Chapter Text
"A boy of few words."
It was the one thing Por Suppakarn had heard being directed towards him for quite a large span of his life. Someone who didn't speak much, didn't interact unless the other party did it first, didn't even make eye contact unless absolutely necessary. But preferred to look at people as they spoke a little too much.
Someone who was independent enough to know his mind, his likes and dislikes from a very young age, but still wasn't ready enough to say a simple "no" when the situation called for it.
Growing up, the word "boy" had slowly transitioned into "man", a very unnecessary observation being just the cherry on top, that Por Suppakarn, even with his polite, almost obnoxious people-pleasing personality, had apparently failed to change that little detail of his behaviour even as he grew into a fully functioning adult.
Not that he hated it. Not really.
He is a twin with an over-achieving sister who has almost always shined bright in a room full of people, mostly rendering the quiet, gentle Por to be left in the company of his own, somewhat lonely self.
The more the years passed, the more he got used to being the "quiet one", or "the one who didn't need to be worried about much, because he never actually caused trouble in the first place".
Ignorant people with defective attention-span tendencies often tend to defend their lack of vigilance by throwing around such words, Por has observed over the years.
Someone who prefers their own company, and someone who got used to being slid under the rug like a thought too worthless to ponder over for more than a few seconds; are two very different people with very different lives.
Por Suppakarn falls somewhere in the middle of that certain spectrum, though.
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The ride is slow. The trees passing by displaying a false sense of calm that Por can't find in himself to feel at this very moment. Even with his face as neutral as ever, only he knows how nauseating the anxiety coiling deep within his gut is.
It wasn't planned. Him, attending this event, wasn't something that was decided from the get-go. And neither was he informed about it at a time when he could give an actual answer from his side as to if he even wanted to attend or not.
But as has always been his life, if Jewel, his ever-revered twin does something, it is only natural that Por has to be involved too.
Whether he likes it or not.
A supposed sibling thing to do, it is. Like sharing clothes, having the same exact toy in the same exact colour, eating the same type of food as if everything has to be a scream to show-off that they are oh so lovable of a pair of twins.
He knows not all siblings are like this.
But him and Jewel are a strange case of family-driven rivalry, in the the auspicious words of Por's one and only friend, Rin.
Rin says a lot of things, but this one hit home in a way nothing else that was said by him ever has.
Por has never essentially been interested in all this rivalry and wanting to prove himself at every step in his life bullshit, but Jewel likes to make it her life's mission to be the ace in everything she does. No matter the people, nor the situations involved.
So having to attend this reality show project wasn't actually a surprise, but something he didn't expect all the same.
Their family isn't rich, but they have connections enough to be considered a well-off family that can easily afford two cars and a few more properties in the city here and there.
Or so Por likes to think.
Because what family is to be called rich, if they can't even sit at the same table to have a decent dinner, a dinner that would, for certain, slowly progress to a contest to see who could tolerate a conversation for more than a few minutes before crashing out and leaving the table mid-meal?
Their family's daily life shenanigans were and always have been too exhausting to spare more than a minute to. It is a known fact that no one would ever actually deny if asked to talk about.
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The sky is as bright as any sky in early April would be. The days turning hotter as the summer approaches and begins to settle.
The location they are supposed to film at is situated deep within the islands of Koh Samui. A popular destination Por has always wanted to visit, but never actually got the chance to since life in Bangkok is already as busy as it is.
He is sure he hasn't even explored half of the capital he has spent his entire life in, whereas, Jewel has been to the islands at least three times at this point.
She is sat beside him, her shade-covered eyes staring blankly at the phone screen as she keeps her posture so painfully poised and upright, that it makes Por feel uncomfortable for her. Adding to the anxiety he is already feeling.
Her long, manicured nails reflect under the sunlight falling off the windows, fingers swiping across the screen every once in a while with ease, and something akin to boredom.
Por wonders if she is feeling even half the nerves he seems to be internally suffering from. 'Internally' being the keyword here, because despite the jambled hurricane of nerves within him, his face doesn't betray a sliver of the discomfort and torture he is being subjected to right now.
A trait that seems to have become a sort of trademark of the Jirachotikul family; it runs in their blood to seem as stoic as possible to the outside world.
Why? Even Por has no idea. It's just something you come to learn living in that sort of an atmosphere.
He recognizes the gates of the the villa amidst the trail of his thoughts, that have started to appear as they move further along the road, and Por swears he feels his heart skip a beat in his chest. His fingers curling up in a fist that is quickly turning damper by the minute with sweat.
Not good. He feels like he is about to throw up. If anything, he doesn't even know why he is so worked up, it's not like this is the first time he is being dragged to do something alongside Jewel just for the sake of it.
His eyes once again drift off to Jewel, a short glance from the peripheral of his vision like a habit too familiar let go of.
Jewel is as calm as she has always been, wearing that mask of nonchalancy like the seasoned ace she is, but Por still manages to notice the slight tremor in her hands as she locks up her phone before placing it within the binds of her purse.
Despite all that facade, she's unnerved too. Huh.
Well, she is no different from Por in the introverted department. Just better at hiding it.
This villa that is expected to be the filming set for the show is situated a three and a half hour long drive away from the Jirachotikul family's very own vacation home, where Por was supposed to be staying to prepare for his Jazz showcase, an event taking place later this year.
His one chance to get out of that damned house in Bangkok, and get some peace for himself for once.
But then he was informed about this show that he was supposed to attend out of absolutely nowhere even though he was somewhat expecting it.
You know, the whole rivalry charade.
And just like that, all his dreams of a mindful, organized training session in a place some people could only ever dream of visiting were shattered without having been spared a single second thought to.
So now, not only does Por have to be worried about his upcoming performance with his training time cut significantly short, but he also has to survive amongst 13 other complete strangers in a place he had no interest or intention of coming to in the first place. That too with his sister who seems just as nervous as him, if not more.
A win-win situation for sure.
Yay...