Paving Grey

That Calm Before the Storm

The minibus was already on standby when Tay and New arrived, bickering as per usual. Off, Gun, Singto, and Krist are already inside, buzzing about and chatting away. Well, mostly it was Off that drove the conversation, catching up with the legendary Phi-Nong while Gun's busy with his phone.

"Stop it, Hin! I'm not eating that weird marshmallow." Tay hissed between his teeth as he stepped inside.

"So fussy, just try one! You might like it, you know." New shoved the weird-looking sweets to his on-screen partner's mouth anyway.

"Aw, Peng! You're finally here." Off greeted them, paying no attention to the all-too-familiar squabble whenever they're together.

"Mm-hm." Tay wai-ed the group as he chewed, face all scrunched up. Behind him, New followed suit.

"How is it? Not too bad, huh?" New teased Tay with a cheeky side grin. Tay just rolled his eyes in response.

Gun looked up at the commotion, his eyes caught a package of green fluffy things in New's hand, "What's that, P'New?"

"Oh, it's a gift from Japanese fans. Wasabi-flavored marshmallows. Want some?"

"Sure." Gun opened his mouth, waiting for New to feed him.

Off studied Gun's face as he chewed the marshmallow with a straight face. "How is it?"

"Weird." Tay had an answer ready.

"Spicy, Papii." Gun said calmly. He then looked up to New and smiled, adding, "I kind of like it, though."

"Right!" New grinned, happy to gain an ally. "Wasabi marshmallow anyone?"

Off, Singto, and Krist just shook their heads in horror.

"Ha! Your loss." New shrugged, then proceeded to sit beside Gun. Tay took the window seat right in front of them.

"So you got airsick after that?" Still standing in the aisle, Off turned to continue his previous conversation with Krist. Beside him, Singto laughed. "He took my balm home."

Krist opened his mouth, but Win's voice drowned his words.

"Sawadee krub beloved phis!" He greeted loudly as he arrived with Bright. The latter took his time to slap the back of his nong's head before wai-ing everyone.

"Sawadee Nong!" Krist greeted back with the same energy.

"Oh, come on! It's too early in the morning!" Off whined, then turned to Bright. "How many shots were inside his coffee this time?"

Bright shot back an as-if look. "He's already had a full meal for breakfast."

"Seriously, Win!?" The protests came from not one, not two, but the whole group.

Win giggled cheekily. "What? I'm still growing!"

"Still growing my ass!" It's Off's turn to slap Win's head as he walked past him.

"Seriously, though, guys. Where are we staying for the next two weeks?" Tay suddenly spoke up. The others, safe for New—who just sighed, stared at him in shock.

"You don't even know where we're heading?" Krist finally said what's on everyone's minds.

"Ah seriously, what did I ever do to have a scatterbrain for a friend." Off hung his head in frustration.

Gun chuckled. "What did you even pack, P'Tay?"

Beside him, New murmured. "Did he even pack is the right question."

On the way to the backseat with Bright in tow, Win laughed, totally amused by his phi's sarcasm.

"Well lucky for him, he can always go pick up some clothes from his family's mansion."

"Seriously? We're going to Chiang Mai??" Tay's face immediately lit up by Gun's comment, though not for long before he realized Gun's choice of word. "Nong Gun! I told you, it's not a mansion!"

Ladies and gentlemen, another round of Win's contagious laughter.

"Good morning!" Kwang greeted as she arrived with Eed, Yui, Jane, Boytuan, some other crews, and also the bus driver.

"Buckle up, everybody." Yui added. "We're leaving."

"Oh, no! Wait, wait! Don't leave yet! Let me run to minimart real quick!" Tay got up in a hurry, though New's hand caught him before he managed even one step.

"Calm down. I already told P'Yui to bring you some."

As if on cue, Yui made her way to them with bottles of yakults in hands. "There, there. Here's your yakult. Stop crying now."

Tay pouted but took his favorite drink anyway.

"Eeh, can I have some, too?" Singto spoke up, followed by some others with the same request.

"One at a time, children ...!" Yui chuckled as she distributed the drinks.

"Now, now. Settle down, guys." Tha, the director, was the last one entering. A collective gasp rose in place of the commotion.

"P'Tha??! You're coming, too?" Krist, once again, acted as the spokesperson of the four pillars.

Tha chuckled. "Any problem with that?"

"Not at all!" Krist cried hastily. "Please, do make yourself at home, o beloved director of ours!"

The whole bus laughed at the panic-stricken Krist.

"A bit formality before we're starting the fortnight trip, guys." The crowd fell into silence within seconds. "Well, we formally welcome you to our first Love Out Loud workshop in Chiang Mai. This will be another huge project of you so-called four pillars of GMM, so we expect a lot from you guys. The schedule is quite packed as some of you might have read in the email I've sent last Monday. For a total of fifteen days, we will pour our hearts out and put our thoughts together to develop a concept worthy of the name of the show. Oh, also our concept artists, choreographers, stylists, other mentors and workers will arrive tomorrow by schedule, so technically today's a day off. Enjoy."

After a round of applause, seat arrangement, and water distribution, at last they left with bright and cheerful atmosphere. Unaware that those would be the most emotionally draining two weeks of their lives ....