Chapter Text
===
Pearl is pissed.
Stupid Seth drags her to this stupid island, citing “I want to spend more time with you,”—and yet dare to leave her alone first thing in the morning because some stupid yakuza gang thinks the island is up for grabs.
So, Pearl will let her stupid husband lose his fucking mind trying to locate her, while she enjoys her day wandering the island—with just two bodyguards tailing her a good distance away and possibly shitting in their pants. (Because Pearl forbids them from contacting anyone)
Which is why Pearl is currently in an old bookstore, the only one on the island, looking at the selection of second-hand books Pearl is sure just randomly thrown together—because there is no logical reason why there is a book with two half-naked men on the cover, laying on top of children’s book piles.
“KinnPorsche?” Pearl mutters, turning to the back cover, “BL story about mafias?” she snorts.
Well, Pearl thinks while throwing a thick stack of bank notes to the flabbergasted cashier in exchange for his silence, let’s see what kind of stupid story it will be.
===
Pearl is mega-pissed.
She has been closely following Filmania’s progress after their first announcement about adopting KinnPorsche into a television series early that year—and after five months, they finally have the casts’ lineup.
Of course, the Wattanagitiphat heir is Porsche in the flesh—Pearl knew it will be him after Mile told her about Apo joining the audition. And while Pearl was initially skeptical about who they casted as Tankhun’s head bodyguard, she eventually came around thanks to the mochi cheeks and deep dimples.
The problem is who they chose to play Kinn and Vegas.
The Kinn one, Pearl admits, isn’t too bad. He is your typical handsome, macho boy with a buff body that matches Apo physically. They look fine together in photos. The only problem is this: Pearl knows one Mile Phakphum Romsaithong. And despite his old-fashioned sense of style, he is Kinn in every sense of the word.
He and Apo will look downright earth-shatteringly phenomenal together. The fact that Mile just lets that kid puts his hands all over his beloved Apo is something Pearl may never understand.
When Apo went to the audition and got casted soon after, Pearl called Mile. Asking Mile WTF was he thinking, and graciously offering to 'meddle' in things on Mile’s behalf. Really, Pearl’s intention had been good! She was looking out for her good friend’s son!
So how dare that good-for-nothing simp told her to back off and leave Apo alone?? The audacity!
And then there’s Vegas… Pearl didn’t know whether to laugh or cry seeing who got casted as the most complex character in KinnPorsche The Series. He seriously looks like a toddler playing make-believe.
The kid just isn’t it, despite the fact that he got Vegas’s height and one could call him “devilishly” handsome – but just like Mile, Pearl knows someone that can breathe Vegas alive with just one breath.
And she is looking at him right now.
“Aunt Pearl, Pa said you want to see me?” the young man just came back from his lectures, still in his engineering uniform and long hair tousled by the bike ride to Pearl’s private mansion.
“Ah Bible, just in time. Come sit and drink with auntie, I haven’t seen you since your entrance ceremony. How have you been?”
Mile can shove his warning up his pathetic simping ass -- what Pearl wants, Pearl will get.
===
Pearl is very pleased.
Michael, her second son always delivers beyond her expectation – Pearl originally just wanted Kinn and Vegas re-casted because the old actors got involved in “mysterious accidents” – but Michael’s plan is admittedly wayyy better.
Why not just take over the show completely and molds it whichever way you please, mother?
Which is why Mile Phakphum Romsaithong is currently sitting across her in the patio, hands balled into white fists, thick brows creasing a deep frown, suppressing his great anger.
“What did you do, Aunt Pearl?” Mile asks through clenched teeth, struggling to keep his polite façade.
Pearl snorts, “The thing you’ve been too cowardly to do yourself. I just saved your beloved from starring in a massive flop after his big comeback, so be grateful.”
Mile slumps in his seat, all fights draining right out of him. “Apo warned me not to interfere, auntie. He threatened me with his life. Wha—what will I do now???”
Pearl rolls her eyes as Mile hides his face behind both palms. Uh, such a drama queen.
“Easy, go to the audition. Be the new Kinn.”
===
Pearl is ecstatic.
That pathetic Mile finally turns his brain on and buys the rights to KPTS from Pearl for 30 million bhat and a promise to audition for Kinn. “Fairly,” Mile said, “I’ll go through it fairly like everyone else and whatever the result is, you won’t interfere. Promise me, auntie.”
