Page 6 of Baby Love

“Baby…”

“I forgot, okay?”

“You shouldn’t skip meals.”

What would he say if he knew I hadn’t eaten at all today?

“It’s because you think your cheeks are chubby,” Kiet says as the elevator doors slide shut, like he knows me so well. “That’s stupid. It’s just the shape of your face. There isn’t an ounce of fat on your body.”

“Then maybe if I lose weight, it’ll come off my cheeks,” I say reasonably.

Kiet shakes his head. “I might have a granola bar in the car.”

“I’m too nervous to eat. You don’t want me to throw up, do you? I’ll get something after.”

A text comes through from P’Park.

Saw the text from Khun Lee earlier today. I just arrived at the venue.

“Will you need a ride home?” Kiet asks me as he starts the car.

“I can ride the Skytrain.”

“It’ll be late. I’ll give you a lift.”

“The event’s over at eleven. The Skytrain runs until midnight, I checked. I’ll be fine.”

“Baby, I said I’ll give you a lift. I told you I won’t be seeing Daw tonight, and I don’t want you on the Skytrain alone so late.”

I don’t argue anymore. My mother passed away when I was young, and Pah ran off when I was eighteen, leaving me as sole caretaker of my then thirteen-year-old sister. I’m used to fending for myself, working my way through university and waiting tables at night. I’m tougher than I look. But I like it when my friends want to take care of me. It makes me feel loved.

Kiet drives as close to the convention center as he can, and I thank him as I jump out of the car. I hurry across the street to the sound of horns honking and enter the building. I know that the event is being held in one of the convention center’s smaller auditoriums, but I’m not sure which one or where exactly it’s located. Before I can work myself into a panic, someone snags my arm.

“Spin, there you are! I’ve been looking for you. I need you with make-up right now.” Khun Lee tugs me through a back door that I’m sure I would never have found on my own and pushes me into a chair. A guy with earrings running all the way down both ears immediately comes at me with a makeup brush.

Then he pauses, scrutinizing my face. “Actually, you look pretty good already.”

I grin. “My friend did my makeup. He’s good.”

“Can’t argue,” the guy says. “Go on. You’re ready.”

I jump out of the chair. Across the room, P’Park stands from where a girl has been doing his makeup. He looks handsome in a white shirt, red tie, and navy slacks. His dark hair is slicked back from his angular face, giving him an older look, and I suddenly wonder at fate having placed me with him in this series. I remember all those long evenings at university my freshman year, the two of us practicing dance moves for the play. We had a lot of fun together, and I feel more comfortable with him than I would with a stranger. My mother used to talk a lot about fate. Maybe she was right.

Khun Lee motions P’Park and me over to stand beside her.

“Tar and Payu just arrived. They’re a very popular ship with Rainbow TV, so watch them carefully,” Khun Lee tells us.

Tar is an exceedingly handsome, half-Thai, half-Korean actor with several Korean bl’s under his belt, but he didn’t take off in the genre until he was paired with Payu in a Thai bl last year. An inch or two taller than his partner, Payu has thick hair and eyebrows that make him look stern. Together, they are a dynamic shipped couple that has become insanely popular in the boys love world. Their fandom is huge.

Tar and Payu pause to talk to a popular bl couple in SPPT, Prince and Gift. Both couples look comfortable with each other. Tar’s hand rests on Payu’s slim waist, even though there’s no press in the room nor fans to witness the affection between them. Fan opinion on the bl chat sites is heavily of the opinion that Tar and Payu are a couple in real life. I watch, wondering myself, as they continue through a door to join their company in another room.

Bending close to me so that I can hear him over the conversations around us, P’Park says, “Khun Lee is a little overbearing, but she’s good. If she says we need to start out strong, it’s the right thing to do.”

“I agree,” I say.

“All right, everyone!”

I turn to the front of the room where Khun Hom stands with her hands raised. The group quickly quiets. “The event is about to start. Momentarily, the production companies will go on stage and their speaker will announce their plans for the upcoming season. We are lower on the list this year, so we’ll have a wait. After I name our series, I’ll introduce our veteran couples, who will walk out to stand on the marked spots on stage as I do. Then I’ll introduce the six new couples, at which point you will walk out onto the stage to take your marked places. You won’t have to say anything. Just stand there and smile. At the end, we will walk off the other side of the stage together. Understood?”

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