If they've got a scene together, Mile and Apo like to fool around and tease each other. Apo, in particular, is manic when he's had too much coffee. They're quite a sight, holding hands before a scene, one of them perfectly calm and still, the other appearing to have ants in his pants.

"You just want attention," Mile smiles lovingly. "I know what you need... Come here." He spreads his arms. "Come here." Apo takes a running leap and jumps into his arms.

"Oof," Mile grins breathlessly, cinching his arms around the younger man.

He gives Apo a piggyback ride, which Apo seems thrilled about. Mile doubts there's anyone else that can carry him this way.

As soon as he sets Apo down, several others have lined up for a piggyback.

"Sorry, but I'm not breaking my back for you lot."

When given the choice, Mile elects to kiss Apo for real, tongue and all, zero hesitation. Apo looks at him trustingly and nods in affirmation. It is decided.

"You're nervous," Mile surmises over the phone. It is the night before they are to kiss on set for the first time, and Apo has called him to discuss it. "Lucky for you, I'm a great kisser."

"I noticed that," Apo mutters. "You really got into character during rehearsal. Audition, too." This is implicitly understood by both men to mean, you really shot your shot during auditions, left me shook.

The directors said the kiss was supposed to be soft and romantic, but Mile couldn't control himself during the rehearsal. Apo was too enticing. Mile thought: fuck the script, fuck the directors, and fuck the slow, romantic build-up too. He surrendered to the urge to kiss Apo with reckless abandon, and it turned out hot and intense instead.

Mile lets Apo believe that he's a good actor. Apo doesn't know, of course he doesn't, that the only acting involved is at the end, when Mile has to act unaffected. Mile is afraid to admit - to Apo and to himself - that he's not a good actor. He's a musician first, a businessman second, and an actor third. If Apo wasn't his partner, he wouldn't be able to go through with a single kiss. No, if Apo hadn't gotten the part, Mile would've lost the will to act in KinnPorsche altogether. But, then again, fate has always favored them.

•••

Shooting the teaser takes three days. During the bathroom stall kiss scene, Kinn kisses Porsche while Porsche remains reticent and wary. Mile has waited a long time to put his hands on Apo again; he's breathless with the heady rush of excitement.

Mile noses into Apo's neck, where he's learning the man is highly sensitive, and flutters his lips over the man's pulse point. Apo turns away stiffly, fighting it. But when Mile grips the collar of his shirt and kisses the erogenous area of his throat, he can feel Apo go pliant in his arms. He's in the middle of sucking on that neck when he feels it. Mile grabs Apo's chin with his hand and tilts the younger man's face towards him. He can only afford a brief, questioning glance before the instruction comes to resume the neck kissing. Mile happily obeys, fitting his hand beneath Apo's shirt collar and kissing the gorgeous man's neck, jaw, and then chin.

Apo is kissing him back now. Mile grips a thick crop of his hair and pushes him harder against the black brick wall, their lips and tongues duelling passionately. Mile angles his face so that their mouths slot together like puzzle pieces, lips vacuum-sealed with the punishing pressure of the kiss.

A thrill courses through Mile when Apo's hand comes up to cradle the back of his head, drawing him impossibly closer. The hand curls into a fist, tugging at the strands of his hair in a way that makes Mile's jaw clench. He swallows thickly, releasing Apo's lips. The beautiful man lets his head fall back while Mile continues worshiping his soft, golden neck with rapacity. Mile's hunger is insatiable. His lips trail down to Apo's clavicle, sucking on it through the man's thin t-shirt. Apo's hand moves as if to push him away; roughly, Mile pins it to the wall and claims his lips once more. Apo surrenders to the kiss with their hands entwined over his head.

When the director calls cut, Mile releases Apo with reluctance. He smooths his hands down Apo's torso, checking his face to make sure he's okay. He's sure he saw goosebumps.

Uncharacteristically shy, Apo can't face Mile when it's over. He nods once, ducking his head and leaving the room without meeting Mile's questioning eyes.

Mile is not oblivious to the effect his kiss has had on the man; it makes pride swell within him. But concern outweighs that sense of triumph.

When Mile finds him later, he looks deeply contemplative, sitting at the kitchen island munching on a decidedly unhealthy croissant by himself, lost in thought.

Mile's heart softens at the sight of the pouting, troubled man. He approaches slowly and wraps his arm around Apo's shoulders.

"What's up, Po," he greets softly. "Can I have some of that?" Apo looks up with wide eyes. He nods wordlessly and Mile breaks off a piece of the croissant. Little, buttery flakes explode all over Apo's paper plate.

"I shouldn't be eating this," Apo murmurs.

"If croissants make you happy, you should eat them everyday," Mile posits gently.

Apo says something, so quietly Mile can't make it out. "What was that?"

