Chapter Text
Copper’s POV
“He is running late,” I looked down at my wristwatch for the third time since I entered the meeting room. It was 4:23 PM and my new co-star for the drama was running late.
“Probably something happened.” My manager, P’May, said, concerned as she looked down at her phone to check for any messages that simply were not there.
Yes, something did happen. I was paired up with a 19-year-old pop star for my new series. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I promised I would be welcoming to my new partner and try to be as understanding as possible since he was new to acting. But I surely did not expect he would be this disrespectful of other people’s time. If it was just me, I could still tolerate it. But the director, his assistant, the scriptwriter, and my manager were all here. And our little star was running 23 minutes lat—
“Good afternoon, apologies for the delay.” The young woman rushed into the meeting room with none other than my co-star walking calmly behind her. Fifa Thanut. He looked… flawless.
Fifa was in loose black trousers, an oversized hoodie slipping off one shoulder, and designer sneakers that probably cost more than most people’s rent. His hair was styled to look undone in a way that clearly took effort, soft strands falling over sharp eyes. There was a quiet confidence in the way he carried himself, like the room would wait for him, and it clearly already had.
He slowly scanned the meeting room while his manager fussed over him and apologized to everyone present. But my eyes were on him. This wasn’t the first time I had seen him. But this was surely the first time I was meeting him officially.
Fifa Thanut was the lead dancer of the boy band LUMEN, which debuted under our company’s label a little over a year ago. The group consisted of Otto, their leader—strict and the most level-headed among them; Phupha, the main rapper, who came across as goofy and pretty unserious from what I had seen; Reeonn, part of the vocal line, one of the quietest yet most skilled members; and Pete, their maknae, also in the vocal line. And finally, Fifa, the dance machine, though he was equally skilled in both rapping and singing.
Our company, SKD, mostly focused on the production of series, thus the majority of artists signed were actors. LUMEN was the first attempt of the company to create a boy band. The selection of idols was rough. Only the best of the best were selected to form the group.
Fifa’s eyes locked on me. He scanned me up and down as if studying me, before looking right into my eyes again. His gaze was hypnotizing, I admitted it. He knew how to hold eye contact well. If I hadn’t gained immunity from years of working in the entertainment industry, I might have been lightheaded from his attention.
“… and we were held back due to very urgent business, once again, please accept my apologies.” I finally heard LUMEN’s manager’s voice. I tore my gaze away from Fifa, cleared my throat, and looked at her. It turned out she was addressing me. I put on my best smile.
“It is not a problem. I hope such urgent accidents will not be recurring too often.”
“Of course not, right Fifa?” She turned her head to the boy who took a seat next to her and right in front of me. He nodded with a deep sigh.
“Apologies,” was all he said, and everyone seemed to accept his half-hearted apology with the way they nodded and reassured him it was totally alright.
It was not. This was not my first time working with these people. Nobody forgave you a single mistake or misstep. But I guessed being an idol gave you a bit more leeway.
“Fifa, have you already read the script? Do you have any questions or matters you would like to discuss?” Our director, P’Earth, addressed my co-star.
I glanced at him. The boy smiled and small dimples made an appearance. I knew those dimples made fans lose their minds. I had attended a concert and had heard their screams.
“Yes, I have read the script a few times and even went through it with the acting coach.”
“Maybe you’d like to discuss your character—or Copper’s, for that matter? It is important that you both have a good understanding of your roles so the chemistry comes naturally. I know this is your first experience in a series, and playing a main character can feel intimidating. But we are all there to guide you and support you.”
This was not just Fifa’s first main role. As a matter of fact, this was his first role ever. When I first heard who the company was going to pair me up with, I thought it was a joke. I had been acting for almost 9 years. I started when I was a pre-teen, and it helped me gain skills that made me objectively one of the best actors in Thailand.
Up until six months earlier, I had an acting partner, Namo. We had filmed 2 BL shows together, both of them the biggest hits of SKD until we parted our ways as per mutual agreement. At least that was what the company had been trying to sell to the heartbroken fans. Meantime, I had never been happier to get out of the most toxic work relationship I had ever had the misfortune to be in.
Unfortunately, my happiness did not last long because fans started demanding for us to get back together. They spammed both mine and Namo’s social media with demands to reunite. But that simply was not happening. So I went ahead and decided to completely cut off their dreams by agreeing to a new project—with no say in who would be my new on-screen partner. But since I more or less knew all the actors in the company, I did not really care. As long as it was not Namo.
But one thing I did not expect was for the company to decide to give me a completely inexperienced co-star, who was not even an actor.
Fifa’s eyes drifted back to mine, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “No, I think I’ve got a pretty good grasp of the character. I am playing a pop star, after all how different could it be from real life?” he said lightly. “As for Copper’s character, he is my fanboy. I’ve had plenty of experience with those too.”
It was in that moment that I knew I was going to regret agreeing to star in this series a lot.