"Shamelessness is the language of those—
Who fall deep and refuse to hide."
—Kao
Ms. Nin's anxiety was a knot she could no longer loosen.
"Achara, call Kao."
Achara's thumb hovered over her phone, but she made no move to dial. She knew exactly where her brother was—because the thought had been hers to plant in the first place.
With a steady, practiced calm, she said, "He's busy with office work. I'll try later."
Uncle Tham, sharing the same restlessness.
It was 4:55 a.m.
Outside, night faded slowly. Rain had stopped. The air smelled of earth and salt.
Inside the car, Nil pressed against Kao's lean frame, skin meeting skin.
Kao's chest rose with steady breath. Damp hair fell over his forehead. Lips swollen, bitten raw.
Nil's fingers traced from hair to neck to chest. His palm felt Kao's heartbeat.
Cool leather met their heat. Nil's breath caught at Kao's throat.
"First morning together..."
He pressed closer. Kao's hips shifted, firm and sure.
Nil's hand lingered where warmth gathered.
"I wish I could see this face every day..."
Soft words, nearly lost in quiet breaths.
Nil molded tighter, skin sliding against skin.
"I wish. I wish. I wish."
Nil's hand fumbled across, searching until his fingers closed around the cold shape of his phone. The screen lit with a sudden glow in the dimness. His eyes caught the time—then widened. In one sharp motion, he sat up.
"Stranger..." His voice was low, clipped.
Across from him, Kao stirred, startled by the tone. "Nil!" He pushed himself up, his hair still falling in soft disarray across his forehead.
"What happened?"
Nil's gaze was tight, his features drawn as if carved by tension. "How far are we from Bangkok?"
Kao glanced toward the window, voice slow, almost lazy. "Seventeen kilometers, maybe!"
"What happened?" he repeated.
Nil's brows knit further. His eyes fixed on Kao, unyielding. "Stranger, I need to be at my shooting location before six o'clock."
Kao's answer came with the unhurried confidence of someone who thought the matter small. "It's fine. I'll talk to Kim, cancel today's shoot—"
"No." Nil's voice cut clean through his words, heavy with a weight that allowed no argument. "Stranger, I told you before—our professional and personal lives are not the same."
"This is my work. I waited a long time for it. I will not set it aside for personal reasons."
Kao fell silent. A shadow crossed his expression before he lowered his gaze. "...Sorry...''
''I should have understood what this project means to you."
Nil's lips curved faintly— "Director Kim trusts me," he continued, his voice calmer now, but no less firm. "I don't want to break that trust. I just want to work as a professional. And—" his eyes lingered on Kao, steady, "I don't want to gain anything in my career because of personal ties."
Kao was still for a moment, then inclined his head. "...Alright." His lips shifted, almost forming a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "You'll be there before the time."
Nil nodded. They dressed in haste, fabric whispering against skin. Soon, like a comet cutting through the pale breath of dawn, the car slipped into the awakening streets.
Kao's hand rested steady on the wheel, fingers long and hurried.
Nil sat in silence, eyes drifting from Kao's profile—calm, clear, as if carved from frost—to the glass where morning light spilled in fleeting ribbons.
At last, he broke the quiet.
"I'm sorry..." His voice was low, almost drowned by the hum of the engine.
Kao glanced over, the edge of a smile brushing his lips. "For what?"
"I shouldn't have spoken to you like that," Nil murmured.
Kao, "Nil..."
But Nil pressed on. "Stranger, now that we're together... ''
''Even so, we're still different."
His gaze dropped to Kao's hands. "Like the earth and the sky."
Nil exhaled, as though forcing the words out. "I just...''
''Just...want to stand high enough in my own right, so that when you call me yours...''
''Y...you can do it proudly."
Kao's eyes softened, but his tone held the weight of certainty. "When I fell for you, I already knew where your heart would lead you."
He reached over, his palm closing firmly around Nil's hand—warm.
"And as for any difference between us..." A slight shake of the head. "That no longer exists."
"What I have is yours. What you have is mine."
His fingers tightened, as if to anchor him.
"I already proud of you...''
''Never ashamed."
But still, Kao noticed the faint weight in Nil's expression—the kind that could quietly press a person into silence—and with a lightness that seemed effortless, steered the conversation elsewhere.
"You matched me perfectly last night," he said, voice casual yet tinged with satisfaction.
"In fact..."
His gaze flickered over Nil, warm as the sun striking glass.
"Your performance was too good."
Nil turned toward him with a puzzled look, the faint crease between his brows betraying his uncertainty. Kao's lips parted in a sudden, unrestrained laugh, the sound rolling through the quiet interior like the rippling of water.
"Nil..."
The way he spoke the name was slow, indulgent. "Cute..."
Nil tilted his head, feigning exasperation, though his ears betrayed him with a faint flush. "You're shameless... No wonder I fell in love with you."
Kao's smile deepened—subtle, dangerous, and entirely sure of itself.
"Then, Mr. No Wonder..."
His hand on the wheel tightened ever so slightly.
"...you'd better be prepared to spend your whole life with this Mr. No Wonder."
Nil let out a small laugh, the sound low and warm. "Tumi na ekdom impossible," he said, slipping into his own tongue, the syllables lilting with affection.
Kao turned his head briefly toward him, eyes catching like flint. "What... tumi... tumi..." he echoed, as if tasting the foreign word, reluctant to let it go.
Nil's laughter was soft, like a thread tugged loose.
"I never imagined," he said, voice languid, "that the cold, untouchable, superstar—the elite rich The Kao Neptune—could be so romantic..."
