with me until we’re outside so you don’t get hurt.”

Now all I can think of is how warm and big his hand is, while staring at the back of the guy in front of me while telling myself the air is not actually getting thinner. Finally, Khun Hom finishes talking and our group begins shuffling toward the exit. When we hit open air, I take a deep breath.

“Okay?” P’Park looks at me with concern.

I nod.

“Baby!” a familiar voice shouts, and I turn to see Kiet walking quickly toward us. “Hi, P’Park. It’s been a while.”

“Kiet, right?” P’Park says.

“Yeah.” Even though Kiet wasn’t in theater arts, he was present at a lot of the rehearsals for Dirty Dancing, since Cushion, Bass, and I were all in it. “Come on, Baby, I’m double-parked.” Kiet grabs my hand and tugs me toward the street.

Glancing back, I call out a goodbye to P’Park, wishing I had a few more minutes to talk to him and missing the feel of his hand in mine.

Chapter Four: Park

As soon as I walk through the door at the next workshop, Khun Lee motions to me to sit with her and Spin on the couch against the windows. I grab a couple of waters from the refreshment table on my way over to them.

“Good morning, Park. You’re looking exceptionally nice this morning. Isn’t he, Spin?”

Khun Lee looks at Spin, whose cheeks turn pink as he answers. “P’Park always looks handsome.”

Smiling, wondering how a grown man could be so adorable, I hand him one of the bottles of water and slide into my seat.

Khun Lee picks up her tablet. “I want you to watch this clip of Tar and Payu at the event the other night.”

As the video plays, she says, “Their fans are going wild on social media with pictures of the two of them from the event. As you can see, all they’re doing is standing there, just like the rest of the couples, but they stand out. Why?”

When Spin doesn’t offer an answer, I say, “They’re standing much closer to each other than the rest of us are.”

Khun Lee nods. “Yes. Their shoulders more than brush each other—they’re pressed together. I’ve seen numerous clips of this moment on different social media sites today. It’s intimate touches like these that drive the fans wild, and you two are going to have your work cut out for you beating them at it. That’s what we want, isn’t it? For the two of you to be even more popular than the most popular ship in the industry right now?” She smiles. “Heartbeat is well-written—almost any couple could make it work. But a couple with real chemistry and acting abilities can take it to its full potential, and I believe that couple sits in front of me now.”

I absorb this. I know Khun Lee—she doesn’t say things like this lightly.

Setting down the tablet, she leans back in her seat, studying us.

“Now that the cast seem at ease with one another, it’s time for the two of you as leads to become close. If I have to lock you two in a room together, I’ll do that, but I suspect you can make a lot of headway on your own. You knew each other at school, am I right?”

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