"I said... Thanks for not rubbing it in my face."

"Rubbing what in your face?" Mile munches thoughtfully on his croissant. "Oh, back there? Natural reaction. I'm flattered, but it doesn't really mean anything." Smiling, he bites off another piece of the buttery dessert. It means a lot to Mile.

But Mile's maturity makes Apo like the man a bit more. He feels comfortable and safe around the older man. A different actor might have gloated or made him feel like less of a man. But Mile wants to be one of his safe people.

•••

Mile has always lived in a bubble because of his status, attending prestigious private schools and eating at the most expensive restaurants. He's never gotten his hands dirty before. Perhaps that's what drew him to Apo. Apo lives life with abandon.

Mile loves the way Apo jumps on his back for a piggyback ride, leaves a pack of cherries - cherries are rapidly becoming their thing - and a sweet note for him in the kitchen, hugs him before big scenes, flirts with him on Twitter, and fawns over him like a doting boyfriend.

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[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

He loves the way Apo sings off-key while strumming cluelessly away at Mile's expensive guitar - he loves the man's uninhibited character and he loves shooting KinnPorsche with him.

He likes that Apo comes to him for anything, likes driving him around and paying for him and feeling needed.

Last but not least, he thinks Apo is the hottest man ever to grace Mile's life with his presence.

So he tells him.

It's a rainy day. Apo has just barged into his condo without greeting.

"The water tastes better at your place," he offers by way of explanation. "Oh, and look what I brought." He pulls a pack of cherries out of a paper bag. "I know you like them."

Mile blinks at him and then just says it. Damn nerves all the way to hell.

"I love you," he blurts.

Apo grins until his eyes are beautiful little croissants. He turns the music up and pulls Mile into a dance, but doesn't say it back.

•••

Nothing has changed between them. Well, almost nothing.

The I love you is still weighing heavily between them. Especially because Mile doesn't throw the endearment around lightly.

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Mostly, they've been busy working hard. The trailer is released in January, less than four months after the project was announced by Filmania. It's stunning, the excitement palpable in their audience, the whole industry waiting on baited breath for the finished product.

Sometimes, Apo stays over at Mile's. It's a really long drive to his place from set, and they often have to get up early. Mile's spacious condo includes a guest room, so it's no problem. Except, seeing Apo walk around his place in a bathrobe is a big problem.

Some days, Mile thinks Apo might be into him. Not romantically, per se. Not romantically, not platonically, but a secret third kind of devotion that's all blurred lines and confusion.

Sometimes, he reaches up to unfasten a button on Mile's shirt - with a casual "that button was fighting for its life" - and his fingers will linger, pressing ever so lightly against skin.

Once under the cover of darkness, after walking around so long on foot that Mile honestly doesn't know where they are, Apo even entwines their pinkies.

But he still points out cute girls he thinks Mile would look good with - including Mile's assistant - and calls him bro every once in a while.

Mile's sanity is slowly slipping away and he simply accepts it.

•••

When Mile turns twenty-nine years old, Apo kicks the Filmania studio doors open with a booming "PHAKPHUM!" and leads a birthday procession into the room in the middle of Mile's livestream. They are plastered to each other on the couch for the rest of the stream. Apo tries to feel up Mile's chest a couple times. His laughter is like the peal of bells, jokes dirty as his martinis. He gives Mile no present; he is the present.

Besides, his comments on Mile's Instagram are sufficient.

If Apo could just keep feeding him these breadcrumbs, Mile would happily survive on nothing else.

And Apo delivers a truckload of crumbs. Days later, Mile is pleasantly surprised by Apo's Q&A answers on Instagram.

He can practically feel Apo touching him without his hands, speaking to him without saying anything. Apo always finds ways to reassure Mile without saying anything direct at all.

Apo sends him some dirty messages, too, making Mile feel hot under the collar. By some small mercy, he happens to be alone in his room and not in the middle of a crowded room full of people and cameras. He lays back on his bed, shuts his eyes, and conjures up Apo's infuriatingly perfect face.

Mile needs to get some action. Every time he closes his eyes, Apo's face is there, seared onto his retinas. If it were anyone else, he'd fuck the feelings out of his system. But with Apo, that is not a possibility. 

Mile has never before spilled in his hands within five minutes of touching himself, but Apo has taught him that there's a first time for everything.

He feels so ashamed about it in the aftermath he doesn't speak to Apo for days.

A few days later, Apo tweets a post that finds its way onto every social media platform and, of course, Mile's screen.

Apo is asking where you are, Tong texts him.

Fuck.

Mile calls Apo up immediately and they make plans to grab lunch in a few days.

They hang out all day, eating whenever they're hungry, sharing favourite songs, just friends getting to know each other better. Except Mile has never felt so comfortable with his other friends.

They take pictures together, and of each other, but seldom post.