His eyes glinted. "...so annoyingly romantic."
"And a bully."
Kao's lips tilted. "Bully...?"
"Mn," Nil answered, as if it were obvious.
"You're bullying me." His tone was unhurried, yet the way he looked at Kao was enough.
He let his gaze drop—slow, deliberate. "Looking so damn handsome..." His voice sank, low and dangerous. "...that..."
"I want to be ruined. Again."
The air between them went taut. Kao's hands stilled on the wheel; his eyes flicked toward Nil, widening in the faintest disbelief before narrowing with heat.
"Don't provoke."
But Nil only smiled—shameless. He reached across the console, fingers sliding over Kao's until their hands locked, knuckles pressing tight. Then he turned his face to the rain-streaked window, saying nothing.
Kao didn't look at him again. The corners of his mouth, however, betrayed him—an invisible smile curling there as he exhaled, low.
"So shameless," he murmured.
When the car rolled to a stop in front of the studio, Nil reached for the door handle.
"Did you forget something?" Kao's voice came from beside him.
Nil paused mid-motion, thinking. "...I don't think so."
"One kiss," Kao said.
Nil froze. His eyes flicked to the street — passersby turning their heads with thinly veiled curiosity. "No way... There are already enough people staring at us."
Kao only gave him that unreadable half-smile, the kind that made it hard to tell if he was conceding or planning to strike later. Nil slipped out, closing the door with a soft thud.
Inside the studio doors, Nil's pulse still hadn't steadied.
—
Elsewhere, Kao stepped into his home after a long shower, hair damp, shirt sleeves casually rolled. He went to find Achara, only to discover her slumped over her desk, pen still in hand. He turned to leave without waking her — but her voice came, drowsy yet quick to tease:
"Brother, this is your sister's room. Your door's on the other side. Have you forgotten?"
Kao stopped, a faint smile forming, though his tone was mock-solemn. "Angry?"
"You didn't even answer my calls," she said, lifting her head to narrow her eyes at him.
Kao crossed the room and sat on the edge of her bed, reaching into his pocket. "I'm sorry, Achara." He placed his debit card on the table. "I wanted to give you this. If you're angry, use it later."
Achara snatched it up instantly, laughing. "Brother, I was joking." Then, her eyes sharpened. "So? How was the date? Did P. Nil finally give in?"
Kao's lashes lowered. His lips curved, calm but edged with unmistakable triumph. "He did."
Achara clapped her hands once, delighted. "Congratulations! No one can resist my handsome brother." She leaned back, mischief dancing in her smile. "Then you must bring him to dinner. Tonight."
"Not tonight," Kao said after a short pause, the refusal quiet but firm. "But soon. I'll make sure of it."
Mrs. Nin, having caught fragments of their earlier exchange, quietly called Lava, arranging to meet her at the restaurant. Lava agreed without hesitation.
Meanwhile, under the heat of the lights, Nil stood in the center of the set with Than, multiple cameras circling like watchful predators. Kim's voice cut across the air, adjusting every tilt of Nil's chin, every fall of his lashes, every shift of his hand. The work was meticulous—each motion, each angle drawn with surgical precision.
By 3:58, Nil finally retreated to his makeup room. The air inside was cooler, carrying the faint scent of powder and stage perfume. His phone lit up.
Kao.
A slow smile tugged at Nil's lips—small, almost private—as he pressed the screen.
"How's doing?" Kao's voice came low and steady, but there was something under it, like the quiet drag of a tide pulling at the shore.
"Tired," Nil murmured, leaning back into the chair, the curve of his neck catching the light, "but happy."
"Missed me?" Kao asked.
Nil's lashes lowered, his smile thinning into something unreadable. "No. I had no time."
"..." Kao's silence was weighty, almost physical, as if he were leaning closer through the line. "...Really?"
Nil's lips curled, a sly flicker of amusement. "Must I say every little thing aloud?"
His tone was soft, but the edges—sharp. "Can't you figure it out yourself...''
''Stranger."
The noise of the set swelled—footsteps, shifting tripods, voices calling for him. Someone knocked, someone laughed; a dozen hands reaching for his time.
Nil's lashes lowered. Without warning, he ended the call.
On the other end, silence fell like a held breath.
In that sudden absence, Kao's fingers tightened around his phone. He could almost see it—the tilt of Nil's head, the faint press of lips trying not to curve, the soft defiance of someone who knew exactly how to leave a man starving.
A trace of shyness?
No.
It was far worse.
It was deliberate.
The restaurant's lights gleamed off polished wood, casting a warm sheen over the table where Mrs. Nin sat as if she owned not just the seat, but the air itself.
Lava entered, brow furrowed with unease. "Why did you call me, ma'am?"
Mrs. Nin's eyes flickered, sharp. "Do you love Kao?"
A bitter edge crept into Lava's voice as he hesitated. "Yeah!''
''But, he's obsessed with that waiter—Nil, that little nobody... ''
''That filth from Bangladesh."
Mrs. Nin's smile thinned, cruel and precise. "Love? Don't be naive. They only like the idea of each other."
Lava scoffed, a dark laugh curling his words. "Whatever... I know Kao's crazy about him."
"Then don't give up," Mrs. Nin said, her tone firm as iron. "Kao's inviting Nil to dinner. You'll come. And you'll make your move."
Lava's brow creased, hesitation flashing across his face. "What if he refuses me?"
Her voice dropped, cold and certain. "He won't. I'll make sure of it."
A sly smirk tugged at Lava's lips, "Fine. I'll play."