[Discontinued] Peril of Choices and Falling

I Want You Back

Author's Notes: The usual disclaimers apply - almost everything is from pure imagination unless we've actually witnessed it live or on tape, all of the images in this chapter are taken from the actors' real social media accounts as well as from various fan accounts, except for the private message which was edited using social dummy. Just to be clear, this chapter is directly after Back To You.

Enjoy, and as always, please leave your comments and votes :)

In all the wild world,

there is no more

a desperate creature,

than a human being

on the verge

of losing love.

SEPTEMBER 2019

The three days in between his late night discovery and their flight to Okinawa was a whole new level of torture that he didn't even know existed. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how one looks at it, he didn't have much work scheduled on those days. So aside from visiting his family, and taping a special segment for a talk show, he had a lot of free time to himself.

On one hand, it meant he wasn't forced to act as if nothing's wrong in front of a lot of people. On the other hand, it also meant he was free to snoop around and see things he's been blissfully ignorant about for the past few months. He tried so hard not to venture in social media after the other night's unpleasant discovery, but only managed it for half a day before he was back stalking through Singto's hashtag, looking for clues.

In normal circumstances, he usually just keeps an eye on the Peraya tag, mostly to amuse himself with the progressively weird trends their fans are doing these days. Sometimes he would check Singto's tag, especially if he sees the other man trending, just to stay updated with what he is working on.

After seeing those pictures though, he couldn't seem to stop himself from obsessively refreshing Singto's tag, half-afraid that he'd find another bombshell, and breathing a sigh of relief every time he sees nothing exciting going on. Aside from the solo tag, he also couldn't help but search for Singto's name alongside Joss'. When he discovered that those two actually have an existing couple hashtag that goes way back to January and has been very active lately, he just about threw his phone in a fit of temper.

Seeing all those videos, pictures and screenshots from months ago posted throughout social media, he can't help but wonder how he missed the signs. Was he so blind and arrogant in his belief that Singto's attention will never stray, that he didn't see what was happening literally right under his nose? It wasn't even as if the other two were going on clandestine meetings back then. Each of the fan documented interactions between the two, they all happened in GMMTV events that he was actually present at.

What was he so busy doing that he didn't notice the younger man slipping through the cracks, wedging that giant form in between himself and Singto, and stealing his own place in the older man's life?

He thinks back on what he knows of Joss Wayar, and comes up with less than a handful of facts. He has a memory of Gun talking about the fuss that some fans and members of the media have been making about him hanging out with the guy. He recalls hearing some grumblings amongst the other actors questioning why a newbie was already given a lead role, remembering he himself opted to stay out of the discussion, not wanting to be involved in company politics. He thinks he shared an elevator ride with the guy once after they met with the same sponsor, one of his usual patrons that has also taken a liking to the younger man.