•••

The Sosat Seoul Say interview on January 30 is a good opportunity to thank fans for their encouragement after the release of the trailer, and to further promote the show.

Mile tells a bad joke right off the bat, but Apo makes it better by saying that his charm is a joke totally flopped.

Then Mile and Apo are put on the spot and made to answer whether or not their voice changes when they talk to each other. Does it? Mile has no idea. Panicking, he wonders how much he lets show. He doesn't know where to hide from embarrassment, but his acting skills kick in and he maintains his composure. Apo doesn't fare so well, blushing profusely, and everyone picks up on it. Mile tries to paint him in a macho light but Job immediately calls him out, mimicking how Apo called after Mile in a sweet, high-pitched voice with a proffered cherry during the workshop days.

As for Mile, he responds, "I'm not sure. Gotta ask someone else." Then he glances meaningfully over his shoulder and warns the men, "choose your words carefully." This gets a chorus of laughs.

Apo is glued to Mile's side, caressing him, rubbing their knees together. It takes all of Mile's willpower to be good. Their managers and an entire crew are behind the camera, not to mention their cast-mates sitting next to them. Is this how it's always going to be, Mile wonders, Apo provoking him and Mile struggling to maintain his composure?

When Mile finally works up the courage to touch Apo's knee flirtatiously, Bas has the same idea and his hand knocks Mile's away. The fucker even makes eye contact with Mile. Perceiving it as an open challenge, Mile seethes inwardly with jealousy. What the fuck is the man playing at, touching Apo like that as if they're actually close? He will never speak to Bas again.

They play Believe It Or Not, a game where the cast-mates need to earn points by convincing as many people as possible that their story is true, and correctly discerning whether other stories are real or made-up. Apo believes Mile's story flat-out; Bas comments: "you believe him in everything," eliciting squeals and cries of shiiiip from the room.

"You know how I knew?" Apo says. "I wasn't even looking at his face."

"What were you looking at, then?" Mile goads, crossing his legs pointedly and making everyone laugh.

"You don't make inappropriate jokes!" Apo is taken aback. "I could tell by your voice."

Apo's story involves a scar Mile knows he has because he's seen it on his body. He stares Apo down with laser focus, trying to make him melt.

"Why is your mouth shaking?" he teases.

"Why are you looking at my mouth?" Apo counters laughingly, a hand coming up to wrap around Mile's shoulders.

Apo continues to put his acting to the test, stammering in a misleading way throughout his story.

Mile is so confident in his answer he elects to guess last so as not to help any of the other players.

"He's a real actor. It was a double plan," Mile reveals. "He intended to say the wrong thing; he's telling the truth."

Apo nods, flushing.

Mile is correct.

"Too shy to admit the truth about why you know?" Apo leans in to whisper. "I hope you're not picturing me naked right now."

When asked what they're whispering about, Apo laughs, "I can't say it on the broadcast."

Mile swallows thickly and stares at the ground, unable to reply.

Apo and Job have the fewest points at the end, so they have to drink a mystery substance. Apo looks afraid for his life. He lifts the glass to Mile.

"You tell me you love me," Apo implores him.

Mile is taken off guard. He wasn't expecting Apo to make such a private moment public, and he doesn't know how he feels about it now that it's out in the open. Or is Apo asking him to tell him 'I love you' one last time? Mile isn't sure; his head is empty.

"Who loves you?" He feigns oblivion.

"Mile..." Apo pleads while the others laugh.

"I love you," Mile concedes shyly. Mile rubs Apo's knee consolingly, and Apo drinks.

•••

During the Newsplus Variety interview, Mile and Apo are asked to compare themselves as kissers to snakes. Mile snubs Apo, calling him a little snake versus himself, the more experienced anaconda. Apo is plotting his revenge, Mile knows before he even clears his throat.

"It was my first kiss with Mile and I noticed that he didn't have much control over himself," Apo reveals. Oh no. "How can I describe it? The director was telling him to slow down, go step by step. And Mile attacked me like a snake; that's what it felt like. I was shocked and stunned."

The interviewers are really good at their job, because no less professionalism than theirs could steer the ship back on course. Mile is far gone, arms crossed over his chest, brooding, hating Apo for telling everyone his personal business. But then the interviewers ask about the mood and whether Apo is charmed and wants to do more love scenes and Apo devolves into a shy, flustered mess. So Mile wins this round after all.

•••

Mile and Apo grab lunch on February 4. After lunch, Mile invites Apo out. Nowhere in particular. They end up going to a tattoo parlour, where Mile gets a small :(: tattoo on his finger. It's a reflection of his belief that you can always choose whether to be happy or sad. You decide. It's the sort of spontaneous decision one makes when high on a bubbly Apo Nattawin.

Mile drives Apo to their Shopee Live event afterwards.