Pearl doesn’t need to promise the brat anything, but she did it anyway, “Fine, I’ll behave.” Satisfied with that, Mile finally leaves Pearl to enjoy her evening tea in peace.
“Are you sure, mother?” Michael emerges from behind the pillar, dropping a kiss to Pearl’s cheek before taking the seat Mile just vacated. “I thought you wanted to run everything yourself, isn’t that’s why you hired Roy?”
P’Roy is an indie film producer within the horror/mystery genre, and normally would never touch a BL series with a 10-feet pole—until Pearl get a hold of him, that is. (Aka grabbing him off the street and held him hostage in the compound until he said yes)
He was surprisingly stubborn though, refusing every offer Pearl put on the table, even remained silent when Pearl threatened to ruin his career. It was only after Dwight, her fourth son and the lawyer of the family stepped in and had a long discussion with Roy that he finally gave in—with a condition that he can object and question any orders by the sponsors that he deems unsuitable for the series.
Pearl loves him already and told Seth to put him under the Family protection.
“Roy will still produce it; it is not like Mile knows anything about filmmaking. I just heard some interesting rumors about those Wattanagitiphats,” Pearl takes a sip of her peppermint tea, “Something about them trying to break away from the Romsaithong. We can’t have that, can we?”
Michael snorts, taking a bite of the salted orange peels his mother seems to be obsessed with recently, “No, we definitely cannot. Not after all the effort we put into helping them stay together.”
“Besides,” Pearl pulls something out of the KinnPorsche book Michael swears she never let go off—ever since that first time she brought it back from Koh Kood, “I found something interesting the other day,” and hands it to Michael.
It is a picture of a long-haired man in Muay Thai gear, seemingly busy teaching kids around the punching bag. Michael whistles low, “Cute. Your new boytoy, mother?”
Michael ducks the slipper thrown at him just in time. “Don’t joke about that,” Pearl glares at him, “Your father still isn’t over that shit in Koh Kood—I was just missing for 6 hours!”
“It was 6 hours too long mother; you know how he is when it comes to you. Besides, the yakuza was scattering around the island—of course he feared the worst.”
“So what, you trying to say it was my fault?? He dragged me to that stupid island and then left me alone!!”
“Of course not mother, it wasn’t your fault at all. Father just loves you too much,” Michael holds up the picture to Pearl; a flimsy attempt to divert her attention and avoid any more slipper-throwing for today, “So, what about this cute boy? Where did you take this picture anyway?”
Pearl huffs, signals Michael to give back her slipper, “He is 30 years old, not a ‘boy’ you idiot. Found him at Weidan the other day, when Dwight went to discuss about the land ownership. Daisy took this picture, said he looked like Nop.”
Dwight, Knight’s family fourth son and the lawyer of the family has a sweet-faced, docile assistant named Daisy. Dwight warned everybody in the Family not to mess with her the first time he hired her. She acts like a skittish little hamster, always hiding behind Dwight when they have to meet the big, scary clients—or so Michael thought.
She saw Pearl reading the KinnPorsche book during a visit to the compound—and she legit screamed. His mother is not easily startled, but Michael swore she jumped and almost dropped her book from that shrill voice. Who would’ve guessed behind those big nerdy glasses and godawful blouses lies an aggressive soul of a fangirl, that pounced on the Queen of the East Asian Underworld and start babbling nonstop in a squeaky, high-pitched voice about KinnPorsche.
She even shooed Dwight away, made him go meet father alone, and talked nonstop to mother for 3 hours straight. She was the one who introduced Pearl to the Filmania casts of the upcoming KinnPorsche the Series, and was 100% responsible in turning mother into an obsessive fan of that damned book, and now the damned upcoming tv series.
Michael is so glad he chooses to recuperate at home after the war with the Cuban Cartels, and let Peter, his youngest brother deal with the aftermath. Who would’ve thought a stupid book his mother picked up on a whim would cause such an interesting storm within their Family.
“Nop, huh.” No matter how much Michael loves his temperamental mother, he will never touch that book with a 10-feet pole himself. But he is forbidden from even standing up for too long for the next three months, so Michael is extremely bored. And available to listen to her mother ranting about the general stupidity of the mafia in the book.
So naturally, Michael has an idea.
“You know mother, I’ve been thinking about…”