BEHIND US (bl)

Gemini woke up to an empty bed.

It wasn't unusual for Fourth to be up early, but today felt different.

The moment Gemini's mind caught up with the events of last night, his heart pounded.

What if Fourth had been awake?

A cold wave of panic rushed through him as he reached for his phone, desperate to confirm or dismiss his fear. The first thing he saw was a text message from Fourth:

"Had to go help my mom with something. See you later."

Gemini froze.

That's a lie.

Fourth's mom wasn't even in the country.

His grip tightened around the phone. This wasn't a coincidence—Fourth knew. He had been awake. And now, he was running away.

Gemini hesitated for a moment before deciding against calling Fourth directly. He wasn't ready for that confrontation just yet. Instead, he called the one person who might know where Fourth was.

The phone rang a few times before Phuwin's sleepy voice filled his ear.

" Hello, Gem. Good morning."

Gemini wasted no time. " Is Fourth with you?"

A slight pause. " Nope. Are you looking for him?" Phuwin asked, his tone casual.

" Yeah, kind of. Have you heard from him today?"

"No, I haven't. Did you guys fight?"

"Not really. I just want to talk to him."

"Then why are you calling me? Call him. He might've already finished helping his mom."

Gemini clenched his jaw. "I thought you said you hadn't heard from him. How do you know he was helping his mom?"

Silence.

Phuwin was caught.

Gemini pressed on. "She's not even in the country, Phuwin. Just tell him I'm coming over so we can talk."

Phuwin was about to respond when there was a shuffle on the other end. Then, a familiar voice took over.

"Gem."

Hearing Fourth's voice sent Gemini's heart into a frenzy.

Fourth, exhale before speaking. "Let's talk later. I don't want to talk right now."

Gemini swallowed. "Fourth, I—"

"I know you're probably thinking I'm mad at you, but I'm not. I just need time to arrange my thoughts. Let's talk tomorrow after our shoot, okay?"

Gemini's fingers tightened around his phone. "Okay… let's talk tomorrow then."

His voice was shaky, uncertain.

As the call ended, he fell back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Tomorrow.

Would tomorrow be the day everything changed?

Both Gemini and Fourth went about their day, forcing themselves not to dwell on what had happened or how tomorrow's conversation would unfold. But no matter how hard they tried, the weight of it lingered.

They stayed apart, which was anything but normal.

Usually, they would be together, rehearsing lines, fine-tuning their chemistry for the upcoming shoot of Ticket to Heaven, a series set to air later this year. But today, there was distance. Gemini blamed himself.

If something happened to their relationship, it was his fault.

They adored each other—he knew that. But last night, he had acted recklessly, letting his desires take control without thinking of the consequences. Now, he was paying the price.

The whole day, Gemini drowned in worry. Did he ruin everything?

That night, sleep refused to come. He tossed and turned, haunted by regret, replaying the moment over and over again.

---

The next day.

They arrived separately at the shooting site. Another abnormality. Usually, they'd come together, but today, silence stretched between them.

Their manager had booked them a single hotel room as usual, considering they'd be shooting for three days straight before returning to Bangkok.

Fourth wasn't thrilled about this arrangement. He didn't know how their conversation would go, but requesting separate rooms would only raise suspicions.

He had no choice but to bear it.

The moment Gemini spotted Fourth, he called out, "Fourth."

Excitement and fear laced his voice. But Fourth only looked at him—anxiously.

"Let's not let our personal issues affect work today, okay?" Fourth said, his voice composed but distant. "Later at the hotel, we can talk about everything."

Gemini exhaled, relieved. "Okay… Thank you, Fourth. For being understanding."

Fourth forced a small smile. He didn't really understand anything. But Gemini needed reassurance, so that's what he gave him—even though he himself needed it just as much.

---

The shoot began, and for a while, everything seemed normal.

They delivered their lines, moved through their scenes seamlessly—until they reached the kiss scene.

In this scene, Fourth was supposed to kiss Gemini, who would be pretending to sleep. It was simple. A soft, fleeting kiss. They had done this countless times before.

But Fourth couldn't do it.

Every time he leaned in, the memory of last night surfaced. Gemini's whispers. His breath against his skin. His body pressing against him.

A shiver ran down his spine.

His hands clenched. What the fuck is wrong with me?

He was weirdly turned on, and he hated it. His mind and body were betraying him.

It took everything in him to get through the scene. Even then, it wasn't seamless. The director noticed. Their manager asked if he was okay.

Gemini, lying still on the bed for the scene, noticed too.

His chest tightened.

Is Fourth struggling to touch me… because he hated what I did?

The thought twisted inside him like a knife. Regret burned through him.

I fucked up.

A lump formed in Gemini's throat. He wanted to apologize again, to fix this, but what if Fourth never looked at him the same way?

What if last night destroyed everything?