When the interviewers announce the game, which will test how well they know each other, Mile is confident.

"Hold on," he says before they start. "I wanna say right off the bat that I'm sure I'll get more than half correct."

"Sea or mountain," comes the first question.

"Sea," Mile says. "Apo likes the beach."

Correct.

"Airplane or car?"

"Airplane; I think he likes height and riskiness."

Correct again.

"Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee for sure, 'cause he just had it just now, right?"

"Pencil or pen?" These are getting harder.

"I think he likes pencils," Mile guesses.

"Early riser or late riser?"

"I think he's up late, but would say he's up early, so I say: late riser," Mile says astutely. He is right about that, again.

"Cake or snacks?"

"Cake, for sure," Mile answers. Right again. At this point, Apo is convinced that he's somehow cheating.

"Fan or AC?"

"This one I'm not sure about," Mile starts, "but he said AC for sure." This is his first incorrect guess.

Mile drives Apo to work again the next day. They depart from the Filmania parking lot together with the staff. The writers film Apo as he gets into Mile's car, complaining about how Apo is always hitching a ride in Mile's car.

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Mile brings his mouth close to Apo's ear while he massages the nervous man's shoulders. The Hello Asian tech crew bustle around the room, assembling the interview rig.

"Better?"

Apo hums in reply, keeping his eyes closed.

Whenever Apo is nervous during their interview, he hides behind Mile. As the interview progresses, he gains confidence. Apo whispers to Mile constantly. At one point, Gameplay leans over to see what they're up to.

The cast is asked: "if you have to choose one of you to be your boyfriend, who do you choose and why?"

Apo says, "actually, we can't choose, because we're already in a relationship."

Everyone laughs. Tong sings, "what am I doing here?"

"I already told the author not to let other people kiss me in the series because Apo is addicted to kissing me," Mile claims the microphone to add.

This uproar is even louder.

Afterwards, the two of them are interviewed separately.

"We would like to know more about Apo," the interviewer says.

"Don't you want to know about him?" Apo replies, adorably unaware that everyone already knows the Romsaithongs. "He's my honey."

Mile chuckles to conceal his racing heartbeat. He's afraid Apo, who is pressed alongside his body from head to toe, will hear it. He should be used to it by now.

"Apo is...handsome," Mile answers. "Good style..."

"Nice talking me up," Apo smirks, arm coiling around Mile's back to rub his shoulder.

"Likes skinship, physical contact..." Apo rubs his shoulder emphatically. "And..." Mile grins facetiously. And needy, Mile thinks.

He settles on a more inconspicuous: "Annoying."

"What about cute?" Apo demands.

"Oh yeah. I forget, because he's so annoying. But he's very adorable."

Apo's hand remains a permanent fixture on his shoulder. It puts Mile in a flirty mood.

Later, he proposes they reconcile after a feud.

"I'll make your stress gone later," he murmurs seductively to Apo, both of them grinning from ear to ear. "Like I did before." The entire room bursts into laughter.

Later, Apo does him dirty.

"When he felt like he needed to kiss, he couldn't control himself or portray it in a romantic way," Apo explains during their Star Update interview. "So it turned out hot and intense, when actually, his character was supposed to build the scene up romantically. But with his innocence in acting, he couldn't control himself and poured out all his feelings, which made the kissing scene so hot and intense. It's a good thing though, that he played as he felt."

Mile wishes he knew where to hide.

•••

On Apo's birthday, Mile returns the favor, barging into the room and jokingly claiming all of Apo's gifts for himself. He assumes his rightful place beside Apo and they go through each and every single gift and card together. The livestream more closely resembles a newlywed couple opening their wedding gifts than Apo opening his birthday gifts.

"I usually forget that it's my birthday and just treat it like any other day," Apo admits, fiddling with a bag.

"So tomorrow you'll forget today was your birthday and we'll share all your presents." Mile quickly follows it up with a laugh. "Just kidding, no drama, please!" He starts rooting through one of the bags. Fans have a right to get upset about him stealing the gifts they bought for Apo with their hard-earned money. "I like to tease Po. Some people might get mad because I tease him."

"Who could get mad at you, though?" Apo muses.

It doesn't stop Mile from worrying.

It's embarrassing what Apo has turned Mile into, with his nonchalance about everything. Mile wonders how long they're going to keep skirting around the massive elephant in the room that is their undeniable chemistry. Apo is so insouciant about it all, Mile is afraid to bring it up. Whenever Mile thinks he's brave enough, Apo cuddles or jumps on another castmate with the gummy smile Mile thought was reserved for him, and Mile loses his resolve.

Mile realized he's in trouble when Apo draws a heart on the matte hood of his expensive Mercedes with his fingertip and writes their names inside it - and Mile is not compelled in the slightest to wipe it off. Deep trouble.