“Are you blushing?” Sud asks me.
“I—It’s just hot in here. It’s good, isn’t it?”
Sud lets out a breath. “I think so. I mean, what do I know, right? But I think we did a good job. Are the comments positive?” He pulls back onto the road.
I start scrolling, my nerves buzzing.
The video is posted on the front page of Rainbow TV’s website, and even though it’s only been up less than an hour, there are over two thousand comments already. Understandably, more than half of the video features P’Tar and P’Payu, but Sud and I are in a few of them, and the rest of the scenes are centered around the romance of Sound and Train.
Heart racing, I push aside my anxiety and begin reading.
ChibibabyElf: OMG, Tar and Payu have so much chemistry. This is going to be so good!
NutLego: Payu’s hair looks awesome like that.
Gay4Pravma @NutLego: I agree. (three heart emojis)
SPark4evr: The secondary couple is so cute! They must be the two guys who won the university theater arts contest. Edit: Yes, Sud and Mee Noi—I just looked it up.
BamBamYetao @Spark4evr: I go to the same school they do. Sud is a theater major. I don’t know about Mee Noi. (He’s the smaller one).
I snort.
“What?” Sud asks.
“Someone just called me thesmaller one.”
“Would you rather they call you the ugly one?”
“Not if they call you the dumb one.” We both burst out laughing. It feels good after our argument that morning. I continue reading the comments on the video.
RainbowTVboyz: Mee Noi is such a cute name! And look at him. He’s a doll baby!
My cheeks get hotter. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“I’d say so,” Sud answers, concentrating on the traffic, which has gotten heavy.
SPark4evr @BamBamYetao: Are they a real couple?
BamBamYetao @SPark4evr: (Shrugging emoji) Friends, I think.
DaengGiftfan: Sud’s eyes are dreamy.
LyknLust @DaengGiftfan: They’re calledbedroom eyes.
DaengGiftfan: OMG (fire emoji, skull emoji)
TuiHongplz: When does this series come out?
I scan down twenty or so more comments that discuss release dates with the occasional kudos for the actors, mostly P’Tar and P’Payu but some for us.
“They look good. I don’t see anything negative. They all think you’rereally dreamy,“ I say in a swoony voice.
Sud laughs. “Jerk.”
Chapter Twenty-two: Sud
The release of the unofficial trailer changes everything. Suddenly, people everywhere recognize me and Noi. The fansite message boards are talking about us nonstop, and we have a fan club. They’ve named themselves the Stuffies—I think because my profile mentioned I like stuffed toys and that Sud once gave me a teddy bear. (I didnotmention that I like to sleep with it.)