High Energy Collision [Completed]

Epilogue - Truly Madly Deeply

2 years later

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you. It's probably really silly of me, but... are the two of you Thai?"

Plan looked at the blonde teenage girl, who had been sharing their compartment on the train for a while, and who had just asked them this question in English.

He nodded.

"Oh my God, you are!" the girl squealed. "I'm sure you probably hear this all the time, but... you really look like this famous couple from the series I've been watching recently. It's called High Energy Collision, and it's based on a true story."

Plan grimaced.

By now, he was more than used to being recognised everywhere he went in Thailand, but this was the first time this happened here in Switzerland. Who would have thought that this series would be watched so far away from Thailand?

Maybe in hindsight, it was a mistake, letting the Attachitsataporns talk him into signing off on it.

He shivered, as he thought back to almost two years ago, when Mean's music video had first dropped and this entire circus had started.

The agency's PR team had managed it all for them: the first images and clips of the video had been teasing a big reveal on social media. Then, scenes of them playing together in the snow and cuddling in front of the fireplace in the video had piqued everyone's curiosity, and fuelled the rumour mill.

Finally, Plan had attended Mean's first full live show as a VIP guest, and at the end of it, Mean had thanked him for his support, and had officially introduced him as his boyfriend to a mostly cheering audience.

At that time, Plan had been prepared for the publicity, and he had embraced it for Mean's sake, as well as for the benefit of not having to hide their love anymore.

Of course, there had been backlash against their relationship from conservatives, even influential ones. All in all, Mean's family had handled everything perfectly, though: Mean and Plan had quickly been accepted by the general public as the fashionably eccentric part of the Attachitsataporn clan, known for their westernised ideals and capricious interests. As such, the two of them had become an unexpected fixture in Bangkok's high society.

On some level, Plan actually admired them for the flawless execution of their plan, as uncomfortable as it felt being used as a pawn for their family promotion. He had never felt scared that they might lose their hold over the narrative and become swept away by a scandal beyond their control.

In the end, it had worked almost too well, and what Plan had always tried to avoid had started to happen: the many events he had to attend as Mean's partner, and the general attention to him wherever he went, had begun to seriously affect his studies and his research. Not to mention his personal comfort.

Thus, they had collectively decided three semesters ago, that he should continue his education abroad, to allow him to focus on science undisturbed. Prof. Marsden had quickly found a prestigious research group he could join at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had passed a fast-track Master's degree and was now enrolled as a PhD student.

It had taken Plan almost all of his first semester to get used to living in this foreign city, after he had barely managed to acclimatise to Bangkok in the year the had spent there. By now, he had overcome the worst waves of culture shock, though, and he actually enjoyed living here... most of the time. When it wasn't winter, and dark and foggy all the time.

Especially since Mean had finally been able to join him here half a year ago, life was good here.

Mean still had to travel back to Thailand too often for Plan's liking, but at least he had his own reason to stay in Lausanne: he had secured a timeslot at a recording studio in Montreux, the world-famous music hotspot on the shores of Lake Geneva. He wasn't only recording his second album there, but he was doing an apprenticeship as a songwriter and sound engineer, that would hopefully help him find work as a writer and producer for international artists.